Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-23
EMPERoRS IN ENGLAND
Notable Guests Whose Visits Are Recalled
by That of the Kaiser
A Question rs to the Real Motives of
Williams Coming-Generous
English Hospitality.
From the Saturday Review.

Between the downfall Of the Roman en-
pire of the west and the beginning of our
own century four emperors have landed
upon our English shores. The first Of these,
Baldwin II of Constantinople, though he
was the son-in-law of the crusading hero
Jean de Brienne-for seven long years of
war and strain the octogenarian emperor
of the east-was at first hardly suffered to
set foot upon the coast april, 1888, as he
came without an invitation on the occa-
sion of his first visit Though given so
dubious a welcome he managed to leave the
country FOO richer than he entered 1t;
and when he came second time-a penni-
less, fugitive beggar who had been forced
to sell the hottest treasures of Christen-
dom, the cross on which Christ had suf-
fered and the crown of thorns that once
had circled the Savior's head-he seems
to have got nothing at all, even though he
now trumped up tale of kinship to the
king Q24O.
The next imperial visitor was one of
quite another kind. 1t was the last year
Of the fourteenth century Q400 A. d. and
Henry " Of England had just supplanted
his unfortunate cousin, Richard II, on the
throne, when all Europe was startled by
the news that Manuel II, Emperor of Con-
stantinople, had already started on pill
grimage to the west to beg the leading
monarchs there for aid against the Turks.
His progress was long, triumphant
march. Wherever he went there was rev.
elry and feasting. In England he receiver
a welcome such as never yet had been given
to any foreign prince. At Blackheath
Henry " met him and led him through
London in state December 2D. Christmas
was spent at Ethan. There were jousts
and reveIries of every kind. The grave
aldermen of London with their little
'sones" (sons) to help them came out to
the old Kent manorhouse in Christmas
week and MAIDEN him a gret mommyng"
q. g. masquerade with King of Misrule or
Unreason in the true old style) for which
"they hadde greet thanke." At the tourna-
ment Henry's eldest daughter. little mai
den of some nine winters, was Queen of
Beauty; and, in the affected style of the
age. strangely clad warriors from every
realm Of fairyland or fact presented their
homage or ran their courses in the lists
before her-Manuel looking down upon this
strange scene either in bewilderment or de-
light. Every one was delighted with the
visit: Manuel had never met with so gra-
cious host as Henry-who, SO he wrote to
a Greek friend at Florence, was full Of
charms and friendly unto all"
The English, on the other hand. could
not gaze enough on this splendid looking
tivity and well proportional v.gor. They
doubtless whispered to one another the
tales that came from Paris as to his al
most superhuman agility; how when the
French king met him outside Paris, Of
fering him a splendid milk white horse.
Manuel had then and there, leapt from
his own steed onto the strange courser
without so much as setting even one foot
upon the ground They wondered at his
snow white beard-once Of full, rich
golden hue-that fell down in profusion
over his broad breast-like the boards of
the French heroes in the greatest of all
medieval epics. They wondered at his
simple dress of flowing white and at his
piety as manifested in the day services
he frequented-services conducted in his
own Greek tongue and not in the foreign
II IN 70 r1-fli oh
toned. And they heard, perhaps, with
deeper interest still, rumors Of a strange
band of mobiles" still living in CONSTANT
nople who claimed descent from British
heroes now dead a thousand years and
more-"nobles'' who still, in the far off
metropolis of the east, spoke tneir own
English tongue and still bore in their hands
the same huge battle axes that had crush
ed the Norman down at Hastings
The next emperor to visit England was
Sigsmund-the emperor of the west. He,
like Manuel, came to England from Paris,
and he, too, had great hopes of inducing
the King of England, Henry V, to make
peace with the King of France and join in
one common effort against the conquering
Turk. He was welcomed with a splendor
that surpassed even the welcome of Man
uel- Richard de Beauchamp. the great Earl
of Warwick, called the Prince of Cour-
tesy' by his contemporaries, met him at
Calais. The kings youngest brother. the
good Duke Humphrey of Gloucester,
the founder of the Bodlian Library at OK
ford, was sent down to receive him at
Dover. At Canterbury he was entertained
by Archbishop Chicheley, the founder of
All Souls College; at Rochester and Dart
ford he was met by two more of the royal
brothers, the Dukes of Bedford and Clar-
ence; while at B.ackheath stood the king
himself-Henry V, fresh with all the glory
of Agincourt round his brow, and round
him gathered some five thousand of his
greatest knights and nobles-along with the
mayor of London, Master Nicholas Wotton
the draper, accompanied by his aldermen
and the city companies in all the spIendor
or their scarlet robes and many co.ered
liVeries. With characteristic modesty Henry
chartered his imperial guest in his own pal
ace at Westminster while he himself
sought an humble lodging at Lambeth.
Par iament was not allowed to break up
TIL the emperor had arrived; and, a few
days later, SIgsmund was hurried off to
Windsor to be made knight of the Car
ter under circumstances of unusual snler
dor. 'p-7i
Ihe next emperor to land in England was
Charies V; but the story of his two visits
especially the last one when London was
decorated to greet him as it never was be-
1ore and probably it never has been
since, would take too long to speak of here
ne alone OF all the emperors we have dealt
with, mad not visited Paris before he came
TO London. He alone came with the ffxed
Intention OF making discord between two
realms that both Manuel and Sgsmund had
ionSed to reconcile. Once more we have an
emperor In England He. too has not Wis
iteo Farls on his way. Is his role then that
OF CHARLES V or Is 1t that of Manuel and
Sigsmund? iuei anu