No. 113.
Mr. Davis
to the Secretary of State.
Berlin, March 25, 1877. (Received April 13.)
Sir: The eightieth birthday of the Emperor, which occurred on the 22d instant, appealed to both the poetic and patriotic instincts of the nation, and called out a celebration which in pomp and splendor, as Well as unfeigned sentiment, has been rarely surpassed. The remarkable history of the man himself, who, in a long and eventful life, had touched the extremes of good and bad fortune, and the splendor of his present position were calculated to kindle German imagination, while his simple, unostentatious habits, and his courteous and kindly ways touch the hearts of his subjects, and arouse an interest in his fortunes and his life.
Seventy or eighty royal or princely persons came to Berlin from the various parts of Germany to participate in this festival. All of the great powers of Europe, and most of the smaller ones, were represented either by special representatives or by autograph letters which the ordinary representative was charged to deliver in person to the Emperor. Russia was represented by a prince of the blood; England by a member of the house of Saxe-Weimar, who is an officer in the English army; France by an aid-de-camp of Marshal MeMahon; the Kings of Italy and Belgium charged their representatives at this court with letters. The King of Spain being on a voyage through his dominions, and separated from the capital, sent a telegram which his minister delivered.
The festivities may be said to have begun at the Austrian embassy, on the evening of the 21st. Early next morning the Emperor’s receptions began at the palace. The members of the Imperial family and the German princes first made their congratulations. Each member of the Emperor’s family gave a costly and beautiful present. The German princes and the free cities of Germany unitedly presented to the Emperor a gigantic historical picture, by Werner, representing the assumption of the Imperial dignity in the grand hall at Versailles, in 1871. “The King of Saxony said, in offering the gift:
The German princes and the free states, your Imperial Majesty, cannot permit the day on which you celebrate your eightieth birthday in undiminished strength and undisturbed freshness, to the joy of the united Fatherland, to pass by without expressing on their side their pleasure and attachment by some outward manifestation. This picture marks one of the most important moments of German history; one of the most important also in the life of your Majesty, so rich in great events—the moment when your Majesty, by the wish of the German princes and of the free cities, restored the German throne, which had been lost at the time of the French dominion of violence and thus gave an outward consecration to that which German strength had already created in common struggles and victories. If we may express a still further wish, it is that your Majesty may yet reign many years in undisturbed peace and happiness over the German Empire, founded upon the bloody battle-field. God be with us.
After this came successively the reception of ambassadors, of the [Page 183] heads of Prussian princely and ducal houses, of such ministers plenipotentiary as were charged with letters or telegrams of congratulation, of officers in the army and navy, of members of the Reichstag, and of various other persons and bodies. While this was going on at the palace, business was suspended in the city; and the streets, gay with flags and decorations, were crowded with sight-seers. Some apprehension had been felt lest the suffering working-classes, many of whom are without work, and some without food, would make a counter-demonstration which might lead to a riot. Measures had been taken to guard against it; but none were necessary. The day and evening passed off without the sign of a desire to disturb the peace.
There were many official dinners in honor of the day. The one at which I assisted was the usual one given by the Prince of Bismarck to the heads of embassies and missions, and it passed off much in the same way as its predecessors. This is the one occasion in the year in which we actually meet the Imperial minister for foreign affairs.
In the evening Berlin was ablaze with illuminations, and hundreds of thousands were in the streets to see them. At nine o’clock there was a large party at the palace, at which tableaux vivants were represented under the direction of Mr. Richter, the eminent artist, and selections from operas were performed by members of the royal troupe. These performances are said to have been excellent, but it was quite impossible to see them from the places assigned to the diplomatic corps. The chiefs of missions were directed to take seats some two hundred and fifty feet from the stage, behind rows of Prussian standing officers; and the poor secretaries were put by the chamberlains in the rear of a row of pillars, where a sight of the performances was hopeless. In my day in Washington, I remember to have heard members of the diplomatic corps grumble (generally without cause) at their alleged bad treatment on public occasions. If the practice is kept up, you will be pleased to know that diplomats in other places than Washington sometimes do not get all they think themselves entitled to, and that they have to make the best of inconveniences which seem to belong to all public festivities.
The performances were over about midnight, and, for a wonder, the personage in whose honor the fête was given was none the worse for it, notwithstanding his great age.
I have, &c.,