Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-20

king, although he was very conservative,
and he got on the wrong size or lie
struggle between Germany and Austria
and lost his throne thereby When ne
was crown prince and about twenty-five
years old he injured one of his eyes. and
a celebrated oculist named DR.. Crane
operated upon it. A slip OF MS knile
severed the optic nerve and the nent
went out forever for the King or Han
over The doctor committed suicide me
prince, who was a thoroughly pious man.
accepted it as an act of God. as pen
atty for his sins, and did the pest ne
could in the darkness. He had aireauy
been thoroughly educated at nome ana no
at an English university. He spoke All
the modern European languages fluentiy'
he had been a wide reader, was falnllar
with the best literature and the best pic
lures, SO that his memory OF what ne
had seen was q great consolation 10 MN
several hours with him every day. ana
he was thus able to keep up with the
times He took a deep interest IN pol
itics also, but never sy1npathi1eu wiz
the revolutions that swept over Germany
in 1S4S, when his father, Ernest Angus
FMS. was compelled to make radical con-
cessions in order to save his throne. hing
Ernest lived until 1851, when the nhno
man was crowned and joined the kHIs
of Prussia and Saxony in forming VIVA.
But he soon withdrew from that connec-
ton and allied himself thoroughly win
the conservative policy OF austria. ne
failed, however, to secure the suppoIt
of his parliament and was frequently
compelled to yield to them to avoid revo-
lutions. These concessions caused MIN
to adhere all the more stuopornly 10 nis
own conservative views. ana ZOE yea
he was at odds with both the ministers
and his parliaments. -.
losing
throne in 1862. when he attempted ~
impose upon the schools the use OF
catechism Of the seventeenth century,
which the liberal element beiieVeo was
long step backward. and for time q
revolution threatened.
Bismarck Planned an Empire.
There is no telling what would have
happened but for distractions In announcer
direction. Herr Won Bismarck, prime hih-
lister OF Prussia, had made up his MIND
ia create an empire out of the scattered
kingdoms and principalities of Germany.
and on the 10th of June, 1885, laid be-
fore Hanover. Hesse, Nassau. Frankfort.
Schleswig- Holstein, Saxony, Cassel and
Wiesbadep the outline of a federal con-
stitution, fntimating that il they did not
accept this peaceful offer they might De
compelled to do something more dlsagles-
able The cabinets of Dresden. Hanover,
Cassel and Wiesbaden declined and BIS
mark promptly proceeded to carry out MS
threat and whip them into line
Three days later the Prussian army
crossed the frontier of Hanover under
command of Gen. Won Falkenstein. and
marched straight to the capital. King
George mustered 1900 men. and on the
o7th a battle was fought at Langensalza,
in which the Hanoverians were vlctori-
~~plp
victory, and several days later. under
pressure from his ministers, the blind
king capitulated. His army was dis
banded and he was allowed to go to
Vienna, accompanied by several Of his
ministers and a military aid. Falken-
stein then moved on to Frankfort and
oyercame the other DIRECTORS to the Bis
marck plan. The north German fedora
ton was organized in August. 1866, and
in 1870 it developed into an empire.
to the cabinets Of Europe. but it solicited
no response, and he never returned to
his capital. He died in Hietzing.
suburb of Vienna. in 1873 and his son.
Cumberland. inherited his grievance and
his empty throne.
Widow Lives in Austria.
The widow Of George V, still known
as Queen Marie of Hanover. prefers to
reside in Austria, and has a beautiful
estate at Gmunden, near Salzburg and
Munich and not far from the Bavarian
line Her son Ernest Augustus resides
with her He married Thyra, third daugh-
ter Of the late King Christian Of Dem
mark, sister Of ex-Queen Alexandra of
England, Dagmar, dowager Empress Of
Russia, King George Of Greece and aunt
of Haakon VII. King Of Norway. One
of their daughters, Marie Louise. married
the Prince Of Baden: another. Alexandra,
married the Grand Duke Of Mecklenberg,
and the youngest, the Princess Olga. was
at one time supposed to c De the choiGe OF Of
believed by many that she rejected him
on account Of the family grievance
against the empire They spend most
of their time at Gmunden, but usually
visit Vienna and Paris every year dur
ing the social activities. and often spend
their summers in Denmark, but they
never appear at Hanover or Berlin.
The Duke OF Cumberland still claims
the throne Of Hanover. but has never
made any violent demonstration to obtain
1t. There Is party. composed chiefly
Of venerable members OF the aristocracy
at Hanover. which sustains his preten-
sions. but the mass OF the population.
originally to be annexed to Prussia. have
lost interest in the controversy. and are
not only loyal, bat enthusiastic. subjects
Of the kaiser.
Knew Thousands by Voices.
The blind king was in several respects
a remarkable man. He had all the keen
ness of perceptions that the blind devel-
op. He could always detect the location
of a person who addressed him; he knew
thousands of his subjects by their voices:
he was a fine orator and an accomplished
musician: he could distinguish different
flowers by their scents. and he rode
q from thu