Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-26
AN EMPIRES YOUNG CHIEF.
Astonishing Daily Activity Of Germany'a
Emperor.

| Correspondents New York Timea
| LONDON, August 9-In the matter of persona
appearance there are two quite different Will
iams Those who see the German emperor OF
q state occasion think Of HIM g almost tai
man. with stern, thoughtful face and the
most distinguished bearing of any sovereign in
Europe. He holds himself with arrow-liks
straightness, bears his uniform or robes with
proud grace and draws his features into kind
OF mask of imperial dignity and reserved wis
dom and strength very impressive to the be-
holder. 1t is what may call this official counte
nance OF his with which the general public il
familiar, for he assumes IL in front Of the pho
tographer's camera, Just as he does on parade
at formal functions. and even in his carriage
when he drives through the streets. I DON,
know that we should cayil at this. One great
part OF an emperors business is to look like an
| emperor.
But IN PRIVATE LIFE,
when the absence Of ceremonial permits him
to unbend, We see quite another William. He
does not now give the impression of being g
| tall man, and his face wears a softened and
kindly expression, prone to break into an ex-
| tremely sweet and winning smile. When this
smiling mood is upon him he looks curiously
like his uncle. the Duke Of Connaught, although
at other times the resemblance ia not apparent
As boy he was very white skinned with pale
| f1axen hair. Years Of military outdoor life
have burned his face now to a tawny brown.
and his hair is of average darkness, but his
small and habitually curled mustache is of 6
| light yellowish color
friend OF mine who studied him closely
| during whole Jay when he visited Russia two
years ago described him at the morning revie v
OF troops rs carrying himself almost pompousiy
| gloomy severity that everybody was afraid tc
| approach him. and the officers who saw him
| Tor the first time jokingly whispered tn one an
! other that a new William the Taciturn haC
come into being But in the afternoon. when
| the czarina presided over a little garden party
| Unite almost to the circle nf royalty William
/ apparel in straw hat and jauuty holiday COS
tune, sm oked cigarettes continucu sly and
laughed and chatted with everybody as gayly
ana nolslly as any little bank book keeper
| snatching an unaecustomed day in the country
THE DOMINANT FEATURE OF HIS MAKEUP
is restless and treless physical energy. In
| this he is perhaps more English than German.
The insular tendency of his out-of-door tastes
is very marked. Probably there is no gentle
| man on the continent who keeps n keener or
more interested watch upon the details of En-
glsh sport, year by year, than William does. He
rides like an Englishman which is another way
, OF saying that he cuts better figure in the
saddle than most of the other Hohenzollerns.
VIGOROUSLY bad horsemen as a rule have done.
! matters maritime. In his speech to the officers
,, of the English fleet at Athens he said that his
interest i'll their navy dated from the earliest
days OF his boyhood, when he played about
Portsmouth dock yard and gained Impressions
OF the Vastness and splendor of British ship
ping which had wildly colOred his imagina-
| ton for all time. His concern for and active
pride in the German navy are well known.
Williams love Of exercise for its own sake is
also English. He fences admirably. swms,
ND nyuId xunn aud I
lights in mountain climbing. No other Prus-
| sian prince has ever been SO fond of shooting.
do not now refer to the Parforce Jagd. that
curious institution in the Potsdam Green For
est which Frederick William founded where
bears, whose tusks are extracted in their
youth. are confined in the Daugarten, and then
In the autumn released from their pens and
chased by mounted parties, for all the world
like the lion hunts OF the Sardanapalian de-
cadence which Assyrian friezes picture for us.
William is better sportsman. He takes a
keen pleasure in the most laborious and diff
| cult forms of woodland sport, and is an e1-
ceptionally good shot.
HIS INFIRMITIEs
What renders all this the more remarkable is
the fact that his left arm is prac tcally zed
He has trained himself to hold the rein with il
when he rides, but that is the sum of its USE
fulness. This defect dates from the occasion
of his birth anG is ascribed to the ignorance or
inaptitude OF physician. The arm is four
inches shorter than its fellow and has a NAL
formed hand with only rudimentary fingers
The arm is so wholly limp that William has to
lift its hand to even place it on the hilt Of bis
| sword with his right hand. It is in this posture
or else in the breast Of his coat that he Gus
| tomariy carries it when out OF the saddle AT
the table he has combined knife and fork
/ which slide into each other. He uses this with
much dexterity. first TO cut up his meat and
then TO eat it. all, of course, with one hand
To have become a skilled marksman under
| such weighty disadvantage indicates grea,
| patience and determination. William uses a
very light English gun, having abandoned in
! despair the attempt to get any made to his
/ liking i'll Germany, and carries it on his
shoulder with tho stock behind him. At the
proper moment he brings the weapon forward
| by movement of his right arm with incred-
! Ible swlftness and deadly accuracy of aim.
Much more serious. in reality is the chronic
earache with which be has now been afflicted
| for number OF years. Just what the affection
| Is no one has yet been able to determine. Ii
grows worse in cold and wet weather. and that
Is about all that is known of il. The physicians
disagree as to its character. William himself
| though at times suffering acutely from it, has
| never been alarmed about it. and really be-
| lieves 1t to be a local ailment. Its existence
| naturally enough suffices to create a certain
uneasinesS In the minds OF his friends and of
Germans generally, but cannot learn that any
sarlly dangerous This year it is said to be
| less troublesome than usual.
NERVOUS ExCIrABMITY AND REsTLEssyEss.
Undoubtedly, however, this annoying and
wearying burden of the flesh has grea; deal
| TO do with Williams disposition toward nervous
excitabilty and restlessness. A man with the
| earache cannot be expected TO hold calm mas
| terry over all his moods. 1t is q reasonable as
sumption, too, that to this affection is in some
| measure due his phenomenal and unsea sonable
| physical activity. Often he is unable to sleep
at all. and he habituallv keeps note books and
pencils within reach Of his bedside. upon which
| to work until the pain is exercised. Some
times. for distraction, he routs out the garrison
OF Berlin or some regiment OF it before day
break. In any case he rises at 5.
Both at home and when abroad the amount
OF labor he gets through i'll day is almost
without parallel 1t is a commonplace expe.
rience for him to do four hours work in his
| Berlin study in the early morning; then take a
| train to Potsdam and spend the remainder of
| the forenoon in reviewing troops: then trot
back in the saddle with his staff over the dis
lance OF eighteen miles; devote the afternoon
| to the transaction Of business with his minis
tiers and officials; receive and return the calls
| OF two or three yisitingroyai personages. and
then dine somewhere where speech must be
made