himself to Americans
in as republican a light as possible, and when he desires the company
of an American friend, stands on no sort of ceremony. The American's
telephone bell may ring at any hour of the day or evening, and a voice
is heard--"Here royal palace. His Majesty wishes to ask if the Herr
So-and-So will come to the palace this evening for dinner." On one
occasion this happened to Professor Burgess. The telephone at the
Hotel Adlon in Berlin rang up from Potsdam about six in the afternoon,
and there was so little time for the Professor to catch his train that
he was forced to finish his dressing _en route_. Or the invitation may
be for "a glass of beer" after dinner, about nine o'clock.

If it is a dinner invitation, the guest, in evening clothes, with his
white tie doubtless a trifle more carefully adjusted than usual,
drives or walks to the palace. He enters a gate on the south side
facing the statue of Frederick the Great, and under the archway finds
a doorway with a staircase leading immediately to the royal apartments
on the first floor. In an ante-room are other guests, a couple of
Ministers, the Rector Magnificus of the university, and perhaps a
"Roosevelt" or "exchange" professor; and if the party is not one of
men only, such as the Emperor is fond of arranging, and the Empress is
expected, the wives also of the invited guests. Without previous
notice the Emperor enters, an American lover of slang might almost say
"blows in," with quick steps and a bustling air that instantly fills
the room with life and energy, and showing a cheery smile of welcome
on his face. The guests are standing round in a half or three-quarter
circle, and the Emperor goes from one to the other, shaking hands and
delivering himself of a sentence or two, either in the form of a
question or remark, and then passing on. When it is not a bachelors'
party, the Empress comes in later with her ladies. A servant in the
royal livery of red and gold, on a signal from the Emperor, throws
open a door leading to the dining-room, and the Emperor and Empress
enter first. The guests take their places according to the cards on
the table. If it is a men's party of, say, four guests, the Emperor
will seat them on his right and left and immediately opposite, with an
adjutant or two as makeweights and in case he should want to send for
plans or books. On these occasions he is usually in the dark blue
uniform of a Prussian infantry general, with an ord