THE KAISER’S GARLAND $ p Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/kaisersgarland00sull_0 THE CRUCIFIXION OF BELGIUM THE KAISER’S GARLAND BY EDMUND J. SULLIVAN LONDON WILLIAM HEINEM ANN London : William Heinemann , 1915 O N occasions of ceremony in the early ’seventies, which I dimly remember, port and sherry were produced, with cake — and glistening on the tray two patterns of glass, one cut, the other engraved. The chignon was in fashion, and the crinoline still lingered. The elders found “ one piece of your excellent cake a sufficiency, thank you,” but would take a second glass of Amontillado ; giving perhaps half-a-glass or a sip from their own to the child, who, if quiet and well behaved, was allowed a second slice of cake. Then the turn of a graceful wrist might be displayed and the rings made to twinkle as the fair hand turned over the, family album of photographs. I am reminded of these matters of a far-away peace by a set of photographs now lying on my easel ; and of a poster of old days, “ The Boy — what will he become?” This little “mother’s darling” is labelled on the back “Emperor William II as a baby” ; then other child studies, one at his grandmother’s knee. Another “William II and the Empress with the Crown Prince as a child.” In this the prince appears in a short frock, strapped shoes, socks, and laced drawers showing beneath his petticoats, and looks like a wilful little girl. As time goes on the Emperor’s moustache from a silky curliness develops an upward stiffness until it arrives at the superlative spikiness to which we are now accustomed. The lips change their surly childish pout for the self-conscious affectation of close-lipped determination ; and the eyes, from a somewhat sleepy indifference, face the camera like an actor’s with a challenging yet unseeing stare of domination. The left arm is kept more carefully out of sight, and the moustache tips go nearer to the depressed eyebrows. The photographs become stippled, more doctored and flattering ; and we come closer to the Germanic idea of Kingship. We get an elderly puller of faces — an Ajax of the theatre, defying the stage lightning, a Barnum of Empire. The photographs of the King of Belgium are different ; and there had been so few of them that, when he broke upon the world as a hero, the world at large was unfamiliar with either his name or his face. At full stretch as the Kaiser always is, I doubt if he could reach beyond the slightly bowed shoulders of the Belgian king. There could be no greater contrast — the self-assertion of the egoist against the quiet confidence that in a noisy world might appear almost diffident. In the papers this week appear photographs even more reminiscent of the family album — an ordinary English lady of middle age, clean faced, straight eyed, unaffected — “ nice looking ” in fact. And because of her present pro- minence in the world’s eye, the family album must have been brought out for the persevering press man. We see her as a little girl, with her mother and sister, as I remember my own mother and sister in those days of cake and wine. Here she is with little puffed shoulder sleeves, bare neck and arms, having to keep still in the Victorian “lady’s” chair while the photographer, exposing his collodion plate, counted out interminable seconds. This is the kindly lady just dead, gentlemen : Miss Edith Cavell — an “old maid ” as they would have called her in those days. But she leaves a large family — not of the flesh, but of the spirit. There are in Europe three crowns that shine at the present time with a differing and peculiar lustre — the crown of Prussia, the crown of Belgium, and the crown ol Martyrdom. As lor the last, if ever there have been Christian martyrs, Miss Cavell belongs to that noble army ; and if there is a Catholic Church, she is numbered among its saints. There was a time when we were amused by the Kaiser’s restless antics — his disappearance in one uniform and his lightning reappearance in another — and took every opportunity to view the spectacle. On one occasion I myself threw a bunch of roses into his carriage as he passed, driving in state to the Guildhall. The roses glanced down from the parasol of the Empress, caught his helmet, and grazed his cheek ; and it is this little episode that suggested to me the title of my present bunch of drawings. If this garland that I have prepared should on his last ride between the crowds, drop into the Imperial tumbril and graze his cheek, I shall not be sorry. St. Crispin s Day , 1915. