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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent etre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film/./ ///^//v / '//■/y' "' /''■■'■■/'■'/ /,./.. /I BIS- '. RCK )Mr yt'Ll ' il\ r'i? i ( iKY 1 h.i n.i/. '01' i . i.nn ! f- BISMARCK SOME SECRET PAGES OF HIS HISTORY being a diary kept by Dr. MORITZ BUSCH DURING TWENTV-FIVE YEARS' OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE INTERCOURSE WITH THE GREAT CHANCELLOR IVITH PORTRAITS IN TWO VOLUiMES VOL. I THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, Limited TORONTO V.I ^umo CoPYIilOHT, 1898, Hv 'mK RIACMILLAN COMPANY. /( , Noriuoot) \^xt I the accidental, and apparently insignificant, origin of m * ^ epoch-making inventions and discoveries, such as the fall of o^,„,. apple from a tree that gave Newton the first impulse towa ^^ his theory of gravitation, the greatest discovery of the ci .l^ j tcenth century ; the steam from the boiling kettle which r^i -juj-ns its lid and ultimately led to the transformation of the world .^ ^.|^ the locomotive ; the brilliant reflection of the sun on a tin vc> f/,iiowe which transported Jacob Boehme into a transcendental visi ^ i. ^^i and the spot of grease upon our tablecloth at Ferri^res wh g-j.|g formed the starting-point of one of Prince Bismarck's most i^^ markable conversations. The morning hours affect nerv. -j-y \jq constitutions differently to the evening, and changes of wcat:j-|,gj ^ depress or raise the spirits of persons subject to rheumatbi-fgj \^q Indeed, it must be remembered that learned theories have h^^pn c formed which, expressed in a plain and direct way, amo *jjg ^i-^.^ roughly to this — that a man is what he eats. However c jjjg jyj- that may sound, we really cannot say how far such ideas : jguj^^^cv wrong. Finally, it appears to me that everything is of inter, reprodu and should receive attention which has any relation to the pro: Qf t^js f nent central figure of the great movement which resulted in ; away, th political regeneration of our country — to that powerful pcrs ^^ ^■^Qx;^ ality who, like the angel mentioned in the Scriptures, stir: (J^notinf the stagnant pool, and gave health and life after the lethar ^i tim and decay of centuries. I followed the Chancellor's can inijident with the eyes of a future generation. At great epochs tri' ' j tri appear smaller than they actually arc. In later decades a ailicles centuries the contrary is the case. The great events of t fj^tt pla( past bulk still larger in men's minds, while things which wc gA-tain regarded as unimportant become full of significance. It is th gf^nied a often a matter for regret that it is impossible to form as d ^^e dh and lifelike a picture of a personality or an event as one co. Stated wish for want of valuable material originally cast aside as of : account. There was no eye to see and no hand to collect a preserve those materials while it was yet time. Who wo. not now be glad to have fuller details respecting Luther in t great days and hours of his life ? In a hundred years the memory of Prince Bismarck w take a place in the minds of our people next to that occupi by the Wittenberg doctor. The liberator of our political I from dependence upon foreigners will stand by the side of t: the r iw lea inent icles listic e Krc ars h( re in ancel PREFACE XV origin of ni IS the fall of mpulse towa ry of the d. le which rai )f the world \ on a tin vc> ndental visi Ferri^rcs \vh arck's most affect nerv. iges of wcat; to rheunKiti> ories have Ix :t way, amo. However ( such ideas : ig is of inter; :)n to the pro; resulted in ! werful pcrs iptures, stir: r the lethar cellor's car epochs trir r decades a events of t js which \vt ce. It is th form as ck as one co. aside as of collect a: Who wo. ^uther in t Bismarck v that occup; • political ! le side of t: reformer who freed our consciences from the oppression of Rome — the founder of the Gorman State by the side of him who created German Christianity. Our Chancellor already holds this place in the hearts of many of his countrymen; his portrait adorns their walls, and they inspire the growing generation witii the reverence which they themselves feel. These will be followed by the masses, and therefore I imagine I may safely take the risk of being told that I have preserved, not only the pearls, but also the shells in which they were found. , Many of the Chancellor's expressions respecting the French miy be regarded as unfair and even occasionally inhuman. It must not be forgotten, however, that ordinary warfare is calcu- lated to harden the feelings, and that Gambetta's suicidal cam- paign, conducted with all the passi late ardour of his nature, the treacherous tactics of his franctireurs, and the bestiality of his Turcos, was bound to raise a spirit in our camp in which leniency and consideration could have no part. Of course, in reproducing and in adding other and still more bitter instances of this feeling, now that all these things have long ago passed away, there can be no intention to hurt any one's feelings. They are merely vivid contributions to the history of the campaign, denoting the momentary temper of the Chancellor, who was at tlwat time sorely tried and deeply wounded by these and other intidents. I I trust my reasons for including a number of newspaper a^licles will commend themselves to the reader, I do so in the ftlst place to show the gradual development and change which Obtain political ideas underwent, and the forms which they as- stimed at various times. Furthermore, the greater part of them v^re directly inspired by Prince Bismarck, and some were even tated by him. By mentioning the latter articles I hope to the newspapers in question a pleasure in so far as they will |w learn that they once had the honour of having the most eminent statesman of the century as a contributor. All these i#ticles furnish material for forming an opinion upon the jour- isalistic activity of the Prince, which hitherto only Wagener of me Krcur:::eiiung, Zitelman, the Prince's amanuensis during the years he spent as Ambassador at Frankfort, and Lothar Bucher re in a position to do. On the 22nd of January, 1871, the ancellor himself remarked, referring to the importance of the XVI PREFACE 1 1' .M press for historians : " One learns more from the newspapers than from official despatches, as, of course. Governments ust the press in order frequently to say more cleaily what thc\ really mean. One must, however, know all about the conncc tions of the different papers." This knowledge will in grca: part be found in the present work. The reason for reproducing certain portions of my previous writings in this book is that they are essential for the purposi of completing the character portrait given in the diary. With out them it would be deficient in some pa.-ts, and unintelligibl in others. The reproductions referred to are in almost ever instance considerably altered and supplemented with additiona matter, and they now occupy a more suitable position in tht work than before. MORITZ BUSCH. Leipzig, Julys©, '898. Mjr i Dep Appoin cnce \v of tllL- iiturc o to S;ini- 1 I I From tliu Fr Cowmcicy fi turn to\j Kezonvil Seian— Ijisj |ni the M(i larck an J Chateau iwspapcis ncnts use kvhat thc\ le connoc 11 in grca: y previous le purpost I ry. With | intcUigib! 1 CONTENTS CHAPTER I Tiost ever 1 i-^> My Appointment as an Official in the Foreign Office, and my First Aiidi- ^ . cnce witli JMsinaiclv — Work and Observations up to the Oulijreak tion in th: „f ^]^^. ^Var with France lUSCH. CHAPTER H D|parture of the Chancellor for the Seat of War— I follow him, at first 4 to Saarhrueck — Journey from there to the French Frontier — The Foreign Office Flying Column 48 CHAPTER HI Sm the Frontier to Gravelotte . 57 CHAPTER IV imercy — liar le Due — Clermont en Argonne 77 CHAPTER V Wf turn towards the North — The Chancellor of the Confederation at I Rczonville — The Battle and Battlefield of Beaumont ... 94 CHAPTER VI Ian — Bismarck and Napoleon at Donchery 106 CHAPTER VII Im the Meuse to the Marne 122 CHAPTER VIII larck and Favre at Haute-Maison — A Fortnight in Rothschild's Chateau xvii 143 XVIU coni[:nts CHAI'TKR IX CIIAI'TKR X Autumn Diiys ut Versailles CHAI'TKR XI '4 The Journey to Versailles— Madame Jesse's House, and our Life there N* 7^ W UucIk From our my F( Thiers and the First Negotiations for an Armistice at Versailles . ? ^8 L)'l""' CHAI'TKR XII rirowing Desire for a Decision in Various Directions CHAI'TKR XI'! Removal of the Anxiety respecting the Bavarian Treaty in the Reichs- tag — The Bombardment further postponed CHAPTER XIV The Prospects outside Paris improve CHAPTER XV Chaudordy and the Truth — Officers of Bad Faith — French Garbling — The Crown Prince dines with the Chief CHAPTER XVI First Week of the Bombardment . CHAPTER XVII Last Weeks before the Capitulation of Paris 3. CHAPTER XVIII During the Negotiations respecting the Capitulation of Paris . . ]' CHAPTER XIX From Gambetta's Resignation to the Conclusion of the Preliminaries of Peace 1 CONTENTS XIX r Life there CHA!'TKF< XX No. 7fi Williclinstrasse — Tlie Cliamccllor's ResidiiicT und the F'oiviyn '*''" Oiticc -Tin; Chiefs Official Surroundings and iiis Life at Home , Ikicher .ind Abeken 424 lies . j CHAPTER XXI From our Return from the War up to the Temporary Discontinuance of my Personal Intercoinse witli the Chancellor — Glimpses of the Diplomatic World — Commissions for the Press . . . . 455 the Reichs h Garbliu' ninaries of ■ 41 At Fki A Port t I LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOLUME I Portrait of Prince Bismarck i'rom a photograph taKen in 1885. '^T Friedricusruh A Portrait ok Prince Bismarck . Frontispiece Facing page i6u 334 SOJV ]■■■ i ii I MY APPC MY I TION: On 1 in litera Metzler, Confedei Press m since i8i order to ray great Hcrr vol charge o fif a con erition, v lich m; Chan imunic |ng wo w^hout a lails w( irn frc |uircd t and later W^ting be I This I pd as th VC BISMARCK SOME SECRET PAGES OF HIS HISTORY CHAPTER I MY APPOINTMENT AS AN OFFICIAL IN THE FOREIGN OFFICE, AND MY FIRST AUDIENCE WITH BISMARCK — WORK AND OBSERVA- TIONS UP TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE On February ist, 1870, while living in Leipzig and engaged in literary work, I received — quite unexpectedly — from Dr. Metzler, Secretary in the Foreign Office of the North German Confederation, who was at that time occupied principally with Press matters and with whom I had been in communication since 1867, a short note requesting me to come to Berlin in order to have a talk with him. On my arrival I ascertained, to my great surprise, that Dr. Metzler had recommended me to Herr von Keudell, Councillor of Embassy, who was then in charge of personal and finance matters in the Foreign Office, for a confidential position under the Chancellor of the Confed- eration, which he, Metzler himself, had previously held, and in which my chief duty would be to carry out the instructions of the Chancellor in Press matters. I was to be in immediate communication with the Chancellor. My position for the time being would be what was called " diatarisch," that is to say without any claim to a pension and without a title. Further details were to be arranged with Herr von Keudell on his return from his honeymoon. For the moment I was only re(|uircd to declare my readiness in general to accept the offer, and later on I was to formulate my wishes and lay them in writing before Herr von Keudell. I This I did in a letter dated February 4th, in which I empha- siied as the most important condition that I should be entirely ■k VOL. I.