The Washington herald., 1911-09-14

|
Kaiser is considering adopting English
as the official court language. Now,
will any one tell me how II is possible
! for any person in his right senses to
promulgate such arrant nonsense, or for
any reputable paper, with a due respect
for the opinions OF it's readers, to print
| it? 1t is true the German Emperor is
an admirable linguist. speaking French
without the German accent, English and
Russian iuently, and Spanish and Italian
] reasonably we'll He may have also
| picked up a >Sma altering of Norwegian
during his annual cruises to Hammerfest
and the Skavapges Fiords. But his
| language is as German as his patriot
ism, and no one will doubt that Then,
why in the name of common sense. so
| ridiculous a story. should find credence
is beyond me.
True enough. Crown Prince Friedrich
Wilhelm and his wife. Crown Princess
Caecilie. are AnglOphiles In the matter
| of dress and mode Of life, he even
going so far as to order his clothes from
! Oxford street tailors; but that is a. far
as it goes. Friedrich Wilhelm has re-
ceived several sharp pebukes from. his
| father-One at a public function at the
'MarmOr Palais' when talking to Count
Eberhard Won SChmettow. He and his
friend were cunversing freely in Eng
lish on some intimate matter concern
ing the coronation Of King George, when
suddenly the Kaiser stood before them.
cNClaiming 50 that all the neighboTing
groups could hear him: In meinen
IIaeuSern. wrd nur DcUtSch geSprO-
chen"
From his youth. and despite his semi
Anglo bring up. his mother having been
the Princess Royal Victoria. eldest
daughter of Queen Victoria. he has
strictly opposed the adoption Of foreign
manners and customs. The choice of
English a. the court language of the
German empire, to he used by Germans
in the German capital, would find in the
Kaiser the bittercSt opponent. And why
not? Has any one ever ncard anything
so ridiculous:
According to Der Roland. the semi
satirical society weekly of Berlin, which
spares no one, the Emperor and his
court not excepted. the Kaiser recently
has got to wearing a talisman. a ring
which originally had been acquired by
one Of his remote ancestors, a Margrave
Of Auspach and Baireuth. who held forth
y
Bavaria This whilom Hohenzoller was
a crusader. who set forth under the
leadership Of the Duke Of Burgundy to
wrest the holy sepulcher from the Mos
lens. II is said that he took the ring
from the finger of Saracen nobleman !
whom he had killed in battle. That tails |
man descended from one Margrave 10 !
another.
II went with Albrecht. the Rear from
Bavaria. t. BrIndenhurg which thatl
Hohenzoller had received as a grant
from the German Emperor in return !
for an unpaid loan. and has remained |
in the family. The present Kaiser un-
carthed it from among the royal treas |
ur"s at POtsdam. and now il adorns his |
finger. Der Roland. OF course. has |
a guOd deal Of fun over this latest |
suDerStitiUus fad of the erTatiC war lord !
and laughs over the "pious fraud" |
which made the Emperor erase the verse |
from the Koran. which had been en- !
graved on the ring. and replacing it with |
a cross. asking faCetiousIy whether that |
has increased its protective power.
The talisman is a heavy gold ring, and |
set in IL is a square stone of n dull. |
dusty hue. To this ring tradition at |
tributes the powers Of safeguarding its |!
bringing him good luck generally. |
Whether this is so or not. the Kaiser
certainly is a very fortunate man.
Countess ROurtourline. whose betrothaI !
to Count Albert Won Hohenau is an
Is the daughter Of Count Alex
arder Bourt"urline who's" wife was
Elise van Schaick. Of New YOrk's
ancient Dutch stock. Her fiancc is Of
royal blood for his grandfather was
Prince Albrccht Of Prussia Younger
brother of the first Emperor Wilhelm.
grandfather Of the present Kaiser. Prince
Albert's first wife was Princess Marie
Anne, Of Holland. After divorcing her.
the prince married the Freitfrauen
Rosalie van Rauch, who was created
countess CGraefinD Won Hoherau by the
King of Prussia. This union resulted in
two sons. both of whom were to en-
royal disfavor and disgrace. /
The elder. Graf Wilhelm, until four
years ago was lieutenant general in the
Prussian army and an aid-de-Camp
nuegel-adjutanU to the Kaiser which
meant in constant attention upon the
person of the sovereign. But he became
involved in the scandals which brought
about the downfall of Prince Philip Of
and OF several other officers
IF high rank. and as Il result he was de-
Drived of all his dignities and turned out
IF the army. The affair created a great
owing TO his own popularity
md to that of his wife, Princess Mar
garct of HOhenlohe. a cousin of the
Kaiser.
The younger brother. Graf Friedrich.
The father of Graf Albert. who is to {
we'd COmtesse BOurtourline, also lost the '
favor He was implicated in
he anonymous letter scandal some ten 1
years ago which so greatly upset the I
Berlin court. Graf Friedrich was ban
shed from court: but, as there was s
nothing proved against him. he retained
his commission In the Prussian army as I
major a Ia suite He resides in a lovely {
'astle. Albrechtsberg, on the Elbe River, I
lear Dresden. but spends the winters in {
he north of Italy. j
Those anonymous letters made a great I
stir at the time, but the matter was sud- I
lenly hushed. 1t was whispered in Ber I