It is no exaggeration to state that the emperor is in almost perpetual conflict, and at open war with the great majority of German painters and designers--a notable exception being the case of Professor von Menzel. Indeed, their discontent occasionally breaks forth with an intensity altogether new in the annals of German loyalty to the throne. A very remarkable instance thereof is the means which they adopted to show their disapproval of the emperor's treatment of Wallot, the designer of the palace of the imperial parliament. Wallot is universally recognized as the foremost architect of the age in Germany, and his original design for the building, as accepted by the authorities, was a very grandiose and magnificent conception. Financial considerations necessitated the modification of some of the features of the building, while others were forced upon the architect sorely against his will by the emperor, with the result that the palace is not quite so superb as originally projected. It remains, however, a magnificent and imposing pile, well worthy of the purpose for which it has been erected, and in no way a displeasing monument of German art and architecture as understood in the nineteenth century. All the recognized authorities, both Teuton and foreign, in questions of art and architecture, have pronounced themselves in this sense, the only discordant note being that to which the emperor has given utterance. Not only has he publicly declared the new Reichshaus to be "the very acme of bad taste," but he even went to the length of striking the designer's name from the list of gold medalists at the exhibition of art and architecture held at Berlin shortly after the completion and inauguration of the building. The gold medal had been voted to Herr Wallot by a jury composed of all the most celebrated artists in Germany, whose verdict, representing that of the nation, might have been considered as definite and final. The kaiser, however, when the list was submitted to him for final approval, substituted, in lieu of the name of Professor Wallot, that of his favorite portrait painter, Madame Palma Parlaghy, whose work is, in the eyes of Germany's leading artists, so execrable that the hanging committee of the Berlin Academy have repeatedly refused to accord places to any of her pictures on its walls.