— B I MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH BISMARCK [Fkh,: 1870] independent of the Literary or Press Bureau, and that if r capacity for the position should not prove equal to the expect; tions formed of it I should not be appointed an official in th; department. On February 19th I heard from Metzler that rr conditions had been in the main agreed to, and that no obje tions had been raised with regard to that respecting the Lite ary Bureau. I was to discuss the further arrangements wi: Keudell himself, and to be prepared to enter upon my duties once. On February 21st I had a satisfactory interview wi. the latter, in the course of which we came to an understandi: as to terms. On the 23d I was informed by Keudell that t: Chancellor had agreed to my conditions, and that he h; arranged for me to call upon Bismarck on the following eve ing. Next day I took the official oath, and on the sar evening, shortly after 8 o'clock, I found myself in the presen of the Chancellor, whom I had only seen at a distance or, before, namely, from the Press Gallery of the Reichstag. No two years later, I saw him again as he sat in a military unifo: at his writing table with a bundle of documents before hi- I was quite close to him this time, and felt as if I stood befc the altar. He gave me his hand, and motioned me to take a se opposite him. He began by saying that although he desir to have a talk with me, he must for the moment content hi: self with just making my acquaintance, as he had very IL time to spare. "I have been kept in the Reichstag to-ci longer than I expected by a number of lengthy and tireso: speeches ; then I have here (printing to the documents befc him) despatches to read, also as a rule not very amusing ; a: at 9 o'clock I must go to the Palace, and that is not particulai entertaining either. What have you been doing up to t: present ? " I replied that I had edited the Grenzboten, an org; of practically National Liberal views, which I left, however,: one of the proprietors showing a disposition to adopt a P: gressist policy on the Schleswig-Holstein question. The Cha cellor: "Yes, I know that paper." I then went on to say rt | I had at the instance of the Government taken a position Hanover, where I assisted the Civil Commissioner, Herr v: Hardenberg, in representing Prussian interests in the M press during the year of transition. I had subsequently, course y [Feb,; 1870] WHAT MY WORK WAS TO BE 1 that if IT the expect; Oficial in th: Lzler that n hat no obje ng the Liu jements \vi, my duties iterview w: nderstandi: idell that t: that he h; [lowing eve an the sar the preser. distance or. hstag. Nc litary unifo; s before hi- stood befc take a se h he desir content hi ad very li. chstag to-c; and tireso: iments befc .musing; a- t particula: g up to t: oten, an org; however, ; adopt a P; The Chi )n to say tl a position er, Herr v: in the loJ sequently, inatructions received from the Foreign Ofificc, written a number of articles for different political journals, amongst others for the Preussischc Jahrbuec/ier, to which I had also previously contributed. Bismarck: "Then you understand our politics and the German question in particular. I intend to get you to write notes and articles for the papers from such particulars and instructions as I may give you, for of course I cannot my- self write leaders. You will also arrange for others doing so. At first these will naturally be by way of trial. I must have some one especially for this purpose, and not merely occasional assistance as at present, especially as I also receive very little useful help from the Literary Bureau, But how long do you remain here .'' " and as he looked at his watch I thought he desired to bring the conversation to a close. I replied that I had arranged to remain in Berlin. Bismarck : " Ah, very well then, I shall have a long talk with you one of these days. In the meantime see Herr von Keudell, and also Herr Bucher, Councillor of Embassy, who is well acquainted with all these matters." I understood that 1 was now at liberty to go, and was about to rise from my seat when the Chancellor said : " Of course you know the question which was before the House to- djiy ? " I replied in the negative, explaining that I had been t<|o busy to read the reports in the newspapers. "Well," he slid, "it was respecting the admission of Baden into the North German Confederation. It is a pity that people cannot man- age to wait, and that they treat everything from a party stand- point, and as furnishing opportunities for speech-making. Disagreeable business to have to answer such speeches, not to say such twaddle ! These eloquent gentlemen are really like lj|dics with small feet. They force them into shoes that are tight for them, and push them under our noses on all icasions in order that we may admire them. It is just the e with a man who has the misfortune to be eloquent. He eaks too often and too long. The question of German unity making good progress ; but it requires time — one year per- ,ps, or five, or indeed possibly even ten years. I cannot make go any faster, nor can these gentlemen either. But they ve no patience to wait." With these words he rose, and ain shaking hands I took leave of him for the time. I was thus enlisted in the ranks of Bismarck's fellow work- HOW I RECEIVED MY INSTRUCTIONS [l-'Ell. 29 1870] ers. An opportunity for the general instructions which he pro- posed to give me never occurred. I had to enter upon my work at once. Next evening I was twice called in to him to receive instructions for articles. Later on I sometimes saw him still more frequently, and occasionally in the forenoon also — now and then as often as five or even eight times in one day. At these interviews I had to take good care to keep my ears well open, and to note everything with the closest attention, so that two pieces of information or two sets of instructions should not get mixed up. However, I soon found myself equal to this unusually trying task, as Bismarck's opinions and instructions were always given in a striking form, which it was easy to re- member. Besides, he was accustomed to repeat his principal points in other words. Then, again, I made myself all ears, so that, through practice, I gradually succeeded in retaining long sentences, and even whole speeches, practically without omis- sions, until I had an opportunity of committing them to paper, Bismarck used also to send me, by one of the messengers, docu- ments and newspapers marked with the letter V and a c^oss, signs which indicated " Press Instructions." When I found such papers on my desk, I looked them through, and subse- quently obtained the Chancellor's directions with regard to them. Furthermore, when I had anything of importance to ask or to submit for his approval, I was allowed to call upon him without previous invitation. I thus practically occupied the position of a " Vortragender Rath" {i.e., an official having direc' iccess to the Chancellor), excepting only that I had neither the title nor the sense of infallibility common to all such Councillors. The newspapers to which the articles thus prepared were supplied were the Norddcutsche Allgemeinc Zcitiing, then edited by Brass, which was the semi-official organ, properly speaking ; the Spenerscli- Zcitung, and the Ncne Prcussische Zcitung. I also frequently sent letters to the Kocliiischc Zeitung, expressing the Chancellor's views. During the first months of my appoint- ment, Metzler, who had previously contributed to that paper, served as the medium for communicating these articles. Subse- quently they were sent direct to the editor, and were always accepted without alteration. In addition to this work I saw one ot the writers from the Literary Bureau every forenoon, and gave him material which was sent to the Magdeburger Zcitung f and some . his departm : Prussian, ai interviews \^ Amongst th to the Augsl in Hanover ; at Jena, who afterwards e who had pre that time wo had been press. In additi< masses of G were laid upc and purchas( therefore be mained in Be engaged not in the mornir 10 and somet occurred that ; to call me av order to recei I reproduc diary the parti statements anc at that period. honour to s vt and they furth cal events of tl Some days entrance of B which referenc was still occui Chancellor, I fi February 2c to direct special Liberal Press o iSyo] WORKING THE PRESS 5 md and some of the smaller news;^apers ; while other members of his department furnished portions of it to certain Silesian, East Prussian, and South German organs. I had similar weekly interviews with other, and somewhat more independent, writers. Amongst these I may mention Dr. Bock, who supplied articles to the Angsbtirger Allgcmeinc Zeitimg, and a number of papers in Hanover; Professor Constantine Roeszler, formerly Lecturer at Jena, who subsequently assisted Richthofen at Hamburg and afterwards edited the Staatsanzciger ; and finally Herr Heide, who had previously been a missionary in Australia and was at that time working for the North German Correspondence, which had been founded with a view to influencing the English press. In addition to this my duties also included the reading of masses of German, Austrian, and French newspapers, which were laid upon my table three times daily, and the management and purchase of books for the Ministerial Library. It will therefore be easily understood that while the Chancellor re- mained in Berlin I had more than enough to attend to. I was engaged not only on week-days, but also on Sundays, from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, and again from 5 till 10 and sometimes 1 1 o'clock at night. Indeed, it sometimes occurred that a messenger from the Chancellor came at midnight to call me away from a party of friends or out of my bed in order to receive pressing instructions. I reproduce here in the form in which they appear in my diary the particulars of a number of more or less characteristic statements and instructions which I received from the Chancellor at that period. They show that the statesman whom I had the honour to s ve thoroughly understood the business of journalism, and they further throw a welcome light upon many of the politi- cal events of that time. Some days aft<'r the debate in the Reichstag respecting the entrance of Baden into the North German Confederation, to which reference has already been made, and while the matter was still occupying both the attention of the Press and of the Chancellor, I find the following entry among my notes : — February 2gt/i, evening. --C2i\\Qd to see the Minister. I am to direct special attention to the nonsense written by the National Liberal Press on the last sitting of the Reichstag. The Chan- h IIIE SITUATION IN FRANCli [March 1870] cellor said: "The National Liberals are not a united party. They are merely two fractions. Amongst their leaders Bennii,r. sen and Forkenbeck arc sensible men, and there are also a couple of others. Miguel is inclined to be theatrical. Loewc, with his deep chest notes, does everything for effect. He has not made a single practical remark. Lasker is effective in destructive criticism, but is no politician. It sounded very odd to hear him declare that they were now too much occupied with Rome in Paris and Vienna to interfere with us in connection with the Baden affair. If it were possible to get those of reallv Progressist views to act independently, it would make the situ- ation much clearer. Friedenthal's speech was excellent. 1 must ask you also to emphasise the following points : — i. The unfairness of the National Zeitungm repeating misunderstand- ings which I explained and disposed of in my speech. 