and exultant love of the Fatherland, which, in 1813, called the entire population of the then weak, small, and exhausted Prussia to arms, is to-day the common property of the German nation at large; and, further, the nation that makes an attack on Germany -in whatever way it may be-will discover that she is fully armed and united, and that each soldier cherishes in his heart the firm conviction that God will be with us.""

The effect of the Chancellor's speech was heightened by the fact that the Reichstag referred the Loan Bill to the Committee of Ways and Means, without debate, and passed the Army Bill en bloc on a second reading.

The strong desire for peace which was expressed in the Chancellor's speech made an exceedingly favourable impression on the whole world, and, at the same time, the energy and the preparedness for fighting which the speech displayed had the effect of temporarily silencing the mischief-makers.

Prince William, who had not the least idea himself how near he was to the position of Emperor and ruler of the destinies of the Empire, felt himself constrained to counteract the rumours which gathered round his person. He was thought to be not only an enthusiastic soldier, but also ambitious of military distinction, and a hot-head who in his youthful rashness was supposed to be ready to stake everything that the German Empire had won in the last two decades on the chances of a wanton war.

On the 8th of February-two days after the Chancellor delivered his famous speech-Prince William attended a banquet given by the Diet of the province of Brandenburg, and, in reply to the address of the Governor, von Achenbach, made a speech with a view to repelling all these insinuations. His concluding words were as follows:

"Whilst passing through the province in the course of the manœuvres, the fertile condition of the fields and the flourishing state of your industries sufficiently convinced me as to where the real source of national prosperity and productive labour is to be found. I am well aware of the fact that by the public at large, and particularly in foreign countries, I am represented as entertaining a wanton and ambitious craving for war. May God keep me from such criminal folly! I repudiate all such imputations with indignation! But, gentlemen, I am a soldier, and all the Brandenburgers are-I know that-soldiers. Hence, let me quote, in conclusion, with special reference to the province of Branden

burg, the words which were pronounced by our great Chancellor in the Reichstag on the 6th of February, the day on which the House gave the splendid spectacle of the representatives of the people walking hand in hand with the Government: We Brandenburgers fear God, but nothing else in the world.'"

Four weeks after this speech the Emperor William I. died. The Crown Prince, Frederick William, even then stricken with mortal illness, ascended the throne. But by June 15th the Imperial Standard was again flying at half-mast on the Castle of Friedrichskron, near Potsdam. The Emperor Frederick III. was dead; the royal sufferer had gone to his rest.

When the Emperor William ascended the Throne of Prussia, and thereby became the head of the German Empire, he addressed the following three proclamations to the Army, the Navy, and the Prussian People respectively.

"PROCLAMATION TO THE ARMY.

"The Army, which has only just laid aside the outward signs of mourning worn for its Emperor-King William I., my dearly loved grandfather, whose memory will be perpetuated in its heart, has suffered a new and heavy blow through the demise of my dear, sincerely-beloved father, his Majesty the Emperor and King Frederick III., whose death occurred to-day at five minutes past eleven o'clock in the forenoon.

"These are indeed days of sore trial and affliction, in which God's decree has placed me at the head of the Army, and it is with deep emotion that I first address myself to my Army.

"The confidence, however, with which I take up the position to which I am called by God's will, is unshakably firm, for I know what a high sense of honour and duty my glorious ancestors have implanted in the Army, and I also know to what a high degree that sentiment has always been manifested.

"In the Army a firm, inviolable attachment to the Sovereign is the inheritance which is handed down from father to son and from generation to generation, and so I point to my grandfather, whose personality stands before the eyes of each one of you as a type of a glorious and venerable Ruler-indeed, a type more beautiful and one which appeals more eloquently to the heart

cannot be imagined: and to my dear father, who, as Crown Prince, earned a place of honour in the annals of the Army, and also to a long line of illustrious predecessors whose names are inscribed in brilliant letters on the scroll of history, and whose hearts beat warmly for the Army.

"We belong to one another, I and the Army. We were, indeed, born for one another, and therefore let us always hold firmly together, whether God ordains peace or storm. You are about to take the oath of allegiance and obedience, and on my part I solemnly vow always to be mindful of the fact that the eyes of my ancestors are looking down upon me from the other world, and that one day I shall have to render to them an account of both the glory and the honour of the Army.

"Castle of Friedrichskron, June 15th, 1888.

"PROCLAMATION TO THE NAVY.

