Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-11-22
THE EMPEROR AND KING
A Reporter Who Served Them as
Waiter at Lunch Tells His Story.
The World VIII Never Cease to be In
tereSted In the WhimS and
Caprices of Kings.


terested in the Whims and
Caprices of Kings.
Naples letter to the London Daily News:
lheiN eapoiitans by no means found En-
peror William so grave and stern as he is
| generally considered. The following az
count Is so characteristic that I translate
it In full promising that ii is written by
Neapolitan CORES pondent, who conceived
the idea Of assuming the character of a
waiter, and SO got on board the Savoia
| during the lunch and review:
After short stay on deck their
| MaIestles and suite came down and took
their places at table. I confess that my
emotion vas great, l felt that l was not
IN full possession of my locomotive facul
ties. In front of me was the King seated
between Prince Henry of Prussia and
Prince Tommaso, and turning their backs
TO me like the Emperor, had the Duke
of Genoa and the Prince of Naples, who
sat at the Emperor's side. AZ first it
seemed as If things would go badly, for
my colleagues-and, let Us say the truth,
my uperlors-assigned to me the labori-
Gus and humble office of taking away all
the dishes of oysters that were not eaten.
But found means of iiberating myself
from this plebiscital tribute of untouch-
ed dishes; all the more because did not
Wish to create precedent. So that I
| folded my hands and returned to the
back of the Emperor's chair just as he
was beginning to joke with the Prince of
Naples, while King Humbert laughed
with all his heart at the amiable cordi-
ality.
OF THE EMPERoR.
This cordiality of William Fl. is so frank,
so expansive, SO charming, that his
Majesty does not seem to me at all like
German, whom we are in the habit of
considering to be cold, composed and
rigid. And [, although l had heard the
Emperor say graceful things to the Min
lister of Instruction and to the director of
the museum, really did not expect the eff
fusion L now witnessed. I he Emperor
loves bon nots and jokes, and is quick
and happy in making them. King Hum
bert was gay, really gay; but it was almost
always the cause and incentive Of this
| gayety. A terrible squeeze of the Prince
Of Naples hand; joke at the bald head,
Saint-Bon; wink of the eye-the sig
nificance of which escaped me-were
| some of the incentives. While Borelli
| conversed gravely and in low voice with
his nelghbOr Saint-Bon, and Signor
CrIsm was silent, the Emperor now whis-
pered to the Prince of Naples, now ioked
in German with Count Bismarck or his
brother, and spread merriment among
the members OF th1s select party OF six or
eight persons. Only once, at the begin
ming, heard him talk of art, speaking of
a picture Of the Lepanto,' and at another
time he spoke enthusiastically about
| Mount Vesuvius. Indeed, in order to
look at the plume Of smoke which at that
moment rose perfectly straight, because,
as Prince Henry remarked, I'll NY await
pas dc vedt,' both Emperor and King rose
to their feet. Except in these two in
stances, Only heard the emperor speak
of merry things. Once again did l for
get my part, absorbed in the spectacle of
| he Emperor, the King, and the Prince Of
| Naples laughing together. My preocca-
parlon was SO profound and sincere that
Prince Henry called 20 me twice for
Chateau LATTE. But even then I did not
serve him. 1 was fer too interested in
observing joke played upon Prince Vic
tor Emmanuel by the Emperor. A tor
pedo boat was passing; the Emperor,
seeing it in a mirror before him, turned
and suddenly rose. OF course the Prince
wanted TO rise also, bat the Emperor held
him fast by the left hand, and, while
KING HUMBERT LOOKED ON
and laughed, the Emperor gras ping the
Princes arm, twisted it SO violently that
the Prince, though he laughed, could not
| help writhing on his scat. In this way
he was teased by the Emperor, who prao-
ticed on him all sorts of jokes till lunch
70 Ga Z.
| King, whose face, when ne really laughs,
| is bright with merriment. And, repeat,
whoever like me had witnessed the cordial
| hilari5y of the most illustrious parsonage
at this lunch would remember it forever
Twice the Emperor drank health.
Lifting his glass, full of sti-Spumante,
he first invited Prince Tommaso and
| then Crispi to drink with him as follows |
-'Tom,' 'Crispi.' When drinking with |
Crispi he emptied his glass and turned it |
upside down on the table, looking round |
with smile; and as this gave him an |
| occasion TO another joke with the Prince |
of Naples, he began to tease the latter. |
The party then rose to lake coffee, and |
this was terrible moment to me. Quite |
stunned by all I had seen and heard, |
stood like statue, ard suddenly foo ad |
myself blocked in by ne Emperor. he
Prince OF Naples, Copa5 Bismarck, and |
| their respective chairs and swords, and L
was SO ashamed of IN. stupidity that I
could not get free till they themselves
left me SO.
"Thejr Majesties then rent on deck,
and he who had SO surprised me by the
readiness OF his wit, the fraukness OF his
merriment, and the cordiality of his man
ner, now moved me by tie indescribable
expression of his face as he stood erect
AS we returned from the Castellamare, es-
corted By the torpedo boats and followed
By the fleet, I saw the Emperor seized
with an ever-increasiug emotion, as he
gazea around through the glass and slight
~ shook his head. He no more uttered
jokes: he laughed no more. He was evil
IDENTIFY filled with wonder at the great
beauty of the gulf, and with admiration
for the colossal magnifcence Of the semi
circle of ships tkat followed as. At that
moment wished that all Italians coald
have seen the Emperor and felt as proud
as | did oe being an Italian and N~apo-
litan."