The German Emperor's visit has so far (Friday) passed off
well. He arrived at Windsor on Monday as arranged, in a punctual train, and has been received with that extra distinc- tion which is paid to great Sovereigns who are also welcome guests. His Majesty is said to enjoy magnificence, and Windsor, which has not been plundered since the Protectorate, and was greatly enriched by George IV.'s extravagances, can be the most magnificent of palaces. The accounts of the grand banquet on Tuesday, when more than a hundred and fifty guests sat down to a dinner served on gold plate said to be worth two millions, reads like a chapter from "The Arabian Nights," and must make millionaires pale with envy. They might have the plate, but the beef-eaters, the suggestions in every piece of furniture, and the guests, the noblest in England and Germany, are beyond their reach. The amusements of Kings always strike onlookers as slightly suffocating, but the Emperor doubtless likes to find his day filled with great sights and great shootings, and everything, even to the list of the birds and beasts shot by the Emperor himself, has been arranged on the grandest scale. Doubtless among the luxuries provided there have also been periods of quiet, although they are beneath the notice of the Court newsman. The absence of Lord Salisbury has been the one failure in the reception, but before the dispensations of Providence even Imperial will must bow, and nothing but the presence of the Premier has been lack- ing that could do honour either to the Emperor or Germany.
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