2. The make-believe support given to my policy by men who were elected for the express purpose of rendering me real assistance 3. That such politicians either cannot see or intentionally over- look my principal motive, viz., that to admit Buuen into the Con federation would bring pressure to bear upon Bavaria, and that it is therefore a hazardous step. Attention should be paid tc the situation in France, so that nothing should be done which might endanger the Constitutional evolution of that country, ar evolution hitherto promoted in every way from Berlin, as it sig- nifies peace for us. The French Arcadians" (the party tha; supported Napoleon through thick and thin) " are watching the course of events in Germany, and waiting their opportunity Napoleon is now well disposed to us, but he is very changeablej We could now fight France and beat her too, but that war woulc give rise to five or six others ; and while we can gain our endi by peaceful means, it would be foolish, if not criminal, to take such a course. Events in France may take a warlike or revolu- tionary turn, which would render the present brittle metal there more malleable. There was an important point in my speech, which, however, these good people failed to recognise. That was the intimation that in certain circumstances wt should pay no regard either to the views of Austria respecting South Gcr many as a whole, nor to those of France, who objected to the admission of any single South German State into the North German Confederation. That was a feeler. Further measures can on receive^ ^i Mat ;; inserted fvon Fre the Jur has beer Particul ] Foreign i Baden t( the Nort which 1 towards old Germ fact, beco ^ (to me : - f amongst * of which t \ union wit scription course I whose sov ! something , Sonderbun I were oblig which the' sovereign i against the eluding hal ) either in c( ahe North, tion is wh< 1 Chancellor question in .; wilful garbl J is not the ■; territory ! 1 ^justifies tha the instance would almoi I 1 ion, ^lAUCIl I 1870] THE SOUTH GERMAN STATES party. also a Locwc, Hii has live in iry odd 2cl with ncction f reallv he situ- lent. 1 1. The erstand- 2. Tlie 10 were sistancc, lly over- :he Con- ^nd that paid tc which ntry, ar. IS it sig- ty tha; ling the rtunity.; igeable r woulc Lir ends to take revolu- d there speech Thai lild pay |h Ger to thel NorthI kasuresi lean only be considered when I know how that hint has been i received in Vienna and Paris." I March \st. — Count Bismarck wishes me to get the following i inserted in the South German newspapers: — " The speech of ivon Freydorf, the Grand Ducal Minister, in the Baden Diet on ''the Jurisdiction Treaty with the North German Confederation, - has been inspired by an absolutely correct view of the situation. I Particular attention should be paid to that portion in which the ■ Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy declared the policy of I Baden to be in perfect accord with that of the Chancellor of I the North German Confederation, and also to the manner in I which he defined the position of the South German States I towards the Treaty of Prague. Through the dissolution of the lold Germanic Confederacy, those States have, as a matter of \ fact, become sovereign States. That Treaty gives them liberty |(to me: — Underline those words!) to form a new union I amongst themselves, a South German Confederation, by means I of which they may take measures for bringing about a national I union with the united North. That Treaty involves no pre- I scription, engagement, or compulsion whatever to adopt such a 5 course. Any insinuation of that kind with respect to States ■; whose sovereignty has been emphatically recognised would be t something absolutely unheard of. In the Swiss war of the Sonderbund, and also in the late American civil war, States ■ were obliged against their own will to remain within a union /which they had previously joined, but no one ever saw a ■ sovereign State or Prince required to enter into Confederation against their own judgment. The South German States, in- : eluding half of Hesse, have unquestionably the right — acting neither in concert or singly — to endeavour, in cooperation with •the North, to advance the cause of national unity. The ques- tion is whether the present is a good time to choose. The i Chancellor of the North German Confederation answers this question in the negative. But it is only possible by the most ■ wilful garbling of his expressions to maintain that his final aim is not the union of Germany. Partition of German national territory! Calumny! Not a single word of the Chancellor's J justifies that conclusion. As Herr Lasker has not spoken at the instance of the Government of Baden, although his speech would almost convey the impression that he was a Minister of 8 THE UNION OF NORTH AND SOUTH [March • 1 ii . that State, it is difficult to understand where he got that idea, Perhaps it was merely the conceit of the honourable Member that led him to make such a statement." March ird. — The Minister wishes the Koelnischc ZeiUing first, and afterwards the South German newspapers, to advocate the organisation into one great party of all men of national views in the South German States, so as to get rid of the particularism which had hitherto divided them. " The matter lies much more in their hands," he said, "than in those of the North German National Liberals. The North German Govern- ments will do all that is possible in a reasonable way in support of the efforts of South Germany. But the South Germans who wish to unite with us mu.st act together and not singly. I want you to reiterate this point again and again. The article must then be printed in the Spencrsche Zcitung and in other news- papers to which we have access, and it should be accompanied by expressions of deep regret at the particularism which pre- vents the union of the various Southern parties that gravitate towards North Germany. A union of the four Southern States is an impossibility, but there is nothing to hinder the formation of a Southern League composed of men of national sentiments, The National party in Baden, the German party in Wiirtem- berg, and the Bavarian Progressist party are merely different names for the same thing. These groups have to deal with| different Governments, and some persons maintain that they must consequently adopt different tactics. Their aims are nevertheless identical in all important points. With the best will in the world those three parties, while acting sing'/, pro- duce but a slight impression. If they desire to go ahead and become an important factor in public affairs, they must combine to form a great and homogeneous South German National party which must be reckoned with on both sides of the Main." Read over to the Minister, at his request, an article which he ordered yesterday and for which he gave me the leading ideas. It was to be dated from Paris, and published in the Koelnische Zcitung. He said : " Yes, you have correctly ex- pressed my meaning. The composition is good both as regards its reasoning and the facts which it contains. But no French- man thinks in such logical and well-ordered fashion, yet the letter is understood to be written by a Frenchman. It must 1S70J contain mm point to po French stan gives his op Gcrn- que statements the greater p in its altered In connec before : — " I in Paris mus the others o^ nients which He must say state of affaii disposed, to < him, and on in France — ^ it would itself \ who desire to war with us, ^ I took any acti( i regard as dct ] Moreover, fo: 'should not be -possibly be a ? added. "I c; ticians they v for forbearanc but Members do not usually The secon( runs as follov serving here i Constitutional development c strike deep roc the guiding sp Sinfant in its cr the horizon a !870] THE VATICAN COUNCIL doa, iber tung icate onal the atter the /ern- )pon who want must lews- inied I pre- /itatc Itates lation lents, rtem- erent with they arc best pro- and nbine iona'i ain." vhicli iding 1 the y ex- ards ench- t the must contain more gossip, and you must pass more lightly from point to point. In doing so you must adopt an altogether French standpoint. A Liberal Parisian writes the letter and gives his opinion as to the position of his party towards the Gern- que.stion, expressing himself in the manner usual in statements of that kind." (Finally Count Bismarck dictated the greater part of the article, which was forwarded by Metzler in its altered form to the Rhenish newspaper.) In connection with this task the Minister said to me the day before : — "I look at the matter in this way. A correspondent in Paris must give his opinion of my quarrel with Lasker and the others over the Baden question, and bring forward argu- ments which I did not think it desirable to use at that time. He must say that no one could deem it advisable in the present state of affairs in Bavaria, when the King seems to be so well disposed, to do anything calculated on the one hand to irritate him, and on the other to disturb the Constitutional movement in France — which movement tended to preserve peace while it would itself be promoted by the maintenance of peace. Those who desire to advance the cause of liberty do not wish to go to war with us, yet they could not swim against the stream if we took any action in South Germany which public opinion would regard as detrimental to the interests and prestige of France. Moreover, for the present the course of the Vatican Council should not be interfered with, as the result for Germany might possibly be a diversion. We must wait for these things," he added. "I cannot explain that to them. If they were poli- ticians they would see it for themselves. There are reasons for forbearance which every one should be able to recognise ; hut Members of Parliament who cross-question the Government do not usually regard that as their duty." The second portion of the article which the Minister dictated runs as follows : — " Whoever has had an opportunity of ob- serving here in Paris how difficult the birth of the present Constitutional movement has been, what obstacles this latest development of French political life has to overcome if it is to strike deep roots, and how powerful are the influences of which the guiding spirit only awaits some pretext for smothering the infant in its cradle, will understand with what anxiety we watch the horizon abroad and what a profoundly depressing effect 10 CONSTITUTIONALISM IN FRANCE [March i every little cloud there produces upon our hopes of a seciire and peaceful development of the new ri[i^iine. It is the ardcn wish of every sincere adherent of the Constitutional cause i; France that there should now be no diversion abroad, no change on the horizon of foreign politics, which might serve, if not as real motive, at least as a pretext for crying down the youthti; Constitutionalism of France, while at the same time directin, public attention to foreign relations. We believe that th Emperor is in earnest, but his immediate entourage^ and th creatures whom he has to employ, are watching anxiously fi; some event which shall enable them to compel the Sovereign t abandon a course which they resent. The people are vcr numerous, and have during the eighteen years of the Emperor reign grown more powerful than is perhaps believed outsid France. Whoever has any regard for the Constitutional de velopment of the country can only hope that no alteration, how ever slight, shall occur in the foreign relations of France to sen'; as a motive or pretext for that reaction which every opponcn of the Constitution is striving to bring about." Between the directions for these afticles, which I here brin; I870] hat way! list the cli askcr is al: Iioicssarily. 