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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } - -</style> -<title>THE SECRET MEMOIRS OF BERTHA KRUPP</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="The Secret Memoirs of Bertha Krupp" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Henry W. Fischer" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1916" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="44979" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2014-02-22" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="The Secret Memoirs of Bertha Krupp" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="The Secret Memoirs of Bertha Krupp" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="bertha.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2014-02-22T19:06:27.912531+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44979" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="Henry W. Fischer" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2014-02-22" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="the-secret-memoirs-of-bertha-krupp"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">THE SECRET MEMOIRS OF BERTHA KRUPP</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> -included with this eBook or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: The Secret Memoirs of Bertha Krupp -<br /> -<br />Author: Henry W. Fischer -<br /> -<br />Release Date: February 22, 2014 [EBook #44979] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>THE SECRET MEMOIRS OF BERTHA KRUPP</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="x-large">The Secret Memoirs -<br />of Bertha Krupp</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">From the Papers and Diaries of Chief -<br />Gouvernante Baroness D'Alteville</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">By</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">HENRY W. FISCHER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">Author of "The Private Lives of Kaiser William II. -<br />and His Consort," "Secret History of -<br />the Court of Berlin," -<br />etc.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics small">Si Krupp nobiscum, quis contra nos?</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD -<br />London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne -<br />1916</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics small">Copyright, 1916, by Henry W. Fischer.</em></p> -<!-- vspace: 1 --> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics small">Copyrighted in England, France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, -<br />and all foreign countries having international copyright -<br />arrangements with the United States; also copyright ad interim -<br />in the United States.</em></p> -<!-- vspace: 1 --> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics small">All rights reserved, including those of translation, Cinematograph -<br />rights, Dramatic rights, and so forth.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></p> -<ol class="arabic simple"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#under-the-war-lord-s-thumb">Under the War Lord's Thumb</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#weaving-the-toils-round-bertha-krupp">Weaving the Toils Round Bertha Krupp</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-mother-s-reflections">A Mother's Reflections</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#bertha-krupp-war-lady-asserts-herself">Bertha Krupp, War Lady, Asserts Herself</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#how-the-war-lady-was-cajoled">How the War Lady was Cajoled</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#fraulein-krupp-invited-to-court">Fraulein Krupp Invited to Court</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#in-the-crown-prince-s-private-room">In the Crown Prince's Private Room</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#stories-of-court-life">Stories of Court Life</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#what-the-maid-saw-and-heard">What the Maid Saw and Heard</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-entangling-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand">The Entangling of Archduke Franz Ferdinand</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-crown-prince-on-a-lark">The Crown Prince on a Lark</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-fortune-teller-sees-bertha-in-a-haze-of-blood">The Fortune Teller sees Bertha in a Haze of Blood</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#we-will-divide-the-world-between-us">"We will Divide the World Between Us"</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#getting-even-with-the-war-lord">Getting Even with the War Lord</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#auntie-majesty-and-bertha">"Auntie Majesty" and Bertha</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#how-franz-ferdinand-was-fooled">How Franz Ferdinand was Fooled</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#diamond-cut-diamond">Diamond Cut Diamond</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-secret-service-episode">A Secret Service Episode</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#bertha-and-franz">Bertha and Franz</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#auntie-majesty-and-her-frocks">"Auntie Majesty" and her Frocks</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#throttling-bavaria">Throttling Bavaria</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#paying-the-price">Paying the Price</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#how-von-bohlen-was-chosen">How Von Bohlen was Chosen</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-war-lord-s-day-in-essen">The War Lord's Day in Essen</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-royal-liar">A Royal Liar</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#explaining-the-day">Explaining "The Day"</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#bertha-s-wedding-day">Bertha's Wedding Day</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-foreshadowing-of-lusitaniaism">A Foreshadowing of "Lusitaniaism"</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#some-more-secret-history">Some More Secret History</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#browbeating-the-war-lady">Browbeating the War Lady</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-great-state-secret">A Great State Secret</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="under-the-war-lord-s-thumb"><span class="bold x-large">THE SECRET MEMOIRS OF -<br />BERTHA KRUPP</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="bold italics small">Si Krupp nobiscum, quis contra nos?</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">UNDER THE WAR LORD'S THUMB</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Real War Lord—Putting on the Screw—The Kaiser's -Plot Revealed—Disinheriting the Baroness—A -Startler for the War Lord—Bertha to be Sole -Heiress—Frederick Makes His Will—The War Lord -Loses his Temper—A Base Suggestion</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On a bright August day of 1902 the neighbourhood -of Villa Huegel, overlooking the forest of -smoke-stacks, cranes, masts and other erections that -silhouette the town of Essen, was like an armed -camp. Its master, Frederick Krupp, cannon -king and war promoter, while not entitled to -household troops, has an army of firemen as large -as the contingent of the mighty potentate of -Reuss-Greiz-Schleiz-Lobenstein, and this was -pre-eminently the season and hour of military display.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Krupp warriors resemble Prussian infantry -in dress. In discipline and aggressiveness they -are second to none serving under the eye of the -"All Highest," as the Kaiser fondly calls himself. -Give their master a dark look as he passes, and -one or more of them will pounce upon you and -pound you to jelly before you can say Jack Robinson; -reach for your handkerchief or pencil in your -back trouser-pocket, where a revolver might be, -and they will spit you on their fire-axe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To-day Krupp firemen were everywhere. They -lined the roads, guarded crossings and bridges, -looked up at every window, sentinelled gates and -doors. They were posted, too, in the tree-tops -and on telegraph and signal posts, while indoors, -along the corridors of the villa, you met them at -every turn. Right royal arrangement that! Yet -why at Huegel?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On this particular day Essen was alive with -colour. Hussars in green and silver—the -Düsseldorf brand—galloping round and round the villa -circuit, kept their eyes keenly alert for suspicious -characters; in Essen, indeed, every stranger is -looked upon as a double-crossed suspect. Dragoons -were there, too, from East Prussia, to watch the -hussars, for one never knows, you know. And, of -course, there were bodyguards—white tunic and -breeches, black cuirass and silver helmet, -surmounted by the "bird of poisonous glare," as -Heine described the Imperial eagle. Many other -uniforms, too—uhlans, chasseurs, mounted -infantry for the War Lord likes to strut abroad to -the tune and clank of a variety of arms. He would -have horse marines if he were not so deadly afraid -of Mr. Punch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the library door of the Villa Huegel two -giant cuirassiers, sabre in hand, revolver in belt, -dull men and dangerous, of the sort that always -do their duty not as they see it, but as their -superior officer sees it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suppose that earthling orders a death-dealing -blow for anyone attempting to enter the room -under guard. It follows, as a matter of course, -that the person is a dead man or dead woman, or -maybe a dead child—militarism rampant, but -discipline triumphant! Who cares for a corpse -more or less?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A much-bedizened personage is standing in the -centre of the high-ceilinged, wainscoted room. A -gewgawed War Lord; but how unimposing he -looks on foot and unprepared to meet the gaze of -admiring multitudes! He is not much taller than -the average grocer's clerk, and until Father Time -sprinkled his straight, wiry hair with grey was a -decided red-pate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord's clothes are Berlin pattern: all -straight and right angles, like the tunics of the -impossible marbles that spoil his Avenue of -Victory. He wears jewellery of the kind the late -mad King of Bavaria used to decorate his actors -with: a watch-chain thick and strong enough to -hold a two-year bull, a timepiece bulging like -an alarum clock, and a profusion—or confusion—of -gold-mounted seals and medals. But the -finishing touch: sky-blue garters, set with rosettes of -diamonds and pearls alternating.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We know his public face—stern, haughty, -cast-iron, forbidding—and his official demeanour -has been brought home to us a thousand times and -more in statue and photograph, in colour and -black and white, throned, on horseback, or -standing alone in Imperial self-glory under a purple -canopy—he knows how to stage-manage himself -in uniform.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The London tailor who skimped his coat in -front, he hates with a deadly hatred, for padding, -plenty of it, is essential to his </span><em class="italics">mise en scène</em><span>. See -him on his well-trained, high-stepping horse, and -you have the ideal camera subject: broad shoulders, -prominent chest (laden with seventy-odd medals), -strong limbs, jingling spurs, bronzed face, -skyscraping moustachios and all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But in the drawing-room, and in mufti—what -a difference! Heavy set, somewhat short-limbed, -and the face that looks strong when framed in -military cap or helmet now seems to possess only -brute force.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment his left hand sought the seclusion -of a trouser-pocket, while his right, studded -with gems like a chorus-girl's, sawed the air with -coarse assertiveness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear Frederick," he addressed his host, -balancing himself on his right foot, "while you -are here to execute my orders, all's well. But -suppose something happened to you. You are not -in the best of health and"—lowering his voice—"a -careless boy. Don't deny," he added quickly -when Frederick Krupp ventured to protest. -"Both my Roman ambassador and our envoy at -the Holy See heard about your peccadilloes in the -island." The speech, begun in a bantering tone, -terminated shrilly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Ironmaster alternately blushed and -blanched. "I hope you do not believe all you -hear," he faltered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never more than a third of what I'm told," -replied the War Lord, softening his voice; "but, -even so, things must not be left too entirely to -chance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp went to the window, marking -each step for the benefit of possible listeners, then -tiptoed to the great folding doors. He opened -the off wing suddenly and looked out. "All's -safe," he said, returning; "and what fine brutes -those outside."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fancy them?" laughed the War Lord -jovially, for he knows how to unbend when he -wants to carry a point. "Now to business. We -are all liable to die almost any moment, and you, -dear Frederick, are no more an exception to the -rule than I am—or those brutes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp looked uncomfortable, and to -hide his embarrassment or gain time dropped -into courtly jargon. "And what may be your -Majesty's pleasure?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Make a satisfactory last will, sir—a last will -guaranteeing the Krupps' goodwill for ever and a -day—likewise satisfactory dividends—for the chief -stockholder, if you please."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp bowed low. "Please?" he -repeated. "Why, I lie awake nights planning -wars for your benefit. If there were not a Persian -Gulf, I would have invented one to pave the way -for the little scrap with England you are aching for."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold your horses!" cried the War Lord. -"That Bagdad railway must be finished first. -What I want is a guarantee, and a most binding -guarantee, that the Krupp works be conducted in -all future as now, according to my Imperial will -and pleasure, in the interest of the Fatherland -and—our pocket," he added flippantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp surveyed himself in the glass. -"You talk as if I had one foot in the grave," he -said in the careless manner of addressing a boon -companion, or like one intimate putting things -pleasant, or the reverse, to another. Frederick -Krupp died in the odour of eccentricity. There -was certainly something eccentric in his relations -with the War Lord. But the latter tolerates -familiarity only so long as it suits him; and, -presently observing the clouds gather on his guest's -brow, Frederick Krupp changed his tone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At your Majesty's commands, I am all ears," -he murmured, as, obedient to a sign from the -Emperor, he drew up an arm-chair for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit down yourself," the Emperor ordered -curtly, pointing to a tabouret. Then, sneeringly: -"Your idea was——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To leave everything to my wife."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord slapped his knees hard, as he -always does when excited.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So would Herr Müller and Herr Schulze," -he cried, without attempting to conceal the insult. -"Her Ladyship—chief of the Krupp works—of -what use would the Baroness Marguerite be to </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> -interests?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Frederick Krupp was </span><em class="italics">née</em><span> von Ende, and -the War Lord, always eager to use titles of -nobility, chose to call her by her maiden name and -style.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp, who, despite his irregularities, -was genuinely fond of his wife, moved -uneasily on his low chair. "Your Majesty is -pleased——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To have his head screwed on tightly and in -the right place," declared the War Lord, bringing -his fist down on a table at his elbow and making -the Chinese ivories jump. "Now then, without -further palaver, I don't choose to see the Baroness -heiress of the Krupp works. She shall not control -my interests, do you hear? nor those of the Fatherland."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord talked as if addressing a parcel -of raw recruits. His withered left hand had -pulled from the trouser-pocket, and was making -spasmodic attempts to clutch the lapel of his coat. -He has the curious taste to give this poor hand a -liberal coating of rings, and his enormous emeralds -seemed to gleam more poisonously than usual -upon the cringing form of poor Frederick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Willy," gasped the Ironmaster pleadingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord was not to be cajoled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As I said, her Ladyship gets a pension. -Leave her as big a share of your fortune as you -please," he added on second thought. "Yes, the -larger the better; it will avert suspicion—I mean -forestall criticism, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But," remonstrated Frederick, in a weak -way, "Marguerite and I have an understanding."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Understanding," scowled the War Lord, -brutality written all over him as if he were -rehearsing his pretty phrase: "Those opposing me I -smash."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He contemplated Frederick for a while as a -big mastiff might a King Charles before mangling -and killing it. At last he remembered there are -two ways in most things. "Of course," he began -rather soothingly, "understandings among -subjects are null and void when opposed to the -Imperial will. Explain to Lady Marguerite with my -compliments, if you please," the last phrase -emphasised three times by hand cutting the air -vertically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp, thoroughly cowed by this -time, nodded assent. This man, used to bull-dozing -Governments the world over, a terror before -his board of directors, and a demigod to his -workmen, felt a mere atom with the eyes of the War -Lord flashing wrath and contempt upon his -yielding self.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will; but what may be your Majesty's -precise commands?" he stammered meekly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord perceived that his victim had -become like wax under the lash of his tongue. He -could afford, then, to be magnanimous. "You -forget etiquette," he replied, with a half-smile; -"since when is it customary to question a majesty? -Still, I am no Eulenburg" (referring to the Grand -Marshal of the palace), "and will overlook your -</span><em class="italics">faux-pas</em><span> this time. Listen, Frederick." He -softened his speech with a "dear Frederick," -and then issued his mandate: "The Baroness -eliminated——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Krupp raised his eyes supplicatingly, but -the War Lord paid no attention. "Eliminated," -he repeated, accentuating each syllable. Then, in -pitying style: "Too bad you haven't got a son. -However, the Salic Law does not apply to commoners."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Ironmaster made bold to show annoyance -at the word. "Commoner by my own free will," -he protested. "Haven't I declined Earldoms and -Dukedoms even?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More's the pity that you remain plain -Krupp, like a grocer or the ashman, when you -might be Prince of Essen," cried the War Lord, -jumping up. The Ironmaster rose as well.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Courtly usage, of course, but also a measure -of precaution. He meant to be on hand in case -his august guest suffered a fall, and there is always -a possibility of that when the War Lord labours -under excitement, for his whole left side, from -ear to toe, is weak and liable to collapse if the full -weight of the body is thrust suddenly upon it. As -a rule, the War Lord remembers, but when carried -away by passion, or for other reasons loses control -of himself, he is prone to forget or even fall in a -heap with no warning. Such a </span><em class="italics">contretemps</em><span> -happened once at Count Dohna's, when Frederick -was one of the house party, and long remained in -his memory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Visiting at Proeckelwitz in the summer of -1891, the War Lord had deigned to be pleased -with a pair of blacks. "Buy two more of them -for a four-in-hand, as befits the Sovereign," he -said to his host.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hint, dropped with charming German -delicacy, was a command, of course, and a year -later, in June, the War Lord started for the castle -in right royal style; but he did not get far that -way, since the four-in-hand shied and bolted when -the villagers burst into patriotic song, to the -waving of a thousand and one flags. As an -eye-witness put it: The leaders rose on their hind legs, -the cross pieces came loose and began knocking -against their pasterns, and off they were at a -furious rate. Count Dohna let the reins of the -runaways slip, and hung the more heavily on to -those of the shaft horses, who were trying to follow -the others. He let the blacks run for a while but -without losing control, and as they were about to -plunge into a bed of harrows he succeeded in -checking them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, for a mile or so, he gave them a run on -freshly ploughed ground. After that they went -steadily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord had put his arm around his -host's shoulders when the horses started off, and, -the danger past, pressed the Count's hand, but did -not say a word. Then came the collapse. He had -to be helped down from his seat, and took no notice -of the greetings of the ladies awaiting him. -Leaning upon his chasseur and Adjutant Von Moltke -(now Field Marshal), he crept to his room, his face -pale as death and lips compressed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dinner was set back an hour, but the War -Lord had not recovered his speech when, with -difficulties, he put his feet under the mahogany. -His body physician, Doctor Leuthold, was sitting -opposite the august person, and upon a sign from -the medical man the War Lord rose from table -after vainly trying to swallow a spoonful of soup. -Nor did he come down to breakfast, but attended -luncheon, still looking pale and haggard. Then, -for the first time, he greeted the ladies of the -house, and spoke a few words to his host; but when -a forward young miss referred to the accident he -bade her keep silent by an imperious gesture, -while a tremor seemed to run through his body. -He would not hear of hunting, and left next day -without having fired a shot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick Krupp, remembering Proeckelwitz, -moved as near to his Imperial guest as politeness -permitted, ready to catch him in his arms if need -be, but the War Lord no sooner perceived his -intention than he became more infuriated than ever. -"For Heaven's sake no heroics, Frederick!" he -roared, sitting down again. "Draw up a stool and -listen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One second," pleaded the Ironmaster, "I -will set the miniature orchestrella going." He -pressed a button, and almost simultaneously a -music-box near the door, sheathed in tortoise-shell -and gold bronze, began trilling out melodies, so as -to confuse, if not obscure, conversation to possible -listeners if it waxed overloud again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord nodded. "Not half bad. You -may send me one of those things to put in Bülow's -office. There are always some Italians lurking -about—to report to Madame la Princesse, I -fancy—and put the W.I.R. on the box.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, let's get back to things," he added, -quickly changing his tone to drill-ground clangour. -"Madame eliminated and there being no son——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty desires me to leave the -business jointly to Bertha and Barbara?" asked -Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are there six crown princes or one?" inquired -the War Lord in his turn, with affected -calmness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't follow," said Herr Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord could hardly master his impatience. -Still more raising his voice, he demanded -abruptly: "Is Prussia to be divided into six petty -Kingdoms when I die because I happen to have -six sons, and a small principality besides for my -daughter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Krupp opened his eyes wide: "Your -Majesty wants me to disinherit one of my -children?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want you to proclaim my godchild Bertha -Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Cannon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But my other daughter——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha is </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> goddaughter!" (with the -emphasis on the "my").</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can I ever forget the honour conferred upon -my humble house?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I trust not," said the War Lord, who is -careful not to let people forget any small favours he -may bestow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His brain works in fits and starts, in bounds -and leaps, and when he wants a thing it jumps at -once to the conclusion that his fancy is a </span><em class="italics">fait -accompli</em><span>. Persuading Frederick had been easy -with its bits of browbeating and flashes of cajolery. -Now, flushed with the triumph gained, he launched -forth the details. "Bertha, Crown Princess, trust -me to find the right consort for her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is only a child."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The very age when she ought to be taken in -hand and moulded." The War Lord illustrated -the intended process by kneading the air with -grasping fingers, his "terrible right" alternately -pushing and squeezing, attacking, relaxing and -coaxing, with the father looking on, terror-stricken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such, then, was to be the fate of his little girl: -a vice round her white neck, spurs to her sides. -The man before him came into the world accoutred -to ride, and seventy millions of people his cattle!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The jewels on the War Lord's ring-laden hand -flashed and threatened. That twenty-carat ruby -on his little finger meant blood, and the emerald, -linked to it, might denote the poison-tongue eager -to corrupt the childish mind into an instrument -of high politics. Diamonds stand for innocence. -There were diamonds galore. Oh, the farce of it! -Opals, too, a rare collection, but the stone sacred -to October tells at least an honest tale—tears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord stripped off a gold hoop with a -large turquoise. "Wear it in remembrance of -this hour, dear Frederick," he said. "The -turquoise signifies prosperity, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He walked towards one of the windows and, -standing within its deep embrasure, pointed to the -towering chimneys. "</span><em class="italics">My</em><span> brave guardsmen," he -exulted, half to himself, "outposts of my Imperial -will, avant-guard of my seven millions of warriors; -it will be great fun, old fellows, to make you dance -as I whistle!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, with a broad smile to Frederick: "That -being settled, the Minister of Justice shall draw -up your testament at once. I brought him to -Essen for that. Now, don't look frightened, -boy. 'Last will' does not mean 'last legs.' You -will outlive us all, I bet. Let's think of a Prince -Consort now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, as said, Bertha is much too young," -faltered Frederick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Herr," staccatoed the War Lord, "I already -had the honour to inform you that Bertha is my -godchild—m-y g-o-d-c-h-i-l-d. Do you hear?" -he yelled, while startled Frederick looked anxiously -towards the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord took the hint and resumed -conversational tone. "Come now," he ordered, "roll -call. Some of our dear friends are still in the -marriage mart." (Reflectively): "Too bad; -Fritzie got married." Bertha's father shuddered -at the mentioning of a certain Count, who, though -brother-in-law of a reigning Grand Duke, was -prisoner Number 5429 at Siegen jail, in Rhineland, -a few years later for crimes unspeakable. In 1902, -however, the dashing Colonel of Horse had not -yet been publicly disgraced, and the War Lord -launched into a panegyric of his friend. "Yes, -indeed, Fritz would have made a first-class master -here. Not overburdened with brains, but knows -enough to obey orders. No humming and -hawing for him when the War Lord has spoken. -But the Suien girl caught him. The kind of -son-in-law you want, Frederick."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Krupp shook his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I respectfully beg to differ; none of these for -my little girl."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">These?</em><span>" The War Lord again raised his -voice, but dropped into a hoarse whisper when he -heard the officer </span><em class="italics">de jour</em><span> address the sentinels in -the corridor. "One can't say a word without -being overheard," he grumbled; "nearer, Frederick, -still closer." As he continued speaking he -laid his massive right hand on Frederick's knee and -hissed between his teeth: "These? You forgot -that you were referring to </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> friends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I did not, most assuredly I did not," returned -the Ironmaster, disengaging himself by a swift -movement and jumping up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You dare!" hissed the War Lord, again -losing control of himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I dare anything for my child!" cried Krupp, -his face livid with rage; "and I tell you to your -face none of your free-living friends for my -Bertha!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Insolence!" roared the War Lord. "Take -a care that I don't send you to Spandau."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I would endure Schlusselburg rather than -suffer my child to marry one of </span><em class="italics">these</em><span>," insisted -the Ironmaster doggedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord gazed at the speaker for twenty -or more seconds, then said in a tone of command: -"You can go. Send in Moltke" (referring to his -adjutant, later chief of the general staff).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the latter he remained closeted a quarter -of an hour—quite a long space of time for a person -of the War Lord's character—and it is said that he -tried to persuade the blond giant (Moltke was -blond and blooming then) that Krupp was a -madman, as crazy as the Mad Hatter. Otherwise he -would never have dared oppose his plebeian will -against that of the supreme master. Of course -not!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of Moltke's counter-arguments we know -naught, but the War Lord's visit to Essen wound -up with a grand banquet of sixty covers, and in the -course of it host and Imperial guest toasted each -other in honeyed words.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Less than two months later Frederick Krupp -died by his own hand, and Bertha Krupp—sixteen, -homely and already prone to embonpoint—mounted -the throne of the Cannon Kings, as the -War Lord had willed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And, as he had insisted, she became automatically -a pawn in his hand, his </span><em class="italics">alter ego</em><span> for -destruction and misery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ever since his intimacy with Frederick, the -War Lord had looked upon the Krupp plant as the -power house for the realisation of his ambition—the -conquest of the world; and to a very considerable -extent Frederick had aided and abetted his -plans by employing his genius for invention and -business to commercialise war, and making it fit -in with the general scheme of high finance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Want a loan?" the Cannon King used to ask -governments. "May we fix it for you? But first -contract for so many quick-firing guns."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The loan being amply secured, and the quick-firers -paid for, then the suggestion would come -along: "Have some more Bleichroder or Meyer -funds on top of our latest devices in man-killers." And -so on, and so on; an endless chain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet, while so eager to provide death with -new-fangled tools wholesale, Frederick could not, or -would not, divest himself from the shackles of -business honesty—and his inheritance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He wouldn't play tricks on customers. The -steel and work he put into guns for, say, Russia -or Chili were as flawless and expert as in the guns -bought by his Prussian Majesty. And that was -the "besetting sin of Frederick," the damning -spot on the escutcheon of their friendship, as the -War Lord viewed it. It followed, of course, that -when one hundred of the Tsar's Krupp guns faced -one hundred Krupp guns of the Government of -Berlin, they would be an even match so far as -material went—a thing and condition in strict -contradiction to the Potsdam maxim: "Always -attack with superior force."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How often the War Lord had argued with -Frederick: Soft lining for enemy howitzers; a -well-concealed, patched-up flaw in the barrel of -quick-firers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know no enemy, only customers," was -Frederick's invariable rejoinder, garbed in politest -language.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Customers! Decidedly the War Lord wanted -customers—plenty of them, since, as we know, he -had invested largely in Krupp stock; but to take -customers' money was one thing, and to provide -them with means for spoiling the War Lord's game -was another.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When that pistol-shot startled Villa Huegel on -November 22nd did it portend the death-knell -of what the War Lord called "Krupp molly-coddledom"?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even during Frederick Krupp's lifetime—just -as if his early demise had been a foregone -conclusion—technical experts of the Berlin War Office -had been instructed to make extensive experiments -with steel on the lines ordered by Wilhelm the -War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The test would be the Day!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="weaving-the-toils-round-bertha-krupp"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">WEAVING THE TOILS ROUND BERTHA KRUPP</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Your Play Days are Over"—The Baroness Speaks -Out—In the Grip of the Kaiser—A Room Apart</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"The makings of the true German heifer," that -astute Frenchman, Hippolyte Taine, would have -said of the young girl who was busy in her garden -behind Villa Huegel on the 24th of November, -1902. For her blooming youth was full of the -promise of maternity—broad shoulders, budding -figure, generous hands and feet, plenty of room -for brains in a good-sized head. Pretty? An -Englishman or American would hardly have -accorded her that pleasing descriptive title, but -comely and wholesome she was, with her air of -intelligence and kindly eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An abominable German custom makes scarecrows -out of children at a parent's death. So -Bertha Krupp was garbed in severest black, -awkwardly put together. Her very petticoats, visible -when she bent over her flowers, were of sable -crepe; not a bit of white or lace, though it would -have been a relief, seeing that the young woman's -complexion was not of the best.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha—Uncle Majesty——" cried a child's -voice from outside the house, "wants you," it -added, coming nearer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To say good-bye?" called Bertha in return. -One might have discerned an accent of relief in -the tone of her voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not yet," replied her sister, running up, as -she tugged at Bertha's watering-can. "Adjutant -von Moltke said something about a con-con——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Conference, I suppose," completed the older -girl. "Will you never learn to speak, child?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Uncle Majesty uses such big words," pleaded -little Barbara. "Hurry, sister, he is waiting, and -you know how crazy he gets——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what have </span><em class="italics">I</em><span> got to do with him? Let -him speak to Mamma. Tell them I am busy with -my flowers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha!" cried a high-pitched voice from the -direction of the villa.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mamma," whispered the younger girl; -"hurry up, now, or you will catch it." At the -same moment one of the library windows in Villa -Huegel opened, disclosing the figure of the War -Lord, accoutred as for battle—gold lace, silver -scarf, many-coloured ribbons, metal buttons and -numerals. His well padded chest heaved under -dozens of medals and decorations, his moustachios -vied with sky-scrapers. With his bejewelled right -hand he beckoned imperiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My child, my goddaughter," he said with -terrible emphasis when Bertha entered the room, -breathing hard, "once and for all you must -understand that your play-days are over; at this moment -you enter upon the service of the State." He -turned abruptly to Bertha's mother, adding in -tones of command: "You will put her into long -dresses at once, Baroness. It isn't fitting that the -heiress of the Krupp works shows her legs like a -peasant girl."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I don't want to wear long dresses, Uncle -Majesty," pouted Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord took no notice of the childish -protest, but looked inquiringly at Bertha's mother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Surely in matters of dress, at least, the child's -wishes should be consulted," said the Baroness half -defiantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I insist," fumed the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I respectfully submit that your Majesty -must not meddle with matters of toilette in my -house."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord pulled a high-backed, eagle-crowned -chair of silver-gilt up to the late Cannon -King's desk and pushed Bertha into it. It was the -fauteuil he had once designated as "sacred to the -All Highest person"—meaning himself, of course. -As a rule its gold and purple upholstery had a -white silk cover, which was removed only when -the War Lord visited the great house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cardinal fashion," he said to the astonished -child, without taking notice of his hostess's remark. -"Cardinals, Bertha, are princes of the Roman -Church, and each has a throne in his house. While -the See of St. Peter is occupied, the emblem of -power is turned to the wall. So, heretofore, this -throne of mine was obsolete while I was away from -Essen, but since your father, as his testament -shows, appointed you his successor under my -guardianship, you shall have the right and privilege -to sit in my place. A throne for the War Lady -while the War Lord is away!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The bewildered child was slow to avail herself -of the grand privilege. Shoulders bent forward, -she wriggled to the edge, hardly touching the seat, -while her eyes sought her mother's with mute appeal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, the War Lord was determined to do -all the talking himself. "As I pointed out, under -Papa's will, you are sole owner of the Krupp -business and mistress here," he declaimed, with a -disdainful glance at the child's mother. The -Purple-born did not scruple to exult over his -victim before her daughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Happily, the young girl did not observe his -ruthlessness, nor would she have understood her -godfather's motive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mistress here," repeated the War Lord; -"responsible to no one but God's Anointed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha, now thoroughly frightened, burst into -tears. "Don't cry," ordered the War Lord -brusquely. But Frau Krupp jumped to her feet, -and, placing herself in front of the child, exclaimed -with flaming eyes: "Such language to a little girl -and on the day of her father's burial!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord saw that he had gone too far. -"Come, now," he said soothingly, "I meant -your Uncle Majesty, of course. Uncle has always -been kind and considerate to his little Bertha, -hasn't he?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He asked the Baroness to be seated, while -he patted Bertha's shoulder and hair. "God-daughter," -he said softly, "be a brave girl and -listen." And, with the child's eyes showing -increasing bewilderment every moment, he burst -into a panegyric of himself and his sublime mission -on earth, such as even his dramatic collaborators, -von Wildenbruch and Captain Lauff, had never -conceived in their most toadying moments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was on the most elaborately intimate terms -with God, and every act of his was approved by -"his" God beforehand. "His" God had -appointed him vicar on earth, instrument of His -benevolence and of His wrath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My child," he sermonised in accents of -fanaticism, "think of the honour, the unheard-of -honour in store for you; you, the offspring of -humble parents, shall do my bidding as my God -directs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha was stiff with astonishment, but the -Baroness moved uneasily in her chair and was -about to speak, when the War Lord, who -had paused to observe the effect of his words, -resumed:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Krupp business, </span><em class="italics">your</em><span> business, my dear -Bertha, is unlike any other in the world. All other -manufacturers and merchants cater to the material -welfare of man, more or less; the Krupp works -alone are destined to traffic in human life for God's -greater glory and at His behest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For fourteen years God has listened to my -prayers for peace; for fourteen long years I have -beseeched Him, morning, noon and night, in every -crisis that arose throughout the world to permit me -to keep my sword sheathed—God's sword. But -all these years myself and your father, Bertha, -have kept our powder dry, never relaxing armed -preparedness, doubling it rather, to be ready for -God's first bugle-call."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so the blasphemous vaingloryings went on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord strode over to the long wall -of the room, dragging his sword over the marble -floor and giving his spurs and medals an extra -shake. He pushed a button, whereupon an -illuminated map of Europe shot into a frame -where, a second before, a Watteau shepherdess -had impersonated </span><em class="italics">les fêtes galantes du Roi</em><span>. -Drawing the sword, he delineated with its point -the Central Empires, the Italian boot-leg, and -Turkey's European possessions. Then he -double-crossed France, Russia and Great Britain. "The -enemy!" he cried. "Enemies of German -greatness, of German expansion, of German -</span><em class="italics">kultur</em><span>—therefore, enemies of the God of the Germans and -of mine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But with your help I will smash them, pound -them into a jelly, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As if overcome by horror, the child glided from -the impromptu throne of the self-appointed </span><em class="italics">Godgeissel</em><span> -(the Lord's scourge) to the rug, and buried -her face in her mother's lap.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Uncle Majesty," she sobbed, "you mean to -say that I must help you make war? The -Commandment says, 'Thou shalt not kill.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But the Lord also said, 'Vengeance is -mine,'" quoted her Uncle Majesty; "and God -wreaks His vengeance through me, His elect, His -chosen instrument.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, these matters you will understand better -as you grow older," he continued. "For the -present remember this: under your father's will, -I am your chief guardian, and you must obey me -in everything. While nominally, even legally, you -are sole proprietress of the Krupp works and their -numerous dependencies, you hold these properties, -as a matter of fact, in trust for me. It follows, -my child, that you must leave the direction of the -works to your Uncle Majesty and his subordinates, -the directors and business managers. Do you -agree to that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was something hypnotic in the War -Lord's delivery. As the Baroness explained -afterwards, he talked like one possessed. Add to this -his necromantic manoeuvring, his Machiavellian -gestures, his grandly weird eloquence—inherited -from an uncle who died in a strait-jacket—small -wonder he prevailed upon the grief-stricken child, -when, alternately, he threatened, cajoled and -flattered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As a matter of fact, the War Lord's words -seemed to have a peculiar appeal to the richest girl -in the world, who neither divined nor imagined -their sinister purpose. What pierced her -comprehension appealed to a youngster's love of -independence, of shaking off mother's leading-strings. -In the avalanche of phrases that assailed Bertha's -ears this stood out: "Your mother doesn't count; -you are mistress in your own right." Very well, -she would put the promise to the test. "I don't -quite understand," said the Cannon King's heiress; -rising from her knees, and without looking at her -parent, added, "but I leave it all to you, Uncle -Majesty—everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you hear?" cried the War Lord, addressing -Frau Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have heard, and Bertha will go to her room -now," replied the Baroness firmly; and though the -War Lord made an impatient gesture indicating -that he meant the child to remain, she conducted -her daughter to the door, kissed her on the -forehead, and let her slip out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When she turned round she saw the War Lord -in the </span><em class="italics">Godgeissel</em><span> chair before the desk, resting his -right arm on the blotter, his left hand on the hilt -of his sword.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Any further commands for the mistress of -the house?" she queried in no humble tones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord, seemingly absorbed in a document -he had taken up, replied without looking at -his hostess: "Send in Moltke," whereupon the -Baroness retreated backward towards the door. -She was about to drop a curtsy to signify her -leave-taking, when the War Lord cried out: -"One thing more, Madame la Baronne. From -now on this room is </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> room, and none but -myself or the Krupp heiress has the </span><em class="italics">entrée</em><span>. My -goddaughter may see my representatives here, but -no one else—no one."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-mother-s-reflections"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A MOTHER'S REFLECTIONS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Baroness and Franz—The Power-Drunk War Lord—A Pawn -in the Game—The Sweets of Power—Germany Above -All—The War Lord's Murder Lust—Fighting the -Frankenstein—At the War Lord's Mercy</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Baroness's boudoir in Villa Huegel is a -spacious apartment, hung in blue and silver, the -colours of her noble house. Everything that riches, -mellowed by refinement, could command enhanced -its luxurious comfort. In the home of Baroness -Krupp are trophies of her visits to foreign -shores: cut glass, coins, bronzes and curios of all -kinds. Silver-gilt caskets hold royal presents, -precious stuffs and monstrous ornaments from -German kings and kinglets—articles of jewellery -for the most part, too big for a woman of taste. -All are crowned and initialled, but few -hall-marked. Since a prince is supposed to give away -the real thing, why bother about carats? Numerous -paintings, English landscapes, French and Italian -decorative art and figures. An English grand -piano in one corner. Britishers prefer German -makes, but the much-travelled Baroness wouldn't -tolerate the home product.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She is seated before a spindle-legged table with -a crystal top over a velvet-lined drawer, where -Madame's royal orders and decorations repose—crosses -and stars, quadrupeds and birds of various -</span><em class="italics">outré</em><span> forms and degrees. Pointing to one of -them bearing the name of a queen famous for her -beauty and misfortunes, she murmured: "How -proud I was when he gave it to me! At that time -I thought him chivalrous and believed him sincere -in his religious professions. Since he intrigues to -make my little girl the accomplice of his murderous -desires, never more will I wear it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Master Franz desires to speak to your -ladyship," said a manservant from behind the -portières covering the doorway.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Show him up."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz was a distant relative who had lived much -in the Krupp household after he finished his studies -at the late Frederick Krupp's expense. At this -time he was chief electrical engineer of the -establishment, destined for still higher honours, for -experts held that the mantle of the great Edison -had descended upon Franz's broad shoulders. He -was like a big brother to the Krupp girls, and -looked upon the Baroness as a mother, having -never known his own.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tall and good-looking, Franz, as a rule, dressed -like an Englishman of distinction, but to-day he -had chafed under the obligation of wearing -evening dress for breakfast, lunch and tea, because of -the War Lord's presence. Even now his nether -garments belonged to the ceremonial variety, but -he wore a jacket tightly buttoned over the wide -expanse of his shirt-front.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So it is proposed to make two kinds of steel -in future," he whispered, after closing the door -and drawing the curtains. "Has that your -approval, Frau Krupp?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Ironmaster's widow heard only the first -part of the sentence; she was too amazed to listen -further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is that you say, Franz?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young man kissed the Baroness's hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Acting without your leave or consent—I -thought so," he said. "I would have staked my -life on it that you would permit no such infamy." Seeing -the Baroness's questioning eyes focused on -his, he explained:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour before the War Lord left the -Director-General had sent for him—"to explain -certain technical details," ran the message. He -had to wait a considerable time in the ante-room -of the conference chamber before being admitted, -and while there could not help overhearing what -was going on inside, as the War Lord was arguing -in drill-ground accents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was the gist of his peroration, defended -with consummate sophistry: It was a crime against -the Fatherland to supply possible enemies with -arms that at one time or another might be used -against the War Lord's Majesty. That sort of -thing—treason, to call it by its proper name—had -been permitted long enough, too long, in fact; -and now that the life-long defender of misguided -business honesty had been removed by God's -Hand—G-o-d-'s H-a-n-d—there must be an end of it. -He (the War Lord), ever on guard against the -Fatherland's enemies, had instructed his scientists -to discover a substitute for hard steel with which -to line enemy guns and armour. These substitutes -were forthwith to be experimented with, and, if -the results were satisfactory, must be employed, -instead of the real steel, whenever the War Lord so -directs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Frederick hardly cold in his shroud!" -gasped the Baroness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you," cried Franz, "you can prevent -this fraud, this disgrace! You must, you will, I -am sure of it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness had risen and stared vacantly into -the fire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"God punish me if I would hesitate a moment -to do as honour dictates, Franz, but Frederick -Krupp left his widow bound hand and foot," she -replied bitterly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean to say that you submit to the -power-drunk War Lord? Abdicate your sacred -trust? Make your children and your workpeople -accomplices of fraudulent practices?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Haven't you heard about the stipulations -which were made in your Uncle Frederick's last -will and testament?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a word," replied Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought Bertha would tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was busy all the afternoon, and then came -the Director-General's order, which prevented me -from saying good night to the children."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sit down then and listen," said the Baroness. -"As Uncle Frederick often told you, the War -Lord has tried for years to obtain control of the -Krupp works. In particular he was for ever -preaching against the policy of business integrity, -the proudest of the Krupp inheritances; but -though my husband allowed himself to be dominated -by him in many respects, in this, the Krupp -honesty, he remained adamant, partly thanks to -my advice and strenuous opposition, I dare say. -Up to now the Krupps have never played any -government false, as you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, Uncle Frederick dead, the War Lord -is moving heaven and earth to flog the firm into -submission." There was suppressed rage in the -tone of the young man's voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me finish," demanded the Baroness. -"Convinced that I would refuse to be the tool of -his ambition, the War Lord persuaded your Uncle -to ignore me as his legitimate successor, and the -testament appoints Bertha sole heir and, again -ignoring me, the War Lord her guardian and -executor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Gott!</em><span>" cried Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness went on: "His position as -supreme overlord of the Krupp business he made -perfectly clear to us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Us? You mean the heads of the business?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I referred to the child and myself. He talked -to the directors afterwards." The discrowned -Cannon Queen told Franz the story of the Imperial -interview. "He is the master," she said in -conclusion, "Bertha his pawn, myself nobody."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And we, the heads of the business, and our -workmen, his slaves," added the chief electrician -gloomily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These two people, suddenly confronted by -the unexpected—a wife shorn of her rights and -wounded in her holiest maternal sentiments; an -honest man commandeered to debase his genius -and become an accessory to murder most foul—sat -for a while in silence, brooding over their -misfortune and the disasters threatening mankind as -a consequence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the Baroness roused herself. "And -what did they want with you at the conference, -Franz?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was admitted after the War Lord had -left to be closeted with the Director-General," -replied the engineer, "and the directors seemed -to me extraordinarily perturbed—far more than -the master's death warrants among equals. Herr -Braun acted as spokesman. He said the War -Lord wanted the firm to experiment with a new -steel lining for guns intended for foreign countries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Foreign countries! What does that -mean?' I asked, as if I had not been an -involuntary listener to the War Lord's speech.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Majesty's orders—it behoves subjects to -obey, not to ask questions,' said Herr Braun, with -unusual severity. 'To the point, sir, acting upon -the War Lord's orders to entrust the business to -expert hands, we have decided to turn over the -job to you.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz stopped short, then burst out: "What -am I doing, Frau Krupp? You just told me that -you are not the head of the firm, and I am about -to reveal matters of the gravest importance -confided to my keeping. I made a mistake—I was -led away by filial reverence for my benefactor's -widow. Pray forget what I have said."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz was about to withdraw, when a voice -outside called: "Mamma, can I come in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You said good night once. I thought you -were in bed and asleep, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The door opened, and a hand rustled the -portières.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you alone?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Only Franz."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha's blonde head thrust itself through the -centre of the curtains, while she paused on the -threshold. Then a naked foot in a blue velvet -slipper with a golden heel: a vision in floating -white rushed in and nestled childishly at the -Baroness's feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Howdy, Franz?" said Bertha, drawing her -kimono tighter over her bosom. And to her -mother: "I couldn't sleep after what Uncle -Majesty told us to-night. So I came down. You -are not angry, Mamma? Don't scold, Mamma," -she added, observing her mother's stern face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp patted the child's head. "Fate!" -she said to Franz. "</span><em class="italics">Voilà</em><span>, the head of the Krupp -firm. Continue."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The engineer bowed. "With your permission, -my chief," he said, addressing Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Anything you please, you big booby," -laughed the child. Then, seriously: "I am your -chief, indeed I am. Think of bossing a big chap -like you and that arrogant Herr Braun, too!" She -motioned Franz to bend down, and whispered in -his ear, "Wouldn't it be fun to sack him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No nonsense, child, if you want to stay up," -Frau Krupp was very much in earnest, and to -Franz she said: "Go on; I am impatient to hear -the rest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was telling your mother about some business -Herr Braun wants to entrust me with," explained -Franz, looking at the child.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How very interesting," yawned Bertha; -"but you can't get me to listen. Ah, there, I see -one of Barbara's dolls. I will play with it till you -get through; then supper. I didn't eat dinner -with Fraulein," she added, looking at her mother, -"and there's such a goneness here," touching her -abdomen. The greatest force for destruction in the -world, yet a child to all intents and purposes!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Proceed," said the Baroness to Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With the chief's permission," began Franz -formally; then, as if trying to make his disclosure -as indefinite as possible: "You heard about the -order from King Leopold, secured by the War-Lord's -Brussels ambassador?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness nodded, and Bertha took her -eyes momentarily from her plaything. "Big, big -guns," she said, describing a circle in the air by -turning the doll's arm and hand round and round; -"my apanage, poor Papa said. Glad you reminded -me. I must tell Herr Braun about it. All the -profits are to go to my children's hospital." She -sat the doll astride her knee, bobbing her up -and down, then burst out laughing. "See that -head-dress, Franz, and her gown and apron—the -Belgian colours. Looks like a coincidence, -doesn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha embraced the doll tenderly. "Thank -your King for me, Dolly. The more guns he -orders, the better for our little children here. -German interests first," laughed Bertha, looking -up. "Uncle Majesty told me so ever so often."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The "Germany-above-all" spirit, spelling -moral and physical ruthlessness, spoke out of the -child. The Fatherland first, second and third; -perdition for the rest of the world, if Germany's -interests be served thereby!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whether the heiress had an inkling of what -the War Lord really intended, it is impossible to -decide; neither can there be any positive -knowledge as to the attitude she might have assumed if, -perchance, she did understand Franz's pregnant -words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Pupil of the War Lord, firmly believing in his -preachings, saturated with his theories, and -over-awed by his claims of Divine mission, his -vapourings were gospel to her, and "Germany-above-all" -was one of the commandments, even though it -conflicted with all the others.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A monstrous case of </span><em class="italics">folie à deux</em><span>, "deux" -standing for the German nation. Here we have -a man decked out in ornate regimentals travelling -about his country telling four millions of men: -"You must die for Me," and immediately each -man says to his wife: "I wonder if there is a -special heaven for patriots like your husband?