EDUCATION
Those ardent military Prussian educationalists into whose hands is given
the instruction of the tender princeling usually desire to develop in
their pupil characteristics approximating as nearly as possible to those
of the most famous Hohenzollern of his race, Frederick the Great; and
since, in their estimation, it was the harsh training of his childhood
and youth which stimulated into growth the splendid qualities of his
manhood, they strive to reproduce as closely as they can--of course in
harmony with the more enlightened ideas of the present day--something of
the same strenuous atmosphere and stern conditions which surrounded that
celebrated monarch as he grew up.
The ordinary German child goes to school at a certain age, and if he is
of average intelligence passes from one class to another according to
the rules laid down for him, securing every year his “remove,” working
steadily upward to his examination, after which he goes to the
University, or if of the working classes to the earning of his daily
bread until the age for military service; all is preordained, and one
step leads naturally to the next. In theory this is what happens to a
princeling of either sex, but the difficulties in the way are manifold
and subtle; chief among them being the multiplicity of persons
interested in his education, most of whom have, or think they have,
paramount authority over their pupil. Usually the parents of a child
arrange how it shall be educated, and kings and queens are no exception
to this rule, but it is the admittance of the State functionary into the
business that immediately complicates matters. Perhaps nothing is worse
for any young child than to perceive that there are differences of
opinion about his treatment among those whom he must obey.
A young prince, having reached the age of seven, is promoted from the
nursery to a room of his own, and instead of the ministrations of the
faithful, crabbed, tyrannical, loving old nurse, probably of English
nationality, who has washed and dressed and scolded him from birth, is
given over to the care of a well-meaning but inexperienced footman and
the supervision of a well-bred, well-educated, but equally inexperienced
young officer, who, imbued with stern Prussian notions of discipline and
a complete ignorance of childish needs, is prepared to do his duty at
whatever cost and to lay the first foundations of a training which shall
ultimately develop in his pupil the qualities of another Frederick the
Great. It is a position requiring much tact on both sides, but who
expects tact from a young officer? There is the royal mamma to be
reckoned with, for she considers that she has still some rights in her
infant, even if he be one day destined to wear a crown; and among
various other people let us not forget the tutor, full of theories on
education which he is yearning to put into practice.
The prince, then, is installed in his own apartments of the palace,
where he has his bedroom, sitting-room, and schoolroom, with suitable
accommodation for his governor, as the young officer who has his
education in hand is officially called, his tutor and his servants. He
is supposed henceforth, in the rosy dreams of the governor, to be,
except at occasional meal-times and perhaps a scanty hour in the
evening, entirely sequestered from his family, devoted to qualifying
himself for future renown in some one of the restricted careers,
military for choice, open to royalty. If the prince has brothers of a
suitable age they share his rooms, his governor, and his tutor, and are
encouraged to share his aspirations.
The tutor draws up a portentous _Stundenplan_, which, copied by the
footman in his intervals of leisure, is posted up in various conspicuous
places, so that there is no excuse for not knowing the particular study,
pause from study, walk, ride, or drill that shall be taking place at a
particular hour or minute. The hitherto more or less casual education of
the prince now gives way to a strictly regulated _régime_. He begins to
follow the ordinary curriculum of the German secondary schools, and
knows exactly what stage he has reached on the ladder of learning; for
every child in Germany, be he prince or peasant, educated at home or at
school, works to a certain universal standard which, whatever may be its
drawback, establishes a curious educational bond throughout the Empire
and is eminently characteristic of the nation.
The tutor, who usually resides in the royal palace, is of a type unknown
in England. He is a young man, often a _Kandidat_ for the ministry, but
by no means curate-like in mind or appearance; he has passed his
examination at a university (which does not necessarily imply a
university education), and gained his experience of teaching in one of
the Government boys’ or girls’ schools--for all State schools for girls
in Germany are managed and mainly taught by men. If he has had a
university education probably the only trace of it will be a disfiguring
scar on his face, relic of a student’s duel, of which he will be
inordinately proud; but if he is going to be a _Pastor_ the scar will be
absent, as well as the year’s military training which he would otherwise
have undergone--a distinct loss for any one who has in hand a prince to
educate.
