AT HOME WITH THE KAISER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 30, 6 February 1899, Page 6

AT HOME WITH THE KAISER.

People who have a failing for facts relating to the domestic economy of the German Court, or for personal details concerning the more important personages of the Imperial household, will be hard to please if they do not find enough in 'The German Emperor at Home.'

'The Emperor and Empress interest themselves in the kitchen just like simple middle-class people. They give their orders every day as to what they will have for dinner. The Emperor William 11. has even gone further than his predecessors; he is the nrst Prussian King who has visited his kitchens under the guidance of the Marshal of the Royal Household, and has inspected them in every corner. It is even said—and nobody will be astonished at it—that he has thought it his duty to make a speech to the assembled scullions, so great is his desire to display himself and to discourse. In everyday life the daily expenses iare seven-and-sixpence a head; but for banquets, the kitchen allowance is twenty, twenty-four and thirty shillings, and even more, a head. The bills of fare for luncheon and dinner are looked at by the Empress, who makes the necessary alterations, and discusses with the head cook what dishes shall be prepared for the following day. When great banquets are coming off, the head cook prepares several bills of fare, and gives them to the Marshal, who in his turn places them before the Emperor, with the necessary explanations, until the Sovereign makes his choice and the menu is definitely settled. The Royal Family take three repasts "habitually. William 11. has a very good appetite. His first breakfast is an English breakfast. The Empress, under all circumstances, shares it, to keep her Royal husband company. Even when he has to attend a review and mount his horse at six o'clock—which makes it necessary to breakfast at s—the Empress appears at table and breakfasts with . him. Besides tea and coffee, there are generally on the tilble eggs, beefsteak, and mutton or veal cutlets. The second breakfast, or luncheon, which takes place at two o'clock, is composed of soup, a dish of meat with vegetables, a roast, and all sorts of hors-d'oeuvres. At this meal the Emperor and Empress delight in receiving guests. These are writers, persons belonging to the society of the Court, painters, sculptors, savants, and great officials —in a word, all personages known in the world of art, of letters, or of science.'