Sketcher.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 347, 1 January 1903, Page 2

Sketcher.

i — qJJ. -'l --w|j % . EMPEROR -Waflw'B?MKbi '#• Ms& ' JP§- * • JMjRHE German the':habit ihVM of being myliierioulif' There id'in' .Sb&s bim tQore than a little of HarotsaI / al-Rasehidb Indeed, it has been hinted that the Emperor would hare been happiest could he have been an actor, playing not only regat roles, but aa well the dark, cloaked figures that; strut through the melodramas. Well, last year the Kaiser had big chance; he played Bouridan—cloaked |ti mystery as an Englishman; he visited Paris, bargained with cabbies, saw everything that including thet wonderful pageant devised by Caraa d'Ache, wherein the great Napoleon passes with his victorious army along" the hills W "J§nC **(?' wonder* this new war-lord thought o£ this other War-lord?) ' Let me tell you, and the story is told for ty e first time, just how the Emperor slipped into Paris, saw what was to be seen, and slipped away. We Bhall go back, then, t" April 12, 1900. In a first-class compartment of the St. Peter sbuig-Iterlin Express were twa insignificant travellers. (It reads like Dumas, does it not P) One of them was a stent: little man, the hair of him already grey. Hw name was Miquel, for he was and is one of the greatest financiers of Berlin. It was he, indeed, who'negotiated' the debts which the Kaiser heaped up in the days before he came to the throne. The second traveller was a man well set-up, with square shoulders, fat cheeks, heavy-lidded eyes, and a long, dropping moustache. He was dressed in English tweeds and wore on his short clipped hair a tweed travelling-cap, decorated with a button of the bicycle Touring Club. He smoked cigars and talked with Miquel in Easlish. , One of his armslike that of. Richard lit—was withered, but one would havo hardly noticed the fact, for he held -it straight at his side, and the tailor had known .how to hide the deformity. Now this man, of course, was' Wilhelm ,11., Emperor of Germany, and incidentally King of Prussia, and seventy times Prince . asi ' Duke. The train reached the G'are du Nord just after daybreak. The travellers took a cab—at so much for the drive—and - went'directly to Herr Miquel's apartments in the Rue d.e TUniversite. This is an old and quiet street. Herr Miquel has had his Paris den there for years. Now the two conspirators had succeeded. Not asoul knew they werein Paris. It had been given out to the journals that the Kaiser was hunting on his own estate in Saxons. Quite gaily they sauntered out. This was; you remember, before the Exposition was opened. In order to enter the grounds it was necessary' to procure special tickets. These tickets, however, wore common enough. Every journalist had them by the score. Of course Herr -Miquel had provided himself with two cards. They passed the gates and strolled up the Bue des Nations towards the German pavilion, *■•■• Fortunately, for this imperial truant, ' Herr Rtchter, the German Commissioner, who knows the Emperor very well, was not '" at the pavilion that day. The employes paid no attention to this Eng-lish-looking tourist-and his companion) the universal banker. After leaving the Germain building they crossed the Alexander HI. Bridge, examined the facades of the two art palaces and went out by the big gate giving-on the Place da la Concorde. They drove tfysn tolthe Cafe Anglais on the Boulevard, and dined m a private room on the first floor. The bill was thirty-five francs.. and Herr Miquel paid ii, giving '■< a' thrifty tip of'three francs to the waiter.

Then in an open cab they drove to the Bois de Boulogne, passing out at St. Cloud. There, for nearly three-quarters of an hour they walked, up and down the quay, discussing, it may be (for this is a guess), tbe things that happened thirty years ago. when from those heights the Prussians sent their shells Parisward. ! Thejfedrpve Bois. dined fftfeHeir' Miqi|el'6';'p|ei-a-lerre in the Rue de I'tJhiversite, and left' for iitrasburg and Berlin by the evening express. ~ ' And I you- ask me how t* k~ov the;e" things? ';' ' The next'' morning M. Lepine, head of. the.Parip police., presented a report to the Government describing every detail of the Emperor's visit—even to'what he had eaten and how many bottles of wine (there were three) had been ordered for thai; 'd ejeuner' at the Cafe Anglais. And here there comes in a very pretty instance of French politeness. At the time this report was pigeon* holed no one knew the Emperor had been to Paris—not even Herr von Mun&ter, "the aged ; and dreamy Prince who Sjaftj then" chief: of; the German Embassy.** "Thf rKaiser; himself left Paris, perfectly certain that'his ; Hfctie adventure was quite unknown. To-day he knows that not for one moment .was?he pUDproitecied, that the! very cabmari.'tbi whom M paid thirty cents, was ene of M. Cochefort's trusted agents, and that the old cabby who took, him to St. Cloud was another ! police agent. Now he knows; he didn't then, : > ,;.' ' •.! ,-, ;•>;.;;. Y:i(i] :;; •/-.-''■' \ . I He and Miquel went laughing back to Berlin. It was such a good joke they determined to try it again. In October, you may ; remember, .the Kaiser—according to every newspaper in the world—? visited Metz and Strasburg; ! for three days, however, he withdrew ffor, quiet' to a castle in Alsace-Lorraine, the property of oneof his international kinsmen. The Empres3 herself returned to Barlin. Those three days—or. rather a good part of them —Wilheloi passed in Parish He came, as he had done besore, accom-, panied by only one travelling* companion., Tais Men i was, I am informed, atiy army' officer, but I bave not been able to learn his name. Both he and the -Kauer | were dressed in ordinary travelling clothes;; they affected the style and manners of commonpl vce German merchants. I need not say that on this occasion M. Lepine. has not caught napping, j lihave heard hiß report summarised by'the pan" who, of al! Frenchmen, stands nearest the President'of Franc?. It was at a breakfast in a country house, and the pheasants, we ate had'been shot by one 'ess august than M. Ljubet himself. |. ! I I shall not rehearse the peregrination* of this jolly war-lord. Ton can-imagine the perturbations of the French Goyern- v ment when they knew -he,' was wayfaring* from one music ball to another, \itom Maxime'B to the queer little theatres of the Rue de Pirisj ' ; ;"'."'. ; >'lb was "not much,' said my friend, 'that we feared' tho: good would turn upon, him and rend his moustaches, but yau know', at that time there was a tremehdou3 ? Anarcrfist ecare 'suppose some crazed Bresci had killed the Em- , perqr of Germany midnight restaurant? 'Mais' penses done ! he added with a gesture that meant big type headings and newspaper columns, wars and revolutions. v ... ;,';.• ',.. ■■:' f ■ ! ; ' Ne, yon do "not care to know, all the adventure ' of' this' modern HarounaBaschid, so let us leave them for some future time,