The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1888-06-28
WILLIAM IL.
GERMANY'S NEW RULER.
A Perfect Soldier and a Disciple o
Bismarck

Emperor William III was born on
Jan. 27, 1859. He is the son of Vic
toria, the English Queens oldest
daughter, yet his sympathies are fal
from English. The marriage which
his mother arranged for him is one rea-
son for his dislike OF her and incident
ally of her country. His wife is an
other Victoria, the Princess Auguste
Victoria, daughter of Frederick, Duke
of Schleswig- Holstem. They were
married III his wife's a3d year at Ber-
lin, on Feb. 27th, 1881. She is not
OF royal blood nor personal beauty, and
! their married life is said not to be ideal.
They are rarely seen together, and it
is not likely that the reign now open
ing will present such a spectacle of
confidence on the one side and witely
influence on the other as marked his
fathers closing hours. Their family
consists of four sons. The oldest was
born on May 9th, 1882, and to dis
tinguish him, now crown prince,
among the tangle of Fredericks and
Williams in the German royal family,
it is necessary TO give him all his names,
viz, Frederick William Victor Auguste
Ernest The other sons are, respectively,
5 years, 4 years and year old.
King William was partially educated
at Bonn, under a French teacher. In
1882 he observed the administrative
methods of DR.. Aeschembach, presi-
dent of the province of Brandenburg.
He went through the governmental
routine with great application and in
telligence. Once fortnight he went
for VISIT which was practically a
lesson-to Bismarck. The young
student guest was described by some
as his "tool" and others as his "dis-
ciple."
There is another and more signih-
cant side to the Emperor's training.
He handled a musket before he did
primer, and with greater relish. He
was perfect in the ssschool Of the SOL
dier'' before he could spell, and now
he is lacking in no detail which can
qualify man to command any army.
Harold Frederick describes him thus
in the New York Times:
ssImagine to yourself young man
in his goth year, 6 feet in height,
straight as an ash sapling, with finely
formed, slender limbs, narrow hips,
swelling chest and square, broad
shoulders, with a smallish head on a
long, full throated neck held proudly
upright, and an oval face, with an
aquiline effect of profile, clear cut,
strong chin. bended nose, prominent
though not high cheek bones, and
good, open forehead-all as regular in
ensemble as Greek triumphal arch,
with clear, sharp, cold, gray-blue eyes,
light brown hair, close cut behind,
but longer on the crown, and rising
from the temples to form a sort Of
ridge from the parting across the brow
and a yellowish mustache loosely
cured up at the ends-and you have
such portrait as women can paint of
the coming German Emperor.
"On this fair picture there is one
blot. By an accident at his birth his
left arm was crippled, and is a nearly
useless member. 1t hangs across his
body as though in an invisible sling,
and the misformed hand is always
gloved in public. He also suffers from
ancestral scrofula."
On Feb. 9th, at a dinner in honor
of the Brandenburg provincial diet, in
proposing the toast of the province,
William gave this clue to his policy as
Emperor
"In my rides through Brandenburg
in the course of the maneuvers, the
fourishing fields and the trades which
| found in full activity clearly showed
me where the true foundations oi
national prosperity and fruitful labor
were to be found. ! am well aware
that the public at large, especially
abroad, imputes tome a thoughtless
inclination for war and a craving for
| glory. God preserve me from such
criminal levityl l repudiate such i'm
putations with indignation. But still,
gentlemen, | am a soldier, and all
Brandenburgers are soldiers This
know. Therefore let me conclude with
the words which on Monday last oul
great chancellor addressed to the reich
stag and which on that day showed Us
the grand spectacle of the popular rep.
resentation going locked hand in hand
with the government. Let me con
clude by adapting to Brandenburg thai
sentence I'VE Brandenburgers only
fear God, and nothing else in thi:
world"