THE SCHEMES OF THE KAISER

From the French of Juliette Adam

by J. O. P. Bland

New YorkE. P. Dutton & Company1918Printed in Great Britain

TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION

More fortunate than the majority of the prophets who cannot speaksmooth things, Madame Adam has lived to find honour in her own country:_La grande Française_ has come into her own. God willing, she shouldlive to see that _revanche_ for which, through good and evil report, she has laboured unceasingly these forty-five years, to see thearrogant Prussian humbled to the dust and Alsace-Lorraine restored toFrance. 1917, she firmly believes will revenge and reverse the tragedyof 1871. More fortunate than the great British soldier who spent hisveteran days in warning his countrymen of the ordeal to come, MadameAdam, now in her eighty-first year, may yet hope to see the banners ofthe Allies crowned with victory, the black wreaths on the statue ofStrasburg in the Place de la Concorde changed to garlands of rejoicing. 

There have been dark days in these forty-five years, times when, evento herself, the struggle for _la patrie_ seemed almost a forlorn hope. It was so at the time of the Berlin Congress in 1878, when, after hisvisit to Germany, Gambetta abandoned the idea of _la revanche_. It wasso in 1891, when she realised that the influence of Paul Déroulède'sLigue des Patriotes had ceased to be a living force in public opinion, when France had become impregnated with false doctrines ofinternational pacifism and homeless cosmopolitanism, when (as she wroteat the time) there were left of the faithful to wear the forget-me-notof Alsace-Lorraine only "a few mothers, a few widows, a few oldsoldiers, and your humble servant. " But never, even in the darkest ofdark days, was the flame of her ardent patriotism dimmed. After herbreach with Gambetta, determined not to be defeated by the Government'sabandonment of a vigorous anti-German policy of preparation, shefounded the _Nouvelle Revue_, to wage war with her brain and penagainst Bismarck and the ruler of Germany. The objects with which shecreated that brilliant magazine, as explained by herself to Mr. Gladstone in 1879, were threefold--"to oppose Bismarck, to demand therestoration of Alsace-Lorraine, and to lift from the minds of youngFrench writers the shadow of depression cast on them by nationaldefeat. " The fortnightly "Letters on Foreign Politics" which shecontributed regularly to the _Nouvelle Revue_, for twenty years werenot only persistently and violently anti-Teuton: they became a powerfulforce in educating public opinion in France to the necessity for aneffective alliance with Russia, and to the cause of nationalism, in theBalkans, in Egypt, and wherever the liberties of the smaller nationswere endangered by the earth-hunger of the great. She disliked andfeared the policy of colonial expansion inaugurated by Gambetta andpursued by Jules Ferry, because she felt that it must weaken France inpreparing for the great and final struggle with Teutonism which sheknew to be inevitable. Thus, when Ferry requested her to cease fromattacking Germany, she defied him, assuring him that nothing less thanimprisonment would stop her, and that no honour could be greater thanto be imprisoned for attacking Bismarck. 

Juliette Adam has always been intensely sure of herself and heropinions. She has the virile fighting spirit of a super-suffragette. "Always out of rank, " as Gambetta described her, "Madame Intégrale" hasdisplayed throughout her political and literary work a contempt forcompromise of every kind, which occasionally leads her into untenablepositions and exaggerations. Like her friend George Sand, she has everbeen an inveterate optimist and in the clouds, and this defect of hervery qualities has tended to make her proficient in the gentle art ofmaking enemies. Thus she broke with Anatole France for espousing thecause of Dreyfus, because, in spite of her keen sense of justice, sheidentified the Army with France and was instinctively opposed to Jews, because she regarded their "cosmopolitan" influence as incompatiblewith patriotism. For her, all things and all men have been subordinateto the sacred cause, to her watch-word and battle-cry of _Vive laFrance_! Nobly has she laboured for France, confident ever in the_renaissance_ of _la Grande Nation_, and of her country's finaltriumph. And to-day her unswerving faith is justified, and her lifework has been recognised and crowned with honour in her own land. 

With one exception, all the articles collected in this book have beentaken from Madame Adam's "Letters on Foreign Politics" in _La NouvelleRevue_. Together they constitute a remarkable testimony to thepolitical foresight and courage of _la grande Française_, and anequally remarkable analysis of the policy and character of Germany'sruler. 

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

Modesty is out of fashion nowadays: what is wanted is the glorificationof every kind of courage. That being so, I hold myself entitled toclaim a Military Cross, for my forty-five years of hand-to-handfighting with Bismarck and with William the Second, and to be mentionedin despatches for the past. 

JULIETTE ADAM. 

CHAPTER I

1890

William II, the "Social Monarch"--What lies beneath his declaredpacifism--His journey to Russia--The German Press invites us to forgetour defeat and become reconciled while Germany is adding to her armyevery day. 

April 12, 1890. [1]

What an all-pervading nuisance is William!

To think of the burden that this one man has imposed upon theintelligence of humanity and the world's Press! The machiavelism ofBismarck was bad enough, with its constant demands on our vigilance, but this new omniscient German Emperor is worse; he reminds one of someinfant prodigy, the pride of the family. Yet his ways are anything butkingly; they resemble rather those of a shopkeeper. He literally fillsthe earth with his circulars on the art of government, spreads beforeus the wealth of his intentions, and puffs his own magnanimity. Hestruggles to get the widest possible market for his ideas: 'tis a pettydealer in imperial sovereignty. 

There is nothing fresh about his wares, but he does his best topersuade us that they are new; one feels instinctively that some day hewill throw the whole lot at our heads. I am quite prepared to admitthat, if he had any rare or really superior goods to offer, hisadvertising methods might be profitable, but William's stock-in-tradehas for many years been imported, and exported under two labels, namelythe principles of '89 and Christian Socialism. 

The German Emperor has mixed the two, after the manner of aprentice-hand. His organ, the _Cologne Gazette_, with all the honeyedadulation of a suddenly converted opponent, [2] has called this mixture"Social Monarchism. " Therefore, it seems, the German Emperor isneither a constitutional sovereign nor a monarch by divine right. Hehas restored Caesarism of the Roman type, clinging at the same time tothe principle of divine right--and the result is our "Social Monarch"!

Rushing headlong on the path of reform--full steam ahead, as he putsit--he is prepared to change the past, present and future in order togive happiness to his own subjects. But France is likely to pay forall this; sooner or later some new rescript will tell us that thevalley of tribulation is our portion and inheritance. 

It is one of his ambitions to put an end to class warfare in Germany. To this end he begins, with his usual tact, by denouncing thecapitalists (that is to say; the wealth of the middle class) to theworkers, and then holds up the scandalous luxury of the aristocracy inthe army to the contempt of the bourgeois. 

One of his most brilliant and at the same time most futile efforts, ishis rescript on the subject of the shortage of officers for the army. As the army itself is steadily increasing every day, it should havebeen easy in each regiment for him, gradually and quite quietly, toincrease the number of officers drawn from the middle-class; indeed, the change would have practically effected itself, for the Minister ofWar had a hundred-and-one means of bringing it about. But thisrescript has put a check on what might otherwise have been a naturalprocess of change, and unless William now settles matters with a highhand, it will cease. In every regiment the aristocracy provides thegreat majority of officers; bourgeois candidates for admission to theservice are liable to be black-balled, just as they might be at anyclub; it is now safe to predict that they will henceforward be regardedwith less favour than ever, and that generals, colonels, majors and therest will form up into a solid phalanx, to prevent the Emperor'splatonic _protégés_ from getting in. 

William II appeals to the higher ranks of officers, who are traditionpersonified, to put an end to tradition. It is really wonderful what agenius he has for exciting cupidity in one class and resistance in theother. And he has done the same thing with the working class as withthe army. 

What a strange riddle his character presents--this quietist, thisworshipper of an angry and a jealous God, with a mania for achievingthe happiness of his people in the twinkling of an eye! A strangefigure, this Emperor of country squires, who despises the bourgeois andwho threatens to despoil the aristocracy of the very privileges whichhave been the safeguard of the Hohenzollerns' throne for centuries. 

These peculiarities are due to an occult influence which weighs on themind of William II, an influence which, while it points the way toaction, blinds him to its consequences. The dead hand is upon him!

Frederick III, that liberal, bourgeois monarch, compels hisreactionary, Old-Prussian-school son, to do those things which he wouldhave done himself, had he not been victimised by Bismarck and his pupil. 

I wonder whether the ever-mystical William II sometimes reflects on theways by which God leads men into His appointed ways? Such thoughtsmight do more to enlighten him than his way of gazing at the heavens inthe belief that all the stars are his. 

There is one piece of advice that William's friends should givehim--not to restore the sixty millions of Guelph money to the Duke ofCumberland. This ultra-modern young Emperor will very soon havegreater need of the services of the reptile Press than even Bismarckhimself; for every one of his latest rescripts adds new publicdifficulties to the number of those secret ones which theex-Chancellor, with his infinite capacity for intrigue, will hatch forhim. 

Bismarck, of the biting wit, who accepts the title of Duke ofLauenburg, because, as he says, "it will enable him to travelincognito, " sends forth from Friedrichsruhe winged words which sinkdeep into the mind of the people. This phrase, for example, which sumsup the whole of William's policy: "The Emperor has selected his bestgeneral to be Chancellor and made of his Chancellor a field marshal. "And Bismarck begs his readers to insert the adjectives, good and bad, where they rightly belong. 

April 28, 1890. [3]

Emperor William continues to increase the list of his excursions intoevery field of mental activity. Intellectually divided between theMiddle Ages and the late nineteenth century, it would seem as if hewere trying to forget the infirmity of his one useless arm by assuminga prominent rôle modelled on men of action. He tries to combine in hisperson the effects of extreme modernism with those of the days ofCharlemagne. Because of his very impotence, his desire to grasp andclasp all history is the fiercer, and this emphasises and aggravatesthe cruelty he showed in relegating Bismarck to compulsory inaction. Just imagine if some power stronger than himself were to compel thisever restless monarch to quiescence! What would be the cumulativeeffect of want of exercise at the end of a year?

And just because the German Emperor is pleased, amongst the innumerablecostumes of his wardrobe, to don that of a socialist sovereign, thesame people who before 1870 believed in the liberalism of Bismarck, nowbelieve in the socialism of William II. They go on saying the same oldthings. In different words they ask: "Isn't the young Emperoramusing?" (tis' a great word with us French people), and before long, they will be appealing to the gullible weaklings among us by suggesting"After all, why shouldn't he give us back Alsace-Lorraine?" And thusare being sown the seeds of our national enervation. 

The dangers that threaten us from the hatred that the Prussian bears usare all the greater now that Germany is ruled by this man-chameleon. Let William do what he will, let him change colour as he likes, ourhatred for Prussia remains unshaken and immutable. But acquiescence inhis performances will draw us into his orbit and expose us to thosesame dangers which he incurs, dangers which, were we wise, we shouldknow how to turn to our own profit. 

May 12, 1890. [4]

Amidst the ruins of his fallen fortunes, Bismarck can still erect amagnificent monument to his pride. If the results pursued by hisonce-beloved pupil stultify the old man's immediate intentions, theyconstitute nevertheless a testimonial to the Bismarckian doctrine inits purest form, to those immortal principles based on lies and theexploitation of "human stupidity, " which the ex-Chancellor raised tosuch heights in German policy, from the commencement of his career tothe date of his fall. 

Let us, in the first place, inquire how it has come to pass thatWilliam II has been able to convince a certain number of people, eitherthrough their "human stupidity" or their cowardice, that he is strivingfor and towards peace, when every single act of his proves theopposite. Is it enough that, because he declares himself a pacifist, men should go about saying "Thank God that he, who seemed most eagerfor war, now sings the praises of peace"? And there are others whoearnestly implore us to think no more or war "now that William ofGermany no longer dreams of it. "

Now I ask, is there a single reason to be found, either in thetradition of his race, or in his own character, or in the logic ofPrussian militarism, which can justify any clear-thinking mind inbelieving that William is a pacifist?

During the past fortnight a pamphlet has been published in Germanyunder the title _Videant Consules_ (a pamphlet having all theappearance of a Berlin semi-official, or officious, document) whichgives us the key (my readers will agree that I have already placed itin the lock) of William II's sudden affection for paths of peace. 

The illuminating pages of this work are written with the object ofpreparing the honorable members of the Reichstag to vote an annualcredit of twenty millions (it is said that the Minister of War and theChief of the General Staff originally asked for fifty). This moneywill be asked for to provide 474 new batteries, to bring up to 700 thenumber of the German battalions on the Vosges frontier and to increasethe peace footing strength of the army. According to a statement madeby William II, in his speech at the opening of the Reichstag, thespecial object of those twenty millions is to strengthen the defencesof the eastern and western frontiers. 

_Videant Consules_ tells us that Bismarck created the Empire by war, but that his later policy threatened to destroy it by peace; for thisreason the young Emperor deprived him of power. According to thispamphlet, the ex-chancellor allowed France to recover and Russia toprepare her defences, whereas he should have crushed us a second timein order to have only one enemy--Russia--to deal with later on. 

Therefore, Germany's present task is to prepare in haste for thestruggle against Russia and France united, and for this reason itbehoves her (says _Videant Consules_) to increase her forces by asuperhuman effort. As matters stand, in spite of the Triple Alliance, in spite of the sympathy and support of Austria and Italy (ruinous forthem) William II is by no means confident in the future success of hisarms. 

Now this hero is not taking any chances. In order that might mayovercome right, he wants to be quite sure of superior numbers. Andthis explains why the Emperor of Germany is a "pacifist" to-day!

But things are likely to be different by October 1. I would have thedupes of pacifism read carefully the following extract from his speech;if they remain deaf to its meaning, it can only be because, like theman in the fable, they do not wish to hear. 

"It is true, " says the German Emperor, "that we have neglected none ofthe measures by which our military strength may be increased within thelimits prescribed by the law, but what we have been able to effect inthis direction has not been sufficient to prevent the changes whichhave taken place in the general situation from being unfavourable tous. We can no longer postpone making additions to the peace footing ofthe army and to effective units, more especially the field artillery. A Bill will be brought before you which will provide for the necessaryincrease of the army to take place on the first of October of thisyear. "

According to _Videant Consules_, the last _favourable_ date forattacking France would have been in 1887. Bismarck sinned beyondforgiveness in not provoking a war at that time. More than that, hismanoeuvres to undermine the credit of Russia and his policy ofintimidation towards France, by exciting the hatred of both countriesagainst Germany, only served to unite them. 

In the position in which he finds himself, William II has therefore noalternative; he must vastly increase his forces, while assuming thepacifist rôle. He must pretend to be severe with the aristocracy ofhis army--the apple of his eye--and to be full of sympathetic concernfor the welfare of the working classes and peasantry, whom he fears ordespises, and who are nothing but cannon fodder to him. And he doesthese things in order to sow seeds of mutual distrust between Franceand Russia. 

He will use every possible expedient of trickery and guile, and, evenmore confident than his teacher Bismarck in the eternal gullibility ofhuman nature, he will exploit it for all it is worth. 

Take this example of our gullibility, as displayed in the question ofpassports for Alsace-Lorraine. A section of the European Press, wellprimed for the purpose (the Guelph funds not having been restored, sofar as we know, to their proper owner), continues unceasingly toimplore William II to consent to a relaxation of the regulations inregard to these passports. The idea is, that when our credulous foolscome to learn that this relaxation has been granted, there will beabsolutely no limit to their enthusiasm for him. Already they speak ofhim good-naturedly as "this young Emperor. "

(Is it not so, that, every day, old friends whose rugged patriotism wethought unshakable, meet us with the inquiry, "Well, and what have yougot to say now of this young Emperor?")

This young Emperor piles falsehood upon falsehood. If he permits anyrelaxation of the passport regulations, you may be perfectly certainthat he will give orders that the _permis de séjour_ are to be moreseverely restricted than before. Once a passport is issued, it is ofsome value; but the _permis de séjour_ is a weapon in the hands of thelower ranks of German officialdom, which they use with Pomeraniancruelty. Every German bureaucrat in Alsace-Lorraine aims at preventingFrenchmen from residing there, at getting them out of the country; andnothing earns them greater favour in the eyes of their chiefs. Therefore, if this "young Emperor" is to be asked to grant anything, let it be a relaxation of the _permis de séjour_. 

To be allowed to _travel_ amongst the brothers from whom we areseparated, can only serve to aggravate the grief we feel at not beingallowed to _live_ amongst them. 

William's socialism is all of the same brand. His first display ofaffection for the tyrant lower down was due to the fact that he usedhim to overthrow a tyrant higher up: it was the socialist voter whobroke the power of Bismarck. When we see William embarking upon somany schemes of social reform all at once, we may be sure that he hasno serious intention of carrying out any one of them. After havingmade all sorts of lavish promises to the industrial workers, he is nowbusy giving undertakings to make the welfare of the peasantry hisspecial care!

In his speech to the Reichstag there is no mention even of the onedefinite benefit that the workers had a right to expect--namely, areduction of the hours of labour; but the threat of shooting "them inthe back" reappears in a new guise. William II warns the workingclasses of "the dangers which they will incur in the event of theirdoing anything to disturb the order of government. "

"My august confederates and I, " adds the Emperor, "are determined todefend this order with unshakable energy. "

Delicious to my way of thinking, this expression "my augustconfederates. " Is there not something astounding about the use of thepossessive pronoun in connection with the word "august, " implyingsovereignty? One wonders what part can they have to play, theseconfederates, led and dominated by a personality as jealous andself-centred as this "young Emperor. "

There is only one thing about which William II really concerns himself, over and above his blind passion for increasing the forces of Germany, and that is, other people's morals--the morals of working men orofficers. The devil has always had his days for playing the monk. 

May 20, 1890. [5]

Do my readers remember my last article but one, written at a momentwhen the whole Press was singing the praises of William the Pacifist, on the eve of the day when _The Times_ published its despatch, proclaiming the complete agreement between Tzar and Kaiser, the_entente_ that assures the world of the peace that shall come down fromWilliam's starry heavens? It was then that I wrote--

"Is there a single reason to be found, either in the traditions of hisrace, or in his own character, or in the logic of Prussian militarism, which can justify, any clear-thinking mind in believing that William isa Pacifist?"

Hardly had that number of May 1 appeared when the German Emperor madehis speech at Königsberg! In his cups, the King of Prussia reveals histrue nature, just as a champagne cork flies from a badly wired bottle. After giving expression once again to his animosity towards France, heborrows from us one of the famous dicta of Monsieur Prudhomme--

"The duty of an Emperor, " he declared, "is to keep the peace, and I amdetermined to do it; but should I be compelled to draw the sword topreserve peace, Germany's blows will fall like hail upon those who havedared to disturb it. "

Next, in the neighbourhood of the Russian frontier, he used thefollowing provocative language: "I will not permit that any one shouldtouch my eastern provinces and he who tries to do so, will find that mypower and my might are as rocks of bronze. "

Sire, beware! The God of the Hohenzollern will prove to you beforelong that your power and your might, those rocks of bronze, are no morein His hands than a feather tossed in the wind; He will show you that atricky horse can unseat you, regardless of your dignity, when you takeyour favourite ride, the road to Peacock island, with your augustbrother-in-law. 

Say what you will, the Prussians have not yet acquired either wit orgood taste! There is proof of this not only in the speeches of WilliamII at Konigsberg, but even more convincing, in that which was deliveredbefore the Reichstag by that famous strategist, our conqueror deMoltke, on the subject of the proposed increase in the peace-footingeffectives. 

One must read the whole speech to get an idea of the sort of nonsensethat "honorable" Germans are prepared to listen to. In urging the voteof credit, "the Victor" said: "Confronted with the fundamental problemof the army, the question of money is of secondary importance; for whatbecomes of your prosperous finances in war-time?"

Having proved that conquerors are the greatest benefactors of the humanrace, M. De Moltke goes on to declare that it is not the rulers, butthe peoples, who want war to-day. In Germany, it is "the cupidity ofthe classes whom fate has neglected"; it is also the socialists whodecline to vote more soldiers because they desire to trouble theworld's peace and expect "to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of livesin the next war and to threaten the existence of morality andcivilisation. "

I do not know whether my readers can make head or tail of thisspeech--I certainly cannot--but its intention is plain enough. WilliamII has been careful to emphasise it, by declaring that the increase inthe peace strength of the army is intended to reinforce the eastern andwestern frontiers. Several officious newspapers (we no longer callthem reptile, but to do so would make them more authoritative) sum upthe matter in these words--

"The nearer the peace-footing of the troops on our frontiers approachesto war-strength, the more effectively these troops are provided witheverything necessary to enable them to leave within _three hours_ ofreceiving marching orders, the more secure becomes Germany's position. "

Quite so! By next October there will be 200, 000 men inAlsace-Lorraine. As you see, the new law adds to the security ofGermany precisely what it takes from ours. 

June 12, 1890. [6]

My readers will recollect that after a journey in Switzerland, twoyears ago, I proved by statements which could not be (and never were)refuted, that the Russian Nihilists established in Switzerland beforethe Federal Government's inquiry, were all either deliberate orunconscious tools of the German police. 

On the one hand, M. De Puttkamer, Minister of the Interior, unable torefute the evidence brought forward by the socialist deputy, Bebel, hadthen been compelled to confess that the socialist agitators Haupt andSchneider were his agents in Switzerland. On the other hand, at theinquiry into the proceedings of these socialists, there was theevidence furnished by letters seized on Schmidt and Friedmann, associates of Haupt and Schneider, that Schmidt had been commissionedby M. Krüger of the Berlin Police to commit a crime. In one of theseized letters, the following words were actually used by Krüger: "Thenext attempt upon the life of the Emperor Alexander must be prepared atGeneva. Write to me; I await your reports. " [7]

Whenever the alleged liberalism of William II finds its expression inanything else but speeches, it is easy to take its measure. He hasjust shown once more what it really amounts to, in the Treaty ofEstablishment with Switzerland, wherein restrictions are placed uponthe issue of good moral character certificates by German parishes totheir parishioners. These will no longer be available to enable aGerman to take up his residence in Switzerland. Henceforward it willbe the business of the German Legation to pick and choose those whom itconsiders eligible to reside in Switzerland, either to practise aprofession or to conduct an export business there. It will be forGermany to decide whether or not her subjects are dangerous abroad. This would be well enough if it were only a question of restrainingrogues, but it is anything but reassuring when we come to deal with theever advancing phalanx of German spies. 

July 9, 1890. [8]

It seems to me that this Wagnerian Emperor, pursuing his legends to theuttermost parts of the earth, is doing his utmost to darken ourhorizon. Everywhere, always he confronts us, appearing on the scene todeprive us of the last remnants of good-will left to us in Europe. 

In the Scandinavian States, even after 1870, we had preserved certaintrusty friendships: of these William II now tries to rob us. Heappears and, to use his own expression, draws men to him by magicstrings. To the people who are offshoots of Germany he figures as "theEmperor, " unique, mysterious, he who goes forward in the name of thefables of mythology, gathering and uniting anew in his slumberingpeople the instincts of vassalage. "Super-German virtues, " he callsthem, "ornaments of old-time Germany. " This monarch who, in his ownland, is pleased to pose as a Liberal!

Can it be that this same William who, on the Bosphorus held communionwith the stars, who, writing to Bismarck, said, "I talk with God, "finds the celestial responses so inadequate that his mind must needsinvoke a retinue of Teutonic deities?

"Let the Latins, Slavs and Gauls know it, " says he, "the German Emperorbears to Germans the glad tidings which promise them the sovereignty ofthe world!"

Have not even the Anglo-Saxons bowed before the sovereign will ofWilliam II, so that before long the island of Heligoland will see theGerman flag floating over its rocky shores?

Yes, let her Press and public men say what they will, proud Albion hasdelivered herself over to Germany. She has made surrender to our enemyin the hope that we shall thus become for her an easier victim, thatshe will be able to recover at our expense what Germany has taken fromher. Lord Salisbury hopes, in return for the plum he has yielded, tobe able to help himself to ours, to those of Italy and Portugal, and toshare others with Germany. 

But such is the character of William II that he despises those whoserve him or who yield to his will. Like Don Juan, he seeks ever newworlds to conquer, new resistances to overcome, and neglects no meansto secure his desired ends. England and Austria to-day count for lessthan nothing in his schemes. These countries have had a free hand inBulgaria, and they have used it to indulge in every sort of intrigue. Screened by Bismarck, they have advised, upheld and exalted Stamboulof, they have set up the Prince of Coburg. And William, not havinginspired any of this policy, would like to see it end in complicationsshameful for his associates. 

As to the King of Sweden, he thinks it due to the dignity of his peopleto make some show of resistance, but one feels that this is only doneto save appearances. He also has delivered himself, bound hand andfoot, just as they have all done, the Emperor Francis Joseph, the Kingof Italy, the Hohenzollern who reigns at Bucharest, Stamboulof, LordSalisbury and Leopold II. 

July 29, 1890. [9]

The Imperial bagman travelling in Germanophil wares conceals under hisflag a very mixed cargo. He makes a Bernadotte to serve as speakingtrumpet for Prussian Conservatism at the same time that he subsidises_agents provocateurs_ for the purpose of misleading andinternationalising the social reform programme of the Danes. 

And all the time, in every direction, he comes and goes--this everrestless, universal disturber--creating and perpetuating instability onall sides, so as to increase the price of his peace stock, hecontrolling the market. It is Bismarck's old game, played withup-to-date methods. 

August 12, 1890. [10]

Does it not seem to you, dear reader, that the voyage of William II toRussia suggests in more ways than one the scene of the Temptation onthe Mount?

At St. Petersburg there reigns a sovereign whose life, directed by theinspirations of his soul, is one long act of virtuous self-denial; whoprefers the humble and the lowly to fortune's favourites; whose worksare works of peace, and whose intentions are always those of a manready to appear before Him Who only tolerates the great ones of thisearth when their power is balanced by a due sense of their moralresponsibility, by devotion to duty and truth. 

At Berlin there reigns a man of ungovernable pride, who aspires to betorch-bearer to the world. Restless, like the spirit of evil, tormented by his inability to do good, he has dedicated his soul towickedness and lies. 

Alexander III regarded his accession to the throne as an ordeal, thesacrifice of his life. He would have given his own blood to spare hisfather the pangs of death. William II seized fiercely on the reins ofpower, after having committed a crime, at least in his heart; afterhaving wished for the death of his father and increased his sufferingsby his conduct. 

By the tragic end of two martyrs, God has brought face to face thosewho are destined to be the champions of good and of evil respectivelyin these last years of the century. 

The German Emperor goes to Russia to say to the Tzar, "Divide with methe kingdoms of the earth, always on condition that I receive thelion's share. "

The Emperor of Russia will reply: "Let us endeavour, my brother, towork for the welfare of the nations, let us calm their hatreds andfollow the rugged paths of justice; above all, let us regard the powerwhich the God of hosts has confided into our hands as an instrument ofsovereignty, whose only purpose should be to keep the nation's honourunsullied and safeguard the blessings of peace. "

"Words, nothing but words, " replies the Tempter. "Say, Yes or No, wiltthou go with me to the conquest of the world? On all sides yourinfluence, which I have undermined, is waning: you and your followersare caught in a ring of iron from which before long you will be unableto escape. 

"In Germany, all things are subject to my unfettered rule. Henceforthnothing can ever check or stop my triumphal march. Throughout thehumbly listening world, which will soon be at my feet, I break thatwhich will not bend before me. I overthrow all those that stand, andthat which comes to me, I keep. Even the Church, which treated with myforefathers on a footing of equality, now bows the knee before me andhumbly votes the money for my great slaughters. 

"Socialism, that bogey of Bismarck's, is an easily tamed monster. Ihave only to sow discord amongst its leaders to make it serve my endsof policy like the veriest National Liberal party. 

"In Austria, my grandfather and I created financial troubles, entangledthings, let loose envy and hatred and sowed the seeds of quarrels, which have delivered her into my hands. Let them try as they will tofree themselves from the fetters with which I have bound them; I shallcreate such obstacles to all these efforts that the future shall bemine, like the present. 

"In Hungary, Prussian diplomacy has found a way to turn the people'shatred of Austria into hatred of Russia, and to make them forgive theHouse of Hapsburg for a policy of coercion so cruel than even aRomanoff denounced it. 

"Everywhere I create dissension amongst my allies so that the finaldecision may be mine. 

"In Italy I have my _âme damnée_, the only one who understands me, anambitious tyrant, mad like Bismarck with the lust of power, who servesmy purposes at Rome as effectively as Bismarck hampered them in Berlin. 

"I have stifled and destroyed the spirit of brotherhood in the cradleof the Latin race. I have made history a liar, bringing a falsemorality to the interpretation of the most brilliant days and deeds. Ihave reduced to servility a Royal House that once was proud. I havecheated and deceived the cleverest and most suspicious race on earth. 

"At Rome, I have insulted the traditional and sacred majesty of theHead of the Christian religion!

"In England, I have done even more. I have compelled proud Albion toserve the ends of my personal policy. I have forced the most jealousof nations to yield the leading place to me, to work, in her owncolonies and against her own interests, for the benefit of my growingrivalry, sacrificing to me her dreams of supremacy in the four quartersof the globe. 

"As to America, I will deal with her later. I have my plans. 

"Despite Lord Salisbury's make-believe of caution and reserve (aboutwhich, I may say, we quite understand each other) England is socompletely delivered into my power that, after the Conservatives theLiberals, in the person of the young leader John Morley, now proffer metheir services, and no matter what changes may take place in theEnglish parties my influence will soon prevail. 

"My journeys to the Scandinavian States have been fruitful. InDenmark, O Tzar! your own father-in-law has become almost associatedwith my destiny. 

"I have linked with my fortunes a king of French stock in Sweden, and Iwill prove it at Alsen Island, where I shall compel him to take part inthe manoeuvres of my fleet. 

"As to Norway, a few words from my Imperial lips have overcome the oldrepublicanism of these brother Teutons. 

"So as to keep closer watch over the submission of my new allies, Ihave wrested Heligoland from England; and there I shall build aneagle's nest from which I shall be able to swoop down upon them, shouldthey attempt to escape me. Those who had any doubts as to theimportance of this surrender, have learned it from the speeches that Imade when taking possession. 

"By this means I have closed the German Ocean _for ever_, and thatwhich is closed gives access to something. 

"What need I say of Turkey that you do not know already? All herthoughts, movements and actions are regulated by one man, and he avassal of German policy. Turkey's army, trade and finances, thedirection of her ruling minds, are either in my hands or in those ofEngland. And England, say what you will, is hypnotised by me. 

"I can afford at my pleasure to challenge her policy indefinitely. 

"The diplomas which she conferred upon the Bulgarian bishops after theexecution at Panitza have shown you, my brother, how greatly I ampleased to favour those whom you have condemned! Stamboulof, theinveterate foe of Russia, now dominates the elections in Bulgaria andRoumelia, thanks to the iradé on the bishoprics. He goes in triumphthrough the land, so that even the Russophile candidates invoke theprotection of this man, who shoots the country's heroes and reduces itsprince to the level of an ordinary public servant. His audacity, hisimpunity, the length of his tether, have no limits except those whichwill be imposed upon him by my power should you turn a deaf ear to myproposals. 

"And just as British policy has served the ends of Prussian statecraftin Bulgaria and Roumelia, even so it serves them at this moment inArmenia. 

"It was I who willed and inspired the indulgence of the Sultan for thebloodthirsty Moussa Bey. Massacred by the Kurds on the one hand, andon the other observing the success of the revolution in Roumelia, theArmenians will inevitably be led from one revolt to another and, helpedby a few timely suggestions, will come to believe that they can wintheir autonomy. 

"Herein lies another difficulty which disturbs your mind, and of whichmy hands hold the threads; another people, to whom you might havelooked for help in the event of my allies going to war with you, butwhich England and I will be able to remove from your influence. 

"In Roumania, a Hohenzollern guards all the keys which open the doorsof his frontiers. 

"In Serbia, I am working by sure means to destroy the last remainingsympathies for Russia. To attain this end I will leave no stoneunturned, even as I am doing in Greece against France. 

"With an eye to the future interests of my African colonies, I havecompelled England to keep Portugal quiet. I do not wish anyrevolutionary upheaval to react upon Spain, that indomitable nationwhich still resists me, but in whose mouth nevertheless, I have put aninvisible bit. I shall know how to drive her headlong into the trapthat awaits her in Morocco. 

"With the help of Italy, Switzerland is mine. And Holland will fall tome through the little Duchy of Luxembourg, which will come to me by themarriage of one of my sisters with the heir of Nassau. 

"My last master stroke was the way of my coming into Belgium. ThereinI was artful. The Belgians affected to believe in the neutrality oftheir microscopic kingdom. I played up to the joke and entered theircountry by way of the sea. 

"In all the splendour of my power, I came to Ostend on the_Hohenzollern_, and I made it my business to invest my appearance withevery feature calculated to impress the mob, in these days when outwardshow appeals most powerfully to the popular imagination. And I was, moreover, determined that nothing should be lacking to the fulleffectiveness of this demonstration. 

"Belgium had intimated by a revolution her objections to becomingGerman. Well and good: I imposed myself upon her as German Emperor. With wearisome reiteration she had manifested her sympathy for France. In order to challenge these sentiments the more effectively, Icompelled King Leopold to take his seat beside me as the Colonel of oneof my Alsatian regiments!

"And do you suppose that the Belgians protested? Not a bit of it! No, the trick is played. No longer in secret, but openly, Belgium willplay my waiting game, in the Congo and at the gates of France. 

"My visit to Belgium is destined to produce such important results indays to come, that I have neglected not the smallest detail in order toproduce a legendary impression upon Europe. Nothing have I forgotten:costumes for each part, words, good seed sown broadcast in the publicmind, communications to the Press, advice given to sovereigns of anature to please the people, and elsewhere (as in England) popularitywith the military caste!

"An individual of the name of Van der Smissen, having dared to argue inthe ranks, got broken for his pains. 

"At the same time, in order to cast into stronger relief the loftinessand majesty of my countenance, I invested it, amongst these goodBelgians, with certain new features of good nature and cordiality. 

