AMERICA, GERMANY, AND CHINA 1899-1902 193 



teacher, as regards the higher ranges of Science, Literature, and 

 Art, and I may be allowed to remind Your Majesty, that while 

 Great Britain is justly revered by us as our mother country, 

 Germany is beginning to hold to us a similar relation, not only 

 as the fatherland of a vast number of American citizens, but as 

 one of the main sources of the intellectual culture spread by our 

 universities and schools for advanced learning. 



Allow me, then, sir, to renew the best wishes of the President 

 and people of the United States, with their hopes that every 

 blessing may attend Your Majesty, the House of Hohenzollern, 

 the Kingdom of Prussia, and the German Empire. 



The Emperor in his reply spoke very cordially of the 

 President s special telegram, which he had received that 

 morning, and then gave earnest utterance to his belief that 

 the time is coming when the three great peoples of Ger 

 manic descent will stand firmly together in all the great 

 questions of the world. 



The religious ceremonies in the Palace Chapel, with 

 magnificent music ; the banquet, which included pertinent 

 speeches from the monarchs; and the gala representa 

 tion at the opera all passed off well: but, perhaps, that 

 which will dwell longest in my memory took place at the 

 last. The performance consisted of two pieces: one a 

 poem glorifying Prussia, recited with music ; the other a 

 play, in four acts, with long, musical interludes, deifying 

 the great Elector and the house of Hohenzollern. Though 

 splendid in scenic setting and brilliant in presentation, 

 it was very long, and the ambassadors box was crowded 

 and hot. In the midst of it all the French ambassa 

 dor, the Marquis de Noallles, one of the most suave, 

 courteous, and placid of men, quietly said to me, with 

 inimitable gravity, &quot;What a bore this must be to those 

 who understand German! (Comme ga doit etre en- 

 nuyeux a ceux qui comprennent I AUemand!) &quot; This sud 

 den revelation of a lower depth of boredom from one 

 who could not understand a word of the play was wor 

 thy of his ancestors in the days of Saint- Simon and Dan- 

 geau. 



During the following summer two great sorrows befell 



IL-13 