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And to a certain class of persons he points out -that science is but the handmaiden of wholesale -murder, and that they must employ their God-given -inventive genius, all their brains, all their -time, to devise new ways and means for killing as -many men, women and children as there are in -the world outside of the German Empire. And -they do.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And to a woman he says: "You were born to -suffer. Give me your husband; I want him for -the fighting." And she forthwith tells her man -to make one more for the shambles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And to the golden-haired girl he says: "A -truce to your vanity, off with your locks, that I -may buy more rifles; and your lover I want, too. -His manly breast will make an excellent scabbard -for a French or Russian lance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the golden-haired one raves that she is -thrice happy to be allowed to sacrifice her beauty -and the idol of her dreams for the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want your fathers," he says to a playground -full of children, "and your uncles and big brothers -and cousins." And the little ones cry: "Hurrah! -Long live the Emperor!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would ye live for ever?" he queries of men -between fifty and sixty-five. "To the barracks -with you, even if you are but good for cannon -fodder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Someone tells him of a bunch of boys playing -marbles in an alley; not one of them has finished -his education. The War Lord examines them -critically and sniffs. "You are big enough to stop -a bullet somehow," he allows, and they are led to -slaughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The All Highest looks upon the earth and -boasts of his winged legions of man-killers. He -declaims that Englishmen and Frenchmen and -Italians and Belgians have turned out to fight -God's Anointed; but adds with a sly smile they left -their women at home and their brood, that he may -out-Herod Herod. In his mind he feels the earth -trembling under the heavy tread of his armed -millions and the weight of his artillery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This Dancing Dervish of universal slaughter, -this man given over to murder-lust is the object of -veneration not only of those whom he addresses in -person, because of their mistaken sense of duty and -patriotism; a whole nation, seventy millions strong, -acclaim him Saviour—Messiah of the Fatherland's -destinies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One can understand individual sacrifice, but -seventy millions of people, every mother's son -and daughter, turning beasts of prey! It -baffles psychological speculation. Everywhere the -"Evangelium of German superdom," as the War -Lord sees it, is loud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Small wonder Bertha, born of man-killer stock -and suckled on the breasts of militarism, which -nourished her kith and kin and their hundreds of -thousands of dependents, believes unconditionally -in the doctrines pronounced by her godfather, to -her the God-head of power infinite, omniscience -incarnate!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hence the implied rebuke to Franz: "German -interests first." After that she returned to the -nursery—her Belgian doll.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp looked significantly at Franz. -"You were going to say——</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My orders are to experiment with the War -Lord's new formula for steel on those guns for -Liége."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz buried his head in his hands, elbows -planted on knees, leaning forward heavily, while -the Baroness sat looking at him, her nimble mind -weighing the pros and cons. At last she reached -out a hand and touched the young man's shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Franz," she said solemnly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young man's head shot up and he stared -at Frau Krupp as if she was a ghost. Answering -the question in her eyes, he almost shouted, -"Never!" holding up his right hand as if under -oath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness placed his hand on Bertha's head. -"Swear that you will stand by this child."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I swear, with all my heart, so help me, God," -pronounced Franz, with severe emphasis.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A peculiar look came into the Baroness's eyes, -half satisfied, half cunning, as with a sort of -imperious finality she said: "It is well." Then, -turning to the child: "Bertha, run along now and -tell them to serve in the small dining-room in five -minutes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Make it ten, Mamma, so I can put on my -new </span><em class="italics">negligée</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, ten; but hurry," agreed Frau -Krupp, looking at the pendule.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the curtain had fallen behind Bertha the -Baroness turned a white, severe face upon Franz. -Then, abandoning all pretence of loyalty to the -Grand War Lord, she told the terrible secrets long -locked in her bosom, secrets imparted by her late -husband or gathered from his lips during long, -sleepless nights while he tossed on his pillow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's the Frankenstein we have to fight," she -said, "the pitiless, heartless, soul-less Evil One, -intent upon setting the world afire through my -child's inheritance. The plotting has been going -on ever since the crowned monster was enthroned. -Almost the first communication he made to -Frederick, as head of the Empire, was: 'Now we -must bend all energies to get ready. And when -we are, I will set my foot upon the neck of the -universe, Charlemagne redivivus!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Previous to that, Frederick and myself had -agreed gradually to drop cannon- and ammunition-making. -The Krupps were to create, instead of -facilitating destruction. No longer was Essen to -be a place upon which a merciful God looked with -abhorrence. Engines of death had made us rich -and powerful; henceforth the coined results of war -were to be employed to make waste land arable, -to drain morasses, to dig canals, to prosecute every -peaceful endeavour promising to enhance the -German people's chances of happiness and prosperity. -The old saw of turning swords into ploughshares -was to be enacted by the firm that had made war -thrice deadly. Then the tempter came. 'I rely -upon you, Frederick! You are the Fatherland's -only hope, for Germany can achieve its destinies -only through blood and iron.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'One more supreme effort, Frederick, then -the War Lord will turn husbandman, making you -manager-general of his great farm stretching from -the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean, from the -Atlantic to Siberia.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As you know, the War Lord is an insinuating -talker," continued Frau Krupp, "and his autocratic -manner, enhanced by occasional flurries of -condescension and persuading Frederick to join in -his social relaxations. Ah!" she cried, striking the -table with her hand, "it was these that forged the -bullet which killed my husband!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a shrill tone of rage and defiance in -the last words. Then emotion mastered Frau -Krupp's strength. She tottered, swayed, and -would have fallen had not Franz caught her. He -knew what she had suffered through her husband's -intimacy with the War Lord and his cronies, and -shuddered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mother," he said unconsciously, as her head -touched his breast. The Baroness let it rest there -a moment; here was a tower of strength, of reserve -force.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Alas!" she continued, after a tense silence, -"in the long run they ensnared Frederick. He -succumbed to their ensnaring wiles as a foolish -man might to the flatteries of a flirt. My counsel -was no longer sought; the promises he had -made—which I had exacted in happier days—were -forgotten or denied. The very ploughs and -ploughshares we were manufacturing then were thrown -into the melting-pot for guns."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She picked up a book lying on the mantel. -"'Vital Statistics of the German Empire,'" she -read aloud; "'Steady Increase of Population.'" She -flung the volume on the hearth. "Multiply -like the Biblical sands; it only means that -Essen works the harder to put you under the sod."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp dropped her voice and went on in -a whisper: "Do you understand now what your -threatened retirement would mean? It would -mean that, excepting France and Great Britain, -the whole of the world, all the smaller nations, -would be practically at the War Lord's mercy, -because their guns wouldn't shoot, their swords -and lances wouldn't pierce.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Such is the goal he has been striving for, the -goal he wants to attain through my little girl. -'Have them all inadequately armed, and it will be -a walk-over for German arms,' he calculates."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And how can I prevent the world's debacle?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By fighting fire with fire. You cannot fight -the War Lord openly—pretend obedience, fall in -with his plans apparently, be an enthusiastic -faker, as far as he can see; but don't smirch my -little girl's business honour and submerge the -world under a tidal wave of blood by making other -nations defenceless. I have your promise, Franz?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a vast prospect," answered the young -engineer, "but I have sworn to stand by -Bertha——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thank you," said the Baroness, as the -portières were noisily pushed aside and a child's -voice cried: "Supper's ready."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="bertha-krupp-war-lady-asserts-herself"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BERTHA KRUPP, WAR LADY, ASSERTS HERSELF</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Science Steps In—Franz Incurs the Kaiser's Wrath</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Six months of feverish activity in the Essen works, -of tests and measuring velocities, of experimenting -with ingots, hardening processes, chilled iron -castings and compound steel—who knows or cares for -the technique of murder machinery save generals -of the staff? As Mark Twain at one time labelled -a book, "There is no weather in this," so the -present author will not burden his pages with -figures and statistics of any sort. It would be a -tantalising undertaking at best, for the War Lord -himself was directing, and insisted that his every -misunderstood, mis-stated and often wholly -untenable whim be immediately gratified by the ready -servility of Krupp employés—"his people."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Up to the time under discussion the Emperor -Wilhelm had devoted nearly all his energies to drill, -political intrigue and uttering platitudes. To -dabble in formulary details, with nobody to dispute -his opinion or correct his errors, flattered him in -the proportion as his judgment about ordnance -construction became more and more fantastic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was always going about with a half-dozen -professors at his heels, losing no opportunity of -propounding nebulous and remarkable theories to -their startled but complaisant ears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the beginning of the present century the -German professor was a hundred years behind the -times in his dress, manners and social habits. The -German Punch had rudely caricatured him into a -new habitat, where soap and water, clean collars, -unfrayed trousers and non-Cromwellian headgear -held sway. Up to that period, he had bathed -occasionally, had curled his hair now and then, -and thereafter relapsed into that state of -slovenliness which is labelled scientific preoccupation -by the German mob, and stands in awe of learning, -be it ever so badly digested and wrongfully -applied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord had an English mother; he is a -Barbarian fond of the tub. He perceived that -professors might be made useful to him. But how -make them presentable?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A visit to England gave him the clue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And forthwith the new order of Court dress -was launched: short clothes and pumps, silk stockings -and jabot-shirts; and the official Press rudely -informed those "entitled to the uniform" that -bathing was imperative before getting into it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The brotherhood of science furthermore -received hints to patronise the War Lord's own -barber in regard to their flowing beards. "But -Admiral von Tirpitz wears a forked beard too," -pleaded some. "No precedent, Herr Professor, -his Excellency has Majesty's special permit!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the superfluous hair, the professors -likewise had to shed their accustomed hyperbole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't speak until spoken to." "Answer in -as few informatory words as can be managed." "Invariably -make your answer meet the Imperial -wishes." "Never contradict," were the Grand -Master's instructions, and the scientific men -abiding by them soon found themselves in clover, -because they were "useful," while the rest were -discarded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In particular, experts in chemistry were -exploited by the War Lord. "They must help to -feed my army and people"—in case war lasts -longer than expected. "They must invent new -weapons of destruction"—for while powder and -lead are well enough in their way, they do not -spell the end of things.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>German scientific men are very fond of power -and have an enormous idea of their own importance, -but their notions are subject to fits of -extravagant humility if policy, or personal -advantage, can be served by Uriah Heepisms. The -keener ones in the Imperial entourage found that -it would pay to cater to the mobility in the War -Lord's ideas while there was a certain degree of -logic. And if, perchance, he happened to drop -into incoherency or extravagance, was it the -professor's business to set him right? Court usage -registered an emphatic negative.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such were the beginnings of the partnership -between War Lordism and the perversion of -German science into an instrument of destruction. -"Science to the rescue of the lame and halt"—an -out-of-date notion. Science makes them by the -hundreds of thousands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The professors were powerful assistants to the -War Lord in maintaining his grip on the Krupp -throat and acquiring further business concessions -from the firm; but, of course, as to realising the -technical chimeras of the War Lord's mind with -respect to new-fangled war machinery, there was -more pretence than activity, for dividends had to -be considered, and the War Lord would have been -the first to make an outcry if his earnings were -reduced by the fraction of a per cent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz maintained his position as chief experimenter, -and, his expert judgment in gunmaking -as well as in electricity being unquestioned, he was -able openly to frustrate some of the War Lord's -most bloodthirsty plans by proving them impracticable -to the satisfaction of the board of directors, -which put a stop to their execution for the time -at least.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Uncle Majesty is very wroth with you," said -Bertha to her relative one evening, when the War -Lord had returned to Berlin after one of his -unofficial visits to the Ruhr metropolis. He was in -the habit of coming to Essen every little while now, -unheralded and incog. Likewise in mufti; and -what discarding of regimentals and associated -fripperies meant to him few people can imagine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His uniforms are built to make him appear -taller and more imposing, while affording a ready -background for all sorts of decorative material—ribbons, -scarfs, stars, crosses and medals galore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wroth with me?" queried Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, with you," replied the child; "and I -heard him dictate a long letter, giving you a terrible -talking to. I just signed it," added Bertha with -a satisfied grin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And why am I hauled over the coals?" asked Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sure I don't know," replied the child. -"'One of the things little girls cannot -understand,' said Uncle Majesty. But I do know that -you must—I said </span><em class="italics">must</em><span>—not do it again. I won't -let you, do you hear? I mean Uncle Majesty won't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz raised his hat and knocked his heels -together, military fashion. He was about to -withdraw when Bertha caught him by the arm. "You -are not angry with me, Franz?" she pleaded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, my chief."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say 'no, </span><em class="italics">liebe</em><span> Bertha.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, </span><em class="italics">liebe</em><span> Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment a messenger caught up with -the two young people on the road to Villa Huegel -and handed Franz an official-looking envelope. -The engineer looked inquiringly at Bertha. "May I?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Instead of answer the Krupp heiress picked up -her skirts with both hands and ran towards the -house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her letter informed Franz that the task of -completing the Belgian guns had been entrusted -to other hands. Secondly, that, in future, -communications about experiments ordered by the -War Lord must be addressed to the heiress direct, -not to the board of directors.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="how-the-war-lady-was-cajoled"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">HOW THE WAR LADY WAS CAJOLED</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>An Intoxication of Vanity—Barbara's Plain -Words—A Shameful Memory</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Imperial Chief-Court-and-House Marshal, Count -Eulenburg, has the honour to command Fraulein Bertha -Krupp to attend upon their Imperial and Royal -Majesties, His Majesty the Emperor and King, and -Her Majesty the Empress and Queen, during the -Christmas and New Year's festivities at the Schloss, -Berlin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A royal equipage will await Fraulein Krupp's -pleasure at the station, meeting the early morning train -of December 22nd.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Dress</em><span>: Silks, Velvets and Laces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Attendance</em><span>: Wardrobe mistress and maid; A footman.</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The invitation, copperplated on an immense sheet -of rather cheap paper and sent through the mail -free, created much excitement in Villa Huegel, the -more so as it was wholly unexpected, the War -Lord never having intimated that an honour of -that kind was in store for his godchild.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime Bertha had risen to the dignity -of opening her own letters and using her discretion -as to divulging their contents, or not, as she saw -fit, or rather as the War Lord saw fit. This was -strictly opposed to native custom; but isn't the -King above the law? And certain reports, such -as those ordered to be addressed to Bertha -direct—Franz's for instance—All-Highest wouldn't have -communicated to any save himself, not even to -Frau Krupp. Hence his command that the Krupp -heiress keep her own counsel in regard to her -correspondence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha broke the great seal of the Court -Marshal's office and her eyes became luminous as she -read the printed words and angular script. She -sat staring at the latter for a minute or two, while -the Baroness, chafing under her impotency, -pretended to be busy with an orange. Finally -Barbara tiptoed behind her sister's chair and looked -over her shoulder. The fourteen-year-old girl -being well up in Court lore—having seen dozens -of such letters addressed to her late father—applied -herself to the essentials, skipping the merely -decorative lines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Christmas and New Year's festivities at the -</span><em class="italics">Schloss</em><span>, Berlin," she read aloud. Then higher up: -"Fraulein Bertha Krupp."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mamma!" she cried, "we are not -invited, you and I. Isn't that mean of Uncle -Majesty?" She stamped her foot. "But he -shan't kiss me when he comes again—see if I let -him kiss me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold your tongue, naughty child."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha spoke with an air of unwonted -authority. She folded up her letter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just see how high and mighty we are!" -mimicked Barbara. "'Naughty child,' and what -are you? I shouldn't wonder if Uncle Majesty -spanked you sometimes, when you are alone with -him; you always come away full of humility to -him and of arro—arro—" (she couldn't find the -word) "the other thing to us—to Mamma and me, -I mean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness put out her arm as if she expected -the children to resort to fisticuffs. "Barbara," -she called half pleadingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She will go to her room," insisted Bertha, -ringing. The butler responded so promptly that -there was no doubt he had been listening behind -the portières.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fraulein Barbara's governess," Bertha -ordered. And as the man was going out: "My -secretary shall report at once in my council -room."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you mad?" cried Frau Krupp, when the -curtains had dropped behind the servant. Bertha -seemed so unlike herself—unlike what her child -ought to be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Krupp heiress disdained to answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Since I am to be their Imperial and Royal -Majesties' guest, I must prepare for the honour," -she deigned after a little while; "in half an hour -I'll leave for Cologne. You may accompany me, -if you like, Mother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness grew white under the lash of -Bertha's patronising tone. "You shall not go," -she said hotly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you will come to the council room you -can see in black and white my authority to go -where and when I please," replied Bertha, going -out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barbara and her mother looked at each other -in blank amazement, the child not understanding, -the mother understanding but too well. Bertha -was lost to her; the supreme egotist had gained a -strangle-hold on her flesh and blood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the strange intuition that often moves -children to do the right thing at the right time -when grown-ups are at their wits' end, Barbara -seemed to divine what passed in her mother's mind -and, burying her face in the Baroness's lap, she -sobbed out convulsively words of consolation, of -endearment and unbounded affection. Frau -Krupp bent over the child's head and kissed her -again and again. "My little girl, my Barbara, -won't discard Mother, will she?" she said in broken -tones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not for ten thousand Uncle Majesties," cried -Barbara fiercely; and, as if the words had freed her -from a spell, she rose of a sudden and planted -herself in front of Frau Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"—— Uncle Majesty," she said, clenching -her little fists.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, overcome by her breach of the conventions, -she ran out of the room and into the arms of -her governess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp would not have had the heart to -scold Barbara even if she had not run away. "—— -him!"—her own sentiments. With such reflections -she leaned back in her great arm-chair, -undecided whether she should follow Bertha to the -council room or not. Her motherly dignity said -"No," while anxiety for her child urged her to go -to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To think of him playing the bully in my own -house," she deliberated; "the coward, setting a -child against her mother! But I know what it's -done for. He wants her like wax in his hand—the -hand getting ready to choke the world into submission."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The butler entered with soft step.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fraulein begs to say that she will leave for -Cologne at 10.30 sharp, and she desires your -ladyship to get ready."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you, my maid shall lay out the new -black silk costume. Did you order the horses?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fraulein's secretary is attending to everything," -said the butler in a hurt voice. "I don't -know by what authority he assumes my duties," -he added.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall not do so again, Christian," promised -the Baroness.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Three hours later Frau Krupp and Bertha were -going the rounds of Cologne's most exclusive -shops. The Hochstrasse is too narrow to permit -the use of a carriage; the ladies were followed, -then, by a train of commissionaires laden with -boxes, for Bertha was buying everything in the -line of frocks, costumes and millinery that was -pretty and expensive. Consult her mother? Not -a bit of it. The Court Marshal's instructions were -silk, velvet, laces; nothing else mattered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The shopkeepers, of course, knew Frau Krupp; -they had known Bertha familiarly ever since she -was in short frocks. The girl of seventeen had -blossomed into the richest heiress of the world, yet -it would have been almost indecent not to consider -the elder woman first.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So the best chair was pushed forward for the -Baroness, and man-milliners and </span><em class="italics">mannequins</em><span> fell -over each other trying to win her applause for the -goods offered. The widow of the Ironmaster -smiled and talked vaguely about their merits, but -announced that Bertha was to do her own choosing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha went about her task like an inexperienced -country lass suddenly fallen into a pot of -money. The girl seemed to be working under a -sense of assertiveness, tempered by responsibility -to a higher power. That higher power regarded -her mother of no consequence. Though of a -naturally dutiful and kindly nature, Bertha -assumed an air of independence unbecoming to so -young a woman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed her want of respect was of a piece with -her "Uncle Majesty's" behaviour in a little -Italian town, when his father lay dying there. The -War Lord, then a junior Prince, had crossed the -Alps as the representative of his grandsire, head -of the State, and instantly presumed to lord over -his mother, who was the Princess Royal of an -Empire, compared with which his own patrimony -is a petty </span><em class="italics">Seigneurie</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He arrived on a Saturday night, and at once -ordered divine service for seven o'clock next -morning, an hour suiting his restlessness and most -unsuited to his parent, worn out with night vigils -and anxieties.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, to humour him, and also to gain more -time to spend with her ailing husband, the Imperial -Mother acquiesced in the arrangement; but -imagine her surprise when in the morning she learned -at the last moment that, at her son's behest, the -House Marshal had not provided carriages as -usual, and that she was expected to walk -three-quarters of a mile to the chapel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the official procession of church-goers -had started. At the head a platoon of -cuirassiers, followed by the Prince's Marshal and -staff. Next, his adjutants and a deputation of -officers from his regiment; his personal servants in -gala livery; finally, himself, walking alone, the -observed of all observers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The father's own household was commanded to -fall behind. So were his mother and sisters; the -Prince was not at all interested in them. His -Royal Mother might lean on the arm of a footman -for all he cared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here we have an exaggeration of the most repulsive -traits of egotism, self-indulgence, callousness, -coarseness, cruelty and deceitfulness, for, as -intimated, Wilhelm had been careful to keep his -parent in ignorance of the affront to be put upon her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Small wonder that a person so constituted, having -vested himself with full charge of a girl's soul -and mind as she approached mental and physical -puberty, upset her filial equilibrium, while her -actions reflected the impress of his own arrogance.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="fraulein-krupp-invited-to-court"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">FRAULEIN KRUPP INVITED TO COURT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Virtue of a Defect—Bertha's Reception—A -Disappointment</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There is a streak of malignity in the best of -women. Maybe the younger girl has nothing but -praise for another a few years her senior, but she -will add that naturally "age" inspires respect. -Helen has the most beauteous eyes, the daintiest -figure, the most transparent complexion, the -softest colour, the most exquisite feet, the -sweetest smile and the most delightful air of -superiority, and when her friend tenders her a box -at the Play she will invite some girl conspicuously -deficient in most of these excellences—human -nature, or just plain, ordinary devilry. So -Bertha's mother took a sort of grim satisfaction in -the poor taste Bertha displayed in selecting her -Court gowns.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He taught her to ignore her mother even in -matters of dress; serves him right if her -appearance jars on his sense of beauty," she said to -herself more than once when superintending the -packing of Bertha's many trunks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness had never visited the Berlin -Court, and her conception of its splendours resided -in her own imagination.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As a matter of fact, the Berlin Court is the -home of bad taste; plenty of fine shoulders, but -draped with ugly and inappropriate material. -Some few </span><em class="italics">petite</em><span> feet against an overwhelming -majority too large and clumsily shod. Some fine -arms and hands, since such are subjects of the -War-Lord's appreciation, but faces broad, plain and -uninteresting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The taste of a man who allows his wife to keep -a bow-legged attendant is necessarily deplorable; -a king permitting that sort of thing, despite -prevailing fashions, is inexcusable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An anecdote in point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When, in the 'nineties, the Medical Congress -sat in Berlin, the learned gentlemen were -commanded to a reception at the Palace, and in their -honour the whole contingent of Court beauties -was put on exhibition.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you ever see an uglier lot of women?" -asked a Russian professor afterwards, addressing a -table full of colleagues. All shook their heads -sadly, depressed by the remembrance of what they -had witnessed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Into this </span><em class="italics">milieu</em><span> of hallowed ugliness and -organised </span><em class="italics">ennui</em><span> dropped the Krupp heiress like a -pink-cheeked apple among a lot of windfalls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As we know, she was not pretty from the stand-point -of the English-speaking races. Her complexion -was good, but it lacked the Scottish maid's -transparency; her hair was fair to look upon, but -there are a thousand English girls travelling on the -Underground daily whose glossy tresses are to be -preferred; her figure was a little too full, like that -of Jerome Napoleon's Queen, Catherine of -Würtemberg, whose finely chiselled bosoms scandalised -the Tuileries when she was scarcely sixteen. She -had the heavy gait of the German woman, and the -vocabulary of them all: "</span><em class="italics">Oh Himmel</em><span>," "</span><em class="italics">Ach -Gott</em><span>," "</span><em class="italics">Verdammt</em><span>," and so forth, a dreadful -inheritance, which even the "Semiramis of the -North" could not shake off after fifty and more -years' residence in Imperial Russia.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Her Majesty's maid of honour, Countess von -Bassewitz, went to the station with Count Keller, -a minor gold stick, to receive and welcome Bertha. -Bassewitz was young and pretty—"the only happy -isle in an ocean of inelegancy," as Duke Gonthier -of Schleswig used to say. Her sole perceptible -defect was indifferent hands, but, strange to say, -this very blemish got her the position at Court.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord had declared that he wouldn't -have more of the "hideous baggage" (meaning -Her Majesty's ladies) that "made his house a -nightmare," and that the next Dame du Palais to be -appointed was to be good-looking, or must wear a -bell, so that he could keep out of her way. His -Queen, who regards all women through the jaundiced -lorgnette of jealousy, was in despair. In her -mind's eye she saw the Schloss peopled with -Pompadours, Du Barrys and Dianes de Poitiers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord had instructed the Court Marshal -to demand photographs of applicants for the -vacant post, and Countess von Bassewitz's he -considered the most promising. "Wire her to report -to-morrow morning at eight," he ordered. She -arrived while the War Lord was busy lecturing his -Council of Ministers on international law, and Her -Majesty saw the candidate first. She couldn't help -admitting to herself that Ina was comely in the -extreme, and that it would require a vast deal of -intrigue to induce her husband not to appoint the -young girl forthwith. Then a happy thought -struck her. "You may remove your gloves," she -said condescendingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Countess Ina blushed and grew pale in turn; -conscious of her weak point, she was afraid it would -work her undoing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But, instead, Her Majesty smiled benignly -upon those unlovely hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His Majesty!" announced the valet de chambre.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Be gloved, my child; hurry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord didn't know what to make of it -when "Dona" approved of his selection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is mysteriously confiding," he said to his -crony, Maxchen (the Prince of Fürstenberg). But -he changed his mind when, a week or two later, -he had induced Ina to take off her gloves in his -presence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord had instructed Bassewitz and -Keller to treat Bertha "like a raw egg," saying: -"Her income is bigger per minute than that of all -you Prussian Junkers per annum"—a gratuitous -slap, the more ungenerous since the old Kings of -Prussia gobbled up a goodly part of their landed -possessions, as Bismarck once pointed out to -Frederick William IV.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Berlin pomp and circumstance! Three flags, -paper flowers on lanterns, a much-worn red carpet -leading from the spot where Bertha's saloon -carriage was to draw up to the royal reception room -in the station.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As Bertha, though Grand-Lady-Armouress-of-the-World, -has no place in the Army List, she must -be content with walking through lines of royal -footmen in black and silver, on which account the War -Lord sincerely pitied the girl. "Twenty marks -for a precedent to endow her with a uniform," but -even the obsequious Eulenburg failed to discover -an excuse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Inside the Royal waiting-room: red-plush -furniture, with covers removed, in garish glory; a -bouquet of flowers from the Potsdam hothouses; -a silver teapot steaming; on a silver platter four -bits of pastry, one for each person and one over to -show that we are not at all niggardly—oh, dear, no!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The stationmaster enters in some kind of -uniform, a cocked and plumed hat above a red face, -toy sword on thigh. "The train is about to draw -into the station, Herr Graf, and may it please Her -Ladyship."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Countess von Bassewitz starts for the door. -"One moment, pray," admonishes gold stick, -"the noblesse doesn't run its feet off to greet a -commoner even if she is laden with money."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Courtiers suit their vocabulary to their lord and -master. Countess Bassewitz is young and hearty. -Never before had she reflected on the sad fact that -Bertha lacked birth, but now that a gold stick had -mentioned it, a mere maid of honour must needs -bow to superior judgment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So the richest girl in the world was left -standing in the doorway of her saloon carriage for a -good half-minute before their Majesties' titled -servants deigned to approach. "Will take some -of the purse-pride out of her," observed Count -Keller.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, hat in hand and held aloft, three bows, -well measured, not too low, for high-born -personages' privileges must not be encroached upon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aham, Aham" (several courtly grunts, supposed -to be exquisitely </span><em class="italics">recherché</em><span>), "Fraulein -Krupp, I have the honour—Count Keller—Countess -von Bassewitz, dame to Her Majesty. Had a -pleasant journey I hope," delivered in nasal -accents. In Germany, you must know, it is -considered most aristocratic to trumpet one's speech -through the nose after the fashion of bad French -tenors chanting arias.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Countess von Bassewitz, amiable and enthusiastic, -spouted genuine civilities. "Fraulein looks -charming!" "What a pretty frock!" "I will -show you all around the shops," and more -compliments and promises of that kind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Childlike, Bertha had expected a coach-and-four. -Another disappointment! The carriage at -the royal entrance was of the most ordinary kind—a -landau and pair of blacks, such as are driven about -Berlin by the dozen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you please," said Count Keller, bowing -her into the coach. She planted herself boldly in -the right-hand corner, facing the horses. Bassewitz -looked horror-stricken at the heiress's cool -assumption of the gold stick's place, and to smooth -him over attempted to take the rear seat; but -Bertha pulled her to her side. "Don't leave me," -she whispered, with a look upon the ruffled face of -the Count, who marvelled that there was no -earthquake or rain of meteors because he was obliged to -ride backwards, with a "mechanic's daughter" in -the seat of honour.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="in-the-crown-prince-s-private-room"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">IN THE CROWN PRINCE'S PRIVATE ROOM</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A Talk with the Crown Prince—Matrimonial -Affairs—Bertha Discussed—The Empress and Her Sons</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The War Lord had not taken any notice of -Frederick the Great's injunction against "useless -beggar princes." At the time of Bertha's visit -six of them, ranging from twenty-one to thirteen -years of age, were roaming the palace, and there -was a little girl of eleven besides. Only the eldest -boy was provided for, by the Crown Prince's -Endowment Fund; the rest were booked to live by -the grace of their father's munificence and such -moneys as could be squeezed out of the public in -the shape of military and administrative perquisites, -unless they contracted advantageous marriages; for -while the Prussian allows himself to be heavily -taxed for the Civil List, that jolly institution, -grants for His Majesty's sisters, cousins and aunts -has no place in his catalogue of loyalty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Talking one day to his heir, the War Lord -broached the subject of a money-marriage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But mother didn't have any money," the -</span><em class="italics">bête noire</em><span>, Crown Prince William, had the -temerity to interpose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No cash, it's true; but our marriage -quasi-legitimatised our acquisition of Schleswig-Holstein, -and those provinces are worth something."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps I had better marry Alexandra or -Olga Cumberland," suggested young William, -"so that the possession of Hanover can no longer -be disputed. These girls have coin besides."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't speak of them—there are reasons."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Or a Hesse girl of the Electoral Branch."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And turn Catholic like Princess Anna," cried -the War Lord furiously. "Shut up about that -Danish baggage. I myself will get you a wife. -Trust father to find you the </span><em class="italics">comme il faut</em><span> -wife—</span><em class="italics">comme il faut</em><span> in every respect: politics, family, -religion and personal attractiveness, for we want -no ugly women in our family."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Crown Prince opened his mouth for a pert -reply, but William forestalled him by an imperious -gesture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am preparing a message for the Ministerial -Council."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the evening William invited his younger -brothers—Eitel, Albert, Augustus and Oscar—to -his rooms, providing a bottle of beer and two -cigarettes per head. Having attained his majority and -consequently succeeded to the Dukedom of Oels, -the Brunswick inheritance, he might have offered -the boys a real treat, champagne and tobacco </span><em class="italics">ad -lib.</em><span>, but such would have been against Prussian -tradition, which stands for parsimony at home and -display where it spells cheap glory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Joachim wanted to be of the party," said -Augustus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And tell Mamma all—not if I know myself. -It's time the kid was in bed anyhow," said the -Crown Prince with fine scorn, for Joachim was -only thirteen years old at the time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He will tell all the same," suggested Albert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And will get a thrashing for his pains. -Besides, I shall withdraw my allowance of three -marks per week. Tell him so; that will settle the -mamma-child."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He shall have it straight from the shoulder; -you can rely on that, Duke of Oels," said Eitel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oels," repeated Eitel, "why didn't you inherit -Sibyllenort too? The idea, giving Sibyllenort -to those sanctimonious Saxons."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rotten, to be sure. But old William was -eccentric, you know, like his brother, the Diamond -Duke," said the Crown Prince.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Diamond Duke; wasn't he the chap who -made some Swiss town erect him a monument, -omitting the proviso that it must not tumble -down?" asked Albert, who sets up as a scholar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Precisely so, and the monument is dust."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Prince William shook with laughter. "But -that's not the question before the house." Willy -assumed the oratorical pose favoured by Herr -Liebknecht, the Socialist. "Boys," he continued, -actually using the German equivalent for the -familiar term, "what do you think? Father -presumed to find me a wife—me!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He repeated the personal pronoun three or four -times with increasing emphasis, while beating the -board with his clenched fist—a very good imitation -of the War Lord himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am not beholden to him financially like you, -not at all," cried the Crown Prince. "He can -keep his miserable fifteen thousand thalers per annum.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," he added quickly, after reflection; "it -will be the greater punishment to take his money."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Crown Prince continued: "And if father -dares propose wife-finding for </span><em class="italics">me</em><span>, what will he do -to you, boys? If he has his way, you won't marry -the girl of your choice, but some political or -military possibility. There is only one way to -prevent it," insisted the Crown Prince. "We must -all stand together, declaring our firm determination -to do our own wooing without interference -from father. He will plead politics, interests of -the Fatherland. But for my part, I won't have -father impose a wife on me, even if the alliance -gained us half of Africa or Persia."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I won't marry a Schleswig," said Eitel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor I a Lippe, no matter how much Aunt -Vicky cracks up Adolph's family."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now then, all together," declaimed the -Crown Prince. "We, Princes Wilhelm, Eitel, -Albert, Augustus and Oscar of Prussia, solemnly -swear not to have wives imposed upon us for -reasons of State or politics, father's threats, -entreaties and personal interests notwithstanding."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boys repeated the impromptu troth word -for word. "Shake on that," said Wilhelm, -holding out his hand. And the agreement was so -ratified. Then another round of beer on the Duke of -Oels.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the Princes were draining their </span><em class="italics">Seidels</em><span>—conspicuous -for the emblem of the Borussia Students' -Club of Bonn University on the cover—a low -whistle was heard outside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The mater," whispered Oscar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Push the </span><em class="italics">Seidels</em><span> into the centre," -commanded the Crown Prince, helping vigorously. -He pushed a concealed button and the centre of -the table with its contents disappeared through an -opening in the floor, while another set with glasses -of lemonade and cakes shot into its place, the floor -likewise filling up again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Princes were petrified with amazement. -"Duplicate of the Barbarina </span><em class="italics">table de confiance</em><span>," -explained the big brother; "had it secretly copied -and installed without my Grand Master being the -wiser."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This sort of table was invented by Frederick the -Great for </span><em class="italics">tête-à-tête</em><span> confidences with Barbarina, -the famous Italian beauty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The sight of the lemonade made the Empress -radiant. "And I had been told that you were up -to all sorts of tricks," she said apologetically. And -to the Crown Prince: "I am so glad you are -setting your younger brothers a good example."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Always, mother, always," vowed Wilhelm. -"Believe me, if these boys were as abstemious as -I, they would save fortunes out of their lieutenant's -allowance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I came to prepare you for our visitor, Fraulein -Bertha Krupp," began the Empress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A mere kid, isn't she?" cried Eitel in his -most blasé air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't let your father hear that," said the -Empress severely; and again addressing the Crown -Prince, she continued: "She is quite a young lady, -well educated and excellently well brought up. -Father wants us all to be particularly nice to his -ward—treat her as one of the family."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I say, mother," interrupted Eitel, "is there -to be anything in the way of a matrimonial alliance -between a Hohenzollern and the granddaughter of -the Essen blacksmith? If so, mark me for the -sacrifice. Judged by her photos, Bertha is a -bonnie girl, with plenty of life; wouldn't I have a -thousand and one uses for her money. To begin -with, I would buy myself a hundred saddle horses -and a gold wrist-watch, such as English officers -wear, also a yacht."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a word about </span><em class="italics">mésalliance</em><span>!" The Empress -had grown red in the face, and Eitel made -haste to apologise. Putting his arm around his -mother's shoulders, he kissed her on the cheek and -pleaded: "Mother, fancy his Royal Highness, -Prince Eitel Frederick of Prussia, marrying -anyone not of the blood royal! Of course I was joking. -Just tell us, Willy and me, what ought to be done -about that little commoner due to-morrow, and -big brother and I will see to it that your commands -are obeyed to the letter." This with a threatening -look upon the younger boys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought father's injunction to treat her like -one of the family would suffice. It means that you -must not let her see the gulf between such as she is -and Royalty. Show her the sights, but don't boast -of anything we've got. Father says she can -duplicate the Schloss and Neues Palais, all our palaces -with all they contain, without considerable damage -to her purse."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But if none of us is going to marry the little-big -gold mine, and as papa is her guardian and can -do as he likes with Bertha, what's the use of -truckling to her?" asked Augustus, who has a logical -mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Empress who, as a rule, is not good at -repartee, immediately replied as if she had foreseen -the question. As a matter of fact, the War Lord -had thoroughly coached her in what to say.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Augustus," she replied, "of course your -father's will is law with Bertha as with everybody -else; but in this case he would rather coax than -otherwise, for in a few years, you see, she will attain -her majority, and might insist upon taking the -bit between her teeth, if in the interval she had -been driven too hard."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Eminently correct," said the Crown Prince. -"I endorse every word you say, Mother, and if -these youngsters don't want to understand they -needn't. They will be made to do as you -suggest."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="stories-of-court-life"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">STORIES OF COURT LIFE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Musical Honours for Bertha—Bertha in a -Temper—Luncheon at Court—A Tantalizing -Procedure—A British Experience</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Call out the guards when Fraulein Krupp drives -up," 'phoned the War Lord to the officer </span><em class="italics">du jour</em><span> -from the Council Room between writing a treatise -on a scrap-of-paper policy and making an outline -of his speech, "An Appeal to Royalism," later -delivered at Königsberg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To have fifty men under a lieutenant exercise -their feet on a given spot to the tune of fife and -drum for the benefit of a person not born to the -purple seems to William the highest honour -conferable, a delusion bred by militarism. In the same -spirit, the War Lord of Bismarck's time sent -his Chancellor the patent of lieutenant-general. -"That won't buy me a postage stamp," remarked -Bismarck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Iron One would have preferred a pipe of -tobacco, while his War Lord went about for three -days patting himself on the back for his act of -generosity and telling everybody within reach of -the good fortune which, thanks to his grace, had -befallen Bismarck, "really a mere civilian."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha was too young to see the absurdity of -the gratuitous manoeuvre, "the sausage intended -to knock the side of bacon off the hook," as they -say in Hamburg. It cost the War Lord nothing, -made healthy exercise for the soldiers, and Bertha, -still a child in experience and mode of thought, was -impressed when Count Keller, pricking up his ears -at the sound of the drum like an old army horse in -a tinker's cart, shot out of his seat, raised his hat -and bowed low.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Signal honour, upon word, Fraulein; -unprecedented—almost," he added in an undertone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Countess von Bassewitz, rolling her eyes -in loyal ecstasy, squeezed Bertha's arm. "Majesty -must be exceeding fond of his godchild to treat you -like an equal—almost," she too added.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Drum and fife still made for ear-splitting -discord when Count Keller handed Bertha out of the -carriage. His lordship, by the way, was now -congratulating himself on having been deprived of the -seat of honour. Small doubt, if he had taken it, it -would have been reported to the War Lord, and -Majesty, bent on showering Royal honours on the -commoner, would have been furious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two lackeys at the door, more at the bottom -of the stairs, still more on the first -landing—men-servants seem to be the only commodity lavishly -provided at the Berlin Court.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Kammerherr</em><span>, the Noble Lord von ——" -(mentioning some Masurian village) "commanded -to the sublime honour—Fraulein Krupp's service" -(long intervals between half-sentences to show that -the speaker was really a Simon-pure Prussian -aristocrat) "beg to submit—with Fraulein's -permission—I will conduct Fraulein to her apartments."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha did not understand half the titled -personage trumpeted in nasal cacophony, but a -word or two from little Bassewitz explained. Then -ceremonious leave-taking, as if it was for years; -assurances of "unexampled pleasure experienced," -of "more in store," and "Majesty is so graciously -fond of Fraulein—she ought to be so happy"; in -fact, there wasn't a girl "in the wide, wide world -so favoured," and more polite fiction of the sort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Up two flights of stairs; corridor thinly and -shiningly carpeted; electric bulbs few and far -between. Ante-room, saloon and bedchamber. In -the first threadbare, red plush furniture. The -bedchamber was hung in cretonne of doubtful -freshness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I trust Fraulein's slightest wishes are -anticipated. Princess von Itzenplitz last had these -apartments, and was graciously pleased to express -her highest satisfaction," boasted the </span><em class="italics">kammerherr</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her Grace of Itzenplitz may have done so, but -the richest girl in the world was not inclined to -put up with such third-class hotel accommodation!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the </span><em class="italics">kammerherr</em><span> had bowed himself out -Bertha sat down on the edge of the bed and had -a good cry. Received like a princess, and housed -like a charwoman! But she wasn't going to stand -it, not she, Bertha Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her assertiveness, newly acquired, but all the -stronger for that, made her give a vicious pull to -the bell-rope. She hardly noticed that it came off -in her hand when a lackey, scenting baksheesh, -responded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My servants, quick!" she ordered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Beg Fraulein's pardon, they haven't yet -arrived from the station."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't Count Keller provide a conveyance -for them?" she demanded peremptorily, hoping -that her words would reach that worthy. "They -must be sent for instantly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There were sounds of carriage wheels in the -courtyard below.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait," cried Bertha; "there they are at -last!" She handed the servant a small gold coin. -"For the driver; let him keep the change."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The footman withdrew with a broad smile. No -doubt he robbed the cabman of half the generous tip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Torrents of "Ohs!" and "</span><em class="italics">Ach Gotts!</em><span>" when -the Essen contingent came in. They had waited -more than half an hour for the expected royal -carriage, and then in despair took the only public -vehicle available.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha's tirewoman inspected the apartment -while giving vent to her outraged feelings. -"Darling Fraulein can never sleep in that bed. It's as -hard as rocks."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know," said Bertha. "But what is to be done?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will send Fritz to fetch in the car your own -bed, all except the frame," decided the tirewoman -after reflection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But wouldn't that be an insult to my hosts?" -Bertha asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rubbish! The late Queen Victoria always -carried her bed along, even when she came to visit -her own daughter in Berlin. Besides, we can plead -doctor's orders," said Frau Martha; and when the -heiress still seemed doubtful she added: "On my -own responsibility, of course; you don't know -anything about it. The Baroness will back me up, -I'm sure."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Krupp footman was accordingly dispatched, -and returned two hours later with the -bed-furnishings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile Bertha, all in white silk—according -to the Court Marshal's command—was waiting -upon Her Majesty, who fondly kissed her and -inquired most affably after her mother—a regular -set of questions afterwards repeated by the War -Lord, all his sons, and daughter. They are not -very original, these Hohenzollerns.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Krupp heiress, who, as intimated, was first -inclined to be rather proud that the guards were -called out in her honour, loathed herself for that -weakness ten minutes after penetrating the Imperial -circle, for the incessant reference about that -piece of pomp made by the royal family and their -titled attendants was simply maddening. -"Unheard-of honour"; "Must remember it to the -end of your days"; "Most unique spectacle in -Europe"; "How thoughtful of Majesty"; "Too -bad madame, your mother, didn't witness it," were -among the least stupid comments assailing Bertha's -ears on all sides. The War Lord himself went into -raptures of delight, being as pleased with his -surprise, as he called it, as a schoolboy with a new top, -and then forestalled possible further speculations -on the matter of his dispensations of honour by -announcing that, in honour of Bertha, he would -partake of the family luncheon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>More effusions of delight, more congratulations -showered on Bertha: "He must love his godchild -very dearly"; "He wouldn't have done that for -the Emperor of China." ...</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Luncheon at Court! Bertha had pictured to -herself a grand function: courtiers in gold lace, -swords at their side; ladies in grand toilettes; -swarms of servants in showy liveries; a dozen or -more courses, under the direction of the Lord -Steward of the Household; golden dinner service -à la American multi-millionaire; "heavenly -music," and so forth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Alas! And Bertha had brought her appetite -along, the appetite of a growing, young, country -lass from a food-worshipping household!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ladies were dowdy, the gentlemen in -ordinary uniform or dressed in abominable Berlin -taste; over-loud music, with which the War Lord -persistently found fault with both time and -execution. The average </span><em class="italics">Kapellmeister</em><span> "had not the -shadow of a perception" of the composer's artistic -intentions. His views were "plebeian, -necessarily—maybe his mother was a washerwoman, poor -wench"; and, after all, the War Lord himself -must conduct to "get proper results." Of course, -everybody was "convinced" of that.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty" was too "lenient." It was "truly -heartrending" to hear music so "butchered," etc.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">En famille</em><span>," they called it, and Bertha sat -at the end of the table between two cadets, younger -sons of a principality not much larger than -Richmond Park.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fraulein," whispered one, forgetting, under -the impetus of youthful confidences, to speak -through his nose; "Fraulein has dined -beforehand, of course?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, no," she replied innocently, "and I -am powerfully hungry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you will stay so"—this from the -loquacious petty prince.