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE THE CRUCIFIXION OF BELGIUM Frontispiece THE KING OF CLUBS {The Kaisers Fortune ) i i “POUR LES BEAUX YEUX DU KAISER” 13 “ICH SELBST UND GOTT ” 15 “ CAN’T YOU SEE I’M COMING?” 17 THE PIPE LIGHTER {The Guarantee of Belgian Neutrality ) 19 THE RAGPICKER {he Chiffonier) 21 THE PATH OF GLORY 23 PRIMA BALLERINA ASSOLUTA TO THE IMPERIAL BALLET OF POTSDAM IN HER NOTED FIRE AND SWORD DANCE 25 A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL (“ ‘By Private Treaty : The whole of that desirable Property known as the Earth ”) 27 “ THE DEVIL’S OWN GAME ” {Cards on the Table and under ) 29 THE GIANT MICHEL AND THE DWARF WILHELM {“The dwarf thinks himself big because he can spit a long way." — Old Proverb) 31 THE HOPE OF THE HOHENZOLLERN (“ The good German Sword ”) 33 HERR MICHEL, A.D.C. TO THE CROWN PRINCE ON HIS RETURN FROM THE PROMISED LAND 35 THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS, THE CARDINAL’S RING, AND THE BORROWED PLUMES 37 JACK THE GIANT KILLER {'Dedicated to the King of the Belgians) 39 MARIAGE DE CONVENANCE 41 DANCING PARTNERS 43 THE HYMN OF HATE (“ A little bit of sugar for the bird") 45 THE UNGARTERED BLACKLEG (“ Honi soit . . . ”) 47 “VERITABLE LIQUEUR CIRCE ” 49 THE WINE OF CIRCE AND THE PRUSSIAN COMUS 51 THE DECKING OF “KULTUR” 53 9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE “KULTUR”— TOAD EATER TO KAISER COMUS 55 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF “ KULTUR” (Sacrilege) 57 “A BRIDE OF CHRIST” {The Violation of Belgium) 59 THE BLACK MASS. No. 1. {The Celebrant and the Master of the Ceremonies) 61 THE BLACK MASS. No. 2. {Sacrifice to Moloch) 63 THE BELGIAN BED 65 “WHEN THE PIGS BEGIN TO FLY” {Die Blutwurst) 67 THE PRISONER OF WAR 69 THE GENTLE GERMAN 71 THE PRUSSIAN BUTCHER 73 CROCODILE TEARS {Kaiser Pecksniff: “My heart bleeds for Louvain ”) 75 THE RED NIAGARA 77 DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES 79 “MORE CRUEL THAN DEATH” 81 “LOST IN THE WOOD” 83 “THE WRITING ON THE WALL” if' God hath numbered thy Kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Thy Kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians ." — Daniel v, 26-28) 85 “ AVE KAISER, IMPERATOR MORITURE, MORTUI TE SALUTAMUS” 87 DIE WACHT AM RHEIN 89 “ IMPERIALISMS” {extinct) 91 THE PARTHIAN SHOT 93 THE RETURN OF THE CONQUEROR 95 1 1 THE KING OF CLUBS The Kaiser’s Fortune i3 POUR LES BEAUX YEUX DU KAISER" i5 “ICH SELBST UND GOTT” J 7 CANT YOU SEE I’M COMING? THE PIPE LIGHTER The Guarantee of Belgian Neutrality THE RAGPICKER Le Chiffonier 2 3 THE PATH OF GLORY 2 5 PRIMA BALLERINA ASSOLUTA TO THE IMPERIAL BALLET OF POTSDAM IN HER NOTED FIRE AND SWORD DANCE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL “ By Private Treaty : The whole of that desirable Property knozvn as the Earth ” (< r 29 THE DEVIL’S OWN GAME ” Cards on the table and under THE GIANT MICHEL AND THE DWARF WILHELM “ The dwarf thinks himself big because he can spit a long way" — Old Proverb 33 THE HOPE OF THE HOHENZOLLERN “ The Good German Sword” HERR MICHEL, A.D.C. TO THE CROWN PRINCE ON HIS RETURN FROM THE PROMISED LAND THE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS, THE CARDINAL’S RING, AND THE BORROWED PLUMES 39 JACK THE GIANT KILLER Dedicated to the King of the Belgians 4i MARIAGE DE CONVENANCE 43 DANCING PARTNERS 45 THE HYMN OF HATE “ A little bit of sugar for the bird ” 47 THE UNGARTERED BLACKLEG ( Hotii soit . . . ) 49 VERITABLE LIQUEUR CIRCE” 5i THE WINE OF CIRCE AND THE PRUSSIAN COMUS 53 THE DECKING OF “KULTUR 55 “KULTUR” — TOAD EATER TO KAISER GOMUS THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF “ KULTUR ” Sacrilege “A BRIDE OF CHRIST” The Violation of Belgium 6i THE BLACK MASS. No. i The Celebrant and the Master of the Ceremonies 63 THE BLACK MASS. No. 2 Sacrifice to Moloch 65 THE BELGIAN BED 67 “WHEN THE PIGS BEGIN TO FLY” Die Blutwurst 6g THE PRISONER OF WAR 7i THE GENTLE GERMAN 73 THE PRUSSIAN BUTCHER 75 CROCODILE TEARS Kaiser Pecksniff : “ My heart bleeds for Louvain 77 THE RED NIAGARA 79 DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES 8i “ MORE CRUEL THAN DEATH LOST IN THE WOOD - \ THE WRITING ON THE WALL “ God hath nu77ibered thy KingdoTn and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Thy Kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians:'— Daniel v. 26-28 87 “AVE KAISER, IMPERATOR MORITURE, MORTUI TE SALUTAMUS 89 DIE WACHT AM RHEIN “ IMPERIALISMUS” Extinct 93 THE PARTHIAN SHOT 95 THE RETURN OF THE CONQUEROR ■ I p \ V - * - -i — . GETTY CENTER LIBRARY