WILLIAMS WILLIAMSON. 



781 



Prussia, eldest son of tlie crown-prince of Prussia 

 (afterwards Emperor Frederick III. of Germany) and 

 Victoria, princess-royal of England, was born Jan. '21, 

 1359, and succeeded to the throne June 15, 1888, on 

 the lamented death of his father alter his brief reij.ru 

 of 99 days. His full name is in German Friedrich 

 Willielm Victor Albert. He received his early edu- 

 cation, military as well as literary, from tutors at home, 

 and in 1874 entered the gymnasium of Casscl, where 

 he studied till his graduation in 1877. lie was then 

 assigned to the 1st regiment of foot-guards, in which 

 he completed his military training under the professors 

 of the Potsdam military academy, and was soon made 

 colonel of the hussars of the guard, of the 1st Pomer- 

 anian regiment of grenadiers, and of the 2d Landwehr 

 regiment of grenadiers. ^On Feb. 27, 1881, he married 

 the Princess Augusta Victoria, daughter of the de- 

 ceased Duke Frederick VIII. of Sehleswig-IIolstein, 

 by whom he has four sons, the eldest, the present 

 crown-prince, having been born May i>, ]>s2. During 

 the hist illness of his grandfather, Emperor William 

 I., the present emperor (in the absence of his lather 

 in consequence of the malady of which he died) acted 

 as the aged monarch's representative, and at his obse- 

 quies again took the place of liis father, of whom he 

 afterwards continued to be the representative on im- 

 portant occasions. 



On the present emperor's accession the political 

 sky of Europe was much overcast. Both France 

 and R'is.sia seemed to be preparing fur war, and Ger- 

 many responded in the end of I.SS7 by an augmenta- 

 tion of the Landwehr and other reserve classes of her 

 army through extending the age of service, so that she 

 was in a condition to place 3,K5i),OUO men in the field, 

 while in February, 18,-SS. a further warning was given 

 to the suspected powers by the simultaneous publica- 

 tion of the Germano-Austrian treaty defensive and 

 offensive to which Italy shortly after gave in her 

 adhesion. In such conditions the military predilec- 

 tions of the emperor and his supposed strongly pro- 

 nounced character were regarded with widespread 

 anxiety. His first public act was an energetic address 

 to his army and navy. This was followed by an ad- 

 dre-s to his people iu which he pledged himself to 

 walk in the paths of his just and peace-loving father. 

 The ReichsUg met on June 25. and was opened l>y 

 William with much pomp. In his speech from the 

 throne he declared himself resolved "to live at peace 

 witli all uicn so far as in him lay." On .June 27 the 

 new king took the oath to the constitution before the 

 Prussian Landtag and again declared for a pacific 

 policy. In July and August he paid visits to the 

 northern courts of Europe Russia, Sweden, and 

 Denmark. In the beginning of October ho visited the 

 court of Vienna, whence he proceeded to Rome on a 

 visit to King Humbert of Italy. Before going to the 

 Quirenal he waited on the pope, and his Catholic sub- 

 jects drew good auguries from this. In September 

 there appeared in the Drnlsche Kiiinhcluin, excerpts 

 from the diary kept by his late father during the 

 eventful epoch of 1870-71, by which it was made to 

 appear that the consolidation of Germany into an em- 

 pire was due in a much higher degree to the late 

 emperor than to Prince Bismarck, to whom the orig- 

 inal oonoeptioa had been accredited. These extracts 

 are said to have been given by a confidant of Emperor 

 Frederick to l'iol'.>sor Gcffcken, who communicated 

 them to the Riinthdinii. The emperor, and Prince 

 Bismarck especially, were seriously offended by the 

 publication. Prof. Gc.ffckon was cast into prison but 

 w;is finally released, though ho had been threatened 

 with trial for high treason, the revelation of state- 

 necrets being a treasonable offence in Germany. Even 

 the ex empress became the object of obloquy as having 

 connived at the publication. She had returned to her 

 mother in England in November. 1888. and her son 

 appears estranged from her and full of antipathy to 

 England and English customs. In Germany this is 



popularly accounted for by saying that he attributes 

 the malformation of his left arm, which is shorter than 

 the other and hangs listlessly by his side, to his hav- 

 ing been brought unskilfully into the world by an 

 English accoucheur recommended by Queen Victoria. 



