With me as its oldest comrade the regiment now erects this shaft to the memory of the heroes that rest beneath the green sod. The form of the monument differs from that which is usually found on battle-fields. The archangel in armor, peacefully at rest, is leaning upon his sword, which is decorated with the proud motto of the regiment, "_Semper talis_."[25] I therefore wish that a general significance should be attached to this figure. It stands upon this bloody field as the guardian of all the brave soldiers, both the French and our own, who fell here. For bravely and heroically the French soldiers sank to their honored graves, fighting for their Emperor and their Fatherland. And if our flags touch each other as they are lowered before the bronze monument and sadly rustle over the graves of our dear comrades, may they also wave over the graves of our opponents and whisper to them that in reverent sorrow we remember the brave dead! [25] By an unfortunate error Penzler prints the motto as "_Semper talio_"--"Retaliation forever." The reading has been changed, as the motto of the regiment is in reality "_Semper talis_"--"Ever the same." Let us look up to the Lord of Hosts and thank Him for the guidance graciously given to our great Emperor. Let us picture to ourselves to-day that the souls of all those who once opposed each other in fierce conflict upon this field are now gathered about the throne of the Supreme Judge and that, united in the everlasting peace of God, they now look down upon us. V THE GREATER NAVY Many of the speeches which follow will be found to bear upon the question of increasing the navy, and from this time forth, for various reasons, that idea will be uppermost in the Emperor's mind. His statement that he had, from the first, strongly urged an increase in the navy must be accepted with certain reserves. Such increases as were suggested were slight as compared to the programmes now to be urged, and his speeches of that time give little evidence of any particular insistence or disappointment at his failure in this regard. He really begins to preach the need of the greater navy insistently in the last years of the century, and his present statement, "Bitterly do we need a powerful German fleet," is his sharpest pronouncement up to this time. It takes on an added significance if we remember that it was made nine days after the Boer ultimatum which began the Boer War had been despatched. In this connection it is well to read the telegram sent to President Krüger, printed with the _Daily Telegraph_ interview (October 28, 1908).