':1 ,. y !"• a c i c r:* s • -a hiU wdc'':! ne\f:h'a* for Cmlxlren nor hbolM- LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OE ILEINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 943.08 W672Wfl 1905 V .1 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/privatelivesofka01fisc_0 SECRET MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF BERLIN UNDER WILLIAM II VOLUME I ^jejcrjet THE KAISER AND KAISERIN OF GERMANY VOLUME I private Xivee of iHaiaet Milliani tt arii an& Secret Mlstort) a ll ':1 be Co; Of 3:rUn FROM THE !■ u.^sx V'? I r s 5 - • VC or I P- HENRY W. FISCHER K\Z?.\17\% OjAVA A z'iM'OA '^j\\ \n ^cv ^UvtiuA «iU>\ Oil t c n t c b FISCHER’S FOREIGN LEi J i.iiS, Inc.. pubUat'Cij BENSONHURST, NJ W' YORK Photo Jl JLLIAM II, GERMAN EMPEROR, KING OE PRUSSIA S' Henry W. Pischer and John Russell, of London, taken at the Neues Pt Potsdam, May 30 , 1891 , zvhen the Kaiser ivas 33 years old ff>ri\>ate Xives of IRaiser MtlUam 11 anb Mis Consort an& Secret Kietori? of tbe Court of BerUit FROM THE PAPERS AND DIARIES EXTENDING OVER A PERIOD, BEGIN- NING JUNE, 1888, TO THE SPRING OF 1898, OF URSULA COUNTESS VON EP- PINGHOVEN, DAME DU PALAIS TO HER MAJESTY THE EMPRESS-QUEEN BY HENRY W. FISCHER SECOND EDITION With a Notable Preface “ THE AUTHOR TO HIS CRITICS” H llustrateb Engravings by The Austin Engraving Co., Albany, N. Y. FISCHER’S FOREIGN LETTERS, Inc., publlsbets BENSONHURST, NEW YORK Copyright, 1898, By HENRY W. FISCHER Entered at Stationers’ Hall Copyright, 1898, By HENRY W. FISCHER In France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and all foreign countries having international copyright arrangements with the United States Copyright, 1905, By HENRY W. FISCHER A ll rights reserved^ including those of translation THE AUTHOR TO HIS CRITICS. The burden of criticism called forth by PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT/’ hinges on the question : “ What purpose does the publication of these volumes serve?” The Boston Transcript says directly: “It would be quite as interesting as anything in the book to know * * * the underlying reasons for the present volumes.” Here is the answer : I desired to draw a picture of royalty and aristocracy AS IT IS in order to show the absurdity of the prevailing notions which accord to those born in the purple more finesse, more highmindedness, more charity, less pettiness and fewer faults of heart and education than to ordinary mortals. The tendency of the day is to cater to “ the common people’s betters,” kings are exalted as demi- gods, “ lords ” and “ ladies ” pictured as of superior stuff than mere men and women. At European courts American ambassadors dance at- tendance in the style of dress the Vanderbilts and Goulds impose upon their servants. Every little while we read that this or that American received an eagle or star (worth from $1.75 to 99 cents), which he is “graciously permitted by all- highest warrant” to wear in his buttonhole. Noble-born husbands of American girls draw in the neigh- borhood of ten million dollars per year out of this country in the shape of dowries, appanages and blackmail, cheerfully paid by American citizens. The corridors of the great New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, etc., hotels are peopled all the year around by scions of “ great European houses,” eager to trade off their ridiculous coronets. Why are so^ many of them successful, why do increasing numbers of aristocratic notions find favor with us, why is it that the “400” cajole every unknown foreign prince, duke or count, come to these shores, up to the very hour he takes service as coachman or waiter? Because American society is fast losing its self-respect, because republican simplicity is becoming a thing of the past, because we are beginning to look upon royalty, and its hered- itary servants as superior beings, distinguished for gifts of mind and fine sentiments we ourselves lack. THE AUTHOR TO HIS CRITICS “ PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II/’ etc., was written to counteract these un-American ideas ; it was written to show, by comparison, how far superior the virile American repub- lican race is to decaying royalty and nobility. If the work seems to betray hatred of royalty it is, to quote Taine, “ less because royalty oppresses man, than because it corrupts him; because, in deforming social life, it deforms private life, because, in establishing injustice, it establishes vice because, after having made itself man’s master, it wrecks his manhood. My secondary purpose was to portray the German Court and Government for the benefit of American statesmen. That our next national struggle will be with Germany the men of the United States army and navy firmly believe, even if the powers at the helm deem it good policy to deny it. The very best preparation for war is to know the enemy, not only con- cerning troops and resources, but particularly concerning the character of the men in the lead. Several critics upbraided the writer for “ uncharitable- ness.” Their strictures are well deserved, I admit, but the purpose I had in mind prohibited sentimental considerations. For the delectation of those “ who dearly love a lord ” there are hundreds of books on Emperor William, books of the “ sad sort, which, with pain and difficulty, teach us nothing * * * .filling the mind with mere dust-whirlwinds ” I aimed to write a human book such as the Memoirs of the Margravine of Bayreuth. The gifted sister of Frederick the Great indicted a far more terrible arraignment of royalty and aristocracy than I, yet the foremost historian of German Court Life calls it a “ veracious book of veracity deeper than the superficial sort, done from eyesight and insight and being above intending to deceive.” If a member of a royal family permits herself to give an unvarnished portrait of royalty, why not a mere plebeian? Mark Twain once told me: he went to Bayreuth “ not to go to pieces ” before Wagner, but to worship at the shrine of that greatest iconoclast of kingship, the Margra- vine,” the friend of Voltaire and other men of superlative genius. One critic insists that “ matters of the kind published in PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II. etc., should be kept secret.” I have already pointed out that royalty itself thought differently. “Ancient history,” you say. Not at all. In the early eighties, H. R. H. Princess Christian of Schleswig-Hol- stein, a daughter of the late Queen Victoria, translated the Margravine’s Memoirs into English, dedicating the work to “ her beloved brother-in-law, Emperor Frederick of Germany, King of Prussia.” THE AUTHOR TO HIS CRITICS Here we have a daughter of the foremost royal family of Europe, Englishing “ the most terrible arraignment of royalty ever printed,” and the German emperor accepts the dedication of the ” wholesome and wholesale criticism of his ancestors.” Strange to say, Mr. Howells, the dean of American letters, discovered the desirability of giving to the Anglo-Saxon world a true picture of crowned heads at about the same time as Her Royal Highness. The scholarly James R. Osgood of Boston, now dead, issued Mr. Howell’s translation of the Margravine’s Memoirs. Thackeray’s “ P'our Georges ” may be cited as affording additional proof of the legitimacy of historical memoirs of the kind of “ PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM H,” etc. When the author of Pendennis ” and “ Vanity Fair ” lec- tured on the British unspeakables before New York and Boston audiences, most of the relatives and companions of the last George were still alive, and the lecturer opened his talk with the remark that “ only a very few years since ” he knew familiarly a lady who had been asked in marriage by Horace Walpole, the contemporary of George the First, At the risk of being thought immodest, it is further pointed out that the author of the “ Four Georges,” like the author of the “PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II” “was taken to task,” for not having given grave historical treatises, talking of the “ manners and life of the court rather than of politics and measures of state.” Some critics insist that “PRIVATE LIVES OF WIL- LIAM II ” is not history because it is merely “ secret his- tory.” I would fain dispute so authoritative a statement by arguments of my own — I might be thought prejudiced — and quote from D’Israeli’s “TRUE SOURCES OF SECRET HISTORY:” “Secret history is the supplement of history itself and its great corrector; and the combination of secret with public history has in itself a perfection which each taken separately has not. The popular historian composes a plausible rather than an accurate tale, * * * but in secret history we are more busied in seeing what passes than in being told of it. “ * * * Let me inform * * * ^bat the waiting woman and the valet of eminent persons are sometimes no unim- portant personages in history. The absolute necessity of researches into secret history to correct the appearance and the fallacies which so often deceive us in public history is abundantly proved.” The critics who claim that I painted only the DARK SIDE of courtly life, I beg to remind of what Noah Webster said when the old maid upbraided him for “putting all the nasty words in his dictionary.” “ Sorry,” quoth Noah, “ to hear that you were looking for them.” THE AUTHOR TO HIS CRITICS AS TO THE COUNTESS EPPINGHOVEN. A very generous reviewer says Madame, the Countess von Eppinghoven would be “ indeed a marvel and a lost genius ” if she had written the volumes under discussion. Allow me to say, that the Countess did not write “ WIL- LIAM II,” that I wrote the book, word for word, introduction and all. But the Countess furnished the ammunition, valu- able and otherwise inaccessible information, all of which I verified. While most of the information regarding the inner life of the court is the Countess’s, I am responsible for the political side-lights and excursions into history, contempo- raneous and otherwise. The reviewer of the New York Commercial Advertiser marvels that he has not heard of a “ satiric talent of such capacity ” as I seem to possess before. I will tell him, sub rosa, that I am extremely fond of the good things of this life, and that consequently I devote my energies to the newspaper work most in demand, instead of aspiring to “ literature ” which, alas, but too often goes hand in hand with frayed collars and a general air of enforced untidiness. Besides, magazine editors and publishers’ read- ers, learning that I was not born in this country, concluded that I “ cannot write English.” I could name a large Chicago publishing house that felt so sorry for me on account of my “ bad English ” that it actually offered to have my book re- written by one of its hacks, and publish it over my name. The proof sheets of “ WILLIAM II,” submitted to publishers in various parts of the country, are full of suggestions, tend- ing toward improvement and correction of my style. One generous publisher’s reader was good enough to offer fifteen synonymns for the word “ abolished ” that appears in a quotation from Carlyle. I pleaded that Carlyle might be allowed to have his way, but the publisher’s reader answered sternly, that the improve- ment of Carlyle’s style was absolutely necessary to make old Thomas readable in these enlightened days. In this connec- tion, it may be of interest to state that I never learned English in the regular way, never had an English grammar and only acquired a dictionary when I began to translate Von Moltke’s works. I came to this country at the age of 20, primed with knowl- edge of Greek, Latin, Hebrew and French. After looking around I resolved to throw all that overboard and devote rnyself to English, pure and simple as I found it in conversa- tion, in the newspapers, theatres, magazines and books. Car- lyle, Macaulay, and Thackeray were my real instructors in English, but as to grammar proper — I do not know anything about it. THE AUTHOR TO HIS CRITICS This humiliating fact I kept carefully to myself — until now — but the puWishers’ readers found it out just the same — hence their pity and contempt. On the whole, the pub- lishers’ readers were very much disgusted with the “ for- eigner,” and as to the facts presented, to cite only one in- stance; the manuscript of “WILLIAM II” was rejected by a big New York and London house because its reader could not, and would not, believe that such a thing as the Court Marshal’s refusal to allow a Royal Highness a glass of Madeira for second breakfast, was within the possibilities. Experience in offering “ WILLIAM II ” led me to con- clude that if publishers’ readers had their way, there would be no literature but grammars, and no history but milk and water. HENRY W. FISCHER. Bensonhurst, New York. 0 INTRODUCTION BY URSULA, COUNTESS VON EPPINGHOVEN ^^Vive le roi croaked the imperial standard floating over the gray old Berlin Schloss when I alighted from my carriage at the Court-marshal’s gate to report for duty on June 25, 1888, and ‘‘Long live the King !” breathed and echoed all the new brooms and old around me in the ante- chambers, in the state and in the living and servants’ apart- ments of that immense pile. Yonder, just across the Pup- penbrucke, at half-mast and draped in black, were seen the flags of two Queens, a widow of three and a half months the one, the other had buried the noblest of husbands but ten days before. Their palaces, which scarcely ever possessed the brazen front of right royal splendor, appeared deserted, gloomy, and melancholy beyond hope as the emblem of death wafted above them; but with us — the new masters — all was life and excitement (being now a sal- aried body-attendant of the reigning Empress, I must needs adopt the servant-hall jargon to make myself popular with the rest) — we kept house on a small scale and on scanty ra- tions in the little Potsdam Marble Palace^ long enough ; one Court-marshal (Major von Liebenau), one Grande Mai- tresse (Countess Brockdorff), was all we could afford ; but, presto! there will be First Grand Charges, Grand Charges, ^ The Marble Palace was the official residence of Prince and Princess William up to the death of Emperor Frederick. IX X INTRODUCTION and Charges of our Court presently, Equerries by the dozen, and Chamberlains galore ! And Her Imperial and Royal Majesty, the Princess William that was, to whom Herr von Liebenau only three months ago refused a glass of Madeira for second breakfast on the plea that his ex- chequer could not afford luxuries of that sort, the Kaiser’s Frau shall have as many women adjutants as the Emperor has males. And we will tear down this very Schloss, build cathedrals and play-houses and yachts, and be done with the whole small-beer business of yielding to a budget ; we will, in fine, spend the forty millions of our royal inheri- tance ! Such were the prevailing sentiments in the sphere I had entered ; not unfamiliar ones, by any means, for the events just concluded had been under discussion in the Marble Palace for years, and so frequently and openly had they passed in review that even to see them in print would not have surprised me. Yet the bartering and marketing of dead men’s shoes carried on within ear- shot of the royal widows by my new colleagues and everybody else in the palace, from Court-marshal to scullion, — this haggling and huckstering outraged all my finer sensibilities. I had seen royalty born, and had helped to distribute its garter on the wedding-eve ; I had stood at its death-bed, and in royal company had enjoyed the good things of this world, — in fact, the greater part of my life had been spent at Court ; but where formerly I was welcomed as a friend and com- panion, I was now — such are the vicissitudes of life — merely one of a few hundred attendants. Was, then, Madame de Cornuel’s adage, that no great man is perfect in his valet’s eyes, to be brought home to me with terrible force right at the beginning ? “These people,” I argued to myself, “are like sponges, absorbing the atmosphere of their environment, being at INTRODUCTION XI the same time too careful of their own interests to assume an attitude out of countenance with that of their betters. Can it be that I have mistaken the character of the august personages upon whom the eyes of the whole world are now riveted, and who are likely to engage the most lively atten- tion hereafter ? ’ ’ A lady of title and position, I had, after losing my fortune, accepted their Majesties’ command to join the ranks of a retinue already noted for high-sounding names, and by royal warrant was appointed Hofcia^ne to the Em- press; that is, a functionary whom ‘‘the first gentleman of Europe” cleverly characterized as “making an occasional one of four large hoops in a gilded coach ; a maid aiding the languor of an easy party in a royal box at the play ; one that goes to the theatre, to concerts, and oratorios gratis, and has physicians without fees and medicine without drug- gists’ bills.” "Was I to be that, and nothing more? The voice of Court-marshal von Liebenau, now my superior, woke me from the reverie into which I had fallen. The lord steward, at that time omnipotent, had settled upon my immediate employment. “You will for the present assume the functions of both Maitresse de Matson and maid of honor,” he said. “ It is a ticklish post, that binds one closely to their Majesties’ heels, inasmuch as the care of the all-highest persons is given into your hands, for it has already been announced that there will be no change in the intimate domestic arrangements. Kaiser and Kai- serin will continue to occupy one bed-chamber as formerly and you must superintend the body-service of both the all-highest master and mistress; but as Your Ladyship has lived in the great world, and knows more about polite requirements than many a Princess, the aspect will not frighten you; for my part, I place implicit trust in your acumen and judgment. Later in the day, a list of special Xll INTRODUCTION instructions will be sent to you. And now, my dear Count- ess,” concluded the courtier, rising from his arm-chair, ^‘take a bit of friendly advice before you select your suite of rooms among the apartments set aside for Her Majesty’s ladies. If you want to succeed at our Court, leave all thoughts of independence, all inborn notions of truthful- ness and common, every-day honesty, outside the palace gate ; divest yourself of personality — all individualism save that of our masters’ is odious — be an automaton pure and simple, smile upon Her Majesty’s whims, do not be ruffled by a superior’s insults, and if at any time you must fly into a rage, retaliate upon those under you. ’ ’ I was about to speak, to protest, but the Court-marshal anticipated me. know what you want to say,” he cried; ‘^you think it mean and contemptible to let the innocent suffer for their betters’ wrongs, and I agree with you. But we all do it, must do it; it is a sort of lightning-rod for one’s ill-temper. And now, au revoir, Madame la Comtesse. Once more — be an automaton.” With that Herr von Lie- benau kissed my hand, and a minute later I stood in the court-yard quite beside myself with wrathful indignation. True enough, I was to become one of so many hoops,” and might consider myself lucky if not forced to degen- erate into something worse ! The principal square within the palace, which is adorned by Kiss’s noble bronze group of St. George and the Dragon, was gay with carriages and soldiery in parade- dress, and as I crossed it on my way to another wing of the castle I came within range of a large volume of voices shouting Hochf" and ‘‘Hurrah ! ” in enthusiastic chorus; they belonged to members of the Reichstag assembled in the White Hall to pay homage to the new lord, as one of the officers on guard informed me. INTRODUCTION Xlll ^^His Majesty’s most loyal opposition appears to enjoy the situation, ’ ’ I remarked. Pshaw! ” retorted the aristocratic warrior, with a dis- dainful curl of his lip, ^^Gnddige Frau would not be sur- prised at that if, like myself, you had been privileged to hear His Majesty rehearse the speech he seems to have just now delivered. It came late last night, still warm, if I may so express myself, from the Chancellor’s palace. The Prince ” (meaning Bismarck) — ‘^that was the consensus of opinion — surpassed all his previous efforts in the wheed- ling line by this diplomatic document, which fairly blazes with assurances of constitutional government and the im- portance of peaceful legislation. The Kaiser read it aloud to his adjutants, and all were greatly edified, I assure you.” Another volley of popular applause burst at this moment overhead, and soon afterward the deputies began to de- scend from the state apartments in their funny old-fashioned swallow-tail coats, dickies, paper collars, and brilliant dec- orations. Among those who recognized and came up to greet me was the spokesman of one of the liberal parties, or frac- tions of parties, that heretofore had been among the ardent and loud-voiced admirers of Emperor Frederick. Indeed, it was not quite a month since I had heard him say to a con- servative colleague: Your Prince William is nothing but a tool of ^Hqfpfaffen ’ and Anti-Semites. No honest man can have confidence in him.” To-day this worthy politi- cian appeared stocked to overflowing with cheap senti- mentality about the very royal person he had essayed to abhor. I turned from him and other noisy weather-cocks “that rattled and sang of mutation” and fled to my rooms, taking the first of the row of apartments the lackey opened for my inspection. I had not the heart to go far- ther. A good cry, I felt, would benefit me more than the advantages that some of the other suites might possess. XIV INTRODUCTION How this one hour’s experience at Court, in my new ca- pacity, had unnerved me ! If it had not been for the promises made to their Majesties, I should have flown from the gilded cage that very instant; but what was to be gained by offering an affront to my august master and mistress? I had to live, Talleyrand notwithstanding, and if servitude in a palace was fraught with such setbacks, what would it be in private life? After all, “society is divided into two classes,— the fleecers and the fleeced,” and, assuredly, it is better to belong to the fleecers or, in this case, to the fleecers’ Court. The argument was abominable, I grant {Herr von Lie- benau himself, whom I soon learned to regard as the most selfish servant of the most selfish master, could not have advanced anything less dignified and more venal), but it was the sort of reasoning needed to back up my waning courage. Once conceived, I clung to it, I pampered it and enlarged on it, and gradually my nerves quieted down. Throwing myself on a lounge, I let refreshing slumber steal upon me, and did not awake for several hours and when the bell of my apartment had rung half a dozen times. “Your Ladyship seems to feel quite at home already,” said Herr von Liebenau’s secretary, who brought the prom- ised instructions, for it was he who demanded admission ; “I thought I should never succeed in awakening you. We are all good sleepers in the palace, though, if we get the chance.” * * * Nearly nine years have passed since I first cried myself to sleep in the big gray Schloss by the Spree while the hot June sun was pouring into my room and all Berlin dis- cussed the Kaiser’s first meeting with the Reichstag ; and INTRODUCTION XV now that I commit to paper these memoirs of the Second William’s Court, let me say that in all that period I was but used as a beast of burden by the great personages, my masters, whom Providence sent into the world “ready booted and spurred to ride,” — no better, no worse. Special reasons for complaint I have none ; neither will these pages wantonly afford umbrage to the exalted ones of whom I write, unless, indeed, they object to truth, that sentiment concerning .which Dr. Johnson wrote some one hundred and fifty years ago: “There is something noble in publishing it, though it may condemn one’s self.” I have no personal end in view with these papers; no excuses are offered for this narrative of Court life as I have seen it. If in part it borders on the unexpected, by upsetting established notions, and again explains certain things which have become history from a standpoint totally different from the one popularly accepted and be- lieved, let the reader remember that truth is stranger than fiction, and that history is but a lie, to borrow a phrase from the Duchess of Orleans, the sister-in-law of Louis XV, “a smart woman, an audacious woman,” the same who exclaimed, on hearing the false report that Frederick the Great was marching upon Versailles after Rossbach: “So much the better, I shall at last see a King then.” Surely, no one will deny that the lives of the great “lay accurately mirrored” in the head of that gifted Princess; if she quarrelled with their habitual reflectors, royalty’s cavalieres serventes or romancers pure and sim- ple, it was on account of their general untrustworthiness. If they are historiographers, like Mr. Poultney Bigelow, designated — that is a less harsh word than the official “commanded” — to write the life of an august personage like Kaiser William, the insight into affairs permitted such authors is so limited as to make it almost valueless compared XVI INTRODUCTION with matters of which they are kept in ignorance. Writers standing altogether outside the pale of the Court are even worse off for facts, save such as may crystallize in a fertile brain nourished by book-wisdom and weaned from truth, or what is worse, from decency. For my part, I shall give only such incidents of the lives of William II and his consort as have come under my per- sonal observation, or that I know of by reliable witnesses. The story of a very few incidents that occurred before the present Emperor’s enthronization I shall be obliged to credit to the general gossip of the palace. THE ROYAL HOHENZOLLERNS AND THEIR KINDRED MENTIONED IN THESE VOLUMES Frederick I, first King of Prussia, 1701-1713. Before 1701 the Hohenzollerns were known as Prince-Electors of Brandenburg. Frederick William I, 1713-1740. Father of Frederick the Great. Frederick II, the Great, 1740-1786. His best-known sister was the Margravine of Baireuth (died in 1757), authoress of the celebrated Memoirs. Frederick the Great was succeeded by his nephew : Frederick William II, 1786-1797. He was the notorious bigamist and debt-contractor. He was succeeded by his son : Frederick William HI, 1797-1840. He was the husband of Queen Louise, a Princess of Strelitz (died in 1810), and the father of his successors : Frederick William IV, 1840-1861. This King became mad and died childless. A daughter of his brother William (died 1846), Princess Marie, married Maximilian H, King of Bavaria. Queen Marie (died 1889) had two sons, — Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, who died insane in 1886, and the present King Otto of Bavaria, who is also insane. Frederick William IV was succeeded by his brother : William I, King, 1861-1888. Became German Emperor in 1871. The Queen and Empress of William I was Augusta, Princess of Sachsen- Weimar, and a granddaughter (on her mother’s side) of Czar Paul I, who died insane. William I had a daughter, Louise, now Grand Duchess of Baden, and was succeeded by his son : Frederick III, March-June, 1888. His widowed Empress and Queen, styled Empress Frederick, is the oldest daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and was born in 1840. Her children are : xvii XVlll ROYAL HOHENZOLLERNS AND THEIR KINDRED William II, Emperor and King since June, 1888; Charlotte, born i860. Hereditary Princess of Sachsen-Meiningen ; Prince Henry of Prussia, born 1862, married to Irene of Hesse, sister of the Czarina; Victoria, born 1866, Princess of Lippe ; Sophie, bom 1870, Crown Princess of Greece; Marguerite, born 1872, Prin- cess Frederick Charles of Hesse-Cassel. William H is married to Auguste Victoria, born 1858, eldest daughter of Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. The couple has seven children, six boys and one girl. Prince Frederick Leopold of Prussia is the Kaiser’s cousin and brother-in-law, this Prince being married to Louise Sophie, Prin- cess of Schleswig-Holstein, sister of Empress Auguste Victoria. The Princely Houses of Hohenzollern (Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen), whose possessions were ceded to Prussia in 1849, the royal line, descended from Rudolph, Graf von Zollern, but, professing the Catholic faith, have not in- termarried with the royal line for several centuries. Members of the royal and princely lines call each other “ cousins” by cour- tesy. Charles Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, is married to Antonie, Royal Princess of Portugal. His eldest son : The Hereditary Prince William, born 1864, is married to Therese, Princess of the Deux-Siciles. Prince Charles Anton’s second son : Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Roumania, married Princess Marie of Edinburgh. The Duke, her father, is now Duke of Sachsen- Coburg-Gotha. A third son : Carl Anton, is married to Josephine, daughter of the Comte de Flan- ders. Duke Gunther of Schleswig- Holstein- Sonderburg-Augustenburg, brother of Empress Auguste Victoria. Born 1863. He is the fianck of Princess Dorothy of Sachsen- Coburg-Kohary, daughter of Prince Philip, Austrian Field-Marshal, and Princess Louise, a daughter of King Leopold of Belgium; Princess Louise has of late been declared insane. The mother of Prince Philip is Prin- cess Clementine, daughter of the late Louis-Philippe of France. The Prince of Bulgaria is a younger brother of Prince Philip. ROYAL HOHENZOLLERNS AND THEIR KINDRED XIX Prince Christian, the husband of Princess Helene of Great Britain, is an uncle of the Duke of Schleswig and of Empress Auguste Victoria. Prince Christian’s Brother, Frederick (died July 2, 1865), mar- ried Mary Lee, daughter of David Lee, of New York, November 30, 1864, after assuming the Austrian title of Prinz von Noer. Princess von Noer, his widow, who, by this marriage, became the aunt of the German Empress, married, on April 14, 1874, Gene- ral — now Field-Marshal — Graf von Waldersee. Duchess Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, mother of the German Empress, is a Princess of Hohenlohe- Langenburg, and a cousin of Prince Hohenlohe, the Chancellor of the German Empire. THE KAISER CHAPTER I Is it a fine boy ? “ Victoria.” But one person, Major von Normann, of the First Guards, was present, when, on June 15, 1888, at noon, scarcely an hour after the gallant Frederick had breathed his last, the new lord drew the above despatch from his father’s papers. What did His Majesty say on discovering the Queen’s telegram?” I asked Normann at the Emperor’s funeral. ^^Not a word; yet, if possible, he turned a shade paler, while his left hand convulsively closed around the hilt of his sabre. ’ ’ Every time a Prussian king dies, a spirit of unspeakable savagery seems to take hold of his lawful successor. ‘Mn Berlin, from Tuesday, May 31, 1740, the day of the late Majesty’s death, till the Thursday following, the post was stopped and the gates closed ; no estafette could be despatched, though all the ambassadors were busy writ- ing,” says Carlyle in his “Frederick the Great.” The present Kaiser’s great-grandfather placed his sire’s mistress and all her friends and relatives under arrest the moment Frederick William H died; and the Empress Frederick, her daughters, the members of her Court, her physicians, friends, and servants, were prisoners for many hours, begin- ning at five minutes past eleven o’clock, on June 15, 1888. Until her son and heir had concluded his investigations 3 4 PRIVATE LIVES OF and made all arrangements he intended to effect, no living soul was allowed to leave Castle Friedrichskron ; sentinels with guns loaded stood over the telegraph operators to pre- vent communication with the outer world, and the telephone was similarly guarded. That upon the heel of these precautionary measures the newly-made Kaiser invited Normanni to attend him in his search for state papers and other documents, of which the one mentioned, while not the most valuable, was certainly not the least interesting, shows the extent of his confidence in this man, then esteemed the strictest disciplinarian of his ‘‘corps,” but in no other way distinguished. I would not like to assert that the imperial proclamations to the army and to the navy, dated Schloss Friedrichskron, June 15, 1888, were composed with von Normann’s assist- ance while impatient crowds surrounded the palace, moan- ing and crying for news of the good king whom they vaguely supposed to be dead — the Major, with whom I was very well acquainted, has always been discreetly silent on that point; — but these papers are so full of barrack bra- vado and calm contempt for everything not military as to strongly suggest some such influence ; a moral ascendency may indeed have insinuated itself by von Normann’s very presence at that particular time. “Thus we belong to each other, — I and the army, — thus we were born for each other, and thus we will stick to each other forever, be there peace or storm, as God wills it.” And while the army was honored and exalted beyond its proudest expectations on the very day of Frederick’s death, the loyal, tax-paying people had to wait for the cus- tomary royal greeting, and a word of information on the issues of the day, until the 1 8th of the month ! To absolve the Kaiser from part of the blame in this matter is not only charitable but just, considering that His WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 5 Majesty’s supposed collaborateur, who died in September, 1890, by his own hand, was, in July, 1888, already afflicted with the species of moral insanity that hastened his de- mise. After the death of the favorite, medical experts no longer hesitated to say that von Normann’s famous rigor- ousness had really been monomania of vanity, while his brusqueness and cruelty were nothing short of impulsive madness, that furthermore developed a series of foul crimes. The impression, therefore, that the present Kaiser’s first official acts were those of a disordered brain, unstates- manlike, heedless, and offensive, is scarcely without foun- dation in fact, seeing that a madman stood sponsor to them. But to return to Queen Victoria’s telegram. It was dated January 28, 1859, twenty-four hours after the eldest son of Crown Prince and Crown Princess Fred- erick-William had seen the light ; twenty-four hours, too, after Berlin witnessed a royal Hohenzollern’s race down the Linden in a Droschke , — events of the utmost impor- tance both, and the last rather more unusual than the other. The hero of the cab incident was the Regent, Prince of Prussia, afterward King William I, who, hearing the glad tidings of the preservation of his dynasty while engaged at the foreign office, hailed the first public conveyance that came along and proceeded to his son’s residence with as much haste and with no more ceremony than any well-to-do burgher might have done. And, mind you, that happened nearly forty years ago, when the idea that ‘^man starts into being with the baron ” held great sway in German-speaking countries, and when the Berlin Court was one of the most formal in existence. Still, with all that, the birth of a king was, and is, rather an ordinary affair in Prussia, quite the reverse of such an event as a death in the royal family. 6 PRIVATE LIVES OF In England, royal babes have grand governors” and * deputy governors,” a wet nurse and several dry nurses, a first and second “rocker,” and days before the event is supposed to come off the great state officials, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, assemble in the palace. And when, at last, the royal mother is taken in labor, these in- vited witnesses stand in an apartment adjoining the lying- in-room, close to its only door, that must be ajar to make the birth lawful, and all because there is some doubt about the paternity, or maternity if you prefer, of certain British rulers. How different it is with us ! Though our closets be no less stocked with skeletons than those of the Stuarts and Guelphs, — the great Frederick, author of the epigram : “if I have reason to believe that Michael instead of John filled the tart, why should I blame the result, and who cares whether the filling is pigeon or grouse, as long as the pie is good?” — this Hohenzollern, when a youth, was more than once threatened with death by his royal father because that gentleman failed to appreciate the philosophism that it is ridiculous to hunt for the sire of a prince, provided that prince is no blockhead. And that Katte was the lover of Princess Wilhelmina, better known as the Margravine of Bayreuth, is evident from the fact that the King of Prussia, when signing his death-warrant, said: “that scoundrel ought to be burnt with pincers and hanged,” which was a mode of execution applicable only to prisoners of noble birth that had defiled the royal bed. These Hohenzollerns, I said, being no better than the Guelphs, might, with even more justification, employ some punctiliousness at the birth of their princes, but they do not. William was born d la bourgeois^ and quite economically, a midwife receiving him, and a Court physician, assisted by the then highly-reputed Berlin specialist for woman’s WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 7 diseases, the late Dr. Martin, looking gravely on after the manner of his kind. In Germany, you must know, a doctor thinks it be- neath himself to take the child, and is supposed to act only in case grave complications arise; nine times out of ten he contents himself by superintending the arrange- ments and in seeing that the sanitary laws are complied with in all minuteness; the midwife does the work. In the case of the Crown Princess of Prussia, Fraulein Stahl acted as sage-femme ; she is now a motherly woman, and still continues her visits to the palace ; so I often had occasion to talk with her about the great event of her life. ^‘Her poor Royal Highness,” says the old Fraulein, was only two months past eighteen years at the time, and very weak and nervous. You see, with her it was not an ordinary case of first motherhood ; politics were mixed up in it to a frightful degree, and the poor young thing felt the fate of Europe trembling in her lap, as it were, for our good king was as crazy as a March hare, and twenty-one years had passed since a heba7?ime was called to the Prince Regent’s house to bring into the world little Louise, now the Grand Duchess of Baden. ^^Our work had been divided as follows: Dr. Martin was to have special care of Her Royal Highness, inasmuch as he was treating her for a nervous malady; the Court physician had to perform the ordinary duties for the all- highest patient, while I was commanded to take the child. But the moment the little one was born a despairing moan from the mother overthrew all these fine dispositions. ‘^^The Crown Princess is dying’ — ‘she is paying dearly for her son,’ whispered the doctors, while working with blanched faces over the prostrate body. Of course, I had to abandon the child momentarily to help them, and when — the Crown Princess having revived after a little while — I 8 PRIVATE LIVES OF knelt down before the couch on which our heir rested, imagine my fright : he had not yet uttered a cry, nor did he move a muscle. * Still-born, by Heaven ! ’ I thought. A gesture brought Dr. Martin to my side, and together we labored over the newly-born, I do not know how long, exhausting successively every means ordained by medical books, or practised in the nursery, to bring the child to life.'’ I will state here, parenthetically, that the Fraulein Stahl of to-day is a very dignified woman, broad and short, and, on the whole, of an excessively grumpy disposition. Very seldom does she smile; but those working with her, or under her directions, claim that her forbidding face hides a nature full of charity and kindness. However true that may be, the old dame recounts her story to the point given, always with the grandezza becoming to a person of her worth ; but, as she continues, her face broadens with merri- ment, and her famous basso resounds through the room with a break here and there that comes very near a laugh. ‘‘ When everything had been done that in decency could be done,” so runs her narrative, “I took that royal young- ster under my left arm, and, grabbing a wet towel in my right, began to belabor him in good homely fashion, though the doctors groaned and everybody in the room looked horrified. *^^To the devil with etiquette,' I thought, seeing their grimaces ; * this is a matter of life or death.' So I spanked away, now lighter, now harder, slap, slap, slap, until — the cannons announcing the birth in the Lustgarten yonder had about half finished their official quota of a hundred and one shots — until at last a faint cry broke from the young one's pallid lips. He was alive ! I had snatched our Prince from the grave for which he seemed destined. The rest was easy WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 9 sailing; the doctors again had their innings, and the simple midwife was shoved aside,” — this with a defiant snort. ‘‘But what about the deformed hand and arm?” “That was discovered only the third or fourth day after,” replied Fraulein Stahl; “you see, at first we were all so busy putting life into the Prince, and keeping it in him, that no one thought of examining his limbs. Even when, on January 28, the late Crown Prince showed his son to his relatives, friends, and the assembled royal and princely households, no one observed that anything was wrong. But on the last, or the last but one day of the month, it was noticed that the child could not move his left arm ; an investigation was made, and, in the course of it, the surgeons discovered that the elbow joint was dislocated. That, as Your Ladyship knows, is nothing serious in a healthy child. However, in the case of Prince William, the surrounding soft parts were so injured, and the muscles attached in such a condition, that no one dared attempt to set the bone then and there, as should be done in all cases. ’ ’ Fraulein Stahl has often reiterated the above in the course of our long official acquaintance, and always con- cluded her remarks with the statement : “lam well aware that the present condition of the Kaiser’s arm is attributed to a mistake made by the persons officiating at the ac- couchement ; but,” and saying this the old maid’s face assumes its most determined look, “if that were not a falsehood, a lie, agreeable to the Emperor and his mother, though, — for even Dr. Hinzpeter, who knows better, repeats it, — if that were not a lie, I say, do you suppose for one moment that I should be in this palace now to cripple more Hohenzollerns ? ” Saying this, Fraulein Stahl used to bring down her fist forcibly, and conclude : “ my own opinion has always been that the child’s left forearm was lO PRIVATE LIVES OF not properly made up by nature, as, indeed, his whole left side was weak, and is weak to this day. Besides, every one in the palace knows that, though his walk is brisk, it is but His Majesty’s ever alert exertion that makes it so ; if, at any time, the Elaiser ceased think- ing of his shortcomings for only a moment, you would see his left leg drag. All his aches and pains, too, locate in his left ear and the whole left side of his head. Now, Frail Grdfin^ remember what I told you about the Crown Princess’s condition. She was agitated by fears and de- pressed in spirits ; tremendous responsibilities weighed upon her mind. Is it to be wondered at that her child was affected ? The mother, poor girl ! transfused her nervous ailments into the child she was carrying, and all concentrated in its left side. That the accoucheurs were, of course, unable to prevent or foresee ; besides, they were, as already stated, far too busy completing nature’s handi- work by inflating and keeping the Prince’s respiratory organs going, to test the inferior parts of his body sepa- rately. If, on the other hand, the Prince had been a lusty boy, the dislocated joint would, undoubtedly, have been promptly discovered and nothing would have stood in the way of its immediate correction.” So the chances are that Queen Victoria’s telegram was answered in the affirmative. In the Babel of contradictory statements, Fraulein Stahl’s observations have the grateful ring of veracity; indeed, if Dr. Hinzpeter, whom Edouard Simon and other dabblers in imperial biographies so faithfully copy, were right about ‘Hhat injury to the left arm inflicted by the accoucheuse^' namely, midwife Stahl, the woman would certainly have been dismissed in disgrace. And if, granting an almost impossible contingency, the late Emperor Frederick had pardoned her, assuredly she would not be tolerated under WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT II the present regime, for William II is a hard master, and as for suffering in his service a person having blasted his life by cruel neglect, that is as entirely out of the question with a man like him as the idea I heard advanced off and on, that he is insensitive to his disablement. That incubus, on the contrary, is forever in his thoughts, and his apparent unmindfulness of the fact a clever affec- tation. He wants others to forget that he is a cripple, and therefore ignores his stigmata. ^‘He who cannot dissimu- late is unfit to reign,” said Louis XI. But, with all that, he is bound to be found napping occa- sionally; I can very well imagine the Kaiser closing his hand nervously round the hilt of his sabre as he read that tell-tale despatch ! “Is it a fine boy?” Ah, his grandmother had good reason for feeling anxious about this infant in whose veins coursed the blood of the Georges ! It is that English con- sanguinity which he blames and loathes and abhors, not the little woman who received him in her arms already tainted and marked for life. That, despite his perfect understanding of the case, he allows his own historians to abuse Stahl, is but an in- stance of royal ingratitude dictated by the same policy that, from the summer of 1887 to the close of the reign of ninety-nine days, branded certain of his father’s physi- cians liars and incompetents. In this particular instance it happened, however, that the biter was bitten ; at the time indicated. Prince William would have gladly seen Mackenzie to the devil ; and the findings of his German colleagues, that Frederick III suf- fered from cancer, a malady said to exclude its victim from the throne, proclaimed from the housetops, — but to-day it is quite another matter. The world’s eye, instead of compassionately regarding the sick-room at San Remo, 12 PRIVATE LIVES OF is riveted upon the stationary or floating or rolling hos- pitals in which he himself dwells as in a glass house, — hence the “remaking” of history, the dissemination of historical untruths at all hazards ! But they must not be too replete with details. Thus I once heard the Kaiser, in conversation with Her Majesty, roundly abuse Hinzpeter for saying in his book: “the Prussian army never admitted a young man physically so little fit to become a brilliant and dashing cavalry officer as William.” The criticism was passed shortly after the appearance of Hinzpeter’s “Kaiser William II, a Sketch from Life,” in the fall of 1888, and the Emperor, after warning his Frau against letting the volume fall into the children’s hands, meaning the elder boys, continued: “our German phi- losophers never know where to stop ; whether they write truths or lies, they are bound to compromise and expose their friends without ever realizing it.” This fateful left arm the Kaiser hugs closely to his body, allowing the hand, which is not deformed, but puny like a child’s, to rest against his waist, or upon his hip, if on horseback. Any one following the German papers will probably remember that the official journals issue ballons iV essai from time to time to ascertain public sentiment in respect to the introduction of a belt for army officers, an article of accoutrement foreign to the Prussian uniform and out of harmony with its general style. As the Empress Eugenie re-established the crinoline in the sixties to hide her interesting condition, so William wants to change military dress to find a convenient resting-place for his poor left hand and arm, which, being about six inches shorter than the right, would attach to a belt unostenta- tiously. But, alas ! the majority of officers feign to regard those re-occurring proposals as manoeuvres of mercenary army contractors, and treat them with fine scorn, so that WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 13 William, unwilling to own his secret reason for the innova- tion sought for, must go without relief. Those are gloomy days in the palace when the pros and cons of opinion on the subject are read by the Emperor, who, after carefully perusing the clippings, recognizes the repeated failure of his pet scheme. It puts him into the mood for smashing things, and his famous speech to the Brandenburgers^ on March 5, 1890, was made under just such circumstances. Of course, he could use the regulation silver scarf for the purpose; but that is only permissible with gala uni- form, and to wear it always would be awkward as well as expensive. As already intimated, the fingers of the crippled hand are movable, for, although the head of the radius of the fore- arm does not set properly into the condyles of the humerus, the limb is not altogether inert. There is consequently no reason for doubting the late Major von Normann’s asser- tion that the Kaiser clutched his sword with the left hand. I have seen him do the same thing quite often when angry. But while he can take hold of an article, he cannot for the life of him lift it. For instance, he holds the reins in his left hand, but is powerless to direct the horse except with his right or his knees. Without exaggeration it may be said, that, next to the stricken man, the imperial valets, five of whom, two ward- robemen and two Kammerdiener, are always on duty to dress, undress, and reuniform their master, suffer most on account of this infirmity. One of them is the intimus of * Speech at the dinner of the Brandenburg Provincial Diet, at the Hotel Kaiserhof, Berlin : “ Those who will support me are heartily welcome, whoever they are, but those obstructing my policy I will smash to pieces.” 14 PRIVATE LIVES OF Her Majesty’s Kainmerdiener Nolte, and makes him the confidant of his troubles. “We would not mind the work in the least,” I heard him say once, “would not care if the Emperor changed his uniform ten, instead of three or four times per day, it’s the fear of injuring his lame hand that makes us nervous and gradually wears away our usefulness. And, besides, we must always be prepared to forestall the collapse of the all-highest master when he balances himself on his left leg, as is his wont sometimes, when he is in a hurry to put on a different pair of trousers.” And, after thinking awhile, the man added: “if they would only introduce for all troops, horse, foot, and artillery, not excepting the navy, a uniform pair of pantaloons, one -half of our cares would be removed, but this endless variety is killing us and will some day, I fear, lead to a catastrophe. ’ ’ His Majesty’s right hand is massive and ugly in appear- ance, ugly, too, when clasping that of a friend. Before I was presented to him. Court-marshal von Liebenau warned me against His Royal Highness’s mighty grip ; but, though I went through the ordeal with teeth set, I could hardly suppress an outcry, which amused the Prince exceed- ingly. How proud the Emperor is of his personal strength is evident from the fact that he promptly adopted the simile suggested to him several years ago, when a foreign corre- spondent likened his fist to the “terrible right” of the then champion of the world, John L. Sullivan, whereupon his sister of Meiningen, who adores strong men, remarked : “I hope Sullivan has not the bad taste to wear as many rings as my brother.” This weakness is, however, to some extent excusable, as it is thus the Kaiser tries to hide a number of conspicuous moles which disfigure his hand. In this he partly succeeds. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 1 5 while in spots the glittering diamonds and rubies only tend to emphasize the blemishes. I dare say very few people have a correct notion of the Emperor’s height, for, as he is seldom seen without a helmet terminating in a point, the public is mystified, and even close observers are apt to be deceived. In the palace this question is never openly discussed, but I heard the Kaiserin tell overinquisitive Prince Eitel Fritz once or twice that his father measured five feet eight inches. That, I am sure, is a mistake ; five feet five or six inches is the highest measure that even Adjutant Count Moltke, who has a very sure eye in such matters, gives him. Be that as it may, he cuts a respectable enough figure, holding himself as straight as an arrow, his uniforms being fashioned to correct the traces of embonpoint that develop from time to time in spite of rigid bodily exercise incessantly kept up. The numerous newspaper persons who talk glibly about the Kaiser’s ‘‘cancerous” ear trouble have, I imagine, in- formation on the point that is more or less inaccessible to those in daily attendance upon His Majesty, for whether the dread malady, hereditary with the Hohenzollerns, has settled in that organ or not, is still an open question even with William’s own physicians. Improbable it is not. Let us reflect a moment. It was Louise of Strelitz, “shar- ing with Marie Antoinette the sad pre-eminence of beauty and misfortune,” who carried carcinoma into the Prussian camp; the English escaped that doom only because eco- nomical George III preferred Caroline of Brunswick for his son, her dowry being larger by a few thousand Thalers than the Mecklenburger’s. There was theory in that madman’s madness, and no mistake. All Queen Louise’s portraits are remarkable for a scarf the royal lady invariably wears under her chin ; even her PRIVATE LIVES OF i6 oldest portraits and busts exhibited in the Berlin Hohen- zollern Museum, no matter whether the Queen is in Court dress or ordinarily gowned, have this distinction. The scarf, it is said, was worn to conceal the marks of an operation necessitated by a swelling of the glands, and that is undoubtedly authentic, but it is also true that in this very spot the cancer that killed her, eventually devel- oped. I have this information from descendants of old-time royal servants in the employ of the late Emperor William, Louise’s last surviving son. The Queen died of the disease at Hohenzieritz, her father’s estate, in i8io. That Emperor Frederick perished of cancer of the throat even Dr. Mackenzie had to admit. Therefore, if one may say so without offence, it would be in the line of natural development if William II, supposing he inherited the malady, were attacked by it in the neighborhood of his throat. But it must not be forgotten that cancer is thought by some authorities to be untransmissible. The only time that His Majesty’s ear trouble was men- tioned in the palace was, as far as I can remember, at the death of Henry XI of Reuss-Gera, son of the Hereditary Prince Henry XXIV (if numbers must be given) and Prin- cess Elise of Hohenlohe, a cousin of the Empress on the mother’s side. The little one died November 4, 1891, of scarlet fever, we thought, and the Empress remarked: ‘‘I trust the Kaiser will not hear of the cause of death, for it always makes him uneasy. ’ ’ “Why, has His Majesty not had scarlet fever?” I in- quired, looking up from the despatch I was writing at my mistress’s command and which requested the Reuss Court- marshal to send more particulars. “ Of course,” said the Kaiserin rather hesitatingly, “and in its most malignant form, too. How could you live here several years without hearing of it?” WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 17 As Her Majesty’s manner convinced me that it would not be agreeable to her to go into details, I curbed my curios- ity until some time later I met Count Seckendorf, for many years chamberlain to the Empress Frederick. This noble- man enjoys Her Majesty’s supreme confidence and knows all the family secrets. “Your Ladyship did well not to press this point,” said the courtier, “for the Kaiser would be very angry if he heard of any such discussion. As a matter of fact, that scarlet-fever story — for it is a sfory — is reserved for use in a contingency that has not yet arisen, I am happy to say. ’ ’ “You put me on the rack. Count.” “Others are there already and dare not complain,” re- plied the Kammerherr^ with a short, satirical laugh not devoid of a tinge of sadness, — “ay, on the rack of public opinion, of the most cold-blooded insinuation and of re- proof direct. Do you remember,” he continued, “when a certain august person snubbed the Crown Prince’s, after- ward the Emperor’s, English physician because that gen- tleman had refused to take his cue from the seditious Bismarck and Junker clique when reporting upon a dis- ease that played such a part in a state tragedy, then on the boards? To-day, opposite views on the same subject are trumps, and persons insisting that a specified malady goes with the crown of Prussia are publicly disowned and offi- cially guillotined.” “I know, I know, but the scarlet-fever story?” “As I have had the honor of already intimating: if the condition of Frederick’s successor becomes alarming at any time in consequence of his ear trouble, Your Ladyship will see it in all the official papers.” It took no little persuasion to induce Graf Seckendorf to ^satisfy my curiosity, that had increased rather than abated i8 PRIVATE LIVES OF during the last quarter of an hour. ‘‘The official com- munique,' ' he said at last, “will read something like this: “ When His Majesty, as a young man, was stricken with scarlet fever, his mother, the Empress Frederick, insisted upon treating the patient after a custom prevailing in some parts of England. The feverish boy was subjected many times daily to ice-cold ablutions, while his body and bed linen were continually changed, in consequence of which an acute cold settled in the left ear, which has ever since irritated the youth and man.” “Then,” concluded the Count, “will follow a learned treatise showing that the Kaiser has water, not tumors, on the brain.” I had to laugh at the bonmot, though immediately after- ward both of us were ashamed, the one for uttering, the other for applauding, so ill-natured a remark. We also looked about us to see that no one had, perchance, over- heard our conversation. There is, I repeat it, as yet no evidence to justify the worst suspicions regarding the Emperor’s ear trouble, but the fact that the organ is regularly treated with antiseptics to arrest putrefaction seems to indicate the presence of gangrenous inflammation. Quite frequently the Kaiser at- tends to this himself, and if he has had a particularly bad day, the physician on duty or the body physician operates on him. But in the course of years the Empress, likewise, has become an adept at bringing relief to her husband by these means; she also handles an apparatus for pumping air out of the sick ear, or clearing its passages by blowing air through them. This instrument, which is fitted with a long rubber tube and a spiral trumpet, hangs at the side of the bedstead in their Majesties’ joint chamber and a dupli- cate is in the Kaiser’s own toilet-room, while a third forms part of the travelling equipage. The bedrooms on the yacht WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT Hohenzollern and on the imperial saloon train are also fitted with ear-pumps. Harassed in this wise by maladies of the most serious character, the Emperor can scarcely be blamed for taking excessive precautions against contagion. That he lives the greater part of the year in the inconveniently situated Neues Palais, which, moreover, will never be a thoroughly modern residence for reasons that will be explained in another chapter, is mainly due to its solitary position at the end of the town. At the Marble Palace, where the imperial couple used to spend the summer while waiting for William’s patent of general and finally for the crown, it was quite different. There they had neighbors, one of them the Hereditary Prince of Schoenburg, chef d' escadr on of the Guard Hussars, who lived in a villa opposite the Neuer Garten. Coming down to breakfast on November i8, 1888, the Kaiser learned that His Grace had died of diphtheria a few hours before. Diphtheria? ” cried William, turning a shade paler than is his wont in the morning, — there seems to be something unhealthy in the air hereabouts. Let the chamberlain on duty be informed that my things must be packed and sent to Berlin at once.” “But the residential quarters in the (Berlin) Schloss are yet far from finished,” interposed Herr von Liebenau. “Never mind, there will be some corner where I can sleep and eat without running the risk of infection.” And seeing that the adjutant still waited, he added, anticipating a question which etiquette forbade to be asked: “all my things, — I am going to move.” That settled. His Majesty quieted down, and when, shortly afterward, the Empress arrived, he simply said: “ Dona, I am going to Berlin and this house will see me 20 PRIVATE LIVES OF no more.” Auguste Victoria was thunderstruck, but seeing the husband determined, she dared not question him. So their meal passed in silence while visions of domestic storms, of irreparable displeasure, even of a maitresse en titre perhaps, chased through Her Majesty’s brain. And when, half an hour later, I entered her room to ask if the valets might go to the bed-chamber and remove the Kaiser’s clothes, — the Empress often returns to that room after break- fast, and naturally dislikes meeting men-servants there, — I found my mistress in tears, bewailing a fate that was as yet a mystery. ‘‘Do you know why the Kaiser is going?” she said at last, after looking around to see that we were alone. The confession, for such it turned out to be, evidently deeply moved Her Majesty, as her eyes streamed with tears. I could not understand it at first. “Of course,” I replied, the question having been repeated, “His Majesty has heard of the death across the way, and, being so near the Schoenburgs, he is afraid that diphtheria might break out in the palace.” A sigh of relief escaped the imperial lady. She scarcely allowed me to finish. “Is the Hereditary Prince dead?” she exclaimed, with almost a joyful ring in her voice. Then changing her attitude, she added: “why have I not been informed of this? I might have been spared an unhappy half-hour, and, besides, I should have sent my condolences to Princess Lucie.” William was as good as his word; his state papers pub- lished that very day were dated “Schloss, Berlin,” etc. and ever since the Marble Palace has ceased, as it were, to figure in contemporary history. The Kaiser was right in surmising that his thousand- windowed palace in the capital would afford him lodgings of some sort; but as his own apartments, as well as the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 21 majority of the other suites, were undergoing alterations, he was obliged to make his quarters in the so-called von Kleist chambers, said to have been once inhabited by Princess Amalia’s first lady-in-waiting, companion and confidante, the Baroness von Kleist. They are exceedingly beautiful, far more so than any of the gilded modern rooms that fin- de-siecle Berlin taste has furnished, yet at the same time lack even the most ordinary conveniences. I was at the Meiningen Villa, in the Thiergarten, on some business of Her Majesty’s, when the Princess brought the news. “I have just come from my big brother,” — she always speaks of the Kaiser thus, — ‘‘and what do you think? I found him installed in the Kleist apartments, — at the Kleist rooms, which the White Lady is said to haunt, ’ ’ she said to her Hofdame^ in so loud a voice that others, as well as myself, could not avoid hearing it. “ ‘ I am glad Auguste has had her baby,’ I said to the Kaiser at once,” continued Princess Charlotte, “for, as you know, von Kleist’s child born in this apartment was disfigured by a terrible birth-mark on the nose, the broom of La Balayeuse. ’ ’ “And who may that be. Your Royal Highness?” “The White Lady, of course, who used to announce her coming by vigorously sweeping the corridors. On that account, Frederick the Great dubbed her ‘the sweeper,’ or, in his beloved French, La Balayeuse. And that,” con- tinued the Princess, with a loud laugh, as if some hilarious bonmot had just seen the light in her luminous brain, — “that was, after all, a fitting designation, for, sub rosd, the White Lady of the Hohenzollerns is no lady at all. I have just inspected her favorite abode, and, I assure you, there is neither a bath-tub nor a toilet to be found there.” Although the Empress knew of the objectionable features of her husband’s temporary abode (if she had not, her 22 PRIVATE LIVES OF fond sister-in-law’s witticism would have enlightened her, for, whenever Her Royal Highness gets off a joke, Auguste Victoria is informed of it by Charlotte’s friends almost as promptly as by her enemies), she insisted upon following William within twice twenty-four hours. But the Emperor, pretending to be very busy with his speech for the open- ing of the Reichstag on November 22, would not see her until the following day. Now everybody knows that speeches from the throne are composed by the Chancellor, in this case by Prince Bismarck, — hence it was clear that William had some other reason for absenting himself. As a matter of fact, he had heard that Fraulein von Gersdorff, Dame of the Court, was suffering from a sore throat, and though her quarters were not in the Marble Palace, but in the gentlewomen’s pavilion, situated in the park, he evidently feared that Her Majesty might have come in contact with her. And not until he was reassured by myself — he obtained the information in a very diplomatic fashion, I must say — did he emerge from his seclusion. After I had withdrawn. Court-marshal von Liebenau was summoned. ^‘No more cases of diphtheria in Potsdam, I hope?” said the Kaiser, in his most imperious style. ^^None that I know of. Your Majesty.” ‘^That you know of? My dear sir, that means either that you are out of touch with your department or that cases of illness are secreted. At any rate, you will be good enough to telegraph to the Marble Palace that all persons of the suite, or in the royal service, who show any signs of throat trouble must be removed to a hospital at once, without the slightest delay. These are my strictest orders.” One of the Empress’s favorite wardrobewomen, Frau Schnase, fell a victim to William’s relentless anxiety on WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 23 that occasion. Not being on duty for several days, she had remained in Potsdam, and, by the Court physician’s advice, had taken a perspiratory treatment to reduce a swelling of the glands, very common among certain classes in Germany, so that at ii o’clock that night she was in the midst of a healthy sweat and sound sleep, when the Major- domo awakened her to say that by ^‘all-highest order” she must leave instanter. Protest being out of the question, a closed Droschke was procured, and the shivering patient was rolled off to the nearest hospital through the wintry streets. “No room,” reported the night-watch, when the driver summoned him. “But she is one of Her Majesty’s personal attendants.” Of course that made a difference, and, after some more discussion, Frau Schnase was given a cot in the pauper’s ward, third class, next to one in which a poor creature was just receiving extreme unction. The Queen’s wardrobewoman was a healthy girl, and re- covered not only from the horrors of her unusual experi- ence, but likewise from an illness she caught while exposed to the deadly exhalations of the sorry environment forced upon her. After a month or so, she was back at the Schloss ; but, daring to complain of the treatment that had been meted out to her, such biting sarcasm and con- tempt were heaped upon poor Schnase that she preferred to resign. With our knowledge of the Kaiser’s peculiar predisposi- tion to diseases of the throat, this care exercised to guard against infection would seem quite proper, though exces- sively hard on others, had it not, in the course of years, become a mania. Assuredly, no one blamed His Majesty for postponing the Wiirtemburg manoeuvres in the summer pf 1893, when cholera was raging; — in those days all the 24 PRIVATE LIVES OF royal servants were treated to unsugared tea as the stand- ing beverage, which caused not a little indignation in the palace, the flunkies and maids insisting that the Emperor should make the tea palatable, if he forbade them to drink anything else; but it is quite another thing when the Kaiser refuses to confer with state offlcials because some member of their family might be indisposed. Interests of the state are liable to suffer seriously through hallucinations of that sort, and if it were not for the love I bear my country, I might cite instances of international importance showing errors and inexcusable lapses for which this strange fancy is responsible. The Empress, who faithfully copies all her husband’s fads, either because she admires them or because she fears his displeasure, is as bad as he. Her Majesty frequently causes the discharge of servants for neglecting to report some trifling sickness in the family ; and members of the royal household not living in the castle can enjoy a holiday at any time by simply furnishing a doctor’s certificate stating that somebody with whom they are domiciled in the city is ill. This applies to the Kaiser’s adjutant- generals, as well as to the chamberlains, equerries, dames of the palace, chasseurs, coachmen, cooks, and scullions. More than once have I seen His Majesty abruptly start away from a person with whom he happened to be con- versing at a reception or ball, leaving the unhappy lady or gentleman speechless and crushed, because of an innocent admission that a son or a daughter, or perhaps an uncle, had the measles or a cold. At the very mention of the fact the war-lord fled like the lion, hearing a cock crow. Once I found Frau von Kotze in tears behind some shrub in the White Hall, while all around her dancing was going on. ‘‘What is the matter with Your Ladyship?” I inquired ; ‘‘ can I be of service to you? ” WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 25 ^^No, thank you, Madame la Comtesse,” she sobbed; but to think that he said that to me f ” *^Who is he, and what did he say ? ” ‘‘The Kaiser, of course ! When he heard that my boy was ill, he remarked, turning on his heel: ‘How dare you come to my house under such circumstances?’ ” That, needless to say, happened before the anonymous letter scandal, and at the time when Frau von Kotze prided herself upon her particularly friendly relations with His Majesty. But the most absurd instances of the Kaiser’s mania for precaution is afforded by the case of little Henry of Reuss, already mentioned. As soon as his death became known, William requested Her Majesty to have disinfected all the dresses that she had taken to Gera when attending the baptism of the prince, several months before, although he knew at the time that His little Highness did not die of an infectious disease, as at first thought, but of hcemorrhoea petechialisy a sort of scurvy. CHAPTER II Since the days when Spanish etiquette prescribed a special accoutrement for kings going to the connubial chamber (Charles V, we are told, ‘‘carried a naked sword in his right, a torch in his left hand, and a bottle of water under his arm, but not for drinking purposes ”), royal ladies and gentlemen have become considerably like ordinary folks in respect to the common decencies of life, and if they “turn tigers, it is not owing to their bringing up and habits,” as the last Charles of France once said. Napoleon, the first of modern kings, insisted upon keep- ing imperial Marie Louise under lock and key after she had retired ; the only entrance to her room was through a chamber in which the first lady-in-waiting slept, whose bed, moreover, had to be curtainless, so that the Emperor, when passing, might see whether she was alone ; but in Potsdam and Berlin the heads of a mighty nation sleep together as unceremoniously and as comfortably, let us hope, as any Herr and Frau Burgomaster or citizen of even lesser importance in the Fatherland. How often have I been importuned to allow visitors just one peep into this sanctum sanctorum where nature’s alchemy triumphs over a great ancestor’s injunction against “burdening the nation with useless beggar princes; ” but, of course, no such request could be granted, even were it accompanied by the offer of the richest diamond in the world. Their Majesties’ bedroom opens, by a richly 27 28 PRIVATE LIVES OF ornamented folding-door, into the Kaiserin’s study on the second floor of the Neues Palais, and is connected with the toilet and bath closets belonging to the respective suites. It has two high windows, and is lofty and spacious, but sadly lacks the harmony in color and general furnish- ings that is the main charm of a really beautiful apartment, such as this is intended to be. Indeed, the Kaiserin tired of it long ago, and would gladly exchange its treasures, one and all, for new things, though the room was fitted up entirely after her own suggestion. What first upset the Empress was the ultra graceful and exquisite style of Neu- Glienecke, the property of her brother-in-law and sister. Prince and Princess Frederick Leopold of Prussia, the richest of the Hohenzollerns. This castle, situated near Potsdam, was rebuilt soon after William’s enthronement, and, having thoroughly redecorated and refitted the palace in the latest and most sumptuous manner, their Royal Highnesses gave a house-warming in the summer of 1891. From this Her Majesty returned in high dudgeon, and, on entering her own bedroom, where I was busy arranging some flowers, she exclaimed: ^^How pauvre it all looks! If one judged mine and Louise’s positions from our sur- roundings, I might be taken for a mere appanaged princess, while my sister would easily pass for the Kaiserin. She has everything of the latest, — the German Empress must content herself with the remnants of centuries scattered among Berlin-made show-pieces.” Kings, after all, are but men, and the Glienecke house- warming cost William exactly 80,000 marks, though the Kaiserin would fain have seen him expend ten times that amount. As it was, he consented to the renewal of the bed- room hangings and upholstery, which are of the heaviest damask, the groundwork being a peculiar sandy gray with large yellow flowers in bold relief, a pattern and material WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 29 that connoisseurs intuitively associate with the graceful and superb age of Louis XIV or XV. The original was, in fact, a present of Madame Pompadour to the great Fred- erick, for at one period of their lives they were on friendly terms. Of course, by the time it passed into William’s hands it had faded; but in the mellow of age it was still exceedingly beautiful, far more so than the new draperies, though they are supposed to be exact imitations of the old French example. But those old silks, that in their early days probably witnessed the jealous quarrels between the Margravine of Bayreuth and her doltish husband, and heard Queen Ulrique (of Sweden) recount to Princess Amalia her disputes with those contumacious senators of hers,” who once de- manded sight and count of the crown jewels: — ‘Uhere, voildy there they are, view them, count them, lock them up ; never more will I wear one of them, ’ ’ said her proud Majesty, — but those old silks were no more beautiful with the charm historic associations lend to things than the Elizabethan bed that stood, until the summer of 1892, in the alcove nearest the door. A right royal couch was that in which, during the first years of their reign, the Emperor and Empress slept, — mag- nificent and stately, a fitting companion-piece, with its canopy and curtains, to that world-famed four-poster, the Bed of Ware, which could be enclosed on all sides by tapes- tries, and whereto the King and Queen retired in full sight of all their retainers lying around on the straw-covered floor with doublets and petticoats for pillows, and ‘^full of good wine each mother’s son and daughter of them.” How the Kaiser liked this old bed, with its heraldic de- signs, and upholstered side-pieces, whereon he could sit comfortably, smoking a cigarette and reading a novel by the light of the single wax candle standing on a little table 30 PRIVATE LIVES OF near his end of the couch ! but, lo! those Frederick Leo- polds” acquired modern English bedsteads, and, woman- like, Auguste Victoria would not allow her sister to eclipse her in being up to date. So one fine day the lying-in beds were ordered home from Charlottenburg castle, their usual storage-place, and, the antique couch being sent up-stairs, these things of brass and the mode were put up near the windows, to the intense alarm of the physicians, who feared they had made another miscalculation, and of relatives and friends who anticipated a catastrophe like that following the Pasewalk review, men- tioned elsewhere. Of course, it was a false alarm, and our pretty Princess Louise was regularly born” on Septem- ber 13, 1892. That the Emperor, at the bottom of his heart, has his doubts as to the propriety of using a common factory- made bedstead as the cradle of kings, is evident from the fact that for some time these brass affairs had to be removed every morning, while in their place the Elizabethan couch was set up ; but the order, which evoked no end of dis- satisfaction among the servants, gradually fell into disuse, and nowadays the triumph of brass over stately splendor is complete — in the bedroom, at least. As every domestic arrangement in the palace is fashioned with a view to insure the preservation of the Kaiser’s health, the doors and windows near the imperial bed are doubly screened by heavy portieres^ summer and winter ; for the faintest possibility of draughts is dreaded, and even the down quilts and blankets are so fastened at the bottom and sides that their Majesties must needs crawl into bed one leg at a time, there being only a breadth of about twenty inches left open. The Hohenzollern household never enjoyed a reputation for more than superficial opulence, and the paucity of its WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 31 linen has often been the subject of ill-natured comment at other courts, — a state of affairs which the present Emperor’s English mother tried to correct by large purchases during the reign of ninety-nine days; but when, after Frederick’s death, trouble arose as to who was to foot the bills for these extravagances, — Court-marshal von Liebenau designated them so in his junkcr-like contempt for insular notions of nicety, — Her Majesty removed most of the newly-acquired house-linen, and her successors, in consequence, often ex- perience the chagrin of sleeping between sheets only partly fresh, especially in winter, when there are difficulties about drying linen. To be sure, Auguste Victoria has laid down a rule, stipulating that the royal couch be furnished with clean linen every day in the year ; but as there is only a very limited stock to draw from, it happens sometimes that only one clean sheet is obtainable, and, in that case, the upper sheet of the two used on the previous night is taken for the under. Whenever that happens. Her Majesty is exceedingly anxious that the Kaiser should not find it out, for, as may be well imagined, such evidence of penury would be likely to jar on his notions of divine appointment. If one thinks himself little short of Deity, it must be exceedingly embar- rassing to discover that one’s linen chest affords only a single sheet at certain seasons. Before the imperial couple retire, the household goes through a series of routine work. Above all. His Majesty’s nickel warming-pan must be heated to the proper degree and placed at his, the right, side of the bed. That is done all the year round, except in July and August. Next, fold- ing screens are so placed as to surround the bed on all sides, and woe to the chamber-woman who forgets to draw any of the numerous curtains, portieres^ and other devices for excluding a breath of air. For cases of emergency, a pair of long woollen stockings, white cloth knickerbockers, 32 PRIVATE LIVES OF jack-boots, a flannel-lined pea-jacket, soft hat, and gloves must be placed ready on one corner of the lounge that is at the foot of the bed, and a similar ^‘accident toilet” is provided for Her Majesty. Finally, the night-lamp needs looking after, — a most unroyal meuble of tin enclosing a glass bowl filled with oil and water in equal parts and containing a Parisian light. Over that is placed a china cup with gruel, which must be steaming hot when His Majesty enters. Undressed is the Kaiser by two of his five valets in his chambre de toilette^ from which he steps into the joint bed- room, attired in a single garment and bath-slippers, the Empress going through her part of the performance in her own chamber. While the room contains some exquisite pieces of fur- niture, it can, as stated, scarcely be considered in good taste. The lounge and some fauteuils are covered in red, while two sofas are of the color of the wall-hangings and draperies. Then there are wicker chairs with silk cush- ions edged with mulle, a crystal chandelier and bronze candelabra, a blue carpet, and vases and flower-pots of different styles, hand-painted or majolica ware, be- sides Japanese tables, bamboo chairs, and masterpieces of Boule and marqueterie ^ — a ‘‘regular second-hand dealer’s shop,” as the Empress’s mother, the Dowager Duchess of Schleswig, once said in one of her bright moments. The wicker chairs, by the way, have a history. In Sep- tember, 1894, when the Kaiser was absent at the manoeu- vres with the King of Saxony, Her Majesty, to kill time, which never hangs more heavily upon her hands than when her lord is away from home, conceived the idea of painting the basket settees a bright lilac. It was to be a surprise for William upon his return. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 33 ^‘Before we go to bed, I will ask the Kaiser to sit down in his favorite seat for a moment, and then I will sud- denly turn up the lamps, exhibiting my work. Won’t he be pleased? ” Her Majesty had remarked to Fraulein von Gersdorff. The latter acquiesced, as a matter of course, and both ladies started in upon the task at once, spoiling many pairs of gloves, besides their dresses and a carpet worth a whole regiment of wicker chairs. But this mattered little, seeing that, after several cans of mixed paint and a bottle of turpentine had been consumed, the chef-d^ oeuvre was complete. It was the day before William was expected back. But will they be dry in time?” asked the Dame of the Court, Grafin Keller, when all the ladies of Her Majesty had been called together to view this first attempt at household decoration. Certainly,” said the Kaiserin, with a laugh; merdiener Liick made inquiries for me at the paint store, and I followed the directions to the letter.” Next evening their Majesties retired in high glee, being well satisfied at their reunion, and the Empress’s little programme seems to have worked to perfection till — but let Her Majesty tell her own story. ^^No sooner were the lights on,” reported Auguste Victoria to her first Lady, Countess Brockdorff, the follow- ing day, ‘'and while I myself was settling down in the second chair, than I saw the Emperor start up half sur- prised, half angry, with his hands and other portions of his body thickly besmeared with pigment that, I felt to my horror, also adhered to my body. With the Kaiser, you know, cleanliness is almost a passion, and his repugnance to coming into contact with anything like wet paint is so great that he cannot help losing his temper. 34 PRIVATE LIVES OF ^My dear,’ he said, ‘ this is a sorry joke.’ And neither explanations nor excuses were of the slightest avail. ‘ Ring for turpentine.’ That is all he would say. I awakened Haake, and told her to order Madame von Larisch to send up a bottle of the stuff; but, needless to say, she had none on hand. Then the Emperor demanded that one of the body gendarmes ride into town and fetch a bottle. Like a simpleton, he awakened the apothecary, only to be told that he must go to a drug store. Drug stores, as you know, have no night-bells, and are not obliged to serve customers after the ordinary closing time. It took the gendarme a full hour to get what he wanted, and even then he was obliged to invoke aid from a military patrol. ‘^The next thirty or forty minutes I spent in cleansing my lord’s legs, arms, and hands, and afterward poor Haake had to do the same for me. It was the most mis- erable night I ever experienced.” While, as stated, this imperial bedroom is remarkable neither for great splendor nor simplicity, — we expect to encounter the one or the other extreme in such a place, — it is not without psychological interest. There is the Em- peror’s table de nuit, for instance, whose upper drawer, at night always half open, contains a self-cocking revolver, fully loaded. If one reflects how unfamiliar such displays are to women in Germany, — they do not in the least mind sabres or guns, — the Empress’s alarm at this thing of ivory, steel, and silver may be imagined. How often she has pleaded with William to discard the weapon, but the Kaiser insists upon having it near him. If Alexander of Bulgaria had slept with a six-shooter, he might have founded a dynasty and perhaps be still alive,” is one of his arguments, — a queer one, to say the least. As a matter of WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 35 fact, the sister of one of the conspirators who conducted him to Reni, August 21, 1886, kept Alexander company during the eventful night when abdication was forced upon him, and this young lady was, under the circumstances, certainly better protection than any number of weapons. A revolver might have been brushed aside; with a girl, vigorously taking her lover’s part, it was not so easy a matter. Another gruesome object in the room is the so- called Sterbekommodey an old mahogany chest of drawers, the top of which is loaded with emblems of death and sorrow. In the centre stands a large engraving, in a brown carved frame, representing Our Saviour with the Crown of Thorns, his eyes looking heavenward, while at the sides are placed portraits of the Emperors William I and Frederick III, of the late Empress Auguste, and Ludwig of Bavaria, all clad in shrouds. These pictures were made especially for His Majesty, and are not procurable anywhere. Strange to say, the morbid memento mori has to be set up in every imperial residence where the Court stops for any length of time. It is carted from Potsdam to Berlin, from there to Wilhelmshoehe, to Kiel, to Hubertusstock, to the Yacht Hohenzollern, and to the Rominten hunting-box. The Kaiser is a good husband, and is adored by his wife. That Auguste Victoria’s love for him is only equalled by her fear of him is perhaps not his fault. He was heir to a mighty crown when he married her, — she, the daughter of a penniless pretender who had to sign away his hereditary rights to the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein before the engagement was ratified by the old Kaiser, and Prussia granted him the indemnity of $75,000 per year, on which the family is now struggling along. The consciousness of this humiliating bargain on the one hand, and of William’s overpowering egotism on the other, 36 PRIVATE LIVES OF have sufficed to make a wife, constitutionally not without energy, like wax in his hand. Sitting one night in the Royal box at the Opera House with Duke Gunther of Schleswig, I heard him laugh im- moderately at the remark of a stage hero, who, being asked : **Do you ever quarrel?” briskly replied: “No, not if I have my own way. ’ ’ “ It reminds me so much of my beloved brother-in-law and sister,” said His Highness ; “ they never fight, because he sees to it that his slightest whims are obeyed, nay, more, anticipated.” That fits the case exactly : William forever enforcing his own will, his notions, his idiosyncrasies, and downright crazes by sheer force of sublime egomania; the Kaiserin perpetually in a flutter to carry out his demands and make everybody else dance to the imperial piper’s tune! Only in one respect does he consult Her Majesty’s wishes with- out reference to his own inclination; namely, by hardly ever absenting himself from the marriage-bed when at home. Yet this seeming subservience may be, after all, but the outcome of a desire for numerous progeny, for the penny-a-liner’s “continuous sick man” is inordinately proud of his sireship. The imperial couple sleep together on healthy days as well as when sickness befalls one or the other, and even the near approach of Her Majesty’s confinement makes no difference in this decidedly bourgeois arrangement, to which, by the way, all ladies of the Holstein family with whom I have come into contact are addicted. On a summer day of 1892, a month or so before Princess Louise was born, the Empress expressed a wish to inspect her lying-in chambers at the Marble Palace, and previous to driving out gave orders that Kanunerdiener Brachwitz should attend her there, while Countess Brockdorff and WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 37 myself were to be of the party. The palace, at that time, was uninhabited, and Brachwitz met us at the door. Besides him, two other men were present, the castellan and the chasseur. *‘Herr Brachwitz,” said the Kaiserin, catching sight of the man and completely ignoring the character of her audience, ‘^a word with you before I forget it. His Majesty will sleep with me as usual to the last minute, and only after the confinement will he occupy his own room. So be careful to put all the Kaiser’s things in our joint bedroom, in the rear of the grand salon ^ where I intend to lie my weeks {wo ich Woe hen liege)." The Kam 7 nerdienery who is a modest fellow, and, more- over, unmarried, was speechless, and so taken back that he failed to answer the obligatory: ^‘At your command, Your Majesty.” However, in the evening, when, as is customary in great houses, the incident was passed in re- view in the servants’ hall, together with other happenings of the day, one of his colleagues remarked: ^‘That’s a mere trifle, Herr Brachwitz. When I was in the service of Countess O (I omit the name, for the lady might object to its use in connection with this story). Her Lady- ship thought nothing of changing her chemise before me, so completely did she regard one of our class as a figurehead. ’ ’ Even His Majesty’s terror of disease capitulates before the alcove. In June, 1891, when the Prince of Naples’s visit to the Neues Palais was announced, the Empress was ill with nettle-rash, and had to take to her bed on the very day the diminutive, monkey-like Savoyard arrived at Wildpark. As it happened, the Dowager Duchess of Schleswig and the Duchess Frederick Ferdinand of Glucksburg had been with us during the last two or three weeks, and by arrangement 38 PRIVATE LIVES OF they were to withdraw upon Victor Emanuel’s arrival to make room for the Empress’s younger, unmarried sister, Princess Feo, who was to meet His Royal Highness with a view to a betrothal. The old lady, for a wonder, retired in good order, and Duchess Caroline Mathilda’s things were at the station, — Her Highness wanted to get home, as she expected her fifth child by the end of August; but when she came to bid the Kaiserin good-bye. Her Majesty had changed the programme. “For God’s sake, don’t leave me!” she cried; “you have no idea how unhappy I am. The Kaiser will be busy all the time with his guest, and, despite my illness, I shall see him only at night. ’ ’ “But, sister,” mildly suggested the Duchess, “you will not compel Willy to sleep with you when you have the fever! ” “And why not!” bristled up Auguste Victoria ; “the doctor tells me the rash is not infectious, and I insist upon having my husband near me whether there are visitors or not.” The usual fetes were held. Princess Feo, wearing some of Her Majesty’s diamonds, doing the honors, while the Duchess did not show herself at all, but took her meals in the Empress’s study, bed, or dressing room, wherever the distinguished patient could be induced to remain for any length of time, for she roamed from one apartment to the other in a vain attempt to obtain comfort from the burn- ing, itching, and irritation peculiar to her malady. The poor Empress looked awful ; in the course of a few hours her whole appearance had so changed that she would not allow herself to be seen by any of her gentlemen in attend- ance, and gave strict orders that no male servant was to come near her apartments. Her face was swollen, and all over her body the skin was covered with an eruption WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 39 tingling with fever. It was so bad that even dinner eti- quette was set aside, and the chamberwoman and up- stairs maid had to wait on the royal sisters, and acquitted themselves awkwardly enough, you may be sure. Finally, after the itching surface had been dusted with flour, and after the use of vigorous emetics, the rash disap- peared as suddenly as it had come, and the Kaiserin was able to emerge from her retirement shortly before His Italian Royal Highness’s departure. While she was being dressed for dinner, I was sent for to see if the dhollete waist did not perchance disclose marks of the illness just passed. ‘‘I won my bet,” said my mistress, triumphantly, after acknowledging my compliments on her appearance. What bet, if it pleases Your Majesty? ” “Ah! I thought you knew all about it. Countess. You see, I assured the Emperor, that, if he would but put up with my troubled sleep and general ugliness, I would try to do the honors at his side before the Prince left. Although doubting the prospect, he staked three Vienna hats on a wager I offered; namely, that I would be out to-day. Poor husband ! he lost, and after all he endured on my account ! ” And, with a little shudder. Her Majesty con- cluded : “If I had been Kaiser, ten horses could not have dragged me to a bedfellow such as I have been for the last three or four days. ’ ’ That was an afterthought, you notice, but not the most disagreeable, by any means, growing out of that eventful visit. Both Emperor and Empress had fondly hoped that the Prince of Naples would fall in love with Feo, a belief that was doomed from the outset, the Prince never having lost sight of the fact that he needed a very handsome wife to treat his future subjects to a successor at all likely to silence allusions to the Darwinian theory. 40 PRIVATE LIVES OF A rough estimate, gathered from the Kaiser’s printed calendars that are published for the benefit of court offi- cials, body-servants, and newspapers, and minutely set forth how and where His Majesty spends his time, or is supposed to spend it, would seem to indicate that in the course of a year he is home about one hundred days, — that is, for one hundred days he lives with Her Majesty under the same roof ; but this circumstance does not in any way indicate that their Majesties take their meals together, or even see each other daily, except in bed and at breakfast. I clip at random one of those daily programmes : 9.15 A.M. Report by the chief of the military cabinet. 10.30 A.M. Report by the Chancellor. 12.30 P.M. Audience to newly-appointed army officers. Luncheon on the train. 2 P.M. Departure for hunt at Count Finkenstein’s. At midnight, return to the Neues Palais. Or take another day : 9 A.M. Review of the Regiment on the Born- stedter Feld. 1.30 P.M. Luncheon in the mess-room. 6 p. M. Dinner with the officers of the Garde du Corps. Hour of return not stated. The reader perceives an interval of several hours between luncheon and dinner, which might be devoted to wife and children ; but it must not be forgotten that a person so continually on the move as the Emperor needs a corre- sponding amount of rest, repose, and freshening up, even though in the bright lexicon of William there may be no such word as knocking off. Unofficially, the Kaiser retires to his dressing-room after luncheon, goes to his little bachelor bed, sleeps an hour and a half, and then jumps into a hot bath, followed by an ablution of cold sea-water. That, of course, puts new vigor into him, and makes him WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 41 ready for the evening’s campaign, but his family see him not in the interim. Though William never pays the slightest attention to time-tables, a special train being good enough for him at any season, he is enough of a Potsdamer to return home at midnight when the Court is established in the Neues Palais. Naturally, nobody, who is anybody, is astir at that hour, but that does not prevent him from making as much noise as if it were noon : clatter of wheels and hoofs, horses driven at breakneck speed, sentinels shouting and striking their fire-arms on the pavement, seneschal, adjutants, por- ters, secretaries, footmen, and valets standing at attention, or flying hither and thither, and all candles and lamps in the passage-ways and rooms blazing forth. Perish the sleep of retainers when the lord is awake ! These midnight specials are bad enough ; but when the fleet-footed four-in-hand is pressed into service for journeys to and from Berlin, Her Majesty’s eyes grow red with weeping, and her maids wish themselves far away; for, as to home-coming, the quartet of Hungarian grays is even less reliable than the railway, while starting-hour and chance stops on the way are alike mysteries. Ah ! to be German Empress is not all champagne and oysters, by any means. But the worst of it is when the calendar reads: ^^His Majesty intends to spend the night at the Berlin Schloss.” True, that big pile has no Palais Netherland connected with it by a covered archway as the palace Unter den Linden where William’s grandfather dwelt, — in his salad days, the old man used this convenience for nocturnal poaching trips on strange preserves acclimated in the Netherland mansion ; but the Schloss is so large, has so many entrances, and there are so many people living in it, that the arrival of a lady more or less would not evoke the 42 PRIVATE LIVES OF slightest comment among the sentinels and doorkeepers. What opportunities ! what food for jealous reflection ! Whether William is away for a couple of days, or a week, or a month, he never writes to the Kaiserin, either directly or in answer to letters received from her. His adjutants, or other officers on duty, must attend to this as to every other item of correspondence, and such entertaining news as : His Majesty arrived, or departed, safely ; glorious reception;” or, “His Majesty shot so many hares, stuck a prodigious number of pigs, or killed so many deer or buck; weather such and such,” — signed. House-marshal von Lyncker, or Master of the Hounds, — often form the only link between the imperial minds for many weeks. Always of tantalizing uniformity, the scantiness of these messages is indeed strange, considering that they are sent toll-free. But if the Empress has to be satisfied with meagre tidings of her lord, the Kaiser gets along on even less home intel- ligence. Though Her Majesty writes by every mail, it would never do to lose precious minutes that might be spent in amusement or sightseeing by opening his wife’s letters, the more so when one is sure they contain only nothingnesses (for items of interest must be telegraphed) ; but, at the same time, ignorance of any of the petty in- formation forwarded with such touching regularity might cause vexation and suspicion. So the Emperor diversifies the return trips from his jaunts by carefully studying all the missives received from Auguste Victoria day by day, — not an original method among husbands, I surmise. A continuous source of amusement to His Majesty are the minute accounts of his daily labors in the vineyard of state- craft, and of almost any other vocation imaginable, pub- lished in books, magazines, pamphlets, and newspapers with a minuteness of detail and conceived in a know-all vein WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 43 of assurance, interlarded with deepest" and ‘^highest" admiration, that make them soul-stirring and pathetic. These descriptions of what is indescribable (for the greater part of the labors ascribed to His Majesty are creations of the authors’ fancies) commenced to pour in on us almost with the beginning of the present reign ; but the Kaiser’s speech to the municipal council of Berlin, on October 27, 1888, when he protested against the imputation that he travelled around for the fun of the thing, gave it its real momentum. I have placed my health and all my bodily resources in jeopardy to serve the cause of peace and to promote the Fatherland’s prosperity by visiting allies and friends in all parts of the world,’’ he cried; and German opinion, always ready to be corrected, at once changed its sing- song of the Kaiser-on-the-tramp into that of the Kaiser-at- work ; and ever since have sycophants and mere imitators pronounced William a veritable perpetuum mobile of useful activity. I do not propose to weary the reader by attempting a detailed account of the Kaiser’s employments, — of when he deigns to get up and when he ^ ^ graciously ’’ retires; works at governing, and governs the work of others; listens to reports and asserts himself; fences, rides, drives, and what not. These are matters for the official chronicler to re- cord, and the reader will find them nicely done up in parcels, bound with black, white, and red ribbons, in Mr. Bigelow’s various accounts of the Kaiser’s life as the Kaiser sees it, — that life which is but a ‘^whirligig of hard labor for the good of the people and for the peace of Europe,’’ or else an attempt to square accounts with the Supreme Creator. The Kaiser imagines he is going through one of these high-minded performances continuously, whether he draws plans for an impossible battle-ship, or 44 PRIVATE LIVES OF part of the civil list, whether he risks his bones in a Troika driven by a German, who knows no more about handling three Asiatic stallions^ than I do about cutting diamonds, or reads a speech from the throne : — it is all fish in the net of imperial aggrandizement thrown out at random to entwine loyal minds at home and abroad, — people who think it an honor to be dazzled by princes, and wink quite honestly at royal radiance.” The underlying idea of Bigelow’s and kindred efforts is to keep up the myth of incessant service rendered to the crown, a martyrdom of work broken occasionally by a stroke of genius, such as writing a novel, painting a land- scape, conceiving a series of allegorical pictures, composing music, or inventing this, that, or the other thing. Mind, I do not deny that the Emperor performs these various tasks — after a fashion that will be explained in another place ; but I gainsay the Herculean nature imputed to most of them, and, furthermore, distinctly reject the idea that they are undertaken to alleviate a mind stagger- ing under the weight of responsibilities and burdened by excessive desk-work. We can well imagine Frederick II ordering a flute concert to be improvised after a day’s bloody work in the field, or following a disgusting parley with his brother-counterfeiters.’* Napoleon, flying from ' The Russian coachman whom Czar Alexander sent along when he presented the Kaiser with the famous vehicle, in the summer of 1890, was dismissed because he had the hardihood to ask fifty dollars salary per month, and the native succeeding him promptly wrecked the Troika. ^ During the Seven Years’ War, Frederick II, assuming the royal privilege of raising revenue, resorted to the coinage of millions of Thalers of about half the value of the standard coin; these he im- printed with the effigies of the Prince of Bernburg and the King of Poland, and forced their circulation among the people of the subju- gated districts. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 45 victory to victory in Italy, needed nothing so much as his pleasant harlot of a Josephine ; but these were men of con- summate brain-power, men who, after tiring out twenty geniuses a day, needed but the tonic of sweet melodies, or an heure du berger^ to be ready for another siege of labor. William is not made of the clay of the philosopher of Sans Souci, nor of that of the lion of St. Helena, be he ever so clever a masquerader in the lion’s skin. At school and at college the highest degree attained by him was ‘‘satisfactory;” — another pupil, being no more satisfac- tory, would probably have been called incompetent. His attempt at handling large masses of troops, in the pres- ence of the Emperor of Austria and the King of Saxony, in Silesia, September, 1890, led to disaster, while Count Waldersee preferred to resign as chief of the General Staff rather than permit the Emperor to meddle with his department and ‘ ‘ periodically ’ ’ discharge batteries of well- meant ignorance at him, as the General told Bismarck during a visit to Friedrichsruhe shortly after assuming command of the Ninth Corps. Graf Seckendorf furnishes an amusing skit on William’s tale of woe about “risking health and life to save the Fatherland.” “Enduring fatigues, he calls it,” says the Count; “to be bathed and groomed ; breakfast ; take a canter on a horse previously tired out, and so trained as to give the rider not the least trouble ; breakfast again ; ride to a parade, or, while stretching on a lounge, listen to reports carefully worded so that they may be agreeable to the imperial digestion ; before luncheon, some pleasant conversation with officers from all parts of the country ; meal diversified by clever men and women, drummed together for the purpose of disporting their wit and retailing the latest gossip ; after luncheon, a cold rub-down and an hour’s absolute rest in a 46 PRIVATE LIVES OF comfortable bed; dressed anew by smart servants; meal number four, — coffee and cakes, — a drive or lawn-tennis ; a minister ora general makes his report; after dinner, theatre or reception; finally, meal number five; bed. ‘^Or, instead of so unexciting an afternoon, an im- promptu hunting trip, a cruise on the Havel lakes, and, on extraordinary occasions, a state council, a visit to the Chancellor to air one’s opinion, or to a rehearsal to cate- chise actors and actresses. Is that hard work?” Not for the master who, mapping out a twelve, fourteen, or eighteen hours’ programme, enjoys every minute of it while his servants drudge, — and they are all servants in William’s eye, be they called Bismarck or Count Hahnke, Adolph Menzel, or Poultney Bigelow; ‘‘his” decorations, “his” uniforms, “his” fancy costumes, decreed for councillors, artists, friends of the chase, and aristocrats ; “his” livery, and last, but not least, “his” very condescension, make them so ; he rests when he feels disposed and as long as he wishes, even while his attendants report, standing an hour or so in heavy accoutrement ; and that his strength may never fail him he partakes of five meals per day, while “servants” not admitted to the imperial table must be content, very frequently, to dine off the vapors from the dishes borne past them. “My indefatigability,” “my prowess,” are perpetual themes with the Kaiser, and “You should have seen von Hiilsen or von Kessel (both adjutants) puff and gasp after our half-hour’s fencing, while I was as fresh as if I had just stepped from my bath,” is one of his favorite boasts. He omits, however, to state, that, while wearing a linen jacket himself, these functionaries are encased in their stiff-collared, long-frocked uniforms, weighted down by silver tassels and braids, and with a heavy sabre at their side, laboring, moreover, under the difficulty of having to WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 47 court defeat, for it would not only be imprudent, but even dangerous, to forestall William’s exultations. No wonder the gentlemen lose their breath. As Caligula wished that the Roman people had but one neck that he might cut it off, so the Kaiser would like to see the entire military force of the Fatherland personi- fied in one being, that he might practise on it as on a lay figure, — march, turn about face, take the ditch, prostrate yourself, stand on your head, — but, considering that the Reichstag has a voice in the matter of public expenditure. His Majesty must be content to keep but two adjutants continuously employed. These gentlemen, together with the members of the military household, including representa- tives of all arms and of the navy, rarely leave the Kaiser’s presence. Their office adjoins His Majesty’s study on one side, and is connected with the orderlies’ room on the other, wherever the Court is established. In the Neues Palais it is situated on the ground-floor, facing the bar- racks of the Lehr battalion, — a not very spacious but dull room covered by a gray carpet and furnished with a number of red damask fauteuils placed in front of writing- desks. In the orderlies’ room three sorts of men are present at all times, day and night, — a terzetto of chasseurs, as many body gendarmes, and several infantry from the Lehr bat- talion. The first-named belong to the variety of Jaegers whom the Prussian Court employs in and out doors, on the box of the carriage, and at the chase. They rank a little above the flunky, being admitted to private rooms, and wait on their Majesties when other servants are ex- cluded. However, their present employment is not half so confidential as it used to be. The Kammerjaegers of old were engaged to chase the disturbers of royal peace or pleasure, in the shape of fleas and crawling members of 48 PRIVATE LIVES OF the bug family, out of the rooms {Kammerti), and also ‘‘from the persons of the king’s and queen’s majesty,” as the chroniclers say, and, let us hope, from the persons of the princes and princesses too. The body gendarmes are members of a battalion of picked men assigned to special duty upon the King. Neither in peace nor war do they enter into the general service of the army, and the Reichstag tries, year by year, to abolish these household troops on the plea that the officers and men are nothing short of armed flunkies. The duties of all these persons are strictly defined. Visitors calling upon His Majesty’s personal business are received by the chasseurs, and, if persons of distinction, are conducted into the adjutant’s room; if purveyors, or messengers bringing packages, the Emperor’s valets and wardrobemen on watch in a chamber above, that can be reached by a dark staircase, are notified. The uniformed orderlies attend to military visitors, each gendarme having his horse ready in the near-by stables to gallop away with despatches at a moment’s notice, while the infantrymen’s bicycles stand in the court- yard near the windows that serve as doors. Thus the Em- peror is enabled to put into execution on the spot any idea of a private or public nature that may suddenly strike him: he notifies one of his adjutants by a ring or call, the adjutant gives the order to the galloping mounted or wheeled, and the thing is done before anybody has time to consider its advisability or possibly troublesome exigen- cies, the telephone and the telegraph — the latter established in a near-by pavilion — aiding and abetting this mode of doing business. An adjutant is on duty two days and two nights each week, and ranks with the high officials of the household. Horses and carriages are at his disposal, and he lives on the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 49 fat of the land. The quarters of these gentlemen are in the south wing of the palace, near the historical apartments of Frederick the Great, and each has a single chamber, with a cabinet for his servant, but no toilet or bath room. Nearer to the Kaiser than all these faithful servants are his two Dachshunds, called Teckels, biting, snarling little brutes with jaws measuring half the length of their smooth body, and a corresponding penchant for people’s calves, skirts, and petticoats. Except to the bedroom, from which they are excluded out of respect for the Empress’s legs, these pets follow His Majesty everywhere, and when they make inroads on folks’ flesh and blood, or clothes, William, who protects and coddles them, thinks it huge fun. Whether the cunning Teckels know their imperial pa- tron’s overpowering position, I cannot say ; but it looks almost like it, for, in the exuberance of their mischievous spirits, even the little propriety pounded into them in their earliest youth is now neglected, and Court-marshal von Eulenburg, whose pleasant duty it is to make both ends meet in the royal menage, has his hands full covering up the damage to furniture, decorations, and bric-a-brac in the Teckels’ path, or to such articles as they are able to reach by high vaults and other caprioles that the Kaiser has taught them. Why don’t you poison the beasts? ” once said Eulen- burg’ s colleague, pious Baron von Mirbach who is on the Empress’s staff, when His Excellency had wearied him with a jeremiad about the Dachshunds'' wickedness. have thought of that myself, and would gladly go to this extremity, seeing that it meets with your most Christian approval, if I were sure that there would be no successors. But His Majesty might take it into his head to surround himself with Danish hounds, a la Bismarck, and then none of us would be safe. ’ ’ 50 PRIVATE LIVES OF A very funny incident in connection with the Teckels happened in the winter of 1893, at the Berlin Schloss, when a select company, in which ladies in grand toilet predominated, had assembled at 1.15 p.m., in the Pillar Room, to await their Majesties’ coming, in order to form the usual procession to the dining-hall, where a ceremo- nious breakfast awaited us. As is customary. Her Majesty’s Dames du jour^ Countess Keller and Fraulein von Gersdorff, stood a little ahead of the rest, facing the door through which Her Majesty was to enter, and, the august hosts being expected at any moment, everybody was on the alert. Suddenly the portals opened, — bowings and scrapings, and most submissive salutations, — but, lo ! only the Dachs- hunds rushed in. ^Deste said Herr von Egloffstein, who stood at my side ; while Prince Frederick Leopold, coming in just then, remarked: ‘‘I would give anything to have on jack-boots and spurs ! Wouldn’t I whisk them off, or at least one of the litter, through the window ! ” The Teckels, on their part, had no sooner caught sight of the silk stockings of the courtiers, than they began to bark menacingly, causing these worthies, who ten seconds before had paraded their calves with much gusto, to with- draw behind the ladies they were to escort. But these precautionary measures were seemingly superfluous, as the Kaiser’s pets showed no particular desire for a bite that afternoon. Instead, each separately squatted down before Mesdames von Keller and von Gersdorff, and conducted himself in the most filthy fashion, more basely, indeed, than a self-respecting puppy would do in the kitchen. Perfidious Teckels ! all the floggings and nose-rubbings the fancier had applied for that very thing were forgotten, and, worst of all, the Kaiser, Her Majesty upon his arm. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 51 and, like her, en grande tenue^ entered at that very moment ; so withdrawal on the part of Keller and Gersdorff was out of the question. On the contrary, the unhappy ladies were obliged to bow low, bending from the waist at an angle of forty-five degrees, while the Teckels, much relieved, clam- bered up His Majesty’s hussar boots, wagging their funny tails. ‘^Oh ! you bad boys ! ” cried the Kaiser, having taken in the situation at a glance; ^‘if you do that again, I will have you birched, — yes, indeed I will,” he added, seeing ironic smiles all around. Then he had a fit of laughter that made him hold his sides, and which resounded through the hall. He even sought to inveigle the Empress into joining in his merriment ; but Her Majesty ignored him, and, blushing deeply, drew her consort out of the room. The Teckels remained in the Pillar Hall while we break- fasted, and amused themselves by tearing into little pieces a beautiful fan which Countess Piickler, nU Countess von der Schulenburg, who was one of the Empress’s dames before her marriage, had left behind. university of ILLINOIS library H URBANA CHAMPMGN CHAPTER III Only during the absence of their Majesties are visitors admitted to the Neues Palais, — a rule from which there is absolutely no appeal. Even William K. Vanderbilt, whom the Emperor personally regards as the very richest man in the world, — the Kaiser has not a great head for figures, as already shown, — even Vanderbilt, I say, was on one occa- sion turned away from our gate like a beggar, or some Hungry Joe of the road. It happened in October, 1891, and made quite a stir in the palace. Vanderbilt, it appears, had driven to the castle over the royal highway, and his coach was about to enter one of the outer gates, when the sentinel stationed there, observing the lack of a known and so-called ‘^courtly” livery on the part of the Jehu and footman, stopped the horses and demanded a card of admission. ‘^This is His Majesty’s friend,” said Jacques Hartog, Mr. Vanderbilt’s courier, with an air of magnificent assur- ance, but the soldier only stared the harder. Your pass, Herr ! ” repeated the infantryman. You don’t understand things. This is Mr. Vanderbilt, the American millionaire !” Hartog was pleading now. As the word ‘‘American” struck the sentinel’s long ears, he raised his gun, for his lieutenant had taught him that the United States is “one of those confounded republics,” totally devoid of a king, or princes, or even a respectable standing army. 53 54 PRIVATE LIVES OF **Kutschery'^ he commanded, in his most pompous voice, and apparently unmindful of Hartog’s very existence, — *^Kutscher, right about face, forward march! March, I say, and march, a third time, or I will shoot 1 ’ ’ The guardsman kept his gun levelled on the intruders until the coach containing the lord of twice as many good, round dollars as the Emperor has subjects vanished behind a cloud of fine white dust, and God knows what would have happened if Hartog, who has a well-established repu- tation for pugnaciousness and obstinacy, had endeavored to run the blockade in order to please his rich patron; for these sentinels carry sharp cartridges, and if they shoot — and they often do so on windy provocation — they fire to kill. I cannot remember now whether the public honoring by the Emperor of a sentinel, who, while on duty, shot down some poor wretch, happened previously to Mr. Vander- bilt’s unsuccessful attempt to visit the royal domain, or not. In that case. His Majesty called the offender to the front, shook him by the hand, and assured him of his royal grace, saying : “lam proud to commend you as an obedient and courageous soldier; such devotion as yours will always meet with my highest approval,” or words to that effect. But I do know that the rencontre was earnestly discussed in the imperial family and the castle about a month later, after the Emperor had delivered his famous speech at the swear- ing-in of the Potsdam recruits. There are two versions of that address. The one which the majority of newspapers printed at the time, reads ; “ Children of my guard, you are now rny soldiers, — mine, body and soul I You have sworn to obey all my commands ; you must follow my rules and my advice without grumbling. It means that, from this day on, you durst know but one enemy, and that enemy is my enemy. And if I command you some day, — and WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 55 may God grant that I am never driven to this extrem- ity, — if I command you, I repeat, to fire upon your own relatives, your sisters and parents perhaps, remember your oath!" That version is terrible enough ; but, compared with the original draft of the speech, which I happen to have seen on the Kaiser’s secretaire; the words actually said may be almost characterized as tame. There it was, in William’s tall, forcibly-rounded hand : ‘‘Recruits! Remember that the German army must be as ready to fight enemies that may rise in our midst, as foreign foes. To-day, disbelief and malcontentedness are rampant in the Fatherland to a heretofore unheard-of de- gree ; consequently, I may call upon you at any time to shoot down and strike to the ground {niederstechen) your own relatives, — father and mother, sisters and brothers. My orders in that respect must be executed cheerfully and without grumbling, like any other command I may issue. You must do your duty, no matter what your hearts’ dic- tates are. And now go home and attend to your new duties." I came upon this document quite accidentally, the Em- press having ordered me to fetch from the desk in the Kaiser’s study the calendar whereon His Majesty’s engage- ments in and out of town are registered, — if I am not mis- taken, my august mistress desired to know the date of the Torgau jubilee (November 25), — and the precious com- position was written on blank spaces between the dates I had to examine. “Monstrous! ’’ I thought, reading over for the second time what William had the folly to indite and not wit enough to keep to himself; my heart trem- bled with anxiety for both country and Emperor. And to think that he memorized this murderous self-apotheosis within earshot of his wife, and with his innocent babies 56 PRIVATE LIVES OF sleeping above ! And I — involuntary keeper of a state secret ! It troubled me a good deal during the night, but next morning’s news quickly took the load off my shoulders, for Her Majesty remarked that the Kaiser w'as much pleased with the impression his speech had produced, — that of strik- ing terror into the hearts of Socialists and others opposed to the imperial will. ‘‘But does not Your Majesty fear misinterpretation on the part of the overzealous ? ” I asked; “the papers are filled with reports about brutalities in the army, and about the overbearing conduct of the military at all times. At the unveiling of the Schloss Fountain in Berlin, I even heard a rumor that Vanderbilt came near being shot while driving toward the Neues Palais.’’ That was a lighted match into a powder-barrel! Her Majesty caused inquiries to be made at once, and mean- while got all her ladies together to discuss the exigencies of the case. Of course, in their opinion, it would not matter much if an ordinary mortal is killed by a sentinel ; but the richest man in the world I — that was another thing. Would, in such a contingency, the United States declare war against Germany? The Countesses Bassewitz and Brockdorff wished it would, for they have relatives in the navy; but when I suggested that the Yankees might prefer to take it out of German commerce. Her Majesty became thoughtful. “I have heard the Kaiser remark that Vanderbilt could cripple the finances of the entire universe,” she said; “if that sentinel had shot him, his brothers and heirs might drive our good Miquel to suicide.” While we were talking, KammerdUner Nolte arrived with the information of the Vanderbilt incident mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, and additional news that WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 57 Court-marshal von Mirbach, had especially advised the millionaire that it was impossible to view the palace at the time, owing to the presence of the Empress. Revenons d nos moutons after this excursion into the realms of state secrets and troubled finance. The Neues Palais, I tried to explain, is but rarely open to the public, and those fifty-eight rooms, of a total of two hundred, in- habited by their Majesties, are, as a matter of course, closed against intruders at all times. If, however, the ordinary run of visitors were permitted to view the private apart- ments of the imperial couple, they would quickly come to the conclusion that, like a good paterfamilias^ the Kaiser allows his wdfe to keep for herself all bibelots and curios, magnificent Boules and quaint rococos, which past genera- tions of royal Hohenzollerns have hoarded up, and likewise the most beautiful pieces of furniture and treasures of art newly acquired with the first William’s amassed fortune. The Kaiser’s up-stairs study is a large, lofty room, and, being the rostrum from which the Empire and the whole world in general are addressed (who knows not the date line: “Given at the Neues Palais”?), I may be pardoned for describing it in detail. The walls of this historic cham- ber are hung with light-green damask, faded to such an extent as to make the stuff look shabby in spots, and the furniture is upholstered in the same material. Tulle cur- tains, through the open-work of which green ribbons run, frame the windows, two in number, while the silk overcur- tains are drawn back for the greater part of the time. Near the door leading into the reception-room rises one of those immense black marble mantels that we encounter every- where in the castle, — a fact furthering the suspicion that the builder, economically-inclined Frederick II, ordered them by the gross at a discount. There is a small bronze clock on the mantel between two candelabra, just as if this 58 PRIVATE LIVES OF was the parlor of Herr Rechtsanwalt Schmidt, or Frau Schlachtermeister Schultze, and near the fire-place is the Emperor’s writing-table, a big, clumsy walnut affair with machine-turned feet, and trimmings such as may be found in any well-regulated household in Germany. The Ber- liner calls this 77ionstrum of stilted inelegancy “Diplomat’s Desk, ’ ’ for what special reason I do not know. When the Kaiser sits at his secretaire^ he has his back toward the windows, while to the right of him mighty folding-doors lead into a dressing-room, which latter connects with their Majesties’ joint sleeping apartment. The hangings of the lower wall opposite the mantel are hidden behind two immense Boule chests of drawers with gray marble tops, specimens of the original Charles Boule’ s handiwork, according to the register in the Court -marshal’s office. They have a veneer of tortoise-shell backed by gold bronze, and the wood is as hard as iron. One of these chests the Kaiser turned into a sort- of pigeon-hole for his official correspondence. The tops of these beautifully-modelled antiques, as well as that of the ugly Berlin-made desk, are literally covered with marine views, charcoal sketches, and photographs of beautiful women, framed and unframed. As is well known, both their Majesties have a passion for photography, which William was wont to call “a royal art” until he heard that the late Duke of Marlborough, “who married a daughter of the republic for her money,” practised it; but while Her Majesty collects photographs indiscriminately, the Kaiser shows a decided partiality for those of charming women. True, he honors men in the service of the Court or government, or of social renown, quite frequently by requests for pictures ; but on receiving them he invariably shuts them away where the flies cannot get at them, while portraits of handsome princesses and other fair ones who THE DUCHESS L This portrait of the famous French-Italian Beauty is always found on the Kaiser’s desk, the original, however, is a full length picture WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 59 made an impression upon the imperial mind are every- where in William’s rooms, — figures large and small, in all sorts of costumes, or even distinguished by an absence of such; plain pictures, silver prints, in colors or painted over; personal gifts, inscribed with sweet sentiments, or the output of art stores. Among the likenesses regularly found on the Emperor’s writing-table, no matter whether he is at home or in his private car, or visiting with relatives and friends, is one of the Duchess of Aosta, nee Letitia Bonaparte, remarkable for the fact that Her Imperial Highness’s overflowing bust is uncovered except for a collier of pear-shaped pearls. For this portrait the Kaiser professes a special liking, because, he says, it reminds him of a certain masterpiece repre- senting Letitia’ s great-grandaunt, the Empress Josephine. ‘‘Don’t you think it does?” he once, after a lengthy dis- sertation on the point, asked his wife, who cordially detests her cousin of Aosta. “Maybe,” answered Her Majesty; “but Josephine might have exposed herself with impunity, for, I understand, she had breasts of wax.” Another picture of the Duchess, usually found on the Emperor’s desk, is on more conventional lines, but, like the first, it exhibits Letitia’s magnificent arms and fine hands to perfection. The significance of this will be shown in another chapter, where the Kaiser’s relations to the fair sex are discussed. Other picture favorites of His Majesty are the Grand Duchess Vladimir, Lady Dudley, that “little Marie of Edinburgh,” whom William admires so much on account of her motherly labors in the interest of a Roumanian dy- nasty; the Princess of Wales in Court dress, her finely- chiselled shoulders laden with jewels; and Fraulein von Bdcklin, daughter of the Prussian General. 6o PRIVATE LIVES OF This young lady figures occasionally in living pictures, arranged by members of the Court society for charity pur- poses, and, with her rich Titian hair, big blue eyes, and chaste figure, is, perhaps, the most beautiful German girl of the period. The Kaiser likes her best in antique Greek costume, and Fraulein von Bocklin is under orders to send to His Majesty a specimen copy of every photograph she has taken. I have almost forgotten to include in the above list the beautiful Countess Goertz, of whom more anon. In front of a sofa with metal feet and frame stands a marqueterie table of many-colored woods inlaid, and of very unique Holland design, which, needless to say, is an inheritance from the great Frederick, who seems to have been the only Prussian King endowed with a sense of the truly beautiful. To complete the inventory of the room, which is far from luxurious, or even cosy, it is but necessary to mention three or four fauUuils, a big pier-glass with a marble console be- tween the windows, a crystal chandelier hanging from the gilded ceiling, and a lounge with a profusion of loose cush- ions. The lounge, by the way, is worthy of kings ^‘that have no use for dressing-gowns,” as the Court-marshal of William I once wrote to an enterprising tailor who had pre- sented His late Majesty with an elaborate morning-wrapper. It is far too narrow and short to accommodate even so small a man as the Kaiser, and recalls the benches in the Sans Souci picture-gallery, which were built with the idea of producing the greatest possible amount of discomfort, so that the King’s pages occupying them might not fall asleep. A richly-gilded folding-door connects the study with a reception-room, which latter is chiefly notable for the air of inoccupancy pervading every nook and corner of the great barn-like apartment. As a matter of fact, the Kaiser WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 6i uses it merely for a passage-way to the adjoining Marble Hall, where presents and newly-bought stuffs for decora- tion, pictures or furniture, are placed on exhibition until their Majesties decide where they shall go, while visitors and friends are usually received in the lecture-room on the ground-floor, so called because there ministers of state and others deliver verbal reports, or take orders on current business, and listen to His Majesty’s sublime conceptions of things. The upper room is sparsely furnished with arm-chairs and sofas, perhaps a hundred years old, but none the more valuable on that account; for neither the multicolored pattern of the damask covering nor the carved frames ex- hibit refined taste or originality. As in most rooms of the castle, the wall and window hangings are of the color of the furniture, and the chandelier and mantel like those in the study. How well I remember this now neglected room when not so many years ago, during the life-time of the then Crown Prince, I was a guest at the palace. That happy royal couple, Frederick William and Victoria, used it as an antechamber to the Marble Hall, and in those days the walls were draped with the grand tapestries that Napoleon had pre- sented to the Crown Princess. That before her withdrawal from the castle Empress Frederick removed the gobelins and shipped them to her palace Unter den Linden, is but one of the many reasons why the son does not like his thrifty mother. Indeed, history repeats itself constantly in the highest as well as the lowest strata of society. The Smith and Brown families are “all torn up,” because, at the apportioning of the estates. Aunt Sarah or Cousin John grabbed an old clock or silver teapot which Uncle Charles had coveted. The young Kaiser admires tapes- try, if he need not buy it himself, and thought his mother 62 PRIVATE LIVES OF might leave the French Emperor’s gift where it showed to great advantage. Very naturally, Victoria held a different view, and, presto ! animosities scarce buried raised their heads again. If Her Majesty had not been so quick about it, William might have enforced against his own mother the law providing that articles of decoration attached to the walls cannot be taken away by tenants. We now retrace our steps to the study, and from there enter the Kaiser’s dressing-room, treading all the while on the thickest and heaviest of carpets, irrespective of the season of the year, for the Kaiser detests the pro- verbially slippery parquet of the Court, though, according to a saying in vogue in Berlin, such a state of mind be- speaks an inherent inability to maintain one’s equilibrium in most things. William, you must know, is never quite sure of his legs, the left one, as stated, being liable to give way at any time when His Majesty’s mind is not concen- trated upon posing physically as well as mentally. There are, besides, even with a character so continuously on the alert as William II, hours in the day when he likes to unbend and throw off that dignity of demeanor for which his public and semi-public appearance is noted; when he becomes a plain aristocrat like the one whom he takes for pattern in all things, who became plain Fritz ” or Pan- tagruel ’ ’ after midnight, when the friends of his Muse were expected to help the conqueror-king to forget the weight of greatness for a couple of hours. Though personally I could no more imagine the Kaiser associating with a lot of cynics and mountebanks, such as Frederick kept to while away hours of leisure, than I would expect him to attend a state ceremony in undress, or with his mustachios drooping, I can assure you, that, in the seclu- sion of his chamber, he is a very different man from the one that even the members of his titled household know. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 63 That he ordered his own living rooms carpeted through- out is against all tradition at the Berlin Court ; but as no- body, who is anybody, invades his sanctum, why should he trouble? The small soirees, musicales, and receptions are invariably held in the Empress’s apartments, or the semi- state-rooms of the parterre floor. On these occasions the Kaiser considers himself the chief guest ; he is the cynosure of all eyes, the pole-star that social and political naviga- tors must forever consult to avoid wreck ; there the drill- ground echo: ‘^Attention!” perpetually dins in his ears: ‘‘Attention to your arm,” “Attention, Your Majesty, your leg is giving way. ’ ’ The strain must be awful ; and I am sure, when the Kaiser in his speeches continuously refers to the labors of his position, he thinks of this martyrdom inflicted by his physical shortcomings, rather than of the many hundred miles he puts between himself and respectable ennui at his fireside, though wishing the public at all times to think he is fairly killing himself so that “ every peasant in the king- dom shall have a fowl in his pot on Sundays. ’ ’ A fully-carpeted floor is a guarantee against sudden tumbles, in one respect at least, and if one has to fall, a heavy velvet pile seems much preferable to a hardwood veneer, be it ever so highly polished. The Kaiser’s dressing-room is situated directly above Em- peror Frederick’s death-chamber, which latter now serves as a sort of corridor, from necessity rather than irreverence, I should add, for, when the Neues Palais was built, passage- ways leading to its great chambers were forgotten for the most part, as King Frederick quarrelled with the architect and finished the castle according to his own unprofessional notions. The hangings, furniture-coverings, and carpets are like those of the study, green or red respectively, and here, too, the damask is much the worse for wear in many places. 64 PRIVATE LIVES OF As the windows of the chamber overlook the barracks of the Lehr und Wehr Battalion, His Majesty, by simply putting his head out of the window, could alarm the garri- son at any hour of the night or day ; but, strange to say, this fancy never struck him, though he often travels half the night to chase some poor regiment in a wayside town or fortress out of Morpheus’s and God knows whose arms at unearthly hours. In a small alcove opposite the windows stands a single brass bedstead with spring and horse-hair mattresses, whose English arrangement of sheets, blankets, and chamois cushions gives the servants perpetual cause for grumblings. To the left of the alcove is the door leading into their Majesties’ joint bedroom, while on the other side a large closet, built in the wall, contains the Kaiser’s body-linen, not much of it. All the historical half-dozen shirts a Prussian monarch or prince is entitled to are there, but, horribile dictUy the article is innocent of cuffs, a commodity William attaches with the aid of buttons and pulleys, like any poor lieutenant, who looks upon men sporting an English-made dress-shirt as veritable plungers. Of socks, never above a dozen pairs are in use, half-yellow, half- brown, and, like the underwear, of lisle ; but the Hozen- zollern house laws evidently impose no restriction as to handkerchiefs, which seem to come grosswise, all, like the shirts, drawers, and socks, inscribed with and the royal crown. While the modern articles of furniture heretofore men- tioned are of the most ordinary description, — store-goods, and not the most expensive, either, — His Majesty’s wash- stand is of truly royal dimensions and elaborateness, occupying the best part of the rear wall at the side of the mantel. It is made of lightwood, with an imposing marble top, and ditto shelves, decorated with handsome WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 65 crystals and silver things, carafes, brushes, jugs, etc. Was ever King of Prussia, or a Holy Roman Emperor of German nationality, so well fixed in respect to toilet requi- sites? And would William be that wonder of neatness to all the people in his employ, if it were not for his Eng- lish mother? Such questions are constantly agitated in the palace among the servants as well as the officials, for the laundresses, and especially the maids who attend to the royal chamber, carrying up three flights of stairs the oceans of hot and cold water His Majesty requires continuously during the day till late at night, regard William’s passion for cleanliness as little short of crime, and the Court-mar- shal has his hands full pacifying the overworked and dis- charging the sulky, particularly those dragging the Empress Frederick’s name into the discussion. “I should think myself in heaven,” said my mistress some time ago after reading a magazine article to the effect that even the bedrooms of moderately-priced Amer- ican apartment houses are provided with running water, hot and cold, — I should think myself in heaven if such were arranged for my husband’s and my use, not to men- tion the children’s, and I am the Kaiserin,” — a Kaiserin, she might have added, whose revenues are sequestrated to ostentation. Still, we must not be thought to be unpro- gressive at the Prussian Court. Compare Voltaire’s wash- bowl in the Monkey and Parrot Room of Sans Souci with the corresponding commodity on the Kaiser’s table: a finger-bowl to an English sitz-bath, and yet scarce one hundred and forty-five years have passed since the French poet’s arrest in Frankfurt. There are basketfuls of sponges, and skin-brushes by the score, on the marble shelves, but not a sign of toilet waters or colognes, ’s soap serving all needed purposes for the bath as well as occasional ablutions and shaving. 