The German Emperor, to use a pedantic phrase now coming
into frequent use, is getting "obsessed" with his Navy. The Germans have not had formidable enemies to meet in China, but in speaking to some sailors returned from thence on the 16th inst. his Majesty declared that when they had fought "no eye quivered, no hand trembled," and expressed his own joy in " their victories." He ended by saying "Where I place my lads in blue no other shall place himself," which may be a hint either to Lord Salisbury, or to President McKinley, or to Count Lamsdorff. It can hardly be to Lord Salisbury, for two days after William II. telegraphed to the British Admiral commanding in the Mediterranean, who had sent a warship to assist the Gneisenau,' the training-ship wrecked off Malaga, thanking him warmly, and declaring his action a proof that " blood was thicker than water." This wreck, by the way, though a great disaster to the German Navy, did not involve the immense loss of life at first reported. Thirty of the crew were drowned, but of the hundred and fifty cadets on board only one is certainly missing. The catastrophe was due to an error of judgment on the part of the Captain, who, though warned of a coming storm, refused to take shelter in the harbour. When the storm came he fulfilled his duties thoroughly, and refusing to quit his ship, died there, like a true, obstinate, duty-doing Teuton of the old breed.
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