"His ambition is to go thundering down the ages as the man who refused a crown," sneered Phili.
"Thank Heaven he is eighty-four," said the War Lord piously.
"And Ludwig tickled to death with the idea of becoming king," added Eulenburg.
The War Lord was making his adieux, when he suddenly turned upon Bülow. "What are you going to do with Ruprecht?"
"Promise him a field marshal's baton in our war."
"The right bait," assented Wilhelm, "but I pity the country under his supreme command. Do you know," he added, "that the lowest of his subjects would not permit him to cross his threshold?"
CHAPTER XXII
PAYING THE PRICE
What Edward VII. Thought—No Room for Art—A Vision of Threadneedle Street
Bülow, who loved being Chancellor, hated Phili Eulenburg.