Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1888 — THE KING IS DEAD. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE KING IS DEAD.

Death at Berlin of the Venerable Emperor of Germany. Pathetic Description of the Last Hours at the Bedside of the Dying • Ruler. Prince William Takes Charge Under an Imperial Decree Signed in November. The venerable Emperor William of Germany breathed his last at Berlin at 8 .-28 on tbe morning of Friday, March 9. The event was not unexpected, as he had been sinking for forty-eight hours. In fact he was so near death's door the day previous to the final collapse that his death was prematurely telegraphed from the German capital to all parts of the oivilized world. A Berlin dispatch dated at midnight of Thursday says: “An immense but silent crowd stood near the palace all day, notwithstanding the fact that a

cold rain was falling. The palace was guarded by cavalry. Business in the city was virtually suspended, and the theaters were closed. Divine service was held in the palace at 5 o’clock. All the members of the imperial family, the court dignitaries, and the members of the household were present. Hundreds of people stood bareheaded in the rain outside the palace and joined in the prayers offered by Chaplain Koegel. The Emperor fell into a swoon at 5 o’clock, and remained unconscious until 6 o’clock. He afterward fell into a quiet steep, which lasted till 7 o’clock. Wine and other liquid nourishment were administered to him occasionally. “Speoial services were held during the afternoon in the various churobes. All the edifioes were crowded and the congregations joined fervently in the prayers. Many persons sobbed. "The scene in the Kaiser s siok chamber between 4 and 6 in the afternoon of Thursday was impressive and affecting. At about 4 •o’clock his Majesty was quite given up. When he rallied from this attack some sixty persons were standing around his bod, among them being the Prince and Princess William, the Grand Dnko and Grand Duchess of Baden, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Swoden, the Prinoess Frederick Cbdrles and her son Frederick Leopold. Prince von Bismarck, Count von Moltke, and several ministers of state. The old monarch was full of fortitude. He felt that his end was near, but desired to utilize the last moments of life. Court Chaplain Koegel offered up prayers, in which the Kaiser joined fervently, and then he took leave of •everybody, speaking individually to many of thosD present. His mind was perfectly clear, and his ideas were quite consecutive. For nearly half an hour ho spoke with soarcely a pause, sitting np in bed. Then he lay down for a while, received some refreshment, and afterward again conversed with those around him. When he waß besought to husband his remaining strength the Kaiser made the characteristic reply : ‘No; I feel I have not much more time to live. I prefer to say all I wish to say.’ Addressing many of his remarks directly to Prince William, the Emperor went on to talk in minute detail of various civil and military affairs. He referred also to foreign matters and spoke of the relations of the empire to France. “1 am told that the effect of this marvelous recovery and no less marvelous discourse on his Majesty’s hearers was indescribable. The doctors were astonished at the display of strength. Meanwhile the room was full—-In-deed. much too crowded, and Prince Bismarck demonstratively drew back in order to keep •others from pressing too near the Emperor’s bedside. His Majesty did not exhibit the ■slightest fear of death. *

PRINCE WILLIAM AT THE HELM. A Royal Decree Investing Him with the Regency, The following imperial decree, which was signed on Nov. 17 and addressed to Prince William, was promulgated on Thursday: “Considering the uncertain state of my health, which compels me to temporarily abstain from the transaction of affairs, and in •view of the illness and prolonged absence of my son Frederick William, I charge your royal highness with all cases where I believe representation necessary in the current government business, especially signing orders, without a special order being requisite on every separate .occasion.’’ “

