WILHELM THE SAWYER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 1, 26 September 1919, Page 9

WILHELM THE SAWYER

THE EX-KAISER TO-DAY. (By James Dunn in tho "Daily Mail.") Tho ex-Kaiser is qualifying as the champion wood sawyer of Europe. Within the last: six months he has sawn up 5000 fir trees into 30,000 blocks, and eacn block hilars the date, number of tree, and his initials W. 11. No longer does tno ex-Emperor give his photographs - to those he cusires to. honour; he presents them with a block of wood nine inches in diameter and two incited thick, sawn by tho Imperial hand.

From tc-a o'clock to one o'clock every morning' -lie saws diligently beneath his favourite fir true whiio liio ex-Kniserin reads the papers aloud. For the'first week or two Wiihelm did the sawing himself,-but he now uses a. double-hanil-nd saw ahd is- assisted by a companion, generally his doctor. , 'JL'nc ex-Kaiser is remarkably strong in the right arm, and ho takes a very human delight in the fact that lie has tired out every assistant he has employed. While •at work ho smokes three cigarettes, one each hour.

When Wiihelm is not sawing lie i 6 usually sulking. He lias periods of deep depression, and sits for hours near a greenhouse in the grounds of Count Bentinck'ti, castle, speaking to no one. T.ugging fretfully at his Vandyko beard, lie conjures up memories of ivlint might have been, and these dark hours are succeeded by fits of temper.

A tired old in-an is the ex-Kaiser of to-day. The fire has gone from his eyes, and the ruddiness from his cheeks, anil despite his strenuous exercisj ho is putting on weight.. During tho day he dresses in mufti, but for' dinner lie. dons one of his gorgeous, .uniforms, and with his small band of retainers holds a mimic court, thus seeking'to. recapture a glimpse of hid past glory'. After dinner ho talks with great animation, and he has a disturbing trick of throwing all his weight on the arm of his chair, and his toll of broken chairs is mounting rapidly. All his correspondence- is censored, and his haughty spirit chafes against this necessary j.estriction. • His'dominant fear is aeroplanes. He has conceived the idea that he may be kidnapped from the air, and he never ventures into the grounds without first carefully scanning 'the sky. Tho other morning a Dutch aeroplane flying over the castle nave him a severe fright, and ho kept indoors for the remainder of tho dav. .' .' •

His frequent companion is the little dachshund "Senta," which still wears the medal showing its taxes havo been paid in Berlin. All the children in the village know "Senta," who has pronounced democratic instincts anil a wenkness for chasing stray catb. In well-informed circles at The Hague it is believed that the ex-Kaiser will livo and die- in Holland. • There is little probability, they think, that tho Dutch will hand him over to the Allies, the Dutch laws holding that a political refugee is inviolate. He would not be prevented from going to Germany, hio guards consisting only oi Dutch policemen, but he is not likely to take the risk of revisitinE Gorman soil. His present intention is to buy a .house in the pro-, vinc.o of Utrecht, and-'several suitable, residences have been inspected on his hehalf.

Wilbelm nevor ventures outside the castle (.'rounds, tho walls of which have been heightened by boards to prevetit photographers . from taking snapshots. The ex-Kaiserin sometimes takes tea at neighbouring houses, but she is rarely away from her liaeband's side. She is the only one who can restrain him in his fits of passion. Although the-ex-Kaiser has contributed .£IOOO to the local rates for the first three months of his residence, the local Inhabitants would not be sorry to see his departure, as they fear his presence may involve their country in troublo with the Allies. • This is all the more remarkable eoeimr that.'during the war the district was strongly pro-German. Throughout Holland indeed, there is an uneasy foel-,-inir thnt tho longer he stays tho deeper will be the national embarrassment, but at the same time the people at large are acainst delivering him up to the Allies.