"As to France, Russia's only possible ally to-day, her artlesssimplicity protects me from all risks that I might otherwise run. Ishall compel her to accept the neutralisation of Alsace-Lorraine, whenever the provinces shall have become thoroughly Germanised. 

"For the present I leave England to deal with her: England who keepsher busy with childish things, and soothes her vanity with illusorydiplomatic successes, such as the _exequatur_ of the Madagascar Consuls(which the settled policy of the residents would have achieved in time)and with useless concessions amidst the fogs of Lake Chad, or on theNiger, or in regions whose possession none disputed. 

"Lord Salisbury evoked much mirth, over these concessions at the LordMayor's banquet, joking somewhat cynically at his own policy indisposing of territories over which he had no rights. One country, amongst others, given to France, has provided my good English friendswith an inexhaustible source of merriment. 

"Concerning Egypt, Lord Salisbury has clearly intimated to France thatEngland will _never_ give it up. 

"Thus, the Salisbury Ministry has still at its disposal, to keep busymy fiery but easily duped neighbours, the Egyptian problem, with aFrench Minister at Cairo, who is more of a help than a hindrance toEngland; the Newfoundland question, with the Anglo-American Waddington, more yielding for the purposes of the British Foreign Office than oneof its own agents. 

"Moreover, whenever I choose, the rulers of France can be made tobelieve in a francophile reincarnation of M. Crispi! I have manythings in store for them in that quarter. 

"Deceived by the infinite resources of my diplomacy, led astray by myagents who have taken on less reptilian disguises, the guileless Frenchnation remains a prey to ignorance and ambitions as countless as thesands on the shore of her democracy. 

"To sum up; England, through India; England and Germany, through China, we hold in our hands that question of an Asiatic war, a scourge whichwill exhaust the strength of your Empire, O Tzar! and which may finallyweaken France. I have said!"

'Tis a long tale, and were it all told at one time, Alexander III wouldcertainly not listen to half of it. But William II spent a fortnightin Russia, and I have only an hour to summarise his argument. 

Have the wings of the German Emperor the span of those of Lucifer, ashe believes? He may play the part, but he will never be able to carryit through!

August 28, 1890. [11]

Although for the meeting of these two powerful Emperors (whosedestinies, as history proves, are so frequently commingled) there wasno real necessity, other than the desire of the young and restless Kingof Prussia, to keep the whole world guessing as to the object of hismultifarious designs, their coming together has its undeniableimportance and significance, for it has been the means of increasingthe resistance and strengthening the determination of the Tzar. Alexander III, whose mind reflects the great and untroubled soul ofRussia, is well able to estimate at its true worth the insatiable greedof Germany and the ever-encroaching character of her ruler. Because ofhis own self-control and disinterestedness, the Tzar must have beenable to gather from William's words and works a very fair idea of hisunbounded self-conceit; of that vanity which, like its emblem the eagleof the outspread wings, aspires to cover the whole earth. 

Even though William has offered to the Emperor of Russia the prospectof a general disarmament; even though, with his present mania forspeech-making he may have suggested a Congress for the settlement ofEurope's disputes, his success must have been of the negative kind. 

If the Tzar were to agree to a conference, it could only lead to one oftwo results. Either it would embitter those disputes which threaten toembroil the nations in a fierce struggle, and bring France and Russiatogether in resistance to the same greedy foes, or it would end in theimposition of a lasting peace, which would mean that the Prussian andmilitary fabric of the German State would be dissolved, as by amiracle, to the benefit of French and Russian influences in Europe. 

Let then the German Emperor have his head. God is leading him straighton the path of failure. It is this still-vague feeling, that he willnever have power to add to the Prussian birthright, that makes him rushfeverishly from one scheme to another; stirring up this question andthat, ever testing, ever striving. It is this foreboding that hasdriven him to pursue fame, fortune and glory, and so to weary them withhis importunities and haste, that they flee from him, unable andunwilling to bear with him any longer. 

Sire, if it be your ambition to become, immediately and by your ownendeavours, greater than any one on earth, allow me to express thecharitable wish without hoping to dissuade you--that you may break yourneck in the attempt!

September 12, 1890. [12]

It was just at the time that I was writing my last article, that theEmperor of Germany, King of Prussia (who has a perfect obsession forbeing in the middle of the picture), was carrying out at the armymanoeuvres at Narva, a certain strategic design, long-prepared andtested, by means of which he proposed to fill with amazement andadmiration not only the Russian army but the Imperial Court--nay, allRussia, and the whole wide world!

William's idea was to repeat the exploit performed by the troops ofCharles XII (with the aid of the Russian Viborg Regiment, of which heis Colonel) and to pass through the heavy mass of a regiment of cavalrywith light infantry battalions. The future Commander-in-Chief of theGerman Army wished to show the world that he would know how to add the_élan_ of the French and the impetuosity of the Slav to the qualitiesof method and strength perfected by leaders like Von Moltke orFrederick Charles. Therefore, several weeks before, William II hadasked the Tzar to be allowed to take part in the manoeuvres and tocommand in person the Viborg Regiment. 

And so it came to pass that, having cast himself for a part ofinvincible audacity, he came to cut a very sorry and ridiculous figure. Surrounded by the Hussars, he was made to see that what may be donewith German infantry against Uhlans, cannot be accomplished, even withRussian soldiers, against Russian cavalry. 

This incident shows that the Tzar had something akin to second sightwhen he gave orders that the length of the manoeuvres would beoptional. Thanks to this, the Kaiser was free to take home the soonerhis pretty jacket (no, his tunic, I mean) from Narva. 

What an interesting broadsheet might be made on the subject of "WilliamII a prisoner"!

In the long winter evenings to come, how many a Russian peasant--giftedwith imagination as they are--in telling again the tale of the ViborgRegiment's attack, will see in it an omen of the destiny of the GermanEmperor! And they will add, with bated breath, that the_Hohenzollern_, on leaving the shores of Russia narrowly missed beingcut in two by another vessel. And one more sign of evil omen--afearful tempest shook the Imperial yacht in Russian waters. 

Let us, whose Emperor was a prisoner of the Germans in 1871, pray thatsome day a German Emperor may be taken prisoner by the Russianarmy--not like at Narva, but in all seriousness. 

I said in my last letter that it might well be that William's journeyto Russia might result in stiffening the resolution of the EmperorAlexander. And so it has proved, for scarcely had his Imperial guestreturned to Berlin, than a ukase raised the Russian Customs tariff andimposed a new duty of 20 per cent. On German imports. A fine resultthis, of that which the German Press, before William's departure, described as the Russo-German Economic Entente, at a moment when, evenfor the Berlin newspapers, the prospects of a political _entente_ weresomewhat dubious. 

For this reason, Professor Delbrück says quite bluntly, in the"Prussian Annals, " that William II's journey to Russia has been alamentable fiasco; that the Tzar declined to listen to any diplomaticconversation; that he ridiculed and entertained his Imperial guest witha series of military parades whilst the Russian general staff wascarrying out important manoeuvres on the western frontiers. 

In the same spirit as that of the ex-deputy Professor, the whole Germanand Austrian Press have been demanding that, for the peace of Europe, the German and Austrian troops should be withdrawn from theirrespective frontiers, so as to compel the Russian forces to do the same. 

That is all very well, but inasmuch as the military zones of the GreatRussian Empire are separated by enormous distances, and the movement oftroops being very much easier for Germany and Austria than for Russia, one would like to know precisely what is the idea at the back of thesedemands. As soon as ever he returned to Germany, two very significantideas occurred to William II: one, to make a display of the warmestsentiments for his august _pis-aller_, the Emperor of Austria; theother, to have his faithful ally Italy play some scurvy trick onFrance, Russia's friend. 

To this end, the German Emperor proceeded to hold a review of theAustro-Hungarian Fleet and went beyond the official programme by goingaboard the ironclad _Francis Joseph_, flying the flag of AdmiralSterneck. After this, inviting himself to luncheon with the ArchdukeCharles Stephen, commanding the Austrian squadron, he made a ferventspeech, wishing health and glory to his precious ally the Emperor ofAustria. 

September 27, 1890. [13]

When Germany agreed to withdraw her armies from the soil of France, shereplaced them by other soldiers: crossing-sweepers, clerks, workmen, bankers (industrials or "reptiles" as the case might be), as wellorganised, linked up and drilled as her best troops. Unceasingly, therefore, and without rest, it behoves us to be on our guard and todefend ourselves. 

A good many amiable Frenchmen will shrug their shoulders at this, butif we act otherwise we shall be delivered over to our enemies, boundhand and foot, at the psychological moment. 

And now, dear reader, to return to William II. You will grant, Ithink, that since we have followed the interminable zig-zags of hiswanderings throughout Europe, we are entitled to coin and utter a newproverb: "A rolling monarch gathers no prestige. "

November 1, 1890. [14]

For mastodons like Bismarck, William II prepares a refrigeratingatmosphere which freezes them alive. Splendid mummies like Von Moltkehe smothers with flowers. The men whom William dismisses and discardsare great men in the eyes of Germany, even though in history they maynot be so, because the ex-Chancellor is of inferior character, andbecause certain successes of Von Moltke were due rather to luck thandesign. Nevertheless, they are in William's way and he gets rid ofthem, by different means. He needs about him men of a different stampto those of the iron age; for the present, he is satisfied withcourtiers, later he will demand valets. All those who are of anyworth, all those who stand erect before his shadow, will be sacrificedsooner or later. His autocratic methods will end by producing the sameresults as those of the most jealous of democracies. 

Let us bear in mind how often, under Bismarck and William I, the GermanPress made mock of our fatal French mania for change, pointing out toEurope how the everlasting see-saw of Ministers of War was bound toreduce our national defences to a position of inferiority. In twoyears William is at his fourth!

Soon, no doubt, William II will be able to score a personal success inthe matter of his intrigues against Count Taaffe. His benevolencespares not his allies. We know the measure of his good-will towardsItaly. Lately, it seems, the Emperor, King of Prussia, said to theCount of Launay, King Humbert's Ambassador at Berlin, "Do not forgetthat, sooner or later, Trieste is destined to become a German port. "And it was doubtless with this generous idea in his mind that he hadhis compliments conveyed to M. Crispi for his anti-irridentist speechat Florence. 

That the Triple Alliance is the "safeguard of peace, " has become acatchword that each of the allies repeats with wearisome reiteration. But there! It is not that William II does not wish for war: it isGermany which forbids him to seek it. It was not M. Crispi whodeclined to seek a pretext for attacking France: it was Italy thatforbade him to find it. It is not the Germanised Austrians whohesitate to provoke Russia: it is the Slavs who threaten that if aprovocation takes place they will revolt. 

Let me add that the official organs in Germany, Italy and Vienna onlyraise a smile nowadays when they describe Russia and France asthunderbolts of war. 

November 12, 1890. [15]

At the outset of the reign of William II, referring to his father, Ispoke of the "dead hand" and its power over the living. Now, what hasthe young King of Prussia done since his accession to the Throne? He, the flatterer of Bismarck, this disciple of Pastor Stöker, thisout-and-out soldier, this hard and haughty personage, who was wont toblame his august parents for their bourgeois amiability and theirfrequent excursions? He carries out everything that his fatherplanned, but he does it under impulse from without and he does itbadly, without forethought, without the sincerity or the naturalquality which is revealed in a man by a course of skilful actionlegitimate in its methods. 

He smashed Von Bismarck in brutal fashion. His father, on the otherhand, was wont to say: "I will not touch the Chancellor's statue, but Iwill remove the stones, one by one, from his pedestal, so that somefine day it will collapse of itself. "

It is a curious thing that these reforms and ideas, not having beenapplied by the monarch whose character would have harmonised perfectlywith their conception and execution, now possess no reversionary value. They lose it completely by being subjected to a false paternity. 

It is true that occasionally William II envoys some real satisfaction, such as that which he has derived from the coming of the King ofBelgium. So impatient was His Majesty to return his visit, that hecould not wait for the good season and therefore he came in the bad. At Ostend, Leopold II had caused sand to be strewn at William's coming(the beach being conveniently handy). The King of Prussia only spreadmud. Why was the King of Belgium in such a hurry? After the visit ofGeneral Pontus to Berlin and his three days in retirement with theGerman headquarters staff, people at Brussels are still asking whatmore King Leopold could possibly have to settle in person with Messrs. Moltke and Waldersee at these same headquarters?

The _Courier de Bruxelles_ informs us that certain proposals for analliance were made to Leopold II during his stay at Potsdam. What!Could Prussia possibly have dared to think of laying an impious handupon Belgian neutrality! But if not, why should they have been at suchpains formerly to prove to me that the thing was inconceivable?Prussia wants a Belgian alliance and the King refuses. Splendid! Butlet him tell us so himself! I confess that such a document wouldinterest me far more than all that I have published on the subject!May not the explanation of King Leopold's journey be, that William IIwould like a mobilisation in Belgium just as he wants one in Italy? M. Bleichroder will supply the cash. He has already got his bargainmoney, viz. Pastor Stöcker in disgrace, and the repudiation ofanti-Semitism by its ex-partisan, William II. 

November 27, 1890. [16]

How can one avoid taking an interest in William II of Hohenzollern? Heis one of those people who, by every means and in every way, insist onbeing noticed. This up-to-date Emperor is obsessed by the idea ofmaking profit, for purposes of advertisement, out of every sensation;he loves to upset calculations and produce every kind of astonishment. He believes that he has not fulfilled his part, until he has made anumber of people lift their arms to heaven at least once a day andexclaim: "William is marvellous!" He wants to hear this cry arise fromthe humblest and the highest, from the miner's gallery and the palaceof his "august confederates, " from the workman's cottage and the homesof the middle-class, from the officers' club, from church and chapel, from the Parliament of the Empire and the House of Peers. 

Being _blasé_ himself, it pleases him to tickle public opinion withspicy fare; his lack of mental balance compels him to these endless andsenseless choppings and changes, to all these schemes projected, proclaimed and cast aside. 

The former Court of his grandfather is already in ruins, the work ofBismarck crumbling in the dust; in less than no time he has reduced theold aristocratic and feudal Prussian monarchy to the purest kind ofdemocratic Caesarism. 

Perched above every political party in Germany, William the Young wantsto be the one and only ruler and judge of all. Among themselves letthem differ as and when they will, it being always understood that allthese separate opinions must equally be sacrificed to the Emperor. 

Before long the King of Prussia will endeavour to be at one and thesame time the spiritual head of the Lutheran Church and the temporalPope of the Catholic Church, the leader of economists, the cleverest ofstategists, the one and only socialist, the most marvellous incarnationof the warrior of German legends, the greatest pacifist of moderntimes, explorer in his day and soothsayer whenever he likes. In hisown eyes, William is all these. 

Have not the delegates of the old House of Peers ingenuously complainedduring these last few days that they no longer possess any initiativeof legislation? But they have just as much or as little as thehonourable members of the Prussian Diet. 

All schemes of reform emanate from the Emperor. The people have noright to be Emperor. Surely that is simple enough?

To bulk larger in the public eye, William dwells apart; he can nolonger endure that any one should presume to think himself useful oragreeable to him or to give him advice. He is fulfilling theprediction that he made of himself when he was twenty-one: "When I cometo reign I shall have no friends; I shall only have dupes. "

More infatuated with himself than ever, the Emperor wears his mystichelmet _à la_ Lohengrin, tramples the purple underfoot and has thethrone surrounded by his life-guards, wearing the iron-plated bonnetsof the days of Frederick II. Thus he deludes himself with the dream ofabsolute authority. His mania for power is boundless, his pride knowsno limits. He recognises only God and Himself. 

To his recruits, he says: "After having sworn fidelity to your mastersupon earth, swear the same oath to your Saviour in Heaven!"

But in his moments of solitude, in the privacy of the potentate'stoilet-chamber, must it not be dreadful for him to reflect that hissilver helmet rests on ears that suppurate, that his voice comes from amouth afflicted with fistula of the bone, and that there are days whenhis sceptre is at the mercy of the surgeon's knife?

December 11, 1890. [17]

The rumour has spread, and has not yet been authoritativelycontradicted, that William is suffering from disease of the brain. Isnot this in itself good and sufficient reason to make him wish to provethat no one in his Empire can do as much brain work as he can? We, whose minds are so confused in the endeavour to follow William'smovements at a distance, where little things escape us, can imaginewhat it must be to observe them from close at hand!

One of the chief glories of his reign will be to have produced thediagnosis of a new disease, "locomotor Caesarism" of the restless type. Before his case, these symptoms were always associated with paralysis. Here is a discovery that may turn out to be more genuine that that ofDr. Koch. 

The unfortunate Koch is one more of William's victims. It was hisImperial will that Germany should wake up one morning to find herselfpossessed of a Pasteur of her own. He could not even wait long enoughto allow the necessary experiments to be made with a remedy which is soviolent that it may well be mortal. At the word of command "Forward, march, " Koch found himself propelled by His Majesty into the positionof a benevolent genius. 

Dr. Henri Huchard has expressed his opinion of Koch's method in thefollowing words: "In therapeutics, daring is always permissible, solong as it preserves its respect for human life. "

A few days ago, the German Emperor was thrusting his advice on a man ofscience, to-day he is overthrowing the most venerable traditions of thePrussian monarchy with the scheme of M. Miguel, the new system, fortaxing incomes and legacies, opening a campaign against the nobilityand the old conservatives. With the help of an official of the"younger generation"--for thus is he pleased to describe his Ministerof Finance--he begins to make war on the "old school. "

With the "old school" in his mind's eye, he conceives another idea, namely, that of a new method of teaching in the elementary, secondaryand high schools, upon which it will be unnecessary to improve for thenext hundred years. He sets the faithful M. Hinzpeter to work, andcompels him to toil night and day to prepare a complete programme inall haste--whereupon behold the Emperor holding forth to the collegiansjust as he does to the recruits. 

"Down with Latin!" cries William. "Let us make Germans instead ofGreeks and Romans! Let us teach our children the practical side oflife. " All of which does not prevent him from adding: "Let us teachthem the fabulous history of our race. "

William insists that his name shall be on every lip--that he berecognised as father of his workmen, father of collegians, father ofthe country at large. It is his ambition to look upon all his subjectsas his sons. Much good may it do them!

December 27, 1890. [18]

The Emperor of Germany, determined supporter of triumphant militarism, and, therefore, the deadly enemy of every permanent and beneficialsocial reform, has suddenly stopped short in his attempts to improvethe condition of the masses. 

If you ask: To whom does William II give satisfaction? the onlypossible answer is: Himself! For it matters nothing to him whetherthese plans of his succeed or fail. The thing that does matter to himis, that he should have left his mark everywhere, and that, after aquarter of a century or more, legislators shall inevitably find, inevery project of law, the sacred mark, the holy seal of William's mind. 

[1] From _La Nouvelle Revue_, of April 15, 1890, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[2] This paper had been, till then, in the service of Prince Bismarck. 

[3] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 1, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[4] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 15, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[5] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[6] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 15, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[7] Several pages of the "Letters on Foreign Policy" of June 12 giveproofs, undeniable and complete, that the preparation of crimescommitted by anarchists in Europe was instigated at Berlin, Williamknowing and approving the fact. 

[8] _La Nouvelle Revue_, July 16, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[9] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 1, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[10] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 16, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[11] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 1, 1890, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[12] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1890, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[13] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[14] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 1, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[15] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 16, 1890, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[16] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 1, 1890, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[17] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 15, 1890, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[18] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

CHAPTER II

1891-1892

The danger to France of a _rapprochement_ with Germany--The EmpressFrederick's visit to Paris--William II as _summus episcopus_ of theGerman Evangelical Church--Reception of the Alsace-Lorraine deputation inBerlin--The law against espionage in Germany: every German is a spyabroad--Christening of the Imperial yacht, the _Hohenzollern_--Furtherincrease of the military effective force in peace-time--The _Youth ofWilliam the Second_, by Mr. Bigelow. 

January 12, 1891. [1]

The Berlin _Post_ thinks that we should be able to get on very wellwithout Alsace-Lorraine, and that the best thing for us to do, if we are"reasonable souls, " is simply to become reconciled with Germany. Thereasonable ones among us are directed to prove to us others (who mustneeds be "gloomy lunatics") the folly of believing in the Russianalliance, and gently to prepare us for a last and supreme act of cowardlysurrender--namely, to give William II a friendly reception at Cannes orin Paris. 

The chief argument with which they would persuade us is, that Berlin isquite willing to receive our philosophers and our doctors. But we aremore than quits on this score, seeing the number of Germans that weentertain and enrich in Paris. To prove that we owe them nothing in thematter of hospitality, it should be enough to ascertain on the 27th inst. How many Germans will celebrate the birthday of William II in one of ourfirst-rate hotels. 

Heaven be praised, hatred of the Hohenzollerns is not yet dead in France!If it be true that the corpse of an enemy always smells sweet, the personof a living enemy must always remain hateful. 

Before we discuss the possibility of the King of Prussia visiting Paris, however, let us wait until M. Carnot has been to Berlin. 

January 29, 1891. [2]

The nearer we approach to 1900, the less desire have I to be up-to-date. I persist in the belief that the solution of the problems of Europeanpolicy in which France is concerned, would have been more readilyattainable by an old fashioned fidelity to the memory of our misfortunesthan by scorning to learn by our experience. 

Certain well-meaning, end-of-the century sceptics may be able lightly tothrow off that past in which they have (or believe they have) lostnothing, whilst we of the "mid-century" are borne down under its heavyburden. These people neglect no occasion to advise us to forget and theydo it gracefully, lightly showing us how much more modern it is to crownoneself with roses than to continue to wear tragically our trailinggarments of affliction and mourning. 

I should be inclined to judge with more painful severity those wittywriters who advise us to light-hearted friendship with Bismarck the"great German, " with William the "sympathetic Emperor", with RichardWagner "the highest expression of historical poetry and musical art, "those men who prepared and who perpetuate Prussia's victories--I shouldjudge them differently, I say, were it not that I remember my formeranger against the young decadents and the older _roués_ in the last daysof the Empire. 

All of them used to make mock of patriotism in a jargon mixed with slangwhich greatly disturbed the minds of worthy folk, who became half ashamedat harbouring, in spite of themselves, the ridiculous emotions "ofanother age. "

But these same decadents and _roués_, after a period of initiationsomewhat longer than that which falls to the lot of ordinary mortals, behaved very gallantly in the Terrible Year. 

True, in order to convince them that they had been wrong in regarding thetheft of Schleswig-Holstein as a trifle, wrong in applauding the victoryof Sadowa, and declaring that each war was the last, it required suchdisasters, that not one of us can evoke without trembling the memory ofthose events, whose lurid light served to open the eyes of the blindest. 

"Understand this, " Nefftzer was wont to insist (before 1870), "we cannever wish that Prussia should be victorious without running the risk ofbringing about our own defeat; we must not yield to any of herallurements nor even smile at any of her wiles. "

If the people of Paris applaud Wagner, he who believed himself to be thegenius of victorious Germany personified, it can only be in truth thatParis has forgotten. And in that case, there will only be left, of thosewho rightly remember, but a few mothers, a few widows, a few oldcampaigners and your humble servant!

So that we may recognise each other in this world's wilderness, we willwear in our button-holes and in our bodices that blue flower which growsin the streams of Alsace-Lorraine, the forget-me-not!

And we shall vanish, one by one, disappearing with the dying century, _that is, unless some surprise of sudden war, such as one must expectfrom William II, should cure us of our antiquated attitude_. 

Need I speak of these rumours of disarmament, wherewith the German Pressnow seeks to lull us, rumours which spread the more persistently since, at last, we have come to believe in our armaments?

"Germany is satisfied and seeks no further conquests, " says William II. But does it follow that we also should be satisfied with the bittermemories of our defeats, and resolved that, no matter what may happen, weshall never object to Prussia's victories? I never forget that WilliamII, as a Prince, in his grandfather's time, said, "When I come to theThrone I shall do my best to make dupes. " This rumour of disarmament ispart of his dupe-making. The real William reveals himself in his truecolours when he awakens his aide-de-camp in the middle of the night, togo and pay a surprise visit to the garrison at Hanover. 

In Militarism the German Emperor finds his complete expression and theemblem of his character. His empire is not a centralised empire and onlythe army holds it together. 

And for this reason William has favoured the army this year at theexpense of all the other public services, by increasing its peace-footingstrength and the number of its officers, by ordering more than twohundred locomotives and a corresponding amount of rolling stock intendedto expedite mobilisation. Seventy new batteries have been formed. Theartillery has been furnished with new ammunition, the infantry with newweapons, and the strategic network of railways has been completed!

Abroad, every one, friends and enemies alike, think as I do on thesubject of disarmament. 

"This plaything of William the Second's leisure moments, " says _TheStandard_ (although a fervent admirer of Queen Victoria's grandson), "this disarmament idea, is a myth. " Our faithful and loyal supporter, the _Sviet_, says the same thing: "Disarmament is a myth, Germany talksof it unceasingly, but she strengthens her frontiers, east and west. Onthe north, " adds the Russian organ, "she is converting Heligoland into afortress; on the south-east, she is increasing the defences of Breslau, and holds in readiness two thousand axle-trees _of the width of theRussian railways_. "

It is only in France that a few up-to-date journalists take thisdisarmament talk of the German Emperor quite seriously. To them, we mayreply by a quotation from the official organ of the "great German. "

"The course of historic events, " says the _Hamburger Nachrichten_, "isopposed to any realisation of the idea of disarmament, and justifies theopinion expressed by Von Moltke, who declared war to be in reality anecessary element in the order of things, of itself natural and divine, which humanity can never give up without becoming stagnant and submittingto moral and physical ruin. "

There you have the genuine style of Bismarck, of the man who invented theformula--"the Right of Might. "

One thing--and one thing only--might possibly lead William II toentertain seriously this idea of disarmament, and that would be forBismarck to oppose it. Truly, there is something extremely pleasant inthis duel between the two ex-accomplices! Bismarck terrorisingsocialism, William coaxing and wheedling it, for no other tangiblepurpose than to act in opposition to him whose power he has overthrown. 

What an eccentric freak is this German Emperor! One day he sends theSultan a sword of honour, a bitter jest for one who has never knownanything but defeat! The next, he proposes to take back the command ofthe fleet from his brother Henry, and in order to get rid of himconceives the plan of making Alsace-Lorraine and Luxembourg into a newkingdom. 

At the same time he proposes to provide the Grand Duke of Luxembourg witha guard of honour, a guard _à la Prudhomme_, whose business it would beto defend and to fight him. The State Council of the patriotic GrandDuchy is aroused, and denies the right of Prussia on any pretext tointerfere in its affairs. Boldly it reminds the Powers signatory to theConvention of 1867 of their pledges. 

And with all his mania for governing the world at large, William II wouldseem to be possessed of the evil eye, and to bring misfortune to all whomhe honours with his friendship for any length of time. 

February 10, 1891. 

It looks as if poor Bismarck were about to be treated just as he treatedCount von Arnim. Can it be that everything must be paid for in thisworld, and that a splendid retributive justice rules the destiny even ofsuper-men and punishes them for committing base actions? It is rumouredthat the Duke of Lauenbourg (Bismarck) is threatened with prosecution ona charge of _lèse majesté_, which the lawyers of the Crown will not havevery much trouble in proving against him. That any one should dare tocriticise the Emperor's policy, even though it be Bismarck, or that anyone, even be it Count Waldersee, should express a personal opinion in hispresence, is more than William II will tolerate. 

The "sympathetic Emperor" has a cruel way of doing things. Beforestriking his victims it is his wont to give them some public mark of hisesteem and good-will. Small and great, they pass before him, sacrificedeach in his turn, so soon as they have come to believe themselves for amoment in the enjoyment of his favour. Thus Colonel Kaissel, aide-de-camp to the Emperor, is about to be shelved. Lieutenant vonChelin has been removed from the Court, General von Wittich has alreadylost his fleeting favour, and the moderating influence of Major de Huene, erected on the ruins of that of Von Falkenstein, proves to be equallyshort-lived. Three generals in command of army corps are nowthreatened--that is, of course, unless a fortnight hence they shouldprove to have reached the highest pinnacle of favour. 

Three months ago Von Moltke declared that he and Bismarck would live longenough to be able to say "Farewell to the Empire. "

On the other hand, Von Puttkamer seems to be regaining something offavour, and Prince Battenberg has been welcomed to the old Castle;strange plans concerning him are being hatched in the brain of William II. 

Prince Henry has been brought back, ostensibly to take part in theCouncils of the Government, but in reality that he may be watched themore closely. He also has received a letter in which he is publiclythanked for the services he has rendered. If I were in his place Ishould be very uneasy, seeing the kind of brother that he was, the mostchangeable the most jealous, and the most suspicious of men. There is afalse ring about this letter to Prince Henry, just as there was in thosewhich the Emperor addressed to Count Waldersee and to Bismarck. Gratitude is a word that William often thinks fit to use, but it is asentiment that he is careful never to indulge in. 

It is impossible to discover any sign of a heart in the actions of theGerman Sovereign. One may therefore predict that he will continue toshow an ever increasing preference for distinguished personalities, whomit may please him to destroy, or creatures who would be the butts of hismalicious sport, rather than to encourage the kind of public servants whostrive continually to increase their efficiency, so as to serve himbetter. Instead of being simply good and ruling benevolently, he aspiresto be first a sort of pope, imposing upon his people a social statecomposed of servility and compulsory comfort, and again a leader ofcrusades, drawing his people after him to the conquest of the world. 

Spiritual and material interests, military organisation, he mixes andconfuses them like everything else which occurs to his mind, and everyday he does something to destroy the results of that marvellouscontinuity, which did more to establish the power of William I than thevictories of Sadowa and Sedan. Ever more and more infatuated with theidea of military supremacy, he now pretends to be greatly concerned withthe idea of disarmament. And he, the avowed protector of socialists, looks as if he were about to accept from Mr. Dryander, the protestantpresidency of that association of workmen, which is being organised forthe purpose of fighting socialism. 

Wherever we look, it is always the same, false pretences, trickery, lying, love of mischief-making and of persecution, innumerable andunceasing proofs given by William that his sovereign soul, irretrievablycommitted to restless agitation, will never know the higher and divinejoys of peace. 

March 1, 1891. [3]

For some months past, my dear readers, I have predicted that William IIwill not be satisfied without paying a visit to France. The visit of theEmpress Frederick should have prepared us for this amiable surprise. Butbecause the august mother of the German Emperor was received by us withnothing more than cold politeness, the _Cologne Gazette_ gives us a sounddrubbing, as witness the following--

"The French have no right to be offensive towards the august head of theGerman Empire and his noble mother, by insulting them after the manner ofblackguards (polissons). Every German who has the very least regard forthe dignity of the nation must feel mortally insulted in the person ofthe Emperor. "

"The German people have the right to expect that the French Governmentand the French nation will give them ample satisfaction, and will wipeout this stain on the honour of France, by sternly calling to order thewretches in question, creatures whom we Germans consider to be the refuseof human society. "

And we who belong to this "refuse, " who flatter ourselves that we havemade extraordinary efforts of self-control when we refrained from sayingto the Empress Frederick: "Madame, spare us; let it not be said that youwent one day to Saint-Cloud, and on the next to Versailles, lest ourresolution to be calm should forsake us"--we, I say, now perceive, thatall our prudence has been wasted, and that we are still "refuse, " therefuse of human society. 

The character of William II continues to develop its series ofeccentricities. With him, one may be sure of incurring displeasure, buthis favours are shortlived. His mania for change is manifested to adegree unexampled since the days of the decay of the Roman Empire. Hisfreakishness, the suddenness of his impulses, are becoming enough tocreate dismay amongst all those who approach him. One day he willsuddenly start off to take by surprise the garrisons of Potsdam and ofRinfueld; he gives the order for boots and saddles, which naturally leadsto innumerable accidents. Next day you will find him issuing a decreethat, a play written by one of his _protégés_, entitled _The NewSaviour_, is a masterpiece, which he would compel the public to applaud. The best he can do with it is to prevent its being hissed off the stage. Another day he has a room prepared for himself at the Headquarters of theGeneral Staff, where he interferes in the preparation of strategic plans, without paying the least attention to the new chief who has replacedCount Waldersee. Then, again, he connects his private office with theentire Press organisation, so as to be able to manipulate the reptilefund himself, and to dictate in person the notices he requires, concerning all his proceedings, in the newspapers which he pays inGermany and in those which he buys abroad. 

All of a sudden it occurs to him that six more war-ships would round offthe German Fleet; and so he demands that they be built on the spot. HisMinister resists, pointing out that the approval of the Reichstag isrequired, William II flies into a passion, and the wretched Ministerobeys. Suddenly it occurs to him also to remember the existence of acertain Count Vedel, greatly favoured by the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar. He summons him by telegraph, and makes him his favourite of an hour. When it pleases him to remove a superior officer, or to put one on theshelf, nothing stops him, neither the worth of the man, nor the value ofthe services he may have rendered. One can readily conceive that Germangenerals live in a state of perpetual fright. Add to all this thatWilliam is becoming impecunious. He has taken to borrowing, and isreduced to making money out of everything. What will the Sultan AbdulHamid say when he learns that the Grand Marshal of the German Court hasput up for sale the presents which he offered to the Emperor, his guest, and which are valued at four millions!

These things bring to mind the threat which William II uttered a few daysbefore the fall of Bismarck: "Those who resist me I will break into athousand pieces. "

March 12, 1891. [4]

The many and varied causes which led to the journey of the EmpressFrederick to Paris, and the equally numerous results that the Emperor, her son, expected from that visit, are beginning to stand out in such amanner that we can appreciate their significance more and more clearly. This proceeding on the part of William II, like all his actions, wasinvested with a certain quality of suddenness, but at the same time, itreveals itself as the result of a complicated series of deliberate plans. The object of these last was, as usual, the young monarch's unhealthycraving for making dupes. To this I shall return later on. Let us firstexamine the causes of William's sudden impulses. 

He has acquired, and is teaching his people to acquire, the taste andhabit of sudden and unexpected happenings. It having been the habit ofBismarck to speculate on things foreseen, it was inevitable that hisjealous adversary should speculate on things unforeseen. Moreover, theKing-Emperor is dominated by that law of compensation, from which neithermen nor things can escape, and from which it follows logically thatGermany, after having profited by methods of continuity, is now condemnedto suffer, in the same proportion, her trials of instability. 

