result that sooner or later, the narrowing circumference of that orbit
will close in upon him, and he will only be able to break its barriers by
violent repression from within _and by a sudden outbreak of war without_.
Militarism and militarism only, the passion for which is ever recurrent
with William II, can satisfy his morbid craving for movement and action.
Thus we see him celebrating the Anniversary of William I by a review of
his troops and by a speech, so seriously threatening a breach of the
peace, that even the newspapers of the opposition hesitate to reproduce
it. All France should realise that _the German Emperor will make war
upon her without warning and without formal declaration, just as he
surprises his own garrisons_. By his orders, the statement is made on
all sides that the rifle of the German army is villainously bad. Let us
not believe a word of it. On the contrary, we should know that the
greater part of the Prussian artillery is superior to ours; let us be on
our guard against every surprise and ready.



April 28, 1891. [7]

On the occasion of the presentation of new standards to his troops, the
Emperor observed that the number 18 is one of deep significance for his
race, that it corresponds with six important dates in the history of
Prussia. "For this reason," he added, "I have chosen the 18th of April
as the day on which to present the new standards." As William II himself
puts it, this day, like all the "eighteenths" that went before it, has
its special significance.

The strange words uttered by the monarch on this occasion--always
intoxicated with the sense of his power, and sometimes by