ed man in the Empire--financiers, merchants, manufacturers, all the
rest--never would hear of it. The country was too prosperous. Our wealth
was growing at a pace which even the United States could not rival, and
poverty was practically eliminated. That is the reason no hint made any
impression on me. It seemed to me that we were the most fortunate and
advanced nation in Europe and had only to wait for our kultur to pervade
the earth.

"But--after Agadir--I seem to look back upon a slowly rising tide,
muttering, sullen, determined--even in Bavaria the old serenity, the
settled feeling, was gone--war was discussed as a possibility less
casually than of old--"

"I recall a good deal more than that," interrupted Mimi. "Remember that
I was the daughter of a manufacturer, and the wife, so-called, of a
merchant. They were always grinding their teeth--and from about the time
you speak of--over the wrongs of Germany. What the wrongs were I never
could make out, and I am bound to say I did not listen very attentively,
being absorbed in my own--but it would seem that Germany being the
greatest country in the world was somehow not being permitted to let the
rest of the world find it out--"

"It is all simple enough, now that I have the key. Germany tried to
bully France, and not only was France anxious to avoid war but Britain
showed her teeth. Germany was not then prepared to fight the world and
was forced to compromise. France gave her a slice of the Kongo in
exchange for Germany's consent to a French Protectorate in Morocco. Of
course--after that it must have been evident to all the business brains
of Germany that however great and prosperous the Empire might be she was
not strong enough to dictate to Europe; nor presume to demand any more
of the great prizes than she had already.

"In other words, she was shown her place. It was also more than possible
that her aggressive prosperity might one of these days excite the
apprehension of Great Britain, who would then show more than her teeth.
Gradually the idea must have permeated, taken possession of the minds of
men who had vast fortunes to increase or lose, that sooner or later they
must fight for what they had and that it were better perhaps to strike
first, at a moment they might choose themselves--however little they
might sympathize with the ambitions of the Pan-German Party for supreme
power in Europe--"

"Perhaps nothing," said Mimi. "They made up their minds to do it