66 PRIVATE LIVES OF And, with the persistency that is William’s chief charac- teristic, he not only uses the article himself, but insists on its presence on the toilet-stand of every member of his household, being like his royal brother of Spain, Philip II, disposed to dictate the minor affairs of his people as well as direct the graver ones of the Empire. The latter laid awake nights devising new fashions in men’s frills and women’s petticoats; our erratic contemporary, forgetting the oft-quoted mandate of a great ancestor, — that in Prussia people shall go to heaven in their own way, — wants every- body to approach godliness after the fashion adopted by himself. There have been frequent rubs at Court about that very thing (invalids of the cuticle object to be reminded of the doctor on all occasions ; and who would blame them ?) ; but all parties agree that in this particular instance ‘‘des- potism does not tread upon the worm with haughty playful- ness,” and without substantial reason at the same time, for the Kaiser, you must know, credits his clear complexion and the possession of a remarkable white and smooth skin to the fact that he has used soap of a particular brand since earliest childhood. And, considering the several constitutional ailments he is subject to, this simple means has indeed done wonders, for, though William is usually pale, his skin is ever clear and wholesome, like that of an eminently healthy person. To the luxurious toilet His Majesty’s bath furnishes a formidable contrast, being an ordinary zinc tub, painted. But the most astonishing thing about it is its peculiar situa- tion. Let those who consider themselves Fortune’s grace- less children because their neighbor’s house or carriage or wife or diamonds are their neighbor’s, take courage in the thought that Germany’s Kaiser, twice a King, as many times a Grand Duke, eighteen times a Duke, three times a WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 67 Margrave, once a Burgrave, — whatever that means nowa- days, — twice a Prince, nine times a Count, and fifteen times a Seigneur, besides being a Bishop, bathes behind a curtain in a stuffy corridor, the connecting-link between his dressing-gown and the conjugal bed-chamber. That this statement almost challenges belief, I am not the last to appreciate, but can only reiterate its truth. And, when you come to think it over, is it more startling than the story relating to King Leopold’s bath in the Potsdam Stadt Schloss ? Court-marshal Liebenau was all in a flutter when, in August, 1890, His Belgian Majesty came to return the Kaiser’s visit to Ostend, for his colleague of Brussels had informed him that the sovereign gentleman was addicted to the daily bathing habit, and demanded a hot bath at that. There was, at that time, only one royal palace available in town (the Kaiserin objected to entertaining Leopold at her own house), and this, the Stadt Schloss, contained but a single bath-room, which, to further com- plicate matters, is attached to the bridal suite where Prus- sian princesses pass their first night of matrimonial bliss. To lodge the old debauchee in that sacred apartment, which only once before had been defiled by a man who was not a groom at the time of occupancy, by Napoleon I, was out of the question, and if a cabinet was fitted up with the regulation German bath-tub and stove, the King would certainly poke fun at the antediluvian arrangement. What, then, could be done ? At last Liebenau hit upon a plan. He set up a modern enough bath that was fed by a cold-water faucet, and placed under one end of it a row of gas-jets intended to heat the water in the tub. Should His Majesty find the bath too warm, calculated the official, with true native acumen, he can moderate the heat by turning on the cold reservoir. 68 PRIVATE LIVES OF Now, Leopold had enjoyed the previous night’s festivities very much, and observing, in the morning, that his slightest wishes in regard to bodily comfort had been anticipated, he rose in right good humor. Stepping buoyantly into his bath at the cool end, and turning round, he sat himself down at the other, which, the gas having just been turned off, was nothing short of a furnace with the red-hot coals removed. At the same moment an unearthly yell rent the castle from Marble Hall to scullery ; the sentinels, marching up and down before the great gate, called out the guard, and dozens of officials and servants ran to the King’s suite of apartments, thinking that His Majesty had been attacked. At last, the cries not ceasing, Herr von Liebenau, together with the housekeeper and the King’s adjutant, took courage and burst into the bath-room, where they found His Majesty dancing an impromptu Highland fling, and war-whooping alternately in French and German for liniments and cold- cream. What he said to the Court-marshal became known only after the latter’s dismissal and disgrace, for the ser- vants who heard His Belgian Majesty read him the index of Brehm’s Animal World” never dared repeat the all- highest’ s observations during Liebenau’s official life. As a further consequence of the incident, it might be recorded that King Leopold did not ride to the parade held in his honor that morning, but viewed the ceremonies from his window. If business or pleasure prevents the Kaiser from taking his dip in the morning, he either bathes in the afternoon, or before or after supper ; the stove must be lit at all times, day and night, and a tablet of soap is consumed on each of these occasions. After stepping out, the Kaiser applies to his body several gallons of cold water, in which sea-salt has been dissolved, baling it rather laboriously from a vessel near at hand. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 69 Besides a barber’s chair, several fauteuils^ and the fur- nishings already described, the dressing-room contains little worth mentioning, except a rare photograph representing Her Majesty in a travelling-wrap ; this was taken in Venice in 1890, after the imperial couple’s return from the Orient, and has never been published; but although it does not flatter the Kaiserin, none of her good-looking pictures are visible, while, on the other hand, all tables, consoles, and chests of drawers bear witness to the Kaiser’s vain passion for seeing himself pictured, all being literally covered with photos showing His Majesty in every variety of costume, — at the manoeuvres, on the parade-field, hunting, sailing, or making his entry into some town or village amid the loyal shouts of the populace. A prince like the Kaiser, who owns a set of uniforms for each of the three hundred and odd Prussian regiments, horse, foot, and artillery, besides the ones appurtenant to the Bavarian, Wiirtemburg, and Saxony contingents, not to mention the Austrian, English, Russian, Roumanian, Spanish, Turkish, and Swedish armies that enrolled his name as colonel, general, or field-marshal, — the proprietor of such an official wardrobe needs, of course, most exten- sive store-rooms for his multicolored, tasselled, and gold- laced treasures, and that they are magnificently cared for goes without saying. Space forbids minute description of the interesting col- lection, which, moreover, can never be complete, as the European military Minotaur, feeding on seven millions of men annually, — the original in the Cretan labyrinth was satisfied with seven youths and an equal number of vir- gins, — keeps on expanding ; in other words, as new types of uniforms and arms are constantly invented and added. And when I say that the Emperor owns uniforms of all Prussian and almost an equal number of foreign regiments, 70 PRIVATE LIVES OF not forgetting, by the way, that he is lord of the sea in Germany, Great Britain, Russia, and Sweden, — dignities that carry with them cocked hats, broadswords and dag- gers, blue cloth, and silver and gold lace galore, — I do not refer to the garments alone, but include all the ornaments, badges, sashes, side-arms, caps, helmets, czakos, busbies, czapkas, burganets, sabres, cuirasses, shoulder-points, knots and epaulettes, silver cords, belts, cartridge-cases, laces, etc., belonging to gala, full, and semi accoutrements. All these innumerable and expensive accessories — a single pair of shoulder-knots often costs more than the uniform itself — must be on hand and ready for use at any given time, as bright and as good as new. Do you begin to understand why the Emperor is forever unable to make both ends meet with an income of sixteen million marks per year? How times have changed with these Prussian kings! The great Frederick’s entire wardrobe was “sold to a Jew for three hundred Thalers,” and among the lot were the identical coat, breeches, and boots he wore at Ross- bach. When, to come down to our own period, the late William I desired to be photographed in the uniform of the Garde du Corps ^ one of his officers had to lend him a cui- rass, His Majesty refusing to go to the expense of buying one. And these monarchs won more battles than the present Kaiser earned, or even offered, racing-cups. As Lafayette raised a frigate and crew at his own expense to assist the young American republic, so could William equip the marines of a first-class battle-ship, or the officers of ten army corps, from his wardrobe without being re- duced to nakedness. He owns, besides those alluded to, scores of costumes adapted to various sports, numberless uniforms of yacht clubs in Germany and England, and last, but not least, an astounding array of plain clothes, with accompaniments of hats, gloves, ties, canes, shoes. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 71 buttons, and scarfpins, which for each suit are especially- selected, forming part of the garment, as it were ; but this overabundance of things is far from embarrassing the young megalomaniac, who, quite to the contrary, enriched the olla-podrida of this rainbow hecatomb of organized vanity, tinselled in spots and real in others, where the lion’s skin edges the fox’s and the hare’s, by a new and original effort, called “hunt uniform,” hideous in cut and color, and which is occasionally bestowed by royal warrant upon some much- envied nobleman as a mark of special favor. To sum up, I will mention that the Emperor’s foreign uniforms alone occupied, in 1895, two immense rooms; perhaps an approximate idea of the extent of the clothes in stock can be gathered therefrom. In the Neues Palais, only regimentals in constant demand are kept, and these fill an imposing hall, separated from the dressing-room by folding-doors. A Kammerd^ener is in constant attendance there from early morning till night, so that the Kaiser is able to change his uniforms with the same celerity as his mind. CHAPTER IV One day, in the winter of 1892, when the Court was established in Berlin, I undertook to present to Her Majesty ‘Hhe all-submissive” compliments of the Count- ess Brockdorff, asking leave to be excused from second breakfast. ^‘Tell Her Excellency that she has my permission, and with pleasure, and that nothing would suit me better than to have her and the whole lot of them stay away from my table all the year round,” said Auguste Victoria, with a haughty shrug of the shoulders. Being one of the ‘Hot,” I was surprised and vexed at this outburst. “If that remark was intended seriously, I beg to offer my resignation,” I said, “and I am sure the Countess and other associates and all functionaries will follow suit, seeing that, for some unknown reason, we have had the misfortune to incur your Imperial Majesty’s dis- pleasure. ’ ’ “No, no ! ” cried the Kaiserin ; “I am very fond of you, and there is not one in the suite whom I dislike ; but. Count- ess, can you not see that a woman, even though she be an Empress, wants her husband to herself once in a while? “I have begged His Majesty a thousand times to take at least one meal besides breakfast alone with me and the children ; I reminded him of the happy family life in his own father’s house, where, except when guests were pres- ent, the Crown Prince and Princess and all the children 73 74 PRIVATE LIVES OF occupied one table, while the suite sat at another. So both master and retinue enjoyed perfect freedom at this pleasantest of rendezvous ; but the Kaiser will not hear of it. To compare his Court with that of his parents is as ridiculous as to liken the establishment of some petty con- temporary prince to that of Louis XIV, he says.” ‘^According to the Duchess of Orleans, Charlotte Eliza- beth of Bavaria, the Grand Monarque would have no one at his table but members of the royal family,” I observed. The Empress rose excitedly. * ^ Is that authentic ? ’ ’ she cried. ^‘Your Majesty will find it in the Duchess’s memoirs, and no doubt, also, in some of her letters to the first Queen of Prussia, kept in our archives.” “ I am under great obligations to you for these advices,” said Her Majesty, holding out her hand, which I kissed ; ‘‘my good Knesebeck shall look the matter up to-day — at once. Do not fail to send for him, I beg of you, when going out. But,” continued the royal lady, and the ex- pression of her face fell, “will the Kaiser care one way or another? You know he thinks it due to his position to maintain a certain state at all times ; and so our meals — the few we have together — are made semi-public functions by the presence of officials and strangers, while my poor children are perpetually kept up-stairs and hardly see their father. ’ ’ Her Majesty’s complaint is only too well founded. With the exception of first breakfast, all meals in the palace are presided over by the marshal du jour, either Baron von Lyncker or Herr von Egloffstein, while two imperial adjutants, Grand-mistress von Brockdorff, two dames of the Court, and one of the Kaiser’s and the Kaiserin’s cham- berlains are bound to attend. Besides, all members of their Majesties’ titled entourage have the entree tg the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 75 royal board, and are expected to avail themselves of this prerogative as often as possible, whether on duty or not. That, under the circumstances, the sociable features are lost sight of and the stately character of the affair becomes emphasized, is self-evident, the more so as there are always guests, their number varying between two and fourteen, or even twenty, on ordinary days. The house regulations provide that a list of invited per- sons be presented to the Empress and her ladies early every morning, so that they can dress accordingly; but my experi- ence shows that it will never do to wear anything but one’s second-best bib and tucker at table, whether the bulletin announces a brace of nobodies or half a dozen ministers and ambassadors, for, at the last moment. His Majesty may bring in the Chancellor, some sovereign or prince travelling incognito y or a whole host of fine-looking young officers whom he may have come across on one of his rides or outings, or who happen to report at the palace about meal-time. His habit of issuing these invitations, however, does not neces- sarily imply that William is a hospitable man; maybe he does not care a snap of his fingers for the individuals dragged to the gilded chair of ennui by ‘^all-highest com- mand ; ” he invites these gentlemen merely because they promise diversion, either by reason of their personality, or by information or gossip in their possession, — and any- thing to escape the monotony of our daily surroundings, is the Kaiser’s continuous prayer. If his wife and her ladies are embarrassed, so much the worse for them. As to the cuisine, it is its business to be prepared for emergencies. But one must study the face of the Court-marshal, when five or ten minutes before dinner or supper time half a dozen, or twice as many, extra covers have to be laid, to appreciate the amount of labor that these imperial surprise parties call for. 76 PRIVATE LIVES OF It is not a mere matter of lengthening or broadening a table, and increasing the quantity of plate, crystal, and silver, but frequently the entire order of the seats must be changed, each guest, save one, being entitled to triumph over the other by reason of his patent of nobility, his rank in the army, or on account of the orders and decorations he may possess. Think of the work involved, of the danger the Major-domo is running ! I can assure the reader that no official of Emperor William’s Court would die of ennui if unable to fill up his or her time with ceremonies, ’ ’ Goethe notwithstanding. Our Court-marshals, above all, must have memories of unusual capacity, patience enough to stock a hospital, and some common-sense besides, and even then mistakes are sometimes made. There was Count Perponcher, old Emperor William’s perennial grand-master, for instance. Of the two first-named qualifications this dignitary was possessed to a marked de- gree ; only in the latter virtue did he prove deficient on one historical occasion, when, during Czar Alexander’s visit to Berlin, in 1888, he seated Bismarck at a state banquet among the scions of the lower nobility, giving prece- dence to a lot of nonentities because their names figure in the second part of the Almanach de Gotha, while the Chancellor’s is in the third. His Grace did not say a word in protest at the time, but when, a year or so later (in August, 1889), Emperor Francis Joseph returned the newly-made Kaiser’s visit, he took his revenge. Not only was Count Eulenburg, Perponcher’ s successor, politely ordered to place the Prince where he belonged, opposite the two Emperors, but to further emphasize his position at Court and in the state, Bismarck chose to come two minutes after their Majesties and all the august company had been busy with their soup. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 77 Eulenburg and the rest of the goldsticks were pale with terror and indignation, but Bismarck cut short their timid remonstrances with a haughty: ^‘Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi in polite English : Calm yourself, no ordinary mortal will dare imitate Jupiter’s audacious step. These repasts at the Berlin Court, whether of the noon, evening, or night order, are, as intimated, the very reverse of convivial, and are not very elaborate as to menu, either, for listless weariness hangs over the majestic board like a black pall, checking every individual effort. The women sit as if encased in the tightest of corsets up to their throats, the men — “ a wooden, pedantic race, In every motion displaying The same right angle, and in the face A frigid conceit betraying. They sit about stiffly, as though upon stilts, Stuck up as straight as a needle. Appearing as if they had swallowed the stick Once used as the best means to wheedle. Yes, ne’er has entirely vanished the rod; They carry it now inside them.” — Heine. But this starchy demeanor is not confined to the retinue and guests; Emperor and Empress, sitting opposite each other, are as ceremonious and formal as any of the rest of the company who hang upon the all-highest eyes and lips with such assiduity as to preclude enjoyment of the things set before them. Three weeks’ table duty suffices to ruin any one’s di- gestion,” is a saying at Court, and, it might be added, “it’s enough to spoil one’s savoir-vivre too.” In the fashiona- ble restaurant at the Hotel de Rome, in Berlin, a little old man was pointed out to me by a friend from the provinces. 78 PRIVATE LIVES OF I am astonished,” said my escort, that they allow so ill- mannered a person in this place.” “You mean the white-haired and beribboned gentleman in the corner ? ’ ’ “The same, who swings his toothpick so furiously.” “Why, it is Count , chamberlain to the Empress Frederick.” “Really? And who may be the gentleman with him who strokes his long mutton-chops over his soup-plate?” “That is President, formerly Minister, von Puttkammer.” “But they behave like pigs. Do they learn that at the royal table ? ’ ’ “Nonsense; in the presence of their Majesties they are under such awful restraint, that, off duty, they let them- selves loose, like boys escaped from boarding-school, drink out of their saucers, and wipe their mouths on their sleeves.” The guests and attendants at table are in gala or demi toilet, most of the younger officers being as tightly corseted as the ladies, while all the men wear the narrowest of uniforms, that scarcely allow them to breathe. Add to this feeling of physical distress the overpowering anxiety of preparing for the supreme moment when the Kaiser or Kaiserin shall address one of them, or give the signal for laughter, and it will be obvious at once that taking pot- luck with Prussia’s royalty has its drawbacks. But the most miserable person of the glittering assem- blage is she who wears the costliest gown, the biggest of diamonds. At meal-time the Kaiser chooses to make a display of his conversational gifts, or rather his wit ; and Auguste Victoria knows only too well that she cannot rival the one, and that the other is out of her reach. So she sits quietly, addressing little nothings to her ladies in an under- tone from time to time, while painfully alert, that none of His Majesty’s jokes and innuendoes escape her. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 79 William seldom speaks to his wife directly, except to say that he likes or dislikes her costume ; and if she asks ques- tions, he answers in a tone that forbids further conversa- tion ; quite frequently he does not reply at all, turning his left ear toward the Empress and affecting not to hear her. At such moments, when pride and love must rage in her bosom, we all feel deeply for Her Majesty. Sometimes she appears ready to cry in the face of everybody; but the woman in her must forever give way to the Queen, and so she swallows her mortification, sits still, and smiles, her little gray eyes languidly fixed on the husband so eager to shine as a humorist. Ah, the sorry attempts at jesting that guests at the royal board must endure ! By reeling off any absurdity that may come into his head, the Kaiser tries ^Ho put life into the company,” as he calls it, and his remarks, usually addressed to one of the adjutants, provoke peals of laughter, as a matter of course, as soon as the author gives the cue for hilarity by accentuating the end of his speech with a roar. The person spoken to must pay back in the same coin, and, naturally, does his best, for His Majesty admires nothing so much as the gift of repartee. But for all that, the rejoinder is frequently as weak, or weaker even, than the pleasantry that occasioned it. It is one thing to be a lord among wits, and another to be a wit among lords. Why is my big brother like the Fliegende Blatter in a foreign country?” asked Prince Henry of a small circle of sympathizing relatives during a recent visit of our Court in Kiel. All the highnesses, royal and otherwise, gave it up. ‘‘Because,” quoth Henry, “he is always sure of rais- ing a laugh whether he offers something witty or inane. So it is with the Fliegende Blatter. It has a reputation 8o PRIVATE LIVES OF for being funny, and, where German is not understood, is applauded indiscriminately.” Supper at the Court is no more entertaining than the midday meal: the same stiff-necked formality, the same strain after effect ; the Kaiser endeavoring to be his own merry-Andrew, the rest of the company dull for the most part. As to the Empress, she remains as impassive as ever, smiling in her subdued manner ; only her corsage is con- siderably lower, and she wears an extra handful or two of jewels. An extreme decollete is Her Majesty’s strong point; but, despite allurements of toilet and the assiduity with which her charms are set off, William cannot be induced to remain in his wife’s presence a minute longer than courtesy demands. As soon as coffee is served (in Potsdam this is done in the so-called Tassen Zimmer, an apartment modelled in the shape of a cup and the furni- ture of which is so constructed as to assist that illusion), the Emperor takes himself off with his men friends and attendants and repairs to the billiard-room, where he sits for hours, with one leg on the table, swinging the other to and fro, while his adjutants and guests entertain him with imitations of music-hall and circus people, small talk, and droll stories of the coarsest grain, reeking with the fume of the drill-grounds and the barrack-mess. This love of risque stories is a Hohenzollern failing ; con- temporary writers agree that Frederick the Great shunned woman’s society because it obliged him to bridle his tongue and observe the ordinary decencies of life ; the “romantic ” Frederick William IV was a trafficker in classical and modern pornographic literature, and the present Kaiser’s grossness of speech is notorious enough to find an echo in the imperial nursery. Apropos of this, a funny thing happened several years ago, when Major von Falkenhayn, then governor of the older princes, complained to His WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 8l Majesty that his first-born constantly used a very nasty word against his brothers and playmates. ^‘The devil ! ” cried the Kaiser; ‘‘he must be broken of that ; but where did the little Scheisskerl (the very same phrase complained of) hear that expression?’* An incident like the one concerning the wicked Teckels, mentioned in another chapter, is at all times sure of royal appreciation. William will talk for weeks about it, and neither his friends nor the dignitaries of state with whom he comes in contact are spared the recital, including dis- gusting details. Indeed, three-quarters of the time when the public imagines William to be wrestling with prob- lems of the day he sits on the billiard-table in the de- scribed attitude, with his adjutants and the chief members of his military and civil households standing around him, smoking cigarettes and telling stories, and listening to tales affecting personages of the Court and society here and abroad. And while this lascivious tattle is carried on. Her Majesty sits, perchance, in the Cup Room, magnificently gowned, knitting shapeless little woollen caps for orphan asylums, and talking religion and cheap charity schemes to her grand-master, Baron Mirbach, or to the much-beloved von der Knesebeck. What contrasts ! what dissimulation ! I often thought to myself, when, being in attendance upon Her Majesty, the echo of sneering allusions to a friend’s or acquaintance’s wife or daughter wafted past me through the door of the billiard-room, left ajar by some lackey with his tablet, or opened by the Kaiserin’s order, that she may feast her eyes on the husband she loves so well. The head of the nation, whose unceasing industry is the talk of the Continent, vainly trying to kill time with buffoonery; the sovereign lady, “mother of the poor,’’ working penny caps in a gown the cost of which would keep for ten years the 82 PRIVATE LIVES OF poor boy or girl for whom the knitted thing is intended, and assure the little one a splendid education. It is a saying at Court : ‘^Give the Kaiser an up-to-date rendering of the ^ Merry Jests of King Louis XI,’ and you will receive a standing invitation to accompany him on his Northland trips; tell him something more indelicate than the ^Tattle of the Nuns of Poissy,’ and he will book you for an ambassadorship ; ’ ’ and that is no exaggeration, as will be seen in the chapter on William’s boon com- panions. The Kaiser’s inclination for the ludicrous even intrudes itself into ^‘business of state;” for, as he considers his ministers but royal servants of high degree, so are Court functions regarded by him as quasi affairs of government. When I have to stand three or four hours to see a few thousand persons pass by, I like to get some fun out of it, if possible,” I heard him say to Court-marshal Count Eulenburg, when the latter reported, at the New Year’s reception of 1896, that some six thousand persons had made application for the grand Cour^ the German Draw- ing Room. ‘^At Your Majesty’s command,” answered Eulenburg, promptly ; and, as the little blonde courtier withdrew, the Kaiser turned to the Empress: ‘‘What is this devil of a Eulenburg up to ? I asked him to make the Schleppen Cour endurable, and he positively smiled assent. I hope he will not hire a troop of the great unwashed to masquerade before us in the guise of Socialist deputies.” The Court-marshal had, of course, no thought of forcing things, but shrewdly surmised that, among the thousands of new-comers anxious to make their first bow before royalty, and among the old friends ready to pay their respects at the beginning of the season of festivities, some one, of a surety, would furnish food for amusement. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 83 As it happened, one of the persons to be presented was a Countess von Arnim, 7iee Countess von der Schulenberg, who is exceedingly short-sighted. Eulenburg knew her infirmity, and was, perhaps, thinking of it when smiling acquiescence to William’s proposition. At any rate, contrary to custom, he let Her Ladyship proceed to the throne sans guide, and she bravely passed both their Majesties without obeisance. Everybody stared, and I confess myself to having felt extremely uncomfortable ; but, happily, the Kaiser, remem- bering his Court-marshal’s promise, overlooked the slight to his dignity. Adieu, gnddige Frau/'' his sharp voice rang out, — adieu, and no matter if you have the advantage of us.” At the same moment, the poor Countess, who had mean- while reached one of the embrasures of the windows, bowed to the ground, thinking that by this time she stood in front of the throne, and then, hearing the Kaiser’s sarcastic remark, promptly swooned. Next day, at noon, she reported to Countess Brockdorff to submit her excuses, and was astonished to learn that His Majesty had given orders to invite her to dinner. *^The Kaiser wants to have more fun with me ! ” cried poor Arnim. ‘ ‘ Not at all ; he desires to thank you for the diversion offered during that tedious ceremony.” ‘‘I vouch for that,” said Eulenburg, when appealed to, ^^and, in proof of His Majesty’s gracious feelings, I extend the invitation to include Madame’s charming daughter.” He added : ‘^Whoever amuses the King cannot be too well treated.” And, as a matter of fact, the Countess and Mademoiselle were nearly smothered with kindness by their Majesties; I do not know of any persons, comparative strangers, who were so well treated at Court as these ladies. 84 PRIVATE LIVES OF The Grand Cour of 1897 was likewise relieved by a ludi- crous incident. On that occasion a Fraulein von Bonin had essayed to represent a lily ; and not only her entire dress, including the train, was made to bear out that idea, but on each side of her coiffure two Easter lilies rose high above her, nodding to and fro with every movement. ‘‘Good Lord ! ” said the Kaiser sotto voce, but so loud that the chamberlain on duty could hear it, as this botani- cal wonder passed by, “I hope B (naming one of his brothers-in-law) won’t see her. He might take it for an allusion to the pretty calf-colored antlers his wife is grow- ing on his forehead.’ ’ At this, the Empress, who does not like the lady alluded to, burst out laughing, and it took the imperial couple some minutes to regain their composure. That in the feverish hunt after amusements and excite- ment, family life at the German Court, of which the con- temporary press makes so much, is a delusion, goes without saying, though, to accuse William of neglecting his Frau, in the ordinary sense of the word, would, perhaps, be unjust, for he keeps up appearances in a general way, and I have reasons to believe that he loves his wife. Yet he has a knack of forgetting her very existence whenever he thinks he is better off alone, which, I know, is extremely painful to Auguste Victoria. And the worst of it is, this fixed idea of complete self- sufficiency grows stronger and stronger with him as his egotism gradually develops into egomania. With all that, however, he is not an unkind husband, albeit his actions often imply great lack of conjugal gentleness and gener- osity. It is merely his boundless love of self that claims ascendency in his every action, no matter whether it affects the best friend he has in the world or his worst enemy. As in those awful days of San Remo, when he claimed, as representative of the old Emperor, precedence WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 8s over his afflicted mother on the way to the village church, so he uses his present supreme position as a club to intimidate all directly depending upon him into a state of quiet, but utter, submissiveness. And this has been going on so long that the Empress, on her part, has become used to it, and would think it queer, indeed, if this state of affairs were changed. As to the children, they are there for dynastic purposes, to learn and to grow up; what more can be required? Her Majesty’s complaint, that they hardly see their father, is true; seldom, if ever, do the youngsters appear at table, and the reports of their governor as to conduct and prog- ress in learning must suffice, time for personal consulta- tion or a friendly confab not being available. am afraid the Kaiser will never take interest in the children until they actually enter military service,” said the Empress to me, after I had read to her an article re- porting His Majesty’s speech on the occasion of Prince Adalbert’s entry into the navy (June 24, 1894). Of course, I politely disagreed with Her Majesty on that point, but at the same time could not help thinking it would be a good thing if these fears were realized. Imagine a father taking his ten-year-old stripling by the hand, and, after presenting him to a regiment of gray-beards, battle-worn and noted for their education and courage, say to them: ‘‘This moment, when Prince Adalbert becomes one of you, is of the most eminent importance to the entire history of the Fatherland.” Who would blame a boy, after that, for over- bearing conduct and disinclination for study? If, at the age of ten, he be a historic personage, to whom old and tried men must look up as to an idol, a moulder of the nation’s destinies, what is the use of further effort? Elagabalus became Roman Emperor at the age of fourteen, yet had to wait four years before he was recognized as a god. 86 PRIVATE LIVES OF To come back to our own times, compare William’s eulogy of his son with the speeches the Kaiser’s grand- father and father delivered at his own introduction to the army, on February 7, 1877, when, having reached his eighteenth year, he became a lieutenant in the First Guards. Said the old Emperor: ^^The service expected of thee will require many functions that may appear petty and unnecessary in thy untried eyes. But thou must learn to understand that there is nothing trivial in doing one’s duty, and that each stone in the construction of our army must be well hewn and thoroughly anchored, if the grand edifice shall stand. And now I commit thee to thy labors, which fulfil as thy superiors dictate.” And the father, afterward Emperor Frederick, said : am proud that my son is privileged to commence his military studies in the First Guards, and I congratulate him on his good luck. He ought to be proud to wear your uniform, and I commend him to your good graces, my comrades. ’ ’ While not particularly loving toward his wife, the Em- peror honors her with excessive jealousy, and is beside him- self with rage if a man-servant, ever so innocently, looks at Her Majesty when she is dressed in a dhollete costume. As Napoleon bounced M. Leroy, the Worth of his times, for complimenting Marie Louise on her fine shoulders, so William deals unmercifully with officials and servants who venture to look at his wife. One day in the beginning of December, 1889, while the Kaiser was on the way to Dessau, Her Majesty went to bed early in the afternoon out of sheer chagrin, because she had not been allowed to accompany her husband, and, while reading a novel by lamp-light, she was disturbed by a stealthy noise at the door. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 87 It made her sit up in eager expectation. Could it be possible that the Emperor had reconsidered his decision, and had returned to take her along as first promised? Auguste Victoria prepared to look extra charming ; but who shall describe her terror, when, instead of the expected hus- band, the black curly head of a man-servant, bearing a load of fire-wood on his shoulder, appeared, and cautiously spied about to see if he might enter. The Empress gave a scream of rage and agony, while a crash, as if a hundred-weight of sticks had come to the ground, and hurrying footsteps, told the fate of the trans- gressor. A second later the luncheon of Kammerfrau von Haake, and of the wardrobe and chamber women eating in the maids’ ordinary down-stairs, was disturbed by incessant ringing of the electric bells from the royal apartment. It was at once evident that Her Majesty was pressing her hand against the row of electric buttons at her bedside. What could have happened? Had fire broken out, and was the Kaiserin in dire distress? The women ran to the bedroom, despatching several lackeys they met on the way to notify the house-marshal, chamberlains, and Court-physicians, as they expected to find their mistress half-dead at the very least. When they burst into the room, however, they quickly perceived that their apprehensions were exaggerated : the august Lady was not hurt, nor was she in any visible peril, but, instead, sat up in bed shaking with indignation. “A thief, or at any rate a man, entered my room stealthily,” cried Her Majesty, gasping for breath. “ The matter must be fully investigated, and His 'Majesty must be informed at once. Let the in- truder be arrested and brought to justice without delay.” The unhappy quartet of servants, von Haake, Schwerdt- feger, Gleim, and Schade, were speechless. It would 88 PRIVATE LIVES OF kill His Majesty to receive such a despatch,” suggested the Kammerfrau at last, and the Empress decided to consult with her grand-mistress, Grafin Brockdortf. I happened to be in the Countess’s apartment when Frau Schade and Frau Gleim came to report in breathless monosyllables. ‘‘A man in the Kaiserin’s chamber — impossible ! ” cried Brockdorff, adding: ‘Gt will cost us our positions if His Majesty hears of it.” Maybe the Kaiserin has been dreaming; she had cold pork for second breakfast,” I put in. “No, it is really true, others besides Her Majesty have heard his steps,” said Frau Gleim. At this moment, Madame von Larisch, mistress of the household, entered to know the cause of the uproar that was shaking the palace to its foundations. “If you will wait here for a little while, you shall hear it all,” said Grafin Brockdorff, already in the corridor. Return- ing after fifteen minutes. Her Excellency walked right over to where I was sitting with Frau von Larisch, and, assuming her most haughty tone, addressed her in these words: “By command of Her Majesty, I have to an- nounce to you the all-highest disfavor. I think it would be best if you packed your Siebensachen (duds) and left at once.” Madame von Larisch drew herself up. “Your Excel- lency,” she said, “I demand an explanation.” “Your Ladyship shall have it and without delay. Her Majesty distinctly commanded me to take off your head, ^reissen Sie ihr den Kopf ab,' and I have merely given the implied meaning of the all-highest words.” “ But what is it all about ?” I saw that it was high time to interfere between the two ladies, who had never shown much love for each other. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 89 While Her Majesty was in bed,” said the Countess, with much deliberation, ‘‘one of the fire-place attendants entered with a load of wood, and the Kaiserin blames Frau von Larisch for the intrusion ; this after I had suc- ceeded in demonstrating to the august Lady that the man must necessarily be innocent, for he could not know that Her Majesty was in the house. However, Kammerherr von der Knesebeck had to telegraph the whole incident, with all details, to Dessau. ’ ’ Several hours later the whole palace knew that Johann, the wood-boy, had been instantly dismissed without com- pensation for his loss of pension, and a bad “character” into the bargain. Frau von Larisch, to everybody’s sur- prise, went unpunished, while next morning an autograph letter from His Majesty arrived, commanding that hence- forth no male servant should enter the joint bedroom or the Kaiserin’s dressing-room, all the work, including wood and water carrying, taking up of carpets, etc., being thrown upon the maids. This incident has a sequel, for. Her Majesty being as fastidious about girls in her room (when the Kaiser is pres- ent) as William is about man-servants, she is now obliged to make her own fire in the grate on chilly mornings whenever her husband is at home. What a parody on royal state this, — the Empress-Queen getting up in her “nightie,” and in the cold and damp, to light her own fire ! Verily, truth is stranger by far than fiction ! Although very partial to courtly splendor and festivities, which cause a conflux of people, the Kaiser hates noth- ing more than the fetes which etiquette compels him to hold annually in the Berlin Schloss ; he hates them prin- cipally because that magnificent pile, appearing so for- midable from the outside, and which was designed for Brandenburg society at the beginning of the eighteenth 90 PRIVATE LIVES OF century, is entirely inadequate to the accommodation of the many thousands nowadays privileged to dance attend- ance upon, and actually dance, eat, and drink with the Kaiser and Kaiserin. Of course there is always room for the sovereign, no matter if his company be packed like sardines; the dis- comfort of his guests does not trouble him, either, but the ocular demonstration of the unsuitableness of his house does ; it sorely aggravates him to be reminded of the fact that he is not rich enough to build reception-rooms equal to the demands of the times. “If my ancestors could afford to construct this castle, why should not I erect one suitable to my requirements ? ’ ’ he argues, forgetting the fact that not the Hohenzollerns, but the Prussian people, paid for the Schloss and were all but bankrupted in doing so, the builders. Elector Fred- erick and the first two Kings of Prussia, meanwhile prom- ising to pay back the millions wrung from their pockets — when their alchemist had succeeded in making yellow metal. So the castle was finished under false pretences, and the necromancer, being unable to keep his word, was hanged — all of which happened one hundred and seventy- five years or more ago. The winter fetes at the Prussian Court are institutions in their way, the splendor of which the favor or disfavor of the monarch may enhance or reduce, but even the sovereign’s enmity — such as William bears to these festive entertainments — cannot blot them out. To do that would seem too much like breaking with time-honored customs and taking away the perquisites of two mighty classes in the state : the trades-people’s profits, and the aristocracy’s chief opportunity for disporting its few remaining heredi- tary privileges. Only in case of Court mourning, or great national disasters, may the list be curtailed, and never was WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 91 a Prussian King more eager to take advantage of these means of escape than William is. When, on January 4, 1896, his granduncle, Prince Alex- ander of Prussia, died, his first words were: ‘‘ Now we may rid ourselves of the company of our unknown friends, the sweet plebs, for this winter at least,” and Grand-master Count Eulenburg was straightway ordered to recall the invi- tations for carnival and abandon the engagements with pur- veyors, etc., already entered into. Yet one cannot mourn a relative of the seventh or eighth degree forever, and the Kaiser all the more readily consented to give one more ball before the end of the season, as the municipal council of Berlin at that time was particularly obstreperous, and as it was expected that by a lavish expenditure of money flow- ing into the people’s coffers its good offices could be gained. So, when almost everybody had given up the hope of danc- ing and supping ^^at the Kaiser’s,” several thousand ladies and gentlemen were made happy by receiving the well- known commands.” Then came that affair with Ambassador Herbette, the political side of which is public property. The representa- tive of La Belle France objected to the intimacy that had sprung up between the Kaiser and the French naval attache ^ M. de Graucy. *^If you understand your business, you must know that you are nothing but a well-paid and highly- ornamental spy,” he is reported to have said to de Graucy; “how can you serve your country in that capacity, if you allow yourself to be bamboozled by imperial favors and daz- zled by the monarch’s amiableness and charm of speech?” To the Emperor, who had asked him as a personal favor to desist from his resolution to procure M. de Graucy’s immediate recall, the brave Herbette made answer : ^^Par- bleUy Your Majesty, I insist upon doing my house-cleaning in my o^vn way.” 92 PRIVATE LIVES OF These two speeches are matters of historic record, in substance, if not literally, and I may add that the above version is from the Kaiser’s own lips ; — I was present when His Majesty reported the case to the Empress. What the world does not know, is the double meaning of the French- man’s allusion to house-cleaning. An ambassador, like other great lords, has two families, a personal and an official one. De Graucy belonged to the latter, and Herbette disowned him as soon as so extreme a measure seemed called for. But by that time stories of the Kaiser’s faible for the beautiful Madame Herbette had reached the ears of her complacent husband, invariably the last indi- vidual to hear a rumor of that kind. In the present case, scant secrecy had been observed ; frequenters of Pariser Platz, where the Embassy is located, had noticed the Emperor’s phaeton and pair in front of the hotel for half-hours at a time day by day, and had talked about it, first to curse William’s apparent zeal in running after the Frenchman ; afterward, when they had learned of the existence of a beautiful woman in the man- sion, to smile approvingly and wish the sovereign success on his excursions into the enemy’s camp. At Court, the ice had been broken by a remark of the Princess of Meiningen, who said one day, when the Kaiser’s love for France was discussed: “Yes, and I understand he has the good taste to be wanting in respect to a Frenchwoman of esprit, whom we all know; ’’but, as far as my information goes, neither Her Royal Highness nor those beer philosophers in the Linden cafes possessed a shadow of proof to back up their abominable tattle. There was probably nothing at all in this talk, yet, whether there was or not, Herbette decided to stop it. When the invitations for the Court ball arrived, he accepted with a few polite phrases, but three days before the affair came WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 93 off he caused Madame to send her regrets, saying that His Excellency alone would be able to do himself the honor to attend the ball. House-marshal Baron von Lyncker happened to have business in the Kaiser’s study when the perfumed note bearing the ambassadress’s initials in silver arrived. “His Majesty,” he says, “tore open the letter, and, scanning its contents, exclaimed : ‘ Advise Eulenburg that the ball is off. He must at once recall the invitations.’ “At Your Majesty’s orders,” said the dutiful Herr von Lyncker, “but as the greater part of the delicacies for the buffets are already in the hands of the chefs and pastry- cooks, while the sweetmeats were delivered a few hours ago, what is Your Majesty’s pleasure with respect to these goods ?’ ’ The Emperor had listened with every indication of impatience. “ Never mind, the stuff that cannot be used in the house may be sent to the hospitals,” he said when the House- marshal had finished. Then, walking straight up to him and staring with flaming eyes into space, the Kaiser con- tinued : “Do you know why I disappoint these several thousand invited persons at the last moment? Because I cannot permit Herbette to again set foot in my house. He wants to come, but he shall not. Indeed, I would rather see this Schloss in ruins than spend an evening with him in the same room.” He read Madame Herbette’s letter a second time, and, acting as if a sudden thought had struck him, added : “The news that de Graucy is to go has just been con- firmed. It is a direct insult and scandal. I will not rest until Herbette is made to leave Berlin.” CHAPTER V The Kaiser has many nick-names ; Reise-Kaiser (Drum- mer-Emperor), Gondola -Billy, Wilhelm -der-Plotzliche (William-the-Sudden) being the most common; but the people of the palace call him Der Einzige (The Only), with apologies to Frederick the Great, who also enjoyed that title, though for vastly different reasons , — The On/y, now that Liebenau is gone. Major von Liebenau was a man after William’s own heart, his double in more than one respect. A lieutenant in the First Guards, he attracted the then Prince William’s attention by the same characteristics that, it is claimed, at one time cemented the friendship between the heir to the German crown and the young man destined to inherit, besides Varzin, the Chancellorship of the Em- pire, the Presidency of the Prussian Ministry of State, and all the rest of his father’s dignities. William, Herbert Bismarck, von Liebenau, — a triumvirate of ambition, liber- tinage, and insolence ! It was in the winter of 1886 and 1887, when William studied statecraft in the foreign office under Count Her- bert’s tutelage, that Liebenau got his real foothold in the princely menage^ then established in the Marble Palace, which he ruled with a high hand. At the same time the heir to the crown was revelling in the charms of divers queens of tragedy, comedy, and the ballet, connected with the royal play and opera houses, taking his cue about 95 96 PRIVATE LIVES OF ‘‘the only use woman’s fit for” from Count Herbert, who never spoke of the other sex except in the coarsest of terms. For the young wife who saw herself reduced to the posi- tion of the “ Holstein,” good enough to fill a succession of royal cribs ranging in size like the pipes of an organ, but rigidly excluded from her husband’s world of ideas and ambitions, which, perhaps, she did not comprehend, but, for all that, endorsed with touching sincerity, these were indeed unhappy days. How often she has poured the story of her mortification and disappointment into mine and the Countess Brock- dorff’ sears! Poor Princess ! she had been brought up to the sober truth that royal women must get used to dividing their husband with others, and bowed her blonde head under the historic bane not with the worst of grace. What rent her heart was William’s cynical way of regarding woman’s supreme duty and highest honor, — motherhood. “I don’t want to be looked upon as a means for propa- gating the royal race exclusively,” she cried once; “but, under Count Bismarck’s teachings, the Prince seems to have forgotten that I possess any womanly qualities besides that of child-bearing.” Fearful lest Her Royal Highness’s hatred of Count Herbert might lead her to rash remarks in the presence of the old Emperor and her husband, with both of whom young Bismarck was persona grata^ I tried to intervene by suggesting that he was not altogether a bad man, having fought with distinction in the French war. “Yes, yes, I heard that ad nauseam,' ' interrupted Auguste Victoria, impatiently; “he is said to have received three balls, and since then has made three of our sex extremely miserable, — that person in Bonn, who caused the duel; the poor Princess Carolath, and myself. ’ ’ WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 97 Countess Brockdorff, who then, as now, held the post of grand-mistress, flared up at this: “I must not suffer Your Royal Highness to class yourself with these females,” she said; ‘‘it is morbid excitement that consumes you.” After that, I thought it my duty to inform the Princess Imperial of the state of affairs. “Myself and husband,” she said, “know all about this vicious Herbert and the evil influence he has over our son, but,” and Her Imperial Highness lowered her voice, “ there is bound to be a change in a few years, you know, and the Kaiser that will be is determined to clear the decks {reinen Tisch zu machen)'' When Victoria said this, the old Emperor was nearly ninety years of age, and though the first signs of Freder- ick’s terrible illness had already manifested themselves, no one dreamed of the quick and awful end. However, the sovereign Lady kept her word, as far as it was possible for her to do under the painful circumstances that attended her husband’s reign, and no matter how often Prince Bis- marck deputized his son to transact business with Frederick during the ninety-nine days, he was as often sent away and ordered to tell the Chancellor that His Majesty desired to confer with no one but His Grace in person. “It is the death-knell of the Bismarck dynasty,” Count Seckendorf used to say when about to deliver one of these messages to the haughty secretary. The fall of the Bismarcks is a matter of history, but that the present Empress played a decisive part in it, few, if any, writers have a notion of. It is true, Auguste Vic- toria dreaded her husband’s parting with the Prince, but feared even more the constant intimate relations between William and Herbert ; and while she once succeeded in striking his name from the list of guests on the Northland trip, giving his place to her “uncle,” Count Waldersee, 98 PRIVATE LIVES OF who assiduously worked against the Iron Chancellor’s in- terests during the journey, Count Herbert was invited to accompany the Kaiser to England and on the Oriental tour, mainly, it was rumored, on account of his boast that, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, he would find ways and means to open the doors of the Sultan’s harem to His Majesty. Whether Herbert made such insane promises I cannot say ; enough that my mistress believed he did, and per- suaded Countess Waldersee to believe it also. Her Excel- lency, you know, is a most pious woman, and Herbert nec- essarily figured in her inventory of proscribed persons with a big ‘^H,” as Baron vonMirbach put it. (The German word for Hades, like the English, commences with an ‘^h.”) How the two august ladies worked for the downfall of the hated man : a few pin- thrusts here, an allusion to the old Chancellor’s ambition to set up a throne beside the throne there; “Crown-Prince Herbert,” “Woman-beater Herbert,” “Son of his father,” and what not? And in the end: “Down goes the mantle, and the Prince, he follows. ’ ’ Of the old Chancellor, guilty of two unpardonable sins, that of possessing undoubted popularity, far exceed- ing the Emperor’s, and a hearty disinclination to accom- modate himself, after years of supreme rule, to the part William intended for him — of this “obstreperous servant” the Kaiser had been tired for a long time, and the separa- tion enforced in March, 1890, was nothing if not premedi- tated. Indeed, the Kaiser’s inviolable intention to dismiss the “old man,” as he called him, was expressed as far back as October, 1889, the repository of imperial confi- dence at that time being no other than Czar Alexander. The Czar was the last of the great monarchs to repay the Kaiser’s visit, and was frosty and ceremonious in the DROPPING THE PILOT (March 20, 1890) Punch’s Famous Cartoon WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 99 extreme upon his arrival, — a circumstance which, strange to say, filled the Empress with joy. “Thank God,” she said to the Countess Brockdorff and myself, while waiting for the dinner signal, “if the Czar’s ill-humor continues, there can be no more talk of that betrothal,” meaning the contemplated engagement between the Czarowitz and Her Majesty’s sister-in-law, Princess Marguerite of Prussia. Well, the ill-humor did not continue, — it vanished after the Czar had had a long talk with Prince Bismarck ; the Kaiser was pleased outwardly, but extremely mortified that the Chancellor, not himself, had brought about the change. “This Bismarck is forever assuming his sovereign’s functions,” he growled, and, in order to have Alexander’s ear exclusively, he hurriedly arranged a hunting expedition in the royal forest at Eberswalde. On this occasion the pourparlers about the betrothal were renewed, and — according to the Empress, who was disturbed at the prospect of losing another relative in the realms of the Greek Church — progressed favorably at first, but, unfortunately for his own great designs and luckily for the Kaiserin’s pious scruples. His Majesty could not con- strain himself to follow up his success by the premature announcement, made strictly sub rosdy that he intended to dismiss Bismarck at an early opportunity. As Alexander could see only the forerunner of grave complications in such a course, our northern guest grew visibly cold on the last day of his visit, and thereafter con- fined himself to evasive answers when the betrothal was mentioned. While this proves beyond doubt that the parting with the Chancellor was long premeditated, I am quite sure, from remarks made off and on by my royal mistress, that lOO PRIVATE LIVES OF the Kaiser had no notion whatever of getting rid of Count Herbert too. Only the gross coercion used against the old man ’ ’ on the one hand, and on the other the fact that Bis- marck, when making the historic appeal to the Empress Frederick, — ‘‘his last stand,” — learned that the petticoat camarilla had worked against his son as diligently as the Kaiser’s increasing querulousness and thirst for independ- ence opposed retention of office by himself, — this aggra- vating circumstance alone forced resignation upon the Count. With respect to the meeting in the old Kron- prinzen- Palais Unter den Linden^ I know for a certainty that His Majesty’s mother, when refusing to interfere on the Chancellor’s behalf, spoke unreservedly of the evil influence which Herbert had exercised upon her son, and recited how much the Empress had suffered by it. These facts, Auguste Victoria, though otherwise not given to adu- lation of her mother-in-law, has often mentioned. After that, persons of delicacy quickly recognized the only course left open to Herbert ; but the Emperor, swayed by his own likes and dislikes and looking neither to the right nor left, gave his former friend an opportunity to insult him. “And what will you do?” he asked the Secretary of State. “ Follow my father,” answered Herbert, with fine spirit. So much for the Herbert Bismarck intermezzo. Lie- benau, though more the Kaiser’s alter ego than the Count, was never on terms of intimacy with William, who selected him as Major-domo, when, after his marriage, the princely household was established, for the same reason that, in 1897, prompted his nomination of a general of cavalry for the position of Reichs Postmaster, viz. : because he was a good driller, a disciplinarian of the sort that does his master’s bidding without the slightest thought of the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT lOI feelings of others. An official reputed to carry out orders unflinchingly and, if need be, unscrupulously, is very apt to attract a man of William’s arbitrary temperament. There was still another point speaking in von Lie- benau’s favor. At the time William’s household was estab- lished, His Royal Highness’s income was a little over ^50,000 per year, a mere bagatelle, considering the pre- tensions of both master and mistress; but the Court- marshal, coming from a family in which the Prussian saying, ‘‘Golden collar — Stomach hollow,” has had prac- tical demonstration through generations of uniformed, spurred, and sabred vaingloriousness and misery, promised to carry on the stewardship that would have been mori- bund in most other hands, to a nicety, — promised it, and kept his promise. He did more. During the first two or three years, at least, he managed to set aside for the per- sonal use of the Prince all the money needed. Later on, debts were contracted; they were not of Liebenau’s making, though. But, while ingratiating himself with William’s household and, in fact, with the entire royal family, — for the old Em- peror, as well as the Crown Prince and the young man’s uncles and aunts, held very decided opinions on the subject of His Royal Highness’s money-spending proclivities, — this “mounted beggar,” as the late Empress Augusta called him, proclaimed his natural inclination for the noble art of browbeating by regulating his conduct toward the house officials and servants in every respect after his master’s ex- ample. As stated, he was not a member of Prince William’s inner circle of friends; but His Royal Highness’s intimacy with Count Herbert, whose sentiments toward women were notorious, sufficed as a cue for Liebenau’s official inter- course with the Princess. Outwardly loyalty itself (I doubt whether a more loquacious reciter of courtly phrases 102 PRIVATE LIVES OF and of assurances of respect and humility ever addressed a royal lady in our days), nothing seemed to give this intriguer more satisfaction than to refuse, on the plea of expenditure, whatever the future Empress expressed a wish for in the way of food, or petty luxury, not on the daily list. “Think of it. Countess,” she said to me one morning in the spring of 1888, “this Liebenau refused me a glass of Madeira for second breakfast, claiming his budget would not permit such extravagance when we are alone, there being hardly enough to set the table as it ought to be set when the Prince himself is present. “‘My appropriation scarcely warrants the purchase of expensive wines for His Royal Highness’s own consump- tion,’ he had the impudence to tell me. I nearly choked with anger.” When William became Crown Prince, Liebenau retained his position at the head of the largely augmented house- hold; but, on assuming the throne, the Kaiser kept him on the anxious bench many weeks before the rank and title of Chief Grand-marshal of the Court and House was bestowed on the ex-captain of the Body-guard Battalion. Yet, no sooner had his highest ambition been realized, then Lie- benau began to outroyal royalty. He established a reign of terror at the palace, as William had done, to a cer- tain extent, in some departments of government ; but, while the Kaiser waited until May, 1891, before promul- gating his boast and threat : “ There is but one master in the Reich, — none other will I tolerate” (in the speech before the Rhenish Provincial Diet), Liebenau at once made it clear to everybody in the imperial household that he was the real King’s lieutenant, vested with absolute power, from whose decisions no appeal could be had. And that was not idle talk, either, for in domestic affairs the Kaiser listened to no one but him. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT IO3 Thus, with a master the very reverse of polite, accessible, or generous, and a submaster trying to outdo the other in arbitrariness and contemptuous treatment of all beneath him in rank or social station, our Court was in a wretched plight during the time from August, 1889, to February, 1890, and the Empress’s ladies especially suffered from this barrack regime. Our private apartments in the Schloss at that time left much to wish for, as indeed they do now ; but whenever Countess von Brockdorff, or any of us, ventured to suggest the slightest improvement to the Court-marshal, that functionary cut short our complaints in the rudest manner possible. And not only that : even the Empress’s orders, transmitted by one of us, were treated much in the same insolent fashion, so that the whole Court, our august mistress with the rest, was kept in a perpetual turmoil. Time and again have the offended ladies prepared to lay their cases before His Majesty, but Frau von Liebenau appeared as often bathed in tears to implore forgiveness and avert a scandal. This woman, von Maassen, is directly descended from a Berlin tailor’s family of Jewish extraction named Freytag, and Madame was as unpopular in our circles as her husband, but, by studiously humbling herself, always carried her point. The male dignitaries and officials of the imperial house- hold fared no better than ourselves under the King’s lieutenant, and disgraceful rows and minor disturbances were of almost daily occurrence in the palace, while the servants, besides being subjected to the coarsest treat- ment, had to endure threats of corporal punishment. In- deed, if Herr von Liebenau had been trying, in a small, end-of-the-nineteenth-century way to revive memories of the days of Frederick William I, “whom it is a flattering euphemism to call a savage,” he could not have gone about it in a more thorough manner. 