'Tlic rcteren( given above. , March 5/, ivhich ulmii ;iinistances - ft'orking-men laiiged on •ej^ular cone Vom the Lit lacts from [Tii<;ht well h: the scoldir vcr the pass imes when \ language ! I ^nd that the together as they relate to the same subject, I received othcrf ij„^^, jj. show? some of which I may also reproduce March 4///. — The Boerscn Zcitung contained an article i: which it was alleged that in Germany only nobles were cor, sidercd competent to become Ministers. This the Count sen down to me to be refuted in a short article, expressing surpris; at such a statement. " An absurd electioneering move ! " th; Chancellor said. " Whoever wishes to persuade the world tha in Prussia the position of Minister is only open to the aristocrac and that capable commoners have absolutely no chance of a: taining to it, must have no memory and no eyes. Say tha under Count Bismarck no less than three commoners have, 0: his recommendation, been appointed Ministers within a shor period, nar , ;ly Delbrueck, Leonhard, and Camphausen. Lask it is true, has not yet been appointed." I wrote this short article immediately ; but the Chancelk was not pleased with it. " I told you expressly," he said, "t mention the names of Delbrueck, Leonhard, and Camphauser and that their appointments were due to my personal influence Go straight to the point, and don't wander round about it i: |that news pap land Compan) Mith their pol f Called in ; irath Mahn an Ishmcnt, whic Idealt with in ithe policy of Minister said of the popula jwise it would la mere theory :— a party do( people, althou people. Tell He is somewh way. You m Otherwise we me know aftei Iauch i»-o] CAPITAI, PUNISHMENT II secure iirdcn lUSC i; :hang; ot as: Duthh rcctiii. lilt tl:-, nd th sly fi/ eign t ■e ver; pcrof: outsid nal de n, how o serv: >ponen hat way ! That is no use ! A pointless article ! They arc list the cleverest ot the present Ministers. The attack on asker is also out of place. We must not provoke people un- occssarily. They are right when they complain of bullying." he reference to Lasker consisted merely in his own words as riven above. March «)t/i. — The I ossisc/ic /i'd'//////^ contained a bitter attack, ivhich ulminated in the following remark : — " Exceptional cir- ;iinistances — and such must be acknowledged to exist when iv'orking-men are treated to breech-loaders, and Ministers arc latigcd on street lam])s — cannot be taken as a rule for the ■cj^ular conduct of affairs." The Count received this article rom the Literary Ki'reau of the Ministry of State (where cx- racts from the newspapers were made for him), although it ight well have been withheld, as not much importance attaches () the scoldings of " Tante Voss." The Count sent for me, read vcr the passage in question, and observed : — " They speak of imes when Ministers were hanged on street lamps. Unworthy angiiage ! Reply that such a thing never occurred in Prussia, nd that there is no prospect of its occurring. In the mcan- ime it shows towards what condition of affairs the efforts of Ihat newspaper are tending, which (under the auspices of Jacoby knd Company) supplies the Progressist middle classes of Berlin Avith their politics." Called in again later to the Count. I am to go to Gcheim- irpns: ^jjjj^ Hahn and call his attention to the question of capital pun- ishment, which in view of the approaching elections should be klealt with in the Provincial-Corirsponu'ena in accordance with *the policy of the Government, who desire its retention. The Minister said: — "I am firmly convinced that the majority of the population is opposed to its abolition. Were it other- wise it would of course be possible to do away with it. It is a mere theory — the sentimentality of lawyers in the Reichstag — a party doctrine which has no connection with the life of the ^.people, although its advocates are constantly referring to the leople. Tell him that, but be cautious in dealing with him. IHeis somewhat conceited — bureaucratic. Do it in a diplomatic -way. You must let him think that those are his own ideas, '"^'^"feOtherwise we shall not get anything useful out of him. Let e brin! othcn tide i: re cor. nt sen 1 th: d tha ocracy of a: ly tha ave, o; shor -,askc: ncellc id, "t lauser It It Ime know afterwards what he says." 12 AKClIUUKt; AIJ'.KECHT IN TAUIS [MAKCII 1; I870] ManJi 6t/i. — Have seen Hahn. He is of opinion that it yet too early to deal with this matter. It will probably chl in a compromise, capital punishment being only retained fo: murder. The attitude of the Liberals in the elections car only be influenced after the decision in the Reichstag. Ir the meantime he has instructed the Literary l^ureau to refute the article in the National Zciti, ,_^ and to show how sterile the present Parliament would be if it allowed the long-wished-fo: Criminal Code to be wrecked upon this question of capital pun ishment. Report this to the Minister. He is of opinion tha: Hahn is mistaken. •' It is necessary to act in a diplomatic wav in this case," he observed. "One must present an appearand of determination up to the last moment ; and if one want; to secure a suitable compromise, show no disposition to give way; besides, Hahn must have no other policy than mine, shall speak to Eulenberg, and get him to set Hahn straight This must be put down at once. We must think in good tinit about the elections." Jllanh 'J til. — Sent Brass i^NoyddeutscJie AUgcmcine Zeitung lut is on the an article written by Hucher under instructions from the IMir. Mictions — am ister, showing that the majority in the Reichstag does not rcpre disposed to r: sent public opinion nor the will of the people, but only th, diiuil Antonell opinions and desires of the Parliamentary party. \ from Vienna a Called to the Count in the evening, when ne said: — "; conimunicatior want you to secure the insertion in the press of an artid therefore have somewhat to the following effect : — P'or some time past vai^iu rumours of war have been current throughout the world to: which no sufficient ground exists in fact, or can be even sue gested. The explanation is probably to be sought in Stoci E.xchange speculation for a fall which has been started in Paris f hciasting a he Conserv; iclong to n- ad no opin aid ! " Evening. - Wddcntsche do about thi uria. Accc xpressed hin a note whi( hat must be |o the Kocliii nalysis of thi t the paper: orrect,^ but w ustrian Am as received 1 \ Later. - A vhich has no t Sojourn of Arc In connection Of an understai Confidential whispers are going about with regard to the pro* thould after wa ence of Archduke Albrecht iu the French capital which are ca. ; Mareli \2th culated to cause uneasiness ; and then, naturally enough, thost Jiustriictions to rumours are shouted aloud and multiplied by the windbags 0: the Guelph press." March wtJi. — The Count wants an article in \)cvq, Naliom Zeitung to be answered in this sense: — "The Liberals i: Parliament always identify themselves with the people. Thcv ^^"^^"^ ^^^"^ ^■''"■<-' '^ maintain, like Louis XIV. with his L't'tat c'est moi, that '\\i '"' •^"^''■''^" ^'^"'^t'* arc the People.' There could hardly be a more absurd pied, is of some impc »e had a hanil ' The ilespatoh ccuiiiing any imlulj oso. KCll l; i^y] RKUST AM) rilK VATICAN 13 ,t it ;- d fo- 5 car, . Ir. tc the e th, ed-fo: I puiv n th:i: ic \v;v, iraiK\ want- Sivc ne. raii;ht II tinii e Mir. re pre ly W\ article vai;iu Id to: n siii; Stoc rari< ;; pros .re ca'. thosti igs 0:1 als ill Tlunl picCvl ()t bnasting and exaggeration. As if the other representatives, |ho Conservatives in the country, and the great numbers who belong to no party, weie not also part of the nation, and jbud no opinions and interests to which regard should be |)aid!" I Evening. — The Minister, referring to a statement in the fiorddi'Htschf Allgcuifine Zeifiing, remarked: — "There is much |do about the decided attitude taken up by l^eust against the Curia. According to the report published by Brass he has Expressed himself very emphatically respecting its latest action, jjn a note which the Ambassador read to the Secretary of State. I'hat must be refuted, weakened. Do it in a letter from Rome |o the Koclnisihc Zcitung. Say : — ' We do not know if the |nalysis of the despatch in question (which has made the round |t the papers, and which was first published by the Times) is toncct,^ but we have reason to doubt it. Trautmansdorf (the l^ustrian Ambassador to the Holy See) has read no note and |as received no instructions to make any positive declaration, put is on the contrary acting in accordance with his own con- |ictions — and it is known that he is very clerical and not at all disposed to radical measures. He has communicated to Car- dinal Antonelli such parts of the information that reached him from X'ienna as he thought proper, and he certainly made that communication in as considerate a form as possible. It cannot therefore have been very empti. ic." Later. — Attention is to bo directed, at first in a paper \;\\\c\\ has no connection with the Governmer.j, to the ])rolonged lojuurn of Archduke Albrecht in Paris as a suspicious symptom. In connection with it rumours have been circulated in London Ot ;ui understanding between P'rance and Austria. Our papers ihould after vvards re[Moduce these hints. March \2tI1. — In the afternoon Hucher gave me the chief's Instructions to order the Spanish newspaper, Imparcial. (This l^of some importance, as it doubtless indicates that even then »o had a hand in the question of electing the new king. On ' The despatch was uiulerstooil to contain a sentence to the effect that Rome houlil lake care not to challenj^e Europe, ami that whatever the Church might say, |he Austrian Courts of Justice would not allow themselves to be intluenced into Lwnding any indulgence towards those who broke the laws or instigated others to lo 80. 14 LABOUR IMPOSED UPON PARLIAMENT [Makch liS/OJ several occasions subsequently I secured the insertion in nor. official German papers of translations which Bucher brougr. me of articles in that newspaper against the candidature c; Montpensier.) ^Jifarch \lth. — The Chancellor wishes to have it said in ori: of the " remote " journals (that is, not notoriously connecic with the Government) that the Pope has paid no regard to th representations of France and Austria respecting the princip, points which should be decided by the Council. He would n: have done so even if those representations had been express^ in a more emphatic form than they actually were. Neithc Banneville nor Trautmansdorf was inclined to heartily defec the cause of the State against the Ultramontanes. /This di^ poses of the news of the Mhnorial Diplomatique to the effe, that at the suggestion of Count Daru the Curia has alreac given an affirmative answer. That report is absolutely fals; as is nearly all the news published by the paper in questio: It is much the same with Count Beust's note to the Pap; Government. (" Quote the word ' note,' " added the Mi: ister.) It was only a despatch, and, dou i^^-'.^'^s, a very tan: one. March i6fh. Evening. — Called up to the Minister, \\\ lay on the sofa in his study. " Here," he said (pointing to newspaper). " They complain of the accumulation of hbo. imposed upon Parliament. Already eight months' hard wort That must be answered. It is true that members of Parliame: have a great deal to do, but Ministers are still worse off. H addition to their work in the two Diets the latter have aj immense amount of business to transact for the King and tfl country both while Parliament is sitting and during the reces: Moreover, members have the remedy in their own hands. \ those who do not belong to the Upper Chamber vi'l absta|;|\'ienna to be from standing for election both to the Prussian anJ i: Feder; % that way to re ot be dis| udget has xercise stri many m ewspapers lease see t' Called u ress the atl he Curia in xpress a dc an Bishop: ave formed :ask. Shoul Antonelli ody.'' or is relates, and :o? Prussia hemselves t( maintain c easures, as dopt a repre ition to our t should pro sts of the S an be easily russian Gov s a mere emj ffect to it c ow indicate uccess may i March 2$i Diet they will lighten their task sufficiently. They le n§|activity of th obliged to sit in both houses." li;both of oursel March 2\st. — I am to call attention in the semi-officiMdespatch of tl organs to the fact that the Reichstag is discussing the Crimiiifthe Polish sec Code far too minutely and slowly. "The speakers," observeHberg in prepa the Count, " show too great a desire for mere talk, .-.nd are tiBpoJish indepe fond of details and hair-splitting. If this continues the Bills wMgratulating hi [akcii 1870] THE GERMAN BISHOl'S AND THE VAllGVN 15 in nor. )rougr ture I I in or,: nnccic \ to tr.- rincipc )uld n: :prcssc Neith: ' defer. 