LATEST PICTURES OF THE KAISER.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1915, Page 9

LATEST PICTURES OF THE KAISER.

GROWN SMALL AND AGED.

«J^ he Berlin correspondent of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant" devotes an article to the Kaiser arising *v \°L hls birthday. He says that the Kaieer has become like a mythical person living behind the walls of mystery created by the headquarters. Quite recently, however, the correspondent visited a cinema, where a picture was shown of the Kaiser visiting the troops in the Eastern war theatre. . When his Majesty appeared on the screen a murmur ran through the house, "How small he has become." The correspondent says (we quote from "The Times"):— 'This was also my own very strong impression, which was still further confirmed this week on seeing a new photograph of the Kaiser—a striking portrait. The Emperor's features have become sharp. His cheekbones and nose, which appear much more aqulinc than formerly, spring sharply forward. His moustache shows up dark on the photograph, but the hair on the temples seems to come down white under the helmet. Everything that one, especially in caricature, formerly regarded in foreign countries as typical of the (face of the Kaiser has disappeared. A simple 'aged officer, staring earnestly in front of him —ihat is the impression which the portrait makes.

'"The well known Bavarian writer, Herr Ganghofer, has just given in the 'Munchner Neuste Nachrichten' a full account of a visit to the Kaiser. His impression is that the Kaiser is, indeed, somewhat aged, and the hair on his temples 'has become a little whiter.' he relates of the vieit does not make exactly the impression that the Kaiser is becoming bowed beneath events, but corresponds generally to the idea that people have formed of him ivhen they have been told that he has learnt to adjust himself to the situation, which, nowithstanding the very exalted qualities he possesses, must still be very painful. "Recently, however, I spoke to someone -who had been able to observe the Kaiser several times at headquarters. He said: 'The Kaiser's appearance shocked mc. The Emperor is old and grey, and has fallen away. He is visibly affected by circumstances. I.have seen him sa-sv wood (his daily amusement, in which he indulges here, and also at Potsdam), and it distressed mc to see him sit, working listlessly, and now and again staring fixedly in front of himself, lost in thought.'" The correspondent remarks that reports do not agree, and that, while he does not accept the most sombre accounts of the Kaiser, neither does he trust the stories to the effect that the Kaiser has never for years been so fresh, lively, and contented as now. Objective witnesses, such as photography and living pictures, offer a decided contradiction to this.