104 PRIVATE LIVES OF These browbeatings and bullyings continued uninter- rupted and unpunished until February, 1890, when the omnipotent Pooh-Bah happened to run amuck of General von Wittich, at that time chief of royal head-quarters, who, being offered insolence, threw down his gloves, and, shaking his fist in the Court-marshal’s face, cried: “If you were not so far beneath me, I would challenge you.” Von Wittich immediately reported the incident to the Emperor, and His Majesty, who was unwilling to lose the General, concluded that Liebenau needed some of his own medicine. So he sent for him. “ I will assume that your quarrelsomeness is the outcome of overwork and nervous excitement,” he said, forestall- ing explanations; “you will leave this evening for a six weeks’ holiday.” Then he turned on his heel, while the Court-marshal, half dazed, bowed himself out. “Liebenau disgraced, — Prince Radolin his successor,” — the news spread through the house like wild-fire, and was discussed in Her Majesty’s chambers no less eagerly than in the corridors and kitchen; maids congratulated the Hofdamen, and the imperial adjutants, the flunkies; even in the circles of the Court society the event was con- sidered important enough for general rejoicings. But six weeks do not last an eternity, and at the end of his vacation Liebenau seemed to be as much of a favorite as ever. In fact, the Emperor appeared to welcome back with much satisfaction his double, from whose resemblance to his own self he had recoiled in a moment of anger. This Court-marshal, who understood how to keep a numer- ous retinue in utter subjection, and, moreover, was capable of enforcing savings where an official reared in a more opulent sphere would fain insist upon greater liberality, “was really a very useful person, whose zeal deserved recognition,” — these were the Kaiser’s own words to WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT I05 Prince Radolin when the latter took his leave. What a triumph for Liebenau, upon whom we had begun to look as an officially dead man ! And as if the reinstated one meant to make up for lost time, the disgraceful wrangles of the past year were re- newed the moment he showed his face again ; mess-room jargon and curses once more superseded the conciliating tone brought back by Prince Radolin, and never was penny- pinching carried further at this outwardly so gorgeous royal establishment than after the renaissance of the Liebenau regime. The Court-marshal even went so far as to reduce the number of servants, and lay the work of the discharged men and women upon the shoulders of those remaining. William approved of this and similar measures en bloc. And small wonder. His lieutenant was held in such abject fear that no one dared complain, and the money saved by Liebenau’ s skinflint system was three times wel- come to swell the travel, building, and amusement funds. So thick became the new friendship between Emperor and Court-marshal that the latter had the effrontery to ask that the next vacant ambassadorship be reserved for him. The Kaiser did not promise to consider the petition (just then ‘‘the old man — Bismarck — was having his last breathing-spell;” Ich will den Allen verschnaufen lassen was one of His Majesty’s quaint sayings at that time when his attention was called to the Chancellor’s oppo- sition to his own absolute plans); but the fact that Wil- liam failed to refuse indignantly to listen to the plan of his steward sufficed to inspire the supplicant with insane notions of greatness. Though himself belonging to the lower nobility, separated from bourgeoisdom but by the three letters “von,” he began to exhibit more than ever his unlimited contempt for the masses. And that broke his official neck. io6 PRIVATE LIVES OF It appears that about the middle of May, 1890, the citizens of the town of Elbing, in West Prussia, learning that, during the latter part of the month, the Emperor intended to visit his friend, Count Dohna, in near-by Proeckelwitz, notified the Court-marshal’s office of their intention to give His Majesty a big ovation when he passed through the town. The station was to be decorated with flags and bunting and greens, work was to be suspended, and the school-children and societies, not to mention the rest of the burghers who had escaped either dilemma, were to parade before His Majesty, dressed in their best, and singing Heil Dir im Siegerkranz.'" ^‘Elbing,” mused Liebenau, — “is not that the place where the great ship-yards are located?” He looked up the social record of the town in his blue-book, and found none: “Nothing but laborers and shop-keepers, probably socialists most of them.” He ordered his secretary to throw the petition into the waste-basket, and thought no more of it. The Elbingers, on their part, when they received no reply, thought their loyal proposition accepted as a matter of course, and so entered upon extensive arrangements of decoration, the whole town working enthusiastically to make a splendid showing on the day of days. At last, on May 27, toward 5 p.m., the imperial saloon- train hove into sight near Elbing depot. Upon this signal, all the town and church bells set to ringing, while the factory whistles blew their hardest, and the assembled masses, nearly ten thousand men, women, and children, began to shout, waving handkerchiefs and flags. The town band, too, brayed its finest, and a chorus of singing socie- ties vociferated the German equivalent for “God Save the Queen” at the top of their voices. Finally, a bevy of blonde-haired and white-robed maidens, “masquerading WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 107 as virgins,” as a Berlin localism has it, stood ready with half-faded bunches of flowers, repeating to themselves the words of welcome they had learned with so much difficulty. But imagine their mortification, the disgust and rage of these thousands, many of whom had carefully weaned themselves from their democratic principles for this one occasion, — picture their perplexed looks, if you can, when the train, without lessening its speed, dashed through the multitudes lining the rails on both sides and disappeared in a cloud of dust and smoke even before the first verse of the national anthem was half finished. However, the Elbingers’ surprise was no greater than that of the man whom they had intended to honor. William was standing at one of the windows of his carriage, and had taken in the festive preparations at a glance. Schutzenfesty I suppose?” said the Kaiser, turning to his suite. ‘‘Beg Your Majesty’s pardon, it looked more like a prearranged ovation in honor of your coming,” replied one adjutant. “I think I saw a triumphal arch bearing the all-highest’s initials,” said another. The words set William thinking, and, upon his arrival at Proeckelwitz, he asked at once: “What v/as the occa- sion of the festive appearance of Elbing ? The whole town seemed to be on its legs.” “Has not Your Majesty stopped to receive the homage of those sturdy workmen?” “No, I had no idea that anything of the kind was intended.” “But the Court-marshal’s office was notified in due form, and preparations have been going on these two weeks,” said Count Dohna. I08 PRIVATE LIVES OF Of course, His Majesty was furious. Never was monarch so hungry for popular applause as William during the first two or three months after Bismarck’s dismissal. Ever since the old Chancellor had thundered his proud *^We will meet again!” into the teeth of imperial disgrace, William had flitted from banquet to review, to festivities at the opening or closing of schools, to laying of corner- stones, launching of yachts and steamers; he had paid court to all princes suspected of Bismarckian sympathies, had made conciliatory addresses to the Reichstag, had appealed for friendly support in Konigsberg, and had even gone out of his way to honor his well-hated grand- mother by a special state dinner on the occasion of her birthday ; in short, he had done everything in his power to dissuade the German people from too much Bismarck dis- cussion and to gain adherents to the imperial cause. And here was this Liebenau, a man whom he had raised to affluence and power, deliberately robbing him of the sweet concert of loyal approbation and setting a whole town, filled to overflowing with democratic ideas, by the ears. An angry telegram to Berlin demanded an immediate explanation, while, at the same time, a very gracious mes- sage was sent to Elbing, explaining the situation and stat- ing that His Majesty would be pleased to stop at the town upon his return from Count Dohna’s place in a few days. Late in the evening, Liebenau’s answer came. It was a hotchpotch of generalities, tempered by an implied charge of neglect against some unknown secretary. His Majesty needed but to mention this to loosen a veritable whirlwind of accusations against the doomed man. Count Dohna, who had never liked Liebenau, himself leading the assault. Two days later, on May 30, at 9 a. m., I was sitting in the royal waiting-room of Friedrich Strasse railway depot, in Berlin, whither my mistress had sent me to notify the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 109 Kaiser, upon his arrival, of some domestic arrangement. It was the day of the great spring parade, and His Majesty was billed to drive directly to the grounds where horses for himself and suite were waiting. At the door of the apartment, faultlessly dressed, the monocle in his left eye and the inevitable silk hat in hand, stood Herr von Liebe- nau, all smiles for the master, who arrived punctually, and, having alighted, crossed the perron, looking neither to the right nor left. “A word with you,” I heard him say to the Grand- marshal, without lessening his pace. “ Herr von Liebenau” (His Majesty’s accentuation was remarkably clear and icy that morning), — Herr von Liebenau,” he repeated, ^Hhis affair of Elbing has opened my eyes to your character and capabilities. I must tell you that I have no use for a per- son who sets my people against the sovereign. You have antagonized the whole Court and aristocracy besides. You are dismissed.” The Emperor had meanwhile reached the door leading into the street, which was quickly opened by the chasseur on the other side, and, followed by his adjutants, he strode out before I had a chance to deliver my message, or Lie- benau found opportunity for explanations. When the last of the suite had vanished with clank of sabres and spurs (like their master, all were in full gala), I was face to face with the disgraced man. Roared at and kicked out like a drayman ! — you have heard it. Countess,” is all he said. Then he got into his splendid carriage to report to the master of ceremonies that he would not preside at the great functions of the state dinner to be held the same day at five o’clock in the after- noon. The palace officials and servants celebrated Liebenau’s dismissal by a banquet and ^^Kneipe," but William, after no PRIVATE LIVES OF his first anger had subsided, seemed to feel a sneaking pity for him. Perhaps that, reviewing Liebenau’s weaknesses and blunders, he recognized in them the reflection of his own personality. The order of dismissal was irrevocable, but exile might be lightened by an act of courtesy or two, and a generous provision for the future. So His Majesty sent word to Liebenau that he need not be in a hurry to vacate his quarters in Sans Souci Park, and that his allowance of horses and servants, as well as his salary, would continue. Master and ex-servant met once more before parting, just previous to William’s Northland trip at the end of June. The audience lasted two minutes. In the following October we were surprised to find Herr and Frau von Liebenau’s cards, marked ^‘P. P. C.,” in our morning mail, and everybody breathed freer. Only the Empress had a bad half-hour reading an impertinent letter “the tailor’s daughter” sent to her, probably in acknowledgment of the many acts of magnanimity that Her Majesty had shown this woman. At the same time, it became known that Liebenau was to retain his salary of thirty thousand marks per year for life. When the imperial couple visited Wiesbaden in the fall of 1896, the ex-favorite was once more graciously received, and even Her Majesty had to smile upon him and his wife, though I know it cost her pride a severe shock. Although the regime of the alter ego came to an end half a dozen years ago, his influence is still felt at Court and even in the affairs of state, and if, sooner or later, judgment must be passed on the Kaiser’s mental condition, the Liebenau bacillus deserves special investigation. It was Liebenau’s reckless hard taskmastery which nourished and upheld the Kaiser’s notion that he can make the impossible possible, that his word suffices to put seven-league irons on a tired horse and double and treble his people’s capacity WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT III for work. Another imperial idiosyncrasy, stimulated by Lie- benau, was William’s passion for travel, that guaranteed the Chief Court-marshal either considerable perquisites when accompanying His Majesty, or, if left behind, untrammelled dominion at home. I happen to have kept a record of the Kaiser’s jaunts under the Liebenau administration, and in the following give a list of the official visits paid by His Majesty from August, 1888, to May, 1890, leaving out hunting-trips and others of a private character. William went to Stockholm and Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Vienna, Rome, Hamburg, Leipzig, Breslau, Stettin, Biickeburg, Oldenburg, Wilhelmshafen, Schwedt, Weimar, Brunswick, Dresden, Osborne, San- down Bay, Aldershot, Carlsruhe, Strassburg, Metz, Miins- ter, Minden, Hannover, Schwerin, Athens, Dessau, Darm- stadt, Worms, Bremen, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Altenburg, Konigsberg, altogether stopping and holding Court in thirty-seven different cities and towns in Germany and abroad, many of which were visited three or four times, and all within the short space of a year and ten months. To find excuses for this almost perpetual absence from the seat of government (Count Shuvaloff, at that time Russian Ambassador in Berlin, told me the Czar — Alexan- der HI — used to say there was only one similar case in history, that of Charles XII, “the Madman of the North;” continuing: “Wait a while, and, like Charles, he will some day send his boot to preside at the state council!” which was not half bad for an autocrat) — to quiet public opinion on the score of these incessant junk- etings, all sorts of excuses are invented by William and his suite, as once before mentioned; he goes away “to take a bird’s-eye view of politics, and to come back un- biased by partisan preferences; ” if he neglects to look up the King of the Belgians, “our African possessions may II2 PRIVATE LIVES OF be wiped out ’ ’ even quicker than Eugene Richter wishes it ; a month’s sea-voyage affords the Kaiser a much- wanted ^^opportunity for studying his inner man,” and who would deny the necessity of such an undertaking ? But the real motive that prompts these journeys is the morbid restlessness of which the Kaiser is possessed, and that scourges him, a crowned Ahasuerus, from town to city, over seas and mountains. The Kaiser’s adjutants, military and civil secretaries, or representatives of the various cabinets, body-physicians, valets, wardrobemen, keeper of the silverware, cellarer, master of the horse, coachmen, grooms, mouth-cooks, kitchen employees, and the host of chasseurs and flunkies who accompany him on each trip, are so well trained in handling the endless accessories and baggage, that an order to get ready at an hour’s notice neither surprises nor rattles them. If the tour or outing on which they are about to enter has been under consideration for some time, a printed itinerary is furnished to the chief of each department, but quite frequently not one of the men is able to learn anything beyond the hour of departure. The Kaiser, you know, addresses his attendants only in monosyllables, and does not even take the trouble to speak distinctly. To ask repetition of a sentence, or to put any question whatever, would be an unheard-of breach of etiquette, so there remains nothing to do but to take chances and work ahead in the dark, the more so, as the adjutants often know no more of His Majesty’s intentions than the small stable-boys who go with every imperial party to assist at tennis. Especial secrecy is observed if the destination is some town or fortress in the far west or east of the Empire, where, after a night of travel, the war-lord intends to mount at five or six o’clock in the morning, and, attended WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT II3 by trumpeters and a formidable suite, ride through the streets alarming the garrison. If the wardrobe-master on duty suspects that the journey is on an errand of that kind, he exhausts every possible means of solving the mystery, and more than once have I aided the poor fellow by trying to learn from the Empress what was wanted. Sometimes, though, even Her Majesty is kept in ignorance. The wardrobeman’s anxiety will be better understood when I mention that William makes it a rule to always wear the uniform of the principal regiment garrisoned in the place visited ; the attendant unable to draw from among the baggage the military dress desired would quickly find himself dropped from the salary list. When, in addition, it is stated that a cavalry uniform, for instance, consists of fourteen distinct parts, the reader may gain an idea of the work involved by these sudden journeys, for one uniform would of course not do; there must be three or four in reserve, and also civilian and hunting dress. In a similar predicament to the wardrobeman is the stable-master. Will an infantry, cavalry, or artillery horse be wanted? for His Majesty rides a different breed of animal with each body of troops. Every time information is withheld in the manner described, six horses, two of each kind, must be taken along for His Majesty, besides consignments of carriage -horses and vehicles and numer- ous mounts for the suite, all of which increases the cost of railway journeying enormously, for, though most of the German railways are property of the state, the Kaiser has to pay mileage like any other individual. The imperial train generally pulls out of the station at ten o’clock at night, as the Kaiser never allows business to interfere with his own convenience, and if, for some reason or other, he wants to rise earlier than usual, he retires soon PRIVATE LIVES OF II4 after supper to make up for time that will be lost. Further- more, the train must proceed at the slowest possible rate, so that the all-highest’s sleep be not disturbed. That the saloon-train is furnished with all the luxuries imaginable — a rolling palace containing reception, dining, bed, bath and toilet rooms, kitchen, scullery, and stables — need hardly be explained; the only things lacking are accommodations for the servants, who, valet and hostler alike, must sleep in chairs or on the floor. At five o’clock, or earlier, a cup of tea is served to the monarch, the bath and toilet follow, and then breakfast, which latter is served with much more state and with a greater variety of food than at home. So fortified and refreshed, the Kaiser and his paladins mount at dawn, and, preceded by buglers, gallop into the city “to kill the soldiers’ and, incidentally, the citizens’ morning sleep.” One of the imperial adjutants, whom I dare not name, as it would ruin this gentleman’s chances of advancement, describes the mode of procedure at the alarming of the garrison of the fortress of Posen as follows : “ During breakfast, and on our ride to the inner town. His Majesty talked of nothing but of the ‘ stupid faces ’ the commander and officers, suddenly roused from sleep, would make, and drew some rather risque pictures of the consternation and discomforts bound to follow the signals, so that one of our party remarked : ‘ These provincial petticoats will not thank Your Majesty for making war on them.’ “‘Pshaw!’ said the Kaiser, ‘what matters that? The devotion of my brave blue jackets, some of whom I will aid to escape without paying their bills, will recompense me for any loss of admiration in those quarters.’ “By this time we had been admitted, after giving the parole of the day,” continued my informant, “and WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT II5 presently our trumpeters’ blasts and the sharp clang of our horses’ hoofs resounded in the main street. Posen, though only half Polish, has seen so many sieges, insurrections, and kindred revolutionary doings, that warlike activity has no terror for her citizens ; a coup de main in broad daylight would no more disconcert them, I believe, than a good- sized shower. Windows were opened and shut as we can- tered along, men, women, and children in night-dresses casting hasty glances at the strange cavalcade through half- raised Venetian blinds. Now and again a military person, semi-dressed, or semi-naked if you will, drew himself up into regulation attitude, hand raised to the side of his head; one might imagine hearing his naked heels strike together. Proceeding at a rapid rate, we encountered sev- eral small troops of soldiers bound for the drill-grounds; but the Kaiser ordered them to fall behind, while their offi- cers gave the report to the adjutants. On Wilhelm Platz the Emperor had the satisfaction of stopping two cavalry horses which, while being saddled, heard the signal and ran off to take their places in array ; altogether we made an awful lot of noise and provoked more. “ Meanwhile, we had reached the principal hotel, and there, at one of the upper windows, was a well-known face, adorned by fierce blonde mustachios, peeping out between two lithe figures in white, — the one a popular coryphee of the Berlin Royal Opera House, the other the ingenue of the theatre on Gendarmen Markt. “ ‘What do I see?’ cried the Emperor. ‘This looks as if my ballet and players had preceded us to Posen.’ “ ‘It is the first instance that these two branches of art appear on terms of camaraderie ' remarked Adjutant von Moltke, and everybody laughed. “The surprised Adonis, Baron von X , Rittmeister of the Body Hussars, was invited to the Emperor’s circle Il6 PRIVATE LIVES OF at the banquet in the officers’ mess that followed the parade, and His Majesty amused himself royally at his expense, as, indeed, he treated the whole expedition as a huge joke, arranged to afford him a novel entertainment.” Travelling is such a mania with the Reise-Kaiser, that, when business of state or the fact that there is nobody or nothing to visit forbids his going abroad, he occasionally spends a night in his railway carriage, stalled at Wildpark Station, only five minutes from the Neues Palais, on the plea that on the following morning he must be in Berlin at some unearthly hour. In the early part of the summer of 1895, he indulged in this queer pastime with increasing regularity until one night in June, when, about to drive to the station from some festivity held at the Marble Palace, the Kaiserin took courage to threaten an invasion of his bachelor quarters, which, she insisted, must possess some special attraction. As Her Majesty was not quite wrong in this, William de- sisted from following his inclination then and for several months, his compliance being all the more ready as the Empress was in an interesting condition. But Her Majesty’s interference was not only justified, it was like- wise well-timed, for just then there was under way a formidable conspiracy among the royal servants, who, underpaid as they are and nourishing a sneaking spirit of insurrection, had conspired among themselves to in- form some member of the opposition (with a view of interpellating the Minister of Railways in the Reichstag) of the fact that His Majesty was in the habit of using a public depot for his sleeping apartment. In that way they expected to get even with William for compelling them to spend so many nights in their clothes. Of course, the legislative body has no business to inquire into the sovereign’s manner of spending his nights, but the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT II7 public was doubtless very much interested in the accom- panying circumstance that, when His Majesty chooses to repose at Wildpark Station, traffic is seriously interfered with in order that the mighty one’s sleep be not disturbed. ‘‘Over a hundred officials and workmen stay awake to- night to facilitate the Kaiser’s fad for occupying his car,” said Count Eulenburg to me one evening, at the end of May, when the Kaiser was setting out for his wheeled boudoir. “ Impossible ! — a hundred persons ?” “A hundred or more, — the lists have gone through my hands. Reflect a moment on the work involved : Freight- trains must be side-tracked, and passenger-trains are com- pelled to reduce their speed, while the ordinary signals, steam-whistling and ringing of bells, have to be aban- doned, and the number of employees doubled, to forestall mishaps. ’ ’ If disgruntled servants had told this story to Liebknecht or Bebel, the inevitable discussion might have seriously interfered with His Majesty’s enjoyment of the Wilhelm Canal opening festivities then about to take place. CHAPTER VI William stays at home when there is no one to visit, I said in the preceding chapter, and I may add that willing victims of imperial travelmania grow scarcer year by year. How well I remember the Kaiser’s return from his first Northland trip in the summer of 1888, when he spoke most exultingly of his visit to Copenhagen, and how he had succeeded in wheedling King Christian and Queen Louise. “They can be of great service to me with Alexander” (the Czar), he said, “and I promised to stay with them a couple of days every year on my way to or from North- land.” All of us around the royal board, officials and guests, looked at one another in astonishment, for the poverty of the reigning family of Denmark is notorious. Indeed, almost everybody at Court had heard the Kaiser, at one time or another, quote Field-marshal Count Moltke’s observation in one of his famous letters to his brother Adolph : “ Poor King of Denmark ! The founder of a new dy- nasty, he began his reign by losing one-half of the realm ! Sweeping reductions were inevitable in the Court and administration ; indeed, it is doubtful if this state can continue to exist as an independent kingdom.” Besides, it was an open secret that the Czar, when visit- ing his father-in-law, paid for his accommodation like the millionaire he was, — for his and for that of all his relatives 119 120 PRIVATE LIVES OF making Denmark their summer home and rejoicing in the annual family reunions. The Kaiser knew that ; he had even obtained a corroboration of the story in Stockholm, as it turned out by and by; was he, then, determined to become one of the Czar’s pensioners, or did he not care whether he embarrassed his venerable brother of Denmark, half of whose inheritance Prussia swallowed up ? Reference to the minutes of the journey reveal the fact that at the state dinner in Castle Amalienborg, the Kaiser, answering King Christian’s toast, literally said: “I sub- mit my sincerest thanks for Your Majesty’s welcome, and hope that I may be permitted to visit Your Majesty frequently in the same way.” It was the last toast spoken that evening, and the mem- bers of the Kaiser’s suite do not know whether the implied question was honored by an invitation in private. Certain it is, however, that His Majesty had no further occasion “to eat the Danes out of house and home,” for, although the Court of Copenhagen was annually advised of His Majesty’s contemplated northern trips, it always acknowl- edged the notification in such cold terms that any wish to follow it up by a promise to call and take pot-luck was eo ipso forestalled. My mistress, in whose circle the Fredensborg family re- unions were repeatedly discussed, explained her husband’s continued neglect to join them by saying that the increas- ing volume of business made it necessary for His Majesty to pass by Copenhagen ; but I have it on the authority of a high official in the Russian Embassy during Count Shuvaloff’s administration, that Czar Alexander distinctly refused to be disturbed in his retreat by “that young man,” while, at the same time, the Danish Minister in Berlin hinted that Queen Louise was not well enough to stand the excitement of such visits, that brought back to WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT I2I her all she had suffered since the events of 1864. But that economical questions have something to do with it as well as politics, cannot be denied. The Emperor’s suite, you must know, is seldom less than sixty head strong, even when he travels in semi-state. Imagine that gang, with appetites whetted by a sea-voyage, descending upon the little island Court, which, though not ashamed to exhibit its cocoanut matting in the royal corridors and its crazy little oil-lamps before the immensely wealthy Russians, must brush up and go to no end of expense to make as good a showing as possible before these shoddy Berliners. Besides, the Kaiser always expects that some military or naval display will be especially arranged for him. But not only poor kings, like Christian, object to these imperial invasions; at Rome and Vienna, not to mention the small German courts, the cry, ‘‘The Prussians are coming ! ” is as sure of causing a panic in what is styled “highest circles” as in the nurseries of France, where the echo of 1870 to 1871 is still en vogue as a means of intimidation. On February 21, 1895, Kaiser returned in high dudgeon from Vienna, whither he had gone unexpectedly to attend the funeral of the late Archduke Albrecht. Albrecht had been a good hater of Prussia all his life, and if his ideas had prevailed twenty-seven years ago, Austria would have fallen foul of the Prussian rear and flank ; only Moltke’s incredible swiftness of mobilization queered that plan. This eventuality had been repeatedly discussed in the press, and, in view of the circumstance. Emperor Francis Joseph was loath to invite the Kaiser to the funeral. But William refused to acknowledge the tact displayed by his brother monarch. “Here,” so ran his calculations as depicted in some of his remarks made before leaving, — “ here is an event upon which the eyes of the world will be 122 PRIVATE LIVES OF riveted for a day at least, — a pompous funeral, — where one may cut an important figure as the only live war-lord ; be- sides, many political questions call for discussion with Francis Joseph just now. Would it not be absurd to miss this opportunity for combining pleasure, pardon, spectacu- lar display, with business? ” William rushed off to Austria pell-mell, but not without having previously instructed the overseer of the official scribes, Herr von Tausch, the same who figured in the criminal courts in 1897, to proclaim from the housetops that the German Emperor had magnanimously forgotten all about the late Archduke’s evil intentions, and had gone to pay his imperial respects to the dead foe. The first effect of this faiifaronade was the withdrawal from the obsequies of the dead man’s brother-in-law, the Bavarian Prince Regent. Luitpold, as a near relative, had no ambition to take second rank, walking behind William. The Hofburg officials were thrown into the utmost con- fusion. The place of chief mourner had been reserved for Emperor Francis Joseph; now there were two sovereigns to be treated with equal distinction. So all arrangements were upset, and the Austrian monarch himself was most seri- ously embarrassed. However, the funeral passed off with- out a hitch; but William soon found that Francis Joseph, deeply chagrined at the absence of his cousin, was not in the humor to talk politics. He would neither argue the election of Faure, nor the question of the renewal of the Triple Alliance. He even refused to express an opinion on the rumors concerning Count Kalnoky’s resignation, which was then imminent. This the Emperor himself reported on coming home, blaming, at the same time, everybody but himself for the rebuffs experienced. What he did not tell (the Empress learned of it later through her brother, who had it from WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 123 the Princess Philip of Coburg) was that Francis Joseph, surely the mildest and most hospitable of men, treated the Kaiser with so much coolness that His Majesty left his apartments in the Hofburg and took up his quarters with Count Philip Eulenburg, at the German Embassy, where the object of the visit was lost sight of at an informal dinner enlivened by songs and dances which hired vaude- ville stars and the ambassadorial troubadour himself per- formed. And that happened a year after William had called Francis Joseph, in a speech delivered at the Austrian Navy Casino in Pola, “my best friend, with whom I am united in sincerest friendship, and who is my most loyal com- panion in arms.” Finally, the King of Saxony had to act as peacemaker between the two Emperors. When the news reached Berlin, in the middle of Novem- ber, 1889, that Dom Pedro had been deposed, Duke Gunther of Schleswig circulated a story to the effect that the Kaiser received the information with the remark : “Too bad; I had just thought of paying him a visit.” The responsibility for this anecdote I must leave to His Highness. Impossible it is not, though I doubt that Bis- marck would have allowed the Emperor to go on so long a journey without appointing a regency during his absence. Most probably the Kaiser had information that Dom Pedro intended to visit Europe, and thus give him a chance to make his acquaintance. He never alluded to the matter at table or in the course of general conversation. That His Majesty, after the venerable monarch had been deposed, no longer felt any desire to see him, is quite natural with a man of William's character. After the bustle occasioned by His Majesty’s preparations for travel, life in the Neues Palais, which is never brilliant, but often spectacular, becomes duller and more insipid 124 PRIVATE LIVES OF than ever. Entertainments are completely abandoned, and economy is the word heard on every side. The Court and House-marshals give strict orders that expenses be cut all round ; a number of the servants are shipped to Berlin, so that their board wages, to which they are entitled while in Potsdam, may be saved; only flowers from the royal gardens dare be used for decoration, while great loads are bought from different purveyors during the Kaiser’s resi- dence at home, and, finally, the expenses of the cuisine are reduced two-thirds, because the Empress, out of sheer en7iui, falls in with the prevailing rule by taking her meals privately with the children. All of a sudden, sometimes. His Majesty bursts anew into the midst of our humdrum existence, having left his friends abruptly, or his contemplated business unfinished ; occasionally, it is said, press criticism brings him back earlier than anticipated. Hence he employs a day or so despatching the most urgent affairs of state, and immedi- ately sets the ball of courtly entertainments rolling. He may order a dinner of a hundred covers or more for next day, and again, while that is in progress, invite his guests, or part of them, to accompany him on a yachting expedi- tion on the Havel lakes. Gun-charger Riger, who, in his gold-embroidered chas- seur dress, stands behind the Kaiser’s chair on festive occasions, often conveys a brief command of that kind to the House-marshal on duty in this fashion : “ His Majesty’s yacht Alexandra and so and so many auxiliary yachts must be ready at such and such an hour,” — usually at four or five, if the meal began between one and two. To facilitate this imperial wish, telegraph, telephone, and mounted messengers must be plentifully employed in an effort to drum together officers and crew, hire vessels, and secure a band. Furthermore, the personnel of the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 125 “coffee and tea kitchen and conditorei^'^ (confectionery) has to be sent to the steamer with their outfit, for each of the five meals to which their Majesties are accustomed must be served punctually under all circumstances. Promptly at the hour named, the marshal on duty “sub- mits” that carriages are waiting to bring their Majesties and the company to the embarking-place, and, before the vessel leaves, the official takes heart to ask his master where he commands that supper shall be served. Maybe. His Majesty answers, carelessly: “ Pfauen Insel,” or, “Park of the Marble Palace,” “at eight.” The first is a small wooded island in the Havel, contain- ing a sparsely-furnished royal villa that affords a certain amount of space, but little else, for the accommodation of guests. The castellan of the estate or castle selected for the invasion is now hurriedly informed, and the stable-master sets about, getting ready ten or more so-called kitchen vans to transport all that is necessary: refrigerators and hot- closets, table-linen, basketfuls of silver and plate, china and crystal, wines, meats, vegetables and delicacies, lamps and candelabra, and a thousand and one accessories. All these things are under the care of certain officials and servants, and, the staff being thoroughly organized, the whole train is equipped in an incredibly short while and starts for its destination, the Court-marshal following in his carriage to superintend the arrangements on the spot {iiota bene, if the Kaiser has not meanwhile made up his mind to go elsewhere). Oh, the fickleness of the great ! In the summers of 1895 1896, especially, the places of rendezvous were changed with alarming frequency, and before the caval- cade started for a certain castle or park, the men usually offered to lay wagers that upon their arrival they would find a telegram ordering supper in some other lodge or 126 PRIVATE LIVES OF villa, or on the borders of some lake five or ten miles to the south, or east, or west, as the case might be. Once they were chased in this manner from Charlotten Hof to the Baierische Hauschen in Wildpark, and from there to the Entenfang, far out in the royal hunting-grounds. The Entenfang is a romantic spot, such as young lovers might select for a picnic; but imagine the tumult and work which the impromptu establishment of a royal table of from twenty to one hundred covers must occasion, when the nearest castle or royal villa is ten miles off. The vans had to be sent back to the Neues Palais for tables, chairs, carpets, and a little tent for the toilet, while the nearest military post furnished field cooking-apparatus, and a dozen or more horses were driven lame travelling to and fro with heavy loads. The damage caused by broken crockery, crystal, and ruined furniture also reached a high figure. Foreign visitors at our Court frequently wonder how it is possible for one man to give employment to three hun- dred and fifty horses in driving and riding, as the Emperor does. The story of these whimsical excursions explains that point, for, aside from the horses needed for the service, carriages must be sent to fetch their Majesties and suite and company from some distant place, perhaps, while others are collecting the ladies and gentlemen in Potsdam and neigh- borhood, or from incoming trains, who have been ‘‘com- manded ” to be present at supper at some place where at the time stipulated no sign of life exists. At twelve or one o’clock in the morning, when the imperial master, his titled suite and his friends, have forgotten, in several hours’ sleep, all about the forty-five minutes of entertainment that kept a small army of men, women, and beasts on the run since dinner, the vans and carry-alls return to the palace, often awakening many a WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 127 noble lord and lady who wonder that any living creature dare disturb their august slumber. Whether they dare or not, they do. It is a way they have of getting even with their betters.” When the Kaiser is at home, his conversation perpetually turns on the subject of future outings, and his secretaries and adjutants are kept busy scouring the papers for items that promise excuses for a visit to one place or another. As soon as an opening is discovered, the Court-marshal must find ways and means to secure an invitation for the Emperor, and to that end either the military authorities, the La7idrath (chief of a county), or some Prince or aris- tocrat living in the neighborhood, receives instructions, which in many cases are most eagerly followed, for Wil- liam’s presence in any place, not his capital, is a guaran- tee for no end of advertisement; sometimes, though, it is quite difficult to persuade the municipal authorities, these worthy men being afraid of the cost of the undertaking. If neither cities nor country districts, neither the North German Lloyd nor the Hamburg Line, neither the ship- yards nor yacht or hunting clubs at home or abroad, hold out allurements, the Kaiser, quickly resolved, makes oppor- tunities for travel or display. He observes, for instance, that it is so and so many years since the Regiment received an honored flag. “Let’s grant it a new set of colors,” says William, and presently parades, religious ceremonies, speechifyings, din- ners, and tattoos are in the air. Or, all regiments being provided with flags. His Majesty feels “graciously pleased” to bestow on one or another “ensign ribbons,” an act yielding as much in the way of spectacular splendor as the other. In contrast to the Empress, William is not a religious person, but, like Her Majesty, firmly believes that godliness 128 PRIVATE LIVES OF does very well for common people. With that idea in mind, he inaugurated his crusade for the building of churches, leaving to Auguste Victoria’s initiative the task of collecting the necessary funds. For his part he is inter- ested only in the corner-stone-laying and the opening of such edifices. “We have built fifteen churches in Berlin alone since 1890,” said William, in the course of a dinner at the Berlin Schloss, some time ago. “ His Majesty means he drove thirty times d la Dumont to commencement and finishing celebrations,” whispered my neighbor, the then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Baron von IMarschall, imitating the persiflage of his South German home, where it is the fashion to refer to a bevy of ten girls as “twenty bosoms.” Provided nothing better offers itself, the Kaiser is even content to assist at church ceremonials of the sort de- scribed in the provinces; “they bore him awfully,” says Baron von Lyncker, “ but he finds opportunity for making a speech there, and a little newspaper notoriety is likewise sure to follow. And one must be thankful for small favors in these democratic times.” That the Kaiser allows no war or other monument to be unveiled without personally participating in the act, hardly requires comment. In a preceding paragraph, I referred to the easy complai- sance with which the aristocracy submits to the Kaiser’s wishes. William, indeed, seems to have cowed the flower of German nobility into a condition that once prevailed in France, when the dignitaries of the crown fought among themselves as to who should have the honor to hand His Majesty a clean shirt or remove his dirty boots. Let me give one instance for many. On October 24, 1894, the Kaiser’s “Song to ^gir” was performed at a matinee in the Royal Opera House, which WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 129 the Prince and Princess of Wied attended, together with their Majesties. The Prince is a man in the fifties, belongs to one of the proudest families in Europe, and besides is the brother of the Queen of Roumania and an uncle of the Queen of Holland; yet every time the big audience waxed enthu- siastic over His Majesty’s alleged masterpiece, this old man with silvery hair rose respectfully from his seat and bowed low before his nephew, keeping up the farce all through the performance without William in any way restraining him. And this reminds me, by way of contrast, of a conver- sation at which I was present some time previous to that public exhibition of senile adulation. “Tell me, honestly, who helped His Majesty compose this frightful 'Song to ^gir?’ ” “State secret. Your Royal Highness must certainly excuse me this time,” and Adjutant Count Moltke looked up helplessly into the beautiful eyes of the Emperor’s sister. “As my big brother remarked the other day to the Burgomaster of Thorn : ' I can be very disagreeable if need be,’ said the Princess of Meiningen. “Now, Herr Major, answer pit and pat, I command you.” “ His Majesty composed the song.” “That is the official version, I know; what I am inter- ested in, is to find out how he did it.” “At the piano. Your Royal Highness.” “ Since when does His Majesty play? ” “He has the finest ear for music, that Your Royal Highness will not deny. He struck the keys with one finger, and, if you promise not to give me away, your humble servant had the honor of putting the all-highest’ s composition on paper.” 130 PRIVATE LIVES OF ‘‘Thanks, awfully,” said the Princess, and, turning to her lady-in-waiting, Fraulein von Ramin, now Madame von Brochen, she added: “Not a word of this to anybody; our dear Moltke must not be punished for amusing us.” And, once more addressing the adjutant, she continued with her usual mocking laugh: “I will now tell you how it was done, you innocent. The Emperor was strumming the piano with one finger, when a certain blonde giant about your size stepped behind him, and, striking the keys, gave life to a musical composition he, the giant, had half perfected in his head. The air pleased His Majesty, and he added a note here and there. And, as the thing pro- gressed, my big brother said : ‘ This would be an excellent accompaniment to Eulenburg’s northern legend. Call him at once.’ When the troubadour appeared, all three of you set to work on this frightful piece of clap-trap, and, as you correctly reported, the honor of putting the composition on paper fell to you as the only capable musician of the trio , — the composition, I said, not the all-highest one.” This lively colloquy occurred a few days after the much- disputed air had been performed at a concert in honor of a deputation from the British Royal Dragoons visiting Berlin to congratulate their new chief, the Kaiser, and it gives the true story of the birth of that song. For the orches- tration, it may be added. Professor Albert Becker, of Berlin, is responsible ; he received the Hohenzollern Cross in acknowledgment. Besides clearing up the “^gir” mystery, the above affords an interesting illustration of William’s mode of work. He has talents, undoubtedly, but they are creative only in giving work to others, the product passing for his own in the end. As Herren von Moltke and Philip Eulen- burg are the real authors of “his” “Song to AEgir,” so Professor Knackfuss, in Cassel, composes his cartoons, WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 13I though being credited only with their technical execution. The late Court chaplain Frommel used to write the imperial sermons delivered with so much eclat on the deck of the yacht Hohenzollern ; officers of the military household prepare William’s lectures, and the artist Karl Saltzmann paints his landscapes and marine views. To shield their master from the accusation of fritter- ing away his time in useless dilettanteism, the German official press occasionally prints historic reviews purport- ing to show that the Hohenzollerns of all ages have been among the most gifted of mortals, — authors, poets, musicians, artists. Especially to Frederick William the First’s cleverness as a painter, constant reference is made, although any one acquainted with the history of the Prus- sian Court might be aware of the untenableness of that claim. This gentleman, the father of the great Frederick, wrote his royal signature upon a good many canvases, it is true, but few of the pictures attributed to his brush were really his. As a matter of fact, instead of being the Apelles of the Brandenburg dynasty, its first noted painter, he started the fashion of counterfeiting, of which his son became past-master. His scheme was to employ poor artists by the year, and to let them paint daubs of all sizes and subjects. These he adorned with his name, adding a little coloring here and there into the bargain, and sold at high prices to flatterers and enemies, as the case might be, for in those days the modes of punishment at the disposal of a Majesty were manifold and curious. A cunning knave this second King of Prussia, and his august example was not entirely lost upon his successors, as the case under consideration shows. But, in weighing the plentiful boasts of imperial achievements upon the scale of sober judgment, there is still another point to be noticed: William’s daily programme — I remind the reader of Count 132 PRIVATE LIVES OF Seckendorf’s witty delineation of His Majesty’s labors hour by hour — precludes in itself the undertaking of any great amount of serious work on the Kaiser’s part. Having forever one foot in the stirrup and planning new diversions before another is fairly under way, how should this alleged jack-of-all-trades find time for the literary, musical, and artistic pursuits credited to him ? There are geniuses who accomplish a prodigious amount of work by turning night into day ; but, with all my experience in the royal house- hold, I am at a loss to account for the newspaper state- ments setting forth that now and again the Kaiser spends half, or three-quarters of the night, studying state papers or working out great projects in the interest of public concern. In the first place, his constitutional aversion to sitting still for a considerable time is against night-work, even suppos- ing, for argument’s sake, that the day’s or evening’s amuse- ments did not tire out the Kaiser so completely as to make it impossible for him to give the necessary attention to important business; moreover, his love of sleep would stand in the way. After supper, or at the conclusion of the night’s entertainment, the Kaiser invariably retires as speedily as possible, for Morgen wieder lustick^" thinks His Majesty, with Jerome, the late King of Westphalia. And to persevere in a round of pleasures and excitement it is essential to husband one’s strength. Many will disagree with the statements made, I know. Having heard so much to the contrary, people are natu- rally disinclined to have their ideas upset. Still, to defend myself against accusations of inaccuracy or exaggeration, I need but quote certain notes from my diary covering the period from August, 1893, to August, 1894. Of the three hundred and sixty-five days, the Kaiser spent away from his official residence one hundred and WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 133 ninety-nine, devoting himself to the army on twenty-seven days, and employing sixteen days in duties of representa- tion. One hundred and fifty-six days were consumed by hunting-trips, sea-journeys, and visiting. Now to the one hundred and sixty-six days when His Majesty was ‘‘officially” at home. Seventy-seven of them were pleasantly passed in shooting, boating, yachting, or other out-door exercise in the neighborhood of Potsdam or Berlin, while of the remaining eighty-nine days, each twenty- four hours were diversified by banquets, corsos, concerts, theatrical performances ; by receptions, reviews, or speech-makings. The number of miles covered by the Kaiser either in his saloon-carriage or on board ship during the period mentioned, amounted to three-quarters of the earth’s circumference. A dozen members of our Court society were discussing the above facts, furnished to settle a bet between Prin- cess Frederick Leopold and her brother, Duke Gunther, at a musicale given by the widow of the Red Prince in her palace on Leipziger Platz, when Princess Aribert of Anhalt, a sprightly young Englishwoman, remarked : “ Granted His Majesty cannot ply the fourteen trades and arts imputed by some historians to Peter the Great, no one will gainsay that he is a brilliant speaker and an adept in military science.” “Of his rhetorical qualities,” replied our graceful host- ess, who at that time had special reasons for quarrelling with her grandnephew, “foreigners, even those under- standing German as well as you, my dear, can hardly form a proper estimate. For myself, I think the Kaiser’s speeches neither distinguished for elegance of diction nor for originality. The most offensive sameness pervades them, and not infrequently they abound in misstate- ments.” 134 PRIVATE LIVES OF I could have furnished Her Royal Highness at least one very good reason for the faults pointed out : these speeches are of the Kaiser’s own making. Only very rarely will His Majesty take the trouble to jot down minutes, as he did with the address to the re- cruits mentioned in another chapter, and even then it is done more to assist memory in following out a certain line of thought, than to retain dates and figures. Moreover, I doubt that he thinks it necessary to do so. A person who, relying merely upon his musical ear, and without having had instruction in singing, or being able to play an in- strument, gets up in a stately gathering to sing a ballad abounding in difficult passages, is certainly the quintes- sence of self-reliance. And that is exactly what William did at Castle Schlitz, in May, 1894, with Count Goertz as accompanist, the boldness of the exploit before an audience distinguished for artistic accomplishments being none the less pro- nounced on account of the fact that the air was alleged to be his own composition. Of the performance. Countess Goertz spoke to the Em- press in most enthusiastic terms ; but, to quote William, ‘‘Her Ladyship is a woman so beautiful that to expect sense from her would be hoggish.” That on the same occasion His Majesty acquitted him- self quite well as Kapelbneister^ conducting the band, a mil- itary one, which had been thoroughly drilled in performing the “ Song to ^gir,” is not astonishing. With his ear for music and a little attention to technique, it would have been difficult, indeed, to lead so finished an organization into blunders when every man knew that his slightest mistake would be followed by professional disgrace. Some months after the exploit in Schlitz, His Majesty and a great number of friends were hunting near Castle WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 135 Letzlingen, the band of the Saltzwedel Lancers furnishing the table-music. At that time, the official papers reported : ‘^the Kaiser again proved his eminent musical talent by conducting the grand march from ‘Aida.’ ” One of the party, General von Haenisch, however, tells me that this is not true. The Kaiser took up the baton to lead the “ Hohenfriedberger ” and Count Moltke’s “Rider’s March,” compositions of quite a different calibre to Verdi’s great work, and which, besides, the band could have played in the dark and with eyes closed. Much as one might be inclined to look upon this sort of coxcombry as a harmless affectation liable to wear off in the course of time, its real purport is too glaring to be overlooked; this parading with plumes borrowed and stolen the many bids for popular applause through news- paper adulation smacking of the methods of the press agent, William’s public lecturing and preaching, his co- quetting with the stage and letters, — all is but part of a system carefully pieced together to uphold the pretence of imperial omnipotence and omniknowledge. “As to the Socialists, leave them to me; that’s what I told Bismarck a dozen times,” said the Kaiser at supper on May 14, 1889, after the famous audience granted by him to a party of strikers ; “I will settle them single- handed.” And more than eight years later, toward the end of July, 1897, when he was on his way home from Norway, he kept the wires hot for three days, demanding Miquel, Prince Hohenlohe, and other friends to arrange for him a meeting with Bismarck, that he might ask the ex-Chancellor’s advice concerning the re-introduction of the old Bismarckian Socialistic laws, which the govern- ment allowed to pass out of existence after the first Chan- cellor’s dismissal. And as in 1889 and 1890 the whole palace was moved to sympathize with the poor laboring 136 PRIVATE LIVES OF man, who needed enlightenment and justice such as Wil- liam alone knew how to provide and administer (perish the thought that the Iron Chancellor ever possessed the slightest aptitude for dealing with the labor question ! ), so we were recently drilled to return to the abandoned maxims and help the Kaiser eat his own words, — a practice he indulges in so frequently that I think his memory is becoming defective, as otherwise his inor- dinate vanity would never permit him to acknowledge defeat. To return to the observations of Princess Frederick Charles. There is, among the numberless speeches and sayings reported of the Kaiser, not one pithy remark that has become a by-word in every-day speech or in letters. In all this dreary wilderness of imperial verbosity, we find no mot that outlived the hour of its birth, and the Kaiser’s observations, as a general thing, are too common- place and insignificant even to permit dressing up. Other important persons are made to say clever things, often without their knowledge or consent, but William’s friends and admirers scour his speeches vainly for a peg upon which to hang some witticism, or some flash of genius that might eventually be credited to the royal tattler. The Emperor, who claims to be a student of the older French literature, probably got far enough in Rivarol to learn that “it is an immense advantage to have never said anything.” The sentence following, namely: “but one should not abuse it,” he must have overlooked, for he certainly does abuse the privilege. And in a twofold manner too : he keeps on saying nothing, and misquotes history at the same time. I have not kept a minute account of the missives, but, if memory serves me right, I should say that fully one-third of the mysterious anony- mous letters that caused the great Court scandal of which WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 137 I will speak presently, contained caustic references to the Kaiser’s assassination of historical facts. So was, during the Christmas season of 1894, Her Maj- esty’s holiday humor seriously disturbed by an epistle haul- ing the Kaiser over the coals for a speech he had made in Kiel, at the swearing-in of recruits, and which referred to the battle of Vercella (loi b.c.) as having been fought ‘^between Germans and Romans” (mistake No. i), and wherein “the Romans were vanquished” (mistake No. 2) “ by the enemy’s superior valor ” (mistake No. 3). After pointing out half a dozen other errors, the writer of the anonymous note, doubtless a woman, suggested that Auguste Victoria buy her husband a small reference- library; at the same time the correspondent thanked “ William-the-Sudden ” for having garbled history in order to pay homage to the arms of ancient France, “for,” said this writer, “the barbaric tribe which opposed the Romans at Vercella were not Germans, but Cimbri, or Gauls; that is, they belonged to the same family as the French of to-day.” Similar anonymous notes addressed to Her Majesty emptied the vials of sarcasm over the composer of the “Song to yEgir,” which latter, it was pointed out, was not a god of the sea, but a miserable landlubber, who never had so much as a sniff of the ocean. The Empress used to turn over these epistles to her hus- band, with an aching heart ; but if Her Majesty, like most of her friends, hoped that these missives would make Wil- liam more careful in the future, her expectations were not realized, for the Kaiser goes bravely on blundering and exposing himself to ridicule. So he improvised, at the un- veiling of the Kaiser Wilhelm monument in Cologne, in July, 1897, an appeal for the enlargement of the navy, taking his text from “the figure of the ancient sea-god ^gir embellishing a medallion at the foot of this proud statue.” PRIVATE LIVES OF I3S It happened, however, that the image referred to did not represent ^gir, but ‘‘Father Rhine,” who resembles his heathen colleague in everything save the bunches of grapes that rest upon his locks. Of course, in the universal hilar- ity provoked by this quid pro quo^ the Emperor’s appeal went for naught. That young English Princess whom we met in the palace on Leipziger Platz brought up the question of the Kaiser’s singular adeptness for the military, with a vengeance. It is in bad taste to speak of the delinquent in the hangman’s house. The widow of the Red Prince, greatest of Hohen- zollern strategists since the Seven Years’ War, did not cite this truism to her young relative \ but the list of military blunders she proceeded to lay at the war-lord’s door proved that she had the proverb in mind. “Field-marshal Count Blumenthal,” she said, “who, as chief of the Crown Prince’s staff in the wars of 1866 and 1870, plucked the laurels that made the Kaiser’s father appear almost as great a general as my own husband, — Blumenthal used to complain that he was ever obliged to prod Frederick to action. In war, the man of ripe and ready judgment is the most successful; but the late Em- peror was slow at thinking, and even more dilatory when he came to act. “With his son (William II), just the opposite holds good. If that young man has ever been able to resist a sudden impulse to any deed, no one in or out of his family has heard of it. Some years ago he made his wife chief of the Pasewalk cuirassiers, and designed a uniform for her. As proprietress of this crack regiment, Auguste Victoria is entitled to the insignia of a general ; but the Emperor, unthinking as he is, bestowed upon her lieutenant’s epau- lettes. Think of it, — a lieutenant leading a regiment be- fore the war-lord in parade, a lieutenant presiding at the WILIIKLAIINA MARGRAVINE OF BAYREUTH Sister of Frederick the Great and author of the famous Memoirs WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 139 State banquets in the officers’ mess ! On another occasion, when the Russian craze had hold of him, he issued an order compelling the officers of the General Staff to attend desk-work in riding-boots. They did so for a day or two ; but, finding it impossible to continue their studies in this heavy accoutrement, combined among themselves to dis- obey the command and resume ordinary foot-gear. “ But the most thoughtless of all his military blunders was his cabinet order creating Your Highness’s grand- mother ’ ’ (and the old Princess bowed with a mock cour- tesy toward the Englishwoman), Queen Victoria, Chief of the First Dragoons.” “Young Mrs. Aribert,” as Louise of Anhalt is familiarly called at Court, started up, and seemed to be struggling for words. “ Tut, tut ! ” appeased Her Royal Highness the little fire- brand, placing one hand on Louise’s knee, “no disrespect to Her Majesty, I assure you. The stupidity was all on my grandnephew’s part. He named the First Dragoons * Queen of England Dragoons ’ just one hundred and eighty-two years, less two months and twenty-nine days, after the union between England and Scotland went into effect and the realm became officially known as Great Britain.” Everybody in the room saf speechless for a while, until Princess Aribert said, half-pleadingly : “But, dear aunt, the change in the nomenclature that eventually had to be made caused no great havoc, I trust.” “ Oh, no ! ” replied the Princess, “ His Majesty did not suffer the least inconvenience on account of that error; but the nation who had to pay double for the initials attached to the shoulder-straps and on the helmets doubt- less felt greatly edified by the blunder, and so did the offi- cers who for similar reasons were several thousand marks out of pocket.” CHAPTER VII Both Majesties, as mentioned in a previous chapter, being indifferent talkers, after-dinner entertainments at the Prussian Court are not of a very lofty sort; indeed, I am not stretching the point when I say that ennui begins to hang heavily upon all present in the gilded salons as soon as the coffee is brought in, unless the Kaiser happens to lecture, or chooses to exhaust his stock of humorous remarks; in that event it becomes every one’s duty to appear, at least, interested and edi- fied. To diversify things a bit, we frequently arrange “rebus competitions,” a form of amusement in which the simple- minded Empress takes great delight, while the Kaiser, who not only tolerates the “twin sister of charade ” in his own house, but has introduced the game into the army officers’ casinos, takes active part in the sport either for the pur- pose of drawing attention to some smart idea that has entered his head, or merely for the sake of hearing himself talk. Whether, as Princess Charlotte suspects, it was owing to the fact that she is known to “hate rebuses,” or whether it was intended as a tribute to her fame as a wit, I do not know; but the future Duchess of Meiningen was, until quite recently, forced to contribute more often to the 141 142 PRIVATE LIVES OF pictorial pastime of the Court than any other member of the royal family or the household. Now it happened, at an evening reception at the Berlin Schloss, in the winter of 1896, that Her Highness was called away from an animated conversation she was carry- ing on with half a dozen young officers. She responded languidly and with ill-grace, and, turning to me, whis- pered : will teach them a lesson to-night. Their Majesties ought to know better than to draw me into any such sew- ing-society frolic. Ah, yes,” she added, changing her tone, “I came prepared for the ordeal, but had no idea that the audience would include His Majesty. I warn you, brother, that one of your wondrous ideals may be shattered, if you insist upon the exploitation of my poor riddle.” ‘‘Never mind, Lottchen, if you amuse us, all shall be forgiven.” “Then send for the copy of the Journal Amusant which I saw on your desk. ’ ’ The lively boulevard sheet which contained a grotesque review of the salon was brought in, together with a number of scissors that had likewise been ordered, and Her Royal Highness instructed several of her uniformed friends to cut out certain pictures, which she pasted on a sheet of white paper, adding one or two pencil sketches with her own hand. “Here we have the enigmatical representation of one of the most interesting figures in history,” she began, in the voice of an auctioneer. “You all know the person. One of our greatest poets has immortalized the subject in a stirring drama, while the figures in the rebus are all taken from the epitaph erected to the person’s memory by a fine English wit.” WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 143 Their Majesties, the Princesses and Princes, and all the lords and ladies crowded around the table, greet- ing Her Royal Highness’s words with rounds of ap- plause. But what do these caricatures stand for?” asked the Kaiserin, inclining her fair head toward the array of printed and hand-drawn images. ^‘At Your Majesty’s command,” courtesied Princess Charlotte, and, taking up her fan, the sprightly young woman pointed out each figure, labelling them in succes- sion as follows : ^^Here we have a man-at-arms or woman- at-arms (who would know the difference ?) ; secondly, the image of a saint ; thirdly, that of a witch ; fourthly, that of a lusty young fellow ; fifthly, that of a sweet maiden ; sixthly, that of a harlot; No. 7, the periwig of a judge, indicating the law ; No. 8, the emblem of the Republic ; No. 9, the Archangel Gabriel alarming the garrisons of the world on judgment-day.” Everybody set to guessing, and everybody was highly astonished when, in the end, a correct answer not forth- coming, Her Royal Highness announced the solution of the rebus: Joan of Arc. “Clever, very clever!” cried the Emperor; “it is a fact that the sex of the reputed heroine has been in doubt.” “I have read somewhere that this virgin was blessed with several children,” remarked the Duke of Schleswig, dryly. “But what has this type of a cocotte to do with the story?” And Her Majesty indicated one of the Journal Amusani sketches. “ If you will let me quote an epitaph from ^ Historical Rarities,’ to which I alluded, the connection will become clear at once.” 144 PRIVATE LIVES OF ‘^Provided it is not too, too ” lisped the Empress, who dreads her sister-in-law’s devil-may-care spirits; but the Kaiser, anxious to hear the rest, told Lottchen to proceed, which she did with evident relish. These were the lines quoted: “ Here lies Joan of Arc ; the which Some count saints and some count witch ; Some count man, and something more ; Some count maid, and some a whore ; Her life's in question, wrong or right ; Her death' s in doubt by laws or might. Oh, innocence ! take heed of it, How thou, too, near to guilt doth sit. (Meantime, France a wonder saw : A woman rule, ’gainst Salic law !) But, reader, be content to stay Thy censure till the judgment-day ; Then shalt thou know, and not before, Whether saint, witch, man, maid, or whoreF His Majesty never proposed the game at his own house after this, at least not when the Princess of Meiningen was in the party. “We must draw the line somewhere; she demoralizes our young officers,” says the Empress. And “I don’t care if I do ; virtue in a soldier is a word void of sense,” is Princess Charlotte’s merry rejoinder. Countess Wartensleben, a descendant of the lady of that name who became famous as maitresse en litre of the first King of Prussia after the latter’s impotency had been a subject of diplomatic correspondence for some time — Countess Wartensleben tells me another rebus story in which the Emperor figured. It appears that His Majesty, at the conclusion of a banquet arranged in his honor by the officers of the Body WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 145 Cuirassiers, in Breslau (September ii, 1890), proposed his favorite means for killing time, and forthwith constructed the following rebus : KAISER WILHELM It was too deep for the ‘‘talent” present, — some fifty or sixty officers, — and finally the Emperor condescended to explain the mystery. “Why, it means: Verdict by Emperor William” (the joke hinges upon the similarity of the German words Uhrtheil^ that is, part of a clock, viz., the pendulum, and Urthdly viz., verdict). All applauded wildly, all except one ; instead of admira- tion, the handsome features of Rittmeister Count Wartens- leben exhibited traces of a sneer. “You have a different solution. Count,” exclaimed Wil- liam; “I see it in your face.” “I had one in mind. Your Majesty; but, after the Kaiser has spoken, my poor explanation cannot be of the least account.” “Still, I must have it. Speak up.” “I beg Your Majesty to absolve me from that duty.” “I command you to proceed.” Wartensleben bit his lips. “As Your Majesty knows, I am a Mecklenburger, ” he said; “I learned my Fritz 146 PRIVATE LIVES OF Reuter by heart. The rebus reminds me of a passage in ‘ Durchleuchting,’ — ‘He goes this way, he goes that way.’ ” Ominous silence fell upon the assemblage after this blunt speech. “My husband said that you could hear the Colonel shake in his boots,” reported Madame von Wartensleben when she described the scene to me. Luckily, the Kaiser chose to treat the matter as a joke. “If that is to be an allusion to my title of Reise-Kaiser, yours is not a bad idea,” he said, gathered up his drawing and threw it under the table. “He goes this way, he goes that way,” — an animated pendulum swinging freely under the action of a mind that rambles more or less incoherently from one topic to another, its ideas overthrowing each other, — this Wartens- leben (or his Reuter) has a clearer notion of the Kaiser’s character than all the rest of his critics. Princess Frederick Charles’s caustic remarks, quoted in another chapter, have acquainted us with some of the more serious consequences of William’s bridleless impetu- osity; here follow some examples of less importance, that, at the same time, are more pleasant to contemplate. In the middle of February, 1892, when the Kaiser held Court in the Berlin Schloss, as usual in winter, I was about to read the newspapers to Her Majesty one fine morning when, unfolding the parcel of our daily literary allowance, I came across a copy of the Berliner Kleines Journal , — organ of ces dames, that, of course, is strictly tabooed in the imperial apartments; somebody had smuggled this sheet into Auguste Victoria’s sanctum doubtless for a well- defined purpose. Among the society notes was a marked paragraph, which at once attracted Her Majesty’s atten- tion, and she ordered me to read it before I had time to ascertain its contents. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 147 It turned out to be a story connecting the name of the Emperor’s adjutant, Herr von Huelsen, with that of the only daughter of General von Lucadou as a matrimonial possibility. ‘Hncredible ! ” cried the Empress; ^‘Herr von Huelsen may be a Count some day, and that young woman’s mother is descended from a French tailor’s family.” “A very rich tailor’s, though,” suggested Fraulein von Gersdorff. “Very likely,” said the Empress, somewhat piqued, “considering the prices these Paris modistes charge.” Then, turning to me. Her Majesty continued: “Be good enough to take the paper to His Majesty’s study, and place it on his desk, so he may find it upon his return. This scandal must be nipped in the bud.” When I reached the imperial antechamber, the Kaiser had just come in from parade, and, observing the paper I had in my hand, inquired, in his customary impulsive style, what it meant ? “My all-highest mistress desired me to put the Kleines Journal upon Your Majesty’s desk. It contains a refer- ence to Herr von Huelsen.” “To Huelsen? Let me see.” After reading the first line or two, he turned to the chasseur, who was stand- ing at the door waiting to relieve him of his riding- boots and heavy sabre. “Fetch Adjutant von Huelsen at once.” I was about to withdraw, but the Emperor stopped me. “Come into my room for a moment,” he said, in his most gracious style. “You shall be present during Huelsen’s examination, and then report to Her Majesty.” The Kaiser sat down upon the sofa, and studied the paragraph word for word. Presently, Major von Huelsen came to ascertain the master’s pleasure. 