XLIV Berlin 15/I/1905

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WWI Document Archive > Pre - 1914 Documents > Willy-Nicky Letters between the Kaiser and the Czar > 'Willy-Nicky' Letters XXXIX - XLVIII (17 November 1904 - 27 July 1905) > XLIV Berlin 15/I/1905


Willy-Nicky holographic letter of Berlin 15/I/1905.

XLIV
Berlin 15/I/1905


Dearest Nicky

The Widow of old Prince Antoine Radzivill, Princess Marie,[1] is going to St. Petersburg to beg for your approval of her late husbands will. Prince Antoine was not only a cherished and trusted servant of my deceased grandfather as his Adjutant and Adjutant General, but also a faithful and beloved personal friend to him as well as to my late beloved father and to me. His winning ways and his gay nature as well as his chivalrous character won him friends wherever he was, and your Grandfather and father have both allways cherished him. His wife was the intimate long-life friend of my late mother, and has been made testatrix by her husband for his will. The whole future of her children and family rests on the fact of your kind approval of the will, and I venture to plead her cause to you and to beg that you will bestow your kindness on her, as she is very sad and broken down by her loss; this she feels the more as her eldest son is an hopeless idiot in an Asylum, so that she must look after her Grandchildren too. --Your Ambassador Osten-Sacken is in great anxiety on account of his poor old wife. She has had a very serious operation made in her back -- without having been able to use chloroform -- and is unable to lie down but must spend her nights sitting in a chair and suffering terrible pain, so that considering her age of 84, her life is feared for. Poor old man, the suspense is very telling upon him, and I am afraid that should she die, he will not be able to work as well as formerly and perhaps think of retiring. Should a change once take place at your Embassy here, I would venture quite privately, to ask you to send Isvolsky[2] here. He is one of the best men in your Foreign Service, and an intimate friend of long standing of Count Bülow's, who would be overpleased at having him here, as they formerly served together as diplomatists, and as he cherishes Isvolsky much. Lastly may I once more remind you of your kind promise, twice given, and twice put off, that my brother in law Frederic Leopold could be allowed to join your army. The last time in July all was arranged and ready, when he was put off, which placed him in a very difficult position vis a vis to our army and officers, he beeing as we say "blamirt," especially so, when Charles Hohenzollern left for Japan, which was done, becausetwe thought Fr. Leopold would leave for Mukden too. Now the people point at Fr. Leopold and the poor fellow is awfully crestfallen; he has bought lots of clothes and things and made every effort of preparations and even learnt your tongue and will in no way be of any hindrance to your generals, as he is a quiet man; as the army is large and powerful I think that it does not matter if he goes, so I venture again to ask wether you can permit him to go?

With excuse for bothering you with all these matters, but they are better arranged between ourselves and best love to Alix I remain

Ever your most aff-ate cousin and friend
Willy


Notes

  1. Princess Marie Radziwill des marquis de Castellane was the widow of Prince Antoine Radziwill who died in Berlin on December 16th, 1904.
  2. M. A. P. Izvolsky was Russian Minister at Copenhagen I902-1906, and in May, 1906, he succeeded Count Lamsdorf as Foreign Minister. In 1910 he became Ambassador in Paris, where he died on August 16th, I9l9.

WWI Document Archive > Pre - 1914 Documents > Willy-Nicky Letters between the Kaiser and the Czar > 'Willy-Nicky' Letters XXXIX - XLVIII (17 November 1904 - 27 July 1905) > XLIV Berlin 15/I/1905