Washington sentinel., 1898-03-19
~ : ~ SENTINEL
The German Emperor.
EnpLish Nlnskraked MagaEine.

Inc bSrlnerSs ana the GGImduS
in general, delight in giving nick
names TO their popular idols.
These nicInames are not always
aaetering to their owners, and there
have been II ohenzollerns less fer
tunate than the Emperor William,
who is not afraid to ask for his
popular sobriquet. He proved this
at a regimental dinner at which
the Duke OF Connaught and Prince
Henry were present. In the course
of conversation the Kaiser said:
"They call me the Travelling
Kaiser, don't they7 | wonder #
that's the only nickname I've got9'
Prince Henry laughed, and Major
Won Plessen, unable to control
himself, Joined him. "What is its"
asked the Emperor. "Do you
know OF any other nickname7 II
so, out with it," The major mum
bled something about his respect;
but the Emperor said, "Well, if
you don't want to do 1t to please
me, command you to speak,
The major then confessed that the
Emperor was known among the
common soldiers as alarm Fritz"
on account Of his habit Of fsuddenly,
in the middle of the night, rousing
the garrison of town in which he
might be staying. The Emperor
laughed heartily at this, and Prince
Henry remarked TO his brother,
"Well, you have a similar name in
the navy The boys call you
'Gondola Bill tor gondoling
about, as they call it, on your ships
constantly in the summer, and
being everywhere and anywhere
ON the boats" "Well," said the
Emperor, chose are three fine
Mechanics; but, inasmuch as all
Vf ham paint me as a busy man, l
rather Ike tharu
The foregoing ven, aptly illus
trstes the active, restless spirastha
dominates William H., German
Emperor and King of Prussia. 1t
has often been iacetiously said that
''r knows all about everything"
but there is an element of truth in
this saying, alter all; for ne is sol
dier, sailor. Sportsman, musician
painter, poet, orchestral leader
theatrical manager, orator anC
civil engineer. Also, he is a
scholar OF repute and a proficient
linguist, speaking ten languages
quite fuently. To say that he is a
clever man. then, is to say very
little, and those who deride and
malign him the most but admit that
he IS talented above the ordinary.
With all this, his tastes are COM
paTatiVelY simple, and family ties
and affections come before every
thing. Impulsive he may be, and
undoubtedly is, and this trait IN his
character has created numerous
possibilities for adverse criticism,
grave reSuke and empty wit.
The army OF the German Empire
had been brought to a high Pitch
OF ex sellence under the rule oI
William !, William IL. has fol.
lowed in his grandfather foot.
steps IN this respect, and the organ
ization which is brought to bear
upon the troops and the care which
is bestowed upon their equipment
and training have produced one o.
the finest armies in Europe. o.
the many projects which the En-.
peror undertakes, the military one
certainly claims the most of his at.
tention. His pre- sence with one
portion or another Of the service is
continuous, and he is seldom seen
unless in the uniform Of one cf his
perfectly drilled regiments On
the accession OF his majesty he
vas credited on q wholesale scale
with the desire for bringing these
troops into active service; but sc
far the German army of the present
reiPn has proved itself defensive
legion only, with a chief who ha:
- seemed mere anxious for peace
than tor warfare Should, how.
ever, the Emperor ever bring his
army into the feld-an army which
for years has been considered q
model Of military perfection, anc
numbers between two and three
million officers and men-it would
OF necessity prove a very iormid-
able foe. OF the vigilance and &C.
tivity displayed by the Emperor
when paying visits Of inspection to
his troops many stories are told
for he is in the habit OF coming
upon them at all hours quite un.
awares, and often has a garrison
been startled with a sudden bugle
calling ITO Armsl or a sentry al
quiet outpost been electrified
with the unexpected imperial pres.
ence. Nevertheless, he is very
popular with the men, for he looks
thoroughly after their comfort, and
often shows them kindnesses in an
entirely unexpected manner. The
following is one OF numerous incl
dents which illustrate this: A little
girl from America went to visit her
uncle in Germany, but on her ar
rival found he was away serving
his time with the army. With
thoroughgoing American inde.
pendence. she sat down and COM
posed an epistle to the Emperor,
telling him she had heard of his
goodness, and would he spare her
dear uncle from his duties few
days, and let him come home.
This unaffected little note duly
reached his majesty, and in two or
three days the uncle was officially
informed that he might have leave
OF absence so as to spend few days
L