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At that moment the soup was put before the -War Lord, and he fell to demolishing it at starving -bricklayer's rate. When he had about half finished, -the family and guests were served, and when he -was through, his plate was removed and so were -the rest. Bertha had had two spoonfuls, and the -petty prince, who had gulped down four or five, -grinned broadly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Fish, entrée and fowl were offered, and -ruthlessly yanked away in the same rapid gunfire -fashion. To an empty stomach this teasing with -coveted food was uncanny!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope you have dined well," said the -Empress, after the party adjourned to the "Cup -Room" for coffee. "Was the service satisfactory?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Excellent," lied Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The coffee had an abominable oily taste. -"From my colonies," explained the War Lord. -"Mighty good, when one gets used to it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Bertha noticed that while his guests were -served </span><em class="italics">en bloc</em><span>, he brewed coffee for himself and -wife in a silver Vienna machine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Desultory conversation: church building, social -reform, Bismarck, orphans, knitting socks for -soldiers' children. Ill-concealed yawns. The -War-Lord would have a game of billiards, and then -off to the park on Extase (his favourite saddle-horse).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ride or drive, which do you prefer, Bertha?" -he said to the Krupp heiress, going out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As Uncle Majesty commands," lisped the -young girl, very much embarrassed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I promised Louise a sleigh ride. Perhaps she -would like to go with her," suggested the Empress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right. Two horses and outrider."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An outrider—something, to be sure, but going -to the park "with that kid."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Princess Victoria Louise was eleven then, and -intellectually no more advanced than a child of -four. Poor child! her father's ear trouble seemed -only one of the dreadful inheritances that stamped -her a sufferer from Hohenzollern disease. And -Bertha had fondly imagined that she was to be -classed with grown-ups!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did Fraulein enjoy her lunch?" asked the -motherly Frau Martha, when summoned to help -her young mistress change for the outing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Plenty to eat, but no chance to eat it," -replied the Krupp heiress sullenly. "Get me a -sandwich or two, or I shall faint."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We were told," wailed Frau Martha, "that -lunch was dinner for servants, and this was the -menu: half-bottle of small beer each, yellow peas in -the husks, three inches of terribly salt boiled beef, -three potatoes each, two carrots, and no bread."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Krupp servants, it seems, were no better -treated than those of the Prince of Wales (afterwards -King Edward) and the untitled attendants of -other royal highnesses and majesties, those of the -King and Queen of Italy, for instance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the 'nineties it was common report in Berlin -diplomatic circles that the Prince of Wales kept -away from Berlin because he "could not induce -any of his favourite servants to be of the party," -these favourite servants being the same whom -the then Court Marshal, von Liebenau—a drill -sergeant with a gold stick—designated "as the -hungriest and most impudent set of menials" he -ever had the misfortune to encounter in the -exercise of his duties.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why the epithets?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His Royal Highness's valet and his grooms had -politely asked for eggs and bacon for breakfast, and -they would not have cold pork and potato salad -for supper, even though that be the Empress's -favourite menu to go to sleep on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And those "impudent Englishmen" had the -temerity to ridicule the solitary bottle of small beer -graciously allowed them by His Prussian Majesty; -and about this and more the first groom of His -Britannic Highness and the Berlin excellency had -an exciting passage of words, memorised, -rightfully or wrongfully, as follows:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Englishman: "The other attendants and -myself cannot possibly worry along on the breakfasts -furnished, rolls and bad tea; and salt pork -and lentils for dinner is not what we are used to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Prussian Bully: "Nor do you seem to be -used to household discipline. But I will have no -more of your English impudence. I will inform -the Prince of his servants' unruly behaviour."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chief Groom: "Thank you. His Royal -Highness will then engage board for us at a hotel, -and there will be an end to starvation diet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On another occasion pease pudding, pork, roast -potatoes and beer were sent to the rooms of Queen -Marguerite's chief tirewoman for dinner, at the -Neues Palais, a couple of hours before she was -expected to dress Her Majesty for a State banquet. -The dame refused it, and sent for the Empress's -chief titled servant, Baroness von Hahnke, stating -in plain terms that, unless she were furnished with -food suitable to her rank and station, she would -drive into town to dine, even at the risk of being -late for Her Majesty's service.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness, frightened out of her wits, told -the Empress the facts, and the Imperial lady gave -Count Puckler (responsible for the sins of the -kitchen) a terrible talking-to before her other titled -servants. At the same time she ordered a suitable -dinner for the Italian lady from her own cuisine—a -dinner the extras of which upset the budget for -some weeks to come.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="what-the-maid-saw-and-heard"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">WHAT THE MAID SAW AND HEARD</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Revelations—Sauerkraut and Turnips—What the -Dachshunds Did</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>FRAU MARTHA to FRAU KRUPP, -<br /></span><em class="italics">née</em><span> BARONESS VON ENDE.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span>BERLIN, SCHLOSS, </span><em class="italics">Christmas</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>GRACIOUS LADY,—May it please the Gracious -Lady, we arrived safely and sound, and Fraulein -just started off on a sleigh ride with the little -Princess, who is as foolish as the poor Mueller -orphan in our hospital, but, mind, she had -something warm before I let her go.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Fraulein don't want me to say nothing, but -duty compels me. Gracious Lady, I must -tell you that Fraulein got up still hungry from -table and ate four ham sandwiches, three -doughnuts and a cream tart, which I bought for her -with my own money (no matter about that) ere I -let her go. After I made her warm inside, I made -her warm underneath, and put on her the beautiful -sables the late Gracious Gentleman, God rest his -soul, got given to him in Russia. With all respects -to Majesty, the little Princess, in her cheap </span><em class="italics">iltiz</em><span> -(</span><em class="italics">patois</em><span>) garment, looked like a mere rag doll -compared with our Bertha, please excuse me, Gracious -Lady.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Gracious Lady will forgive an ignorant girl, but -the three of us, Fritz and Lenchen and me, call -the Schloss Starvation Hall.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Except Fraulein and Fritz and Lenchen, I -haven't heard a decent word since we left home. -They just snarl and hiss. Because Fraulein is called -the richest girl in the world, they fetch and carry -for her, like the mealy-mouthed menials they are; -but if it wasn't for the tips, I don't think they'd -do a thing for her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Fraulein won't tell you, so I do, that the three -of us rode to the Schloss in a hired coach, because -Uncle Majesty was too mean to send a carriage for -us—and to think of what at home we always -provide for his twenty and more attendants and the -fine time we give them!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>I see now why they are always so greedy in -Essen. They never get such meat and </span><em class="italics">vittel</em><span> as we -give them, in Berlin or Potsdam; they hardly have -enough peas in the husks and potatoes in the -jackets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Gracious Lady can't imagine their meanness in -the Schloss. I am told there isn't enough linen to -give Majesties a daily change. And how the -hundreds of menservants keep clean, with only two -bathrooms, and hot water which must be carried -up four flights of stairs, I can't make out. As to -the maids, they don't.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the poor things can't help it; all they get -is two marks fifty (half a crown) a day for from -twelve to sixteen hours' work, and not a cup of -coffee or a spoonful of soup in this fierce, cold -weather. And think of it, they don't get their -wages weekly, as the law allows, but on the third -day of the month. The poor wretches haven't even -got a place to eat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>I won't say a thing about Fraulein's rooms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thought Gracious Lady would be pleased to -know that I am looking after the child, trying to -keep her in good health, no matter what trouble -and expense, and I remain, with respects from -Lena and Fritz, the Gracious Lady's most obedient -servant,</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>MARTHA.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>P.S.—I had to send for towels to the car, for -the ones given to Fraulein were as hard as boards -and there were only two, and the maids said they -would be changed every second day; and I beg the -Gracious Lady's pardon, but myself and Lenchen -and Fritz were given two small huckaback towels -to last through the week, and a tin wash-bowl no -larger than those we feed the Great Dane out of at -the villa, and no pitcher or foot-tubs. What are we -going to do?</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>MARTHA.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><em class="italics">Letter from</em><span> FRAU MARTHA to HERR L——, -<br /></span><em class="italics">Superintendent of the Household, Villa Huegel</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>BERLIN, SCHLOSS, </span><em class="italics">Christmas</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>HONOURED HERR L——,—This Schloss is a -big pigsty, excuse the hard words, and I can tell -Gracious Lady only half our troubles. There is -no bathroom for Fraulein, no running water—our -poorest cottagers in Essen are better off. It takes -about half an hour to get a cupful of lukewarm -water from the kitchen, and the maid looks daggers -if you don't tip up the tin every time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If we could only get Fraulein's car into the -courtyard (there is plenty of room) and live in it, -we would be all right, for Fraulein's meals I could -cook on the new-fangled kitchen range, which -makes no smoke, and she could have her bath -regularly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Gracious Lady will have told you about Fraulein -eating at Uncle Majesty's table. What do I -say—eating? Fraulein comes back every time half -dead of hunger. Bertha says it's the quick serving, -but I had a talk with the stewardess last night, -and she told me things. The allowances even for -Majesty's table, she said, are cut so fine, there is -never enough for all, family, officials and guests; -and, to cover up the shortness, the courses are -served quickly as if shot from the new machine-gun -I have heard Herr Franz talk about. Some -of the guests get skipped, others are given just a -mouthful, and part of the food is carried out again -for the hungry wolves of lackeys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mean, now, isn't it, Herr L——? But we, -I mean Fraulein, has to put up with it while here. -As to grub allowed to Fritz, me and Lenchen, it's -sauerkraut and turnips and herrings and black -bread; but we don't mind, as we can buy outside. -But I can't take Bertha into eating places, and -make up for what she goes short at the royal table; -she has to live on sandwiches and cake for the most -part. Other arrangements as bad. I would be -ashamed to tell you of the servants' accommodations: -back-stairs, rotten-smelling oil lamps. We -won't be comfortable until we get back home once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For Fraulein's bed I got the linen from our -car, but as we took just enough for a night's run -and back you must send some more. I wanted to -save you the trouble, and asked the housekeeper -to have some washed. Not here, she said; too -few in help, no extra tubs, no place to dry. -When I offered to pay for the soap, that seemed -to tickle her immensely, but she had to refuse in -the end.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Honoured Herr L——, tell the servants at the -Villa they don't half know how well they are off. -I never did until coming across all this -high-sounding stop-a-hole-in-the-sieve business.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>You cannot imagine, worthy Mr. Superintendent, -too, what funny things there are too—the -War Lord's dachshunds, for instance, all jaws -and stomach. They look like those yellow-skinned -truffle Leberwursts held up by Frankfurters, -and—what do you think?—have been taught to -snap and nibble the calves of people of quality -only.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mine they leave severely alone, thank God; -but I told Fraulein not to put on too many "lugs," -lest they mistake her for a "von."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course I can't swear to it, but they do say -that "Uncle Majesty" has a way, by a mere look, -of setting the dachshunds on people he dislikes; -they must be as smart as Herr Director-General's -French poodles, I reckon. Anyhow, they seem -to know when "Uncle Majesty" is cross with -someone and go for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>I heard you tell Herr Franz of meeting Count -Posadownk in Bielefeld and what a great man he -was. And surely he is a man with a lot of -authority, but here no one is bigger than a ten-pin -before "Uncle Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>George, the chief </span><em class="italics">Jaeger</em><span> who stands behind his -chair at table and knows everything and -everybody, has become quite friendly-like with me. -Well, George says Count Posadownk "gets the -War Lord's goat" every time he reads those -long-winded reports of his. But the War Lord -must listen, says George; "part of Majesty's -business to hear the ministers' gab." And listen -he does—the Lord knows how he manages—but -ten minutes is his limit; after hearing someone -else talk approaching a quarter of an hour, he is -"ready to explode," says George.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By that time the Count is just warming up, -and you would think nothing short of an -earthquake could stop him. But the dachshunds are -as good as the fire-spitting mountain we saw in -Italy—or was it Switzerland?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A wink from "Papa"—"raising or wagging -an ear," says George—shows the dachshunds that -Posadownk ought to make himself scarce, and in -a twinkling they get ready for attack round the -short clothes and silk stockings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While the Count talks his head off, first one, -then the other bowwow sets up a dismal howl. -Posadownk raises his voice, the dachshunds yelp -more loudly, and Majesty, pretending to call them -off, makes the hullabaloo worse still.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just the same the Count is crazy to finish, and -the dachshunds go on inspecting his legs. Maybe -he gets in a good kick or two, but the hounds are -experts in pulling at silk stockings without drawing -blood. Once or twice his Excellency went away -with stockings in ribbons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The same thing happened to others having -business at the palace; the wonder is that no one -poisons the beasts. If they bit me—a dose of -something strong for them, you bet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Remember, nothing about Bertha-and-nothing-to-eat -to Her Ladyship.—The Herr Superintendent's -very humble servant,</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>MARTHA.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-entangling-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE ENTANGLING OF ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Discussing the Archduke—"Intoxicate with Promises"—A -Look at the Map—The War Lord's Miscalculation</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"What do you think of number one?" asked the -War Lord, when the door had closed upon Bertha -at the old Chancellor's Palace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The diplomat performing the duties of deputy-head -of the Empire is tall, inclined to corpulence, -grey moustached and bright eyed. He knocked his -heels together like a recruit trembling before the -drill-ground bully. "Majesty refers to Fraulein -Krupp?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite correct."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She has the benefit of Majesty's personal -guidance—there's no more to be said," declared -von Bülow, with conviction. "But who may -number two be?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not quite the figurehead of number one. -I refer to the gentleman coming to see you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Archduke? I was going to beg your -Majesty for instructions concerning His Imperial -Highness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Plain Franz Este, if you please; his incognito -must be taken very literally."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At your Majesty's orders."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is number two," emphasised Wilhelm; -and while pretending to look out of the window -replaced his left hand, which had slipped, upon the -hilt of his sword. Then, fully accoutred, he -resumed: "Number one furnishes my arms—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And those of the world," put in the -Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's where you and </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> of you are -mistaken. </span><em class="italics">My</em><span> gun works arming </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> enemies? As -intimated, number one helps to </span><em class="italics">dis</em><span>arm my -enemies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When he saw blank amazement on the Chancellor's -countenance, he added: "Don't ask how, -for in this case purpose sanctifies the means. -Number one, then, is my right arm, while number -two I intend to make one of my men-at-arms."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another pause for effect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am all ears, Your Majesty," said von Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, bear this in mind: Franz Ferdinand -has to be indulged despite his marriage to -the little school marm. He is a fool, of course. -Well, the Chotek being an encumbrance to -Franz Ferdinand, we must make her into a quarry -for our own good. What do you think?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am afraid I lack capacity to follow the -trend of Your Majesty's grand ideas this -morning," replied the Chancellor, remembering that -he had been chosen, not to think, but to carry out -orders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, as you know, I persuaded Francis -Joseph to wink at the Chotek indiscretion. The -decree elevating the ex-governess, and making her -brats of princely estate, ought to have been dated -from Berlin instead of Ischl, for it was I who placed -that plum in Her Ladyship's pie, the Olympian -Emperor notwithstanding. Hence Prince -Hohenberg—for Franz Ferdinand is more or less his -wife's husband—is beholden to me for such -recognition as his marriage received, and Sophie will -not let him forget it either. Accordingly, I call -him 'number two' in my combination."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If the children of this union——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Dis</em><span>union," interrupted the War Lord, -applauding his irony with a loud guffaw.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Disunion," von Bülow obediently repeated, -"lay claims to the throne, is it Your Majesty's -intention to support them?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All Archdukes look alike to me," replied -the War Lord with fine disdain; "all fools, bigots, -or both. Rudolph was an exception. At all -events, it is to our interest to give Herr von Este -to understand that, if he is determined to make -Sophie both Empress of Austria and Queen of -Hungary, Germany will support his mad scheme."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty thinks Hungary will accept -her as Queen?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She has to, for a morganatic marriage is a -real marriage according to Hungarian law."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Which suggests the possibility of grave -internal dissensions," said the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite so; to Pan-Germanism this little -governess is worth five army corps. If her -marriage causes a split in the Dual Monarchy, why, -we will annex German Austria and leave the -Hungarians to die, if they choose, '</span><em class="italics">pro Regi nostro, -Sophia</em><span>.' But that's quite a long way off. What -concerns us at present is getting solid with that -chap. I know what you want to say: A brute, a -beast. But so long as the Chotek is satisfied, I am."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The latter in response to an indication on von -Bülow's part that he meant to put in a word or two.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When I come to think of it," continued the -War Lord, "neither Alexander, nor Charlemagne, -nor Napoleon were what you call gentlemen -overflowing with the milk of human kindness. -As I see it now—my plans are not quite matured, -of course—but this is certainly beyond question or -dispute: As my ally in the conquest of the world, -a namby-pamby partner would be of confounded -little use. Besides, for sentiment I have -Victor—darling fellow!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Saying this, the War Lord gripped his sword -so hard that the point of the scabbard threw a -statuette of the King of Italy off an </span><em class="italics">étagère</em><span>, -smashing it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There he goes," he sneered, kicking at the -broken china; "uncertain commodities at best, -these Dagos. Always fishing outside the three-mile -limit, and everlastingly ogling with England -and France."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty is pleased to under-estimate King -Victor's devotion to German interests," ventured -von Bülow warmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you were in Rome you used to sing a -different tune," said the War Lord severely. -"But </span><em class="italics">revenons à nos moutons</em><span>: Franz Este is a -bit of a mutton thief himself"—Wilhelm laughed -heartily at his quibble—"very fond of Hungary -and Bohemia. We must intoxicate him with the -promise of great things to be accomplished by the -union of German arms—German-Austrian, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I remind Your Majesty that Franz is -rather a fanatic in religious matters?" suggested -the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was coming to that," snarled the War -Lord—it simply maddens Wilhelm to find that -someone, beside himself, has an idea in his head. -Whether the religious aspect had occurred to him -before we don't know, but he pounced upon it -with vulture-like gusto, adopting it </span><em class="italics">in toto</em><span> as it -were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will say to him: 'Brothers in arms and -in faith—the Protestant and the Catholic Church, -or the Catholic and the Protestant,' I don't care. -Remind him that Prussia offered the Pope an -asylum before the invasion of Rome by the -Italians.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," he continued, "curse the Italians as -much as you like; promise him Venice and the -Balkans up to the gates of Constantinople."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord pressed a button underneath a -large table fronting the Chancellor's desk, -whereupon the mahogany top disappeared and another -marked off in geographical divisions, representing -the map of Europe and part of Asia, replaced -it—the </span><em class="italics">Kriegsspiel</em><span>; Europe in battle-array.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Kriegsspiel</em><span>—War Game—shows the military -strength of each country in plain, movable -figures, horse, foot and artillery, navy and aircraft—the -figures liable to correction from time to time; -the exact location of the forces is apparent at a -glance too.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The same applies to fortresses, letters designating -the origin of the artillery equipment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Above each country wave its colours in the -shape of a tiny silk flag, fastened to bead-headed -pins, easy to stick in anywhere.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord pulled out a drawer and took -a handful of German flags, but before using any a -new thought struck him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Send for Kast," he commanded curtly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adjutant Baron Kast appeared as if catapulted -into the room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I forget the lettering combination—I want -'k' for Belgium. You are sure the other -equipments are marked according to latest reports."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At Your Majesty's service."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The adjutant fixed the 'k' as required and -stood at attention.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will call in case I need you further."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The officer was drawing backwards towards the -door when the War Lord stopped him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One second. I want a cross fixed to letter 'k.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Kast, a martinet without ideas of his own, a -mere </span><em class="italics">mannequin</em><span> moving on the strings of -discipline, looked blank astonishment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If it can't be done, send for the mechanic; -he shall fix the new combination overnight."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I try, Your Majesty?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Kast succeeded in quick order.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why did you hesitate, if it's so easy?" -demanded the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With Your Majesty's permission, I was -wondering whether it was your pleasure to have a -cross placed against all the 'k's' on the map."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord looked at von Bülow, who -dismissed Kast by a look.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Out of the mouths of fools and sucklings," -misquoted Wilhelm under his breath, while a -cruel sneer played about his lips. Then, to the -Chancellor, aloud: "Inborn stupidity or low -cunning?"—referring to Kast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The first, Your Majesty, the first. Your -Majesty will agree, when I say that I myself do -not see the significance of the cross."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will—in time," said the War Lord -brusquely. "But to continue."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took a German flag and placed it on the -spot marked Rome. "The Holy Roman Empire -of German nationality," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Which Voltaire designated as neither holy, -nor Roman, nor an Empire," remarked von -Bülow drily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Time's passed, time was, time is," quoted -the War Lord, "or rather will be." For awhile -he remained in silent reverie, then turned upon the -Chancellor suddenly. "You asked the other day -how to mark the English Channel. </span><em class="italics">Gott!</em><span> it's -worth five million men to Edward. No, don't -mark it at all; for if the distance between Calais -and Dover can be bridged only half-way by our -guns—no impossibility, you know—that strip of -water won't amount to more than a few army corps."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again the War Lord remained in deep -thought. "Noah's ark," he demanded after a -while.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chancellor pulled out a drawer at the side -of the </span><em class="italics">Kriegsspiel</em><span> table. "At Your Majesty's -service." The War Lord picked figure after -figure, dropping them on the floor, until he got -hold of a small white object.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He held it between two fingers, eyeing it -curiously; then moved it deliberately across the -Channel, holding it aloft, and planted it on the -spot marked "London."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Dove of Peace," he said; "for in -London we will dictate peace to the world. Tell -Franz."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-crown-prince-on-a-lark"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE CROWN PRINCE ON A LARK</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A Gallop with the Crown Prince—On the Way to Surprise</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics">Letter of</em><span> BERTHA KRUPP </span><em class="italics">to</em><span> FRANZ.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>BERLIN, SCHLOSS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>DEAR FRANZ,—When I promised to write, I -expected to put a school-girl's ability at composition -to the test, being half afraid that my description -of Berlin and the Court might not pass muster -with so severe a critic as my dear half-brother. -But something has happened that makes living in -the shadow of the throne and royal intimacies and -reviews and State balls, even the Grand Council -of the Knights of the Black Eagle, look -insignificant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Listen! Yesterday after luncheon the Crown -Prince came to me with a mysterious air. -"Bertha," he said, for he is quite familiar, "you -look like a good, sporty girl; let's fool those fogies, -and have a lark all by ourselves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>You may be sure, Franz, I was frightened, and -looked it I suppose, for he added quickly: "Upon -my word as an officer, your Mamma may know -about it." And then he unfolded his plan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am tired to death of the baggage that -attends our rides, watching with as many eyes as -a centipede has feet; this afternoon I will lend you -one of my swift English hunters, and I will ride -Circe, a devil of a horse that can outdistance -father's Extase any day. Flottwitz—you know -he is Master of Horse—promised to give the others -the slowest plugs in the stables, and we will humour -their dog-trot as long as the public gaze is upon us. -But once beyond the dear public's reach, off we -are, rein and spur. Don't be afraid; the grooms, -too, will be mounted on grandmothers; they won't -catch us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>I felt quite relieved. "It will be jolly," I said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Crown Prince laughed immoderately. -"What a little innocent you are," he cried; -"running away is only the beginning. As soon as we -are out of sight, we will turn and gallop to Castle -Bellevue. There we will dismount, and I will punt -you across the river. It is but a stone's throw to -the gipsy's cottage, and that is where I will take you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>I became apprehensive again. "I am afraid -of gipsies," I faltered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Afraid in </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> company?" cried Wilhelm. "I -forbid you to be afraid of the very devil when I am -around. I am your cavalier," he added; "you -must do as I tell you." Then his tone became -coaxing again. "Don't you like to have your -fortune told, Bertha? She is a 'bird at it'—makes -your flesh creep and all that sort of thing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But does Auntie Majesty approve?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bother, Mother; I am not under her thumb," -he answered, and I thought it very horrid of him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, Franz, everything came off according to -programme. For a young girl from Essen to ride -down The Linden with the Crown Prince, masters -of horse, maids of honour, chasseurs and grooms is -lots of fun, and I don't know that I ever enjoyed -anything so much as the throngs of people in the -streets and on the sidewalk cheering and waving -hats and handkerchiefs. But, of course, they -thought me a Royal Highness or some sort of -princess, the very least.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't you ride astride?" whispered the -Crown Prince as we passed through the -semi-shadows of the Brandenburger Thor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is that?" I asked, and somehow got -the feeling that his question was not the correct -thing. So I touched my horse with the spur and -cantered away. Wilhelm joined me quickly. -"Dog-trot now," he said, and we jogged along -like Herr Director-General's family on their old -brown mares.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After passing Castle Bellevue, promenaders -became few and far between, and then the -long-legged hunters increased the distance between -ourselves and the rest of the party very considerably. -Suddenly Wilhelm—he asked me to call -him by his first name, but I always prefix his -title—whispered: "Now, </span><em class="italics">ventre à terre</em><span>." Setting -the example he jumped a hedge, I after him—a fine -race we ran for the next ten minutes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then back to Bellevue. We galloped right -through to the water's edge, and were half across -the river before the stablemen had caught the -horses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Lieber</em><span> Franz, you must excuse; I can't write -a word more. Too tired and too excited. So good -night for to-night and pleasant dreams.—Always -your good sister,</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>BERTHA.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-fortune-teller-sees-bertha-in-a-haze-of-blood"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE FORTUNE TELLER SEES BERTHA IN A HAZE -<br />OF BLOOD</span></p> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Mother Zara Speaks—Ghosts of Infamy—What the -Blackbird Foretold—The Crown Prince Stands Aloof</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>BERTHA </span><em class="italics">to</em><span> FRANZ.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>DEAR FRANZ,—The gipsy Wilhelm and I -visited is not at all like the ones that occasionally -come to Essen at fair-time or by way of caravans. -You know we always thought them impostors and, -small doubt, they were, for the same yarn had to -do for everybody: the tall, dark man, that would -come into one's life, was conjured up even for -little Barbara at the rate of ten </span><em class="italics">pfennigs</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mother Zara is a hundred years old if she is a -day; a face the colour of an old green-back -American bank-note crumpled up—thousand and one -crow's-feet to the inch. Dress: rusty black silk, -edged with moth-eaten sable; sugar-loaf hat, -filigreed with zodiacal signs; white mice following -her wherever she goes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This much I observed while waiting. She was -in an adjoining room and, as I observed through -the glass door, in no hurry to meet her visitors, -even though the servant had recognised the young -master of Bellevue Castle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the Crown Prince was walking up -and down, smacking his high boots with the -riding-whip. I believe he was looking for a mirror—vain -boy—and was furious at not finding one. Young -Wilhelm affects to be as nervous and impatient as -Uncle Majesty, and won't sit down a second if -there is room to move about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last the door opened and the stooping figure -of the clairvoyante appeared on the threshold, a -blackbird perching on her left shoulder and half a -dozen white mice circling round her feet, or riding -on the train of her dress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mother Zara," cried Wilhelm advancing, -"I brought my cousin——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She shut him up with an imperious gesture. -"Hold your tongue, young braggart, for this is -serious business."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She spoke in a high-pitched, authoritative -voice, and I tell you, Franz, I was all a-tremble -when Zara fixed her eyes upon me—eyes that -looked you through, like the eyes of a sorceress -you read about in the story books.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do I see?" she murmured to herself, -drawing figures on the sanded stone floor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A deuced pretty girl," remarked the Crown -Prince gallantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The clairvoyante shook her stick at Wilhelm. -"Leave us alone," she cried; "I want no interference."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the door had closed Zara turned upon -me like some wild thing, and I tell you, Franz, I -wished myself at our little bower at Villa Huegel, -playing dominoes with you or Mamma.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who art thou?" she cried. "So young, so -gentle, so kind of aspect, yet I see thee in a haze of -blood."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She walked around me in a circle, dragging her -terrible crutch, the mice capering and vaulting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't make it out," she kept mumbling; -"looks the German, but here men do the ruling, -and her power for destruction—— Where does it -come in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course I was too frightened to utter a word. -I merely gazed upon my tormenter and trembled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The soothsayer drew her garments around her -bones and settled down on a low stool before the -hearth. With her crutch she stirred the ashes, -separating them from live coals and addressing each -heap in turn as if they were human beings. As I -perceived with horror, poor me was the subject of -her monologue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Keep to your hell-hole, Mother Toffana," -she muttered, sending a half-dead coal into the -corner (I ought to tell you, Franz, that I have -been reading Alexandre Dumas of late, otherwise -I wouldn't have understood half the things she -said). "Toffana, you are not in it with this child," -she continued. "And Joanna of Naples, husband-killer -and warrior, the number of men and women -and children that died by you and for you is -nothing compared with the hosts she will send to -slaughter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Madame la Marquise de Brinvilliers," she -said to a live coal, drawing it nearer, "come and -feast your eyes on this girl. You did your work -all right for undertakers, but were a pitiful slacker -just the same."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She rose and bowed ceremoniously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty," she mumbled, pointing with -her crutch to a glowing ember, one of several -detached from the rest. "You once waged war for -seven years on a stretch, yet the number of -Prussians you killed, added to that of your own people -that perished in battle and by disease, may be -expressed in six noughts. And," turning to other -debris, "your record, Catherine of Russia, is quite -as inadequate as Maria Theresa's compared with -the prospects for manslaughter held out by this -young lady!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After an ominous silence: "Sheba, Elizabeth, -Semiramis, aye, ye furies of the White Terror who -dined off Lamballe's liver, miserable failures all of -you——" She did not finish, but the end of her -crutch continued to poke fire and ashes, separating -and piling up, moving and sweeping along larger -and again smaller quantities like figures on a -chessboard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She seemed dissatisfied, and as the minutes -passed, her speech, or rather her mumbling, -became more and more disconnected. Suddenly -she drew her stick across the piles, levelling the -lot. "No use," she cried, turning round and -addressing me; "I can't get anything out of them. -Are they holding back, or is Zara losing her -cunning? But I </span><em class="italics">will</em><span> know," she added fiercely. -"Who art thou, girl?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>I was speechless with fright, and all engrossed -with her combinations as Zara was, she scarce -noticed my silence and lumbered on regardless. -Maybe, too, no reply was expected.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not the War Lord's wife," she mused. -"Augusta is the mother of many children, they -tell me, nor——." (I didn't catch the rest, it was -a jumble of mumblings.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After she became articulate again, I heard her -say: "Oceans of blood have been poured out. -But what am I saying? She is only a child."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then out of her black silk mantle she drew a -pack of cards, threw them on the table, and, -resting her right hand heavily on the crutch, -studied the pasteboards anxiously for a while.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cursed mystery," she whispered. Then to -the bird: "Jezebel, help!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The black thing hopped on the table and scattered -the cards with his feet. Then he picked up -one with his beak and presented it to his mistress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A town in flames," said Zara after scrutiny.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>More cards offered by the bird!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A thousand baby-hands raised above the waves!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A tumbling cathedral!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bodies piled mountain high!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Women, children and old men for breastworks!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A graveyard-ditch a hundred miles long!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Death lying in wait on the floor of the ocean!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fire from the heavens," read Zara, and -again and again her shrill voice rang out, recording -horrors even more dreadful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the bird of ill-omen had offered the last -pasteboard, Zara shook my arms with a fierce -gesture. "Fiend incarnate, thy name and -station!" she yelled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Probably Wilhelm had been listening. "How -dare you touch Fraulein Krupp," he demanded, -as, running in, he stepped between me and the -sorceress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the mentioning of my name, a look of -triumph came into Zara's face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My cards never lie, nor do the embers," she -proclaimed. "The burning towns, the wails of -babies rendered fatherless by your works, the waste -of centuries of culture, the smoke, the fire, the -calling upon all resources of nature for the -wholesale annihilation of life—five letters cover it: -K-R-U-P-P."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The feelings setting my head awhirl must have -been pictured in my face, for eventually even this -fury of wrath was moved to mercy; yet like the -spirit that ever denies, Zara's pity took a cruel -turn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never fear," she said, with a profound -curtsy; "it is written that the oceans of blood you -will help spill will not even soil the hem of your -dress.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A world in arms, every mother's son turned -upon every other mother's son, shooting, stabbing, -bombing, suffocating. Cities laid waste, -countrysides desolated, brave men changed to vultures, -honest men to thieves—your work, Bertha Krupp! -But the War Lady remains scathless!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Blood's a peculiar liquor—means death to -those from whom it flows, and profits to her that -forges the bullets!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Chimborazos of dead bodies: fathers, brothers, -nephews and uncles; excellent manure, and your -dividends, little girl, going up by leaps and -bounds!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Towns in ruins—</span><em class="italics">your</em><span> ruins, Bertha, but they -will have to be rebuilt. More millions in your -coffers!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ten thousands of miles of railways destroyed. -Look out for big orders, Bertha!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The world groaning under unheard-of loads -of debts—debts created that Essen might flourish. -Splendid opportunities for investment, eh?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She continued a while longer in the same cruel -vein, her basilisk eyes glued upon mine—I couldn't -get away, try as I might—while Wilhelm, my -self-proclaimed cavalier, did naught to help me. -Indeed, I had to endure her abuse till Zara herself -became tired of hurling invectives, and turned -upon the Crown Prince with: "Twenty marks, -please. I have wasted enough time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, like an imprisoned wild thing, seeing the -open gate, I fled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh, Franz, what does it all mean?</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>BERTHA.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="we-will-divide-the-world-between-us"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"WE WILL DIVIDE THE WORLD BETWEEN US"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Dazzling the War Lord—Bartering Kingdoms—Juggling -with the Church</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Franz Este, masquerading for incognito purposes -as Duc de Lorraine, was a tall, closely-knit -man, no more at home in mufti than a gorilla in -pyjamas. A bronzed face, disfigured by the -Habsburg lip and an air of disdain, one would have -picked him out of thousands as a person to avoid!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His speech was a cross between a military -command and the snarl of an angry dog when addressed -to persons beneath his rank, and against such the -physical advantages he boasted were ruthlessly -exploited. Franz was impervious to heat or cold, -hence the officers of his household and his servants -had to endure both in the extreme without proper -protection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If the master can do without an overcoat, or -wear a close-fitting uniform when it is a hundred -in the shade, why not you, menials?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had a passion for drill and for slaughter. A -day on the parade ground, meddling with the mere -outer film of things, seemed to him the pinnacle of -military achievements. He never stalked, or took -risks in the chase; the proud deer and the -miserable hare alike were driven before his gun in vast -numbers that he might pump lead into them, -turning forest or plain into shambles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went to visit their Prussian Majesties with -the fixed intention of dazzling the War Lord with -a programme of petty regulations about military -customs and appearances to be introduced at his -enthronement. A slanting row of buttons was to -be set in a straight line; another was to be lopped -off altogether. Yes, indeed, he was considering, -too, a new movement in the goose-step. And -those Hungarians! They had little respect for the -essentials of military obedience; but, with His -Majesty's advisory help, he would pound it into -them—yes, pound it!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Gentle methods might do for women when -they are decidedly pretty, but not for the people -as a whole, etc.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Music to the War Lord, who feeds on regulations -and petty tyrannies as a boa constrictor—if -the whole can't be masticated at a gulp, why, leave -the rest for another "try."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Brothers in spirit and in arms!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Franz," said the War Lord after luncheon, -enlivened by French champagne with a German -label—the Court Marshal's way of encouraging -home industry to the naked eye: German products -only for German Imperial palates, but beware lest -a certain august taste be displeased! A bit of -unpatriotic deception, rather than face such an -eventuality!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Franz," said the War Lord, after that fruitful -and thought-quickening luncheon, "some day -we will divide the world between us—pope-kaisers -both of us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pope?" gasped Franz, his mind tugging at -the Jesuit swaddling clothes that he never really -outgrew.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know," insinuated the War Lord-tempter, -"there is but one way to re-establish -rulership by divine right as on a rock of bronze: -impregnate it with sacerdotal authority. I am -already Chief Bishop of Prussia; the Lutheran -popeship of the world is my game, as yours should -be the Roman Catholic popeship."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What about the Holy Father?" suggested -the Jesuits, using Franz as a speaking-tube.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Holy fiddlesticks," laughed the War Lord. -"As one of the English Henrys put it: 'I will be -damned ere an Italian parson dictates to me in my -own realms.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord bowed ceremoniously. "Hail -thee, spiritual and mundane lord—true Emperor -of Slavs, Czechs, Magyars, Poles, Russians, -Servians, Bulgarians and Montenegrins."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But Italy—you promised me Italy," muttered Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Correct, in exchange for German Austria!" -said the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do I have to give up Vienna?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rome is a more celebrated place, and if it gets -too hot in August, Petersburg will make a splendid -summer resort. There is Prague and Budapest -besides. I thought you liked the Hradschin?" he -added gaily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Franz still refrained from entering into -the spirit of the proposals, the War Lord opened -a miniature safe on the top of his desk.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have a 'genuine,' same as Edward smokes. -Have to keep them in a burglar-proof safe—those -thieving lackeys, you know. You have the -same trouble at Bellevue" (the Austrian heir's -Vienna town house) "I suppose."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"God punish the scoundrels—yes," replied the -pious Franz, and, accustomed to the cheap and -nasty output of the Austrian tobacco monopoly -with its endless stogies, helped himself eagerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A mark apiece," boasted Wilhelm, like a -Jew commenting on early strawberries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Italy being a sort of apanage to the Emperor -of the Slavs"—more bowing and scraping—"you -wouldn't care to have a rival court on your hands, -would you? And that's what the Vatican will -always be so long as it is allowed to exist."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You would abolish it?" cried Franz, alarmed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not completely; I would retain the Holy -Father as a sort of Christian Sheikh-ul-Islam, -yourself to be the real responsible head of the -Church."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Pope is not a married man."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Alexander VI. was, and also some others. -Besides, the Tsar whom you are to succeed as -orthodox pope never was a stickler for celibacy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Orthodox pope?" echoed Franz, his Jesuit -blood a-tingle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To his pietist understanding the mere mention -of a rival Church was as a red rag to a bull, and no -one realised that condition of his mind more fully -than the War Lord. But would he allow the even -tenor of these </span><em class="italics">pourparlers</em><span> to be disturbed by the -conscientious scruples of the surly individual -smoking his </span><em class="italics">echte</em><span>? Not he!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Conscientious scruples, indeed, and in world -politics too! He had not previously given the -subject any thought, but on his desk lay a letter -marked: "On the Service of the Holy See"—a -happy coincidence and a suggestion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The papal </span><em class="italics">breve</em><span> dealt with nothing more -momentous than the shifting of the protectorate -over the Christians in Turkey, but the mysterious -word State-secret covers a multitude of lies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear Franz," said the War Lord, weighing -the Pope's letter in his hand, "the problems -you seem to approach with fears and trepidation -are fully treated in this document. However, -without the Holy Father's consent, I dare not -reveal his intentions. But this much I can say on my -own responsibility: after we get through with -Russia, there will be no orthodox question. The -orthodox Church will have to unite with the -Catholic——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The late Whistler would have loved to draw -Franz's face while the future Emperor of the Slavs -listened with covetousness and fanaticism, the -zealot's ardour and the brute's vindictiveness -written large in his usually stony face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will have to make submission to Rome," he -interrupted, pounding the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As you like, King of Rome." To offset the -Duke's holy fervour, the War Lord affected a tone -of calmness utterly at variance with his ideas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The coming union of the Catholic and -Orthodox Churches——" he continued.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The absorption of the schismatic Church by -the only true Church," insisted Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will make it particularly important for you -to have the office of Pontifex Maximus in addition -to that of Emperor and King," said the War Lord. -"I'll let Bülow talk details."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After consultation with my father confessor?" -asked Franz anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not unfold our plans to a council of -Archduchesses and the whole priest-ridden pest?" -cried the War Lord, momentarily forgetful of his -rôle. "I beg your pardon," he added quickly; -"I was quoting Bismarck. What I meant to say -is: that our </span><em class="italics">pourparlers</em><span> are strictly confidential—not -a word to any one, confessor, Francis Joseph, -or the Princess herself. I have your word as an -officer?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Never was a word of honour more reluctantly -forthcoming than that of the prospective Emperor -of the Slavs.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="getting-even-with-the-war-lord"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">GETTING EVEN WITH THE WAR LORD</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Hungarian Nero—The Episode of the Mouse</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Emperor of the Slavs, King of Rome, Avenging -Angel of the Schism and its Grand Lord -Destroyer—Pope even—though he had misgivings as -to the propriety of the latter title—what prospects -for the son of the degenerate Karl Ludwig—and -the War Lord footing the bill! A Protestant, -true enough, but his friends, the Jesuits, held that -the purpose sanctifies means, whatever their -character.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How they would rejoice at the news!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But his word as an officer! Pshaw! The War -Lord calling himself "all-wise," "all-seeing," -etc., had been fooled for once by the -simple-minded Bohemian, for Franz's left hand was on -his back when </span><em class="italics">parole d'honneur</em><span> was demanded, -and he lost no time gripping his thumb with the -other fingers and pressing it hard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mental reservation! That little matter was -settled, and in most approved style. </span><em class="italics">Honi soit qui -mal y pense</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A while later Franz asked to be confessed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not while your soul is in the state of -disgrace," pronounced Father Bauer with impressive -solemnity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz's bold front melted away like butter -before a blast furnace. "Pray confess me, your -reverence!" he cried, terror all over his face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After due reflection," was Bauer's niggardly -consent. "Your Highness will retire to the -oratory now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And like a schoolboy ordered to bare his skin -for a birching, the Emperor of the Slavs—so -proud, so adamant, so haughty before the -War-Lord—went into his bedroom, where his </span><em class="italics">prie-Dieu</em><span> -stood in front of the miniature travelling altar that -accompanied His Highness wherever he went.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In respect to absolute submission to the clergy, -Franz rivalled Charles and Ferdinand of Spain; he -retained, too, the utmost respect for the persons -of the reverend gentlemen who dominated him by -virtue of their priestly office.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On his part, Franz came from the oratory a -much chastened Prince. Bauer was waiting to -hear Franz's report of his interview with the War -Lord—or as much of it as the heir thought well -to divulge at the time being, for the breach of faith -he had been absolved beforehand. After all, -while Bauer had full charge of Franz's personal -conscience, so to speak, the real powers behind -the proposed Slav throne was the Cardinal -Archbishop of Vienna, the Papal Legate and the Czech -black aristocracy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The latter, indissolubly wedded to Franz's -interest by his marriage with the Chotek, was his -chief support in the Dual Monarchy. Hungary -had labelled him Nero, the Germans regarded him -as a renegade, while Trieste and the Trentino -suspected him of harbouring treachery against the -Motherland.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That he was wedded to the idea of the restoration -of the States of the Church was a foregone -conclusion, and the re-establishment of the -Austrian Archdukes—who forfeited their Italian -thronelets under Victor Emmanuel II.—would be -the logical sequence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, there is the Triple Alliance," -faltered Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not at all binding," decided Bauer, "since -one of the signatories is under the ban of the -Church, and the other" (with a mock bow before -a painting of the War Lord) "a heretic."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz reverently kissed the Jesuit's hand. "A -relief, a priceless relief of grave conscientious -scruples," he said warmly. "Thank you, Father -Bauer." Then, giving his voice quite an Olympian -intonation: "We have no further commands for -you to-night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz Este swore lustily when he discovered a -red silk nightgown under his pillow. After a -Vienna haberdasher had told him that Alexander -of Servia had worn a night garment of this colour, -he had banished them from his wardrobe, intending -to use the supply on hand for presents.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz tugged viciously at the crystal knobs of -the rococo chest of drawers, pulling one to the -ground and dislocating the handles of others. -"Confound it! All red, Alexander-red—red as blood!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An ill omen? A thorough fanatic, Franz was -the most superstitious of men. However, as -subsequent events showed, in this case superstition -was the mother of horrors unparalleled. Alexander's -fate had been sealed eight months before, -when the red-nightgowned King and his Queen -were slaughtered in their bedchamber; but -somewhere among the Balkan principalities the plot -that eventually did away with Franz and his -Duchess might have been hatching even -then—who knows?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The taciturn, soured, cruel Franz forgot about -the Alexander-hued nightgown when he prepared -to report the day's events to his wife, for he loved -Sophie. He used a small table at the foot of the -big rococo couch for a writing-desk, and as he sat -there, facing the silvered canopy with China silk -curtains falling from a crown held aloft by cupids, -his face recalled the features of a French soldier -who had been condemned to death for a series of -crimes, and who, to his judges and fellow-men, had -boasted of his utter lack of feelings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The soldier had never loved anyone, neither -parents nor friends, neither woman nor man, -neither animal, nor money, nor precious things. -He hated them all, and his only aim in life was -destruction. But when he lay in the sands, -bleeding from a dozen wounds, as ordered by the court -martial, a little mouse was seen to emerge from the -sleeve of his tunic, went capering up the prostrate -form, and glued his nozzle to the man's mouth. -And with his last breath the apostle of hate kissed -the tiny rodent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Like the trooper, so Franz, the man who -spurned a nation's love, was not entirely barren -of sentiment. He had a tender spot in his heart -for Sophie, even as Sophie, mouse-like, loved the -man who made a point of being hated. Human -nature: even Nero loved Poppæa once.