When the lunch was finished, the Kaiser took Colonel House aside, and the two men withdrew to the terrace, out of earshot of the rest of the gathering.  However, they were not out of sight.  For nearly half an hour the Kaiser and the American stood side by side upon the terrace, the German generals, at a respectful distance, watching the proceeding, resentful, puzzled, curious as to what it was all about.  The quiet demeanour of the American “Colonel,” his plain citizen’s clothes, and his almost impassive face, formed a striking contrast to the Kaiser’s dazzling uniform and the general scene of military display.  Two or three of the generals and admirals present were in the secret, but only two or three; the mass of officers watching this meeting little guessed that the purpose of House’s visit was to persuade the Kaiser to abandon everything for which the Schrippenfest stood; to enter an international compact with the United States and Great Britain for reducing armaments, to reach an agreement about trade and the treatment of backward peoples, and to form something of a permanent association for the preservation of peace.  The one thing which was apparent to the watchers was that the American was only now and then saying a brief word, but that the Kaiser was, as usual, doing a vast amount of talking.  His speech rattled on with the utmost animation, his arms were constantly gesticulating, he would bring one fist down into his palm to register an emphatic point, and enforce certain ideas with a menacing forefinger.  At times Colonel House would show slight signs of impatience and interrupt the flow of talk.  But the Kaiser was clearly absorbed in the subject under discussion.  His entourage several times attempted to break up the interview.  The Court Chamberlain twice gingerly approached and informed His Majesty that the Imperial train was waiting to take the party back to Berlin.  Each time the Kaiser, with an angry gesture, waved the interrupter away.  Despairing of the usual resources, the Kaiserin was sent with the same message.  The Kaiser did not treat her so summarily, but he paid no attention to the request, and continued to discuss the European situation with the American.

[Illustration:  Walter H. Page, from a photograph taken a few years before he became American Ambassador to Great Britain]

[Illustration:  The British Foreign Office, Downing Street]

The subject that had mainly aroused the Imperial warmth was the “Yellow Peril.”  For years this had been an obsession with the Kaiser, and he launched into the subject as soon as Colonel House broached the purpose of his visit.  There could be no question of disarmament, the Kaiser vehemently declared, as long as this danger to civilization existed.  “We white nations should join hands,” he said, “to oppose Japan and the other yellow nations, or some day they will destroy us.”