In determining upon the journey of his august mother to Paris, theEmperor took no risks other than those which pleased him, and whichserved the purposes of his grudges and his policy. In the first place, this journey would serve for a moment to divert attention in Germany froma policy which the great industrials and the workmen, the party ofprogress and the conservatives, all unite in condemning. In the nextplace, Berlin, having for a long time made ready to be amiable to Paris, was bound to resent all the more acutely any failure to reciprocate herkind advances. These results could not fail to be favourable to the voteof credits for military purposes, which are always the last credits askedfor by the Government (whether under Bismarck or under Caprivi) and whichare always voted under stress of an appeal to the eternal but utterlynon-existent dangers, that are supposed to threaten Germany from France. 

If our capital, then, should extend a cold welcome to the august motherof the German Sovereign, the result could not fail to be of immediateadvantage to the vote of military credits. I ask my readers to notice, by the way, the deliberate coincidence of the journey of the Empress withthe demand for these credits, and also with the anniversary of the Treatyof Versailles. Finally, it was to be expected that if she were badlyreceived, the mistake thus committed by the Empress Frederick would make"the Englishwoman" more unpopular in Germany; and, so far as one knows, her Imperial son has never been passionately devoted to her. Moreover, she afforded Bismarck an opportunity of getting rid of a little of hisvenom, as witness the following words of his--

"Only an Englishwoman, " the ex-Chancellor declared during a visit to Mr. Burckardt, "could possibly have inspired the Emperor with the idea ofsending her to Paris as a challenge to the French. A German woman wouldhave had too much respect for her own dignity to go and visit Versaillesand Saint-Cloud. The nobility of her feelings would have forbidden herto make a triumphal appearance amidst the ruins of the houses and castlesdestroyed by our troops, and her pride would have prevented her fromseeking the homage and the favours of the vanquished. The Empress isEnglish, and English she will remain. "

But if France were to welcome with enthusiasm--or even with favour--theEmpress Frederick, William II might justifiably conclude (without makingallowance for the sympathy which the widow of the Emperor-Martyr inspiresin Frenchwomen) that France had accepted the accomplished fact, abandonedher claims to Alsace-Lorraine, and the defence of her future interests incommon with Russia. In that case, he would have treated France as hetreats those who show him the greatest devotion. In order to get a clearidea of the object pursued by William II, it is sufficient to read twoshort extracts from the _Étoile Belge_, a blind admirer of the Emperor ofGermany, and to read them separately from the enthusiastic articles whichthis paper published at the commencement of the journey of the EmpressFrederick. 

The correspondent of the _Étoile Belge_ wrote as follows--

"In confiding his mother and his sister to the hospitality of Paris, William II committed an act as clever as it was courageous. Let himcontinue in this policy of pacific advances, and the idea of areconciliation with Germany will soon become more popular than theRussian Alliance. "

The Berlin correspondent of the same _Étoile_ wrote--

"Germany has at least as much as England to gain in bringing it aboutthat Russia should not feel too sure of French support. "

Is not this clear enough? There you have it: the real object whichunderlay the visit incognito of the Empress Frederick for the furtheranceof the interests of Germany, It meant a reconciliation with Germany, which would have separated us from Russia, from which England hadeverything to gain, which would once more have surrendered our credit toItaly unconditionally, and would have compelled us to renounceAlsace-Lorraine for good and all. 

What then would have been the results had she paid us an official visit?We have already seen that none of the alternative schemes for thisjourney could work to Germany's detriment; we need, therefore, not beastonished at the publicity given by the Count von Münster to all thecomings and goings of the Empress, and at the determination shown by HerMajesty to investigate the quality of our patriotism in all its variousaspects. The memories which the Empress went to recall at Saint-Cloudand at Versailles were the same as those which she compelled us to callfrom the past: memories glorious for her but unforgettably sad for us, memories which, in reminding her of victory, were meant to remind us of adefeat to which our conquerors have added cruelty. 

I watch with fervour the expression of our patriotism. A race whichforgets the brutal insults of superior force deserves slavery. Italywould never have reconquered Milan and Venice had she resigned herself tosee them pass under the yoke of the stranger. Forty years and more hadpassed since the 2nd of May, [5] when Prince Napoleon thought fit to sendPrince Jérome as Ambassador to Madrid. He was forced to leave it. Princess Murat was in no way responsible for what the French Generals haddone. She came in the suite of the Empress Eugenie, but Spain found away to make her displeasure manifest without any lack of courtesy. Tothe Empress Frederick, France has shown a melancholy kind of astonishmentrather than dislike, and has displayed an infinite courtesy. Not asingle demonstration, not a gesture, not a word from the population ofParis has done anything to detract from the city's world-wide reputationfor hospitality. 

The Emperor William I and Bismarck, who pretended to make war onlyagainst the Empire, would have shown themselves to be great andfar-seeing political minds had they left Republican France in possessionof the whole of her territory. Although beaten at Sedan, she would haveremembered Jena, and Germany's revenge would have quickly been forgotten. 

Let us remember the words of the Emperor of Germany--

"I would rather that all my people should fall upon the field of battlethan give back to France a single clover-field of Alsace-Lorraine. "

The _Post_ of Strasburg, recalling this declaration, adds--

"The French _bourgeoisie_ is too cowardly to begin a war. It is willingto smile at the words of Déroulède, but does not move. The people ofAlsace-Lorraine have done quite rightly in turning away from thesetalkers. We have _permitted_ them to become Germans, why then, shouldthey refuse the privilege?"

But William II continues to evoke the red vision of France militant, inorder to obtain the vote for his military credits. It would seem thathis liberalism has gone to join his socialism. At the dinner of theBrandenburgers he said "God inspires me; the people and the nation owe metheir obedience. " No matter whether he bungles or blunders, God alone isresponsible, and it is not for the people or the nation to argue. Andwhat is more, has not the new President of the Evangelical Church justproclaimed William II as _summus episcopus_? Just as William claims todecide infallibly every political question he will now decide alltheological questions, without asking any help from the supreme councilof the Evangelical Church. 

Pope, Emperor and King--but does anybody suppose that this will satisfyhim?

March 27, 1891. [6]

The reception of the delegates from Alsace-Lorraine at Berlin ischaracteristic. William II, eternally pre-occupied with stage-effects, has on this occasion accentuated the disproportion between the frameworkand the results obtained. He insisted upon it that the proceedingsshould be as imposing as the refusal of the delegates' request was to behumiliating. All the pomp and circumstance of State was displayed forthe occasion, with the result of producing a scene, carefully prepared inadvance, worthy of a Nero. The Emperor of Germany surrounded by hismilitary household, in the hall of his Knights of the Guard, receives thecomplaints of the representatives of Alsace-Lorraine, who have come toask for a relaxation of the laws imposed on them by conquest. To them, William II made answer: "The sooner the population of Alsace-Lorrainebecomes convinced that the ties which bind her to the German Empire willnever be broken, the sooner she proves more definitely that she isresolved henceforward to display unswerving fidelity towards _me_ andtowards the Empire, the sooner will this hope of hers be realised. "

Above the Imperial Palace, during this scene, the yellow flag of theEmperors of Germany floated side by side with the purple banner ofPrussia. 

Another picture--

The Emperor gives a banquet to the delegates of Alsace-Lorraine, afterhaving refused to hear their complaints. At the same table with them heinvites Herr Krupp to sit, in order to remind the people of the annexedprovinces of the cannons which defeated France and will defeat her again. Here we have a reproduction of the Roman Empire in decay. The power ofthe conqueror, imposed in all its pomp upon the vanquished, with thecruelty of a bygone age. 

The all-absorbing personality of William grows more and more jealous. Hewould like to fill the whole stage of the theatre of the empire and ofthe world itself. More than that, he even demands that the past shoulddate from himself, and he turns history inside out, having it written tobegin with his reign, and reascending the course of time. First himself, then the house of Hohenzollern, then Prussia, and let that suffice. Theother dynasties, other kingdoms of Germany, count for so little that itis sufficient merely to mention their existence. The history of which Ispeak, written for the German Army, will be prescribed later on for useof the high schools. 

From each department of the public service William lifts an importantpart of its business. From the Department of Education he takes thedirection of public worship, which, in his capacity as _summusepiscopus_, he proposes to control in person. From the War Department hetakes the section having control of maps and fortresses, which, heproposes to place under the general staff and his own direction. He isplanning to make a province of Berlin, so that he himself may govern itin military fashion, etc. , etc. Is it possible that the mind of such aman, thus inflated with pride, should not succumb to every temptation ofambition? Is there any one of those about him, or amongst his subjects, who can say where these ambitions will end? When one thinks of the massof ambitions and emotions that William II has exhausted since he came tothe throne, when one thinks of the difficult questions he has raised, theobstacles he has created and the enterprises he has undertaken, how is itpossible not to _fear_ the future?

Germany is beginning to be oppressed by a feeling of uneasiness. She isbeginning to realise that her Emperor, by designing the orbit of hisactivity on too large a scale, is producing the contrary effect, with theresult that sooner or later, the narrowing circumference of that orbitwill close in upon him, and he will only be able to break its barriers byviolent repression from within _and by a sudden outbreak of war without_. Militarism and militarism only, the passion for which is ever recurrentwith William II, can satisfy his morbid craving for movement and action. Thus we see him celebrating the Anniversary of William I by a review ofhis troops and by a speech, so seriously threatening a breach of thepeace, that even the newspapers of the opposition hesitate to reproduceit. All France should realise that _the German Emperor will make warupon her without warning and without formal declaration, just as hesurprises his own garrisons_. By his orders, the statement is made onall sides that the rifle of the German army is villainously bad. Let usnot believe a word of it. On the contrary, we should know that thegreater part of the Prussian artillery is superior to ours; let us be onour guard against every surprise and ready. 

April 28, 1891. [7]

On the occasion of the presentation of new standards to his troops, theEmperor observed that the number 18 is one of deep significance for hisrace, that it corresponds with six important dates in the history ofPrussia. "For this reason, " he added, "I have chosen the 18th of Aprilas the day on which to present the new standards. " As William II himselfputs it, this day, like all the "eighteenths" that went before it, hasits special significance. 

The strange words uttered by the monarch on this occasion--alwaysintoxicated with the sense of his power, and sometimes by_Kaiserbier_--are denied to-day, or perhaps it would be more correct tosay that the _Monitor of the Empire_ has not published them. "Let oursoldiers come to me, " he proclaimed in the White Hall, to "overcome theresistance of the enemies of the Fatherland, abroad as well as at home. "

On the one hand, after the manner of the Middle Ages, he reveals to usthe ancient mysteries of the Cabal, on the other, as an up-to-dateemperor, he compels his brother Henry to become a sportsman like himself. On occasion he will don the uniform of the Navy, interrupt apost-captain's lecture, and throw overboard the so-called plan ofre-organisation, so as to substitute a new strategy of his own making forthe use of the German fleet. 

So Field-Marshal von Moltke is dead at last. His place is already filledby the Emperor, who is willing to be called his pupil, but a pupil equalin the art of strategy to his master and a better soldier. Theremarkably peaceful death of Von Moltke only reminds me of the violentdeaths that he brought about. It was to him that we owed the bombardmentof Paris. Only yesterday, Marshal Canrobert said "he was our mostimplacable foe, and in that capacity, we must continue to regard him withhatred and contempt. " Von Moltke himself was wont to say "when war isnecessary it is holy. " He leaves behind him all the plans in readinessfor the next war. 

William II, you may be sure, will proceed to depreciate the military workof Von Moltke, just as he tries to depreciate his diplomatic andparliamentary work. He has reached a pitch of infatuation unbelievable;and is becoming, as I have said before, more and more of a Nero everyday. At the present moment he is instigating the construction of anarena at Schildorn where spectacles after the ancient manner will begiven. These, according to William, are intended to afford instructionto the masses as well as to the classes. A very fitting conclusion this, to the fears which he has expressed about seeing the youth of the Germanschools working too hard and overloading its memory. For the samereason, no doubt, he has made Von Sedlitz Minister of PublicInstruction--it is an unfortunate name--an individual who has never beento College, who has never studied at any University, and who onlyattended school up to the age of twelve. 

Now, it seems, William II is bored with the Palace of his forefathers. For the next two years he is going to establish his Imperial Residence atPotsdam; consequently all his ministers and high officials are compelledto reside partly at Potsdam. His mania for change leads him to destroythe historic character of the old castle; his scandalised architects havebeen ordered to restore it in modern style. And Berlin, his faithfulBerlin, is abandoned. It is said that at a gala dinner the other day theEmperor uttered these words: "The Empire has been made by the army, andnot by a parliamentary majority. " But it is also said that Bismarckobserved to the Conservative Committee at Kiel: "It is best not to touchthings that are quiet, best to do nothing to create uneasiness, whenthere is no reason for making changes. There are certain people who seemsingularly upset by the craving to work for the benefit of humanity. " Itrequires no special knowledge to interpret this sentence as a thinlyveiled criticism of the character of William II. 

May 12, 1891. [8]

There is an attitude frequently adopted by William II, that Germansocialists are in the habit of describing, as "the whipping after thecake. " He has now had the socialist deputies arrested, and he isintroducing throughout the country a system of espionage andintimidation, which is only balanced to a certain extent by his fondnessfor sending abroad a class of reptiles who go about preaching, writingand imparting to others the doctrines which he endeavours to strangle atbirth in his own country. In spite of his brief flirtation withsocialism (in which he indulged merely to copy the man whom he opposes ineverything and cordially detests), William II has now come to persecuteit. One of his amiable jokes is to try and lead people to believe thatthe order which he has given, for the dispositions of his troops on thefrontier _en échelon_, has no other object but to prevent Belgianstrikers, from coming into Germany. But can it be also to repel thisinvasion of Belgian strikers that the entire German army now receivesorders just as if it were actually preparing to begin a campaign?

Sentinels of France, be on your guard!

It goes without saying that during the past fortnight we have had ourregular supply of speeches from William II. At Düsseldorf he said threethings. 

The first, coming from the lips of a sovereign known all the world overfor his mania for change, is calculated to raise a smile--

"From the paths which I have set before me, I shall not swerve a singleinch. "

The second was a threat--

"I trust that the sons of those who fought in 1870 will know how tofollow the example of their fathers. "

The third and last was meant for Bismarck--

"There is but one master, myself, and I will suffer none other beside me. "

For the future William will only make his appearances accompanied byheralds clad in the costumes of the Middle Ages, bodyguards drawn fromthe nobility, surrounding the _summus episcopus_, pope and khalif of theProtestant Church. 

The extremely curious mixture which unceasingly permeates the characterof William II may be observed in the orders which he, the mystic, thepious, has recently given to the chaplains of the Court, viz. That theyare never to preach in his presence for more than twenty minutes. Naturally enough, the Prussian pastors are extremely indignant at thecavalier way in which the _summus episcopus_ treats the Holy Word. 

May 29, 1891. [9]

The business of a Sovereign is not a bed of roses, and causes ofdiscomfiture are just as frequent in the palaces of kings as in thehumblest cottages. William II has just had more than one experience ofthis humiliating truth, but it must be admitted he fully deserves most ofthe lessons he receives. 

Instead of saying, as he used to say, "my august confederates andmyself, " he has suddenly conceived the pretension that he and he alone isthe sole master in Germany. Accordingly the august confederates bycommon consent, although invited by the Grand Marshal of the Palace, Count Eulenberg, have refused to take part in the trifling folly of theGolden Throne that William is having made for himself. Kings, GrandDukes and Senators of the Free Cities, all have unanimously declared thatthey will never assist "in the erection of a throne which is the sign andattribute of sovereignty. "

But to continue the list: At Strelitz, a clergyman refused the request ofthe Prussian colonel of the 89th Regiment to allow his church to be usedfor a thanksgiving service in honour of the birth of William II, andpreached a sermon declaring that the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and he alone, had the right to have a divine service and a sermon inhonour of his birthday. 

And yet another instance: The Emperor has organised a regatta to be heldon Lake Wannsee on May 30 for all yachts and pleasure boats owned byprinces and by the German aristocracy. The Archduke, heir to theAustrian Throne, has refused to honour the occasion with his presence. 

The toast at Dusseldorf, "Myself the only Master, " has been verygenerally condemned; equally that which the Emperor addressed to thestudents at Bonn, when he said to them "Let your jolly rapiers have fullplay, " or in other words, "Indulge to the top of your bent, and withoutregard to the laws, in your orgies of brutality. " People in Germany arebeginning to think that William reminds them a little too much of theincoherencies of his great-uncle, Frederick William, who was undoubtedlyclever in all sorts of ways, but who died insane. 

At the shipyards of Elbing, William II narrowly escaped being wounded bythe fall of the large mast of the ship _Kohlberg_, which had been sawnthrough in several places. He has just had his coachman, Menzel, arrested, who very nearly brought him to his death by driving him into alime tree in a _troika_ presented to him by the Tzar. 

At present it is his wish that Holland and Belgium should receive him. The Queen Regent and Leopold II (in spite of the latter's violent lovefor Germany) are hesitating, by no means certain as to the welcome whichtheir peoples would extend to him. William II proposes to strike theimagination of the Dutch, as he did that of the Belgians, and to make hisappearance before them, aboard his yacht, the _Hohenzollern_, which Dutchvessels are to go to meet and escort. To make the thing complete (and itmay well be that the idea is germinating in his mind) it would onlyrequire him to visit the fortifications on the Meuse. The _BerlinerTageblatt_ in a long article informs us that the Emperor declares them tobe _perfect_. 'Tis a good word. . . . 

When the Imperial traveller shall have exhausted all pretexts for rushingabout on this Continent, he will go to Africa. There is a _but_ aboutthis; it arises from the question whether he will be able to obtain fromhis Ministers that they should ask the Reichstag or the Landtag for the800, 000 francs that he needs for the voyage, the Constitution forbiddingthe King of Prussia to leave Europe. But what does the Constitutionmatter to William II? He, the master, will put an end to it!

August 1, 1891. [10]

What are the qualities which have distinguished the Government of Germanysince the victories of Moltke? The patient tenacity of William I, and acontinuous policy of trickery raised by Bismarck to the level of genius. 

William II is a mind diseased, infatuated with itself. His actions aredominated by pride, and all the most childish off-shoots of thatweakness, love of noise, of attitudes, of pomps and vanities andjewellery; his mind is a thing of somersaults, and his will is subject tocapricious whims and sudden outbursts of temper. 

August 11, 1891. [11]

May we not flatter ourselves that the torments of William II are nowbeginning? He, who only yesterday proclaimed himself to be thetriumphant personification of the German Empire, is now compelled toinaction as the result of a fall. Whilst the Great Tzar is received withacclamation on board of the French _Marengo_, he goes awkwardly stumblingabout on the deck of his yacht. 

The German Emperor composed for himself a prayer, which he is accustomedto have said in his presence, and in which God is implored "to grant Hisprotection to the Emperor William, to give him health and inspiration forthe fulfilment of his mission _towards the nations_. " To-day, reduced toinactivity by his illness and by the consequences of his folly, he hasample leisure to reflect on the psalm which he is so fond of singing, with the mitre of the _summus episcopus_ on his head: "The kings of theearth are the instruments of God. "

Yes, Sire, they are instruments which God breaks as easily as He bends areed before the wind. He is pleased to humble the proud, and He reservesdefeat and death as the portion of the parricide. 

August 29, 1891. [12]

Germany's luck is running out. . . . 

The Emperor certainly lacks neither the youth nor the audacity to compelfortune, but he drives her too hard, and ignores all her warnings. Hisfall is a clear warning, which he appears to be quite unwilling tonotice; more mechanical than ever in his movements, he is now taking toriding again. By his orders, his illness and even his fall are alikecontradicted. His reason for withdrawing himself so long from the gazeof his adoring subjects is to let his beard grow, after the fashion ofBoulanger. But he hasn't wasted his time; his furious impatience underactivity has brought about a fresh attack. 

September 11, 1891. [13]

William II makes every effort to keep the Triple Alliance on its legs (itbeing as lame as himself) whilst he continues to give vent to his triple_hoch!_ and resumes once more his rushing to and fro, so wearisome to hisfaithful subjects, which compels the European Press to groan so loudlythat his pennon (Imperial in Austria, or Royal in Bavaria) waves madlyabout his excited person. Meanwhile the Emperor Alexander III, calm inthe serenity of his nature, takes his rest in the pleasant retreat ofFredensborg, where he finds contented virtues and the joys of family life. 

It really looks as if a certain deviltry were at work against William II. His splendid statecraft now revolves about questions of rye bread, Russian geese, and American pork; he struggles amidst a mass ofdifficulties more comic than sublime. He has imposed a system of rigidprotection in order to entangle his allies in a net of tariffs favourableonly to Germany, and now behold him, all of a sudden, removing the dutiesoff diseased pork, all for the profit of the McKinley Bill, the scourgeof Germany. Only the future can say what dangers await a policy offierce protection and dangerous favouritism. How much simpler andcleverer it would have been to remove the duties on cereals! As far asthe people are concerned, cheap pork will never appeal to them as cheapbread would have done. The progressive party had asked for both; thesatisfaction they have received appeases them for the moment, but thesocialists will still be able to say that William's Government takes offthe duties on foodstuffs that poison the people, and leaves them on thosewhich would afford them healthy nourishment. 

September 27, 1891. [14]

William II has decidedly no luck when he puts the martial trumpet to hislips. It was at Erfurt that he learned that the tribes of the Wa Héhéhad massacred Zalewski's expedition into East Africa. It is said that, on hearing this news, the German Emperor, seized with one of those suddenoutbursts of rage which throw him into convulsions, swore to avenge intorrents of blood the insult thus suffered by the ever-victorious bannerof Prussia. Are we, then, to see the Reichstag in its turn, like theFrench and Italian Parliaments, wasting its millions and its men incolonial adventures?

At Münich, William II has declared that the wretched condition of theartillery in the Austrian army, the lack of cohesion in its infantry, andthe inexperience, not to say incapacity, of its officers, render it unfitfor war in the near future, and that no hope of its improvement is to beentertained, so long as it shall have as its head a man so completelyworn out as Francis Joseph. Germany's armament is to be completelychanged and renewed, and it is even said that William will go down inperson to the Reichstag during the autumn session to demand the enormouscredits which the situation requires. The _Neue München Tageblatt_ hasbeen seized at Münich for having published an attack upon "the mania forarmaments and for military pomp which possesses William II, a mania whichis exhausting Germany and will leave her completely ruined after the nextwar. "

November 12, 1891. [15]

The unfortunate Constitution of the German Empire, like the Emperorhimself, doesn't know which way to turn. Legislation, administration, the army; the universities, the Church and the administration of justice:everything is being passed through a sieve, and transformed, first inorder that it may retransform itself and then become more readilyaccessible to the rising generation. Anything that savours of a ripe ageis extremely displeasing to William II. Ripeness is a thing which hedisdains to acquire. All that is youthful finds favour in his eyes, withthe sole exception of a class of youth with which he is disposed to dealseverely, viz. The _souteneurs_. Against them the _summus episcopus_ isextremely wroth. Here the virtue of chaste Germany is at stake, and heproposes to cauterise the disease with a red-hot iron. For the future, the scandalous discussion of these things will be forbidden to the Press, and thus, even if private morals continue the same, public morality willnot be offended. Hypocrisy, at least, will be saved. 

There is much talk at Vienna of a plan whispered at headquarters inBerlin, which has to do with converting the capital of Austria into anentrenched camp, so that an army driven back from the Austro-Russianfrontiers might there be re-formed. William means to throw Austriaagainst Russia, and to take his precautions in case of defeat, precautions which would at the same time, safeguard the rear of theGerman Empire. 

November 29, 1891. 

Germany is becoming uneasy; she has heard the rustling of the wings ofdefeat. Accustomed to victory, she is suffering, as rich people sufferunder the least of privations. Bankruptcies, one after another, arespreading ruin in Berlin. Bismarck and William, united in a verytouching manner on this subject, conceived the idea of bringing aboutRussia's financial ruin, and of importing into the Prussian capital thevitality of the Paris market. The fall in Russian securities was unluckyfor the German Bank, and all the scrip that the Berlin Bourse so greedilydevoured, for the sole purpose of preventing Paris from getting it, doesnot seem to have been easily digested. The middle class is sufferingfrom the bad condition of the market, and the increase of taxation; thelower classes are hungry. 

Impassive in his majesty, the Emperor contemplates himself upon thethrone. Now you will find him copying Louis XIV and writing in thegolden book of the city of Münich _Regis volontas suprema lex_. Andagain he will imitate St. Louis, but not finding any oak tree within hisreach, he administers justice on the public highway, as in theSkinkel-Platz. He is having his own statue made of marble, to be placedalongside of his throne. Great Heavens! If some day, this were to befor him the avenging Commander's statue! [16]

But no, it cannot be, for has he not been converted? Is he not the_summus episcopus_, who conducts the service in person? Has he notcomposed psalms? Could anybody be more pious, a more resolute foe ofthose vices which he pursues with such energy? Could any one be moredetermined to be a pillar of the Church? In his interviews with thedelegates of the synod of the United Prussian Church, has not the_summus_ said that the Reformation drew its strength from the hearts ofprinces? True, you may say, that this does not sound very like a humbleChristian; but then humility had never anything to do with William. 

At the administration of the oath to new recruits, after having heldforth to them on the subject of the hardships at the beginning of asoldier's life, he added, "It shall be your reward when you have learntyour trade, to manoeuvre before me. "

December 13, 1891. [17]

The nations of Europe desire peace, and it has been so often proved tothem that they also desire it, who have been accused of furbishing theirweapons unceasingly, that it would be dangerous even for William II toseem to be preparing for war, or rather that, having made ready for it, he should be working to let it loose. And so it comes to pass that thefire-eating Emperor and King of Prussia himself is compelled to play thepart of a bleating sheep "admiring his reflection in the crystal stream, "and that he cannot even have recourse to the expedient, now exhausted, tomake it appear that either France or Russia are ravening wolves in searchof adventure. But the rôle of a sheep sits badly on William, and the_mot d'ordre_, which he dictates is so evidently opposed to the conditionof affairs for which he is responsible, that Messrs. Kalnoky and Caprivi, in spite of their appearance of rotund good nature, have shown distinctsigns of intractable irritation. 

People have been asking what can be the meaning of all these pacificassurances, so hopelessly at variance with everything that one sees andknows, at a moment when the Monarch of Berlin is furious at the visit ofthe Tzar to Kronstadt? Well, the truth is out, and it is M. De Kalnokywho, by proxy, shall reveal it to you. 

"The reception at Kronstadt and its consequences have effected no changein the situation. " There you have the secret. It is necessary to provethat the diplomacy of the Triple Alliance has not been checked at anypoint or in any way; that the "excellent impression, " to quote the wordsof M. De Caprivi, left in Russia by the visit of William II did not allowthe Tzar any alternative; he was compelled to show attention to someother country than Germany. Moreover, the appearance of Alexander III onthe _Marengo_ was nothing more than a simple desire for a sea trip;France, going like Mohammed to the mountain, bore in her flanks nothinglarger than a mouse. Finally, that Peace never having been threatened bythe Loyal League of Peace, there could be no possible reason left toFrance and Russia for wanting to defend it, etc. , etc. 

William II is working hard to control and direct the diplomacy of theTriple Alliance. Nevertheless, all his scaffolding work is liable tosudden collapse, overthrown by the most insignificant of events. Regarding his speech to the recruits, the German Press has pluckilyvoiced its condemnation by the public. It is impossible to deny that hisobservations on that occasion were a perfect masterpiece ofself-glorification. This is what he said--

"You have just taken the oath of fidelity to myself. From this dayforward there exists for you one order and one order only, that of mymajesty. Henceforth you have only one enemy, mine, and should it benecessary for me some day (which God forbid) to order you to shoot yourown parents, yes, to fire on your own brothers and sisters, fathers andmothers, on that day remember your oath. "

Those who wish to form an accurate idea of William's loquacity andself-conceit should read a few passages, selected haphazard from "TheVoice of the Lord upon the waters, " a sermon by His Majesty, theEmperor-King, for use in polar voyages. There they will find a strangehotch-potch of all sorts of ideas, religious, political and heathen, allhalf digested. But the dominant note in the sermons preached by WilliamII lies in his tendency to diminish the Infinite, to hold it within themeasure of his own mind, to bring down God to his own stature. All hiscomparisons tend to show God as an Emperor, built in the image in whichWilliam sees himself. When he draws you a picture, in which he bringsGod face to face with himself, there is about him a certain splendour ofpride, something in his utterance that suggests an Imperial Lucifer. Butbeyond these relations between God and the German Emperor, his utterancesreveal nothing beyond commonplace self-conceit. In his perpetual andpersonal contact with the Divinity, William's morality becomes moreexacting than even that of God Himself towards His saints, who have longenjoyed His sanction to sin seven times a day. William II will not allowof a single sin. Everywhere and in everything he must interfere. Wellmay his subjects say, who have just received their catechism: "He is onheaven, on earth, and within us. "

January 1, 1892. [18]

I, who have so long been devoted to the Franco-Russian Alliance, havefollowed with acute distress the intrigues of Bismarck in Bulgaria(intrigues of which the _Nouvelle Revue_ revealed one proof in theletters of Prince Ferdinand of Coburg to the Countess of Flanders). Ihave known that William, in spite of his actual dislike for theproceedings of his ex-Chancellor, is pleased to approve the impertinencesof a Stamboulof. Nevertheless, I confess I am seized with anxiety atseeing France enter into diplomatic proceedings with the so-calledGovernment of Bulgaria. It is very often more dignified to despise andignore the enterprises of certain people, then to endeavour to obtainsatisfaction from them. There are certain complicated circumstances inwhich the manifestation of a sense of honour or loyalty becomes aweakness: at all costs one should avoid being led into it. 

The Emperor of Germany possesses a special talent for adding newcomplications to a difficult situation, so as to render it impossible ofsolution. He has now so completely tangled up the parliamentary skein, that in a little while it will be impossible for Parliament to govern. Can one conceive of a majority of the Chamber rallying around theCatholic centre, or the socialists, for the same reason, increasing innumber at the bye-elections? In such a case William II, equally unableto surrender in favour of the clericals or to submit to the socialists, will find himself, as others have been before him, driven to adopt theultimate remedy of war. 

February 12, 1892. [19]

If the States of Germany, in joining themselves on to Prussia, havethereby increased in power, they have gained very little in humanity. The circular, secretly issued by Prince George of Saxony, commanding the12th Army Corps, reveals something of the brutalities and exquisitetorture which German soldiers have to suffer. This circular wasaddressed to the commanders of regiments, and has been published by asocialist newspaper, the _Vorwärts_. This Prince of Saxony is indignantat these things, doubtless because he is a Saxon; Bavaria, we are told, declines to accept the application of the Prussian Military Code. Bycommon consent, the House of Peers and the Chamber of Deputies at Münichhave voted against subscribing to a condition of things which permits mento behave like real savages. Military Germany takes pleasure in cruelty, sentimental Germany is moved by the tortures inflicted on her children. Brutality and sentiment rub elbows, and are so strangely intermingledamongst our neighbours that I, for one, abandon all attempts atunderstanding them. 

It was Von Moltke who said one day that the army was the school of allthe virtues. Next day the same Field-Marshal put into circulationcertain formulas for the infliction of cruelty, intended for the use ofcommanding officers. 

"If a superior officer should order an inferior to commit a crime, theinferior must commit it. " Thus says William II, who in the very nextbreath expresses his sentimental concern over the unfortunate lot of awoman of loose life handed over to the tender mercies of a bully!

William's latest quarrel, it seems, is with liberty of conscience. The_summus episcopus_ of the evangelical religion becomes the protector ofclericalism in Germany. He, the elect of God, has discovered the powerof the Catholic Church. This was the power that broke Bismarck, but itwill not break William II, for he intends to assimilate it. He dreams ofestablishing his Protectorate over Catholicism in Europe, America, Africaand in the East; his destiny lies in a world-wide mission, which onlyCatholicism can support. He will, therefore, dominate the papacy, andthrough it will govern the world. 

February 26, 1892. [20]

The list of Emperor William's vagaries continues to grow. He, who wasonce the father of socialists, now pursues them with all manner ofcruelty, in order to be revenged for their opposition to the scholasticlaw. This law is his dearest achievement. He produced it under the sameconditions as his socialist rescripts, all by himself, without consultinghis Minister. It seems that Von Sedlitz was instructed to bring itforward without discussing its terms. This is a reactionary _coupd'état_ in the same way that the rescripts on socialism were a democraticstroke. Will this "new course" of Imperial policy, as they call it inGermany, last any longer than its predecessor? I presume so, for itcorresponds more closely than the old one to the autocratic instincts ofWilliam II. 

The National, Liberal and Progressive parties, and even the Socialists, who had turned full of hope towards their Liberal Emperor, now vie witheach other in turning their backs on the Sovereign, who fulfils thepolicies of a Von Kardoff or a Baron von Stumm, the most determinedConservatives of the extreme party. 

The Universities of Berlin and Halle, together with all the othereducational institutions, have addressed petitions to the Landtag, protesting against the re-organisation of the primary schools, which itis proposed to hand over to the Church. Sixty-nine professors out ofeighty-three, six theologians out of eight, including amongst themcertain members of the Faculty, have signed this protest. The greatestnames of German science and literature have here joined forces. Liberalslike Herr Harnack have made common cause with such anti-SemiteConservatives as Professor Treitschke. Mommsen, Virchow, CurtiusHelmholtz, stand side by side in defence of the rights of liberty ofthought. William is becoming irritated by the lessons thus administeredto him and the opposition thus displayed, and his nervousness continuesto assume an aggressive form. 

Alsace-Lorraine is undisturbed, and all Europe bears witness to itspacific tendencies; nevertheless, the German Emperor is bringing forwarda Bill before the Reichstag for declaring a state of siege inAlsace-Lorraine, which includes even a threat of war, and opens the doorto every abusive power on the part of the civil authority. The speechwhich he addressed to the members of the Diet of Brandenburg is the mostcomplete expression which the Emperor, King of Prussia, has yet given ofhis latest frame of mind. 

