The Schemes of the Kaiser, Juliette Adam [readict books .txt] 📗
- Author: Juliette Adam
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a direct message, and it was therefore thought best to send instructions to the Russian Embassy. The blame in this matter falls therefore upon M. de Mohrenheim. It was due to his methods of proceeding that the Emperor learnt the news forty-eight hours late. _Le Gaulois_, in a somewhat officious explanation, informs us that the Russian Ambassador kept back his telegram because May 5 is the birthday of the Empress, and because there is a superstition in Russia that it is bad luck to get bad news on one's birthday. This explanation is untrue; there is no such superstition. Did they conceal from Nicholas II, on the day of his coronation, the terrible catastrophe at Khadyskaje, which cost the lives of thousands of Russians; and did this disaster prevent the Tzar from attending M. de Montebello's ball that same evening? Moreover, M. de Mohrenheim should have telegraphed on May 4 to Count Mouravieff, leaving to him the choice as to the hour for communicating the information to the Tzar. M. de Mohrenheim is in the habit of doing this sort of thing; when he chooses, his instincts are dilatory. He behaved in exactly the same way, and with the same object, 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 to the Russian Embassy, woke up the Ambassador, and informed him officially of the disaster which had just overtaken France. It was then two o'clock in the morning. Instead of telegraphing the news at once to Alexander III, M. de Mohrenheim only did so at eleven o'clock on the following day. Now, he knew perfectly well that, as the result of this delay, the Tzar could only learn the news two days later because, on the following day in the early morning, Alexander III was starting with the whole Imperial family for Borki, where he was about to open a memorial chapel on the spot where several years before an attempt had been made on his life. The journey takes about forty-eight hours, and as the destination of the Imperial train is always kept secret, the Tzar could not receive the telegram until after his arrival at Borki. It will be remembered that the delay which thus took place, in the communication of the Tzar's sympathy with France in her mourning, created an unfortunate impression, and enabled the German Emperor to get in ahead of him by two days. The explanation of the delay which occurred on that occasion should have been communicated to the Havas Press Agency, and the Tzar's journey mentioned. This was done by all foreign newspapers, but good care was taken that no word of the sort should be published in Paris. It is, therefore, evident that, if the Kaiser has been twice placed in the position which has enabled him to get in well ahead of Alexander III and Nicholas II, the blame must not be ascribed to any indifference, or lukewarm feelings on the part of the friends of France. The most one can reproach them with is to have retained at Paris an Ambassador about whose sentiments both Tzars were fully informed long ago.
[10] "Truly, this man must be devoted to France," M. Emile Hinzelin writes me, "he must love her dearly, since he keeps a strip of her, cut from the living flesh, which still palpitates and bleeds. Whom can he possibly hope to deceive? Muelhausen is not far from Paris, neither is Colmar, nor Strasburg, nor Metz. It is from this unhappy town of Metz, the most cruelly tortured of all, that he sends us his condolences and his bag of money. As is usual with complete hypocrites, he is by no means lacking in impudence. Never have the French people of Alsace-Lorraine been accused with more bitter determination, prosecuted, condemned and exploited by all possible means and humiliated in every way. Never has William himself displayed such unrestraint and wealth of insult in his speeches to the Army. I came across him during a journey of mine some months ago, just as he was unveiling a monument, commemorating the fatal year of 1870. With his head thrown back, his eyes rolling in frenzy and rage, shaking his fist towards France and with his voice coming in jerks, he uttered imprecations, challenges and threats in wild confusion. Next day the German Press published his speech, very carefully arranged, toned down, and even changed in certain respects; but it still retained, in spite of this diplomatic doctoring, an unmistakable accent of fierce and determined hatred. There you have him in his true light, and in his real sentiments, this man of sympathetic telegrams, of flowers, and easy 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 a German newspaper: "In 1870, when war was declared, the _Koelnische Zeitung_ offered a reward of 500 thalers for the first capture of a French gun. This prize was won by some soldiers of the first Silesian Battalion of the 5th Regiment of Chasseurs, who, in their first fight at Wissemburg, took possession of a cannon which bore the name of Le Douay, after the commander-in-chief of a French Army Corps. It occurred to these soldiers to erect a monument at the spot where this gun was captured. The monument itself, consisting of a large rock from the Vosges, was the gift of one of them, and on June 20 the presentation of the monument took place, in the presence of Chasseurs who had come from all parts of the country and of a large number of officers. Twenty-seven years ago, the Chasseurs were there, on the same spot, facing the enemy; to-day, they hail the heights of Wissemburg as part of the great German Fatherland, reconquered after a fierce and bloody struggle." It is evident that the Emperor is not the only one to celebrate these anniversaries, that new ones are always being invented, and that no humiliation will be spared us in Alsace-Lorraine.
