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work。 The man is indeed fortunate who can go through a long



career without blame; and how much more fortunate if he adds



great achievement to blamelessness。 You have the singular



felicity of having been always a fighting man; and having gone



through life without a wound。







I congratulate you most on your physical and mental ability to



enjoy the rest you have chosen and earned。。。。







My wife joins me in cordial regards to Mrs。 White; and I am



always;      



            



Faithfully yours;                               



(Signed) JOHN HAY。











DEPARTMENT OF STATE;



WASHINGTON;







November 7; 1902。







DEAR MR。 WHITE:







I cannot let the day pass without sending you a word of cordial



congratulation on the beginning of what I hope will be the most



delightful part of your life。 Browning long ago sang; 〃The best



is yet to be;〃 and; certainly; if world…wide fame troops of



friends; a consciousness of well…spent years; and a great career



filled with righteous achievement are constituents of happiness;



you have everything that the heart of man could wish。             



       Yours faithfully;                     



(Signed) JOHN HAY。  







His Excellency ANDREW D。 WHITE; etc。; etc。; etc。











FROM THE CHANCELLOR OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE。



                               Wilhelm Str。 77。







MY DEAR AMBASSADOR:







On the occasion of this memorable day; I beg to send you my best



wishes。 May God grant you perfect health and happiness。 Be



assured that I always shall remember the excellent relations



which have joined us during so many years; and accept the



assurance of the highest esteem and respect of your most



affectionate                                         



BULOW。 



7 Nov。 1902。















CHAPTER XLIV







MY RECOLLECTIONS OF WILLIAM II1879…1903







At various times since my leaving the Berlin Embassy various



friends have said to me; 〃Why not give us something definite



regarding the German Emperor?〃 And on my pleading sundry



difficulties and objections; some of my advisers have recalled



many excellent precedents; both American and foreign; and others



have cited the dictum; 〃The man I don't like is the man I don't



know。〃







The latter argument has some force with me。 Much ill feeling



between the United States and Germany has had its root in



misunderstandings; and; as one of the things nearest my heart



since my student days has been a closer moral and intellectual



relation between the two countries; there is; perhaps; a reason



for throwing into these misunderstandings some light from my own



experience。







My first recollections of the present Emperor date from the



beginning of my stay as minister at Berlin; in 1879。 The official



presentations to the Emperor and Empress of that period having



been made; there came in regular order those to the crown prince



and princess; and on my way to them there fell into my hands a



newspaper account of the unveiling of the monument to the eminent



painter Cornelius; at Dusseldorf; the main personage in the



ceremony being the young Prince William; then a student at Bonn。



His speech was given at some length; and it impressed me。 There



was a certain reality of conviction and aspiration in it which



seemed to me so radically different from the perfunctory



utterances usual on such occasions that; at the close of the



official interview with his father and mother; I alluded to it。



Their response touched me。 There came at once a kindly smile upon



the father's face; and a glad sparkle into the mother's eyes:



pleasing was it to hear her; while showing satisfaction and



pride; speak of her anxiety before the good news came; and of the



embarrassments in the way of her son at his first public address



on an occasion of such importance; no less pleasing was it to



note the father's happy acquiescence: there was in it all a



revelation of simple home feeling and of wholesome home ties



which clearly indicated something different from the family



relations in sundry royal houses depicted by court chroniclers。







Not long afterward the young prince appeared at some of the court



festivities; and I had many opportunities to observe him。 He



seemed sprightly; with a certain exuberance of manner in meeting



his friends which was not unpleasing; but it was noticeable that



his hearty salutations were by no means confined to men and women



of his own age; he was respectful to old men; and that is always



a good sign; it could be easily seen; too; that while he



especially sought the celebrities of the Franco…Prussian War; he



took pains to show respect to men eminent in science; literature;



and art。 There seemed a healthy; hearty life in him well



befitting a young man of his position and prospects: very



different was he from the heir to the throne in another country;



whom I had occasion to observe at similar functions; and who



seemed to regard the whole human race with indifference。







Making the usual visits in Berlin society; I found that people



qualified to judge had a good opinion of his abilities; and not



infrequent were prophecies that the young man would some day



really accomplish something。







My first opportunity to converse with him came at his marriage;



when a special reception was given by him and his bride to the



diplomatic corps。 He spoke at considerable length on American



topicson railways; steamers; public works; on Americans whom he



had met; and of the things he most wished to see on our side the



water; altogether he seemed to be broad…minded; alert; with a



quick sense of humor; and yet with a certain solidity of judgment



beneath it all。







After my departure from Berlin there flitted over to America



conflicting accounts of him; and during the short reign of his



father there was considerable growth of myth and legend to his



disadvantage。 Any attempt to distil the truth from it all would



be futile; suffice it that both in Germany and Great Britain



careful statements by excellent authorities on both sides have



convinced me that in all that trying crisis the young man's



course was dictated by a manly sense of duty。







The first thing after his accession which really struck me as a



revelation of his character was his dismissal of Bismarck。 By



vast numbers of people this was thought the act of an exultant



young ruler eager to escape all restraint; and this opinion was



considerably promoted in English…speaking countries by an



ephemeral cause: Tenniel's cartoon in 〃Punch〃 entitled 〃Dropping



the Pilot。〃 As most people who read this will remember; the iron



chancellor was therein represented as an old; weatherbeaten



pilot; in storm…coat and sou'wester; plodding heavily down the



gangway at the side of a great ship; while far above him; leaning



over the bulwarks; was the young Emperor; jaunty; with a



satisfied smirk; and wearing his crown。 There was in that little



drawing a spark of genius; and it sped far; probably no other



cartoon in 〃Punch〃 ever produced so deep an effect; save;



possibly; that which appeared during the Crimean War with the



legend 〃General February turned Traitor〃; it went everywhere;



appealing to deep sentiment in human hearts。







And yet; to meadmiring Bismarck as the greatest German since



Luther; but reflecting upon the vast interests involvedthis act



was a proof that the young monarch was a stronger man than any



one had supposed him to be。 Certainly this dismissal must have



caused him much regret; all his previous life had shown that he



admired Bismarckalmost adored him。 It gave evidence of a deep



purpose and a strong will。 Louis XIV had gained great credit



after the death of Mazarin by declaring his intention of ruling



aloneof taking into his own hands the vast work begun by



Richelieu; but that was the merest nothing compared to this。 This



was; apparently; as if Louis XIII; immediately after the triumphs



of Richelieu; had dismissed him and declared his purpose of



henceforth being his own prime minister。 The young Emperor had



found himself at the parting of the ways; and had deliberately



chosen the right path; and this in spite of almost universal



outcries at home and abroad。 The OLD Emperor William could let



Bismarck have his way to any extent: when his chancellor sulked



he could drive to the palace in the Wilhelmstrasse; pat his old



servant on the back; chaff him; scold him; laugh at him; and set



him going again; and no one thought less of the old monarch on



that account。 But for the YOUNG Emperor William to do this would



be fatal; it would class him at once among the rois



fatneantsthe mere figureheads〃the solemnly constituted



impostors;〃 and in this lay not merely dangers to the young



monarch; but to his dynasty and to the empire。







His recognition of this fact was; and is; to me a proof that the



favorable judgments of him which I had heard expressed in Berlin



were well founded。







But this decision did much to render him unpopular in the United



States; and various other reports which flitted over increased



the unfavorable feeling。 There came reports of his speeches to



young recruits; in which; to put it mildly; there was preached a



very high theory of the royal and imperial prerogative; and a



very exa
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