It was such a legacy that the present Emperor inherited when, after the few months' reign of his father, he succeeded to the imperial office; and it is this legacy and this tradition which, in fairness to the Emperor, we must remember in reading such seemingly strange pronouncements as his own address at Königsberg in 1910. The later events in German history and the subsequent policies of the empire are touched upon in such detail that further preamble is hardly necessary. That the Emperor has everywhere energetically taken the lead is undoubted. That he should be held responsible in general for German diplomacy is implied in his position. That he has urged and directed the movement in nearly every field of endeavor is plain from the varied character of his addresses. No one can doubt after reading him that he desired peace, in the sense that he preferred peace to war. The question that will undoubtedly interest the reader most is the problem of the consistency of his various policies; whether, for instance, the exaggerated worship of the army, the devout desire for peace, and the insistent imperialism of his later years can be brought into harmony; whether they can be reduced to any common denominator. However that may be, that he has been one of the most devoted and conscientious servants of the German cause as he sees it cannot possibly be denied. II PRELIMINARIES JUNE 15, 1888--OCTOBER 30, 1889 THE FIRST OFFICIAL ACT OF THE EMPEROR SCHLOSS FRIEDRICHSKRON, JUNE 15, 1888 The aged Emperor William I, grandfather of William II, departed this life March 9, 1888. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick III, who, after a reign of only a few months, died on June 15 of the same year. The present Emperor, who was born on January 27, 1859, was, therefore, twenty-nine at the time of his accession to the throne. It is characteristic that his first official act should have been an order to the army. The close connection between the army and the Prussian Kings is a tradition which William II sedulously maintained. In later speeches he will frequently give evidence of this desire on his part and will quote characteristic sayings of his ancestors to the effect that the army is the "_rocher de bronze_," that it is "the only pillar on which the empire rests." He will repeat to the army officers that phrase of his grandfather: "These are the gentlemen upon whom I can rely."