How dare they criticise him, or discuss his policy! Let them all go tothe devil! He, whose policy it is to block emigration, now wishes fornothing better than that all his opponents should leave Germany. But itis impossible to revoke public opinion wholesale, like an edict. If itis difficult now to expel all malcontents from Prussia, what will it bewhen their number is legion? William II has promised to his people aglorious destiny, happiness, and the protection of Heaven. Truly theseGermans must be insatiable if they ask for more!

March 12, 1892. [21]

William II aims at concentrating all power, and, to organise the work ofespionage, in the hands of the military authorities. If the Prussian lawof 1851 is still effective, the Emperor in case of need will be able todispense with a vote of the Reichstag. This law confers on every generaland on his representative, who may be an officer of eighteen years ofage, the right to declare a state of siege in the event of warthreatening. On the other hand, the projected Bill against espionagemeets with very general approval. Your German has got spies on thebrain. He wishes to be able to indulge in spying in other countries, butto prevent it in Germany. The _Frankfurter Zeitung_ and the _Vorwärts_assert that the proposed law against the revealing of military secretswas inspired by the publication of the report by Prince George of Saxony, containing revelations of a kind which the Emperor does not wish to occuragain. One of the articles of this law against spying reveals thePrussian character in all its beauty. One has only to read it, in orderto understand the inducements which the Government of William II holdsout to informers. The end of this article runs as follows: "Everyindividual having knowledge of such an infringement, and who shall failto notify the authorities, is liable to imprisonment. "

To hear these Germans, one would think that France and Russia areflooding the Empire with spies, whilst Germany never sends a single oneof them to France or Russia. In the first place, all these statementsare purely cynical; and in the second Germany can very well afford todispense with professionally selected spies, inasmuch as every Germanprides himself on being one at all times in the service of the Fatherland. 

April 12, 1892. [22]

William II makes a solemn promise to his august grandmother, QueenVictoria, and to the "best beloved" of his Allies, the Emperor ofAustria, that he will restore the Guelph Fund. Francis Joseph hasobtained from the Duke of Cumberland the somewhat undignified letter ofrenunciation, which we have all read, and now it is either up to RogueScapin or Bre'r Fox, just as you please! William II says that he nevermeant to give back the capital, but only the interest! It is easy toimagine the effect produced on those concerned by the revelation of thisastonishing mental reservation. But this is not all! The King ofPrussia--always short of money, always in debt on account of hisextravagant fancies and expensive clothes, and half ruined by his maniafor running to and fro--had made certain arrangements for meeting hiscreditors by means of the Guelph Fund, but with the proviso, needless tosay, that they affected only the interest!!

It is said that the heir of the House of Hanover has written a secondletter which evoked a sickly smile from William II, and of whichCouncillor Rössing has suppressed the publication with some difficulty. 

Amongst other things, William II has had quick-firing guns, supplied tothe people of Dahomey by slave merchants. The Berlin _Post_, directlyinspired by the Emperor, tells us exactly what is his object in so doing--

"England and Russia will not help France to settle her difficulties inher colonies. These two Powers are far too pre-occupied with thestruggle for supremacy in Asia. France is, therefore, reduced to lookingto Germany as her sole support. If France consents to work together withGermany, Africa will be won for civilisation, and for the bestcivilisation of all, the Franco-German, but so long as France pursuesthis task single-handed, she will not attain her end, and will find inAfrica nothing but disappointment. "

Such evidences of effrontery remind us that William II is the pupil ofBismarck. We are, therefore, justified in concluding that the Germansrealise that it is not Aristides the Just who has been exiled, but amaster rogue, whom his pupil now imitates. 

April 29, 1892. [23]

William II continues to expel from Berlin all unemployed workmen, quiteregardless of the cause of their temporary or continuous idleness. Hesends them back to their native parishes, without caring in the leastwhether they will find there the work which they are unable to secure atthe capital. The "Workmen's Emperor" compels an emigration into theinterior of all the most discontented, the most irritated and wretched, thus sowing throughout all the land the evil seed of the most dangerouskind of propagandist. The spirit of Germany is full of surprises for anyone who takes the trouble to observe it carefully, and it is not only inthe acts of the Emperor that we perceive its contradictions. 

To take one instance out of a thousand. Five non-commissioned officersof dragoons have just been tried at Ulm, accused of having beatenrecruits with sticks until they drew blood. They have been acquitted, after having proved that they acted under the orders of their captain. In this connection it is interesting to read the following--

"The Court of Saverne has just condemned a carrier named Schwartz to sixweeks' imprisonment and a fine of ten marks for ill-treating his horse. "

The unstable grandson of the steadfast William I threatens before long toget between his teeth a fourth war minister; he has already devouredthree chiefs of the general staff, and, in a few years, as many ministersas his grandfather had during the whole course of his long reign. 

It remains to be seen whether, after the withdrawal of the scholasticlaw, William II will still find a majority willing to accept his new anddisturbing schemes. 

May 28, 1892. [24]

As the German Empire has no other force of cohesion except such as liesin militarism, William is necessarily compelled to do everything tomagnify and increase it. Whereas we in France are free to develop thequality rather than the quantity of our army, Germany, finding theelements of cohesion only in her military agglomerations is compelled toincrease unceasingly the number of her soldiers. 

At this very moment William is planning to add a permanent effective of40, 000 men to the tactical units. In return, he will promise Parliamentand the country a provisional two years' service, being quite capable ofwithdrawing his promise so soon as the vote has been secured. 

Numbers, always numbers! It is the German Emperor's only ideal, and hebecomes further and further removed from any principle of selection. . . . 

The German newspapers make a speciality of the fabrication of sensationalrumours. I could not ask any better vengeance for our beloved countrythan to have their stories placed before the most loyal of Sovereigns, the most far-seeing of diplomats, of the politician the furthest removedfrom sordid calculations that the world knows or has ever known, that isto say, of the Emperor Alexander III. . . . 

But all this is just a manoeuvre of the enemy who plays his own game, andit has no importance whatsoever beyond that which credulous and anxiouspeople choose to give it. Inasmuch as the renewal of the Triple Alliancehas produced a definite situation, which affords no opportunity for anyof the combinations which might have resulted had it been broken up intoindependent parts, the Tzar with his usual foresight was naturally led toproclaim his _rapprochement_ with France, and this he has done. Whatchange has there been in the situation since Kronstadt? None at all, unless it be that Lord Salisbury has revealed something more of thenature of his intrigues at Sofia, and of the anti-Russian intentions ofhis Bulgarian policy. The King of Italy has surrendered himself a littlemore into the hands of the King of Prussia, placing at the disposal ofWilliam's diseased restlessness further and inexhaustible sources oftrouble and uneasiness for Europe. 

July 9, 1892. [25]

It seems to me that the speech addressed by William to his new Admiraltyyacht at the port of Stettin has not attracted sufficient notice. It issimply beautiful, a very choice morsel indeed. To show how little Iexaggerate, I will ask my readers to study it in the actual text, and Iwould like to engage the services of the King of Prussia to collaboratein the _Nouvelle Revue_ for a page in precisely the same style. Here isthis little masterpiece of classic purity--

"Thou art ready to glide into thy new element, to take thy place amidstthe Imperial war-ships, and thou art destined to carry our National Flag. Thine elegant construction, thy light sides, showing no sign of the heavythreatening defensive turrets, such as are carried by our war-shipsdestined to fight the foe, indicate that thou art consecrated to works ofpeace. Lightly, as on the wing, to cross the seas, bringing distantlands closer to each other, giving rest and recreation to workers, happiness to the Imperial children, and to the august mother of thecountry, --that is thine appointed task. May thy light artillery be wornby thee as an ornament and not as a weapon of war. 

"It is for me now to give thee a name. Thou shalt carry that which myCastle bears, whose towers rise so high towards Heaven, that which, lyingamidst the beautiful country of Suabia, has given its name to my family. It is a name which recalls to my Fatherland centuries full of labour, ofwork done with and for the people, of life devoted to the people, of goodexamples set in leading the people in paths of literature and in manystruggles. The name which thou shall bear means all this. Mayest thoudo honour to thy name, and to thy flag, to the great Elector who, firstof all men, taught us our Mission on the sea, and to my great ancestorswho, by works of peace as in fierce warfare, knew how to keep andincrease the glory of our fatherland. I baptize thee _Hohenzollern_!"

August 29, 1892. [26]

William II, claiming as usual to be ahead of every change of opinion inEurope, and to direct it, has chosen a very singular pretext to makeprofession of his faith as a pacifist, at the moment when Lord Roseberywas doing the same, and when the visit of our squadron to Genoa was aboutto emphasise a relaxation of tension in the relations between France andItaly. 

On June 24, 1890, the following motion was adopted by the Reichstag--

"The Governments of the Confederated German States are requested to takeinto serious consideration the introduction of the two years' period ofmilitary service for the Infantry. "

Without deigning to remember this, and without bothering his head as tothe discomfiture of the peasantry, who believed the Emperor to be reallyfavourable to a scheme which he had openly patronised hardly six monthsbefore, on the ground that he had been greatly impressed by GeneralFalkenstein's report; indifferent also to the difficulty of the situationin which he was placing Von Caprivi, advocate of the two years'system--the Emperor-King (apparently just because on that day it hadpleased him to make a declaration in favour of peace) made a speech tohis officers after the last review of the Guards, and summarily condemnedany reduction in the term of military service. Moreover, he requestedhis hearers to repeat his words and to let people know the motives whichimpelled him thus to set his face against a reform, which, not havingsecured his approval, must remain in the limbo of fantastic schemes. 

Much stir and commotion follows, and as usual a great deal is said aboutthe most changeable and the most feather-headed of Sovereigns; then wehave a new interpretation of his speech by the Press, contradictions ofthe original text, withdrawal by the Emperor himself of his originalwords, and finally, as net result: a great deal of noise, and theattention of all Europe directed towards William II. What more could heask?

Soon, thanks to the insidious activities of Austria in Servia, and thanksto that of his own police on the Franco-Belgian frontier, William will beable to threaten Europe with War. 

September 12, 1892. [27]

William has given up the idea of his trip to Hamburg, cholera being thesort of jest for which he has no relish. To make up, he has rushed offto Canossa. The Black Alliance, as the Liberals call it, is anaccomplished fact. The price paid to the Catholics for their assistancehas been a matter of bargaining; what William II wants is an increase inthe peace-footing of the army, and of the annual contingent of recruits, so that Germany's army of 300, 000 men may always be ready. 

In twenty years the War budget has been raised from 309 to 700 millions, as the result of these new plans. The _Freisinnige Zeitung_ wonders whatwill happen on the day when the opposition of the Catholic Centre shallcease, which has always been a check upon military expenditure and which, nevertheless, has not prevented Germany from spending 11, 597 millionsupon armaments since 1871. 

Will Austria follow once more the lead of Berlin? The object of WilliamII's visit to Vienna, accompanied by Von Caprivi, is to decide her to doso. In the Empire of the Hapsburgs, as in Germany, people are asking;"What is going to be the end of all this expenditure?" The _Vaterland_, discussing William's voyage, says that "the pact between the three greatpowers appears to be beginning to be very shaky. "

September 29, 1892. [28]

William II thinks that War is impending and close at hand; he feels thatItaly is inclined to argue, and Austria to assert herself. According tothe tradition of Von Moltke, he wishes to be ready at the hour of his ownchoosing. 

In the last volume of the Field-Marshal's memoirs, there is a letteraddressed by him to the deputy, Count de Bethusy Huc, dated March 29, 1869, in which the following words occur--

"After a war like that which we have just ended, one can hardly wish foranother. I desire, however, to profit by the occasion which now offersto make war on France, for, unfortunately, I consider this war to beabsolutely necessary, and indispensable within a period of five years;after that, our organisation and armament, which are to-day superior, maybe equalled by the efforts of France. It is therefore to our interest tofight as soon as possible. The present moment is favourable; let usprofit by it. "

November 12, 1892. [29]

If you would take the measure of the hatred which the Emperor-King ofPrussia, has towards Russia, read the _Youth of William the Second_ byMr. Bigelow, his companion in childhood, the friend of his youth, and thepassionate admirer of his imperial greatness. 

In the eyes of Mr. Bigelow, William II is endowed with all the virtues, all the qualities, and a hatred of evil; he is a complete master of everyconceivable kind of science. He is a person of tact, foresight, andsuperior feelings, he possesses the noblest qualities of courage andsense of honour. He knows better than any one else everything concerninggovernment, business, trade and industry. Of his military art, it wereneedless to speak; it is conspicuously evident. A brilliant talker and afine orator, his lucidity of observation, his judgment, and his rapidityof decision are all alike, incomparable. 

Mr. Bigelow's William has a complete knowledge of the history of Europeand of the character of its peoples. There is nothing that he does notknow of the upper and lower foundations of the views of Europeanstatesmen, past and present. A frank and loyal fellow withal, good tochildren, he feels keenly the sufferings of soldiers ill-treated by theirofficers, and the hardships of the working classes exploited by theirmasters. 

Frederick the Great is the only one who in any way approaches him. Then, as to his magnanimity, he proved it to M. Jules Simon, by offering himthe musical works of the said Frederick the Great, with a letter which, according to Mr. Bigelow, should have made France give up her foolishideas about Alsace-Lorraine, were it not for the fact that "from thedrawing-rooms of the Faubourg Saint Germain to the garrets of Montmartre, all Frenchmen suffer from an incorrigible mania for revenge. "

To the great satisfaction of Mr. Bigelow, however, it has been given toEngland to understand, and she knows how to promote William's mission. On August 9, 1890, she ceded to him Heligoland, the Gibraltar of Germany. It is not I who put these words into the mouth of the friend of the Kingof Prussia! "Since Waterloo, " adds Mr. Bigelow, "England has not been onsuch good terms with Germany. "

A very touching confession for us to remember! Hatred of Russia findsexpression in a hundred ways under the pen of Mr. Bigelow. Nothing thatis Russian can find favour in his sight; the least of the sins of Russiaare barbarism, corruption, vice of every kind, cruelty and ignorance. After having piled up all the usual accusations, he stops, and one mightthink that it was for lack of materials. But not at all! He could, butwill not say more about it; and this "more" assumes most fabulousproportions "so as not to compromise my German friends. " I imagine thatsome of those friends of his must figure on the margin of the Russianbudget, for if it were not so, why should they be liable to becompromised?

Travelling down the Danube by boat, Mr. Bigelow was able to make useeverywhere of the German language. Every intelligently conductedenterprise which he found on his way was in the hands of Germans. "Sooner or later, " said he, "the Danube will belong to Germany. "

According to Mr. Bigelow, all the people who have the misfortune to livein the neighbourhood of the frontiers of Russia only dream of becomingGermans, in order to escape her. 

There is one remarkable quality which William II possesses and which Mr. Bigelow has forgotten, and that is his talent as a scenic artist and_impresario_ for any and every kind of ceremony; in this he is pastmaster. For the 375th Anniversary of October 31, 1517, the day on whichthe famous theses, which inaugurated the Reformation, were posted byMartin Luther on the door of the chapel at Wittenberg, the Emperor-Kingsurpassed himself. The Imperial procession aroused the greatestenthusiasm in the little town by its successful reconstruction of thehistoric picture. The speech of the _summus episcopus_ cast all sermonsinto the shade by its lofty tone and spirit of tolerance. 

[1] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 16, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[2] _La Nouvelle Revue_, February 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[3] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[4] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 15, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[5] Spanish insurrection against the French invasion under the firstEmpire. 

[6] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[7] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[8] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 15, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[9] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[10] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[11] _Ibid. _, August 15, 1891. 

[12] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[13] _Ibid. _, September 15, 1891. 

[14] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[15] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 15, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[16] An allusion to the Commander's statue in "Don Juan. "

[17] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 15, 1891, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[18] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 1, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[19] _La Nouvelle Revue_, February 15, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[20] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 1, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[21] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 15, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[22] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 15, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[23] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 1, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[24] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[25] _La Nouvelle Revue_, July 15, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[26] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 1, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[27] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[28] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[29] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 16, 1892, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

CHAPTER III

1893

William II receives the Tzarewitch--Germany would rather shed the lastdrop of her blood than give up Alsace-Lorraine--William's journey toItaly--The German manoeuvres in Alsace-Lorraine. 

January 13, 1893. [1]

Being too weak a man to accept such responsibility as that involved inthe scheme of military reforms, Von Caprivi has, so to speak, by hissuppliant attitude towards the parties in the Reichstag, forced WilliamII to assert himself. In spite of his leanings towards prudent reform, the Emperor-King, whose pride we know, has found himself all of asudden in a sorry plight on the question of the increase of thestanding army. The rising tide of public censure, mounting to the footof the throne itself, found no one to hold it back but a bewilderedlock-keeper. And so the Emperor, with his helmet on his head, appearedupon the scene, to take charge of the damming operations. On January 1he addressed his generals, his enthusiastic officers (who, like allsoldiers, have a holy horror of politicians), and said to them, "Ishall smash the obstacles that they raise against me. "

Thus it happens that it is no longer Von Caprivi who confronts theReichstag, no longer the hesitating successor of Bismarck, whom thecountry accuses of leading it on the path to ruin: the Emperor-Kingtakes charge in person. Instead of being a question of policy andbargaining between the political parties, the question becomes one ofloyalty. In Parliament, the resistance of the country, instead ofbeing a legitimate opposition intended to enlighten the sovereign, becomes revolutionary. So now the Reichstag is compelled either tovote the scheme of military reform, or to be dissolved; Germany musteither confirm her representatives in their obedience, or take theconsequences of her hostility towards the Emperor and his army. TheReichstag will submit, and Germany will humbly offer to her Sovereignan additional million of troops in the next five or six years. WilliamII will hasten their general submission by threats of war andrevolution, as unlimited as is the field of his falsehood. 

February 12, 1893. [2]

William II has left no stone unturned, and has displayed the utmostskill, in endeavouring to enfold in his influence the heir to thethrone of Russia. He has devoted to this end all the splendour that anImperial Sovereign can display in the entertainment of his guest, allthe resources of enthusiasm which he can lead his people to display inwelcoming him, all his tricks of apparent good-will, all thefascination of a mind which is apt to dazzle those who meet it for thefirst time (although later on it is apt to inspire them with wearinessby its very excesses), every manifestation of a wistful friendshipwhich proclaims itself misunderstood. 

The whole Germany of tradition displayed itself before the eyes of theTzarewitch, all its treacherous appearance of good nature, all itsdishonest methods, composed of a mixture of vanity and apparentsimplicity, whose object it is to make people believe in a sort ofunconsciousness of great strength. The German Emperor made an appealfor a union of princes to resist the restless democracy of our times, and repeated it with urgency, and in the usual stock phrases. In aword, William II laid under contribution, to charm the son of the Tzar, all his arts and spells of fascination. Why wonder that he succeeded, when we remember that M. Jules Simon, a French Republican, member ofthe Government of National Defence in 1870, came back from Berlinsinging the praises of the King of Prussia? Also, that the entirePress of our country, with the sole exception of the _Nouvelle Revue_, was wont, at the commencement of William's reign, to speak withsympathy of the genial character of the "young Emperor, " to praise hisschemes of social reform, and to express its belief in the superiorityof a mind which, as a matter of fact, is remarkable only for itsexcesses and disorder? But all Germany, like M. Jules Simon and theFrench Press, will find out the truth. The country may have gone intoecstasies over the first acts and first speeches of its youngsovereign, but it will soon learn to know how little connection thereis between the words and assurances of William of Hohenzollern and hisdeeds. 

At the outset, during the sojourn of the Tzarewitch at Berlin, whilsthe was being carefully coddled by the Emperor, the chancellor, VonCaprivi (who boasts of having no initiative of his own and of actingonly under the orders of his master), was inspiring accusations, andmaking them himself before the military commission, charging the warparty in Russia with secretly plotting against Germany. One would liketo know where the war party in Russia can possibly be at the presentmoment?

At the same time that William II was endeavouring to recover andrestore amicable relations with the Tzar, he had every intention ofcarrying through his schemes of military re-organisation and theincrease of the army, which, as Von Caprivi was wont to say after HisMajesty, constitute essential safeguards against a Russian invasion. Now, the good Germans welcomed the son of Alexander III; they meant toprove to William II how useless they considered the increase of thearmy, inasmuch as the Tzar, with whom lies the final arbitrament ofwar, had shown his desire for peace by sending his son to Berlin. TheTzar, whose statecraft is great and profound, had clearly foreseen whatthe German people would think of the presence of his son in theirmidst; he showed them by this means that the increase of the army isuseless, and that all the agitation and complications which Williamprovokes, the oppositions and the struggles which he himself createsamongst the forces that he lets loose, give rise to dangers, fargreater than any with which Russia could ever threaten Germany. 

William II wears blinkers; he can sometimes see in front of him, butnever around him nor behind. He believed that the Tzar and the RussianPress were going to be affected by the same sort of enthusiasm which hehad inspired in the Tzarewitch, but the Tzar, Russia, and the RussianPress considered matters dispassionately and saw them in their rightlight; they were even of opinion that William II had displayed far toomuch vanity in his reception of the Tzarewitch and too little dignity. Consequently, after the departure of the Tzarewitch, the Emperor-Kingof Prussia, had a fit of rage, furious with disappointment at nothaving been able to follow up the success which he had obtained withthe Tzarewitch himself. In one of those fits of ungovernable temperwhich lead him to commit so many irreparable mistakes, and which arethe despair of his Government and his Court, he caused Von Caprivi'sPress to publish the news of an attempt upon the life of the Tzar. Butthe methods of reptile journalism are now thoroughly understood and theEmperor Alexander, guessing the source of this lie, demanded animmediate apology, which Admiral Prince Henry hastened to convey, inthe name of his brother, to the Russian Embassy. At the same time thathe invented this story of the attempt on the life of the Tzar, the Kingof Prussia, German Emperor, proposed a toast in honour of the Duke ofEdinburgh, Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleet, in which he lookedforward to "the glorious day when the British fleet should fight thecommon enemy. " The common and double enemy of England and Germany, asevery one is aware, is France and Russia. 

March 11, 1893. [3]

Until quite recently, the proposed military law was heatedly discussedin Germany. Realising that the Military Commission was on the point ofrejecting it, William II finished his speech in the following words--

"The supporters of the proposed Sedlitz Law accused the Government ofweakness, when it withdrew the Bill in the face of the clearly declaredopposition of a majority of the nation. Well, then, the proposedmilitary law provides us with an opportunity of showing that myGovernment is not a weak one, and that the firm will of my grandfather, the Emperor William, lives again in me. "

A few days before the vote in the Reichstag, Herr Bebel had raised thequestion of International Arbitration wherein, he said, lay Germany'sbest means of proving her love for peace, even should it involve therisk of having the question of Alsace-Lorraine brought before anInternational Tribunal. Hereupon, Von Caprivi, Chancellor of thePrusso-German Empire, replied to the applause which had come fromalmost the entire Reichstag, as follows--

"The deputy Bebel advises us to adopt a tribunal of InternationalArbitration. He admits the possibility that such a tribunal mightraise some day the question of Alsace-Lorraine; he insinuates that wewere to blame for the outbreak of war in 1870, and that there are thosewho maintain this idea with even greater strength and assurance thanhimself. Well, then, if such a tribunal should come together, andshould express, no matter in what connection, its opinion on thequestion of Alsace-Lorraine, and if that opinion should be to theeffect that Germany should hand back Alsace-Lorraine, I am convincedthat Germany would never submit to such a decision, and that she wouldrather shed her blood to the last drop than to hand back theseprovinces. "

To which Herr Bebel naturally replied--

"When one holds ideas of this kind, it is perfectly evident that onecannot admit of International tribunals. "

Before his little speech, His Majesty the German Emperor had made a bigone, from which we learned yet once again that William I had beenentrusted with a mission, and had handed it down to William II; andthen we heard once more the phrase with which Bismarck had deafened ourears, on one of his blustering days, and which the King of Prussia hasre-issued in a new form and on his own account: "We Germans fear Godand nothing else in this world. "

Well, Sire, I for my part believe that your Majesty fears somethingelse besides God, and that is the disintegration of the Triple Alliance. 

March 29, 1893. [4]

William II is ever at pains to invest those occasions in which hispersonality plays a part, with all the glamour of Imperial pomp. Onceagain, accompanied this time by an enormous retinue of Germans glad ofthe occasion of a free trip to a sunny land, William II is about toremind the Romans at Rome of the majesty of the Caesars. May theirKing not be reminded at the same time, by certain aspects of thistriumphal procession, of Rome's captive kings. In binding herself toGermany, has not Italy given herself over into bondage to the Teutonand especially to Austria, her hereditary foe? I could readily answerthis question in the affirmative by looking back into the past, I whohave so often shared in the patriotic emotions of Italy in bygone days;but every people is entitled to be the sole judge of its own destinies, and its best friends abroad have no right to endeavour to enlighten itby any rays which do not fall from its own heaven above. One caneasily lead a nation astray, even by means of truths that have beenclearly demonstrated beyond its frontiers. One is compelled to admitthat the most extraordinary events may occur amongst one's neighbours. 

William II, after having sent General Loë to congratulate Leo XIII onhis Episcopal Jubilee, has just made a speech on the occasion of thesilver wedding of King Humbert I and Queen Margaret. It will pleasethe Italians, but this ambiguous policy seems to me anything butflattering, either for the Italian Kingdom or for the Papacy. As in1888 and with the same ceremonies, Leo XIII will receive theEmperor-King of Prussia at the Vatican, and William II, as on thatprevious occasion will be able to split his sides with laughter onreturning to the Quirinal, mimicking the Holy Father and boasting thathe has befooled him once more. 

April 27, 1893. [5]

The wisdom of the nations is now enriched with a new proverb, "Arolling Emperor gathers moss, and gathers nothing more. " Before longthe tumult and the shouting of the fêtes at Rome will die down, andwith them the popular excitement of enthusiasm for the all-powerfulGerman Emperor. The Italian people will then find itself confronted bythe exhaustion imposed upon it by the compulsory militarism of theso-called pacific Triple Alliance. Even if cavalcades, reviews andtournays, should awaken again in the heart of the Roman people thatlove of the circus, which this people has inspired in all the latinisedraces, the economic question still remains, the question of money andof bread, implacable. I know not why it is, but the brilliancy ofWilliam II's visit to Italy gives me the impression of a fire of straw. What object had he in going there, and what has he attained? I can seenone. All his fervent protestations appear to me in bad taste, whencompared with the correct dignity of the Court of Austria, third of theAllied Powers. 

May 12, 1893. [6]

How can our German Caesar, who has just made a journey to Rome afterthe manner of Barbarossa, continue to suffer an assembly of talkers, ofpolitical commercial travellers, of people who allow their minds to bedominated by the vulgar thing called economics? It is not possible, and therefore Caesar calls to witness the first Military Staff that hecomes across at the Tempelhof and makes it judge of the matter. "Ihave had to order the dissolution of the Reichstag, " says William tohis officers and generals, "and I trust that the new Parliament willsanction the re-organisation of the Army. But if this hope should notbe realised, I fully intend to leave no stone unturned to attain theend which I desire. No stone unturned, gentlemen, and you understand, I hope, that it is to you that I am speaking, and you who areconcerned. You are the defenders of the past, and of the prerogativesof the Imperial and Royal Power. "

If the new Reichstag meets in the same spirit of resistance to theexcesses of Prussian militarism, William II will be condemned toconstitutional government and then, little by little, to the surrenderof everything that he believes to be his proper attributes, and of allhis tastes. No further possibility then of an offensive war, to escapefrom domestic difficulties; no more parades with the past riding behindhim; no more finding a way out by some sudden headlong move, for hewould drag behind him only a people convinced against its will and toolate. The only thing then left to the King of Prussia, face to facewith a new majority opposed to militarism, would be the dangerousresource of a _coup d'état_. 

Dr. Lieber, an influential deputy, has defined the actual situationwith a clearness which leaves nothing to be desired--

"We perceive, " he said, "that the Prussian principle of government isdeveloping more and more, and tending to become the idea of the GermanEmpire. The policy to be pursued in the German Parliament should bepurely German. "

The dilemma is clear. Will Germany continue to become Prussianised orwill she remain German? If she is Prussian, that is to say, militarist, socialism will grow and increase; if she is German, thedevelopment and expansion of her political and social organism, havingfree play, will come about normally and surely. Therefore, thesolidity of German unity should consist in resistance to Prussianism ormilitarism, to William II, and to the past. On the other hand, submission of the old Confederation to Prussia must inevitably lead todisintegration. 

May 29, 1893. [7]

William II has told us, on the occasion of the unveiling of the statueof William I at Gorlitz, that the question which brought about thedissolution of the Reichstag, that like which confronts the impendingelection, is that of the Military Bill, and that this questiondominates all others. 

"That which the Emperor, William I, has won, I will uphold, " says thepresent Emperor; "we must assure the future of the Fatherland. Inorder to attain this object, the military strength of the country mustbe increased and fortified, and I have asked the nation to supply thenecessary means. Confronted by this grave question, on which the veryexistence of the country depends, all others are relegated to thebackground. "

Should we conclude, with the _Frankfurter Zeitung_, that "that whichoppresses our minds in this struggle is the reflection, that nopossible benefit is to be attained through victory, nor any remedy fordefeat"?

Will Germany yield, or will she resist the will of the Emperor thusclearly expressed? Herein lies a question which, in one way oranother, must have the gravest consequences. 

July 1, 1893. [8]

One day, on the occasion of a first performance of a play called"Cadio, " by George Sand, I was with a woman, my best friend, in thewings of the theatre, Porte-Saint-Martin. I saw Mélingue stamping onthe floor with his feet and jumping and twisting about, and upon myasking him what was the meaning of these extraordinary antics, hereplied; "It is because, when I come upon the scene, I am supposed tohave galloped several miles on horseback and it would not do for me, therefore, to present the appearance of a gentleman who has just comeout of a room or from the garden. " I do not quite know why I shouldhave remembered this far-off incident on learning that the GermanEmperor, King of Prussia, had come on horseback from Potsdam to openthe new Reichstag. As a comedian, William II does not follow themethods of Mélingue. He rides, in order to present a calmer appearanceat his entry upon the scene. Clad in the uniform of a Hussar, he readthe speech from the throne with an evangelical mildness. He wasplaying the part of a soldier-clergyman. The soldier said--

"My august allies agree with my conviction that the Empire, in view ofthe development of military institutions by other Powers, can no longerdelay to give to its armed forces such increase as shall guarantee thesecurity of its future. "

The clergyman had upon his lips the honey of promises of concessions, and he concluded with these words, added to the speech from the throne--

"And now, gentlemen, may the Lord grant His blessing to every one ofus, for the successful issue of a meritorious work in the interests ofour country. Amen!"

In the course of the latest discussion of the military law in theReichstag, we have been able to gather certain unforgettableinformation. In the first place, Von Caprivi has told us that theincrease of the army is directed really and more especially againstFrance. Herr Richter declares that Germany, single-handed, can carrythrough victoriously any struggle against us. Liebknecht says thatTurkey can hold Russia in check together with Poland, and finally, that: "Germany counts upon England as surely as upon Austria and uponItaly. "

September 13, 1893. [9]

The Emperor, King of Prussia, has addressed to our brothers that arecut off from us, the following words--

"You are Germans, and Germans you will remain; may God and our goodGerman sword help us to bring it to pass. "

To which words, every Frenchman has replied--

"They are French and French they shall remain, God and our good Frenchsword helping us. "

Calmly we await the final provocation. The German manoeuvres have onlyserved to teach us one thing more, viz. That William II wishes us toknow that the moment is at hand for a last challenge. All the GermanSovereigns who were present at the manoeuvres in Alsace-Lorraine, appeared to be weary of the supremacy which William, the hot-headed, asserts throughout all the territory of the Empire. Certain of theirnumber stated in the presence of several people whose sympathies arewith the French, that the Emperor of Germany was no more master of theproceedings than they themselves, and that they had no intention offiguring either as members of his suite or of his general staff, inaccordance with the wish which he had expressed to Von Caprivi. 

(Before the Emperor of Germany, Talma had played a part in the presenceof an audience of kings. )

The gift offered by the German subjects of the city of Metz, by way ofthanksgiving for the extraordinary performance given by William II, proves by its very nature that not a single Frenchman had anything todo with its selection. In its form and substance, and in the tastewhich it displayed, it is a typically German present, this casket ofgreen plush full of candied fruits. No doubt, the Empress will bedelighted and all the little princes too. 

[1] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 15, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[2] _La Nouvelle Revue_, February 15, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[3] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 15, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[4] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 1, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[5] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 1, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[6] _Ibid. _, May 15, 1893. 

[7] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[8] _La Nouvelle Revue_, July 1, 1893, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[9] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 16, 1893, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

CHAPTER IV

1894-1895

Treaty of Commerce between Germany and Russia--Opening of the KielCanal; why France should not have sent her ships there--Germanyproclaims her readiness to give us again the lesson which she gave usin 1870. 

March 29, 1894. [1]

William II is triumphant in Germany, and his officious newspapers viewith each other in proclaiming the grandeur of his ideas. Meanwhile, the people of Berlin hiss him and sing rebel songs about him on thereview ground at Tempelhof. 

Beyond all doubt the King of Prussia got the better of much oppositionwhen he secured the vote for his commercial treaty with Russia. Ourfriends of the north cannot doubt that they have our best wishes, thattheir commercial and agrarian position may be improved thereby, but themore favourable the treaty proves for them, the more we would beg themto profit by its advantages, but not to allow themselves to beentangled in its dangerous consequences. If they act thus, ifGermany's sacrifices should prove of benefit only to her neighbours, ifthe advantages of influence and penetration aimed at by William IIunder cover of this treaty, should be revealed to Russian patriotism, Germany may prove to be the party deceived. 

If William II is clever it is only because of our lack of clevernessand foresight. It is because we leave the door open that he is able tomake his way in. Prussian policy is completely lacking in honesty. Itforces an entry by all possible means, keeps listening ears at everydoor, and weakens its rivals by the dissensions which it creates, maintains and fosters. 

