The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-06-24
HIS LITTLE ROMANO
AN OLD GERMAN OFFICERS STORY
OF EMPEROR WILLIAM /.

With Diamond He Scratched on the Win.
dow a Message of Love to n Young French
woman-He Was Only a Prince Then
but He Remembered For Fifty-six Years
There is coy corner in one of the east
side Vienna cafes which has been reserved
for years every evening for eight ex- officers
Of the German army now living in this
city. They sit about a round table-their
''stammtisch," as it is called, a name
given in all German restaurants and
"kneipes" to table occupied regularly by
one set of men-play whist or ''skat"-the
German rival of the former game-tell sto
ries, read their home papers, recall memo
ries of their fighting days and drink to the
welfare of the fatherland. They are pa
triotic fellows Of the old school and have
little faith in the modern order of things
beyond the blue mountains of the Rhine
and swear by Bismarck, Moltke and old
Kaiser William l.
Several of the officers were about the
"stammtisch" few evenings ago The
eighth, the Colonel Won e., was absent, suf-
fering from one of his wounds received at
Gravelotte. But the others were listening
W bu6 tttlt vi 4heAjOE NO1 W., n Ecdfily
bearded, gray headed man, on whom the
marks of the soldier were plainly visible
His stories were usually full of sentiment
and that of this particular evening was no
exception to the rule
"On Aug, 20, 1870" said the major. in his
deep bass voice, twirling his glass about by
its stem, there was great excitement in
the French city of Dizier Numerous Ger
man soldiers had entered it to demand
quarters for a few days, preparatory to
continuing their march. Among those ~ho
found rooms in the house Of Nine. WARMER,
a wealthy old lady, whose parents before
her had lived in Dizier, was one of my
friends LieYtenant Won r., an officer of
one of the Prussisn regiments. The men
were received ana treated as though they
had been long expected friends, come from
afar. Dinner, which was served in the
great hall, was excellent, and one palatable
dish followed the other. There was no sign
of war times
THE officers remained long after the
meal before going to their rooms to rest
from the fatigue of the last few days and
to prepare for that to come. On the follow
ing morning as the lieutenant was dressing
he saw scratched on one of the window
panes the following words in French: 'Je
taime. Pr G. Il love thee. Prince Will
lam.) He wondered what it meant and
went to breakfast intending to find out its
history if possible. And that was easy
enough When the coffee was served, Mme.
WARMER turned to my friend.
Monsieur she said, do you know that
in the room in which You slept, many, many
years ago, man OF exalted station also
found rest? 1t is now more than Sc years
since your King William, as young prince,
was my guest.
The officers were naturally interested
and begged the hostess to tell them more
particularly of the visit. Ny friend, who
remembered the strange scratches on the
window pane was all attention.
ut was in the wart ines in 1874 con-
tinued Nine. WARMER. 1 was then II years
old. One day King Frederick William III,
with many of bis suit, came to my fathers
house-in which we are now sitting-and
made it his headquarters. With him was
his son, Prince William. He was a hand
some young man, few years older than I,
whose good heart shone in his honest blue
eyes. We gave him the room in which you
slept, lieutenant, because, for some rea-
son, it seemed to please him. The prince
made a deep impression upon mean i'm
preston which / shall never forget. And
when, week or two later, our guests left
us, Prince William gave me poem COM
posed in my honor, which / still possess.
"'He had been absent q number of days,
when one morning my 'gouvernante" came
running to my room almost out of breath,
telling me to hurry up to the room and see
what the prince had done. | ran as fast as
possible and found on the window, scratch
ed with diamond, the words, "Je t'aime.
Pr. Gu which you, lieutenant, probably
saw. Then | knew that he had liked me,
and that my feelings had been answered. |
was happier than l can tell at the proof on
the window pane
''All the officers naturally went to look
at the historical window, and the story told
by Nine. WARMER soon spread abroad among
the Germans in Dizier and all had heard of
the WARMER window. To one of the visitors
one day Nine. WARMER admitted that it
was her dearest wish to see and entertain
once more King William. The message
was carried to headquarters, and some time
later King William himself came to Dizier,
and a few hours after his arrival made his
way to the Avenue Nancy unaccompanied
and turned into the house of Nine. WARMER.
The old lady herself hurried to the door.
"'Mme WARMER, said the king, this is q
meeting after many years
"'Sire, was the reply, 4 have not forgot
ten you
"Laughingly his majesty raised his fin
ger and added: But, Angelique, you have
told tales out of school. Ny name is now
in the mouth of all my officers
"'Pardon me, sire.' she answered, but
my heart was full
1.-THE old gentlem an took her hand press
ed it and added: None of that, Angelique
My officers will not wonder at the love Of
my youth. have not forgotten you yet
"That," added the major, sis true Incl
dent in the life of Emperor William. Specu-
lation of course is idle But how different
might the map of Europe be today, com
rades, had Emperor William married his
French Angelique! And you, Won x, might
have had your arm. New York Tribune
Inspiration of 1.-THE Angelus."