148 PRIVATE LIVES OF Why don’t you marry Fraulein von Lucadou?” said the Kaiser, looking up from the paper with a smile that expressed good-natured surprise. ‘‘You have good uses for her money, I should reckon, and in this case I promise to say, with my ancient colleague ^Non olet.' ” “Begging Your Majesty’s pardon, I cannot marry that young lady.” “And why not, if I approve of the match? ” Von Huelsen reddened as he answered, with a side glance at me; “Her mother is up in arms against me; Your Majesty remembers that little affair with the actress Meyer ? ’ ’ “I do, of course; but the old woman must not raise objections on that account, which gave my Body Hussars a most dashing private. Tell me, honestly, do you want the girl?” “Your Majesty,” said the Major, with spirit, “I would marry a negress if my Emperor approved of it.” “That white slave shall be in your arms this very day, my word on it.” And, addressing me, his Majesty con- tinued: “Pray, Countess, inform Her Majesty that every- thing has been arranged satisfactorily, and that she must prepare for an early wedding banquet in Bellevue Strasse. ’ ’ Twenty minutes later the Kaiser ascended the stairs lead- ing to General von Lucadou’ s bel etage, his chasseur, carrying a beautiful bouquet of white roses, following. As it happened, Fraulein von Lucadou was celebrating her birthday and the splendid residence was en fete; but, preparations for an influx of guests notwithstanding, the Emperor’s unannounced visit threw the big household into confusion, — a condition most favorable to His Majesty’s purpose. To begin with, he congratulated Fraulein von Lucadou before the assembled guests on her betrothal to his adjutant, and then drew the Generalm" into a WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 149 corner to extol to her the afterwise virtues of her future son-in-law. “But,” gasped the old lady, in whose bosom pride and anger fought for supremacy, “our daughter has not my consent. In fact. Your Majesty’s congratulations are based upon a false presumption. Even the General has not seriously considered Herr von Huelsen’s wooing.” “Pshaw! the General will obey orders every time,” bristled up His Majesty; “and as for you, gnddige Frau, I hope you will waive your objections when I tell you that Huelsen is just the man for your daughter.” Of course, Madame von Lucadou had to give in, and soon afterward the wedding was celebrated with great pomp, the Kaiser and Kaiserin, by their presence, lending additional splendor to the ceremonies and the banquet. In this case, as in most other unimportant issues, where the fascination of the imperial name holds good, or where an “ all-highest command,” addressed to official or semi-official persons, is law, the Kaiser gained his point, and for weeks afterward spoke exultingly of his “taming of the shrew,” for as such, Madame /a Generate has a well-deserved repu- tation. As for Herr von Huelsen, though the Emperor’s in- terference gained him a rich and handsome wife, his troubles had only begun. His mother-in-law nee Sehstern-Pauli, with whom the Lucadou fortune originated, gave to the young couple a beautiful residence adjoining her own palace, furnishing it magnificently ; but as, at the same time, she insisted upon staying with her daughter from early morning till late at night, this splendid home soon resembled a very warm place in Herr von Huelsen’s eyes, — the “hottest on or under the earth,” he assured me in a burst of confidence. “Tell the Kaiser’ of the wretchedness his Schadchen- industry carried in its wake, — he must take pity on his favorite,” I advised the disconsolate Benedict. PRIVATE LIVES OF 150 Not for a million, Your Ladyship ; he is capable of driving stante pede to Bellevue Strasse to demand an ex- planation.” However, the story of poor von Huelsen’s sorrows finally reached the Emperor’s ears, and he sent his adjutant to Vienna as military plenipotentiary after first conferring upon him the title and name of Count Haeseler, which had become extinct by the death of the adjutant’s maternal grandfather, the last of the noble house. A great many diplomatic appointments are made in that fashion under William II, as will be shown in the chapter devoted to the Kaiser and his personal friends. A whim, a word, a woman that is not even “well born,” according to ultra-German notions,— these three W’s suffice to raise anybody, though he may be a nobody, to a position of international importance in the German Empire of to-day. Not long ago I was reading to their Majesties from the collection of letters which the Duchess of Orleans, Princess Palatine, addressed to Queen Charlotte of Prussia at the be- ginning of the eighteenth century, and to which I alluded in a previous chapter. “I know of many great events that historians have attributed to policy or ambition, but which originated from most insignificant trifles,” said the confidante of Louis XIV in one of her long, gossipy epistles. “Louis, for instance, retired from the present war against Holland solely for the purpose of returning to that old Zottel (demi-rep) of a Montespan and to pursue once more his nightly revels in her foul embraces.” The Empress shuddered, and told me never again to read from “ Madame’ s” letters at random, as I had been doing under orders previously given; “Herr von der Knese- beck will make extracts and selections from the Duchess’s WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 151 writings for future use/’ she said, beaming sweetly on the pious chamberlain. “I cannot conceive your object in wishing for an abridged edition of these letters,” remarked the Kaiser, who seemed to be annoyed at the idea; ‘‘the Duchess had certainly the grand airs of one born in the purple, though her language is that of the period, — blunt, even coarse at times. Still, with all that, her letters must be read in their entirety. A God-fearing censor, such as your Knesebeck here, would probably have eliminated the passage we just heard, though it is one of the grandest and most characteristic in her hundred or more letters in the Potsdam and Charlottenburg archives. “The Duchess takes pains to show that the morals of the French Court are distasteful to her ; she rails against the King’s mistress, she even seems to deplore the abrupt ending of the hostilities, but has not one word of criticism for the King’s Majesty. Reverently and silently she acqui- esces in the all-highest decision : the King pleased to do a certain thing, therefore it behooves the subject to sub- mit to his will in silence. That is as it should be. This one paragraph is worth whole volumes of theoretical teach- ings on the doctrine of Kingship by the grace of God. If its general contents did not make it unfit for such use, I would have it inserted in all the Readers and similar school-books.” The Menzel festival in Sans Souci (June, 1895) was like- wise arranged by the Kaiser on the spur of the moment. During a conversation dealing with the artist’s forthcom- ing eightieth birthday, somebody had remarked upon the treatment Menzel suffered at the hands of Frederick Wil- liam IV’ s Court-marshal, the late Count Keller, who did not even deign to answer his request when Menzel asked to be allowed to see Frederick the Great’s historical Music Room PRIVATE LIVES OF ^52 by candle-light previous to putting the finishing-touches to his celebrated painting, ‘‘The Flute Concert at Sans Souci.” “Maybe he was frightened at the prospect of furnish- ing a couple of dozen wax candles,” sneered the Duke of Schleswig. “ More likely he knew nothing of Menzel’s growing reputation,” suggested Vegas, the sculptor. The Emperor overheard the last words, and joined Her Majesty, who was holding petit cercle in the Tassen Zimmer. “Are you prepared to say that my granduncle’s chief marshal failed to recognize the genius of the foremost Hohenzollern painter?” he asked, sharply. “I would not like to libel a dead man,” answered Vegas, “but appearances are certainly against the Count. I have it from Menzel’s own lips that the Court-marshal refused him all and every assistance when he was painting his scenes of life in Sans Souci. The rooms of the chateau were accessible to him only to the same extent as to any other paying visitor or the hordes of foreign tourists, and he had to make his sketches piecemeal, gathering corrobo- rative and additional material in museums and picture- galleries.” Quick as a flash the Kaiser turned to Count Eulenburg. “I shall repay the debt Prussia owes to Menzel,” he spoke, not without declamatory effort. “We will have the representation of the Sans Souci flute concert three days hence. Your programme is to be ready to-morrow morning at ten. Menzel, mind you, must know nothing of this ; merely command him to attend us at the Schloss at supper and a musical evening.” .And, turning round, he said to Her Majesty: “You will impersonate Princess Amalia, and you, Kessel ’ ’ (Adjutant von Kessel, then WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 153 Commander of the First Guards), engage all your tallest and best-looking officers to enact the great King’s military household. ’ ’ Again the Kaiser addressed Count Eulenburg : Be sure to have the best artists of the Royal Orchestra perform Frederick the Great’s compositions, and let Joachim be engaged for the occasion.” Saying this, he took Her Majesty’s arm, and, bidding his guests and the Court a hasty good-night, strode out of the apartment. Count Eulenburg had scarcely opened his mouth to pro- nounce the usual phrase : Ladies and gentlemen, their Majesties have no further commands for you to-night,” when Countess Brockdorff and myself were summoned to the Kaiserin’s dressing-room. Her Majesty was pacing the floor. Help me think ! ” she cried ; ‘‘ where shall I get a costume in so short a time ? Even if we telegraph to Vienna this very hour, the dress could not be finished and reach here in due season.” I found it difficult to remain patient with my mistress. ‘‘As the miller pointed out to Frederick the Great, that there is a Chancellor’s Court in Berlin, so I might suggest to Your Imperial Majesty that the capital affords some very respectable costumers, and that the satin and velvet neces- sary for the over and under dress can be procured at any shop Unter den Linden,” I remarked. “Her Ladyship is right,” said Countess Brockdorff, “ but ” — this malicious woman would sooner think of fly- ing than praise somebody without a “but” to offset her own note of approval — “ but, as you know, the Kaiser desires Her Majesty to represent a historical personage noted for her fondness of silver and gold embroidery. The underdress and the train of the costume must be richly ornamented. How will you accomplish this in so short a time ? ” 154 PRIVATE LIVES OF ‘^With Her Majesty’s permission,” I answered, I will once more cite an example from Prussian history. When the victorious King ordered the ceremony of swearing alle- giance in Breslau at twelve hours’ notice, the only cloth of state on hand for covering the throne and canopy was of the Austrian variety; that is, sprinkled with two-headed eagles. ^ Never mind,’ said the King, ‘cut out one head and the Prussian bird of prey is ready.’ So we might overhaul Her Majesty’s chests of laces and precious em- broideries and, I am sure, obtain material enough for a dozen costumes, and — without cutting off anybody’s head,” I could not constrain myself to add. My advice was followed on the spot, and the Kaiserin personally accompanied Countess Brockdorff and myself to the wardrobe-rooms, while next morning, by the earliest train, the grand-mistress and Frau Gleim repaired to Ber- lin to continue the investigation in the Schloss. On the evening of the fHe day, the Empress herself admitted that my overconfidence had been justified by the results attained. To tell the truth, Auguste Victoria never looked better than in the picturesque costume of the royal Abbess of Quedlinburg, though she is really the last person in the world resembling Amalia, who, at the period depicted, “was as beautiful as an angel, and the most joyous and affable King’s daughter ever described in old patrician literature.” Her Majesty’s dress consisted of a petticoat of sea-green satin, richly ornamented with silver lace of antique pattern, and an overdress of dark velvet embroid- ered with gold and set with precious stones. On her powdered hair, amplified by one of Herr Adeljana, the Vienna coiffeur’s, most successful “creations,” sat a jaunty three-cornered hat, having a blazing aigrette of large dia- monds in front, the identical cluster of white stones which figured at the great Napoleon’s coronation, and which he WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 155 lost, together with his entire equipage, in the battle of Waterloo. In her ears Her Majesty wore pearl ornaments repre- senting a small bunch of cherries. Like the aigrette, they are Crown property, and that Auguste Victoria thought well enough of the jewels to rescue them from oblivion for this occasion was certainly most appropriate. Make a note of it, thou firi-de-siede reader, historic romance is not dead, as some of our novelists would fain make us believe ; that graceful offspring of love and lore merely slumbers in a moth-proof cedar chest, and, on rare occasions, steps gaily forward to recall to the minds of the initiated memories of ancient splendor. Know, then, that those priceless gems in Her Majesty’s ears belonged at one time to the great Frederick’s lovely mistress. La Barbarina, as Rosalba Carriera’s famous pastel of the dancer in the Dresden gallery, and furthermore a large painting which hung for nearly a century and a half in a privy of the gray Schloss on the Spree, prove. Accord- ing to an old-time inventory, the canvas had been placed in that unseemly environment by all-highest order, to ‘‘the Frauenzimmed s lasting shame,” when, in 1748, King and ballerina quarrelled. And that despicable mode of punish- ment, worthy of a century that tolerated the most loathsome personal uncleanliness while striving for artistic perfection, remained in force until the Schloss was partly rebuilt by the present Kaiser. The canvas, a work of Vanloo, is now stored with a lot of rubbish in Castle Bellevue, in the Thiergarten. Barbarina’s jewels in the Prussian Crown treasury ! How they got there would certainly be a most interesting question to solve. Was it the warrior-Leander’s “good pleasure ’ ’ to tie a string to his presents, or did Barbarina share the fate of Voltaire after dismissal, and was overtaken 156 PRIVATE LIVES OF on the road to the frontier by Prussian hussars (as the French philosopher was on his way to Switzerland) and robbed of the negotiable souvenirs of royal favor? The Kaiser himself came to inspect our masquerade before we entered upon our short drive to Sans Souci. All the ladies wore costumes resembling that of Her Majesty, — flowered silk petticoats, velvet overdresses puffed up at the hips, colored silk stockings, and satin slippers with high, red heels d la Duval and silver buckles; also towering coiffures set off by ostrich-tips. In this fetch- ing dress. Lady of the Court, Countess von Bassewitz, looked so uncommonly well that the Kaiser, who is not used to such surprises in his wife’s entourage, let his eyes rest upon her graceful figure and pretty face for quite a while, until Her Majesty impatiently proposed a hurried departure. The Kaiser wore the cuirassier uniform of the great Frederick’s period, a highly-ornamental dress that suited the war-lord, who was painted and powdered to perfec- tion, extremely well, especially as Wellington boots, a very becoming wig, and his strange head-gear really and seem- ingly added to his figure, while his usually stern face beamed pleasantly under the powder and rouge, laid on by expert hands. At the grand portals of Sans Souci their Majesties were ceremoniously received by Colonel von Kessel, who was uniformed like the Emperor and had under his command a company of giant grenadiers clad in the old-time blue and red coats, long white leggings reaching above the knees, and gilded tin helmets backed with scarlet on powdered wigs. The scene of Menzel’s picture, Frederick’s Music Room, is the second apartment on the right after the dining-hall, which forms the centre of the chateau. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 157 We found it brilliantly lit up with wax candles, too luminous to represent the original of the masterpiece and certainly far more resplendent with light than the miserly King would have permitted, of whom it is reported that he compelled his Queen and the Queen-Mother to await his coming in the White Hall of the Berlin Schloss previous to the great state functions, by the light of a single taper. Not until Frederick himself appeared among the guests and officials, durst the candles on the chandeliers and candelabra be lit. Like other members of the Court and society, I had heard a great deal of William’s predilection for stage manage- ment, but never had had occasion to witness the exercises of this particular gift on the Kaiser’s part. Imagine my surprise when, suddenly, I found myself in the midst of a full-dress rehearsal ! In one corner of the room, huddled together like a flock of frightened sheep, stood the artists engaged for the occasion. All wore the eighteenth-century Court cos- tume, — long-skirted vests and silk or velvet coats, col- ored satin breeches, buckled shoes, and imposing allonge perruques. “Attention ! ” cried the Kaiser, and he began to call out their names without taking the trouble to affix the customary “Herr,” while an imperious gesture of his gloved hand assigned each man to his post. At the historic grand piano, which was once enlivened by the slender fingers of Princess Amalia, perhaps the greatest virtuoso of her time, a middle-aged artist was placed, whose make-up resembled the features of Philip Emanuel Bach, Frederick’s accompanist. To his right the Kaiser posted a viola-player, representing Franz Benda of by-gone days, and behind them came two performers on the violoncello and finally two violinists. PRIVATE LIVES OF 158 The great King was impersonated by a small, thin man of noble countenance, who held between his fingers an exact counterpart of Frederick’s favorite flute. Having placed these gentlemen in position, the Kaiser had a copy of Menzel’s painting brought in, and pointed out the figure each represented. “Now, first violin,” rang out his drill-ground voice, “give more attention to holding your head ! ” “The piano-player must turn his face a little sideways ! ” “ The ’cellists must bend down a bit ! ” “That is right; now all remember that you are expect- ing your cue from the royal soloist.” Turning from the musicians. His Majesty called out : “Where are Quanz” (Frederick’s music-teacher), “Graun” (the composer), “and Maupertuis?” Three actors from the royal play-house responded. “You have studied your parts?” said the Kaiser, inquir- ingly; “well, then, proceed to your various corners, and do not take notice of any one in the room. Play your parts as if you stood on a real stage, with the Kaiser in his box.” In the same manner the ladies of the Court were ordered about, and the Empress herself did not fare better. “ Countess Bassewitz ! ” shouted the royal stage-manager, as if he were addressing a coryphee, “please remember that the Margravine of Baireuth, whom you have the honor to represent, was not only noted for beauty and grace, but also for her truly royal airs. ’ ’ Her little Ladyship blushed and moved uneasily on the red silk sofa where she sat with Countess Camas, whom Frederick used to call his chere maman. Behind the chair of Madame von Camas, the Kaiser put an officer, a somewhat awkward young man, who had to change his position half a dozen times before it suited His Majesty, and then came the most difficult task of all, — the placing of the Empress. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 159 We ladies had studied the part of Princess Amalia with Her Majesty incessantly for the last twenty-four hours, but Auguste Victoria seemed utterly unable to enter into the spirit of the tableau. Seeing her failure, she affected physical reasons for her nervousness, while everybody saw with regret that the Kaiser’s imperious manner had com- pletely disconcerted the royal Lady. In His Majesty’s eyes this novice was the least satisfactory of all ; she neither ‘‘understood how to hold a fan, nor how to look interested,” and the scene was becoming very painful, when, to every- body’s relief. House-marshal Baron von Lyncker appeared and announced that Professor Menzel’s carriage was ap- proaching. Thereupon the Emperor left at once to assume his character as Frederick the Great’s Adjutant-General in the vestibule. We all breathed freer now, especially as Herr von Lyncker, the stage-manager — substitute, made us feel quite easy in our parts by a few words of approval. Menzel had meanwhile alighted at the grand entrance, and ascended the stairs, wondering at the display of old- time military. The little old man wore shabby evening dress, and an overcoat over his arm, and his surprise knew no bounds when Colonel von Kessel stepped forward to welcome him with a ceremonious speech. When, how- ever, von Kessel having “spoken his piece,” the Kaiser himself marched up solemnly in his strange uniform, hat in hand, the artist perceived at once that he was to be the victim of an ovation and with much dignity submitted to the ordeal. For such it turned out to be. AVilliam, unbeknown to all except the master of ceremony, had imi- tated his ancestor in one more respect, and there was no Voltaire to wash this King of Prussia’s “dirty linen.” As Prince Bismarck put it (I owe the anecdote to the great Chancellor’s physician and confidant. Dr. Sch Wennin- ger), “he stepped into the lowest department of literature, i6o PRIVATE LIVES OF occasional poetry, and bonabarded the helpless master with forty stanzas of alleged verse in which the deeds of Prus- sia’s kings and the masterpieces that commemorate them were extolled with a prosiness that sounded like an after- clap of William’s Reichstag and monument orations.” The length, if not the dulness, of the discourse had, however, one good effect : it gave Menzel ample time to formulate a fitting reply, and, bowing low at the conclusion of the tirade, he said, with perfect sang-froid: “I believe I have the honor of addressing Adjutant-General Baron von Leutulus, and I beg of Your Excellency to submit to His Majesty, the King, my sincerest thanks for this unex- pected honor.” The artist having entered into the spirit of the thing, the Kaiser’s impromptu farce proceeded smoothly. First of all came the obligatory review of the guards, who had to go through some old-time exercises; then Baron von Lyncker ordered the mixed company in the Music Room — Empress, ladies-in-waiting, actors, officers, and fiddlers — to assume the poses and duties assigned to each individually. The master was allowed to contemplate the prototype of his chef-d' ceuvre for a little while before he took his seat; but soon the Emperor, sitting by his side, gave the signal to the musicians, who intonated Frederick’s flute concert, doubtless the finest composition that emanated from the great King’s prolific pen. Later on, the players performed a piano concert by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, the young and enthu- siastic gentleman who is credited with having been the lover of Madame Recamier and Madame de Stael at the same time (Napoleon threatened to shut him up with the latter in some lonely castle, and exhibit their offspring at the country fairs as horrible examples of the union of WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT l6l pedantry with bottomless conceit), and finally Joachim fascinated us all by the noblest rendition of Sebastian Bach’s masterpieces. We supped in the Marble Hall, whose superb cupola rests upon sixteen white pillars from Carrara, but the Kaiser’s attempt to establish a round table” resembling that of his ancestor was a failure. It is easy enough to arrange a mummery, — money and a little tailor’s sense will do for that ; but it is quite another thing to copy a Voltaire ‘^eloquent as Cicero, witty as Plinius, and as learned as Agrippa;” a La Mettrie, D’Argens, Algarotti, or even a General Quintus Icilius. And it takes more than royal birth and fine jewels to impersonate a Princess Amalia, and more than beauty of face and a pair of graceful shoul- ders, such as the Countess Bassewitz possesses, to represent the witty Margravine ! While their Majesties and the company, after supper, were admiring the illuminated fountain, then the latest of novelties, I went once more into the Music Room, where the wax lights were burning at low ebb. This, then, had been the theatre of Frederick’s love- making ; here reigned the sole queen of his heart, the only woman whom he loved after ascending the throne, as all contemporaries, from Abb6 Denina to Voltaire, assert. Portraits of this famous beauty between high mirrors in silver frames all around the room, — Venus-Barbarina coquetting with Pygmalion; Pomona-Barbarina yielding gracefully to the masked demi-god ; Diana-Barbarina slum- bering while pretty nymphs mount guard over her; Bar- barina embraced by Apollo; Barbarinaand Pan; Barbarina, the genius of Love; Barbarina the woman, clad only in her surpassing grace, her supernatural loveliness, the glori- ous black hair unsullied by powder, her breasts and limbs radiant with the voluptuousness of southern youth ! 1 62 PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT Antoine Pesne, painter to the King, expended all his genius as a colorist of the schools of Giorgione and Titian, all his true artistic intensity of feeling, on these canvases, which happily saw the light before the renaissance of the yellowish Rembrandt tint, that annoys the lover of art in the majority of portraits of a somewhat later period. Pesne was first and last a portrait-painter ; but the King’s desire to see the beloved woman in all sorts of attitudes, in classical garb and without, gave his magic brush a far wider field. Henceforth he devoted himself to composing grand myth- ological scenes in which La Barbarina formed the central figure and where unblushingly he drew the veil from the charms of her person. I was contemplating these reminiscences in silent reverie when the door opened and the Kaiser came in with little Menzel. I have a mind to engage Angeli to paint Her Majesty’s picture in the costume of Princess Amalia,” said the Em- peror. “What do you think of it?” “ Angeli is painter to many emperors and kings,” replied the professor, and I saw him smile • diplomatically as he moved his spectacles to get a better view of the allegorical canvas on the left wall that exhibits the nude figure of the famous mistress in its entirety. “ I am glad you agree with me on that point,” said the Emperor, impatient to execute the idea that had just crossed his mind. “I will telegraph to him to-night.” And when, five minutes later, Menzel bent over my hand to take his formal leave, I heard him murmur in his dry, absent-minded manner: “Pesne — Angeli — Frederick the Great— William II ! ” CHAPTER VIII Has anybody heard of the projected English tour of the Meiningens?” asked His Majesty at dinner in the Berlin Schloss one afternoon in February, 1892. Herr von Egloff stein responded. He had heard the Hereditary Prince say that he and the Princess intended to accept an invitation of Queen Victoria to Windsor Castle. ‘‘But the cost!” exclaimed the Kaiser; “it will be at least ten marks a head for their Highnesses every day they are absent.” Next day, at second breakfast, the Emperor’s menu card, on which His Majesty had sketched “the future south front of the castle with the surrounding territory,” was handed around the table. “I am glad to announce to you,” he said, after all had expressed due admiration, “that I have perfected my plans for the improvement of the Schloss. After abolishing the popular amusement of looking into the Kaiser’s windows” (His Majesty referred to the dismantling of the houses on the Schloss Freiheit, where now the monument of William I stands, and which was formerly occupied by a row of de- crepit old houses and shanties whose inhabitants had a very good view of the imperial apartments opposite), — “after routing the sweet plebs across the way, I have decided to erect another barrier between myself and publicity. As the sketch shows, terraces will be built adjoining the south 163 164 PRIVATE LIVES OF front of our palace, and they will extend far enough to place within the royal precinct that part of the castle square that lies between the Schloss and the great foun- tain. These terraces,” added the Kaiser, with a self- satisfied laugh, “will at the same time serve to deaden some of the noise from the incessant traffic.” “Will the city be willing to sacrifice the space?” asked the Prince of Saxe-Altenburg, who was the guest of honor that day. “If I permit the razing of the old houses between Breite Strasse and Kurfiirsten Briicke, certainly,” replied the Kaiser, who was still smiling. “But the scheme, if pushed to such length, will involve an outlay of twenty millions,” warned the Minister of the royal house, Herr von Wedell. “ Maybe, more or less.” The Emperor said this with a frown, but immediately resumed his semi-bantering tone, and added, lightly : “ Perhaps I will authorize Your Ex- cellency to arrange another Schloss Improvement Lottery, or to take up a loan that holds out large premiums, as they do in Austria and Servia.” With that he turned to his neighbor, the Countess Brockdorff, whom he detests and ordinarily treats with the severest indifference, and, by way of changing the subject, told her a rather risque story of a little boy, who, being disturbed in the night, asked his father what was the matter. The father’s reply is too well known to be printed here. “Oh, bother the brother! ” cried Johnny; “make me one of those rabbits with pink eyes.” Poor Brockdorff nearly fainted, and looked helplessly around the table, while the Emperor slapped his knee and seemed ready to burst with laughter. “It is the very latest,” he said to His Highness of Saxe; **got it from Kotze” (then still a master of ceremony); “he heard it WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 1 65 from his wife, who learned it from Schrader” (another master of ceremony, who was subsequently shot and killed by his colleague in the famous duel), “and Schrader credits it to Otero.” That is the Kaiser all over ; it worries him to think that any of his relatives should spend ten marks, and he dis- poses of ten or twenty millions of public moneys as if they were old bricks or oyster-shells ; in fact, the Kaiser has no notion whatever of the value of the “yellow boys.” Among the many strange facts in this volume, William’s remark concerning the Meiningens’ trip to England is cer- tainly not the least astonishing, coming from a man who is almost continuously on the road, — the heir and heir- ess to a Duchy, paying a visit of state at Windsor Castle, covering their combined expenses with a paltry five dollars a day ! The surmisal is too ridiculous to require analysis ; but it might be just as well to state here that the Prince of Meiningen is a very rich man, although the bulk of his fortune is still in the hands of the reigning Duke and the latter’s third wife, the former actress Helen Franz, called Baroness Heldburg. He lives, if not in splendor, in the style befitting his station, and his wife is certainly the best- dressed woman at Court. On their travels the princely pair are always attended by a suite of from fifteen to twenty people, all of whom, the Emperor thinks, can be provided with transportation and incidentals for twenty marks per day ! That Her Majesty of England sent a very large check to the Prince of Mein- ingen to defray the expenses of his visit, as I happen to know, does not alter the case one whit, for William was, and is probably up to this day, ignorant of the fact. “It is merely a matter of mistaken identity,” said “Lottchen’s” husband, when the Prince of Saxe reported the conversation to him ; “ William thinks I am one of i66 PRIVATE LIVES OF my gamekeepers, as he once mistook Bismarck for his chief bootblack. ’ ’ That was certainly a charitable view to take ; but it does not coincide with the facts. The cold, precise truth is that the man striving for absolute power in Germany and in Prussia, whose combined annual budgets reached the sum of three thousand one hundred and forty millions of marks in 1896, has, as already pointed out, no head for figures. “His father, the lamented Frederick III, showed a woful lack of business capacity when he loaned the Prince of Wales those ten million marks ^ to be repaid when he should become King of Great Britain,’ ” I heard Prince Stolberg, who was imperial grand-master at the time (the transaction took place May, 1888), say more than once, “but,” added the distinguished feudal lord, “His late Majesty’s subsequent financiering shows that his was an act of weakness, rather than of misconception of the risk involved. With the present Kaiser it is different. Whether you put the naught before or after the figure, it’s all ‘ cham- pagne and oysters ’ to him. He would be as generous as his father was, if he were capable of friendship.” It is clearly a deficiency in William’s mental make-up : as some people lack the sense of locality, so the Em- peror happens to be destitute of a proper comprehension of values. Units or tens, three, seven, or eight naughts, — His Majesty recognizes a distinction between these factors in one respect only. To quote once more Prince Stolberg, who, as is well known, soon tired of the job of “standing off Peter and owing Paul : ” “I think I have done as well as anybody can with such a pupil of economics. I made him understand that the Reichstag people deal with mil- lions, while we at Court must be content with using tens and hundreds and thousands, if it comes high.” WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 167 This seems to be the only mathematical rule that has taken root in William’s brain, and, agreeable to Stolberg’s admonitions, he appears to have set himself a limit of three to ten marks for every-day use, and of fifty or one hundred marks for high days and holidays, so to speak. This ap- plies, of course, to personal disbursements only, the require- ments of the household, the travelling, representation, and amusement budgets being regulated by his grand officers and according to certain rules. How well I remember the flutter and pleasant anticipa- tions I experienced during my first Christmas season at the Prussian Court. Not that I nursed great expectations on my own behalf (I have been royalty’s favorite all my life, and received many precious gifts from the old Emperor and Empress, as well as from my present master and mis- tress, in the days of my prosperity); but I felt for our faithful servants, whose lives, though spent in a palace, are harder in many respects than those of the general run of employees, or even of comparatively poor people. In their gorgeous liveries and tidy house-dresses they look suave and contented enough to the occasional beholder, but their lot is scarcely as happy as their serene faces indicate; neither do their wages correspond with their silver-edged clothes of fine material. Off and on I have heard of cases of poverty, even of destitution, in their families, for which they dared not ask relief in the most likely place, of their master or mistress, who caused it to be known once and for all that they must not be annoyed by their servants’ personal concerns. It is a hard rule, I argued, but may be imperative with so large a staff of people. In this bountiful Christmas season, surely, their Majesties will make up for it. Picture, then, my amazement when I heard the Emperor say to Her Majesty, at the beginning of Holy Week: “I have i68 PRIVATE LIVES OF cautioned Miessner (a privy councillor, who administers the royal purse) to pay the customary ten marks only to those servants — lackeys and maids — who wait upon me person- ally. It will be well for you to instruct Baron von Mirbach similarly, or you will run the risk of feeing a whole tribe of men and girls who are merely second or third assistants to your own people.” William’s valets, I heard later on, received fifty marks from their imperial master as Christmas gratuity; all his other attendants, men and women, had to be content with the customary ten marks ‘^for gingerbread,” as the pour- boire is styled at Court. ‘‘And that is the only Trinkgeld the Kaiser dispenses all the year round, ’ ’ complained the wife of one of the wardrobe- men, who does my plain sewing; “outside of Christmas, His Majesty never seems to have a pfennig for his body- servants. Although himself continuously in want of stim- ulants (he often drinks four or five egg cognacs in the course of the day), it never strikes him that his overworked attendants might feel like stepping across the way to the canteen and ‘crook an arm,’ with Your Ladyship’s per- mission.” Occasional beggars that accost him on his rides through Potsdam or Berlin receive three marks from the Emperor, and a like sum is appropriated every Sunday for the benefit of the contribution-plate ; his adjutant hands him the coin before he steps into his carriage going to church ; beggars must report at the royal stables for their mite. Whether this tardy generosity is an evidence of hard- heartedness, as people in the royal service claim, or whether the Kaiser’s unlimited egotism is to blame, I would not like to decide ; perhaps both work together, perhaps Count Stolberg’s advice has something to do with it, while the Kaiser’s inability properly to judge monetary values remains WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 1 69 the prime factor. To emphasize this latter point let me give one more anecdote. William, who is nothing if not a slave to tradition, has revived a habit of several of his ancestors, namely, to stroll out of his palace gate as an ordinary mortal once a year, on Heiliger Abend (Holy Evening, the night before Christmas), when he dons the most subdued civilian dress his wardrobe affords, and when no adjutant, or any one of the body service, is allowed to follow him, — a general order that, however, does not apply to the secret police, which is made acquainted with the Kaiser’s every out- door move beforehand, and has its guardian angels about wherever and whenever he is in the open. ‘‘The war-lord, masquerading as a sub-officer on leave,” as his brother-in-law of Meiningen once described him on a similar occasion, walks through the park behind the Neues Palais toward Sans Souci and often rambles beyond the gates of the ancient chateau, wishing a “Merry Christ- mas ’ ’ to and distributing small gold pieces among needy persons he encounters. It was originally a novel amusement for the Kaiser and a profitable one for the poor men and women who happened to attract his attention when his pockets were still lined ; that is, while his charity fund of two hundred marks, divided up into fourteen gold crowns and three double crowns, lasted; and courtiers and others near William, having the higher interests of the monarchy at heart, used to rejoice in this solitary manifestation of royal good-will, that helped to re-cement the bonds between king and people, those bonds growing further and further apart in our democratic times when the most conspicuous repre- sentative of kingship has seemingly forgotten that there is anything in common between him and the rest of man- kind. PRIVATE LIVES OF 170 “ Will it please Your Majesty to go on your usual Santa- Claus expedition this evening before the trees are lit?” asked Court-marshal Count Eulenburg at second breakfast on the day preceding Christmas of 1894. “Most certainly,” replied the Kaiser, “and, by the way, direct Miessner to furnish me with silver coins, in- stead of gold, this time, — fourteen Thalers and three or four five-mark pieces. You see,” he added, addressing himself to the Empress, “ I have been thinking about this giving away of crowns and double crowns; some poor devil, whom I try to benefit, might arouse suspicion when he offers my Christmas present in payment. That element of distrust and danger I will circumvent by spending only Thalers among my needy friends hereafter.” “How thoughtful of you,” lisped the Empress, devour- ing her husband with admiring glances. “Your Majesty thinks of everything,” said the Count- esses von Brockdorff and von Bassewitz unisono. And “Of everything, particularly his pocket,” whispered my neigh- bor, Count M , mockingly. For my own part, I was in hopes that the Kaiser might reconsider the matter and arm himself with the full quota of two hundred marks in silver before he started out ; but when he came to take leave of Her Majesty, he drew from his overcoat pocket the shabby little amount he had decided to spend, fifty-seven marks in all, brand new silver pieces each one of them. “The poor are in luck to-night,” he said. “Miessner selected the brightest Thalers in his treasury, they are really very pretty,” and the Kaiser laughed as the hapless Princess Lamballe may have laughed as she exclaimed : “If the poor have no bread, let them eat pastry.” As little as I would be inclined to charge the young beauty who gave her head for Marie Antoinette’s friend- ship, with heartlessness, as little do I agree with Count WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 171 M ’s uncharitable surmisal, that the Kaiser resolved upon the change from crowns to marks for reasons of economy. On the contrary, the probabilities are that he did not consider the losses his poor would suffer or the saving on his own part, for one single moment, his ina- bility to judge values rightly precluding such a course. This strange state of mind is not without pathological interest, of which more anon ; but as a secondary cause the practice of bringing up young princes in complete ignor- ance of money-matters must be held responsible. Royal parents seem to think that to deprive their sons up to the day of their majority of a decent amount of pocket- money is the surest, nay, the only way to keep their boys from becoming spendthrifts. In Prussia, the princely youth is allowed a few Thalers per week, of which the minutest accounting is demanded, and which — and that is the worst feature — he may not even manage in person, that privilege being reserved for his governor or Court-marshal. The practice has worked havoc immeasurable with us, as well as with others; but there seems to be little hope that this doltish idea, worthy of its avaricious progenitor, Frederick William I of Prussia, will be abandoned in a hurry. True, young Hohenzollerns are not liable to be flogged nowadays for spending a few pfennigs unnecessarily, as Crown Prince Frederick was when he gave a royal servant eight Groschens for bringing his dog from Potsdam to Wusterhausem, a distance of twenty miles (his father beat him for having no more sense than to pay a man who merely performed his damned duty ” ) ; but even so wide- awake a woman as the Empress Frederick insisted upon bringing up the heir to the throne without giving him a chance to acquaint himself with the power, the temptation, the misery, and the joy that the possession of ready money 172 PRIVATE LIVES OF carries with it. As the holes in the Greek philosopher’s toga denoted vanity rather than contempt of worldly opinion, so the patches on a youthful Hohenzollern’s trousers indicate not Spartan frugality, but a false notion of the principles of economics. Our Princes are not taught that it is necessary to economize in order to be liberal ; they are merely deprived of things they like, — good clothes and cash, — in obedience to a hoary delusion that has peopled the thrones of Europe with spendthrifts or niggards for the past century. I have heard the former Court-marshal von Liebenau say that William, when at college, never had a copper over and above his expenses, all of which were disbursed by him, Liebenau. “When he entered active service, that old bane — pen- ury — hovered over the lieutenant, captain, and colonel; his entire income was made over to me every month or quarter, and as it was always spoken for in advance, my young master even aspired in vain for a pocket-piece, a double gold crown.” Is it to be wondered at that the victim of these educa- tional methods, having been unable to acquire intimate acquaintance with the nervus reru7n, persists to this day in a childish attitude toward financial questions, and, having all his own wants attended to as a matter of course, fails to understand or appreciate what is due to others ? Personal friends of the Emperor and Empress Frederick have defended their Majesties’ short-sighted course on the plea of tradition and conservatism ; but that apology is hardly pertinent in view of the fact that William’s parents had before them two awful examples depicting the sorry consequences of such bringing-up as they were meting out to their son. All through the childhood and youth of the Prince Royal the Prussian Court was occupied with the contemplation WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 173 of the vagaries of Louis II of Bavaria, a Prince whose wild extravagances and contempt for the science of addi- tion and subtraction were directly traceable to his sordid and excessively severe training. I myself have heard the Crown Princess tell, with many expressions of condemna- tion and regret, of the austere regimen that prevailed in the Munich Hofburg under Maximilian Joseph II and his consort, Marie, daughter of Prince William of Prussia. Once, in the early sixties, when the Court was summering at Babelsberg, Her Royal Highness read us a letter from the Queen of Bavaria to Queen Augusta. am in despair,” wrote Her Majesty, “and hardly know where to turn. I cannot conscientiously oppose the King’s educational methods, still it is hard to see my children suffer under a system that robs them of all the little joys of life. The King will not allow our boys to have more than eight Groschens” (twenty cents) “pocket-money per week, — a ridiculous amount, do you not think so? Yesterday I learned that Ludwig ’ ’ (who became King two or three years afterward, in March, 1864) “had contracted with a dentist to have two of his sound molar teeth pulled, for which the boy was to get twenty florins. The Prince had given a fictitious name, and the dentist heard only by the merest accident, and at the last moment, whom he had before him. Of course he quailed on learning the truth, and very properly informed our Court-marshal, who in turn acquainted me with the facts. I forbade him to mention the matter to His Majesty,” the Queen went on to say, “but I am afraid it will penetrate to the all-highest ears by and by, and then the Prince’s allowance may be cut off altogether.” In later years similar accounts were received from Cam- den House, Chislehurst, the residence of the widowed Empress of the French and the Prince Imperial. The 174 PRIVATE LIVES OF former Countess of Teba had adopted the system of her more ^ legitimate” royal brothers and sisters, and made her only son’s life a hell by withholding from him a suit- able appanage. This bright young Prince had to maintain a position among the gilded youth of London on an allow- ance that barely covered the cost of his cab-fares and theatre-tickets, and in consequence the former pleasant re- lations between mother and son were grievously disturbed. ‘‘ The old mercenary spirit seems to have come over the Montijo woman once more,” said the Empress Augusta, who, through her reader, a talented French poet, was always particularly well informed with reference to affairs in Chislehurst; ‘^she treats her son as if he were a clerk of her grandfather, Mr. Kirkpatrick, sometime consul in Malaga. And she expects to reinstate this young man, who is never allowed to handle enough money to buy him- self a pony, on the throne of France ! ” And in the summer of 1879, after poor Lulu had breathed his last under a cloud of poisoned arrows. Her Majesty asserted, on the authority of Comte d’Herrison, who had been on very intimate terms with Napoleon III, that Eugenie had driven her son into this senseless war and to death, by her avarice. If we could only see ourselves as we see others ! Here we have two of the wisest royal heads of the cen- tury, the Empresses Augusta and Frederick, criticising their friends on account of a detestable and dangerous method that flourished at their own firesides scarcely less con- spicuously than at Munich and Camden House, and must have come under their notice almost daily for tens of years in succession ! Verily, the Bourbons are not the only ones who never learn anything and never forget anything; and Alexander the First’s criticism on the discrowned; “they are incorriges WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 175 and incorrigibleSj" which the Kaiser is so fond of applying to some of his dear relatives, notably Duke Gunther of Schleswig and the Crown Prince of Roumania, might be laid at the door of every man and woman born in the purple, so far as my experience at the various courts goes. We now return to that twenty-million project launched with so much self-satisfied complacency “ between soup and fish.” On the eve of its birthday — for we learned by and by that the Kaiser, who picked up the idea in a rambling memorial of his granduncle, the mad Frederick William IV, and, after adopting and fathering the plans, made haste to parade them before the visiting Prince and the Court as his own and as something brand new — at supper, the same day, William brought forward many fresh argu- ments in favor of his grand schemes. The municipal council, he explained, if it were not en- tirely composed of Socialists, could not offer any objection to his plans, “no matter what the cost,” for he meant to give the terraces over to his sons as a play-ground. Wedell must argue that the terraces would offer a formidable bul- wark against the plans of anarchists. And as a final trump : “We will promise to prolong the annual stay of the Court at Berlin at least one month or six weeks.” “Point No. 2,” said Minister von Boetticher to his wife, who was my neighbor in the petit ce7'cle in the Concert Room, “will force Caprivi to shut up shop. He cannot afford to drop Bismarck’s Socialist laws and on top of it shout about anarchistic danger. ’ ’ And, turning to me. His Excellency asked: “Are the children ever permitted to play on the terraces on the Lustgarten side ? ’ ’ “The poor boys never go outside the castle gate, except in their old blue landau,” I answered. “ I thought so,” smiled Boetticher, with a side glance at Herr von Wedell, who was standing with His Majesty in 176 PRIVATE LIVES OF one of the windows, seemingly listening to most important disclosures, “and it will make the House Ministry’s posi- tion the more difficult. If the existing terraces are never utilized for the purposes claimed as the raison d' Hr e for new grants, the argument stands on very rickety ground. Your Ladyship might hint so much to Her Majesty.” “No, thank you,” I declared, ^Hhis Ladyship knows better than to doubt the Emperor’s omniscience in his wife’s presence.” I had spoken with unusual emphasis, and Herr and Madame von Boetticher laughed so heartily as to attract attention all around. “I wonder if His Majesty will catch many zucours^ as they say in your country, with his promise to reside longer than usual in the capital?” said, in another part of the hall, the Hereditary Princess of Hohenzollern, nH Princess de Bourbon, to “little Mrs. Aribert ” of Anhalt. “I don’t know if I quite understood you, cousin,” re- plied Princess Louise, haughtily; “but, at any rate, be informed that the word you intended using is an Ameri- canism, not an English term, and very inelegant besides. As for the rest, I think the Berliners have every reason to place implicit confidence in His Majesty’s word.” During the next week or so, at luncheon, dinner, and supper, at receptions, concerts, and balls, the Court talked of nothing but the projected castle improvements, and the Kaiser never wearied of explaining his plans to visitors pri- vately, and to a roomful of guests and attendants collect- ively. Then, suddenly, a change of base was decreed. The terraces were hurled from their imaginary pedestals, and in their stead the ever ready imperial pencil pictured to us the Schloss situated on a green peninsula, and surrounded by majestic waters on three sides. According to this latest plan, Schinkel’s classic Academy of Architecture was to be levelled, and Schinkel Square dropped fifty feet, to make WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 177 room for a splendid lake five acres in circumference, the waters of which were to wash the feet of William the First’s gigantic monument. The scheme looked uncommonly well on paper, and His Majesty experienced small difficulty in finding theoretical supporters for his sublime projects ; but, unfortunately, the matter got into the newspapers even before preliminary negotiations with the city authorities had been opened, and a storm of indignation, ridicule, and defiance broke loose. ^‘Not a pfennig for these baunaerrische'^ (construction- mad) ‘^schemes, not an inch of city property,” began a press article, which I was obliged to read to Her Majesty a few mornings later; and ‘^the times are past when nations build palaces for spendthrift sovereigns, ’ ’ wrote somebody, who desired to remain nameless, to William in a letter postmarked Berlin W., the fashionable quarter; we pay the King of Prussia a salary nowadays, and he has to get along on it as well as any other official, unless, like an army officer, he married a woman with money.” The protests from the provinces were not less vigorous. It appears that the minister of the royal house, for some time past, had endeavored to persuade the authorities of Hannover, Cassel, and Wiesbaden, where royal theatres are established, to release the exchequer from its obligation to furnish a subsidy for the maintenance of these institutions. “The royal Princes,” wrote the eloquent Herr von WedelL, “are growing up, and funds for their education, their proper maintenance, clothes, and so forth, must be set aside. In view of this increase of his obligatory ex- penses, His Majesty has reluctantly consented to a curtail- ment of such outlays as come under the head of contingent charges,” etc. Well worded, was it not? this appeal on behalf of one’s six boys; but the Hannoverians, Casselers, and Wiesbadeners 178 PRIVATE LIVES OF refused to be bamboozled. They stood upon their rights, and when, in the course of events, the Kaiser’s great build- ing plans were divulged, they congratulated themselves upon their firmness, with many disrespectful allusions to the baby act that had failed. And the end of it all? The scandal assumed such proportions that there was nothing left but a complete backdown. On the 9th of March it was announced at luncheon that His Majesty had gone to Hubertusstock, where he does most of his sulking, and in the afternoon Minister von Boetticher got up in the Diet and quieted public opinion by a few well-set lies. ‘‘Those grand building projects,” he said, “have never had any existence except in the brains of hungry penny-a- liners and ambitious architects. Nobody at Court has ever dreamed of their realization. In fact, they have never been discussed in the all-highest presence.” “ The greatest fools are always the greatest liars,” Prince Bismarck laughingly remarked to Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg, when His Highness related the facts to him. “ Do you refer to Boetticher or ? ” “To Boetticher, of course; am I not his sworn enemy, according to the newspapers?” replied the old Prince; “to Boetticher,” he repeated, “who prophesied Caprivi’s fall, and, to save his own neck, had to lie publicly and shamelessly, — a thing I have never done during my long official life.” Another deadly parallel of the extreme in the Kaiser’s character, similar to that exemplified by the Meiningen and the building-project matters, might be drawn by placing the reported reduction of His Majesty’s Christmas charity in juxtaposition to his contemplated appropriation of certain public moneys intrusted to his keeping. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 179 I refer to the so-called “Imperial Disposition Fund,” intended to afford relief to Prussian and German veterans of the wars and in case of great national disasters. As its name implies, the right of bestowing grants out of the three million marks, annually set aside for the purposes specified, is vested in the sovereign, — reason enough for William, who recognizes no obligation that conflicts with his “all-high- est” pleasure, to regard the money as a sort of augmenta- tion of the civil list, in the same way as he takes the naval phrases, “ His Majesty’s cruiser,” “ His Majesty’s torpedo,” etc., literally. To convey a thorough understanding of this matter, we shall have to go back to the events of March, 1892. It was my imperial mistress who, after the withdrawal of Count Zedlitz’s common-school law, persuaded von Caprivi to remain in office. ^^Votre petite guerre est fini,'' said the Emperor to Her Majesty at supper on March 28, “and you have not been luckier than Madame Eugenie. Rest assured, though, that I will not be in the market again for any of Uncle Chris- tian’s ultra-Christian plans. No, we will not go to Cum- berland Lodge a second time.” Her Majesty grew pale and blushed violently in rapid succession. Her bosom heaved, and some of the wine in the glass she was raising to her lips spilled over her superb gown. “ I do not quite understand, Willie,” she said at last, lisp- ing painfully in her agitation. “ Beg Your Majesty’s pardon,” was the Kaiser’s sarcastic reply ; “I thought everybody knew by this time that I had to withdraw the Volksschulgesetz and turn Zedlitz adrift. My government was fast becoming the laughing-stock of Europe with this Augustenburg sort of legislation, as Bis- marck styles it.” 8o PRIVATE LIVES OF The old enemy of our house ” whimpered Auguste Victoria. “You are mistaken in your surmisal : I am not quoting from the Hamburger Nachrichten. The Prince expressed himself thus toward your uncle Waldersee, pointing out at the same time the risks I was running in advocating a law liable to be associated in public opinion with petticoat and family influences.” I did not hear the whole of the above conversation, and lost the rest of it altogether, as, by the Empress’s request, William lowered his voice after this last sally; but Her Majesty repeated it word for word when we ladies attended her in her dressing-room later on. “The Kaiser chooses to put all the blame for this failure upon myself and my family,” she said, amid a flood of tears; “but, by all that is holy to me, I swear, neither my uncle, nor I person- ally, had anything to do with the launching of the Volks- schulgesetz. Prince Christian, it is true, has endeavored to impress His Majesty with the importance of his religious duties as su7nmus episcopus^ and the two gentlemen have had conferences about the best ways and means to combat disbelief and atheism in Germany, but I am convinced that my uncle never ventured advice on matters of legislation. He merely tried to rouse my husband’s interest in divine matters, as any ardent follower of the Lord should do. The Volksschulgesetz as such was the Kaiser’s own creation, though some of the ideas incorporated in it might have come from across the channel.” “Your Majesty should not have minded the Kaiser’s ill- humor,” I ventured to say; “the attitude of Parliament and the press naturally angered him and ” “I know, I know,” interrupted Auguste Victoria; “I can forget everything but the words: ‘We will not go to Cumberland Lodge a second time.’ It was there, at my WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT l8l uncle’s seat, that William and I fell in love with each other.” The Kaiser slept, on the night that followed Count Zed- litz’s enforced resignation, in his little private bedroom, and next morning departed for Hubertusstock before Her Maj- esty had arisen. That was enough to paint our gilded salofts an ashen gray, in which the children. Her Majesty’s ladies, friends, and attendants, vanished as if behind a cloud. Auguste Victoria refused to be comforted: her husband had left ‘her in a fit of irritation; the sovereign lady was seemingly incapable of turning her thoughts from the dis- quieting subject. In the midst of her lamentations, a de- spatch arrived from Queen Victoria, which I was ordered to decipher. “It is reported here that Caprivi will resign. Let it be averted at all hazards. It would be nothing short of a calamity just now,” telegraphed the Kaiser’s grand- mother. “I will drive to the Chancellor at once,” cried the Kaiserin, so great is her respect for Queen Victoria’s political wisdom ; but the Grand-mistress, Countess Brock- dorff, succeeded in dissuading her from so extraordinary a step by referring to the lack of precedents and sundry scruples of etiquette. Finally, it was agreed that Her Majesty should write to Caprivi ; and all of us — the Kai- serin, Countess Brockdorff, Fraulein von Gersdorff, and myself — worked out draughts for the important epistle, with the understanding that the best of the four, contain- ing certain points upon which we had settled, should be adopted and sent off after Her Majesty had copied it. Of course, a lot of ink was spilled uselessly, and a still greater amount of time wasted, in discussing the merits of our various attempts ; but in the end a reasonably appropriate paper was pieced together, whose leading passages read as follows : i 82 PRIVATE LIVES OF **Pray do not leave the Kaiser in the lurch, and thus commit the country to an uncertain future now that the relations between the Crown and its first officer have once more strengthened, and most things that fell into a chaotic condition after Bismarck’s retirement are being straightened out.” Herr von der Knesebeck carried the letter to Wilhelms Strasse, and brought back the reassuring message that His Excellency considered it a great honor to obey Her Maj- esty’s command, and that he would wait upon the Kaiser in Hubertusstock the same evening. The rest is history ; Caprivi consented to remain in office, and the Zedlitz incident was no longer mentioned at Court. All this, it will be remembered, happened in March, 1892. Two years later, the Empress thought quite differ- ently about a change in the Chancellorship. By that time she had grown more and more isolated on the throne, with a husband always absent, if not physically, mentally, and the members of the royal family becoming estranged from her Court one after another. The necessity of having a relative in a commanding position near her, a man of her own caste, who understood her, an equal upon whom she could lean, became more imperative every day. Waldersee it could not be. “Ah ! if we had only Uncle Chlodwig with us.” How often was this pious wish on my mistress’s lips during the first half of the year 1894 ! “ He is such a grand seigneur,” she used to say, “and as mild and temperate as a good priest ! What an example he would be for my children ! ” “ He is also credited with an unusual amount of tenacity,” I remarked on one of these occasions. “You do not consider that a fault. Countess?” Her Majesty had assumed a supercilious tone, but quickly added. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 183 in an anxious voice : ‘‘It is, of course, out of the question that he should offer opposition to His Majesty as Bismarck did and as this Caprivi is doing.” “I don’t know about that. He told his former sover- eign, King Louis of Bavaria : ‘ I possess all the attributes of birth and rank that any king in Christendom may lay claim to.’ ” This intelligence did not please the Kaiserin, though her own mother is a Hohenlohe ; but her scruples on that score had evidently worn off, or she had forgotten all about the incident, when the Kaiser, on October 25, upon his return from the memorable visit to Liebenberg, Count Philip Eulenburg’s country-seat, asked her to write to Strassburg and “ probe her uncle as to his willingness to accept the Chancellorship.” As the German says, she was immedi- ately “fire and flame for the project,” and, after finishing her letter to the Emperor’s lieutenant in the Reichslande, she sat up half the night scribbling to her mother, sisters, brother, and her relatives in England to tell them of Uncle Chlodwig’s “good luck” and her own happiness at the contemplated ending of the “crisis,” which, by the way, had come so suddenly that the royaMadies and gentlemen, or at least some of them, were completely taken by sur- prise. As the Duchess Frederick Ferdinand of Gliicksburg put it, in her letter of reply: “We were just congratulat- ing ourselves upon the vote of confidence William bestowed upon Caprivi on Tuesday, October 23 (it was reported in our Moniteur^ the Eckernfoerder Zeitung, last night), when your Job’s message came to hand.” “There,” said Her Majesty, as she handed the bundle of envelopes to Herr von der Knesebeck, “I have informed everybody that my husband will have peace hereafter, the chief cause of his anger and irritation, a querulous and obstreperous servant, being sent back into obscurity.” 184 PRIVATE LIVES OF Needless to say, the Kaiser could not wait until an answer to Auguste Victoria’s letter arrived from Alsace. Next morning, a Friday, Herr von Lucanus, Chief of the Civil Cabinet, went to Caprivi, demanding, in the Kaiser’s name, his immediate resignation, and when the General had complied with the request, William began telegraph- ing to Uncle Chlodwig, requesting him to accept. The old Prince answered that he would leave the decis- ion to his wife, who knew him best. If “ Marie ” thought the state of his health permitted an increase of his labors at his great age, he would follow the King’s call. And ‘‘Auguste wants you. Be at the Schloss to-night,” read Wilhelm’s urgent rejoinder. We ladies of the Court were kept informed of these high political carryings on by the Emperor himself, who ran in and out of Her Majesty’s rooms constantly in those eventful days. “ I have just learned that your aunt Marie is summering at Aussee ” (with these words the Kaiser en- tered Her Majesty’s study shortly before tea-time); “send her a despatch saying that the Fatherland has a right to demand this sacrifice of her. I need Hohenlohe; he is the only man who can bridge over the present crisis.” The Emperor’s commission, his confidence, made Her Majesty unspeakably happy. “It is one thing to be a Queen, and another to reign,” she said, proudly, when William had left, after correcting and partly rewriting her despatch. Who could have withstood this electric campaign? Ho- henlohe capitulated after forty-eight hours of prodding and promising, and on the 30th of the month their Majesties thanked Princess Marie in a joint telegram for her patriot- ism and disinterestedness. The palace now once more became a place where one could eat and sleep in comfort, go to bed at stated hours. