= Folded; some tears on folds. Very rare laudatory poem for Paul Kruger on his arrival in Marseille. No copies traced in the trade - with only 1 copy in WorldCat listed in Leiden, but this may be the text as published in the daily Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf of 22 November 1900. Our copy published on better paper and probably brought into circulation as a broadsiide. Stephanus Johannes Paulus (Paul) Kruger (1825-1904), was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State President of the South African Republic (or Transvaal) from 1883 to 1900. Nicknamed Oom Paul ("Uncle Paul"), he came to international prominence as the face of the Boer cause-that of the Transvaal and its neighbour the Orange Free State-against Britain during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. He has been called a personification of Afrikanerdom, and remains a controversial figure; admirers venerate him as a tragic folk hero. Kruger left for Europe as the war turned against the Boers in 1900 and spent the rest of his life in exile, refusing to return home following the British victory. Kruger left the Transvaal by rail on 11 September 1900 - he wept as the train crossed into Mozambique. He planned to board the first outgoing steamer, the Herzog of the German East Africa Line, but was prevented from doing so when, at the behest of the local British Consul, the Portuguese Governor insisted that Kruger stay in port under house arrest. About a month later Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands concluded a deal with Britain to extricate Kruger on a Dutch warship, HNMLS Gelderland, and convey him through non-British waters to Marseille. Kruger was delighted to hear of this but dismayed that Gezina, still in Pretoria, was not well enough to accompany him. Gelderland departed on 20 October 1900. He received a rapturous welcome in Marseille on 22 November-60,000 people turned out to see him disembark. Accompanied by Leyds, he went on to an exuberant reception in Paris, then continued to Cologne on 1 December. Here the public greeted him with similar excitement, but Kaiser Wilhelm II refused to receive him in Berlin. Having apparently still harboured hopes of German assistance in the war, Kruger was deeply shocked. "The Kaiser has betrayed us", he told Leyds. They went on to the Netherlands, which was strictly neutral and could not assist militarily, but would feel more like home. After another buoyant reception from the general public Kruger was cordially received by Wilhelmina and her family in The Hague, but it soon became clear to Leyds that it embarrassed the Dutch authorities to have them staying in the seat of government. The Kruger party moved to Hilversum in April 1901. Kruger died in Clarens, Switzerland in 1904 and was initially buried in The Hague, but was soon repatriated with British permission. (source: wikipedia).