After breakfast the first morning, Roosevelt wanted me to read several letters he had dictated, among others a reply to the invitation that had been extended by the Kaiser asking Roosevelt to be his guest in the palace in Berlin. The invitation did not include Mrs. Roosevelt, and this he resented. He therefore dictated a letter to Ambassador David J. Hill saying he would be pleased to call on the Emperor on the day designated, but could not accept the invitation to be his guest, as he did not purpose to separate from Mrs. Roosevelt. He asked Ambassador Hill to be sure to submit the message to the Emperor's chamberlain in such a way that it could not be construed as a hint for an invitation for Mrs. Roosevelt. I advised against sending this letter and asked him to let me handle the matter. This I did, and Ambassador Hill soon discovered, what I had suspected, that the Emperor was not aware at the time the invitation was sent that Mrs. Roosevelt was with her husband. The omission was immediately corrected.
Roosevelt was, of course, anxious for news from home. He spoke again of Taft's having told him he would retain Garfield and myself, and said Taft was aware that he (Roosevelt) was specially attached to us both. I showed him an article in a current "North American Review," entitled "The First Year of Taft's Administration," which plainly showed that much ground had been lost.
Roosevelt was to deliver an address before the Egyptian National University. He handed me the draft of it and asked me to criticize it freely. I suggested a number of changes, which he promptly adopted. He had been asked not to refer to the recent assassination of the Premier of Egypt, Budros Pasha—a deed that had probably been inspired by the Nationalists, a party composed chiefly of young students, half-educated theorists, and a few others whose shibboleth was "Egypt for the Egyptians." Roosevelt considered that it would be cowardly and evasive to avoid this subject, and that usually the subjects one is asked not to refer to are the ones uppermost in the minds of the people. Besides, if he did not openly condemn such an act, his silence might be interpreted as an approval. In view of all the circumstances I fully agreed with him. The speech was delivered in a large hall filled to capacity; the consular body and many Egyptian ministers were present. About one third of the audience understood English, and the address was enthusiastically received, and had an excellent effect, as I afterward learned, upon law and order in Egypt.
Roosevelt gave a luncheon at the hotel to Sir Gaston Maspero and Professor Sayce, the eminent Egyptologists, which we attended. There were about fifteen people present, among them Mr. Lawrence F. Abbott, of "The Outlook," who had joined the Roosevelt party at Khartum. It was a delightful occasion and reminded us of the old days at the White House. Roosevelt always had the faculty of surrounding himself with people who, whether from prominent or humble walks of life, were worth while. There were so many facets to his nature that he could make interesting contacts with all sorts of folk, those of the forest as well as those of the closet.
From Gondokoro, Roosevelt had written Ambassador Leishman at Rome saying he would be glad of the honor of presentation to His Holiness Pope Pius X. At Cairo he received the following cable reply from Ambassador Leishman:
The Rector of the American Catholic College, Monsignor Kennedy, in reply to inquiry which I caused to be made, requests that the following communication be transmitted to you: "The Holy Father will be delighted to grant audience to Mr. Roosevelt on April 5, and hopes nothing will arise to prevent it, such as the much-regretted incident which made the reception of Mr. Fairbanks impossible."
I merely transmit this communication without having committed you in any way to accept the conditions imposed, as the form appears objectionable, clearly indicating that an audience would be canceled in case you should take any action while here that might be construed as countenancing the Methodist mission work here....
Mr. Fairbanks, it may be remembered, was granted an audience with His Holiness, but on the same day accepted an invitation to lecture before the Methodist body in Rome whose propaganda was inimical to the Vatican. This displeased His Holiness and the audience was thereupon canceled.
Roosevelt answered Leishman's cable to the effect that while he fully recognized the right of the Holy Father to receive or not to receive whomsoever he chose, he could not submit to conditions which would in any way limit his freedom of conduct. But the Vatican stood firm on the conditions set forth:
His Holiness will be much pleased to grant an audience to Mr. Roosevelt, for whom he entertains great esteem, both personally and as President of the United States. His Holiness quite recognizes Mr. Roosevelt's entire right to freedom of conduct. On the other hand, in view of the circumstances, for which neither His Holiness nor Mr. Roosevelt is responsible, an audience could not occur except on the understanding expressed in the former message.
Consequently, while Roosevelt did not go to the Vatican, he was received with great cordiality at the Quirinal by King Victor Emmanuel III. In order not to have the Vatican incident misunderstood at home, Roosevelt sent a message regarding it to the American people, through the pages of "The Outlook" of April 9, 1910. Mr. Abbott makes detailed mention of the episode in his "Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt."