EX-KAISER'S WEDDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18275, 16 December 1922, Page 9

EX-KAISER'S WEDDING.

SECRET DOINGS AT DO'O'RN.

MINIONS INFEST VILLAGE,

"PATCH OF PREWAR POTSDAM."

ARMY OF JOURNALISTS FOILED.

Quite an army of newspaper correspondents seem to have assembled afc Doom to gather news of the ex-Kaiser's wedding. From their reports in many papers, however, it would seem that thoy were all reduced to climbing fences and evading policemen. An official communique was issued by Wilhelm's own "Court Chamberlain," but of the actual ceremony and the wedding breakfast nothing is divulged from first-hand observation.

Impressions by "H.V.M." in the Sunday Express are amusing. "Here we are," he writes, "the foreign correspondents, the special correspondents, the very special correspondents, the late war correspondents, the photographers, and. cinema men of England, America, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Australisi, and New Zealand. We are crowded in'co the two small hotels; we ooze out of the two cafe restaurants-, we overflow from private houses. The noise of our typewriters keeps Doom ■ awake. Birds think that spring has come, and have started to lay eggs. If you paraded us in the village square you could • kouestly say that . you surveyed the men'who command the ears of the whole world. As we chat -together in the evening it is clear that each one of us has interviewed Prime Minister:?, has helped to make and break Governments, and not a few are quite uaed to slapping kings on the back, while, as for presidents—pooh' But for the first time in our lives we cannot deliver the goods. The ex-Kaiser is being married by the secret service 1 A Patch of Potsdam. "Wilhelm is not a poor, hunted exile in Holland. He is lord of Doom. He runs the place. His minions infest the village. They occupy many of the houses. The square mile or no of park and woodland in which Doom Castle stands is a patch of pre-war Potsdam, and not one degree underproof, either. Iron fencing strong enough to .withstand a military assault rings his domain. At every gate stand armed Dutch 'police guards. On the German side of'the fence the old-time sabrerattling is going On. Germans in green uniforms march beneath the trees with rifles slung across their shoulders and revolvers in their holsters. Men in plain clothes frequent the cafes and wander about the village. _ They are the exKaiser's secret service agents, with headquarters in the imposing gatehouse of the castle. It is established beyond doubt that everything that happens in Doom is known here within an hour. ■

" "The result of this secrecy is that the world's press wanders aimlessly about Doom, spending hours peeping through the rir.g fence and trying to pump the Dutch guard. There is a fortune waiting here for anyone who would take a bribe, for,•■when the international news machine is thwarted, it loses all sense of moral values. All roads, however, end in the village square. 'Any news?' 'No.' American correspondents just say 'Hell!' " Chaplain's Address. We are told that these are the words of the Court Chaplain when he had consecrated the civil marriage: "The glorious I day and the solemn hour have arrived I when Your Imperial Majesty and Serene Princess join hands for life. May the ■whole life of you, the Royal bridal $air, be illuminated by' the inspired words of St. Paul: 'Now abidetb faith, hope, charity, but the greatest of these is charity.' Those words' are from the text which was chosen far the, golden wedding of the gray-haired Emperor Wilhelm. the First, and also for Your Majesty's own silver wedding. Now, again, the three angels of faith, hope, and charity have come to bless the house of Hohenzollern.

"This mansion will soon be left by Your I Serene Highness' family and other guests, but you yourself will remain here from this hour, one in heart and soul with His Majesty. His Majesty links his life with yours. You, Princess, surrender Fatherland and friendship, and are mailing heavy sacrifices. Faith is the basis of married life. Many seek it, but it is conceded only to those .who form one before God. And God pervades this household. Every morning prayeru, every Sunday Divins service. "Hope—hope linked with faith—it is that which has supported Your Majesty when innumerable others would have »junk deep in despair. Love is the royal daughter of faith and hope. It is that love -which recalls to Your Serene Highness the memory of your prematurely-deceased husband, and to Your Majesty thoughts of our dead Empress. Her tomb is the centre of a pilgrimage of love of the people, for she was the great ideal of German womanhood. And charity—it is that which armours Your Majesty against calumny and gives you victory over slander."

A Spirit oi Levity. The day was bright at first, but later became rainy and cloudy. Several hundreds of spectators gathered near the castle lodge, including many film operators, photographers, and reporters. Many of the villagers kept aloof, objecting''' to a marriage on the Sunday. Horse and foot police were nearly all within the gates pf the castle, so that the curious were not kept at a distance. There was a spirit of levity among 'the people assembled outside, who seemed to regard the whol* affair much as they would a fancy dress ball. Many joined in the English chorus, "Mary had some marmalade, Mary had some jam," during arrival of the latest guests, keeping up. their spirits with jokes and laughter. \ • ,''_.' y . ' ; Prince Eitel Fritz an c [ General von dar Goltz arrived in motor-cars at-11.50. Count van Lunden, Governor of the Province of Utrecht ,and Mr. Kan, SecretaryGeneral to the Dutch Government, walked 'to the castle. The Burgomaster, Baron Sehimmelpenninck, assisted by one clerk, officiated at trie civil marriage. The hall of the castle lodge was decoirated -with paintings of, William 11., his father, and grandfather, all in full-dress ■uniform's, and paintings of famouß battles. The ex-Crown Prince wore the' uniform of his' old regiment, the Death's Head Hussars, -with his high fur cap decorated with silver skull and cross-bones. General von der Goltz, Prince Fritz, and other generals all wore the uniforms of their respective regiments. The ex-Kaiser wore the field-grey uniform of £he Imperial Guards. The bride was in a robe of mauve velour. Sho wore white furs, and was adorned "with diamonds and other jewels.

Simple Wedcjng Breakfast. At 12.10 first the Burgomaster, and then the ex-Crown Prince and Prince Eitel Fritz returned to the castle, the latter replacing his helmet with a field cap when entering the motor-car. Then the ex-Kaiser, with his spouse, took thenplaces in a car with drawn curtains, and were driven to the castle. The people outside on seeing him indulged in load The wedding breakfast followed, con aistina of a simple repast of soup, salmon, pheasant, and cold ham. The table was decorated with red roses, among the ornaments being a silver centrepiece engraved "Wilhelm Imperator Rex." and a statue of St. George. On the tabid linen was woven the German Imperial eagle. The party included Count von Bentinck of Amerongen, tho former host of the ex-Kaiser, Count von Moltke. and Princess Henriette, the bride's daughter. Prince Henry said a few words in honour of the occasion. The last item of the wedding programme drafted by the eix-Kaiser and fvped in the castle reads: "2.30 p.m.— Their Majesties' guests will depart.",