my wife he insisted on their value as a means of arousing
intelligent patriotism in children and youth. He dwelt with pride
on the large number of gifted sculptors in his realm, and his
comments on their work were worth listening to. He himself has
artistic gifts which in his earlier days were shown by at least
one specimen of his work as a painter in the Berlin Annual
Exhibition; and in the window of a silversmith's shop on the
Linden I once saw a prize cup for a yacht contest showing much
skill in invention and beauty in form, while near it hung the
pencil drawing for it in his own hand.

His knowledge of music and love for it have been referred to
elsewhere in these chapters. Noteworthy was it that his feeling
was not at all for music of a thin, showy sort; he seemed to be
touched by none of the prevailing fashions, but to cherish a
profound love for the really great things in music. This was
often shown, as, for example, at the concert at Potsdam to which
he invited President and Mrs. Harrison, and in his comments upon
the pieces then executed. But the most striking evidence of it
was the music in the Royal Chapel. It has been given me to hear
more than once the best music of the Sistine Pauline, and Lateran
choirs at Rome, of the three great choirs at St. Petersburg, of
the chorus at Bayreuth, and of other well-known assemblages under
high musical direction; but the cathedral choir at Berlin, in its
best efforts, surpassed any of these, and the music, both
instrumental and choral, which reverberates under the dome of the
imperial chapel at the great anniversaries there celebrated is
nowhere excelled. For operatic music of the usual sort he seemed
to care little. If a gala opera was to be given, the chances were
that he would order the performance of some piece of more