The herald., 1898-11-12

| q
whlch she has nurtured in her heart
since the days of her early girlhood.
true, there are all sorts of facilities
to-day for getting to Jerusalem which
were not In existence twenty and thir-
ty years ago. There Is a railroad
equipped with comfortable railroad
cars that runs from Jaffa to Jerusa-
lem. and 1t is possible to reach Bethle-
hem and other places of interest in
the vicinity by means of tramway. the
pilgrimage of these present times pre-
senting striking contrast to those of
FORMER ages, when the faithful Of every
rank and class. from kings to peasants.
were compelled to trudge wearily over
the sun-parched desert of sand and
stones that lies between the seacoast
and the Zion Of Christians and He
brews.
While no one need feel SURPRISED that
Emperor William should desire to un-
dertake the trip to Palestine, yet there
are many who regret that his "Zion-
ism" should have led him to permit his
wife to accompany him on the jour-
ney, and among superstitious people
much apprehension is felt and ex-
pressed in connection with the project.
For 1t is a strange popularity that
hardly any royal couple have ever vis-
tied Jerusalem together without being
shortly afterward overtaken by mis-
fortune. Only eighteen months ago
the visit of the Archduke and Arch
duchess Charles Louis of Austria was
followed by the sudden death of the
former, who, as second brother of the
Emperor Francis Joseph, stood next in
line of succession to the throne. and
who, until that time had enjoyed per-
feet health. Another imperial couple
whose pilgrimage was followed by still
more disastrous results were the
crown prince and crown princess of
Austria. The quarrel which culminat-
ed in Rudolph's shocking death at
Meyerling followed Immediately on
their return to Vienna from Palestine,
while the stay in Jerusalem Of En-
peror Williams eldest sister, Char
lotte, who was accompanied by her
husband, Prince Bernhardt Of SAKE
Meiningen, and attended by Baron
and Baroness Won Kotze, had as its
material sequence what Is now known
in the civilized world as the "Anony-
nous letter, or Kotze scandal" in
which Princess Charlotte and her con-
sort were so seriously compromised as
to render their departure from Berlin
necessary, while Baron Won Kotze him.
self, after fighting innumerable duels,
being crippled for life, and subjected
to Imprisonment, is now living in re-
tirement with his wife, both Of them
disgraced and socially ruined.
These are only few of the large
number of analogous cases that could
be cited in this connection. But they
are sufficient to show that supersti-
tious people have some grounds for
apprehending misfortune in the event
of the kaiser taking his wife with him
to Jerusalem. For, curiously enough,
those who make the pilgrimage alone
and who leave their wives or their
husbands at home appear to escape
| the fate that overtakes those royal
personages who neglect this caution.
and with the exception of Empress Eu-
genie, who lost her throne a few
months only after her return from the
Holy Land. the Emperor of Austria,
the late Emperor Frederick Of Ger
many, the Prince Of Wales. King Leo
pold of Belgium, the Empress of Aus
tril, the Crown Princess of Sweden,
King Oscar, the Crown Prince Of Italy.
and Prince Henry Of Prussia have all
been able to visit Palestine without be-
ing overtaken by subsequent misfor-
| tune.
| 1t may be questioned whether 1t Is
purely a spirit Of religious devotion
| that leads royal personages to Jour-
ney to the Holy Land, and there are
reasons for believing that the Zion
ism Of the crowned heads and Of their
families Is prompted by other senti-
ments than those Of mere pity. For,
speaking of them as class, the
princes and princesses Of the blood
cannot be described as really religious
in the ordinary sense Of the world.
They seldom govern their private con-
duct by the rules Of any church, and
almost never regard ecclesiastics as
nearer to the divinity than themselves.
They conduct themselves and speak in
manner to convey the belief that
they feel themselves above the mere
details Of religion, and it may be
doubted whether they have any real
preferences, save such as are dictat-
| ed by questions Of mundane policy, for
one form of worship more than for an
other. Queen Victoria, for instance.
when she Is in Scotland. takes the
communion from the hands Of Presby-
terian ministers and according to the
Presbyterian rites, although south Of
the Tweed she receives the sacrament
according to the canon laws of the
Church of England of which she is not
only a member, but also the supreme
| neaQ. Inc pTeSeHt CZdIs WAeu dI Dali
moral, attended Presbyterian services,
while the king and queen Of Italy, as
we'll as the Catholic princes Of Ba-
varia and Saxony, in defiance of the
laws Of their church, were conspicuous
at the Lutheran services held at Ham
burg not long ago under the auspices
of the kaiser. The latter, again, al
though he considers himself to be the
"summus Episcopus" of the Lutheran
rite, does not disdain to kiss the cruci-
fix that is rendered to him when he
visits any Catholic institution, church
or monastery in his dominions, and his
grandmother, the late old Empress
Augusta, was quite as fond Of attend
ing Roman Catholic services and func-
tions as are the daughters and grand
daughters of Queen Victoria.
| From this 1t will be seen that, where
as obedience to one church or another
is on the increase among both classes
and the masses in every part Of the
world, it is distinctly declining among
the "anointed of the Lord" 1t is
merely another illustration Of that in
gratitude for which princes have been
celebrated since the days Of the Psalm
ism. and under the circumstances they
cannot be surprised If people are dis
posed to ascribe to something else than
| ..-.,Io ,>;aty tho Zfonism which leads