DEATH AND FUNERAL OF THE EMPEROR FREDERICK.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7125, 23 July 1888, Page 6

DEATH AND FUNERAL OF THE EMPEROR FREDERICK.

The death of the Emperor Frederick HI. took place a* Potsdam on Jose 15th at twelve minutes after eleven odqck. During the early hours of the preceding Bight the Emperor's physicians reported the patient in a"comparatively favorable condition, but it was not until about four e'dock-in the morning of the 15th that unmistakable signs of the end began to appear. At that time the patient grew restless bat continnally weaker, and members of *be Imperial family were hastily sommoned. and remained waiting in an adjoini ok room in readiness to be warned thattheEmperor was passing away,but no immediate change occurred from that time "to ten tj'dock, when the following bulletin was issued: —" Jane 15th, 10 arm. —The Kaiser is now in a light slumber. Hβ wakes at intervals, is conscious, and jdves no indication of pain. His pulse aa'd breathing are very weak." Soon after the substance of the ten o'clock report was knewn came- the announcement of the Emperor's death. It created a great shock, although it had been for many hours expected.' The Emperor died without a ■trtggle, and with a placid face. The only minister present at the fatal moment was Menergonome, the Court chaplain, who administered consolation to the dying man. Of the Royal Family there were around the bedstead the Empress Victoria, the Crown Prince William, Prince Henry, PxSncess Vleioiia, Princess Frederick, Dowager Empress Augusta. Prince Bisjnarckji?r. More 11 Mackenzie and assistant j and many members of the Leasehold were also present. The room in-.which the Emperor died is not 10yds , from the apartment in which he was born. It-is of medium size. On the walls are portraits of the Emperor William, of all the Emperor's children, and half-a-dozen engravings of Frederick the Great. At the foot of the bed on an easel stood a portrait of the Empress. Confused accounts of the Emperor's last hours say that suffocation was averted narrowly : several times there were convulsions, followed by swoons. Nature gave' the sufferer but little rest during his last bonfn. The Empress held the Emperor's right hand, and the Crown Prince and Princess-stood on the left side of the bed. Witile life was passing away, the Emperor tu6k Bismarck's hand in his own feeble grasp and -joined it with that of the Empress as a token of bis desire for a reconciliation of all differences between his wife and the Prime Minister. Until late In the-afternoon of June 14th the Emperor wrote with a pencil on little square paper taUfte his- last wishes. He also wrote regarding some family arrangements, and added:—" 1 feel that Mackenzie has done alt human science, watchfulness, and skill coeld do to prolong my life, and I thank him. I have tried to do my duty to my God and my country, and feel that the cud Is sow nrar. God's will be done." The Sane laurel wreath that his father had given Frederick after the battle of Woerth wa* laid on- liis body, which, after a post mortem, was clothed in the uniform of a fleldjnarsjjal. Immediately after the Emperor's death'the Empress Victoria ran iram the- bedside, and taking Dr. Mackepxie's hand, said, " The tirst words which I shall speak will be to thank you tot having lengthened my husband's life." preparations for Srite balls, concerts and Other festivities in London were stopped, and the period of luuuruiug is prolonged for" some time its for a son of the Queen. A B-Omber.ot public and private entertainments were af o .-topped. A rumor wan current in Berlin on June Iflth that, despite the entreaties of his mother, the new Emperor caused an aujtopsy to be held on the body of the dead Monarch, the result showing that at the time'bC his accession to the throne, he was the victim of a malignant form of cancer. Under the Prussian constitution Frederick wae therefore ineligible to reign, and the widow's title as Empress Dowager was brdnght Into question as well as the legality of the acts of the late Emperor. Sir Morell Mackenzie now admits that Frederick's malady was cancer. A despatch of the 15th says Dr. Mackenzie bad made a statement that there ■wais a fistula at the base of the larynx, and pneumonia rapidly developed, and the Empress was informed by the doctor on Wednesday that he had abandoned all hopes of the Emperor's recovery. -In a final report on the dead Emperor's case tn&de immediately after death, and prepared by command of the Emperor William, Dr. Mackenzie said —"In my opinion the Emperor died of cancer of ''the larynx. He adds that a proper diagnosis was very difficult, as the disease attacked the cartilage of the larynx at the outset, and afterwards developed quickly In the lower part of the larynx." Another despatch says "Professor Bergmann made an external and internal examinaj tton of the .remains before they were arrpyed for lying in State. He found unmtstakcable signs of cancer in the larynx. The post vurrtem examination was confined to » dissection of the neck, larynx and lungs. In the larynx, which was found destroyed by suppuration, was a cavity abput the size of the fist. , *

