Dear L.,--The dear old King of Denmark came to Berlin to pay a visit
to the Emperor. He arrived the night before last. We went to fetch him
at the station. Johan was instructed to take rooms at the hotel for
the suite, but the Emperor begged the King to stay at the _Schloss_,
which he consented to do. The next morning the Emperor came to Berlin
and drove the King out to the Neues Palais at Potsdam, where there was
a luncheon. Johan said it was quite touching to see how tender and
affectionate the Emperor is toward the King. Johan and his secretary
were the only persons present outside the family. It was very amusing
(Johan said) after luncheon to see the young Princess Victoria Louise
and Prince Oscar, who went about with their fingers on their lips. J.
wondered why. The Crown Prince told him that his young brother and
sister talked so much that he had bribed them to keep silent for ten
minutes and had promised them a mark each. They got the two marks! The
Kaiser has great affection for the King. His speech of welcome when he
drank the King's health at lunch was very touching.
This afternoon the King came to take tea with us. I had not seen him
since the death of the Queen. It was a great pleasure to have him in
my house. He and I sat in the large _salon_, while Johan, the King's
adjutant, and a German gentleman attached to the King during his stay
here remained in the next room. The King only talked about the Queen.
I, who loved her so much, was all tears. His Majesty once in a while
would put his hand on mine and say, "You loved her." We had our tea
alone. He told me that the Queen's room in Amalienborg remains just as
she had left it. My photograph was on the mantelpiece in her boudoir,
and the cushion that I had embroidered for her was still on her
_chaise-longue_. Nothing there was to be disturbed.
As the King left I pointed to the portrait of himself he had given me,
which was hanging on the wall. I said:
"I prize this, your Majesty, more than anything I own, because you
gave it to me yourself."
"I was better-looking then than I am now. Is that not true?"
"Your Majesty is always handsome in _my_ eyes," I answered.
"Dear madame, you make me vain." And he took my hand, and the kind
King kissed it like a _preux chevalier_ of the old school.
As I followed him to the door he said, "Do not come any farther; you
will take cold. I will bid you good-by here." He is about eighty-five
years old, and as youthful in his movements as a young man.