The uniforms ordinarily affected by Francis-Joseph are the undress regimentals of an Austrian general, the blue-gray short tunic, faced with scarlet and gold, trousers with broad red stripes, and that peculiar, oval-shaped, rather high-crowned soft cap, with a small vizor, which constitutes the undress headgear of officers belonging to every rank of the Austrian army. The only token of his imperial rank is the small badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece peeping forth from between the first and second buttons of his tunic, the cross of Maria-Theresa, and the medal accorded to every officer and soldier who has served fifty years in the army attached to his breast. On state occasions at Vienna the emperor dons the full-dress uniform of an Austrian general, consisting of a white short tunic or "Atilla," faced with gold and scarlet, scarlet trousers, with broad gold stripes, and a general's three-cornered chapeau, surmounted by a big tuft of green plumes.
When Francis-Joseph is in Hungary he invariably wears either the undress or full-dress uniform of a Hungarian general, and it must be confessed that, in spite of the somewhat theatrical appearance of the gold embroidered, tight-fitting scarlet pantaloons and gold-topped high boots, the scarlet gold-laced tunic of the full dress, with the heron-plumed kálpàk, or the slightly less gorgeous "shako," and blue-grey, gold-laced tunic of the undress uniform, he looks remarkably well, thanks to the extraordinary elasticity and elegance which he has retained in spite of his three-score years and ten.
Emperor William's ordinary garb is the familiar undress uniform of a Prussian general, the dark-blue long frock coat, with its double row of silver buttons, its scarlet collar, and its silver shoulder-straps. The trousers are of the same hue as the coat, with broad scarlet stripes, the latter being worn only by generals. Hanging from the collar is usually the cross of the Brandenburg Langue of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, while on the breast is fastened a sort of star, consisting of the letter "W" encircled by gold laurel leaves, which has been accorded to all the officers who formed part of the household of Old Emperor William. The cap is the ordinary flat, black vizored undress headgear of all the officers of the German army.
The uniforms which the emperor wears on state occasions are either the full-dress uniform of a Prussian general, richly-embroidered, dark-blue tunic, and epaulets, with a helmet surmounted by the white plumes of a field officer, or else the regimentals of a colonel-in-chief of the gardes-du-corps. In the latter, the emperor looks exceedingly well, especially on horseback. The helmet is surmounted by a silver eagle with outstretched wings, the white tunic is partly concealed by a silver cuirass, adorned with a gold sun, and with the white, tight-fitting knee-breeches are worn high jack-boots. In fact, it is no flattery to Emperor William to declare that his appearance in this uniform invariably suggests "Lohengrin." At court entertainments, in the evening, he frequently wears the so-called gala, or court dress of this regiment. The coat is scarlet instead of white, while the cuirass is abandoned. Sometimes the emperor attires himself in the uniform of a colonel of the Hussar regiment which he commanded at the time of his accession to the throne. It is scarlet, gold-laced, and the tight-fitting scarlet pantaloons are worn with knee-boots, topped with gold.
The emperor is likewise very fond of donning naval attire, being particularly proud of his connection with the fleet of Germany and those of a number of foreign countries. Indeed, it may be safely asserted that if there is any one foreign dignity which he cherishes extremely, it is that of admiral of the fleet in the British navy, conferred upon him by his grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Emperor William was only a brigadier-general at the time of his accession to the throne. It was not until several months after becoming emperor that he assumed the insignia of a general of division. Inasmuch as some curiosity exists as to how a monarch can promote himself, it may be stated that old Field Marshal Moltke, who was then possessed of the highest rank in the German army, called one day upon William, and, presenting him with a pair of silver shoulder-straps, adorned with the insignia of a general of division, entreated his majesty in the name of the entire army, and in particular on behalf of the corps of officers, to assume the rank of a full general.
The same request was presented to the present czar at the time of his coronation, but met with a refusal on the part of his Muscovite majesty, for he pointed out that Peter the Great had throughout his entire reign contented himself with the rank of colonel. There is also another reason which Nicholas did not mention officially, but which is well known to the members of his immediate entourage. At the present moment his name figures on the army list as the principal orderly officer and personal adjutant of the late czar. This is an office which can only be held by military men below the rank of general. The moment young Nicholas acquires that rank his name ipso-facto disappears from the list of his dead father's adjutants, and he is far too attached to his memory to desire this, preferring the minor rank of colonel and the association with his beloved predecessor, to all the pomp and glory of a generalissimo.
Of all the other sovereigns in Europe there is not one who travels with such an immense amount of luggage as Emperor William. He seldom undertakes a trip without taking along at least one hundred huge trunks of the so-called Saratoga pattern, which fill several wagons of the imperial train; indeed, an entire special train is not infrequently chartered solely for the conveyance of his luggage. Like some French élégantes at a fashionable seaside resort, he changes his garb five, six, and even seven times a day. The consequence is that it is necessary to have at hand not only a vast number of naval and military uniforms, but also a diversity of shooting suits, hunting suits, civilian clothes, Tyrolese jäger costumes, and even the kilt, sporran and tartan of a Highlander, for he is very proud of the fact that Stuart blood flows in his veins, and considers that he is quite as much entitled to wear the Stuart tartan as his uncle, the Prince of Wales.
All these clothes are not under the charge of a mere valet, but of a grand dignitary of the Court of Berlin,—Count Perponcher-Sedlinzky,—who holds the rank of privy councillor, and who is addressed as "your excellency." The count has a perfect army of dressers and valets under his orders, but it is he who is responsible, not only for the uniforms being in good trim, but likewise for their being on hand whenever the emperor happens to need them.
In order to understand what this entails, it must be remembered that the kaiser is not only colonel of some hundred or more German regiments, but also of a very great many foreign corps, belonging to every country in Europe, except Turkey, Bulgaria and France. Now for each regiment, there are sometimes six, sometimes eight different uniforms—one each for parade, fatigue duty, court wear, an undress uniform, and others too numerous to mention.