German Ambassador
In 1889, William Phelps was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Germany. On October 11, 1889, William Phelps was presented to the German Empress at a gala performance at the Royal Opera House, given in honor of the Czar of Russia. Phelps remained in the post for one year until a case of homesickness prompted his request for a short leave of absence. He sailed for America in September 1890.
In his diary Phelps wrote,
| “ | I have come home to rest and enjoy myself. I intend to spend my vacation upon my Teaneck farm. I feel as if I were already a Jersey farmer again. See, there is one of my farm wagons on the pier, ready to take off my luggage and those lusty-looking fellows have come down fresh from Teaneck to give me an early welcome. I expect to live among the trees until I get rested, and then hunt up my friends to see that they have not forgotten me. No Politics this time, only that I shall vote the Republican ticket in Bergen County at the coming election, and soon after return to my official duties at Berlin. | ” |
Phelps returned to Germany a year later, remaining in this post until January 1893, when his health began to suffer due to the climate. He traveled south, vacationing in Spain, Morocco, Tunis, Algiers and Italy, hoping the climate would improve his health.
Read more about this topic: William Walter Phelps
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