A volume might be written on German tutors, more especially on those
employed in royal households. They are usually solemn, fleshy,
conscientious young men in black frock-coats and _Cylinder_ (top-hats),
who in a few years develop an alarming _embonpoint_, and after finishing
their work of implanting in princely minds a sufficiency of classics,
history, and mathematics, retire to other spheres of labour, provided by
courtly influence--spheres which they rarely consider to be worthy of
the services they have rendered. They usually know nothing at all of
sport, though professing to know a good deal, as in their vocabulary
sport is only another name for exercise: they fondly imagine that the
man who trots on horseback every morning round the Tier-Garten,
especially if he wears English gaiters and carries a hunting-crop, is a
sportsman, and consider any game “sporting” where there is plenty of
running--even if no demand be made on the courage, decision, quickness
or other mental qualifications of the players. They are unable to grasp
the sporting idea, which, after attempted explanation, they believe to
be a figment of the English imagination.
On the occasion of the thirteenth birthday of the Princess Victoria
Louise, she invited the pupils of one of the aristocratic girls’ schools
of which the Empress her mother is patroness, to have tea and games with
her in the lovely Wildpark, close to the New Palace. I was asked to draw
up a programme of sports for the occasion, as the games usually played
on former birthdays were stigmatized by Her Royal Highness as childish
and silly (“_kindisch und albern_”).
So a list of various obstacle and flat races was arranged, as well as
potato, egg-and-spoon, and sack-races (which I own I had hesitated to
introduce, fearing they were hardly fitting for the amusement of tender
female German aristocracy, but, under pressure from the giver of the
feast, had finally included in the programme).
A delightfully smooth grassy spot surrounded by magnificent fir-trees
was the place chosen for the revels. The day was ideal for a September
picnic--one of those warm, mellow autumn afternoons with magic melting
blue distances, when departing Summer seems to put on her loveliest
attire and most attractive mood before saying her final farewell. All
the mosquitoes--that plague of Potsdam in summer--had departed, the
fir-trees distilled their resinous balm in the sunshine, which played in
flickering light and shade on their red sienna stems and dark-green
masses of foliage; the beeches were beginning to turn a tawny yellow,
while there was a fresh sparkle in the air, exhilarating to the spirits
and peculiarly appropriate, it was felt, to the performance of feats of
skill.
Four _Kremserwagen_--enormous wagonettes, much in request on fête-days
in Germany--brought the smiling loads of happy maidenhood, all dressed
in their neat white-linen uniform dresses and sailor hats, to the
appointed place. There were seventy or eighty of them altogether,
besides six teachers. The proceedings began with tea, and immediately it
was finished the joyous crowd of girls, reinforced by some other young
princes and princesses who came accompanied by their tutors, two young
men wearing orthodox top-hats and frock-coats and a general air of
funereal respectability, began to play “tag,” “drop-handkerchief,” and
other games which they had confidently expected as a form of diversion
usual to the occasion. But they were soon stopped and told that a
totally new and superior form of entertainment had been provided for
them, founded on English principles, of which I was to be the organizer
and exponent.
Nervous apprehension took possession of my soul as, followed by the
radiantly expectant “_Backfische_,” I wended my way anxiously to our
_Sportplatz_. Here the hurdles, corn-sacks, and other material had been
brought from the palace stables by two respectfully-interested grooms,
who fondly hoped to witness the English sports from a suitable distance,
but were remorselessly sent away.
The ropes, red flags, buckets, eggs, spoons and other things were
regarded with excited anticipation and wonderment--especially the basket
containing the prizes, which, I may as well mention here, cost
individually not more than twopence each, collectively just eighteen
shillings--a sum afterwards refunded to us by Her Majesty the Empress,
who thought it “extremely cheap for so much joy,” providing, as it did,
more than ninety prizes.
By a subtly-arranged system of handicapping and consolation races each
girl, whatever her abilities in the domain of athletics, was eventually
enabled to obtain one of the coveted prizes, presented, it is needless
to say, at the conclusion of the proceedings by the little Princess
herself, who, an ardent devotee of sport, had competed with success in
many of the races, waiving, however, her right to a prize in favour of
her guests.
