I regret that I am not at liberty to give the name of my informant, for various reasons. One is that, though a German of high position, he holds pro-British views, and has, in consequence, more than once furnished me with secret information from Berlin which has been of the greatest use to our Intelligence Department. Suffice it to say that his identity is well known at Whitehall, and that, although his report was at first regarded with suspicion, the searching investigation at once made resulted in its authenticity being fully established. That the Kaiser had decided to make war, the British Government first knew by the report in question--notwithstanding all the diplomatic juggling, and the publication of Blue Books and White Books. The French Yellow Book published in the first week of December, 1914, indeed, came as confirmation--if any confirmation were necessary--from the lips of King Albert of Belgium himself. Now at this secret Council the Kaiser appeared, dressed in naval uniform, pale, determined, and somewhat nervous and unstrung. For more than two hours he spoke of the danger confronting the German Empire from _within_ and without, illustrating his speech by many maps and diagrams, as well as some well-executed models of air-craft, designed for the war now proceeding. At first, the Emperor's voice was almost inaudible, and he looked haggard and worn. [1]"Gentlemen," the Emperor, in a low, hoarse voice, commenced, "in calling this Council this evening, I have followed the Divine command. Almighty God has always been a great and true ally of the House of Hohenzollern, and it is to Him that I--just as my august ancestors did--look for inspiration and guidance in the hour of need. After long hours of fervent prayer light has, at last, come to me. You, my trusted councillors and my friends, before whom I have no secrets, can testify that it has been, ever since I ascended the throne, my most ardent desire to maintain the peace of the world and to cultivate, on a basis of mutual respect and esteem, friendship and goodwill with all the nations on the globe. I am aware that the course followed by me did not always meet with your approval, and that on many an occasion you would have been glad to see me use the mailed fist, rather than the silken glove chosen by me in my dealings with certain foreign nations. It was a source of profound grief to me to see my best intentions misunderstood, but bulletproof against public censure and criticism, and responsible only to the Lord above us for my acts, I calmly continued to do what I considered to be my holy duty to the Fatherland. True to the great traditions of Prussia, and the House of Hohenzollern, I believed in the necessity of maintaining a great army and an adequate navy as the best guarantee of peace. In our zeal for the preservation of peace we were compelled to keep pace with the ever-increasing armaments of our neighbours,