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="auntie-majesty-and-bertha"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"AUNTIE MAJESTY" AND BERTHA</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A Royal "Commercial"—Blood and Benevolence</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"My dear child," continued Auntie Majesty, -"you ought to thank God on your knees for -permitting you those grand opportunities to do -good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope I am duly grateful, Auntie Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And, of course, next to God, it is your Uncle -Majesty to whom you are most indebted."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha curtsied with the readiness peculiar to -German girls, whose left knee seems always on -the point of "knixing," which word signifies an -arrested attempt at kneeling. Since Napoleonic -times kneeling before royalty has gone out of -fashion, even in Spain, where the Prime Minister -was formerly obliged to play chess with the King -while down on his knees, and woe to the excellency -who attempted to sit on his haunches.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha assured Auntie Majesty how much she -appreciated the War Lord's efforts on behalf of -the Krupp works. Her own father could not have -done more. Truly wonderful orders are coming -in, the Herr Director-General had informed her -this very morning. East, west, north and -south—everybody seemed to want Krupp guns now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All your Uncle Majesty's doings," insisted -the "crowned auntie." "His ambassadors and -consuls in all parts of the world have orders to -drum up trade for you, and those that do not -succeed pretty soon find themselves A.D. (retired), -they say."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope not!" cried Bertha, emphasising the -last word. "I don't care for people to lose their -positions on my account, and will speak to Uncle -about it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To say that Her Majesty was amazed at the -outburst is putting it mildly. She had been given -to understand that Bertha was tractability personified, -and here she was talking in "Majesty's" own -vein, a thing Augusta had never dreamt of doing -in all the years of her married life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fraulein Krupp," she said very seriously, -"shall have to report to your mother what you -have said."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mamma has nothing to do with affairs of that -sort. They rest entirely with Uncle Majesty and -myself!" said Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What language, and to her! And from a mere -child, too! Auntie Majesty opened her mouth for -a sharp rebuke, when she remembered what the -War Lord had said about a certain lady.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Vulgar," had been Her Majesty's estimate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Non olet</em><span>," corrected Wilhelm. "If her -words are offensive, let the jingle of her millions -drown them; if she insists upon eating peas with -her knife—why, remember that Croesus ate with -his fingers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Count Wedell (Minister of the Royal -House) had only recently told her (with a -thousand apologies, to be sure) that Bertha's income -was larger than the War Lord's.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Besides, "Auntie Imperial" had promised a -portion of Bertha's vast income to "her God." She -uses the personal pronoun in connection with -the Deity without blasphemous intention, of course, -nor does she allow herself to speculate on the War -Lord's theory that the Hohenzollerns control a -god of their own, and that another god is keeping -a benevolent eye on Prussian baby-killers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Augusta Victoria decided, after reflection, to -give the subject a turn favouring her pious -schemes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remember what the fathers of the Church -have said: 'Women have no voice'—they -certainly should not meddle in administrative -matters." Her Majesty affected a smile. "Leave -these to your guardian, and, when at times his -measures seem harsh or incomprehensible, -acquiesce nevertheless, for in the end it's results -that count."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Queen of Prussia is a good woman at -heart. She wouldn't hurt a fly, but a million men -put under the sod roused no squeamish sentiments; -for, of course, if the War Lord makes war, it is for -God's greater glory, and did he not tell the recruits -the other day that it was inexpressibly sweet to die -for him? So let the million perish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Auntie Majesty was careful not to mix blood -and iron with her arguments in favour of -gun-making and explosives. If Essen manufactured -Nuremberg toys or Munich honey cake, she could -not have used more innocuous terms referring to -its death-dealing industry. At any rate, it must -be kept up—nay more, its output must be doubled -and trebled to continue the charities and works of -benevolence inaugurated by the Krupp family on -the present grand scale and to extend them -farther, as Bertha had planned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It all sounded good to the young War Lady. -With Zara's perturbing admonitions still fresh in -her mind, she welcomed justification of the course -mapped out by Uncle Majesty, and the conference -closed to mutual satisfaction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Augusta Victoria received the promise of an -annual subscription of 50,000 marks for her -church-building schemes, and Bertha that of Her -Majesty's hearty co-operation in Essen's -social-work campaign. More than that, Her Majesty -would come to inspect Bertha's hospitals, schools, -old people's homes and asylums.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="how-franz-ferdinand-was-fooled"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">HOW FRANZ FERDINAND WAS FOOLED</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Vienna's Opinion of the Kaiser—Afternoon Tea -for the War Lord—Playing Up to Ferdinand—When -Britain Slammed the Door—The Archduke is Not -Satisfied</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"There goes our Lady of the Guns," whispered -the War Lord to Franz Este, as they stepped -from the private gate into the palace yard, where -their entourage, already mounted, was awaiting -their advent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Krupp heiress I heard about? You are -her godfather, are you not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz was so taken aback that he forgot for -the moment to swing his right leg, whereupon -Umberto, objecting to such left-sided proceedings, -reared and would have thrown him, had not two -energetic grooms pounced upon the charger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Be careful, it's Italy you are riding," chaffed -Wilhelm, when the cavalcade was safely under -way. Quite a stately procession: masters of horse -in scarlet and gold; the adjutants on duty, -outriders, grooms and a platoon of gendarmes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How so Italy?" queried Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Victor Emmanuel's father used him on his -several visits to Berlin, and he has been reserved -for heavy-weights like yourself ever since. A -wilful beast, even treacherous."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hence well named," said Franz sententiously, -at the same time locking his thighs more -closely. "As to the Krupp girl, what were you -going to say?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"First tell me what Vienna thinks of my -connection with Krupp affairs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You won't take offence?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a bit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And won't be annoyed even if it smacks of -</span><em class="italics">lèse-majesté</em><span>?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rot and nonsense. Go on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz drove his brute nearer to the War Lord's side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They </span><em class="italics">do</em><span> say," he whispered, "that you sort -of kidnapped Bertha against her mother's will, and -are now conducting the business solely with an eye -to dividends."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They think me Leopold II.," quizzed the -War Lord, alluding to the business methods of -the late King of the Belgians. "Excellent; a lie -to be encouraged! But as a matter of fact—</span><em class="italics">entre -nous</em><span>, of course; strictly </span><em class="italics">entre nous</em><span>—I acted upon -the principle of </span><em class="italics">jus primae noctis</em><span>. In olden times, -when the vassal died, the liege lord assumed charge -of the property for the dead man's eldest son, -presumably his lordship's, which action forestalled -wastage of the estate. As liege lord of Prussia I -deemed it my duty to prevent the disintegration -of the Fatherland's war machinery, and had myself -appointed Bertha's guardian, with full power to -act. Of course, the Baroness does not like that; -neither did the vassal's widow cherish the idea of -becoming a chattel."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And is she easily managed?" asked Franz, -as he dealt the fractious Umberto a vicious blow -between the ears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not that fashion," replied the War Lord, -when he had caught up with his guest; "flattery -is the thing with girls. That and a certain amount -of unctuousness, backed by divine right, I found -quite an irresistible combination."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean to say that you flatter where you -can command?" asked Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Certainly not," replied the War Lord, pulling -himself up straight. "I merely insinuate that -my wishes with regard to the running of the plant -are her own; consequently, I do as I like at -Essen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord raised his riding-whip in the -direction of the Master of the Horse, trotting -behind, whereupon that functionary gave spur and -galloped ahead. Thirty seconds later the advance -guard wheeled right and left, drawing up at the -sides of the avenue, and leaving a clear space for -Wilhelm and Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May they enjoy the dust we are kicking up," -laughed the War Lord, as they pressed on. When, -on their return to the palace, the General Staff -building was in sight, Wilhelm consulted his -wristwatch. "Gottlieb's tea hour," he said quite -incidentally. "Suppose we stop and have a cup!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He referred to Count Haeseler, sometimes -called the German Galliffet, though as a cavalry -officer in active service his epaulettes never knew -more than two stars. However, subsequently he -won much fame as an administrator and organiser, -and, by catering to the War Lord's love for -mounted rifles, dragoons, hussars and uhlans, -enjoyed rapid and steady advancement. Still, -having a will of his own and small hesitation to -state it when goaded to opposition, he might never -have achieved the supreme honour of field marshalship -had he not been in his youth the favourite -adjutant of the War Lord's "sanctified uncle," -the Red Prince Frederick Charles, father of the -Duchess of Connaught.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the War Lord's opinion, Frederick Charles -ranked next to his </span><em class="italics">Herr Grossvater</em><span> (Mister -Grandfather), and whenever Wilhelm became too -insistent on some strategic madness of his own, -Haeseler had but to say: "That's one of the -things His Royal Highness was most strenuously -opposed to," to cause the Imperial nephew to -cave in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course, the meeting with Franz Este had -been prearranged, but Haeseler played the -surprised to perfection: Too bad Imperial Highness -was incog.; otherwise he might run over to Posen -to inspect his regiment, the Tenth Hussars. He -(Haeseler) had just had that pleasure. </span><em class="italics">Schneidig, -grossartig</em><span> (cutting, immense), and Haeseler -knocked his heels together. "Horses, men, -uniforms, drill, perfect as new-laid eggs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hard boiled, I hope," said the War Lord; -and all three shook with laughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what may my marshal have been -doing?" asked the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Reading up the testament of Frederick the Great."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Any relation to the testament of Peter the -Great?" asked Franz anxiously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Imperial Highness is pleased to jest," replied -Haeseler. "Peter the Great's last will, so called, -was an invention of Napoleon to justify his making -war on his friend Alexander, while the third -Napoleon revived the fraud for purposes of the -Crimean campaign."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In his surprise the War Lord, who knows -history only as taught in school, dropped a bit of -marmalade on his white cloth tunic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Unless you can prove these statements, you -will have to pay for cleaning this," he said, -looking sharply at Haeseler.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty, I will consult -the card index." The marshal pulled out a drawer. -"Here it is," he said: "'</span><em class="italics">Napoleon Auteur du -Testament de Pierre le Grand</em><span>,' and here is another -volume: '</span><em class="italics">Les Auteurs du Testament du Pierre le -Grand</em><span>.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Authentic?" queried the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Abundantly so. Shall I send these volumes -to the Schloss?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No; I have no time for reading </span><em class="italics">olle scharteken</em><span>" -(ancient tomes).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In that case I'll want them," said Franz, who -was of a studious nature. "Have you got -anything more on the subject?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Only an essay printed in the </span><em class="italics">Augsburger -Allgemeine Zeitung</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Send that too." The Bavarian town being -a stronghold of Catholicism, Franz evidently -concluded that anything printed there was akin to -gospel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you referred to the testament of -Frederick the Great." The War Lord's voice -betrayed impatience, and Haeseler made haste to -explain, i.e. repeat his lesson, as it were.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty and His Imperial -Highness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Herr von Este,' if you please," interrupted -Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Herr von Este," repeated the marshal -obediently, bowing low, "the most precious -inheritance come to us from the hero of the Seven -Years' War is his admonition that Prussia must -correct her coast line. He had intended doing so -himself, but time and opportunity were unfavourable, -and so his plans for blazing a road to the -oceans are awaiting our initiative. By grasping it -we will carry out the last will of Frederick the -Great."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what were his late Majesty's plans?" -asked Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To move Prussian mile-posts up to the -Channel and ocean, to plant ourselves in the sea -area between the English, French and Belgian -coasts, the waters through which most of the -world's trade must pass," cried Haeseler -enthusiastically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But that would mean annexation of Belgium -and Holland," demanded Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Haeseler, having instructions not to -answer questions of that kind, bent over a series -of maps illustrating the history of Frederick the -Second, while the War Lord, disregarding the -question, commanded curtly: "The strategic -points, please."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Haeseler traced them at the end of a -blue pencil:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"King Frederick planned a quick march from -the Rhine through Belgium, forcing Liége, then -the capital of an ecclesiastical principality, and -pouncing upon Nieuport on the North Sea. Next, -he intended to attack Dunkirk and Gravelines. -Then to Calais. His final objective point was -Paris, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never heard of such a plan," said Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because at Frederick's time these territories -were an apanage of the Habsburgs," volunteered -the War Lord. "Proceed, Haeseler."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can only reassert what I have submitted to -Your Majesty more than once—namely, that King -Frederick's plan is as sound to-day as at the -time——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When Prussia presented England with -Canada and made secure her Empire in India," -interrupted the War Lord. "And isn't she -grateful for the inestimable services rendered by -us with a generous heart?" he continued, -warming his thighs and his wrath at the gas logs. -"Won't allow us to acquire coaling stations in any -part of the world. Shuts the door in our face in -Africa, Asia and America, and supports with -treasure and blood, if necessary, any scheme -intended to impede Germany's progress, territorially -and economically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We depend for our very life on foreign trade, -yet England would restrict us to the Baltic and a -few yards of North Sea coast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Franz," he cried, rising and holding out his -hand, "I will turn the Adriatic into an inland lake -for the Emperor of the Slavs if you will help me -secure the French Channel coast line, the -north-eastern districts and the continental shores of the -Straits of Dover. Is it a bargain?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz, too, had risen, and was about to clasp -the War Lord's hand when his eye lit upon the -field-marshal. "You bound me to secrecy," he -said doggedly, "yet our private pourparlers seem -to be property of your General Staff."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The heads of my General Staff know as much -as I want them to, Herr von Este, no more, no -less," replied the War Lord in a strident voice. -Then, in less serious mood: "Come, now, the -</span><em class="italics">Kapellmeister</em><span> does not play </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> the instruments, -does he? and don't you think I have more important -things to do than worry over charts and maps -and figures. That is </span><em class="italics">his</em><span> work," inclining his head -toward the field-marshal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Franz the Sullen still withheld -acquiescence the War Lord continued in a bantering -tone: "He is preparing the way, is Haeseler. -While at Strassburg and neighbourhood, take a -look at his sixteenth army corps, kneaded and -knocked into invincibility by him. If there is a -superior war machine, then our Blücher was beaten -at Waterloo. Let his boys once get across the -French frontier—they will never again leave La -Belle France. Haeseler catechism!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And more in the same boastful martinet vein, -winding up with the promise of sending to the -Austrian heir </span><em class="italics">de luxe</em><span> editions of Haeseler's -contributions to the General Staff history of the -Franco-German War and of his technical writings -on cavalry exercises and war discipline—a sure way -of pleasing Franz. Yet it was patent enough that -the Jesuit disciple was only half mollified. -Desperate means were in order!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell you what"—the War Lord dropped -his voice—"I will lend you Haeseler for a -fortnight or a month. Invite him to Konopischt" -(the Austrian heir's Hungarian seat) "and find -out everything. What he doesn't know about -horse, foot and artillery, especially horse, is not -worth knowing."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last Franz's face lit up. "I'll take you at -your word," he said warmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz's thirst for military knowledge was -insatiable. He had read most of the books, ancient -and modern, on the science of war; had consulted -all living army leaders of the day; was, of course, -in constant communication with his own General -Staff; and knew the methods of the Austrian, -Russian, German and Spanish cavalry, both by -practice and observation, since he took his honorary -proprietorship of the Bavarian Heavy Troopers, -the Saxon Lancers, the Russian 26th Dragoons -and the Spanish Mounted Chasseurs very seriously. -But to have Haeseler for private mentor and -adviser, to be hand and glove with the premier -cavalry expert of the world, at one time apprentice -of Frederick Charles, the Red Prince, was indeed -a priceless privilege.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will you come?" he asked Haeseler.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh yes, he is coming, don't you worry," -cried the War Lord, even before Haeseler finished -the phrase: "At your Imperial Highness's -command."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His Excellency shall demonstrate to me that -the offensive partnership you propose will be to -mutual advantage," said Franz quickly, to -forestall possible further arguments on the exchange -of the Italian Adriatic for the French-Belgian-Dutch -Channel coasts.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="diamond-cut-diamond"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The War Lord's Secret Staircase—Some Outspoken -Opinions—Royal Fisticuffs—Otto of Bavaria—A -Secret Service Man—More Dreams</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The reports of two meetings between exalted -personages, held on the eve of the day memorable -for the conference at the General Staff building, -would furnish a clever editor with "deadly -parallels" of vast interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">Dramatis personæ</em><span> of one meeting: The War -Lord and Bülow. Scene: The library of the -Frederick Leopold Palace, nearly opposite the -Chancellory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meeting number two: Franz von Este and -Lorenz Schlauch, Cardinal Archbishop of Gross -Wardein, Hungary. Scene: A private parlour in -the Hôtel de Rome, near the Schloss.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The pall of secrecy hung over both trysting -places. Cardinal Schlauch, of his Hungarian -Majesty's most obnoxious Opposition, would have -lost caste with his followers if seen with the -"Habsburg Nero," and the latter would have -had a strenuous </span><em class="italics">quart d'heure</em><span> with Francis -Joseph had "Uncle" known of his intimacy -with Schlauch. Hence the room at the hotel, -and Adolph Muehling, guard of honour, outside -the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why press the old proprietor into service, when -a word to the Commandant of Berlin would have -brought sentinels galore?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Because Count Udo von Wedell, head of the -German Secret Service, occasionally unloads a -uniformed stenographer on an unsuspecting, but -suspected, visitor to Berlin; and, Udo failing, -Captain von Tappken, his right-hand man, might -be tempted to do so. Spy mistrusts spy, you know.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On his part the War Lord was as anxious to -keep his conference with Bülow from Franz, as -Este was to invent excuses for wishing a night free -from social duties or official business. Accordingly -Wilhelm had twice changed the programme.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His first idea was to receive Bülow at the -Schloss. No; Franz might hear of it. His valet -(Father Bauer) was singularly well supplied with -money, and royal lackeys (confound them!) prefer -</span><em class="italics">trinkgeld</em><span> to medals, even. Again, he might drive -to the Wilhelmstrasse himself, if it were not for -those penny-a-liners at the Kaiserhof, a whole -contingent of them, bent on getting coin out of -nothing. Already vague hints at an incognito -royal visitor had appeared in one or two gutter -journals.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Augustus tells me that Frederick Leopold -had his Berlin house thoroughly overhauled. -Nothing unusual about inspecting the renovated -lair of the Prussian Croesus?" suggested Prince -Phili Eulenburg. He referred, of course, to the -Grand Master of Ceremony and the Lord of -Klein-Glenicke, the War Lord's cousin and -brother-in-law.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By Jove, you are almost too smart for -an ambassador, Phili," cried Majesty; "you -deserve a wider field, the Wilhelmstrasse or the -Governorship of Klein-Popo should be yours. -Meanwhile, and until one of those posts becomes -vacant, 'phone Bülow to meet me in Leopold's -library at nine sharp. Moltke shall send six men -of the First Guards to investigate garden and all, -and they will remain for corridor duty. Augustus, -of course, must communicate with Leopold's -</span><em class="italics">maître d'hôtel</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 8.55 P.M. the War Lord, in mufti, fur collar -of his great-coat hugging the tops of his ears, -slipped down the secret staircase leading from his -apartments to a side door, and into Count von -Wedell's quiet coupé. The Secret Service man -who acted as groom had mapped out a circuitous -route, avoiding the Linden and Charlottenstrasse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the carriage passed the Kaiserhof the -War Lord could not resist the temptation to bend -forward. "Udo," he said, "are you not ashamed -of yourself, robbing these poor devils at the -journalists' table? If they knew how I am -suffering in your springless cab—oh, but it does -hurt!—it would mean at least ten marks in their pocket."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Confound their impudence," said Count von -Wedell. "But Your Majesty's criticism of the -coupé is most à propos—just in time to insert the -item for a new one in the appropriation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The devil!" cried the War Lord. "I -thought this ramshackle chariot your personal -property."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm likes to spend other people's money, -but with State funds it is different, for every -</span><em class="italics">pfennig</em><span> spent for administration reduces the total -His Majesty "acquires."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>True, Prussia spells despotism tempered by -Parliament, but her kings can never forget the -good old times when appropriations for the Court -were only limited by the State's utmost resources.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My own!" gasped Wedell. "Would I dare -worry Your Majesty's sacred bones in an ark like -this?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The carriage entered the palace stableyard, the -gates of which opened noiselessly in obedience to -a significant crack of the whip.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sentinels posted inside and out, civil service -men in frock-coats and top-hats, who muttered -numbers to their chief, replying in kind!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Everything all right, Bülow upstairs," whispered -Udo in Russian. He went ahead of the War -Lord through lines of his men, posted at intervals -of three paces in the courtyard and at the entrance. -The vestibule was splendid with electric light for -the first time in the history of the old palace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the suspicious War Lord observed, Marshal -Augustus had been busy indeed. Heavy portières -everywhere, over doors, windows, and </span><em class="italics">oeils-de-boeuf</em><span>; -to passers-by the Leopold Palace was as -dead and forlorn as during the past several years.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Up the newly carpeted grand stairway the War -Lord rushed. The smiling Bülow stood at the -library door. Wilhelm merely extended his hand; -he was too full of his subject to reply to Bülow's -respectful greetings and inquiries after his health.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wedell will stay," he said, "for our talk will -concern his department no less than yours."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow had arranged arm-chairs about the -blazing fireplace, but the War Lord was in no -mood to sit down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here's a devil of a mess," he said, "just -discovered it in time. That confounded Este is too -much of a blackleg to be trusted."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Too deeply steeped in clericalism," suggested -Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That and Jesuitism, Romanism, Papism and -every other sableism. Found him out in our first -confab, and to-day's meeting with Haeseler -confirmed it. He will never consent to a Roman -Empire of German nationality. Wants all Italy -for himself and Rome for his Church. -Intolerable!" cried the War Lord, as he strode up and -down. "Twenty marks if Otto were in his place."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord's joke drew tears of appreciative -hilarity from the obsequious eyes of the two -courtier-politicians.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty's remark reminds me of a -patriotic speech made by the Prince of Bueckeberg -at the beginning of the railway age: 'We must -have a railway in Lippe, even if it costs five -thousand thalers,' said His Transparency, amid -thunderous applause."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This from the Chancellor, who, like Talleyrand, -delights in quotations and has a knack of -introducing other people's witty, or stupid, -sayings when desiring to remain uncommittal on his -own part. In this instance he would rather -exhaust Bartlett and his German confrère Hertslet -than discuss that Prince of </span><em class="italics">mauvais sujets</em><span>, Otto -of Austria.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the time of the discussion (it was in 1903—three -years before the royal degenerate died) the -father of the present heir to the Dual Monarchy -was on the apex of his ill-fame.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He beat his wife and his creditors, he disgraced -his rank, his manhood, and, though thirty-eight -years of age, was frightened from committing the -worst excesses at home only by the threat of -corporal punishment at the hands of his uncle, the -Emperor. For Francis Joseph, most Olympian of -monarchs, according to the upholders of Spanish -etiquette at the Hofburg, is very apt indeed to -give a good imitation of the petty household tyrant -when roused. For this reason, probably, his late -consort, the Empress Elisabeth, used to liken him -to a cobbler.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Francis Joseph's most recent fistic exploit at -Otto's expense was still, at that time, the talk -of the European Courts. It appears that His -Imperial Highness, at dinner with boon -companions, had emptied a dish of spinach over the -head of uncle's marble statue, and prolonged the -fun by firing over-ripe tomatoes, pimentos, -spaghetti and other dainties at the already abundantly -decorated effigy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When finally he ordered Count Salm, his Court -marshal, to send for a "mandel"—fifteen pieces—of -ancient eggs to vary the bombardment, Salm -refusing, of course, he assaulted the Excellency, -sword in hand, and a general medley ensued, in -which considerable blue blood was spilt. No lives -lost, yet the innocent bit of </span><em class="italics">passe-temps</em><span> brought -the Emperor's fist and cane into play again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But our mutton is getting cold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Unfortunately," said von Bülow, "Franz -Ferdinand is a particularly healthy specimen of -humanity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And even should he die like a Balkan royalty——" -suggested von Wedell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought you had been unable definitely to -trace Russia's fine Italian hand in the Belgrade -murders?" demanded the War Lord sharply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For which many thanks," murmured Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With Your Majesty's permission, I referred -to the older generation of Balkan assassins," said -Udo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, let it pass, Monsieur le Duc -d'Otrante." The War Lord frequently addressed -his Minister of Police by Fouché's title, while -commenting upon Napoleon's bad taste in raising -that functionary to so high an estate. "After -all," he used to say, "he was nothing but a spy, -and as treacherous as the Corsican himself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This, it will be observed, came with peculiar -ill grace from Wilhelm, who, like the first Emperor -of the French, demeaned himself to direct personally -his Secret Service, and to associate with the -cashiered army officers, </span><em class="italics">agents provocateurs</em><span>, etc., -of this branch of government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What if Otto, as Emperor of the Slavs, sets -up a claim for all Poland, Your Majesty's with the -rest?" Bülow had asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I would rather see my sixty millions of people -dead on the battle-field than give up an inch of -ground gained by Frederick the Great and the rest -of my ancestors!" cried the War Lord, as if he -were haranguing a mob. "Besides, why should -Otto, more than Franz, covet my patrimony?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because of his relationship with the Saxon -Court through her Imperial Highness Josepha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pipe-dreams——" snarled the War Lord -contemptuously. Then, seeing Bülow redden, he -added: "On Otto's part, I mean."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg Majesty's pardon—not entirely," -quoth Wedell. "Dresden is still making sheep's -eyes at Warsaw, and when Your Majesty spoke -about a grand Imperial palace to be built in Posen, -King George remarked: 'Suits me to the ground. -I hope he'll make it after the kind American -multimillionaires boast of.' This on the authority of a -Saxon noble whose family established itself in the -kingdom long before Albert the Bold."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Children and disgruntled aristocrats tell the -truth," commented the War Lord; "sometimes, -at least," he added after a while. Then suddenly -facing Bülow, he continued in an angry tone: -"That black baggage, wherever one turns. Unless -there be a Lutheran Pope, Monsieur l'Abée de -Rome will try and catholicise Prussia, even as -Benedict XIV. tried to do through Maria -Theresa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was another Benedict, was it not, who -offered public prayers that Heaven be graciously -pleased to foment quarrels between the heretic -Powers?" suggested Bülow, pulling a volume on -historic dates from the shelf as if to verify his -authority.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What of it?" demanded the War Lord impatiently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One of the heretic Powers prayed against was -England, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you want to insinuate that I must -pocket all the insults Edward may find it expedient -to heap upon me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing is farther from my mind, of course. -I merely meant to point to the historic fact that -the Catholics always pool their interests, always -fight back to back, while the disunity and open -rivalries among non-Catholic Powers——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know the litany," interrupted the War -Lord rudely; "but let's return to Este. What -do you intend to do with that chap?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Make him work for us tooth and nail," said -Bülow, "and as for any extra dances with the -Saxon or His Holiness—well, Udo will keep an eye -on him. From this hour on he must be kept under -constant observation, whether at home or abroad, -in his family circle or the army mess, at manoeuvre -or the chase, at the Hradschin or at Konopischt."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord, visibly impressed, laid his -massive right hand on Count von Wedell's -shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is Este now?" looking at the clock.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Suite eighteen, Hôtel de Rome."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With whom?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cardinal Schlauch."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bishop Tank of Gross-Wardein? And who -is watching them?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Number 103, garlic and </span><em class="italics">bartwichse</em><span> to the -backbone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Under the bed?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, Your Majesty; in it. I varied the -programme for His Highness's sake. Like an old -maid who persists in the hope of catching a man -sometime, he never misses looking under the bed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will examine '103' in Königgrätzerstrasse -at 9 A.M. to-morrow," commanded the War Lord; -"and, Udo, if you love me, have him well aired. -An hour or two of goose-step would do the -garlic-eater the world of good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The number, of course, referred to a Secret -Service man. They have no names so far as the -Government knows, or wants to know, and, -despite their usefulness, are looked upon as -</span><em class="italics">mauvais sujets</em><span>. To make up for this their pay is -rather better than that of the average German -official. They get a little less than the equivalent -of £4 a week and 10s. a day for expenses. These -sums constitute the retaining fee; their main -income depends on the jobs they are able to pull -off. They get paid for all business transacted, -in accordance with its importance. When on a -foreign mission, they may send in bills up to £2 -per day for personal expenses, but in all ordinary -circumstances the 10s. per diem must suffice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord turned once more to Bülow. -"You said: 'Make him work for us.' I would -willingly sentence him for life to the treadmill. -What's your idea of work for Franz?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I refer to Your Majesty's complaint that the -Austrian army is in a state of unreadiness, of -unpreparedness for war. Now, while I have no -opinion whatever as to Herr von Este's capacity as -a general, I do know that organisation and -discipline are ruling passions with him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He would rather beat a recruit than go to -Mass," interpolated Udo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The right spirit," approved the War Lord, -"and it shall serve my purposes. I taught the -Bavarians to out-Prussian the Prussian; the -Austrians shall follow suit, or Franz will know the -reason why.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A drill-ground bully by nature and inclination, -he will know how to make an end to Blue -Danube </span><em class="italics">saloperie</em><span>; and if strap and rod won't do, -he will use scorpions, like that ancient King of -Judea—or did he hail from Mecklenburg, -Bülow?" Autocratically ruled Mecklenburg is -Bülow's own particular fatherland.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sure the riding-whip always sufficed in -our domains," smiled the Chancellor; "but Your -Majesty is right: rose water wouldn't make much -impression on Slovaks and Croatians."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well then," said the War Lord, "here is the -programme: No more about Lutheran popeship, -Holy Roman Empire of German nationality, future -of the Holy See and so forth. Nauseate him, on -the other hand, with Austrian military </span><em class="italics">schweinerei</em><span> -(piggishness), which ought to disappear from the -face of the earth in the shortest possible order to -make room for the glories of Prussian drill, -discipline and efficiency.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With von der Goltz knocking the Turk into -shape and Franz Este driving the devil of -irresolution and maniana out of the Dual Monarchy, we -will be in a position to defy the world—and to fight -it, too."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-secret-service-episode"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A SECRET SERVICE EPISODE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>No. 103 Arrives—The Spy's Report—The Archduke -and the Cardinal—The Ruling of the Church</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Count von Wedell's office on Königgratzerstrasse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Royal coupé driving up and down the opposite -side of the street. No groom—dismounted chasseur -with feather hat stands guard at the big oaken -door entrance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Long-legged brown horses, evident habitat: -England. As a rule, the War Lord drives with -blacks or greys; likewise the wheel-spokes of the -vehicles used by him are gilded. Those of the -carriage we observe are chocolate colour, with just -a thin silver line. Wilhelm sometimes travels -incog. in his own capital. By the way, why always -chocolate-coloured carriages when royalty does not -wish to radiate official lustre? In the reminiscences -of the third Napoleon "the little brown coupé" -figured largely when the Emperor of the French -went poaching on strange preserves, and other -monarchs had the same preference.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Inside the Imperial office building: sentinels -with fixed bayonets at each corridor entrance; over -the coco-nut mat, covering the right-hand passage, -a thick red Turkey runner; Secret Service men in -top-hats and Prince Albert coats every ten paces. -At the extreme end a big steel double door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. 103," whispered the speaking-tube into -Count Wedell's ear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Three minutes late," snarled that official; -"but I will pay him back."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No. 103," in faultless evening dress (though -it is nine in the morning), is conducted through -the right-hand passage. He is at home here, but -no one recognises him. Secret Service rule: No -comradeship with other agents of the Government. -You are a number, no more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he is ushered through the lines of sentinels, -the royal chasseur, drawn broadsword in his right, -opens the door with his left hand. Count Wedell -meets him on the threshold.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kept Majesty waiting," grumbled the Privy -Councillor </span><em class="italics">sotto voce</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cab broke down, Excellency," No. 103 -excused himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't let it happen again. You will stand -under the chandelier facing the inner room. -Attention!" commanded the chief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And at attention, every nerve vibrating with -excitement and expectancy, No. 103 stood like a -statue in the Avenue of Victory, but with rather -more grace, for no man living could imitate the -War Lord's marble dolls without provoking -murder. Wedell had gone into the inner room, -the entrance of which was framed by heavy damask -portières with gold lace set </span><em class="italics">a jour</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Portholes," thought No. 103, sizing up the -decorations; and, keyhole artist that he is, he soon -met a pair of eyes gazing at him through the -apertures.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty taking a peep," he reflected. "I -wonder what he thinks of the man who went back -on his native Nero for filthy lucre."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whether he thought well of him or not, the -War Lord kept No. 103 standing full twenty-five -minutes. If in his youth he had not had a particularly -cruel drill-ground sergeant, he could not have -endured the pain and fatigue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly the portières parted: the War Lord, -seated at a "diplomat's" writing-desk; Count -Wedell, toying with a self-cocking six-shooter, -stood at his left.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If that thing goes off and accidentally hits -me," thought No. 103, "there is a trap-door -under this rug, and a winding staircase leading to -a sewer, I suppose, as in the Doge's -Palace." Comforting thought, but who cares for a spy?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Approach," ordered the War Lord in a -high-pitched voice. When No. 103 was within -three paces of the Majesty, Wedell held up his -hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His Majesty wants to know all about last -night," said the Privy Councillor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did Herr von Este really look under the -bed?" queried the War Lord, tempering the -essential by the ridiculous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He did indeed," replied No. 103; "and I -nearly betrayed my presence between the sheets -watching him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What happened?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing, Your Majesty; just a thought -passing through my mind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Out with it," cried the War Lord, when -No. 103 stopped short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">agent provocateur</em><span> looked appealingly at -Count Wedell. "I humbly beg to be excused."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I command you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well then, Your Majesty, it occurred to me -that I ought to have planted a mark's worth of -asafoetida under that bed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Did the stern Majesty laugh? He guffawed -and roared enough to split his sides—the lines -between the sublime and the low are not tightly -drawn in Berlin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This fellow has wit," said the War Lord to -Udo. "When you come to think of it, asafoetida -is mighty appropriate ammunition to use against -the Jesuit disciple." Then, with a look to -No. 103: "Proceed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Details and all," commanded von Wedell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The minutest," emphasised the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty, I was in that -bed three hours before the parties came into the -room. The Cardinal had hired Suite 18 -expressly for the meeting, his lodgings being -elsewhere in the hotel. He was first to arrive, and -swore lustily because there was no crucifix or -</span><em class="italics">prie-Dieu</em><span>, as ordered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cursed like a trooper, eh?" cried the War -Lord. "Make a note of that, Udo. When I am -Lutheran pope I will visit the grand bane upon any -cardinal guilty of saying naughty words."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty will have the All Highest -hands full," remarked von Wedell. "What about -Prince Max?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall take devilish good care that the Saxon -idiot never achieves the red hat. Making eyes at -Warsaw and a friend at the Curia! What next?" To -No. 103: "Proceed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An impromptu altar was quickly set up, and -when Herr von Este was announced——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What name?" interrupted the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ritter von Wognin, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count von Wedell promptly explained: "One -of the minor Chotek titles."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I always said he was his wife's husband," -affirmed the War Lord, with an oath. Then, to -No. 103: "Well?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Cardinal had taken his stand at the side -of the crucifix, and when the Ritter walked in -elevated his hand pronouncing the benediction, -whereupon the Austrian heir dropped on his -knees. The Cardinal seemed in no hurry to see -him rise, but finally held out his hand, saying: -'In the name of the Holy Church I welcome thee, -my son.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Este kissed his hand, didn't he?" cried -the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He certainly bent over the Cardinal's hand, -and I heard a smack," replied No. 103.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That settles it," said the War Lord; "the -foot-kiss for me when I am pope of the Lutheran -Church."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty," continued No. 103, -"the two gentlemen then settled down in easy -chairs and engaged in a long, whispered conversation -in which alleged sayings of Your Majesty -were freely quoted by Herr von Este."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Enough," interrupted the War Lord; and -at a sign from Wedell No. 103 backed towards the -door, which opened from outside. "You will -await a possible further summons in here," said -Count Wedell's secretary, ushering No. 103 into -a waiting-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How much has that fellow got on credit?" -demanded the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wedell pulled out a card index drawer. "Upwards -of thirteen thousand marks."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He knows that he'll lose it to the last -</span><em class="italics">pfennig</em><span> if he squeals?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The case of our man who exchanged Barlinnie -Jail for the service of Sir Edward Grey -brought that home with peculiar force to everybody -in the Wilhelmstrasse and Königgrätzerstrasse," -replied Udo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It should be interpolated here that German -spies receive only two-thirds of the bonuses -accruing to them. One-third of all "extras" remain -in the hands of the Government at interest, to be -refunded when his spyship is honourably -discharged. If he is caught and does not betray his -trust, then these savings </span><em class="italics">par order de mufti</em><span> are -paid over to his family or other heirs; if he betrays -his Government, then the Government gets even -with him by confiscating the spy's accumulated -savings, which arrangement gives the Secret -Service office a powerful hold on its employees.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well, recall the millionaire-on-good-behaviour," -quoth the Majesty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No. 103 proved the possession of a marvellously -retentive memory. Quoting His Highness's -confidences to the Cardinal, he repeated almost word -for word the War Lord's conversation with Franz, -both at the Schloss and at the General Staff office.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Any memoranda used?" demanded Wilhelm abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"None, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did the Cardinal take notes?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, Your Majesty. When Herr von Este -urged him to do so, he said it was unnecessary, -since he never forgot matters of importance; in -fact, could recite a text verbatim after tens of -years."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Curse their stenographic memories," said -the War Lord. "I hope you were careful to note -what Schlauch said," he added in a stern, almost -threatening voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I memorised his talk to the dotlets on the -i's," replied the Secret Service man, bowing low. -"Quite an easy matter, for His Eminence used -words sparingly—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To conceal his thoughts, of course." This -from the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then No. 103 read the "notes" from his -mental memorandum pad. The Cardinal, it -appears, laid down three rules "for the guidance -of his 'dear son' and all other Catholic princes:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I. Agreements with heretic sovereigns do -not count unless they serve the interests of the -Church.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"II. If the proposed Slav Empire would bring -about the submission of the orthodox heretics to -the Church of Rome, no amount of blood and -treasure spent in so laudable a cause may be -called extravagant, the sacrifice being for God -Almighty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"III. But if there should be a by-product" -(our own term, the Cardinal's being too -circumstantial) "a by-product in the shape of a heretic -pope—pardon the blasphemous word—then -Franz's ambition would be a stench in the nostrils -of the Almighty, excommunication would be his -fate in this world, the deepest abyss of hell in the -other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count von Wedell, misinterpreting his master, -thought "it was to laugh," but a look upon the -War Lord's face caused him to change his attitude.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pay No. 103 five thousand marks, half in -cash, half in reserve," said Wilhelm, disregarding -the one-third clause for a purpose, no doubt. "I -have no further commands for him at present."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Wedell stepped forward from the inner -room, and the portières automatically closed before -No. 103 had finished his obeisance.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="bertha-and-franz"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BERTHA AND FRANZ</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On Forbidden Ground—A Talk on Brain-Curves—Bertha -is Afraid—Shades of Krupp—"Charity Covers ——"—A -Dramatic Exit</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Oh, Franz, tell me what it all means!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If Bertha and the chief engineer had been real -lovers, and had selected the moon for a place of -rendezvous, they could not have been safer from -intrusion than in the late Frederick Krupp's -library with the door unlocked, for the "room -sacred to His Majesty" was a sort of Bluebeard -chamber into which no eye but the War Lord's -and Bertha's must look.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha had shown her mother a parcel of -documents which Uncle Majesty had ordered her to -read carefully. "I will go to the library, where -I will be undisturbed," she said in her decisive -tone, while the butler was serving early -strawberries sent from Italy. Strawberries in January -in a little Rhenish town! It reminds us that when -Charles V., warrior and gourmet-gourmand, -sucked an orange in winter-time, his Court was -prostrate with astonishment and admiration.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Alexis Orloff won Catherine the Great -from his brother Gregory—temporarily, at -least—by sending to the Semiramis of the North a plate -of strawberries for the New Year. Yet nowadays -any well-to-do person can indulge all the year -round in the luxuries that made Charles and -Catherine the envied of their Imperial class.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha was in the War Lord's chair, for she felt -very Olympian since she had returned from the -Berlin Court, while Franz sat on the </span><em class="italics">tabouret</em><span> -affected by the Krupp heiress during the interviews -with her guardian.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What did Zara really mean?" repeated Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you prepared to hear the truth, the -whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" queried -Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha Krupp moved uneasily in her high seat. -Her mental stature had advanced rapidly under the -War Lord's teachings, disguised as coaxings, and -while the sound principles implanted in her bosom -by a good mother were at bottom unimpaired, she -was beginning to learn the subtle art of putting -her conscience to sleep when occasion demanded—a -touch of Machiavellism!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just now she would have loved to shut up -Franz, as she was wont to silence her mother by -a word or look, though less rudely, perhaps, but -her fondness for the man—though she was not at -all in love with Franz—forced her to be frank -with him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Speak as a friend to a friend," she said warmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well then——" began Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha covered his mouth with her hand. "A -moment, please. May I tell Uncle Majesty?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What I have to say is no secret of mine and -certainly it is not news to the War Lord. By all -means tell him if you dare."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I dare?" echoed Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My own words."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz spoke very earnestly, almost solemnly: -"Will you hear me to the end, whether you like -the tune or not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If it relates to Zara's prophecies, I will," said -Bertha. "But," she added falteringly, "you -know I mustn't listen to criticism of my guardian."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz shrugged. "I quite understand. Forbidden -ground even for your Mother."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha felt the sting of reproval keenly, and did -not like it. Indeed, at the moment she would -have given up gladly a considerable portion of her -wealth to be restored to Franz's unconditional and -unrestricted good graces. So, humbling herself, -she temporarily abandoned her high estate and -again became the unsophisticated girl whom Franz -used to call sister. "</span><em class="italics">Do</em><span> go on," she urged; "it -was all so romantic, so strange, so mysterious, and -you know I love to feel creepy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz had risen and approached the great -central window. "May I draw the curtains?" he -asked, looking over his shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They must not see you. I will."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha tugged the golden cords. "Working -overtime again?" she queried, as she observed the -blazing smoke-stacks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"More's the pity, for every pound of steam -going up those chimneys means so many lives lost, -and for all those lives, Bertha, you will have to -account to God."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Old wives' tales," commented the Krupp -heiress, as if the War Lord in person played -souffleur. "On the contrary, as you well know, -war preparedness means peace, means preservation; -and with us in particular it means happiness -and prosperity to the ten thousands of families in -this favoured valley. It spells education, arts, -music, care of children and of the sick and disabled. -It means cheerfulness, such as ample wage and a -future secured confer; it means care-free old -age." As she recounted these benefits her enterprises -were actually dispensing Bertha looked at the chief -engineer with a slightly supercilious air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well rehearsed," remarked Franz dryly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, if you want to be rude——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do," said Franz, taking hold of her wrist; -"I am sick of all this lying palaver about good -coming out of evil, and I want you to be sick of it -too, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Krupp heiress leaned back in her chair, -crossing her arms. "At the American Embassy -I heard rather a quaint saying day before -yesterday: 'Go as far as you like.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A most apt saying," admitted Franz. -"Thank you for the licence. As I was going to -point out, you did attach too little significance to -Zara's words, thought them mere piffle of the kind -for sale in necromancers' tents. There is enough -of that, God knows, but do not lose sight of the -fact that at all times and in all walks of life there -have existed persons having the gift of prophecy. -Who knows but Zara has?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha was now rigid with attention. She had -moved knee from knee; her feet were set firmly -on the carpet, while the upper part of her body -straightened out. "I don't follow," she said -almost pleadingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me explain," continued Franz. "You -and I and the vast majority of people can look into -the past—a certain curvature of our brain facilitating -the privilege. Another similar or dissimilar -set of brain-cells, or a single curvature, might lift -for us the veil that now obscures the future."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The future?" gasped Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed, the future; and, practically considered, -there is nothing so very extraordinary -about it, for what will happen to-morrow, or the -day after to-morrow, is in the making now. If, -for instance, the Krupp works were going into -bankruptcy a year hence, the unfavourable conditions -that constitute the menace to our prosperity -would be at their destructive work now. Do you -follow?" added Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think I do," said Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hence I say the gift of prophecy presupposes -a correct interpretation of the past and present as -well as the peculiar gift of extraordinary brain -development—a rare gift, so sparsely distributed -that in olden times prophets were credited with -interpreting the will of the Almighty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Franz," cried Bertha, her face pallid and -drawn, her hands twitching. "</span><em class="italics">Oh</em><span>, my God!" -she screamed, as if nerve-shattered by an awful -thought suddenly burst upon her; "you don't -believe—no, you can't——! Tell me that you do -not think it was God's voice speaking through -Zara?" And, as if to shut out some horrible -vision, the Girl-Queen of Guns covered her face -with both hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is not for me to pronounce on things I -don't know," replied Franz. "Judged by what -you have told me, Zara suited her prophecy for -the most part to facts and to existing tendencies, -conditions and ambitions on the part of political -parties and high personages."