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father and mother; he was congratulated by the sovereigns and



royal personages。 The ambassadors and ministers having been then



received by the Emperor and Empress; the young prince came along



the line and spoke to each of us in a very unaffected and manly



way。 He was at that time somewhat taller than his father; with an



intelligent and pleasant face; and is likely; I should say; to do



well in his great position; though not possessing; probably;



anything like his father's varied gifts and graces。







In the evening came a dinner in the White Hall of the palace to



several hundred guests; including the Emperor of Austria…Hungary;



the King of Saxony; and other visiting personages; with the heads



of the diplomatic missions; and the leading personages of the



empire; and near the close of it the Emperor William arose and



made an excellent speech; to all appearance extemporaneous。 The



answer by the Emperor of Austria…Hungary was read by him; and was



sensible and appropriate。







That this visit did much to strengthen the ties which bind the



two monarchies was shown not merely by hurrahs in the streets and



dithyrambic utterances in the newspapers; but by a mass of other



testimony。 One curious thing was the great care everywhere taken



in the decorations to honor the crown and flag of Hungary equally



with that of Austria; and this; as was shown by the Hungarian



journals; had an excellent effect。 By this meeting; no doubt; the



Triple Alliance was somewhat strengthened; and the chances for



continued peace increased; at least during the lifetime of the



Emperor Franz Josef。 As to what will follow his death all is



dark。 His successor is one of the least suitable of



men;unprepossessing; and even forbidding; in every respect。



Brought up by the Jesuits; he is distrusted by a vast mass of the



best people in the empire; Catholic and Protestant。 A devout



Catholic they would be glad to take; but a Jesuit pupil they



dread; for they know too well what such have brought upon the



empire hitherto; and; indeed; upon every kingdom which has



allowed them in its councils。 His previous career has not been



edifying; and there is no reason to expect any change in him。 The



Emperor Franz Josef is probably as thoroughly beloved by his



subjects as any sovereign in history has ever been。 His great



misfortunesfearful defeats in the wars with France and Germany;



the suicide of his only son; the assassination of his wife; and



family troubles in more recent timeshave thrown about him an



atmosphere of romantic sympathy; while love for his kindly



qualities is mingled with respect for his plain common sense。



During his stay in Berlin I met him a second time。 At my first



presentation at Dresden; two years before; there was little



opportunity for extended conversation; but he now spoke quite at



length and in a manner which showed him to be observant of the



world's affairs even in remote regions。 He discussed the recent



increase of our army; the progress of our war in the Philippines;



and the extension of American enterprise in various parts of the



world; in a way which was not at all perfunctory; but evidently



the result of large information and careful observation。 His



empire; which is a seething caldron of hates; racial; religious;



political; and local; is held together by love and respect for



him; but when he dies this personal tie which unites all these



different races; parties; and localities will disappear; and in



place of it will come the man who by force of untoward



circumstances is to be his successor; and this is anything but a



pleasing prospect to an Austro…Hungarian; or; indeed; to any



thoughtful observer of human affairs。







Interesting to me at this period was a visit from representatives



of the 〃Kriegerverein〃German…Americans who had formerly fought



in the war between Germany and France; who had since become



American citizens; and who were now revisiting their native land。



They were a very manly body; evidently taking pride in the



American flag which they carried; and also in the part they had



played in Germany。 Replying to a friendly address by their



commanding officer; I took up some current American fallacies



regarding Germany and Germans; encouraged my hearers to stand



firm against sensational efforts to make trouble between the two



countries; urged them to keep their children in knowledge of the



German language and in touch with German civilization; while



bringing them up as thoroughly loyal Americans; reminding them



that every American who is interested in German history or



literature or science or art is an additional link in the chain



which binds together the two nations。 The speech was of a very



offhand sort; but it seemed to strike deep and speed far; for it



evoked most kindly letters of congratulation and thanks from



various parts of Germany and the United States。







The most striking episode in the history of the world during



these years was the revolution in China。 The first event which



startled mankind was the murder of Baron von Ketteler; the German



minister at Peking; a man of remarkable abilities and



accomplishments; who was thought sure to rise high among



diplomatists; and who had especially attracted American



friendships by his marriage with an American lady。 The impression



created by this calamity was made all the greater by the fact



that; in the absence of further news from the Chinese capital;



there was reason to fear that the whole diplomatic corps; with



their families; might be murdered。 American action in the



entanglements which followed was prompt and successful; and



thinking men everywhere soon saw it to be so。 Toward the end of



July; 1900; being about to go to America for the summer; I took



leave of Count von Bulow at the Foreign Office; and; on coming



out; met one of my colleagues; who; although representing one of



the lesser European powers; was well known as exceedingly shrewd



and far…sighted。 He said: 〃I congratulate you on the course



pursued by your government during this fearful Chinese imbroglio。



Other powers have made haste to jump into war; your admiral at



Tientsin seems the only one who has kept his head; other



governments have treated representatives of the Chinese Empire as



hostile; and; in doing so; have cut themselves off from all



direct influence on the Peking Government; the government at



Washington has taken an opposite course; has considered the



troubles as; prima facie; the work of insurrectionists; has



insisted on claiming friendship with the constituted authorities



in China; and; in view of this friendship; has insisted on being



kept in communication with its representative at the Chinese



capital; the result being that your government has been allowed



to communicate with its representative; and has thereby gained



the information and issued the orders which have saved the entire



diplomatic corps; as well as the forces of the different powers



now in Peking。〃







It was one of those contemporary testimonies to the skill of Mr。



McKinley and Secretary Hay which indicate the verdict of history。







Our later policy was equally sound。 It was to prevent any further



territorial encroachments on China by foreign powers; and to



secure the opening of the empire on equal terms to the commerce



of the entire world。 On the other hand; the German Government;



exasperated by the murder of its minister at Peking; was at first



inclined to go beyond this; and a speech of the Emperor to his



troops as they were leaving Germany for the seat of war was



hastily construed to mean that they were to carry out a policy of



extermination and confiscation。 Even after the first natural



outburst of indignation against the Chinese; it looked as if the



ultimatum presented by the powers would include demands which



could never be met; and would entangle all the powers in a long



and tedious war; leading; perhaps; to a worse catastrophe。



Quietly but vigorously; from first to last; the American policy



was urged by Mr。 Conger; American minister at Peking; and by



other representatives of our government abroad; and it was a



happy morning for me when; after efforts many and long continued;



I received at the Berlin Foreign Office the assurance that



Germany would not consider the earlier conditions presented by



the powers to the Chinese Government as 〃irrevocable。〃 My



constant contention; during interviews at the Foreign Office; had



been that the United States desired as anxiously to see the main



miscreants punished as did any other nation; but that it was of



no use to demand; upon members of the imperial family; and upon



generals in command of great armies; extreme penalties which the



Chinese Government was not strong enough to inflict; or



indemnities which it was not rich enough to pay; that our aim was



not quixotic but practical; and that; in advocating steadily the



〃open door〃 policy; we were laboring quite as much for all other



powers as for ourselves。 Of course we were charged in various



quarters with cold…bloodedness; and with merely seeking to



promote our own interest in trade; but the Japanese; who could



understand the question better than the Western powers; steadily



adhered to our policy; and more and more; in its main lines; it



proved to be correct。







On the Fourth of July; 1900; came the celebration of 
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