Evening star., 1923-04-07
Ex-Kaiser William Irritates Relatives
In Conferring Order On Present Wife

! ish commander on his return to Con
Stantinople met with his death by
means of the bowstring, while EN-
press GATHERINGS jewels passed into
the treasury of the terribly indignant
sultan, where they remained until the
first OF the several visits paid by eX-
Emperor William to the Golden Horn.
What happened then is given here
on the authority of the late Prof.
vambrey, the celebrated Hungarian
historian and explorer, who was on
terms of the utmost intimacy with
Sultan Abdul Hamid, and who was
summoned by him from Budapest to
act as Interpreter between himself
and the kaiser. 1t seems the latter re-
peatedly expressed the desire to see
Empress GATHERINGS jewels. Finally,
the sultan had no alternative, but to
yield with a rather Ill grace, and
with manifest reluctance. They were
brought for the purpose of inspection
from the imperial treasury in the
old seraglio. When William saw them
he admired them with so much en-
thusiasm and fervor that Sultan
Abdul Hamid bent at the time upon
securing Germany's support in his
difficulties with the other great pow
ers of the concert of Europe, felt
present the entire collection to the
kaiser, or rather to. the kaiserin as
memento of her visit to Stamboul.
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While the empress seemed to be
disposed to demur at the gift because
of its enormous value, William made
no difficulty about accepting it and
carried off the entire collection OF
Empress GATHERINGS jewels to Berlin.
where they remained until the be-
ginning Of the great war. Then the
Russian armies, when they penetrated
80 far into Germany in the early
stages of the conflict, were deter
mined to recover them from Berlin
and to bring them back to where
they belonged-namely, to Petrograd.
Of course, the kaiser possession
of Empress GATHERINGS jewels was,
throughout his reign, a source of
Irritation against him, not only on
the part of the court OF Petrograd,
but also among the Russian people.
If as ts feared, the .ex-kaiser may
have transferred these Russian crown
Jewels to his present wife IL would
account for q great deal--not only for
the utterly repellent marriage which
she contracted last year, but also for
the recent independence or her atti-
tude and for her leaving him for g.
stay of two months or more in Ger
many, after having driven all his for
mer cronies and most devoted and
loyal retainers from his side. In
deed, it is q very lonely ex-kaiSer
whom she has left at Doorn.
y X y
It may be added that Peter the
Great, in recognition OF Empress
GATHERINGS sacrifice Of her jewels and
of her successful ingenuity in saving
both him and his army from annihila-
tion by the Turks on the River Pruth,
founded, in I'LL, the Order of ST,
Catherine, of which she was the
grand mistress. 1t was an order re-
stricted to the imperial princesses of
the reigning house OF Russia, to for
eign ladies' of sovereign rank and to
a very limited number indeed of
women of the very highest rank of
the Russian nobility-not more than
a dozen at the most. Its last recipient
before the overthrow OF the monarchy
In the spring Of 1917 was the late
Lady Georgina Buchanan. the only
foreign ambassadress to have ever
been thus honored, and which was
bestowed upon her as a unique to-
ken of the gratitude Of. Nicholas II
for the loyal friendship and support
which he and his family had received :,
until the very. last from Sir George
Buchanan and his wife. That in it
self disposes of the lies of the no
torious Princess Paley in the Revue
de Paris Of the alleged enmity OF the
Buchanans toward the late car.