If you would take the measure of the hatred which the Emperor-King of Prussia, has towards Russia, read the _Youth of William the Second_ by Mr. Bigelow, his companion in childhood, the friend of his youth, and the pa.s.sionate 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 every conceivable kind of science. He is a person of tact, foresight, and superior feelings, he possesses the n.o.blest qualities of courage and sense of honour. He knows better than any one else everything concerning government, business, trade and industry. Of his military art, it were needless to speak; it is conspicuously evident. A brilliant talker and a fine orator, his lucidity of observation, his judgment, and his rapidity of decision are all alike, incomparable.

Mr. Bigelow's William has a complete knowledge of the history of Europe and of the character of its peoples. There is nothing that he does not know of the upper and lower foundations of the views of European statesmen, past and present. A frank and loyal fellow withal, good to children, he feels keenly the sufferings of soldiers ill-treated by their officers, and the hardships of the working cla.s.ses exploited by their masters.

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 him the musical works of the said Frederick the Great, with a letter which, according to Mr. Bigelow, should have made France give up her foolish ideas about Alsace-Lorraine, were it not for the fact that "from the drawing-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 to England 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 King of Prussia! "Since Waterloo," adds Mr. Bigelow, "England has not been on such good terms with Germany."

A very touching confession for us to remember! Hatred of Russia finds expression in a hundred ways under the pen of Mr. Bigelow. Nothing that is Russian can find favour in his sight; the least of the sins of Russia are barbarism, corruption, vice of every kind, cruelty and ignorance.

After having piled up all the usual accusations, he stops, and one might think that it was for lack of materials. But not at all! He could, but will not say more about it; and this "more" a.s.sumes most fabulous proportions "so as not to compromise my German friends." I imagine that some of those friends of his must figure on the margin of the Russian budget, for if it were not so, why should they be liable to be compromised?

Travelling down the Danube by boat, Mr. Bigelow was able to make use everywhere of the German language. Every intelligently conducted enterprise 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 live in the neighbourhood of the frontiers of Russia only dream of becoming Germans, 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 past master. For the 375th Anniversary of October 31, 1517, the day on which the famous theses, which inaugurated the Reformation, were posted by Martin Luther on the door of the chapel at Wittenberg, the Emperor-King surpa.s.sed himself. The Imperial procession aroused the greatest enthusiasm in the little town by its successful reconstruction of the historic picture. The speech of the _summus episcopus_ cast all sermons into 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 first Empire.

[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 last drop of her blood than give up Alsace-Lorraine--William's journey to Italy--The German manoeuvres in Alsace-Lorraine.

January 13, 1893. [1]

Being too weak a man to accept such responsibility as that involved in the scheme of military reforms, Von Caprivi has, so to speak, by his suppliant att.i.tude towards the parties in the Reichstag, forced William II to a.s.sert himself. In spite of his leanings towards prudent reform, the Emperor-King, whose pride we know, has found himself all of a sudden in a sorry plight on the question of the increase of the standing army. The rising tide of public censure, mounting to the foot of the throne itself, found no one to hold it back but a bewildered lock-keeper. And so the Emperor, with his helmet on his head, appeared upon the scene, to take charge of the damming operations. On January 1 he addressed his generals, his enthusiastic officers (who, like all soldiers, have a holy horror of politicians), and said to them, "I shall smash the obstacles that they raise against me."

Thus it happens that it is no longer Von Caprivi who confronts the Reichstag, no longer the hesitating successor of Bismarck, whom the country accuses of leading it on the path to ruin: the Emperor-King takes charge in person. Instead of being a question of policy and bargaining between the political parties, the question becomes one of loyalty. In Parliament, the resistance of the country, instead of being a legitimate opposition intended to enlighten the sovereign, becomes revolutionary. So now the Reichstag is compelled either to vote the scheme of military reform, or to be dissolved; Germany must either confirm her representatives in their obedience, or take the consequences of her hostility towards the Emperor and his army. The Reichstag will submit, and Germany will humbly offer to her Sovereign an additional million of troops in the next five or six years. William II will hasten their general submission by threats of war and revolution, as unlimited as is the field of his falsehood.