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 1 85 and set about one’s morning toilet without fear of being called away at the most inopportune moment to decipher despatches, run errands completely out of one’s sphere, or help to dry the royal mistress’s tears. The Kaiser, proud of his victory, the assertion of his self-will, gave himself over to the usual round of pleasures, — the chase, all sorts of un- veiling and dedication ceremonies, the theatre, visiting, and military display; the Empress made it her business to appear happy and contented. She had been allowed to play a political part, the threads of a great state intrigue had rested momentarily in her hands; her ambition to become a second Queen Louise might not be unattainable after all. But we propose, and our dear relations dis- pose. Hohenlohe had not been in office a week when the fifty-six other Hohenlohes (you find them enumerated in the Almanach de Gotha), fortified and backed by their one hundred and sixty-odd grandmothers, mothers, aunts, wives, and daughters, began pestering the Court, and finally their Majesties themselves, with allusions to the great discrepancy between their kinsman’s modest stipend as Chancellor and his former salary as Emperor’s lieu- tenant in Alsace, — a difference of a round hundred thou- sand marks per annum. “It is impossible, from the family’s standpoint, to per- mit such a sacrifice without indemnification.” “The Prince belongs, above all, to his kindred, whose glory and prosperity he is bound to help to increase.” The latter phrase seems to be a free translation of the semper Augiistus of the Roman imperators. “ How can he be ex- pected to live up to his duties as chief of the first branch of the younger line of the Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillings- fiirsts if he throws away a fortune every year of his life?” “Uncle Chlodwig,” so ran another line of argument, “is not a gay bachelor, but a father and grandfather, an i86 PRIVATE LIVES OF uncle and cousin times innumerable. Dozens of Hohen- lohes, besides his own children, depend for part of their income, at present or after his death, upon the noble old man, and to all these the enormous curtailment of salary is nothing short of a calamity.” A third batch of correspondents bluntly stated that “inasmuch as Hohenlohe had consented to accept the Chancellorship to please the Emperor, His Majesty was in honor bound to make good his pecuniary losses.” Epistles of this sort kept Auguste Victoria in a turmoil all through the month of November, the Emperor having refused to be disturbed by these screechings, after perusing one or two of the kind which showed conclusively whence the wind was blowing, as His Majesty expressed himself. Thereafter letters postmarked Waldenburg, Rauden, Bart- enstein, Haltenbergstetten, Budapest, Lublinitz, or from any other city or place where the “damned curmudgeons reside,” had to be delivered to the Kaiserin, whether ad- dressed to William personally or not, the occasional ab- sence of the well-known crest, with its tailed quadrupeds and crowned fowl, making no difference, “as some princes and noblemen are not above borrowing a neighbor’s seal ” when they have reason to believe that their letters, if recog- nized, may go unnoticed. d’he adjutants du jour left billets-doux of that kind by the handful morning after morning at the Empress’s rooms, and Her Majesty’s morbid curiosity, a character- istic strongly developed in lonely women, — and the Em- press is lonely even in her children’s midst and sur- rounded by a houseful of friends, — her morbidness made her not only notice these grievances and accusations, but study them, ponder over them. Only once have I seen my mistress unconcerned when thus employed, — at the suggestion that Uncle Chlodwig needed a big salary, such WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 1 87 as he had possessed and lost, in order to live in the style befitting his rank. ‘‘Uncle Chlodwig a pauper!” she cried. “That is news, indeed; a poor man owning residential palaces in several capitals, and castles and country-houses all over Germany and in Austria ! ’ ’ “Of course, the statement is ridiculous,” said Baron von Mirbach; “but it is a fact, nevertheless, that His Grace has been sorely disappointed with respect to his Russian properties, or rather his wife’s Russian inherit- ance, the Wittgenstein domains. The law prohibiting foreigners from holding property in Russia has forced him to dispose of many miles of territory at ruinous prices. ’ ’ “I know,” said the Empress, “and am glad that the Kaiser promised to intervene with the Czar on that ac- count. ‘Nicky,’ I am sure, will arrange matters satis- factorily.” “The Prince’s relatives seem to know nothing of such an understanding,” I remarked. “ Of course not,” replied Her Majesty, “ for it is a state secret which, when I come to think of it, I should have more respected. But now that it is out, let me add that my husband’s promise to secure a favorable settlement of those Russian affairs did more than all other arguments toward persuading the Prince to accept the Chancellorship.” This one-sided correspondence would probably have died out after a while for lack of argumentative fuel, if for no other reason, and the matter of the Chancellor’s salary would have been forgotten, if, all of a sudden, the hydra of the anonymous letter had not raised its head again. Herr von Kotze, the Imperial Master of Ceremony, sus- pected of flooding the Court with unspeakable accusations through nameless letters, had been released from custody i88 PRIVATE LIVES OF July 5, and the lascivious pasquinades — his alleged fabri- cations — which regularly arrived throughout the time of his detention, had ceased coming for months. “Your Majesty ought really not to be so hard on Hohen- lohe on the salary question, considering that you have but to ask your wife’s mother about the good uses Hohenlohe is making of his wealth. Indeed, if it had not been for ^ Cousin Chlodwig,’ the Duchess Adelaide and her children, among them the present German Empress, might have gone hungry many a day while the Augustenburger was fighting ’ ’ (on paper) “for his throne. ” This letter the Emperor found in Berlin, November 15, on the eve of the day when he m^ade that remarkable speech at the swearing-in of recruits, wherein he told those green boobies (in defiance of common- sense and grammar — I translate literally) : “by donning the King’s coat you have become something aristocratic.” William often expresses opinions of that sort, and I should not be surprised if in his heart of hearts he fully believed that his uniform turns the average rustic lubber into a person of distinction, and places him above the rank of citizen. What a blow it must have been to him to learn on top of that speech that his wife’s mother, his wife herself, at one time were beneficiaries of the man whom he had just created chief servant ! That evening the princely couple of Meiningen, Duke Gunther and the hereditary Princess of Hohenzollern, took supper at Court, and to these relatives the Kaiser showed the letter just received. “You are not going to send Leberecht back to Linden Strasse” (the military prison), said Princess Charlotte, who is intimate enough with Kotze to call him by his Christian name. “Your fool-friend has no part in my meditations just now,” answered William, gruffly. “I am thinking about WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 189 ways and means to stifle this new scandal. The report — whether true or not is immaterial — that the German Em- press’s mother accepted charity from a Hohenlohe must not be allowed to spread, and I see but one way to prevent it : those salary-grabbers must be appeased ; the income of Emperor’s lieutenant must be restored to the Chancellor.” Thus far the Emperor had spoken in a loud, almost vehe- ment manner, so that the ladies and gentlemen, standing at a respectful distance, lost not a syllable of his tirade ; but as he proceeded he lowered his voice, and I do not believe that the rest of his speech was understood by anybody out- side of the royal circle, for, acting as lady du jour on that occasion, and as, besides, I was waiting to hand my mis- tress a niouchoir before we went to table, I was nearest to His Majesty, and, though my hearing is good, I failed to catch a word of what he said in confidence. The import of it all I learned, however, the same even- ing, without solicitation on my part, from one of the royal guests, who whispered, as we stood listening to the music : “I begin to believe those rumors charging my ” (the Emperor) “with having made inroads upon the Guelph Fund, seeing that he means to seize upon the Dispositions- fond to repay Hohenlohe for advances made to his mother- in-law. ’ ’ “What does Your Royal Highness mean? ” “That the Kaiser told us to-night he was resolved to grant Hohenlohe an annual augmentation of his salary, amounting to one hundred thousand marks, out of the fund appropriated by the Reichstag for the benefit of crippled soldiers, widows, and orphans, and of the victims of fire, storm, and other elementary misfortunes.” “ Impossible ! It would be malfeasance.” “A steal; just so, gnddige Grdfin^ if — if a semi-demented person could be guilty of crime.” CHAPTER IX Life at Court ran in smooth channels for some weeks following the little family party just described ; the coro- neted graphomaniacs who had embroiled the imperial couple in the nastiest sort of family dispute stopped writing after firing one more broadside of admiration and excuses, in- stead of distrust and calumny as before, and the political horizon being unusually tranquil, the Kaiser and Kaiserin gave themselves up to the pleasures of the season. His Majesty hunting and speechifying, dining out, and enjoy- ing little trips, the Empress knitting and sewing for the or- phan asylums and making other preparations for Christmas. Uncle Chlodwig” was now a frequent guest at the Neues Palais, and his relations with William were seemingly of the best, although it struck me that the young Kaiser treated the old man in a rather patronizing way, as if he meant to insinuate: ^‘Remember what I have done for you, and that, like a true benefactor, I have acted promptly and without fuss.” Toward the end of the month another anonymous letter, this time addressed to Her Majesty, was received. It prophesied grave troubles, ‘Uor,” said the writer, ^^the Dispositionsfond affair is known to the press,” but as nothing relating to it was printed during the next four or five days. Her Majesty concluded that a hoax had been practised upon her. On December 6 occurred the great Reichstag scandal : the Socialistic members refused to rise 191 192 PRIVATE LIVES OF from their seats when the house honored the sovereign by a huzza. I thought Her Majesty would fall ill with indignation and rage when the matter was first brought to her atten- tion, but, contrary to expectation, we found the Kaiser calm and dignified. “If this demonstration,” he said, in the course of the evening meal, “ was aimed at me, it was a failure; it did not reach the tips of my boots. On the other hand, the Socialistic rabble has trampled on the dignity of the Reichstag wantonly and maliciously, and for this the Reichstag must demand satisfaction. As for my government, the occurrence is water for our mills. It means the success of the Umsturtz Vorlage ’ ’ (the anti- revolutionary bill). All agreed upon this point as a matter of course, and therewith the incident was set at rest, we thought, so far as the Court was concerned, but, unfortunately, the Kaiser changed his mind as to the impersonality of the target. After repeating the temperate and statesmanlike interpre- tation of the incident above quoted to Herr von Letzow, Baron von Buol, and Dr. Biirklin, the presidents of the Reichstag, who called at the Neues Palais on Sunday, December 9, he ordered Prince Hohenlohe, by an auto- graph note, indited twenty-four hours later, to ask per- mission of the Reichstag to prosecute the Socialist leader Liebknecht for lese majeste then and there, the consent of that body being necessary, as the constitution guarantees to members of parliament immunity from arrest during sessions. There was much groaning in the palace when the Reichs- tag refused to create so dangerous a precedent. The Kaiser characterized the unfavorable vote by saying that the na- tion’s deputies were suffering, “one and all, from Rothe Ruhr^' (bloody flux), “and therefore could not be at their WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 193 Emperor’s service;” but the graver consequences of this useless stirring up of opposition developed somewhat later, and the Emperor, Hohenlohe, and the Court all suffered in consequence. There appeared, shortly before the holidays, in the Berlin Post^ known as the organ of the foreign ministries, an entrefilety purporting to correct a paragraph printed in an obscure Socialistic sheet, that hinted darkly at a con- spiracy between Kaiser and Chancellor to defraud a public fund, and, with the clumsiness that distinguishes the official fault-finder, the dumped the child with the bath- water,” as Bismarck used to say. It denied the conspiracy, and then calmly told the damning truth of the matter ; namely, that His Majesty, in recognition of Prince Hohen- lohe’ s distinguished services, his patriotism and disinter- estedness, had been ‘‘graciously pleased to grant him an extra subvention of one hundred thousand marks from the charity fund at his disposal. ’ ’ Now the Post^ an afternoon paper, is usually not delivered at the Neues Palais until next morning, but that night a stray copy found its way to the adjutant’s room, and His Majesty appeared at the sup- per table with a darkened brow. He was most ungracious toward Her Majesty, and all the ladies, myself included, were treated to sarcastic remarks that often approached downright rudeness. “A thunder-storm is gathering — I wonder who will be hurt?” remarked my neighbor, Herr von Egloffstein, se^to voce. At that moment the chasseur handed the Kaiser a letter bearing a great official seal. “There,” said His Majesty to the Empress, after perus- ing the missive, “your uncle thanks me for my good inten- tions, and relinquishes, at the first blast from the enemy’s camp, the fortune I threw into his lap. But,” he added, rising and casting an inquisitorial look around the table^ 194 PRIVATE LIVES OF will find out who bears tales from my own house to dirty newsmongers, if I have to people Linden Strasse prison as Spandau was peopled at the time of the Trosqui conspiracy. ’ ’ ^ The Kaiser left the dining-room without offering his arm to the Empress, and as Her Majesty followed him to inquire the meaning of the scene, we of the service (there were no guests that evening) were free to hold an impromptu confab among ourselves. Adjutant von Moltke, who had read the Posf, explained the situation. Great God ! ” cried Countess Brockdorff, His Majesty thinks one of us played informer in the Dispositionsfond matter. ’ ’ ^‘But this is the first we hear of it,” said Mademoiselle von Bassewitz. ^Mt is the newest sort of news to me,” shrieked Fraulein von Gersdorff. ‘^As Her Excellency knows,” I said, looking straight at the grand-mistress, ‘‘Her Majesty received an anonymous letter threatening an expose^ such as has occurred now, two or three weeks ago.” “ I remember,” replied Madame von Brockdorff, slowly. “But,” cried Count Moltke and Herr von Egloffstein, with one voice, “why didn’t you ladies report this to His Majesty? The scandal, if not avoided, might have been nipped in the bud.” “It was the grand-mistress’s office to give information of that kind,” I said; an opinion in which the gentlemen upheld me. 'A mysterious plot, in which a lady-in-waiting to Frederick the Great’s mother, Madame de Blasphil, was involved ; she escaped the ignominy of being put on the rack only by a miracle. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 195 While we were still conversing, Her Majesty returned. Her eyes were red, and she was evidently laboring under great agitation. Calling Countess Brockdorff to her side, she began to talk to her in the most earnest manner, while the rest of us sat about aimlessly, helplessly. As Madame Carette says in her Souvenirs intimes de la cour des Tuil- eries ^‘The presence of the sovereign forbids, as a matter of course, every attempt at unchecked conversa- tion.” How much greater is the strain when the royal mistress, to the knowledge of all present, is suffering from her husband’s displeasure, and the courtiers themselves are under a grave charge of suspicion ! When Her Majesty, long before the usual hour, bade us a half-hearted good- night, a feeling of relief came over me ; but the relaxation did not last long, for when I reached my apartments I found a printed notice under the door, — an order to ‘‘ap- pear before the Royal Auditeur in re Anonymous Letters, next morning at 8 a.m.” I prepared to go to Berlin, where all such examinations take place, by an early train, and was not surprised to find the court-yard gay with the equipages of my colleagues and numerous other Court officials about to embark on the same errand. Together we made up quite a party, filling all available first-class railway carriages, and the Berliners, seeing us drive down the Linden an hour later, must have wondered at the sudden invasion, though surely no one suspected that all these elegantly-dressed women, these gentlemen in showy uniforms and beribboned dress-coats, had left their luxurious couches at an unearthly hour to answer the sum- mons of the modern Vehme. A Vehmgericht indeed, secret, unlawful, tyrannical. We will treat of it later on in the chapters devoted to the nastiest Court intrigue of modern times, the anonymous letter scandal. For the present, it will suffice to say that 196 PRIVATE LIVES OF the judicial inquiries neither yielded the name of the person who revealed the Emperor’s secret, nor afforded the least hint as to his or her identity. After this excursion into the realms of high politics, a milieu which I meant to avoid in these papers, but whose allurements I cannot escape at all times, we will return to the subject : the Kaiser as a financier. The preceding pages have pictured William to us seri- ously concerned about the light-hearted fashion with which a royal relative seemed to squander a dozen or more twenty-mark pieces, and simultaneously calling for an out- lay of from ten to twenty millions to promote some useless building extravagances. Again, we have observed how he reduced his modest Christmas charity fund two-thirds, while at about the same time Prince Hohenlohe’s salary was increased in equal proportion. In both instances William robbed the poor (or intended robbing them), to the advantage of the enormously wealthy, first of a hundred and forty-three marks, the second time of one hundred thousand marks; twice in succession he was guilty of actions that, as pointed out, bespeak at once hard-heart- edness, egotism, and the lack of certain mental faculties. And worst of all, these are not isolated cases, the results of caprice or ill-temper; but all through the public and private life of the Emperor confusion in matters of finance is noticeable, like the proverbial red thread in the British marine, or red tape in our own government affairs. Who has not read of William’s thundering philippics against luxury in the officers’ corps of the army? “The Prussian lieutenant, captain, and colonel must find supreme satisfaction in a frugal life. To live above one’s income is the source of all social evil. Only the commanding gen- erals have ^ duties of representation ’ to fulfil, and their Excellencies shall not spend more for the purpose than the WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 197 State appropriation permits,” are stock phrases of his pro- nunciamentos issued from time to time. And as a varia- tion of the stories on patched Hohenzollern trousers, the official telegraph bureau never fails to add the interesting information that the chief war-lord suffers the red facings of his uniform to be renewed several times before he throws away a coat. Such is the theoretical side of the question ; now to the practical. In order to see whether his commands are strictly obeyed, the Kaiser invites himself to breakfast at the casino of some regiment every little while, announcing that he will pay ten marks for his and his suite’s entertainment, not a penny more. Now, the managers of these institutions know that His Majesty has his preferences as to wines and victuals, and the imperial Court-marshal is only too ready to enumerate them to the anxious. So French champagne of the highest grade, costly Rhine wines and Burgundy, imported cordials and cognacs, are bought, also game and fresh sea-food, which latter is a luxury with us. Furthermore, the exterior and interior of the club building are decorated, and often partly renovated, ‘‘and when, after all these preparations, the lavish outlay made, the imperial master departs with his corporal’s guard of attendants” (when he has to pay for them he never brings more than half a dozen gentlemen), “and, on taking leave, remarks, with self-satisfied emphasis : ‘ You see, my dear colonel, ten marks is quite enough for anybody to spend on his stomach ; I have had a very good breakfast ’ (or dinner), ‘ indeed, for that amount at your house,’ you should study the faces of the subaltern officers,” say the Kaiser’s adjutants. “ Count Eulenburg,” they argue to themselves, “ will send the governing board sixty or sev- enty marks within the next three months to pay for the exact 198 PRIVATE LIVES OF number of seats occupied by the imperial party, while we poor devils will have to pay for the Piper, or Roederer, and the other delicacies, out of our monthly pittance next week.’’ As a matter of fact, it costs a regimental mess from five hundred to fifteen hundred marks every time the war-lord tries its ten-marks’ menu (according to the decorations and renovations deemed necessary), and the officers have to make up the difference. There have been times when the pleasure of feasting the sovereign cost the lieutenants of the Potsdam garrison one-tenth part of their pay for sev- eral months in succession, and when the uniformed gargons of these pretty young fellows had to go without their more than modest wage in consequence. But that is not all. The Kaiser’s adjutants report from time to time stories of wrecked lives, — lives of army men who were lured upon the path that killeth, by the all-highest example, or in con- sequence of William’s casino visitations. It is a mistake to think that the majority of officers serv- ing in the Prussian Guards are wealthy men ; a good many are sons of high officials, endowed with mighty titles joined to a diminutive salary, who can give their boys but very scant assistance. Of course, these handicapped nonages de- sire to shine with the rest, and working, as it were, under the eyes of the imperial chief, endeavor to attract his atten- tion. Now, there is only one way for a subaltern officer to secure this boon under William II, viz. : to dress smartly, for the Emperor is known to pick the best-accoutred man out of a hundred any time. But if one aspires to be the Beau Brummel of the ball- room, the hunting-field, the club, the drill and parade grounds, credit with the regimental wardrobe-master is soon exhausted. Tailors demanding enormous profits as an offset against the risks involved have to be employed. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 199 and from them to the Jew ” is but one step. According to this recipe, Count von R , a dashing Rittmeister of the Body Hussars, was ruined, and Herr von L , of the First Guards, kept him company, with hundreds of others of lesser note. Herr von L ’s mother, widow of a privy councillor, who made her son a yearly allowance, besides keeping a family of several unmarried daughters, out of a pension of forty-five hundred marks, came to me in the fall of 1896, re- questing an audience of Her Majesty, and when, according to instructions, I inquired after the nature of her business with my mistress, she confessed, to my utter consternation, that she intended to petition the Empress to use her influ- ence toward keeping the Kaiser away from the military casinos. Of course, to let Madame von L come near Auguste Victoria was entirely out of the question under the circumstances; but while, as a lady of the Court, I did my best to dissuade her from her purpose, as a woman, I could not close my ears to that poor mother’s arguments. My son’s pay,” she said, ‘‘amounted, as you probably know, to one hundred and seventy-five marks per month, of which all but forty marks were deducted for wardrobe account, representation and benefit funds, board and lodg- ing, etc. Out of these forty marks and half as much again — my own modest contribution — Walter had to pay for his suppers, his tobacco, his car-fare, his amusements and in- cidentals, and, though it was hard work, he managed to keep within his income until His Majesty began to invite himself to the casino. After the Kaiser’s first visit, my boy had to contribute fifteen marks toward the cost of the entertainment, and, to reimburse himself, borrowed a double gold crown from a comrade. In the course of the next month. His Majesty repeated his costly visit, and my boy was bled a second time. Then, after paying his 200 PRIVATE LIVES OF comrade, he retained just five marks out of his pay, while a month of hunger and humiliation was staring him in the face ! Soon afterward, Walter found himself struggling in the clutches of the usurer, and within six months ’ ’ (they have not much patience with us penniless bureaucrats) ‘‘his disgrace was gazetted. And believe me,” added the broken-hearted mother, “my son’s case is not an excep- tional one ; other promising young lives have been wrecked in the same way, and the ruin of hundreds of officers who judge the commanding chief by his deeds rather than by his words is but a question of time. “For their sake, for the sake of their mothers and sisters,” concluded Madame von L , earnestly, “I am seeking audience with the Empress. I want to throw myself at Her Majesty’s feet, picturing to her the perils to which our sons are exposed by coming into personal contact with the Kaiser. I will say to her : ‘ His Majesty is certainly actuated by the highest motives, but the splendor of his presence, the gorgeousness of the entertainments provided for him, are apt to befool ambitious young men by deceiving them as to their own insignificance, and by lightening their sense of the responsibilities they owe to themselves, their family, and their country.’ ” In this connection, an observation by General von Kessel, then commander of the First Guards, deserves mention. “If His Majesty wants to see his officers well dressed, he should stop eating them out of pocket-money at their casinos. They cannot afford to play the host and pay their tailors at the same time,” said the dashing adjutant when the imperial party returned from the manoeuvres in the early fall of 1895. Herr von Kessel referred to His Majesty’s criticism of the dress of certain officers of the Breslau Cuirassiers, a body of troopers from whom William demands hospitality on all occasions. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 201 In February, 1897, I had the honor of receiving the Princess Frederick Charles of Prussia at the Berlin Schloss, Her Royal Highness calling during the Empress’s absence. She was delighted to find everybody out. “1 came to speak to their Majesties with respect to the anniversary” (the festivities in honor of the late Kaiser Wilhelm's one hundredth birthday), she said ; “ the letter of invitation prescribes costumes of the end of the eighteenth century, and I desired to explain to His Majesty why I cannot comply with such a request. To Your Ladyship I men- tion the true reason without hesitation, but, of course, it would have been painful to me to plead poverty to my nephew, he is so hard of comprehension” {begriffs- stutzig) ^‘in such matters. However, if the truth must be told, I am not rich enough by far to spend ten thousand marks on a costume serviceable for one occasion only, and, consequently, must decline to attend, much as I regret it, unless the Kaiser permits me to appear in the regulation ball-dress. ’ ’ When I delivered this message to His Majesty, he scanned my face for a second or two in blank amaze- ment as if he thought I was joking. Then he laughed. ‘‘Absurd!” he cried, “a Princess of Prussia unable to buy a few frocks 1 I see Madame, my aunt, is getting to be a niggard in her old age. But she must have her will; my Herr ^ grandfather was always very fond of the Princess, and we cannot do without her on this occasion.” During a reception held at the Schloss, on the evening of the same day. Princess Radziwill spoke of the great diffi- culties that many army officers, invited to the festivities, experienced to procure the necessary costumes. ^ The Kaiser never fails to preface references to his grandfather or his father by the appellation of ‘‘I/err” 202 PRIVATE LIVES OF ‘‘These gentlemen have had a month’s time to prepare for my pageant, and I would advise none to be at all laggard in complying with my commands,” said the Kaiser, haughtily. “If there are not enough tailors and embroiderers in Berlin, the work can be sent to other cities.” “With Your Majesty’s permission, it is not the lack of hands and needles, but the scarcity of ‘spondulicks,’ or as Her Royal Highness, Your Majesty’s sister, says, — ‘mint- drops,’ that interferes. A great many of the younger offi- cers, especially, can ill afford to spend six to seven hundred marks on a uniform that becomes absolutely useless after a few hours’ wear. ’ ’ “And where did Your Grace acquire all this valuable information,” resumed the Kaiser, bowing formally and accentuating each word with a semi-sarcastic sneer. “Anywhere, everywhere ! They talk of nothing else in the salons and clubs.” Princess Marie’s French blood was up. “I felt like repeating to him what Pauline Metter- nich told the Empress Eugenie : ‘ I was born a grand dame, and I allow no one to ironyze me,’ ” she said, afterward, to Countess Brockdorff, who remonstrated with her for losing her temper. His Majesty merely shrugged his shoulders at the Prin- cess’s blunt speech. “If it is necessary to clothe my guests, as well as to feed them, I will appropriate twenty thousand marks to help your impecunious friends to pay for their costumes, ’ ’ he said, and at once changed the subject. The promise had, however, been heard by everybody in the assemblage, and as all of us numbered at least one poor relative or friend among the four hundred officers com- manded to the festival, it is not strange that the affair gained wide publicity. The news seemed to spread through- out Berlin and Potsdam like a piece of local intelligence WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 203 heralded in all the penny-dreadfuls. On the strength of it, the young roues of the Union Club doubled their stakes, and, the same night, “ William-the-Bountiful’s” health was drunk in numberless mess-rooms and beer-halls by youthful members of the aristocracy and army men whose greatest care had suddenly and unexpectedly been lifted off their shoulders by the Kaiser’s words, — lifted to descend again, its weight doubled by chagrin and disappointment, in the course of a few weeks, for, to quote one of His Majesty’s nephews, the heir presumptive to a tiny throne, “the twenty thousand marks’ pledge proved to be an illusion, if not something worse, — a snare ! Being assiduously pub- lished by the Kaiser’s entotirage and members of the Court, it served its purpose admirably. “With reimbursement guaranteed, as they thought, the officers commanded to the tableaux vivants spared no ex- pense in their costuming. The most magnificent silks and velvets, the costliest gold and silver embroidery, were worn by everybody, rich and poor. ‘We don’t mind paying a couple of hundred marks ourselves in excess of the Kaiser’s allowance,’ argued these whole-souled young men. “The result was the happiest — for William: a display gorgeous and luxurious far above expectations. And when it was over, the Emperor expressed his all-highest satisfac- tion, and went — hunting. He had seemingly forgotten about the twenty thousand marks, and no one dared re- mind him of his promise.” As Lord Burghley said to Queen Elizabeth : “ Those who would make tools of Princes are the tools themselves! ” Court and society had not yet ceased talking of this exhibition of bad faith, when the Kaiser startled the whole country by another incident bearing on finance to a cer- tain extent. As his brother Henry was about to embark for the Queen’s Jubilee in the man-of-war Koenig Wilhelm, 204 PRIVATE LIVES OF His Majesty sent him a despatch expressing regret that he had no better ship to give him, because those un- patriotic scamps in the Reichstag refused me the neces- sary funds,” — these being the same ‘‘scamps,” by the way, who consented to increase the regular naval budget fifty per cent, during the first seven years of William’s reign, besides granting two hundred and seventy-nine millions of marks’ worth of extraordinary marine credits. Again that confusion as to monetary matters, of which we have already had numerous startling examples. “Whether you place the nought before or after the figure, it’s all the same to His Majesty,” said Prince Stolberg. The Reichs- tag, permitting the naval budget to swell from twenty- seven millions per annum under William I to fifty-five millions under William II, suffers the ignominy of a public scolding, exactly as if its members had decreed sweeping reductions instead. There was a great deal of speculation in the public prints and in political circles as to the authenticity of the de- spatch quoted, and the majority of courtiers even inclined at first to the belief that Prince Henry had overstepped his authority when he read the imperial message before his officers and thereby caused its publication, for the Prince, though tolerably good-natured and not bright, has the reputation of a mischief-maker, and it would be just like him to set parliament by the ears at his brother’s expense if there was the slightest warrant for doing so. However, one of the Kaiser’s adjutants told me at least a week before the scandal became public that His Majesty had promised himself and them a kladderadatsch'^ (a great hullabaloo) “previous to his brother’s sailing,” without inti- mating, however, in any way, wherein the hubbub would consist. Of course, that exonerates Prince Henry ; His Royal Highness evidently followed orders, “performed his WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 20 $ damned duty,” as they say in Prussia; but, granted the Kaiser created this opportunity for insulting the Reichstag in a moment of anger, that would not explain the several palpable inconsistencies of his message, — the setting aside of all parliament has done for his marine plans ; the non- sense of the assumption that an appropriation made in January or February would permit the placing in service of a battle-ship, or a number of them, one or two months later ; and, thirdly, the obvious untruth that a better ship was not available. I will pass over the first-mentioned contradictions of well-known facts to avoid repeating suggestions of a patho- logical nature ; number two comes under the same heading, considering that this idle talk emanated from a man of affairs, well schooled in naval matters. The third point is the most interesting, because the most novel. The Emperor’s assertion that the Koenig Wilhelm was the only serviceable vessel at his disposal I shall not attempt to deny, as the Kiel and Wilhelmshaven shipping lists prove it utterly false and unwarrantable, but I shall recall a con- versation between the Kaiser and little Prince Adalbert that occurred a month or so previous to the despatch scandal. Young Adalbert, despite his tender years, is a lieutenant in the marine, and his governor has taught him to exhibit interest in naval matters on all possible occasions. So, when he heard his father speak of “Uncle Henry’s” forthcoming trip to “ Grandma Victoria,” he said, quickly: “ Will you let uncle have the Hohenzollern ? ” The Kaiser, who had been very pleasant at luncheon, and whose humor had continued in a happy mood while we were sipping our coffee in the Tassen Zinmier, suddenly changed his tone. Assuming the style of a severe preceptor, he made the frightened boy leave his mother’s knee and “stand at attention.” 2o6 PRIVATE LIVES OF Under which title does the Hohenzollern rank in the marine lists ? ” he demanded. “ His Majesty’s Aviso, the yacht Hohenzollern, at the Kaiser’s exclusive disposal,” reported the tiny lieutenant. ‘‘Well, then,” said the Emperor, “understand, sir, no subject shall assume the Kaiser’s privileges.” His Majesty had spoken so severely and with such exces- sive emphasis that the little Prince became frightened and had to be conducted from the room, while the small assem- blage of officials and guests sat about dispirited, a feeling of unrest having replaced the previous joviality. “No subject shall assume the Kaiser’s privileges,” — it was more than a rebuke ; it was a declaration : Everything for William, the best, the most expensive that money can buy, a glut of everything, and — as in the days of Louis XIV — if there be anything left after the king had his inn- ings, well and good, the rest may come in for their share. Under le roy Soleil, “ the rest ” stood for the government of France; at the Berlin Court, it means the Empress, the children, the royal relatives, and the Court generally. I shall yet have occasion to speak at length upon the finance of this royal establishment ; may it suffice to say here that there are no appropriations for the different sec- tions of the household which are not subject to drafts by the imperial master. Prince Stolberg, who ought to know, once ventured the opinion: “The Kaiser would as lief gobble up our pension or salary appropriations as ’ ’ “As the Guelph Fund?” inquired Duke Gunther. “Your Highness is pleased to jest,” replied the grand- master, quickly, and then, changing his tone to one of semi-raillery, he continued : “ Forty-eight millions of marks ! No one could spend such an amount.” “Oh, yes, my brother-in-law could,” laughed the Duke, with a mysterious air. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 207 The above conversation, reported to me by an ear-wit- ness, took place in May, 1894, during the festivities attend- ing the prize-shooting of the officers of the Second Guards, in Potsdam, and this was, to my knowledge, the second time Gunther of Schleswig brought up the matter of the Guelph Fund. The Guelph Fund represents the sequestrated fortune of King George of Hannover, or his heir, the Duke of Cum- berland, and its history is interesting. After annexing the Kingdom of Hannover in the summer of 1866, Prussia re- stored their private fortune to the deposed Guelphs by the convention of September 29, 1867, but there was a string, or rather a steel cable, attached to this apparently volun- tary act of restitution. Pointing out that the poor blind man whom he had vanquished might utilize his money to raise an army against victorious Prussia, Bismarck, with the consent of the Diet, sequestrated the private property of the royal Hannoverians a second time, pleading that its annual interest was needed to ward off the Guelph party’s secret intrigues and stratagems in the German and foreign press. So the Guelph Fund became the Reptile Fund, — a golden trough out of which the friends of the government, or its leading men, fed for twenty-six years ad libitum there being no public accounting, the Chancellor laying a list of disbursements before His Majesty at the end of each year, after which act the receipts were destroyed. When, a year or so after Bismarck’s dismissal, the Kaiser desired to re-establish agreeable relations with Queen Victo- ria, he instructed Caprivi to offer restoration of the Guelph Fund on condition that the Duke of Cumberland formally ^ Among other things, the Duke of Cumberland was made to pay the debts of Minister von Boetticher’s father-in-law. 2o8 PRIVATE LIVES OF renounced his rights to the crown. The stipulation was accepted, — to William’s great surprise, it is said, — but as an offset, the fatal string was brought into play a second time, and not the fortune itself; its annual interest only was handed over to His Royal Highness at Gmunden. Court gossip fixes upon the Kaiser’s unwillingness to give up so large a fortune to which he might have recourse occasionally (his own inheritance of forty million marks having been squandered within four years after his father’s death) as the principal cause of this renewed breach of faith, but, quite naturally, no one has ever been able to verify this statement. Nor do I know of a person who succeeded in tracing even a solitary million on its way to the Kaiser’s pockets from the Wilhelmsplatz or Festungs- graben, where the Ministries of Finance for the Reich and Prussia are located. The only parties in possession of the true facts are, besides the Emperor, Count Caprivi, Prince Hohenlohe, Herr von Miquel, Minister of Finance, and Baron Wedell, Minister of the Royal House, and neither of these gentlemen is in the habit of giving away his master’s secrets to ladies of the Court. Duke Gunther, on the other hand, if his allusions are not attempts at beating about the bush in the hope of entrapping the game he is after, may have got an inkling of the affair through his sister, the Empress, who can keep nothing from him, or from his relatives in Vienna, notably the Princess Philip of Coburg, who in her turn probably received the news from the Duke of Cumberland himself, though the latter’s authority might well be questioned, unless it grounds upon exact data given out at Marlborough House. The heir to the English crown, you must know, sometimes has earlier and closer information about mat- ters concerning the Berlin Court than anybody connected with it, for he is, above all, the confidant of the Empress WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 209 Frederick, while the Princess keeps him posted on every- thing that transpires at the Courts of St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, and Athens, those centres of anti-Prussian, if not anti-Wilhelm, politics. Under these circumstances, the feeling of self-satisfied prognostication that swelled the bosom of the knowing ones may well be imagined, when, in the spring of 1897 (almost three years after the reported talk between Duke Gunther and Prince Stol- berg), the following story went the rounds at the Neues Palais : The Prince of Wales, it was whispered, had written a letter to King George informing him that the Kaiser gulped down (that was the word employed) the whole of the Guelph Fund, advising his brother-in-law at the same time to use the information as he saw fit (Greece was then hard pushed by William), but, unfortunately, Uncle Bertie,” instead of sending it to Athens direct, forwarded his mis- sive to Copenhagen for approval by his mother-in-law, and Queen Louise, most innocently you may be sure, caused the noble conspiracy to leak out. For, in a burst of con- fidence, Her Majesty showed the letter to Princess Valde- mar, the same sprightly daughter of La Belle France who stirred up the imbroglio between Bismarck and Czar Alex- ander not so many years ago. That Marie d’Orleans-Bourbon, on her part, was unable to constrain her triumph at the hope of seeing Germany’s Kaiser humiliated, is, perhaps, not to be wondered at, for Her Royal Highness detests the Emperor as heartily as she adores France. So, with true feminine acumen, she sat down and telegraphed the sweet morsel broadcast to all royal Wilhelm -haters, or Princes that she considered sym- pathizers, and all wished the undertaking Godspeed, — all except Cousin Ferdinand of Bulgaria. This queer indi- vidual, eager to oblige the Kaiser, is said to have betrayed 210 PRIVATE LIVES OF the confidence reposed in him, and informed His Majesty, hoping thereby to gain William’s eternal gratitude. The rest is soon told. William’s threat to openly place himself on the Sultan’s side, conveyed in a personal letter to King Christian, which, strange to say, was countersigned by Prince Hohenlohe, made the would-be conspirators scatter in all directions, and immediately upon its receipt at the Danish Court, Albert Edward’s message to the King of the Hellenes was given to the flames in the presence of the German Minister. Thereupon the diplomatic side of the incident was declared closed, yet to his Uncle Bertie the Kaiser is said to have written a furious letter intimating that he would demand a personal explanation from him during his — the Prince’s — summer visit to Homburg, — a menace which, apparently, did not disturb His Royal High- ness in the least, for, instead of a direct reply, there arrived at the Neues Palais, a week or ten days later, a newspaper clipping, under seal of Marlborough House, announcing that in the coming season His Royal Highness intended to take the waters of Marienburg; and on the margin was scribbled in German an inelegant, but whole-souled, invi- tation to the imperial nephew, the like of which has once before been extended to a German Emperor, namely, by Goetz von Berlichingen, who answered Maximilian the First’s order to surrender in the same vulgar fashion, while of modern kings the late Victor Emanuel is said to have been liberal with the phrase, as the following anec- dote shows : After buying a pair of braces at a Paris haberdasher’s, he was treated to the inevitable localism : avec Monsieur?" (What next, sir?) ^‘Avec ga" replied the King, who had been importuned to death by tradesmen that morning , — ^^avec ga, je suspends mon pantalon et vous ” WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 2II The Guelph Fund story, as intimated, is palace gossip, no more, no less, — gossip that originates with the ladies and gentlemen in attendance upon their Majesties, no one knows exactly how. Countess B happens to learn of an important secret event through Her Majesty’s ill-temper or confidences, and, again, a hint may be dropped at dinner or supper coram nobis by the Kaiser himself, whose tongue not unfrequently runs away with his head. To-day one of the Emperor’s adjutants may have a good story to relate that, without involving a breach of faith on the gentleman’s part, gives the key to a perplexing situation, while letters from other courts, the tattle of princely visitors, correspond- ence of high aristocrats or statesmen, a ministerial crisis, a sudden lapse in the routine of royal employment, as a visit postponed or a ^‘headache to order,” complete the chain of evidence that linked together of its own accord, as it were, and in the end reveals hidden springs of action and private views and motives of individuals affording a better analysis of the minds of historic personages than a whole library of ordinary contemporaneous accounts, written by mere outside spectators, who faithfully copied each other. I repeat, I cannot vouch for the truth of the Guelph Fund report as I do for other strange facts in these vol- umes that came under my personal observation, for all the evidence I was able to collect on that point is of the hear- say variety, — and there are very good reasons why this should be so ; but I have, besides, one strong bit of cir- cumstantial evidence: Prince Hohenlohe has been holding office against his will for three years or longer because he cannot step out until the Guelph Fund affair is settled, that is, until the capital of that great fortune is once more intact. This I have from an authoritative source. We now return to the Koenig Wilhelm despatch. While the press of the entire world was engaged in a heated 212 PRIVATE LIVES OF discussion as to the genuineness or the apocryphal character of the message, His Majesty enjoyed himself hugely at the commotion he had caused. ^^Der Hieb hat gesessen" (that was a blow from the shoulder), are words he addressed to every visitor at Court in those days, without prefacing his extraordinary remark by even an allusion to the matter he had in mind. And to General von Buddenbrock, the same gentleman whose hussars were decimated at Josefstadt (in 1866) by Prussian batteries, he said: ‘‘Of course the telegram is authentic. Why should I not tell my brother what I think of those scamps? Though I care not to abuse them face to face when they are guests at my house, I propose to speak my mind privately,” and, anticipating His Excellency’s ques- tion, whether the publication had been intentional or not, he continued: “I am right glad, too, my brother made use of my words promptly and without sentimental ado.” Here we have almost as many contradictions as sen- tences : Personally His Majesty does not want to insult the Reichstag; his denunciations were of a private nature, and he wishes them proclaimed from the housetops ! Whether such a state of mind indicates merely morbid impulsiveness, or a dangerous confusion of sentiments and ideas, is a ques- tion I asked of a renowned medical professor of the Berlin University, one of the late Emperor’s physicians, who occa- sionally visits the Schloss. The great man weighed the matter in his mind for a few moments, and then replied, evasively : “ One riddle is worth another, Madame la Comtesse. I am told that on the day of Princess Victoria, the present Empress’s, ceremonious entry into the capital,^ the Kaiser, then Prince William, marched his battalion of infantry from Potsdam to Berlin (a distance of twenty miles) for the avowed ^ February 26, 1881. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 213 purpose of startling his bride by his prowess. On the road, many of the soldiers became exhausted, but the captain, who was on horseback, as a matter of course, arrived in first-class condition, and ever since has been boasting of this particular feat, — ‘a par force march on the wedding eve.’ Now, as a matter of fact, William did not walk ten paces on that occasion, and, furthermore, the thing came off fully twenty-four hours before his bride’s garter was distributed. The Kaiser’s boast of ^planting his victori- ous standard upon the fortress after a Sheridan’s ride,’ is, therefore, as unwarrantable as it is ridiculous. Still, this is one of his stock anecdotes which he relates at all weddings graced by the imperial presence. ^^In this case,” concluded the great physician, ^impul- siveness, the spontaneous desire to do something extraor- dinary, doubtless led to the conception of the idea, — the rest is utter confusion.” Certain members of the opposition have characterized the Kaiser’s action (in June, 1897) of ordering the Konigs- berg pioneers to make for him a number of improve- ments in Theerbude forest by building cottages and sheds as ‘^confounding mine and thine,” and “as malfeasance worthy of a satrap who recognizes no distinction between the state’s and his own individual resources;” but this ex- ploit, though calling in question his boasted concern for the working-classes, did His Majesty less harm with the Germans than his refusal, a month or so after the awful holocaust of royal and aristocratic women at the Paris Bazaar, to extend a helping hand to the victims of the great floods in Wiirtemberg. For the foreigners “his” Dispositionsfond yielded promptly a four-nought contribu- tion, together with a hysterical telegram of condolence; the South German allies, who contribute toward the fund, got neither money nor sympathy, and in consequence the mail 214 PRIVATE LIVES OF of both their Majesties was again heavy with anonymous letters, some of them illustrated. Such caricatures ! Among others was a cartoon, in colors, that represented the Kaiser kneeling before the bed of Madame la Republique, and pouring gold into her naked lap out of a bag marked ‘‘The Reich's Dispositions- fond for the Benefit of German Veterans, Widows, and Orphans,” and almost every one of the nameless corre- spondents pointed out that the Emperor had never been guilty of a generous act lacking in theatrical possibilities. Still, the worst feature of these letters was their origin. They were evidently not of the scandal-mongering sort, of which mention has been made, but expressions of righteous indignation, of honest opinion, forced to anonymity by the prevailing draconic laws against lese jnajeste. “What a blessing these people calculate but one half of the truth, ’ ’ I thought, when the Empress turned some of the epistles and cartoons over to me, that I might help her shud- der “at a nation’s ingratitude.” If, like myself, they had heard William say, after mailing “his” ten-thousand-franc check — their money — to the French capital : “That brings me nearer to Paris a hundred miles ; if such opportunities continue, they will send a special train to Berlin to carry me to their Exposition,” the rage of these critics might have assumed a more dangerous form than the one adopted. There is, after all, more method in the secrecy that hedges round a throne, and likewise a greater amount of shrewd circumspection in the publicity accorded to a King’s words and actions by paid and voluntary scribes, than most people imagine. In May, 1897, for instance, all the newspapers commented upon some rather trite remarks the Kaiser had made in Wiesbaden about so-called charity bazaars, “ whose receipts are eaten up by the cost of the entertainment, and where the poor are cheated.” These WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 215 observations were heralded as something entirely new, and when, a month or so afterward, the Empress announced a flower corso for the benefit of the Potsdam ^^Krippe^' and invited society on condition that, in obedience to His Majesty’s wishes, the decorations be less lavish than usual, while the money thus saved be handed over for the chari- table object in view. Court-marshal Count Eulenburg, as well as we ladies, who have more or less to do with the Kaiserin’s toilet, expected to receive orders to keep the preparations for the festival within certain limits. But the very opposite happened. Auguste Victoria selected the costliest of all the Vienna toilets proposed, a superb cream-colored gown, and instead of going out in two coaches, as formerly, four were placed into service for the royal family, not counting those of the Court-marshals, equerries, chamberlains, and dames of the palace. At the corso, which was held in Potsdam, near the ^‘Russian colony,” Her Majesty’s carriage, containing, besides herself. Prince Joachim and her little daughter, was nearly hidden under a load of Marechal Niel roses, imported from France and Holland at a tremendous out- lay; the Princes Adalbert, Augustus Wilhelm, and Oscar rode in a landau lavishly decorated with white carnations, the Crown Prince and Prince Eitel Fritz in a phaeton made gay by ten thousand red pinks and ribbons, and the floral embellishments of the Kaiser’s coach represented the colors of Schleswig-Holstein. The other royal and aristocratic participants in the pag- eant had likewise taken care to shine by sovereign disre- gard of the imperial injunction against extravagance, but to their credit it must be said that nearly all of them sent very considerable sums to the ^'‘Krippe'^ next day, ‘^sav- ings out of our decoration fund,” as their perfumed missives tQ the august lady-protector rag^estly declared, 2 1 6 PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT And their Majesties? William and his Queen had no occasion to remember their high-sounding proclamations, seeing that a purveyor’s bill of several thousand marks for the embellishment of the royal carriages was staring in their faces. Heretofore royal gardeners had attended to the corso decorations, there being always an abundance of flowers in our parks and hot-houses ; but, with that con- trariness which now and again distinguishes the Kaiser’s actions, he ordered that the work be intrusted to a high- priced Berlin florist, at the very instant when saving was the prime object of the hour. Hence tears and lamentations in the Empress’s apart- ments, most unroyal frowns on the Kaiser’s brow, while the papers were echoing both Majesties’ praises for arranging charity entertainments, “every participant of which con- tributes to the benefit.” The ^^Krippe'' got nothing from the Neues Palais that season, but what matters that so long as the press applauds? CHAPTER X Baron von Poellnitz, chronicler of two centuries, or the most interesting part of them (the last decade of the seven- teenth and the first half of the eighteenth), the scamp, gamester, adventurer, spy, roue, libertine, in short, past- master of all vices that distinguished the courtiers of the Orleans Regency, and the times of one Frederick William and two Fredericks of Prussia, — Poellnitz, whom serious historians detest, but cannot afford to neglect, — describes, in one of his letters, a statue which formerly decorated one of the inner court-yards of the Berlin Schloss, — Madame Borussia embracing a horse. ‘‘This lady,” says the disciple of Duchesse la Palatine’s plain-speaking school, “became the foremother of the Hohenzollerns, though she was never known to have com- merce with Burchard de Zolorin, their reputed male ances- tor. Do you wonder that, under the circumstances, our sovereigns are animal every inch, insensitive to the appeal of the weak, regardless of the other sex except for purposes of procreation, stubborn, proud and aggressive like stal- lions, roaring of voice, uncompanionable, gluttonous?” And, for example, he cites a cabinet order by Frederick William, admonishing all subjects “whom the King may honor by taking meals at their houses” to place in the room adjoining the dining-hall “a heap of straw, a lighted candle, wash-basin, towel, and soap.” Of another royal Hohenzollern, who was in the habit of visiting the lower 217 2i8 PRIVATE LIVES OF order of mankind, — Frederick William II, the Fat, — it is reported that he did not stand on much ceremony provided there was some novelty in the line of ‘‘a rag, a bone, and a hank of hair,” and an abundance of eating and drinking. The first three kings of the present century bore out the charges of unsociableness and pride by accepting invitations from uncrowned heads but rarely; William, however, has revived the old royal custom of going the round of the palaces and country residences of the nation’s great, and, in consequence, Poellnitz’s satire, which somebody has just discovered in the Charlottenburg Archives,^ is to-day eminently popular in our so-called “polite ” circles. While His Majesty inflicts his costly presence upon the nobles and rich officials of Berlin and Potsdam according to his whims and preferences for society, and following the course of such events as birthdays, weddings, house-warm- ings, and similar domestic affairs in the families of the aristocracy, his visits to the hunting-grounds of friends in all parts of Germany are matters of routine, as he looks upon the utilization of the country’s preserves as a regalism in the old feudal sense, as his sovereign right. Whoever, be he prince or private, asks the Kaiser to a shooting once, is sure of receiving, at the opening of the next season, a letter from the Court-marshal’s office announcing that His Majesty will be graciously pleased to decimate his game on such and such days, unless, indeed, the first hunt was entirely unproductive. The meets of royalty do not interest us here ; since the author of “Antimacchiavell ” summoned the heavy artillery ^ Poellnitz wrote “ Memoirs of the Court of Frederick William I,” which that King’s son, Frederick the Great, confiscated and destroyed in part, at least. His other work, “ Memoirs and Observations of My Travels,” was republished thirty years ago. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 219 of his wit and terrible wrath against this physical pleasure, which often undermines health without ever improving the mind,” — if you say the old patriarchs were devoted to the chase, and therefore hunting must be respectable, I make answer that the old patriarchs slept with their sisters ; but has that made incest honorable ? ’ ’ reasons the philosopher of Sans Souci, — since the days of Neuruppin and Wusters- hausen royal hunts have not improved; on the contrary, there is a dull sameness about them that makes this form of sport the reverse of attractive. The Kaiser’s jolly shooting jaunts with the great lords, on the other hand, yield many engaging sights and characteristic episodes. His Majesty’s annual programme for the chase at home and abroad is as follows : As the customary Court festivities forbid longer jour- neys, the Kaiser utilizes the first months of the year to repay the compliments of his hunting friends all over the country, and his master of the hounds issues liberal invita- tions for all sorts of meets, on foot and on horse, to be held in the neighborhood of Berlin and Potsdam where pheasants, ducks, hare, and deer abound in the royal pre- serves. In April, William helps the Grand Dukes of Saxe and Baden to kill woodcock; and if Count Schlitz, known as the husband of one of the most beautiful women of Germany, finds a good crop of these rare birds on his Hesse domains, he never fails to ask William to gather additional trophies for Her Majesty’s hats and boas. In May, the Kaiser goes to Proeckelwitz and Schlobit- ten to relieve Count Richard zu Dohna of roebucks ; par- tridges he shoots at Count Finkenstein’s, in Madlitz, and then follows, usually, an excursion to Styria, where either the Emperor of Austria, or one of the many Archdukes, places tempting preserves at the imperial Nimrod’s disposal. 220 PRIVATE LIVES OF The rut of hart calls the Kaiser to Rominton, East Prus- sia, in September; the season in the Schorfheide, nearer home, comes next, and then opens the chase for red deer gen- erally, which the Kaiser follows in every nook and corner of his Empire, in his own forests, and on the domains of the noble and industrial barons. As an annual customer, he is registered at Pless, where Prince Henry XI sometimes allows him to hunt one or two of the remaining ure-oxen; at Wirschowitz, the estate of Count Hochberg ; at Barby, where Amtsrath von Dietze offers splendid hospitality; at Count Philip Eulenberg’s seat in Liebenberg, and at Neu- gattersleben, where Chamberlain von Alvensleben does the honors. All these gentlemen are William’s personal friends, though only two are in the inner circle, Richard Dohna and Philip Eulenburg, — the first by reason of his joviality, the other because he is, besides a good story-teller and entertainer, an assenter of the first order, and a person such as every absolute king needs at his elbow for certain work at certain times. True, William is not an autocrat, though he tries hard to be, and Count “Philli’s” duties are of the most vacillating character; but these details do not alter His Lordship’s position, which is eminently that of the royal favorite of by-gone days, who made and unmade men during a day’s hunting, while — the preferred one being a woman — ‘^a night sufficed to destroy anybody, high or low, sell a province, or depopulate a city,” as Lady Milford says in ^‘Love and Intrigue.” Herr von Kiderlen-Wachter, German Minister in Copen- hagen, is another imperial intimus of the favorite type, while Count Dohna and Chamberlain von Huelsen, in Wiesbaden, are mere cronies who, knowing the ins and outs of the Kaiser’s character and forever studying his whims and knuckling to his idiosyncrasies, gradually WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 221 became part and parcel of his travelling equipage and shooting outfit, whose absence at any festive or joyful occa- sion would annoy William almost as much as if his valet had forgotten to pack his brushes or combs or slippers. This is not a simile of my own, if you please ; I have it from the Kaiser, who often uses it when the papers criti- cise Count Philli’s frequent absence from his ambassadorial post in Vienna with some such remark as: “he is not paid to dance attendance upon the Emperor,” or, “if His Majesty wants a travelling companion, let him invite some useless goldstick, not an official who has certain duties to perform.” “Courtiers,” said the Kaiser on one of these occasions, “are like the clothes I wear, dire necessities; they have their fixed places in my entourage, above which they seldom rise. Such men as Eulenburg and Kiderlen, on the other hand, are butter on the bread of our pleasure ; as for the rest, one can get along without negligee attire, but it is mighty uncomfortable in the long run.” When His Majesty goes to a shooting, he seldom stays longer than two days, the cost of his entertainment being between forty and fifty thousand marks, and one need but glance at the preparations on the host’s part to appreciate the enormity of the outlay, which, moreover, is vastly larger at the first visit. The country residences of our Prussian grandees, you must know, are, as a general thing, quite innocent of sanitary arrangements, and often several rooms must be entirely rebuilt and furnished with running water before His Majesty will set foot in the house. Now, an unsophisticated reader might think that to plead old- fashionedness would scare away William and save one’s money, but that is a wild miscalculation. If the Emperor scents a full game-bag on any baronial domain, he will invite himself to the feast sans phrase, and not until all 222 PRIVATE LIVES OF arrangements have been completed, and when it is too late to raise objections of the nature intimated, does the Court- marshal put in the standing claims of his master : A bed- room similar in all respects as to size and appointments to the Kaiser’s own chamber at home, brass bedstead, horse- hair mattress, an enormous wash-stand, windows and doors secured by endless numbers of curtains and portieres^ and — here comes the rub — a connecting-room with the latest paraphernalia of the bath. ‘‘Mark Twain has written many funny things about the German and his tub, or the absence of the latter,” said Court-marshal Count Eulenburg to me, after meeting the American humorist at a dinner given by General Verdy du Vernois in the winter of 1891; “but he could surpass himself if I were free to give him only part of the corre- spondence I have had with our nobility on the subject of pro- viding adequate bathing requisites for His Majesty. How they struggle and twist and squirm against the introduction of this novelty, which, they claim, would destroy the har- monious appearance of rooms that for three hundred years v/ere untouched by the mode. One gentleman, in the province of Prussia, tried to evade the obnoxious obliga- tion by impudently suggesting that he dared not offer His Majesty a bath after one night’s’ journey, as it involved the insinuation of excessive dirtiness on his guest’s part. “While I sympathize with many of His Majesty’s hosts, who can ill afford to entertain the most luxurious monarch of the age,” continued the good-natured grand-master, “lam as adamant as the proverbial r ocher de bronze when asked to tolerate aristocratic principles of that sort. If the Kaiser’s travels served no other purpose than that of pro- moting cleanliness, his time would be well spent.” Subscribed and agreed to, Herr Graf, but these so-called novelties are really the least costly items of an imperial WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 223 visit, even if Berlin plumbers have to be imported into re- mote corners of the kingdom to execute your commands. Luxurious bedroom furnishings, the carpeting throughout of spacious country residences, sometimes ordered if Wil- liam honors one of his subjects in midwinter, are items of expenditure of far greater magnitude, though scarcely the beginning of the end. I do not agree with a certain Pomeranian squire who complained that the Emperor’s first visit cost him twenty thousand marks more than Prince Pless paid for the pleas- ure of harboring the sovereign because he had to build a carriage-road to the railway station, ten miles off, — that highway will endure and benefit coming generations when the Baron ^^and the proudest” (and costliest) moment of his life” are long forgotten; but to force one’s enter- tainer to provide a four-in-hand — one of the implied con- ditions of every royal visit — comes dangerously near sowing the seeds of extravagance. And those Potemkin villages ! That nothing may grate upon the imperial feelings, the Herr Graf or Fuerst com- pels his peasants to whitewash and paint farm-house and hovel for miles around and sometimes pays for the beauti- fying out of his own pocket. Furthermore, he must furnish greens and flags to decorate the streets, engage numerous torch-bearers to light up the highway on the eve of the arrival and during the nights of the visit, and employ four hundred to five hundred beaters, at the very least, a week or longer. For His Majesty is not content to shoot the game on his friend’s domain ; his host, if he loves his peace, will hire all the hare, deer, or roe for a dozen German miles in the neighborhood and let them be driven into his own preserves. Of course, the dislodged game does not remain voluntarily in its new environment, and must be kept from running away by continuous beating up ; sometimes, too, 224 PRIVATE LIVES OF great numbers are trapped in other parts of the province and carried to and kept in thickets on the spot selected for the chase, to be released when the great slaughter is at its height. While outside preparations of this kind eat up tens of thousands, those for the inner man are not less costly. The Kaiser seldom brings fewer than twenty gentlemen, and even more servants, all of whom must be lodged and fed and horsed, and do not forget that a royal flunky in a strange house pretends to be almost as much as his master. Treated d la KommisSy after the barrack regimen at home, he impudently demands the best of everything when stop- ping elsewhere, and generally succeeds in obtaining it, as complaints on the host’s part would lay him open to suspi- cions of nearness, an alternative he desires to avoid by all means. That for the Emperor himself and his titled entourage nothing is too good that money can procure, goes without saying. The great caterers of Berlin and Paris send their choicest wares beforehand, all the delicacies of the season, and the next to follow ; under the load of mighty barrels branded in many languages, groan the ancient cellar-beds of oaken beams, and mysterious bottles with dirty labels tell of old vintages and lynx-eyed connoisseurs, while the family cook, who is good enough all the year round, is dis- lodged to make room for experts in every known branch of culinary art, “lent” by the great hotels and world-famed restaurants of the capital. And what says William to this splendid hospitality, this lavish, almost reckless, expenditure for his benefit ? If everything go off according to programme, if game be plentiful, the weather fine, his bath and the cooking better than at his own house, he will remark, on leaving : “Be assured, gnddige FraUy' or (naming the host WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 225 without prefix of courtesy or title), have enjoyed my- self exceedingly ; and if* one thing gave me more pleasure than the other, it was the fact that you made no fuss, asked the Kaiser to take pot-luck with you, so to speak. That is as it should be. Like Eberhardt im Barte^ I desire to be free to visit my people without causing them the least trouble or expense.” But if weather or wind, the elements above or those below (in the kitchen), go against the imperial grain, if the populace’s shouts of welcome do not seem hearty or loud enough, or if one of the other guests exhibits greater skill in bringing down game than the Emperor, William simply orders his carriage, drives back to the house, and goes to bed. That has happened in the course of years once or twice at each of the baronial seats enumerated, for, if one may say so without committing crimen lessee Afajestatis, there are still some things completely oblivious to His Majesty’s claims of omnipotence, — game and guns ; but the only time one of these accidents provoked grave political complica- tions was in October, 1894, at Liebenberg. In the midst of the ministerial crisis — involving Chan- cellor Count Caprivi and the President of the Prussian Ministry, Count Botho Eulenburg — which set in October 19, when Eulenburg had advocated a coup d’elat in order to railroad through an arbitrary anti-revolutionary bill, and while everybody in the palace was depressed by the serious- ness of the situation that stood out in black contrast to the external show of courtly splendor, — the festive dedication of one hundred and thirty-two flags on October 18, and the reception of the loyalists’ delegation from East Prussia two days later, — in the midst of those exciting events. Her Majesty learned, on the morning of October 23, from her Kammerdiener, who had it from the Kaiser’s valet, Herr Brachwitz, that the Emperor had reconsidered his decision 226 PRIVATE LIVES OF against going to Liebenberg, and would follow Count Philli’s invitation at once, politics or no politics. My mistress was consulting with Countess Brockdorff and myself whether it would be wise for her to go to the Emperor’s study and, under some pretence or other, find out if any good news had developed over night, when the Kaiser rushed in. ‘‘I am off for Berlin,” he said, ‘‘to have a talk with Caprivi, and then proceed to Liebenberg ; you may expect me back late Thursday night. ’ ’ “Will Count Botho be there too?” inquired Auguste Victoria, anxiously, for her enthusiasm for Caprivi had cooled off, and she would have been glad to contribute to his downfall if daring to mix in such matters unasked. “No, no,” said the Emperor; “ he had better remain in obscurity for the present. Letting the coup-d^ Hat cat out of the bag, as he did, was almost a crime under the circum- stances.” The results of the impromptu visit to Wilhelm Strasse are well known ; the Kaiser took sides with Caprivi on all points in dispute, and even authorized him to publish the fact in the semi-official papers. Then he went straight- way to Liebenberg, Herr von Kiderlen-Wachter contribut- ing to the enjoyment of the trip in his capacity of racon- teur. At Philli’s seat, our grand-master told me afterward, His Majesty found assembled all the Eulenburgs except one: — Philip, the Ambassador; August, the Court-marshal; the commander of the Body Uhlans, and Major Count Eulen- burg. The supper was of the finest , — mets favoris galore, roast turkey and German cranberry sauce, saddle of roe, stewed cherries and cucumber salad, courses which the Emperor likes to eat en bloc ; that is, having chopped the very ten- der meat with his knife- fork, he mixes it with the sweets, WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 227 potatoes, and greens into a hotch-potch and swallows with relish. ‘‘For dessert we had biscuit pudding with choco- late sauce; is there anything better in the wide, wide world?” asked Herr Saltzmann, the artist who paints the Kaiser’s marine views and belongs to his round table, in speaking of the Jagd-souper. And the entertainment that followed ! The host in the weird dress of a Northern Skalde singing his self-composed airs that gave birth to the misnamed ^gir, and variegating the performance by branching off into French, German, and English couplets ; Herr von Kiderlen-Wachter as pres- tidigitateury with blackened face and hands, swallow-tail coat, and horsy pants, doing the absent Herr von Huelsen’s specialties. Saltzmann, as “lightning portraitist,” finally pictured all the four Eulenburgs, enlarging upon their virtues and weaknesses, and, encouraged by William’s applause, topped off the series by “ Caprivi in distress.” “But,” shouted Herr von Kiderlen, “ the family is not complete ; where is His Excellency from the Linden ? ” ^ And the Kaiser nodding assent, the artist added a clever caricature of the well-known cartoon; ^^Bmnarck Kojnmt''^ (Bismarck is coming), exhibiting the hasty evacuation of the Reichstag at the entrance of Count Botho armed with a mace, emblem of imperial authority. “Don’t wipe that out!” cried the Kaiser when Saltz- mann, after the manner of his craft, was about to apply the sponge; “I will telegraph Botho to attend us at to- morrow’s battue, and in the evening we will, spring this surprise on him and hear what he has to say.” ^ No. 73 Unter den Linden, the palace of the Minister of the Inte- rior ; Eulenburg was at the time both Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. 