“ Wilhelm II. strode to me, seized me by the shoulder, and thrust me out of the room.”
‘You know it!’ cried the Emperor, fairly confounded.
‘It is my business to know things, and I know this. Now, let me put it to your Majesty, what can you possibly gain by following up an inquiry which can have no tangible result? I say no tangible result, because there is simply no means by which you can arrive at the proof of what you suspect. And, if it were otherwise, how could your Majesty possibly turn the information to account?
‘You could not entertain the idea of confessing to the world that you had been duped. Consider, sire, what use the wits of the boulevards would make of such a revelation! Imagine the pencil of Caran d’Ache at work on the episode!’
I saw Wilhelm II. fidget uneasily, and I knew that my cause was gained.
‘On the other hand,’ I resumed, ‘suppose that you have harboured a suspicion which is unjust. You run the risk of affronting a submissive enemy—of insulting the fallen. And it would be too late to repair the injury to your own prestige; the Paris mockers would never abandon so good a joke.’
The Kaiser frowned and tugged at his moustache. It was evident that he only sought an excuse to yield.
‘Consider, sire, that what is merely a question of politics with you is one of religion with the poor woman you have humiliated to-day. Your end is gained; the Imperial House of China has humbled itself in the dust before the Hohenzollerns. If a religious scruple has caused this public act to be done by proxy, that is a secret known only to a few persons who, for their own sakes, will never dare to reveal it.’
By this time the Kaiser was as anxious to pass the matter over as he had been just before to investigate it.
‘If I consent to take your advice, and dismiss the suspicion I have formed, will you in turn tell me two things?’