192 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XVII 



material for judging it, and with them I shall silently leave 

 the whole matter.&quot; He said this in a perfectly simple, 

 quiet way, which showed that he meant what he said. At 

 the time I regretted his decision ; but it soon became clear 

 that he was right. 



At the beginning of the year 1901 came the two-hun 

 dredth anniversary of the founding of the Prussian king 

 dom. Representatives of the other governments of the 

 world appeared at court in full force ; and, under instruc 

 tions from the President, I tendered his congratulations 

 and best wishes to the monarch, as follows : 



May it please Your Majesty : I am instructed by the President 

 to present his hearty congratulations on this two-hundredth anni 

 versary of the founding of the Kingdom of Prussia, and, with 

 his congratulations, his best wishes for Your Majesty s health 

 and happiness, as well as the health and happiness of the Royal 

 Family, and his earnest hopes for the continued prosperity of 

 Your Majesty s Kingdom and Empire. 



At the same time I feel fully authorized to present similar 

 congratulations and good wishes from the whole people of the 

 United States. The ties between the two nations, instead of 

 being weakened by time, have constantly grown stronger. As 

 regards material interests they are bound together by an enor 

 mous commerce, growing greatly every year : as regards deeper 

 sentiments, no man acquainted with American History forgets 

 that the House of Hohenzollern was one of the first European 

 powers to recognize American Independence; and that it was 

 Frederick the Great who made that first treaty, a landmark in 

 the history of International Law, the only fault of which was 

 that the world was not far enough advanced to appreciate it. 

 We also remember that Germany was the only foreign country 

 which showed decided sympathy for us during our Civil War 

 the second struggle for our national existence. 



I also feel fully authorized, in view of Your Majesty s interest 

 in everything that ministers to the highest interests of civiliza 

 tion, to express thanks for service which the broad policy of 

 Germany has rendered the United States in throwing open to 

 American scholars its Universities, its Technical Schools, its Con 

 servatories of Art, its Museums, and its Libraries. Every Uni 

 versity and advanced school of learning in the United States 

 recognizes the fact that Germany has been our main foreign 