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She called me the coming arch-murderess of -the age, insisted that the warrior-queens of past -times, even the most heartless and most cruel, had -been but amateurs compared with me in taking -human lives—— Oh, Franz, tell me it is not true! -She was romancing, was she not? She lied to -frighten me and to get a big </span><em class="italics">trinkgeld</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish it were so," said Franz earnestly; -"but, unfortunately, she had a clear insight into -the future as it may develop, unless you call a -halt to incessant, ever-increasing, ever-new war -preparations."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Many years ago I read a manuscript play by -a Dutch author, in the opening scenes of which a -Jew tried to sell another Jew a bill of goods. -Shylock number two wanted the stuff badly, but -calculated that by a show of indifference he might -obtain them for a halfpenny less. On his part, -Isaac was as eager to sell as the other was to buy, -but the threatened impairment of his fortune called -for strategy. So he feigned that he did not care -a rap whether the goods changed hands or not, and -the two shysters remained together a whole long -act engaging in a variety of business that had -nought to do with the original proposition, each, -however, watching for opportunity to re-introduce -it, now as a threat, again as a bait, and the third -and seventh and tenth time in jest. So Bertha, -having once disposed of the war preparation bogey, -according to Uncle Majesty's suggestion, now -returned to it in slightly different form. She was -determined to discount Zara's prophecies at any -cost.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Getting ready to fight was tantamount to -backing down; spending billions for guns and -ammunition and chemicals and fortifications and -espionage and war scares and whatnots was mere pretext -for keeping the pot boiling in the workman's -cottage, and the golden eagles rolling in the -financier's cash drawer, and so on </span><em class="italics">ad infinitum</em><span>. -When Bertha had finished she thought Zara's -prophecies very poor stuff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz came in for the full quota of that sort -of argument out of a bad conscience so warped by -hypocrisy. Our Lady of the Guns no doubt -believed every word she said, or rather repeated—dear -woman's way! She always firmly trusts in -what suits her, logic, proof to the contrary, -stubborn facts notwithstanding. Instinct or intuition, -she calls it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That is no way to dispose of so grave a -subject," said Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what can I do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Prevent more wholesale family disintegration, -forestall future mass-murder, future dunging -of the earth with blood and human bones."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz put both hands on the girl's shoulders. -"Bertha," he said impressively, "make up your -mind not to sign any more death-warrants, stop -making merchandise intended to rob millions of -life and limb and healthy minds, while those -coming after them are destined physical or moral -cripples that one man's ambition may thrive."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Shut down the works, you mean?" cried -Bertha; and, womanlike, indulged once more the -soothing music of self-deception: "It would ruin -the Ruhr Valley, throw a hundred thousand and -more out of work; and what could they do, being -skilled only in the industries created by my father -and grandfather?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, Uncle Alfred, the first Krupp—God -bless their souls!—were they founders of -murder-factories, as you suggest? No, a thousand times -no. Their skill, their genius, their enterprise has -been the admiration of the world. Everybody -admits that they were men animated by the highest -motives and principles. They made Germany."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't deny it; I underline every word you -have said, Bertha. The foundations for Germany's -greatness were laid within a stone's throw of this -window; much of her supremacy in politics and -economics was conceived between these four walls. -But now that the goal is achieved, that the -Fatherland enjoys unprecedented wealth and -prosperity—let well enough alone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You talk as if I were the War Lord!" cried -Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are his right hand: the War Lady."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is my guardian, my master."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Only for a while. You don't have to submit -to his dictation when of age."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Carried away by emotion, Franz had spoken -harshly at times, but now his tone became coaxing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you come into your own, promise me, -Bertha, to accept no more orders for armament and -arms of any kind. Dedicate the greatest steel -plant of the world to enterprises connected with -progress, with the advancement of the human -race! Build railways, Eiffel towers for observation, -machinery of all sorts, ploughs and other -agricultural implements, but for God's sake taboo -once and for all preparations for murder and -destruction!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha covered her ears. "Don't use such -words; they are uncalled for, inappropriate." Then, -with a woman's ill-logic, she repeated the -last. "'Destruction'—you don't take into -consideration what your 'destructive' factors have -done for my people, what they are doing for -humanity right along. Auntie Majesty thinks our -charities and social work superior to Rockefeller's, -and God forbid that I ever stop or curtail them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes! Think of your charities," said Franz; -"take the Hackenberg case. What is he—a -soldier blasted and crippled in mind and body by -the war of 1870. Essen's industry made a wreck -of Heinrich, and he costs you one mark a day to -keep for the rest of his life; three hundred and -sixty-five marks per year, paid so many decades, -what percentage of your father's profits in the -war of 1870-71 does the sum total represent?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A fraction of a thousandth per cent., perhaps. -Another fraction pays for the son Johann's -keep, another for that of the two younger boys, -another for Gretchen, etc., etc."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But if there had been no war, Heinrich would -not have been disabled, and consequently would -not have burdened charity with human wreckage! -Do you see my point?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Go on," said Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Because you are used to it, maybe the -Hackenberg case does not particularly impress -you. You were not born when Heinrich sallied -forth in the name of patriotism. But reflect: -there are thousands of charitable institutions like -yours, not so richly endowed, not so splendid to -look upon, but charnel-houses for Essen war -victims just the same. And all filled to -overflowing—even as the Krupp treasury is. Yet that -Franco-German war, that made the Krupps and -necessitated the asylums and hospitals, was -Lilliputian compared with the Goliath war now in -the making—partly thanks to you, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I have told you time and again there will -be no war, that I have the highest authority for -saying so!" cried Bertha angrily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Authority," mocked Franz. "The French -of 1870 had the no-war 'authority' of Napoleon -III., the Germans that of William I., before the -edict went forth to kill, to maim, to destroy, to -strew the earth with corpses and fill the air with -lamentations! So it will be this month, this year, -next year—for history ever repeats itself—until -the hour for aggression, which will be miscalled -a defence of our holiest principles and interests, -has struck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The air pressure has increased," continued -Franz, parting the window curtains; "see the -lowering clouds! And watch the storm coming -up, lashing them in all directions. West and east -they are spreading, and, look, north too! They -are falling on Northern France, on the Lowlands -and Russia like a black pall."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You prophesy a universal war?" shrieked -Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The answer is in your ledger. For thirty and -more years your firm has been arming the universe. -Since your father's death you have distributed -armaments on a vaster scale than ever, and now, -I understand, the pace that killeth is to be still -more increased.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When you have furnished Germany with all -the guns, the ammunition, the chemicals, the -flying machines, the cruisers, the submarines, the -hand grenades—what then? Presto! a pretext of -the 1870 pattern, or something similar, and Zara's -prophecy will come true as sure as light will burst -from this Welsbach now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz touched a button.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Voilà, Madame War Lady," he said, bowing -himself out.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="auntie-majesty-and-her-frocks"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">"AUNTIE MAJESTY" AND HER FROCKS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Bertha on Her Dignity—On Thin Ice—Barbara -Wants to Know—The Empress's Toilette</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"And now for a good talk," said Barbara, with a -look upon the tirewoman who had accompanied -Bertha to Court. "Tell me all about Auntie -Majesty's 'Martha.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, she's far more important than this one," -Bertha replied, patting the "Frau's" cheek; "a -Baroness like Mamma and in the Almanach de -Gotha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Better looking too than our Martha, is she -not?" mocked Barbara.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't go as far as that. She is too tall and -angular and spinster-like, and has a nose like Herr -Krause—always red."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Does she drink?" inquired Barbara.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," said Martha, thrusting out her formidable -bosom; "she laces too tight, poor thing!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was after ten p.m., and Barbara ought to -have been in one of two white-and-pink beds -gracing the Young Misses' Chamber in Villa Huegel, -but Frau Krupp was away in Cologne and Martha -the most indulgent of governesses. Hence it had -not been necessary for Bertha to exert her -authority to gain an hour out of bed for sister.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha, who was sitting on a low "pouf," was -convulsed with laughter at Martha's pantomime. -Shrieking, she knocked her forehead against her -knees, Barbara joining.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Auntie Majesty's Martha—the Baroness, -I mean—does she put out the linen and mend silk -stockings and serve tea on the waitress's day out?" -continued Barbara her inquiries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not ask whether she makes the help's -beds?" demanded Martha; and then, in her drastic -manner: "You are a baby, Fraulein Barbara."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the Krupp heiress treated the question -seriously. "No," she replied, assuming an air of -superiority. "The Baroness tells the Empress -what is fit to wear."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Unfit</em><span>, Fraulein means to say," whispered -Martha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And besides——" continued Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She tyrannises over the lower servants, such -as Lenchen and me." Barbara laughed heartily -at Martha's sallies, but Bertha "had an attack of -dignity," as Barbara put it, and said to Martha: -"Come now, who was in Auntie Majesty's -confidence, you or I?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fraulein certainly had the run of Her -Majesty's rooms, and I do hope they were nicer -and cleaner than Fraulein's," bristled up Martha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't quarrel," pleaded Barbara. "Soon it -will be eleven, and then both of you will shout -'bed' until you are hoarse. </span><em class="italics">Do</em><span> go on, Bertha, -and don't you dare interrupt her again, Martha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Bertha, "I promised——" She -settled down in the big velvet fauteuil nearest the -fire and assumed an oldish mien.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was sometimes present when the Baroness -and Auntie Majesty discussed new frocks and -hats," she continued, "and I think if Mamma was -in Madame von H.'s place, Her Majesty would -be—what shall I say?—more tastefully dressed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once she persuaded Auntie Majesty to accept -a hat that made her look seventy to a day: Gold -lace and heliotrope velvet. I will buy Granny one -like it next time I go to Düsseldorf. At first -Auntie did not seem to care for it at all, but the -Baroness made such a fuss. 'Majesty looks -enchanting,' she kept saying."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here Martha dropped the courtliest of curtsies, -"flapping her arms like wings"—Barbara's -description.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Charming,' 'ever youthful,' continued -Bertha, imitating the Baroness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The right sort of talk too," said Martha. -"Tell a woman of our age—mine and Auntie -Majesty's—that we look like sweet sixteen, with -a teapot for a bonnet, and we will wear it even at -the opera."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, did Auntie get Granny's hat?" asked -Barbara.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She did, and wore it when we went to the -children's matinée at the theatre in the Neues -Palais; and I heard her sister, Princess Frederick -Leopold, tell her: 'Thank your stars that Will -is not coming. He would certainly advise you to -send your new chapeau to——'" Bertha stopped -short.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To?" asked Barbara, flipping a slipper in the -air and catching it on her naked foot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't tell," said Bertha; "it was not -intended for me anyhow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barbara looked at Martha. "You say it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It commences with an 'H.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hohenlohe—Grandma Hohenlohe," -explained Bertha quickly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barbara was thinking hard. "No, she did not -say Hohenlohe; and, besides, she is dead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Getting warm," murmured Martha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now you stop." Bertha looked very serious. -"The Princess Leopold referred to their grandmother, -of course. What else should she have in mind?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tirewoman bent low over Barbara's ear. -"Majesty's </span><em class="italics">Jaeger</em><span> told me that the War Lord is -in the habit of consigning old lady relatives of his -to a hot place, whether dead or alive."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barbara clapped her hands. "I know," she -laughed; "you need not try and keep things from -this child, Bertha. I was not born yesterday."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall tell Mamma, and you will get it too, -Martha." The Krupp heiress was on her dignity -once more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not put me across your knee and spank -me?" said Barbara derisively. Then, coaxingly: -"</span><em class="italics">Do</em><span> go on, Bertha; it is all so interesting; and -if Martha does not behave (stamping her foot) she -will leave the room this minute. Did you hear -what I said, Martha?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed, Your Majesty, and the other Majesty -will now proceed," mocked the tirewoman, who -was unimpressed, having known the girls "all their -born days."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," began Bertha anew, "there were a -few days of Court mourning while I was in Berlin, -and I had to wear all white, no jewellery, no -flowers. All the gentlemen had mourning-bands -around their left arm, and Uncle Majesty wore -the uniform of Colonel of Artillery—black and -velvet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Auntie was in black too—silk, of course, and -heavy enough to stand by itself; but at her throat -I saw a large diamond brooch."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'That will get Mother into trouble if the old -man peeps it,' observed the Crown Prince, who -took me in to dinner, and who knows all the -English and French slang."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How perfectly delightful he must be!" cried -Barbara.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha continued: "'Why?' I asked."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Mourning and brilliants—absurd,' -whispered Wilhelm Wiseacre. But Uncle Majesty -either did not see, or knew less than his talented -son, and Auntie escaped a scolding that time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Scolding a Queen. You are joking," cried -Barbara.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before the Krupp heiress could speak, Martha -delivered herself of a few "</span><em class="italics">Mein Gotts</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh," she said, "royal ladies are just like -other girls' mammas."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Like Aunt Pauline and Rosa?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, yes. They have a husband, children -and an allowance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An allowance? I thought they were wallowing -in gold pieces like you, sister," said Barbara, -loojving up admiringly at the older girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose Auntie Majesty has about a million -per year to dress on," said Bertha loftily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A million," repeated Frau Martha -contemptuously. "Fraulein ought to have heard -some of the stories the maids told me about Auntie -Majesty's lingerie. One of them used to be -dresser to a French diva, whatever that is, and on -the Q.T.——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha was anxious to change the subject, and -remarked, with a hard look upon Martha: "And -the troubles they have with servants! One -afternoon on </span><em class="italics">Bal-Paré</em><span> night Auntie's </span><em class="italics">coiffeur</em><span> did not -show up—sickness, or something of the kind—and -the Baroness did her hair. 'How very frail,' I -thought, particularly as Auntie was going to wear -the grand tiara with the Regent diamond. However, -the head-dress, being so very heavy, is put on -only before she enters the royal box.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Her Majesty was fully dressed when Uncle's -</span><em class="italics">Jaeger</em><span> handed in a dispatch from Queen Victoria, -asking about Prince Joachim. She immediately -sat down to write an answer, and as she leaned -over the paper—for she is rather short-sighted—the -whole </span><em class="italics">coiffure</em><span> came down in a heap. I never -saw her cross before, but I tell you——" Bertha -checked herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now about the jewellery," cried Barbara. -"She has wagon-loads of them, has she not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of her own, no more than Mamma, I guess, -for those you read so much about on festive -occasions belong to the State, and the Baroness is -responsible for their safety. Once, I was told, she -left a valise containing several Crown jewels and -some of Auntie's own in the Imperial saloon -carriage when they were going to Stuttgart. Through -the stupidity of a guard the valise got misplaced, -and was discovered only a month later in an -out-of-the-way railway station. That time Uncle -Majesty himself lectured the Baroness, ordering -her at the same time to use her own baronial -fingers to sew the diamond buttons on Her -Majesty's dresses. Furthermore, to make sure -that the fastenings of ear-rings, brooches, -bracelets and chains, etc., were intact."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Barbara wanted to know whether the Berlin -Crown jewels were as fine as Queen Victoria's in -the Tower of London.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not quite," said Bertha thoughtfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The child nodded. "I know, for when I asked -Miss Sprague whether the Regent was as beautiful -as the Koh-i-noor, she said: 'You might as well -liken your shabby German South-West Africa to -the Indian Empire, Miss Barbara.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't let the War Lord hear that!" Frau -Martha raised a warning finger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now about the dresses! She wears a new -one every day, doesn't she?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At least she never wears the same twice -unaltered."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What jolly shopping!" cried Barbara. -"Does she go round herself? I would."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the ladies'—the Baroness and the -Mistress of the Robes—business, of course. She sees -the fashion through their eyes and, when Auntie -is ill-dressed, the blame really attaches to her -women. One morning Auntie called me in and -said: 'Bertha, what do you think of my dinner -toilet for to-night?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The gown on the </span><em class="italics">mannequin</em><span> was of light red -silk with white flounces and blue train, set off by -rosebuds."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kakadoo!" laughed Barbara.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's how it struck me," said Bertha. -"But there stood the Baroness pleased as Punch -about the new 'creation,' and certainly expected -me to say something nice. I was in despair, but -Auntie Majesty came to my rescue. 'It's quite -impossible,' she said, 'isn't it? Tell Schwertfeger -and Moeller——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She did not finish, but took up the Alnumach -de Gotha lying on the dressing-table. 'I thought -so—Wilhelmina's colours. If Wilhelm had seen -me in this, he would have said: "You are rushing -things, Dona. Wait till we annex Holland."' Then -she turned to the Baroness: 'Have it unripped -at once. The silks shall be used any way -except in this absurd combination. I will wear -white this evening.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To bed at once; enough for to-night," -ordered Frau Martha, turning back the clothes -on Barbara's bed.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="throttling-bavaria"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THROTTLING BAVARIA</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Etiquette of Dress—Bülow in a Fix—That "Place -in the Sun"—"That Idiot Bismarck"—Prussianize -the British Empire</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the grandchamber where Bismarck sat so long -enthroned and Caprivi, the general "commanded -to the office," as he might have been ordered to -occupy a bastion, spent troublesome years; at the -desk where Prince Hohenlohe's thoughtful face -shone between colossal oil-lamps; in the very chair -where the Iron One swore lustily at petty kings, -sat Bernhard von Bülow, Chancellor and Major-General.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Don't forget the Major-General, for the War -Lord had more trouble making him that than -conferring the Imperial Chancellorship. Military -titles are sadly embroidered with precedents and -rules and things.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frederick the Great used to own silk mills, -therefore his ministers of State were compelled to -wait upon him in satin breeches and long-tailed -satin coats, and no man who loved his job would -appear more than six times in the same garments -before the Majesty, since the royal merchant -would have considered himself cheated out of the -sale of so many ells. Frederick's descendant, the -War Lord, is interested in army cloth—hence his -dislike for mufti.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Jovial, talkative, on good terms with himself, -Bernhard felt quite guilty in his velvet jacket—a -present from the Princess, his wife—when he -heard a sharp voice call out his name. It came -from the garden path adjoining the high French -windows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Must be coming from the War Ministry. -What's up?" thought the Chancellor, ringing -frantically for a dress coat. If those sentinels -would only challenge Majesty, there might be time -to change.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the summer of 1905 the proverbial Bülow -luck was still in full swing. At the moment it -sent Phili Eulenburg to the rescue, for the -ex-ambassador, still undisgraced, was, as usual, in -attendance upon the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine chap, that," said Phili, pointing to one -of the sentinels who guarded the inner court of -the Chancellor Palace; "may I put him through -the paces just to show I did not get my epaulettes -for form's sake?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Anything as long as you don't make me -ridiculous, Phili." Maybe the War Lord was -curious to see whether his friend had any military -talents. Perhaps he remembered that Bismarck, -talking to Maximilian Harden or Moritz Busch, -let drop a remark to the effect that persons of -the Eulenburg type made great generals—sometimes, -</span><em class="italics">vide</em><span> Alcibiades, Cæsar, Peter the Great, -Frederick, etc.—good diplomats never!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Advance," "retreat," "right," "left," -"charge," "about face," crowed Phili, repeating -the last order several times.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Pack ein</em><span>" ("Cheese it!"), said the War -Lord, "if these are the only commands you -remember." However, when the pair entered through the -glass doors, Bernhard, to his intense satisfaction, -was resplendent in a frock-coat, with the ribbon -of the Red Eagle in buttonhole, Majesty missing -the chance to scold him for a sybarite. To -Wilhelm's mind, male humanity is "nude" -when unaccoutred with knapsack and bayonet, -or else unshrouded in evening dress at nine a.m. -Bülow had flatly refused to array himself </span><em class="italics">en frac</em><span> -in daytime, and in his hussars' breeches he always -fidgeted "in a nerve-racking way." So he must -be allowed a Prince Albert coat—Chancellor's -exclusive privilege, of course! Bismarck used to ride -to the old Kaiser's palace in a fatigue cap, but at -the door donned the steel helmet. But let none -of lesser rank and importance imitate these -worthies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here's a pretty kettle of fish," said the War -Lord, acknowledging Bülow's respectful greetings -by a wave of the hand. "Phili tells me that -Victor will require pretty strong proof it's -defensive before he joins our war. And Udo has -secured tell-tale correspondence to the same effect, -which will be sent to you presently."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Italy making demands before she has even -lost a battle?" cried Phili, without indicating -quotation marks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow knew of course that the </span><em class="italics">bon mot</em><span> was -Bismarck's, but the War Lord thought it original. -"Don't repeat that to the Princess, please," he -said to Bülow, "lest she put our Phili on her -index. As to Victor, what do you think of the -ingrate?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With Your Majesty's permission, I rather -think that the information" (Bülow looked -straight at Eulenburg, then thought better of it) -"of—Count Wedell is not well founded. Your -Majesty knows how such rumours arise. Maybe -King Victor has, at one time or another, expressed -himself to the effect that he meant strictly to -adhere to the stipulations of the Triple Alliance, -whereupon some person in the secret found out -that the Triple Alliance obliges Italy to take up -arms only in case Germany or Austria are attacked. -Presto, the mischief-maker concludes that King -Victor is not in sympathy with Germany's world -politics, etc. etc."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe, but Udo's and Phili's reports must -be sifted to the bottom," commanded the War -Lord. "I told Wedell to put a man of -pronounced political instinct on the work—an Italian, -of course; there shall be a wrestling match between -Dago cunning and German political shrewdness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Up to then the War Lord had spoken quite to -the point. Now he indulged in one of those -</span><em class="italics">saltomortales</em><span> of uncontrolled thought that tends to -incoherency.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We must get rid of Otto," he said abruptly, -pounding his knee with his terrible right.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Prince Bismarck's Christian name had been -Otto, and Wilhelm got rid of him. Count Bülow, -perceiving no connection with matters discussed, -wondered whether the War Lord had reference -to the former occupant of the Chancellor Palace, -or maybe to a dog or horse. So, to be on the safe -side, he smiled broadly and asserted: "Precisely, -Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, there is that </span><em class="italics">Schweinhund</em><span> (pig-dog) -Ruprecht."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow began to scent a connection; however, -the War Lord saved him further cogitation by -doing all the talking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A madman, this Ruprecht; thinks his petty -State an Indian Empire. Period: Thirteenth -century, or thereabout. Dwells longingly on such -scenes as Mohammed Toghlak enacted, having -hundreds of rebels tossed about by elephants on -steel-capped ivories, and then trampled to death to -the sound of trumpets and beating of drums. 'I -would like to treat our Socialists that way,' he told -me time and again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Using wild boars instead of elephants, I suppose," -said Phili. The sally caused the War Lord -much merriment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Egad," he laughed, "your mileage from -Liebenberg is not thrown away; you liquidate the -bill by </span><em class="italics">bons mots</em><span> every time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I dare you tell the Reichstag," cried Phili.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bülow shall," said the War Lord; "but"—facing -the Chancellor once more—"those muttons! -With Italy a possible </span><em class="italics">quantité négligeable</em><span>, -we must make doubly sure of Bavaria's unquestioned -and enthusiastic support of Berlin. Now, -Phili, who has been living there many years, tells -me that the Bavarian people as a whole——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The great unwashed," put in Phili, who will -live up to his reputation as a wit or burst—in -Germany one need not be a Mark Twain to succeed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Bavarian unwashed," repeated the War-Lord, -"do not like Prussia. The only means of -gaining national support for our war in Bavaria, -then, is by favour of the Crown. Otto's is a -harlequin's cap, and you can't ask people to rally -around a War Lord more beast than man, and -certainly as crazy as a march-hare. It follows: we -need a sane man in Munich, Bülow—nothing short -of a sane man will serve our purpose. I understand -that Maximilian Joseph, 'the creature of that -upstart, Napoleon,' had a royal diadem built which -has never been used. Pull it from the vaults of -the Munich Hofburg, Bülow, and place it on -Luitpold's head, and if he persists in his silly -refusal, on Ludwig's."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty knows these gentlemen's objections: -'There can be no real king in Bavaria, they say, -until the constitutional incumbent is dead,'" -spoke the Chancellor gravely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then kill Otto," cried the War Lord. -"What, miss our place in the sun for a madman! -Not if I know Wilhelm, Imperator Rex. Briefly, -Bülow, as there is no king in Bavaria, we must -make one—one who recognises that he is </span><em class="italics">Rex -Bavariæ par la grace de Roi de Prusse</em><span> and, -accordingly, is willing to do the King of Prussia's -bidding."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But the people, will they rally to a standard -bearer of that kind?" asked the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The mob," cried the War Lord. "What -has the mob to do with it? We show him a puppet -in ermine and purple with Maximilian Joseph's -unused crown on his silly pate, and 'hurrah,' -'</span><em class="italics">Heil Dir im Siegeskranz</em><span>.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With the aid of the loyal Press," suggested -Phili.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, the Press bandits are part and -parcel of the plebs; let Königgrätzerstrasse see -to them at once. And, Bülow," continued the -War Lord, "the </span><em class="italics">Norddeutsche Allgemeine</em><span>—not -a word!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's where Majesty shows his wisdom," -said Phili, nearly doubling up in a profound bow. -And as the War Lord seemed to enjoy the -compliment, he added: "I am not the bird to befoul -his own nest; but if it be true, as the London -papers sometimes assert, that Germany produces -no real diplomats, I point to Your Majesty and -say: Here stands the greatest of them all, greater -than Cavour and Bismarck, Talleyrand and Wotton."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Talleyrand was a great liar," mused the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And preserved Prussia." This from the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My motto," said Wilhelm, "is: 'Keep a -silent tongue where one's own interests are -concerned, lest the itch of controversy produce a scab -that even the unknowing may perceive.' He -was boldly plagiarising Wotton, but if his auditors -noticed the theft they were wise enough to keep -it to themselves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty's idea is that, in case Italy -prove disloyal, Bavaria must act the buffer, the -people offering stubborn resistance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"—— stubborn!" cried the War Lord, striding -toward the great wall where a series of maps -were displayed on rollers. Of course Phili got -ahead and pushed the button. "—— stubborn!" -repeated Wilhelm. "Look at the Bavarian -frontier—as naked of fortresses as a new-born babe -of a dinner dress—no defensive works to speak -of. If the Italians make good their threats -against Austria and reach Innsbruck, good-bye -Munich! The whole of Bavaria would be at -the mercy of the Dago dogs of war! Bülow," -cried the War Lord, "Phili brought documents -to show that the Italian General Staff is mapping -out a road to Berlin via Munich, Leipzig, -Potsdam. That idiot Bismarck," he added, with an -oath, "the question of collars and epaulettes was -not the only one he decided in favour of the -Bavarians. Four years previously he failed to squeeze -Bayreuth out of them—Bayreuth, one of the -Hohenzollerns' earliest possessions. With small -pressure he might have regained the principality -in 1866 in place of the miserable few millions of -thalers as war indemnity that the Bavarians had -to pay. We could have made Bayreuth-land an -armed camp, a second Heligoland, as it-is-to-be!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The "collars and epaulettes affair," to which -the War Lord referred, cropped up in November, -1870, during the </span><em class="italics">pourparlers</em><span> for the -Bavarian-Prussian treaties. King Ludwig insisted that -Bavarian army officers should continue to wear the -badge of their rank on their collar, while King -Wilhelm said their shoulder straps were the correct -place. The Chancellor, Bismarck, saved the -situation by arguing: "If in ten years' time, perhaps, -the Bavarians are arrayed in battle against us, what -will history say when it becomes known that the -present negotiations miscarried owing to collars -and epaulettes?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No wonder Prince Pless (Hans Henry XI., -late father-in-law of Princess Mary, </span><em class="italics">née</em><span> -Cornwallis-West) said to the Iron Chancellor: "Really, -if at the time we were discussing the criminal -code we had known what sort of people these -Sovereigns are, we should not have helped to -make the provisions against </span><em class="italics">lèse-majesté</em><span> so -severe."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now if Bayreuth were in our hands," continued -the War Lord, "the Italians could whistle -for the new road to Berlin, as the English can for -the promenade to Hamburg, since Salisbury, good -old man—God rest his soul—presented us with that -little islet in the North Sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe Bavaria could be induced to fortify -her frontiers on the Austrian border," suggested -the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And </span><em class="italics">I</em><span> postpone my war until half a dozen -Liéges and Namurs and Metzs and Strassburgs -are built—man alive," thundered the War Lord. -"Life is short, and the longer England and France -are left in possession of the best colonies, the -harder it will be for us to Prussianise them when -things are being adjusted to our liking."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Prussianise England and France, excellent -idea, </span><em class="italics">très magnifique</em><span>!" crowed Phili the irrepressible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not quite so fast," said the War Lord. -"I was thinking of India and Ceylon, of Cochin -China and Tonking, of Algeria, Hongkong, the -Straits Settlements and the French Congo, of -Madagascar and Natal, of Rhodesia, Gibraltar, the -Senegal and other dainties in the colonial line."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Even so—a jolly mouthful for Prussianisation, -Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't suppose I would tolerate the -loose discipline encouraged by Downing Street -and Quai d'Orsay," cried the War Lord. "Subject -peoples and tribes must have a taste of the -whip and spur. Where would Poland be without -them—yes, and Alsace-Lorraine! But those -Bavarians, Bülow. I hope I made it perfectly -clear that Otto must go and that severest pressure -must be brought on Luitpold."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Together with the Italian problem, the -matter shall have my closest attention," said the -Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And don't forget that they are a crazy lot at -best, and hand and glove with Franz Ferdinand's -black masters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Matters can't be hurried, though," -ruminated Bülow, "and I am afraid there is little store -to be set by Luitpold."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His ambition is to go thundering down the -ages as the man who refused a crown," sneered -Phili.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank Heaven he is eighty-four," said the -War Lord piously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Ludwig tickled to death with the idea -of becoming king," added Eulenburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord was making his adieux, when -he suddenly turned upon Bülow. "What are you -going to do with Ruprecht?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Promise him a field marshal's baton in our war."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"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?"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="paying-the-price"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">PAYING THE PRICE</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>What Edward VII. Thought—No Room for Art—A Vision -of Threadneedle Street</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Bülow, who loved being Chancellor, hated Phili -Eulenburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, the Imperial ex-Ambassador at the -Hofburg was then in the zenith of his ill-gotten -empire over Majesty, and to incur his displeasure -spelt disgrace or enforced resignation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the moment the grand old man's thunderbolts -were under lock and key in Harden's Grunewald -villa, and the exalted personages marked for -lightning carried things with a high hand, using -the German Empire like an entailed estate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Pretty evenly parcelled out this </span><em class="italics">fidei commissum</em><span> -favoured by the Prussian Constitution, which -makes suffrage a mockery. Phili, of late enriched -by Hertefeld, the Rhenish domain that guarantees -him an independent income of £5,000 sterling a -year and by a couple of millions cash, which Baron -Nathan Rothschild, of Vienna, left him. Phili -was practically the overseer of the Government -personnel, and of the diplomatic corps in particular. -His card index of prominent men and women, -reinforced by reams and reams of correspondence, -characterised each person—diplomats, deputies, -ministers, councillors, governors, politicians, -commanding generals and aspirants for high honours -in the army or navy—according to his own -viewpoint, the avowed object being to people the -highest offices within the gift of the Crown with -people like-minded with himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And it must be admitted that Phili pretty -thoroughly succeeded, since the War Lord, seeing -everybody through Eulenburg's eyes, selected in -the main only persons of mediocre intellect, or -plain bullies, as his representatives abroad and at -home. The reference to Eulenburg's optics, by -the way, recalls another Bismarck sally: "One -look at Phili's eyes is enough to spoil the most -elaborate dinner for me!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Could gourmet-gourmand express himself more -emphatically? What the Iron Chancellor thought -of ambassadors appointed under that régime has -already been quoted; it coincides with the reputation -for clumsiness and inefficiency the War Lord's -diplomatic servants have in all quarters of the -world. In </span><em class="italics">ante bellum</em><span> days few of them were -"honest men sent abroad to lie"; the great -majority were liars intent upon bulldozing or -deceiving the personages who mistook them for -gentlemen. Of course, "like master, like -servant." The late King Edward maintained that -Wilhelm was vulgar and ungentlemanly; hence -Baron H or Count Y might think it presumptuous -to be otherwise. Besides, the Berlin Foreign -Office will employ nobles only, and we have the -authority of Gunther, Count von der Schulenburg, -Lord of Castle Oest, Rhineland, for the illuminating -fact that every tenth German aristocrat is -unspeakable. So much for the German diplomatic service.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>General Count Kuno von Moltke presided over -another self-gratifying clique—that of the Army; -and if Germany had invaded Belgium ten years -previous to toying with the scrap of paper, she -would probably have been overthrown in short -order, for at that time the Commander of Imperial -Headquarters held the same sinister sway over the -military as Phili did over the civil branches of the -Government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lovey," "sweetheart," "my soul," "my -all" (Kuno Moltke's epistolary titles for -Majesty), "hears as much of affairs as I want -him to know, no more," was Moltke's boast, -according to the sworn evidence of Frau von Ende, -Count Moltke's former wife, in the famous Harden -slander case.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet though Moltke lost his case, the War -Lord declared "there is nothing definite against -Moltke, but he must remain on half-pay."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Can you imagine King George V. so -flaunting the decisions of Old Bailey and thereafter -saddling the British public with a life pension -of about £500 per annum in favour of the guilty -party?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Can you imagine why such "sweet affection -for the All Highest" should make up for lack of -military qualities in a general officer slated for -supreme command in the field?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For his crusade Maximilian Harden won much -praise from English writers, but if he had let it -flourish in high places for a decade longer, Great -Britain would be richer in blood and treasure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another of these coteries of men who dispensed -high offices among themselves for their own -ends existed in the Imperial Court—aye, it lodged -there, not in the Schloss or Neues Palais exactly, -but—oh, irony!—in the Princess's Palace, the -hideous </span><em class="italics">dependance</em><span> of the Crown Prince Palais, -Unter den Linden, the apartments granted for -life to Royal Chamberlain Count von Wedell -being its headquarters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Oh, the jolly tea-parties they enjoyed in the -great high-ceilinged rococo chambers, full of -discarded furniture and appointments of the -Frederick the Great and Watteau period; Louis -Quatorze and Quinze, Boule and Chippendale, -Empire, here and there—antique regularity and -capricious </span><em class="italics">bizarrerie</em><span>, gems of Art some, also pieces -chipped and disjointed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Carlyle called Frederick "the last of the -Kings"; he was certainly the last of Prussian -kings possessed of an appreciation of the beautiful. -The present War Lord kicked from his palaces—none -were built since the eighteenth century—all -</span><em class="italics">objets d'art</em><span> that would please the eye of anybody -not a German boor, substituting unmentionables -of the goose-step type, square-jointed, clumsy, -coarse, and wholly </span><em class="italics">mauvais goût</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What the "majestic" chambers lack, then, -those of the Excellencies </span><em class="italics">nolens volens</em><span> boast. -Wedell's rooms in particular contained a variety -of eighteenth century </span><em class="italics">chef d'oeuvres</em><span> selected by -the Count himself from heaps of "ancient -rubbish" sent from the Neues Palais and -Sans-Souci by order of Court Marshal von Liebenau, a -corporal dignified by a gold stick.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No doubt the Knights of Wedell's Round Table -enjoyed what was "</span><em class="italics">caviare</em><span> to the general." At -any rate, their tea-parties seem to have been a -delight to "high and low," for no one admitted -to the charmed circle ever sent his regrets.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We find there General of Cavalry Count -Wilhelm von Hohenau, son of the War Lord's uncle, -the late Prince Albrecht of Prussia, and Sailor -Trost, of His Majesty's yacht </span><em class="italics">Hohenzollern</em><span>; the -gentleman already introduced, Count Kuno von -Moltke, also Lord of the Cathedral and Private -Riedel of the Uhlans; Count Lynar, brother-in-law -of the Grand Duke of Hesse and Colonel of -His Majesty's Horse Guards, and Gus Steinhauer, -midshipman; Count Frederick von Hohenau, -brother of Wilhelm, and Court Councillor Kestler, -who rose from the ranks to gentlemanly estate and -high honours in His Majesty's service; His Serene -Highness Prince Philip of Eulenburg, Right -Honourable Privy Councillor to the Prussian -Crown, member of the House of Lords, etc., and -Raymond Lecomte, French chargé d'affaires. -These men were regular attendants, under the -presidency of the noble-born host, of course, but -there was a fair sprinkling of counts and barons and -so on in this royal palace connected by a covered -archway with the town residence of the Crown -Prince and his family!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That was strange enough—audacity to the -point of recklessness, one might call it—but -stranger still is the fact that all these men were in -the War Lord's good graces, if not on intimate -terms with him like Eulenburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the Hohenaus he was on "Willy" and -"Freddy" footing; Count Johannes von Lynar -he called "Jeanie"; and His Excellency -Lieutenant-General Kuno von Moltke was his -"Tütü"—with dots over both u's, if you please.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nor were Wedell and Moltke the only -tea-party members admitted to high positions at -Court. Wilhelm Hohenau was governor to His -Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, and, on -Moltke's recommendation, Count Lynar was about -to be gazetted personal adjutant to His Majesty—an -office giving him apartments at the royal -residence—when he was vulgarly "pinched" and -lugged off to jail for the crime of—being found -out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Because he was the War Lord's "Jeanie," -Lynar would not listen to "Tütü's" and -"Willy's" and "Freddy's" hints about the -Bank of England as a safe depository.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Some day," he used to bluster, "a few weeks -or a month after 'The Day,' I will ride up -Threadneedle Street and straight into the vaults of that -venerable pile, and leap my charger over mountains -of gold—will be quite a change, don't you know, -from jumping fences at Hoppegarten."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As to the others, Sailor Trost and ditto Gustav -Steinhauer each enjoyed a meteoric career, rising -in quick order to petty officership—impossible to -advance them higher, because they were men -without education; and whenever and wherever an -excuse could be found for employing them in that -extraordinary capacity, they were given charge of -the Imperial person. Thus Gustav Steinhauer -always acted as chief guardian of the War Lord's -lodging in Castle Liebenberg when the Majesty -visited his beloved Phili.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Kestler was a miserable subaltern, destined to -starve on a daily wage of four marks, when -Eulenburg discovered and introduced him to Majesty. -Under the War Lord's favour, he was transferred -to a more lucrative department in the service, and -decorated!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet why the </span><em class="italics">Pour le Merite</em><span> for Kestler, and -for Eulenburg, Wedell, etc.? What </span><em class="italics">were</em><span> their -peculiar merits? Has anyone ever been able to -discover?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To-day Eulenburg, twice tried, is a prisoner -for life on his estate; the two Hohenaus are -banished from Germany, and dare not come back -on pain of arrest; Count Kuno von Moltke is a -pensioner of the German people on foreign soil; -Count Wedell forfeited the two gold buttons on -the tails of his </span><em class="italics">frac</em><span> and his residence at the -Princess's palace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why did they get off so easily in comparison -when the crash came?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The answer is obvious enough. These persons -had been careful to deposit in London, E.C., the -letters they had received from a certain exalted -party who shall be nameless, and Count Lynar, -prisoner No. 5429 at Siegburg Jail, had neglected -that simple precaution.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="how-von-bohlen-was-chosen"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">HOW VON BOHLEN WAS CHOSEN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The First Step—Prussian Manners—The War Lord Finds -His Man—Putting Bülow to the Test—Discussing the -Husband to Be—von Bohlen is Chosen</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On the morning after the Bavarian debate in the -Chancellor's palace the War Lord and Prince -Phili met early in Sans-Souci Park for an hour's -horseback exercise and scandalmongering. Be -sure that </span><em class="italics">chronique scandaleuse</em><span> was thoroughly -discussed, as well as the personnel of Phili's -favourites, and if there was anybody at Court and -in Society, in high official places and in the royal -theatres whose ears did not tingle with the -calumnies or malicious tittle-tattle launched, the -gossipers' memory was at fault, not their capacity -for impertinent innuendo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These personages were walking their horses in -a secluded avenue of the woods beyond Klein -Glienecke when they heard galloping behind. -"My courier," said the War Lord; "we'll wait." They -drew rein, and presently a red-coat shot by -them in a parallel road. When some fifty paces -ahead, the courier leaped his horse across the -intervening ditch, then stopped short at the imminent -risk of being thrown, and waited, hat in hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Get the mail bag," commanded Wilhelm -curtly, after the style of Napoleon, who thought -nothing of ordering a king to see how dinner was -progressing. Phili trotted off, and presently -returned with a red morocco leather portfolio. A -silver-gilt key dangling on the War Lord's -bracelet gave access to the contents: two letters, both -postmarked Essen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"From Bertha," said the War Lord, glancing -at the bigger envelope, and put it into his -pocket. The other he tore open in great haste. -"Wonder what the Baroness wants from me?" -he muttered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phili having returned the portfolio, the courier -was dismissed by a wave of the hand, and Wilhelm -plunged into the epistle </span><em class="italics">sans cérémonie</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The devil!" he cried, before he had finished -the first page, and drove his horse so hard against -Eulenburg's side that Phili could not suppress an -outcry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen to this: Bertha has fallen in love with -Franz, sort of foster-brother, you know; they were -children together."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The electrical expert you told me about?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Precisely. But I won't allow it; she might as -well aspire to be wife No. 777 to our friend Abdul. -But here comes the Baroness and pleads that the -dear child may have her way, Franz being such -a good young man; marriages are arranged in -heaven, and her blessed Frederick will be tickled -to death, etc., and more tommy rot like that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't think Franz exactly the right person?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phili," cried the War Lord, "if you were -not such an old sinner and bald-headed and married -and the father of children of marriageable age, I -would order you to marry her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Another woman—are there none but women -in the world?" groaned the ex-ambassador. "Besides, -I have not the least talent for bigamy; try -Kiderlen-Waechter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would be the right sort, but he is nearly as -old as you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once more Extase's flank squeezed Phili. -"I've got it," Wilhelm exclaimed suddenly. -"When you get back home, browse for an hour -or two on your card index, picking out the most -desirable and up-to-date Benedicts in the thirties -or thereabout, preferably men in the diplomatic -service. Got everybody's photo up there, haven't -you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At Your Majesty's service, the whole gallery."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pictures and personalia you'll bring to the -Neues Palais this afternoon, and maybe I will run -over to Essen in the night to show the </span><em class="italics">crème de -votre crème</em><span> to the Baroness. This folly about -Franz must be nipped in the bud, and with a girl -the better and handsomer man does the trick every -time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord wheeled his horse around and -trotted off in the direction of his residence. He -never takes the trouble of telling his riding -companions of his intentions. "Let them keep their -eyes open and do as I do." The Queen herself -fares no better when out riding with him. If her -harness gets out of order or something of that sort, -and she has to dismount, Wilhelm presses on -unconcernedly. "Let the Master of Horse look -after her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phili, arrived at his apartments, had no sooner -got into his dressing-jacket of flowered silk, when -the telephone rang furiously. "I command," -admonished a hard voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Here, Phili, at Your Majesty's service."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you at work on the cards?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Head over heels," lied Phili.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And in this connection—has nothing -occurred to you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The obsequious courtier was in a quandary. -Woe to him if he attempted to be wiser than his -master!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The old story; I have to think of everything," -the War Lord thundered. "Can't you -see you must take your selection of names to -Bülow and pretend to get advice on the candidates -from him? If you don't, he will be offended."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Like the old woman he is," ventured Eulenburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't you criticise </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> Chancellor." There -was a brutal emphasis on the "my," and Phili -stuttered a dozen excuses for his slip of the -tongue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never mind, to work, Prince! It was Louis -XIV. who almost waited on one particular -occasion. Remember, Phili, I don't want to repeat -his experience."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phili rang for Jaroljmek, his secretary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do wish Majesty could get along without -me for a day or two," he said. "More pressing -business. All the young men in the diplomatic -service to be inquired into, liver and kidneys. At -once, of course! Beastly bore unless I may count -on your assistance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, Serene Highness."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have the maids bring in the card index, then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With Highness's permission, I will ask the -butler to help me. It's too heavy for girls."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not at all. Women were put into the world -to wait on such as you and I. The woods are full -of girls, while nice boys are few and far between. -And you vulgarise a high-stepping horse by hard -work."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So two nine-stone girls were ordered to carry -in from an upper storey the great wooden case -weighing a hundredweight, while His Highness -and secretary looked on and, moreover, increased -their task by foolish directions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The smaller legations where I am sending the -unlicked cubs—fellows without an inkling of Greek -art and antique beauty—we'll go through those -first," said the Prince.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I ask Highness the purpose of our -research?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty is trying to find a hubby for—</span><em class="italics">Nomina -sunt odiosa</em><span>. However, you know the party."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rich?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wealthiest girl in the world."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Old Frederick's daughter! I heard some -queer stories about Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Naughty boy!" with an indulgent smile from -Phili. "Well, Majesty wants a Benedict for -Bertha who will paddle the War Lord's canoe -even more enthusiastically than his wife's -baby-carriage."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why doesn't Majesty consult von Treskow -and Kopp?" said the secretary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't mention those rude plebeians."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so the pretty pair went on. They selected -a round dozen should-be aspirants for Bertha's -hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These the Emperor examined later.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Receding chin," announced the War Lord -disdainfully, reviewing the first few while the -friends sipped their China tea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All the ear marks of the wife-beater," he -commented on an attaché accredited to the Court -of St. James's. "That fellow is sure to give -trouble," he commented on photo No. 4. No. 5 -was dismissed with a contemptuous: "Meddlesome -snout." He continued to throw the -photographs on the carpet, but suddenly sat up -straight as a bolt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My man!" he cried. "Get Bülow on the -'phone. No; order Augustus to have an extra -train ready for the Chancellor to leave Potsdamer -Bahnhof in half an hour at the latest."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Court Marshal 'phoned back that a regular -train was leaving at the time prescribed, and that -a saloon carriage might be attached for Count -Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well, but express—Neues Palais first -stop. Now call up Bülow." The War Lord was -continually filling his teacup and absorbing large -quantities of cucumber sandwiches. He had his -mouth full when the red disc annunciator reported -Bülow at the other end, and emptied it with a -gulp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yes—immediately. Most important. Would -not he bring the Princess? His wife would be -delighted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In an hour's time a royal landau and four set -Chancellor von Bülow and his Princess down in -the Sandhof, the War Lord stepping from one of -the tall door-windows of his study on to the terrace -to welcome them, and Countess Brockdorff, Mistress -of the Robes, receiving Her Serene Highness -on Her Majesty's behalf.