Neither French influence in Russia, nor Russian influence in France, has ever made use of such methods of procedure as Germany employs inboth our countries. The unwholesome and dangerous penetration ofreptile influences and of espionage, in all its multitudinous forms, produce effects on our two allied nations, whose consequences areimpossible to over-estimate. Only an unceasing vigilance against everyone of the foreign intruders, salaried and enlisted in our midst, canprotect Russia and France against their insidious influences. Ourenemies labour to weaken us with the desperation inspired in them bythe dangers which they must face, if only we remain staunch, united andstrong. 

Is it generally known that the German subjects of the poorer class whoinhabit Paris, receive an annual subsidy of 100 marks? This amounts toputting a premium on a form of emigration useful to Germany andconstitutes for us a grave danger. Proof of this is to be found in thereport of a recent meeting of the municipal council at Metz. Insteadof sending back distressed German subjects in France to their owncountry, Germany sends them money. The Alsatian newspaper whichaffords us this information adds with perfect accuracy: "What wouldGermany say if French municipalities were to subsidise officiallyFrenchmen living in Berlin?"

April 12, 1894. [2]

I am one of those French people who have hoped, up to the very lastmoment, for a continuation of good commercial relations (which meansgood political relations) with Italy; I am one of those who firstbelieved in the possibility of re-establishing a good understandingunder both these headings; but for this very reason I retain a certainsusceptibility and pride which others, less sincere in the pursuit of adefinite reconciliation, certainly do not possess. Sadly I havefollowed the cavalcade of the Prince of Naples to Metz. I can find nojoy in the words of King Humbert, which M. Gaston Calmette hasreproduced so wittily and with such good nature, in the _Figaro_. Frommy point of view, both these actions of the King of Italy were inspiredby William II; and both had the same object in view, viz. To prove atMetz that he could wound us cruelly through his ally, and to prove atVenice that the good-will of Humbert I was subject to his control, dictated in his own good time, and sanctioned at his pleasure. TheEmperor of Germany has inaugurated in Europe the policy ofright-about-face, a policy which bewilders diplomacy, astonishes the_bourgeoisie_ and fills the nations with fear. 

April 27, 1894. [3]

The revelations published by Mr. Valentin, Comptroller of Stores in theCameroons, deserve to be quoted in their entirety. In the _NeueDeutsche Rundschau_ he has described the atrocities committed bygovernors of German colonies, or by their representatives. Wholesalebutcheries, slow and horrible tortures, a new and ingenious method ofscalping, the imprisonment of wives snatched from their husbands and ofyoung girls taken from their mothers (to minister to the debaucheriesof these governors and their officers) and then brought back to tellthe terrible story to other unfortunate creatures destined to the samefate; the horrible brutality of sentences, by virtue of which the fleshof the victims was reduced to pulp under the eyes of the judges--therevelation of all these things leaves one's mind possessed withfeelings of terror and horror, sufficient in themselves to justify anyreprisals that negro races might inflict upon white people. 

July 23, 1894. [4]

One of these days I shall tell how the house of Krupp (in which WilliamII has so large a personal interest over and above his public interest)is about to create for itself a formidable position in China, which islikely to overthrow many calculations and may end in turning Asiaupside down. The great commercial houses of Hamburg, encouraged andsupported by the government at Berlin, are in telegraphic communicationwith every market in China. Germany's economic life is developing withfrightful rapidity in Asia. 

September 11, 1894. [5]

Amongst the list of surprises with which the Emperor of Germany ispleased to supply the makers of small-talk in Europe, one often finds, since the journey of the Empress Frederick to Paris (although that washardly to be called a success) that he is by way of making advances toFrance. From time to time William II, in a carefully premeditated pose(as, for that matter, all his poses are), extends towards us, acrossthe frontiers of Alsace-Lorraine, the hand of generous friendship. Sometimes, for an entire day he will be good enough to forget that heis heir to the victories won from us in 1870. Next day, it is true, weshall find him celebrating in splendour our defeat at Sedan; but nonethe less he will have satisfied his great soul by thus inviting us toforget the past. Why is it that William II wearies not in thusrenewing his attempts at reconciliation with France? The reason is, that he has nothing to lose by continual failures, whilst he haseverything to gain if he succeeds, even for a moment, in deceiving ourvigilance, and in diverting us from those feelings which alone canhonour and raise the vanquished, that is to say, fidelity to thebrothers we have lost, and the proud belief that, sooner or later, weshall re-enter into possession of the conquered territory. 

Last on the list of the intermittent advances which William II has madeto France, there appeared lately the following in the _AllegemeineNorddeutsche Zeitung_, official organ of the German government:--

"There is no reason for misunderstanding, or for failure to appreciate, the increasing signs which go to show that public opinion in France isfavourable to reconciliation with us, and that this opinion is growing, not only amongst the higher classes in France, but amongst the people. It is beginning to be recognised that it is to the interest of bothnations to shake hands, as is fitting between neighbours, no matterwhat may have been their _former differences_. On the part of Germansthe tendency towards an _entente_ has gained in strength since we havenoticed the tendency of the French to judge impartially a personalitylike that of our Emperor, as befits a nation so cultured and richlyendowed as the French. "

What say you, veteran soldiers, who fought in the Terrible Year? Whatsay you, Parisians of the Siege, Frenchmen who have seen the Prussianconqueror dragging his guns and booty along the roads of our France?What say you, men of Alsace-Lorraine, heroes all? (No matter whether, like some, you have sacrificed situation, home and your littlefatherland, so as not to forsake the greater, or, like others, you haveconsented to become Prussians in order that the land you worship mayremain in hands that are still French. ) What say you, when ourdreadful defeat, our piled-up ruin, and the spoliation of a portion ofFrance, become for a German official organ our _former differences_?What words are these in which to speak of 1870-71, of thatunforgettable and tragic invasion, of the terrible anguish of ourravished provinces, and what a proof they afford of the great gulfwhich separates the mind of Germany from that of France!

September 26, 1894. 

The German Emperor does not forget that he is before all things aPrussian. Having administered a reprimand to the nobility, he proceedsto give to the five new fortresses at Königsberg, the five greatestfamily names of the Prussian nobility. 

At Thorn he declared--

"Only they can count upon my royal favour who shall regard themselvesas absolutely and entirely Prussian subjects. " The Germans have notyet realised that the German Empire will be Prussian, before everPrussia consents to lose herself in a united Germany. 

October 28, 1894. 

The German Emperor, King of Prussia, with that love of peace for whicheven Frenchmen are pleased to praise him, is now chiefly occupied indisplaying his passion for militarism. In the case of William II, itwill be necessary to modify a hallowed phrase, and to say to him:"Seeing you in uniform, I guessed that you were no soldier. "

The Emperor, King of Prussia, insists on continually reminding theGerman peoples that he is the commander-in-chief of the armies of theEmpire, and he never misses an opportunity of emphasising the fact. Atthe presentation of flags to the 132 new battalions created by the newmilitary law, (and doubtless with a view to peace, as usual) theEmperor with his own hand hammered 132 nails, fixing the standards totheir flag-staffs. This sort of thing fills me with admiration, and ifit were not for my stupid obstinacy, it might convert me to share theopinion of M. Jules Simon, who holds that we should entertain the Kingof Prussia at the Exhibition in 1900, and welcome him as the great_clou_[6] on that occasion. But I should not jest about those feelingswhich transcend all others in the heart of the French people. Germanyowes us Alsace-Lorraine; she has every interest in trying to make usforget the debt. What would one think of a creditor who allowed thedebtor to persuade him that the debt no longer existed? A nation whichreserves its rights against the victor, and maintains its claims toconquered territory, may be despoiled but is not vanquished. WouldItaly have recovered Lombardy and Venice had she not unceasinglyprotested against the Austrian occupation? Excessive politenesstowards those who have inflicted upon us the unforgettable outrage ofdefeat is not a sign of good manners, but of culpable weakness, for itinflicts suffering upon those who have to put up with the materialconsequences of Germany's conquest, and might end in separating themfrom their old and unforgotten mother country. 

When William II conducted the Prince of Naples to Metz he was onlyacting in accordance with his usual ideas as an insolent conqueror. But if we were to receive the German Emperor at the Exhibition of1900--if at that time he is still master of Alsace-Lorraine--we shouldbe committing the base act of a people defeated beyond all hope ofrecovery. 

December 12, 1894. [7]

As day by day one follows the proceedings of William II, one graduallyexperiences a feeling of weariness and of numbness, such as one getsfrom watching the spectacle of waves in motion. 

Before his speech from the throne, and in order to prepare his publicfor a surprise, William II had directed the King of Saxony, on theoccasion of a presentation of standards, to tell France to her facethat she had better behave, that the Saxon heroes of 1870 had sonsworthy of them, and that the glorious, triumphant march from Metz toParis might very easily begin all over again. Whereupon, general alarmand feverish expectation of the speech of William II, which of course, turned out to be pacific. The following sentence should suffice toprove it:

"Our confidence in the maintenance of peace has again beenstrengthened. Faithful to the spirit of our alliances, we maintaingood and friendly relations with all the powers. "

One can discern, however, a little trumpet note (of which he would notlose the habit), in the speech which he made at the opening of the newReichstag building, whose construction was begun at the time of thePrussian victories: "May this building remind them (the deputies) thatit is their duty to watch over that which their fathers haveconquered. " But this is a pure and simple melody compared to thewar-march of the Saxons. 

January 12, 1885. [8]

William II, in search of a social position, has become lecturer. Athis first lecture, he announced to the whole world that our commercialmarine no longer holds the second place, that this second place belongsto Germany, and it is now necessary that Germany's Navy should alsotake our place. And in his usual chameleon way, the German Emperor, who until quite recently refused to admit that there lay any meritwhatsoever in the Bismarckian policy, now adds: "And Prince Bismarckmay rejoice, for the policy which he introduced has triumphed. "

March 12, 1895. [9]

On a certain day, in 1871, the defenders of Paris and its patrioticinhabitants learned from the silence of our guns, that the Prussianenemy's victory over them was complete. And now it seems we are goingto Kiel, to take part in the triumphant procession of H. M. William II, King of Prussia, and to add the glory of our flag to the brilliantinauguration of his strategic waterway. Why should we go to Kiel? Whowanted our government to go there? Nobody, either in France or Russia. The great Tzars are too jealous of the integrity of their own splendidterritory, to refuse to allow that a nation should remember its lostprovinces. We were indignant when the Prince Royal of Italy, the allyof Germany, went to take part in the German military cavalcades, andnow we ourselves, whom Prussia defeated, are going, in the train of thedespoiler of Schleswig-Holstein, to assist at the opening of a canal, which penetrates and bleeds Danish provinces, annexed by the sameconqueror who took from us Alsace-Lorraine. Will Denmark, whom WilliamII has had the audacity to invite, go to Kiel? No, a thousand timesno! and neither should we go there ourselves, to applaud this takingpossession of Danish waters. Denmark, though invited, will not go toKiel; yet we know what are the ties which bind her Sovereigns toRussia. It has been said, in order to reassure consciences that areeasily quieted, that our war-ships will go to Kiel sheltered by thoseof Russia, and, so to speak, hidden beneath their shadow. Our dignityis at stake, as much in the truth as in the falsehood of this news. The French Government is not a monarchy. By declining this invitationof our conquerors, it would have placed the whole question on itsproper footing, which should be that of the situation created by theTreaty of Frankfort. We should have said to Germany, France desirespeace. Our Chauvinists will remain quiet, so long as the GermanGovernment gives us no provocation. If we refrain from going to Kiel, it is in order to maintain the peaceful condition of our relations. Germany's chief interest is to lead Europe to believe that we have cometo accept the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, and to make the people of thoseprovinces believe that we have forgotten them. 

The King of Prussia, German Emperor, just to keep his hand in, stimulates the military virtues of his recruits, and for the hundredthtime presides over the taking of the oath of fidelity. He teaches therecruits that the eagle is a noble bird, which soars aloft into theskies and fears no danger; also, that it is the business of the saidrecruits to imitate the eagle. He adds that the German navy is theonly real one, that all others are spurious imitations, and heconcludes by saying that "the German Navy will achieve prosperity andgreatness along paths of peace, for the good of the Fatherland, as itwill in war, so as to be able, if God will, to crush the enemy. "William II never speaks of conquering the enemy or being superior tohim; it is always "crush. " It is this crushing German navy that oursailors are to go and salute at Kiel. 

It looks as if our artists were lending a hand to William, andgratifying this passion of his for crushing people. An Alsatian friendof mine, who knows his Germany well, said to me the other day that, insending their pictures for exhibition at Berlin, our painters arelikely to ruin their own market. For a long time the King of Prussiahas wanted to have a _salon_ at Berlin, and he looks to French paintersto give it brilliancy and to attract those foreign artists who areaccustomed to French exhibitions. Once it has become the fashion to goto Berlin, French artists will find that they have helped to ruin theirown business. How can anybody suppose that William II really wishes todo honour to French art? Do not let us forget that Frederick III said"France must have her industrial Sedan, as she has had her militarySedan. "

March 28, 1895. [10]

It seems then, that Germany's proudest ambitions are about to berealised at the fêtes at Kiel. That patriotic hymn of theirs, which upto the present has been a dead letter for those peoples who have notyet been incorporated in the Prussianised Empire, will now become aliving thing. Henceforward all Europe must hear and accept theoffensive utterance which the Germans shout: "Deutschland über Alles!"Yes, Germany over all things. 

That her Emperor should have willed it, is enough to bring together inhis triumphant procession all the following--

Russia, despoiled of her triumph at Constantinople by the Congress ofBerlin, and exposed on her flank by the Baltic Canal. 

England, tricked at Heligoland and at Zanzibar, and whose power isthreatened by the very fleet which she is going to salute. 

Spain, threatened in the Carolines, who has only been protected fromPrussian presumption by her own indomitable pride. 

Denmark, cynically robbed of Schleswig-Holstein. 

Italy, from whom the German navy, when it has become the equal of theGerman army and fulfilled the dream of William II, will take Trieste. It is true that, to make up for Trieste, diplomacy at Berlin is puttingSalonika in pickle with a good deal of English pepper, intending tooffer it as a _hors d'oeuvre_ to Austria, Germany's advanced andsubmissive sentinel in the East. 

France, the most deeply injured and despoiled, whom the German conquesthas plundered to the utmost, she also will take part in the procession, and in order that our humiliation be the more complete, so that theFrench army may be unable to forgive the French navy for it, our Flag, our beloved colours, will doubtless salute one of those Prussianvessels which carry the name of one of our defeats, for instance, the_Wörth_!

After that, William II, King of Prussia, will be unable to descry asingle cloud on the German horizon. And Germany, Germany will be aboveand over all! The glory and the splendour of the Hohenzollerns willshine upon the entire universe, and the German Emperor, Emperor ofEmperors, like the King of Kings, will have nothing to fear until theHeavens fall. 

And we, who have forgotten nothing of the Terrible Year and what ittook from us, we, who can see under the left breast of our belovedFrance, her bleeding heart, ravished Alsace-Lorraine, we shall lift oureyes unto Heaven, our last hope, beseeching it to strike down thepresumptuous one, since men are afraid of him. 

April 10, 1895. [11]

It has always been a dream of mine to see a newspaper founded under thetitle _Foreign Opinion_, a sheet confined to information, in whichwould be presented, clearly, simply, and held together by anintelligent sequence of ideas, quotations from the principal organs ofthose countries in which we have interests, either identical oropposed. Statesmen and Members of Parliament would be compelled toread such a paper. A knowledge of foreign opinion would render thegreatest services to public opinion in this country, for it wouldcompel our somewhat self-centred mind to take into consideration thejudgment of others, to determine the justice or the harshness of thecriticism directed against us, and to draw, from the study of thesethings, warnings and rules of conduct. 

To take an immediate instance, let me give my readers an extract fromthe _Münchner Nachtrichten_, a newspaper, which as a rule does notshare the brutal harshness of the Berlin Press with regard to ourfeelings and their expression in French newspapers--

"These foolishly vain Frenchmen, sitting in their meagre little thicketof laurels, contemplate with evident displeasure the stirring of thewinds in the great forest of German oaks, and their discontent findsexpression in ways that are frequently comical. The _Figaro_ forexample, has expressed it in an article which is particularly silly(with a kind of foolishness not often found even in a French newspaper, which is saying a good deal). It denies to Germans the right toremember the glorious years of 1870 and '71, for the reason that Frenchpeople might thereby be hurt. Does it mean to say that the Frenchwould threaten us with war if we continue to celebrate our victoriesover them? Well, if these gentlemen are of that opinion, we willanswer them that Germany is peacefully inclined, but that, if theFrench are not satisfied with the severe lesson that we gave them in1870-71, we are quite prepared to begin it all over again. "

And these are the people, mind you, who would have said that we weretrying to provoke them if, faithful to the memory of our defeat, asthey are to the memory of their victory, we had abstained from going toKiel to sing the glories of the conqueror. Like William II, theirSovereign and Lord, Germany will never admit that our actions should bea counterpart to their own, even though such actions should includerecognition of their former victories. They wish to impose upon us, not only the acceptance of defeat, but a definite recognition of theirconquest, a final sacrifice of our ancient rights, together withunlimited scope for their new ambitions. The German Emperor, King ofPrussia, has never made two consecutive speeches in which one did notcontain some threat for us, long or short-dated. If one were to addtogether all the words of peace which William has spoken and all hiswar-like utterances, the mass of the latter would irretrievably swampall the rest. 

October 28, 1895. [12]

His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia, seems to be quiteincapable of understanding that, in love as in hate, it is wisest notto be overfond of repeating either the word "always" or the word"never. " It is the intention of William II, that Germany should forever and ever remain the gate of Hell for France, and he has continuedto din into our ears his _lasciate speranza_ every year for the lasttwenty-five. He never misses an opportunity of showing us Francehumiliated and Germany magnified and glorified. The monument at Wörthhas been unveiled with such a noisy demonstration, that it has for everbanished from our minds the figure, softened by suffering, of thatEmperor Frederick, who had made us forget "Unser Fritz" ofblood-stained memory. William II noisily recalls to our mind theconqueror, when we wished to see in him only the martyr. This is whatthe German Emperor now tells the world at large: "Before the statue ofthis great Conqueror, let us swear to keep what he conquered, to defendthis territory against all comers and to keep it German, by the aid ofGod and our good German sword. "

To do him justice, William II has rendered to us patriots a mostconspicuous service. At a word he has set us back in the position fromwhich the luke-warm, the dreamers, and the cowards were trying to driveus. By saying that Alsace-Lorraine is to remain Prussian for ever andfor ever, he has compelled France either to accept her defeat forcenturies to come, or to protest against it every hour of her nationalexistence. 

November 2, 1895. 

William II suffers from a curious kind of obsession, which makes himwant to astonish the world by his threats, every time that his recruitstake the oath. On the present occasion he said, that the army must notonly remember the Watch on the Rhine but also the Watch on the Vistula. 

[1] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 1, 1894, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[2] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 16, 1894, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[3] _Ibid. _, May 1, 1894. 

[4] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 1, 1894, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[5] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1894, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[6] A pun on the word _clou_, a nail. 

[7] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 15, 1894, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[8] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 15, 1895, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[9] _Ibid. _, March 16, 1895. 

[10] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 1, 1895, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[11] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 15, 1895, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[12] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 1, 1895, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

CHAPTER V

1896-1897

Telegram from William II to President Krüger--The Emperor Nicholas IIvisits France--William II and Turkish affairs; he becomes Protector ofthe Sultan--Why the condolences of William II preceded those of theTzar on the occasion of the fire at the Charity Bazaar--"Germany, theEnemy": Skobeleff's word remains true--We have been, and we still are, gulls--Peace signed between Turkey and Greece. 

January 11, 1896. [1]

As the result of his telegram to President Krüger, William II hasrecovered the popularity of the early days of his reign. The GermanEmperor had undoubtedly very powerful reasons for making a chivalrousdisplay on behalf of the Transvaal, from which he anticipated derivingthe greatest advantages. He expected to produce a moral effect byundertaking the defence of the weaker side (a rôle that once belongedto France). He saw a way to flatter Holland, deeply touched by thesemanifestations of German sympathy for Dutchmen, who were represented byothers as barbarians. He saw also an opportunity for acquiring andkeeping admirable outlets into the Transvaal, which had threatened tobecome for ever closed to German emigrants. Finally, he expected toproduce a feeling of admiration for his magnanimous attitude, whichwould divert the German people from socialism and make them forget theHammerstein affair. Truly, the Transvaal is for William II one ofthose lucky finds from which all sorts of good things may spring. 

The educated classes in Germany, as well as the lower orders, werebeginning to get very weary of the everlasting celebrations in memoryof 1870-71, which continually fed the flames of French hatred. ASilesian journal had just informed us that the 25th anniversary of theproclamation of the German Empire at Versailles would be celebrated bya great fête in all the German schools. The German artillery of theSiege of Paris had arranged for a commemorative banquet, to be held inBerlin on January 5. The senate and the _bourgeoisie_ of Hamburg hadmade a gift of nearly 200, 000 marks on behalf of the regiment ofHanseatic infantry which fought at Loigny on December 2, and fordistressed veterans of that regiment. 

Germany was in great need of something to distract her attention by astroke of exotic brilliancy and by the creation of some new object ofhatred. Enmity for ever directed against France, was beginningsomewhat to pall. This continually living on the strength of one's oldtriumphs, made Germany to appear like some much-dyed old dandy, seekingto gain recognition for past conquests by means of art and cosmetics. The time had come to create a diversion. The German Emperor, King ofPrussia, has found it with his usual headlong impetuosity, the qualitywhich impels him always to seize things on the wing, to displayalternately the capacity of a genius, and that of a stupidblunderer. . . . 

March 1, 1896. [2]

German opinion persists in expressing its severe criticisms on thesubject of the Transvaal business and continues to display its sympathyfor the Boers. There is every reason to expect that German interestswill now be able to create for themselves numerous outlets in theTransvaal. 

William II has made another speech on the subject of the war of 1870;in this he is like the tide, which the waves carry away only to bringit back. Lord, Lord, deliver us from this torture! I, for one, canbear it no longer. My eyes are filled with tears of rage as I listenand listen again, for ever, unceasingly and without end, to the tale ofour defeat and to the glorification of the army which conquered us, tothe tale of the German Empire born of these Prussian victories. Willit ever be finished, this tale? When will they have done, once and forall, with inscribing these cruel records of theirs in the golden bookof Germany, and shut the clasp upon it?

We know that William II either painted himself, or had painted, apicture, which was all the rage in Germany and which represented Europeinvaded by the Chinese. It would look as if William II really believedin the danger of this impending invasion, to judge by the inscriptionon the engraving of this picture, reproduced by the thousand; "Nationsof Europe, take care for your most sacred treasures!--WILLIAM I. R. "

But if this be so, how comes it that the German Emperor is sendinghundreds of military instructors to the Chinese, who are supposed to bethreatening his country?

June 1, 1896. [3]

William II believes that the victories of 1870 were due to Prussiaalone, and that it was she who made the Empire; and this explains whyhe takes such complete possession of the Empire, and makes thecelebrations of these victories so personal a matter. The people ofBavaria, Würtemberg and Saxony are herein exposed to humiliation of akind which they decline to accept. There is no doubt that all Germanshate us with an equal hatred, and all have united with the sameenthusiasm to crush our unfortunate France; nevertheless, we may derivesome profit from the antipathy inspired in them by Prussia's graspingclaims to glory and authority. 

September 1, 1896. [4]

Do you remember, my faithful friends, and you, my earliest readers, what were the sentiments of hatred, love and fidelity, that inspiredthe letters which I addressed to you nearly eighteen years ago--theviolence of my hatred for the most tyrannical, and at the same time, the most dangerously vindictive, of European statesmen, viz. VonBismarck?

Have you not often smiled, when I then denied the strength of theColossus and asserted his fragility, when I used to say: "He must notdie with a halo of glory; let him witness rather the bankruptcy of hismoral estate and give proof of the pettiness of his character andevidence of his unbridled lust for power. Let the effrontery of hislies return to him in bitterness?" And together, you and I, we havenow seen Prince Bismarck, not hurled down, but slowly crumbling toruin; there has been nothing great about his fall, neither the shoutthat he gave, nor his way of falling, nor the words which he said whenhe picked himself up. 

And at the same time when I showed you, in the far distant future, thisidol of blood-thirstiness broken, I preached to you the love of Russia. I saw her freeing herself from German influence and drawing closer tous. Hardly had the Emperor Alexander III come to the throne, than Isaid to you: "He will be a popular Emperor, and the more he loves hisown people the more he will love ours. " For a long time you thoughtthat my hatred of Prince Bismarck was blind, but from the outset youregarded my love of Russia as enlightened. How many strengthening andencouraging letters have I not received from you?

And now, Nicholas II, son of Alexander III, the well-beloved Emperor, who represents in his own person the highest expression of great, holyand mystical Russia, is coming to Paris officially, as the ally ofFrance, so that all the ambitions of our patriotism, all our dreams ofthe last twenty-five years, are coming true together. Am I notentitled to say to you, dear readers, "I have fulfilled the missionthat I set before myself, my work amongst you is accomplished"? Butthere remains still a tie between us, our common fidelity to Alsace!How could we forget those who have not ceased to remember? Shall it besaid that we failed those who rather than yield have suffered everyform of torture? Let us endeavour together to prove in a more activemanner our devotion to the brethren who are separated from us. Nowthat Prince Bismarck has one foot in the grave, now that the RussianAlliance is in the hands of the Government of France, let us devote allour strength and all the resources of our advocacy, all our love ofjustice, to the cause of Alsace-Lorraine. . . . 

William II is sick, nervous and irritable. He has lost all patiencewith the question of the reform of military organisation; he did notraise that question, it would seem, and has plenty of other things toworry him. He is going to ask Parliament, on its re-assembling, tovote large sums for the increase of the navy, his own particular care. After all, he received the army triumphant from the hands of Moltke andof Bismarck, but the navy is his own personal achievement; he believesthis, and says so repeatedly. But the German navy has no luck. Thisyear, besides the _Iltis_, the _Frauenlob_, and the _Amazone_, whichswallowed up a large number of junior officers of the Prussian navy, ithas lost the _Kurfurstin_ (as the result of an error of navigation)with 300 sailors, also the _Augusta_, the _Undine_, and other vessels. 

February 22, 1897. [5]

William II has announced himself as the enemy of Greece, and the propof the Ottoman Empire. At the subscription ball given at the Opera inBerlin, did he not walk arm-in-arm with Ghalik Bey, the TurkishAmbassador, and authorise him to telegraph to the Sultan that, underexisting conditions, he might count upon his sense of justice and hisgood-will? Does not this constitute an insolent challenge to thedecision which the Powers are supposed to have taken for theobservation of neutrality?

When William II is insolent, he does not do things by halves; now, herepeats to all concerned: "One does not argue with Greece, one givesher orders, " and on every occasion that has offered, he has displayedsentiments hostile to Greece and favourable to the Sultan. For thesereasons, Abdul Hamid is devoted to William II. He is tied to him, andbound by all his sentiments, by all his admiration and his fear, to theGermans. Messrs. Cambon and de Nelidoff believed that they haddetached the Sultan from Germany, but illusions on that score are nolonger possible. Germany possesses his entire confidence. Did not he, the most nervous and suspicious of men, allow on one occasion theGerman military mission to take _effective_ command of his troops, whereas no other military mission has ever been allowed anything morethan the right to put them through their drill? Germany, which in caseof need can count upon the Turkish army, is fundamentally interested inpreventing Turkey from being either weakened or divided up. A war inthe East, in which Germany might get Russia deeply involved, at thesame time that she kept her busy in Asia, is too great an advantage torisk losing, without doing everything possible to protect it. . . . 

April 28, 1897. [6]

William II, the God of war and of force, is in every way responsiblefor events in the East. Only his friendship, and the many consequencesof that friendship, have given to Abdul Hamid the courage of hismassacres, of his resistance to all efforts at reconciliation, and ofhis military proceedings in Greece. The German Emperor had been ableto persuade the simple-minded Government of France of his peaceful andhumanitarian intentions. It only needed a few of us to revolt and toexpress our indignation, to unmask him, and to show in its true, luridlight, the real nature of his actions, so as to enable the nations toknow him for what he is. To-day he is the master of Europe; but letthe power of the Kaiser be what it may (and it is a power no morecapable of honesty than that of Bismarck, who lied without ceasing, forfeited without ceasing his honour, and accepted responsibility forcrime), whatever conquests hereafter William II may achieve, evenshould we be defeated again, we shall be able to stand up before himand to his face to say, "You will never achieve greatness!" Materialgreatness turns again to dust, like all matter, but moral greatness iseternal, an intangible thing, which surrounds men, invisible, and whichemanates from the best amongst them. 

We will leave to history, which shall surely record it, the judgment of_human_ men, of real peace-lovers, concerning William II, concerningthis protector of the Red Sultan, this renegade and denier of hisfaith, who has sold his soul in order to govern the world through evil, through trickery, through force and through war. You have only to readthe German legends, to analyse the souls of the traditional heroes ofGermany, to see that they are indeed much more closely allied to theTurks (who have only understood Islamism under its aspects of conquest)than they are to the traditions which Europe has inherited from Greeceand from her daughters, Rome and Byzantium. 

The struggle of to-day lies between these two spirits: one thebarbarian spirit, the spirit of conquest, which knows no other law butforce, the spirit which subdues and kills, represented by Turkey and byGermany; the other, the spirit of civilisation, of love, which knows noother law than the right, the spirit which emancipates and vivifies, the spirit of Greece, from which European civilisation is drawn, excepting always that of the Germans and Turks. Either the East willresist the Turks, and Europe will resist Germany, or else both willrelapse into barbarism, and be condemned to war without ceasing, tobutcheries, to the brutality of force and all its works. 

May 27, 1897. [7]

At all events they have not yet won their bet in Berlin that they wouldmake us look ridiculous and hateful. Those very wise and well-bredpeople, who have been advising us to revise our national education, soas to welcome the Kaiser in 1900, have had but meagre success. As tothe golden stream, which brought us the 8000 marks of the King ofPrussia, [8] thank Heaven, it has not been able to drown our patriotism. Brother Frenchmen, it is still lawful for lunatics and ill-bred peoplelike ourselves to remember Sedan, Metz, Strasburg and Paris, as well asKronstadt and Toulon. Then let us not forget either the first rays ofsunlight which reach us from Russia, or the darkness of 1870. [9]

There is not a single German journalist (_and I wish to emphasise thisfact most clearly_), even in the ultra-Prussian party, who would havedared to put his signature to such an article as one of our greatestnewspapers has published concerning William II, whom it describes as "ahumanitarian thinker, a gentle philosopher, thinking only of thehappiness of the human race, of appeasing ancient hatreds and removingold grudges. How joyfully would he not have restored Metz andStrasburg had he not been prevented in performing this act by thehistorical necessities of his position. " In proof of all which things, this article cites his telegrams of sympathy, the splendid bouquetswhich he has sent to our illustrious dead, his wish to pay homage toFrance in 1900, etc. , etc. 

The journalist grown old in harness, who has dared to write suchmonstrous things as well as such nonsense, will no doubt be greatlyastonished when I inform him that no foreign reporter, howeverinexperienced, of any nation great or small, is ignorant of the factthat William II is relentlessly determined to achieve there-establishment of absolute autocracy as it was conceived by certainEmperors of Rome and Byzantium. His motto is _Voluntas Regis SupremoLex_, which, on the occasion of his first visit to Münich, he wrotethere with his own Imperial hand. On the first occasion of the openingof the States of Brandenburg, he declared that he counted on theirfidelity to help him to crush and destroy everything that might opposehis personal wishes. Is it necessary to say once more for thehundredth time that he never has the oath taken by his recruits withouttelling them that "they must ever be ready to fire on those who opposehis rule, even though they should be their own fathers, mothers andbrothers"? The other day, did he not make his brother Prince Henryread a letter to the sailors of his war-ship the _Wilhelm Imperator_(the vessel appointed to attend the Jubilee of Queen Victoria), inwhich letter he held up to the execration of the army and navy those"unpatriotic" Germans who refused to provide him with millions for hiswild scheme of increasing the navy, that is to say, about nine-tenthsof the Reichstag? There is in Germany one institution which commandsvery general respect, and enjoys traditional liberty, viz. TheUniversity. For the last year William II has opened a campaign againstthe liberties of University education, and the scandalous manner inwhich he has attacked the professors at Berlin because of the dignitywith which they have defended their rights of scientific research, areknown to every one except "this brilliant Chronicler of the Boulevards. "

From one end of Germany to the other they go into ecstasies whenever, either before, during, or after his acts of politeness to France, William finds some new pretext for humiliating, humbling, orthreatening us. [10]

A German pamphlet published two years ago, entitled _Caligula; a Studyof Caesarian Madness_, by Mr. Quidde, achieved such a success, thathundreds of thousands of copies were bought up in a few days by thefaithful subjects of the German Emperor. This pamphlet, ingeniouslycompiled by means of quotations from Suetonius, Dion Cassius, Philo, etc. , gives a marvellous analysis of the character of William II. Icannot resist the pleasure of giving a few extracts from this littlework, for it would appear that William II is endeavouring, since itspublication, to emphasise the resemblance between himself and Caligulaand Nero. 

"The dominant feature in the actions of Caligula lies in a certainnervous haste, which led him spasmodically from one obsession toanother, often of a self-contradictory nature; moreover, he had thedangerous habit of wanting to do everything himself. Caligula seems tohave a great fondness of the sea. The strolling-player side of hischaracter was by no means limited to his military performances. He waspassionately devoted to the theatre and the circus, and wouldoccasionally take part himself on the stage, led thereto by hispeculiar taste for striking costumes and frequent changes of clothing. He was always endeavouring to shine in the display of eloquence; andwas fond of talking, often in public. We know that he developed acertain talent in this direction, and was particularly successful inthe gentle art of wounding people. His favourite quotation was thecelebrated verse of Homer--

 There is only one Master, only one King. 

