But such is the character of William II that he despises those who serve him or who yield to his will.  Like Don Juan, he seeks ever new worlds to conquer, new resistances to overcome, and neglects no means to secure his desired ends.  England and Austria to-day count for less than nothing in his schemes.  These countries have had a free hand in Bulgaria, and they have used it to indulge in every sort of intrigue.  Screened by Bismarck, they have advised, upheld and exalted Stamboulof, they have set up the Prince of Coburg.  And William, not having inspired any of this policy, would like to see it end in complications shameful for his associates.

As to the King of Sweden, he thinks it due to the dignity of his people to make some show of resistance, but one feels that this is only done to save appearances.  He also has delivered himself, bound hand and foot, just as they have all done, the Emperor Francis Joseph, the King of Italy, the Hohenzollern who reigns at Bucharest, Stamboulof, Lord Salisbury and Leopold II.

July 29, 1890. [9]

The Imperial bagman travelling in Germanophil wares conceals under his flag a very mixed cargo.  He makes a Bernadotte to serve as speaking trumpet for Prussian Conservatism at the same time that he subsidises agents provocateurs for the purpose of misleading and internationalising the social reform programme of the Danes.

And all the time, in every direction, he comes and goes—­this ever restless, universal disturber—­creating and perpetuating instability on all sides, so as to increase the price of his peace stock, he controlling the market.  It is Bismarck’s old game, played with up-to-date methods.

August 12, 1890. [10]

Does it not seem to you, dear reader, that the voyage of William II to Russia suggests in more ways than one the scene of the Temptation on the Mount?

At St. Petersburg there reigns a sovereign whose life, directed by the inspirations of his soul, is one long act of virtuous self-denial; who prefers the humble and the lowly to fortune’s favourites; whose works are works of peace, and whose intentions are always those of a man ready to appear before Him Who only tolerates the great ones of this earth when their power is balanced by a due sense of their moral responsibility, by devotion to duty and truth.

At Berlin there reigns a man of ungovernable pride, who aspires to be torch-bearer to the world.  Restless, like the spirit of evil, tormented by his inability to do good, he has dedicated his soul to wickedness and lies.

Alexander III regarded his accession to the throne as an ordeal, the sacrifice of his life.  He would have given his own blood to spare his father the pangs of death.  William II seized fiercely on the reins of power, after having committed a crime, at least in his heart; after having wished for the death of his father and increased his sufferings by his conduct.