136 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SEEVICE-XV 



carriages, myself, in plain citizen s dress, on the back 

 seat ; my escort, in gorgeous uniform, facing me ; and my 

 secretaries and attaches in the other carriages, we took 

 up our march in solemn procession carriages, outriders, 

 and all through the Wilhelmstrasse and Unter den Lin 

 den. On either side was a gaping crowd; at the various 

 corps de garde bodies of troops came out and presented 

 arms ; and on our arrival at the palace there was a presen 

 tation of arms and beating of drums which, for the mo 

 ment, somewhat abashed me. It was an ordeal more 

 picturesque than agreeable. 



The reception by the Emperor was simple, courteous, 

 and kindly. Neither of us made any set speech, but we 

 discussed various questions, making reference to our 

 former meeting and the changes which had occurred since. 

 Among these changes I referred to the great improvement 

 in Berlin, whereupon he said that he could not think the 

 enormous growth of modern cities an advantage. My an 

 swer was that my reference was to the happy change in the 

 architecture of Berlin rather than to its growth in popula 

 tion ; that, during my first stay in the city, over forty years 

 before, nearly all the main buildings were of brick and 

 stucco, whereas there had now been a remarkable change 

 from stucco to stone and to a much nobler style of archi 

 tecture. We also discussed the standing of Germans in 

 America and their relations to the United States. On my 

 remarking that it was just eighteen years and one day 

 since the first Emperor William had received me as min 

 ister in that same palace, he spoke of various things in the 

 history of the intervening years ; and then ensued an epi 

 sode such as I had hardly expected. For just before leav 

 ing New York my old friend Frederick William Holls, 

 after a dinner at his house on the Hudson, had given his 

 guests examples of the music written by Frederick the 

 Great, and one piece had especially interested us. It was 

 a duet in which Mr. Holls played one part upon the organ, 

 and his wife another upon the piano ; and all of us were 

 greatly impressed by the dignity and beauty of the whole. 