This untried excursion into the unknown turned out a brilliant success
from every point of view; the teachers, who had been formed into a
Sports Committee, with quick feminine intuition had immediately grasped
their duties, which they carried out with the greatest intelligence and
impartiality; the girls themselves were the keenest and most
enthusiastic I ever met; their achievements in the sack-race--won by the
young Baroness Irma von Kramm--must have been seen to be believed (“Is
this a usual English sport for ladies?” asked the head-mistress, as they
hopped screaming past the winning-post); but the only rift within the
lute was the attitude of the tutors, which, to say the least of it, was
decidedly chilly. Perhaps they felt uncomfortable in the midst of that
vortex of femeninity, or they may have been offended at not being on the
Committee, or that they were not invited in their manly capacity to take
the direction of affairs; be that as it may, they remained austerely
aloof, only occasionally interfering when some one fell down or seemed
likely to get overheated. One of more genial mood than his fellows had
stood near the hurdle in the obstacle race, and on its being knocked
[Illustration: THE CROWN PRINCE AND HIS HEIR, PRINCE WILHELM]
over had proposed to substitute in its place a rope, which, as he
pointed out, “could be easily lowered as each girl jumped it”; but his
suggestion meeting with no approval, rather with general derision as
likely to make a mock of competitors, he retired from all further active
participation in our gambollings.
The sons of the Emperor were unusually fortunate in their Governor, who
together with his military training possessed the broad-minded, more
tolerant liberal spirit of the age, and knew when to sink the martinet
in the man. He was able to realize that the formation of character is
first of all a development from within, chiefly moulded by the cast of
the minds that surround it--a growth of mind modified, not produced, by
outward circumstances.
The Crown Prince and his brother Prince Fritz remained only for a very
short time under his charge before going on to the university; but the
younger Princes were in his care for some years at Ploen, where I was
once invited to stay for a few weeks to give Prince Joachim lessons in
English.
The “Schloss” where the Princes lived was a large, bright, pleasant
country-house standing in pretty but not large grounds, bordered by
forest, on the edge of the beautiful _Ploener See_. From the
neighbouring _Kadetten-Schule_, where the boys undergo a semi-military
training, four to six cadets were chosen to share the lessons and
amusements of the Princes, always returning to the _Schule_ to sleep.
Ploen is a very small, primitive town, so small that I made the mistake
of calling it a “village” and was severely reprimanded by Prince Joachim
for my blunder. It had just one long straggling street, with a few
shops, and at the end close to the lake stood the _Kadetten-Schule_,
which had formerly been the residence of the old Danish Kings, some of
whose bodies lay in the crypt of the little chapel adjoining--a dismal
place, full of sarcophagi huddled together in mouldering oblivion.
As the boys were occupied all morning with their other studies, I, who
was lodged in the _Prinzen-Villa_ under the fostering care of the wife
of the private detective, had nothing to do till one o’clock; and the
Governor kindly allowed me to ride one of his two horses every
morning--fine big cavalry chargers, which fled away with me in a
light-hearted manner over the tree-shaded roads and fields, evidently
pleased at my light weight and determined that I should have a good
time. I had been allowed to bring my side-saddle from the New Palace:
“the very first time,” the Master of the Horse assured me, “that such a
privilege had ever been granted to any lady at court.” He jokingly said
he hoped it would not establish a precedent, and I said I hoped it
would. The stable authorities were always very amiable and courteous,
and anxious to gratify my taste for riding.
These morning excursions allowed me to explore a great deal of the
neighbourhood, which I should otherwise have been unable to see. All
this district of Holstein is rather flat, but beautifully wooded, with
many lakes which add a wistful calm beauty to the sleepy landscape.
There is something reminiscent of England in the farm-houses and the
hedgerows, which are never seen in Brandenburg, where the fields are
unfenced.
At one o’clock I was at the Schloss for luncheon, where I had to talk
English with the Prince and his cadets--charming boys, some of whom I
had met in Potsdam, where they lived. None of the tutors knew any
English, though one of them had evidently learned some from a book which
professed--without fulfilling its profession--to teach “without a
teacher.”
After luncheon the boys, including the Prince, who was then about
fifteen, all went with me down to the “island” which lay in the lake,
and where farming operations on a small scale were carried on.
