THE CROWN PRINCE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11811, 21 December 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CROWN PRINCE.

In the house of Hohenzollern history repeats itself. The present heir to the throne of Prussia and the German Empire, Crown Prince Frederick William; is having the same kind of experience with his father that Frederick the Great as heir to the throne had with his, but with his .difference, that Kaiser Wilhelm dares not discipline his son with the stern methods Elector Frederick William employed wi£h his. Times have changed. The trouble dates from about a year ago (says the New York World). The exact origin of it is something of a, mystery. Politicians tells us that it began when the Kaiser angrily rebuked the Crown Prince for his actions in th« Reichstag on the occasion of a fiery jingo anti-British speech by Doctor von Heydebrand. _lt will be remembered that the Crown Prince, sitting in the royal gallery, applauding the most rabid Anglophobias speech by slapping his brother on the back. Of course this was indiscreet. Even the German newspapers, reticent and timorus as they are in commenting upon the actions of their royalty, chided the young man. Nevertheless his outburst was popular, and the rebukes only added to the hold he had upon his future subjects' hearts.

This incident may have been, probably was, the actual dividing point, but the "little rift within the lute" started many years further back. Those who are "old enough to remember and, had the opportunity to observe say that when the Crown" Prince was a littla kiddie in knickerbockers, he was not amenable to parental discipline. Self, willed, high spirited', not particularly companionable; he was in a constant condition of quasi-revolt against has father's attempts to mould his character into a miniature of his own. He thought for himself. He had his own ideas, and he did not hesitate to express his dislike for many of the things his father loved and his liking for things his father loathed. But he waß still too young for an- open breach to be possible. , In his college days at Bonn the Crown Prince incurred his royal father's displeasure more than once. The Kaiser kept a sharp eye on the youth's behavior. The imperial eagle soared over the roosting places of its chicken, with an eye especially watchful for dangerous prey in the form of girls that might lure the fledging too far away from/fcheparental eyrie. :' ;..". The time came to select a wire for the Prince. The Emperor had his ow.r. ideas about wives. So had his son". The young women who possessed the qualities that fitted them to be Empress were paraded before the young mail, with much advice and comment upon the form, they showed. To the amazement of everybody, the Kaiser" especially, Frederick William picked' out the very girl on whom his father's "hopes were set. Princess Cecilie" of' Mecklen-burg-Schwerin. But the.Emperor wanted to supervise the courtship. The Crown Prince felt himself perfectly capable of maiiaging this for himself. It was whispered in .the drawing-rooms of Berlin that the Emperor had' administered a severe • reproof to the young pair, because he had found Princess Cecilie sitting on Prince Frederick's knees. The Crown has a keen sense of humor and a way of complying with orders so literally that it is intensely irritating to his father. The Kaiser makes a great parade of his love '. for Sparta ir. simplicity, whereas he is "at heart fond "of luxury. The Crown Prince is sincerely simple in his tastes. One day the Emperor sent word to Potsdam that he was going to inspect the. regiment of which his son was chief and dine with the officers. The dinner he sat down to consisted of bean soup, boiled' pork and greens ; And he had to pretend that bo liked it. Again, the Emperor lectured the Crown Prince about not keeping up an equipage commensurate with the traditions of Hohenzollern splendor. • The voung man accepted the rebuke meekly.. A few days later he was driven through the streets of the capital •in a gorgeous motor car, with gilding splashed all over it and an imperial crown as biz as a mail's hand embossed 1 upon the doors. Once more the parent eagle screamed, and the gaudy automobile was. seen no more. • . .

The German people don't worry much about the mutual dislike between the Emperor and bis heir. They like the young man. and consider him nuite capable of fighting his own battles.