The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-18

willgetwell". CORINE GAUDREAU.
SOC. box, fo- $3.50, trial size, Csc.
AT all dealers or sent postpaid by Fruit
a-tives liz NY,
Mayors banquet.
Another favorite jibe of his was
one about the mad shipbuilders,"
which had reference to a British agi-
tation then going on Tor more dread
noughts.
The "Contelnptible" Army
Few German officers ever troubled
to conceal their opinion that Great
Britain was not to be regarded as a
military power in any sense of the
word, and that the standing army of
England was a joke compared to the
huge German war establishment. 1
heard expressed a hundred times the
very sentiment conveyed by the Kais-
er in his order for. the extirpation of
the "Contemptible little British Ar
N.Y." and the references never failed
| to stir my blood with anger.
When I ended my connection with
the Hof Club. my business began to
take me more to Western Germany.
1 found a new class of clients among
the wealthy manufacturers of West
| rhalia, and the students of Bonn, k!l
my time was spent more at places
like Koln, Dusseldorf, Essen and
Bonn. Finally I transferred my head
quarters from Berlin to Koln, or Co
logne, as we call it.
There I made acquaintance with a
new type of prominent German, some
of whom have played leading parts in
the war. I also acquired new expert
er ces of the Kaiser and his family
though my professional relations were
more with the liberal and wealthy
German industrialists than with the
close listed, -blooded Prussians
who formed my Berlin clientele.
I soon realized that the Hof Club
at Berlin had been diverted from the
purpose for which it was ostensibly
founded and was made to serve as
an informal meeting-place for all
sorts of officials, diplomatic and ad-
ministrative, where they could ex-
change experiences and possibly dis
crss negotiations without attracting
any attention.
Thus one group of three constant
| attendants consisted of Count Basse-
WITT, of the German diplomatic SER
wee, and brother of the Countess Ina
Eassewitz, whom Prince Oscar mar
ried morganatically; Count Dialrich
Lambertenghi, an attache of the Ita1-
ian Embassy; and an Austrian at
| tache who was a member of the Ho-
henloe family.
Sometimes these three would en-,
gage in a little perfunctory fencing
hut the greater part of their times
was spent in conversation sometimes
of a very earnest and contentious ma.
ture. I paid little attention to them
but I have often reflected since upon
the secrets of the Triple Alliance
; which must have been discussed un
: der the cover was so innocent1y ar
fording.
There were two topics OF open con
versation common to the habitues O.
the place-food and court gossip.
''Morger, was haben. Sic gestcrl
l gegessen?" Good morning; what die
l you have for dinner yesterday?) wa
1 the preliminary greeting, and whe1
E the glories of the roast goose, or yea
-, with sour sauce, had been sufficient
ly discussed, the talk shifted to tn
| ldleSl WILLIS anu NdSdI1SS VI III
J. Kaiser, and his freshest exhibition
I of eccentricity.
These stories, which seemed to M
I to differ from the Kaiser anecdot
= which were the current coin of Der
Il lin scandal-mongers, since the PEG
e PIE who exchanged them were real
5 ly in a position to know, very oftel
e concerned the relations between tn,
I y
y y Little Wilie's Lapse
= One of them arose from the dis
patch of Prince Henry of Prussia t.
Russia, to represent the Kaiser a
some ceremonial occasion there.
THE Kaiserin was deeply distress
ed because the Crown Prince hat
again been overlooked, and interced
ed most earnestly on behalf of tn
Heir to the Throne" explained tn
! narrator, "but the Kaiser was ada
mant. He declared:
Never again will I trust Wilt
with anything important. He behav
ed so badly in London that the visi
of the King and Queen of England
e is as far off as ever. and it will re
2 quire all the tact of Henry to Sc
! matters right there
This story is only one among doz
) ems of remarks 1 heard. all testifyin;
I to the extreme anxiety of the Kaise
2 to be honored in Berlin by a visi
E from King George and Queen Mary
There was much jesting speculation
as to whether the Emperor could in
y duce our King to break what wa
, called 'the tradition of King Ed
: ward" and the Importance attache
E to this matter was recalled to m
l mind later by the great satisfaction
y caused by the visit of our King an
4 Queen on the occasion of the mar
y riage of Princess Victoria Louise.
!, Another matter that constant
II cropped up in conversation was tn
y Gutenberg scandal, which seemed t
p have left IN indelible mark in tn
German court.
I gather that the Kaiser himse,
. never referred to it except upon on
:, extreme occasion. when the sem
hanishment of the Crown Prince t
= Dantzie and Konisburg was ordered
- On that occasion Won Moltke, tn
=. chief of the staff ventured to nlea
~ for the Prince, and averred that an
open humiliation of the Prince woul
= have a bad effect on the army, whe1
- he was admired.
A Furious Scene
- know what you are referring to-
SSS1zed the Kaiser, with a dark fIusl
, ~XeT mean that he acted as a spoke.
man in that x affair." He only dj