December 13, 1891. [17]

The nations of Europe desire peace, and it has been so often proved to
them that they also desire it, who have been accused of furbishing their
weapons unceasingly, that it would be dangerous even for William II to
seem to be preparing for war, or rather that, having made ready for it,
he should be working to let it loose. And so it comes to pass that the
fire-eating Emperor and King of Prussia himself is compelled to play the
part of a bleating sheep "admiring his reflection in the crystal stream,"
and that he cannot even have recourse to the expedient, now exhausted, to
make it appear that either France or Russia are ravening wolves in search
of adventure. But the rôle of a sheep sits badly on William, and the
_mot d'ordre_, which he dictates is so evidently opposed to the condition
of affairs for which he is responsible, that Messrs. Kalnoky and Caprivi,
in spite of their appearance of rotund good nature, have shown distinct
signs of intractable irritation.

People have been asking what can be the meaning of all these pacific
assurances, so hopelessly at variance with everything that one sees and
knows, at a moment when the Monarch of Berlin is furious at the visit of
the Tzar to Kronstadt? Well, the truth is out, and it is M. de Kalnoky
who, by proxy, shall reveal it to you.

"The reception at Kronstadt and its consequences have effected no change
in the situation." There you have the secret. It is necessary to prove
that the diplomacy of the Triple Alliance has not been checked at any
point or in any way; that the "excellent impression," to quote the words
of M. de Caprivi, left in Russia by the visit of William II did not allow
the Tzar any alternative; he was compelled to show attention to some
other country than Germany. Moreover, the appearance of Alexander III on