The Washington herald., 1911-12-11
EMPEROR WILLIAMS
UNIQUE STATUE

tune of Louis XIV, and to have
his imperial notwithstanding his fierce
military mustache-incased in the col
lossal wig (allonge peruque) of said
Grand MOnarqUe," for the statue which
Is to adorn a niche" in the academy
hall. what are the poor harrassed ''im-
mortals" to do? The Emperor Is firmly
mbued with the idea that he is the
image of the great Bourbon king, lie
ROi Saletl," and once having conceived
this monstrosity, there will be nothing
left for those who are to sit in judg-
ment upon the details of that statue
than to acquiesce in the desire of the EN-
peror. who is the chief patron of the
Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, of-welI
oI making an igregious fool OF himself
and the entire German nation by having
German Emperor depicted in the robes
Of one of that country's arch-enemies
and GevastatOrs, Poor 'immortals!'
Come TO think Of II. il is not the first
time that the pr sent Kaiser is to appear
adorned with mammoth wig and the ap-
parSl of other rulers. On the wall of the
main salon in the Germany Embassy
at Paris. William ii appears i'm life size
in the Tegalia of Louis XV of France In
the "hospice" of the convent on the
Mount Of Olives. near Jerusalem, is Will
Jams picture in the armament of En-
rerUr Frederic BarbarCssa, the great Ger
man crusader. Again window in a
church in SaXOny shows him in a kneel- |
Ing position. praying, a true copy Of the
German Emperor, Henry the Saint: and
still in another church window his seven
children may be seen adorned with
wings, depicted as angels
Still il remains a mystery why a man
;" progressive so typical a Teuton, and
gifted with clear perception and large
iund OF common sense, a ruler having 50
many roles at his disposal so versatile, |
and SO absolutely Individual, should have
'hOsen the prototype Of the most immoral I
and effeminHte epoch in French history
as his pattern to appear before and be !
Judged by pOsterity.
Two hundred Years ago. when An
dreas SChlueter mOucied the famous |
statue Of the Great EIector of Branden- !
burg. which dominates the Kurfuersten !
Bruecke in Berlin. it was also pc |
ruque' that caused violent diversity OF |
opinion. 1t is a matter of common !
knowledge that said equestrian statue |
has been finished in what is described |
as the old Roman baroqur style" That !
Is TO say there are no stirrups: the rid |
ers feet are Shod with sandals: his legs
and arms are nude. and his broad chest |
IS protected by a richly -ornamented ar
NOR In order to remain true to that !
style the sculptor was undecided whether /
the Great EleCtCr. the mightiest OF the !
HOhrnzellern rulers of their ante-royal |
days, was to wear his hair cropped close
like Augustus lmperatOr, or in short |
curls like the statue of Marcus Aurelius |
on the CapitoIine Hill. But King Fred |
erick l. his employer. settled all that by !
ordering the "allonge pcruque.
The sculptor opposed such slaughter !
g
angry, but so did the undaunted artist, |
but the pcruque retained the upper hand. |
because the King declared that his great |
father, the EleCtOr. always had worn |
such head ornament. including the pig |
tail. The truth il. that the Great Elec- !
tor. in his youth, wore his hair close |
cropped. but as h" grew in years he af-
fected a wig. Thus originated what
tradition calls the "HOhenZollern Pc !
ruque." But it was in reality his son, |
the conceited and pompous Elector. who.
not content with the time-honOred title |
Of ruler of Brandcnburg. put the royal
crown Of Prussia upon his head at
Koenigsberg. in January. l7ol, who went
50 far as to rival Louis XIV in the
length and quantity of those fancy Curls
as an adjunct to royal dignity.
This first Prussian king was but
short, Ill-shapcn figure. who very dexter
"uSly knew how to make Use of the !
peruque to hide his deformity with YER
itanlc cascades OF Curls, which fell upon
back and shoulders, giving the wearer
royal dignity and appearance. Incident
ally there was. so to say. method in his
madness. The King was quite bald.
And to think that William ii. a twen-
tieth century progressive. should adopt |
such monstrOsity. In my opinion, this
following occurrence was the primary
cause: In February. 1901. Crown Prince
FredrIck William gave a fancy dress
bal! in mis- palace at Berlin, which proved
great success, the Emperor himself
leading with a mysterious carnival joke
The crown princess appeared as a bcLU-
tiful lady of the RuCOcO period OF France.
the crown prince as a dashing rider of
the eighteenth century, with powdered
wig. Baroness Won Tiele- Winckler. as
Mary Stuart, was awarded the first beau
ty prize by the Emperor in person
Princess Agatha of RatibOr, now Princess
Frederick William of Prussia wore a
Chasseur uniform.
he Emperor was tireleSs in his ar !
for the occasion. He was
ever ready to advise and to assist others
but never a word did his majesty drop
about his own costume. So much great
was the surprise of the distinguished
aSSemDldge when they beheld the En-
pcror in a monumental peruQuc, costing
3, 900 mark. stalking about and promenad-
ing with short, dignified steps up and
down the great salon. 1t was then given
out that his was the costume of his bald
ancestor. Frederick I. but in reality he
looked like Louis XIV. for ne initiated to
perfection the grandiose mimic of that
period before the Spanish heredity war
turned the lively and immoral court of
Versailles into one of Sanctimonious
plety. ruled over by the ultra-devout
maitresse of his grand majesty, the Nine.
de Mainsenon.
as a joke by the Kaiser. But II II was,
he certainly changed his ideas then and
there, for he not only personified.
but he actually lived the role. In short
he was the personified "Roi jSoleiI'' to
absolute perfection. II only that martial
twisted mustache with pointed ends had
not been there to make the imperiall
wearer a bit ridiculous in contrast with I
the many bows, embroideries, rushes
knee breeches, and lace tunnels of thatI
costume. Il has only recently transpired 4
that the Kaiser had himself photograph
I'd in this costume and in various poses
These highly interesting pictures were
guarded jealousy from becoming known
among the general public because the
Kaiser, who knows the caustic wit of his
only too well, feared-and
Justly soto be made the butt of their ,
altogether disrespectful remarks. But
mis- most intimate friends received copies
AZ, /