far short of what it should have been. Even during my earlier
stays in Berlin it was understood that some of his predecessors,
and especially his father, had desired to change its corpse-like
and swampy character and give it more of the features of a
stately park, but that popular opposition to any such change had
always shown itself too bitter and uncompromising. This seemed a
great pity, for while there were some fine trees, a great
majority of them were so crowded together that there was no
chance of broad, free growth either for trees or for shrubbery.
There was nothing of that exquisitely beautiful play, upon
expanses of green turf, of light and shade through wide-expanded
boughs and broad masses of foliage, which gives such delight in
any of the finer English or American parks. Down to about half a
dozen years since it had apparently been thought best not to
interfere, and even when attention was called to the dark, swampy
characteristics of much of the Thiergarten, the answer was that
it was best to humor the Berliners; but about the beginning of my
recent stay the young Emperor intervened with decision and force,
his work was thorough, and as my windows looked out over one
corner of this field of his operations, their progress interested
me, and they were alluded to from time to time in our
conversations. Interesting was it to note that his energy was
all-sufficient; the Berliners seemed to regard his activity as
Arabs regard a sand-storm,--as predestined and irresistible,--and
the universal verdict now justifies his course, both on sanitary
and artistic grounds.

The same thing may be said, on the whole, of the influence he has
exerted on the great adornments of his capital city. The position
and character of various monuments on which he has impressed his