es, so as to increase the price of his peace stock, he
controlling the market. It is Bismarck's old game, played with
up-to-date methods.

August 12, 1890. [10]

Does it not seem to you, dear reader, that the voyage of William II to
Russia suggests in more ways than one the scene of the Temptation on
the Mount?

At St. Petersburg there reigns a sovereign whose life, directed by the
inspirations of his soul, is one long act of virtuous self-denial; who
prefers the humble and the lowly to fortune's favourites; whose works
are works of peace, and whose intentions are always those of a man
ready to appear before Him Who only tolerates the great ones of this
earth when their power is balanced by a due sense of their moral
responsibility, by devotion to duty and truth.

At Berlin there reigns a man of ungovernable pride, who aspires to be
torch-bearer to the world. Restless, like the spirit of evil,
tormented by his inability to do good, he has dedicated his soul to
wickedness and lies.

Alexander III regarded his accession to the throne as an ordeal, the
sacrifice of his life. He would have given his own blood to spare his
father the pangs of death. William II seized fiercely on the reins of
power, after having committed a crime, at least in his heart; after
having wished for the death of his father and increased his sufferings
by his conduct.

By the tragic end of two martyrs, God has brought face to face those
who are destined to be the champions of good and of evil respectively
in these last years of the century.

The German Emperor goes to Russia to say to the Tzar, "Divide with me
the kingdoms of the earth, always on condition that I receive the
lion's share."

The Emperor of Russia will reply: "Let us endeavour, my brother, to
work for the welfare of the nations, let us calm their hatreds and
follow the rugged paths of justice; above all, let us regard the power
which the God of hosts has confided into our hands as an instrument of
sovereignty, whose only purpose should be to keep the nation's honour
unsullied and safeguard the blessings of peace."

"Words, nothing but words," replies the Tempter. "Say, Yes or No, wilt
thou go with me to the conquest of the world? On all sides your
influence, which I have undermined, is waning: you and your followers
are caught in a ring of iron from which before long you will be unable
to escape.

"In Germany, all things are subject to my unfettered rule. Henc