Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-14

lieutenant leading a regiment be- |
Tor the war-lord in parade, a lieu |
tenant presiding at the state ban
quets in the officers mess!
"On another occasion, when the |
Russian craze had hold of him, he
issued an order compelling the Of
hcerS of the General STAFF to attend |
desk-work in riding boots. They
did so for day or two: but, find
ing 1T impossible to continue their
studies in this heavy accoutrement,
combined among themselves to dis
obey the command and resumed or
dlnary foot-gear.
Military Blundcrs a Nockcry
But the most thoughtless of all
his military blunders was his cabinet
order creating your grandmother"
tand the old Princess bowed with
mock courtesy toward the English
woman), Queen Victoria, Chief of
the First Dragons"
Young Mrs. Aribert." as Louise
of Anhalt was familiarly called at
Court, started up. and seemed to be
struggling for words.
Tut. tut" appeased Her Royal
Highness the little firebrand, plac-
ing one hand on Louise's knee. mo
disrespect to Her Majesty, 1 assure
YOU. The stupidity was all on my
grandnephew's part. He named the
First Dragons Queen of England
Dragons just one hundred and
eighty-two years, less two months
and twenty-nine days, after the
union between England and Scot
land went into effect and the realm
became officially known as Great
Britain"
Everybody in the room sat
speechless for while. until Prin-
| cess Aribert said, half -pleadingly:
But, dear aunt, the change in the
nomenclature that eventually had
to be made caused no great havoc,
trust"
on. no. replied the Princess,
His Majesty did not suffer the
least inconvenience on account of
that error; but the taxpayers who
had to pay double for the initials
attached to the shoulder-straps and
on the helmets doubtless felt
greatly edited by the blunder, and
so did the officers who for similar
reasons were several thousand marks
out of pocket"
Cheating Army Officers Like Ser
want Girls
| The Kaiser's invitations to the
festivities in honor of the late Kai-
| ser Wilhelm's one hundredth birth
day prescribed costumes of the end
or the eighteenth century, for 400
| young army officers, and during a
| reception at the Schloss, Princess
! RadZiwill spoke of the great diff
cultics that many army men en-
pcrienccd to procure the necessary
costumes.
'These gentlemen have had q
| months time to prepare for my
pageant, and l would advise more
TO be laggard in complying with
my commands" said the Kaiser,
haughtily. IF there are not enough
tailors and embroiderers in Berlin,
the work can be sent elsewhere"
with Your Majesty's permission,
it is not the lack of hands and
needles, but the scarcity of 'spon-
dulicks, that interferes. A great
: many of the younger officers, es-
pecially, can i'll afford to spend six
to seven hundred marks (S15O to,
$3.50 on uniform that becomes
| useless after a few hours wear"
And where did Your Grace ac-
quire all this valuable information"
resumed the Kaiser, bowling and ac-
centuating each word with a sneer.
Anywhere, everywhere. They talk
of nothing else at the clubs" Prin-
cess Marie's French blood was up,
II felt like repeating to him what
Pauline Metternich told the EN-
press Eugenie: i was born q grand
dame, and l allow no one to ironyze
me- ," she said afterward.
The Kaiser shrugged disdainfully
IF it is necessary to clothe my
guests, as we'll as to feed them, I
will appropriate twenty thousand
| marks TO help your impecunious
friends to pay for their costumes"
he said, and at once changed the
subject.
The promise had, however, been
! heard by everybody in the assem-
blase, and as all of us numbered at
least one poor relative or friend
among the four hundred officers. it
is not strange that the affair gained
wide publicity.
The news seemed to spread
throughout Berlin and Potsdam like
a piece of local intelligence. On
the strength of il, the young roues
I'of the Union Club doubled ;naii
stakes, and. the same night. "iTiI-
liam the -Bountiful's' health was
drunk i'm numberlcss mess rooms
and beer-halls by youthful members
of the aristocracy and army men
whose greatest care had suddenly
and Unexpectedly been lifted off
their shoulders by the Kaser's
words,-lifted to descend again. it's
weight doubled by chagrin and dis
appointment, in the course of a few
| weeks, for, to quote one of Will
helms nephews, The twenty thou
sand marks pledge proved to be an
illusion, If not something worse
snare."
Kaiser Drives Army Men Bankrupt
With reimbursement guaranteed,
as they thought, the officers COM
manded to the tableauX vivants
spared no expense in their costum-
ing. The most magnificent silks and
velvets, the costliest gold and sill
yer embroidery, were worn by
everybody, rich and poor. we
don't mind paying a couple of hun
dred marks ourselves in excess of
the kaisers allowance argued
these whole-souled young men.
THE result was the happiest-
for william: a display gorgeous and
luxurious far above expectations
And when it was over, the Emperor
expressed his all-highest satisfac-
tion, and went-hunting. He had
seemingly forgotten about the twen-
ty thousand marks, and no one dared
Ind n, 20 hi ,t..at