'his (lis le effe; alreac ly fals: [uestio: e Pap; lie Mi: ry tan. not be disposed of in the present session, especially as the Budget has still to be discussed. The President might well i exercise stricter control. Another unsatisfactory feature is that i BO many members absent themselves from the sittings. Our i newspapers ought to publish regularly lists of such absentees. ^ Please see that is done." I Called up again later and commissioned to explain in the press the attitude of Prussia towards those Prelates who oppose he Curia in Rome. The Chancellor said: — "The newspapers express a desire that the Government should support the Ger- lan Bishops on the Council. You should ask if those writers lave formed a clear idea as to how we should set about that task. Should Prussia perhaps send a Note to the Council, or Ho Antonelli, the Papal Minister, who does not belong to that 3ody.^ or is she to secure representation in that assembly of i'relates, and protest (of course in vain) against what she objects Ito.'' Prussia will not desert those Bishops who do not submit hemselves to the yoke, but it is for the Prelates in the first place maintain a determined attitude. We cannot take preventive easures, as they would be of no value, but it is open to us to dopt a repressive policy in case a decision is come to in oppo- ition to our wishes. If, after that decision has been arrived at, t should prove to be incompatible with the mission and inter- sts of the State, then existing legislation, if found inadequate, an be easily supplemented and altered. The demand that the Prussian Government should support the more moderate Bishops is a mere empty phrase so long as no practical m.eans of giving effect to it can be discovered. Moreover, the course which I now indicate will in any case be ultimately successful, although uccess may not at once be completely achieved." March 25///. — The Chief wishes Klaczko's appointment in 'ienna to be discussed. He said to me: — "Beust intends in that way to revive the Polish question. Point to the journalistic le n;|^|activity of that indefatigable agitator, and to his bitter hatred ■both of ourselves and Russia. Quote Rechenberg's confidential espatch of the 2nd of March from Warsaw, where he says that he Polish secret political societies which are engaged at Lem- erg in preparing for a revolution, with the object of restoring Polish independence, have sent a deputation to Klaczko con- Igratulating him on his appointment to a position where he is in i-ofific 3rimiii: )bserv are t' Jills A i6 THE VATICAN AND THE CATHOLIC TOWERS [Makcu ■ ,^oJ attitude to be i Council. Ben( ttee Councirs d( be useful, even cil, and were tl urious effect te could be " Benedetti is, represent lied in a des t idea into e e ? Russia Catholic Ch iy could ban confine herst laws of tbe c s of the R direct communication with the Chancellor of the Empire. Send himself in a si the article first to the Koelnisclie Zeitung, and afterwards arrange tive proposal, for similar articles in the provincial newspapers. We must it might not be finally see that this reaches Reuss (the Ambassador in St. Peters- burg), in order that he may get it reproduced in the Russian press. It can also appear in the KreuzzeiUmg, and it must be brought up again time after time in another form." Afternoon. — Geheimrath Abeken desires me, on the in structions of the Minister, to take note of the following docu- ment, which is apparently based on a despatch:- — "It is becoming more and more difificult to understand the attitude of the Austrian Government towards the Council. All the organs of public opinion are on the side of the Austrian Bishops, who are making such a dignifi.;d and decisive stand in Rome. The reports which the Government thought well to allow the press to publish respecting the steps which they have taken in Rome were in harmony with this attitude. The news from Rome, however, speaks only of the tameness and indecision with which the Government's policy is being carried into execu- tl tion. The most contradictory accounts are now coming in. It ti is said that the Austrian Ambassador has supported the action w|ile others occ of the French Ambassador, which is known not to have been Cfria; therefore very effective. Expressions have been attributed to Count difficult. Finall Beust showing that, in his opinion, the only effectual course I tefded conferen^ would be for all the Powers to take common or collective action.^r4sons he decli On the other hand, it is asserted that he gave a negative answerja^rd the other reciting different objections, to the proposal of another Catholic UI0s taken by Fr State (Bavaria) to join it in a decisive declaration in Rome. In aiegative answ presence of this indecision on the part of the Catholic Powers Nfited on the C the Bishops will doubtless be obliged to follow their own con- i^er Governme sciences and decide for themselves what their course of action ^f'^inal Antone is to be. We are convinced however that if the Prelates thenv ^fuld be defend( selves resolved to make a determined stand on behalf of their |intual Power, consciences, the situation would immediately undergo a chance fmarck thanke in their favour, and that ultimately no Government would desert If Government its own Bishops even if they v, ere in a minority. |ourse on the " Bismarck has already explained to the Prussian Am- pests of Prus bassador in Paris that he is prepared to support every initiative I impression m taken on the Catholic side in the matter of the Council. He atP"e awaited witl the same time discussed the subject with Benedetti, expressingB " The French VOL. I. — c KCll FRANCE AND THE VATICAN 17 ;itude 11 the ihops, lome. Send hftnself in a similar sense, but in the meantime making no posi- angc live proposal. On the other hand, he asked incidentally whether must it ini"'ht not be desirable to consider in a general conference the iters- attitude to be adopted by the various Governments towards the ssian Council. Benedetti replied that such a course would only hasten St be the Council's decision. Bismarck urged that a conference might be useful, even were it no longer possible to influence the Coun- e in c% and were the question to be considered merely how far the docu iMurious effects of its decisions on the peace of Church and It is Sfrte could be minimised. > " Benedetti sent a report of this informal conversation to ftjjris, representing it as a proposal to hold a conference. Daru lied in a despatch which pointed out the difificulty of carrying lit idea into execution. Who should take part in the confer- vv the crtcc? Russia maintained such an unfriendly attitude towards taken til Catholic Church, and Italy was so hostile to the Curia, that ; from tifcy could hardly join in any common action. Spain wished icision tciconfine herself to the repression of any eventual breach of execu- tw laws of the country, and England ignored the official dcclara- n. It ti^s of the Roman Church. Many Powers had Concordats, action w|ilc others occupied a mere independent position towards the been C|ria ; therefore, in that respect also, an understanding would be Couii: d||icult. Finally, Daru feared that Rome, on hearing of an in- :ourse t^dcd conference, would reply with a fait accompli. For these iction r^sons he declined the proposal. He would, however, like to nswor afford the other Powers an opportunity of supporting the mcas- itholkiKs taken by France on her own initiative. In case he received ;. Inlft fegative answer to his demand that France should be repre- owenpciited on the Council, he would officially communicate to the m conPtier Governments his declaration to the Secretary of State, actionfcardinal Antonelli, that the rights and interests of the State thcmWild be defended against any encroachment on the part of the ritual Power, and urge them to support his action in Rome. marck thanked Daru for this communication, and said that Government at Berlin (when it had satisfied itself that such |ourse on the part of France was calculated to promote the rests of Prussian Catholics) would endeavour to strengthen impression made thereby ; and that further communications e awaited with interest. "The French Government looks forward with anxiety to VOL. I. — c theiti ;hance| desertl Anvl tiativel He all essingl i8 ENGLISH "LIBERALISM" IN IRELAND [Makcii I70J 11 .' the consequences of the Council, but hesitates to take any se- ous and decisive measures, and is not disposed to enter up; any common action with the other Towers. Bray, at Munk seemed less disinclined to such a course. He thought a dt laration might possibly be made that the Government cons: ered the oecumenical and authoritative character of the Coun: to be affected by the promulgation of the dogma of infallibib notwithstanding the opposition of a minority of the Bishops, also the legal position assured to the Prelates under the Cc cordats, and that the dogma in question was to be regarded ; null and void. Bray was anxious that Austria should join this declaration. Beust, however, would not consent, as he I lieved that such a declaration would merely induce the Coun: to come to an unani.rous decision which would then be bindi: upon the Governrr iits. An unequivocal attitude of any kit is not to be expected from Vienna. " If the Catholic Governments will not take the initiative,;: question remains what course the Bishops themselves will ado: We hold to the principle of not acting directly and in our o? name with the Roman See, while at the same time powerfu. and steadfastly supporting every effort made by the Cathol; themselves, and particularly by the German Bishops to prevc illegal changes being made in the constitution of the Cathc Church, and to preserve both Church and State from a distu: ance of the peace. We do not find ourselves called upon; take up a prominent attitude towards the Council, but q readiness 10 support energetically every well-meant effort of t: Catholic Powers, whose duty it is to intervene in the first pla; or of the Bishops within Council, remains unaltered." Evening. — I am to refer to England and the way in wh: the press is treated there. "The Liberals always appeal English example when they want to secure some fresh libei for the press. Such appeals, it is well known, rest largely upj mistaken notions. It would be desirable to examine m closely the Bill which has just been passed for the preservati: of order in Ireland. What would public opinion in Germai and particularly what -would the people of Berlin say, if oj Government could proceed against any of our democratic joi nals, even against the most violent, according to the followi: provisions, and that too without even a state of minor siegj then quote t 1 large majoi March 28, ie Council s \g effect: — now what p( the majorit kade in this liestion is to >nt Power. this matte: Irectly threat Imains what 3uncil will a imcdiate futi leps against t that action i itholic subje liy other Stat bfend the con |id peace bet lined protest ; irty in the C( l-ussian Govei Some of th( [iision of the c March loth. |r use in the sited St. Pete |rbed by a du brm, proceedi bose who rer ' At that time i mmons, — without 1 reading was ass leristically ohserveci t'l against incitemi |e for the punishm arnonrrst the p ' threatened measui heeu given. ! I Ukch B70J THE (ECUMENICAL COUNCIL 19 3athol; prevc Cathc distu; upon-; but c, )rt of ;; St plai in whi; ppeal h libei ely upj le mi ervati ermai \ if Remark: "' "\ nent do not 1 1 'There are n :hc eventual ( logged that urposeless fi ovcrnment lad observec orcign Powe ', '" Hardly an; i laps France.' i Ihcy trusted i lothing to do j )eople. (Rer i )e deceived i iiesitation or \ I Bucher sei j I. " If Si kient which si ^nd which ma ■mo devoted 1 ^execution of tl ,t)f doubtful lej |n pursuit of frustrate a re ermany } h I870j INSTRUCTIONS ON THE Sl'ANlSH QUESTION 29 rou<^ht to me : " Any one intending to summon a Congress to cal with a debatable question ought not first to threaten a war- ike solution in case the opposite party should not agree to his ishcs." Further, the