Sometimes he loved the crowd, and sometimes solitude; at other times hewould start out on a journey, from which he would return quiteunrecognisable, having allowed his hair and beard to grow. "

Just as the names of Caligula and Nero are daily affixed in Germany tothe name of William II, Herr Hinzpeter is called Senecus, General vonHahnke is known as Burrhus; there is also an Acté and a Poppea atBerlin. Frederick III is Germanicus and Prince Bismarck is calledMacro, after the powerful prefect of the praetorium in disgrace. LikeNero, William II has been cruel to his mother; he is cruel to hissister, the Princess of Greece. He hates England, just as Caligulahated Brittany. With a mind like that of Nero, William II derives thegreatest pleasure from the thought of degrading the French people bymaking them receive him with acclamation. What a triumph it must befor this grandson of William I (who defeated us but left us our honour)thus to bring us to dishonour: us, the descendants of the France of1789, republicans in the service of a Prussian Caesar!

June 10, 1897. [11]

It should have been to the interest of France and, of Russia, and apolicy of skilful strategy, to oppose Turkey when supported by theTriple Alliance, and to create around and about her, in Greece as inthe Balkans, such a force of resistance as would have put a stop to herschemes of expansion, resulting from those of the Powers of the TripleAlliance. By so doing, France and Russia might have taken them in therear and upset their plans. We were already in a position ofconsiderable advantage, in that we could leave to the King of Prussia, the German Emperor, all the responsibility for the crimes of theSultan, observing at the same time all those principles which wouldhave maintained, in their integrity, the moral and Christian traditionsof France and Russia. But our policy has been that of childrenbuilding castles in the sand. Confronted by a triumphant Turkey, leaning on the Triple Alliance, and by a Sultan suffering from thedementia of blood-lust, certain of the faithful friendship of WilliamII, and confident in his victorious army (already 720, 000 strong, andcommanded by a German General Staff); confronted by such fears andthreats, we have chosen to place all our hopes upon the balanced mindof William II, the generosity of the Sultan, and the loyalty oforiental statecraft! I have said it so repeatedly that I may havewearied my readers, but I say it again; "_To their undoing, France andRussia have sacrificed their policy to Turkey, protected by Germany_. "They are now confronted by German policy, evasive and at the same timetriumphant, that is to say, in full command of the situation which ithas brought about. William II is at last revealed, even to theblindest eyes, as the instigator and sole director of everything thathas taken place in the East since his visit to Constantinople. Hetakes pleasure in advising the Sultan day by day, for he makes him doeverything that he himself is prevented from doing, and he enjoys thesatisfaction of being a tyrant in imagination when he cannot be oneactually. 

June 25, 1897. [12]

The Sultan's million of armed men, organised under a German GeneralStaff, in a country where Germany is making every effort to possessherself of every kind of influence and every source of wealth, is notthis the chief danger which Russia has to fear, and whose imminence sheshould clearly foresee, in dealing with a Sultan like Abdul Hamid, aman of nervous fears and bloodthirsty instincts, bound to furtheranceof the sudden or premeditated schemes of William II?

July 27, 1897. [13]

Although Germany has commemorated her victories for the lasttwenty-five years, and will doubtless continue to commemorate them forthe next six months and then for evermore, it seems that we are to becompelled, in deference to "superior orders" revealed at the Council ofMinisters, to postpone the official consecration of a monument intendedto prove our devotion to our mutilated country, and our incurable griefat the defeat of Sedan. It seems that we have not the right, a freepeople, to give to sorely oppressed Alsace-Lorraine (which never ceasesto give proofs of her fidelity to France) a proof in our turn, that weremember the disaster which has separated us, that we lament thisdisaster, and hope one day to repair, if not to avenge it. Our prideis being systematically humiliated in every direction! The nature andconsequences of victory have indeed been cruelly modified, if one mustsubmit to the law of the conqueror after having been delivered from himfor twenty-five years. The glorious resistance of the past thusbecomes an ignominious surrender and makes us shed tears of shame, evenmore bitter than those which we shed over our saddest memories. 

Gentlemen of the Government of France, I would ask you to read theGerman newspapers; go to Berlin, go wherever you like in Germany or inAlsace-Lorraine, and you will find there hundreds and hundreds ofmonuments which have been inaugurated by the Imperial GermanGovernment. For these, the smallest event, ancient or modern, affordssufficient pretext. [14]

In all things and in every direction we yield today to the authority ofa monarch who emphasises our defeat more severely than those whoactually conquered us. Our strict national duty towards him who didnot overcome us with his own sword, was to hold ourselves firmlyupright before him and to protect our brethren, victims of the war. Alas! we have been obedient to Bismarck, and we shall be submissive toWilliam II. But why, and to what end? Had we met the liar and cheatwith honesty, had we remained calm in presence of this nerve-riddenindividual, we should have been able to recover, morally at first andthen actually, all the advantages that Prussia gained by her victory. 

The Imperial victim of restlessness, whose nerves are so unhealthilyand furiously shaken when he goes abroad, has a craving for disturbingthe nerves of others; this in itself makes him the most dangerous ofadvisers. William II never allows to himself or to others anyrelaxation of the brain; like all spirits in torment, he must needsfind, forthwith, to the very minute, a counter-effect to every thingthat confronts him. With him, even a sudden calm contains the threatof a storm, excitement lurks beneath his moods of quietness. Thebastard peace which he has authorised Turkey to conclude, conceals anew revolution in Crete: such is his will. No sooner is there evidenceof an improvement in our relations with Italy, than he invites KingHumbert to be present at the German military manoeuvres, in order tocreate dissension between the two countries. And so it is ineverything. He makes it his business to inspire weariness and vexationof spirit, to destroy those hopes and feelings which restore vitalityto the soul of a people. He is for ever stretching out a hand thatwould fain control by itself the rotation of the globe, and he sets itall awry. 

The glorification of William II at Kiel is founded upon shifting sands. Schleswig remains Danish and resists the Germanising process with aforce of energy at least equal to that of Alsace-Lorraine. The Danesof Schleswig are still Danes, they have not bowed the knee inadmiration of German _Kultur_, any more than the Alsatians, Schleswigsays: "Let them ask us by a _plébiscite_ and they shall see what wewant, what civilised men have the right to ask: light and air and theright to dispose of themselves. " The people of Alsace-Lorraine say:"If you would know what Alsace-Lorraine, which was never consulted, thinks of the Treaty of Frankfort, ask her. "

I blush, and my soul is filled with shame, when I think of thedegradation of French patriotism contained in the utterancesof . . . . , of those words which, to our lasting sorrow, evoked in _theCentre_ of the Chamber an outburst of enthusiasm. May our patriotsnever forget this cowardly session of the French Parliament! Thus, then, twenty-seven years after the war, when we have spent countlessmillions on the remaking of our army and navy, when every Frenchman hasbled himself to the bone to make France so strong and independent thatshe might cherish the brightest hopes, a President of the FrenchCouncil has the unutterable weakness, from the tribune, to threatenFrance with the German cane, should she dare to follow any other policythan that desired by Berlin!

And French deputies have applauded these shameful words, that arereproduced, with such joy as may be imagined, by the whole GermanPress! That Press has every reason to be delighted and to find inthese words clear proof that the official class in France has alwayslooked upon the Russian Alliance as a show-piece, never relying uponit, and that since the Berlin Congress (how often have I said it!) thisofficial class has never ceased to gravitate towards Germany. 

And I, a Republican, a fanatic for the Russian Alliance, such as itmight and should have been, a Frenchwoman, blind worshipper of myvanquished country--how can I hold my head up in the face of such ashameful collapse!

In placing his services at the disposal of the Grand Turk for thepersecution of Christians, in supporting those in Russia whose policyit is to urge their country into war with Japan and China and to divertit from its natural sphere of action in Europe, our Minister forForeign Affairs has ruined one of the finest political situations inwhich France has ever found herself. If the conduct of our foreignaffairs had been entrusted to a real statesman, France might haverecovered her position in Europe instead of going, with giant strides, down the path of hopeless decadence. 

Are not the intentions of Germany plain enough now and sufficientlyproved? They must be stupidly foolish who cannot see that a greatGerman war is being prepared against the Slavs and Gallo-Latins, undermost disastrous conditions for us and for Russia. It needs all theblindness of King Humbert, of Leopold II and of the HungarianCentralists, to believe that if and when it comes, a German victorywould confer any benefits on anything that is not German. 

September 8, 1897. [15]

The mind of Germany is everlastingly concerned with the toasts proposedby William II. We know the toast proposed after his review of the 8thArmy Corps. First of all, come his remarks on the subject of foreignpolicy. "It rests with us to maintain in its integrity the workaccomplished by the great Emperor and to defend it against theinfluences and claims of foreigners. " On such an occasion, after theremarks on "justice and equity, " which he made on board the _Pothuau_, the hot-headed Emperor was bound to deliver himself in some such strain. 

The next toast was that which he proposed at Hamburg in honour of KingHumbert and Queen Marguerita. This one is emphatic and at the sametime gracious, for William II cultivates every style and all the arts. On this occasion the King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany, referred asusual to the solidity of the Triple Alliance and to the mandate whichit has assumed for the preservation of peace. He spoke as the grandsonof William I. King Humbert replied as the grandson of Victor Emmanuel(_sic_), skilfully gliding over the question of the indissoluble natureof the Triple Alliance and reminding his hearers that Germany has nomonopoly in the pursuit of peace, but that all the Governments ofEurope are equally concerned in endeavouring to attain it. 

A movement is taking shape in Italy, full of danger and of promise, asevents will prove. The clericals and the republicans have sketched theoutline of an understanding, which looks as if it might be approved byLeo XIII. The danger of this union between the parties will lead KingHumbert back to a more national, a more peninsular, policy. The strongopposition that it has to face is useful, in that it will oblige thecountry's rulers to pay more attention to home affairs and to thenation's interests than to the glorification of the dynasty. 

September 28, 1897. [16]

"Germany is the enemy, " Skobeleff used to say at Paris in 1882, speaking to the younger generation of Slavs in the Balkans. Theseprophetic words were inspired in the hero of Plevna by Germany'sintrigues at the Berlin Congress, intricate intrigues, full of menacefor the future of the East. They should have haunted the spirit ofevery chancellery ever since, and become the formula around and aboutwhich European diplomacy should have organised its forces to resistPrussia's invading tendencies. 

Until 1870 the liberal, philosophic, learned and federalist genius ofGermany, was spreading all over the world through its literature, science, poetry and music, a genius whose attitude and equilibrium werethe fruit of an equal fusion of the mind of North Germany with that ofthe South. By the victories and conquest of 1870, this genius becamesuddenly and entirely absorbed in Prussian militarism, and has nowgrown to be a force hostile to all other races. The power of theintellect in all its forms, recognises reciprocity and scientificresearch; the power of brute force only recognises the idea ofpredominance and the subjection of others. The genius of PrussianisedGermany to-day combines the lust of conquest and power with theshopkeeping spirit, but even in this last, there is no idea ofreciprocity but only of exclusive encroachment. Her internationalmisdeeds are past all number; she saps and undermines all that has beenlaboriously built up by others. Germanisation carries with it theseeds of disintegration; it is a sower of hatred, proclaiming for itsown exclusive benefit the equity of iniquity, the justice of injustice. 

Only less extraordinary than the audacity of Prussia is Europe'sfailure to realise these truths. In 1870 Napoleon III was deluded, fooled and compromised, led into war by means of lies. Namelessintrigues set our generals one against the other. At a moment whenvictory was possible, the treachery of Bazaine made defeat inevitablefor France, whom the so-called genius of Moltke and Frederick-Carlwould never have vanquished. Having overthrown the Empire, the King ofPrussia, who had declared that he was fighting against it alone, madewar on France, well aware that sufficient vitality remained in thebroken pieces to enable them to come together again, and that, underthe threat of a French _revanche_, Prussia would be able to keepGermany exercised in such a state of mind as would reconcile her toremaining under the military yoke of the Hohenzollerns. And Europe, without protest, accepts this condition of things, fatal to herinterests and security, created for the sole profit of the lowest ofnations. By her self-effacement, indeed, she increased fivefold theinfluence and power of that nation. 

September 31, 1897. [17]

You and I, all of us, we French people in particular, who think that wewere born clever, we are all a pack of credulous fools. Let any onetake the trouble to put a little consistency, a little continuity, intothe business of fooling us--especially about outside matters whoseorigins we ignore, or people whose history we have not closelyfollowed--and we will swallow anything!

All of us Republicans, all the Liberals of the Second Empire, EdmondAdam, our friends, our group, --great Heavens! how we swallowed Germanrepublicanism and liberalism! With what brotherly emotion did we notsympathise with the misfortunes of those who, like ourselves, were thevanquished victims of tyranny! We, Frenchmen and Germans alike, weredefending the same principles, the same cause; we were fighting thesame good fight for the emancipation of ideas, for the levelling ofintellectual frontiers, etc. , etc. 

How well I remember the friendly _abandon_ of Louis Bamberger in ourmidst! Truly these Prussian Liberals and ourselves held the sameopinions concerning everything, far or near, which bore uponintellectual independence, upon progress and civilisation. And sincewe were united by such a complete understanding, such identity ofideas, it was our duty to work together: our German friends for thetriumph of liberalism in France, and we, for the triumph of liberalismin Germany. As to such questions as those of territorial frontiers, orthe banks of the Rhine, Bamberger used to ask, "Who thinks of suchthings in Germany? No one! They had other things to think about!"The heart's desire of the sons of the German revolution of 1848-49 wasa universal republic, universal brotherhood, and nothing else. Webelieved him, but for what an awakening! Hardly were the Germans inFrance, than all the orders dictated by Bismarck were translated intoFrench by Louis Bamberger. 

A book by Dr. Hans Blum, which has just been published in Berlin underthe title of "_The German Revolution of 1848-1849_, " throws even morelight on the "brotherly" sentiments of German republicans. In thisbook Dr. Blum recalls a speech made in the Palatinate on May 27, 1832. This is what the orator said: "There can only be one opinion amongstGermans, and only one voice, to proclaim that, on our side, we wouldnot accept liberty as the price of giving the left bank of the Rhine toFrance. Should France show a desire to seize even an inch of Germanterritory, all internal dissensions would cease at once and all Germanywould rise to demand the retrocession of Alsace-Lorraine, for thedeliverance of our country. "

That is how German Republicans thought, as far back as 1832. In1868-69 they made us swallow once again ideas of brotherhood frombeyond the Rhine, by lulling our perspicacity, by enervating thecourage we used to display towards _foreigners_, and it was severalweeks before we realised in 1870 that _all Germany_, from one end tothe other, was of the same type of honesty, the same character as theEms telegram. 

We are nothing but fools, credulous fools, if we believe that anyGerman can think otherwise than as a member of united, that is to sayPrussianised, Germany, or if we imagine that Prussia is anything butthe complete, total, unique, fully accepted, assimilated and admiredexpression of German patriotism. Prussia is the fine flower, the ripefruit of German unity. A few Bavarians, a few so-called Germanliberals, may pretend to be restive under the despotism of the King ofPrussia, but they accept unreservedly the authority of the GermanEmperor. And what is more, it is just as he is, that they wish theirEmperor to be, thus they have imagined, thus they have made him. He islike unto them in their own image, he governs them according to theirown mind. There may be some who, as a matter of personal inclination, might prefer to have more liberalism, but whenever Germanism is inquestion it is personified in William II, King of Prussia. Berlin isthe capital of all the Germans upon earth. 

During these past few days, in the Vienna Parliament, whilst an oratoron the Government side was singing the praises of the Emperor FrancisJoseph, a German Austrian exclaimed--an Austrian, mark you--"_Our_Emperor is William II. "

The credulous fools of the moment in France are the Socialists. Justas we believed in the liberalism of German Liberals before 1870, soFrench Socialists now believe in the internationalism of GermanSocialists. With greater sincerity than anything displayed by the oldGerman Liberals of before 1870, the Socialists of Hamburg have takenthe trouble to enlighten their French brethren with regard to theirreal sentiments. Herr Liebknecht himself has explained their attitude;his words may be summed up as follows: "The Socialists of France areour brothers, but if they wanted to take back Alsace-Lorraine, weshould regard them as enemies. "

There is nothing more remarkable than these German Socialists and theircongresses, these fellows who always preach to other nations againstpatriotism, and never come together except to make speeches about theFatherland. At the Hamburg Congress, Auer, the socialist deputy, looked into the future and saw "the Cossacks trampling underfoot allthe liberties of Western Europe. " What tyranny of barbarians could bemore cruel than the tyranny of Germany which, wherever it extends, oppresses the racial instincts of mankind, ruins and absorbs a people, reducing it to servitude by the assertion of the rights of a superiorrace over its inferiors. 

Has the Hamburg Congress disabused the minds of French Socialists onthe brotherhood of their German brethren? Let us hope that it will notbe necessary for them, as it was for us, to hear the thunder of Germanguns to understand that all parties in Germany are included in the_German party_, and that those who believe anything else are nothingbut poor deluded dupes. 

October 26, 1897. [18]

Those amongst us who, hour by hour, have devoted their lives to theservice of our mutilated country, have for their object, each withinthe humble limits of his individual efforts, the glorification ofFrance and that of Russia, the greatness of the one being dependent onthe greatness of the other. This twofold devotion, and dual servicekeep our fears perpetually alert in two directions; how great are thosetwo commingled sources of fear when patriotic Frenchmen, like patrioticRussians, come to consider the bewildering development of Prussianpower--a veritable process of absorption. 

German policy knows no laws except those of which Prussia is solebeneficiary. Only that which is profitable to Prussia is good; therest, all the rest, is a negligible quantity. Moral precepts, religious brotherhood, higher education by force of example, a sense ofjustice applied to the fair apportioning of influence, vested rights, and a reasonable idea of reciprocity--all such things are moonshine forPrussia. The sole object that Prussian Germany pursues is brutalconquest in all its forms. By all conceivable means to get a footingfor herself, here, there and everywhere; by the most energetic andmethodical diplomacy possible, by military science, by trade andmanufactures, by emigration and the race-spirit, and at the same timeby subterranean methods of allurement and by insolent threats; theseare her purposes and she accomplishes something of them every day. When one reflects what Germany's objects were, and what she hasachieved in the Eastern question, to what humiliations and crosspurposes she has exposed and reduced Europe, to what contempt for herown interests, what bewilderment and impotence, then, I repeat, thestoutest heart may have good cause for fear. 

Turkey, galvanised by Germany, has become a force to inspire terroramongst Christians in the East and throughout the whole range ofEuropean civilisation, where it comes into contact with Mussulmans, inall parts of the world. All the slow-moving patience of Russian andFrench diplomacy for centuries, all the long struggles of the Crusadeshave been robbed of their garnered fruits in a few months. Germanpolicy has overthrown all their influence, destroyed all their approachworks, released Europe's vassal from all his promises and obligations. The Sick Man, cured by a quack who holds his health in pawn, has boundhimself body and soul to his healer. 

Greece, frequently hesitating in her policy between British and Frenchsympathies, has nothing to hope for in the future from TurkophilGermany. William II will make her recovery a matter of limitations andbargaining. And who knows but that the strange proceedings of PrinceConstantine and of the royal princes, his brothers, may not beexplained by secret promises for the future--promises made by theGerman Emperor in return for blind submission to his will?

William II holds Turkey in the hollow of his hand. Byzantium and Romeare vassals of a German monarch. If Rome is threatened with ruin byher alliance with the King of Prussia, Byzantium is restored by a newCaraculla. William II is, therefore, twice entitled to wear the spherewith the Imperial crown atop, as the emblem of his sovereign power andas the imitator of the Roman Emperor. And notwithstanding theAnti-Christ protection which he extends to the infidel, he can alsoaffix the Cross to his sphere. Is he not about to take possession, intheatrical fashion, of the Holy Places?

Turkey has been restored by the Kaiser of Berlin. He is her Emperor, her Khalif, Master of the Holy Places, for the reason that his mosthumble servant is Emperor, Khalif and Master of the Holy Places. Solong as all these titles and powers lay in weak hands, the dangers ofTurkish policy, if not the anxieties it created, might be disregarded. But today the military strength of Turkey is firmly established and itis supported by another tremendous Power. Russia and France have nevercommitted an act of graver imprudence than to allow these two forces tounite. Germany, Germany, ever and ever greater! The German song is nolonger a dead letter. 

It was by guile that simulated liberal and democratic ideas, thatBismarck prepared public opinion in the German Confederation for unionwith Prussia. We, too, believed in the liberalism of Germans and ofBismarck before 1870, and herein we proved ourselves to be just aseasily gullible as French socialists are to-day, who believe in thegenuine internationalism of German socialists. 

For those whose interest lies in this direction, the ImperialStatistical Bureau of Berlin provides information of an astoundingkind. Germany's exports in 1896 reached the value of 3754 millions ofmarks. German exports to England and her colonies amounted to 808million marks, whilst England and her colonies supplied Germany withproduce to the amount of 931 million marks. [19]

Henceforth William II knows that he has at his command the tools withwhich to bite into England, industrially and commercially. He hasalready had a large bite, and he looks forward to eating up proudAlbion, slowly but surely. 

November 26, 1897. [20]

We must always remember and incessantly repeat: Germany's pathsthroughout the whole world are widening and lengthening horribly. Thelatest Roman invader profits at the same time by all the headway thatCarthage and Athens lose. England and France, alike responsible fortheir spoliation, are the more to blame in that they allow themselvesto be smitten with blindness at a time when they are not yet smittenwith impotence. In the East, both might have done what they liked, with the help and the interested support of Russia. But what have theydone? Less than nothing, since they have worked in servilefashion--one for the greater glory of her military conqueror, the otherfor the glory of her commercial conqueror. The European Concert, whether it retreated or advanced, whether it took up a question ordiscussed it, has done all things under the exclusive direction ofGerman interests. 

With a haughty contempt and disdain for the dignity of all Europeoutside the Triple Alliance, which should have been met by emphaticprotests, William II has compelled Russia, England and France to givepublic sanction to the crimes of the hyena of Stamboul, to build upwith their own hands the supremacy of Prussia in the East and that ofAustria in the Balkans. 

Baron Marshal von Bieberstein, Germany's new Ambassador, has beenwelcomed at the Court of the Grand Turk as the envoy of his chiefcounsellor, his only friend, as the sacrosanct representative of theEmperor-King, over-lord of the East. Thus all the delays, evasions andsubterfuges of the Sultan are sanctioned by William II. 

The King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany, takes pleasure in aself-contradictory policy, whereby he misleads and confuses the world. He is the same to-day as he was when, as prince heir to the throne, hedeclared that he "would never have any friends, only dupes. " Throughhim the Sultan, whom he delights to honour, becomes a conqueror, hiscrimes are condoned and cynically absolved before the outragedconscience of all Europe. Yes, all these things have been done byWilliam II; Abdul Hamid looks upon the German Emperor as the mainpillar of the temple of his glory!

One cannot speak of the East without feelings of shame and heartfeltindignation. In Turkey's stolid resistance to reform, in hermassacres, in the Cretan revolt, and in the war between her and Greece, William II has seen only an opportunity of gain for himself. He hascynically pursued his policy of profit-snatching. Just as certainquacks demand a higher fee when they prescribe for a patient whose lifeis in serious danger, so William II exacts heavier payment from hisclient. His demands are exorbitant: trade, finance, armaments, concessions, sale of arms, renewal of munitions of war, rebuilding ofthe fleet, etc. , etc. 

The King of Prussia continues, without ceasing and at his own sweetwill, to utter defiance to common sense and to the general direction ofcivilised opinion. Whilst by his policy he supports the foul murdererof Christians and prepares the way for fresh butcheries on the returnof the victorious Turks from Thessaly, William II has addressed theseastounding words to the recruits of his Royal Guards: "He who is not agood Christian, is not a brave man, nor a worthy Prussian soldier, andcan by no means fulfil the duty required of a soldier in the Prussianarmy. "

December 10, 1897. [21]

Germanism, which up till 1870 had a certain sense of decent restraint, and took the trouble to disguise itself skilfully under Bismarck, nolonger knows either limitations or scruples. It displays itselfwithout shame, secure in the hesitancy of the Slav and the weakness ofthe Latin peoples. Who could fail to be roused to indignation by thedisplay of German fanaticism which has taken place at Vienna? To thinkthat in the capital of an ally of William II, a faction, relying onadvice publicly given in Berlin should shout in the Reichsrath, overthrow a ministry, disturb the public peace in the streets, andaccompany these manifestations with Prussia's national song, "Die Wachtam Rhein, " and the display of the German flag! If scandalousproceedings such as these make no difference in the relations of theTriple Alliance, why wonder at the audacity and pride of the Teutons?

Everything is a matter of exclusive right for the German. There are noother rights but German rights, and when Germany claims the exercise ofa right, neither numbers, nor nationalism, nor races have anyexistence, confronted by the individuality, the nationalism, of theGerman race. Mommsen, the leading historian of Prussian Germany, wrotein the _Neue Freie Presse_ of Vienna, "Pummel the heads of the Czechswith your fists, " whereat all the Austrians of German race applauded, loudly declaring that if it came to a question between the Germans ofPrussian Germany and Austrian subjects of Slav extraction, theirsympathies would not be in doubt, for they, although Austrians, saw onthe one side their brethren of a superior _Kultur_, and, on the other, barbarians only fit to remain for ever oppressed. 

On another occasion, Mommsen wrote: "We are twin brothers; we becameseparated from you in former days, but soon we must be united again. "The linguistic map of Germany, widespread wherever German is spoken, reveals very clearly what are the ambitions of "Alt-Deutschland. " Thelion's maw of the "Slav-eaters" is always wide open. Sometimes thedevouring beast walks delicately, at others he hurls himself savagelyon his prey. 

The opening of the Reichstag has provided us with a very importantspeech from the throne by William II, for it emphasises the lack ofagreement which prevails between Sovereign, Parliament and people. TheEmperor-King has announced his plan for a seven-years' period for navalservice, similar to that in force in the army. The Bill will comebefore the Reichstag during its present session. As William hasdeclared more than once, he intends that the naval strength of Germanyshall equal that of her army. As for the German people, while ready toaccept all the sacrifices required to maintain the supremacy of itsmilitary forces, it has no hankerings after naval supremacy. Itsproudest hopes lie in the direction covered by the "Drang nach Osten"formula. It wants to advance upon Austria, while retaining the groundalready won. Mommsen and the Duke of Baden between them sum upGermany's ambitions. 

In Germany at the present moment, public opinion would appear to besatisfied with preserving the work of William I and pushing on towardsthe East; but how little will these things satisfy William II! It isthe will of the German Emperor, King of Prussia, to be a law-giver tothe East, to dispute with England the sovereignty of the seas, to takebites out of China, to display the ever-victorious flag of Germany allover the world. It is true that, to accomplish this will of his, willrequire an additional 500 millions, and it will require, in particular, that the Reichstag should vote them in one lump sum. William II islike his teacher Bismarck in the matter of dogged obstinacy. Like him, he will present his scheme in a hundred different guises, until itsopponents become weary and give in. 

Germany has just been giving the European Concert a lesson in thepolicy of energy. She displays as much bluntness in her sudden claimsas she displayed skill in having the Concert brought to ridicule byTurkey. Haiti and China have yielded on the spot to her directthreats. If they reflect, will not the Powers of the Concert realisethat Germany's every act is either a challenge or a lesson? The Germanexpedition to Kiao-chao, 4000 strong, is so greatly in excess of therequirements of her claims to compensation for injuries suffered, thatit reveals a definite intention on the part of William II to takeadvantage of the first plausible pretext to acquire a naval station inChina. 

Peace has been signed between Turkey and Greece, but let us not regardit as a settlement of outstanding questions, for the Ambassadors wereonly able to come to an agreement by eliminating questions in dispute, one by one. Germany now appears to dominate the Eastern question tosuch a degree that, in his Speech from the Throne, William II did noteven allude to it. What would have been the good? Turkey is already aprovince of Germany! William II and his Ambassador are the rulersthere and govern the country as sovereigns. The flood-gate of Germanemigration, secretly unlocked, will soon be thrown wide open; 200, 000Germans will be able to make their way into the Ottoman Empire everyyear. Before long their numbers will tell, they will assert theirrights, and the Slav provinces in the Balkans and in Austria will findthemselves out off by the flood. 

Is Russia beginning to realise that it would have been better for herto protect the Christians against Turkey rather than to allow them tobe slaughtered--that it would have been a more humane and far-seeingpolicy to defend Greece and Crete instead of abandoning them to thetender mercies of Turco-German policy? It is over-late to set theclock back and to challenge the pre-eminent control which William IIhas established over everything in the East. 

December 25, 1897. [22]

None but the author of _Tartarin_ and his immortal "departures" couldhave described for us the setting-forth of Prince Henry of Prussia forChina. The exchange of speeches between William and his brother makesone of the most extravagant performances of modern times, when read inconjunction with the actual facts, reduced by means of the telegraph totheir proper proportions, which may be summed up as follows: Taking upthe cause of two German missionaries who have suffered ill-treatment inChina, the Emperor of Germany sends an ultimatum to the Son of Heaven, who yields on every point and carries his submission so far that heruns the risk of compromising his relations with other Powers. Consequently, there is an end of the dispute. The facts, you see, aresimple. But Prince Henry has made him ready to receive his solemninvestiture at the hands of his brother, the Emperor, by going to kissPrince Bismarck on his forehead and cheek ("forehead and cheek, " asPrince Henry unctuously remarks, "so often kissed by my grandfather, William I"). Next Prince Henry goes to seek the blessing of GeneralWaldersee; then he has himself blessed by his mother, and by his aunt, and later he will go and get blessed by his grandmother, QueenVictoria. Slowly and solemnly each act and formality is accomplishedin accordance with the rites prescribed by William. The Imperialmissionary, the sailor transformed into a sort of bishop, sets forth. The quest of the pirate-knight is to conquer all China, to become itsemperor, to fall upon it, inspired by the God of battles. What mattersit that the Chinese will not resist, that they will fall prostratebefore him? The grandeur of Tartarin's setting forth has nothing to dowith his getting there. 

At Kiel all was prepared. Germany trembled with impatience and this iswhat she heard:--

"Imperial power means sea power: the existence of the one depends uponthe other. The squadron which your ships will reinforce must act andhold itself as the symbol of Imperial and maritime power; it must liveon good terms of friendship with all its comrades of the fifteenforeign fleets out yonder, so as energetically to protect the interestsof the Fatherland against any one who would injure a German. Let everyEuropean over them, every German merchant, and, above all, everyforeigner in the land to which we are going, or with whom we may haveto do, understand that the German Michael has firmly planted on thissoil his shield bearing the Imperial Eagle, so as to be able, once andfor all, to give his protection to all those who may require it of him. May our fellow-countrymen out yonder be firmly convinced that, nomatter what their situation, be they priests or merchants, theprotection of the German Empire will be extended to them with allpossible energy by means of the warships of the Imperial fleet. Andshould any one ever infringe our just rights strike him with yourmailed fist! If God so will He shall bind about your young browlaurels of which none, throughout all Germany, shall be jealous!

"Firmly convinced that, following the example of good models (andmodels are not lacking to our house, Heaven be praised!), you willfulfil my wishes and my vows, I drink to your health and wish a goodjourney, all success, and, a safe return! Hurrah for Prince Henry!"

Prince Henry's incredible reply was as follows--

"As children we grew up together. Later, when we grew to manhood, itwas given to us to look into each other's eyes and to remain faithfullyunited to each other. For your Majesty the Imperial Crown has beengirt with thorns. Within my narrower sphere and with my feeblestrength strengthened by my vows, I have endeavoured to help yourMajesty as a soldier and a citizen. . . . 

"I am very sincerely grateful to your Majesty for the trust which youplace in my feeble person. And I can assure your Majesty that it isnot laurels that tempt me, nor glory. One thing and one only leads meon, it is to go and proclaim in a foreign land the gospel of the sacredperson of your Majesty and to preach it as well to those who will hearit as to those who will not. It is this that I intend to blazon uponmy flag and wherever I may go. Our comrades share these sentiments!Eternal life to our well-beloved Emperor!"

Such gems must be left intact. One should read them again and again, line by line. Ponderous eloquence, fustian bombast, and mouldy pathoscombine with the display of pomp, to excite world-wide admiration. This play of well-rehearsed parts is given before an audience ofgenerals, high officials and politicians, and the scene is set at Kiel, that moving pedestal which the King of Prussia inaugurated when he madeall the fleets of Europe file past him. 

William II looks upon history as a vulgar photographic plate designedfor the purpose of "taking" him in all his poses and in such places ashe may select and appoint. 

A crusade is afoot: they go, they are gone, to preach "the gospel ofthe sacred person of William II. " A holy war is declared, to be wagedagainst a people which declines to fight. Never mind, they will find away to glory, be it only in the size of the slices of territory whichthey will seize. 

The two great conceptions of our Minister of Foreign Affairs are to actas the honest broker in China between St. Petersburg and Berlin, and toput the European Concert to rights. How often have I not told him thatall he has to gain by playing this game is a final surrender on thepart of France? Alas! my prophecy, already fulfilled in the East, isvery near to coming true in the Far East. If it should proveotherwise, it would not be to anything in our foreign policy that ourgood luck would be due, but to the fact that all Russia has come torealise that she is likely to be Germany's dupe in the Far East, as shehas been in the East. 

During the reign of the Emperor Alexander III and the Presidency of M. Carnot, the Franco-Russian Alliance possessed a definite meaning, because both these rulers understood that any pro-German tendencies intheir mutual policy must have constituted an obstacle to the perfectunion of the national policies of their two countries. France hadceased to indulge in secret flirtations with Germany when the latterwas no longer Russia's ally. The plain and inevitable duty of ourGovernment was to promote an antagonism of interests between Germanyand Russia and to prove to the latter that France was loyally workingto promote her greatness above all else, on condition that she shouldhelp us to hold our own position. If France had been governed as sheshould have been, had we possessed a statesman at the Quai d'Orsay, ourdiplomatic defeats at Canea, Athens and Constantinople, though possiblyinevitable, might have found a Court of Appeal; and France wouldfinally have been in a position of exceptional advantage in securing ajudgment favourable to our alliance. 

Germany's brutal seizure in China of a naval station that the ChineseGovernment had leased to Russia for the purposes of a winter harbourfor her fleet, foreshadows the sort of thing that William II is capableof doing, under cover of an _entente_, so soon as Japan comes toevacuate Wei-hai-wei, upon China's payment of the war indemnity. Germany's scruples in dealing with "sick men, " remind one of thecharlatans who either kill or cure, according to their estimate oftheir prospects of being able to grab the inheritance. 