[15] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
[16] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
[17] This article appeared in the _Petit Marseillais_ under the title of "The Gulls."
[18] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
[19] A friend writes to me from Germany: "You cannot conceive the effects produced upon me by the _incredible_ development of industrial enterprise throughout all Germany. Factories seem to spring out of the ground; in all the large towns that one visits, smoke ascends from hundreds of chimneys. The workshops that manufacture steam-engines are so overloaded with work, that orders take more than a year to fill. I went all over the offices of the Patents Bureau in Berlin--a place as large as our Ministry of Commerce, with a library more complete than that of our poor Conservatoire of arts and trades. Alas, we are but pigmies 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, we are going to try and propagate some of the ideas we have learned from our 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 Foreign Policy."
[22] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 2, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
CHAPTER VI
1898
The encroaching expansion of Germany--When will there be a determined coalition against Germany?--The crime of Jules Ferry--William II checked in his attempt to obtain a representative of the Holy See at Constantinople--Leo XIII confirms France in her protectorate over Christians 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 to every good citizen, anxious about the many dangers that threaten his country, "Beware of this Germany, whose numbers and wealth and strength are ever-increasing and multiplying?"
Let each one of us do all that lies in his power not to assist in any way the industry and commerce of Germany, which devour and destroy our own. Let us enlighten those near to us who in their turn will enlighten their neighbours, and let us stimulate a movement of resistance to the invasion of German produce of every kind; let every one of us contribute his share to the strengthening of public opinion for the struggle against the spirit of Germanism, which is gradually undermining the national spirit of France. May the voter insist that his representative should not keep his eyes fixed within the narrow semi-circle of parliamentary affairs and that he should observe beyond it the continual retreat of our diplomacy before the advance of German predominance.
Even the most limited intelligence can now perceive that, even if we felt ourselves powerless to pursue our secular policy for the defence and protection of Christians in the East, nothing compelled us to witness the marriage contract between Germany and the Grand Turk, to overwhelm them both with good wishes for their perfect union, to lend them our aid in establishing their perfect understanding.
What need is there for us to seek to reconcile Germany and Russia in China? Germany could not have rendered any valuable assistance to our ally in the Middle Kingdom, for she brings to Asia nothing but her insatiable greed, and had it not been for her reconciliation with Russia, she would never have dared to gratify it. Once sure of the confidence of the young Tzar, with what haste and brutality did William II proceed to display his long teeth! So there he is, definitely in possession of Kiao-chao Bay, for only the utterly credulous will believe in any retrocession of this so-called leased territory, in recovering from Germany this admirable commercial harbour, this marvellous strategical position.
