268 



The Review of Reviews. 



A NEW SKETCH OF THE KAISER, 



Approved by Himself. 

 The March Strand contains a paper on the Kaiser 

 as he is, " written by one who is in intimate personal 

 contact with the derman Emperor." and it " has been 

 .speciall}' approved by His Imperial Majesty." 



LOVE FOR THE ENGLISH AND THEIR QUEEN. 



The Kaiser \s, and always has been, a great asset for 

 peace : — 



He has a very great liking for England anil the English 

 people, and an alTection for the memory of the late Queen 

 Victoria that almost anioimts to veneration. He once said to a 

 group of his oHicers that the two wisest and best nionarchs that 

 ever existed were Queen \'icloria and his grandfather, the 

 Emperor Wilhelm I. " With two such grandparents," he 

 added, with one of his whimsical smiles, " I ought to make a 

 successful ruler." Ho frankly confesses that he has taken these 

 Iw'o as his models throughout his life. 



There is very considerable friendship between the Kaisei and 

 King George, and the two rulers exchange letters at frequent 

 intervals. The Emperor hopes that it may be convenient for him 

 to pay a short visit to this country every year in the future, and 

 it remains to be seen how far this will be possible. 



The writer says that the Kaiser has a passion for 

 letter-writing, and disdains the aid of the typewriter 

 for correspondence with his fellow-monarchs. He is an 

 extremely early riser, and often works late. He is 

 nothing like so methodical as King George. He will 

 take up half a dozen matters simultaneously, and deal 

 with them at one and the same time. 



A " POOR FINANCIER." 



The Kaiser is stated to be a very poor financier : — 

 Indeed, he frankly confesses that his knowledge of figures is 

 of little more than an elementary character, and that he is more 

 than a trifle bored when he is called upon to deal with them. 

 It is upon finance more than anything else that His Majesty has 

 disagreed with his Ministers. 



" Retrenchment," indeed, is a word that is anathema to the 

 Emperor, and neither in his public nor his private life does he 

 l>ause to consider the (xpense into which he is running. His 

 private income is, of ccurse, very considerable, but there have 

 been times when he has Leen distinctly " hard-up." 



At sea he unibends to a degree unknown ashore. He 

 is an enthusiastic musician, and has composed several 

 pieces himself. His private band on the llohenzoUcru 

 is one of the finest : — 



A few years ago, during a cruise, the Kaiser stopped su<idenly 

 and listened to a piece that the band was playing. " What a 

 horrible noise ! " he exclaimed, and sent one of his attendants 

 to discover the name of the composir. 'Ihe officer came back, 

 and, scarcely able to conceal a smile, he informed I lis Majesty 

 that it was one of his own compositiors. The Kaiser, the story 

 continues, frowned heavily for a moment, and then saw the joke 

 of it and laughed heartily, as did those about Wm. It w.as 

 noted, however, that the piece promptly disappeared from the 

 repertoire of the band. 



AGAINST VOTES FOR WOMEN. 



The person who has the most influence over his 

 political actions is his brother, I'rince Henry of 

 Pru.ssia. The Kaiser is one of the most pronounced 

 opponents of woman's suffrage. During his visit to 

 this country ht had paid constant visits to the 

 nursery of the Prince of Wales, and had given 

 many more or less useful hints to tho.sc charged with 

 the care of the children, and, speaking to Queen 



A new Portrait of the Kaiser, 



With his eldest grandson. 



■ 



Mary on votes for women, he demanded fiercci\ 

 " What can they know of politics ? " To which Q'ueen 

 Mary replied, " Just about as much as a man knows 

 (if the oiganisation of a nurserv and the rearing of a 

 family ! " 



A TUSSLE WITH RHODES. . 



A famous interview with Mr. Rhodes is thus 

 described : — 



The great South .\frican statesman deeply impressed the 

 Kaiser with his abilities and force of personality when they luid 

 their famous meeting to discuss the future construction of the 

 trans-African railway and telegraph lines. Rhodes tried his 

 hardest to get even the smallest strip of the hinterland of ^ 

 (German East .\frica ceded to Great Britain, in order to realise '" 

 his great ambition that the line from Cape Town lo Cairo 

 should run solely through jiritish territory. The Emperor was 

 inflexible upon the point, however, and ultimately a compromise 

 wns arrived at. " I will lind a way somehow," said Rhodes, 

 during the discussion. The Emperor looked at him rather 

 curiously. " There are only two persons in the world cniillcd 

 to say ' I will ' in that emphatic manner, and ! am one of tlieni.' 

 he remarked. Rhodes smiled broadly. " That is quite right 

 he retorted ; " I am the other one." 



The Kaiser is quoted as saying, " I never talk upon 

 military matters to the Duke of Connaught Ijut he i'' 

 teaches me something I did not know before." I, 



QUICK TO CONFESS A HASTY ERROR. Ij^ 



Queen Ale.xandra has described the Kaiser ofteij 

 lately as " having been more than a brother to he 



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