A long narrow road led to the island, which was really a peninsula, and
there everybody, including the Prince and myself, engaged in the
occupation--it being the season of potato harvest--of digging potatoes
out of the ground and gathering them into heaps. The coachman and
footman and a young officer, a sort of deputy-governor, all assisted in
this work. Some geese came along and gobbled up the stray small potatoes
we threw in their direction, and the sun, reflected from the lake in
front, shone brightly on us as we toiled, girt round with potato-sacks
to keep our clothes clean. This participation in agricultural pursuits
is a part of the training devised by the Governor, but, as he himself
was not an agriculturist, I doubt whether it was really as beneficial as
it might have been. The propagation and development of seeds, the
rearing of young animals, and the study of their wants, would, I think,
have been less monotonous than this incessant potato gathering, which we
pursued nearly every afternoon while I was there.
At five, when the afternoon train to Kiel was seen in the distance, we
took off our sack-aprons and went home to tea, and I was free for an
hour or so, when I gave an English lesson to the whole class of boys,
which nearly always also included their Governor and the officer from
the _Schule_ who was teaching them English, a very pleasant, kind young
man, who sat humbly (metaphorically speaking) at my feet and was anxious
to learn all he could. They had been reading Dickens’ “Christmas
Carol"--everybody in Germany reads Dickens, and gets quite a wrong idea
of present-day English life from his books--but I produced Conan Doyle’s
“Adventures of Brigadier Gerard,” as being in my opinion more suitable
for boys, as well as more colloquial and military in tone. I never had a
class which hung so much on my words before. As they all spoke with a
very bad accent, I read to them myself, so that they could hear English,
and then we discussed the story and the meaning of obscure words and
phrases. They were very alert and intelligent, and soon became deeply
absorbed in the “Brigadier.”
Sometimes in the mornings after my ride I would walk with the officer
who taught English and converse with him, so that he might have the
benefit of my accent; and once he took me to the _Schule_ and installed
me in his class, to hear how he instructed his thirty boys there. He was
a most intelligent teacher, and spoke very correct English. It amused me
to hear some of the pupils reciting “Rule Britannia” out of their
English Reading-Books. It sounded like a derisive challenge as they
declaimed the poem with that clear, distinct utterance specially
cultivated in all German schools. I could with difficulty keep from
smiling to hear a young German piping its bombastic lines:
“All thine shall be the subject main,
And every shore it circles thine.
Rule Britannia, etc.,”
while Kiel, with its rapidly increasing war-fleet, lay only an hour’s
journey away.
But they were very pleasant and kindly, all those German officers; they
showed me their class-rooms, their gymnasium, everything that they
thought could interest me. If they knew only two words of English they
said those two; but as I was by that time a fairly fluent speaker of
German, we were able to exchange views without any difficulty. That
rather hard, harsh, overbearing Prussian spirit that one meets in Berlin
here seemed softened and humanized, and the atmosphere of the place was
not so rigid and mechanical as military institutions are apt to be. It
is true that the boys, whenever addressed, instantly fell into those
stiff, wooden military attitudes which are a little disconcerting to
unaccustomed people, squaring their shoulders, putting their heels
together and lifting up their chins; but when one got used to it it was
not so noticeable.
The general impression gained from the military ideal as applied to
education in Germany is that, while excellently thorough and practical,
it yet ignores too much those other world-forces due to science,
invention and discovery, which day by day are changing the conditions of
life among the nations--that it cherishes a spirit more suitable to past
ages than to present progress. It seems to breed up a class of men who
are earnest, loyal, and self-sacrificing, but express extremely narrow
views, who see and judge everything from a purely military, autocratic
standpoint, and are quite unable to sympathize with or understand the
aspirations of the normal human being towards personal initiative and
liberty of action.
Crushed as a nation a hundred years since, under the great Napoleon, the
members of this military caste are still ruled by the fear of despotism
from without, and ignore the despotism within of their own creation,
still fight ideas with physical force, hold the uniform as sacrosanct,
are overbearing, touchy, often (with, of course, many exceptions)
insufferably vain and spiteful. They realize most emphatically that they
are the masters, not the servants, of the German people; they are a
class aloof, apart, a class wielding tremendous social and political
power. Sometimes it seems almost a pity that Carlyle rediscovered the
virtues of that “iracund Hohenzollern” Frederick William I. So many
latter-day Prussians, without possessing his sturdy virtues, seem to
model their conduct on his, and try to impress the world by the more
disagreeable, rather than the more praiseworthy traits of his vivid
forceful personality.