Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/182

178 against us! Now the whole scheme must be ruthlessly exposed, the mask of Christian readiness for peace which England has shown to the world must be rudely torn off, and her Pharisaic protestation of peace pilloried! And our Consuls in Turkey and India, our agents, etc., must rouse the whole Mohammedan world to a wild rebellion against this hated, deceitful, unscrupulous nation of shop-keepers. For if we are to bleed to death, England shall at least lose India."

This philippic stamps the character of William. After his conspiracy with Austria had brought Germany into so fearful a position, he does not think of how to get her out of it again, but only of the theatrical effect of how he will ruthlessly expose the whole scheming of his enemies, roughly tearing the mask of Christian readiness for peace, and pilloring the Pharisaical protestations of peace.

He has completely forgotten his own scheming, which does not bear exposure at all, with its corresponding "Christian readiness for peace," and "Pharisaical protestations of peace."

But at the same time the war seemed to him already certain. The only thing which it occurs to him to do, after his pompous nourishes, is not to attempt to save peace, but only to appeal for a rebellion of the whole Mohammedan world. He is already reconciled to the idea of Germany bleeding to death in the coming war if only England suffers also from it. But at bottom this whole confused note only shows that he had completely lost his head. Italy's refusal and England's warning knocked the Kaiser on the head, and deprived him of the remnants of his judgment.