AT KIEL JUST BEFORE THE WAR
Kiel, situated on the Baltic, on the eastern side of the peninsula
of Jutland near the Baltic entrance of the Kiel Canal, is the
principal naval centre of Germany.
When the Germans decided to build up a great fleet the Emperor
used every means to encourage a love of yachting and of the sea,
and endeavoured to make the Kiel Week a rival of the week at
Cowes, the English yachting centre.
With this end in view, the rich Germans were encouraged and almost
commanded to build and race yachts; and Americans and others who
visited Kiel in their yachts were entertained by the Emperor
in an intimacy impossible if they had come to Berlin merely as
tourists, residing in a hotel.
In June, 1914, we went to Kiel as guests of Allison Armour of
Chicago, on his yacht, the _Utowana_. I was detained by
business in Berlin and Mrs. Gerard preceded me to Kiel. I arrived
there on Saturday, the twenty-seventh of June, and that night
went with Armour to dine with the Emperor on board the Emperor's
yacht, _Hohenzollern_.
In the harbour were a fair number of German yachts, mostly sailing
yachts, taking part in the races; the fine old yacht of Lord
Brassey, _The Sunbeam_, and the yacht of the Prince of Monaco,
in which he conducts his scientific voyages. A great English
fleet, comprising some of the most powerful dreadnoughts, had
also arrived, sent as an earnest of the good will and kindly
feeling then supposed to exist between Great Britain and Germany.
The redoubtable von Tirpitz was present on a German battleship,
and the Hamburg American Line had an old transatlantic steamer,
the _Deutschland_, rechristened the _Victoria Luise_,
filled with guests, most of whom were invited on a hint from
the Emperor.
At dinner on the _Hohenzollern_ a number of English people
were present. The Kaiser had on one side of him the wife of the
British Admiral, Lady Maud Warrender, and on the other side, the
Countess of March, whose husband is heir to the Duke of Richmond.
I sat between Princess Münster and the Countess of March, and
after dinner the Emperor drew me over to the rail of the ship,
and talked to me for some time. I wish that diplomatic etiquette
would permit me to reveal what he said, but even in war time I
do not think I ought to violate the confidence that hospitality
seals. However important and interesting, especially to the tame
Socialists of Germany, I do not give this conversation with the
Emperor, nor the conversation with him and Colonel House at the
_Schrippenfest_, because I was his guest. Conversations
with the Emperor which I had on later occasions were at official
audiences and to these the same rule does not apply. He also
invited me to sail with him in his yacht, the _Meteor_, in
the races from Kiel to Eckernfjord on the coming Tuesday.
[Illustration: THE EMPEROR'S RACING YACHT, AND OTHERS, AT KIEL.]
[Illustration: THE "HOHENZOLLERN".]
Sunday afternoon Prince Henry and his wife, who reside in the
castle at Kiel, were to give an afternoon reception and garden
party; but on arriving at the gates we were told that the party
would not take place. After going on board the _Utowana_,
Frederick W. Wile, the celebrated correspondent of the
_London Daily Mail_, ranged up alongside in a small launch and
informed us that the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the
Austrian throne, and his wife had been assassinated at Sarajevo.
There was much rushing to and fro in fast launches, the Emperor
himself being summoned from the race which was in progress. That
night we dined on board the yacht of the Prince of Monaco. All the
diplomats and notables whom I met during the afternoon and evening
seemed to think that there was no chance that the tragedy at
Sarajevo would lead to war. The next morning the Emperor left
early for Berlin, but expressly directed that the festivities
and races at Kiel should be carried out as arranged.
Monday afternoon there was a _Bierabend_ in the large hall
of the yacht club at Kiel. The Emperor was to have presided at
this dinner, but his place was taken by his brother, Prince Henry.
Sir Edward Goschen, the British Ambassador, who was living on one
of the British battleships, sat on his right and I sat on his
left. During the evening a curious incident happened. The Prince
and I were talking of the dangers of after-dinner speaking and what
a dangerous sport it was. In the midst of our conversation some
one whispered to the Prince and he rose to his feet, proposed the
health of the visiting British Admiral and fleet, and made a little
speech. As he concluded, he said, addressing the officers of the
British fleet: "We are sorry you are going and we are sorry you
came." It is remarkable as showing the discipline of the German
nation and their respect for authority that thereafter no German
ever referred to this curious slip of the tongue. The night was
rather mild and after dinner we walked about the gardens of the
yacht club. I had a long and interesting conversation with the
Prince of Monaco. That Prince, who receives such a large income
from the company which carries on the gambling rooms at Monte
Carlo, is a man of the world intensely interested in scientific
research: there is practically no corner of the seven seas into
which his yacht has not poked her nose in the search for material
for the Sea Museum which he has established at Monaco.
On Tuesday Armour and I boarded the Emperor's sailing yacht,
the new _Meteor_. The race was a beautiful run from Kiel
to Eckernfjord and was won by the _Meteor_. As the Emperor
was not on board, I did not get one of the souvenir scarf-pins
always given to guests who sail with him on a winning race. Among
our crew was Grand Admiral von Köster, subsequently an advocate
of the ruthless submarine war.
Eckernfjord is a little fishing and bathing town. Near by is
the country residence of Prince Henry, a rather modest house,
built in brick in English Elizabethan style. The wife of Prince
Henry was a Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt and is the sister of the
Czarina of Russia. We had tea with Prince and Princess Henry,
their family, the Duke of Sonderburg-Glücksburg and several others
of his family. The billiard room of the house is decorated with
the large original caricatures made by McCutcheon of the Prince's
stay in America. Prince and Princess Henry came out to dine on
the _Utowana_, and Armour and the Prince went ashore to
attend another _Bierabend_, but I dodged the smoke and beer
and remained on board. Before he left the yacht, I had a talk
with Prince Henry. He seemed most exercised over the dislike of
the Germans by all other peoples and asked me why I thought it
existed. I politely told him that I thought it existed because of
the success which the Germans had had in all fields of endeavour,
particularly in manufacturing and commerce. He said, with great
truth, that he believed a great deal of it came from the bad
manners of the travelling Germans. Prince Henry is an able and
reasonable man with a most delightful manner. He speaks English
with a perfect English accent, and I think would be far happier
as an English country gentleman than as the Grand Admiral of the
German Baltic Fleet. He has been devoted to automobiling and
has greatly encouraged that industry in Germany. The Automobile
Club of Berlin is his particular pet.
On returning to Kiel next day we spent several days longer there.
I lunched on board his battleship with Grand Admiral von Tirpitz,
sitting next to him at the table. He struck me then as an amiable
sea dog, combining much political and worldly wisdom with his
knowledge of the sea. From Kiel we motored one night to dine
with a Count and Countess in their country house. This house
had been built perhaps two hundred years, and was on one side of
a square, the other three sides being formed by the great stone
barns in which the produce of the estate was stored. Although
the first floor of the house was elevated about eight feet above
the ground, the family, on account of the dampness of that part
of the world, lived in the second story, and the dining room
was on this story. An ancestor of the Count had, at a time when
this part of the country was part of Denmark and about the year
1700, lent all his available money to the King of Denmark. A
crude painting in the hall showed him sitting in the hall of
this particular house, smoking a long pipe and surrounded by
three or four sisters who were all spinning. Our hostess told us
that this picture represented the lending ancestor being supported
by his sisters while waiting the return of the loan which he
had made to the Danish king, an early example of the situation
disclosed by the popular song which runs: "Everybody works but
father." Of course, no one ever expected a Prussian nobleman to
do any work except in the line of war or in governing the inferior
classes of the country.