If our capital, then, should extend a cold welcome to the august mother
of the German Sovereign, the result could not fail to be of immediate
advantage to the vote of military credits. I ask my readers to notice,
by the way, the deliberate coincidence of the journey of the Empress with
the demand for these credits, and also with the anniversary of the Treaty
of Versailles. Finally, it was to be expected that if she were badly
received, the mistake thus committed by the Empress Frederick would make
"the Englishwoman" more unpopular in Germany; and, so far as one knows,
her Imperial son has never been passionately devoted to her. Moreover,
she afforded Bismarck an opportunity of getting rid of a little of his
venom, as witness the following words of his--
"Only an Englishwoman," the ex-Chancellor declared during a visit to Mr.
Burckardt, "could possibly have inspired the Emperor with the idea of
sending her to Paris as a challenge to the French. A German woman would
have had too much respect for her own dignity to go and visit Versailles
and Saint-Cloud. The nobility of her feelings would have forbidden her
to make a triumphal appearance amidst the ruins of the houses and castles
destroyed by our troops, and her pride would have prevented her from
seeking the homage and the favours of the vanquished. The Empress is
English, and English she will remain."
But if France were to welcome with enthusiasm--or even with favour--the
Empress Frederick, William II might justifiably conclude (without making
allowance for the sympathy which the widow of the Emperor-Martyr inspires
in Frenchwomen) that France had accepted the accomplished fact, abandoned
her claims to Alsace-Lorraine, and the defence of her future interests in
common with Russia.
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