William of Germany | Page 7

which the Emperor was
present, was held in memory of her.
"German feeling was further embittered against her by the Morell
Mackenzie incident, and to this day controversy rages round the famous
English surgeon's name. The controversy is as to whether or not Morell
Mackenzie honestly believed what he said when he diagnosed the
Emperor's illness as non-cancerous in opposition to the opinion of
distinguished German doctors like Professor Bergmann. Under German
law no one can mount the throne of Prussia who is afflicted with a
mortal sickness. For long it had been suspected that the Emperor's
throat was fatally affected, and, therefore, when King William was
dying, it became of dynastic and national importance to establish the
fact one way or other. Queen Victoria was ardently desirous of seeing
her daughter an Empress, and sent Sir Morrell Mackenzie to Germany
to examine the royal patient. On the verdict being given that the disease
was not cancer, the Crown Prince mounted the throne, and Queen
Victoria's ambition for her daughter was realized.
"The Empress also put the aristocracy against her by introducing
several relaxations into Court etiquette which had up to her time been
stiff and formal. Her relations with Bismarck, as is well known, were
for many years strained, and on one occasion she made the remark that
the tears he had caused her to shed 'would fill tumblers.' On the whole
she was an excellent wife and mother. She was no doubt in some
degree responsible for the admiration of England as a country and of
the English as a people which is a marked feature of the Emperor's
character."
This account is fairly correct in its estimation of the Empress
Frederick's character and abilities, but it repeats a popular error in
saying that German law lays down that no one can mount the Prussian

throne if he is afflicted with a mortal sickness. There is no "German
law" on the subject, and the law intended to be referred to is the
so-called "house-law," which, as in the case of other German noble
families, regulates the domestic concerns of the House of Hohenzollern.
Bismarck disposes of the assertion that a Hohenzollern prince mortally
stricken is not capable of succession as a "fable," and adds that the
Constitution, too, contains no stipulation of the sort. The influence of
his mother on the Emperor's character did not extend beyond his
childhood, while probably the only natural dispositions he inherited
from her were his strength of will and his appreciation of classical art
and music. Many of her political ideas were diametrically opposed to
those of her son. Her love of art made her pro-French, and her visit to
Paris, it will be remembered, not being made incognito, led to
international unpleasantness, originating in the foolish Chauvinism of
some leading French painters whose ateliers she desired to inspect. She
believed in a homogeneous German Empire without any federation of
kingdoms and states, advocated a Constitution for Russia, and was
satisfied that the common sense of a people outweighed its ignorance
and stupidity.
The Emperor has four sisters and a brother. The sisters are Charlotte,
born in 1860, and married to the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen;
Victoria, born in 1866, and married to Prince Adolphus of
Schaumberg-Lippe; Sophie, born in 1870, and married to King
Constantine, of Greece; and Margarete, born in 1872, and married to
Prince Friederich Karl of Hessen.
The Emperor's only brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, was born in 1862,
and is married to Princess Irene of Hessen. He is probably the most
popular Hohenzollern to-day. He adopted the navy as a profession and
devotes himself to its duties, taking no part in politics. Like the
Emperor himself and the Emperor's heir, the Crown Prince, he is a
great promoter of sport, and while a fair golfer (with a handicap of 14)
and tennis player, gives much of his leisure to the encouragement of the
automobile and other industries. Every Hohenzollern is supposed to
learn a handicraft. The Emperor did not, owing to his shortened left
arm. Prince Henry learned book-binding under a leading Berlin

bookbinder, Herr Collin. The Crown Prince is a turner. Prince Henry
seems perfectly satisfied with his position in the Empire as
Inspector-General of the Fleet, stands to attention when talking to the
Emperor in public, and on formal occasions addresses him as "Majesty"
like every one else. Only in private conversation does he allow himself
the use of the familiar Du. The Emperor has a strong affection for him,
and always calls him "Heinrich."
Many stories are current in Germany relating to the early part of the
Emperor's boyhood. Some are true, others partially so, while others
again are wholly apochryphal. All, however, are more or less
characteristic of the boy and his surroundings, and for