The reason of Prince Henry’s being sent to the far Orient was of a twofold character.  In the first place, the Chinese Empire seemed to be on the eve of a break-up, and each of the various Great Powers of Europe, was exerting its utmost energies to secure the lion’s share in the game of grab in progress at Pekin.  Scions of European royalty who visit China and Japan are few and far between, and the emperor very naturally thought that the presence of Prince Henry at the head of the German naval forces in Chinese waters—­a prince who in addition to being the kaiser’s only brother, is brother-in-law to the Russian czar, and a grandson of the Queen of England,—­would have the effect of giving to the cause of Germany in the Orient an importance and a prestige which would atone for the inferiority of its naval strength in that part of the globe.  Then, too, the emperor is generally believed to have foreseen the conflict between Spain and the United States, and to have known beforehand of the intention of the latter to make a dash upon Manila, in order to secure possession of the rich and fertile Philippine archipelago at the first outbreak of hostilities.  Germany’s navy is of such relatively recent origin that its flag-officers are far from possessing either the spirit of resource, or the cleverness and diplomacy for which the commanding generals of the German army are so distinguished.  They are men who, officially, intellectually, and socially, are of an inferior calibre, the majority of them being of plebeian birth.  The emperor held, therefore, that it was all-important that Germany’s squadron in the far Orient should be, at that particular juncture, under the command of an officer such as Prince Henry, who, by reason of his royal rank and his intimate knowledge of his brother’s views and wishes, would have the necessary boldness, tact, and presence of mind to know exactly how to deal with any crisis that might arise.

I am perfectly aware that there is a disposition in the United States to blame Prince Henry for the bad feeling which was caused by the attitude of the German warships at Manila during the few months that followed the great American naval victory gained under the guns of that city, but the trouble was due to the Prussian rear-admiral, Diederichs, who, to use the expressive phrase of the English captain, Sir Edward Chichester, in endeavoring to excuse him in the eyes of Admiral Dewey, “had no sea-manners,” and there is no doubt that had Prince Henry been at Manila, instead of Diederichs, at that moment, there would have been no friction whatsoever, either between the naval commanders, or subsequently between the two nations, for Prince Henry possesses precisely those qualities which would have resulted in feelings of good-will and friendship with Admiral Dewey.  He is modest, honest, broad-minded, speaks English perfectly, and is entirely free from any affectation or pose.  He is a man, indeed, who has so many qualities in common with Dewey that it is impossible that they should not have understood each other, and under the circumstances it is most unfortunate that the prince happened to be in the northernmost portion of the China seas at the very time that the battle of Manila was fought.  It may be remembered that matters went on very much more smoothly between the Germans and the Americans at Manila after the withdrawal of Admiral Diederichs.