KAISER WILHELM.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2343, 16 July 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

KAISER WILHELM.

Ix Blackwood there is an interesting contribution from an American lady who. some six or seven years since, whilst staying at Berlin, saw a good deal of the Emperor of Germany. Her experiences are very pleasantly related. We take the following extract:

Every evening, when dining at a little table'on the terrace of the Badcrsehloss, we could sec Kaiser Wilhelm, who, having first finished his own dinner, would smoke his cigar at the open window above, and look down in amused interest at the various parties there assembled ; and when eight o’clock came, an open Victoria would drive up to the side door of the hotel, upon the hoy-seat of which, beside the coachman, who was always the faithful _/«</■■/• who so bravely screened his Imperial master from file shots of tiic assassin at the time of the first attempt upon his life at Berlin. The Emperor, attended by bis handsome aide-de-camp, who generally went hy the am; of b'.nn Ishn-htiJf\ and who was a brother of the owner of La Solitude, would enter the Victoria, and be rapidly driven to the evening’s entertainment, whatever it might lie. Had. the dance already begun, the aged monarch would remain quietly standing at the door beside ids hostess, smiling at those he knew who in turn might pass him, hut allowing of no interruption of the dance on account of Ids arrival. So soon as the music ceased he would cross the room and take possession of the comfortable arm-chair, which was placed in such manner that he could watch the dancers whilst talking to anyone with whom lie might wish to converse ; or else, before going to ids own particular corner, he would make a tour of the room, stopping to speak to those he knew, or requesting to have any he cared to know presented to him.

At one; of those sociable little dances a figure was introduced into the cotillion which struck me as rather a trying one, and which, I fear, would hardly prove a success in a London dtawiug-rooni. Each lady had given to her, on a slip of paper, part of a verse of some poem, which she was to read aloud; and tile man who found on his slip of paper the remaining half of the verse was likewise to read it, and then dance with the lady. Germans are passionately fond of poetry, and I was often* struck by their famili arity with their native authors, therefore the responses to the ladies’ readings were prompt and ready. I rather doubt the name result were “Young England” suddenly called upon to lit the remaining lines to the first half of a verse—even with the advantage of holding their, written in Ins hand ! Upon this particular occasion, I begged that my verse might be of the shortest. As a rule, lam thankful to say, I am not shy'; but to stand directly in front of the Emperor of Germany, surrounded by a room full of Germans and Austrians—myself the one only foreigner among them—and amid deep silence to read aloud the words of one of their favourite poets in the German tongue, —I felt to be a trifle severe upon my nerves. However, this ordeal, as the previous one of singing in the church, passed off without actual calamity'. His Majesty was good enough to applaud the performance; and my destined partner read his part of the verse so promptly, and whirled me off in the dance so quickly, that I had scarcely realised what I had done before it was all over.

At another time, when I returned to my seat after a figure in the cotillon, I found the Emperor seated beside me, he having taken my partner’s place during our absence. The old man was charming—talking so easily ami agreeably, that I quite forgot any previous awe which I might have felt, lie spoke of his beloved Berlin, asking if I had been there ; and my account of the adventures which had befallen mo in that notable city seemed to strike him as so comical, that he laughed heartily, and as though no cares of empire weighed upon his shoulders, no Prince Bismarck had fallen to his lot as Prime Minister, and no Socialists awaited impatiently the chance of shortening his venerable life. Yet others felt how carefully that life must he guarded if assassins, already baffled, were to he ultimately defeated ; and the Emperor William never went for a morning stroll along his favourite Kaiser Promenade, that armed soldiers and mgent* <(e ritte did not precede and follow him, to see that no dastardly hand lay in wait to strike down the erect and soldierly form. Surround' d by the officers and gentlemen of his suite, ha would walk along tho broad path named after himself, or wend his way up the steep hillside to a certain pohd de nr where a howling-alley had been erected ; and there he would watch the games, nr even join in them himself, despite the fact that he carried the weight for over eighty years. One would never have suspected his great ago when conversing with him, or seeing the active life he led, When tho time came lor the Emperor to leave Gasteiu, he sent a mess ice through tho aide-de-camp to those whom he wi-hed to assemble in the hall of the Baderschloss to bid him adieu. I was reading in bed, about eight o’clock in the morning, when tho the message reached me, coupled with the intimation that 1 would be expected to present his Majesty with some flowers. The farewell ceremony was appointed for twelve o’clock. At once I sent my maid to get some blue corn-flowers, which are the Emperor's favourites and which in Germany go bathe name of K'tiserblnmcn, whilst I myself made as rapid a toilet as possible. The girl returned with only a small handful of the flowers—they had all been bespoken and brought up long since, in antieipta-

