Mr. Roosevelt and family arrived in Berlin three days ago. Society was
on tiptoe with expectation. They talked of giving Arthur Nevin's
Indian opera, "Poia," in order that the ex-President should have the
thrill of seeing his compatriots in a German setting. This idea was
abandoned, though Count Hülsen had accepted the opera and at an
enormous expense had had it mounted at the Grand Opera.
The Kaiser received Mr. Roosevelt and was charmed with him, just as
Mr. Roosevelt was charmed with the Kaiser. Of course, who could resist
the magnetic forces of these two _dii ex machinâ_.
Ambassador and Mrs. Hill gave a large and all-comprising reception at
the Embassy in honor of their distinguished guest, which is much too
small to contain the entire society of Berlin and _embrace_ (I like
that word) all the American colony.
To gain a little more space they very practically turned the
_porte-cochère_ into a _vestiaire_, where we took off our mantles
before crossing the carpet-covered carriage-drive.
Mr. Roosevelt was most amiable. He greeted people with a cordiality
which bordered on _épanchement_--giving their hands a shaking the like
of which they had never had before. Mr. Roosevelt remained by Mrs.
Hill's side and smiled kindly at the guests as they poured in and out
of the _salon_. That was about all the guests did--pour in and pour
out. One could not expect even the most favored to exchange more than
a few words with the great man.
Our conversations were in the style of the reception, short and
quickly done with.
MRS. HILL: "This is Madame de Hegermann. She is American, from
Cambridge, Massachusetts."