' The Haiional Zeitung says the autopsy proved that the.larynx was completely destroyed by cancer, and that putrid .bronchitis existed. The painful serisatioh from which the Enperor suffered during the last days of life appears to'have been due to the collapse of the larynx, owing to the destruction of the caXtflage. ' The direct cause of death is given as paralysis of the tongr*». The yottmortem occupied one hour. Tae Emperor's coffin is of oak. covered with purple Tel vet,- and ornamented with gold handles and rails. In every detail it is like the casket of the Emperor William. The funeral services, which were held in Friedenskirche, on Monday, June IBth, ware of. a simple character, devoid of pomp and, to a great degree, of a mfiSsary character. The Imperial family attended special funeral service in the Jasper Gallery at 6 o'clock on Sunday, sod reqaiem services were held in Berlin churches at 7.30 the same evening.

By the Emperor's will, which was opened on the evening of the day of his death,- his body was buried in the grounds of the Palace at Sans Soucl, where hie children Waldemar and Sigismund are interred. The Bmperor lay in state in the room adjoining the one in which he died. It having been settled that the funeral vras.to be of a strictly private character. Tbrtf Imperial and royal relatives and representatives of the foreign sovereigns w<re admitted to the Church. No uraud preparations were made like those for the Emperor William's funeral. The representatives of Germany were notified to inform the foreign Governments that, owing to the limited size of the Garrison Church at Potsdam, where the .service ■was held, no large legations had been sent. The general mourning was limited to air week* and public amusement* were suspended for only two days after the funeral. It was a favorite idea with the Emperor that the public should not be deprived of their business or pleasure for any considerable space of time on his account. He hoped to live in the hearts of the people-as a beneficent not as a sorrowful memory.

The procession started at an early hoar from Frederichskrow Castle, bat the ceremonies attending the sepulture of the remains of the Emperor were not over before noon. The Empress Dowager Victoria eelected the service, which consisted of the singing of hymns and other religions exercisee. The obsequies were in express accordance with the programme, and the procession an epitome, as it were, of that Of the late Emperor William. An Immense and sorrowful throng witnessed the passage from Frederichskrow to Briedenskiche. At the latter place all pomp ceased. The ceremonies within were simple and plain, there was no attempt at display. At the close of the burial service there was a volley of artillery. The Empress approached the coffin and bade her husband a solemn farewell. Among the most observed in this procession were the Emperor William, the Prince of Wales, and the King of Saxony, who walked alter the hearse. The Count Ton Sol berg bore the Imperial crowja in the procession, Herr Makbach the sceptre, Don Lucius the orb, Count Ton Schellendorf the sword, Herr Friedberg the great seal, and Herr Ton Schold the electoral sword. General Yon Blumentbml was the Imperial standard bearer, supported by Generals Mesch and Winterfield. "Hie pail bearers were Generals Yon derGowaz, Yon Frescow, Voa OberniU, r.Tid Voa Pope, all of whom are Knights of Urn Black Eagle. The generals of the army carried the canopy and acted as attendants tothebearereof the insignia. Adetachment of'the military formed a striking feature at the procession, forming the vanguard and rear guards of the Emperor, Saxon King, Prince, and representatives of the foreign monarchies. After the followers of the Royal mourners came attaches of legations and various Imperial dignitaries. Ac th* church the Chaplain Koernen and a number of assisting clergymen <*<mdotted the services, in which the late EmperoVs desires and instructions were explicitly honored. The funeral address was made by the chaplain. As the final benediction was pronounced, salutes of musketry and artillery were followed by the resumption of the tolling of the Cathedral bells. " I know that my Redeemer liveth"

was eong as the chorale. Both at the Cathedral and the Castle Fredericskrow the scene was impressive beyond description. -