Show ull 1 i T. T t i ot tb the Seer Ot o gp Ite sA sAV q STARTLING EXPOSURE OF INNER KAISER KAISER AND CROWN PRINCE AS V Sa l TOLD BY COUNT ERNST VON TO WILLIAM LEQUEUX t l r nIAL NOTE IVOTi William reho Io- Io n a tb 1 to l who ho ho here chronicles for tor his hi iop ad Count Ernst Ernt von con eg et es revelations of the Inner Vl Imperial German court hay has hays the I J of e Vr e n recognized throughout Eue Eu Eu- s edO i r Tf as asI been the possessor of or Its Innermost e 14 t 11 bos Who ho I p ti says Rny of Ire L tie Ot RIe boa bos Intimate knowledge of en I service of Continental coun- coun counIs J and Dd Is considered by the govern go be 64 J t toe of ot Grent Great Britain nn authority on Another authority natters lUer says nays I III 1 the i i w people have been more cloudy closely ns ns- ns Poo od ted Uh or know more of the Inner machinery of Gerth Gerl Ger- Ger aPOi l 1 th ibah he be f L lit a n P probably Iv I more mor sources lEi i 71 Kret Information ion at nt his hi command commanded it pc ed 1 If say r contemporary In ll cl life nn and 1 1 Jut ast lx Y r p the hc British Got Gov- Gov Gov Go- se the tbt ll l at t ba has bas a r In able use ue of his hi I 1 this this' r of sr I i nation motion through e It dally calif ij- ij Or or- or lJ with TUh ep hk 1 as ns a n voluntary became Ine Into In- In an no coat t ton son J ro to tot to e of or LeQueux severn several years yearn prior tilt the J. J out outbreak brenk of the war he has hns been retirement In France since Mince in nit es r JI jn in q j lOli nod and It was uns there that Leq Let LeIt Le- Le ct It t e or ax received from the crown princes prince's l ar tt i pcr adjutant permission to tote felt L te to e public these revelations of the fr rt Hf IIII of the that that t rf democracies of the world might pe e to know the real but heretofore t Men a personalities of the two domi- domi S. S t memo of the autocracy they are areM M w arrayed against the rJ l 4 I cm II I he heI heTHE THE MYSTERIES h FRAU KLEIST NN N I N p D tt rt OF M ril HE clever Intrigues of Frau i T KI Klejst st were unknown to any tiny outside the court circle at Pots- Pots t f dam She was indeed a queer queen I Inage sage nage only less of a personage br r JSn his majesty as Prince Bulow Below t red to me one day as we sat ton to- to id her r In n my room in the Berlin BerUn f doss loss Fran Frau KleIst Heist was the court dancing I dress whose hose fastidious judgment h Kid tId d to be satisfied by any young debut debu- debu LI i t t ie e or 01 officer before they presumed rl tl dance before ro royalty at the state i Ms s. s Perhaps she was seventy Herral Her Heri i real rW age I never knew O Tt 17 Frau Kleist with her neat I 1 r nisi rist fIst and thin refined face was a aR R WY striking figure at the Berlin rt The intricacies of the minuet j i t i lad iad d gavotte garotte as well as those of the and dances in which she delighted delight delight- I f ed were taught by the old lady to toi i Prince Joachim and Princess Victoria Victoriaa 2 t a lose se both of whom alwa always s 's went in I f dI fear of her caustic tongue and andt t t overbearing manner n fTtie The emperor never permitted any t fencing at court which was not up to toI tot t high standard of excellence and all iho ho sought to dance were compelled I a to pass before the critical eye of the thet t I tongued old lady in her stiff f C lIken flUn gown a I I. I We Whence she h had ad come or who had M jf ht ken n r responsible for her appointment J h knew One thing was quite e that though at an age when wally lly rheumatism prevents agility let W she was an expert dancer p I IThe The old woman lived in considerable We rile Ie in a fine house close tp the bridge at Potsdam beneath 1 e Bab g a power to be reckoned I ith by all nil who desired to enter the 1 elan urt circle j I I Regarding her many strange stories Rere afloat One was that she was an I j dancer JJ-dancer the mother of the famous d f demoiselle Clo Clo Clo Durand P pre pre- re- re w iere danseuse of the Paris opera and aster nother was that she had been mis- mis J tress of or the ballet at the Im Imperial P PI tra i ia In n Petrograd in the days of the I I eror Alexander But so great a m Were her antecedents that no- no l' l knew anything for certain save i had tat at the age of nearly seventy she access at any hour to the kaisers kaiser's Private cabinet I have often seen her herPer herM Per per ier to his Ws ma majesty strange secrets hi M hl ch h the e she had picked up here and ande and andt t secreta that were often trans trans- W to certain confidential quarters Those TOSe ose at court who secured the be be- Je- Je hi smiles of Frau Kleist knew full tuut their future path In life Ilfe would bc be beof Je of II sunshine b but t woe betide those o n whom she knit her brows in dish dis- dis h vat Frau Kleist kePt her pretty the se and her big Mercedes car upon secret money ey payments she received reed re- re ed from those who vho for value ged ed her favors With m many young Aas i th the Payment to Frau Kleist I tr to Open Pen the back door to the emOt's emo em- em o Ot's 8 favor V Ye e in IC Ice Va kin this the Neues Palais New Palton Pal- Pal ton knew new it But surely It did not nott It t those 10 U us for tor all of us looked askance se who strove so strenuously