But it was not precisely religion which dictated the Kaiser's movement. He had the sense to know that religion is personal; and, though he never lost an opportunity of asserting his personal religious opinions, the idea of making them the rule for all men never entered his eminently practical mind. No: he had other plans; and he was seeking material wherewith to build. He conferred long and secretly with the King of Italy, a man after his own heart, a born ruler, a natural autocrat, who himself had been a slave. They discussed needs. William II. wanted room for a population which had increased by twenty millions in thirty years. Victor Emanuel III. wanted money and time--money to make easier the life of his people--time to mature improvements--give him those and he could laugh at Italy's enemies, the secret societies, and the clergy---- "Clergy?" the Kaiser demurred. "Now are you really sure that the clergy are your enemies?" "Yes, in their heart of hearts. Don't you understand that we robbed them? Don't you know that this very palace of the Quirinale, in which I am receiving Your Imperial Majesty, is stolen property?" "Yes, yes. But this Englishman? Surely He makes a difference?" "To some extent. But He cannot extirpate in a moment the hatred and envy with which my House and I are regarded by the clergy whom we dispossessed. For nearly forty years, to hate us has been part of the clerical education. A weed of that kind cannot be rooted up at once. It is ingrained. Perhaps in another generation--Basta!" "Meanwhile?" "Meanwhile what?" "Well, hasn't the Pope made things easier for you?" "Yes, in a way. But what is His object? What concession, for example----" "He doesn't seem to have left Himself any opening for extorting concessions." "But did Your Imperial Majesty ever hear of a priest who gave something for nothing?" "One of my cardinals tells me that this is a madman, whose pose is to be primitive, apostolic." "Ha! For a primitive apostle He has a singularly dictatorial method. Have you read His _Epistles_, and His denunciations of the socialists, for example?" "I have. I entirely approve of them. They have assisted me greatly in dealing with some rebels of my own." "Oh no one could find fault with His sentiments--so far. But they are so unusual, so extra-pontifical, that one wonders what they are concealing." "Is Your Majesty sure that they conceal something?" "No, I'm not. Of course I have no means of arriving at certainty. That could only be obtained from the Pope Himself; and only from Him if He were willing to give it." "Has Your Majesty asked Him?" "Certainly not. We continue to misunderstand one another. Your Imperial Majesty knows that there is no means of communication between my government and the Vatican. All we get is hearsay; and all they get is gossip." "Why do you not request Hadrian to receive you--you yourself? I imagine that He would not refuse."