eeing
policy to defend Greece and Crete instead of abandoning them to the
tender mercies of Turco-German policy? It is over-late to set the
clock back and to challenge the pre-eminent control which William II
has established over everything in the East.

December 25, 1897. [22]

None but the author of _Tartarin_ and his immortal "departures" could
have described for us the setting-forth of Prince Henry of Prussia for
China. The exchange of speeches between William and his brother makes
one of the most extravagant performances of modern times, when read in
conjunction with the actual facts, reduced by means of the telegraph to
their proper proportions, which may be summed up as follows: Taking up
the cause of two German missionaries who have suffered ill-treatment in
China, the Emperor of Germany sends an ultimatum to the Son of Heaven,
who yields on every point and carries his submission so far that he
runs the risk of compromising his relations with other Powers.
Consequently, there is an end of the dispute. The facts, you see, are
simple. But Prince Henry has made him ready to receive his solemn
investiture at the hands of his brother, the Emperor, by going to kiss
Prince Bismarck on his forehead and cheek ("forehead and cheek," as
Prince Henry unctuously remarks, "so often kissed by my grandfather,
William I"). Next Prince Henry goes to seek the blessing of General
Waldersee; then he has himself blessed by his mother, and by his aunt,
and later he will go and get blessed by his grandmother, Queen
Victoria. Slowly and solemnly each act and formality is accomplished
in accordance with the rites prescribed by William. The Imperial
missionary, the sailor transformed into a sort of bishop, sets forth.
The quest of the pirate-knight is to conquer all China, to become its
emperor, to fall upon it, inspired by the God of battles. What matters
it that the Chinese will not resist, that they will fall prostrate
before him? The grandeur of Tartarin's setting forth has nothing to do
with his getting there.

At Kiel all was prepared. Germany trembled with impatience and this is
what she heard:--

"Imperial power means sea power: the existence of the one depends upon
the other. The squadron which your ships will reinforce must act and
hold itself as the symbol of Imperial and maritime power; it must live
on good terms of friendship with all its comrades of the fifteen
foreign fleets out yonder, so as energetic