SIGNS OF FRICTION BETWEEN THE CHANCELLOR AND THE YOUNG EMPEROR--WITH THE CHIEF DURING THE CRISIS--HIS ANXIETY ABOUT HIS PAPERS--HOW TO GET THEM AWAY--HIS RETIREMENT A FACT--THE EMPEROR WANTS TO BE RID OF HIM IN ORDER TO GOVERN ALONE WITH HIS OWN GENIUS--COURT FLUNKEYISM--HIS RETIREMENT IS NOT DUE TO HIS HEALTH, NOR IS IT IN ANY SENSE VOLUNTARY--LETTERS FROM BISMARCK TO WILLIAM I.--THE CHIEF ON THE INITIATION OF PRINCE WILLIAM INTO PUBLIC AFFAIRS--THE GRAND DUKE OF BADEN’S ADVICE TO THE EMPEROR FREDERICK--THE CHIEF TALKS OF WRITING HIS OWN MEMOIRS--BUREAUCRATIC INGRATITUDE--FOREIGN OFFICE APOSTATES--ACCORDING TO BUCHER THE NOTES DICTATED FOR THE MEMOIRS ARE MERE FRAGMENTS, SOMETIMES ERRONEOUS--THE CHIEF’S LIFE AT FRIEDRICHSRUH--SCHWENINGER’S APPREHENSIONS. In February, 1890, a few days after the promulgation of the Imperial Rescript on the labour question, Bucher had already pointed out to me in conversation the difficulties in the way of an international settlement of the question, and said he imagined the Emperor was going further in this matter than the Chancellor could approve of. Monday, February 24th, he said to me: “I have a commission for you which I must carry out before the Chancellor of State arrives. The ‘dragon’ sent for me to-day and asked if I still had any connection with English newspapers, as he wished to get them to insert an article on the elections. I was sorry that I had no longer any such connection, but I thought perhaps you might write to the _Daily Telegraph_ and get it to publish the desired article. He said: ‘Busch! Why, how is he getting on? I understand he has had an apoplectic attack.’ I replied: ‘Oh! no, he only caught a bad cold last Whitsuntide, and suffered in particular from great hoarseness, but he is quite well again now.’ You will observe that the apoplectic attack comes from friend Holstein.” (Probably reached the Chief’s ears in quite a harmless way from Scheibler through Rottenburg.) I replied: “As a matter of fact I have not written for that paper for years, but they still send it to me daily, and Kingston, one of their editorial staff and a leader writer, has translated my book _Unser Reichskanzler_ into English. I fancy, therefore, they would take an article from me on the subject suggested by the Prince.” He then drew an envelope from his pocket and said: “I have here jotted down our conversation on the subject. They are for the main part his own words, pointing out the chief cause of the way in which the elections turned out, the result of which he attributes chiefly to the Rescript. Work them up into an article and see that you get it published in London. He attaches great importance to it and would like to see a copy when it appears.” I promised to write and send off the article next morning, and if it were accepted, to hand in a copy of it personally to the Chief, when I should ask him whether I could be of any further use in the matter.