Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-04-03
WHEN THE KAISER
PREACHED AT JERUSALEM
Some Astounding Revealed from Speeches of the Arch
While Visit in Holy City 20 Years Ago.

When the kaiser entered Jerusalem
nineteen years ago October 20, 1899,
the ceremony seemed to be a compound
whose only analogy Is found by eye
witnesses In their memories of Barnum.
A German band played and German
flags fluttered and the All-Highest
rode on q charger decked out like g.
crusader. The authority for this ac-
count is Mr.. Spencer Leigh Hughes,
now q member of the British Parlia-
ment, but then a newspaper cores
pondeni, and he now confesses that he
set few fictitious tales in circulation
which only the Paris press gave pub
lication. He told French journalists,
who promptly RECALLED their papers,
that when the Kaiser came ashore at
Halfa he tried to walk on the water,
having heard that this had been done
by some one else many years ago in
that part of the world" 1t was re-
ported that when he failed "he said he
didn't believe the tale t. Id about the
person A second tale was to the eff
feet that "the Kaiser entered JeruSa
lem on q donkey, while the people
strewed palm branches in the way and
shouted Hosanna.'" Paris, somehow,
was also provided with pictures show
ing the incident. Mr.. Leigh Hughes
now gives to the London Times the
TSAl 4AClS III tue case.
Ut was at about quarter
past three on the afternoon of Satur-
day, October 20. 1898, that this curious
specimen of pilgrim entered the Holy
City, armed to the teeth, escorted by
troops, with Turkish mounted police
thraShing out of the way such natives
as had drawn near. Some accounts OF
the event relate that he went in by
l. i.
case. To oblige their Imperial guest
the Turks had made breach in the
historic and immemorial walls of Je-
rusalem In order to save the Kaiser
from the trouble of turning an aWlS-
ward corner-an outrage that may
have satisfied his sense OF Kultur. 1t
may be thought that any reflections
cast on those 1898 proceedings have
been tinged by the fact that we are
now at war with the chief performer
and that what then appeared harm
less now seems offensive. That is not,
however, the case, for at the time
wrote an account of the event in which
| described the Kaiser as the only rival
OF Barnum, and in regard to the pro-
cession of German officers, Turkish
pashas, and the horde of hangers on, ]
then wrote Nothing like this has been
seen since Noah came out of the ark
''grhe Kaiser had arrayed himself like
crusader as seen in pantomime--hel
met, silk robe, and the other usual
trappings for the part He appeared
to be in q mood of exaltation, and sa-
luted with almost epileptic fury. In
deed, 1t seemed to Ile that he imagined
he had captured the city by the sword
instead Of arriving there, as was the
fact, as one of Cooks personally con-
Quoted tourists. | have sometimes
seen accounts of that imperial trip to
the Holy Land in which it is said that
the German thoroughness and effic-
iency were shown by the perfection of
the arrangements and by the manner
in which the time table was kept. All
these tributes to that perfection of ar
rangements are we'll deserved, but the
Germans had nothing to do with 1T, as
the whole business, including the pro-
Viding of money and the Catering and
transport, was in the hands of Messrs
Thomas Cook and Son, of Ludgate Cir
Gus, and 1t would be impossible to i'm
agine more British Institution than
that"
If the matter had been left to the
Turks Mr.. Hughes would not have seen
the show at all, for the Turks "do not
appreciate the press" But one of the
British correspondents had letter of
Introduction from the Prince of Wales,
afterward King Edward VII, and so
drew the Kaiser to announce that he
wished all facilities to be given to
Journalistic Permission came so late
that they had to hire special train
and they arrived at Jerusalem "a cou-
pile u hours before the curtain went
up"
What struck me about the Kaiser in
Jerusalem was his complete lack of a
sense of humor-a lack so complete as
to be hardly consistent with entire
sanity. The entry ceremony which l
have mentioned showed the truth of
the saying that there is but one step
between the sublime and the ridicu
lous. For it was really ludricrous be-
yond description and so were some of
his subsequent performances in that
city / have never witnessed anything
more really funny than his appearance
as a preacher III church in Jerusa-
lcp1 when he took mart in the dAdira