Small and great, they pass before him, sacrificed
each in his turn, so soon as they have come to believe themselves for a
moment in the enjoyment of his favour. Thus Colonel Kaissel,
aide-de-camp to the Emperor, is about to be shelved. Lieutenant von
Chelin has been removed from the Court, General von Wittich has already
lost his fleeting favour, and the moderating influence of Major de Huene,
erected on the ruins of that of Von Falkenstein, proves to be equally
short-lived. Three generals in command of army corps are now
threatened--that is, of course, unless a fortnight hence they should
prove to have reached the highest pinnacle of favour.
Three months ago Von Moltke declared that he and Bismarck would live long
enough to be able to say "Farewell to the Empire."
On the other hand, Von Puttkamer seems to be regaining something of
favour, and Prince Battenberg has been welcomed to the old Castle;
strange plans concerning him are being hatched in the brain of William II.
Prince Henry has been brought back, ostensibly to take part in the
Councils of the Government, but in reality that he may be watched the
more closely. He also has received a letter in which he is publicly
thanked for the services he has rendered. If I were in his place I
should be very uneasy, seeing the kind of brother that he was, the most
changeable the most jealous, and the most suspicious of men. There is a
false ring about this letter to Prince Henry, just as there was in those
which the Emperor addressed to Count Waldersee and to Bismarck.
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