The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1919-08-12
(London Mail)

tLOn0On Mall)
AMERONGEN, Aug. 1.-THE eX
kaiser is qualifying as the champion
wood sawyer of Europe. Within the
last six months he has sawn up five
thousand fir trees into thirty thousand
blocks, and each block bears the date, |
number of tree, and his initials w. II.
No longer does the eX-emperor give
his photograph to those he desires to
honor; he presents them with block
Of wood nine inches in diameter and
two inches thick, sawn by the imper-
1al hand.
From 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock every
morning he saws diligently beneath
his favor1te fir tree, while the ex-
kaiserin reads the papers aloud. For
the first week or two Wilhelm did the
saving himself; but he now uses a
double handed saw and Is assisted by
a companion, generally his doctor.
The ex-kaiser is remarkably strong in
the right arm, and he takes very
hnman delight in the fact that he has
tired out every assistana he has en-
ployed While at work he smokes
three cigarettes, one each hour.
Has Periods of Deep Depression.
When Wilhelm is not saving he is
usualaly sulking. He has periods of
deep depression, and sits for hours
near a greenhouse in the grounds of
Count Bentinck's castle, speaking to
no one. Tugging fretfully at his Van
dyke beard, he conjures up memories
of what might have been, and these
dark hours are succeeded by fits of
temper.
A tired old man is the ex-kaiser of
today. The fire has gone from his
eyes and the ruddiness from his
cheeks, and despite his strenuous eX-
ercise he is putting on weight.
During the day he dresses in mufti
but for dinner he dons one of his gor-
geous uniforms, and with his small
band of retainers holds a mimic
court, thus seeking to recapture
glimpse of his past glory. After din
ner he talks with great animation.
and he has a disturbing trick of throw
| ing all his weight on the arm Of his
chair, and his toll Of broken chairs is
mounting rapidly. All his CORES
pondence is censored and his naughty
spirit chafes under his necessary re-
| striction.
AIrpIanes His Fear.
| His dominant fear Is airplanes. He
has conceived the idea that he may be
kidnapped from the air. and he never
ventures INTO lno STOuHuS "lIllOuI
| first carefully scanning the sky. The
other morning a Dutch airplane fly
ing over the castle gave him severe
| fright and he kept indoors for the re-
mainder of the day.
| His frequent companion is the little
dachsund "Senta," which still wears
the medal showing its taxes have
| been paid in Berlin. All the children
I in the village know "Senta," who has
| pronounced democratic instincts and
a weakness for chasing stray cats.
In we'll informed circles at The
Hague it is believed the ex-kaiser will
live and die in Holland. There is lit
tie probability, they think, that the
Dutch will hand him over to the
Allies, the Dutch laws holding that
political refugee is inviolate. He
would not be prevented from going
to Germany, his guards consisting
only of Dutch policemen. but he is
not likely to take the risk Of revisit
ing German soil. His present inten-
ton is to buy a house in the province
of Utrecht and several suitable res
idences have been inspected on his
behalf.
Never Leaves Grounds.
Wilhelm never ventures outside the
castle grounds, the walls Of which
have been heightened by boards to
prevent photographers from taking
snapshots The ex-kaiserin some
times takes tea at neighboring houses,
but she Is rarely away from her hus-