and eri y for Uon commands to court unc- unc u it the tb and really we a were secretly glad gladh bl bled blede ell e h 3 of both sexes were well l a before the they Y were Permitted by Erna fra tore fore rna to make their obeisance be be- ro rOYalty the Is Palace world at every European nii n narrow arrow little world of its Win Unknown i and unsuspected suspected by the n the he J street There the them WO rat one sees side ot of f human m i nature without lt d ade de The n of ot the best or even nobler Tenh e salary grabber salary the military th co the P pinchbeck diplomat e to parvenu and ana the selen gether with their Jewel bedecked t womenfolk elbow each other in order to secure the notice of the highest till one who ln In n that upholstered green private room wherein I I worked with him often smiled at the unseemly bustle bus bus- tle while he calmly discriminated among g men and women according to their merits It is In that calm discretion that the emperor excels possessing almost uncanny uncanny un un- un- un canny foresight I know Frau Kleist has told me I were the words his majesty used on n many occasions when I had ventured perhaps to express doubt regarding some scandalous story or serious alle alle- gation gatlon Therefore I was confident that the seventy seventy- old year old dancing mistress I whose whose- past was a complete mystery master was an important secret agent of th the emperors And what more likely The kaiser as ruler of that complex empire would naturally seek to know the truth concernIng concerning concerning con con- those who sought his favor before before be be- fore they were permitted to click their heels or wag their fans and bow the knee in his imperial presence And he had no doubt with that innate cunning cunning cunning cun cun- ning appointed his i creature to the posItion position position po po- of court dancing mistress Emperors Emperor's First View of an Airplane On October 17 1908 I had returned with the emperor and his suite from Hamburg where his majesty had been present at the launching of one of Herr BallIns BallIn's monster American liners I Iwas Iwas Iwas was seated at the side table in his private room in the Berlin Schloss taking down certain confidential instructions instructions instructions in in- which he wished to be besent sent at once by one of the imperial couriers to the commandant of Posen Suddenly Von Kahlberg my colleague colleague colleague col col- col- col league entered with a message and handed it to his majesty The kaiser at once grew excited and turning to tome tome tome me said The uThe crown prince sends word from Potsdam that the American Orville Wright is flying on the feld fell We Ve must go at once Order the cars And Von inform her majesty at once She will accompany us no doubt Quickly I placed before his majesty one of his photographs photographs knowing knowing that it would be wanted for presentation to the daring American and American and he took up upp his pen and scrawled his signature across It Within a quarter of an hour three of the powerful cars were on their way to Potsdam the emperor with Herr Anton a a high German official officIal official cial at Constantinople and and Professor Vambery in the first car the with her daughter Victoria Luise and the latter's ober governess govern govern- ess with one of the court ladles ladies in inthe inthe inthe the next while in the third I rode with Major von Scholl one of the equer equer- 11 ries rles es On arrival at th the feld fell it was already growing dusk and a great disappointment awaited us The crown prince rode lode up to Inform us gravely that the flying was over for the day At this the kaiser grew angry for he had been out once once before upon a wild- wild goose chase only to find that Orville Orvllle Wright had gone home declaring the wind too strong At his fathers father's anger however Willie Willie WlllIe Wil Wll lie burst out laughing declaring that he was only joking and that all ull was In readiness Indeed as he spoke the aviator came up and I presented him to his majesty f Then while he stood alone in the center of the great sandy pl plain ln Mr 11 Orvilie Orville Orville Or Or- ville vilie Wright clambered i into his machIne machine machine ma ma- chine and rising made many circuits high above us The emperor stood with Herr Belt Reit schel and the shaggy old p professor straining his eyes with keenest interest Interest Inter Inter- est It was the first tIme his majesty had seen an airplane in flight Much 1 had been promised of Von Zeppelins Zeppelin's invention yet the German public had until those demonstrations by the American aviator taken but little heed of or the than heavier air machine At that time indeed the emperor had not taken up Von Zeppelin and it was only after seeing Orville Wrights Wright's d demon demonstrations mon mon- that he entered with any enthusiasm enthusiasm enthusiasm en en- into aeronautical problems High above us against the clear evening evening evening eve eve- ning sky wherein the stars had already begun to twinkle the daring American rose rost dipped and banked his machine droning like a huge gadfly much to the Interest and astonishment of the em em- Marvelous I he lie exclaimed as I stood beside him with the empress on his right How is it done The sight