228 PRIVATE LIVES OF Half an hour later a mounted chasseur was galloping in the direction of Zehdenick to deposit not only the Kaiser’s despatch, but divers messages of the other four Eulenburgs, at the telegraph office. As characteristic of the tone that prevailed at the supper- table, one of the participants recalls some remarks of the Kaiser. Observing the elaborate menu, William shook his finger at Count Philli, and said; ‘‘This is far above the ten-mark limit, my good fellow;” and when pudding was served, he remarked: ‘‘Now I will bet you are after some favor; otherwise, why this embarras of Leibgerichte ? " (favorite dishes). Count Botho came, saw, and — was told to “get out of His Majesty’s way.” The chase had been “amateurishly arranged;” there was “no discipline in those confounded beaters,” and “ one could have better sport walking through the park of Sans Souci than on such preserves; ” these and similar remarks greeted the new-comer, while the host and his friends wished themselves miles away. There was, I am told by one of the witnesses, some truth in the Kaiser’s criticisms; the two gun-chargers standing behind him often remained idle for three or four minutes in succession — think of it ! — and the game was at no time during the chase thick enough to admit of a wholesale mas- sacre, such as William delights in. So, when after three hours it was reported that he had killed only one hundred and one hares, he sent for his carriage and without further ado drove back to Liebenberg, there to seek the seclusion of his chamber, from which he did not emerge until next morning. The feelings of Count Philli and his cousin Botho, suddenly disillusioned, may be better imagined than defined. To Her Majesty our grand-master said after- ward : “That lonely supper on Wednesday evening I shall never forget. Compared with it a funeral would be gay. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 229 We were all in a melting mood, and had not the heart to touch champagne.” Next morning the Kaiser held half an hour’s private conversation with Count Botho about certain newspaper at- tacks upon the Prussian Premier which, the latter claimed, were inspired by Caprivi, but, though sympathizing with the petitioner, the Emperor refused to take up cudgels on his behalf. To our Court-marshal he said: I should be sorry to lose your brother ; I will try to keep him, but, you must admit, this time Caprivi has completely outgeneralled His Excellency.” That was Thursday afternoon. On Friday afternoon, both the Chancellor and the President of the Prussian Min- istry resigned : Eulenburg had been weighed and found short three or four hundred skins. If William had shot five hundred head of hare, instead of one hundred and one, Count Botho would probably have returned from Liebenberg with the patent of Emperor’s lieutenant of Alsace in his pocket. Such was the impression at Court, at least. As it happened, the cousin of the Liebenberger was forced to re-enter private life, though still in his best years, and hardly rich enough to retire. When all was over, and the Prince of Hohenlohe-Lan- genburg, related by marriage to both their Majesties (he is the husband of William’s second cousin, Leopoldine of Baden, and a brother of Her Majesty’s mother), had taken Uncle Chlodwig’s place in the imperial palace at Strass- burg, I heard the Kaiser say to his wife one November evening, after a discussion of the new brooms in Russia” (Nicholas II had ascended the throne a few days before) : think I will adhere, for the future, to that policy of our Muscovite brethren, — placing relatives in commanding positions. Langenburg, if he half understands his business, can have the Statthalterschaft until our boys grow up, and 230 PRIVATE LIVES OF then each of them may take a turn at it. It is one of the few paying offices within my gift, and I am now glad I did not allow the Eulenburgs to persuade me to give it to one of their crew” (^^habe mich nicht breitschlagen lassen^'). ‘‘ Botho is not rich enough, not big enough, and there would have been no end of a howl about the Prussian Junker, anyhow.” ‘^Moderation, the virtue of which Princes stand in such urgent need, is never found in passionate hunters, who experience an irresistible impulse to pursue the game and a cruel and bloody delight in killing.” This passage in Her Majesty’s copy of Frederick the Great’s “Antimac- chiavell, ’ ’ ^ which the young Princes are allowed to handle freely, is hidden, the margin of the page containing it being pasted to the next, as if by accident. The boys shall not learn of the judgment passed by an ancestor on this father’s terrible frenzy for blood; but this ostrich policy, justified in the children’s case, cannot obscure the fact that the Kaiser grows fonder of the gory spectacles to which imperial hunts have degenerated from year to year. A shortage of a couple of hundred hare cost Count Botho the proudest office under the Crown ; a single buck came near depriving the nation of the services of one of the ablest officers in the army ; for the sake of a few tough rabbits the Kaiser insulted a venerable adjutant-general of his grandfather in a manner that would have resulted in a challenge if rank did not make a crowned poltroon invio- lable. And not satisfied with indulging his passion in the field, the Kaiser must needs surround himself at all times with ^ Her Majesty’s private library consists of the works of Frederick the Great, those of Moltke, in German and English, a Bible, and a few pious books. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 231 trophies of his skill as a death-giver; the most prominent object in his study is a long table, covered with green cloth, containing the antlers of the roebucks killed by him in the course of the year, while under the table, and all around on the floor, are the bigger antlers of slain deer. Ministers of State delivering reports upon the reception of which hinges the fate of government measures, of peace or war, or, perchance, the life of some doomed man appealing to the King’s grace, must be forever prepared to be inter- rupted by a ^‘Look at this ten” (or fourteen) ^ender’ ” (meaning antlers with the given number of branches), — ‘Uhe prime stag among a battalion I mowed down at Rominton.” Gun-charger Rieger has the care of these trophies, and has little time for anything else. At great dinners, when he stands behind His Majesty’s chair, this man is often con- sulted about dates and incidents as William tells visiting sovereigns of his achievements with the rifle. As mentioned, the Kaiser’s correspondence with his wife during his frequent absences from home consists mainly of telegraphic reports of the number of game killed. Her Majesty’s ladies, therefore, take little interest in these mes- sages, though etiquette and policy compel us to feign enthusiasm; but in May, 1895, when the Kaiser was at Proeckelvvitz, there arrived a telegram that caused the live- liest concern, not to say excitement, among all members of the entourage. Just shot a buck which Kessel shot past. Wilhelm.” ^^Gerade einen Bock geschossen den Kessel vorbeigeschossen hat. Wilhelm y ’ ’ read the badly-constructed despatch, which reached the palace late at night, and which the Empress exhibited at second breakfast. Auguste Vic- toria laughed and joked about it ; but the rest of us saw in the triumphant tone of the missive only the disturbing evidence of a wrangle between two friends, the Kaiser and 232 PRIVATE LIVES OF his efficient adjutant-general, who, by the way, is a man of sense, exercising the best influence over his erratic master. A few days later this story was whispered in all the ante- chambers : At Proeckelwitz roe is not so plentiful as to admit of battues ; bucks must be stalked, and it is the Emperor’s boast that no one but himself ever brought down a re- spectable head of game in that neighborhood, — a fact not to be wondered at considering the standing imperial in- junction against poaching when he is around. Now it hap- pens that Count Dohna and General von Kessel are good friends. So, when the hunting-party arrived. His Lordship took the adjutant aside, and said: *• Don’t breathe a word of this. I have ordered a buck for you at my neighbors west of the Proeckelwitz grounds. Be ready to-morrow night at ten. My valet will drive you to the spot where you must lay in ambush. The stalking will be done by my friend’s chasseur.’ ” This plan was carried out in every respect with the utmost secrecy, but, owing to some pick-thank, the sover- eign got wind of the arrangement, and the moment von Kessel cocked his gun he heard a derisive laugh at the back of him. Of course, the shot failed, and the Emperor, emerging from a thicket with Herr Rieger, cried: ^Hvenak, that was a prime shot you made. Just go home and tele- graph to my wife that you shot a buck in — your mind. ’ ’ Von Kessel was white with rage, as any disappointed sportsman might be. '^Your Majesty,” he roared, ‘*1 am not going to do anything of the kind.” The Kaiser, I am told by one of the ladies of the Dohna family, who received her information from the General’s Jager, bit his lip, and, drawing himself up, said: ^^And if I command you to do so?” WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 233 ^^Then I must beg to be excused from any further obligation to be at Your Majesty’s orders.” After this rebuff, William withdrew, without further words, and after another hour’s hunting succeeded in shooting a roe. At supper he appeared in joyous mood as if nothing had happened, thus putting Herr von Kessel and Count Dohna at ease. will have to trouble you for a piece of paper and a pencil,” he said to the host as he sat down. Writing-material was brought in, and he scribbled a few words, then handed the message around the table. It was the telegram above quoted. ^^What do you say to this, Ivenak?” laughed the Kaiser. Kessel, v/ho had previously informed Count Dohna of his inten- tion to formally resign from the service, was disarmed by the childish display; his indignation evaporated, and he answered: “A good fish story, that Her Majesty will doubt- less enjoy.” ‘‘Ah, come off, Kessel” (in the desire to smooth over the controversy of the forest the Kaiser had found his ban- tering tone again): “you know very well that your buck ran into Proeckelwitz grounds, where my unerring rifle brought him down.” In this case the breach in a friendship of long standing was allowed to heal ; but a similar incident cost William the affection and esteem of one of the royal family’s stoutest supporters. Count Lehndorff, sometime the favorite adju- tant-general of the old Emperor. Out of compliment to His Majesty, who regards every- body who has enjoyed his grandsire’s friendship with a sort of veneration, the old General had been placed next to the Kaiser at a chase in Neugattersleben, held in December, 1895. As on that eventful occasion in Liebenberg, a year before, the hare did not rush to the slaughter as fast as William liked, and at the Ha-la-lit “only” two hundred 234 PRIVATE LIVES OF and ten leapers were placed to his credit. His neighbor, Count Lehndortf, brought down forty. “Two hundred and ten plus forty makes a round quarter of a thousand, — a royal number for a bad day,” exclaimed William, who was in great ill-humor. “ Confound the impu- dence of the fellow who shoots game coming within range of my rifle and which properly belongs to me.” At this unheard-of insult, Lehndorff’s right hand instinct- ively seized his couteau de chasse, but his temper got the better of him for a single moment only. “The fellow who handed William I the diploma that made him German Emperor^ may well consider himself above the charge of impudence,” he said, in his simple and impressive style. And turning to his friends, continued : “I will not quarrel with the grandson of the King whom I attended in three victorious wars and at whose side I courted death at K6- nigsgratz when all seemed lost.” A stiif bow, a few words of excuse to Herr von Alvens- leben, and the old General got into his trap. He has ever since avoided William’s company “as that of a madman’s.” While the members of His Majesty’s staff assert that the monarch is never in better humor than after successfully playing some trick upon a friend, it shall not be denied that he is very agreeable company if he has half a mind to be. He loves a merry jest at a stag party, knows the art of making pleasant conversation, sings, badly, it is true, but nevertheless entertainingly enough among friends ; enjoys good music, and is a clever hand at any game, — billiards, skat, poker, and what-not ? and, better still, he never allows 1 At Versailles, December 1 8, 1870, when LehndorfF handed King William the petition of the Reichstag of the North German Federation, asking him to assume the imperial crown. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 235 the stakes to go above a pfennig (a quarter of a cent) a point. If Diana has smiled upon him, and the host showed a lucky hand in the selection of the menu, he usually orders his portfolio of photographs to be brought in after dinner, and, leaving everybody a choice of pictures, inscribes his name, together with the date, and often some cheerful words of remembrance, on a dozen or half a hundred pasteboards, as the case might be. In such jovial fashion the royal hunt at Amtsrath von Dietze’s seat, Barby, winds up year after year, for the arrangements there are invariably the most satisfactory, both nature and the kitchen offering ample plenitude of good things. It is at Barby manor-house, too, where Wil- liam habitually makes his speech about pot-luck and the late Eberhardt im Barte^ whom he is trying hard to emu- late ; but, seeing that the tax commissioners have raised the Amtsrath twenty-five per cent, since he began to enter- tain the Kaiser, William’s reassuring words must be rather galling. However that may be, the old councillor can hardly do enough for his august guest, even though his wife, the prototype of a saving Hausfrau^ sometimes flatly refuses to let things go to extremes. So it happened in December, 1896, that she took a bottle of wine, from which her husband was about to serve the Kaiser, out of the Amtsrath’s hand, with the words : “Nay, nay, hubby, not from the best just yet.” The dignified old squire looked ready to die of mortification, but his fat little spouse continued undisturbed : “You know at the Schloss we had German champagne with our soup ; the expensive French vintage was saved until dessert.” The piece de resistance at every Barby hunt dinner is a roast turkey. “If at any time His Majesty should return with his game-bag completely empty, I wager I would lure him from his room with one word: ^Puterbratenp says 236 PRIVATE LIVES OF Madame von Dietze ; and that is no idle boast, for William is extremely fond of the Yankee bird, as he calls it, and the Barby brand is supposed to be the finest on record. “Egloffstein,” cried the Kaiser, addressing his House- marshal at the other end of the table some little while after the bottle incident, in an endeavor to put the Amtsrath at his ease again, — ^‘why in thunder, Egloffstein, can’t I get a turkey like this at my own house ? ’ ’ “Because,” said the courtier, rising and bowing to Madame von Dietze, sitting on the Kaiser’s right, “Your Majesty’s turkeys do not have the care those of the Frau Amtsrathin enjoy.” “Well spoken,” remarked Herr von Kessel, assuming the voice and gestures of an auctioneer; “this Truthahn^ for instance, went to bed with madame every night for the last month or so, and ” “Fibs!” interrupted the Emperor, “it can’t be true. Otherwise, who might be your fat friend on this silver platter ? ’ ’ “Let me finish. Your Majesty! I meant to add: ^ and in the morning was regaled with the most fulsome breakfast of maize and barley.'' ” All laughed, and the Kaiser said : “ But inasmuch as I cannot ask gnddige Frau to sleep in my hennery, the ques- tion that gave rise to our discussion remains unsolved.” “Then let me send a first-rate New Year’s turkey to the Schloss,” pleaded the host. The offer was gladly accepted, and on his return home His Majesty, from whom I have the minutes of the conver- sation quoted, promised us a regular feast for some evening after the holidays. At last the much-talked-about Truthahn was served with becoming state and many appetizing accessories, but, alas 1 failed to conquer. Though not quite as dry as the average WILLIAM 11 AND HIS CONSORT 237 bird of his family eaten at the Prussian Court, the dish disappointed even those of us who habitually take the Em- peror’s laudations with a grain of salt or two. William was furious. Turning to Rieger, he ordered him to proceed to the kitchen and inform the mouth-cook ‘*of His Majesty’s all-highest displeasure and disappointment, and,” he cried after the man, ‘Hell him also that on my travels I’ve en- countered the best meals in houses where they employ women cooks. If he fails with one of my favorite dishes again, there will be an upheaval in the lower regions of this palace and we may try a regime of aprons instead of caps. ’ ’ The same night House-marshal von Lyncker, who is an adept in the art of currying favor, wrote to Amtsrath’s ex- plaining the non-success of the experiment, and Madame von Dietze, taking pity on William, not only promised to rehabilitate the Barby bird, but see to it that the next one was properly cooked. So the good woman set to work and stuffed the pride of her barn-yard for many weeks with the finest cereals and boiled chicken, and when he had in- creased ten pounds, sent him to Berlin, together with her own female Reyniere. Kaiser and Kaiserin, the children, and the entire Court visited the proud turkey in his coop while the petticoated chef explained his good points with many courtesies. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and “courtiers live to eat.” What a meal it was, and how gracious His Majesty after the first bite ! Last February,^ Eugene Richter made his great speech against William’s hunting companions, who, he thundered, manip- ulate the Kaiser at will. “ My African Empire for a lettre de cachet that will send this rabulist to Spandau! Would I not gladly forget all about him there ! ’ ’ exclaimed His ^ February 12, 1895, in the Reichstag. 238 PRIVATE LIVES OF Majesty when the tirade became known. These followers of Diana certainly have some little influence with the Em- peror, but to obtain the sway Herr Richter imputes to them, they would have to go to school with Anna, the Barby cook. She was the queen-bee of the Schloss for many days, and, if fate had made her a lady, instead of a poor country-wench, she might have obtained the first place in the royal tnenage for the asking, with the proviso, however, that she devote herself to turkey-cooking during the season. Whenever the Court-marshal catches a new bird ^ eager to place his game at William’s disposal, he is careful to in- form the noble gentleman that the regulation hunt dinner should consist of at least six courses j but when the Kaiser assembles his generous friends at his own fireside, at the Chalet Lindstedt, in the Potsdam district, for instance, at Hubertusstock or Letzlingen, moderation and simplicity are trumps, dinners being tabooed, and only breakfast, late luncheon, and suppers are offered, where cutlets and beef- steak take the place of roast, and fried apples form the dessert, with beer or light wines as a beverage, and punch as a substitute for champagne. So the imperial guests usually make for the nearest restaurant as soon as they return to town. ^‘They come from dinner at Court,” say the citizens who recognize the royal hunt uniform; no wonder they are famished. Prussian provisioning makes lean horses.” Aside from his hunting companions. His Majesty has few friends and no intimates. Though Herr von Helldorff, Baron Manteuffel, and Count Douglas are sometimes so ^“Another bird caught,” wrote Frederick William I in his diary when he succeeded in selling one of his Prussian orders to some am- bitious simpleton, and to this day the phrase is much en vogue at the Berlin Court, WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 239 designated, there is nothing in their relations to His Majesty to justify the assumption. At the palace the triumvirate is called “the Kaiser’s most submissive political General Staff,” because William uses these gentlemen as cat’s- paws sometimes, as clubs on other occasions, when the conservatives cannot be brought to book in any legiti- mate way. They breakfast or dine at Court quite fre- quently, and are favorably regarded by the Empress, but on the whole their reception, while never lacking in cor- diality, is official in character. Conforming to Chester- field’s advice, these gentlemen “made themselves neces- sary,” but the Kaiser is not always eager to do business, as the record of his occupations mentioned in another chapter shows. Herr von Helldorff, besides, has some- what lost caste since His Majesty adopted his vacillating policy in respect to Bismarck. During the first three months of the year 1890, while the old Chancellor was kept away from Berlin through all sorts of machinations that made it patent to everybody at Court that he was about to be shelved (his son Herbert was the only one who failed to understand the situation), — while these intrigues were being spun, Herr von Helldorff was a daily visitor at the palace, and, to judge from remarks the Empress let fall in our circle off and on, he played a decisive part in the conspiracy that discrowned the great man. Whether he informed the Emperor that Bismarck had become a morphine fiend and was unable to think connectedly, I cannot tell, but His Majesty mentioned the rumor at luncheon one day after having been closeted with both the agrarian chieftain and Dr. Hinzpeter the whole morn- ing. The Kaiser’s old preceptor Hinzpeter, by the way, was never so prominent at Court as when Bismarck’s star was on the wane. We saw him flit in and out of the Kaiser’s study at all times of the day and in the evening, 240 PRIVATE LIVES OF and quite often he installed himself in His Majesty’s apart- ments as early as eight o’clock in the morning, even be- fore William had breakfasted. But this friendship was too thick to last, the more so as Dr. Hinzpeter himself placed a stumbling-block in the way of his ambition to live at Court by his marriage to Mademoiselle d’Harcourt ex- governess to the Emperor’s sisters. So Hinzpeter was packed off to Bielefeld, and the castle and Neues Palais knew him no more. Until the spring of 1892, Judicial Councillor Kunze was another of the Kaiser’s untitled friends, and he had, per- haps, more influence over William than all the rest, seeing that he aspired to become His Majesty’s Hofjude^ or finan- cial agent. Kunze manipulated the ruinous Schloss Freiheit Lottery, mentioned in the eighth chapter, and was at the bottom of the colossal building projects, having a game of some sort in petto to meet each proposed extravagance. However, as soon as these schemes threatened to com- promise the Kaiser, their plebeian advocate was dropped as a “designing and even dangerous person,” and since then I have seen William pass his old-time friend, who was half doubled up by the most submissive of bows, without taking the slightest notice of 'him. That does not signify, however, that Kunze is lastingly disgraced. On the con- trary, if the “difficulties of the exchequer” continue, he is almost sure to be restored. Among men of his own caste and age, William has had but one intimate, the late Rudolph of Austria; but the pleasant relations between these young men, based upon mutual likes and dislikes, came to an abrupt end some four years previous to the Archduke’s awful death, discord arising in the summer of 1885 when Prince and Princess William were spending several weeks at their Imperial Highnesses’ country -place near Vienna. From this outing WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 241 the Princess returned all of a sudden and post-haste to Potsdam, while her husband went on an impromptu tour of military inspections in the provinces. And the reason ? Princess Philip of Coburg, sister of the Archduchess Stephanie, told me that William, returning in her brother- in-law’s company from a stag party late one evening, pro- posed the game of changer les damesy which. Her Royal Highness insists, is quite common” among German offi- cers. Rudolph is said to have been agreeable, but when William entered the Crown Princess Stephanie’s room. Her Imperial Highness made a tremendous uproar, caus- ing Auguste Victoria to awake, and” (I am still quoting Princess Philip), thus the pretty scheme was spoiled.” Next morning the young wives got together ; but as each charged the other’s husband with instigating the devil- ish plot, the happy family party was bound to break up, and their Highnesses separated without saying good-bye. Such, at least, was common report at the Court of Empress Augusta in Coblentz, where I happened to be at the time. As for the rest, it will probably never be known which of the royal gentlemen incited the other to the act ; maybe both were drunk, and agreed upon the dictum of Prussian army men: ^^Unter Kameraden isf s ganz egaV^ (literally: Among comrades it’s the same thing”) as a good joke. CHAPTER XI Toward the end of January, 1894, when the Kaiser was about to complete his reconciliation with Prince Bismarck first entered upon by the historic telegram from Guns, which Emperor Francis Joseph had inspired,^ he informed the Court at supper one evening that the Duke of Lauen- burg, who had been suffering from influenza^ was doing well again. ‘‘ I will send Kiderlen to Friedrichsruhe to- morrow to convey my congratulations, together with the customary bottle of Steinberg Cabinet,” he added. “For God’s sake,” cried Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg, one of the guests, “rather send a chasseur than Kiderlen ! He ’ ’ “And what is Your Highness’s objection to Kiderlen, pray?” asked the Kaiser, dropping the familiar thou. From his tone and manner it was clear that he did not like this particular friend criticised. My objection?” resumed Duke Johann. “/ have nothing against your Councillor of Legation, but during my late visit to the old Chancellor a rumor concerning Your Majesty’s intention to make Kiderlen Minister to Hamburg was mentioned, and the Prince being asked if he ^ In the fall of 1893, Bismarck was dangerously ill with inflammation of the lungs and ischia, in Kissingen, and on September 20 the Kaiser, by telegram, assured him of his sympathy, at the same time offering him the use of one of his castles for convalescence. 243 244 PRIVATE LIVES OF knew the gentleman, said: ^Yes, devilish good company at a stag party. After dinner, when we join the ladies, out with him’ ” {lieraiisschmeissen). A titter went around the table, but His Majesty’s glum face suppressed our incipient hilarity. ‘^Much obliged for the information,” he frowned; ‘‘but understand, I will not be dictated to in the selec- tion of either a minister or a messenger. ’ ’ Next morning the Kaiser sent straightway for Kiderlen; but the latter, to whom the conversation had been reported by the House-marshal on duty, and who did not care to be snubbed by Bismarck on the eve of his elevation, excused himself on the plea of sickness, adhering to that story for three days in succession, until the Kaiser, losing patience, sent his adjutant. Count Moltke, instead of the Councillor. Opinion at Court and among serious men generally fully endorsed Bismarck’s drastic characterization of the then chief of the official press, afterward Minister to Hamburg, and still later to Denmark, and there are even many who think it applies to all the rest of His Majesty’s intimates, the Eulenburgs, Herr von Huelsen, and the cloud of military chums, his adjutants, etc. “It is a pity,” said the Empress Frederick after Count Waldersee’s retirement from Berlin (January, 1891), “that my son will have none but lightweights about him; all men of acumen are pushed aside. Still, I suppose I must not grumble so long as Count Herbert is kept out.” Her Majesty, you must know, regards Herbert Bismarck as the man who instilled in the Emperor the liking for persons of his — Herbert’s — stamp, — flatterers, shallow and insolent, defamers of womankind, tap-house jesters and buffoons. “Scratch either of the Kiderlen-Eulenburg-Huelsen crew and the pickle-herring will appear,” she is wont to say, WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 245 and years ago nothing gave her greater satisfaction than the termination of Prince William’s friendship with the Austrian Crown Prince, whom she abhorred as any pure woman might abhor a heartless roue. After a quarrel with William, the Princess of Meiningen once called her big brother ‘‘the great charlatan,” and his cronies the “little ones whom he continuously out- tricks,” referring to the fact that the Kaiser refused loans to more than one of his intimates time and again. But while it is true that he is personally very close-fisted, he makes the government pay his debts of gratitude when- ever an opportunity offers. So he found Herr von Kider- len a supernumerary Councillor of Legation, with little to recommend him besides his close knowledge of dispar- aging personalities respecting colleagues and chiefs, high officials in Berlin, and diplomats in all parts of the world. “If my Chancellor keeps a Holstein,^ why should I not employ Kiderlen in the same capacity?” said the Emperor one day in conversation with Herr von Hell- dorff. “He is such a smooth talker, and so easy-going, that no one will suspect his mission.” Consequently, Kiderlen was appointed aid to Herbert Bismarck, with the understanding that he report to the imperial master all that happened and all that was spoken in the official and private households of both the Chancellor and Secre- tary of Foreign Affairs. To be sure, as inqiiisiteur de la foi he was forced to be his own grave-digger, morally and politically, for Count Herbert’s successor had no use for him; but the Kaiser quickly found another berth for his favorite, who became forthwith Grand Mogul of the ^ Privy Councillor von Holstein was for years Prince Bismarck’s private mouchard, and after the Chancellor’s dismissal continued as such in the interest of the Foreign Office. 246 PRIVATE LIVES OF official press, and as such alternately the scourge of the Kaiser’s friends and foes, according to His Majesty’s whims. ‘^As the Pooh-Bah of men who missed their vocation,” said Bismarck some time ago, ‘‘this Suabian chameleon discovered his talent for high politics, and quickly advanced from Minister to a first-rate Free City to that of a fourth-rate kingdom.” Count Philip Eulenburg, whom Princess Charlotte had particularly in mind when speaking of the “out-tricked little charlatans,” is likewise somewhat of a letter- writer. When the Kaiser tells an amusing story at table con- cerning some member of the Court or society in Berlin or some other capital, or gives ill report of officials in the diplomatic service, we say as often “ the mail-pouch from Vienna has arrived” as “ Kiderlen is at it again.” In justice to Count Philli’s literary skill, it should be added, however, that his most damnatory letters are often least conspicuous for intriguing artifices. When His Excel- lency has marked down a person as a quarry, he does not go to work with pick and axe, indeed not ! Thus, during the year that intervened between Bismarck’s Vienna visit and the resignation of Prince Reuss,^ our Minister in Munich never had anything but words of praise for his “venerable colleague ’ ’ at the Hof burg ; but he was venerable^ this col- league, and His Grace’s old ailment, that kept him in bed in those momentous days, when he ought to have been away from his post to avoid affording Bismarck a chance to visit the German Embassy, might return at any moment.” ^ Caprivi, acting upon the Kaiser’s express orders, had instructed Prince Reuss and the other members of the Embassy to avoid coming into contact, privately or officially, with Prince Bismarck, when the latter attended his son’s wedding in Vienna ; but Prince Reuss, being ill at the time, received Bismarck at his bedside, it being impossible for him to deny himself. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 247 And again: this Court” (Munich) hear sin- gular reports about Her Royal Highness” (wife of Prince Reuss, nee Princess of Saxe-Weimar), ‘^who openly asserts that she will not allow her husband to accept orders from Herr von Caprivi respecting people that shall and shall not be received at her hotel.” I have these extracts from a person who saw the origi- nals and who assures me that ‘‘all was written in the most amiable spirit.” “His Majesty might show most of these ministerial epistles without compromising Philli’s reputation as a good fellow and perfect cavalier,” says my tattling courtier. Yet pin-thrusts as they were, the mischief- making reports did their work wondrously well, and Count Eulenburg was gazetted for the most important ambassadorial post within the gift of the Kaiser, in January, 1894. “ Darmstadt — Munich — Vienna ! ” exclaimed Prince Al- brecht, Regent of Brunswick, when Philli’s advancement was reported to him; “he must be a second Bismarck, this crony of my grandnephew. ’ ’ His Royal Highness, always a hearty supporter of the old Chancellor, referred to Bismarck’s sudden advancement from Dike Commissioner, in 1846, to Plenipotentiary at the German Federal Council a few years later. “ The simile differs only in one respect, ’ ’ remarked Count Schu- lenburg. Master of the Hounds at the Regent’s Court: “Bismarck never received a pfennig of salary until he went to Frankfurt, while Eulenburg has been a public charge since he left school. And the best of it is, his im- perial friend makes him a present of from twenty-five to sixty thousand marks every time his stipend is increased.” “You are jesting,” laughed Albrecht; “William giving away anything besides compliments to impossible heroes of history ? ’ ’ 248 PRIVATE LIVES OF I beg your Royal Highness’s pardon, and His Majesty’s too,” resumed the nobleman. “I was reckoning with the V et at- c' est-moi theory, that insinuates itself into all public business nowadays. To be sure, it’s the government that paid, or will pay, respectively, these extra allowances, — twenty-five thousand marks for moving from Darmstadt to Munich, sixty thousand for carting the Minister’s furniture from the Isar to the Danube. ’ ’ Though appearances are against him. Count Eulenburg is not a covetous man, only a poor one, kept poor and made poorer year by year by His Majesty’s flattering, but expensive, visits. Like the typical Prussian official, he never had money of his own, and, unlike him, he married a dowerless woman, a de Saudelj, of Stockholm, daughter of a Swedish nobleman. Add to this the expensive habits of Court life, the duty of entertaining the sovereign, and the terrible infliction of having to feed seven hungry youngsters (‘‘so devoted a royalist would never think of having less children, or more, than His Majesty,” said Bismarck once), and you get a vague notion of things as they were in the Eulenburg menage before the Vienna windfall. Indeed, as Prussian Minister to Darmstadt, the Count experienced the greatest difficulties in upholding his credit, and the Kaiser’s adju- tants say that the family, when William had been to dinner or supper, lived off the remnants of the meal for a week or longer. One of these gentlemen assured me that he dis- liked to accompany His Majesty to Liebenberg and accept hospitality there, because he felt “like robbing a pupillary fund” when dining in a house where so many others, having a better right to the food, went unprovided. The promotion to the Munich post, together with the ex- cessive allowance for moving, helped Eulenburg momenta- rily ; but until the appointment to Vienna put considerable WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 249 funds into his pockets, he never breathed freely. Mean- while, that is, during the twelve months or longer that the negotiations for Prince Reuss’s withdrawal were going on (though sixty-nine years old, Henry VII was not at all eager to retire ; and his wife’s relatives, notably the Grand Duke of Weimar and Queen Victoria, — the latter was interested in the case on account of Princess Edward of Saxe, the Duke of Richmond’s daughter,^ — did their best to dissuade the Kaiser from his determination), — during this long and weary period of waiting, Eulenburg was in ’the very throes of financial despair, as everybody at Court knew. The Kaiser alone affected to be ignorant of his friend’s trials, and often remarked, at social and other gatherings in the palace: ‘‘1 like nothing better than spending a few days at Liebenberg ; the only trouble is, the place is so terribly old-fashioned,” words that were repeated to the Minister by the royal house officials and occasional guests over and over again. Indeed, it seemed to me that His Majesty made it a point to indulge in observations of that nature when and where they might do the most good; namely, when Count Augustus, the grand-master, was present. So frequent and so annoy- ing were these references, that the Prince of Meiningen once said: ^‘He will be driven to the Jew, if you keep on.” ‘‘ Keep on — what?” retorted tne Emperor, angrily. Throwing his poverty up to him as you do to others ! ” ‘‘ Do you see His Excellency anywhere about ? ” said the Kaiser, sarcastically. ^ The marriage of this lady to Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, British General and Commander of the First Life Guards, is not recog- nized “ as legitimate ” in Germany ; and while Pier Plighness is a full- fledged Princess in England, she is called by the title and name of Grdfin von Dornburg at the Prussian and Weimar courts. 250 PRIVATE LIVES OF replied the Princess Charlotte, — '^for a wonder, there is no Eulenburg present, but the gossips-in-ordinary are,” and Her Royal Highness, raising one of her fair shoulders, pointed to Generals von Hahnke and von Ples- sen, who, though apparently absorbed in the contempla- tion of some rich stuffs, which the Sultan had presented to Her Majesty, were taking in the conversation of the august personages, as their confused looks, after this sally, plainly showed. ‘‘Mrs. Meiningen,” seeing the startled faces, burst out laughing, and slapped her knee as her grandmother, the late Empress Augusta, used to do when she was excited. When this conversation took place, in January, 1893, during the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh, His Majesty and their Highnesses were not on the best of terms, for reasons that will be explained in another chapter. Eulenburg, however, did not go to the usurer, but selected the safer, though thorny, road : he borrowed from a rela- tive, his sister-in-law, wife of Count Eulenburg, Major in the Guard Dragoons. This lady, belonging to the well- known Berlin family von Schafer- Voit, is blessed with a considerable fortune in her own right, and allowed her- self to be persuaded to provide not only funds for the build- ing and furnishing of an imperial suite of rooms at Count Philli’s seat, but, in addition, lent her genial brother-in-law a snug sum, the interest of which was to be exclusively applied to the entertainment of His Majesty. By this arrangement, the Minister’s salary was relieved of the incubus that had sucked it dry for the last four or five years, and his family was at last permitted to reap the undivided benefit of his official industry. And (this was common report at the Neues Palais) on condition that she, the commoner, be invited to meet His Majesty twice per year, madame relinquished all claims for interest. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 251 To this extraordinary display of respectful devotion on the part of the Eulenburg family, His Majesty was not insensible; not only was Count Philli, who never in his life had distinguished himself as a diplomat, promoted be- yond the dreams of hardened ofiice-seekerdom, but grati- tude led William to unwonted extravagance toward the Court. To improve the outlook from the imperial suite of rooms at Liebenberg, he presented his host with a stone fountain ^Ho be erected in the farm-yard opposite His Majesty’s windows,” leaving to His Excellency the cost of setting up and finding water. This latter fact the official publication bureau carefully suppressed when the story of the gift was furnished to the papers (His Majesty likes his benefits attended by the sound of drums and the blare of trumpets) ; but Countess Eulenburg, she of the loose purse, who is good at figuring, told our own Countess Brockdorff that the expense of rearing the orna- ment exceeded by far the sculptor’s and stone-cutters’ bills. But while Eulenburg, like the rest of His Majesty’s impecunious but useful friends, never ^^saw the color of his money,” he has, in the course of years, tasted much of the sweetness said to reside in what Pitt called ^Hhe power behind the throne.” Because he learned to be- dizen himself with the Kaiser’s weaknesses and small vices, to acquiesce in his (William’s) principles; because he has it in his heart to gloss over His Majesty’s faults and to affect admiration for all his doings and sayings, one of the chief regalisms was turned over to his tender care, — the making and unmaking of the diplomatic corps. The shifting of Herr von Radowitz from Constantinople to the fourth-rate Madrid ministry; the shelving of Min- ister to Spain Baron von Stumm and of the Belgrade Am- bassador, Count Bray Steinburg; the recall of Herr von Schloezer, Minister to the Vatican ; General Schweinitz’s 252 PRIVATE LIVES OF enforced resignation as Ambassador to Russia, — all these “ blue letters ” bore Eulenburg’s ear-marks, all these resig- nations and quasi resignations were planned and discussed at stag dinners, and during the annual Northland trips, be- tween Frenchy anecdotes and Skalde-songs. Three of the officials named had been on the palace index long before their fall. “Your cousin informs me that Stumm was hand and glove with the *01d Thunderbox’” {Alte Racketen- kiste, — Bismarck^ “in Kissingen,” said the Kaiser, on Au- gust 9 , to the newly-made Minister of the Interior, Count Botho Eulenburg. During His Majesty’s absence in Eng- land, Count Philli had kept a strict surveillance over mem- bers of the foreign service, and the moment His Majesty set foot in the Neues Palais the most fulsome reports of the doings of all persons suspected of Bismarckian sympa- thies were handed to him. “This fellow ” (Stumm), con- tinued His Majesty, “seems to ignore the publication in the Reichsanzeiger,^ and Philli, Kiderlen, and Holstein say there are more of them. Look out for that sort of official in your department; I will have none of them.’’ The Court was informed of this conversation by the grand- marshal, who repeated it as a warning to everybody, and from that day on we looked for Baron Stumm’s decapitation every morning in the papers. We did not have to wait long. The retirement of Herr von Schloezer was likewise a fait accompli for us long before that gentleman learned of his dismissal by an article in the Munich Allgemeine Zeit~ ung, a paper then quite frequently used for ballons d' essai and other publications by the resident Prussian Minister, Philip Eulenburg. As it turned out, the matter had been arranged between Kaiser and favorite, and His Majesty ^ Two rescripts, published July 7, 1892, concerning the attitude Ger- man and Prussian Ministers should assume toward Prince Bismarck. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 253 authorized the announcement, never suspecting that notifi- cations by the Chancellor’s office do not travel so fast as his own thoughts. So Schloezer was taken completely by surprise, — as completely as the press, which regarded him as the foremost of German diplomats; and only the ladies and gentlemen of the Court, long used to see the Ambassador through their master’s spectacles as ^^a slave to Bismarck adulation,” as ^‘a secret opponent to the new course,'' and as “the representative of a great power whose saloperie was responsible for the riddle : ‘ Who wears Schloe- zer’s clean shirts?’ ” — only we privileged mortals were able to say: “I told you so.” But, with all this, it did not long remain a secret that the real reason for Schloezer’ s and Radowitz’s fall was the superior mental equipment of these diplomats ; Eulenburg thought them fully capable of distinguishing themselves at the first opportunity, and that would not exactly reflect credit upon him, their superior in rank. So the Kaiser was pestered with stories of their unruly ambitions; exaggerated accounts of their little weaknesses were spread, and their known friendship with Bismarck did the rest, while in the case of Herr von Rad- owitz the Emperor’s wish to be represented by persons of great title was used as an additional lever to dislodge the proscribed official. True, his immediate successor, Radolin, was only a Prince of the most recent creation (1888), but what did the Sultan know of such details? So the tried diplomat of the [old school was discarded for the goldstick, who gathered his political experience in trotting to the tune of the dinner march and auditing butchers’, dress- makers’, and other household bills. ^ * Prince Radolin was Emperor Frederick’s Court-marshal, and after- ward William the Second’s lord-carver {ecuyer tranchant). His ele- vation in personal rank was due to his marriage to an English lady, the daughter of the Right Honorable Thomas Wakefield. 254 PRIVATE LIVES OF I say this in regret rather than in criticism of His Grace, I assure you ; for, while Radolin is insignificant, — his best friend cannot gainsay that, — he is a charming fellow, ami- able, polite, obliging, altogether a worthy exponent of virtues that may be said to apply to the Kaiser’s friends and companions in general, with the difference, though, that in one or two cases the adjective ‘‘insignificant” should be emphasized, while the others must be qualified as “ outwardly.” At Court, General von Hahnke, Chief of the Kaiser’s Military Cabinet, easily passes as the most trivial man attached to His Majesty’s person, either officially or by bonds of friendship, while to General von Plessen, Chief of the Royal Head-quarters, the palm of graceful complai- sance is accorded. But before I undertake to define the positions and rights and duties of these two much-talked-of personages, I want to point out that His Majesty appears to be wofully deficient in judging human nature. While there may be method in the selection of mental nonentities for his suite, his attachment to men of doubtful morals and undoubted lack of penetration in general, is explainable only on the ground of his own superficiality. As I never saw the Kaiser, of whose domestic virtues we hear so much, display any interest in his children, save that of examining their clothes as to fit and quality, so he chooses his friends by outside appearances, — a great name and high position being the sole requisites. William is the only man of royal blood who parades a liking for the profligate Otto of Austria, the second son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, whom the nations of the dual monarchy, fearful of his possible succession to the throne, include in their daily prayers under the head of “Deliver us from all evil.” And Count Hoenbroich, the ex-Jesuit, had no sooner started out to fill the penny Jew press with WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 255 denunciations of his former creed, when the Kaiser called him to Court and introduced him to Her Majesty, not as a freak, but as somebody akin to a second Luther. So enthusiastic was the Emperor about his new friend that he even proposed to invite the ex-priest’s wife, and only after a scene with Auguste Victoria, in which the Empress — God knows how she gathered the courage to do so ! — ventilated his strange faible for Jewesses and French women, was this new scandal averted. And the third on the list of the Kaiser’s roue inti- mates, — the Right Honorable Count Visone, Italian Charge- d' affaires during the absence from Berlin of the late Count Lanza, the Ambassador ! The whole Court was familiar with this gentleman’s life: a mere staggering between alcove and bottle ! He was known to parade his courtesans even more brazenly than the Duke of Schleswig, and his gambling debts and similar extrava- gancies were the talk of the town. Yet the Emperor saw in him only ^Hhe perfect cavalier,” ^Hhe schneidiger mdea of the world,” — a favorite expression with His Majesty, — “the distinguished scion of a historic family.” And so this associate of demi-reps and gamesters became the petted darling of the Schloss and Neues Palais ; his mots were quoted admiringly in Her Majesty’s boudoir, and his liveries and horses were discussed in the salons and ante- chambers as well, until, finally, — it was, I believe, in March, 1894, — a despatch from Rome put an end to this adulation in exactly the manner that had been prophesied. The Count and royal Minister had absconded after defrauding the governors of the Jockey Club of ten thousand francs in cash and fifteen thousand francs at the tables. This had been the mode of manipulation : his Lordship had been losing heavily, and at the close of the establishment, at 5 A.M., owed fifteen thousand francs, whereupon he produced 256 PRIVATE LIVES OF a check-book issued by a Berlin firm, and wrote out a draft for twenty-five thousand francs. ^^Take what is yours,” he said, in his grandiloquent way, ^^and give me the balance.” Two days later the managers of the club learned that Visone had just fifty marks to his credit in Berlin, while inquiries at his home developed the fact that he left for parts unknown on the day the fraud was committed. Compared with a good many of His Majesty’s friends, the members of his official household are paragons of virtue, if not of manliness. There is, first of all. Chief of the Royal Head-quarters and Adjutant-General Herr von Plessen, the picture of a proud nobleman, tall and muscular, with grayish blonde hair and ditto moustache, large, kind blue eyes, and courtly manners, ‘‘just such a man as I would select by the dozen for my cabinet, if I were a Catherine of Russia,” said one of the Emperor’s sisters to me one evening, in a burst of confidence. “ But His Excellency is nearly fifty.” “He was not born so old, and, besides, it would mean that he has a son or sons between the ages of twenty-five or thirty.” Well, Plessen is no Grigori Orloff, hardly an Alexei^ in respect to influence over the sovereign ; a splendid lay- figure, gorgeously accoutred with a wealth of glittering orders and ribbons of many hues, he seems to be more and more degenerating into a solemn compiler! “Yet,” says the voice of the palace, where everybody sympathizes with the reputed lover of a fair Princess (“ Sister Lottchen ”), — ^ Count Orloff was the celebrated paramour of Catherine II ; his brother Alexei, who aided in the conspiracy to enthrone her by stran- gling Czar Peter III with his own hands (he lived till 1808), was soon discarded as a favorite and banished from Court. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 257 ‘^yet, think of the training he got, and how his proud spirit was systematically crushed.” There is much in this. After the Kaiser’s enthronization, von Plessen was expected to receive the command of a Guard Infantry brigade, but, instead. His Majesty sent him to Karlsruhe, announcing this quasi degradation in words that sounded like rank sarcasm. ^‘You may ask a boon of me,” said His Majesty one day after taking dinner at the mess of the First Guards, von Plessen’s regiment. The proposition was so sudden that the Colonel became momentarily disconcerted. While he was stammering some- thing about ^‘undeserved all-highest indulgence,” etc., the Kaiser continued : “ By my grace you are appointed briga- dier in the capital of Baden ; you will, therefore, serve under the eyes of my uncle. Grand Duke Frederick, Prus- sian Colonel-General of Cavalry.” It was an awful blow for the dashing officer and rich courtier, but he had to look pleased, and acknowledge his “most submissive thanks” and all that sort of thing. When he returned, in 1892, as adjutant-general,^ — the position he originally coveted, — he was a much changed man. His fine zeal to let others profit by his eminent strategic knowledge had entirely subsided, and when the Kaiser answered his question, whether the technical lessons’ should be continued, with a vague “You will receive in- structions when His Majesty feels like going to school again,” he submitted without protest, and never afterward ^ The Kaiser’s adjutants often hold at the same time commissions in the army. * William’s military education was far from finished when he came to the throne, and by Bismarck’s advice he continued his studies in strategy and tactics under the exacting General von Wittich’s tutelage. 258 PRIVATE LIVES OF mentioned the matter. Possibly the case of Count Wal- dersee frightened him, as it did others. Like von Plessen, the Emperor’s uncle by marriage is a better military leader than the war-lord, but was incautious enough to let it out ; hence his enforced residence in the dirty Altona-Krah- winkel. The new chief of head-quarters had come to the capital to stay, and with that end in view did not hesi- tate to turn himself into a nought as an officer and as a man. Alas and alack ! how your paradise-conquering Baron Trenck of a decade ago has changed into a meek pot-boiler, royal Princess ! Though still a type of splendid manhood, it is scarcely possible to recognize the daring lover of an Emperor’s daughter in the von Plessen of to-day, in that smooth-tongued courtier content to see and to be seen, to answer when he is spoken to, and who, to cloak the abso- lute want of employment his great title covers, does odd jobs that one of the House -marshals, a flunky, or courier might perform as well. Time and again have I seen the chief of head-quarters come from the Kaiser’s cabinet with an air of importance that indicated business of the greatest consequence, while it developed later on that the Kaiser had commissioned him to procure a new novel, or some pamphlet, or look at a horse offered for sale. Indeed, this amiable sabretasche is glad to concern himself with his master’s most trivial affairs to while away the time that hangs heavily upon his hands, for, strictly speaking, he has nothing whatever to do, save to wait upon His Majesty once every twenty-four hours and receive for his trouble an invitation for lunch or dinner, or an order to hold himself in readiness for a journey, a hunting-trip, or some festival. That the Kaiser abolished one of the principal duties of the chief of head-quarters, that of keeping the monarch WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 259 posted on military matters of a technical nature, has been mentioned ; another function, the supervision of the adju- tant service, became obsolete by His Majesty’s assumption of it ; while a third field of legitimate activity, the charge of the petitions for audience on the part of military per- sons, was closed ‘^as conflicting with the Court-marshal’s prerogatives. ’ ’ So there is nothing left for Herr von Ples- sen to do but to do nothing, as we say at Court, and draw several salaries and many more fees as compensation ; namely, the income of a General, that of Chief of Head- quarters, and that of an Adjutant-General; and as per- quisites: table-money, travelling expenses, servants’ and livery moneys (t^^e servants themselves are furnished by the army), and, finally, rations for five horses. A three-ply salary, augmented by many extras, likewise falls to the lot of Herr von Hahnke, Chief of the Military Cabinet and Adjutant-General, who, besides, holds a canon- ship in Brandenburg, worth four thousand five hundred marks per year, all because he has amplified the knowledge of cottoning to the tastes of the Kaiser to a fine art. Gen- eral von Hahnke is regarded as the typical Prussian parade soldier, after the style of ^^ces perruques of the beginning of the century, who shouted d Paris in August, 1806, and ran away at Jena a month later,” as Count Haeseler, the commander of the army of the West at the manoeuvres of 1897, puts it. With the exception of a year or two, when he held the colonelship of the Fifty-second Infantry, Herr von Hahnke has been an adjutant and caterer to the tastes of superiors from major and colonel upward to royal Princes all his life. Emperor Frederick, who was not insensible to flat- tery, liked and patronized him ; but he became a man of consequence only under the present war-lord, who should go down to history as the employer of biped machines. 260 PRIVATE LIVES OF We see a great deal of Herr von Hahnke at Court, and a more propitious and obliging gentleman never breathed the air of a palace. His tact is proverbial and his devo- tion to the Emperor a by-word in upper society, which credits him with selecting for a device on the Grafts escutcheon, which William promised him, the words : ‘‘The King’s will is my highest law.” “ The King’s will ! ” That such a thing exists in Prus- sia has been doubted time and again since Frederick the Third’s death; its existence as a continuity for, let us say, twice twelve hours at least, is denied by the Kaiser’s own acts almost daily, but we courtiers know better. For my part, I think the observation of how much of a slave Wil- liam is to his momentary purposes makes those nearest him obey even his most evanescent notions ! And where a Plessen silently submits, how much easier must it be for a Hahnke to listen and report, set people against each other, and keep mum / These qualities helped to obtain for an indifferent colonel, such as he was, the gilded shoulder-knots of a brigadier of the Guards, and, glossing over his flagrant exhibitions of tactical ignorance, pushed him into the most influential post at Court, and kept him there year in, year out, semper Augustus^ as many knowing persons claim. No wonder Herr von Hahnke is sneered at by those who fear him most, — army men possessing, besides rank and position, strategic knowledge of a superior order. No wonder the battalions of generals, deposed on motion of the Military Cabinet, in late years, named him “ Corporal Guillotine.” This man, with a contortionist’s backbone and the flexibility of neck-muscles of a nodding manda- rin, — if the real ones are anything like the China figures, — ^beats them all, being at once the source and the echo of the war-lord’s volition. Under Herr von WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 261 Hahnke the Military Cabinet has become the antipode of the War Ministry, the office which a cantankerous Reichs- tag insists upon holding responsible for the budget, while the Kaiser as tenaciously adheres to the hallucination that moneys once granted should be subject to his pleasure alone. Bronsart von Schellendorf fought that presump- tion for years, not knowing that all this time the Kaiser was supplied with ammunition against him by one of his friends, the redoubtable Hahnke. Only when the latter attempted to place altogether too many cuckoo eggs into snug position at the many-roomed palace on Leipziger Strasse did the unsuspecting Minister tumble to the fact that there was more than one Holstein-Kiderlen combina- tion in existence. Herr von Hahnke’s chief business is to superintend the clerical work connected with the placing and displacing of the perso7inel of the army, and to report to His Maj- esty causes and inducements for changing commands that come to his knowledge through bureaucratic or other chan- nels. Think of such a weapon in the hands of one who not only has many irons of his own in the fire, but is serv- ing a master sodden with prejudices, notions of absolutism, and whimsicalities, and who, last but not least, begrudges every minute of time when public business encroaches upon his endless routine of pleasure. It is claimed by one who knows, and whom I will presently introduce, that His Majesty need but hint at the possibility of dispensing with the services of a person on some future occasion to set von Hahnke’s cabinet working to make the proscribed one’s fall sure, if not imperative, for applicants eager to step into dead men’s shoes are always plentiful; and if the Kaiser himself has no one in petto ^ why, one’s relatives or friends, or the enemies of some powerful official marked for early retirement, will do excellently well. 262 PRIVATE LIVES OF am willing to bet that a good many heads fell into the basket this morning,” said Duke Gunther of Schleswig to my mistress one day, toward the end of the fourth week in January, 1891. His Highness was standing at one of the windows of the Pillar Room in the Berlin Schloss, fol- lowing with his eyes the Kaiser, who had just entered his hunting-gig in the company of General von Hahnke. ‘‘What makes you think so, Gunther?” asked the Em- press, with an expression of astonishment on her still pale face. Auguste Victoria, you must know, had only recently left the Wochenbeit'^ to prepare for the Kaiser’s birthday festival, then approaching. “Corporal Guillotine — I beg Your Majesty’s pardon, the Sword-bearer of the Lord High Executioner — looks so devilish sly this morning. I reckon the Hahnkes will have golden stars and spurs instead of pigs’ knuckles with their sour-crout to-day.” All of us laughed at the Duke’s sally, for the chief of cabinet’s penurious menage is notorious. “If I were only sure that you could keep a secret,” Her Majesty resumed after a while, — and my mistress and her brother began to talk together in subdued voices. Two days later the “secret” was in everybody’s mouth: The Kaiser had offered the command of the Ninth Corps to Count Waldersee when the latter appeared to congratu- late him on his birthday. This meant, of course, that the incumbent of the office. General von Leszczynski, was to be shelved. His head had fallen into the basket that morning, — not “a good many,” as His Highness sus- pected; but then Leszczynski was worth a good many small-fry generals, to Herr von Hahnke at least, for His 1 Prince Joachim was born on December 17, 1890, being the first of the imperial children to see the light in the Berlin Schloss. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 263 Excellency is a devoted friend and admirer of the old Chancellor, and therefore a thorn in Count Philli’s and Hahnke’s side. Leszczynski’s case is instructive also as showing the tech- nical modus operandi of the Military Cabinet. As indi- cated, the commander’s dismissal was determined upon on the 24th or 25th of January. The same day, von Hahnke sent a letter to Altona, demanding the General’s immediate resignation. On the 27th the Prussian Minister in Hamburg telegraphed that Leszczynski would go without trouble. His formal resignation was, however, not received until January 31, four days after his office had been tendered to some one else ; all of which proves that the King’s will is the highest law,” intent upon the summary consumma- tion of its decrees, and disregarding alike the rules of time and the principles of ordinary courtesy. At a Court concert, soon after New Year, 1893, I wit- nessed the following conversation between the Duke of Schleswig, at that time a captain in the General Staff, and the Hereditary Prince of Meiningen, then commander of the Czar Alexander Regiment. have it from a comrade in the A-B-C school for field-marshals” (the General Staff office), he said, ^Hhat Hahnke’s cabinet creates and bounces generals nowadays on mere hearsay. All-highest remarks, which William mut- ters between his teeth while listening to Hahnke’s reports, are jotted down by the latter, and hints to resign, dismis- sals, and promotions follow in consequence, the documents being presented to our dear brother-in-law for signature usually a quarter or half an hour before His Majesty starts on a hunting-trip or some other expedition ; that is, when he is ready to sign almost everything, just to get rid of it.” have heard similar stories,” said the Hereditary Prince, when Gunther paused for breath ; ‘‘but continue.” 