In the daily afternoon walks in the neighbourhood of Potsdam, after Prince Joachim had gone to Ploen and there was consequently no governor or tutor to accompany the Princess and her lady, a private detective was detailed to dog her footsteps, for there were many undesirable characters about and Her Majesty insisted that we should have some kind of escort.
These men deserved the greatest sympathy, for the Princess found it most irksome to be followed, and would take the greatest pains to “throw them off the scent.” When they began to realize their obnoxiousness to this tempestuous daughter of the Hohenzollerns it was amusing to see them unobtrusively materialize from behind a tree after she had passed by, skulking from bush to bush, withdrawing into the shadows of the houses, or pretending to be mere harmless passers-by absorbed in the study of shop-windows.
The Princess, whose sharp eye instantly detected their manœuvres, once observed: “If we had not known they were detectives we might have thought them murderers lying in wait.”
Men new to their duties would begin by showing too much zeal, and invariably found that all their instructions from head-quarters, whatever they might be, were immediately negatived and rendered of no effect, for if they approached within not merely speaking, but shouting distance, they were treated with withering scorn, and the Princess would fly through the bushes on rapid, indignant feet, while the unfortunate man puffed gallantly but hopelessly in the rear.
Finally the footman was told to instruct the detectives as to the probable direction of her walks, so that they could make occasional cross-country cuts; and they quickly learned the necessity of “taking cover” and becoming merged in the surrounding landscape as soon as the keen-eyed Princess appeared in sight. They were not only absolved but strictly prohibited from bowing or saluting, and were urged to be “unmannerly rather than troublesome”; and they soon learned to carry out their duties so unobtrusively that when, as often happened, they were requisitioned for the service of the Emperor, the suite remarked on the excellent training and wonderful tact of the Geheim-Polizisten, quite unaware how much of their education had been due to a young “Backfisch” in a blue serge suit.
Royalties, especially German Royalties, spend a large portion of their existence in travelling; and it may here be noted how much the advent of the automobile has tended to simplify life at court, and to abolish those manifold small ceremonies, red carpets and constantly-bowing officials, which were formerly attendant on the shortest royal journeys. It has relieved the royalties themselves, as well as the functionaries of the Court, of an infinite multitude of tedious, tiresome, small formalities and duties, and the motor-car is now invariably used excepting for very long journeys.
Donau-Eschingen is the name of the residence of Prince Max Egon, Fürst zu Fürstenburg, with whom His Majesty stays every year for a few days to shoot capercailzie, which abound in the woods of the region bordering on the Schwarzwald. On one occasion the Empress and her daughter accompanied the Emperor, who had just returned from Norway.
The train of the Empress left Berlin at eleven o’clock on Friday night, and before that the Princess had retired to bed, though it is not easy to sleep in a station among the hootings and trumpetings that accompany the comings and goings of trains. All through the night the train travelled slowly, with many jerks and stops, for it was not due to arrive until ten o’clock next morning at the place where the Emperor would join it. The route lay through the most beautiful forest scenery of the Thüringer-Wald.
At nine o’clock we breakfasted in the train with the Empress, and shortly afterwards stopped at a station surrounded by an enormous crowd. There were the usual tiers of faces pressed to the railings row above row. No ceremony was observed on this occasion. The Emperor could be seen in his green hunting-uniform crossing the line with his adjutants, and the Empress and the Princess descended to the platform to welcome him. He looked very brown and well from his long sea-voyage, and was obviously in very good spirits. After a few minutes the train started again, no luggage having been transferred, as the train that brought His Majesty had been coupled on to that of the Empress.
At one o’clock we all dined together in the restaurant car, where the ladies wore hats and simple walking-dresses, without jackets. A long table ran down the centre of the saloon, and one of the gentlemen, whose duty it was, showed us our places. The Emperor and Empress sat facing each other at the middle of each side.