9
The Hohenzollern Family, Its History and Traits
THE CO HUT Eft
The visit of a member of the Hohen
zollern family to the United States in
the person of Prince Henry, brother
of the Kaiser Wilhelm. Is certainly an
even of social if not of political im
portance. The Hohenzollerns uniloiihtcilly de
serve to rank highest of all the kingly
families of Europe, their name hav
ing been written more conspicuously
on its pages for the past thousand
years than that of any other single
family.
I'rince Henry is a marked contrast
in disposition to his imperious brother.
He is an admiral in the German :.avy
and possesses the medal for distin
guished service, won by unusual brav-
The prince or emperor who would live
up to the highest Hohenzollern stand
ard must be both great as a w-i.rior
and great as a man.
The greatest of all the Hohenzollerin
was the grandfather of Prince Henry.
Emperor William I. As a contradiction
to an impression which lias become
general, it is remarked by a prominent
historian that the Ccriuuiiy of today
might have been without a ISisinarck
but could not have been without Km
peror William.
It was through this great mouarcli
that the German dream of unity anil
independence was realized. The once
disintegrated kingdoms which consti
tute it today were .iniuished and sor-
the revolution, was one of continually
rising progress.
The father of Pmce Henry, the be
loved Frederick, seems scarcely to have
been a Hohenzollern of the conven
tional type, having been tot) ideally ro
mantic and cosmopolitan of sentiment
for such distinction. Tin. present em
peror Is a typical Hohenzollern, in dis
position, if not in achievement.
It is a long hark back to the first
Hohcuzolleru of note. He was a cer
tain Count Thassllo, who lived about
the beginning of the ninth century.
Tile count founded a castle near Hech
ingen. on the Zollcrn Heights, whence
his descendants derived their patronym
ic In the eleventh century the fain-
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ery and coolness in action. He com
menced Ids nautical career at a very
early age and has been for twenty
years a sailor. "Unser Heinrich." as
he is called, is about forty years old.
and is much more of a favorite in
Germany than is the kaiser. It has
been said that he cannot leave Kiel,
where his present position in the navy
compels him to reside, without special
consent of the emperor. Prince Henry
was the favorite grandson of Queen
Victoria, whom he delighted to visit,
ami was also the best beloved child of
the Emperor Frederick and his imperial
consort. His valor and hardihood form
the theme of many oft told stories
among the men of his (ommand and
the Prussians who love most to honor
him.
row ful at the time William I. ascended
the throne of Prussia. They had been
ground between the millstones of oth'-i
powers for centuries. The war with
France, which led to the coronation of
William I. as emperor of United Ger
many, in the palace of the French kings
at Versailles, brought about the unifi
cation of the empire which had been
moulding for centuries.
William I. was the descendant of a
long line of great ancestois ami was
endowed with a character, which, but
for a few rather narrov traits, was
formed to at-hlev e tiistim lion. This
ruler reached the pinnacle of woiHIy
fame gradually, it is true, and not
without g'uve set-bat ks. but his ca
reer, after his rttiirn to "mssi.i from
exile, into width Ik w i drien by
ily became split into two branches.
Tlie repiesentative of the younger
branih. who was the first burgrave of
Nuremberg, purchased the margravate
of Prandenburg from the impecunious
Holy Homan Kmperor Sigismond. anil
founded the family fortunes.
From this occurrence on. the family
of Hohenzollern supplies us with :i
series of extraordinary instances of
the transmission of certain mental and
moral traits from generation to gene
ration, which hae been a part of the
boue and sinew of the rate for the
last eight hundred y.ir
The Hohenzollern-. are of Suabian
origin ind that region his i well-established
reputation for being .th
home of cannine- mil thrift Thes
tialts have been possessed o gener
ally by rulers of the Hohfuzollcru Hue
as tit make the exceptions almost more
forcibly Illustrate the rule. It Is true
that the first genius who appeared in
the line of descent. Frederick the
(real, was an exception, but even he.
although possessetl of extravagant
MUnlltics. used his Ingrained cauniucss
to actUlre the title of king of Prussia
from the Impecunious Kmperor Leo
pold. Since that occurrence each suc
ceeding Hohenzollern has addeil his
mite toward upbuilding tin ..uer of
Prussia, whilst other royal houses
gained power by the help of the
French against their own people.
To understand correctly the osiiiou
of tlie Hoheiizollerus today, one must
study the past, ami not more particu
larly in regard to what they tlid than
to what they purposely refrained from
doing.
It may justly be asserted that
weighed impartially by their virtues
and their shortcomings, they were far
superior to the occupants of other
European thrones.
Tht- court of the Hohcnzollerns was
peculiarly clean and free from venal
ity, or worse taint. Cut freedom from
rascality was not tin- only conspicu
ous trait of tlie Hoheiizollerus. They
proved themselves true to the great
est motto of them all that tin king
is first servant of tlie state. It was
tin- constant ambition of these sover
eigns to work out the development and
welfare of the nation. indeicnilcnt "f
elass distinctions. This the people
have always felt, from the humblest
upwards. No better example of this
fact could be given than tilt reply of
the miller to Frederick the Great,
when that monarch threatened to ex
propriate him unjustly: "There are
still Judges in Uerlin. your majesty."
The Hoheirollcriis. at the com
mencement of the last century, were
intriMlueing compulsory education
amid the derisive sneers of rival na
tions and abolishing serfdom among
the agricultural class by assisting
peasant fanners to exist by means of
government loans. At the beginning
of the twentieth century we find them
breaking fresh ground in new indus
trial directions and economic measures
for the welfare of the masses.
As ever, the present representative
f tlie house shows that lie under
stands a nation does not consist of a
small minority of privileged persons,
but in a sovereign people who deserve
the greatest solicitude of tlie one who
has been placed in sovereign power
over them. It is the response of Un
people to the Hohenzollerns that en
ables Germany to face her enemies in
arms and inspires a Von ISuelow to as
sert her constant readiness to do so.
.- .- .-
Uh.it d" you think. James." te
iii. .iked .Mrs. Meekton. ".Mother want
to be eiematetl."
All right." replied Meekton. iiuickly
tell her to get her things on and I
v ill take her down now.''
JOHN S. CAIN
Proprietor
New Lincoln
""gnS"11' Bowling Alleys
Kitrtthin: 'e and Strlctlj Flrt Cla
Ladle Epciall Inviltd
A Wise
Landlord
Get- tin- bc-.t talent that can 1-c secured
in placing liU order for inaitle decoia-tinn-
for hi- lioUMs. He desires the
!e-t material twil.anl -tunetliiiig that
will -taiiil the wear and tear id" Un
tenant. My experience of twenty -eight
years lia- taught me Iuw. when,
and where to u-e economy. My price-,
are rca-otialili-. Estimate- cheerfully
furnUhtil.
Carl Myrer,
2i2 O. Strut Phone ;2 32.