[1] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 15, 1896, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[2] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 1, 1896, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[3] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1896, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[4] _Ibid. _, September 1, 1896. 

[5] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[6] La Nouvelle Revue, May 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[7] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[8] William II had just sent 8000 marks to the fund for the victims ofthe fire at the Charity Bazaar. 

[9] Since Parisian journalists have dared to sing their cynical praisesin honour of the German Emperor, no considerations need restrain ourpen in defending the Tzars from the charges that have been broughtagainst them. These people ask: How is it that _your_ Emperor ofRussia has delayed so long in expressing to us his condolence? Why?Let me explain. The fire at the Charity Bazaar broke out at 4 p. M. OnMay 4, but the Russian Ambassador in Paris only telegraphed the news toCount Mouravieff on the evening of May 5. The Emperor can only haveheard of the disaster on the 6th; it was then too late for him totelegraph a direct message, and it was therefore thought best to sendinstructions to the Russian Embassy. The blame in this matter fallstherefore upon M. De Mohrenheim. It was due to his methods ofproceeding that the Emperor learnt the news forty-eight hours late. _Le Gaulois_, in a somewhat officious explanation, informs us that theRussian Ambassador kept back his telegram because May 5 is the birthdayof the Empress, and because there is a superstition in Russia that itis bad luck to get bad news on one's birthday. This explanation isuntrue; there is no such superstition. Did they conceal from NicholasII, on the day of his coronation, the terrible catastrophe atKhadyskaje, which cost the lives of thousands of Russians; and did thisdisaster prevent the Tzar from attending M. De Montebello's ball thatsame evening? Moreover, M. De Mohrenheim should have telegraphed onMay 4 to Count Mouravieff, leaving to him the choice as to the hour forcommunicating the information to the Tzar. M. De Mohrenheim is in thehabit of doing this sort of thing; when he chooses, his instincts aredilatory. He behaved in exactly the same way, and with the sameobject, on the day when M. Carnot was assassinated. 

As soon as the news of that dreadful event reached the Quai d'Orsay, the _Chef du Protocole_, (then Count Bourqueney) went in all haste tothe Russian Embassy, woke up the Ambassador, and informed himofficially of the disaster which had just overtaken France. It wasthen two o'clock in the morning. Instead of telegraphing the news atonce to Alexander III, M. De Mohrenheim only did so at eleven o'clockon the following day. Now, he knew perfectly well that, as the resultof this delay, the Tzar could only learn the news two days laterbecause, on the following day in the early morning, Alexander III wasstarting with the whole Imperial family for Borki, where he was aboutto open a memorial chapel on the spot where several years before anattempt had been made on his life. The journey takes about forty-eighthours, and as the destination of the Imperial train is always keptsecret, the Tzar could not receive the telegram until after his arrivalat Borki. It will be remembered that the delay which thus took place, in the communication of the Tzar's sympathy with France in hermourning, created an unfortunate impression, and enabled the GermanEmperor to get in ahead of him by two days. The explanation of thedelay which occurred on that occasion should have been communicated tothe Havas Press Agency, and the Tzar's journey mentioned. This wasdone by all foreign newspapers, but good care was taken that no word ofthe sort should be published in Paris. It is, therefore, evident that, if the Kaiser has been twice placed in the position which has enabledhim to get in well ahead of Alexander III and Nicholas II, the blamemust not be ascribed to any indifference, or lukewarm feelings on thepart of the friends of France. The most one can reproach them with isto have retained at Paris an Ambassador about whose sentiments bothTzars were fully informed long ago. 

[10] "Truly, this man must be devoted to France, " M. Emile Hinzelinwrites me, "he must love her dearly, since he keeps a strip of her, cutfrom the living flesh, which still palpitates and bleeds. Whom can hepossibly hope to deceive? Mülhausen is not far from Paris, neither isColmar, nor Strasburg, nor Metz. It is from this unhappy town of Metz, the most cruelly tortured of all, that he sends us his condolences andhis bag of money. As is usual with complete hypocrites, he is by nomeans lacking in impudence. Never have the French people ofAlsace-Lorraine been accused with more bitter determination, prosecuted, condemned and exploited by all possible means andhumiliated in every way. Never has William himself displayed suchunrestraint and wealth of insult in his speeches to the Army. I cameacross him during a journey of mine some months ago, just as he wasunveiling a monument, commemorating the fatal year of 1870. With hishead thrown back, his eyes rolling in frenzy and rage, shaking his fisttowards France and with his voice coming in jerks, he utteredimprecations, challenges and threats in wild confusion. Next day theGerman Press published his speech, very carefully arranged, toned down, and even changed in certain respects; but it still retained, in spiteof this diplomatic doctoring, an unmistakable accent of fierce anddetermined hatred. There you have him in his true light, and in hisreal sentiments, this man of sympathetic telegrams, of flowers, andeasy tears. "

[11] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 16, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[12] _La Nouvelle Revue_, July 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[13] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[14] Amongst the latest proofs of this, here is one, I quote from aGerman newspaper: "In 1870, when war was declared, the _KölnischeZeitung_ offered a reward of 500 thalers for the first capture of aFrench gun. This prize was won by some soldiers of the first SilesianBattalion of the 5th Regiment of Chasseurs, who, in their first fightat Wissemburg, took possession of a cannon which bore the name of LeDouay, after the commander-in-chief of a French Army Corps. Itoccurred to these soldiers to erect a monument at the spot where thisgun was captured. The monument itself, consisting of a large rock fromthe Vosges, was the gift of one of them, and on June 20 thepresentation of the monument took place, in the presence of Chasseurswho had come from all parts of the country and of a large number ofofficers. Twenty-seven years ago, the Chasseurs were there, on thesame spot, facing the enemy; to-day, they hail the heights ofWissemburg as part of the great German Fatherland, reconquered after afierce and bloody struggle. " It is evident that the Emperor is not theonly one to celebrate these anniversaries, that new ones are alwaysbeing invented, and that no humiliation will be spared us inAlsace-Lorraine. 

[15] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1897, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[16] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[17] This article appeared in the _Petit Marseillais_ under the titleof "The Gulls. "

[18] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[19] A friend writes to me from Germany: "You cannot conceive theeffects produced upon me by the _incredible_ development of industrialenterprise throughout all Germany. Factories seem to spring out of theground; in all the large towns that one visits, smoke ascends fromhundreds of chimneys. The workshops that manufacture steam-engines areso overloaded with work, that orders take more than a year to fill. Iwent all over the offices of the Patents Bureau in Berlin--a place aslarge as our Ministry of Commerce, with a library more complete thanthat of our poor Conservatoire of arts and trades. Alas, we are butpigmies beside these giants! Everywhere one sees evidence of order, discipline and patience, qualities in which we are somewhat lacking. But I am not down-hearted, and with the help of a few colleagues, weare going to try and propagate some of the ideas we have learned fromour neighbours and which may be of benefit to our country. "

[20] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[21] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 15, 1897, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[22] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 2, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

CHAPTER VI

1898

The encroaching expansion of Germany--When will there be a determinedcoalition against Germany?--The crime of Jules Ferry--William IIchecked in his attempt to obtain a representative of the Holy See atConstantinople--Leo XIII confirms France in her protectorate overChristians in the East--William's journey to Palestine. 

January 9, 1898. [1]

Shall I be told that I repeat myself if, once a fortnight, I say toevery good citizen, anxious about the many dangers that threaten hiscountry, "Beware of this Germany, whose numbers and wealth and strengthare ever-increasing and multiplying?"

Let each one of us do all that lies in his power not to assist in anyway the industry and commerce of Germany, which devour and destroy ourown. Let us enlighten those near to us who in their turn willenlighten their neighbours, and let us stimulate a movement ofresistance to the invasion of German produce of every kind; let everyone of us contribute his share to the strengthening of public opinionfor the struggle against the spirit of Germanism, which is graduallyundermining the national spirit of France. May the voter insist thathis representative should not keep his eyes fixed within the narrowsemi-circle of parliamentary affairs and that he should observe beyondit the continual retreat of our diplomacy before the advance of Germanpredominance. 

Even the most limited intelligence can now perceive that, even if wefelt ourselves powerless to pursue our secular policy for the defenceand protection of Christians in the East, nothing compelled us towitness the marriage contract between Germany and the Grand Turk, tooverwhelm them both with good wishes for their perfect union, to lendthem our aid in establishing their perfect understanding. 

What need is there for us to seek to reconcile Germany and Russia inChina? Germany could not have rendered any valuable assistance to ourally in the Middle Kingdom, for she brings to Asia nothing but herinsatiable greed, and had it not been for her reconciliation withRussia, she would never have dared to gratify it. Once sure of theconfidence of the young Tzar, with what haste and brutality did WilliamII proceed to display his long teeth! So there he is, definitely inpossession of Kiao-chao Bay, for only the utterly credulous willbelieve in any retrocession of this so-called leased territory, inrecovering from Germany this admirable commercial harbour, thismarvellous strategical position. 

February 6, 1898. [2]

Lies, insolence, polite hypocrisy, underhand plotting, audacity, cynicism and cruelty, these are the ingredients that go to the makingof Prussian statecraft. 

It must be admitted that the Emperor-King of Prussia is growing. Cutting himself clear from the timid souls who are still possessed of asense of right, he assumes the proportions of a Machiavelli and aMephistopheles combined. William the Incalculable, as his subjectscall him, develops to his own advantage the influences and the power ofevil. What new distress will he bring to Christian souls, thisapplauder of the Armenian massacres, when, after having covered withhis favour, supported by his strength, guided by his advice andencouraged by his friendship, the assassin who reigns atConstantinople, he makes his pilgrimage to Palestine, escorted intriumph by the same soldiers who, by order of the Red Sultan, havekilled, tortured and tormented Christians? We shall see him kneelingbefore the tomb of Christ, surrounded by Turks with bloodstained hands, when he goes to take possession of those much-coveted Holy Places, which shall make him, the prop and stay of the exterminator ofChristians, sole arbiter of Christianity in the East. Can the heavensthat look down on Mount Sinai smile on William II, sheltering in theshadow of Turkish bayonets? When, at Jerusalem, he celebrates theopening of the Prussian Church (whose corner-stone was laid byFrederick III, repentant of his military glory), will not this man ofinsatiable pride receive some sign of warning from above? No, itsufficeth perhaps that he should go forward to meet his fate. Is itnot the same for all evil-doers, no matter to what heights they mayattain, who only climb that they may be hurled to lower depths?

The challenges that men fling at the ideal structure of the principlesof humanity are like the stones that children throw at monuments. Theyaccumulate and serve to consolidate that which they were meant todestroy. 

No one can reproach William II with inactivity, and in this the monarchat Berlin is of one mind with Germany. He draws the nation after him;it follows blindly on dizzy paths of adventure and the pursuit ofwealth. 

There is this about Germany to inspire us with fear--and one wondershow it is that Russia and France have not been so terrified long ago asto make them leave no stone unturned in the Near and Far East, toexorcise the perils with which her earth-hunger threatens them--thatshe is just as greedy as England in the politics of business, has justthe same jealous desires for financial and commercial expansion, butthat, in addition, she has hankerings of another sort: for glory, forconquests, for the annexations necessary to feed and satisfy herimperious military spirit. When we consider the innumerable objectsfor which Germany is working in the Near and Far East, we are compelledto astonishment at the narrow limits of the field of action that sheleaves for other nations. 

Prior to 1870, every country in Europe possessed its own distinguishingfeatures, its power, its ambition, or its dominating influences. England was the first, of commercial and industrial nations. Russiawas the great leader of Oriental policy, the predestined heir to Asia. Austria was the supreme German power. France was a military nation andat the same time the eldest daughter of the Church; she was theundisputed protector of Catholic Missions all over the world and umpirein most of the great international quarrels. To-day, Germany is atonce all that England, Russia, Austria and France were. She holdsevery monopoly, centralises power of every kind, and destroys all powerof movement in others. When shall we have a determined coalitionagainst Germany? Herein lies the only hope of liberating Europe fromthe claws of Prussia and recovering something of the lion's share whichWilliam takes to himself. 

February 22, 1898. [3]

By what process of mental aberration has it come to pass that ourMinister of Foreign Affairs has placed himself under the wing ofWilliam II at Constantinople? His one object should have been tocombine every effort on the part of Russia and France to keep Germanyout of the East. 

There would be no parallel to such a deplorable lack of foresight, ifour diplomacy had not provided it in the Far East, if it had not helpedto prove to Germany, there also, that she was becoming indispensable inChina, that the prestige of Russia combined with that of France wasinsufficient to cope with the situation and to solve the difficultiesthat had arisen with the Son of Heaven, with Japan and England. 

The blindness which has characterised our foreign policy, which, sinceJules Ferry took it in hand, has made us labour continuously with ourown hands for the greatness of Germany, as if to justify our humilityin her eyes, this will remain the crime of the initiator of ananti-national policy, the crime of M. Jules Ferry. It will also remainthe irreparable fault committed by those who have adopted thelamentable policy which consists in following in the train of theconqueror once the ransom has been paid. 

March 9, 1898. [4]

William II will have his sea-going fleet, and be able to challenge thefleets of the Great Powers and meet them on equal terms. He had meantto carry with a high hand his seven years' naval construction plan, inthe same way that Bismarck obtained his seven years' military programmein spite of the opposition of the German Catholics. And now behold theGerman Budget Committee has sanctioned the raising of the money for hiswarships in six years!

As to the projected reform of the military code and the completere-organisation of the army on a homogeneous basis, the Emperor-King ofPrussia is not in the least disturbed. No doubt Bavaria, Würtembergand certain other Confederated States will claim to keep theirautonomous armies by virtue of the Constitution of 1871, but the Kingof Prussia is quite determined, on his part, to administer the Germanarmy under a single military code. Bavaria, they tell us, will neveryield. Bavaria will yield. The German victories of 1870-71 createdthe German Empire and every Empire must of necessity be centralised orelse become once more a Confederation. 

United Teutondom, Germany, is embodied in Prussia. The Bavarians, likeall the other Saxons, sing the national hymn "Germany, Germany, everand ever greater. " What, then, is the good of all their talking atMünich? If Germany is to grow ever greater, she cannot have severalcentres of influence. Therefore Bavaria will submit. 

April 1, 1898. [5]

Notwithstanding the fact that he is a Protestant, William is impressedby the greatness of the rôle that Leo XIII might play in Christianity;and, therefore, brings all the influences at his command to bear uponhim. Through all his official and officious agents he tells him thatatheistic France, in the hands of laymen, can no longer be the eldestdaughter of the Church; that the Holy Father is the Head ofChristianity throughout the world, and that in the East and Far East heshould make use of those who are most Christian; that an Emperor who isa believer, even though he be a Protestant, is much better fitted to bethe protector of Christians in China and in Turkey than a Republicwithout faith. The only possible influences in China and in Turkey arereligious influences, but economic questions follow in their wake, andthe German Emperor, King of Prussia, means to appear before the peoplesof the Near and Far East, in the light of his spectacular proceedingsat Kiel, of the triumphant audacity of Kiao-chao, and of the splendourwith which he is going to invest his journey in Palestine, as theController of their destinies, the defender of their rights and thesupplier of such goods as they may wish to purchase. 

It is possible that William II may be able to persuade Leo XIII that heshould entrust him with the Holy Places and work together with him inChina. In any event, the Catholics of Germany are now a long way fromthe _Kulturkampf_; they will vote the naval budget by an ample majorityand Germany will become the great Naval Power, and at the same time thegreat Military Power, so that in the end she may become the wealthiestof the Commercial Powers: this is the dream of William, King of Prussia!

June 5, 1898. [6]

William II has become attached to the East, the scene of his chiefdiplomatic successes, a part of the world in which his Imperial word islaw. He will continue to shower his favours upon it, and disturbeverything there, so as to be able to fish in troubled waters. He willransack everything for his purposes, even that very vague thing, homogeneous Turkey, based on the Mussulman faith. At this moment, heis planning I know not what kind of acceptance of the Cross by theCrescent, just as he planned Prince Henry's Chinese crusade. If theCuban war did not detain him in Europe, he would have gone toPalestine, with a cavalcade of some sort which would have been an eventin the history of Christianity. And he will do it yet. 

What does Russia, so jealous for the Holy Places, think of theintrusion into them of the German Kaiser? He is master there. Here isone of the most striking proofs of the fact: the Mussulmans have aperfect horror of bells, but the new German Church erected at Jerusalemis equipped with a fine peal of them. That which neither Christiankings, nor even Tzars, were able to obtain, William II has achieved. And such is the idea of force with which the German Emperor isassociated in their minds, that even the most fanatical Mussulmans havebent the knee in submission to this sacrilege. 

July 12, 1898. [7]

The unseverable unity of Pan-Germanism is the ruling formula with theGermans of Austria. Are they not continually threatening the Hapsburgsthat they will secede if the supremacy of their German minority overthe Slav majority is not maintained? They do not even take the troubleto lower their voices when they cry to the neighbouring Empire: "Beforevery long we shall be yours. "

Since the defeat of France, Germany's ambitions have grown to a heightout of all proportion even to the importance of her conquest. On allsides she has cast covetous eyes, stretched out her grasping hand inall directions. For only France, while still intact, possessed thecourage to protect other nations from the all-consuming German appetite. 

That Germany should have captured the monstrous friendship of a FrenchMinister for the Christian-slaying Sultan! Can any one possibly findany absolution, any excuses, for such a deplorable mismanagement of ourmaterial and moral interests in the East?

Gradually, unless something can be done to check these unfortunatetendencies of our diplomacy, William II will announce that the time hascome for the apotheosis, _à la turque, _ of a Protestant Emperor. 

And then, all of a sudden after this gradual preparation, the Catholicsand the Holy Places of the Orthodox will be delivered over to one ofthe only forces of Christianity, to that which gives absolution formurder and protects the slayer of Christians. 

Race, nationality, politics, trade, influence and guarantees, all maybe summed up in Oriental countries in a single word: Religion! Must, then, a government seek to advance the cause of its State religion, notfrom religious conviction, but in the spirit which seeks to retain theprivileges and wealth it has acquired and its powers of self-defence?

Our new Minister of Foreign Affairs understands these things--he haspondered over them long: will he not, therefore, seek and find in thecomplexities of Oriental policy the factor of immediate and personaladvantage which is calculated to minister to boundless self-conceit?He will endeavour quietly to untie the least compact of the knots tiedat Stamboul and Berlin; he will replace them by other knots, tied moreclosely by himself. He will display the cleverness of those who makeno effort to be clever, and he will not lack clearness of sight andprecision for the simple reason that he loves his country better thanhimself. 

July 25, 1898. [8]

The high approval bestowed by Germany upon all the subterfuges of thediplomacy of Abdul Hamid, the bankruptcy of the European Concert, theembarrassment in which each one of the Governments that compose thisstrange Concert finds itself when confronted with the machiavelism ofthe Turk, all these have produced a situation intolerable for thosestatesmen who have any regard for the dignity of their country. 

Our new Minister of Foreign Affairs, upon coming to the Quai d'Orsay, felt keenly the humiliation inflicted upon France by the persistentweakness of our policy. From the outset he succeeded in foiling theSultan's dangerous scheme for securing a representative of the Holy Seeat Constantinople which would have abolished at one stroke the wholeFrench protectorate over Christians in the East. 

Cardinal Ledochowsky, Prefect of Propaganda, with the help of theprospective Nuncio at Constantinople, and in order to emphasise thecollapse of French influence in the East, was making his plans inreadiness for William II to assume, solemnly and definitely, aprotectorate over the Christians. Already the Kaiser's trusty friendat the Vatican had decided to instruct the Catholic clergy in Palestineto render exceptional honours to the German Emperor on the occasion ofhis journey to the Holy Places. But the Council of the Congregation, in plenary session, has opposed the wishes of Cardinal Ledochowsky, andso there will be no nomination of a representative of the Holy See atthe Court of the Grand Turk. The German Emperor must needs be contentwith the honours "usually accorded to reigning princes. " This is thekind of rebuff that neither Abdul Hamid nor William II readily forgives. 

One of the German Emperor's chief joys is to break things. To bewilderpeople by the suddenness of his resolutions, to court all risks, toproclaim his power, to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind: these arethe pleasures of the German Emperor, King of Prussia. There is no needfor me to repeat the strange Neronian stories that are whispered inGermany concerning certain incidents of William's sea-voyages andjourneys in Norway. A number of mysterious deaths following one uponthe other provide sufficient material for these tales. For those who, like myself, have never ceased to regard William II as a creature ofunbridled pride, it is enough from time to time to note one of hisactions, so as to form our judgment of the man and to be able topredict to what heights of complacent admiration for himself and ofseverity for others he is likely to attain hereafter. 

August 10, 1898. [9]

Created by force, the unity of Germany is maintained by force. On theday that another force arises, Germany will collapse, for her cohesionhas only been attained and cemented by cunning and contempt for thetruth; she has lived by the sword and she shall perish by the sword. 

It is said that Bismarck was the real obstacle to an understandingbetween England and Germany. It is certainly true that neither Francenor Russia has anything to gain by England's throwing herself into thearms of Germany. Mr. Chamberlain is ready to do all in his power todraw England into the Triple Alliance, and William II, no longerdreading the criticisms of Varzin, would now accept with pleasure theproposals which he seemed to disdain. Nevertheless, the real rivalthat threatens England's future is Germany. 

The German peril, industrial and commercial, inspires England withfear, and we should know how to turn this situation to our advantage. Let us do all we can to prevent an _entente_ being arranged which woulddeprive us of a card and add one to the enemy's hand. 

A war in China between Russia and Great Britain, no matter how it mightend, would fulfil Germany's dream of being delivered from Russia in theEast and the Balkans. This is precisely what William II desires andseeks--herein pursuing Bismarckian tactics. France and Russia must, therefore, exercise all their skill to prevent it, and go exceedingwarily amidst the intrigues that are now afoot. 

What has been the result of the Note which the representatives of thePowers have handed to the Porte, on the initiative of France andRussia, stating that they will never permit the landing of new Turkishforces in Crete? Merely to prove that Austria and Germany refuse to beparties to these proceedings, and to speak plainly, support the Sultan. Ah, if Russia could only be kept busy in China! What a godsend ifFrance could be left alone to play the part of this admirable EuropeanConcert, the genial notion of our last Minister of Foreign Affairs!

Germany alone secures her ends, profits by all the disturbances shecreates, waxes and grows fat, and William II smiles at the thought of aworld-wide kingdom ruled by himself alone. Once master of the wholeearth, he may come to stand face to face with God. 

September 11, 1898. [10]

On the occasion of a gala dinner at Hanover, William II, always in ahurry to display his likes and everlastingly parading his dislikes, didnot fail to seize the opportunity of being polite to England anduncivil to France. He proposed a toast to the health of the 10th ArmyCorps, recalling to memory the brotherhood of arms between Englishmenand Germans at Waterloo; he glorified the victory of the Sirdar, Kitchener, in the Soudan. 

A few days later, speaking of peace, the German Emperor, King ofPrussia, let fly his Parthian arrow at his august brother, the Tzar. At Porta, in Westphalia, he said: "Peace can only be obtained bykeeping a trained army ready for battle. May God grant that 'e mayalways be able to work for the maintenance of peace by the use of thisgood and sharp-edged weapon. "

Nothing could have been more bluntly expressed; it is now perfectlyclear that the reduction of armaments has no place in the dreams ofWilliam II. I know not by what subterfuge he will pretend to approveof a Congress "to prepare for universal peace, " but I know that, forhim, the dominating and absorbing interest of life lies in conquest, invictories, in war. Turkey victorious, America victorious, Englandvictorious--these are the lights that lead him on. He excels atgathering in the inheritance won for him by his own people, and helikes to have a share also in the successes of others. He has had hisshare in Turkey and has filed his application in America. He isalready beginning with England in China and speculating with GreatBritain in Delagoa Bay, under the eyes of his greatly distressedfriends of the Transvaal. 

Amidst a hundred other schemes, the German Emperor, King of Prussia, isby no means neglecting his apotheosis at Jerusalem. We are told eventhe details of his clothes, which combine the military with the civil, "An open tunic of light cloth, brown coloured; tight trousers, bootsand sword-scabbard of yellow leather, the insignia of a German Generalof the Guards, a helmet winged with the Prussian eagle. " A truly piousrig-out forsooth, in which to go and kneel before the tomb of Christ!They say that, in order to judge of the effect of this costume, WilliamII has posed for his photograph forty times. 

The German Church in Palestine certainly never expected to see the_summus episcopus_ adopting an attitude of extreme humility in thatcountry. If any simple-minded Lutheran were to address the Kaiser inthe streets of Jerusalem, after the manner of the Hungarian workman, who saw the archbishop primate, all glittering with gold in his galacoach, passing over the Buda bridge, William II would answer him in thesame style as did the archbishop: "That is just the sort of carriage inwhich Jesus used to drive, " exclaimed the workman. The archbishopheard him, and leaning from the carriage door, replied: "Jesus, my goodfellow, was the son of a carpenter. I am the son of a magnate, andArchbishop Primate of Hungary. "

William II undoubtedly believes that he does Christ an honour in goingto visit Him. He goes in the full pride of a personality which sees initself all the great events of the past, gathered together as in anhistoric procession. He goes, with all the pomp and circumstance of aglorious omnipotence, he, whose diplomacy has made a protégé of theKhalif and a footstool of the Crescent--he goes, I say, to manifesthimself as the Emperor of Christianity. 

Was all then to be lost to us at a stroke--the Crusades, all the moraland economic interests of France in the East, that secular protectorateof which we, the possessors, make so light whilst William II devotes toits conquest all the resources of his skill and cunning? Not so! OurMinister of Foreign Affairs was on the alert. William XI, who is anartistic walking advertisement, designed, like a Mucha or a Cheret, forthe German market, has now had evidence of the fact that, if religionis an article of export for him, anti-clericalism is nothing of thekind for us. Our interests in the East have been protected andpreserved. The Pope of Lutheranism has not been able to silence thePope of Rome. The radical Republic which represents France remains thegrand-daughter of Saint Louis. On hearing the authoritative news ofWilliam II's journey to Jerusalem, Cardinal Langénieux, Archbishop ofRheims, begged Leo XIII for "a reassuring word. " Up to the present, the Holy See has recognised our Protectorate in the East as a simplefact; to-day it is recognised as a right. Here is the "reassuringword, " the answer given by Leo XIII to Cardinal Langénieux:--

"We know that for centuries the French nation's protectorate has beenestablished in Eastern Countries and that it has been confirmed bytreaties between governments. Therefore no change whatsoever should bemade in this matter. This nation's protectorate, wherever it isexercised, should be religiously maintained and missionaries must benotified accordingly, so that, if they have need of help, they may haverecourse to the Consuls and other agents of the French nation. "

At their last Congress the German Catholics--we know that the Catholicsconstitute a third of the population of Germany and that theirrepresentatives can hold in check the Imperial policy in theReichstag--openly expressed their sympathy for Leo XIII, for the "nobleexile at Rome, who is compelled, from the day of his elevation to thePapacy, to pledge himself never to cross the threshold of the Vaticanalive. " When William II is compelled hereafter to make concessions tothe Centre in the Reichstag, his allies, the Italians, will be welladvised to give the matter their attention. 

September 26, 1898. [11]

All the actions of that modern Lohengrin, William II, derive theirinspiration from a Wagnerian theory concerning the harmony of discords. This friend of the Sultan, soon to be the guest of the Khedive, congratulates Kitchener, the Sirdar, whose deeds are the blood-stainedconsecration of England's machinations in Mussulman territory. 

Almost at the identical moment that he sent his telegram to the Sirdarto celebrate a British victory, he said at the opening of the newharbour at Stettin: "I rejoice that the ancient spirit of Pomerania isstill alive in the present generation, urging it from the land towardsthe sea. _Our future lies on the water_. "

Queen of the Seas, take warning!

We know how William II is wont to express his pacific ideas and what ishis conception of the reduction of armaments--with blustering threatsand hosannahs in praise of rifles and cannons. On the subject ofpeace, the German mind has long since been fixed in its ideas. Onecannot sum them up better than in the following quotation from a Berlinnewspaper. 

"At the Paris Salon in 1895 there was a great picture by Dangerentitled 'The Great Authors of Arbitration and Peace, ' depicting allthose, from Confucius and Buddha down to the Tzar Alexander III, whohave laboured in the cause of peace. In a note which explained thepainter's work, it was said to be impossible to depict all the friendsof arbitration and peace. It seems to me that such friends of peace asWilliam II and Prince Bismarck should not have been forgotten, for, bythe Treaty of Frankfort, they have brought about a lasting peace andhave obtained the power required to maintain it. "

Between this German conception of peace and ours, is there not a gulfthat nothing can ever bridge?

October 23, 1898. [12]

William II is in the seventh heaven. One by one he dons his shininggarments, which the eastern sun gladdens with silver and gold. He hasmade another trip on his swan, that is to say, on the white_Hohenzollern_, which carries Lohengrin to the four corners of theearth. The German Emperor's departure from Venice was a master-strokeof scenic effects, one of those subversions of history, to which theeccentric monarch of Berlin is so passionately addicted. Nothingindeed could have been more original than to make the sons of theancient Venetians, hereditary foes of the Turk, welcome a Protestantmonarch who is the friend of the chief slaughterer of Catholics. 

A Christian Emperor landing at Stamboul accompanied by his Empress, obtaining permission from the Sultan to hold a review of troops on a_Selamlik_ day, acclaimed by the Mussulman people and soldiery, exaltedamidst all the pomp and splendour of the East, feasting his eyes onmagic colours, the hero of unrivalled entertainments, surely it isenough to raise to a frenzy of pride the potentate who has made suchthings possible. 

But amidst these pomps and vanities, William is by no means neglectfulof his skilful and lucrative business schemes. It is said that he hassecured a concession for a commercial harbour at Haïdar Pasha, nearScutari. Haïdar Pasha is the railhead of the Anatolian line, whichbelongs to a German company. Will the great commercial traveller, William II be able to persuade his sweet friend the Slayer, to make hima grant of the coaling station which he covets at Haïfa? The Sultanwill refuse him nothing. Will France and Russia have time to spare forlodging protests, their attention having been so skilfully diverted toFashoda on the one hand and to China on the other? Is it not writtenthat the two nations must unite forces if they would check the schemesof him who aspires to world-wide dominion over religion and commerce?

Though France and Russia have sometimes quarrelled over the question ofthe Holy Places, they cannot regard without anxiety the triumphantentry of the third thief upon the scene. 

England, too, is busy with Fashoda and does not seem to be in such aposition, diplomatically speaking, at Constantinople, as to be able tooppose the cession by Turkey to Germany of a Mediterranean harbour. Moreover, the manner in which she has grabbed Cyprus leaves her withoutmuch voice to talk of the _status quo_ in the Mediterranean. 

William II in Palestine! This man with his mania for glittering pompand grandeur going to kneel at the stable in Bethlehem; the proudestand most conceited of men, the most puffed up with vainglory, treadingthe paths trodden by the feet of the Humblest; the most egotistical andleast brotherly, coming to bow before Him who is brotherhoodpersonified: could any spectacle be sadder for true Christians?

November 10, 1898. [13]

The Imperial pilgrim has left the Holy City, _El Cods_, as the Turksthemselves have it. Amidst the silence of its holy places histurbulent majesty manifested itself in every direction. He prayed, discoursed, telegraphed, wrote and conducted inaugural functions. Hemade all the Stations of the Cross and preached to the German Colony inJerusalem, telling them that amidst such surroundings "they should bepossessed of a perpetual inclination to do good. " And forthwith heproceeded to speak of his great friendship for the Sultan, for theindividual who methodically suppresses Christians in his empire bykilling them. 

William has seen the tomb of David, which infidels may not approach, and whose stones only Mussulmans may lawfully tread. The very dearfriend of Abdul Hamid, he whom the Turkish troops salute with the samewords as they use for the Sultan, has written to the Holy See, announcing his gift of a plot of land to the German CatholicAssociation in the Holy Land and adding "that he was happy to have beenable to prove to Catholics that their religious interests lie very nearto his heart. "

Leo XIII might have replied: "Sire--Let your Majesty do even more forCatholics; persuade your friend the Sultan to cease from killing them. "

November 24, 1898. [14]

William II's journey to Palestine has completely proved the thoroughunderstanding which he has established with Abdul Hamid--that he shouldtake possession of the Holy Places, as head of the Lutheran religionand as representative of the Catholics of his Empire. France is, therefore, no longer _de facto_ protector of Christians in the East, since she is not required to protect the German Catholics, now directlyprotected by their Emperor. In the Far East, William II had alreadyrefused to allow France to protect his Catholic subjects. Theadvantages which he derived from this decision were too great for himto abandon them elsewhere, since the murder of a single missionary hadbrought him Kiao-ohao. 

Thus, then, ended this journey, accomplished in pomp and splendour, applauded at the same time by German Christians and by the slayers ofChristians. William II has attained his object in the matter ofreligious influence and of the emigration of German colonists, whom theSultan will be pleased to receive with open arms. The Kaiser paid hisreckoning liberally by proposing the health of the Sultan at Damascusand by declaring his intention to help and sustain the Master and theKhalif of 300 million Mussulmans. The seed of the words thus spokenwill sprout and will inspire encouragement for every kind of revolt inthe Mussulman subjects of France--and, for that matter, of England also. 

Whilst William II was paying his devotions at the Holy Places, givingall the impression of a pious benevolent Head of the Church, a numberof horrible evictions were being carried out in Schleswig in his nameand by his orders. Hundreds of families, dragged from their nativesoil, from their homes and kindred, were led away to the frontier onthe pretext that they still clung to their belief in a "SouthernJutland. " Day after day, for the last thirty-four years, on onepretext or another--and sometimes without any--the Danes have beendiscouraged from living in Schleswig. Either life has gradually beenmade impossible for them, or else they have been suddenly compelled toleave the house where they were born, where their elders hoped to diein peace, and their places have been filled by German colonists. Aterrible exodus, shameful cruelty! But "Germany for the Germans" is anaxiom before which all must bow, big and little, rich and poor. 