lion of the Royal Departure. To present a trifling little bunch was out of the question, knowing- how elaborate were some of the floral designs and bouquets already prepared ; so 1 quickly made the flm.-r----into the form of a horseshoe, fast, niiur in the gold hearts of the Marguerites a.- the nails. This I tied with a Prussian ;due ribbon, upon which 1 painted in white. “0/nH'in/," lln-G Tra in for v'l-m--" Mv hnmfdo offering completed, I d*-s. cendvd the steep hill from our villa, and found myself among the little party of the Badersehl.-i's, where were assembled the Mayor of Gaslcin, my friend the Prfiiijfr, Court Lehnlorff, and several other officials, three Merman ladies ami three Au-trian. \\ e all stood in a line around the hall, and wailed till the Kaiser appeared, followed by his aide-de-camp, i o each in turn the Kmperer said a few words, and the ladies presented their bouquets ; which, after taking, his Majesty banded to General Lehndortf, who walked directly behind him, in this farewell “progress, ’’ I was the last in line, and to ray great surprise as I offered ray horse-shoe of flowers, the Emperor drew from his pocket « little case containing a horse-shoe in gold, which he hoped I would wear in rememberance of dtr alter Kaiser. Naturally I was much pleased by the gracious gift, which 10-day is amongst my favourite possessions. I bent and kissed the old man’s band, and then watched him drive away, surrounded by bis flowers, feeling that I looked for the last time upon bravo old Kaiser Wilhelm. I had myself been in Berlin when both attacks were made upon the life of the Emperor,—when Iloedle shot at him from tho crowd, and Nobling from a window overlooking the celebrated street., Unter den Linden. A curious little incident occurred upon the latter occa-ion. As the Emperor was going for his afternoon drive in the Thiergarten, lie a.-k, d an attendant standing in the hall of the Palace why such an unusual and gaily-dre-sed crowd thronged the streets.

“ They go to sen the Shah of Persia, your, Majesty," was the answer. “Ah ! then I must put on gala attire,” the Kmpernr remarked, smiling, and forthwith took from a table his Prussian helmet, replacing with its steel plating the military cloth cap which he hadj before placed on his head. When a few hours later he was brought back to the palace, wounded and bleeding, the helmet wag dented in several places where the mixed shot used by Xohling had struck against the metal. Had the unresisting cloth been there instead, who can tell how different the ending of the tragedy might have been f Two or three days after the attempted assassination, the old monarch .asked to see the i-lothes he had worn on that fatal day. Looking at the military helmet, he turned to those standing by bis bedside, and with tears in bis eves, said, penning to the ma:k<of the bullets, 1 lunik (led, it was uot one of uiv own Berlin men win did that 1" Dining the-o dark days in the 11.-r.a m cipital whit' it was n,t, V et c-. ; what toe en I might b“. The anxious solicitude exhibited by all classes ~f -o.oty :r un the highest to t’ e lowest, and through tae length an I breadtuo: ihe land, proved tliai if out* band hj id beau f aiud cowarllv enough to (be at lha o!d.. s e mona.-ch in Europe, then; were still hem asb of men eager to prove themselves loyal subjects of the Emperor William.