264 PRIVATE LIVES OF resume where my comrade left off,” drawled the Duke. “Well, then, my authority regards as the worst part of the whole business that in a good many instances the all-highest remarks are not even fully understood, and that Hahnke is too much of a courtier to ask His Majesty to repeat a word or two, or to explain the meaning of his monosyllables. Thus many a brave fellow has been un- done while a corresponding number of drones were smug- gled into fat places. But, of course,” added His High- ness, observing an ugly look on Prince Bernhard’s face, “ Hahnke could not do anything to hmt you,^' “No,” growled Meini’^gen, “not while lam about.” Shortly afterward, His Highness severed all connection with the Court, a circumstance which gave the Military Cabinet the desired opportunity to live up to Prince Bern- hard’s expectations, just recorded. He was forced to resign, and so was Duke Gunther, for that matter, while three more Bismarck adherents, generals of acknowledged ability, their Excellencies Herren von Schlichting, von Blume, and von Spitz, kept the pair company. The dismissals, resignations, and removals of less conspicuous men continue unabated, year in, year out. That His Highness of Schleswig’s allusions to royal sig- natures surreptitiously obtained to make room for drones are well founded is evident from the fact that twice in succession obsolete positions have been revived to afford berths for some of Herr von Hahnke’s relatives. First, there was General von Muller, brigadier of the Guards, who made an ass of himself during the manoeuvres of 1893 and was marked for dismissal in consequence, the commander of his corps not only blacklisting His Excel- lency, but insisting upon his immediate removal. Now, Muller happens to be von Hahnke’s cousin, and bets stood ten to one in the palace that the blue letter would sooner WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 265 seek the foremost strategist in the service than the unlucky brigadier. As a matter of fact, His Majesty never saw the communication from the corps commander, and, instead of impeaching the General’s ability, Hahnke recommended him for the post of “ Inspecteur of the Schuetzen and Jae- ger Battalions, ’ ’ a promotion carrying with it a considerable increase of salary. And von Muller being a fine-looking man, a dashing soldier. His Majesty thought he would look well at the head of these crack troops, and glibly signed the appointment. That the post had been singled out for cancellation as more than superfluous. His Majesty had for- gotten, and Hahnke, to quote Duke Gunther, was *Hoo much of a courtier” to jog the imperial memory. The same sort of thing happened shortly afterward with respect to the office of commandant of Altona, which latter, by the way, is an open city, and overstocked with military dignitaries, anyhow. Richter and Bebel had made repeated motions for the abolishment of this sinecure, in the Reichstag, and the War Ministry, in compliance with these requests, had struck it from the list of appropriations for 1894, it being agreed that the last incumbent was to re- sign in the previous fall. So far, so good. But during the Kaiser manoeuvres in Rhineland, General von Schleinitz, brother-in-law of Herr von Hahnke, permitted his brigade to be bamboozled, himself falling prisoner, and that while the chief war-lord was but a few miles off, at Treves. Con- sequently, Schleinitz’s disgrace was only a question of a few weeks at the most, and the chief of cabinet had to act promptly and to the point. So His Majesty found an order, appointing Schleinitz commander of Altona, on his desk at Metz, the next important stopping-place ; and when he asked von Hahnke what it meant, the latter offered so many reasons for continuing the post in the teeth of parliamentarian opposition, that the war-lord, whose time 266 PRIVATE LIVES OF was very much occupied on account of the visit of the Prince of Naples, signed the paper without further ado. The ado developed next spring, when the Reichstag looked into the matter and refused to grant the appointee’s pay. The debates on this subject were many and pointed, and both Kaiser and Hahnke were severely criticised, until, finally, Bronsart von Schellendorf, by a daring and master- ful speech, persuaded Parliament that Herr von Schleinitz must be retained. Needless to say, the Reichstag knew nothing of the relationship existing between Herr von Hahnke and Generals von Schleinitz and von Muller. Such a service, rendered in the hour of distress, not willingly, it is true, but by the Kaiser’s express orders (the negotiations to this end were long, and often on the point of discontinuance, as I was told at the time), — the deliver- ance from the Reichstag’s wrath, — would have placed any other man under lasting obligations; not so the chief of the Military Cabinet, who, to retain his influence and, in- deed, his head, must hold himself ready to do his master’s bidding without consulting his own likes and dislikes, scruples or sympathies. In the course of the next year, the Kaiser tired of his Minister of War, and Herr von Hahnke was intrusted with the task of procuring His Excellency’s resignation, the proposed new military code, advocated by Bronsart, being the point of issue. This matter was to come to a head at the Letzlingen hunt in December, 1895, the then Minister of the Interior, Herr von Koeller, having engaged himself to take the initiative. Accordingly, that gentleman appeared at the hunting-box in a state of great mental distress, as House-marshal von Egloffstein, on duty in Letzlingen, told us. So nervous and so absent-minded was Koeller that His Majesty joked him about it, and suggested he better postpone his debut with the tell-tale loving-cup. This, by the way, is an WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 267 old-fashioned bumper resting between two immense antlers. It was fashioned after a design of Frederick William IV for the express purpose of playing a joke on old Field-marshal Count Wrangel, a venerable reprobate, who at the age of seventy indulged in such luxuries as paternity cases brought by servants and milliners. Whoever visits Letzlingen for the first time must empty the bumper, which holds about half a bottle of champagne, at one draught, and the sup- position is that if any of the contents are spilled the drinker must be a cuckolder, not a cuckold, as the antlers rising over his head indicate. You perceive, our Kings are not conspicuous for the delicacy of their humor. But to return to Herr von Egloffstein’s report, which at the time created quite a stir in the household, as in the end Uncle Chlodwig became mixed up in the matter. ^‘The Polizeiminister ” (Herr von Koeller’s nickname), con- tinued the marshal, excused his unfestive manner with bothersome official business, and after dinner the Kaiser sent Generals von Hahnke and von Plessen to him to find out what was the matter. These gentlemen returned to His Majesty with the information that Koeller despaired of the success of the anti-military code agitation because Bronsart, with whom he had a personal rencontre^ was fighting him (Koeller) tooth and nail. After that, all present expected to find the War Minister an official corpse next morn- ing,” concluded Herr von Egloff stein, but instead came the great boomerang. Herr von Koeller had no sooner re- turned to Berlin, when Prince Hohenlohe waited upon him with a properly-drawn-up vote of loss of confidence, signed by all the Ministers, advising him to resign as speedily as possible after the exhibition he had made at Letzlingen. The Kaiser was furious. I want to have a talk with you about your interfering old uncle.” With these words, he burst into Her Majesty’s salon^ where Countess Brockdorff 268 PRIVATE LIVES OF and myself were trying to entertain the sovereign lady; and hardly had the door closed behind us when His Maj- esty’s voice rang out with cutting denunciations of the Chancellor, so that the grand-mistress ordered the ante- chamber cleared. After supper, the Empress told us His Majesty had decided to ignore the crisis, and would set out on another hunting expedition without delay, while Herr von Koeller was to take a furlough. ‘^The differences between Uncle Chlodwig and the Minister of the Interior may be adjusted after all,” suggested our mistress. They were not, however, and Koeller’ s temporary retirement became permanent after a little while. These tactics having failed, others still more despicable were put into operation. The Military Cabinet, as already mentioned, placed a number of spies in the War office, and removed the Minister’s foremost co-workers to other parts of the country. Yet Bronsart would neither resign, nor give up the fight for the code, until, finally, late in 1896, the camarilla hit upon an infallible plan for dislodg- ing him, viz. : by persuading the Emperor to order Bronsart to advocate the fortification of several towns on the Rus- sian frontier. Furthermore, His Majesty demanded that cer- tain funds, reserved for other purposes, be used to keep the barracks of the Neues Palais garrisoned all the year round, while the existing appropriations limit the stay of the Lehr und Wehr Battalion to eight months only. As foreseen, Herr von Bronsart refused to accept responsibilities of that kind, and withdrew with flying colors. These were the last words exchanged between the war-lord and the Minister of War, Herr von Bronsart, according to the report of an ear-witness in whom I place the utmost confidence : ‘‘And if I command,” roared the Emperor, — “if I command you to advocate those fortifications and cause the retention of the battalion at my palace ? ’ ’ WILLIAM 11 AND HIS CONSORT 269 Your Majesty’s orders will neither make me forget my promises to the Reichstag to oppose frivolous claims, nor will they induce me to misapply funds intrusted to my keeping. ’ ’ ^^Ah, ah!” scoffed the Kaiser, who had grown very pale, ^^the wind is blowing from that quarter: a soldier leaving his King in the lurch ! Maybe the Minister of War has more such traitorous suggestions for His Majesty. If that be the case, out with them, Herr! ” Instead of answer, Bronsart bowed stiffly, and, looking the Kaiser squarely in the eye, remarked, with great de- liberation : I have nothing more to communicate to Your Majesty, and trust that sooner or later you will recognize that I did my duty to-day as always. My portfolio,” he added, with a side glance at Herr von Hahnke, ‘^is at His Excellency’s disposal.” CHAPTER XII Noon at the Neues Palais. Forty hungry women and girls, some old, many young and comely, hanging about the back-stairs of what is in- tended for the most magnificent royal Court of the day ! Most of them are munching black bread, scantily spread with lard, while from tin bottles they partake of long draughts of cold chicory masquerading under the name of coifee. One or two proudly exhibit a hunk of salt pork, but many in the crowd depend entirely upon the charity of their colleagues or the good nature of the liveried servants, which latter receive either full board, or eat at the canteen, established in connection with the MarstalL And these women, wearing washed-out calico dresses all the year round and a twenty-four by forty-inch shawl barely covering their heads and breasts in winter, are imperial and royal employees, as well as Her Majesty’s natty maids and the porters and chasseurs in gold and silver laden dress, the only difference being that the maids and flunkies are engaged by the year, while the women are employed by the month, /.am, los Caballeros; en Francia et Austria^ los grande s ; en Alemania, pocos ; en Italia^ todos, ’ ’ ^ holds good to this day. There is, as I said, not the slightest connecting-link in the make-up of William’s character to justify the insolent suggestions of these degenerates. The Kaiser, though he has his peculiar likes, admires woman’s beauty as much as any man ; and if the Berlin Court of to-day is as notorious for the ugliness of its female members as that of the old Em- peror and Empress was for beautes^ it is not William’s fault. The Empress, my august mistress, is jealousy personified, and not only surrounds herself with a chain of passe and sour dames, but treats women of the aristocracy who possess attractions that might possibly captivate the Kaiser, with such exquisite and cunning ill-grace that they are obliged to keep away from Court as often as etiquette permits. With the exception of Countess Bassewitz, who is young and pretty of face, all Her Majesty’s ladies belong to the old guard, and if, perchance, a good-looking girl is en- gaged for the higher duties of the household where the Emperor is liable to meet her, Auguste Victoria soon finds ways and means to rid the palace of that ray of sunshine. Either the young person is driven to hand in her resigna- tion by those arts which jealous women understand so well, or is transferred to some distant residence which the imperial master never visits. Sinfully fair chambermaids even are subject to that rule, and if I feared not to ruin their chances in life, I could ^ In Spain, the Knights are devoted to this vice ; in France and Austria, the aristocrats ; in Germany, a few ; in Italy, everybody is. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 317 give quite a long list of lowly members of our menage who were sent away from Berlin merely because Her Majesty thought their nose too finely modelled, their bust too prominent, or their hair too luxurious. All the unhappy traits Thackeray ascribes to Queen Charlotte are brought into play when Auguste Victoria’s jealousy is aroused. She becomes invincible in matters of etiquette, and angry with her people who, in the service, suffer ill-health. A pin out of place, or a moment’s absence from duty, throws her into a towering passion on such occasions. She is unkind, unjust, and not above excusing her hatred of poor sinners, such as we all are, by religious scruples. At all times the Kaiserin is a much more gracious mistress to homely dependents of her own sex than to good-looking ones ; and when they are old, into the bargain, she can be really delightful to them. “Why, this is not the Court my father and uncles have been telling me about,” said the present Emperor of Russia, then Czarovitch, to the Duke of Schleswig, when he visited Berlin a year before Czar Alexander’s death. “At home they talked quite enthusiastically of beauties that basked in the shadow of the Prussian throne, and whom the old Queen and Princesses were generous enough to countenance.” “Yes, yes,” laughed His Highness, “that is one of ‘Dona’s’ weak points. She will not suffer a handsome face and figure within ten miles of her house. It has always been a wonder to me why she keeps Bassewitz.” “Perhaps to prove the rule,” suggested Nicholas, and Gunther, who is not endowed with a surplus of sense, thought the remark brilliant enough to circulate it among all his intimates. Like Nicholas, many other visitors deplore the new state of things, and rave rapturously of old times when Emperor PRIVATE LIVES OF 318 William the First’s hospitable board and ball-room were graced by such perfect belles as the Countesses Schimmel- mann and Munster, while his sister-in-law, the Princess Charles, successively engaged as maids of honor the fairest of the fair the Fatherland produced, chief among them the late Countess Seydwietz, ‘^Fifi,” as she was affectionately called. Her Ladyship was the idol of the great world, and as fond of the King and his fine cavaliers as they were of her. Ah, the sighing and cursing that went on, when at last she married her dashing chef d' esc adr on of the Garde du Corps f Count Donhoff ! Beautiful Rose von der Schu- lenburg, the Countess Biinau, she of the far-famed Titian locks, and Mira, Countess von Schlippenbach, young, lovely, and an adept in every ladies’ sport, are not yet forgotten, either. Their successors in official positions — Fraulein von Gersdorff and the Countess Keller, Her Maj- esty’s favorite maids of honor — are notable only for their plainness, and both are several years older than Auguste Victoria. When their younger colleague. Countess von der Schulenburg, resigned some two years ago to marry Count Piickler, the grand-mistress and her venerable adju- tants tried their best to give the place to another old maid, or ‘^remote virgin,” as the Berliner says; but His Majesty put his foot down, and declared that he had enough “old iron ’ ’ in the house, and that the new-comer must be young and charming. So Marie Bassewitz was selected for the post. She possesses youth and good looks, as the Kaiser demanded, but the Empress is not jealous of her: Her Ladyship’s hands are far from beautiful. At the time of the Medical Congress in Berlin, in 1891, Her Majesty granted an audience to a number of the visit- ing y^sculapSj and a chamberlain of the Empress Frederick, sitting near them at the table- d'hote in the Hotel de Rome the same afternoon, witnessed the following conversation : WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 319 ** Have you ever seen a richer apparelled and homelier lot of women than the entourage of Her Majesty of Ger- many?” asked one of the gentlemen, a celebrated Moscow surgeon. None of them had. At last a little man with coal-black eyes and a scraggy, shoe-string moustache spoke up. ^‘Yes,” he said, in the choicest pigeon English, — ‘^at the drawing-room of the Queen of Corea. They were dirtier, too.” The speaker was a Japanese. When this story came to His Majesty’s ears, he hawked it about for many days at second breakfast, dinner and supper, in the adjutant’s room, in the parlor and audi- ence-chamber, pronouncing it the cleverest thing out, — under his breath, of course, for it was to be kept from the Empress. This is a sample of the treatment the Kaiser metes out to his wife’s ladies. He seems to take a fiendish delight in teasing the ^‘old guard,” and only occasionally has a good word to say to Countess Bassewitz. Fraulein von Gers- dorff, who grows stouter as she grows older, often serves as a target for the Emperor’s wit. ■ So he insisted, at the decoration of the Christmas-trees in 1894, that the Gers- dorff mount a step-ladder and fasten a papier-mache angel on top of the tree. Naturally, my fat friend did not care to expose herself — and her limbs, and offered many excuses with her profoundest courtesies, but the Kaiser cut her short with a brusque know you are bow-legged; let the Ram- mer diener climb up.” On another occasion (it was before the advent of Countess Bassewitz) the Kaiserin said one evening when the Court was assembled in the Tassen Zimmer to kill the hours that intervened between after supper and bedtime with the usual dreary conversation ; I wonder why none of my ladies 320 PRIVATE LIVES OF marry. Perhaps they do not go out enough. What do you think, Willie?” Pshaw!” answered the Emperor, gruffly, think these ladies have all the freedom they want. Why cannot they get husbands ? Ask the next best looking-glass. ’ ’ These pleasantries were offered before the anonymous letter scandal had driven the few handsome or clever women belonging to Court society, though not to the Court, to other cities or to the country; that is, before Countess Hohenau, Madame von Kotze, Madame de Pana- fiel, and the Baroness von Leipziger had permanently re- tired. The quartet did not comprise the whole royal set, of course ; Countess Marianne Dohna, Madame von Alvens- leben, the Countesses Kanitz and Wedell, Baroness von Arnim and the Countess Nemes von Hidv^g, not forgetting a host of princely dames, distant relatives of the Hohen- zollerns and Schleswigs, have both youth and beauty ; but none of them ever belonged to the inner circle. They call and dance at Court, are dined and banqueted, some of the favored ones, especially the wives and daugh- ters of high army officers, like Madame von Sick, nee Countess Schlieben, Madame von Pliiskow, and Made- moiselle von Albedyll, daughter of His Majesty’s adjutant- general, ride to the hounds in the royal preserves occa- sionally; yet none of these ladies ever enjoyed the Kaiser’s favor, none of them ever became William’s “Spezi,’' ^ as the Viennese say. Perhaps that term did not apply to Madame von Leipziger’ s actual relations to the Kaiser, either; but I know it from his own lips that he admired this charming though plain woman, and would have gladly given her a position at Court if Her Majesty had permitted it. Of the other ^‘Spezts,^^ Madame von Kotze was for ^ This is an abbreviation of special, special friend, chum. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 321 years the favorite, if I may use that word in its broadest sense, without asserting too much. William first took her up in the beginning of the eighties, when his marriage to Auguste Victoria “made him hungry for the society of a clever and audacious woman, ’ ’ as Count Herbert Bismarck once expressed himself. “ He has engaged a Marechale de Prusse for his awk- ward better-half,” continued His Excellency, with a sneer- ing allusion to the bargain enacted between Du Barri and Madame La Marechale de Mirepoix (who, for a considera- tion of a hundred thousand francs per annum, taught the gorgeous scarlet woman the ways of polite society), “and the Countess does it all for the love of Christ, or pour le roi de Prusse j which is the same thing. ^ Now he wants some- body to make him forget the ennui that reigns in his palace. ’ ’ And Madame von Kotze, I should judge, was just the woman to do it. To her, Auguste Victoria referred when she charged His Majesty with a weakness for Jewesses, though it goes with- out saying that Her Ladyship does not belong to the socially proscribed race. She only looks as if she did. And another thing, — there is something lacking in her maiden name. Not the “von,” oh, dear, no! Without that, she would be nobody, “she would hardly be born at all.” On finir ait done par s* encanaillerP if people of in- sufficient birth were received at Court. But being a von Treskow, she spells her name without the Olympian “c.” In other words, she is a “false Treskow.” The old feudal ^ Prince William asked his wife’s aunt, the wife of General Count Waldersee, to chaperon his wife and initiate her into the world of society shortly after his marriage. ’ “We should end by landing ourselves in the gutter,” — an expres- sion m vogue among German uppertendom. 322 PRIVATE LIVES OF family spells its name von Tresckow. There are rumors that her papa exchanged the three letters ‘^von” for three “ooo’s’’ coupled with the single figure ‘^5.” I believe the late Duke of Coburg obliged him ; but Queen Victoria’s brother-in-law, the great peer-maker of the Fatherland, was, of course, unable to supply the missing letter “c,” which reminds one of James the First’s bon- mot : “I can make a lord, but not a gentleman.” ‘‘Do not let that worry you, my dear Leberecht,” said the Princess of Meiningen to Madame von Kotze’s hus- band, then her brother’s friend and master of ceremonies; “your wife may be a real Treskow with the ‘c’ after all. Her grandfather, you see, may have been the natural son of one of the old lords, who gave him his name without the title. ’ ’ “Does that ever happen?” asked Kotze, who is not noted for any brilliancy or quickness of perception. “Yes, indeed,” laughed Her Royal Highness, — “only the other day I read that when my ancestress. Princess Amalia, was Abbess of Quedlinburg, she owned a town named Pickelsheim, near Paderborn, whose two thousand inhabitants were all called Spiegel, Barons and Baronesses von Spiegel, and Herren and Fraum and boys and girls Spiegel, the first being the legitimate descendants of the noble lords residing in the manor-house, the other the offspring of left-hand alliances, or even less ceremonious intercourse. At Pickelsheim the sisters of full-blown Baron- esses von Spiegel, whom birth entitled to canonships and similar benefits, served as dairy-maids in their Other’s stable, and in 1748 it was a grave question in that neigh- borhood whether the office of town-shepherd should be given to a broken-down von Spiegel or a sturdy Spiegel. ’ ’ This information pleased poor, hare-brained Leberecht, but failed to reconcile Her Majesty and the rest of the WILLIAM II AND HiS CONSORT 323 exclusive set as to Madame von Kotze’s pedigree. They fought the “Hungarian pork-raiser’s daughter,” as some one had dubbed her, in the salon, the menage, on the slippery parquet of the royal ball-room, wherever she showed her saucy, piquant face. Ah, that face ! It was not broad and placid ; her fine, white shoulders were not quite fleshy enough to suit the Teuton female critic. And she has black, curly hair, the Kaiser’s favorite that was ! That is almost a crime ; for are not Her Majesty and her friends blondes, and is he himself not rather carroty, and therefore naturally inclined to dote on brunettes? However, the royal lady’s contemptuous treatment of the object of her jealousy, the scenes the Kaiserin made for William, and the pin-thrusts of coroneted envy were alike powerless to bring about a change in the relations between Madame von Kotze and the sovereign, though the battle raged for ten years or longer. His Majesty made it plain that he liked Madame von Kotze, and she was, conse- quently, a conspicuous figure at all entertainments, stately and of a semi-private nature. Being the wife of one of the high Court functionaries, the missing “c” in her maiden name was generously ignored, and the “pork- raiser’s daughter” sat at the same table with crowned heads and the proud possessors of sixteen or thirty-two quarterings of nobility. More than once the Emperor himself took Her Ladyship into dinner, and at informal suppers, after musicales or similar excuses for organized ennui. His Majesty never failed to “command” Her Ex- cellency to his table. On such occasions the Emperor and Empress invite their company by sending a page to the favored ones. Her Majesty selecting the men, and the Kaiser the ladies, who are most to their liking. At the Court balls Her Ladyship was likewise much in evidence. Being rich in her own right, and having 324 PRIVATE LIVES OF increased her fortune enormously by marriage, madame ranks as one of the smartest dressers, and envy must grant that she has lovely shoulders and a superbly-chiselled bosom. She is a good talker, quick at repartee, and full of Gallic wit. ‘‘Your Royal Highness’s inspecteuse des jambes reports for duty.” With these words, Madame von Kotze greeted Prince William at the beginning of the second carnival ball of 1886, as he stood conversing with some dowagers on the steps of the throne in the White Hall. I should not believe it possible, had I not heard the words myself; still, I confess the jolly mockery of the woman’s voice, the innocent look on her face took away much of the coarseness of the expression. William had seemingly not been in the happiest of moods until then. At the approach of Madame von Kotze, his face lit up, and, taking the pretty woman’s arm, he bowed with a little sneer before the elder ladies as he withdrew with his fair escort. jambes ou la main gauche?"'^ exclaimed one of the grand dames quite audibly as she followed the pair with her eyes. “ Calm yourself, madame,” I thought ; “ Prince William has nothing in common with his ancestor ^ who was forever rolling between the nuptial couch and the alcove, or kept these establishments side by side, snapping his fat fingers at those who talked of bigamy. He loves to ^ “ Legs, or the left hand ? ’ ’ Morganatic marriages are called mar- riages by the left hand in Germany. ® Frederick William II of Prussia openly married Countess Doen- hoff, and, after her, several other women during the life-time of his second queen, Frederika. The children of this marriage, which took place in 1791, were styled Counts and Countesses of Brandenburg. Queen Frederika lived until 1805, and was never divorced. Countess Doenhoff survived her twenty-nine years. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 325 be amused, and cares, perhaps, not overmuch for his wife’s feelings; but his sweet egotism, for one thing, will keep him out of morganatic troubles.” And so they strolled along, he in his gold-braided Hussar uniform, the fur-edged attila over his shoulder to hide his poor left hand; the woman, who set herself the task of amusing the King, walking briskly by his side in her radiant young beauty, laughing and gesticulating. ‘‘An oriental face,” said the Prince von Salm-Horstmar, and a dozen people seconded His Grace’s remark. It was all over the brilliant hall, with its crystal chandeliers and purple and gold hangings, lit up by thousands of wax can- dles. “ An oriental face, — but so was that of Cleopatra.” The simile was far-fetched. Where was the Caesar, and where was Antony, not to mention Caesar Junior? The couple walked through all the rooms quite alone, for His Royal Highness had hinted to his adjutants that they were de trop. At supper, in the Koniginnen Zimmer^ I was seated at the table reserved for the Princess Im- perial, who, however, had decided to go home at the last moment. Near-by was Prince William’s table, at which Madame von Kotze presided, and where all the Princes and “bloods” present enjoyed the heir presumptive’s hospitality. How they laughed and joked ! “Why don’t you dance? ” asked one of the cavaliers. “Because it gives me palpitations.” And then somebody told the anecdote of Marie Antoi- nette, who, one evening, when waltzing at Petit Trianon with Count Dillon, the beautiful Dillon, as he was called, stood still and said: “You should feel my heart beat.” That was just what His Lordship wanted to do, and so, tearing off his glove, he encircled the Queen’s left bosom with his hand. 326 PRIVATE LIVES OF ‘^Stop that! ” called Louis XVI, who, as usual, was the most conspicuous wall-flower in the room. “You don’t need to take Her Majesty’s orders of that sort verbatim^ Of course everybody regretted not having been an Eng- lishman a hundred and more years ago, — “an Englishman who dared treat a queen like a ballet-girl.” “Or a living picture,” cried Duke Gunther. “Pst ! not so loud,” said Frau von Kotze, with a side glance to another part of the room, where Baroness von Reischach, nee Princess Ratibor, was supping with the Countess of Hidveg, both stars of many tableaux vivants. “But your report, Madame inspecteusey' began the Prince of Ratibor, now dead, the same who turned house- breaker for the love of an Emperor’s daughter, “we insist upon a report, and a minute one.” “Well,” replied Madame von Kotze, with comic gran- dezza, “we were not overpleased with the new fashion, were we. Your Royal Highness?” Prince W illiam nodded. “Your Ladyship will proceed, ’ ’ he said ; “ do not keep these studious young men waiting.” “As intimated,” continued the young woman, “we found the present mode of short dresses not very advan- tageous to our Christian purpose. When a girl dances in a long gown, she must necessarily raise her skirt, and, in doing so, often displays more of her hosiery than intended. This season dancers leave their skirts severely alone, and if a man should take hold of them, as he is obliged to do when long trains are worn, Baron von Richthofen would be called into requisition, I am afraid.” “Then you have seen nothing? ” “Not much in the line of calves,” said the Prince. “You talk like a butcher. In England no one looks for calves. A pretty ankle is the thing there.” This from the Duke of Schleswig. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 327 Madame von Kotze, perceiving that William was about to reply angrily, quickly added: “But His Royal High- ness discovered some exquisitely-shaped hands among the debutantes. ’ ’ You may be sure Princess William learned all about this talk, and perhaps a little more than was actually spoken, but to no other purpose than to instil impotent rage in the unhappy mother’s bosom and make her even more suspicious of and disagreeable to good-looking women in and out of the palace. One of the chief agitators against Madame von Kotze, and every other handsome face, for that matter, was the grand-mistress. Countess Brockdorff, who once betrayed her practices to the amusement of the whole Court. Shortly after we had moved from Potsdam to the Berlin Schloss in the winter of 1894, an informal note addressed by the Countess to Her Majesty fell into the hands of one of the House-marshals. It happened in this way : Her Majesty is in the habit of writing orders and complaints, intended for the officials, on small bits of paper which she tears from a block. Now, Her Excellency’s note happened to be written on a similar sheet, and so it got mixed with the rest. The note contained the names of persons who had handed in requests for audience. Last on the list was the name of Madame von Kotze, and opposite it the remark, three times underlined : ‘ ‘ Refused. ’ ’ Then followed this sentence : ^^Ende gut, A lies gut. Allerunterthdnigst, gute Nacht. (Signed) Theresa Brockdorff.” ^ Of course, this note, indicating exactly how the wind was blowing in the upper regions, had no sooner been read in the marshal’s office than its contents were on ^ “All’s well that ends well. Good-night, from your most submis- sive Theresa Brockdorff.” 328 PRIVATE LIVES OF WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT everybody’s lips. Most of the courtiers were honest enough to see the point of the attack (for, after all, the mixing up of papers was not wholly accidental) ; but the Schrader faction, that is, the friends of Master of Ceremony von Schrader, the same who was afterward shot and killed by von Kotze, would not have it so. They insisted that there was some mysterious connection between the refusal of audience and the anonymous letters. CHAPTER XIV It took the camarilla ten years to dislodge Madame von Kotze, a long space of time even for Germany, but it must be remembered that Her Ladyship was not the only favorite. There were more thorns pricking the imperial flesh, so that the efforts of Auguste Victoria’s champions were necessarily divided. Charlotte, Countess von Hoh- enau, was second on the list of charmers who boasted of William’s friendship without fear of compromising her position. This young noblewoman, the daughter of a rich land- owner, Herr von der Decken, became the Kaiser’s cousinc- german by her marriage to the son of his great uncle. Prince Albert of Prussia. Prince Albert’s first wife was Marianne of the Netherlands, who brought him an enor- mous fortune, and whom he divorced in 1849 because of her intimacy with his riding-master. This latter was a brute, and Marianne never had a quiet moment during his life. After the divorce the unequal pair resided at Her High- ness’s castle, Kamentz, in Silesia, and the ex-hostler used to whip his royal mistress mercilessly, while she fed him on the fat of the land. When at last he succumbed to his unwonted diet, poor Marianne took another lease of life. She died in 1883, seventy-three years old. Four years after his divorce. Prince Albert married Rosalie de Rauch, by whom he had two sons, William and Fritz, who were created Counts von Hohenau and became 329 330 PRIVATE LIVES OF respectable members of Berlin society. The elder, Wil- liam, a major in the Garde du Corps^ is now married to a daughter of the Duke d’Ujest, whereby he improved upon his relationship to the Kaiser by becoming cousin-german to Her Majesty too. However, by the grace of his wife’s beauty, Fritz is the best known of the brothers, and his fortune, augumented by the von der Decken millions, is the amplest. The Hohenaus, all of them, men and women, were much befriended by the old Emperor, and Count William came near inveigling Frederick HI to revive in his favor the name and title borne by the morganatic wife of Frederick William HI, the Countess Harrach. He would be Prince of Liegnitz to-day, had the late Emperor been able to sign the piece of parchment setting forth the creation during the last days of his illness. The present Kaiser never cared much for the ‘‘left-handed brood,” as he called his cousins, with the pride of the “regularly born,” but when he returned in October, 1892, from his hunting-trip to the Principality of Pless, all this was changed. He had seen his “loveliest and most piquant of cou~ sines,'' and was now convinced that Frederick the Great’s mot was true, viz. : that a “dash of plebeian blood here and there improves a royal race. ’ ’ “ Of whom are you talking, pray?” asked the Empress, across the table, moving uncomfortably in her seat. “I did not know any of our set were invited.” “ I had the pleasure of referring to Fritz Hohenau’s wife.” “ Oh, that woman. She is a gamekeeper’s daughter, or something of that sort, is she not ? ’ ’ The Emperor paid no attention to this sally. “Eulen- burg,” he addressed the grand-master, “I will go over the list of this season’s guests with you presently.” And from WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 331 that day on Countess Fritz had to be treated as persona gratissima by everybody in the royal service for two years to come. This vivacious woman introduced her pleasing presence on every occasion when the Emperor personally or the Court played a part. She rode, hunted, and skated with us; she played tennis, and went coaching with His Maj- esty; she danced more gracefully than a respectable woman should at the gorgeous Court balls and at our stupid this dansants. More often than not, Her Majesty returned from the riding-school, where she had gone for exercise, with red eyes. ^^That woman was there, — on a horse ten times more graceful than my own.” At state dinners the newly-found cousine' s place was near enough to the royal arm-chair to throw old goldsticks into convulsions, and on lesser occasions William often conducted Her Ladyship to table, while his Queen yawned herself to death at the side of some crusty General or dolt- ish relative. And how Charlotte’s laughter rang out above the clatter of silver plate and the tinkling of bumpers ! Wit, joy, enthusiasm, success, all crystallized in the tone of that voice, which the Emperor admired so much, and which Her Majesty likened to a chansonnette singer’s. There were sycophants, with and without petticoats, wLo endorsed this latter notion, — a Queen can find people to believe with her in the quadrature of the circle, — but society generally continued its good opinion of Countess Hohenau in the face of calumnies of all sorts. Indeed, the clever woman was a favorite everywhere, and that with her youth and beauty she did not capture the Kaiser’s eye before is really remarkable. Maybe he avoided her on ac- count of the Hohenau-Empress-Frederick entente cor diale. ‘‘His Majesty was the last to mount,” says one of the blue-blooded participants of the battue in Pless. “We 332 PRIVATE LIVES OF were awaiting him in the court-yard, the horses being drawn up in a semicircle. My immediate neighbor, on one side, was the only lady in the company. Countess Fritz. She rode a long-legged hunter of a peculiar red color, straddling the animal janibe de ga, jambe de Id. Her costume was appropriate to this sensational manoeu- vre : short Russian trousers reaching to the knee, a close- fitting cut-away velvet coat over a red vest and shirt, the latter partly hidden by a green tie, a jaunty Calabreser hat, and high patent-leather boots reaching a little over the knees in front, but cut out in the back, allowing the upper part of the silk-stockinged calf to be seen. ‘‘As the Kaiser appeared in the door and stood still a moment to acknowledge our greetings, his eyes caught the parcel of sensual loveliness at my side. His face reddened with pleasure. Scarcely was he in the saddle when he cried out : ‘ Cousin Charlotte, a word with you.’ “I will bet my best pointer. Countess Fritz had expected the invitation,” continued my informant, “but women will be actresses, you know. She played the surprised, the be- wildered. Perfect horsewoman that she is, and capable of subduing the most stubborn beast by the pressure of her vic- torious thighs, the fox-mare got away with her — apparently. She reared, pawed the air, and seemed altogether unman- ageable. Never saw anything better done at Renz’s.^ “ Suddenly a blow from Madame ’s gold-headed whip be- tween the horse’s ears, and with one leap the amazon was at His Majesty’s side. ‘Well done, cousine,' we heard His Majesty say. They galloped ahead, the rest of us following at a respectful distance, dog-trot pace.” Of course, Madame von Kotze was far from pleased at the advent of this new star. Rivalries were inevitable * Then the foremost circus of Germany. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 333 between the royal favorites, though His Majesty did noth- ing to provoke them, as far as I could observe. Possi- bly he treated the Countess with a little more freedom under his wife’s eyes, utilizing the formerly disputed rela- tionship as a pretence, but in all other respects Madame von Kotze’s position was unshaken. She continued her visits at Court whenever the Kaiser was at home, and her beauty and style caused Her Majesty’s ladies most exquisite heart-burnings. Indeed, Her Ladyship angered the dames more than ever because of the increasing lux- ury of her toilets, for, woman-like, she meant to surpass Countess Fritz by new creations of the milliner and tailor as well as by mental and physical gifts. In this endeavor to out-Eugenie Eugenie the tongue of the balance inclined now to this side, now to the other. I remember Countess Fritz cutting out Her Excellency at the Schleppen Cour (drawing-room) of 1893 by a superb gown of white gold brocade, edged with blue-fox j but things were evened up when Master of Ceremony von Kotze conducted Prince Albert’s daughter to a fauteuil in the rear of the orchestra at the gala opera, performed a few weeks later, where she had to sit among army officers’ wives and ordinary privy councillors. My seat was opposite the royal box on that occasion, and if I live a hundred years I shall not forget the smile of satisfaction that overspread Auguste Victoria’s countenance as she perceived her cousin in semi-obscurity. The Kaiser himself had only a malicious grin for his uncomfortable favorite. However, next day we experienced one of those intermittent upheavals for which the reign of William II is notorious. This erratic monarch cannot get along without rows ; in his ministries, in parliament, or at home, some- where there are always axes to grind. William had enjoyed his cousine's discomfort in the theatre; he had thought it 334 PRIVATE LIVES OF funny to set the two women by the ears ” (the satisfaction with which Her Majesty viewed the spectacle was likewise not to be underestimated) ; but after Countess Fritz, in a private audience, sought twelve hours later, had unbosomed herself to His Majesty, all this was changed. The master of ceremony was ordered to explain the reason for the unheard- of breach of etiquette ; and his excuse, that Her Ladyship had arrived too late to be ranged according to her rank, was assiduously published in the palace, in the salons and clubs. Then it was given out that His Majesty himself intended to rehabilitate Countess Fritz, and a banquet was forthwith held where Her Ladyship occupied the seat of honor on the Emperor’s right, while Madame von Kotze was placed considerably lower down at the table. This was accord- ing to “all-highest orders,” but, after all, it is not easy to triumph over a woman of Madame von Kotze’s acumen. Her husband showed the roster at home, of course, and Her Ladyship acquiesced in the new order of things quite gracefully, it is said, but insisted upon being given a place where she could watch His Majesty and the Countess, and listen to the general run of their conversation. That this arrangement, which all thought natural enough at the time, was afterward turned into an argument for Herr von Kotze’s incrimination, will be narrated in a later chapter. While these rivals for royal favors were disporting their anger and jealousies under Her Majesty’s nose, so to speak, William basked in the smiles of a very elegant lady quite unknown to the Court, which affects to know every- thing. She was Madame, the Countess de Panafiel, wife of the Portuguese Secretary of Legation in Berlin, who is a grandee in his own country, but did not amount to much in Kaiserin Augusta Strasse. We of the royal service were favored with glimpses of Madame de Panafiel’ s great beauty only at rare intervals. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 335 when state occasions or other festivities necessitated her attendance at Court. Oftener she was seen at the opera, languorously reclining in her gilded arm-chair over which she had thrown her mantle of ermine, — a queenly woman, queenly of the style exemplified by the young Empress of Russia and Queen Marguerite, for, with these two excep- tions, all the women on the thrones of Europe are either homely, coarse, passiy or too old to be considered. Madame de Panafiel is not so tall as the Empress, but possesses in the highest degree that charm of figure which constituted Auguste Victoria’s only claim to beauty in the past, — a neck and shoulders that seemed modelled by an artist’s hand to support the burden of crown jewels. Add to this splendid endowment lustrous black eyes and arched brows, a fine Greek face, a noble carriage, arms like those the Venus of Milo lost, and the most aristocratic of hands, and you have a faint counterfeit of this grand dame, who, besides, was famous for her red blonde hair. The relations between Madame de Panafiel and the Kaiser lasted from the beginning of 1890 till the fatal summer of 1894, when her husband was suddenly recalled to Lisbon. There was no one more surprised at this than the Emperor, who had already lost Madame von Kotze, and even before that he had been obliged to sever the ties which bound him to Countess Fritz. We were at the Neues Palais when the news reached my mistress. “I wonder what the Kaiser will say to this? Send out to ask whether he is in the Vortragszimmery^ she remarked, unconcernedly, though the red blood mounted to her cheeks. Unhappy Majesty, thou wert cheated out of a jealous woman’s pleasure to rejoice in a hated rival’s downfall, to feast thine eyes on a straying husband’s disappointment, when he finds himself outgeneralled (by his little wife, per- haps) ! On receiving a telephone message of Panafiel’s 336 PRIVATE LIVES OP recall, the Emperor had hastened to Berlin to inquire into the meaning of the act. The Marquis dePanafiel, Portu- guese Ambassador and cousin of the secretary, could give him no satisfaction. Beyond the simple notification by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he had received no informa- tion from his capital. However, before nightfall a report that Her Majesty was at the bottom of the affair spread in the palace. Auguste Victoria, it was said, had stated her grievance to the Queen of Italy, and the latter, a truly sympathetic woman, had promised relief ; a letter to that effect, from Her Italian Majesty, had been seen by some one in the Kaiserin’s confidence. Through King Umberto, the Empress’s wish had finally been communicated to Queen Maria Pia, who caused her son to name Count Panafiel’s successor. Madame von Leipziger, the wife of the former Court cotillion leader, retained the royal favor a little longer than the ladies named; but she is homely, — a Madame de Stael, on a small, a very tiny scale, rather than a Ninon de I’Enclos. Short, with irregular features and a bad com- plexion, this woman gained her ascendency over William by means similar to those employed by Talleyrand to secure a reputation as a wit and inventor of bonmots. As the ex- bishop of Autun was never long without his ^‘breviary,” the ^^Improvisateur frangaisy' a many-volumed collec- tion of anecdotes and smart sayings, so was Madame von Leipziger, while at Court, forever brooding over old and new volumes of magazines, devoted to charades, puz- zles, and riddles. She made His Majesty’s acquaintance at an early age, when he was a student at Bonn, her birth- place, and knew and appreciated his passion for those men- tal gymnastics that are liable to give conversation a sheen of esprit. The Kaiser, you know, wants to do uncom- mon things all the time, and where his lion’s skin fails to WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 337 reach, he is content to piece it out with the fox’s; in other words, when he finds it impossible to startle his friends and acquaintances by grand schemes, by criticisms of this, or that, or the other thing, by compositions in verse, or prose, or of a musical character, he likes to give proofs of his ever-ready alertness by proposing riddles or charades, which the person who happens to be on the rack must assume to be unable to solve, otherwise the imperial ora- cle would have to forego the very pleasure for which the comedy was arranged, — namely, to give the Emperor an opportunity to boast of his superior acumen. It seemed to be Madame von Leipziger’s real object in life to foster this weakness. Ever since the kingly dignity has sprung into existence, there have been royal favorites, utilizing their sway in various manners. Some inspired their lords with good or evil ambitions, made them better or worse men, encouraged or discouraged their inclination for mercy or cruelty, for art, the sciences, or literature. Frau von Leipziger was probably the first to abet a master’s dis- position to drive his subjects to despair by more or less senseless riddles. It cannot be my purpose to weary the reader by pictur- ing the gloom the puzzle-headed hydra at times cast over our Court. The reptile of mythology, we learned at school, had nine heads, *‘each of which, when cut off, shot up into two new ones.” In similar style Her Lady- ship and the Emperor used to launch forth new attacks upon our good nature as soon as we had disposed of one ambiguous proposition. But even though Madame von Leipziger’s relations to her husband were of the most in- nocent character. Her Majesty disapproved of them. So the news, gazetted one fine day, that Herr von Leipziger had resigned from the army, surprised no one, and Princess Adolph of Lippe voiced general opinion at Court when 338 PRIVATE LIVES OF she said: ‘‘My sister-in-law would not have any woman under fifty amuse the Kaiser. ’ ’ Thereafter the charade-fiend went to live in the country, and we have never been able to discover whether the Em- peror’s assertion that Madame von Leipziger is “one of the most intellectual women of the time ’ ’ is true or not, for the Court knew her only in her detestable specialty. This happened, as intimated, in the late summer of 1894, when Her Majesty’s girdle was already hung with many scalps of beaitth. The times change, and man changes with the times. The Kaiser, who once freely resorted to married men’s tricks to keep his wife from interfering with his private plans, now abandoned, one after another, the women whose company he had so richly enjoyed. “Off with her head, — so much for Hohenau,” “for Kotze,” “ for Panafiel, ” “ for Leipziger,’’ and — “William is to die a good old man.” It was certainly a most inspir- ing spectacle to see this husband and father return to the homely fold where petulancy waits upon dreary languor. “But will it last?” everybody kept asking of everybody else. And everybody answered : “It seems impossible that it should.” And those of the household who remembered the circumstances of the royal visit to Dessau, in December, 1889, C3,n scarcely be blamed for being suspicious. Dessau has but a tiny Court, consisting of a few “grand charges ” and two or three dames, but the women there re- joice in a well-earned reputation for looseness, with which a corresponding amount of beauty goes hand in hand. Now, as soon as my mistress learned of the Kaiser’s pro- jected visit to that d^lodez Sodom, she set to work to pro- cure an invitation for herself. This was easily arranged through the Princess Frederick Charles, sister of the Duke, but for quite a while His Majesty remained deaf to his wife’s hints and even to direct requests to take her along. Finally, WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 339 when Auguste Victoria asked him in the presence of his aunt, he had to yield, and the Kaiserin ordered a number of fine dresses for the occasion. If the Dessauerinnen" were really as handsome as her husband claimed, she meant to dazzle them, at least, by gorgeousness. Two days before the imperial couple was to start, the Empress caught a slight cold, but nobody thought any- thing of it, though the Emperor remarked once or twice at table: “You had better look out. Dona, or maybe you cannot go.” Her Majesty laughed at this, as we all did, knowing how much pleasure our mistress expected from the trip. There were most elaborate preparations : Her Majesty was to have a special car in the 5alon-\x2im^ and everything was to be done on the grandest scale. Countess Brockdorif and myself had been ordered to accompany the Kaiserin, and early on the morning of December 4 our trunks (two full truck-loads for a two-days’ visit) were carted away to the depot. At ten o’clock we all partook of a hurried second breakfast in our travelling dresses, and that over. Her Excellency received orders to drive ahead to the station, to inspect for the last time the apartment on the train, while I went to fetch the children who were to say good-bye. Returning with the pretty youngsters, I found my mistress ready to go. She looked very well, indeed, in a fur cape and hat, matching a superb costume of green and silver. While I was making these observations. Dr. Leuthold, the Kaiser’s physician-general, entered. “So you are to go along, Herr Doctor. I am glad of it,” cried the Empress, holding out her hand. “Well,” replied the medical man, “I am a sort of necessary evil, as Your Majesty knows.” In spite of this semi-jocular remark, Leuthold appeared embarrassed. “ If it pleases Your Majesty,” he continued, “let me see your 340 PRIVATE LIVES OF tongue. I will also have to examine your jugular glands once more.” ‘‘Nonsense,” said the Empress, but at the same time she raised her veil and stuck out her tongue, at which the children laughed heartily. After a momentary examina- tion, the physician pulled a long face. “Thank God,” he said, “it is not yet too late.” “No, but it will be, if you do not hurry,” interrupted the Crown Prince. “ Papa will be here presently.” . Dr. Leuthold took no notice of the child’s joke. “I per- ceive indications of an inflamed throat that may bring on most serious complications,” he resumed, gravely. “Your Majesty must go to bed at once, and must not leave the house for three days. In this way the worst may be fore- stalled.” “Then I am not going to Dessau?” gasped Auguste Victoria. “I cannot permit it,” answered Leuthold. The Empress dropped into an arm-chair and began to cry. “Is my wife ready?” It was the Emperor’s voice out- side. I advanced toward him. “ Has Leuthold given an adverse decision ? ” he asked, before I had time to explain anything. His Kammerdiener^ in black travelling livery, entered simultaneously to announce that the carriage was waiting. “I am sorry,” said the Emperor, stepping up to the Kaiserin and kissing her hand, “but you know one cannot be too careful of one’s throat.” Then he bade her and the children good-bye, and, turning once more at the door, cried: “I will send back your Brockdorif. She shall keep you company.” “It was all a deep-laid plot, a conspiracy,” said Her Excellency afterward. “When I arrived at the train. His WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 341 Majesty’s attendants exchanged side glances among each other which convinced me that something was up, and when the Kaiser came and told me to return home, I dis- covered that our trunks were already on the wagons that had brought the hand-baggage to the station. That shows they had never been freighted.” I remarked I did not believe His Majesty capable of such trickery. Bah ! ” growled the Countess, ^^you may take my word for it, my dear Eppinghoven, they did not want us in Dessau, where, I am told, corsages are worn as low as at the Court of King Jerome.” Not us, perhaps, but Her Majesty ” The old Excellency shrugged her shoulders. And Leuthold ?” ^^Is a man, and in such affairs men stick to each other like glue. This amiable physician -general was given to understand that the Kaiser intended the trip for a stag party. Hence the examination at the hour of leaving, the awe-inspiring prophecies, and the disheartening verdict.” It is only proper to add that Her Excellency was as disappointed at the sudden set-back as Her Majesty, for, like most virtuous women of a certain age, she has a weak- ness for studying vice close at hand. To know exactly what iniquity is, one must not be too far from it. How- ever, in this particular case. Countess Brockdorff’s modest surmisals were well founded, as the gossip brought back from Anhalt by the courtiers and adjutants proved. The Dessau incident happened five years previous to the great holocaust of favorites already alluded to, and at a time when my mistress was almost continuously in a sore state of agitation lest she should lose her husband’s love. Sometimes she chased after him for days, following His Restlessness to Berlin, or to various hunting-boxes in the neighborhood, 342 PRIVATE LIVES OF and we ladies had to be prepared to spend our nights on the cars, or in the half-finished chambers of the Schloss, wet with paint and smelling of work-people. When the Empress said : ‘‘I will give audiences in Berlin to-morrow,” it probably meant that she had learned of His Majesty’s resolve to leave her bed and board for a while and enjoy himself after his own fashion. But the reception accorded to our mistress, after we had caught up with the imperial runaway, was often far from pleasant. When sur- prised in Berlin, the Emperor sometimes bolted the conju- gal couch as early as four or five o’clock in the morning to go on some impromptu hunting expedition, hasty prepara- tions for which had been made overnight. Auguste Victoria would then receive a few notables at ten in the forenoon, returning to the Neues Palais for lunch, and, perhaps, take another train for Berlin in the evening. Once the Kaiser vamosed from Hubertusstock, whither we had followed him unbidden. Going out hunting with his gentlemen at early morn, he sent, at supper-time, when Her Majesty was expecting him, a despatch saying that business of state had called him to the capital. All this plotting and counterplotting, the outcome of jealousy on general principles, as a clever woman once said, was ridiculous, wearisome, exhausting, — but tame. More inter- esting became the matter when a real woman, instead of an imaginary one, happened to be in the race, and such a reality was and is Letizia Bonaparte, Dowager Duchess of Aosta, the daughter of the late Plon-Plon, and her father’s true child. Poor Auguste Victoria ! if she could have anticipated the sorry consequences of her good-natured decision to lodge the ex-King of Spain and his blooming young niece-wife in the Fursten Wohnung when they came to Berlin, in November, 1889 ! WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 343 The Fursten Wohnwig, or Royal Suite, it should be ex- plained, is on the same floors and in the same wing of the Schloss as their Majesties’ own private rooms are. The occupants of both apartments are therefore much thrown together, — in fact, they cannot help being in each other’s company at all times of the day. William had so impressed his wife with the imperativeness of strengthening his rela- tions with King Umberto, that Her Majesty could scarcely do enough for her new friends. So she gave them the apartment reserved for the most intimate female relatives, the one which even Prince Henry, the Kaiser’s brother, has never yet been allowed to occupy. Since then the Kaiserin has said a hundred times: “If I had possessed but an ounce of prognostication, I would have gone to Potsdam and made them live in the Stadt- Schloss. ’ ’ ^ At the time of this royal visit, the Duchess of Aosta was twenty-two years old. Her Majesty was thirty-one, the Duke forty-four, and the Emperor thirty years ; — these figures tell the whole story. Letitia would not have been the daughter of that “carnal free-trader’’ — the name Lord Palmerston gave to Plon-Plon — had she not preferred the imperial blonde of thirty to her swarthy husband, who was twice her age. And under the influence of his seductive young guest, William remembered all of a sudden that his wife is older than himself. How far in their love-making these reflections led Em- peror and Duchess, I cannot say ; I am writing of things I have seen, and conjectures are odious where a woman is concerned ; but to complete my story it is necessary to add that their Royal Highnesses left somewhat abruptly, ten hours before the stipulated time, and that the Duchess 'Two miles from the Neues Palais. 344 PRIVATE LIVES OF (Amadeo died in the following January) never obtained another invitation to our Court. True, she again visited Berlin in the beginning of April, 1893, but then the White Lady had no occasion to sweep the Fiirstentreppe (royal staircase) which connects the living and bed rooms of their Majesties’ suite and the Fursten Wohnung} Her Imperial Highness travelled in- cognito, which was the best thing she could do, consid- ering that Auguste Victoria had refused to receive her. Besides, she came as a petitioner. The Kaiser was to in- tervene on her behalf with King Umberto, who had cut off her allowance and had refused to invite her to his silver wedding because of her alleged liaisons with half a dozen officers of the Turin garrison. Letitia and William met. Madonna, your every wish is a command,” and forthwith a cipher despatch to the King of Italy, couched in the most amiable terms, issued from the German foreign office. It is further claimed that the lovers promised themselves no end of a good time two weeks hence, in Rome ; but the same day the Empress got wind of the arrangement by one of those infernal anony- mous communications. And in this case the strictly moral Piedmontese, who afterward obliged her again in suppress- ing Countess Panafiel, was really delighted to do Her Maj- esty’s bidding, as he told her in person during her stay at the Quirinal. To William he telegraphed that he was not at liberty to serve him, the Aosta business being a family affair in which Her Imperial Highness’s mother. Princess Clo- tilde, had the initiative. At the same hour. His Majesty ^According to the Margravine of Baireuth, this historic spectre served to frighten away people from a certain corridor, which a General had to pass when he desired to pay his nocturnal respects to a certain maid of honor. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 345 ordered his Berlin Ambassador to conduct the Duchess to St. Moritz. That closed the of William and the Aosta, closed it the more effectually, as the Kaiser, after his return from Italy, began to pay attentions to Madame Herbette, — a circumstance mentioned at length in the fourth chapter ; but though there was another daughter of La Belle France in the race. Her Majesty has never been able to overcome her violent aversion to that French woman: Letitia, “the Bonaparte with the alleged incomparable arms and hands,” as she is wont to call her in conversation with the confi- dante of all her jealous troubles. Countess Brockdorff. My mistress cannot see a woman on a bicycle without being reminded of the Duchess’s Turin escapade (of July, 1894), in which a wheel, tights, a bifurcated skirt, and a few baskets of champagne played the principal parts, and in the same way the picture of a female with uncovered arms, whether it represents an actress or a goddess, is liable to make her morose, for, as mentioned in the description of the Kaiser’s study, a portrait of the hated Princess exhibit- ing her arms and hands to perfection is always on his desk. With this latter arrangement, that, by the way, extends to His Majesty’s special train and yacht, Auguste Victoria dare not interfere (“Do not charge my brother with amour azoophilique^ whatever you do,” said Princess Charlotte to her, when the matter was discussed on petit cercle')^ but her morbid sensitiveness leads her to attempt, at least, an oc- casional curtailment of William’s picture-worship. Every time the Court goes to the Schloss or some other castle for a few days the Emperor wants his private gallery, consist- ing of framed and un framed photographs, moved and set up for the time being in the study he temporarily oc- cupies. This, then, is Her Majesty’s opportunity. She always selects the pictures that shall be packed and orders 346 PRIVATE LIVES OF the mistress of the household to take no others. That Letitia’s effigy is never taken along on these trips hardly needs special mention, and that its absence from the im- perial secretaire is a source of grim satisfaction to Her Majesty is quite self-evident, but woe to the poor house- keeper when the Emperor observes the omission. As the visit of the King of Roumania was expected on ’ October 25, 1891, the Hof went to the Schloss a few days before. Now it happened that Madame von Larisch, after repeatedly suffering the Emperor’s displeasure on account of the absence of certain photographs, had decorated the master’s Berlin writing-table exactly as it was in Potsdam : with pictures of royal women and girls in all sorts of dress and courtly undress, chief among them a very life- like portrait of the Aosta which, indeed, assisted imagina- tion to an almost flagitious extent. To see this sinful pasteboard and confiscate it was a matter of impulse with the Empress when she inspected the room ; but as, at the same moment. Court-marshal von Liebenau was an- nounced to make his report, what was Her Majesty to do? The portrait was too big to slip within the folds of her dress, and to hold it in her hand during the inevitable half-hour’s lecture would have been awkward. So she had to put the picture back in its place with the galling knowl- edge that Liebenau, as well as her own Kammerdiener, had observed her jealous action. The Kaiserin had a similar mortifying experience in April, 1893, when the Duchess of Aosta was in Berlin. On a certain morning, the Kaiser having suddenly left to drive into the city, — “probably to a rendezvous with that woman,” — Her Majesty went to look for possible incriminating letters on William’s desk, and as she was bending over a pile of correspondence, the Master of the Wardrobe, Herr Fellbach, entered to remove the Kaiser’s WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 347 fatigue-jacket. When discovered, Her Majesty drew her- self up and asked the man angrily what he meant by play- ing the spy on her, thereby letting the cat out of the bag. Quite naturally the Garderobier defended himself, and, re- ceiving more abuse for his trouble, went to his superiors for justification and counsel. So the story spread all over the Schloss, but as an offset Her Majesty complained to the Kaiser, and William treated his old servant with unusual severity for quite a while. Nowadays His Majesty has become a specialist as far as women are concerned. He has not done entirely with Venus Vulvivaga, or, to speak more to the point, Venus Vulgaris, but most of his latter-day amours are on the order which one of Napoleon’s biographers characterizes in this succession of exclamations : “ Emperor : ‘ Send for Mademoiselle So-and-So ! ’ “ ( Half an hour later). ‘ Bid her wait.’ “ ^ Order her to disrobe ! ’ Tell her to go to the devil ! ’ ” The veiled lady who steals into the Kaiser’s cabinet, his private train or yacht, is a living, breathing reality ; but these seekers of profitable dishonor scarcely count, as they do not enter into the inner life of the man and are gener- ally dismissed without favors and with mighty small reward. Fifty years ago, Karl of Prussia’s and Louis Napoleon’s meanness to their mistresses was a subject of comment at all courts; in Berlin harlotdom, Karl was known under the sobriquet of Thaler-Prinz, because three marks was as high as he would go in the way of pecuniary reward, and even as Emperor Louis Napoleon seldom spent more than four hundred francs on a woman (when, in 1855, during the visit of Victor Emmanuel, he bought a ballet-girl for His Sardinian Majesty for five thousand francs, Paris thought he had taken leave of his senses, according to the Comtesse 348 PRIVATE LIVES OF Damremont), but William II is hardly ever more liberal than the Man of Destiny was on ordinary occasions. Those stories of a king’s ransom that “ he ties in diamonds ’round his mistress’s white neck” are inventions, and not particu- larly original ones, either. Though indulging in the great- est extravagances where his own pleasure is concerned, the sentiment of self that rules his every act probably per- suades him that ces dames ought to consider the honor of having been intimate with an Imperial Majesty of his calibre as an offset against disappointments of a financial nature. Speaking of diamonds, the Duke of Schleswig showed me a specimen bracelet of the sort the Emperor uses for an ouistiti when he turns off a mistress. A pretty Potsdam girl had lent it to him in a burst of confidence. It was a gold snake bracelet, elaborately chased, with eyes of sapphires, and six or seven circles. ‘‘Not worth much, but of good workmanship,” said the Prince; “see, it can be drawn out and spread from wrist to elbow, or over the upper part of the arm. ’ ’ “I should not think that would look particularly beau- tiful.” “Perhaps not. It is not intended for beauty, either.” The Duke laughed. I did not understand him then. To- day the reason of His Majesty’s predilections for snake bracelets is no longer a secret. That the Kaiser’s disposition, or his manners, have im- proved under the influence of the new order of things cannot, in truth, be said. His humor vacillates between sullenness and indifference when he is at home, and though his nights belong to Her Majesty, his behavior very fre- quently belies his assertion that he regards Auguste Vic- toria as sa femme et sa fnaitresse at the same time. And how could it be otherwise? If a man spends his time almost entirely in the society of male friends, soldiers, WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 349 horses, and dogs, he can hardly be expected to shine in the salon. Indeed, the society circles which the Emperor honors by occasional visits complain that the tone of his conversa- tion frequently smacks of the stable, of ^^Stallduft,'' as the German says. In conversation with Countess Elly von Eulenburg at the Liebenberg hunt dinner in the winter of 1896, for instance, the Kaiser insinuated, on an innocent remark dropped by Her Ladyship, a double entendre which I should blush to repeat to my mistress, if I were a man. And to make it worse. His Majesty insisted upon reiterat- ing the offensive interpretation over and over again to the utmost chagrin not only of Countess Elly and of the other ladies present, but to the disgust of the men as well. And that happened in the house of his best friend, Count Philli. The only handsome woman the anonymous letters have not frightened from Court is the Countess Sophie Schlitz de Gortz, a beautiful Brazilian, daughter of the Comte de Villeneuve. She was born nearly forty years ago on an estate near Paris while her father was on a diplomatic mission in Europe. I have already recorded the Kaiser’s opinion of Her Ladyship: ‘^So beautiful a woman can hardly be expected to have sense too.” During her annual visits at Court, he treats her with cold courtesy, and is so little inclined to grant her a friend’s privileges, that on one occasion she was forbidden the royal table for three days, — that is, until her Court dresses, lost in a rail- way smash-up, had been replaced. Despite the Empress’s entreaties. His Majesty would not hear of the least deviation from etiquette in favor of the unlucky dame. Madame von Scholl, wife of the imperial adjutant-gen- eral, on the other hand, is on very familiar terms with William ; we might call her a second Madame von Leip- ziger, but she is jollier and better looking, too, though 350 PRIVATE LIVES OF small of stature, fat, and over forty. Instead of wearying her friends with riddles, this amiable woman amuses the Kaiser and the rest of us by her exquisite drdlerie and a rare good will to please, — talents that go far toward short- ening our long hours of dilatory existence. Born in Southern Germany, Madame la Generale is not hampered by that punctiliousness and the conventional scruples which make the Prussian lady of quality so detest- able ; though often doing things calculated to drive these staid personages to desperation, scandalmongery itself finds in her conduct small cause for criticism. For the most scandalous thing she ever did was stamped with the all- highest approval, and as she promised the Empress never to do it again, what harm can there be in this most innocent of royal favorites ? The scene of Madame von Scholl’s assault upon the proprieties was a lonely natural elevation in the neighbor- hood of the Havel lakes, whither we had gone, one July day in 1894, on the royal yacht Alexandra to spend the afternoon, — their Majesties, the ladies and gentlemen of the service, and a number of guests. It was broiling hot, with a heat that induces sleepiness and ill-temper rather than hilarity. As we crept along toward the near-by forest, only an occasional word was spoken. The Kaiser looked as if he wished himself a hundred miles away, and the Empress was unhappy because her lord seemed dis- pleased. Suddenly there arose the cry ; Where is Madame von Scholl? Did we leave her on the steamer?” — No. Some one had seen her at the landing-place. While these questions went the rounds, we heard sharp whistling somewhere from above, and there, on the top of the sand-hill, stood madame, swinging her parasol, and turning as swiftly on one brown-stockinged foot as her ponderous weight permitted. WILLIAM II AND HIS CONSORT 35 1 “The fat rascal! ” cried the Emperor, “she must have sneaked off the pier and ascended the mountain from the other side.” Then the Kaiser put his hands to his mouth and hallooed : “ Stand still a second and give me a chance to fix my camera.” But at that moment the parasol and head and arms of the unhappy lady suddenly took a forward tumble, the rest of her body followed, and, twice overturning, she rolled down the incline like an avalanche streaked with brown and flesh tints and festooned with multicolored ribbons. Did the all-highest master and mistress and their excellen- cies and ladyships and colonelships and privy councillors and learned men and common every-day noblemen laugh ? Oh, no 1 They just roared and bellowed and shouted and held their sides and danced about, and some of us shed tears at the hilarious spectacle ; and when we had disentangled our portly friend from parts of her toilet intended to hang about her feet, that showed a tendency to envelop her head, she started in to enjoy the situation herself and we had to commence all over again to keep her company. And we kept her company for the rest of the day and the whole evening, and it was altogether the pleasantest picnic the Prussian Court ever attended. ;i -T .r- 'f' f i r to. .'