December 10, 1898. [15]

Mr. Chamberlain's coquetting with Germany has ceased for the timebeing. _The Times_, in contrast with its former hymns of praise, nowcontents itself with asking William II not to make difficulties forEngland in Europe or beyond the seas, and it adds that a friendlyattitude would serve the interests of German subjects in the Coloniesmuch better than one of hostility. 

The passage in the German Emperor's Speech from the Throne which refersto China is not calculated, it would seem, to appease Great Britain'sirritation. "Germany's Colonies, " said the Kaiser, "are in a state ofprosperous development. At Kiao-chao steps have already been taken toimprove the economic conditions of the protectorate. The frontier hasbeen definitely settled by agreement with the Chinese Government. Afree port has been opened and work upon it has begun. The constructionof the railway which will link up the Protectorate with the Hinterland, will be commenced in the near future. Relying on the old treatiesstill in force, and on the new rights acquired under the treatyconcluded with China on March 6, 1898, my Government will alsoendeavour in future, whilst carefully respecting the lawful rightsacquired by other Powers, _to develop economic relations with China, which, year by year, will become more important, and to secure toGerman subjects their full share in the activities directed towardsopening the Far East to Europe, from the economic point of view_. "

Nor is the influence acquired by William II and his subjects in theOttoman Empire, emphasised by this same Speech from the Throne, of anature to reassure England with regard to her projects in the East. Inthe Near, as in the Far, East she sees herself being supplanted byGermany, and this by methods identical with her own, against which, therefore, she fights more disadvantageously than against France andRussia, more foolishly chivalrous. 

William II, who had replied with insolent sharpness to a legitimateclaim advanced by a certain princeling of the Confederated States--theRegent of Lippe-Detmold, Count Ernest von Lippe-Biesterfeld, has hadoccasion to see that public opinion severely condemns his unjustifiableaction. The Confederated Sovereigns and Princes perceive therein amenace to themselves, and have rallied energetically in defence of oneof their number. The masses, seeing an insignificant princelingoppressed and threatened by the biggest of them, have sided with theweaker. On his return from Jerusalem, William found the situationextremely strained, and he endeavoured to relieve it by concessions ofvarious kinds. None of them, however, were regarded as adequate. Thereupon, with the suppleness which costs him so little when it is aquestion of sacrificing his most devoted and valuable servant, theEmperor, King of Prussia, sacrificed Herr von Lucanus, the head of hisprivate household, an almost legendary personage who had had a hand inevery important act of William's life. It was he who carried theImperial ultimatum to Von Bismarck and escaped unhurt from the hands ofthe infuriated giant. 

Herr von Lucanus had not been sacrificed to the violent sarcasms of theChancellor after his reconciliation with William II; he seemed to beunassailable until, simply for having addressed a few improper lines, at the Emperor's dictation, to a minor prince, he is removed from theanonymous post which was one of the occult powers of Potsdam. Theaugust Confederates may consider themselves satisfied. 

[1] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 15, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[2] _La Nouvelle Revue_, February 16, 1898, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[3] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 1, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[4] _La Nouvelle Revue_, March 16, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[5] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 1, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[6] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 16, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[7] _La Nouvelle Revue_, July 16, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[8] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 1, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[9] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 16, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[10] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1898, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[11] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[12] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 1, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[13] _La Nouvelle Revue_, November 15, 1898, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

[14] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 1, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[15] _La Nouvelle Revue_, December 15, 1898, "Letters on ForeignPolicy. "

CHAPTER VII

1899

Our diplomatic situation in 1899--William II visits the_Iphigénie_--The Hague Conference--Germany the only obstacle to thefulfilment of the humanitarian plans of the Tzar. 

January 11, 1899. [1]

Impelled by a simplicity of mind that suggests vacuity, a great manyFrench patriots imagine that our country cannot be equally hated by twonations at once. Seeing England threatening France every day in everyway and by all the means at her disposal, these hypnotised patriotswith fixed and staring eyes, see only England and nothing else! Nomatter what misdeeds Germany may commit, they scarcely trouble to turntowards her their inattentive gaze. Some of them, even, whose lips aretightened with anger when they think of London, smile with a vaguefeeling of good-will at the thought of Berlin. And yet the otherenemy, the German, emboldened by our absorption, is more ready tooppress the weak, reveals himself as bolder and greedier, more cynicaland exclusive, more violent in denying to others their rights. Germaninfluence may spread all over the world, but refuses to allow any otherinfluence whatsoever to penetrate Germany. Prussia introduced the lawof force because she was strong; she is now inaugurating a new systemof human rights to the exclusive advantage of Germany. One newspaper, the _Vossische Zeitung_, has dared to say: "This system is unworthy ofa civilised state and must lead to our being morally humiliated beforethe whole world. " But that is all. 

When Germany perpetrates some particularly monstrous act, she is only"a civilising power spreading the greatest of all languages. "Moreover, Germany is the only nation that possesses a secular history;other nations have nothing more than a succession of irregularproceedings, tolerated by German generosity or indifference. 

The German Emperor, King of Prussia, wages a victorious war againsteverything that is not German. He has just put to the sword the Frenchterms in the Prussian military vocabulary. In vain these poor wordspleaded the authority of the great Frederick, who introduced them intoPrussia. In spite of his fondness for imitating Frederick the Great, William II has slaughtered the French expressions "_officieraspirant_, " "_porte épée_, " "_premier lieutenant_, " "_général_, " etc. , etc. The massacre is complete, their exclusion wholesale; he leaves notrace of the enemy's tongue. William II follows with markedsatisfaction the anti-French movement of opinion in England. "Englandwill chastise France, " he said to his Officers' Club, "and then shewill come and beg me to protect her. " Germany hates us with all herown hatred, added to that of England. She hopes for our defeat, but ifwe should win, she would come hypocritically to claim from us hervulture share of the spoil for her so-called neutrality. 

February 9, 1899. 

Bismarck's interest in things was never keenly aroused unless they wereworth lying about. When he said "the Eastern question is not worth thebones of a single Pomeranian grenadier, " he was formulating in his mindthe programme of the "Drang nach Osten, " the great push towards theEast. The Russo-Turkish war; the humbling of the victorious Slavcolossus by the Congress of Berlin; the diabolical treachery containedin the Resolutions of the said Congress (not one of which but containsthe germ of some revolt or movement on the part of the races of theTurkish Empire); the separation of Bulgaria and Roumelia, united by theTreaty of San Stefano; the subsequent reunion, directed against Russia, of these two countries; the handing over of Bulgaria to a Coburg, boundby ties to Austria--all these things were brought about by thetreachery and guile of the super-liar who ruled at Berlin. And sincethen, William II has done everything possible to advance this "Drangnach Osten, " Prussia's favourite scheme. 

And whilst the menace of this "push towards the East" is steadilygrowing, whilst he who directs it from Berlin holds in his hand all thestrings of the puppets who can help to advance it or pretend (as partof the conspiracy) to oppose it, what is great Russia doing, the mightyTzar, and France?

They tell us that Russia is abandoning her interests in the East andthat the Tzar is dreaming of giving Europe a lasting peace--a peacechiefly favourable to the economic and commercial development ofGermany and to the increase of her influence. 

Russia and France seem scarcely to realise that the only force whichcan drive back the tide of Germanic invasion is the Slav power, organised and firmly established in Europe. A Balkan league includingBulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, a southern Slav kingdom, aBohemia-Moravia, these might hold the German power in check and give toEurope the necessary equilibrium. France has an interest as great asRussia's in the organisation of this opposing force, but she does notrealise the fact. Just as the Athenians stretched out their handstowards the power of Rome, deadly in its fascination, even so there areculpably blind patriots among us who dream the monstrous dream of an_entente_ with Germanism. As well might one, to escape the flood, throw oneself into the rising ravening torrent. Before long, Germanywill be the ruler of Austria, of Hungary, Turkey and Holland, and weshall have prepared no counterpoise to this encroachment, we, theAllies of the great Russian people, who, even though they mayeventually succumb to the fatal attraction of Asia, might first help usto secure our racial psychology and to establish bonds between ourGallo-Latin soul and the soul of the Slavs. 

The Germans are establishing themselves comfortably and permanently inChina. There lies before me an extract from the first number of anewspaper published by the Germans in China under the title of _TheGerman Asiatic Sentinel_. This official organ of the Kiao-chaoterritory appears every week with six pages of articles andadvertisements. It is strange to find in it advertisements of the mostdiverse description, from that which commends brown Kulmback beer, tothat in which two young German merchants seek to correspond, with aview to marriage, with good-looking young German girls of good family. 

When one remembers the solemn investiture at Kiel of Prince Henry ofPrussia, as leader of the crusade which was to spread the sacred wordsof Christianity amongst the barbarian followers of Confucius, and whenone sees this investiture finding its expression in the initiation ofthe Chinese into the mysteries of Kulmback beer and the search forexportable Gretchens, the association of the two pictures reminds onesomehow of tight-rope dancing. But ridicule is unknown in Germany. 

It seems to me that the Kaiser's latest speech, at the banquet of theprovincial Landtag of Brandenburg, is in somewhat doubtful taste. Onthis occasion, he spoke first of the divine right and responsabilitiesof the Hohenzollerns on a footing of familiarity with God, and next hecompared the functions of a sovereign with those of a gardener, whostirs up the earth, smokes the roots and hunts out noxious insects. True, the German Emperor has got to cultivate the tree of 1870-71 andto destroy "hostile animals, " which I take to mean our goodsimple-minded Frenchmen!

The campaign in favour of a _rapprochement_ between France and Germanycontinues to be cleverly managed and directed in our midst. There istalk of a visit of the Tzar, who would come to Antibes and who wouldthere receive William II at the same time as M. Félix Faure. Theformula with which this arrangement is commended to us is "we havesulked long enough. " In other words, they would convert a great, strengthening and enduring hatred into a trivial grudge. That, sinceFashoda they should regard Sedan as a peccadillo is strange, to say theleast of it. 

The _Kolnische Zeitung_, which opened the discussion with regard to a_rapprochement_ with France, now closes it by observing--

"That if ever the French should feel impelled to seek a reconciliationwith Germany, it could only be sincerely effected on the condition thatthey abandon once and for all the idea of a reckoning to be settledbetween the two countries for the war of 1870-71. "

When we have estimated the nature and extent of Germany's greed, calculated the number of her demands and ambitions, reflected by thelight of history and German exaggerations, on the character of theGerman race and its unbridled lust of domination, then the National, Colonial and Continental interests of France (considereddispassionately and without hatred for the conqueror or resentment forthe cruel and humiliating past) do not lie in the direction of a_rapprochement_ with Germany. They lie in the establishment andcombination of the Slav States in Europe, in a more effective alliancewith Russia, and a _rapprochement_ between the Latin nations. 

March 27, 1899. [2]

By our resistance, since the national defeat of 1871, we have pledgedourselves not to accept it. Our moral position and the dignity of ourclaims to restitution have been worthy of our history because weinveterate Frenchmen have never ceased to maintain that our power overAlsace-Lorraine has been overthrown by force, but that our rightsremain undiminished. Austria, to Germany, and Italy, to Austria, havesacrificed this moral position and the dignity of their respectiveclaims, in return for an alliance which, besides being treacherouslyfalse, has brought them neither wealth nor honour. 

But alas! even whilst our rights became strengthened by our veryfaithfulness and constancy, our rulers were yielding to the insidiouscounsels of the enemy. M. Ferry listened to Bismarck and slowly, dropby drop, we wasted the blood with which we should have reconqueredAlsace-Lorraine. Bismarck, seeing us regaining our strength tooquickly for his liking, and becoming a danger to Germany, and preventedby the Tzar from stopping our recovery by striking at us again, playedhis hand so as to throw us headlong into a policy of colonialadventures. But the Great Iron Chancellor, the would-be genial fellow, had not foreseen that his pupil William II would be inspired byambitions entirely different from his own: that of a relentlesscolonial policy, that of commercial and industrial development, onbroad lines of encroachment, and that of a navy. All these thingshowever, followed logically, one from the other; for profitablecolonisation one must have a market for one's produce, and to protect amercantile marine one must have a navy. Therefore, under theseconditions, which Bismarck did not foresee, the danger to France becamean immediate and equal danger to Germany, for England would be free tosweep the seas of Germany's merchantmen as well as those of France. 

Certain misguided people, moved by their extravagant feelings either ofhatred towards England or of fear, seized the opportunity of the hourof danger under cover of the well-worn word (which leads so many worthyfolk to lose their heads, even when it represents just the opposite ofwhat it means) pleading our _interests_, I say, seized the opportunityto lower France by making overtures to the Kaiser and to Prussia. Ourinterest, our twofold interest, was not to have a war with England, andto let Germany see that it was to her interest that we should not bedeprived of our maritime power which _protects_ the free development ofGerman expansion. 

We possess at this moment a third of Africa, a portion of Asia andMadagascar; before trying to add to these possessions, let us endeavourto make the most of their wealth. 

To sum up: our position has never been better, if we _know how to wait_and not to make ourselves cheap. As the faithful Allies of Russia, either England or Germany will have need of us. 

 * * * * * *

And so, the German Emperor, King of Prussia, has added another chapter, and not the least astounding, to the volume of his swift changes andcontradictions. The author of the telegram to President Krüger hasreceived at Berlin Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the instigator of Jameson, invaderof the Transvaal! William II has been negotiating with him in thematter of the telegraph line and the railway. If any one had foretold, on the day that he sent his famous telegram concerning the rights ofthe South African Republic, that the paladin who signed this chivalrousmessage would come to discuss "business" with Sir [_sic_] Cecil Rhodes, or that the latter would have dared to present himself, in a checksuit, before the Kaiser wearing his winged helmet--such a prophet wouldhave been regarded as a dangerous lunatic. Nevertheless, so it is. Mr. Rhodes entered the Imperial Palace quite simply and naturally, conveying to the Emperor the affectionate regards of Queen Victoria. Ido not know whether they shook hands. Between business men, shopkeepers ready for a deal, etiquette is superfluous and a readyunderstanding easy. Shake!

Herr von Bülow, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs communicated thenews to the Reichstag, promising further information on the subjectbefore long. And now, what becomes of the hope of a rupture withEngland, anticipated by our worthy apostles of the Franco-GermanAlliance against perfidious Albion? Not only does William II flirtwith old England and give her pledges, but he opens his arms to themost dangerous, the most enterprising, the most compromised ofEnglishmen, the Napoleon of the Cape!

April 27, 1899. [3]

Were it not for Alsace-Lorraine, we should be the ally of colonialGermany. Were it not for Alsace-Lorraine, we should be the most ardentdisciples of the noble, truly humane, and admirable work of disarmamentundertaken by the Emperor Nicholas II. Alsace-Lorraine has made us theirreconcilable enemies of Germanism and at the same time the faithful, devoted and ever loyal friends of every Slav cause. 

Familiar with the work of these causes, attached to the greatness ofour allies, those of us who were the first to seek that mightyalliance, will ever labour to strengthen and extend it by all theresources which can add to its glory, but at the same time we areanxious that nothing should be said or done to diminish our own firstclaims to restitution. An article in the _Novae Vremya_ contains aprotest against the idea (disseminated by the German Press) that Russiais working to bring about a reconciliation between Germany and France. The Russian organ declares that such a _rapprochement_ would depriveFrance of all the advantages of her alliance with Russia. The St. Petersburg newspaper adds a sentence which appeals to us, because wecan adapt it to our own case. "A Franco-German _entente_, " says the_Novae Vremya_, "would erect a cross on the Franco-Russian _entente_. "A Russo-German _entente_ would erect a cross on the Franco-Russian_entente_. 

Needless to say, the _Kolnische Zeitung_ informs us that the _NovaeVremya_ only represents middle-class opinion in Russia. Well, thatisn't so bad, considering that we are sure of the antipathy of thewhole Russian people for the Germans. The _Kleine Zeitung_, alreadyreckoning on the conclusion of the _rapprochement_ between Germany andFrance, adds that it will be received with sympathy throughout thewhole German Empire. I believe you, _O Kleine Zeitung_! And the moreso when, with a mixture of haughtiness and careless indifference, youadd "with the exception of the question of Alsace-Lorraine, _which forus does not exist_, there is no difference which should separateGermany from France!"

O most generous _Kleine Zeitung_! it is sweet to differ. On conditionthat we do not ask you to give us back the flesh that you have tornfrom our side, you are willing to extend to us your mild greetings ofdisinterested friendship, and I have no doubt that you are ready toforgive us the crime you have committed against us!

May 23, 1899. [4]

Amongst the most definite impressions produced by the generalproceedings of the Peace Conference there are two which stand out: one, that the diplomats invariably assert that it will not lead to anypractical result, either as regards disarmament or the creation of anarbitration tribunal; the other, that all patriots who are enemies ofGermany are filled with anguish at the sight of Germany endeavouring todirect its discussions. In its practical results, the Conference willnot go further than the splendidly magnanimous proposal of Nicholas II, having for its object the humanising of war, the development ofarbitration as a remedial measure, and the possibility of conditionaland partial disarmament. All that will be accomplished might have beenattained by the Tzar alone in case of war, in the event of proposalsfor arbitration, or by way of leading the Powers to recognise theeconomic dangers to which they expose their peoples by ever-increasingarmaments. 

June 27, 1899. [5]

We know what a struggle William II had to face on the subject of thecanal from the Elbe to the Rhine, and what concessions he was compelledto make to the Prussian Chamber. Moreover he had a stiff fight in theParliament of the Empire with regard to the new relations with[Transcriber's note: which?] he proposes to establish between Germanyand England and her colonies. The agrarians of the Right and theSocialists found themselves united in violent opposition. Herr vonBülow required genuine skill to avert the storm. 

The Kaiser met with a very decided rebuff in the matter of what iscalled in Germany the "convicts' law. " It will be remembered that lastautumn, in Westphalia, the Emperor had threatened the socialists thatthose who incited to strikes would be condemned to hard labour. Such athreat is easily uttered, but difficult to enforce by process of law. Under the conditions existing nowadays it does not do to speak offorced labour in connection with trades unions and strikes;nevertheless, in order to make good the word of the German Emperor, hisMinisters tried to snatch a vote for a fight with the workers. BaronStumm, a factory king possessed of great influence with the Kaiser, hadinspired him with hatred against industrial workers, just as others hadinspired him with love for them at the beginning of his reign. Withall his swagger and bluster, William II is more a creature of impulsethan of constancy. All parties united to oppose his scheme, exceptthose who are known in every Parliament as Mamelukes. The former"Father" of the working classes, suddenly become their enemy, hasexperienced a personal defeat in this matter which is all the greaterfor the fact that the Socialists, while they rejoice at seeing itinflicted upon him by the Reichstag, will not forgive him for his"convicts' law. "

July 8, 1899. [6]

The wretched policy, which sent French ships to Kiel to salute the flagof the King of Prussia, continues to be honoured--no, dishonoured--bythe Government of the Republic of to-day. For this Government, theleast of William's wishes is an order. 

So the Emperor William II has set foot upon the soil of France bypaying a visit aboard of the _Iphigénie_ (for every one of our ships isa bit of the mother-country). The Waldeck-Rousseau Cabinet, the idealof M. Urbain Gohier, has allowed this monstrous thing to be done almostimmediately after William II had laid the first stone of his fortresseson the Moselle, fortresses intended (to use his own aggressive words)to hold _the enemy_ under Germany's guns. So we are the enemy forGermany and yet, oh shame! even while she slashes us with this word, weseek to show her that she is our friend. 

 * * * * * *

It certainly looks as if the present Prussian Ministry has neither theprestige nor the strength of will to control successfully the conductof the ex-Mamelukes. Its failure at the last session of Parliament wascomplete. It is amongst the strongest supporters of the monarchy thatthe most determined opposition was offered to the proposed law for theconstruction of the canal from the Elbe to the Rhine, an enterprisedear to the heart of the Emperor, once the father of his working menand now the father of German manufacturers. 

Where the political impediments block his path William II cuts andhacks away as it may please him. There is proof of this in thefeverish haste with which he is lowering the age of officers in thearmy. On the 10th of June, six Prussian generals were allowed toretire; on the 15th, ten more were placed on the unattached list, and afurther movement in the same direction is expected to take place afterthe great Imperial manoeuvres. 

July 25, 1899. [7]

THE HAGUE CONFERENCE

I desire to convince my readers by indisputable facts--

(1) That the pacifist agitation in Europe, in all its various forms, isinspired and sustained by the most uncompromising military Power onthis Continent, that is to say, by Germany;

(2) That if the magnanimous humanitarian idea, so sincerely conceivedby Nicholas II, has not been fulfilled, its failure is entirely due tothe treachery of Germany. 

For that matter, Germany has been providentially punished for hermachiavellian ways. Firstly, because she has been unable to concealthe fact that she is primarily responsible for this failure; andsecondly (the fact is important in other ways and has proved in a moststriking manner), because the Hague Conference has clearlydemonstrated, that which the initiated have long suspected, thatGermany is completely isolated in Europe!

As a matter of fact neither Austria nor Italy were with her, only onePower voted solidly with Germany--the Power which is not content withwar and supplements it by massacres--the Turkey of Abdul Hamid. Thisisolation (an indirect result of the Franco-Russian alliance, which hascompelled Austria to come to a complete understanding with Russia inregard to affairs in the Balkans, and led Italy to draw closer toFrance), this isolation is a great and inestimable victory, whosebenefit must be frankly recognised by every honest mind in the twoallied countries, a victory for those who, like myself, have workedheart and soul for the Franco-Russian alliance. 

And it is now, now that these things are clearly proved, now, whenGermany finds but one servile nation in Europe--Turkey--that the FrenchGovernment thinks fit to seek to draw closer to Germany! The thing isunthinkable, unbelievable!

_For years, acting upon an evil policy which I propose to elucidatehereafter, the Government of the Republic first set itself to opposethe alliance with Russia, preferring an alliance with Germany; later, this Government saw in the Russian alliance nothing but a means to gainpublic applause, to acquire popularity. Now that the strength andworth of this alliance have been revealed in all their truth by theisolation of Germany, this same Government of the Republic compels oursailors to suffer the courtesy of William II and prepares us, bydiplomatic communiqués, for an entente with Germany_. 

Only super-simpletons can believe in William II's sham bluster againstEngland on behalf of the Transvaal and of that Africa concerning whichhe has just concluded a binding treaty with Albion. One must either behopelessly ignorant or wilfully blind not to see through the game ofWilliam II and to be fooled by his ingratiating ways. 

His only object is to compel England to throw herself into his arms andto bring about a great common alliance of the Anglo-Saxon races. Willnot the cynical supporters of the "policy of interest" experience arevulsion of conscience if they know whither they are leading us, or asudden enlightenment, if they do not know? If not, then to those who, through cowardice or treachery, have lightly ruined the noblest of allcauses, I shall say, "I wash my hands" of this crime of ignorance orbase surrender. Weary, sick at heart and indignant I shall say it, inmy own name and in the name of those who have died, suddenly ormysteriously, for the Franco-Russian cause. 

Any one who followed carefully the successive events of the performancegiven under the direction of M. De Staal, any one familiar with thesecret manoeuvres that led to the convening of the Peace Conference, could have had no difficulty in predicting what its end would be. Fromsome of these secret manoeuvres in the wings, I propose to lift theveil; my readers will then be in a position to understand more clearlywhy it is that the truly Christian act of the Tzar (apart from certainunimportant improvements of the Brussels Convention) did not attain theresult which might have been expected from the initiative of a powerfuland generous sovereign. 

For the past year we have repeatedly been told, in more or lesssensational revelations, that the influence which chiefly determinedNicholas II in his action, was his reading of a famous book on war byM. De Bloch. This is no doubt true and the fact may be admitted. Muchmoved by the eloquent description, given by the great financial writerof Warsaw, of the heavy burdens imposed on the nations by theextravagant armaments of the Continent, and terrified at the thought ofthe calamities which the next war would let loose upon all Europe, Nicholas II, full of Christian pity for the sufferings of humanity, directed Count Mouravieff to send the famous circular to the Powers, which resulted in the convening of the Hague Conference. 

But I would ask, how are we to reconcile the hostile attitude ofWilliam II's delegates to the Russian proposals with his solemndeclaration that he was absolutely in agreement with his friendNicholas II? Why did the German Emperor first give his approval to DeBloch's campaign in favour of disarmament and then make VonSchwartzkopf publicly repudiate the most important arguments of thatwriter's book? Was it that William II was in the first instanceseduced by the lamentable picture which De Bloch gives of France andthe organisation of her army, or (and this seems far more likely) didhe simply approve of the intrigue set on foot by the author of thiswork on war, an intrigue which aimed at casting a shadow over thepatriotic hopes that France placed on the Russian alliance, by incitingNicholas II to call for a general disarmament?

It must be confessed that the Franco-Russian alliance struck a bitterblow at the hopes of Polish patriots. The contempt and hostilitytowards France which inspire M. De Bloch's book are proof sufficient ofthe grudge its author bears us. It is perfectly evident that they musthave been delighted in Berlin at the chief object of his work. Butthere were other objects in view. 

For years William II has unceasingly laboured to persuade England thatshe has every interest to join the Triple Alliance. His perseverancein this direction is quite natural. But if Germany succeeded last yearin concluding an agreement with England on a few special questions, theHague Conference has proved that it does not involve an agreement inmatters of general policy. 

Nevertheless, William II counted on this Congress to produce closerrelations with Great Britain. He hoped that the Congress would resultin sharp antagonism between England and Russia and he reckoned on thisantagonism to help him to inflict a severe defeat on Russia, which inits turn would have enabled him to draw one or other of these twoPowers into the orbit of his policy. Great then was the disappointmentof the German Emperor _when, from the very outset of the Conference, England, performing a most unexpected volte-face, made proposals on thesubject of arbitration, which went a great deal farther than theRussian proposals laid before, the Congress. This master-stroke ofBritish diplomacy compelled Germany to come out into the open and toreveal herself in her true light: that is to say, as the only obstacleto the fulfilment of the Tzar's humanitarian designs_. 

The Stengels, Zorns and Schwartzkopfs completed the success of Britishdiplomacy by the brutal violence of their opposition and the cynicismof their proposals. It was not only on the two committees that dealtwith arbitration and disarmament that German opposition (alwayssupported by Turkey alone) wrecked the magnanimous attempt of NicholasII to minimise the horrors of war. The committee presided over by M. De Martens succeeded in effecting certain improvements in the terms ofthe Brussels Convention; if the labours of its President and memberswere not successful in doing more to lessen the evils of war upon land, the fact is again due to the opposition of the German representatives. Thus, for instance, the humane measures proposed in forbidding thebombardment of open towns and private dwellings unoccupied by troops, or the destruction of unfortified villages, were not adopted becausethe German delegate insisted on the impossibility of limiting thepowers of a commander-in-chief, who must remain the sole judge of theutility of such destruction in the general interest of militaryoperations. It was the same in the case of the article whereby it wasproposed that provinces occupied by enemy forces should be guaranteedin the maintenance of their autonomous administration and in certainrights against the demands of invasions, Germany declared herunwillingness to fetter in any way the decision of her army commanders. 

I would ask those amongst us who rejoice at the idea of seeing WilliamII take part in the Exhibition of 1900, to let their thoughts dwell alittle on the attitude of the Prussian delegates at the PeaceConference. William I took part in the Exhibition of 1867 and we knowwhat that visit cost France three years later. 

Now that all the perfidious plans inspired by Berlin have come tonought, now that the defenders of German policy at St. Petersburg, Warsaw and elsewhere have come to grief, and that the PeaceCongress--even though it may not have fulfilled the generous hopes ofNicholas II--has nevertheless led to a great advance in the opinion ofthe public as in that of governments, on the subjects of arbitrationand disarmament, William II shifts his rifle on to the other shoulder. In order to clear Germany of the blame for the failure of theConference in the eyes of the Tzar, the same individuals whoconstituted themselves the protectors and sponsors of M. De Bloch atthe Russian Court and who had assured the Tzar of the absolute supportof William II, have now started a campaign of intrigue against CountMouravieff. 

That faithful minister and servant of the Tzar, who undertook withgreat skill to carry out the initiative of his sovereign, and who hasdevoted himself whole-heartedly to the task of winning over to theTzar's ideas not only the sympathy of the entire civilised world, buteven the vast majority of the sceptical diplomats, who are leaving theConference with the conviction that they have done useful work--well, it is this same Count Mouravieff that the German Press is now trying tohold responsible for the misdeeds of the Stengels, the Zorns and theSchwartzkopfs. 

By way of a first attempt at abolishing the horrors of war by means ofinternational agreements, the Hague Conference has given verysatisfactory results, and the honour for these is due to M. De Staal, Count Mouravieff and M. De Martens. The Tzar has reason to be equallysatisfied in that he has compelled his very good friend William II tothrow off his mask and to reveal all his hostility towards Russia. 

It is now for those who had pledged themselves to guarantee theunconditional support of Germany for the Tzar, to bear the load ofresponsibility which is properly theirs for having unworthily deceivedtheir Sovereign. Many other hopes, bearing on internal affairs inRussia, had been created by the authors of the intrigue which I haveendeavoured to expose. We know how deeply rooted is the religious andpacific character of the Russian masses. No initiative could stirtheir hearts so profoundly as that which seeks to lessen the horrors ofwar and to relieve the people of the crushing burden of armaments. Onehas only to remember the sects which exist in Russia which are opposedto military service and duties. Such an initiative coming from theiradored Tzar was bound to produce far-reaching results. 

After our experiences of 1868 and 1869--and even 1870--how can we beguilty of running the same risks again? Was not William I, King ofPrussia, amiable enough? Did he not do everything to lull thesuspicions of Napoleon whilst he himself was arming to the teeth? Weall allowed ourselves to be sufficiently fooled by Bismarck's agentsand spies in 1870 to be able to recognise the secret agents of WilliamII to-day. 

It is not only a shameful thing, that the _Iphigénie_ should havehoisted at her mainmasthead the Imperial flag, bearing the insultingdevice of 1870, it is also an encouragement to William II in thetreachery which he is plotting against us. One's heart is heavy withthe grief of hopelessness when one thinks of our easy-going shortmemories, and the suffering courage of the people of Alsace-Lorraine. During the past few days, whilst our Parisian newspapers have beendiscussing the probability of the obnoxious presence of the Kaiser inParis for the Exhibition, the _Strasburger Post_ has been heapingbitter reproaches on the inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine for their lackof enthusiasm and meagre contributions towards the proposed statue inhonour of the late Emperor William. In spite of all the pressureapplied, the subscriptions have hardly produced a few hundred marks. The German Press describes the Alsatians as ungrateful andshort-sighted. 

August 9, 1899. [8]

The mania for autocracy dominates the mind of the German Emperor, Kingof Prussia, and leaves no room therein for anything but exactions of adisturbing kind. We know how numerous are the crimes of_lèse-majesté_; also that William II wishes the Reichstag to pass a lawpunishing with hard labour those who incite strikes. A lecturer at theUniversity of Berlin, M. Arons, having dared to proclaim himself asocialist--needless to say, from the theoretical point of view--theEmperor required his Minister of Public Education to have M. Aronsbrought for trial before the Council of the University, consisting offorty-five professors. These acquitted the accused, who, in theiropinion, had not indulged in any propaganda and was within his strictrights in expressing his personal opinions. The Emperor had theirjudgment heard on appeal before a court consisting of officials of thePublic Education Department. To make such an appeal possible, theReichstag was required to pass a new law in June 1898, known as theArons Law. 

Whenever the occasion offered, I have shown how deep is the hatredwhich William II bears towards the old liberalism of the GermanUniversities. Yet it is for this same William that certainGermanophils amongst our French Universities entertain such adisgraceful weakness. Whilst French newspapers are continuallydiscussing, with evident sympathy, the possibility of the Kaiser'spaying a visit to France during the Exhibition, it brings the tears toour eyes to read the following in the _Journal de Colmar_:--

"The possibility of a _rapprochement_ between Frenchmen and Germansshould not lead the latter to suppose that the Alsatians are likely toforget their country in order to be reconciled with the conquerors. The Alsatian will never give up his own individual character, he willnever lightly consent to be merged in a homogeneous whole. TheAlsatian remains French, and such is the rigour of his nationality thatit has resisted every attempt to destroy it. "

In order to make us believe the more easily that a reconciliation withGermany is possible, and that we may come to forget 1870 and the lossof Alsace-Lorraine, they are continually telling us that Germany hasnever been on better terms with Russia. I showed in my last letterwhat were the steps taken by the Germans to minimise the great, imperishable, humanitarian success of Tzar Nicholas II in bringingabout the Hague Conference. I showed that his efforts resulted inleading all the diplomats accredited to the Peace Congress to recognisethat the foundation had been laid, not only of the possibility ofeliminating needless horrors from the wars of the future, but also ofaction by the Powers in common, to be brought to bear, in the form ofadvice and arbitration proposals, on the minds of rivals, adversariesand enemies preparing to settle their quarrels by the arbitrament ofwar. 

Germany realises the defeat at the Hague so completely that now shethinks only of new armaments and of arming Turkey, her only ally, tothe teeth. Herein she finds numerous advantages; such as supplyingrifles and guns, sending out new military instructors, and threateningRussia with a formidable army commanded by German generals. 

Germany knows every inch of Russia, by land and by water, and hascalculated her resources to a nicety. German spies are legion inRussia as they are in France. She may hope to make easy-going peoplelike us believe that she is on the best of terms with our ally, but shewill find it far more difficult to make Russia herself believe it. Onehas only to study the Russian Press to be convinced of this, andparticularly a long article in the _Novae Vremya_, which proves that, as a matter of policy and of material facts, it is absolutelyimpossible for Russia and France to admit Germany into their Alliancewithout risking the destruction of that Alliance, inasmuch as itsfundamental objects are diametrically opposed to those of Germany. 

[1] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 15, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[2] _La Nouvelle Revue_, April 1, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[3] _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 1, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[4] _La Nouvelle Revue_, June 1, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[5] _Ibid. _, July 1, 1899. 

[6] _La Nouvelle Revue_, July 16, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[7] _La Nouvelle Revue_, August 1, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "

[8] _La Nouvelle Revue_, Aug. 15, 1899, "Letters on Foreign Policy. "