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Do these august ladies love each other? -Assuredly—after the fashion of Empress Eugenie -and Princess Pauline Metternich. The Princess -thought herself as good as the Empress any day, -and never hesitated to say so, and when on one -occasion Eugenie's tantrums were excused on the -plea that she had an uncle in the strait-jacket, -Pauline quickly responded: "There are a few -lunatics in my family too."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So the Princess Camporeale, whose husband -was to be "princed" a few weeks hence, regarded -herself as good as the </span><em class="italics">née</em><span> Schleswig-Holstein, -arguing that the Beccadello were more ancient -than Her Majesty's family. And her Margraviate -of Altavilla was worth more in lires and centimes -than Her Majesty's title of Margravine of -Brandenburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So the Princess Maria told Countess Brockdorff -she could not move until the ladies of her Court -arrived from the station, and the House Marshal -was warned that Her Highness's lackeys must not -be allowed in the palace canteen. German beer -and sausage always upset them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Four exceedingly pretty Italian women came -in the second carriage. "My governess, -Marchesa ——." "My reader, the Countess ——." -"My maids of honour, Contezzina —— and -Baroness ——"—all members of former sovereign -or semi-sovereign houses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow beamed in his animated fashion when he -did not see Eulenburg, whom he rather expected -to find, since he was always where least wanted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what may be Your Majesty's pleasure?" -he asked in his courtly way, when they were alone -in the study.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want your opinion on the husband I've -selected for a certain young lady." The War -Lord had quite forgotten his own admonition to -Phili. "Look!" He laid a hand partly over the -photograph on the table, allowing only the -forehead to be seen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good, capable forehead," observed Bülow; -"something behind that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No obstinacy, I hope," said the War Lord. -Next he let the photograph's eyes be seen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cold, steadfast, may be some disposition for -cruelty," was Bülow's verdict.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A good nose, mouth disdainful, somewhat -high cheekbones—it's von Bohlen und Halbach!" -cried the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To some extent, both officially and -unofficially. Never had any chance to distinguish -himself, but decidedly adaptable, yet not lacking -executive ability, I believe."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord was delighted with the endorsement -his own views received.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look at that chin," he said; "firm isn't the -word for it—bulldog, regular bulldog. He will -lead you the deuce of a dance, Bertha!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the mention of the name the Chancellor -winced perceptibly. "I endorsed his capacity for -business; I know nothing about his personal -character," he ventured, adding: "He must be at -least fifteen years older than Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord consulted Phili's notes. "Old -enough to vote, as they say in the States—to vote -for me, </span><em class="italics">nota bene</em><span>, at directors' meetings. Call up -your office and find out what kind of subordinate -he is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I looked at his papers only the other day. -He seems to give his chief no trouble, carrying -out orders punctually and painstakingly; never -harasses the minister with original suggestions, but -is quite content to do his duty and say naught -about it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is his family good enough?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gentle born," explained the Chancellor; -"father was Baden Minister, mother not of noble -birth—Sophie Bohlen—but she had money, I -believe. The present Councillor of Legation is -university bred, of course, and belongs to the -Guard Hussars, </span><em class="italics">Landwehr, Chef d'escadron</em><span>, says -the army 'Who's Who.' Nevertheless," concluded -the Chancellor in his most persuasive style, -"I don't think him the right sort of husband for -Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Right sort for </span><em class="italics">me</em><span>," cried the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow, conscious that His Majesty at the time -could not afford to quarrel with him, risked a none -too gentle rebuke by disregarding the interruption.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She is so young," he went on, "and, as I -pointed out before, there is the making of a cruel -master in his face. Think of the wealthiest girl -in the world tied to a man who will not let her have -her own way—a sort of drill-sergeant husband. -Your Majesty is too whole-hearted, too generous, -too gallant," he added with a smile, "to impose a -husband of that kind upon your ward."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In response the War Lord dropped the high -falsetto of command which had marked his -interruptions, and said in a more conciliatory tone: -"There is not a man alive against whose choice as -a husband objections may not be marshalled </span><em class="italics">à la -advocatus diaboli</em><span>. Now, for a change, listen to -the </span><em class="italics">advocatus Dei</em><span>, please: It goes without saying -that I have my ward's happiness very much at -heart. Indeed, if she was of my own flesh and -blood, I could not cherish more tender feelings for -her. I love her like one of my own children, and -haven't I accepted Cecile much as I loathe her -mother? But with Bertha it's not a mere matter -of getting married and preserving her unexampled -wealth, if you will——" The War Lord stopped -short, but after a moment's thought continued: -"It will be more public spirited for Bertha to -marry the man of my selection than to imperil the -Fatherland's right arm. Where would we be if -she chose for lord and master one of those -fool-pacifists, some von Suttner milksop, seeing that -without Krupp's loyal co-operation our great war -would go to pot—that even a mere defensive war -would better be avoided."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If Fraulein Krupp or her husband went to -extremes, the State could step in and take over the -Krupp works," objected the Chancellor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And do you suppose that our agents in -Brussels, Lisbon, Rome, the South Americas and -so forth would be allowed to buy guns from the -King of Prussia?" The War Lord answered his -own question with an emphatic "No!" then -suggested slyly:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To sell the enemy war materials is part of our -ante-war programme, is it not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After walking the length and breadth of the -room, he planted himself firmly before Bülow, -whom, by the way, he had not asked to be seated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I command," he said with an air of finality; -"Bohlen is the man. Your own suggestion, you -can't escape from it," he quickly added, when -Bülow protested. "You said the fellow, though -capable, is not self-opinionated—no swelled -head—always obeys orders—in short: adaptable. That -kind of man we need at the head of the Krupp -establishment to do the Fatherland's work according -to my directions—hence Bertha will marry him -and no one else."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, to forestall further arguments: "Let's -join the ladies now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He rang for an orderly. "The Grand Master," -he commanded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Augustus zu Eulenburg had evidently -anticipated that he would be wanted, as he stood -waiting in the Shell Grotto, facing the park. The -walls and ceiling of this gorgeous entrance hall -are clad with semi-precious stones in their natural -growth: mountain-crystal and malachite, coral -trees and amethyst rocks, agate and garnets, gold -and silver ore; presents from royal friends for the -most part.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll leave for Essen to-night. Wire Frau -Krupp to expect me for breakfast. The small -entourage, and warn messieurs my humble servants -not to take too many lackeys. I am tired -of carting their households around."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At Your Majesty's orders." The Marshal -bowed low. Then in a whisper: "Is Phili to be -of the party?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Certainly not," replied the War Lord so -Bülow might hear him. "Report to me later," -he added in an undertone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Later" the following </span><em class="italics">tripotage</em><span> was overheard:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>War Lord: "Phili hasn't left?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is awaiting Your Majesty's further commands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tell him to get ready for Essen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He begs to remind Your Majesty that he is -not in the Baroness's good graces."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Am I not painfully aware of that? She -would prefer the measles to a morning call from -Phili."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then he is to stay on the train while Your -Majesty visits Villa Huegel?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Until I require him. He may be needed -to quicken her ladyship's decision about matters -in hand, as under pressure of his presence she will -consent more readily, just to get your precious -cousin out of the house."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-war-lord-s-day-in-essen"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE WAR LORD'S DAY IN ESSEN</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Krupp Free Hotel—The War Lord and the -Cinder—Bertha's Little Surprise—The Blue Ribbon -of the Son—A Mad Idea—The War Lord Apes the -Expert—Enter the Pawn—A Wily Game—Disposing -of Franz</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"A wonderful country, the United States," said -the War Lord to Chief-Engineer Franz; "it -produced two Maxims. The British War Office -captured Hiram, but there is another, Hudson, -who seems to know as much about explosives and -guns as his more celebrated namesake. I want -you to take a year's leave and study him—him and -Pittsburgh. Your salary goes on, of course, and -there will be a suitable allowance for expense. I -will arrange this with the Director-General."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Franz bowed his thanks, for Wilhelm, big with -his subject, showed plainly that he meant to do -all the talking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hudson Maxim," he continued, "claims -priority as inventor of half a hundred discoveries -that would seem to spell success in war. He knows -a lot about dynamite, torpedoes, and detonating -fuses too, and is great in chemistry. Try and learn -all he knows by fair means or—foul," he added. -Then, musingly:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have lately looked into some recipes -suggesting chemical preparations for means of attack. The -War Office will furnish details. Consult Hudson -Maxim and other American authorities on the -subject, using the utmost discretion, of course, for I -don't quite trust those Yankees. They manage -to cover up their British sympathies, but I have -had a peep or two beneath the surface. I know -Armour." His mind took a sudden leap. "How -soon will you start?" he demanded. "Do you -want a week's time? Very well."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty, Frau Krupp -invited me to accompany herself and daughters -on their jaunt—sort of </span><em class="italics">maréchal de logis</em><span>——" -ventured Franz.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Duty, sir! Fatherland first. Tuesday's -French liner, then; and don't fail to investigate -whether steamers of this class are liable to be of -use as auxiliary vessels in case of war. Ballin and -the Norddeutscher Lloyd people pronounce them -veritable men-of-war. But, to my mind, Ballin -and Company are after subsidies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus was Franz politely requested and cruelly -coerced to leave Villa Huegel. It was on the eve -of the day after the interview between War Lord -and Chancellor. Events had moved swiftly since -then.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A comfortable night on Majesty's train </span><em class="italics">de -luxe</em><span>, preceded by a variety performance by Phili -Eulenburg, star impersonator.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Breakfast, 9 A.M., at the Krupp villa, better -and more plentiful than at home.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A drive next? No; Uncle Majesty would not -allow Bertha to handle the ribbons of the four-in-hand. -Never doubted her ability, of course—yet -that experience of his at Count Dohna's. No -amateurs on the box for him. "His little girl was -to sit by his side," and they were to discuss "grave -business matters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm, who always looks for chances to -combine business with pleasure, asked to be driven -to the </span><em class="italics">Essener Hof</em><span>, a hotel in the city of Essen -proper, where intending buyers of guns and -ammunition are lodged, and, it may be added, wined and -feasted at the War Lady's expense. Be sure that -the Krupp hostelry is never lacking in guests -pretending to be unsatisfied with the tests of war -material conducted for their benefit as long as there -is the slightest excuse for delay in going home, -since, once satisfied, they must buy, and, the deal -concluded, give up their comfortable apartments -at the </span><em class="italics">Hof</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm left half a dozen of his large, ugly -visiting-cards at the door of the hotel for the Jap, -Chinese, Turkish and other representatives, -bending down the lower right-hand corner of the -pasteboards to indicate his regrets that he had failed to -find the gentlemen in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If any of them attempt to pay me a return -visit, I shall put them under 'old Fritz' and -pulverise their yellow bones," he said to Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But before they had finished laughing at the -piece of raillery the War Lord uttered a cry of -anguish. An infinitesimal cinder or a bit of soot -had got into his left ear, causing him the most -excruciating pains.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Home," he gasped piteously. "Let's pick -up a physician on the way." (For some reason or -other no doctor was included in the small Imperial -party.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Shrader was dumbfounded when the royal -chasseur, in feather hat, broadsword at his side, -summoned him. "My consulting hour; dozens of -people waiting," he protested. The chasseur bent -over the doctor's ear and whispered, whereupon -Shrader ran into the street in his dressing-gown, -apparently to interview the gutter, for, in his -anxiety to pacify the War Lord with stammered -excuses, his nose was close to the stream of mucky -water running down the hill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Naturally, the humour of the thing did not -appeal to Wilhelm, racked with pain as he was. -He rose from the seat, and, pushing the obsequious -doctor aside, jumped up the steps, saying: -"Attend me, I command." Of course, in the -meanwhile the doctor's household had got wind of -the royal radiance, and flocked from parlour, -bedrooms and scullery, males and females and children, -all eager to prostrate themselves in hall or on -staircases, wherever they might be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord turned to Shrader: "Send -them upstairs; lock them in if necessary." And, -with a look through the glass door of the -waiting-room: "These people must leave instantly; I -won't be their </span><em class="italics">Grossebeest</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He let himself drop into the doctor's ample -desk-chair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The ear-pump and antiseptics!" he commanded -with a cry of pain. Then, as the doctor -approached with the instruments: "Oh, take off -that dirty dressing-gown first. Roll up your -sleeves. Wash your hands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>More insulting orders were thundered at the -man of science by a supposed gentleman, but their -execution gave Shrader time to recover.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He handled the ear-pump with consummate -ease, as he happened to be a specialist in the line, -and soon had the satisfaction of showing the War -Lord the annoying fragment of cinder which his -skill had discovered and extracted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty, it would be well -to clear all the passages by blowing air through -them," he humbly suggested.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do all that's necessary, doctor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Shrader produced another instrument fitted -with a spiral trumpet and a long rubber tube, and -went to work vigorously. By the time the War -Lord was ready to leave the doctor laid down his -microscope: "I congratulate Your Majesty; no -evidence of putrefaction, hence no gangrenous -inflammation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who said there was?" demanded the War -Lord severely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I meant to submit to Your Majesty that the -ear will give no further trouble."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's better," said Wilhelm in a pleasant -voice. He strode through the hall at such a pace -that the chasseur had hardly time to open the door -for him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The street was black with people. "Hochs!" -resounded from a thousand throats, basso, tenor, -soprano, what not. A good many people had -been talking to Bertha—all at once, of course. -"Prating of their misfortunes—the usual racket," -suggested the War Lord, with a look of contempt, -as he sat down beside the heiress. And when the -carriage was clear of the mob he added: "You -ought to have walked the horses up and down in -the neighbourhood while I was with the doctor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought of that, likewise that the carriage -might not have been on hand when you wanted -to start, Uncle Majesty. You told me the remark -of the French king: 'I almost waited,'" replied -Fraulein Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dr. Shrader had indeed relieved the Majesty, -who felt fresh and buoyant after the invigorating -ride over the hills and along the shooting-ranges. -The latter, while fully manned, were silent, for the -chasseur had telephoned to Count Helmuth von -Moltke, and the adjutant had countermanded all -trial practice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let's look at 'old Fritz' again," said the -War Lord, after refreshments. Unlike Charles V., -the War Lord is never awakened during the night -to swallow some favourite dish, but five meals a -day are his rule, and to revive his animal spirits he -takes a number of raw eggs in a glass of cognac -after the slightest exertion, when at home, i.e. at -his own expense, while more substantial and -elaborate provision is expected at friends' houses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At Villa Huegel he is never disappointed. Even -if he brought those "forty scientist friends" he -once imposed upon Dom Carlos of Portugal, poor -man!—indeed, even if he asked Frau Krupp to -lodge and feed a whole regiment of gold-laced -or fringe-trousered nobodies or impostors, there -would be the most generous response on her part -and no questions asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When I heard you were coming, Uncle -Majesty, I planned a little surprise," said Bertha, -when showing the War Lord a short cut to "old -Fritz's" habitat. She led the way to a section -of the armour-plate department, whose employés -burst into feverish activity at their approach. No -doubt they were expected.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Eighty tons," said Bertha, pointing towards -the huge crucible steel block being placed under a -giant hydraulic press.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How will you move a cannon of that size?" -queried the War Lord, who is liable to get his -figures mixed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it is not going to be a cannon, Uncle -Majesty," explained the mistress of the works.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are going to roll it out into an armour-plate -for Chimborazo, then?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Once more Uncle Majesty is pleased to be -mistaken."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe it's a statue of England's lord high -admiral you are making?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Burning," said the smiling Bertha; "it has -something to do with the sea."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was more guessing and repartee during -the first half of the thirty minutes required to coax -and squeeze and handle and form the block and -drag its slow length along—150 feet of it. Seeing -that, the War Lord no longer could master his -curiosity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is it to be, Bertha?" he asked in a tone -that would not be denied, and the wonder is that -he did not add the polite: "I command!" of -average Prussian bully ship.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The shaft of a big steamer, Uncle Majesty; -the biggest——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know, I know," shouted the War Lord -above the din of machinery, "for Ballin. Wants -to snatch the speed record from Bremen. Fetch -the superintendent, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To the official, who was undecided whether he -ought to drop dead with devotion or burst with -pride, he said in the tone of an ancient Father of -the Church: "Work of the utmost importance is -entrusted to you—in a measure you are the -guardian of the Fatherland's supremacy at sea. -England is building a giant steamship to steal our -speed record. Her new ocean greyhound is to be -ready for passenger service in 1907. Pray to God -fervently, asking Him to grant you success that -you may help to defeat the enemy of German -commerce and our development as a sea power. -To assist in taking the blue ribbon of sea power -away from Great Britain should be the aim of all -good Germans, even as it is your War Lord's duty -to secure for the Fatherland the ocean coast-lines -she needs." He dismissed the man with a wave of -the hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is interesting to note here that this speech -was delivered a month before Wilhelm met King -Edward at Wilhelmshohe to spout "his sincere -wishes for a frank understanding with Great -Britain" and for the "desirability of common -action" where German or British interests were -involved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the shaft had been completed, a -towering, solid mass, and the War Lord, walking -round it, remarked admiringly: "Fine, looks as -if come out of Vulcan's own smithy. What -next?" he added, with his customary impatience.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young girl was anxious to show her -familiarity with the business. Had she not -undergone much coaching by Franz for this very reason?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Extracting the kernel," she answered, with -an air of superiority.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I should like to see the removal of the -kernel," ordered the War Lord, as if the idea were -original with him. Bertha pulled his sleeve and -whispered again, after which Wilhelm admonished -the superintendent: "Take care that it comes out -in one piece."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No doubt the man would have died of mortification -if the well-known "cussedness" of -"inanimate objects" had played him a trick; but, -luckily for him, it refrained, which encourages the -thought that the supposed "inanimation" is not -quite so hopeless after all. Maybe in this case the -"inanimate object" was intent upon beating the -War Lord out of a chance to scold and air his views -on mechanics.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Any more novelties?" asked Wilhelm, disappointed -because the machinery worked to perfection.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The hydraulic shears are busy in the next -shop," said Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There the War Lord saw sections of armour-plates -for one of his Dreadnoughts cut as if they -were so many enormous Swiss cheeses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Some fine day," he commented, "we will -mount one of these shears on the Calais coast, and -next to it a giant magnet." He paused, -contemplating the picture of his imagination.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, yes, Uncle Majesty!" cried the eager Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The magnet," continued the War Lord, -"will pull the English Dreadnought fleet out of -the Channel, and toss ship after ship over into the -jaws of the shears to be made mincemeat of. -Fine heap of scrap-iron for you, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But the sailors!" cried the young girl.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori</em><span>," -declared the War Lord, shrugging.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next they looked at some enormous presses -capable of bending armour-plates to any shape -desired. This amused the Majesty hugely. He -likes to bend men and things.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Any shape desired?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Any Your Majesty will be pleased to command."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well. Model one on the left half of my -moustache."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The supervisor shouted orders and the -machinery stopped for a little while, then turned -out the desired shape with photographic accuracy. -But the War Lord would not have it: "The -point's missing," he declared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I leave it to Fraulein," murmured the superintendent, -wincing under the rebuke. And with -the vivacity and carelessness of youth Bertha -divined the situation, and instantly came to her -employé's rescue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Herr Grier is right; Your Majesty's moustaches -are not trimmed alike. The left one is much -shorter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm put his hand up to his cheek. "So -it is," he admitted grudgingly. "I remember I -set fire to it last night on the train lighting a -cigarette." This was addressed to Bertha. He -was too small a person to excuse his rudeness to -the superintendent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There is a ninety-ton block of steel making. -Would Uncle Majesty like to see how it's done?" -said Bertha, on the way back to Villa Huegel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ninety tons! What a cannon that would -make! Of course I would like to see it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha led the way to the crucible works, where -at that moment fifty pairs of workers were engaged -in carrying about on long bars white-hot crucibles -of metal. They were acting with the utmost -precision, and one shudders to think of the wounds -and mutilation that would have ensued had either -one of them stumbled or been seized by sudden -illness. As each couple of men advanced and tilted -the glowing mass into the mould, the War Lord -observed:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Much too long-winded and laborious. I will -talk to the Director-General about that, Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And, turning to the supervisor, he demanded -curtly: "The composition of the mixture?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The man bowed to the ground to hide his -confusion, and once more Bertha jumped into the -breach.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He doesn't know—nor do I. Secret formula -of Grandfather Frederick. Don't press him, -Uncle Majesty, for even to speculate on these -technicalities means dismissal and disgrace for an -employé." Though she spoke in a pleading tone -of voice, the War Lord continued to frown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps he is allowed to explain why no -shorter process is used."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The supervisor fairly beamed with readiness -and satisfaction. "May it please Your Majesty, -our way—I beg Fraulein's pardon, the Krupp -way—is the only absolutely sure method to forestall -bubbles and flaws."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And a flaw, is it a serious matter?" asked the -War Lord, very much alert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed, Your Majesty, for it may cause the -shattering of a shaft, the breakdown of machinery, -the bursting of cannon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And all cannon turned out by the works have -the benefit of this process?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All without exception, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A bystander says he heard the War Lord -mutter under his breath: "What rot!" And -there is a further report that he burst into the -Director-General's room, and roared: "Fine -kettle of fish I discovered. Guarding against -flaws in cannon intended for enemy countries! -Why not turn over to France and England -and Russia all the secret plans of the German -War Office?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But no authoritative record of Wilhelm's sayings -relating to this particular point has been -obtainable. As a matter of fact, it isn't worth the -pains of special research. It is to be noted, -however, that after the Turkish defeat at Lule Burgas -and Kirk Kilisse Bertha's husband was moved to -say that the stories about the "inefficiency of -Krupp guns and Krupp workmanship" were -"fables," and that he was ready at any time "to -take the field against all comers with Krupp guns -and Krupp armour."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After tea the War Lord had a long, serious -talk with Frau Krupp. Happily her ladyship had -been mistaken. Bertha was not actually in love -with Franz; just a sort of sisterly attachment, -momentarily intensified by girlish longings. So -much the better, since the right sort of husband -for his ward had been found: Doctor von Bohlen -und Halbach, the young diplomat, distinguished, -well-bred, sound business head and ambitious. -"Highest ambition to serve his king."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Supposing Your Majesty understood Bertha -correctly with respect to Franz, her change of -heart does not mean that she will fall in love with -Your Majesty's candidate for her hand," said -Frau Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Preparing to jump," thought Wilhelm; "I -wish Phili were here." And as accident would -have it, His Highness was announced that very -moment. Eulenburg, or Hohenzollern luck?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness opened her mouth to deny herself -to the visitor on the plea of unavoidable -business, but Wilhelm got ahead of her. "The -Prince is most welcome," he said to the major-domo.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is no denying that His Highness, ten -or more years ago, was a striking personality and -had a peculiar charm. As Murat knew more about -the art of dressing than Napoleon, so Eulenburg -overshadowed Wilhelm as a glass of fashion, avoiding -the latter's all-too-apparent striving for effect -and pretence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Despite their close relations, he greeted Wilhelm -without a trace of familiarity and kissed Frau -Krupp's hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just in time," cried the War Lord. "I was -telling the Baroness about the Chancellor's young -friend, von Bohlen. Bülow told me he would ask -you to allow him sight of your records concerning -the diplomat. Was he satisfied? Tell us all you -know about Bohlen?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That he was well aware of Frau Krupp's loathing -for him need not be reiterated, and that in her -ladyship's eyes praise from Sir Phili spelt the worst -of condemnation for the party approved of he fully -realised, and framed his answer accordingly:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am pained to acknowledge that I have -no personal acquaintance with the young man -who rejoices in the great Pontiff's love and -friendship——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have Pius's own opinion," cried the -War Lord. His astonishment was equalled only -by his appreciation of the lie told.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At Your Majesty's service—through the -kindness of the papal legate. When Majesty -commissioned me to get reliable information about -our foreign representatives, I went to -headquarters—may it please Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It pleases me immensely. What did the -Pontiff say?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Exemplary habits, God-fearing, able and -ambitious—these few words sum up the Holy -Father's estimate of Bohlen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you hear that?" asked Wilhelm, addressing -Frau Krupp. "We will get the details from -Bülow." And turning to Phili, he said: "You -wanted to meet my ward. I will summon her, -and she shall show you over the house and grounds. -Beats Liebenberg," he added in an undertone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phili beamed. "His Majesty is joking," he -said to Frau Krupp. "To compare my poor -Tusculum to Villa Huegel and surroundings is to put -my Skalde songs next to the immortal ballads of -Beranger."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp dared not object to Wilhelm's -arrangements. She played into the War Lord's -hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will meet you and His Highness at the -fountain in five minutes," she told Bertha—a -welcome cue to Uncle Majesty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aside from the Pope's estimate, does the -Chancellor himself approve of Herr von Bohlen?" -asked Frau Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Enthusiastically. Bohlen's record in Washington -and in Peking equalled his success at the -Holy See. </span><em class="italics">Gnädige Frau</em><span>," added Wilhelm in a -tone of conviction, "let's hope that the estimable -young man's heart is still free. I have no doubt -that he would be a </span><em class="italics">dieu-donné</em><span> to Bertha, yourself -and—Essen."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Your Majesty desires me to broach the -matter to my daughter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is </span><em class="italics">gnädige Frau</em><span> thinking of? Do you -suppose I would have wooed Augusta if I had -known that Bismarck wanted me to marry her? -No, no; matters of that kind must be left to -accident, or apparent accident. This is the time for -diplomatic furloughs. Tell me where you want -to take the girls on their holiday, and I will have -your son-in-law-to-be introduced quite casually. -Bülow will manage."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha spoke of having another look into -Rome before the hot season," said the Baroness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fate," cried Wilhelm (if he was a Catholic -he would have crossed himself). "God's will," he -corrected his lapsus </span><em class="italics">linguæ</em><span>. "Herr von Bohlen -und Halbach will be ordered not to leave his post -until further notice. When you are in Rome he -will present himself with Bülow's compliments, -offering to act as my ward's cicerone. This will -give you abundant opportunity for intimate -observation and Bertha a chance to fall in love if -she cares.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All's arranged, then," he added in the finality -vein peculiar to his nature, when he kissed Frau -Krupp's hand at the door, which he had opened -for her. In the Teuton Majesty's eye this was a -great and almost overpowering act of condescension; -the twentieth-century Prussian-en-chef rather -prides himself on such mannerisms, fondly mistaking -them for dignity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well satisfied with the success of his stratagem, -Wilhelm rang for his adjutant and dictated to him -a long dispatch to the Chancellor, giving a -well-coloured version of the interview with Frau Krupp -and instructing Count Bülow how to answer the -lady's forthcoming inquiries.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The holiest of the holies, of course," ordered -Wilhelm, referring to the telegraphic code. "I -don't trust these Essen fellows," he deigned to -explain; "the Chasseur shall take the message to -Düsseldorf and personally hand it to the President -to be sent over the official wire."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Afterwards he joined the ladies and Phili, -finishing up the day's strenuous work of intrigue -and sight-seeing with the talk to Franz, recorded -at the opening of this chapter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just before leaving Villa Huegel he had -another </span><em class="italics">tête-à-tête</em><span> with Frau Krupp. "I have -conferred signal honours on your protégé" (meaning -the chief engineer), he said. "I am sending -him to the States to study new inventions and -investigate patents relating to war materials—greatest -chance that ever came to a young man. -If he does as well as I expect, I will make him -special representative of my General Staff. Is -your Ladyship satisfied now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp breathed her humblest thanks. -What else could she do?</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-royal-liar"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXV</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A ROYAL LIAR</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>High-Placed Plagiarists—Diplomatic Trickery—The -Kaiser Whitewashes Himself—"What of the -German Navy?"—Clumsy Espionage</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">October 10th</em><span>, 1905, 6 </span><em class="italics">p.m.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The red disc betraying the War Lord's presence -at the other end of the wire thrust itself between -the Chancellor's eyes and the copy of </span><em class="italics">Echo de -Paris</em><span> he was reading.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I command Bohlen," said Wilhelm's impatient voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am afraid he is not available just now, Your -Majesty. Gone shopping with his fiancée the last -I heard."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Order Wedell to find him. He shall be at -the Chancellery at nine sharp, when I expect to -find you too, Prince."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Gracing my wife's soirée?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Soirée to-night? Excellent! I will order -all my boys to kiss Madame's hand. It will put -her into good humour, and she will the more -readily allow you to attend to business."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And, Majesty," said Bülow, hopefully, "the -Princess Maria is counting on having the honour -of Your Majesty's presence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will send the insignia of </span><em class="italics">dell' Annunciata</em><span> -instead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg Your Majesty, don't. Maria might -not remember that Charles XII. sent his boots to -preside at the Swedish Council of State."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As before remarked, it is one of Bülow's tricks -always to have on the tip of his tongue some -historic </span><em class="italics">bon mot</em><span> suitable to the occasion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was an outburst of rough laughter. -"He did, did he? And yet they called him the -Madman of the North. Next time Herr Bebel has -a congress, I will send the Reds a pair of my riding -breeches, and no new ones either. But </span><em class="italics">revenons à</em><span> -Bohlen. Devil of a chap! Made Bertha his -goods, his chattel, his stuff, his field, his barn, his -horse, his ox, his ass, his everything! That's the -way! Make them eat out of your hand, Prince!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow was a Prince since the 6th of June, and -the War Lord never tired of calling him by the -title of his own creation. He had just borrowed -boldly from the Bard, and the theft being -apparently undiscovered by his literary Chancellor, -Wilhelm felt justified in relaxing his imperious mien -some more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't you prescribe a dose of sleeping sickness -for that fool Liebert? His shouting about -'our war' to obtain supreme sea power is -co-responsible for the </span><em class="italics">Entente Cordiale</em><span>. Of course I -like to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, -but in his Navy League speech Liebert went too -far. If he keeps it up, I shall put him on half-pay. -Tell him so." (The War Lord referred to General -von Liebert, ex-Governor of German East Africa, -who had made a speech threatening Great Britain -and France.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And more talk of that kind. The more gossipy, -the better for Bülow, as there had been no -time to digest the </span><em class="italics">Echo de Paris</em><span> article and to -enter into its discussion before he had fully made -up his mind what to say about the reported -Anglo-Franco-Russo-Japanese Alliance. His comments -might lead to serious dissension with Majesty, for -Wilhelm was sure to fasten on to some supposed -negligible point in the Chancellor's argument to -distort the whole tenor of his interpretation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tit for tat. Only when Bülow was the victim, -there was no prearrangement like in the case of the -repudiations of the Joseph Chamberlain and the -London </span><em class="italics">Daily Telegraph</em><span> interviews.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When in England five years before, the War -Lord had prompted Mr. Chamberlain to make his -historic appeal in favour of co-operation between -Great Britain, Germany and the United States, -assuring him that Germany's future policy would -rest on such an understanding as on a </span><em class="italics">roche de -bronze</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Chamberlain, being under the impression -that only gentlemen were invited to Sandringham -House, thought His Majesty sincere and gave -public utterance to the message, promising peace -and mutual understanding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the </span><em class="italics">Roi de Prusse</em><span> had no sooner shaken -the dust of England from his boots than Bülow -was ordered to repudiate the whole thing (without -directly impugning his Sovereign's word, of -course) and to ridicule Chamberlain's "Utopian -schemes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Notwithstanding, the then German Ambassador -in London, Count Wolff-Metternich, later had -the impudence to complain to Sir F. Lascelles, -British representative in Berlin, that the state of -English opinion toward Germany and the British -Foreign Office's coldness toward the Wilhelmstrasse -gave him considerable uneasiness; whereupon -Sir Lascelles demanded to know whether -Germany expected British Secretaries of State, -having been struck in the face, were to turn the -other cheek for further castigation and insult?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three years after the birth of the Quadruple -Alliance, at which we are now assisting, the War -Lord and his Chancellor had another repudiation -game between them. Mr. Harcourt having -prepared the way in his amazing Lancashire speech,[#] -Wilhelm strove to outdo the Father of Lies in the -notorious </span><em class="italics">Daily Telegraph</em><span> interview, the general -theme of which was:</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] Mr. Harcourt's speech in Lancashire, October, 1908: "I wil -not offer to other nations the temptation which would be afforded -by a defenceless England, but let me assure you ... there has not -been any period in the last ten or fifteen years—and I speak with -knowledge and a sense of deep responsibility—in which our relations -with Germany—commercial, colonial, political, and dynastic—have -been on a firmer and more friendly footing than they are to-day.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">"Our rivalries are only in trade and education, and though I should -claim for us the supremacy of the former, I would yield to Germany -the palm for perfection in the latter; but of personal animosity there -is none between the rulers, the Governments, or the peoples. And -if in either country there is a small class of publicists who, for selfish -and unpatriotic ends, desire to set the nations at variance—well, they -are the footpads of politics and the enemies of the human race."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"You English are mad, mad—mad as March -hares. What has come over you that you are so -completely given over to suspicions quite unworthy -of a great nation? What more can I do than I -have done? I declared with all the emphasis at -my command, in my speech at Guildhall, that -my heart is set upon peace, and that it is one of -my dearest wishes to live on the best of terms with -England. Have I ever been false to my word? -Falsehood and prevarication are alien to my nature.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My actions ought to speak for themselves, -but you listen, not to them, but to those who -misinterpret and distort them. That is a personal -insult which I feel and resent. To be for ever -misjudged, to have my repeated offers of -friendship weighed and scrutinised with jealous, -mistrustful eyes, taxes my patience severely. I have -said time after time that I am a friend of England, -and your Press—or, at least, a considerable section -of it—bids the people of England refuse my -proffered hand, and insinuates that the other holds -a dagger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I repeat that I am the friend of England, but -you make things difficult for me. My task is not -of the easiest. The prevailing sentiment of large -sections of the middle and the lower classes of my -country is not friendly to England. I am -therefore, so to speak, in a minority in my own land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is commonly believed in England that -throughout the South African War Germany was -hostile to her. German opinion undoubtedly was -hostile—bitterly hostile. The Press was hostile; -private opinion was hostile. But what of official -Germany? Let my critics ask themselves what -brought to a sudden stop, and indeed caused the -absolute collapse of the European tour of the Boer -delegates who were striving to obtain European -intervention? They were fêted in Holland; -France gave them a rapturous welcome. They -wished to come to Berlin where the German people -would have crowned them with flowers. But when -they asked me to receive them I refused. The -agitation immediately died away, and the -delegation returned empty-handed. Was that, I ask, -the action of a secret enemy?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Again, when the struggle was at its height, -the German Government was invited by the -Governments of France and Russia to join with -them in calling upon England to put an end to the -war. The moment had come, they said, not only -to save the Boer Republics, but also to humiliate -England to the dust. What was my reply? I -said that, so far from Germany joining in any -concerted European action to put pressure upon -England and bring about her downfall, Germany would -always keep aloof from politics that could bring her -into complications with a Sea Power like England.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Posterity will one day read the exact terms -of the telegram—now in the archives at Windsor -Castle—in which I informed the Sovereign of -England of the answer I had returned to the Powers -which then sought to compass her fall. Englishmen -who now insult me by doubting my word -should know what were my actions in the hour of -their adversity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor was that all. Just at the time of your -Black Week, in December of 1899, when disasters -followed one another in rapid succession, I received -a letter from Queen Victoria, my revered -grandmother, written in sorrow and affliction, and -bearing manifest traces of the anxieties which were -preying upon her mind and health. I at once -returned a sympathetic reply. Nay, I did more. -I bade one of my officers procure for me as exact -an account as he could obtain of the number of -combatants in South Africa on both sides, and of -the actual position of the opposing forces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With the figures before me I worked out -what I considered to be the best plan of campaign -under the circumstances, and submitted it to my -General Staff for their criticism. Then I -dispatched it to England, and that document, -likewise, is among the State papers at Windsor Castle, -awaiting the serenely impartial verdict of history.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And, as a matter of curious coincidence, let -me add, that the plan which I formulated ran very -much on the same lines as that which was actually -adopted by Lord Roberts, and carried by him into -successful operation. Was that, I repeat, the act -of one who wished England ill? Let Englishmen -be just.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you will say, what of the German Navy? -Surely that is a menace to England. Against -whom but England are my squadrons being -prepared? If England is not in the minds of those -Germans who are bent on creating a powerful fleet, -why is Germany asked to consent to such new and -heavy burdens of taxation? My answer is clear. -Germany is a young and growing empire. She has -a world-wide commerce, which is rapidly expanding -and to which the legitimate ambition of -patriotic Germans refuses to assign any bounds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Germany must have a powerful fleet to -protect that commerce and her manifold interests in -even the most distant seas. She expects those -interests to go on growing, and she must be able -to champion them manfully in any quarter of the -globe. Germany looks ahead. Her horizons -stretch far away. She must be prepared for any -eventualities in the Far East. Who can foresee -what may take place in the Pacific in the days to -come, days not so distant as some believe, but days -at any rate for which all European Powers with -Far Eastern interests ought steadily to prepare?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look at the accomplished rise of Japan; -think of the possible national awakening of China; -and then judge of the vast problems of the Pacific. -Only those Powers which have great navies will -be listened to with respect, when the future of the -Pacific comes to be solved; and if for that reason -only, Germany must have a powerful fleet. It may -be that even England herself will be glad that -Germany has a fleet when they speak together on -the same side in the momentous debates of the -future."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the interview set the world guessing, -disputing, imputing and passing the lie freely, -Prince Bülow again disavowed his master, with -His Majesty's consent and at his instigation, of -course, otherwise the fate of Bismarck would have -seemed much too good for the obstreperous -servant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But to return to the 10th of October, 1905, -6 P.M. While the Chancelleries of all Europe were -quaking with deliberations on the Anglo-Russian -</span><em class="italics">rapprochement</em><span> in connection with the -Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the War Lord's chief minister -spent an anxious </span><em class="italics">quart d'heure</em><span> trying to convince -His Majesty that he was not intriguing against one -of the numerous Eulenburg-maggots, fattening in -the public cheese, Limburger brand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Majesty, it seems, was deeply concerned about -a certain titled member of the German Embassy -in London who had befouled his record by -spying. This pretty gentleman attended the Essex -manoeuvres in the fall of 1904, notebook in hand, -and sent elaborate reports, accompanied by -sketches and diagrams, to the Berlin General Staff, -acting the part of Secret Service agent no less -treacherously, but rather more clumsily, than the -German aristocrat who was convicted at Edinburgh -in 1911.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Subsequently, of course, no British Army -officer could afford to know this individual, and -Mayfair, too, showed a decided inclination to cut -dead the </span><em class="italics">chevalier d'espionnage</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite naturally!" Prince Bülow saved himself -by adding: "From the English standpoint."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The telephone fairly "zizzled" as the War -Lord shouted back:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What? Ostracise a man who has done -nothing but his —— duty toward me and the -Fatherland. Intolerable! ——!! He must be -reinstated in clubs and Society. He must be able -to hold up his head in Piccadilly as proudly as -in Unter den Linden. I command it. Speak to -Lascelles about it, and have this boycott ended at -once.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course Bülow promised—with his left hand -on his back, which, as explained, allows a good -German to vow one thing and mean another.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="explaining-the-day"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">EXPLAINING "THE DAY"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The True Wilhelm—The War Lord is Angry—More -Disclosures—Bülow Sums Up—Dreams of Conquest—The -Subjugation of England—Peace Must Wait on War—The -New Big Gun—von Bohlen is Dense</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Prince Bülow emptied a small phial of -double-distilled extract of eau de Cologne on his -handkerchief, for a message from the palace said that the -War Lord's ear trouble had again become acute, -and that, consequently, all windows and doors -must be hermetically shut during his visit at the -Chancellery. Again he was called up. Wilhelm -had dismissed his Chasseur, with a record of twenty -years' faithful service, because the man kept the -carriage door open while he asked whether a -hot-water bag was wanted. "Instanter!" Wouldn't -suffer him to take his place on the box again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pleasant evening in store for us, Herr von -Bohlen," said the Prince to Bertha's fiancé.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He rang for his adjutant. "You would not -like to go back to Brandenburg?" he began -pleasantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor to any other provincial hole, Your Highness," -answered the Baron Reiff, clicking his heels -together.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In that case see that His Majesty does not -complain of draughts while here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The adjutant raised a hand to his left ear. -Bülow nodded. "I will have to hold you responsible, -Reiff," he said in tones of unwonted severity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chancellor's palace was </span><em class="italics">en fête</em><span>. The -brilliantly lit corridors and stairs were alive with -guests, eager to pay homage to Princess Maria: -Scions of Royalty and mere beggar counts, as the -great Frederick used to style poor nobles; masters -of statecraft and prima donnas; generals and -blue-blooded cornets, courtiers and members of the -hierarchy. And as many lackeys in blue and silver as -visitors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Most of the guests longed for sight of the -Chancellor, and would have given much to have a peep -at the room where Bismarck bullied and ruled -Europe, but the glass doors leading to the grand -garden salon were guarded inside and out by Secret -Service men, while Baron Reiff flitted to and fro, -scrutinising faces and keeping an eye on everybody.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the grand salon of the Bel Etage, Enrico -Caruso was exchanging notes of purity for the -immaculate ones of the Bank of England, when the -siren of the royal automobile cried shame on Verdi. -Three blasts and a half. Her Highness's master of -ceremony, at the foot of the staircase, rapped -frantically; the doorkeeper rushed forward with an -enormous umbrella, though the sky was clear; -Baron Reiff looked daggers, and conversation was -cut as by the executioner's axe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Narrow lips frozen together under a carroty-greyish -moustache with points threatening the -white of his eyes; face a dead yellow; a masterful, -defiant chin thrust forward; eyes flashing, but dark -of aspect in general appearance despite his white, -red and silver accoutrements, the War Lord strode -into the Chancellor's room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked so stony, a stranger both to joy and -pity, that Herr von Bohlen told Bertha afterwards -that the War Lord seemed, to him, like a man -whose veins were clogged with salt and clay instead -of running warm blood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A stiff, mechanical salute, squaring of -shoulders, inflating of chest, pecking at the two -men, who nearly bent double. Wilhelm acted as -if his spine were paralysed. No graven image of -his own design appears stiffer, more jointless. -Somebody has likened him to a coloured plate out -of a book of etiquette. He certainly looked it, for -etiquette taboos smiles, real courtesy, humanity -itself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While his eyes swept the room, the silver -helmet came crashing down on a table. He would -have given much to discover reasons for complaint, -and Prince Bülow's precautions against draughts -discomforted him more than his negligence would -have done; it robbed him of the chance for flying -into a passion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Pretty goings on at Downing Street and -Quai d'Orsay," he snarled. "Yesterday it was -Kiau-chau. To-day it's German Belgium and -Northern France they ask. Any additional insults -since then?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All the dispatches are in Your Majesty's -hands," replied the Chancellor, looking -significantly at Herr von Bohlen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Report." If the Lord of Statecraft and -gentleman born and bred, Chancellor and Prince, -had been a thieving valet, Wilhelm could not have -spoken with more contemptuous severity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Will Your Majesty be pleased to be seated?" This -with another questioning look at Bertha's -fiancé. Prince von Bülow had more than a little -respect for the dignity of his office.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Without reserve," muttered the War Lord, -dropping into an arm-chair. "I want him to -know, and knowing, to understand the imperativeness -of his duties as head of the Krupp works. -Report, sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chancellor, who wore Hussar uniform with -the insignia of Major-General and more decorations -than the most beloved of cotillon favourites -at 2 A.M., bowed ceremoniously, then stood bolt -upright and somewhat constrainedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty," he began, -weighing a parcel of dispatches in his hand, but not -looking at them. "The Paris disclosures just -made seem to be the direct outcome of the -friendly understanding between Great Britain and -France——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The abortion called </span><em class="italics">Entente Cordiale</em><span>," -interrupted the War Lord—a red rag to a bull -already wounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chancellor continued: "The British -assume that we are planning the destruction of -France, and, that accomplished, the invasion of -England. British statesmen recognise that the -French army is no match for ours, that even with -the assistance of the English Yeomanry——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miserable hirelings, whom the German Boers -thrashed four years in succession," cried Wilhelm, -rising and stamping his foot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Even with their assistance Germany would -remain supreme on land," resumed Prince Bülow. -"Hence Quai d'Orsay's overtures to Downing -Street: Paralyse German land supremacy by -supremacy on sea, and——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Steal my colonies, that's their game," thundered -the War Lord, addressing Bohlen. "Do -you know what that means, sir? That the -Hohenzollern wouldn't have a stone to lay his head on -when the Reds have their way. To me colonies are -entailed estates, on which to fall back when the -civil list at home fails us. Suppose Germany—which -God forbid—turned republic. Off we are to -Africa like a shot, there to await our chance to -return at the proper time. And there won't be -any doffing the chapeau to the mob if we do come -back, I warrant you."[#]</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] In March, 1848, Frederick Wilhelm IV., Wilhelm's grand-uncle, -was ordered by the Berlin revolutionists to come out on the balcony -and to salute when the victims of his soldiery were carried past the -castle. He bowed obsequiously—an act that is gall and wormwood -to the War Lord. Hence it is permissible in the Fatherland to call -Frederick Wilhelm IV. an ass—no more or less. An editor who called -him a mouse-coloured ass got three months for his pains.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"It must be conceded, though," said the Chancellor, -with a conciliatory smile, "that the British -are profoundly pacific and that there is no itch for -war in the Island Kingdoms. If ever there was, -it lies buried somewhere on the African veld. -Neither is France likely to provoke war."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She knows better," cried Wilhelm. "French -women don't want children."