Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1892-12-01
POuLTNEY BlGELOW.
A Young American who can Slap Kaiser
wilhelm on the back and call him "Bill."

wilhelm on the back and call him "Bll."
| From the Waterbury Americana
Poultney Bigelow, for a typical young
American this side of 40, manages to az
tract more attention In courts of Europe's
eff te aristocracies, to center upon his
person more royal eyes, than any bevy
Of the most beautiful damsels our coun-
try of unsurpassed womanhood can pro-
duce. Poultney Bigelow Is probably
the only man in the world who is privi-
legded to call the young kaiser of Ger
many "Bill." This Is how it happened :
The two had been close comrades at
school. comrades whose intimacy sur
vived the separation of maturer years,
and Glanced to meet not long after
| William became the kaiser. Bigelow
addressed the kaiser as "Your majesty"
Don't your majesty me-" the kaiser is
said to have replied. "You are an
| American. There is no need of formality
between us. am bored to death with
it from people who have to be formal
To me, you will always be 'Poultney.'
So to you will always be William"
That settled it, and Poultney, it is can
didly reported, has always since short
ened William to "Bill,' in true Ameri-
can fashion.
Very likely the intimacy between
William and Poultney has had something
to do with the expulsion of Poul,ney
from the realm of the white czar. The
Intimate personal friendship of William
would not be likely to recommend Poult-
ney to favor in the eyes of Alexander,
so intense is the rivalry between these
two autocrats. No doubt no Americans
with eyes, ears and truthful tongue,
who is traversing@the domains of the
car with the avowed intention of writ
ing up what he saw and heard for an
American magazine, would be popular
10 court circles in st. Petersburg. George
KEENAN, has finished that kind of Thing.
But of all American travellers one on
close terms with Germany's young kaiser
would be peculiarly offensive. Especially
Is this so if he happened to be of tn"
dou't-care- continental variety, which
is exactly Poultney Bigelow's class.
Ever since the days when he fist en-
tered Yale college, the clever son of
clever John Bige low, Poultney has been
the same aggressively unconventional
person that his mother was before him
1t would make no difference to him
whether he was talking to the kaiser,
the car, or his valet, he would say ex-
actly what he thought in the words
which happened to come handiest. For
example, his wedding to Miss Jaff'ray
was an event in "the 400' circles. a
gathering Of wealth and fashion at high
noon in an ultra-exclusive temple. "What
do you want your nshers to wear" asked
one of them. "Wear what you blank
please" was the reply. 81 think / shall
wear a p JACKET" Poultney did go to
the altar in a sack-coat, and no two of
his ushers had trousers of the same
shade.
This sort of thing was accumulated in
PoulJney Bgelow by an early experience.
He came TO Yale health-crazy. He was
very careful just how he put down his
feet when walking, and he always stood
at desk when study ing. He watched
and nursed his health so crankily that he
soon had no health left. His doctor,
who cleverly diagnosed his case, recon
mended voyage around the wol Id in a
sailing ship. Off the coast of Japan the
ship was wrecked. Poultney saved him
8 1t and his banjo. This sort of thing
knocked the notions completely out of
him. He did not have much chance to
study methods of walking or diet. He
came back to Yale a bluff, hearty young
man, as much like any body else as
possible, except that he was shade
franker and utterly unconventional. That
trip was the making of very fine fellow,
who has since taken infinite pleasure il
nut-of-the-way adventures. We know
of no greater fun possible than to hear
Poultney tell how the car turned him
out of Russia. Poultney will speak his
piece in tt lie American dialect