The record-union., 1896-02-17

1tlOI0IaDie.
BERLIN, Feb. 16 Especial Cable
Letter, United Press. The Berlin sea-
son reached it's climax on Wednesday
upon the occasion of the annual sub
scription ball, which took place in the
Berlin Opera-house. The present sea-
son has been in all respects the dullest
of any social season since the accession
of Emperor William to the imperial
throne. This may be readily accounted
for by the fact that the court is in
mourning owing to the recent death of
Prince Alexander of Prussia and the
Grand Duchess of Oldenburg, and an
other reason may be found in the with.
drawal from Berlin of such eminent So
cial leaders as Prince Frederick of Ho-
henZollern, Prince Albert of Saxe-Al-
tenburg, the Duke and Duchess of Rat
ibor, the Prince and Princess of Stol-
berg w Wernigerode and the Prince and
Princess of Pless, all of whom have been
moved to quit the capital through diff
ferences with the Emperor, whose ar
bitrary manners have become intolera-
bic to those who were accustomed to the
social courtesy which prevailed during
the reign of the old Emperor Will
lam l.
These causes have combined greatly
to reduce the number of aristocrats in
Berlin, and the tradesmen have conse-
quently suffered severely, and the de-
sertion of the capital by the most prom
inent of the old-time social leaders
during the period in which hitherto the
Berlin shopkeeper and other tradesmen
formerly gathered in the real profits of
their years business, has left nothing
for these unfortunate merchants to
hope for in the way of recouping them
selves for their outlay in the accumu-
lation of stock, though the brilliancy of
the assembly at the opera-lfouse
Wednesday evening would seem to re-
fute the stories of extreme embarrass-
ment of the tradesmen.
The annual subscription ball is one
of the functions of the year at which
those who are in no way attached to
the court circles and are not recognized
as being eligible to association with the
higher court circles are permitted to
mix with the court personages. At this
function in the old days it was a Gus
tom for the King of Prussia to select
burghers daughter for a partner and
dance with her. but nowadays the
court merely deigns to join in stately
walk-around, the Emperor. the En-
press and the officials of the imperial
household marching in procession to
the music of Strauss polonaise.
At Wednesday evenings ball the
crush exceeded that of any that has
been known in the experience of the
oldest habitue of this function. A crowd
numbering thousands. among whom
were many ladies resplendent with dia-
monds, bankers, manufacturers and
other representatives of the wealthiest
class of the community waited to view
the imperial procession. but they waited
iI vain. The court party made their
appearance in the imperial box, attend
ed by the members of the court When
the royalties had taken their places the
orchestra struck up the music of the
programme for dancing, and kept go
ing from number to number, and it was
some time before anyone realized that
there was to be no procession.
Everybody was asking what had hap
pened to cause the Emperor, who is a
stickler for traditional customs, to
abandon the precedent which has en-
dured for years. Though the public did
not know, the court knew, and the diplo-
matte circle also knew. The Emperor
has feud with NJ Herbette the French
ambassador, who was present in his
double function of foreign ambassador
and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.
1t has been the unvarying rule at this
function that at the conclusion of the
court procession the imperial party
have paid visit to the diplomatic
group, and were received by the Dean of
the corps. The Emperor decided to
avoid a reception by NJ. Herbette, and
therefore ordered that the procession be
abandoned This slight seems to be a
personal one. but it may possibly have
important political results.
A report is in circulation. which is
generally credited in the diplomatic cir
cles, that the Emperor is going to HUI
bertustock to remain ever the carnival
so as to avoid the duty of receiving NJ.
Herbette at the court ball. If M. Her
bette should be recalled in the mean
time, the Emperor will return in time to
be present at the ball. M. Herbette has
made his continuance at his post impos-
sible through a succession of acts which
have been offensive to the Emperor's
ideas of gentlemanly department
Members of the Diplomatic Corps are
free to say that while M. Herbette is a
diplomat of undoubted ability he is by
no means a courtier. His manners are
conspicuously bad, and his share in
influencing the recall of Lieutenant
Baron De Grancy, the naval attache to
the French Embassy here. representing
that he was not persona grata with
the German court brought things to a
crisis.
The Cologne Gazette prints a
vicious article on the subject, declaring
that the relations between Germany
and France have been rendered great
deal worse than they have been. or
otherwise could have been, through the
presence of NJ Herbette in Berlin as
chief representative of France. The ar
ticIe has created a great sensation.
The group which clustered about the
Empress at the subscription ball in
cluded the Empress Frederick, Princess
Frederick Leopold of Prussia and Prin-
cess Feodore of Schleswig- -Holstein,
sister of the Empress, the Prin-
cess of Reuss. Duchess Will
helm of Mecklenburg and Princess
Margaret of Hesse. The Empress wore
a gown of white taffcsa silk, embroid-
cred with large flowers. Her corsag ge
was cut low and ornamented with dia-