Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-02-22


| his cruises he often found his swee;
| cousin from Hesse in attendance on his
mother Empress Frederick. and a warm
attachment was formed between them
| Irnser Fritz was already in his last illness
when Henry consulted him about marry
| ing Princess Irene, and the emperor, who
| was unable to speak on account of the
cancer In his throat, wrote TINS note ano
pressed it into his sons hand:
"You at least have never given me a
! moments sorrow, and will make as good
| a husband as you have made a loving
son..
| nosed the marriage on the ground of the
| close relationship between the cousins
| but he was suspected of trying to pfquc
Empress Frederick whom he regarded as
| his enemy. Henry father OVERRIDE Bis
| marck'S opposition.
Prince Henry and his family have long
made their home at I<iel. the great naval
arsenal and stronghold of the German
| Empire, as well as the headquarters OF
| the German yachting world. They live Il
| the old schloss or palace that was built
away back i'm the thirteenth century. 1t
was enlarged by Catherine III. in the
eighteenth century, and in modern times
has been transformed into comfortable
| homelike place
The princess has become fine yachts
woman and is able to handle boat in a
| stiff breeze. She mas founded several So
cietieS for the welfare or seafarlng men
| and their families, and takes an active
part in every undertaking for their ben
eft. The simple unaffected manner of
prince and princess is We'll indicated by
an incident related in Admiral Evans
book "A Sailors Log as follows:
AT a reception given on board one of
the German battle ships on the Sunday
after our arrival at Kiel had an inter-
esting experience. When l went over the
SIDE | found a large company, most of
them dancing AS | was not dancing
I CT, To side he nf the
way, and entered into conversation with
a Young, clean-cut- looking German cap
ia n who spoke English perfectly. 1t was
SO n evident to me that he was brilliant
in his profession, and we engaged in a
ra her sharp professional talk.
II did not agree with the captain,
whose name / had not caught, and did
not hesitate to speak my mind, nor dill
he. After time he said he would be
glad 10 present me to his wife, which he
did, and found her a very charming
and attractive woman.
..Of course, 1 had not caught her name
either, and after talking with her half an
hour I noticed that good many people
seemed to be waiting to speak to her. so
took myself off to the smoking apart
ment 0 enjoy cigar.
'When l entered Admiral Knorr greeted
me and said:
=" Evans, the prince says you are good
fellow, and he wants the emperor to
know YOU | replied: My dear admiral
u IL
him. Well he said, you ought to know
him; you have been talking shop with
him for half an hour, and | don't know
what you have been saying to the prin-
1 had been talking with two of the most
delightful people | had ever met-Prince
Henry and the Princess Irene"
ON another occasion Princess Henry
AMI her sister the cZarina. went out
afoot on a shopping expedition at Kiel.
On preparing to leave store they discov
cred crowd gathered in front of the
door. Thereupon they stepped out of the
store into the rear yard, and had a clerk
raise a ladder against the garden wall.
They then clambered up the ladder like
tW, schoolgirls, passed into the garden Of
neighboring house and thence quietly
m de their way out by another street,
Prince Henry has three boys. The eld-
est. Prince Waldemar, is II years old and
holds the rank of lieutenant in the army
as well as in the navy. Like his father,
he is to 1sss sailor 10 shs
ancient schloss in 1898, while Prince
Henry was In China.
When Emperor William asked Miss
some gallant American patriot enthusi-
astically volunteered the suggestion that
the vessel be named Alice in honor of the
Presidents fair daughter 1t is not often
that the kaiser permits himself to be out
done in gallantry but he had decided to
name the yacht the Meteor to comment
crate one of the most dramatic events In
German history. The solitary naval conf
bat during the Franco-Prussian war was
a duel just outside the harbor of Havana.
in which the German cruiser Meteor de-
feated the French dispatch boat Bouvet.
No less a parsonage than Captain Gen.
eral De Rodas, in command at Havana,
acted as umpire and awarded the fight to
the Meteor after the Bouvet had been de-
feated and fled to a neutral port for re-
fuge. Thousands of spectators flocked to
the Moro and the seashore in hope Of
seeing the combat, and many were able
to witness the remarkable duel by the use
of glasses. In some respects the encoun-
ter resembled the famous battle between
the Kearsarge and the Alabama.
The German navy of 1870 was compare
lively small. and most of it was blockad-
ed in the Baltic by the Overwhelmingly
superior force of the French fleets. Only
four small German vessels were absent
on foreign stations. Two were soon
blockaded in Japanese waters and third
at FayaL The Meteor managed to keep
| the freedom of the sea for about three
months, but on running into the harbor
of Havana Nov. Z, 1870. she found the
Bouvet already at anchor.
The Meteor had hardly dropped her own
anchor when the French mail steamer
| Nouveau Monde started. outbound. for
| Havre, and the Meteor slipped her moor
| ings to give chase. OFF the MORO the
French captain discovered he was being
pursued and put back to dock. Captain
Franguet of the Bouvet was angered by
| the audacity of the German commander
| in attempting to capture French yes
sci right under his nose. and he sent
Commander Kumor of the Meteor
challenge to meet him three marine miles
| off shore and fight it out to a finish. The
German accepted the challenge with alac-
! rity, and the crew of the Meteor greeted
| the news with enthusiastic cheers.
The Bouvet sailed out of the harbor at
once to wait the customary twenty-four
hours The Meteor followed the next day.
accompanied by Captain General De Ro-
das ana many Spanish officers aboard the
Spanish squadron. De Rodas proposed to
| pick up the wounded and see that the
| laws of neutrality were observed.
| The Bouvet carried five guns to the Nc
| teor's three. but the latter We're some
| what heavier. The Bouvet had an advan-
| tage in speed and carried eighty officers
| and men to sixty aboard the Meteor. Both
| vessels were of wood and We're screw
\ steamships, but they were bark rigged
with masts, ropes and other gear for
spreading sail.
| De Rodas signaled when the Meteor
| had passed the three-mile limit. When
| the combatants got within quarter of
mile of each other the Bouvet opened fire
| The Meteor responded on the instant, tho
| two vessels were wrapped in smoke, and
| the firing became wild. The Bouvet had
| headed for the German vessel with the in
tention of boarding her, with cutlass and
| pike in hand, in the good old fashion, but
| when the ships came together the COLI
sion brought the rigging Of the Bouvet
down, which prevented the Frenchmen
from boarding. The Meteor also got in