THE DEAD EMPEKOK. William of Hohenzollern’s Life and Work for the Fatherland. The Emperor William has won a place in history as one of the most illustrious of an exceedingly illustrious family. Throughout his public career, in length and eventfulness rarely if ever exceeded, he has displayed all the finer qualities of that remarkable race of rulers which—since its establishment in the Brandenburg marshes in 1412—has never produced an absolutely incompetent sovereign. The Hohenzollerns early won themselves a name for thrift, sagacity, and valor. These characteristics have been obviously transmitted from ,father to son throughout the whole history of the house of Hohenzollem, and they account for the extraordinary propensity of tue familv itself, for the steadily progressive increment of its European influence, and for the territorial expansion of its realm, which has, within the last two centuries, grown from a barren Mar.gravite into a gigantic empire. william's military career. Emperor William began his military career at an early age. Bora March 22, 1.97. It was on the Ist of January, 1807, when, crushed at Jena, Prussia had almost ceased to exist as an independent nation, that Frederick William 111., who, with his family, was living in the ipoorly furnished, half-ruined castle of Koenigsburg, gave his third son. Wilhelm, then 10 years of age, the commission of a subaltern in -the royal grenadiers, with the remark: “I give you this to-day in order that you may have a new suit of clothes to wear on your next birthday.” At Christmas’of 1807 he was commissioned as Secopd Lieutenant and at once began to learn the rudiments of his military duties under the instructions of Maj. Von Pirch. In 18J9, when the royal family returned to Berlin, the Prince' entered the city at the head of his company, and from that time he lived the snme life as other officers of the regiment. Delicate health prevented his going into the field with his father and brother in 1813, and in June of that year he was promoted to a First Lieutenancy. Then, in the following November, after the battle of Leipsic, he was commissioned Captain and ordered to the front to join his regiment. On the Ist of January. 1814, seven years after his entry into the service and at the age of 1/. be rode alongside of Marshal Blucher when the Prussian army crossed the .Rhine to invade fair France, At the battle of Bar-sur-Anbe, where he -came under fire for the first time, he was Intrusted with the reconnaissance of the battlefield, and he did this with so much coolness that his father gave him the Iron Cross (this ■decoration is only bestowed for military serv-

ice), while tbe Csor of Bat sis bestowed on him tbe Cross of St. George, an order of which be has been for a number of years the oldest member. HIS XNTRANCR INTO PARIS. Soon after this he was transferred from the grenadiers to the guards, and entered with the allies into Porlfc, an enterprise that he has since twice repeated. The second time was in 1813, after the Belgian campaign, in wnlch he took active part, winning a Major's commission at Waterloo. He did not remain long in Paris, as his regiment was ordered to Berlin to participate in the solemn festivals of victory celebrated in honor of the successes of tbe Prussian army. 'lhe revolutionary storm of 1848, bursting over the whole continent, compelled Prince William—who implored the King to make a determined stand against the Radicals—to seek refuge in England, making his fiight in the dead of night The future Emperor, whose palace in Berlin was only saved from destruction on the port of the infuriated mob by the inscription "national property," fled from his fatherland to England. After public excitement hod partly subsided the Prince returned home ana assumed his duties in the Prussian Parliament, to which, in tne meantime, he had been elected by a small constituency. The Deputy for Mersitz soon quitted Parliament, assumed command of the corps charged with suppressing the insurrection in Baden, and gave the first proof of his eminent strategetical abilities in the fight against tho revolutionary forces under Uecker and MieroslowskL REGENT OF PRUSSIA. His brother’s increasing infirmities necessitated, in 1858, Prince William's nomination as regent, an office he filled three years, until his final accession to the throne, Jan. 2, 1881. His bitter coufllot with Parliament respecting areorganization of the army—which was deemed absolutely essential by him fqr the maintenance of Prussia's powerful position In the European concert—kindled popular animosity against him, which did not disappear entirely until bis brilliant victories in the wars of 1888 and 1870 made him the idol of all Germany. The three years during which the future Emperor was Regent wore the turning point in the military history of Germany. Almost on the day when he became Regent Princo William called to bis side a staff of skillful soldiers to aid him lu creatiug the most perfect military organization that, perhaps, the world has ever known. Manteuffel was made head of the military cabinet, Von Koon was summoned to Berlin, and Von Moltke, he who resigned from the Danish army, was placed at tho head of the general staff. He still occupies his position, and is the sole survivor of the three great men who were then Wilhelm’s principal collaborators. The difference of opinion between the King and his ministers lod him, in September, 1662, to dismiss them and to intrust his government to Count von Bismarck. The new President of the Council had also formerly belonged to the feudal or conservative party. While at Frankfort he had learned to dislike Austria, and while at Paris he had seen through the aims and ambitions of Louis Napoleon.

