The intimate papers of Colonel House arranged as a narrative by Charles Seymour.

244 INTIMATE PAPERS OF COLONEL HOUSE

In January he wrote to Gerard to make sure of the Kaiser's
plans; he learned that Wilhelm II would be in Corfu in the
late spring, that he would return to Potsdam, go on to Kiel
for the races, then on a cruise in Norwegian waters, and later
to his estates on the Rhine& House chose the earliest moment available and cabled Gerard to arrange the interviewfor June, after the Kaiser's return from Corfu.
The Colonel felt himself already in such close touch with
the situation in Great Britain that he believed the chief task
he must undertake would be a study of current German
psychology and especially the character of William II. In
January we find him taking lunch with Benjamin Ide
Wheeler and quietly extracting information.
'January 1, 1914: We had a delightful time together. He
is just back from Germany and has seen much of the Kaiser,
not only this time but upon former visits. He visits him in
the most informal manner and spends many hours with him
and his family. He gave me nearly all the information I
need regarding the Kaiser and his entourage. Wheeler is
also a close friend of Roosevelt's, and I was interested in his
comparison of the two men. He considers them very alike,
particularly in regard to memory and impulsiveness, but
they are dissimilar inasmuch as the Kaiser has a religious
turn of mind and is more cultured in his manners.
'In order to obtain the information I desired, I had to
disclose my object in questioning him; and he encouraged
me to believe that I might have some chance of success in
bringing the Kaiser around to an agreement for disarmament. He thought the Minister of Marine would be the
obstacle, just as Sir William Tyrrell had pointed out. He
1 House to Gerard, January 1, 1914; Gerard to House, February 11,
March 15, 1914. The matter is of historical interest, since it has been asserted that the Kaiser sailed to Norway as a blind to cover German war
plans. It is clear that his itinerary was arranged long before the murder
of the Archduke.