of a man flying in the air maneuvering his machine at will rising swiftly and then down with the engine cut off was one of ot the most amazing spectacles the loyal Potsdam- Potsdam ers had bad ever seen Even the emperor with all his dreams of world power could never for a moment have foreseen foreseen foreseen fore fore- seen what a great factor facto airplanes would be in war At last Wright came down In a steadied himself himself himself him him- spiral banked slightly self and then came lightly to earth within a few yards of or where we stood having been the first to exhibit to the emperor emperor- how completely the air had been conquered A LETTER FROM THE CROWN PRINCES PRINCE'S PERSONAL ADJUTANT TO WILLIAM LEQUEUX POSSESSOR OF THE SECRETS OF EUROPE Nadon par liar floret nur r et Seine February 1017 1917 My l dear deor I ha hoc have c Just finished reading the proofs of your articles describing my DIY life Ufe an OM on an official at ot the Imperial court at nt and the two or three small errors error you made I have hove duly corrected The gross grm and ond Wily Intrigues which I have related to yon you Were many of them known to your yourself ell for tor fm WI the Intimate friend of Luisa the ex-crown ex princess princene of Saxony you ou were before belore the war closely with many of those at nt court whose names appear In these theae articles The revelations re which I have hao made and which yon you hove have recorded here are but hut a n tithe of th the disclosures which I could make moke and If It the world orld desires more I shall Khali be he pleased to furnish you ou with nUh other nod and even en more startling details which you yon on mn may also niso put Into loto print My ly an nN personal adjutant to the German crown tn prince Is happily happily hap hap- at an nn end and now T with the treachery of Germany civilization civili lIl glaringly revealed I feel In my retirement no compunction In exposing nIl all I know concerning the secrets of the kaiser and his hip son lion With most cord cordial In greetings from Your sincere friend trIeD II Signed ERNST VON VOX Afterwards though it pit had now grown dark the emperor by the powerful powerful powerful pow pow- erful headlamps of the three cars thoroughly examined the Americans American's a airplane Irl lane the aviator explaining every detail From that moment for months afterwards afterwards afterwards after after- wards the kaiser was constantly talkIng talk- talk Ing lag of aviation He commanded photographs photographs photographs pho pho- of various types of airplanes together with all literature on the subject subject subject sub sub- to be placed before h him m. m Indeed he sent over to Britain in secret two officers to attend the airplane meetings held at D and Blackpool where a large number of photographs were taken and dul duly found their way to his table The Dancing Mistress' Mistress Visit I have recalled the emperors emperor's first sight of an airplane in flight In company company com com- pany with Herr Anton and Professor Vambery because of an Incident Incident incident In In- which occurred that same day Just before midnight the emperor was giving me certain instructions to be bes s nt to Carlton House Terrace when the door opened without any knock of permission and upon upon the threshold there stood Frau Kleist Have Hav I your our majesty's permission to enter she asked Of course of course replied the emperor turning in his chair Come ComeIn In and close the door It has turned quite cold tonight Well Vell he asked looking at her inquiringly The court dancing mistress hesitated for a second Their eyes met and in that glance I saw complete understand understand- ing lug May I speak In confidence with your majesty she asked advancing into the room Except the court ladies ladles she was the only female at court whom the sentries stationed at the end of the corridor allowed to pass to his majesty's private cabinet But Frau Kleist had access every every- where Her eyes were the eyes of the emperor Many a diplomat financier military or naval commander has been raised to position of favorite because he first secured the good graces of the ex And alas many a good honest man has been cast out of the Potsdam circle into oblivion because of the poisonous declaration of that smiling bejeweled old woman Of what do you wish to speak inquired inquired inquired in in- tHe tile emperor Of the affair was the theold theold theold old womans woman's low reply At her words the kaiser frowned slightly and dismissed me I bowed m myself self out and closed the door upon the emperor and his clever female spy That she should have at that late I hour come came from Potsdam for Potsdam-for for looking I down into the courtyard I saw the lights of her big JIg Mercedes showed Mercedes showed that some underhand work worl was in progress By handling as I did hundreds of secret reports which reached reache the emperor emperor emperor em em- I had learned much concerning Kerr Herr Anton and from old Von Donaustauf master of ot ceremonies I had also been able to obtain certain missing links concerning the intrigue a burly round faced fair fair- haired Prussian lan of quite superior type held the position of chief director of the Ottoman German-Ottoman bank In Constan Constan- His Ills |