And it must be admitted that Phili pretty thoroughly succeeded, since the War Lord, seeing everybody through Eulenburg’s eyes, selected in the main only persons of mediocre intellect, or plain bullies, as his representatives abroad and at home. The reference to Eulenburg’s optics, by the way, recalls another Bismarck sally: "One look at Phili’s eyes is enough to spoil the most elaborate dinner for me!"
Could gourmet-gourmand express himself more emphatically? What the Iron Chancellor thought of ambassadors appointed under that régime has already been quoted; it coincides with the reputation for clumsiness and inefficiency the War Lord’s diplomatic servants have in all quarters of the world. In _ante bellum_ days few of them were "honest men sent abroad to lie"; the great majority were liars intent upon bulldozing or deceiving the personages who mistook them for gentlemen. Of course, "like master, like servant." The late King Edward maintained that Wilhelm was vulgar and ungentlemanly; hence Baron H or Count Y might think it presumptuous to be otherwise. Besides, the Berlin Foreign Office will employ nobles only, and we have the authority of Gunther, Count von der Schulenburg, Lord of Castle Oest, Rhineland, for the illuminating fact that every tenth German aristocrat is unspeakable. So much for the German diplomatic service.
General Count Kuno von Moltke presided over another self-gratifying clique—that of the Army; and if Germany had invaded Belgium ten years previous to toying with the scrap of paper, she would probably have been overthrown in short order, for at that time the Commander of Imperial Headquarters held the same sinister sway over the military as Phili did over the civil branches of the Government.
"Lovey," "sweetheart," "my soul," "my all" (Kuno Moltke’s epistolary titles for Majesty), "hears as much of affairs as I want him to know, no more," was Moltke’s boast, according to the sworn evidence of Frau von Ende, Count Moltke’s former wife, in the famous Harden slander case.
Yet though Moltke lost his case, the War Lord declared "there is nothing definite against Moltke, but he must remain on half-pay."
Can you imagine King George V. so flaunting the decisions of Old Bailey and thereafter saddling the British public with a life pension of about £500 per annum in favour of the guilty party?