The Portland daily press., 1888-03-15
FREDERICK III.
Written Before the Old Kaiser's
Death.
[General Adam Badeau.l

'Call no man nappy tlll MS ueaIn, says
the classic proverb, and many time did
recall the words while watching the mental
and physical sufferings of him who had been
certainly more honored, if not happier, than
any other American Of our time-until al
most in day he was stricken by misfortune
dishonOr and disease, stripped OF his wealth.,
disappointed in his ambitions, dlsgraced I0r
awhile in his business and then attacked by
a mortal and painful malady. All this comes
back very vividly now when | read the re-
ports of the unfortunate Crown Prince OF
Germany struggling with the same dlstemper
to which Grant succumbed for the symp-
toms are almost identical.
There are some circumstances about the
fate of him who might have been king and
emperor, but for the rotten little bit OF flesh
in his throat, that seem almost harder 10 bear
than the calamities of the great American.
For Grant had reaped his harvest and en-
joyed his honOrs. He might have declared,
like Richard I'LL: "They can't but say had
the crown" He had won his victories; he
had been chief of the nation which he had
helped tOIsave; his greatness had been recog-
nized in foreign lands; his fame was. secure:
But the unhappy scion of royal and imperial
houses may never ascend the throne on the
steps of which he has stood so long. For
years he has been looking forward TO the
most important position on earth, preparing
himself for the duties, anticipating sts nom
ors and its exquisite pleasures, Waiting onIy
for the old man to die, who had lived long
past the allotted time, that be might step in
to the exalted place of the Emperor OF Ger
many, when suddenly comes the summons,
Just as to the humblest of the sons of men.
s'Thy soul shall be required of thee" Dia-
dems, dominions, powers, prlnclpalltles, de-
ference-whatever the greatest may aspire
to-all were in store for him; all have been
glittering in his sight for half an ordinary
lifetime. Legitimate ambition allowed MN
to expect them, and patriotic love OF nation
was ready to accord them; his own honor,
his own patriotism, bade him study how
best to play his majestic part; but the wart
in his throat chokes all his hopes and STILES
every aspiration.
happened to a human being. For the lofty
possibilities offered to one as great by posi-
tion as the poor wretch now dying at San
Reno are something that ordinary mortals
that they will be remembered after death can
hardly realize the dreams of immortality,t the
intense desires, which men within the
reach and scope of fame may entertain, nor
the shock when it is suddenly brought home
to them that all their dreams are vanities,
that they must sink into the undistinguished
crowd, their names be forgotten, their oppor-
tunities dissolved, that they may not be re-
membered even as the heirs who did not
reach the throne, they who had anticipated
years of power and renOwn in their lives
and an eternity of honor afterward. All
this must be to those whose lips have ap-
preached the cup, the bitterest Of anguish
when it is dashed away The corporal SUI
ferings of the Prince are nothing to such as
these. He endures and dies like other men,
his pains may be greater or less, the end
sooner or later; this is his chance, like the
chance of each of his subjects but the pangs
of imperial disappointment and baihed patrl-
otism, the hungry, hopeless yearning for
posthumous fame-few OF those who nave
passed across earth's stage can have suffered
IN rna same degree.
fused to see the Prince at the English
court, to which he sometimes accompanied
his wife. l heard the talk Of those who
knew him as intimately as men often know
crown princes The courtiers thought hlm
kindly, sufficiently able, honest, honorable;
but he did not impress me as remarkable IN
the outward indication of character or abll-
ity. He was rugged and almost ropgh IN
appearance land manner; not courtly ana
hardly affable. He seemed to think much OF
his own consequence, and doubtless did So
a fault for which the heir to such throne
might perhaps be pardoned. No one ever
spoke of him as Intellectual; but his career is
proof that he has been man of good stuff
perhaps more likely to have ruled his coun-
try and done his duty we'll than If he had
been brilliant and elegant. and smirked and
bowed with greater ease. he evidently
thought he had great destiny, and that IL
men were not born to obey him, he at least
was made to command them. But who
obeys him now, or whom does he command?
The humblest cotter in Germany without dis
ease is better of than the Prince for whom
last year he would have died if the order
came; for next year the cotter may be man,
but the Prince will be clod.
Then there is the woman whose fate is
almost more pathetic than that OF her hapless
husband, not only that she loses husband
and friend and companion, the lover of her
youth, the father OF her children millions OF
women and wives 60 through this sorrow
wear and find IL la rd tn hear hers.
but the Crown Princess of Germany ana
Princess Royal of England endures far more.
She is woman of more than ordinary char.
acter and cleverness, Of ambition, ana Oh
course has had exalted expectations. Sne,
too, has entertained visions of greatness that
are dispelled forever. She intended to influ-
ence the destiny of Germany and even OF Eu-
rope; to assist at her husbands intimate
councils, to become.one of the powerful per-
sonages of the earth, one of the great figures
in history. But all this is now impossible.
Instead of the most important woman In the
world, she Will be a ceremonial nonentlty.
She will not even have the memory OF past
greatness to console her; not even be annl-
hilated with her husband, so as not to know
her downfall but must drag on her life for
years in comparative obscurity, out OF power,
uncrOwned, princess VINO mlgnI nave
reigned, returning perhaps 70 England on
pension or remaining In Germany 10 De re-
garded as an intruder, with a certain prece-
denture at court, but standing always be-
hind her own daughter-in-law
But worse than all to the woman she will
be conquered by Bismarck. For she and Bis
marck have for years been enemies. The
Princess for years has looked forward TO the
time when as rs1 sne should th
awful Chancellor. But he, relentless. the
man of Blood and Iron for Germany as well
as for France. for the Crown Princess as
much as for Favre or Nopoleon, he is maneu-
wiring now with utter disregard Of decency or
his power shall remain unshaken. The EN-
peror totters with age, and must soon pass
away: the Crown Prince writhes in pain ;but
Bismarck continues his calculations. He is
restless and immovable as death. He comes