The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-03
THE EUROPEAN QUICKSAND
KAISER, PORE, KING, AND m
COMING CONCBATE n.
The Political Meaning or william I1.'s Itni-
ian Journey is Ate mpt 60 Conciiiate
the -Germnn lntriEues 60 Con-
troll che ConcInvc that Will Elect Leo
XIIL's succersor-Dr. KrnuS's Work.

nv - w
ian Journey is Ate mpt 60 Conciiiate
the Vatican herman lntriEues 60 Goa
troll che Conclnvr that VIII Elect Leo
xIII.'s succersor-Dr KrauS's Work.
ROME, April 1b.-As Gregorovius says so de-
liRhtfully in his 'Tagebnchcr, that fascinating
hymn In honor Of Italy! THE men OF the
north are attracted irrcsistibly TO the south.
German Kings and Emperors have felt the en-
ticement just as much as artists. Hence the
interNentions Of Germany In italy" This
law explains the mystery of the history OF both
countries. William II. sums up and expresses
In a highly ~fanciful way this yearning. this
need TO interfere. He IL the medieval Fred.
erick H., provided he does not turn out to he
Conradin. for according TO Mettcrnich's phrase,
every man seduced by this LAND Of grace and
light" has "perished on tho reef OF Italy"
This European quicksand is Just now peculiarly
treacherous. Tor fever dwclls in the fateful
palace on the Quirinal. A strong delirium
reigns there. King lIumbcrt feels the need
Of "A tath of glory to rcgild his family coat
of arms, In the face of the African disasters.
the recoil of fright, the national humiliation
Of his people. Germany does not wish for
war, but will she always be able to ward Off
the blows aimed by imaginative and presump-
tuous italy against the peace of the world2
William thinks so, II one can find a fixed, i'm
movable. permanent thought in that a0itate ID
brain where dwell together the most varied
Inspirations and the least homogeneous com
binations. He has not excluded perhaps the
possibility of q provocation on the part Of It
ally, where he would play on the battlefield the
part of arbiter.
Consequently the voyage of William III. has
been a pyrotechnic display set off in honor of
the Quirinal and of his brother. tho King Of
Italy. 1t is something like waving his arms
in sign OF protection. To revive the fading
influence of the Triple Alliance. which. like
spring dew, was evaporating under the rays
of the Franco Russian alliance; to give a
brotherly kiss to the King In the presence OF
the people: to spread over Italy the effective
shade OF the great name of Germany. such
was the motive. Has 1t been successful For
the first time l have noticed a great deal OF
skepticism and reserve in this people SO self
confident, and taking such a delight in words
OF glory. In the midst of misfortune. when
lightning cleaved the clouds. it has aban-
doned it's King in It's heart. 1t is a character
istic symptom. Dynastic nations rally around
shaking thrones in times of storm. and their
loyalty increases with the danger. Is Itely
q dynastic nation? Strange currents are
forming, and the reception given this timv to
the protecting Kaiser seems to point to a dry
ing up OF monarchical sap. The people
guess that It is the beast Of burden by
whose mears the courts hope to save their po-
sition and assure the future. 1t needed
floods of disillusions to carry away the foun.
dation Of vanity and presumption that lay at
the bottom Of the heart of Italy. Has the veil
been rent? Will the fragments ever be
patched together ag'in?
In external matters I see no signs of the evo-
luton In favor of England of William III. When
the AbyssinIan storm has passed by he will
M ouatD hia 1ibnrfv of action The Wait pf
Prince Hohenlohe to NJ. Leon Bourgeois has n
political meaning. I know that he asked for
VI. Poubelle, the Project Of the Seine. "a NJ Her
bette's successor at Berlin. At Tho Quay dor
say the sincerity of an ~o-German agreement
Is doubted. Italy. Austria. and Great Britain
would do wrong in trusting to Williams ca
prices; the pupil of Bismarck inclines more and
more to play the part Of honest broker" be-
tween the powers. To-day n friend of France.
tomorrow an Ar glomaniac. always wavering
and VARYING. knowing no gods but his own
glory and interests. eager to copy as exactly as
may be his master and model. Frederick H..
William IL. hides under his snowy mobility one
fixed point. on which all his political constel-
lations'' turn. The Prussian never serves any
one; he makes others serve his purposes.
What has struck men more on this and on
the other side of the Alps has been his coquet-
ting in several instances with the Vatican.
The sermon he delivered 10 Cardinal Sanfelice,
a fine and simple soul William II. is skill.
full in selecting his confdants), resembles tho
prepared speeches which Ministers make from
balconies to the nation. Leo MIL. with his
shrewdness and delicate smile. knew that on
this occasion he was the people. He knows
these ~orations in honor of religion. of the Pope,
of the Church. He knows the value Of that
sympathy. which manifests itself and makes
itself known when the Pope is needed. and
grows cold and disappears when the Pope has
need of the sovereign.
He has received reports on what IL said at
Berlin about the RED Pope." the pope of
the Streets" the Pope OF the republicans and
the French" the Pope of the democrats and
the Americans" The Pontif Is amused at
such grace and dexterity. Like the men who
are playing against him. he knows the value
OF words and the course of things human. He
looks not without pleasure at the tricks of
tho lion. the dance of the bear. after having
experienced his claws. his growls. and his
threats. Leo XIII. has read Fsop and Lafon-
tame; he las neither Sanfelice'S innocence nor
the impulsiveness OF Plus TX. He waits Like to
a lion, when II rests as his favoritc poet says.
The mystery with which William II. sur
rounds himself is no mystery to the Vatican.
To save the Quirinal. which has installed itself
like a conlueror in Rome; to restore its popu-
larity IN Italy 10 the irlple Alliance. the ham
mer beating on pontltical Rome; to lead the
Catholics to the rescue, like innocent fremen:
to abandon the republican policy In France.
or the social and democratic policy throughout
the world; Leo XIII. does not feel that he can
be as unselhsh as that. Martyrdom Is n beau
iful thing, provided 1t be involuntary. In order
ing the Patriarch Of Venice TO remain within
his apartments during the Kaiser's visit, the
Holy See has emphatically shown that its in
fexibility is unbendable.
As an eloquent contrast to this, at the very
moment when William II. was asking for the
support Of the Papacy, Prince Hohenlohe was
sending to Rome the Catholic Doctor. Kraus.
professor at the University OF Freiburg in
Baden, with the secret mission Of sounding
and preparing the ground for the coming con-
clave. 1t was n delicate commentary on his
sovereign's declarations. DIR. Kraus is the
ecclesiastical Montrond Of the courts and gov
ernments of Germany. Being an ~archGOlo-
uist and historian. he often goes To Roma md