Since William II. of Germany ascended the throne as German Emperor and
King of Prussia, on June 15, 1888, the eyes of Europe have been fixed
on him. He has always been rather an unknown quantity, and he is
regarded by the powers as an _enfant terrible_. The press of the world
delights in showing up his weak points, and the "war lord" undoubtedly
has them, but, at the same time, he has qualities which are to be
admired and which make him conspicuous among the rulers of Europe.
He is popular in Germany, and it is not surprising, for, in spite of
being autocratic to the last degree, he is honest, courageous,
ambitious, hard working, and, withal, a thorough German, being
intensely patriotic. Indeed, if the people of the Fatherland had the
right to vote for a sovereign, they would undoubtedly choose the
present constitutional ruler, for, while the virtues we have named may
seem commonplace, they are not so when embodied in an emperor. One
thing which places William at a disadvantage is his excessive
frankness, which is, in him, almost a fault, for if he couched his
utterances in courtly or diplomatic phrases, they would pass
unchallenged, instead of being cited to ridicule him. His mistakes
have largely resulted from his impulsive nature coupled with
chauvinism, which is, perhaps, justifiable, or, at least, excusable,
in a ruler.
Since the time when William was a child he evidenced a strong desire
to become acquainted with the details of the office to which his lofty
birth entitled him. It is doubtful if any king since the time of
Frederick the Great has studied the routine of the public offices and
has made such practical inspections of industries of all kinds;
indeed, there is hardly a man in Germany who has more general
knowledge of the material development of the country.
In the army he has worked his way up like any other officer and has a
firm grasp on all the multifarious details of the military
establishment of the great country. He believes in militarism, or in
force to use a more common expression, but in this he is right, for it
has taken two hundred and fifty years to bring Prussia to the position
she now holds, and what she has gained at the point of the sword must
be retained in the same way. The immense sacrifices which the people
make to support the army and navy are deemed necessary for
self-preservation, and with France on one side and Russia on the
other, there really seems to be ample excuse for it. To-day the German
army is as ready as in 1870, when Von Moltke walked down the Unter den
Linden, the day after hostilities were declared, looking in the shop
windows.
No ruler, except possibly Peter the Great, ever gave so many _ex
cathedra_ opinions on so many different subjects in the same length of
time, and of course it cannot be supposed that he has not made
mistakes, but it shows that it is only by prodigious industry that he
has been able to gather the materials on which these utterances are
based. He is indeed the "first servant of the state," and long before
his court or indeed many of the housemaids of Berlin are awake, he is
up and attending to affairs of all kinds.
He is a great traveler, and knows Europe from the North Cape to the
Golden Horn; and while flying across country in his comfortable
vestibuled train, he dispatches business and acquires an excellent
idea of the country, and no traveler can speak more intelligently of
the countries through which he has traveled, and this information is
brought out with good effect in his excellent after-dinner speeches.
In speaking of the versatility of the Emperor, something should be
said of him as a sportsman. He has given a splendid example to the
Germans. He has tried to introduce baseball, football and polo, three
American games. This may be traced to the time when Poultney Bigelow
and J. A. Berrian were the Emperor's playmates. Fenimore Cooper was
one of the favorite authors with the young scion of royalty. The
Emperor is fond of hunting, yachting, tennis and other sports and is
never so happy as when he stands on the bridge of the royal yacht
Hohenzollern. He is a well known figure at Cowes and won the Queen's
Cup in 1891.
William II. was born January 27, 1859, in Berlin, and until he was
fourteen years old his education was intrusted to Dr. Hintzpeter,
assisted by Major Von Gottberg, who was military instructor. At this
time his corps of teachers was increased by the addition of Prediger
Persius, who prepared him for his confirmation, which took place
September 1, 1874, at Potsdam. As William was to lead an active life,
it was thought best to send him to the gymnasium at Cassel.
Orders were given that he and his younger brother Henry, who
accompanied him, should receive the same treatment as the other
pupils, and this order was strictly obeyed. He graduated from this
school January 24, 1877, just before his eighteenth birthday. After
this his military career began with his entrance as an officer into
the first Garde-regiment at Potsdam, that he might become thoroughly
acquainted with practical service. The young prince was assigned to
the company which his father had once commanded. After serving here
for a short time he went to the university at Bonn, and from there he
went back to the army again. Emperor William ascended the throne in
June, 1888, upon the death of his father Frederick III.
In 1880 he was betrothed to Augusta Victoria, Princess of
Schleswig-Holstein, and on February 9, 1881, they were married. The
Empress is about a year younger than the Emperor, and makes an
excellent mother to her four little sons, to whom she is devoted.
Their oldest child, little Prince William, the present Crown Prince,
was born at Potsdam, May 6, 1882. His father's devotion to the army
will doubtless prompt him to make a soldier of his son at an early
age; in fact, he wore the uniform of a fusilier of the Guard before he
was six years old.
The imperial family consists of seven children. The
eldest, the Crown Prince of Germany and Prussia, is Prince
Friedrich-Wilhelm-Victor-August-Ernst, born May 6, 1882. The second
child is Prince Wilhelm-Eitel-Friedrich-Christian-Karl, born July 7,
1883. The third is Prince Adalbert-Ferdinand-Berenger-Victor, born
July 14, 1884. Prince August-Wilhelm-Heinrich-Victor was born January
29. 1887. The fifth child, Prince Oscar-Karl-Gustav-Adolf, was born
July 27, 1888. The sixth child is Prince Joachim-Francois-Humbert. He
was born December 17, 1890. The youngest is a girl, Princess
Victoria-Louise-Adelaide-Mathilde-Charlotte. She was born September
13, 1892.
Our engraving is from the last portrait of the Emperor William, and we
are indebted for it to the Illustrirte Zeitung.
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