February 6, 1898. [2]
Lies, insolence, polite hypocrisy, underhand plotting, audacity, cynicism and cruelty, these are the ingredients that go to the making of 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 a sense of right, he assumes the proportions of a Machiavelli and a Mephistopheles combined. William the Incalculable, as his subjects call him, develops to his own advantage the influences and the power of evil. What new distress will he bring to Christian souls, this applauder of the Armenian massacres, when, after having covered with his favour, supported by his strength, guided by his advice and encouraged by his friendship, the assassin who reigns at Constantinople, he makes his pilgrimage to Palestine, escorted in triumph by the same soldiers who, by order of the Red Sultan, have killed, tortured and tormented Christians? We shall see him kneeling before 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 of Christians, sole arbiter of Christianity in the East. Can the heavens that look down on Mount Sinai smile on William II, sheltering in the shadow of Turkish bayonets? When,
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 to the Russian Embassy, woke up the Ambassador, and informed him officially of the disaster which had just overtaken France. It was then two o'clock in the morning. Instead of telegraphing the news at once to Alexander III, M. de Mohrenheim only did so at eleven o'clock on the following day. Now, he knew perfectly well that, as the result of this delay, the Tzar could only learn the news two days later because, on the following day in the early morning, Alexander III was starting with the whole Imperial family for Borki, where he was about to open a memorial chapel on the spot where several years before an attempt had been made on his life. The journey takes about forty-eight hours, and as the destination of the Imperial train is always kept secret, the Tzar could not receive the telegram until after his arrival at Borki. It will be remembered that the delay which thus took place, in the communication of the Tzar's sympathy with France in her mourning, created an unfortunate impression, and enabled the German Emperor to get in ahead of him by two days. The explanation of the delay which occurred on that occasion should have been communicated to the Havas Press Agency, and the Tzar's journey mentioned. This was done by all foreign newspapers, but good care was taken that no word of the sort should be published in Paris. It is, therefore, evident that, if the Kaiser has been twice placed in the position which has enabled him to get in well ahead of Alexander III and Nicholas II, the blame must not be ascribed to any indifference, or lukewarm feelings on the part of the friends of France. The most one can reproach them with is to have retained at Paris an Ambassador about whose sentiments both Tzars were fully informed long ago.
[10] "Truly, this man must be devoted to France," M. Emile Hinzelin writes me, "he must love her dearly, since he keeps a strip of her, cut from the living flesh, which still palpitates and bleeds. Whom can he possibly hope to deceive? Muelhausen is not far from Paris, neither is Colmar, nor Strasburg, nor Metz. It is from this unhappy town of Metz, the most cruelly tortured of all, that he sends us his condolences and his bag of money. As is usual with complete hypocrites, he is by no means lacking in impudence. Never have the French people of Alsace-Lorraine been accused with more bitter determination, prosecuted, condemned and exploited by all possible means and humiliated in every way. Never has William himself displayed such unrestraint and wealth of insult in his speeches to the Army. I came across him during a journey of mine some months ago, just as he was unveiling a monument, commemorating the fatal year of 1870. With his head thrown back, his eyes rolling in frenzy and rage, shaking his fist towards France and with his voice coming in jerks, he uttered imprecations, challenges and threats in wild confusion. Next day the German Press published his speech, very carefully arranged, toned down, and even changed in certain respects; but it still retained, in spite of this diplomatic doctoring, an unmistakable accent of fierce and determined hatred. There you have him in his true light, and in his real sentiments, this man of sympathetic telegrams, of flowers, and easy 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 a German newspaper: "In 1870, when war was declared, the _Koelnische Zeitung_ offered a reward of 500 thalers for the first capture of a French gun. This prize was won by some soldiers of the first Silesian Battalion of the 5th Regiment of Chasseurs, who, in their first fight at Wissemburg, took possession of a cannon which bore the name of Le Douay, after the commander-in-chief of a French Army Corps. It occurred to these soldiers to erect a monument at the spot where this gun was captured. The monument itself, consisting of a large rock from the Vosges, was the gift of one of them, and on June 20 the presentation of the monument took place, in the presence of Chasseurs who had come from all parts of the country and of a large number of officers. Twenty-seven years ago, the Chasseurs were there, on the same spot, facing the enemy; to-day, they hail the heights of Wissemburg as part of the great German Fatherland, reconquered after a fierce and bloody struggle." It is evident that the Emperor is not the only one to celebrate these anniversaries, that new ones are always being invented, and that no humiliation will be spared us in Alsace-Lorraine.
