What an interesting broadsheet might be made on the subject of "William
II a prisoner"!
In the long winter evenings to come, how many a Russian peasant—gifted with imagination as they are—in telling again the tale of the Viborg Regiment's attack, will see in it an omen of the destiny of the German Emperor! And they will add, with bated breath, that the Hohenzollern, on leaving the shores of Russia narrowly missed being cut in two by another vessel. And one more sign of evil omen—a fearful tempest shook the Imperial yacht in Russian waters.
Let us, whose Emperor was a prisoner of the Germans in 1871, pray that some day a German Emperor may be taken prisoner by the Russian army—not like at Narva, but in all seriousness.
I said in my last letter that it might well be that William's journey to Russia might result in stiffening the resolution of the Emperor Alexander. And so it has proved, for scarcely had his Imperial guest returned to Berlin, than a ukase raised the Russian Customs tariff and imposed a new duty of 20 per cent. on German imports. A fine result this, of that which the German Press, before William's departure, described as the Russo-German Economic Entente, at a moment when, even for the Berlin newspapers, the prospects of a political entente were somewhat dubious.
For this reason, Professor Delbrück says quite bluntly, in the "Prussian Annals," that William II's journey to Russia has been a lamentable fiasco; that the Tzar declined to listen to any diplomatic conversation; that he ridiculed and entertained his Imperial guest with a series of military parades whilst the Russian general staff was carrying out important manoeuvres on the western frontiers.
In the same spirit as that of the ex-deputy Professor, the whole German and Austrian Press have been demanding that, for the peace of Europe, the German and Austrian troops should be withdrawn from their respective frontiers, so as to compel the Russian forces to do the same.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 Great Russian Empire are separated by enormous distances, and the movement of troops 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 these demands. As soon as ever he returned to Germany, two very significant ideas occurred to William II: one, to make a display of the warmest sentiments for his august pis-aller, the Emperor of Austria; the other, to have his faithful ally Italy play some scurvy trick on France, Russia's friend.
To this end, the German Emperor proceeded to hold a review of the Austro-Hungarian Fleet and went beyond the official programme by going aboard the ironclad Francis Joseph, flying the flag of Admiral Sterneck. After this, inviting himself to luncheon with the Archduke Charles Stephen, commanding the Austrian squadron, he made a fervent speech, wishing health and glory to his precious ally the Emperor of Austria.
September 27, 1890. [13]
When Germany agreed to withdraw her armies from the soil of France, she replaced them by other soldiers: crossing-sweepers, clerks, workmen, bankers (industrials or "reptiles" as the case might be), as well organised, linked up and drilled as her best troops. Unceasingly, therefore, and without rest, it behoves us to be on our guard and to defend ourselves.