who recognised the growing anxiety of the world.  Perhaps many of those who so continuously extolled the Emperor were really honestly of opinion that his behaviour was quite correct.  It is, nevertheless, impossible not to believe that among the many clever German politicians of the last decade there were some who had a clear grasp of the situation, and the fact remains that, in order to spare the Emperor and themselves, they had not the courage to be harsh with him and tell him the truth to his face.  These are not reproaches, but reminiscences which should not be superfluous at a time when the Emperor is to be made the scapegoat of the whole world.  Certainly, the Emperor, being such as he is, the experiment would not have passed off without there being opposition to encounter and overcome.  The first among his subjects to attempt the task of enlightening the Emperor would have been looked upon with the greatest surprise; hence no one would undertake it.  Had there, however, been men who, regardless of themselves, would have undertaken to do it, it would certainly have succeeded, as not only was the Emperor full of good intentions, but he was also impressionable, and consistent purposefulness on a basis of fearless honesty would have impressed him.  Besides, the Emperor was a thoroughly kind and good man.  It was a genuine pleasure for him to be able to do good, neither did he hate his enemies.  In the summer of 1917 he spoke to me about the fate of the deposed Tsar and of his desire to help him and subsequently bring him to Germany, a desire due not to dynastic but to human motives.  He stated repeatedly that he had no desire for revenge, but “only to succour his fallen adversary.”

I firmly believe that the Emperor clearly saw the clouds grow blacker and blacker on the political horizon, but he was sincerely and honestly persuaded that it was not through any fault of his that they had accumulated, that they were caused by envy and jealousy, and that there was no other way of keeping the threatening war danger at bay than by an ostentatious attitude of strength and fearlessness.  “Germany’s power and might must daily be proclaimed to the world, for as long as they fear us they will do us no harm”—­that was the doctrine that obtained on the Spree.  And the echo came back from the world, “This continued boasting of German power and the perpetual attempts at intimidation prove that Germany seeks to tyrannise the world.”

When war broke out the Emperor was firmly convinced that a war of defence was being forced on him, which conviction was shared by the great majority of the German people.  I draw these conclusions solely from my knowledge of the Emperor and his entourage and from other information obtained indirectly.  As I have already mentioned, I had not had the slightest connection with Berlin for some years previous to the war, and certainly not for two years after it broke out.