Secretary of State handed me a telegram from crlin to the Chancellor, which was returned by the latter with omments. I was to get these circulated in the non-oflficial ournals. The telegram was to the effect that Grammont had tatcd, in reply to an interpellation by Cochery, that Prim had ffcred the Spanish throne to the Hereditary Prince of Hohen- loliern (Remark: " He can do nothing of the kind. Only the Tortcs."), and that the Prince had accepted it. (Remark : " He vill only declare himself after he has been elected.") The Spanish people has not yet, however, expressed its wishes. Remark: "That is the main point.") The French Govern- nent do not recognise the negotiations in question. (Remark : 'There are no negotiations excepting those between Spain and he eventual candidates for the throne.") Grammont therefore egged that the discussion might be postponed, as it was )urposeless for the moment. (Remark: "Very.") The French lovcrnment would maintain the neutral attitude which they lad observed up to the present, but would not permit a foreign Power to place a Prince upon the Spanish throne Hardly any power entertains such an intention, except per- laps France."), and endanger the honour and dignity of France. Iicy trusted to the wisdom of the Germans (Remark: "Has Clothing to do with it."), and to the friendship of the Spanish people. (Remark: "That is the main point.") Should they he deceived in their hopes they would do their duty without hesitation or weakness. (Remark: "We also.") Bucher sent me a whole packet of sketches for articles : — i I. "If Spain records her decision to establish a govern- ment which shall be peaceful, and tolerant in religious matters, land which may be expected to be friendly to Germany, who is ^Iso devoted to peace, can it be in our interest to prevent the Execution of that resolve, and for that purpose to take measures of doubtful legality ? Shall we, because of a threat of war made in pursuit of an arbitrary and dynastic object, take steps to j^rustrate a reorganisation of Spanish affairs advantageous to crmany } Is it not rather an act of insolent presumption on 30 FRENCH THREATS [Jt'LV I •' the part of France to address such a demand to Germany ? 01 viously France lacks either the courage or the means to enforc: her views at Madrid, and it appears from Grammont's speech c; the 4th of July that in her anger at what has happened in Spai: she is prepared to throw herself upon Germany in a blind fitt rage. That speech is to a certain extent a declaration of \va against the person of the Prince of Hohenzollern, in case h. should decide to accept the offer of the Spanish people. Franc. demands that Prassia shall undertake the office of policeman i: case a German Prince who has attained his majority shows; disposition to meet the wishes of the Spaniards. For a Nort; German Government to interfere with a citizen who should wis; to exercise his right to emigrate and adopt the Spanish natior. ality would raise a very questionable point of law from a const: tutional standpoint. Even if such a power existed, the digni; of Germany would demand that it should only be applied in he own interests. The calm consideration of those interests is nt in the least affected by the warlike threats of a neighbouring State which, instead of arguments, appeals to its 400,000 soldier; If France lays claim in this manner to the guardianship of ac joining nations, the maintenance of peace can for the latter b; only a question of time, which may be decided at any momen; On Grammont's appointment to the French Foreign Office, :: was feared in many quarters that the choice by the Emperd Napoleon of a statesman who //as only remarkable for his pe: sonal impetuosity and his hostility to Germaay indicated : desire to secure for himself greater lilerty in breaking tt; peace. Unfortunately the haughty and aggressive tone of tb Duke's speech is not calculated to remove the apprehension entertained at that time. He is not a minister of peace, k rather the instrument of a personal policy which shrinks fror no responsibility. In itself the question as to who is to be th; ruler of Spain is not one for which Germany would go to wai But the French demand that the German Government, in oppc sition to its own interests, should put artificial difficulties in th way of the Spaniards manifests a depth of self-conceit whi scarcely any government amongst the independent states c: Europe could submit to at the present day. We seek 11 quarrel, but if any one tries to force one upon us he will find ready to go through with it to the bitter end." |870] 1 2. In an josed of in jped. This )ut either t ^hile it was Bureau. " J ent any pros prejudicially irhich stamf Service couh French ca the reproach lormerly bee themselves n lo the throne pven less pro 3. "Betw before the fa' Jermany wit trigues were 'hich Count 'arliament th lent, had bee Vance maint 'ill desire to to those sch( if an attack io.ooo men to neutral, nei^ 'hose attitud( lothing to fea last eighty ye |ind who canm fo play the pa 1850 in Franc md the comp pn marche d h 4. "Engla IS a dependen ifluence can 1 ijL'LV 1870] THE SPANISH BOURBONS 31 ' 01 nforc. echo: Spai: ifitr ase h; Franc, mani: hows i Norf: Id wis; natior. const: dignit I in he s is m: bourin, ioldier; ) of ac attcr b; lonicn: Tice, : mper lis pel ated : ing th. of tr,: ensio:; ce, b. cs fro:] be ty to \va:| 11 oppij i in th leek 111 1 2. In another article (t|jere was too much material to be dis- osed of in one) the following considerations were to be devel- ped. This was not to be communicated to the official organs, ut either to the Koelnische Zeitung or the Spenersche Zeitung, hile it was to be given in a curtailed form to Hahn's Literary iirean. " If the candidature of Alphonso had up to the pres- nt any prospect of success in Spain, it would have been most jrejudicially affected by the foolish uproar raised in France, vhich stamped it with a French official character. No worse ervice could be done to that Prince than to represent him as French candidate. Montpensier had already suffered under ;he reproach that he was a Frenchman. The Bourbons had 'ormerly been imposed upon the Spaniards, and had proved ;hemselves no blessing. The manner in which the succession ;o the throne is now discussed in France would offend a nation van less proud than the Spaniards." 3. "Between the years 1866 and 1868, and particularly efore the fall of Isabella, France schemed a great deal against ermany with Austria, Italy, and also with Spain. Those in- igues were set at nought by the Revolution of September, to hich Count Bismarck referred when lie said at that time in arliament that the danger of war, which had been very immi- iient, had been dispelled by an unforeseen event. So long as l^'rance maintains her warlike intentions towards Germany, she kill desire to see on the Spanish throne a dynasty f avoura'. " ■* |o those schemes, possibly an Ultramontane one, as in case if an attack on Germany it would make a difference of about |o,ooo men to France whether she had a benevolent, or at least It neutral, neighbour on the other side of the Pyrenees or one ivhose attitude might be suspected. It is true that France has liothing to fear directly from Spain if the French, who for the ast eighty years have been unable to make up their own minds nd who cannot govern themselves, would give up the attempt :o play the part of tutor to other nations. Let the period 1848- 850 in France be compared with that of 1 868-1 870 in Spain, nd the comparison will not be to the advantage of the nation ui marc he d la tite de la civilisation." 4. " England is accustomed to look upon the Peninsula s a dependency of her own, and doubtless believes that her fluence can be more easily made to prevail in a state of inse- H''-' 32 TRIM'S SPEECH [July ic curity than under the rule of a powerful dynasty. It is nm wise of the English to recall certain incidents of Spanish his. tory, a course in which they are followed by the F'rench news- papers. The Spanish version of the history of the wars against the First Napoleon is very different to the English one. In Buen Retiro every traveller is shown the site of a once prosper ous porcelain manufactory, which was needlessly burned to the ground by the British allies of Spain." 5. Still another subject. " Very pleased with the article in the Spcncrsche Zcituug- {this was addressed to me). Please again call attention in a somewhat similar manner to the im. petuosity of Grammont therein referred to. What is the rca ground for all this alarm .'' A paragraph in the Age?icc Haviu to the effect that the affair had been settled without the con currence of the Cortes. It is probable that the French Govern, ment itself had this paragraph inserted, and it was, moreover, concocted in complete ignorance of the Spanish constitutior and of the laws governing the election of a King. This, whict was the only new feature, was a barefaced invention. It hac already been mentioned in all the papers that Prim's speech oi the nth of June referred to the Prince of Hohenzollern, ancj that had caused no excitement in France. Is the present agi tation then a coup monte? Does the French Government in sist upon a ' row ' } Has Louis Napoleon chosen Grammont order to pick a quarrel with us } At any rate he has been unskilful in his treatment of this question. The general mora! to be drawn as often as possible is : the French Government ij, after all, not quite so shrewd as people believe. The Frenck have succeeded in many things with the assistance of 300,0a soldiers, and owing to that success they are regarded as im mensely clever. Is that really so .'' Circumstances show that i; is not." July loth, evening. — Received a further series of sketche: and drafts for articles from Bucher, who acts as the mouthpiece] of the Chancellor's views and intentions. I. For the Spenersc/ie or Koelnische. "Those foreigrl Powers that are not concerned in the differences respectin; the Spanish throne are as desirous to maintain peace as Ger many herself. Their influence will, however, be neutralised bi Grammont's ill-considered threats. Should the German Gov rnments con: ireatened, th )nvoking Pai 2. "The ] lot into a rag )aming at the jis path. If '. )ject for a v le result will ition." 3. "These IS been attrac langed betwe lever enough lany despatch )ned, but we irliament sor [hich the ciph )cabulary of £ ^nted by a gro ' decipher ' s: altered alph ^ch a despatcl ^e cleverness < having stole btradiction w johenzollern's junication fror icial press wa :apacity by a |is better to be I 4- "Accordi %frliner Boersen second Seer 3te delivered Saint Cloud. to the accun ™g answer: [erther's journ< 'g before the £ VOL. I. — I ip] CIPHER DESPATCHES 33 rnments consider the security of our frontier to be seriously ireatened, they would scarcely come to a decision without )nvoking Parliament." 2. " The French are running amuck like a Malay who has lot into a rage and rushes through the streets dagger in hand, )aming at the mouth, stabbing every one who happens to cross bs path. If France is mad enough to regard Germany as a fit biect for a vicarious whipping, nothing will restrain her, and le result will be that she will herself receive a personal casti- ition." 3. " The semi-official journals in Paris pretend that attention IS been attracted there by the numerous cipher despatches ex- langed between Berlin and Madrid, and that they have been lever enough to decipher them. We do not know whether kany despatches have passed between the two capitals men- jned, but we remember a communication which was made to idiament some time ago by Count Bismarck, according to [hich the cipher system of our Foreign Office is based on a jcabulary of about 20,000 words, each one of which is repre- fcnted by a group of figures arbitrarily chosen. It is impossible ' decipher ' such a system in the same way as those based on altered alphabet and other old methods. In order to read kch a despatch, it is essential to have the vocabulary. Does ^e cleverness on which the Parisians pride themselves consist having stolen the key to our ciphers.