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Show II KAISER'S PECULIAR CONDUCT. Admiral Von Tirpitz, in his book on the naval activities during the ; war, writes in a number of episodes bearing on the kaiser's life which indicate no high opinion of the former emperor s mental make up. Von Tirpitz relates events connected with the meeting of the kaiser and czar, when both were cruising in their yachts off Swinemund in 1907. The German imperial yacht Hohenzollern sailed past the rendezvous ren-dezvous set for the reception, contrary to arrangements. Von Tirpitz Tir-pitz says: It had been understood that the kaiser, on the Hohenzollern, was to lie at anchor and that the czar, on his yacht, was to sail through the lines of our fleet. But the emperor, in one of his impetuous moods, and doubtless doubt-less not unmindful of the theatrical effect lent by the combination combina-tion of a surprised czar and he marine panoply in which he made of himself the stellar figure, pressed me to sail the Hohenzollern on to meet the czar. If he had intended to surprise Nicholas, he accomplished his design in one of the hitherto unwritten seriocomic serio-comic episodes of European history. We sighted the czar off Kolberg. A high sea was running, but in spite of this the kaiser ordered the imperial barge to be made ready and, in the full uniform of an admiral of the Russian navy, started in the barge for the Russian imperial yacht, a feat of foolhardy seamanship which the Russians had not considered possible. Accordingly, no preparations had been made aboard the czar's yacht to receive him. It kept'close to the wind, and we could not understand why, or the elementary help that a ship can gie to a small boat at sea consists in the ship heaving to so as to form a protection While we were passing around the stem of the ship the kaiser shouted to bV. czar: "Nicky, won't you make a-lee" But the czar's yacht still lay to windward, and in a moment we saw the reason why. For the czar, still in undress, could be glimpsed through a porthole port-hole making frantic preparations for the reception that had been forced upon him too soon for Russian imperial dignity and ceremony. cere-mony. As we came alongside we noticed that the deck force was at attention, having been ardered by the deck officer to pa-I pa-I rade. However, the accommodation ladder, by which the I kaiser should have gone aboard with the usual grand ceremo nial pomp, was not let down. I Nothing remained but to go forward where a sea ladder of I ropes, for the use of the Russian common sailors, dangled down H I into the rough water. The kaiser was beside himself wtih rage. J! We saw the czar, by tins tme enveloped in his uniform, rush forward on deck, wliile those gigantic sailors stood as stiffly at fejj attention as corpses. Past their immovable ranks tripped the I l czar of all the Russians toward the sea ladder; far behind him, and realizing the faux pas to which they were unwilling observ- 3 9 crs and actors, came such high mosruls of the Russian aristocracy as Foreign Minister Count Ludendorff, Count Benkendorff, marshal mar-shal of the czar's court and cx-ambassadoi to England, and Count Fredericks. This scene put the czar out oi humor for the rest of the day. In fact, I noticed that whenever he met the kaiser in Russian surroundings he looked oppressed. |