It is yet too early to speak with confidence of William 

 II. 's policy and character as a ruler. From measures 

 announced as about to be submitted to the diet in be- 

 half of industry and of the working classes, it is inferred 

 that he is opposed to socialistic schemes. His foreign 

 policy is indicated by his choosing for his special confi- 

 dant his war-minister, Count Herbert Bismarck, sou 

 of his great chancellor, Prince Bismarck. 



A somewhat severe ear trouble prevented him from 

 appearing much in public during the latter part of 

 1888. The emperors personal appearance is in his 

 favor. He stands nearly six feet high and is well built, 

 though inclined to stoutness. In complexion he is a 

 fair Tjlonde, though his hair inclines to a darkish 

 brown. His features are regular and prepossessing, the 

 eyes blue and honest and capable of smiling when he 

 is pleased, his mouth small, and nose demi-Roman. 

 When he stands, his left baud rests quite naturally on 

 the hilt of his sword, so that an onlooker would not 

 readily detect the deformity ; when he sits, it hangs in 

 seemingly soldierly fashion by his left side. Some 

 critics accuse him of coldness and unattractiveness of 

 manner and an aggressive bluntness in speech and 

 action with little reirard to the feelings of others. 



WILLIAMS, SAMI-EI, WEU.S (1812-1884), sino- 

 logue, was born at IJtica, September, 1812. He was 

 educated at the Hensselaer Institute, Troy, N. Y., 

 and went to China in 1833 as a printer for the Ameri- 

 can Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions. 

 He was engaged at Canton in printing and editing, 

 and also visited Japan for the same purpose. From 

 I si.') to IS48 lie resided in the United States teaching. 

 In 1853 he was made interpreter to Commodore M. 

 C. Perry's expedition to Japan, and rendered most 

 valuable service. In 18.05 he became secretary and 

 interpreter of the American legation at Pekin, where 

 lie assisted U. S. Minister VV. B. Reed in negotiating 

 the treaty of 1856. Returning to the United States 

 finally in 1876, he was appointed lecturer on Chinese 

 at Vale College, and became president of the Ameri- 

 can Bible Society in 1881. He died at New Haven, 

 Feb. 17, 1884. Of his various text-books and dic- 

 tionaries, published in China, the most important in 

 the Si/lliiliic Dicliiinrtry of the Chinese Language 

 (IS74). He is best known by The Middle Kingdom 

 (1848! but greatly improved, 2vok. 1883). He also 

 published Clu'iime Immigration (1879). See his Life 

 by his son. F. W. Williams (1889). 



WILLIAMSON, Hu(iH (1735-1819). scholar and 

 statesman, was born in West Nottingham, Pa., Dec. 

 5, 1735. His parents were Irish. After graduating 

 at the College of Philadelphia 1757, he studied the- 

 ology, was licensed to preach and admitted into the 

 Philadelphia Presbytery, but was never ordained, and 

 soon turned to secular pursuits. His abilities and 

 tastes were of such varied character that he found it 

 difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate on any one 

 field of activity; and. indeed, he attained distinction 

 in several which had little natural connection. He 

 was professor of mathematics in the College of Phila- 

 delphia 1760-3, then turned to medicine, and went 

 abroad in 1704 to study at Edinburgh, London, and 

 Utrecht. Returning to Philadelphia, he entered upon 

 successful practice, but his own health became im- 

 paired. Cultivating astronomy and other sciences, he 

 made observations on the transits of Venus and Mer- 

 cury in 1769, and studies of climate in 1770: these 

 were inserted in the TranMCtimw of the Philosophical 

 Society. He went to the West Indies in 1772, and 

 the next year to England to solicit funds for an 

 academy at Newark, Del. The political feeling against 

 the colonies prevented success for such a mission. 

 Questioned before the Privy Council ia February, 