^ This would be in bntradiction with the original statement that the Prince of lohenzollern's candidature first became known through a com- lunication from Prim. It would, therefore, appear that the (rfficial press wants to clear the Government of the reproach of iicapacity by a subsequent invention, acting on the maxim that it is better to be taken for a rogue than a fool." 4. "According to a private telegram from Paris to the ^^rlinef Boersen Zeitnng^ our Ambassador there, together with second Secretary of Embassy, left for Ems on receipt of a Dte delivered to him immediately after the Cabinet Council 1 Saint Cloud. We have made inquiries in the proper quarter to the accuracy of this report, and have received the fol- ding answer : Note delivered. ' Not a shadow of trmn. [erther's journey was decided upon and announced in Paris ig before the agitation began.' " VOL. I. ■ 34 THE EMI'KESS EUGENIE [July ij I '( 5. " As was already known, Prim intended this year, as or. previous occasions, to visit Vichy. This would have led to a meeting between himself and the Emperor Napoleon and a dis. cussion of the succession to the Spanish throne. It is also re. ported that the Prince of HohenzoUern was not indisposed t; try confidentially to bring about aii understanding with tht Emperor. All this has been rendered impossible by the abrup: tone of the Due de Grammont. As Prim's visit to Vichy hai long since been announced in the newspapers, and the ne; relationship as well as the personal friendship which hithert existed between the Prince of HohenzoUern and the Emperc; rendered both meetings probable, it is hard to avoid the suj picion that the French Goverrment, dreading insurmountabii domestic difficulties, desires to inflame French vanity in favot: of a war, which would at the same time promote the dynasti; views of the Empress Eugenie." July 1 2th. — Received from Secretary WoUmann a notii from Bucher in Varzin which is intended for me. It has bee:i sent to the Secretary of State, in order that he should sai whether there is any objection to its being used in the pressl He has no objection, and so it goes to the newspapers. It rut as follows : — " The Imparcial publishes a letter from Paris t the effect that the furious article in the Constitutionnel reproac: ing Prince HohenzoUern with his relationship to Marat hi been revised by the Emperor himself." In the evening the Minister returned. He is dressed i; plain clothes and looks very well. July iitli. — Called early to the Chief. I am to wait uni a statement appears in the press to the effect that the renundj tion of Prince HohenzoUern was in consequence of pressui from Ems, and then to contradict it. " In the meantime (sai. the Minister) the Norddeutsche should only say that the Prince present decision has not been altogether unexpected. Whe: he accepted the throne which had been offered to him he hi obviously not foreseen that his decision would occasion so muc: excitement in Paris. For more than thirty years past the bei relations existed between Napoleon and the HohenzoUern famii; Prince Leopold could not, therefore, have apprehended any aj tipathy to his candidature on the part of the Emperor. As h; candidature suddenly became known after the Cortes had ba ladjourned til there would (peror as to |Chancellor b ling), which, i fwas still quit iwas scarcely |sibiiity, be dii lis decision apprehension! ifluence broi iven a portii European nat 3f wars, woul( claim to have ; ifhich he had trell be expec position. It \ srevented Pri Prince." The followi \ lot be denied \ he cause of P ^vould be cf Jays ago, the 3entially to Be littention, Prus vouid have The situation lone of Gramra lo the King, w p health, una lightly declined |reated so muc lisappointed a ate, the confid een so thoroi restore it. i^idence which deal with in c cc I [|870J PRINCE LEOPOLD'S DECISION 35 {adjourned till November, it may well have been assumed that [there would be time enough in the interval to sound the Em- iperor as to his views. Now that this assumption (here the {chancellor began to speak more slowly, as if he were dictat- ling), which, up to the acceptance of the Crown by the Prince, Iwas still quite legitimate, had proved to be partly erroneous, it Iwas scarcely probable that the Prince would, on his own respon- sibility, be disposed to cope single-handed with the storm which lis decision had raised, and might yet raise, in view of the apprehensions of war of the whole European world, and the ifluence brought to bear upon him from London and Brussels. iven a portion of the responsibility of involving the great European nations, not only in one war, but possibly in a series jf wars, would weigh very heavily upon a man who could not claim to have assumed it as part of the duty of the Royal office irhich he had already accepted. That was more than could jrell be expected of a Prince who only occupied a private aosition. It was the offensive tone of Grammont that alone Drevented Prussia from exercising her influence with the Prince." The following is to be published in other papers : — "It can- lot be denied that a Spanish Government disposed to promote [he cause of Peace and to abstain from conspiring with France vould be cf considerable value to us. But if, some fourteen flays ago, the Emperor Napoleon had addressed himself confi- lentially to Berlin, or indicated that the affair was attracting attention, Prussia, instead of adopting an indifferent attitude, vould have cooperated in pacifying public opinicn in Paris. The situation has been entirely altered through the aggressive one of Grammont's speech, and the direct demands addressed i the King, who is staying in privacy at Ems for the benefit of lis health, unaccompanied by a single Minister. His Majesty [ightly declined to accede to these demands. That incident has reated so much indignation in Germany, that many people feel lisappointed at the Pr: ice Leopold's renunciation. At any ate, the confidence in the peacef . i intentions of France has een so thoroi"5hly .haken that it will take a considerable time restore it. If commerce and trade have been injured by the iridence which has shown us what a den of brigands we have deal with in France, the people of that country must fasten 36 THE CRISIS AND THL: GERMAN COURTS [J.;ly i ii^l^i the responsibility on the personal n'gime under which they a; present live. The Minister also desires it to be incidentally remarked ir the non-oflficial press that of the South German Courts those c; Munich and Karlsruh had given the most satisiactory declara tions in this affair, while on the other hand that of Stuttgan had expressed itself evasively. Finally, I am to communicate to one of the local papers tha; Count Bismarck has been sent for to Ems to consult with th; King as to summoning Parliament. Breaking off a cure whic: he was undergoing, the Chancellor has remained in Berlin i: order to await there the further instructions of his Majesty, c, ultimately to return to Varzin. The Count then added : " Late: on I will call for you several times, as there is something mort to be prepared for the Norddeiitsclie. We shall now be short!, interrupted." The Crown Prince arrived five minutes afterward and had a long interview with the Minister. Jtily i^th. — Our newspapers to call attention to the loyi attitude of Wiirtemberg, " which in consequence of a misundt, standing has been represented in some journals as evasive." July i^t/t. — I am to send the following dthnenti to Wolf Telegraphic Agency for circulation : — " The news published b: the Speuersche Zeitung respecting the opening of Parliament ii not quite accurate. It was proposed a week ago by the Cha; cellor while in Varzin that it should be convoked as soon as Government Bills were ready for submission to it. His Maj shares this view, and the Federal Council has accordingly bee: summoned for to-morrow, Saturday, morning to consider thos: |ie was brand fhe yellow evei |;round. He Kretizzeitung on the confusion by the public between personi and private proceedings of the King and his official acts. measures. In the evening the Chancellor dictated an article for thi sthi is jest; I ;commimicati( a letter writti jwas not plea upon to offer tion of any ki the situation ( up to the pre [position of X\ Ifounded with gotten that in the Loopcratio laction. / It is thoroughly re; fwhoie force o overeign, wh( is health, and tiquette, in or ate negotiatic rrangcments y July igt/i. - the Royal \ 'Affaires, del ffice. Towards Ister, .vho was me I saw him jhc left, which r 5 ran as follows : " It appears from the Mazaredo pamphlet tk iiices, from a no the Hereditary Prince of HohenzoUern informed the King : Ems of his acceptance of the offer of the Spanish throne, proi ably towards the end of June. His Majesty was then at Kr for the purpose of taking the waters, and certainly not with thi intention of carrying on business of State, as none of his '. isters had been summoned thither. As a matter of fact, onlysMf those Hano\ much has become public respecting the King's reply to thBentimcnts of al laid: "I wish ipinst the Ha fery blunt, som iHanoverian not rfie North Sea f e last few day re understood I87"J KING WILLIAM'S rUiJlTlON 37 communication of the Hereditary Prince (it was in the form of la letter written in his Majesty's own hand) that the sovereign [was not pleased at the news, although he did not feel called {upon to offer any opposition. In the whole affair no State ac- Ition of any kind has been taken. This constitutional aspect of the situation does not appear to have been properly appreciated lup to the present in public discussions of the question. The [position of the King in his private correspondence was con- founded with his position as head of the State, and it was for- rotten that in the latter capacity, according to the constitution, the cooperation of the Ministry is necessary to constitute a State iction. / It is only the French Cabinet that appears to have thoroughly realised this distinction, inasmuch as it brought the irholc force of its diplomacy to bear upon the person of the sovereign, who was staying at a watering place for the sake of lis health, and whose private life was not protected by the usual Etiquette, in order to force him under official pressure into pri- irate negotiations which might afterwards be represented as jftrrangcments with the Government." * July \()t/i. — About an hour after the opening of Parliament \x[ the Royal Palace (r.45 p.m.), Le Sourd, the French Charg6 4'Affaircs, delivered Napoleon's declaration of war at the Foreign JDffice. I Towards 5 o'clock in the evening I was called to the Min- ister, A'ho was in his garden. After searching for him for some lime I saw him coming through one of the long shady alleys to the left, which led to the entrance in the Koniggriitzer Strasse. jie was brandishing a big stick. His figure stood out against the yellow evening sunshine like a picture painted on a gold ground. He stopped in his walk as I came up to him, and laid : " I wish you to write something in the Kreuzzeitung a<:iinst the Hanoverian nobles. It must come from the prov- inces, from a nobleman living in the country, an Old Prussian — y blunt, somewhat in tuis style: It is reported that certain lanoverian nobles have endeavoured to find pilots and spies in le North Sea for French men-of-war. The arrests made within he last few days with the assistance of the military authorities re understood to be connected with this affair. The conduct those Hanoverians is infamous, and I certainly express the entimcnts of all my neighbours when I put the following ques- 38 A GOOD OLD PRUSSIAN WORD tJl"-Y 15 I1870] tions to the Hanoverian nobles who sympathise with those traitors. Have they any doubt, I would ask them, that a mar, of honour could not now regard such men as entitled to de- mand honourable satisfaction by arms whether their unpatriotic action was or was not undertaken at the bidding of King George ? Do they not, as a matter of course, consider that an affair of honour with them is altogether out of the question, and should one of them be impudent enough to propose such 3 thing, would they not have him turned out of the house by tht servants or eject him propria maun after having, of course, pc! on a pair of gloves to handle him with? Are they not cor, vinced that such miscreants can only be properly described b\ the good old Prussian word Hundsvott (scurvy, infamous rogues and that their treason has branded their posterity to the thirc and fourth generations with indelible disgrace ? I beg them t( answer these questions." Evening. — In an article in the Liberty oi the i8th instant that paper reminds Italy that she owes her liberation to France and that in 1866 it was France who brought about the Italia: alliance with the Berlin Cabinet. It then maintains that, i: view of the seriousness of approaching events, Victor Eit.