GREAT AMBASSADOR ON GERMAN PEOPLE

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6883, 12 April 1929, Page 9

GREAT AMBASSADOR ON GERMAN PEOPLE

Stoicism and Late Hours

HOW EX-KAISER WAS KEPT GOOD TEMPERED.

Lord D’Abernon is one of the most J remarkable men of our time. He is re- ( membered in Turkey and Egypt' as a 1 financial authority, in other parts of J the Near East as an administrator; in Athens as the author of a grammar of modern Greek, which is in use at the university there; in Germany as the J British Ambassador who served his ' country with marked success at a critical time, and here in England as chairman of ' the Board of Liquor Control, . which sent a wave of temperance over the country-let us hope it will be a ■ continuous wave—without introducing ■ the evils wdiich have followed prohibi- 1 tion in America; as a keen sportsman, and as a tactful, sensible, and well- 1 balanced gentleman. Lord D’Abernon’s experience of foreign affairs is as remarkable as that 1 of the famous Lord Dufferin. His most • difficult task was undoubtedly that < with which he was faced in June, 1920, when Lord Curzor invited him to un- ; dertalce the post of Ambassador to Berlin. DM ho know German well? inquired Curzon. “No,” replied Lord D’Abernon, “I am able to read German, but have no knowledge sufficient to carry on a discussion in that language.” The language, however, seems to have presented no difficulty, for the following day D’Abernon, at the age of sixty-three, was appointed to ono of the most difficult posts a British diplomat has ever been asked to fill. The story of his post-war experiences as a diplomat Lord D’Abernon tells for us in “An Ambassador of Peace,” the first volume of which has just been published. The Cause of Peace. The ordinary reader will probably find Lord D’Abernon’s personal sketches of bis fellow diplomats and statesmen the most interesting, but there are one or two passages which all of us—whether we are interested in politics or not —would do well to consider. Thus, it is Lord D’Abernnn’s opinion that since the -war the cause of peace hias, in Europe at any rate, materially progressed:— Anyono who will contrast the condition of public opinion in Western Europe to-day with that -which prevailed from 1920 to 1923 will realise how vast tho progress has been. It would be rash to assert that permanent pacification has been ensured; but a real improvement of the immediate situation has boon achieved, while the prospect for tho more distant, future is far less menacing than it appeared a few years- ago. A stronger claim might indeed be advanced without overstatement. Lord Cnrzon's Blind Spot. There are. some delightful passages here about the late Lord Curzon and his protective covering of pomposity:— “ Curzon’s unique achievement was to combine this pomposity with humour. No one was naturally more pompous, but no one had a keener appreciation of the ludicrous side of things. This went so far that he saw the laughable aspect of everything except of his own attitude towards life. This remained unaltered to the end.”' Lord D’Abernon has an intense admiration for the Germans of to-day, of whom he tells us:— “Their capacity for work may be remarkable, but it is not more remarkable than their capacity for late "hours, heavily charged with meat and drink. Officials and business men will sit up till three and four in the morning, night after night, either talking or playing cards or dancing, and will accompany theso occupations with copious libations. Yet next morning at 9 a.m. or earlier, they, will be at their office ready to do jfistieo to a day’s work. ’ ’ And that—

“The German is exceptionally tolerant of pain. Not only does ho bear pain stoically, but he apparently, feels it less than men of other races. Medical students who have studied in German hospitals testify that the capacity of patients'to endure sufferings is far greater than in England or Franco.” “Impudence and Dignity.” In his diary of the opening of the Spa Conference in 3920, Lord D’Abernon writes:— “Lloyd George and George Curzon are fine representatives. Impudence and Dignity, some foreign critic called them. But the impudence is so extraordinarily quick and intelligent and decided, the dignity so grand in manner and imposing, that no country could wish for anything better. Lloyd George speaks only in English, and will not allow any English delegate to do otherwise; be insists on everything being translated into English before he will deign to understand it, or even try to comprehend. Tho only French he understands, so it is said, is that spoken by Lord Grey of Fallodcn; both grammar and pronunciation must be Northumbrian.”

It was at tliis same Spa Conference in 1920 that there occurred what Lord D’Abernon describes as a “turning point in'European history.” f ‘A. turning-point in European history was reached this afternoon, when M. Millerand described Germany as a 'necessary and useful member of the European family.’ Some of the minor French delegates were astounded at his boldness and breadth. For the first time that afternoon the German, delegates were invited to join the Allies at tea. The cup of international reconciliation was drunk cordially and proceedings at the confercnco will probably gain there by.” The Kaiser’s Temper. There aro several good stories of the bad temper. The following was told to Lord H ’Abernon by Rathonau, who met a tragic fate shortly afterwards: — “Rytlienau once asked a high official of the Imperial regime: ‘lio.w do you manage to keep tho Kaiser in such a

good temper?’ The official replied: ‘His Majesty, delights in explaining mechanical contrivances, such as a clock or compass, or a barometer. I keep a special barometer, and whenever the Emperor comes I ask him to explain how it works, saying that I have forgotten what he told me last time. Ho gives an admirable exposition; this puts him in an excellent temper, and he signs the documents 1 put before him.”