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So much for the </span><em class="italics">Entente Cordiale</em><span>," continued -Prince Bülow—the War Lord had sat down -on the edge of a table, swinging his right leg to -and fro—"British statesmanship contending that -Europe needs a strong France, and that a blow -struck at France is a blow aimed at England."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Donnersmarck's talk. If it was not for his -money and his age, I would muzzle the old fool. -But as I told him only the other day, he will be -punished sure enough."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Donnersmarck is a Prince of the War Lord's -creation, better known by his hereditary title of -Count Henckel. The family achieved the lower -grades of nobility at the beginning of the -seventeenth century, and has always been noted for -considerable landed possessions. Prince Guido is one -of the richest men on the Continent, and the King -of Prussia sometimes uses him as a speaking tube, -never scrupling of course to disavow his utterances -when it suits the Majesty-souffleur. In the -disclosures referred to, Donnersmarck and Professor -Schiemann had boldly announced in Paris that, -if France contracted an alliance with England, -Germany would fall upon her, crush her and exact -a staggering indemnity, enough to pay for all -damage the British fleet could possibly do to the -German merchant marine and trade.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These threats were not repudiated at the time -(the latter half of June) and the War Lord had -considered them quite legitimate clubs for -pounding French opinion while the </span><em class="italics">Entente Cordiale -pourparlers</em><span> were on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Professor Schiemann is a publicist, a historian -and a lecturer on military academics. He is -held responsible for some of the misinformation on -historic topics the War Lord frequently betrays in -his public utterances.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We now come to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance," -said Prince Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aiming at Kiau-chau," finished the War Lord grimly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Which Your Majesty's foresight will preserve -for the Fatherland," declaimed Bülow, who -ought to have been a great courtier instead of an -indifferent chancellor. But the War Lord was not -in the mood for compliments. He was out to -smash things.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By Heaven!" he vowed, "I would rather -turn the Pacific and the Yellow Seas into Red -Seas and exterminate those brown devils to the last -than allow a stone to be touched in my glorious -colony of Kiau-chau."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Spoken like an emperor," seconded Bülow. -Then, with a look at the clock: "May it please -Your Majesty, I would submit that our young -friend here must not be misled by the statements -in the Press. I have here a copy of the agreement, -stating clearly that the Alliance becomes operative -only by reason of attack or aggressive action -resulting in war against either England or Japan."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Words, words!" cried the War Lord -contemptuously. "I suppose Herr von Bohlen's -heard of Bismarck's editing of the Ems dispatch! -But proceed."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow cleared his throat before he approached -the momentary </span><em class="italics">cause célèbre</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To-day it is reported from Paris, Tokyo, -London and Petersburg—in the leading journals, -though not officially—that a quadruple alliance is -about to be ratified, terminating once and for all -the seemingly interminable quarrels between Great -Britain and Russia, and drawing each empire's -own ally into close relations with the other: -Britain's ally, Japan, automatically becomes -Russia's ally, while Russia's brother-in-arms, -France, becomes England's, and all four have -agreed to defend either when driven to war by -unprovoked attack."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Four to three," mused the War Lord -gloomily, "and number three as unreliable as a -girl with nerves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty is pleased to forget Turkey."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's an ally without a navy in a conflict -with Great Britain?" demanded Wilhelm. "That -old thief, Abdul, rather invests in Circassian -beauties than cruisers. But" (impatiently) "sum -up, Bülow, sum up!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Prince resumed his lecture: "It is argued -that Japan, being bound to give military support -to Great Britain under certain eventualities, is of -course interested in maintaining amicable relations -between the other three empires and joined as a -logical consequence of her alliance with England."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"England, always England," cried the War -Lord. "Ostertag writes that it was on the advice -of England that the fortifications of Antwerp and -the Meuse were strengthened before and after the -Morocco trouble." (Ostertag, German military -attaché at the Court of St. James's.) "Bohlen," -he continued abruptly, "is there anything in the -situation that is not quite clear to you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Councillor of Legation with the bulldog -jaw and the cruel eyes answered modestly, but -firmly: "May it please Your Majesty, I think I -understand fully."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you also understand what is expected -of you as future head of the Krupp works," quoth -the War Lord, laying his heavy right hand on -Bohlen's shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To obey Your Majesty's instructions and -carry them out as a Prussian officer should."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The only great king Prussia boasts, Frederick, -said on his death-bed: "I am tired of ruling -slaves." His successor would have his Prime -Minister </span><em class="italics">une âme damnée</em><span>, and never tires of telling -about his "great, his inestimable reward" to a -sentinel who murdered a man. The latter was -drunk, German fashion, and did not at once -respond to the sentinel's "Who goes there?" Bang, -bang popped the sentinel's gun, and the -man in mufti was ready for the undertaker.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Next day, while a vile Press was assailing the -soldier," said the War Lord, "I had him called -before the ranks, promoted him, decorated him -and, as a supreme honour, shook him by the -hand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Obey Your Majesty's instructions." The -War Lord, who would tell the Deity what to do, -had expected as much of course, but Bohlen's -evident sincerity, nay, enthusiasm, was not to be -despised, particularly since it outweighed the latent -fear that, after all, Bertha, when of age, might -elect to take the bit between her teeth and make -trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My advice and commands shall never fail -you," said Wilhelm, with the air of a great Lord -conferring £500 for life upon a dustman. "Now -to Germany's aims—the grand future in store for -her under my guidance. When you know my -plans, you will begin to realise the magnitude of -the work expected of Essen—of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"At Your Majesty's orders," saluted von Bohlen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord was too excited to accept the -gilded and crowned arm-chair Bülow offered, -thereby obliging the older man in tight-fitting -accoutrements and high boots to remain standing. -"We must have an adequate seaboard," he poured -forth; "the waters between the English, French -and Belgian coasts and the harbours, fortresses and -towns commanding that area will do for a start. -That means Calais and Dover, Portsmouth and -Boulogne, Antwerp and perhaps Havre, for Germany's -future lies on the water, as I have said time -and again, and those few miles of wet element -circumscribe the focus of the world's trade, which -must be ours by reason of superior military, -scientific and commercial achievements—by our -Kultur."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty orders a further extension of -the Germania shipyards," submitted Bohlen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Everything in time," corrected the War -Lord. "We may lay down ships as fast as our -utmost resources permit, or faster. Still those -confounded English can beat us. A great navy we -will have, of course a greater and a better one even -than the skunks of the London gutter Press credit -my imagination with, but not to be knocked to -bits. We will keep it safe, and at the end of the -war will augment it by the French fleet and the -fleets of the minor countries. Then good-bye for -ever, British Sea Power!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course," continued Wilhelm, "the -French and Belgians will have to be forced before -they recognise my claims to those parts of their -territory that formerly belonged to Germany. -Flanders is German to the core, Liége and -Limburg provinces were never anything but German, -while the southern half of the Netherlands -belonged to Germany since Charles the Fat, even as -Alsace and Lorraine. Franche Comté is German -of course, and Toul and Verdun were once German -Free Cities like Metz."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As he dilated on his claims the War Lord -grabbed a walking-stick leaning against von -Bülow's desk, and tapped and stabbed at the map -of Europe on the wall, puncturing and piercing it -in places he particularly coveted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Montbeliard," he continued, "is Moempelgard, -an old-time apanage of Würtemberg. My -title to the principality of Orange is more -legitimate than King Edward's as Emperor of India, -and who will deny that Bourgogne is German -Burgund, and that the original Burgunders came from -the Mark and West Prussia? Not to have inserted -Duc de Bourgogne in the grand title of the </span><em class="italics">roi de -Prusse</em><span> is a mistake, for which its maker ought to -be kicked."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had nearly ruined the map, when his fury -changed to an attitude of calm deliberation. With -an air of magnanimity, he said: "However, as to -France, I am willing to exchange these inland -territories for the coast departments, from Dieppe -to Dunkirk, provided we do not find it necessary, -from a strategic standpoint, to annex Havre too."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He paused, and von Bülow tried to curry favour -by suggesting: "Your Majesty intends the -absolute conquest of France?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As a preliminary to the subjugation of -England," said the War Lord solemnly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am half-English myself," he continued, -"and have no illusions whatever as to Great -Britain's submission. After our victory the -Wilhelmstrasse and Downing Street will have to enter -into a gentleman's agreement: Myself, Admiral -of the Atlantic; the United Kingdom to retain -home-rule; Germany to be confirmed in the -possession of the whole Continental shore of the -Straits of Dover and in that of the French and -Belgian Colonies; we, on the other hand, to -guarantee England's occupation of India.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now to the part Essen will play in the -coming upheaval."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm was facing von Bohlen, and took hold -of a button of his silver-braided Hussar jacket, the -button nearest the throat. If he had intended to -throttle Bertha's future husband, his grip and -mien could not have been more menacing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We will probably have less than ten years to -prepare; it's time that you get to work, young -man," he said. "How do you stand with Bertha? -Has she agreed to leave business to you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Everything, according to Your Majesty's -wishes. She promised me only to-day. We have -divided our kingdom. I to be regent of the works -under Your Majesty's guidance; Bertha to devote -herself exclusively to social work and charities."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Approved," said Wilhelm like a schoolmaster -handing out diplomas. "When is the -wedding to be?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty, we fixed on the -second week of October next year."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It doesn't please me a bit. Why lose so -much time postponing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Her ladyship will not have Bertha marry -before her twentieth birthday."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Baroness, of course," cried the War -Lord, with an oath. "When it comes to doing -things, there is always a woman in the way. But -I will thwart her. You shall take virtual, if not -active, control of the Krupp works at once. Your -resignation as my Councillor of Legation is -accepted as from to-day," he added, with a look -at Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Chancellor smiled. "I submit that Herr -von Bohlen is entitled to six months' leave of -absence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Six months for making yourself solid with my -ward, and prepare for the greatest job ever -entrusted to one man," decided the War Lord. -"Now listen:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've already told you that I will hack my way -to Calais and crush France absolutely. Essen's -business, then, is to make all so-called works of -peace wait upon the necessities of war—all, -everything I say. Is that clear?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We are to attend only to orders from the -German General Staff," replied von Bohlen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They come first, of course," said the War -Lord, "but foreign orders for guns and ammunition -must also be attended to if Berlin so advises. -On that point there will be special instructions. -But it's only the beginning—an obvious one, and -the Krupp's have always been more than equal to -regular demands from my War Office. However, -in future these are sure to increase immeasurably, -out of all proportion both in size and in variety."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Exhausted by the intense mobility of his ideas, -the War Lord abruptly threw himself into the -armchair, held in readiness for him by the obsequious -Bülow, crossed his legs and struck a match. He -carried it to his lips, holding it there; then, having -burnt his fingers and moustache, dropped it, -cursing madly. He now took a cigarette out of the -silver gilt box offered him for the tenth time or -oftener, but was too busy to light it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Krupp," he said, "I mean Bohlen—Krupp -von Bohlen, a good name, we'll stick to it—Krupp, -I want you to make me a gun capable of mowing -down Dover Castle from Calais. Can't be done? -It will have to be done!" And he brought his fist -down on the table with a bang.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I looked in at the Photographic Society the -other day," he proceeded, "and saw an Adolf -Menzel photo enlarged five times the original size. -The operator just extended a piece of framework. -I don't suppose it's quite as easy to double or -treble the size or range of cannon, but the mind -and energy now experimenting with my new -twelve-inch howitzer should be capable of turning -out a seventeen-inch or twenty-inch howitzer, and -that's what you will have to do, Krupp."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The ex-Councillor of Legation, just renamed, -bowed low. "I assure Your Majesty that, as head -of the Krupp works, I will not rest until such a -war machine is produced," he vowed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And take my word that I won't let you go -to sleep." The War Lord's tone was a cross -between banter and threat, but its brutal meaning -was photographed on the speaker's face. "You -will now make your bow to Madame la Princess," -he continued, pulling out his watch: "Return in -fifteen minutes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha's husband must not know everything -at the start," he said, when the door closed behind -Krupp von Bohlen. "As to that twelve-inch -howitzer, I did not have a chance to talk to you -about my recent clandestine visit to Meppen, -where we had the final test. The twelve-inch -howitzer quite suffices for Calais if the plans for -longer range guns miscarry or war comes quicker -than we calculated. At Calais, you know, the -Channel narrows to a width of twenty-two and a -half miles, and the new twelve-incher covers -fourteen miles."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That means Kent is safe for the present," the -Chancellor made bold to comment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is easy to see that you are a general of -cavalry and not of artillery," he was immediately -corrected, "else you would perceive that a howitzer -of the range given, planted at Calais, will allow -our warships to advance within eight and a half -miles of the English coast and pound everything -into muck and pulp there. Where—what will your -Kent be then? A heap of rubbish and scrap-iron!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I presume Tirpitz is satisfied that there can -be no blockade?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We will guard against that by mine fields and -destroyers, submarines, cruisers, scouts and -Zeppelins," explained Wilhelm. "Old Zep's </span><em class="italics">Echte</em><span>" -(alluding to the cigar-like shape of Zeppelins) -"will be as safe in our French harbours—for we -will probably take Havre and Dieppe at the same -time as Calais—as in Kiel Canal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord was going strong on technical -details when the return of Krupp von Bohlen was -announced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So the ladies dismissed you!" he cried, at -the same time unbending enough to ask von Bülow -to be seated, while the younger man must remain -standing. "Got the howitzer-Calais-Dover -question pat, have you not? Well, the twenty-three -miles' range gun is only one of the achievements -you owe me and the Fatherland. In addition, the -Krupp works and associated interests must extend -their facilities for mines and mine-laying a -hundred-fold, for we will have to cut Portsmouth and -Plymouth off from the North Sea and provide -safety zones for our warships the whole breadth of -the Channel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thirdly, Essen will have to turn out -submarines at a much faster rate than your firm is -doing now; have to arm the numerous forts we will -set up along the French-Belgian coast with the -heaviest of artillery, and furnish air fleets to -prosecute a guerilla war against English trade -and—stomachs."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Von Bohlen looked puzzled. He had imbibed -enough of the Krupp spirit to encourage him in -the belief that he might rival an earthquake as a -destroyer of life and property, but his ambition -had never extended to interference with other -people's digestion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Explain, Bülow," ordered the War Lord, -considering it beneath his dignity to give -information on so trifling a subject.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His Majesty refers, of course, to the disturbance -of England's food supplies. Unlike Germany, -Great Britain cannot feed herself, being dependent -for the sustenance of the inner man on imports. -And these His Majesty intends to stop by the -means referred to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And, speaking of aircraft, you must provide -means for bringing airships down," continued the -War Lord, "for there is every indication that the -enemy will attempt to fight our aerial fire with -ditto fire, especially the French. The slow English -will fall behind, of course." Abruptly: "Have -you got any ideas to offer in that line?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not at the moment," confessed von Bohlen; -"but I will ask Bertha to lend me her most -enterprising constructor of light ordnance and the -airship expert. They will be given three months for -experiments."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord nodded. "Not half bad, but -offer a premium if the question is solved within -three weeks."[#]</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] Neither three weeks nor three months nor three years sufficed, -and Krupp's balloon-gun, mounted on automobile carriages, is one -of the latest additions to the German artillery. -It is effective at about -7,000 yards, and throws projectiles weighing 12 lb. -Its dead weight -of 11,000 lb. operates against its usefulness -in the field, but it is well -adapted to forts and fortresses. -This gun can describe a complete -circle in the horizontal plane and can fire vertically.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>He rose. "More of this in a day or two, after -I have seen Moltke, Tirpitz and old Zep. In the -meantime remember this: Super is the thing. We -must have super-guns, super-submarines, -super-aircraft—ordinary arms will not do in the struggle -to come. Our enemies are ordinary men, fighting -with ordinary means, while we are supermen bent -on superhuman effort, and consequently need -super-arms."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned from Bohlen. "Announce me to -the Princess Maria," he commanded Bülow.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="bertha-s-wedding-day"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BERTHA'S WEDDING DAY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Krupp Hospitality—A Nasty Custom—"Old Fritz -at Play—The Bride Arrayed—Abdul's Present—The -Wedding Service—A Glimpse of Essen</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On October the 15th, 1906, Bertha Krupp was -married, and, presto! Wilhelm jumped into the -saddle: Krupp </span><em class="italics">en croupe</em><span> was meant for both the -heiress and her husband-to-be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To be sure, Essen was </span><em class="italics">en fête</em><span> for the War -Lady and Gustav. For them flags and garlands -and paper flowers. Rivers and oceans of paper -flowers! They recalled Unter den Linden when -some yellow or brown, or maybe a white, majesty -is expected to make his state entry through the -Brandenburg Gate. And almost as many girls in -white as paper flowers on lantern posts and over -doorways, while every boy had his face and his -hands washed, and all the professors and directors -wore their locks in curls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To-day all victims of Moloch labour, of burns -and crashing irons, of scaffolds that gave way and -mountains of steel a-tremble, of engines gone -wrong and cars off the track, and a thousand and -one other accidents connected with work, were -freshly shaved and voluble of their sufferings and -Fraulein's kindness. Johann gave a leg to prevent -bubbles in the casting of a royal Prussian cannon, -and Fraulein bought him an artificial one, offering -this advantage over the real article: he might -throw it at his wife when nettled. Heinrich had -lost the sight of an eye in the service of the works, -and Fraulein not only procured him a glass one, -but added a steel pince-nez that made him look like -a twopenny clerk. And Mariechen and Märtchen -had good jobs in the ammunition shops, since their -husbands were killed in an earth-slide at the -Germania shipyards near Kiel—"Fraulein looks after -everything and everybody." In short, city and -country-side, town hall and hospital, the -well-to-do and the poor, old and young, the joyous and -the lame and the halt—all looked their best in -Bertha's honour and acted </span><em class="italics">gemuetlich</em><span>-like (which -was mostly noise) in Bertha's honour—when the -War Lord came into sight!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once upon a time the War Lady had been -sternly admonished not to bring more than three -attendants on her state visit to Berlin; in repaying -that visit—for his intervening comings to Essen -were more or less impromptu or on business—the -War Lord brought twenty times three, sixty: -personal friends, courtiers, generals and army -officers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When, years before, he inflicted two-thirds of -this number on King Christian, the Continent -stood aghast at his inconsiderate impudence, for -the Copenhagen Court was notoriously poor then. -But Bertha was his ward and was under his thumb, -and, besides, had "money to burn."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So he embraced this opportunity for paying off -old debts by inviting to Essen a number of nobles -whose hospitality he had enjoyed, for there they -would be more sumptuously lodged and dined and -wined than at his own house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The call to Villa Huegel was snapped up by -all who could crowd into the Imperial train, for -Krupp hospitality is proverbial in the Fatherland's -mansions and country houses; and the Prussian -aristocrat, living at home on superannuated -venison, herrings and potatoes, washed down by -diluted fusel-oil called Schnapps, likes nothing -better than to gorge himself at the expense of -persons whose lack of rank precludes dreaded -return visits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Savings in the household exchequer weigh -heavy enough with the War Lord to put him into -royal good humour, but the limelight radiating -from Essen, because the richest girl on the planet -married a poor but capable man, was the main -thing, of course. For the Wolff Bureau, that -feeds the Continental Press with "pap" about -"All Highest" doings and with governmental -lies, would mention Wilhelm and his myrmidons -twenty times as often as the bride and groom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There would be—as a matter of fact, there -were beforehand—long-winded litanies about the -War Lord's love for his ward and his surpassing -efficiency as a guardian; his consummate wisdom -in the selection of a husband for Bertha; the -unheard-of increase in the value of the Krupp -property under Wilhelm's guidance—columns of -that sort of symphony to Imperial ears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the War Lord's show: State coach and -six, forty more horses from the royal stables, one -hundred flunkeys, and the "great surprise!"—but -that did not come off. "That woman wouldn't -stand it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the War Lord was shown into Frau -Krupp's boudoir he beamed most graciously. "I -cannot make Bertha a Royal Princess," he said, -"but I will treat her like one. How many guests -have we?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the villa a little over three hundred, Your -Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I had a thousand ribbons printed—have -the rest distributed among the loyal people. -But let the police do it, as there is sure to be a -terrible scramble for these souvenirs, and we don't -want the Moscow tragedy repeated." (He referred -to the crushing and killing of hundreds of men, -women and children at the People's Festival during -the Tsar's coronation.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the Master of Ceremonies had -opened the silver-gilt casket filled with layers -upon layers of pieces of white ribbon, about one -inch broad by five long. There was a baronial -crown above the letter "B" at the top, and gold -fringe at the bottom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness turned purple at the sight, but -her son-in-law pulled her sleeve in time. "Mamma -will arrange with His Excellency," he said; and -the unsuspecting War Lord got busy with one of -his quintette of meals, served to him separately.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An unheard-of honour," pleaded Herr -Krupp von Bohlen, who had followed Her Ladyship -into an inner room, as he dangled one of the -garter-ribbons before her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I call it a nasty, indecent custom, and my -daughter will have none of it," replied Frau Krupp -hotly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Krupp von Bohlen looked both hurt and -indignant. "Pardon me, madam, the customs of -our Royal Family must not be spoken of in that -style where I am. And what is deemed honourable -for Royal Prussian Princesses can but add -dignity and renown to a subject favoured like one -of them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If an announcement of that kind is considered -fair and decent in royal circles," angrily -replied Frau Krupp, "it is their affair; as to the -daughter of the Baroness von Ende, she would -blush to think of such a custom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Krupp von Bohlen advanced his chin an inch more.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Matters affecting the Royal Family are -beyond discussion," he said haughtily, "and if -you ever again approach the subject, please -remember that I am a Prussian officer. But that -aside. His Majesty has graciously commanded, -and the order is to be carried out to the -letter." He bowed stiffly and retired.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Baroness let herself fall into an arm-chair, -and, elbows on knees, buried her face in both -hands. A scandal in the air, but she was -determined to risk it. Let the feelings of Prussian -Princesses be what they may in regard to the -ancient custom; there was to be no distribution -of </span><em class="italics">her</em><span> daughter's garter for the War Lord's -friends and her own cottagers to gloat over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had spent half an hour in this sort of brown -study, agitated by reflections bordering on -</span><em class="italics">lèse-majesté</em><span> most horrible, when Barbara rushed in: -"Oh, Mamma, Uncle Majesty and everybody are -at 'Old Fritz's,' and Uncle wants all the -gentlemen to take chances under the hammer. He is -making them give up watches and decorations, and -he whispered to me he hopes some get smashed. -Come and see the fun."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To be sure Frau Krupp was in no humour to -attend the Imperial circus—it is a stock joke with -Wilhelm to frighten under-dogs out of their wits -by subjecting their valuables to seeming -destruction, and Her Ladyship had been an unwilling -witness more than once. But Barbara's naïve: -"What a beautiful box—more presents?" made -her sit up. Why should not "Fritz," oldest of -family servants, essay to </span><em class="italics">corriger la fortune de la -maison de Krupp</em><span>? A chance in a million, but -stranger things have happened!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As everybody knows, "Fritz" has a falling -weight of fifty tons, and has been hammering steel -blocks into shape since 1860. When Bertha's -grandfather started building it family, friends and -competitors the world over thought him crazy, and -said so, but "Fritz" has never missed a day's -work in fifty-four years, and seems to be good for -a century still. Indeed, the marvellous delicacy -of his adjustment remains unimpaired, and -occasionally the manager makes him crack nuts without -injuring the kernel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord was smashing his friends' -watch-glasses without hurt to dial or hands when -Frau Krupp and Barbara came upon the scene.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The trunk of the Krupp heiress, containing -some of her choicest wardrobe," explained -Wilhelm banteringly in an undertone. Then aloud: -"I'll forfeit ten marks to any charity madam may -name if Fritz injures the casket in the slightest. -Those with me raise a hand." Two dozen hands -went up. "Sorry I did not make it a hundred -marks," whispered Wilhelm to von Scholl, as he -placed the casket on the steel table. Then, -standing off, he commanded: "One—two—three."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Down came the Brobdingnagian not like fifty, -but like a hundred thousand tons, hitting the table -an earthquake-like smack. It was all over in a -second, but both Wilhelm and the War Lady's -mother thought a lot in that tiny fragment of -time. The casket was, of course, as flat as a -window-pane and not much thicker, while of its -contents there was no trace, the silk having become -part and parcel of the metal. Nothing short of -the melting-pot, said the expert, would yield -isolated strains of the thousand bedizened ribbons. -And, on top of it, Fraulein Krupp collected 250 -marks for her orphanage!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Was it the loss of his ten marks, the blotting -out of his "indecent surprise," or thoughts of the -murderous fruit which the marriage about to be -solemnised would yield him that clouded the War -Lord's brow as he walked up the middle aisle of -the chapel? He was to give the bride away. The -groom was the War Lord's man, his discovery, his -creature! He found him secretary of legation -with the least of the kings, grubbing along on a -salary of five hundred pounds a year, and destined -in all probability to marry either a spindle-shanked -or a bull-necked "Fraulein von" with an infinitesimal -dot. The goal of his ambition: a berth as -minister plenipotentiary at the Court of a minor -king! Salary: seven hundred pounds per year.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, he (the War Lord) was about to give -in marriage this candidate for polite poverty and -subaltern honours a nice, healthy, well bred and -intelligent girl of good family, likewise revenues -compared with which the civil list of the average -German king were twopence! It surely should -follow as a matter of course that common -gratitude, if not inborn discipline, would make Krupp -von Bohlen the instrument of any warlike mischief -the author of his good luck might contemplate. -Indeed, he had vowed so much.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Lohengrin and rustling silks: The bride -and groom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The latter, like most of the men present, in -showy uniform, blue and gold; the War Lady in -lilac </span><em class="italics">crêpe de Chine</em><span>, myrtles in her blonde hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was rather pleasant than pretty to look -upon: a massive face, indicating a not unkindly -disposition; blue eyes, wavy hair, a firm mouth; -a bit strong on figure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her head-dress was typical enough for Germany: -myrtle, the "bleeding," commemorating -the cruelty of the barbarous islanders who pierced -the shipwrecked with spears and arrows!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ancient history aside, the sign of the myrtle -leaf was indeed prophetic of the horrors this -marriage would impose upon humanity, in -accordance with the compact between the War Lady's -husband and the War Lord; but, as nine out of -every ten German brides are myrtle-bedecked, the -fashionable crowd in the chapel had no mind for -the augury.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still, why mauve, the colour of mourning and -old age, for the wedding gown? Since it was of -the War Lady's own selection, it suggested almost -a premonition of the evil in store for Europe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Did Bertha's lens of imagery conjure up the -ghosts of the millions who must die by the output -of her factories that her own unborn offspring have -more milliards to play with, and was she mourning -in advance for the children she would render -fatherless, for the hosts doomed to extinction because -profits in the wholesale murder of men are surpassing -high?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Who knows?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is almost inconceivable that a person like -the War Lady, engaged in the appalling trade of -death-dealing, regarded her business other than a -gigantic slaughter monopoly—a privileged one, to -be sure, yet the most heinous of crimes against -God and men just the same.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the Courts of the eighteenth century -"punishment boys" were kept, to be thrashed -when small highnesses deserved to have their jacket -warmed. Here, at the altar, Bertha, used to Royal -State on account of her wealth, was about to -engage a punishment boy. In future Gustav was -to take the blame for all the enormities her -factories would visit upon humanity!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The old-time punishment boys were well paid -for their pains; the Krupp punishment boy was to -have an income of seven hundred and fifty -thousand pounds sterling per annum. The old-time -punishment boys were frequently loved by the -masters for whom they suffered; Herr Krupp von -Bohlen was loved by the young woman whom he -relieved of grievous responsibility. Yet the note -of mourning in her attire, and at her bosom the -mark of "Abdul Hamid the Damned"!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lady is sincerely religious, and so is -the War Lord's Imperial lady, only more so. -Indeed, with Her Majesty the Church is almost -an obsession, yet both the Queen of Prussia and -the Queen of Essen have accepted presents from -the wholesale assassin of Christians, who remembered -only one thing to his credit in the course of -thirty-three years of absolute rule: that he did not -murder his brother. This was his plea to the -Young Turks when deposed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For many years the Berlin Court was a pensioner -of the man who prided himself on having -spared the life of his mother's son, making up for -this unnatural restraint by spilling the blood of -forty thousand "Christian dogs." Five millions -cash "Abdul the Damned" lent to the War Lord -(and he is still whistling for its return), and -season after season he sent material for the Queen -of Prussia's underlinen and summer dresses. Bales -of Oriental stuffs, gauzes, linens, laces and silks -from Tscheragan Serai used to be delivered at -the Neues Palais about every April the first, filling -the house with real "Turkish delight," of which -Her Majesty's sisters, the rich and the poor, -likewise partook according to their needs or the favour -in which they were held at the moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And when Her Prussian Majesty is </span><em class="italics">en grande -tenue</em><span> she often augments the great Napoleon's -diamonds, captured at Waterloo (the same that -once blushed at the generous bosom of his sister -Paulette), by those that the great Frederick gave -to his lovely mistress La Barbarina, the dancer, -and took back again when he tired of her; and -when even multiplication fails to give satisfaction—for -a Queen of Prussia must have more diamonds -than an American multi-millionairess—she adds the -parure of brilliants and the numerous brooches and -buttons and bracelets given her by The Damned.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After all, this seems appropriate enough for the -Queen of a country pieced together of territories -gained by assassination, war, treachery and other -atrocities; but think of the War Lady accepting -gifts from the most despicable of men and kings! -Surely there must be some fellow-feeling of malign -camaraderie between the makers of murderous tools -and their users, a sort of revival of swordsmiths-worship -and the veneration in which the great men -of old held their Curtanas and Flamberges!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Possible, or shall we set it down to mere female -thoughtlessness, which in some respects seems akin -to that of half-savages after the style of the story -Mark Twain once told the War Lord:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where is 'Liza?" asked the master of the -house, when he missed the coloured waitress at -breakfast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't come round for a few days. Just had -a tiny wee baby," answered the housemaid, -grinning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A baby! How's that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, just nigger-shiftlessness, I reckon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it wasn't thoughtlessness, or shiftlessness -alone, that made the War Lady pin to her breast -the grand cordon of the </span><em class="italics">Osmanié</em><span> Order of Virtue; -it spelled, at the same time, a bid for war material, -decreed by the businesslike groom. The War Lord -saw it and smiled. "Bravo, Gustav, you are the -stuff," and "Bertha, as is fit, the yielding lamb."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the organ pealed and cooed, and the -chorus of cathedral singers chanted off the key, -and the voice of the officiating minister droned, -and everybody thought it most "heavenly," but -boring; and the generals and army officers smacked -their lips, anticipating the table delicacies in store; -and the courtiers congratulated themselves because -it was all fun and no work; and each lady thought -she looked a heap better than her best-beloved -friend; and the War Lord stared at the ceiling -contemplating ways and means for mining the -Krupp quarry of wealth and efficiency to within -an inch of hell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And so I pronounce you man and wife," -sang out the minister, expecting the biggest fee!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hail thee, Frankenstein," thought Wilhelm. -He inflated his chest as the archangel aspiring to -omnipotence may have done: from this moment -on the means for such aggrandisement as only -Napoleon dreamt of were in his hands, and he was -free to plunge the world into irremediable ruin if -he liked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Through Bertha's resignation, through von -Bohlen's connivance, he now owned the Krupp -works; he </span><em class="italics">was</em><span> Frankenstein—Frankenstein, the -hideous, the abhorred, whose malignity was -equalled only by the accumulated wretchedness he -meant to visit on all resisting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even as he extended his hand to the bride, with -lip congratulations, he thought of the riot of despair -the troth just sealed spelt for his own people and -the nations to be subdued! Was he then—is he -then—the hideous fantasm of one bent on naught -but destruction?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>God knows—mere physical observation discerns -no more than the frightful selfishness that has -lashed the War Lord to ever-increasing efforts of -fury since Bertha's wedding day and is driving -him still.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As overlord of the greatest industrial plant in -the world, he deliberately diverted it from its -legitimate </span><em class="italics">raison d'être</em><span> as a cradle of life and -progress and turned it into a dividend-mill for the -cultivation of human hatred and the making of -corpses, at the same time endowing it with a soul -still more monstrous: his thrice-abhorred Kultur.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had steel hammers enough to line, side by -side, a road reaching from Liverpool Street Station -to Hyde Park; steel boilers enough to start a -second Pittsburgh; more machinery than the rest -of the kingdom boasts; more electric motors than -Paris or London employs in its public conveyances, -etc.; and with unparalleled selfishness in -evil suborned them exclusively to his passion for -destruction, adding unlimited capital and business -capacity, utter disregard for human life and -extraordinary facilities for chemical-physical research, -begetting inventive genius of a high order. There -is the explanation of the frightful catalogue of -Hunnish sins that have disgraced civilisation since -the 29th of July, 1914, according to the findings -of Lord Bryce's Committee.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The </span><em class="italics">Kapellmeister</em><span>, at Your Majesty's -orders?" reported Count Eulenburg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hohenfriedberger March," replied the War -Lord, locking his teeth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Hohenfriedberg is a shining mark in Prussian -history, for in June, 1745, Frederick the Great -overwhelmed the Austrians near the small Silesian -village, nearly annihilating Prince Karl and his -Saxon allies. He composed a march in honour of -the event, a rather stirring piece of musical -claptrap, among the best that came from his pen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can drive the Austrians too," thought the -War Lord, as he stepped from the chapel, the -bride's mother on his arm. And, the military band -outside executing some flourishes when he passed, -he added grimly: "Bayonet in back, if necessary."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-foreshadowing-of-lusitaniaism"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVIII</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A FORESHADOWING OF "LUSITANIAISM"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Rise of Herr Ballin—A Woman's Vanity—Herr -Ballin at the Schloss—"Frightfulness" on the -Sea—Smoothing the Way—The War Lord and -Wedell—A Spy Plot—Overrunning England with Spies</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On the eve of the day when the </span><em class="italics">Lusitania</em><span> snatched -the world's speed record from the North German -Lloyd, the red discs in the Chancellor's and in -Count Wedell's office bobbed up almost simultaneously:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to see the Jew Ballin. To-morrow -morning at the earliest. You heard about the -</span><em class="italics">Lusitania</em><span>?" Before Prince Bülow could say -"Yes," the War Lord had hung up the receiver, -simultaneously pressing the button marked Wedell, -whom he asked to bring in the Ballin personalia.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No ordinary Jew," explained the chief of the -Secret Service.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But common stock?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How does Ballin dress?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Affects the American business man, All -Highest, in demeanour and dress."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A genius, you said?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For making money, absolutely, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Let's hear about his beginnings." The War -Lord sat down in a low chair and lit a cigarette. -No such luxuries for Count Wedell, though. The -head of the Secret Service stood while he read from -his card index in telegraphic style:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Born emigrant agents.—Son, brother and -nephew of drummers-up of steerage cargo.—Learnt -rudiments of trade in his native Hamburg.—Finished -in London——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perfect finishing school for aspiring German -boys," interrupted the War Lord; "the English -educating their future business rivals—touching!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have often thought about that in connection -with our war," said Wedell. "Of course, Your -Majesty expects to win, but victory does not beget -good will. Suppose London, Birmingham, Liverpool -and the rest say no more foreign clerks and -other employés, especially none of Teutonic -origin?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't you worry. Any little game of that -kind will be forestalled in the terms of peace. -Finish your Ballin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Returned home," read Wedell from his cards, -"secured employment in minor steamship line to -bring Poles and Hungarians to Hamburg for -shipment to the States. Hapag people soon awoke to -the fact that the devil of a genius was weaning -their quarry away from them.—Approached Ballin -with promises of double salary. Ballin refused—then -acquired controlling interest in employer's -line.—Then sold out to Hapag."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That happened when?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In 1886, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Since then business has grown immensely, -hasn't it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Its gross profits climbed from £125,000 to -£2,825,000 per annum in twenty-five years, while -its fleet increased from twenty-six to one hundred -and eighty pennants. Tonnage in 1886, 50,000; -to-day, exceeding one million."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That will do," said Wilhelm. "Send in Haeseler."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Haeseler had arrived the night before -from Konopischt, had been waiting to report to -His Majesty for an hour or more, and, to kill time, -had been paying visits to officials and pensioners -living in the big pile. There had been cigars and -cognac galore, and Gottlieb was on excellent terms -with himself when he saw His Majesty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Went to bed with an attack of the heart, and -got up refreshed and happy," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I see Franz Ferdinand's reputation at home -is of the value of nothing, but, still, he treated you -like a white man," interpreted the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty hit the nail upon the head, as usual. -Not an Austrian, Hungarian, Croatian, Servian, -Bosniak or Pollack alive would not gladly spend his -last </span><em class="italics">heller</em><span> to buy a dose of prussic acid for the heir -to the throne, but to Your Majesty's representative -he was all charm. Nearly gave me a horse."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Forgot to send it to the station with the other -baggage, eh? Well, aside from cheating my field -marshal, how is he going on?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Like a steam-roller. The next time Your -Majesty will deign to inspect the Sixth Infantry -or the Wilhelm Hussars, Majesty will not -recognise them. Fellows like me are being relegated -to the scrap-heap by the dozen, and he cares no -more for archdukes' privileges than the white souls -of valets de chambre. His iron broom is busy -with horse, foot and artillery, with the navy and -the air fleet all at the same time, and wherever he -touches there is a clean sweep and a howl of dismay, -pitiful enough to move a tiger, but not Nero."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is stirring them up," rejoiced the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He is making the Austrian army a worthy -adjunct of Your Majesty's forces," said Haeseler, -very earnestly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you taught him these new stratagems?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I would never have been allowed to leave the -country alive if the Hungarians knew what I did -teach Nero."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dirty trick," said the War Lord, "not to -give Gottlieb the horse." Then imperiously: "I -expect your detailed report about all the reforms -in the Austrian army and navy in a fortnight."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There will be no gun missing, I promise Your -Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Haeseler referred, of course, to the -astounding memory and precision of the great -Napoleon. Once, when occupied by much business, -the Emperor sent an officer to Belgium to -investigate military stores. The officer handed in -his report. Napoleon gave him back the document -with these words: "There are two guns missing -at Ostend." And there were two missing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And your general opinion of Franz based on -intimate observation?" queried Wilhelm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He seems to regard himself as a sort of necessary -barricade to progress, yet has no patience with -the idea uppermost in Austria that </span><em class="italics">laissez faire</em><span> -must be perpetuated for ever and a day simply -because it's as old as the hills."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And the Duchess?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With Your Majesty's leave, confidently -expects to be Empress of Austria."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Must have Pan-German leanings."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, Your Majesty; only the truly womanly -passion to be the most envied of her sex."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Slav conflict with Austria suits me all right," -said the War Lord. "The Czechs and Hungarians -wanting Sophie, the Austrian Germans will -feel the more inclined to join my Germanic -Federation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But," said Haeseler, "Franz counts upon -Your Majesty to help at the enthronisation of -Sophie by force, if necessary."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord went to a bookshelf and pulled -out a volume bound in red with atrocious gold -decorations. "And Franz brags about having -read every strategic work ever written," he -commented.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty refers to Moltke's introduction of -the Franco-Prussian war."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, but this isn't the volume. Can you -quote from memory?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will try my utmost, Your Majesty: 'The -days are past when for dynastical ends armies went -forth——'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Take an '</span><em class="italics">echte</em><span>,' Edward's brand," said the -War Lord.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was a royal carriage at the station for -Herr Ballin, and the royal coachman, keen for -marks, waved his whip frantically to attract -attention, and coin: the shipping king, emerging from -a first-class compartment, affected not to see. -Berlin has two kinds of cabs, and Ballin chose the -Noah's Ark brand at threepence a mile. When he -said "Schloss," the driver quizzed him curiously -and decided at once to put him down at the kitchen -entrance. "Must be a relative of some housemaid," -he calculated, and could not understand -at all why the royal carriage, though empty, drove -plumb ahead of him when they reached the -Schlossplatz. Of course the War Lord's livery -meant to impress upon the Court Marshal that he -had been on the spot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Court Marshal von Liebenau left the reception -to his aide and ran upstairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With Majesty's permission. Regular Jewski, -second-class cab. How long shall he wait?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Show him up instantly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From this it may be gathered as from the scene -witnessed at the Wilhelmstrasse, that waiting for -Majesty is a punishment meted out on religious or -other grounds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ballin had anticipated questions, and received -instructions. "The </span><em class="italics">Lusitania</em><span>," said the War -Lord, after the curtest, not to say abruptest of -welcomes, "must teach you Hamburgers and the -Lloyd people this important lesson: In the ocean -greyhound to be built hereafter, the naval value -is obviously of greater importance than trade or -dividend considerations, for the moment war is -declared all your vessels will pass under my exclusive -control, and I need all the auxiliaries, with a -prodigious coal supply and a speed unsurpassable by -cruisers, I can get. If war with England came -to-morrow, the </span><em class="italics">Lusitania</em><span> would be turned loose -upon our commerce at once, and neither Wilhelmshaven, -nor Bremen nor Hamburg boasts a vessel -capable of overtaking her. She can sink our ships -right and left, and show a clean pair of heels every -time. Until yesterday I considered </span><em class="italics">Kaiser -Wilhelm der Grosse, der Krönprinz, die Deutschland</em><span> -and the flyer named after me capable commerce -destroyers, but the </span><em class="italics">Lusitania</em><span> could sink either of -these giants, and boast of her record in the nearest -English harbour protected by mines."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But Majesty doesn't anticipate that merchantman -will turn upon merchantman, and that -passenger steamers in particular will be sunk either -by vessels of the same lay calibre or by regular -men-of-war?" ventured Herr Ballin, who evidently -believed at that time in "scraps of paper."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Herr Ballin," said the War Lord, "you were -described to me as the most far-seeing and -progressive of sea lords outside of my navy. Surely -you can't be of opinion that in the great war to -come international niceties will be allowed to cut -any figure? If Germany must draw the sword -before my navy is superior to the British, I propose -to save my men-of-war and trust to submarines."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But passenger steamers——" quoth Herr -Ballin rather more timidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Passenger steamers carry freight, and in time -of war all goods that might possibly be of use -to the enemy in any way, manner or form -I consider contraband. And contraband spells -destruction."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Does Your Majesty anticipate that the -English, French or Russians would attack Hamburg -liners while engaged in the passenger traffic?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If they half know their business they will. -For my part, I would not hesitate a moment to -sink the </span><em class="italics">Lusitania</em><span>, or any other Cunarder at sight, -since all are supposed to be in the service or, at -least, at the service of their Government."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Ballin breathed hard as he said: "May it -please Your Majesty, what about neutrals? Like -the Cunarders, the Hapag carries on every journey -hundreds of American citizens."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know anything about a Yankee's -food value," replied the War Lord cynically. "I -think the denizens of the big herring-pond will -have to make the best of them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Ballin bowed low. "As Your Majesty -commands."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is settled then," continued the War Lord. -"On your part, bigger and faster boats than the -English; on my part, I promise to advise you of -the date of the outbreak of hostilities long enough -beforehand to save your vessels for the Fatherland. -Even if circumstances decree their internment </span><em class="italics">en -masse</em><span>, Germany will be the gainer in the end, -when both our navy and our merchant marine -remain unbroken."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ballin was retreating backwards toward the -door, when the War Lord recalled him. "I am -dickering with Wilhelmina about Curaçao for a -coaling station, and"—banteringly—"if you -could stir up war between the Netherlands and -some other colonial power I would be very much -obliged. We got the coaling station in the Red -Sea through our pro-Boer sympathies. Curaçao -would make an excellent </span><em class="italics">apéritif</em><span> after getting over -Dutch troubles."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The United States would object."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, but there are some twenty-six -millions of Germans in America, every mother's -son of them fighting-mad for me—part of my -invisible army and almost as important as the other. -The Germans in America have an immense -vote-swaying power; they control Washington to a -large extent, and some of the State Legislatures -absolutely. And, as you know, each American -State is sovereign. Suppose I would threaten to -decree secession for the States between New York -and Seattle, taking in New York, Ohio, Illinois, -Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, etc. etc., where -would Washington be? Would Roosevelt risk -Civil War because I want a place to coal my ships -not exactly five thousand miles from the Panama -Canal?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell you, my men controlling a large portion -of the American Press won't let him. And, by the -way, Ballin, the Hapag, the Lloyd, Woermann, -etc., will have to give more extensive support to my -German Press in America than is done now. </span><em class="italics">Die -Staats Zeitungs</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Herolds</em><span>, and whatever-they-call-them -can't live on wind. Ridder is a rapacious -cuss and a Jesuit besides; but my Washington -bureau tells me that his complaints are not -altogether groundless. As my Germans become more -and more Americanised, the German papers' -circulations are dwindling, and likewise slumps -the advertising. For this we must make up. -German shipping and the industries engaged in -international trade must support the German Press -in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, -Kansas City and the minor towns, as my Government -supports the </span><em class="italics">Norddeutsche Allgemeine</em><span> and -Krupp his </span><em class="italics">Neueste Nachrichten</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By the way," he added, grabbing a "Bismarck -pencil" suspended from a wire and scribbling -on his calendar block, "I will have to tell -Krupp, Loewe and the rest of the ammunition -hogs to loosen up on those German papers in -America. Podbielski shall see them about it. Of -course he is no stockholder, but his dear Emma -is." (The War Lord referred to the scandals -connecting a German general with subserviency to -army purveyors to the extent of awarding contracts -exclusively to firms in which he was financially -interested.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It might serve the Hapag and '</span><em class="italics">meine -Wenigkeit</em><span>' (literally my inferiority, meaning your -humble servant) if specifically informed respecting -the invisible army Your Majesty was graciously -pleased to allude to," bowed Herr Ballin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the States," explained the War Lord, -"my volunteers are mostly full-fledged -citizens—universal suffrage, otherwise a stench in my -nostrils, is working overtime for the German Cause -there—but in the rest of the world merchant-princes, -manufacturers, trade agents and skilled -workmen do yeoman duty for me and the Fatherland. -Of course we have a lot of adherents in -England—'naturalised' they call them. Funny -term! I hold that it would be most unnatural -for a German to embrace another nationality, -especially the English."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Whenever you hear of troubles in Ireland, -put it down to my invisible army. That same army -has before this fomented labour troubles in Russia, -and it never sleeps in France, particularly not in -Paris."