The German Emperor delivered a stirring speech at Hamburg last
Saturday. It was full of praise of the " great Emperor " William I., who, his grandson declared, would here- after occupy in Germany the place occupied by Frederick Barbarossa. He saw Jena and Tilsit and Versailles, and never lost his faith in the future of Germany. Considering the events of 1848, that is exaggerated praise ; but the Emperor proceeded to exhort the Hamburgers to meet all difficulties without considering whether they were difficulties or not, trusting in God and looking back upon the great Emperor William to strengthen their hearts. Neither pro- tector, however, makes William II. feel absolutely secure, for at Doberitz on the same day he asked the Army to maintain always the standard it had set, " for then will the Army always remain the instrument which I need to support, if needful, my policy, so that where the pen fails the keen edge of the sword may support it." Certainly his Majesty's oratory does not lack the merit of frankness. " Do as I tell you, or I will cut you down ! " is not a veiled menace. Mean- while the Hamburg loyalists elected three Socialists, including Herr Bebel, to the Reichstag.
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