The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe, Volume I.

쨄The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe, Volume I.

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe:
William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria-Hungary, Volume I. (of 2), by Mme. La Marquise de Fontenoy This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe: William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria-Hungary, Volume I. (of 2)
Author: Mme. La Marquise de Fontenoy
Release Date: June 8, 2004 [EBook #12548]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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SECRET MEMOIRS
William II and Francis Joseph
VOLUME I
[Illustration: WILLIAM II EMPEROR OF GERMANY _From Life_]

SECRET MEMOIRS OF THE COURTS OF EUROPE
William II Germany Francis Joseph Austria Hungary
BY
MME. LA MARQUISE DE FONTENOY

IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I
ILLUSTRATED
1900

PUBLISHERS' NOTE
The essential qualifications for an author of such a work as the present are an actual acquaintance with the persons mentioned, an intimate knowledge of their daily lives, and a personal familiarity with the scenes described.
The author of William II. and Francis-Joseph, sheltered under the nom de plume of Marquise de Fontenoy, is a lady of distinguished birth and title. Her work consists largely of personal reminiscences, and descriptions of events with which she is perfectly familiar; a sort of panoramic view of the characteristic happenings and striking features of court life, such as will best give a true picture of persons and their conduct.
There has been no attempt to trammel the subject,--which embraces religious, official, social and domestic life,--by following a strictly sequential form in the narrative, but the writer's aim has been to present her facts in a familiar way, impressing them with characteristic naturalness and lifelike reality.
To this task the author has brought the habits of a watchful observer, the candor of a conscientious narrator, and the refinement of a writer who respects her subject. Hence she presents a true, vivid and interesting picture of court life in Germany and Austria. If such merely sensational, and too often fictitious, unsavory tales as crowd the so-called court narratives expressly concocted for the "society" columns of the periodical press are not the most prominent features of the present work, it is because they receive only a truthful recognition and place in its pages.

WILLIAM II
AND
FRANCIS-JOSEPH

CHAPTER I
"If only Emperor William would be true to himself--be natural, in fact!" exclaimed Count S----, a Prussian nobleman, high in the diplomatic service of his country, with whom I was discussing the German Emperor a year or so ago. Then my friend, who had, a short time previously, been brought into frequent personal contact with his sovereign, in connection with his official duties, went on to say:
"There are really two distinct characters, one might almost say two personalities, in the kaiser. When he is himself he is the most charming companion that it is possible to conceive. His manners are as genial and as winning as those of his father and grandfather, both of whom he surpasses in brilliancy of intellect, and in quickness of repartee, as well as in a keen sense of humor. He gives one the impression of possessing a heart full of the most generous impulses,--aye, of a generosity carried even to excess, and this, together with a species of indescribable magnetism which appears to radiate from him in these moments, contributes to render him a most sympathetic man."
"But," interposed an Englishman who was present, "that is not how he is portrayed to the outer world. Nor is that the impression which he made upon me and upon others when he was at Cowes."
"That is precisely why I deplore so much that the emperor should fail to appear in his true colors," continued Count S----. "All the qualities which I have just now ascribed to him are too often concealed beneath a mantle of reserve, self-consciousness, nay, even pose. During my recent interviews with his majesty, whenever we happened to be alone, he would show himself in the light which I have just described to you. But let a third person appear upon the scene--be it even a mere servant--at once his entire manner would change. The magnetic current so pleasantly established between us would be cut through, his eyes would lose their kindly, friendly light, and become hard, his attitude self-conscious and constrained, the very tone of his speech sharp, abrupt, commanding, I would almost say arrogant. In fact he would give one the impression that he was playing a r?le--the r?le of emperor--that he was, in one word, posing, even if it were only for the benefit of