"Your Majesty's visit gives Us great pleasure," was the Apostle's greeting to the Kaiser, uttered in that clear young minor voice which was so well known in Rome. The two potentates took each the other's measure in a glance. The Emperor, smartly groomed in plain evening-dress with riband, cross, and star, had that slightly conical head which marks the thinker and the single-minded obstinate man. The Pope, a year his junior, gave an impression of clean simplicity with His white habit and His keen white face. There was a distance, a reticence, in His gaze. He had remembered William's Teutonic osculation of His indignant predecessor; and, as the Kaiser approached Him, He took the imperial hand and shook it in the glad-to-see-you-but-keep-off English fashion. Spring-dumb-bells had given the Pope a grip like a vice and an arm like a steel piston-rod. The Emperor blinked once. "I am grateful to Your Holiness for receiving me in this informal manner." The Pope inclined His head: motioned His guest to a chair; and offered cigarettes. He Himself rolled one: lighted it; and sat down. "I have the pleasure of personally congratulating Your Holiness on Your election; and I trust that God will grant You many years in which to rule Your section of His people wisely and well." "It is Our sincere hope that Our endeavour to feed Christ's flock may be acceptable." "I have many Catholics in my empire; and I may say that their virtues merit my fullest approbation." The Pope again inclined His head. "I understand that Your Holiness has never been in Germany?" "No. Our life hitherto has been an unimportant one. We are almost ignorant of the world and of men, except perhaps from the view-point of the outside observer and student." "My sainted mother used to quote an English proverb which says that Onlookers see most of the game." "All English proverbs, which are positive, have their correspondent negative--'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'--'Out of sight out of mind.'--Your Majesty's proverb is contradicted by 'Only the toad under the harrow has counted the spikes.' We mean that We have learned much of what is done, but very little of the details of the doing." "Ah, that of course comes by heredity or by practice----" "Or by occession." "I fear that I do not quite follow." The Pope suddenly was afraid that He had been guilty of a sort of appeal for this mighty emperor's pity and consideration toward His plebeian origin and inexperience. Was this keeping His troubles to Himself? He hastened to divert the conversation from Himself. "Our predecessor St. Peter was an illiterate plebeian of no importance: but, by the occession of Divine Grace, His Holiness was enabled to wield the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and to win the unfading palm down there by the obelisk."