The Coming Conquest of England | Page 9

considers the present
the most suitable time for disclosing to the world his ultimate aims. It
would be the task of our diplomatic representative at the Court of
Berlin to assure himself on this point. But it is quite another question
whether Russia really needs an alliance either with Germany or with
the Western Power just referred to, and my view of the case leads me to
answer this question in the negative. Russia is, at the present time, the
last and sole bulwark of absolutism in Europe, and if a ruler called by
God's grace to the highest and most responsible of all earthly offices is
to remain strong enough to crush the spirit of rebellion and immorality
which here and there, under the influence of foreign elements, has
shown itself in our beloved country, we must, before all things, take
heed to keep far away from our people the poison of the so-called
liberal ideas, infidelity, and atheism with which it seems likely to be
contaminated from the West. In like manner, as we, a century ago,
crushed the powerful leader of the revolution, so also shall we to- day
triumph over our foe--we single-handed! Let our armies march into
Persia, Afghanistan, and India, and lead throughout all Asia the
dominion of the true faith to victory. But keep our holy Russia
uncontaminated by the poison of that heretical spirit, which would be a

worse foe than any foreign power can be."
He sat down, and for a moment absolute silence reigned. The Grand
Duke made a serious face, and exchanged a few whispered words with
both his nephews.
Then he said: "All the gentlemen who have here given us their views
on the situation are agreed that a declaration of war upon England is an
exceedingly lamentable but, under the circumstances, unavoidable
necessity; yet before I communicate to His Majesty, our gracious Lord,
this view, which is that of us all, I put to you, gentlemen, the question
whether there is anyone here who is of a contrary opinion. In this case,
I would beg of him to address us."
He waited a short while, but as no one wished to be allowed to speak,
he rose from his chair, and with a few words of thanks and a gentle
bow to the dignitaries, who had also risen in their places, notified that
he regarded the sitting, fraught with momentous consequences for the
destiny of the world, as closed.
II
THE OFFICERS' MESS
The place was Chanidigot, in British East India. The blinding
brightness of the hot day had been immediately followed, almost
without the transition to twilight, by the darkness of evening, which
brought with it a refreshing coolness, allowing all living things to
breathe again freely. In the wide plain, which served as the
encampment ground for the English regiment of lancers, all was alive
again with the setting of the sun. The soldiers, freed from the toil of
duty, enjoyed themselves, according to their ideas and dispositions,
either in playing cards, singing, or merrily drinking. The large tent,
used as a messroom by the officers, also showed signs of life. Dinner
was over, and a number of gentlemen sat down to a game of cards, as
was their daily custom. But here the amusement was of a less harmless
character than in the case of the private soldiers. For not innocent
bridge, but "poker" was the order of the day, a game much affected in
America and also in some parts of England, a game which is solely
determined by chance together with a certain histrionic bluffing on the
part of the players, and the stakes were rather high. It was mostly
played by the younger gentlemen, who could not do without their
nerve-tonic in the evenings, in the monotony of camp life. The older

men sat apart at tables, talking and drinking whisky-and-soda, and
smoking their short pipes. Amongst them there was also a gentleman in
civilian dress. The hospitality with which he was treated showed that he
was not one of the officers of the regiment, but their guest. The sound
of his name--he was addressed as Mr. Heideck-- would have betrayed
his German origin, even had his appearance not proclaimed it. He was
of but medium height, but athletic in build. His erect, soldiery bearing
and the elasticity of his movements plainly betokened his excellent
health and considerable bodily strength. A foreigner can hardly present
better credentials to an Englishman than these qualities. Perhaps, more
than anything else, it was his distinguished appearance, in conjunction
with his amiable and thoroughly gentlemanly bearing, that had so
quickly opened the usually very exclusive officers' circle to the young
German, with his clever, energetic features, and his honest blue eyes.
Judged by his profession he did