THE BUILDING OF GERMANY. It is unnecessary to detail here the events of tho Franco-rrussian war of 1870-1. By reason of superior strength, discipline, and general, ship the German army achieved a succession of victories, which left France, for the time being, completely at its mercy. For tho third time Wilhelm entered Paris as a conqueror; and when he re-entered Berlin at the head of the army on the 16th of June, 1871, it was no longer as King of Prussia but as Emperor of united Germany. Since then he has devoted himself to the perfection of the military force of his empire. The most trifling detail of its armament, or of a uniform, was as interesting to him as were the general maneuvers in autumn or tbe mobilization of an army corps. Twice have attempts to assassinate the Emperor been made, once by Emil Hoedel, who, May 11, 1878, fired at him in the Avenue Unter den Linden, and again June 2, 1878, by Dr. Charles E. Nobiling, who fired a loud of buckshot at the Emperor, severely wounding him. A year ago the aged monarch’s 90th birthday received fitting recognition throughout Germany and tbe civilized world.

THE EMPEROR IN HISTORY. Emperor William’s reputation is pre-emi-nently that of a great military hero, and as such he will live in history. His claims to statesmanship rest chiefly on his remarkable sagacity in the choice of counselors and ministers loyal to himself and to tbe interests of the country, and his unswerving fidelity in sustaining them in their policy so long as it accorded with his own most intelligent ideas of the needs of the nation. Throughout hiß long career he has been a hard and tireless, as well as intelligent and successful, worker lor tbe building up of a great nation. He has set an example of all the strictly military virtues to the German army which has been productive of almost inestimable results. Similarly he has shown to the world, in his spotless family life, a model of conduct and demeanor eminently befitting a great ruler of men. Emperor William was married June 11, 1829, to tbe Duchess Marie Luise Augusta Katharine of Saxe-Weim&r, daughter of the Grand Duke Charles Frederick. His two children are the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Nicholas Karl, born Oct. 18, 1831, and the Princess Luise Marie Elizabeth, bom Deo. 3, 1838, and married Sept. 20, 1856, to the Grand Duke Frederick of Baden.

THE HEIR TO THE EMPIRE. A Dying Prince Who Succeeds to the Throne of Germany. Frederick William, familiarly known as “Unser Fritz,” whom the death of “Kaiser Wilhelm” raises to be Emperor of Germany, was bom on the 18th of October, 1831, in the new palace at Potsdam, and he is, therefore, in his 67th year. As a boy he was siokly and his life was often despaired of; but he grew up to be strong and manly. He certainly has, up to the present, had anything but a pleasant time in Berlin. He has nsver been able to agree with Prince Bismarck and his policy, and is not in sympathy with tne military party at the court, which knows that with his coming to power he would devote more attention to the commercial, intellectual, and artistic development of the empire, and endeavor to relieve the country as much as possible from the present burden of militarism. Not that he would weaken the strength of the empire, but he would certainly strive to bring Germany more into harmony with the progressive spirit of the nineteenth century. Hitherto. with the exception of the brief time in which he was made regent, after Nobiling's attempt upon the life of the Kaiser, he has been kept as much as possible in the dark as to the policy of the Government. In 1818 (Jan. 21) the Prince left Berlin for England, where he was to wed Princess Victoria. He was accompanied by the Print e and Princess cf Prussia, Princes Frederick Carl, Albrecht, and Adalbert, the King of the Belgians, and the Duke of Coburg. The marriage took place on Jan. 25, and prosy Baron Stockmar was made happy in seeing his plan of the houses of Prussia and England joined in more intimate relationship. Prince Albert wrote: “The young people seem to be heartily in love with each other, and the innocence and unsei-

fishness of the young man is very touching. Tears flowed freely. ” THE ORIGIN OP HIS MALADY. The Crown Prince’s malady is evidently of a hereditary nature, his grandmother, the beautiful Queen Louisa of Prussia, having died of

