The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-03-24 00:00:00

KAISER WILLIAM'S

IF UNE RA.IA

A MOURNING CAPITAL.
Amidst the 'universal mourning and reverence of
his people, the mortal remains of the Great Emperor,
by wh(,se wisdom and valour the unity of Germany
was accomplished, have (wrote a special corre-

spondent of the London Morning Post; been laid in

the Mausoleum at Charlottenbui:g, where the bodies

of his father and mother are entombed.

The cere.

mony was witnessed by the whole of the inhabitants

of Berlin and by many thousands who came from all
parts of the German Empire to pay this tribute of
_ _ . _ _

respect to the memory of the most trusted and beloved
monarch that has ever reigned in
_Germany. The

admirable demeanour of the vast multitudes -showed

how deeply they felt the solemnity and importance
of the occasion. The grief for the late Emperor was
to some extent assauged by the reflection that he had
long outlived the span of years allotted to man by the

Psalmist, and that he has descended to his grave full
of honours as well as of years; but it was evident
from the gravity
.of every countenance, and the

expressions which fell from-many lips, that there was
present to the mind of every mourner the sad affliction
under which the inheritor of the Emperor William's
_ . . _ _ __

throne is suffering with such noble- fortitude and

patience

Berlin was astir betimes on the morning appointed
for the Emperor's obsequies. It was hardly dawn, on
a bitterly cold morning, before the streets were alive.

Finishing touches had to be put to the preparations
for the funeral procession, and the hammer of the
carpenter in the Unter den Linden soon gathered little
knots of onlookers. The Berliner, as a rule, is a late
riser; but on this black-letter day people of all
classes were early afoot. I took a drive to Charlotten-
burg (relates the correspondent of the Morning Post),
along the route to be followed by the procession, and
could note all along each side of the route that the
people were taking up their places to watch the pas-
sage of the long line of warriors following the body of
their great chief, although many hours must elapse
ere the first of them could appear. Return-
ing at eight o'clock I found the street fully
lined on either side from end to end, and every ad-
vantageous position already occupied. It is impos-
sible to convey by any description an idea of the
grand and solemn effect of the whole design after its
completeness was realised. Magnificent funeral
arches, surmounted with the Prussian Eagle and
draped in black, had been erected at intervals along
the Unter Den Linden, that which occupied the
central position being truly colossal. At either side
of the Central Avenue were placed at every 20 yards
heavy square black pillars bearing atop great vessels
full Of pitch, which were burned during the ceremony,
and the spaces between these pillars was festooned
with evergreens entwined with crape. The lamps all
along the route were shaded with crape, and were
lighted as early as 9 a.m., by which hour the crowds
had become densely packed in every quarter con-
verging on the Unter den Linden, and the
police found it necessary to stop all the traffic
by closing the side streets, the Unter den Linden
having already become nearly full. By this time
also the people were stretching far along the Thier
Garten-road, and every moment the crowd con-
tinued to increase. It was most interesting to
witness the marching in, from all sides, of the socie-
ties entrusted with the keeping of the line from the
Dom to the Brandenburg Thor. The trade societies
charged with this duty numbered over 100,000
respectable, well - dressed men, and they were
aided by the schools and universities' corps. The line
from the Brandenberg Thor to the Sieges Allee was
kept by the members of the war societies of Berlin
and the provinces, a fine body of veterans, wearing
civil attire, and bearing flags dressed with crape.
The effect was highly picturesque. Each society
represented displayed a banner draped in mourning,
and many of the men wore the Franco-German medal,
constituting a fitting guard at the obsequies of him
who had often led them to victory.