"It is with deep emotion that I have to inform the Navy that to-day, at five minutes past eleven o'clock in the forenoon, my dear father, his Majesty the German Emperor and King of Prussia, Frederick III., gently fell asleep in the Lord, and that, in assuming the position destined for me by the will of God, the government of my ancestral lands, and with it the chief command of the Navy, has passed into my hands.

"It is, indeed, a grave and solemn occasion on which I address the Navy for the first time. We have only just laid aside the sombre signs of mourning for my dear grandfather of immortal memory, the Emperor William I., who, as recently as last year, while visiting Kiel, expressed in most glowing terms his great satisfaction with, and recognition of, the high standard to which the Navy had attained under his glorious reign; and now the flags are again flying at half-mast for my beloved father, who felt such great delight at, and took such keen interest in, the development and progress of the Navy.

"Now a time which evokes feelings of deep and genuine loyalty serves to strengthen and confirm the hearts and minds of men. And so, while faithfully keeping in our hearts the memory of my

grandfather and father, let us look forward with confidence to the future. The Navy is aware that not only does it afford me great pleasure to be associated with it by official ties, but that also a keen and warm interest has connected me with it ever since my earliest youth-an interest which, indeed, I fully share with my dear brother, Prince Henry of Prussia. The high sense of honour and of faithful fulfilment of duty which inspires the Navy is well known to me, and, further, I know that each one of you is prepared, if necessary, readily to sacrifice his life for the honour of the German flag. Under these circumstances I am able in this hour of sorrow to declare with the fullest confidence my belief that we shall hold firmly and unswervingly together in good and in evil days, in sunshine and in storm, ever bearing in mind the glory of the Fatherland and ever ready to shed our heart's blood for the honour of the German flag. With such aims to guide us, God's blessing will be with us.

"Castle of Friedrichskron, June 15th, 1888. “WILLIAM.”

"TO MY PEOPLE.

"God's decree has once more inflicted upon us the most profound grief. Scarcely has the grave closed over the mortal remains of my grandfather of immortal memory, and now his Majesty, my deeply-loved father, has also been called from this world to enter into his everlasting peace. The heroic energy, based on Christian resignation, with which, notwithstanding his sufferings, he faithfully performed his kingly duties, encouraged us to entertain the hope that his life would for some time be spared to the Fatherland. But God ordained otherwise. The Royal sufferer, whose heart beat true for all that was noble and beautiful, was only privileged for a few months to display on the Throne those high qualities of mind and heart which earned for him the love of his people. The high virtues that adorned him, the many victories he once gained on the battlefield, will be gratefully remembered as long as German hearts beat, and immortal fame will shed a lustre on his chivalrous figure in the history of the Fatherland.

"Having succeeded to the Throne of my ancestors, I have taken over the government, relying upon the King of Kings, and I have vowed to God that, acting in accordance with the example of my predecessors, I will endeavour to be a just and clement Ruler, that I will encourage piety and the fear of God, that I will uphold peace and promote the welfare of the country, and, further, that I will strive to be a helper to the poor and oppressed and a faithful guardian of the law.

"I pray to God to give me strength to fulfil these kingly duties which, by His will, have devolved upon me, and in doing so I am supported by that confidence in the Prussian people which a review of our past history affords me. The Prussian people have always, both in good and in evil days, stood faithfully by their Kings, and I, too, rely upon this attachment, which has proved to be indissolubly firm in all times of difficulty and danger during the reigns of my fathers, and I do so in the consciousness that I reciprocate it from the bottom of my heart, as becomes a devoted Ruler of a faithful people, both of us equally strong in our attachment to the common cause of the Fatherland. It is from the consciousness of this reciprocated love, which unites me with my people, that I derive the confidence that God will bestow upon me strength and wisdom to discharge the duties of my kingly office for the benefit of the Fatherland.

"Potsdam, June 18th, 1888.

"WILLIAM."

What the Emperor expressed in these three proclamations he set forth more fully in the speech from the throne with which, a few days later, he opened the German Parliament.

SPEECH FROM THE THRONE AT THE OPENING OF THE REICHSTAG, ON JUNE 25TH, 1888.

"Gentlemen,-I greet you with a heart that is full of deep sorrow, and I know that you share my grief.

"The unspeakable sufferings of my lamented father, which are still fresh in your memory, and the touching circumstance that only three months after the demise of his Majesty, the Emperor William, it devolved upon me to ascend the Throne, have deeply