He always appeared to me most deeply concerned with the
arts of peace. I have never heard him speak much of war, and then always
with abhorrence, nor much of military matters, but improved agriculture,
invention, and manufacture, and especially commerce and education in all
their ramifications, were the chief subjects of his thought and
conversation. I have had the privilege of association with many highly
intelligent and profoundly learned men, but I have never acquired as
much knowledge, in the same time, from any man whom I have ever met, as
from the German Emperor. And yet, with all this real superiority of mind
and education, his deference to the opinions of others is remarkable.
Arrogance is one of the qualities most often attributed to him, but he
is the only ruler I ever saw in whom there appeared to be absolutely no
arrogance. He meets you as man meets man and makes you feel that you are
required to yield to nothing but the better reason.
A Man of Warm Affections.
In the third place, the Emperor impressed me as a man of heart, of warm
affections, and of great consideration for the feelings and well-being
of others.
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