The record-union., 1893-08-26
MIMIC War IN BERLIN.
Daily Military Reviews in the
TempelhOf
The Kaiser Regards Warfare as the
Only Serious Business of Life, and
Keeps His Troops Continually at
Work-Seven Hours in the Saddle.

Here are 5000 acres of land set apart since
l72l for purely military purposes est is a
parade ground and nothing more. The
garrison of Berlin is a restless body, and
some part of it forever in movement-in-
fantry, cavalry, and perhaps artillery
most frequently of all. Lest people might
miss 1t, or lest the good Berliners should
forget they are in a state of semi-siege, or
lest they should sleep too late, the troops
have bands with them at an early hour,
and magnificent bands they are. A cor
respondent of the Globe Democrat while
IN Berlin recently, had an opportunity
OF hearing the bands and witnessing
military evolutions in the TempelhOf one
morning for a couple of hours beginning
at O'Clock. There is hardly an hour in
the day when one may not see some sort
OF military procession in Berlin, the
Emperor at the head, perhaps. The
Emperor's appearance on these and other
occasions still eXcites curiosity and inter-
est. People stop to look at him, and
some of them take off their hats. There
are no cheers. He is treated with civility;
OF enthusiasm there is none. He is not
popular, and he is not trusted. 'Nobody
knows what he will do next" observed
one OF his subjects, by way of summing
up the general feeling toward him, and
the general anxiety.
The Emperor. as all the world knows,
taxes himself very seriously in all his inn
perial capacities, and in none more than
as soldier. He is in the saddle every
morning at 9, rides in to Berlin, sixteen
miles, and out to Tempelhof, which he
reaches at s. when a review begins, last
ing till O'Clock or later. At 2 he goes to
Iuhch, or perhaps II Is dinner; is at anv
rate, solid midday meal. After these
seven or eight hours on horseback and of
hard work drilling and maneuvering,
ana after his solid 2 O'clock meal, the
ruler Of Germany thinks himself i'll
proper condition to attend to affairs of
STATE lie attends TO them or not, as he
sees lit. The business of State-which
has to wait for his Imperial Majesty's at
tentlon-is for the most part very much
III arrears. He is not a good man of
business and not methodical. The State,
in factor the Empire-seems to be to
the Emperor kind of diversion from the
serious business of his life. The serious
business is the army.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REVIEWS
To witness the great spring review is
the privilege OF only few, among whom
eX-Mlnlster Phelps was enrolled during
ms residence in Berlin. on ordinary
mornings anybody may venture to the
edge OF the parade ground and il was on
one of these that the CORRESPONDENT was
present. The parade ground is cut in
Two by public road, along which the
public Is allowed to drive, taking its
chance of being swept way in a charge of
cavalry. There are carriages and cabs.
and either side of the road was lined
thinly with spectators. You come upon
the scene as suddenly as if
curtain mad gone up, for you pass in a
moment out from among the streets of
Berlin INTO the country and on each hand
the smooth eXpanse OF the IemDelhof
stretches before you. 1t is an almost
level plain, dipping here and there into
slight bellows and rising on the left into
hill. Nearer on the same side is a
wood.
There were, as far as one could Judge
two regiments OF infantry, nearly all on
the right of the road as we drove M.
there was a body OF cavalry on the crest
OF the hill, and, as presently became evi-
dent, force IN the wood. To the left
between the woods and the road, was a
group OF horsemen, and in the center of
the group the Emperor. He had about
hlm stan that might suffice for the com
mander Of an army on real field of bat
tie; plumed generals and scores of gilt
officers OF various grades; the military
members OF various EN- bassies and lega-
tons IN Berlin completing the companv.
while mounted orderlies hung on the ont
skirts and at every moment galloDed off
with messages for the forces engaged.
The mlnlcry of war was perfect The
Emperor was but dimly visible from
where we were, and if in our eagerness
TO behold or even to identity the imperial
lace and hgure we Ventured a foot upon
the turf mounted policeman rose ont of
the earth to warn us back with equal
nrmness and clvility, for never once did
hear IN Berlin or elsewhere in Ger
many rude or harsh word from these
panopiled guardians OF the public peace.
would you have the kindness to keen
in line with the OtherS--I am Obliged To
ask you"-such was the address of this
gallant officer mounted on gallant gray,
who rode slowly up and down the front
of the spectators.
however, we knew the Emperor was
there, and could imagine the features we
had seen betOre-the hard face with its
self-contaned and self-satisfied look tha
eyes too near together. the expression OF
unrest, the air of irrepresSible yipor
which makes him seem always to be
wanting TO 90 something else; the critical
gaze hNed on his troops, which torgets to
note no fault, no mistake, no speck on
any button, no wavering in the line
which ought to be drawn across the field
as with pencil and ruler on a sheet of
paper. Imagine there is not much fault
TO be found, yet they say his majesty
never omlts to summon about him after
review the Coiouels and field officers of
the regiment, and General, if there be
one, and read them one and all a lecture
on the art OF war and on their shortcom-
ings in the exercise of the morning He
Is terror to his own soldiers, whatever
he may prove to the foe.
CLOSE IMITATION OF THE REAL ARTICLE.
In the next hour we saw a battle; acted
from beginning to end with a sense of re-
ality and seriousness which the theater
never gives you and no written account
can express. If it was not on a GREAT
scale, II was perfect i'll each particular
and spectacle of extreme beauty. Sell
dom is it in actual war that any one be-
holder or actor can grasp the whole
scence, but here the whole was as DlainIv
visible as II, in truth, il were a perform
ance on a stage. They were no puppets
or marlonettes, but real men; no anna
teurs either, or militia or mere show
troops. which one often has to call the
English, but an integral portion of the
most tremendous military force in the
world, with the prestige of victory on its
banners. Under the scrutiny of those
piercing imperial eyes no man dared 10
do his duty less seriously than if the con-
test was real; 1t was real to him: to the
ofhcers above all. Everything was trans
acted with the utmost energy and preci-
sion OF which the trained German soldier
is capable.
The business they were set to do pres-
emily became plain, even to the eve Of the
civilian. The wood on the left was hold
by defending force, invisible to ms or To
the attacking troops. The battalions
massed on the far side of the road were "a
carry il if they could. IL was beautiful
10 see them set out upon this little earn
paign. The compact masses of sold{erv
slowly shook themselves into open or
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