Presented With a Leg
In honor of the presence of a number of crowned heads, who were taking the waters, a gala performance was to be given at the theatre of Hamburg. The first to appear in the royal box was the Grandduke of Hesse, with two Princesses. He took a chair and sat down between them, when the chair broke to pieces and his Royal Highness found himself sitting upon the floor. The accident created great merriment both in the royal box and among the audience.
Soon after, the Crown Prince Frederick William appeared in the box, and when told of the mishap, laughed heartily and took pains to throw himself heavily into his chair, but it held together. Finally the Prince of Wales, now King Edward, appeared. The Crown Prince at once presented to him the leg of the chair with the most comical solemnity.