The Schemes of the Kaiser | Page 9

of Turkey that you do not know already? All her thoughts, movements and actions are regulated by one man, and he a vassal of German policy. Turkey's army, trade and finances, the direction of her ruling minds, are either in my hands or in those of England. And England, say what you will, is hypnotised by me.
"I can afford at my pleasure to challenge her policy indefinitely.
"The diplomas which she conferred upon the Bulgarian bishops after the execution at Panitza have shown you, my brother, how greatly I am pleased to favour those whom you have condemned! Stamboulof, the inveterate foe of Russia, now dominates the elections in Bulgaria and Roumelia, thanks to the iradé on the bishoprics. He goes in triumph through the land, so that even the Russophile candidates invoke the protection of this man, who shoots the country's heroes and reduces its prince to the level of an ordinary public servant. His audacity, his impunity, the length of his tether, have no limits except those which will be imposed upon him by my power should you turn a deaf ear to my proposals.
"And just as British policy has served the ends of Prussian statecraft in Bulgaria and Roumelia, even so it serves them at this moment in Armenia.
"It was I who willed and inspired the indulgence of the Sultan for the bloodthirsty Moussa Bey. Massacred by the Kurds on the one hand, and on the other observing the success of the revolution in Roumelia, the Armenians will inevitably be led from one revolt to another and, helped by a few timely suggestions, will come to believe that they can win their autonomy.
"Herein lies another difficulty which disturbs your mind, and of which my hands hold the threads; another people, to whom you might have looked for help in the event of my allies going to war with you, but which England and I will be able to remove from your influence.
"In Roumania, a Hohenzollern guards all the keys which open the doors of his frontiers.
"In Serbia, I am working by sure means to destroy the last remaining sympathies for Russia. To attain this end I will leave no stone unturned, even as I am doing in Greece against France.
"With an eye to the future interests of my African colonies, I have compelled England to keep Portugal quiet. I do not wish any revolutionary upheaval to react upon Spain, that indomitable nation which still resists me, but in whose mouth nevertheless, I have put an invisible bit. I shall know how to drive her headlong into the trap that awaits her in Morocco.
"With the help of Italy, Switzerland is mine. And Holland will fall to me through the little Duchy of Luxembourg, which will come to me by the marriage of one of my sisters with the heir of Nassau.
"My last master stroke was the way of my coming into Belgium. Therein I was artful. The Belgians affected to believe in the neutrality of their microscopic kingdom. I played up to the joke and entered their country by way of the sea.
"In all the splendour of my power, I came to Ostend on the Hohenzollern, and I made it my business to invest my appearance with every feature calculated to impress the mob, in these days when outward show appeals most powerfully to the popular imagination. And I was, moreover, determined that nothing should be lacking to the full effectiveness of this demonstration.
"Belgium had intimated by a revolution her objections to becoming German. Well and good: I imposed myself upon her as German Emperor. With wearisome reiteration she had manifested her sympathy for France. In order to challenge these sentiments the more effectively, I compelled King Leopold to take his seat beside me as the Colonel of one of my Alsatian regiments!
"And do you suppose that the Belgians protested? Not a bit of it! No, the trick is played. No longer in secret, but openly, Belgium will play my waiting game, in the Congo and at the gates of France.
"My visit to Belgium is destined to produce such important results in days to come, that I have neglected not the smallest detail in order to produce a legendary impression upon Europe. Nothing have I forgotten: costumes for each part, words, good seed sown broadcast in the public mind, communications to the Press, advice given to sovereigns of a nature to please the people, and elsewhere (as in England) popularity with the military caste!
"An individual of the name of Van der Smissen, having dared to argue in the ranks, got broken for his pains.
"At the same time, in order to cast into stronger relief the loftiness and majesty of my countenance, I invested it, amongst these good Belgians, with certain new features of good nature and cordiality.
"As to France,