BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3082, 12 May 1917, Page 13

BOOKS OF THE DAY

"Soven yearn at tho Prussian Court." Quite > number of books have already been written by Englishmen and women who havo resided in Germany for some years. More than one of these books has been tho work of persons employed either in the Kaiser's housohold, or who has possessed special opportunities for studying tho ways of German' royalty. There is, however, much that is new and frequently interesting in tho volume entitled "Seven Years at the Prussian Court," by: Edith Keen (Eveleigh Nash'; per Whitcombe and Tombs). The 'book contains the reminiscences of an Englishwoman who spent seven years in Germany, - mainly at Potsdam and Berlin, in the service of tho Princess Leopold of Prussia, by whom she was engaged to act as dresser and personal attendant to her daughter, the Princess Victoria Margarethe of Prussia. The family usually resided at Klein Gleinicke, one of the many Royal castles scattered aibout Potsdam, hut went to .Berlin very frequently for Court and society functions. Her princely employers seem to have beon very English in manj of their tastes. Their palace was furnished by a London firm, indeed, when the war broke out a number of men from & well-known London firm of house decorators, had just come over to decorate one of the Prince's country houses. The unfortunate men were interned, and 1 are still in Gormanv. Tho author appears to he a lady of some education, for she writes well and gives evidence f possessing considerable - shrewdness and intelligence in estimating the German character. She gives a very interesting description of Court life in Germany, and her narrative includes somo cleverly dTawn. pen portraits of various royal, political, and military. celebrities. The head of the Klein Gleinicks household, Princo Leopold, is described as a very timid man, his special fear being, so the author tells us, a revolution. "I think," she says, "this by 110 means valiant prince saw in every working man a possible revolutionary. Tho fear was at least one of the reasons why ho kept the windows of his room so carefully barred at night, and the door of it looked." Tho Crown Prince is .clearly no favourite with the ladies of tho Court, his offensively vulgar manners, or lack of manners, being even too much for a Gorman woman to accept.without disgust. The Kaiser's portrait is not ill-natured, but tho author confirms what has teen too often said as to his ungovernable temper. On xine occasion, says Misß Keen, ; His Majesty entered his personal writing room as the man-servant waa putting some coal on the tire. The Emperor tola the man to leave the room, but the servant, who was slightly deaf, did not quite understand what the Kaiser said, and after hesitating a moment went on settling the fire. The Kaiser ilion completely lost his temper, and going up to the man, first swore at him and then • struck him. Unluckily for himself, the servant also had a had temper, as bad as that of his Imperial master, though ' circumstances usually compelled him to keep it well under control. But on this ; occasionllo failed to do so, and turning on ■ the liaiser, lie struck him | back. ( Half an hour later the man waa inpiol, . and paid for his offence by being after- ] wards sentenced to ten years' penal Bor- : vitude. lAs 'a matter of fact, to strike ' tho Kaiser is ail offence punishable by ! death, so the servant got oS lightly. A ispeoially interesting feature of : ihe book is the author's description of ; her experiences from July to the end ' of October, 1914, when, after a great deal of trouble, she was allowed to re- ' turn to England. Tho poisoning of ' tho German people's mind with lies : about the alleged atrocities committed by British soldiers actually extended to , the royal household. _ Even the Prin- ; cess Leopold, ordinarily • a sensible woman, and .her daughter, believed ■ these horrible mendacities. . "Prince 1 August Wilhelm," says the author, "related how tlio Royal Army Medical . Corps were served out with jack- , knives for the purpose of gouging out the eyes of the wounded Germans, ' and tho Prince actually producod one . of the knives"! The whole family . cheerfully predicted the most terrible ; happenings in England when "the fleet j of one thousand Zeppelins" got to work. \At the beginning of the war there was intense enthuejasm over the ; so-called glorious viotories in _ Belgium, but after the- Battle or the ; Marne the bad feeling towards the English was superior to all other sen- ' timents. ■ The secret of the retreat : was kept as well as it could he, but,' says Miss Keen, "the wounded were ' coming into Berlin, and all the censorship ill tho world could not stop their ' mouths. 5 ! In tho beginning cf (Ho- ' her the Princess Leopold admitted that the German army had had a slight reverse. "It is nothing serious at all," she said,, "part of the army 1 on the Western . front has had to fall bn,ck a few miles'; the Government ought to make a proper statemeni about it, to stop all these rumours of a disaster." It would he interesting if we could hear what is thought in the Klein Gleinioka household today of the battlos of tho Somme and of Arras. Miss Keen confirms the stories ' which have been told of the looting; of which German officers have been guilty in Belgium and France. The bad example set by the Crown Princo was 1 very generally followed. Besides jewels, pictures, antique furniture, even ladies' drosses were brought back' by German officers, invalided from the front. Says the author: A lady who was at the plaoe one afternoon, who was a Red Cross nurse, told a story of a friend of hers in Berlin whoso husband had brought back from the front six largo jewel cases filled with diamond and pearl necklaces, rings, and various ornaments. Another officer I know brought back with him two Louis XV chairs, which ho said was his share of tho loot from somo country mansion 1 near Lille. servant from the Noues I Palais, who was invalided back from j Ihe front a month or so after the outbreak of war,. brought back a massive gold cigarclto caso and half a first-class return railway ticket from London to Brighton. TIIO man said he had found it in a captured British troncb, but there is abundant evidence from the front that tho Elmis systematically plunder the bodice of Englishmen who happen to die within their lines. The author says sho is confident that, those whom she had loved in Germany "are not responsible for what Germany has done." She even believes that "if they understood and realised only a small portion of tho crimes of which tho Germans have beon guilty they would bo tilled with horror at tlieni." Nevertheless she is convinced that "personal friendship between English people and Germans has become impossible." (N.Z. price, 12s. 6d.) Tenlple Thurston, who has produced very little since his fine hut uneven "Richard Furlong" trilogy, has »■ new story,. "Enchantment," in Fisher Unwin's Spring Fiction list. Tho same publisher announces a new story —"Teddy," by the much too prolific 0. F. Benson.