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And, lowering his voice, the War Lord talked -of invisible forces building concrete gun-platforms -along the French and Belgian frontiers—"foundations -for manufacturing plants," he added -sarcastically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course I am doing my bit in other respects -too," he concluded. "I have fed some of these -German editors from the States at my own table, -and —— bad manners they had too; and I have -baited them with minor orders in plenty. If -Ridder behaves himself I will make him a 'von' -some day, and that German Congressman from -Missouri—I forget his name—will get a -five-pronged coronet too. But to return to Curaçao. -If I get a foothold there, I will have both French -and English for neighbours—excellent chances for -picking a quarrel if desirable."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord put a finger down vigorously -on the Wedell—and Adjutant von Moltke buttons. -The nephew of the great Field Marshal responded -almost instantly. "I want Wedell."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Count Wedell is in waiting, Your Majesty." Even -while the equerry spoke, the sign language -of the telephone announced that the Chief was at -the Schloss.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That Jew of yours will be useful," said -Wilhelm approvingly. "He will obey orders like -Krupp, but remember His Majesty can't do all the -reconnoitring himself. I tell you for the -hundredth time that your department is negligent with -respect to England. You must get Ballin to help -you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Count Wedell winced. "If I have had the -misfortune to fall short of Your Majesty's -expectations——" he stuttered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'My resignation is, etc.' The old Wedell -complaint; I know what you want to say. Only -recently I stopped your cousin's litany by -remarking: 'I thought you liked your salary and -perquisites.' None of that nonsense, please. Listen: -I have played sleuth for you at Portsmouth; I -know the dockyards there like my pocket. The -Solent and Cowes are open books to my General -Staff, owing to descriptive matter and diagrams I -have furnished, and what I did not tell Tirpitz -about Gibraltar is not worth knowing. Really," -he added, "English </span><em class="italics">naïveté</em><span> is astonishing, -particularly in the face of the Press campaign. With -the most widely circulated and best informed -newspapers constantly reminding them that my whole -naval policy is directed against Great Britain, -English officials—military, naval and civilian—extend -me every opportunity for the study of old -England's defence and weakness. Thanks to my -inspection, my General Staff is as well informed -about the Gibraltar signal station as the first -English Sea Lord—it is to laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And how they opened their ports to me: -Leith, Port Victoria, Folkestone were as free to -the </span><em class="italics">Hohenzollern</em><span> as Piccadilly Circus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The next time I visit Edward I will drive my -yacht right up above Tilbury. See if I don't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Poor devil of a pilot," mocked Count Wedell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, don't credit the English War Office -with more circumspection than the average -German schoolboy has," guffawed Wilhelm; "the -pilot will probably get the V.C., and I promise -Tirpitz some astounding information for, while on -the bridge, I will pump the pilot dry—absolutely -dry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I really worked hard for your department," -concluded Wilhelm; "now show that you can -follow my lead."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps Majesty favours establishment of -semaphores on the British coast on a larger scale."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After we prohibited the keeping of carrier -pigeons in the neighbourhood of German naval -stations? No, </span><em class="italics">Herr Graf</em><span>, I am not dispensing -meal tickets to penny-a-liners just now. Think of -something new, something Ballin can do for us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I submit that cheap excursions to English -harbours and seaside resorts, arranged by the -Hamburg line during the holiday season——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I take it all back," cried Wilhelm. "You -are earning your salary, Wedell. Capital idea. -The Naval Intelligence Service shall subscribe for -a hundred berths, sending its most expert -photographers, topographers, surveyors, fortification -experts and naval men. In mufti, of course, and you -will have men on board to spot fools that betray -their official connections. Tell Ballin I want some -of his largest steamers for this service, so that my -army and my navy men get well lost in the crowd. -The larger the crowd, the more men of military -age and reservists, of course."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty thinks of everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have to," said the War Lord. "And -make a note of it. Amateur photography is to be -encouraged in the schools, the press, in society. -No use sending crowds of Germans to England -unless they bring back plenty of photographic -evidence relating to the enemy coast and land -defences. As a special inducement, Ballin shall have -a dark-room on board and develop films free of -charge. In that way we will get duplicates of -everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg to submit," said Wedell, "there is -still another aspect to Your Majesty's enlightened -prospect."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fire away!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The legend of impossible invasion will suffer -a collapse with everybody observing that the -supposed impregnability of Dover is all moonshine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not half bad," said the War Lord. "Those -tourists will make splendid </span><em class="italics">commis voyageurs</em><span> for -our army of invasion."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Agents provocateurs</em><span>!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm shrugged impatiently. "Fouché's -business! Of course my War Office will furnish -the dates for the excursions. Sounds ridiculous, -but England's little vest-pocket army indulges in -annual manoeuvres like my own, and it would be -curious if some valuable information could not be -gleaned from a boat full of military and -semi-military sightseers. Of course the English naval -manoeuvres are much more important. Sometimes -a simple tourist sees things for which the official -and unofficial representatives of my Admiralty and -your own department, Wedell, search in vain."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The discussion continued in the same vein for -another half-hour, the War Lord impressing upon -Wedell the absolute necessity of increased -espionage in England. "Thirty-six years ago," said -Wilhelm in conclusion, "Bismarck had over -thirty thousand spies and sympathisers in France -doing his work. Have we got as many in England -to-day? How many are on the pay-rolls of English -railways, of Scotch railways and, particularly, -of Irish railways? You can't tell off-hand? -Report within three days. And don't forget the -proofs, if you please. I likewise want to know how -many of your men are detailed to attack British -arsenals, harbours, wireless stations and so forth -in the event of war. Whatever their number, -duplicate, nay, treble it, and don't be sparing with -promises. If we invade England, we won't get out -in a hurry, tell them, and there will be plenty of -pickings for our friends while we are on the Insular -side of the Channel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Remind them that our army of occupation -remained in France two years and five months after -peace had been signed. I propose to enjoy English -hospitality even a while longer, and the people that -serve us 'before and aft' can make enough money -while we are in England to evacuate with us and -live on their interests in the Fatherland after -Threadneedle Street has paid the last instalment. -Think of it! Serve the War Lord and feather -one's own nest at the same time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm had been sitting down uncommonly -long. Indeed he had been almost confidential with -his pal in the conspiracy international. He now -rose, squared his shoulders and assumed his -favourite character of the graven image.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't like Krupp's ignorance of things English. -Shall make a few trips into England, and see -what there is to be seen," he said in a tone of -command. He continued: "I want a talk from -Court Chaplain Dryander on the chosen people, -not on the Jews—on the term. Got impressed -with it while talking to Ballin. Germans the -chosen people! Sounds good!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dryander will report at eleven to-morrow -morning. Order (Professor) Delbrueck to be here -at the same time. I will see him after the sky-pilot -has gone. Parsons are such romancers; it's well to -digest their palaver to the accompaniment of -historic facts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One thing more." The War Lord grabbed -a pencil and marked asafoetida on half a dozen -pages of his daily calendar. "I want to have a -conference with chemists by and by."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="some-more-secret-history"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">SOME MORE SECRET HISTORY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Deluding Rathenau—Callous Experiments—What Lord -Palmerston Said—The Kaiser's Aims</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"What is this I hear?" demanded the War Lord, -having scantily acknowledged Herr Krupp von -Bohlen's low obeisance. "I want you to understand -once and for all that your wife is my ward, -and that any offence to her spells disrespect to -Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Overlord of the Krupp works was confused -with surprise. He attempted to make -answer, but did not get further than a formal: -"May it please Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have no further commands for you at the -moment," he was cut short. "Wait in the -Adjutant's room until called."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A.E.G.," cried Wilhelm to the adjutant of -the House Marshal's office, opening the door for -Krupp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear Rathenau," he said, when an old -man, stout and stockily built, with a philanthropic -chin and a complexion denoting indifferent health, -walked in. "My dear Rathenau, being credited -with seeing ahead, perhaps you'll tell me what this -means?" And he pointed to half a dozen entries -topping his daily calendar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Asafoetida," read the electrical end of the -Jewish triumvirate of self-made men—Ballin, -Thyssen, Rathenau. "Does Majesty want me to -create a corner in the reverse of eau de Cologne?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes and no," said Wilhelm. "But like -Ziethen did before Frederick, sit down. And so -you may not fall asleep like the great cavalry -leader when visiting the king in his old age, I will -tell you a story."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He retailed the yarn about the meeting between -Franz Ferdinand and Cardinal Schlauch, the -Secret Service man in the bed, and what No. 103 -wished he had placed under the bed before the -interview.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It gave me an idea," he continued, "an -idea, I confess, strengthened at Essen. Why not -bottle the noxious gases set free in the furnaces, -and let them loose on the enemy?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What, kill them wholesale?" cried Rathenau, -moving uneasily in his chair. Philanthropy is one -of his hobbies, and underhanded methods go -against his grain. The War Lord knows this, and -clapped the silencer on his savage bluntness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Kill them? No. Wholesale? No, too. -There is to be no gale of these gases—just a breeze -to knock out, or knock over, offensive or defensive. -I figure this way: Maybe the enemy, entrenched, -has to be dislodged at any price to gain some given -point. We can't get at them with the ordinary -style of weapon; they won't come out even to be -hand-grenaded. In such cases, I hold it good -strategy to smoke them out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Asphyxiating gas," mumbled Rathenau half -to himself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A good name—something suspending -animation—suspending it while we take the coveted -place. We won't lose a man, and the enemy is -mulcted out of prisoners only, for all placed </span><em class="italics">hors de -combat</em><span> by our chemicals will be cared for by the -Red Cross."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Majesty does not intend to have the gases -absolutely poisonous?" inquired Rathenau.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, would I have asked you, whose -humanity all Berlin admires, if I did?" cried the -War Lord; "if I was signing death warrants, I -would not have applied to you, but to Krupp. -He is a natural born butcher, I tell you. Krupp -devises means to destroy life with the gusto of -an American barkeeper mixing cocktails. They -blamed Nero for saying he wished the Roman -people had but one head that he might knock it -off. You should see Krupp gloat over my new -howitzers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And those noxious gases, the workings of -which Your Majesty observed at Essen, do not -inflict permanent injury?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the majority of cases black coffee suffices -to make the men fit for work again; in a minor -number of cases mild palliatives are required. I -advised free distribution of milk for those suffering -from a weak stomach. Hypodermic injections are -resorted to once or twice a week. So you see our -'gassing' will be quite harmless."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the President and Owner of the "A.E.G." -(German for General Electric Company) -still refused to wax enthusiastic, the War Lord -tried a new tag. "It's the charitableness—I almost -said the Christianity—of the thing that mainly -attracts me," he lied. "You remember -Valentina's husband in </span><em class="italics">The Huguenots</em><span>. He was -murdered during St. Bartholomew's night, at the side -of my ancestor, Admiral Coligny. The Comte de -Nevars had been asked a little while before to join -in the massacre of the Protestants, but refused, -pleading that his family contained a long list of -warriors, but not a single assassin. So am I trying -to curtail killing by the proposed new method of -attack. Prisoners, yes; the more the merrier; but -deaths and wounds as few as possible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hydrochlorine, with the accent on the -hydro, might possibly serve Your Majesty," said -Rathenau, after thinking hard for a few seconds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well, write it down," ordered the War -Lord. "Besides Krupp, who can furnish this -chemical?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Ruhr Chemical Works and the -Ludwigshafen Aniline Factory might."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Rathenau was dismissed with scant thanks, and -Krupp was readmitted to listen to the substance -of Wilhelm's conference with the President of the -A.E.G., the latter's philanthropic objections -being carefully marked as the War Lord's own, -while the diluting advised was dismissed as namby-pamby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Krupp, after listening respectfully, said: -"May it please Your Majesty, I have had a little -experience with asphyxiating gas. We used it to -destroy a number of consumptive cows, thinking -it the more humane method. They were to be -benumbed before slaughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"God forbid that Bertha, who is very much -attached to the animals on the estate, ever learns -what really did happen. As for myself, I had an -inkling, but where experience is to be gained -charity must take a back seat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well said," commented the War Lord. "Go on!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We tethered the cattle in an enclosure, their -heads over a furrow from which the poison gas was -rising. It had a sharp, bitter smell, and as it -caught the animals' throat they gasped and choked. -Some attempted to breathe deeply and could not, -and all went giddy, it seemed, but did not lose -consciousness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The chief vet. had predicted that the intense -irritation of the bronchial mucous membrane would -fill the tubes with a fluid which the animals could -not expel, and this is what did happen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We let them suffer for experience's sake, -then gave them salted water. This cleared their -lungs and forestalled complete suffocation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have gathered the technical information -from the medical report?" asked the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Partly from that, partly from observation," -replied Krupp. "When the vets. stated that the -animals were on the point of slow suffocation—drowning, -we killed them by the quicker method. -But one cow was allowed to die by poison gas, to -give necessary clues to the medical men. They -stated, after investigation, that the gas had had -a corrosive action, destroying the mucosa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very interesting," said the War Lord, who -had seemingly forgotten about his pretended -motives of philanthropy. "Your chief vet. shall -report in full to my Ministry of Cult. I shall order -that from now on condemned animals shall be -delivered to the concerns manufacturing this kind of -gas for scientific experiments."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The red disc on the War Lord's desk went up. -Wilhelm looked at the clock. "Delbrueck." Then, -turning to Krupp: "You shall wait and -hear what he has to say."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The successor of Professor Treitschke was -bringing the War Lord an essay on "Germany -as the Land of the Chosen People," a sort of -theological-political tract, suggested by Wilhelm -and partly formulated by Court Chaplain -Dryander. Its present form had been decided on by -Professors Harnack, Schiemann, Meyer and the -editor of the Prussian Annals (</span><em class="italics">Preussische -Jahrbuecher Magazin</em><span>).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Typed," said the War Lord approvingly. -"I wish you would instil that modern idea into -those of your colleagues, who annoy me by their -handwriting. The worse it is, the more scientific -they deem it. I will read it presently. Now tell -Krupp how you view the situation with regard to -England."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The United Kingdom they call it," sneered -Delbrueck, the most loquacious of "that damned -band of professors," to quote Palmerston. "Well, -there will be one less in the quartette when war -comes—Ireland. The Green Isle will join us -when the first shot is fired by a German battery. -Further, there is every reason to believe that the -title of Emperor of India will be as obsolete as that -of King of Jerusalem before hostilities are under -way a month, while New Zealand, Australia, -South Africa and Canada will certainly not miss -the chance for gaining independence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Herr Krupp looked at His Majesty in quite -bewildered fashion. Evidently he had not reckoned -on such far-reaching eventualities, but the War -Lord had.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss their chance for independence? Not -likely! Go on, Delbrueck. Tell him about the -Boers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I needn't assure you, Herr Krupp, on which -side the defeated of 1901 will fight. It is -self-evident," said Delbrueck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And Egypt?" ventured Herr Krupp, to show -his patriotism.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"German industry and discipline shall fructify -the land of the Pharaohs like the Nile itself. We -will drive out the English of course," cried the -War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The arming of India will be a tremendous -task," he continued. "As you know, I am sending -the Crown Prince to India, and the military -experts accompanying him will furnish all missing -links."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I suggest that His Imperial Highness -sound the Indian Princes," interpolated Professor -Delbrueck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All that is provided for," retorted the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Delbrueck would not be discouraged in his -optimisms. "In addition," he went on, "Krupp -guns will bark forth the declaration of -independence by South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, -Australia, and the rest of the British dominions, -territories and Island Kingdoms. Quite an -undertaking, eh?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this point the War Lord came to Delbrueck's -relief. "Finally there is that beggar -Turkey. You mustn't be hard on Abdul Hamid, -Krupp. Bad pay, of course, but he never hesitates -about pulling chestnuts out of the fire for me, and -I like him. Besides, since we pay China a subsidy -of a million per year for getting ready to wallop -Nicholas, why not treat Constantinople with -liberality?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Krupp bowed and promised to talk the matter -over with his board of directors, but the War Lord -scarcely listened. He had deigned to express a -wish—woe to the person, or persons, not -interpreting the wish as an All Highest command.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned to the professor. "Delbrueck," -he said, "I had a letter from Francis Joseph. He -has set his heart on Bosnia, and wants me to -support him. Is there any way of arguing with -Russia from the historic point of view?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will look into the matter for Your Majesty -at once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well. If you do not succeed, Russia will -get a glimpse of my shining armour, which is the -best argument, after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now you know my friends, official and -otherwise," concluded Wilhelm, again addressing -Krupp; "about my aims I have talked to you -before. Always bear in mind that I am German -Emperor—an expansive title relating to all lands -and peoples of the Germanic family, no matter -what name they may go under.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We must have German Holland and German -Belgium, German Tyrol and German Switzerland, -and, of course, German Austria. As you know, I -have a good title to the whole of North-Eastern -France, too, but I will waive that for the -Continental Channel coast."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your Majesty must have Trieste," said Delbrueck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I must have and mean to have all the naval -outlets and outposts necessary to German trade and -my protection," said Wilhelm in most Olympian -style.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="browbeating-the-war-lady"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXX</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BROWBEATING THE WAR LADY</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A Letter from Count Metternich—Scaring the -Kaiser—Bertha Offends the War Lord—Using -the Secret Code—For "The Day"—An Awful -Oath—The Kaiser Wins</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"I can almost forgive Metternich for allowing -himself to be bested by Sir Frank, for that last -yarn he sent me is not to be sneezed at. Bertha -and Krupp are on the point of a momentous -quarrel. Some pacifist idiot—a woman, probably—put -a plea in her ear about 'trade in murder,' -'profit in man-killing,' and that sort of thing, and -the baby did the rest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She sits on the Huegel, befouling the -machinery for conquest-making below her windows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Some of the ordnance we are sending to -China to-day may kill my unborn child,'" she -writes, "and things have come to such a pass that -Krupp had to instruct the coachman to avoid -certain roads where Bertha's carriage might meet -with ammunition and other transports.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And ever since, all day long and half the -night, she accuses Krupp of using her money to -forge guns and bullets that, by and by, may seek -the heart or limbs of his own son.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'Don't I know when war will break out?' he -retorted angrily the other day. 'Long before that -our boy will be on a journey round the world.' Think -of a Prussian officer forced to indulge in such -damnable stuff!" cried the War Lord.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I submit, Your Majesty, that one has to -temporise with women, especially with a young -mother," suggested Prince Bülow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Silly sentimentalities," sneered the War -Lord; "I want none of them. Bertha has to be -broken of her freak—broken," he repeated, -gritting his teeth. "Why," he continued, "she even -refuses to take joy in her charities now, because, -she says, 'money made out of armaments is tainted -and no good can come from it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I allow that sort of thing to go on there -will be a </span><em class="italics">Kladderadatsch</em><span>" (fatal </span><em class="italics">dénouement</em><span>), -"one fine day. She may attempt to wrest from -Krupp the power of attorney under which he acts -as my agent, and there is such an abomination as -divorce, you know—oh, </span><em class="italics">mille pardons</em><span>, you do -know. And, worse luck, my courts deal in it as -well as the Vatican." (The War Lord referred -to Princess Bülow, whose first marriage to Count -von Donhoff was dissolved by the Holy See in 1881.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bülow reddened under the insult. "I am -wholly unsuited to interfere in other people's -family affairs," he blurted. Then, frightened at -losing his temper, added: "I beg Your Majesty's -pardon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My ward's affairs are my own," declared the -War Lord haughtily. "I'll settle with Bertha -myself, make her eat out of my hand—take my -word for it—and this will help."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He showed the Chancellor a long, handwritten -letter, with the imprint of Carlton House Terrace, -marked "Private and Confidential," and asked -him to read it aloud. The address was that of the -German Embassy at the Court of St. James's, -and Count Wolff von Metternich, His Majesty's -Ambassador, was the correspondent. He had been -permanently in London since 1901, previously -serving his diplomatic apprenticeship there, off and -on, between 1885 and 1890. His naïve complaint -in the Joseph Chamberlain affair has been noted. -As he was the War Lord's confidant while in the -service of the Berlin Foreign Office, Count -Metternich could not have been altogether without -knowledge of Wilhelm's treacherous conduct in and -toward England. The War Lord claimed British -hospitality time and again to combine espionage -with all too successful attempts to hoodwink the -English Sovereign and his statesmen about his real -intention toward Great Britain. King Edward -was not too blind, though, to what was going on; -he is credited with the remark that the War Lord -was not a gentleman.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Important, if true," said Prince Bülow, -handing back the letter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just as important if it </span><em class="italics">isn't</em><span> true—for my -purposes," quoth Wilhelm. He walked up and -down the room for several minutes, mumbling -things, then suddenly confronted the Chancellor: -"A belated answer to my letter to Tweedmouth—can -it be that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Prince Bülow was surprised beyond words. The -War Lord referring to his clumsy attempt (in -the early part of the year 1908) to throw dust -in the eyes of a British Minister of State in regard -to his responsibilities, by an act of unprecedented -condescension!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm's personal letter to the First Sea Lord -had caused considerable excitement in Germany, -but there had been no discussion of it at the -Chancellery. The subject was too ticklish for -that—particularly its aftermath, with its references to -"foolish stratagems," "unintelligent attempt to -deceive," "refusal to be perturbed by such little -incidents," and last, but not least, England's -avowed determination to thwart Wilhelm's plans -to be supreme upon the sea, since "there is -nothing for Great Britain between foreign sea -supremacy and ruin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And those "wretched </span><em class="italics">Temps</em><span> articles" -(Majesty's description was stronger), admonishing -England not to put faith in the War Lord's -protestations, but strengthen her navy and double -her army.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord seemed to divine what was -going through his Chancellor's mind. He changed -the subject. "Edward and Nicki have been talking -it over; they are afraid of me, despite boasted -Anglo-Russian and Anglo-French propositions, -and want to give me a good scare!" he cried. -"But I will show them that I don't care a fig for -their Entente. The Mediterranean trip is off. -My purple standard shall fly at Cowes, and Wedell -shall arrange for a little trip into France. Yes, -France," he insisted. "I have long wished for a -view of the strategical passes of the Vosges, and -you must persuade Fallières to invite me to see -the </span><em class="italics">Schlucht</em><span>.[#] Less than an hour's motor trip -from the frontier, you know."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] The proposed motor tour across the French frontier was actually -"arranged," as suggested by the War Lord, -and was billed to come off -in the first or second week of September (1908). -However, at the last -moment the War Lord showed the white feather, -having been informed -that he would never leave French soil alive, -a number of patriots having -vowed to kill him. Previous to this there -had been much irritation -in France and talk of "impudence," "cynicism," and "espionage."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"I will leave no stone unturned to execute -Your Majesty's commands," said Prince Bülow, -indulging in a profound bow to hide his face and -avoid betraying an astonishment bordering on -perplexity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wonder if Edward can be persuaded to meet -me in the Solent," mused the War Lord. "I -would love to tell him about my trip to Heligoland, -our coastal defences there, and preparations -for aerial invasion. Of course, the details will be -Greek to Uncle, since he knows less of military -matters than my two-year-old fillies at Trakehnen, -but my tale may possibly induce him to be more -careful in matters of his </span><em class="italics">amours impropre</em><span>: Russia -and France. Don't you think so, Bülow?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Quadruple Alliance, Your Majesty? I -can only repeat the conviction previously expressed—that -it is entirely pacific, a defensive measure -absolutely. As to King Edward, his political -strategy is certainly superior to his military talents, -but I was under the impression that he introduced -Your Majesty to the Maxim gun."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He happened to be my guest on the day set -for the trial of that incomparable man-killer, and -I took him to Lichterfelde to show him how I -would annihilate his vest-pocket army if he wasn't -as careful as his Mamma. Strange to say, he -seemed to be quite </span><em class="italics">au fait</em><span>. I had bet Moltke -a dozen </span><em class="italics">Echte</em><span> that Uncle couldn't distinguish a -Nordenfeldt or Gardner from the old-time Gatling; -but he did. 'Confound your impudence,' I said -to Moltke, when I paid the price; but Helmuth -convinced me that I got off dirt cheap. The -Maxim gun, he persuaded me, must have -undreamt of possibilities if even Edward recognises -its importance as a war machine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So the empty </span><em class="italics">echte</em><span>-box taught me that -every copper invested in Maxim guns means -one dead—an enemy—hence, that I can't have -enough Maxims. I want fifty, no, a hundred -thousand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm smiled sardonically as he added: "I -told Krupp he would lose his job unless he improves -on Maxim and gets up a machine-gun as light as -our army rifle and as easily fired. But that reminds -me. I will go to Essen to-night to impress Bertha -with her patriotic duties. You'll keep Krupp here."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Frau Krupp," said Wilhelm, as he retired -with the War Lady to the library of Villa Huegel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha," she pleaded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha is treating her Uncle Majesty very -badly."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May it please Your Majesty to say in which -way I have offended?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In every way, in the surest way, in the most -traitorous way!" cried the War Lord, trying to -stab the floor with the point of his sheathed -sword—a pitiable sight, since his poor left hand was -powerless to move. "You are thinking of -diverting the works from their sacred purpose: The -Fatherland's defence."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm struck a sentimental pose. "That's -my reward for the love and care I bestowed on -Frederick's child," he half monologued. "I -educated her, exalted her above all women in her -station of life, treated her like a child of my own, -like my own sons and daughter. I have bestowed -as much thought on Essen as on my army and -navy; made her business and fortune the grandest -of their kind; selected for her loving husband a -man of surpassing capacities and gave her wedding -the </span><em class="italics">éclat</em><span> of a royal function. Emperors, sultans -and kings have bedizened her with courtesies and -high decorations for my sake—the legend of -'the richest girl' has melted into 'the happiest -woman in the world'—</span><em class="italics">semper fidelis</em><span>, and -Madame, satiated and ungrateful, turns me the -cold shoulder."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Uncle Majesty, how can you say such things?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha," cried the War Lord, laying his -hand on her knee, "if you were not Frederick's -daughter, were not rich beyond the dreams of -avarice, I would ask: How much—how much did -England pay you for deserting me and the Fatherland?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Frau Krupp slipped from the chair, and on -her knees implored her terrifying visitor to show -mercy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The King of Prussia never pardons traitors."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The word awakened Frau Krupp's self-respect. -"Traitor!" she cried; "I would be a traitor to -humanity if I continued making faggots to set the -world afire."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord broke into wild laughter. "So -that's the melody," he shouted, "echoes of the -gutter Press in London, Paris, Petersburg, -Tokyo! It's well you mentioned it, Frau Krupp; -I know now exactly how we stand, you and I, -the benefactor and the unworthy object of my -magnanimity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Bertha lay on the silken rug sobbing her heart -out, but for Wilhelm the quivering form of the -girl for whom he professed a father's love was -mere air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sitting down at the great desk, he shouted: -"I command" into the speaking-tube sacred -to his All Highest person, and, Adjutant Baron -Dommes responding, he ordered: "Prepare for a -confidential message to the Chancellor by secret -code. Have the line cleared. You will attend to -the wire in person."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He grabbed a block of paper and began to -write, tearing off sheet after sheet with partially -finished sentences, rejecting his own words as fast -as he wrote them, and talking to himself in tones -considerably above a stage whisper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would suit the Austrian Baroness to turn -Krupps into an ironmongery for household and -farm goods," he sneered savagely, "but the mollycoddles -shall know presently that they haven't got -a silly girl to deal with." He paused, giving a -furtive look to the prostrate Bertha; then began -scribbling again and reading his hasty scrawl to -himself:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bethmann-Hollweg shall consult with Kuentzel -and Harnier about condemnation proceedings -against—— Never mind, I will give names by -'phone after receipt of message is acknowledged. -Must be kept a profound State secret. Anyone -mentioning it even in the presence of his secretary -will be dismissed </span><em class="italics">cum infamia</em><span>. Remember, the -best legal talent only." (The persons named were -high officials in the Ministry of Justice.)</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Excitement would not let Wilhelm be seated -long, and he began pacing the floor, dragging his -sword.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Preposterous!" he alternately mumbled or -hissed. "A mere slut foiling my plans, interfering -with my life's work! Stop making implements of -war: the great Alexander held up on the road to -India by a blacksmith!" He laughed hysterically, -lunging forth to both sides with his clenched fist -as if striking at imaginary enemies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But the maw of death will be glutted with -or without your assistance, Frau Krupp—glutted -to nausea!" he cried, pausing before the trembling -girl. "There will be an accumulation of anguish -such as the world has never witnessed, despite -thee, ingrate that thou art."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lady raised her hand and looked at -him with ghastly, tear-stained eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't—oh, don't!" she breathed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The more you plead the quicker the catastrophe -will come! You mean to keep me in a -state of unreadiness, but my enemies are even less -ready—time to strike!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Even Your Majesty can't make war without -pretext," wailed Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't, eh? I can't? And there are no -pretexts, either? What about Morocco? If I -seize the smallest harbour of that —— country, -isn't that tantamount to invading Algiers? I tell -you in such event France and Great Britain must -fight whether they like or not. And their blood -upon your head, Bertha, the blood of France and -Great Britain and Russia, and of the German -people, too."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He affected to shudder. "A thing of horror -such as even Dante could not have conceived!" -he exclaimed pathetically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I the cause?" faltered Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who else, since you are driving me to war! -Can I, dare I wait until Le Creusot, Woolwich -and the Putiloffs have finished their preparations? -I be —— if I will!" he added rudely, "so I -propose to seize the Krupp plant and manufacture -my own war material until 'The Day' and after."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lady, trembling with amazement, -half raised herself from the floor and, balancing on -her right arm, stared wildly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Seize my plant?" she gasped; but the War -Lord paid no attention. Kicking his sword aside, -he once more seized pencil and writing-block.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Cum infamia</em><span>," he read, as if for Bertha's -benefit. Then his pencil flew rapidly over the -paper: "The plant to be taken over by the act -of the Sovereign, Gwinner and Emil Rathenau to -look to the financial end, Dernburg and Thyssen -to examine the business end." (Arthur von -Gwinner, German railway magnate; August -Thyssen, mine owner and merchant prince.) He was -grabbing the speaking-tube, when Bertha took -hold of his shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Uncle Majesty," she whispered softly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you please, Frau Krupp, no familiarities," -barked the War Lord. "You are interfering in -business of State."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen, Uncle," pleaded Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, </span><em class="italics">you</em><span> listen to your King," said the War -Lord coaxingly, "that is, if you will be once more -my good little girl, and not presume to mix in my -affairs, in affairs of the State."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am at Your Majesty's mercy," sobbed Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You ought to have thought of that before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Forgive me, forgive me, Uncle Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On one condition: that never again you lend -ear to outsiders in matters affecting the Krupp -works, whatever may be their character or claims -to recognition."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I promise, Uncle Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord leaned back in his chair and -motioned to Bertha to sit down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The most terrible War Office secret has just -been communicated to me by Metternich," he -began, "and I would be unworthy of the trust -imposed upon me by the Almighty if I did not use -every preventive to undo this new dreadful peril -to the Fatherland. Prevention spells: 'Increase -of armaments on land and sea and, indeed, above -the sea.' That's why I am forced to seize the -Krupp works if you dare oppose my will——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But I don't, Uncle Majesty. I swear I -don't!" cried Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord sunk his penetrating eyes into -Bertha's as if trying to read the War Lady's very -thoughts. "Ring for the baby," he said; and -when the child was brought in he whispered to -her to dismiss the nurse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Swear on the life of your child that you will -not attempt to wrest the control of the Krupp -works from my agent, or agents, and that your -factories and shipyards shall ever be at my -exclusive disposal, your Uncle Majesty to control the -output and mode of manufacture absolutely, and -decide on all measures deemed essential for the -success of the works and the armament and defence -of the Fatherland."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For a few moments the War Lady stared at -the speaker, then allowed him to take her right -hand and place it on the baby's head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I swear," she said in a hardly audible voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On the life of your child," demanded Wilhelm. -There was a scarcely concealed threat in -his tones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mercy, Uncle Majesty!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mercy begins at home. There are thirty -thousand families depending upon you—all told, -about one hundred and fifty thousand people are -living in Essen and suburbs. Do you want to see -them all wiped off the face of the earth?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't follow, Your Majesty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I asked a question; I am not after argument. -Once more I ask: Would you rather see Essen, -my fortress of Cologne, Düsseldorf, the whole -Rhine and Ruhr valleys blasted out of existence -than say these eight words: 'I swear on the life -of my child'?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't conceive the meaning of Your -Majesty's words; but I love my people, and I -would much rather die myself than have them -suffer on my account," said the War Lady. She -kissed the child, and, with tears streaming from -her eyes, pronounced the fatal words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the name of the Fatherland I thank you," -said Wilhelm, touching Bertha's forehead with -white lips cold as ice. Then, striking a theatrical -pose, he added: "</span><em class="italics">Si Krupp nobiscum, quis contra -nos</em><span>?" (If Krupp is with us, who can stand -against us?) He rang the bell. "Dommes," he -whispered into the 'phone, adding a word of the -secret code. Presently there was a knock at the -door. The War Lord himself opened it. Dommes -was standing at attention, naked sword in hand. -A few more words in the secret code. The door -closed, and Dommes began patrolling the corridor.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-great-state-secret"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXI</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A GREAT STATE SECRET</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<!-- --> -<blockquote> -<div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Great Dundonald Plan—The Menace to Essen—Who -Holds the Secret?—An Infallible Plan—England -Will Have to Pay—The World Will be Mine</span></p> -</div> -</blockquote> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A minute passed while the War Lord listened for -the steady tread of his epauletted sentinel on the -marble floor and seemed to count the steps. If -Dommes had strayed an inch upon the purple -runner which he was ordered to avoid, Wilhelm -would have rushed out and abused him for a spy. -Not until satisfied that the possibility of being -overheard was out of the question, he told of the -things weighing upon his mind, or of those, rather, -that he wanted to weigh on Bertha's mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You heard of Lord Dundonald?" he asked abruptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The father of Baron Cochrane, who announced -the death of Gordon and the fall of -Khartoum," replied Bertha. "Gustav met him -at Brooks's, I believe."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The desert rider doesn't interest us now," -retorted Wilhelm, "though I would love to have -him on my staff—just the man to lead my African -forces and to help in the Boer uprising. I am -talking of Thomas Cochrane, the tenth Earl. Surely -you learned about his good work against Napoleon -and his exploits in South American waters? For -a time he was admiral of the Chilian Fleet, re-entering -the British naval service in the last years -of William IV.'s reign."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I recollect now," said Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, the two elder Dundonalds were scientists, -like your father and grandfather. Indeed, -Dundonald </span><em class="italics">grand-père</em><span> made several epoch-making -chemical discoveries—I suspect Heydebrand is -stealing his ideas on every hand" (Dr. Ernst von -Heydebrand, leader of the Agrarian party and a -husbandman of note), "for Earl Archie enlarged -on the relations between agriculture and chemistry -even during the French Revolution; but Thomas -Dundonald, his son, the same who defeated the -Corsican at sea, was, or rather is, the man who -threatens the Fatherland, even though buried these -fifty years and more. Industry is indebted to him -for discoveries in the line of compressed air, -improvements in engines and propellers, but his </span><em class="italics">chef -d'oeuvre</em><span> was a war machine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell you, Bertha, it looms up larger and -larger as the struggle that is sure to come -approaches—a perpetual threat menacing the -stability of my Empire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The enemy—I mean the British War Office—has -wrapt that thing of horror in darkest mystery -ever since its inception a hundred years ago, and -Haldane is as secretive about it as the Prince -Regent was in the early decades of the nineteenth -century.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"During my every visit to England I have -tried to find out from princes, statesmen and -military men on the Dundonald plan, only to meet with -patriotic objections in one place, with bluff in -another. Lord Roberts went so far as to say there -was no such thing. But King Edward, when Prince -of Wales, contradicted Roberts, without suspecting, -of course, that I had quizzed the Field Marshal. -He had seen the document, he said; it rested in -a secret drawer of the War Minister's safe. 'No -other War Office official has access to it,' he told -me, 'and it's the only copy in existence.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"His word notwithstanding, there was a possibility, -of course, that the plans of the great war -machine might be concealed somewhere about -Lord Dundonald's town residence in Portman -Square, or in the archives of Gwyrch Castle, his -seat in Wales, and Wedell has spent ten thousands -upon ten thousands, bribing confidential servants, -librarians and secretaries and what not? I had half -made up my mind to approach the present Earl, -when Metternich, by the merest accident, came -upon some of the information sought after.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bertha," continued Wilhelm, "though we -don't know its exact nature yet, the last doubt as -to its limitless efficacy as a destroyer is -removed—hence, the famous secret of the London War -Office constitutes a peril to the German Empire -that only war preparations on the largest possible -scale can hope to check."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He dropped into melodramatic style, </span><em class="italics">tutoyering</em><span> -Bertha: "Dost understand now, child, why I -contemplated taking over the Krupp works for the -State in case you failed your Uncle Majesty? Such -would have been my duty, my sacred duty."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I understand now, understand fully, and I -humbly beg Your Majesty's pardon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is granted," said the War Lord, with the -air of a tyrant annulling a death sentence. "And -now you want to know about the menace Dundonald's -plan holds out to Essen, of course. But -for your fuller understanding we must first go into -the history of the case."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord lit a cigarette and settled -comfortably into his throne chair. "Some two -years before the battle of Leipzig," he began, -"Lord Dundonald first startled the British War -Office by a device for annihilating all fortified -places and armies of Europe, should Bonaparte -succeed in uniting them against England. -However, his plan was so terrible, the Secretary for -War refused to take the responsibility of either -rejecting or accepting it, and persuaded the Regent -to appoint a committee for its investigation </span><em class="italics">en -camera</em><span>. The Duke of York, Lord Keith, Lord -Exmouth and the two Congreves were chosen, and -their verdict was: 'Infallible, irresistible, but too -inhuman for consideration.' And at that time, -Bertha, Englishmen and Englishwomen were -hanged for stealing a sheep or an ell of cotton. -So you may be sure that Lord Dundonald's war -machine is no more burdened with sentimentality -than 'old Fritz' yonder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The terrible plan was reluctantly pigeon-holed, -and, as you know, Prussia, not the English, -smashed Napoleon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In 1817 Lord Dundonald went to South -America, having previously pledged his word of -honour that he would not use his invention for the -benefit of foreigners, and that, on the contrary, it -should remain for ever at the disposal of England's -War Office. Later, his lordship confessed that he -had been tempted time and again to employ his -invention, but refrained from self-respect.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"After 1832 he was back in London, and -from then on until his death in 1860 he submitted -his terrible plan to each succeeding War Minister, -and each of these gentlemen declared the method -capable of realisation with the awful results -predicted by the author, yet too savage for adoption -by a Christian government.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Followed the Crimean War, with its initial -anxieties, particularly to my grandmother. To -her Lord Dundonald, then quite an old man, -submitted his plan anew, which he said would shorten -the war; but Queen Victoria hadn't the heart to -listen to the inhuman proposal. However, Lord -Palmerston had the invention officially investigated, -appointing the most progressive scientists -of the day for the task. As expected, they upheld -Lord Dundonald's claims in every particular, but -the inhumanity clause attached forbade its acceptance -under a ruler like Queen Victoria, and once -more the plan was shelved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course," added the War Lord, "they -were fighting against Russia then. If it had been -Germany, that blackguard Palmerston would have -hanged the committee that declared against its -acceptance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That happened sixty years ago," he went on, -"and the British War Office has kept Dundonald's -terrible plan in reserve ever since. Nor has its -exact nature leaked out, though time and again -one or other of the Powers have offered millions -for the betrayal of the secret. Now, if I had been -War Lord when Lord Dundonald was travelling -in Germany—but that's neither here nor there," -he added gloomily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Wilhelm walked to the empty fireplace and -stared at the lifeless logs, while a sinister and cruel -expression intensified the brutality of his features, -"You heard of Frederick the Great stealing the -dancer La Barbarina from the Venetians, bodily -snatching her out of the ambassador's coach? So -would I have kidnapped Lord Dundonald, 70 -Wilhelmstrasse" (the palace of the British -Embassy) "notwithstanding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I would have clapped him into Spandau, and -kept him at a diet of bread and water until he -revealed his secret in every detail—yes, and put to -the test, too. And if starvation hadn't fetched him -round—why, we have a lot of that Nuremberg -</span><em class="italics">bric-à-brac</em><span>—thumb-screws, Spanish boots and toys -of that sort—hidden away in some of the old castles -and prisons——" True to his habit of manual -illustration, he described some of the workings of -the torture machinery by attacking the atmosphere.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, as said, it's neither here nor there," he -resumed finally. "Back to our muttons, then, -</span><em class="italics">mon amie</em><span>. This is the story which Metternich -obtained from two sources: Whitehall and -Gwyrch Castle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To-day Dundonald's terrible plan plays a -more decisive part in England's foreign policy -than ever, being regarded as the supreme reserve -force, a reserve force such as the world has never -dreamt of. Its point is against Germany, as a -matter of course, but I doubt not that Asquith -would use it upon his own allies if ever they turned -against him. Hence, France, Russia, even Japan, -dare not act independently of Great Britain lest -she employ Dundonald's terrible secret.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As to its nature, according to certain vague -information deduced from some of the late Lord -Thomas's manuscript notes found at the Welsh -castle, the hope that in the meantime it had been -superseded by modern explosives, and that its -main principle, or allied principles, were no longer -the last cry in the line of destruction, has proved -absolutely untenable. His menacing method is as -infallible and irresistible to-day as it was a hundred -years ago; all your dynamiters, nitro-glyceriners, -lydditers and the rest of them notwithstanding, -Bertha."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord struck a tragic pose: "To sum -up, in concocting this crime against humanity the -English lord degraded his intellect beneath the -meanest animal. Your poor child," he murmured, -"like my fortresses and towns on the coast of -the North Sea or Baltic, so Essen and the peaceful -Ruhr valley may be swallowed up in the whirlwind -of his enormities."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shall defend my boy with my last breath!" -cried Bertha, jumping to her feet, "him and all -my people. Tell me, Uncle Majesty, why is Essen -especially menaced?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Its proximity to the frontier is our most -vulnerable point. Pray, and pray hard, Bertha, -that Wilhelmina remains our friend. If she joined -our enemies, Lord Dundonald's devilish invention -might be brought to your very doors, through the -Zuyder Zee and Waal, and Germany's armoury, -the Krupp works, obliterated; the Fatherland -itself could be wiped off the map.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope to prevent this by throwing an iron -wall across Belgium and Northern France," he -continued, tracing a line on the wall-map, while -Bertha faltered out:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And this English menace——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How it works, you mean? With the resistless -energy of Etna in eruption and the iron grip -of the flow of ashes that buried Pompeii and -Herculaneum. Only here will be no escape by -water; but for my protecting arm you will all be -suffocated in bed, or standing or going, as it -were."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The War Lord stepped to the window and -looked through the telescope fixed on a stand. -"As far as the eye travels," he monologued, "one -vast ghastly cemetery. Every house and cottage a -grave, this villa a mausoleum."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Save us!" shrieked Bertha. "Your Majesty -alone can save us!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will," said the War Lord, "my Imperial -word: they shall not harm a hair on your child's -head. With the Krupps working according to my -plans, I will save Essen and my ships and my -fortresses, too, for danger anticipated is half -overcome; and when 'The Day' arrives I will move -so quickly Whitehall won't have time to put the -Scottish nobleman's surprise into practice. Listen, -Bertha:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Japs disembarked eight thousand men at -Sakhalin in a single hour, and whatever these brown -devils did my army will have to go them one better. -I will fall on Belgium, and, as I told Krupp, hack -my way to Calais. By that time, maybe, you will -have completed the howitzer that, planted at -Calais, will make Dover Castle tumble into the -dust. If you haven't, my air fleet alone must -pull off the job. After closing the mouth of the -Thames——"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sheerness to be blockaded?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By mines, Zeppelin, admiral. And before -they have recovered from their surprise I will have -three hundred and fifty thousand men on the way -to Threadneedle Street. About the same time -King George and Mr. Asquith, or whoever is in -power, will get a wireless to the effect that, to the -indemnity England will have to pay, a thousand -million pounds will be added if there is an attempt -to interrupt the march of my armies by using the -Dundonald plan, or if same is used anywhere or at -any time against my possessions. My admonition -will be in time, for to launch an undertaking so -gigantic as to baffle even the most enterprising of -your own lieutenants, Bertha, will take the slow -English months and months; the swiftness of my -movements, then, can be relied upon to forestall -the evil intended to make our own warlike -invention pale into insignificance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But the English fleet, Your Majesty?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Obsolete, old iron so far as the Channel is -concerned. If I have enough airships, I won't -bother about George's Dreadnoughts at all, for my -nine army corps can be shipped from Calais in half -an hour's time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As you know, my latest Zep. carries a -hundred persons, and I have been talking it over -with your Board and the Count: there are no -technical obstacles against the construction of -airships four times the size; airships can expand even -more readily than howitzers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And the dream of my little girl need not be -abandoned, either," added the War Lord in softer -tones, "for the telegram to King George will -further stipulate that the Dundonald secret must -be turned over to me, and that I will have a -hundred hostages to guarantee my absolute monopoly -of this war machine—all the living war ministers -and the heads of the families of the war ministers -for the last hundred years, with a sprinkling of -dukes, princes, high statesmen and low politicians -to boot. Lady Warwick has sometimes wondered -what the English nobility is good for—I'll show -her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Dundonald secret in my exclusive keeping," -concluded Wilhelm, "you can devote the -Krupp plant in all future to the ideals of the -pacifists; for the world, awed into submission and -silence lest I make a vast Pompeii out of a rebel -country—the world will be mine!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the War Lady's astonished eyes following -him as he strode the length and breadth of the -room, the War Lord chuckled to himself. "Lord -Dundonald's crude notes, found by my agents, -have put me on the track of the secret; anyhow, -we are now experimenting in Charlottenburg. My -experts call it a liquid perambulant fire, a hundred -per cent. more efficacious than my asphyxiating -gas for clearing a road through a human wall, as -each cylinder is guaranteed to lay low man, beast -and technical obstacle for a space of a hundred -and more square feet. What do you say to that, -Bertha?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are wonderful, Uncle Majesty," said Bertha.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Invincible, arm in arm with the War Lady," -declaimed Wilhelm.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">PRINTED BY -<br />CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, -<br />LONDON, E.C. -<br />F100.116</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>THE SECRET MEMOIRS OF BERTHA KRUPP</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44979"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44979</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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