The San Francisco call., 1896-02-17
The Kaiser Refuses to Mingle
With Diplomats When His
Enemy Is Present.
SENSATION AT 4 RECEPTION.
Why the Traditions of the Father
lands Rulers Were Ignored at
the Subscrip ion Ball.

BERLIN, GERMANY, Feb. 16.-The Ber-
lin season reached It's climax on Wedres-
day, upon the occasion of the annual
subscription ball, which took place in the
Berlin Opera house. The present season
has been IN all respects the dullest of any
social season since the accession OF En-
peror William to the imperial throne.
This may be readily accounted for by the
to the recent death of Prince Alexander of
Prussia and the Grand Duchess of Olden-
burg, and another reason may be found in
the withdrawal from Berlin of such emf
nent social leaders as Prince Frederick of
Hohenzollern, Prince Albert of Sake
Altenburg, the Duke and Duchess of Rati-
Dor, the Prince and Princess of Stolberg-
Wernigerode and the Prince and Princess
Of Pless, all of whom have been moved to
quit the capital through differences with
the Emperor, whose arbitrary manners
have become intolerable to those who were
accustomed to the social courtesy which
prevailed during the reign of the old En-
peror, William l.
These causes have combined greatly to
reduce the number of aristocrats in Ber-
LII anu VIC u IdQtSIlSA nave CCuSCH u6Ilb blN
suffered severely and the desertion of the
capital by the most prominent of the old
time social leaders during the period in
which hitherto the Berlin shopkeepers
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 re-
coupling themselves for their outlay in the
accumulation of stock, though the bril-
liancy of the assembly at the opera house
Wednesday evening would seem TO refute
the stories of extreme embarrassment 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 custom for the King of
Prussia to select burgher's daughter for
a partner and dance with her, but nova
days the court merely deigns to join in a
stately waIk-around, the Emperor the
Empress and the officials of the i'm perial
household marching in procession to the
music of a 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 mum bering thou
sands, among whom were many ladies re-
spIendent with diamonds, bankers, manu-
facturers and other representatives of the
wealthiest class OF the community waited
70 yyiayu a riaI h,t
waited in vain. The court party made its
appearance in the imperial box, attended
by the mem bers of the court When the
royalties had taken their places the or
chestra struck up the music of the pro-
gramme for dancing and kept going from
number to mum Der, and it was some time
before any one realized that there was TO
be no procession,
Everybody was asking what had hap
pened to cause the Emperor, who is
stickler for traditional customs, to aban-
don the precedent which has endured for
years. Though the public did not know
the court knew and the diplomatic circle
also knew.
The Emperor has feud with NJ. Her
bette, 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
has paid visit to the diplomatic group
and was received by the dean OF the corps.
The Emperor decided to avoid reception
by M. Herbette, and therefore ordered
that the procession be abandoned. This
slight seems to be personl one, but it
may possibly have important political
results.
A report is in circulation which is gener-
ally credited in the diplomatic circle that
the Emperor is going to Hubertustock to
remain over the carnival, so as to avoid
the duty of receiving M. Herbette at the
court ball. If NJ. Herbette should be re-
called in the meantime, the Emperor will
return in time TO be present at the ball.
M. Herbette has made his continuance
at his post impossible through suces-
sion of acts which have been offensive to
the Emperor's ideas of gentlemanIy de-
pertinent. Members of the diplomatic
corps are free to say that, while M. Her
bette is diplomat of undoubted ability,
be is by no means courtier. His man.
ners are conspicuonsly 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 Ger
man court, brought things to crisis. The
Cologne Gazette prints a vicious article on
the subject, declaring that the relat ations
between Germany and France have been
rendered great deal worse than they
have been, or otherwise could have been,
through the presence of M. Herbette in
Berlin as the chief representative of
France. The article has created great
sensation.
The group which clustered about the
Empress at the subscription ball included
the Empress Frederick, Princess Freezer.
ick Leopold of Prussia and Princess Fe-
dore of Schleswig- Holstein, sister OF the
Empress, the Princess of Reuss, Duchess
Wilhelm of Mecklenburg and Princess
Margaret of Hesse. The Empress wore a
gown of white taffeta silk EN- mbroidered
with large flowers. Her corsage was cut
low and ornamented with diamond s
Upon her head was diadem Of diamonds