destroy the life of the victim of
such an outrage without a moment's warning, or without being able to
even so much as raise a hand in self-defense.

Now at the time when Prince Henry sailed for China, the young crown
prince was sixteen years of age; that is to say, he lacked two years
of the attainment of his majority. Had anything untoward happened
to the kaiser during the minority of the crown prince, Prince Henry
would, according to the laws of the house of Hohenzollern and of the
Prussian constitution, have been appointed as regent until his nephew
came of age. Prince Henry's right to the regency, as nearest
male relative, was one of which he could not be deprived, save by
altogether exceptional and questionable methods, which both policy
and fraternal affection forbade the emperor to employ. Yet he realized
that were Henry to be entrusted with the regency he would change
in the most radical fashion the course of the ship of state; would
introduce measures dear to the late Emperor Frederick, but to which
he, the kaiser, was unalterably opposed, and would, in short, undo
everything that he himself had done; so that when eventually the crown
prince came of age there would be no longer any possibility of his
continuing his father's policy, a policy which the emperor has been at
great pains to inculcate into his boy.

With Prince Henry at the Antipodes, there was an excuse for vesting
the regency either in the harmless hands of Frederick-Leopold, or in
those of Prince Albert, whose ideas on the subject of government are
to a great extent in keeping with those of the kaiser. That was one
of the reasons why Henry was sent off to China, and any doubt upon the
subject will be removed by remembering the fact that his sojourn in
the far East will terminate with the eighteenth birthday,--the coming
of age--of his nephew, the young crown prince.

That such real and lasting affection should subsist between
William and Henry is indeed surprising, and speaks volumes for the
warm-heartedness, and I might almost say magnanimity of the kaiser's
character. For everything that could possibly have contributed to
render him jealous of his brother, has been done, as I remarked above.

Henry was always favored at the expense of William by his father and
mother, as well as by the entire imperial family. In fact, the late
emperor gave a striking expression of his preference for his younger
son, when at the time of the prince's marriage