At the first sign of his father's serious illness all eyes were turned to Prince William, who began to appear on all sorts of public occasions, and make speeches about the military glories of his house, and its bulwark, the Army. At this time there was some trouble with France and Russia, and the German army was increased by more than half a million men. Bismarck, who had made a secret treaty with Austria as far back as 1879, went to Parliament and explained the situation in what is thought to be his greatest speech. He thus concluded: "We Germans fear God, and nothing else in the world." There was no more delighted listener in the assembly than Prince William. This defiant speech exactly suited his temper of mind. He was all for military glory, and though in after years he constantly declared himself the friend of peace, and more than once strove to preserve it, we now know that towards the end of the year 1913 he was ready to stake all upon a war which would make him master of Europe. [Illustration: "Four Generations of Kings." The old Emperor William I. is seated, nursing his great-grandson, the present Crown Prince, who was born in 1882. On the left stands the Crown Prince, who became the Emperor Frederick III. on the death of William I. in 1888. On the right stands his son, the baby's father, Prince William, who became Emperor on the death of his father, after a brief reign of eighty-four days (1888). When the old Emperor learnt that a great-grandson had been born to him, he cried, "God be praised and thanked! Four generations of kings!" He could not, of course, foresee the present war, which may bring about the ruin of his house and make his prophecy false. You will learn something of the present Crown Prince later on.] The sands of the old Emperor's life were now fast running out. He was ninety-one years of age, and he had felt his son's affliction very keenly. It was Prince William who watched over the last few years of the old Kaiser's life. It was to him that the aged monarch gave warning and counsel for the future. He advised his grandson to be patient and dutiful during his father's reign, which could not last long, and he begged him to be "considerate" to Russia, for he had always feared to make an enemy of that great Power. He knew full well that if ever Germany should come to blows with Russia, France would attack her, and thus she would have to fight two wars, one on each frontier, at the same time. Then the old man begged Bismarck to remain in office, no matter what should befall; and a few days later he died, full of years and honour, leaving the imperial crown to his poor afflicted son. His dying words were, "Fritz, lieber[143] Fritz."