[15] _La Nouvelle Revue_, September 15, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
[16] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
[17] This article appeared in the _Petit Marseillais_ under the title of "The Gulls."
[18] _La Nouvelle Revue_, October 1, 1897, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
[19] A friend writes to me from Germany: "You cannot conceive the effects produced upon me by the _incredible_ development of industrial enterprise throughout all Germany. Factories seem to spring out of the ground; in all the large towns that one visits, smoke ascends from hundreds of chimneys. The workshops that manufacture steam-engines are so overloaded with work, that orders take more than a year to fill. I went all over the offices of the Patents Bureau in Berlin--a place as large as our Ministry of Commerce, with a library more complete than that of our poor Conservatoire of arts and trades. Alas, we are but pigmies 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, we are going to try and propagate some of the ideas we have learned from our 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 Foreign Policy."
[22] _La Nouvelle Revue_, January 2, 1898, "Letters on Foreign Policy."
CHAPTER VI
1898
The encroaching expansion of Germany--When will there be a determined coalition against Germany?--The crime of Jules Ferry--William II checked in his attempt to obtain a representative of the Holy See at Constantinople--Leo XIII confirms France in her protectorate over Christians 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 to every good citizen, anxious about the many dangers that threaten his country, "Beware of this Germany, whose numbers and wealth and strength are ever-increasing and multiplying?"
Let each one of us do all that lies in his power not to assist in any way the industry and commerce of Germany, which devour and destroy our own. Let us enlighten those near to us who in their turn will enlighten their neighbours, and let us stimulate a movement of resistance to the invasion of German produce of every kind; let every one of us contribute his share to the strengthening of public opinion for the struggle against the spirit of Germanism, which is gradually undermining the national spirit of France. May the voter insist that his representative should not keep his eyes fixed within the narrow semi-circle of parliamentary affairs and that he should observe beyond it the continual retreat of our diplomacy before the advance of German predominance.
Even the most limited intelligence can now perceive that, even if we felt ourselves powerless to pursue our secular policy for the defence and protection of Christians in the East, nothing compelled us to witness the marriage contract between Germany and the Grand Turk, to overwhelm them both with good wishes for their perfect union, to lend them our aid in establishing their perfect understanding.
What need is there for us to seek to reconcile Germany and Russia in China? Germany could not have rendered any valuable assistance to our ally in the Middle Kingdom, for she brings to Asia nothing but her insatiable greed, and had it not been for her reconciliation with Russia, she would never have dared to gratify it. Once sure of the confidence of the young Tzar, with what haste and brutality did William II proceed to display his long teeth! So there he is, definitely in possession of Kiao-chao Bay, for only the utterly credulous will believe in any retrocession of this so-called leased territory, in recovering from Germany this admirable commercial harbour, this marvellous strategical position.
February 6, 1898. [2]
Lies, insolence, polite hypocrisy, underhand plotting, audacity, cynicism and cruelty, these are the ingredients that go to the making of 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 a sense of right, he assumes the proportions of a Machiavelli and a Mephistopheles combined. William the Incalculable, as his subjects call him, develops to his own advantage the influences and the power of evil. What new distress will he bring to Christian souls, this applauder of the Armenian massacres, when, after having covered with his favour, supported by his strength, guided by his advice and encouraged by his friendship, the assassin who reigns at Constantinople, he makes his pilgrimage to Palestine, escorted in triumph by the same soldiers who, by order of the Red Sultan, have killed, tortured and tormented Christians? We shall see him kneeling before 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 of Christians, sole arbiter of Christianity in the East. Can the heavens that look down on Mount Sinai smile on William II, sheltering in the shadow of Turkish bayonets? When,
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