The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-03-11
The German Etnperor

We have recently heard much about
the German Emperor. but the Informal
ton we have acquired is m~onotonous.
His majesty has Z side to his character
which has not been presented. Granted
that his speeches are not in the best
taste. sounding perhaps to English ears
a trifie prOfane, and tina the rhodomon-
tade about the mailed fist was silly and
premature. we ought 10 remember that
they were addressed TO Germany. and
that. for all We with our insular preju-
dice knoT, they may have suited their
audience. Now. although our press fol-
lows the public movements of Emperor
William almost, if not quite. az closely
as it does the movements of our own
royal family and public men. the infor-
nation it vouchsafes about his private
movements. his taste and his encourage
is meagre in the extreme. What is the
result? The English public. the most
reWspaper-reading public in the world.
except the American, form their ideas OF
one of the most prominent figures Of
the day entirely from one side OF his
character. and that the least attractive
side. If the principal English journals
mad been able to send correspondents to
kiel last summer about the time Of the
Queens jubilee, and these correspondents
had faithfully transmitted all that they
saw and heard, they would have done
much to clear away misconceptions con-
corning the Emperor'S feeling toward
the English.
The Kiel regatta. which has now oeen
instituted for some years. comes off an
nually toward the end of June. and last
year his majesty. with the .Hofoli oh
Ject OF giving a flip to the regatta it
is a great scheme of his to max. il
approximate in some degree towari our
CoweS week-and of doing honor 20 our
queens jubilee. announced his intention
of giving a prize to be competed for by
English yachts only. the course to he
from Dover to Heligoland. From The
mnr1nnt tho frc+ INpr1;-I, ,.,,L, l--- =.
sight the emperor was on the alert 20
show the competitors and their fr ends
every pOlitenesS in his power. II is no
easy matter to make fifteen or twenty
Englishmen-moSt of whom did not
know a single German present. and the
majority of whom had never seen each
other before-feel at nome in A strange
land; but the German Emperor dill IT.
and that quickly. He gave no ona any
time to 9dODt the usual 'noli me tan
gere' attitude which is so easy 10 as
sumo and so hard to shake off. Tha. at
tltude would 2" absurd in the presence
of Emperor William when he has thrown
off his official encourage and is enjoying
a Well-earned rest on his own .acht.
he is SO alive. his laugh is even catch
ing; and the small jokes thrown in from
time to time all combine to MAKE the
ordinary mortal abandon whatever re-
serve he has come prepare with.
His majesty. knowing that the comDc-
titors had either missed altogether or
curtailed to a great extent their parti-
cipation in the jubilee celebrations IN
England. most kindly gave a large state
dinner party on his yacht. the Hohen-
ZOllern. in honor of her majesty'S jubil ..
to which he invited all the Englishmen
who had sailed over the course for his
cup. The next day there were races in
entered his own yacht, with special pr
yes for the English yachts, as they
were all cruisers and could not compel
with the modern racing yachts. In the
evening his majesty presided at a
"kneipe' or gradn beer drinking. which
was held at a at "A small
village on the Baltic. where all the
EngliShmen were again made welcome,
and special attention was shown them.
Not only We're all the entertained ar
~rangementS carried out in the most elab-
crate and successful manner. but also
an details about tugs TO tow the yachts.
moorings and such minutiae which in
sure the comfort of a yachtsman were
thought out beforehand. down to the
slightest PARTICULARS: and these arrange
ments. / believe. all emanated from the
German Emperor himself.
l have given this very slight sketch OF
the German Emperor's reception CT a
contingent of English yachtsmen at
kiel merely in order TO point cut that
there is a side TO his rnajesty's character
OF which We at home hear and see too
little. We have got rather into the Ia bit
of thinking that the emieror is always
either sending kilograms on matters
which do not concern him. on purpose
to rouse up friendly nations. or else
dispatching ironclads. with no definite
object, amidst a shower OF winged
words of questionable taste. We do not
realize the intense vitality of the emperor
his eagerness TO be UP and doing, par
ticipa ting in some way n every event
Of Importance. Nobody complained when
his majesty tekegraphed to the oxford
crew on their winning the boatrace, yet
surely Cambridge might have felt ag-
grieved had they not realized that IL was
the exuberant delight of a good sports
man over a good crew winning a good
race.