Morning journal and courier., 1881-08-01
An Emperor's Flower.
Why the Ruler of Germany Prefers tine
 Blue Bottle.

Why the Ruler of Germany Prefers the Blue Bottle.
 IFrom the American Registerl
 That the bluebottle (also called bachelors button) is.the favorite flower of the emperor of Germany is a well known fact The req son why this simple field flower should be preferred by him to other and much finer ones may not be so well known. On the oc- casion of @ small festivity given at Koenigs- berg, the emperor's mother, Queen Louise, appeared in the presence of several French generals sent by Napoleon I. to the unhappy Prussian king in very simple white dress, wearing some of these flowers in her hair and a small bunch of them in her corsaee much to the astonishment of the rude warriors, who did not hesitate to- exchange in a loud whisper derogatory remarks about the plain ness of her toilet Turning with an indescriba- ply sad yet dignifed smile to the generals the queen said "Evef since your horses have trodden down our corn-felds, gentlemen, these pretty wild flowers may be counted among the rare treasures of my unhappy country" That scene and the flowers con nected with it belong henceforth to the em- peror's sad but sweet "reminiscences of his youthful days. When shortly before the bat tie of Friedland, Queen Louise had once more to flee from Koenigsberg to Memel, the carriage in which she travelled with her eldest sons, Princes Frederick William and William, lost wheel on the road. They were obliged to alight, and, being far away from any habi- tation, to sit down by the side of the desert-A ed road while the damage was repaired. The little princes, being tired and very hungry, loudly be walled their fate to the dejected mother, who did not know how to appease the wants of her children. The young and deli cate Prince William in particular clung be- seechingly to his dearly beloved parent, who finally rose from her grassy seat and culled bluebottles in the adjacent fields, encourag- ing the two boys to follow her example. With the flowers thus plucked she twined wreaths, which occupation the princes looked on with great curiosity and interest The feeling of helplessness and the thought of the unhappy condition sof her family, her country, and the future of the sons by her side brought tears to the mothers eyes, hot tears, which slowly trickled upon the flowers she held in her hands. Prince William, deeply. touched, threw his arms round her neck andstried to comfort her with his child-like caassses, which brought a sweet smile on the mater nal face and lips, and won for the irresistible comforter a wreath of the blue flowers uponN his 10-year- curly head. This touching roadside scene Prince, now Emperor, Will liam, has never forgotten. On every corn flower (this being the German name) he still thinks he sees the glitter of a maternal tear. Hence his fondness for them. Still it is not the flower alone he loves, he has also a great partiality for its color. A peculiar construction of the emperors eyes causes this particular shade of blue to strike it more pleasingly than any other, to such degree, in fact, as to render him almost indifferent, nay insensible, to all other colors. This is also the reason why he likes to surround himself with this his fayorite shade, and the ladies of his court have long made it point to appear on festive occasions in blue toilets, which not only produce an agreeable effect upon his sight, but also upon his mood, inn parting to the latter that happy tinge of cheerfulness and suitability which have long become proyerbial in his case.