A FUTURE KAISER.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14053, 10 November 1909, Page 3

A FUTURE KAISER.

THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE

The German Crown Prince William, W £"£TS mncess, v..,.tea Sard's Court recently, is one ot tu*. £* interesting or *££ the old block," and although he has <mee or twice publicly S«.'£ against the wishes of h, s father l,e * to reality a keen upholder, ot the Kaiser's policy. In appearance, the Crown Prince looks much younger than his real age, and he has a certain stand-offish demeanour which is somewhat embarrassing to l . he *?"*£ But this apparent pride is reallj the ■ result of reserve, and among his noon | companions the Prince is as affable as possible. One who knows him intimately has written of him as follows: "He will never equal his lather in initiative, but he will excel him in calmness of temperament and the power'of repressing everything passionate in his nature." In spite of his autocratic nature anil love of power, the Kaiser has always been a wise father, aim nis sons have been brought up with an almost Spartan training, borne time ago the Crown Prince became a junior clerk in one of the departments 01 tne Ministry of the Interior, and worked the usual amount of hours every day for a whole year. Even after oUice hours he was not free, for he had to take home a case of documents to study every evening, and sometimes was kept working far into the night. There is an old-established tradition that every Hohenzollern Pnnce shall learn same kind of handicraft, and the Crown Prince chose turning, at which art he is remarkably adept. JSngmeering, too, he has studied thoroughly, and not content with attending lectures on this subject, he has undergone a practical course in one of the leading German engineering works. Prince William is immensely popular among the Germans, principally owing to his kindness of heart, and many are the stories that are told of his geniality. Not long ago, for instance, he was visiting a somewhat remote part of his father's dominions, and entered a post-office one day to buy some stamps. The postmaster, who was quite unaware of his identity, began to grumble loudly at the large amount of extra work a royal visit occasioned the postal authorities. "But surely yon are paid for it?" asked the Prince. ""No," replied the postmaster. "There is a lot of sorting to do, and heavy bags of letters to be carried up the Castle, and not one penny extra do we get." 'The Crown Prince left without saying who he was; bnt the very s.n me afternoon he again visited the post office, but this time he was in uniform and with a suite, also in gorgeous attire. The postmaster was dumfounded, but the Prince reassured him. "Do not be alarmed," he said, with a smile. "We have all come for our own letters, to save ynu sending them to the Castle." That the Prince was not alwavs as popular as he is to-day is evidenced from the scrap-hook which he keeps containing over a thousand pages of adverse newspaper criticisms of himself. On the title nagc is inscribed, "I hope I am not like this," and the volume contains many marginal notes of regret and counter criticism in its owner's own handwriting. • Prince William's former unpopularity was due *o his impulsive boyish nature, which frequently got him into scrapes, hut since his marriage he has quite o.hnnged, and has sobered down into a staid young man. Indeed, the «ood effect upon him of the Crown Princess has been remarkable, and she is even more nopular among her future subjects than is her husband. A rotnarjc she made on her marriage has Jtuck in the people's memorv. "I am n.ii. a bit clever," she said, "but I can hake bread, cook a dinner, and keep house."

Tinlike Lis father, Prince William is not very devoted to sport. He prefers recreations of a quiet character, and is a great reader of books. He is very musical and plays the violin very well indeed, while lie is fond of wr''ng verses and composing short essays. But perhaps his favourite hobby is motur-i;,; and he has more than once ii-'un <i 'in an accident. Latterly he has suci-u'iuicd to the fascination of the living marhli..-. and has accompanied Count Zepp.'lin «>n his aoronlane.