• cancerous tumor In tho neighborhood of tho heart. This fact ought to dispose of the rumors which seek to attribute hie disease to a disgraceful source. Never has a more unfounded charge been mole anl few men have ever ledpurer and more wholesome lives than “Unser Fritz." . PRINCE WILHELM. Life and Characteristics of the Eventual Emperor of Germany. Prince Wilhelm, the eldest eon of "Unser Fritz," will in all probability soon become Emperor of Germany. According to reports, seemingly reliable, his father s malady is fatal In Its nature and has reached such an advanced stage that hie death is expected to occur within a short time. The rule ot Frederick William over Germany, being regarded as almost certainly of very transitory duration, is not regarded with as deep concern as is the so m-expected accession of his son. Frederick will pro 1 ' vbly not outlive Bismarck and Von Moltke. Ti existing balance of forces, the serious disturbance of which is sure to precipitate a great European war, will doubtless rbe maintained daring his brief reign. But after Bismarck and Von Moltke have gone, and the affairs of the great German nation are in the hands of the

young Prince William, the case will become much more problematic. Naturally, not only throughout Germany, but all Europe, he has suddenly become au object of the greatest interest and solicitude. THE PRIDE OF THE MILITARY PARTY. Prince Wilhelm is only in his 26th year, and has chiefly distinguished himself as yet os a representative of the most objectionable type of the Prussian military “Younker." He is the pride of the military party, was a favorite of the late Emperor, and is the hope of Prince Bismarck, who, as is well known, has no great friendship for Frederick, as tho latter has no special liking for him. Frederick has little of the Hohenzollern spirit of aggressiveness in him. He believes the time has come for Germany to cultivate more the arts of peace than of war. He is particularly acceptable as a ruler to the non-Prussian states of Germany. He is not a believer in immense standing armies like his father or Prince Bismarck; he does not dream of | the eventful destruction of France, but would prefer to see his empire contesting in the realms of industry, science, and art rather than on the fields of battle. This has not been the belief of Emperor William and Bismarck. Both have believed that the power of Germany, which was won by the sword, oan only be maintained by the sword, and so they have trained up the Crown Prince’s son in a manner calculated to give him the spirit aud character of a Frederick the Great, They have succeeded so far in pro.

ducing a young man who hates everything that is not German, and who will be a Bource of danger to the peace of Europe should he come upon the throne. Every German who discusses the question as to what will be the result when he is Emperor says, “There will be war.” HIS EDUCATION. Prince William has been well educated and carefully trained He received private instructions in classic languages, mathematics, physics, religion, and gymnastics. He was then sept to the gymnasium at Cassel, where he passed his examination for the university with credit. He was then sent to Bonn, where he studied diligently and was very popular with the students, Joining with them in their entertainments in the Kneipen. A biographer of the Prince chronicles the fact that he not only loved military history hut ate black bread for his breakfast, and was in the habit of exchanging his white loaves for it on every opportunity. Like most German boys, he was fond of botanizing. He loved mounta.n-climbing and every kind of sport. He was recognized as a capital swimmer and very skillful on skated. He is also said to have Deen a great admirer of Hector, and liked to imagine the snow-ball contests in which he engaged as Homeric batties. It is recorded of him that he had a youthful passion for writing dramas and had them played by his fellow-students One of these productions was on the subject of Charlamagne in “Aix-la-Cha-pelle.” Ho also translated some of the odes of Horace. Finally he took his degree, and then leaving Bonn returned to Potsdam, where, in 1877. he was immediately placed in tne military service as Premier Lieutenant in the First Regiment of the Guards. his military bank. The Prince’s military rank at present is Colonel Commander of the hussars of the guard. He is very popular with the army, and doubtless has the capacity of a great General. From all reports he is very anxious to have an opportunity of proving himself a second Frederick the Great. At present, however, he is only a reckless, hot-blooded soldier, continually getting into scrapes. He married Feb. 27, 1881, Princess Augusta Victoria ot Schleswig-Holstein. His oldest son, Prince Wilhelm, was bom Hay 6, 1882. This child has now the prospect of soon being titled crown prince.. There was a curious prediction made years ago, in which the Emperor is said to have implicit faith. It was to the efleot that he would die at the age of SW and that his son would not succeed him. This Is said to explain the devotion ha fits always shown to Prince Wilhslm.

PRINCE WILLIAM, JUNIOR.