| manuel, with truly chivalrous sentiment, has not for a momer hesitated to assure the French of his unconditional support With reference to this article our papers should observe : " U to the present the French have played the part of masters t the whole world, and Belgium, Spain, and the King of Prussi; have in turn experienced their arrogance. Their behaviour wa somewhat like hat of the Sultan towards his Khedive, it was; kind of megalomania based upon the bayonet. Their presump tion is now beginning to waver, so they court the assistance 0: those good friends whom they pretend to have placed unde: obligations to them." The Minister subsequently dictated the following to worked up for the German newspapers outside Berlin, such the Koelnische Zeitnng, and for the English and Belgium jou;| nals : " According to confidential communications from ley Hanoverian circles, amongst other decisive factors which led tki French to the declaration of war, were the reports sent to Pari by Colonel Stoffel, the Military Plenipotentiary in Berlin. Stoll fel's information was, it appears, less accurate than abundan |as none of [forego the they had nc ,|of which tht [had, it is sai infantry, bot jundcrgoing ; moment so f; hardly occui change the able."* 2. " It m Government Hohenzollen : and foolishly Prussia and ( \ information \ ' Marshal Prin mcnt with th will ultimatel jpearance of i lerces betweei it |reflection and Hhat after the Imatter of th boiling point the relations 'appear u' be jseem no Ion fFrance in the I 3. " Rum( ^the former Fi sbeen insulted (that some in( fstreet, and on isticks. The i (of this matter |of such condu ' The loyal H jteports were, on th 1870] FRENCH INTRIGUES IN SPAIN 39 as none of those who supplied him with it being prepared to forego the payments they received from him merely because they had nothing to say, they occasionally invented the news lof which they warranted the correctness. The Plenipotentiary Ihad, itis said, been informed that the arming of the Prussian Mnfantry, both as regards rifles and ammunition, was at present undergoing a thorough transformation, and that consequently a I moment so favourable as the present for attacking Prussia would I hardly occur again, inasmuch as on the completion of this V change the Prussian armaments would have been unassail- jable."i I 2. " It now appears to be beyond all doubt that the French I Government was aware of the candidature of the Prince of iHohenzollern for months past, that they carefully promoted it land foolishly imagined it would serve as a means of isolating ; Prussia and creating a division in Germany. No trustworthy ] information has been received as yet as to whether and how far i Marshal Prim had prepared the way for this intrigue, in agree- iment with the Emperor Napoleon. But doubtless that point Iwlll ultimately be cleared up by history. The sudden disap- Ipearance of Spain from the political field as soon as the differ- lerces between France and Prussia broke out gives matter for Ireflection and suspicion. It cannot but be regarded as strange Ithat after the zeal shown by the Spanish Government in the Imatter of the HohenzoUern candidature had been raised to ■boiling point it should have suddenly fallen below zero, and that the relations of Marshal Prim to the French Cabinet should now appear u' be of the most friendly character, while the Spaniards seem no longer to feel any irritation at the interference of IFrance in their internal affairs." 3. " Rumours were circulated this afternoon to the effect that the former French Military Plenipotentiary, Baron Stoffel, had ilbeen insulted in the street. On closer inquiry it was ascertained ithat some individuals who knew Stoffel followed him in the street, and on his reaching his house struck the door with their sticks. The police intervened energetically on the first report iof this matter and have taken measures to prevent a repetition of such conduct and to provide that Baron Stoffel shall not be I I The loyal Hanoverian circles did not tell the truth in this matter. StofTel's iteports were, on the whole, good, and he himself was a man of respectable character. 40 A SUGGESTION FOR GARIBALDI CJ"" 'j SB1870] "0 M I I interfered with on his departure this evening. Excesses of this description are, however, highly reprehensible, even when the\ are confined to words. The former representatives of Francs are under the protection of international law and of the honou: of Germany until they have crossed the frontier." r^ July 2\st. — Keudell asked me this morning if I knew Rasch the journalist, and if I could say where he was now to be founc in Berlin or elsewhere, I replied that I had seen him in Schick wig in 1864, afterwards at a table d'h6te at the Hotel Weissborc in the Dessauer Strassc, where he lodged at the end of February I knew nothing more about him, but had heard that he was extremely conceited, almost to the point of madness — a pclitici visionary who desired to convert the whole world to republican ism. I was not aware of his whereabouts in Berlin, but wouic make inquiries at VVeissbcrg's. Keudell told me to hunt him u; and ask him whether he would go to Garibaldi and urge hir. to undertake an expedition against Rome, at the same tinii carrying him money from us. I pointed out that Rasch \vi perhaps too vain to keep his own counsel. Keudell console; himself with the idea that he would doubtless prove a j.';o:i; patriot. /I declined to treat with Rasch in the matter, as I cin::; not speak to him in my own name but in that of the Foroij Office, and that could be better done by some official of hij^hf rank, who would make a greater impression upon R;isc: Keudell seemed to recognise the justice of this view. I mad; inquiries and was able to repv^rt l,:' the same evening that Rase was staying at VVeissbcrg's. Called to the Minister in the evening. He showed mo r extract from the National Zeituui:^, and observed: "They sa. here that the English would not allow the French to attack c: Belgium. Well and good, but how does that help the Bel.<;ia;i if the protection comes too late.'' If Germany were once dt feated (which God forbid !) the English would not be able : assist the Belgians in the least, but might, on the contrary, bt thankful if they thcm-ielves remained safe in London." I am further to call attention to the " manner in which Franct] is begging for help on all sides — that great warlike nation whic: makes so much parade of its victories, representing them ai having always been won solely by the force of its own ariii> They go begging (use that expression) to Italy, to Denmark, t^ i 1870] HOW ENGLAND UNDERSTANDS NEUTRALITY 41 Swc.' " and above all to the German States, to whom they ! promise the same brilliant destiny which they have already orepaj-cd for Italy — political independence and financial ' ranc \vhic':i .cm ai| artiii ark, t> |ruin. I Called up to the Minister again later. I am to secure the linsertion of the following in the non-official German papers and lin the Belgian and English press: "The English Government ^observe their neutrality in connection with the war that has now Ibroken out in a liberal and conscientious spirit. They impar- |tially permit both sides to purchase horses and munitions of war n England. It is unfortunate, however, that France alone can vail herself of this liberality, as will appear from a glance at he geographical position of the two countries and from the |uperiority of the French at sea. Then quote what Heffter the book must be in the Library) has to say on this kind of fieutrality, and observe that the English jurists describe it ore tersely as 'fraudulent neutnlity.' " July 2ird. — Called to the Minister five times to-day. The )ress should urge the prosecution and seizure of Rothan, an Al- iacian who speaks German, hitherto French Charg^ d'Affaires it Hamburg, who has been a zealous spy and instrument of prone h intrigue in North Germany, and who is now understood io be wandering along the coast between the Elbe and Ems, as llso that of the cx-Hanovcrian officer, Adolf von Kielmansegg, respecting whom further particulars are to be obtained from fhe Ministry of the Interior. The Count further wants the press to give a list of the names of the Bavarian members of parliament who voted for the neutrality of that State in the nptiDnal war, mentioning their professions but without any fur- ther remarks. "Give it first in Brass" {\.q., NonMciitscItc All- mcifir Zi'ifioiq-), he added. "You will find such a lut amongst e doruments. The complaints as to the manner in which n;;land understands neutrality mu.st be continually renewed. e English Government docs not forbid the export of horses, ough only France can avail her.s: {RindvicJi). Napoleon is ignorant at bottom, although he hi been educated in German schools. His ' Caesar ' was intcnde: to conceal that fact. He has forgotten everything. His polk; was always stupid. The Crimean War was against the intcres of France, which demanded an alliance or at least a good uncle;] standing with Russia. It was the same with the war in Ita!; There he created a rival in the Mediterranean, North Afric; Tunis, etc., who may one day prove dangerous. The Italh people is much more gifted than the French, only less numei ous. The war in Mexico and the attitude adopted in 1866 werj blunders, and doubtless in storming about as they do at prcse the French feel conscious that they have committed anothi blunder." '■i I July 2Sth. - |nd his famil] lie asked whei j>ut no one off( reconsidered tl Bicnd myself. ^ Copies of t French Press } fitly 27t/i. - 10 Spcnersche lunications be Ibserved and vc ;ss, the Frenc Iffair of the cai espatch of the ; ;gard these co as therefore bi ocuments of tl irections as fol ' rith discretion i iBuchcr brini paragraph for -.ont, the full t ttempt to prov( jemselves crea )nceal the mo Ions — namely, ihine and of Be made clear by irone to the he a letter date lerefore, there |e conversatior liele, which w( iently ventilat rederick CharU |eded in obtain fin fictions, so his object. lat late hour. THE BENEDETTI TREATY 45 |870] I July 2%th. — At II o'clock this morning, Count Bismarck ind his family took the Holy Communion at their residence. He asked whether any one in our bureau desired to join them, |ut no one offered to do so. I was for a moment tempted, but leconsidered the matter. It might look as if I wished to recom- end myself. ^ Copies of the Benedetti draft Treaty are sent to Auber (the rench Press Agency) and Heide. I Jtily V^^^- — ^^ ^s *° ^^ stated either in the Norddeiitschc or e Spencrsche ZciUing that secrecy respecting confidential com- iinications between great States is, as a rule, more carefully served and maintained than the public imagines. Neverthe- ss, the French misrepresentation of Prussia's attitude in the iffair of the candidature for the Spanish throne (in Grammont's lespatch of the 2ist of July) obliged the authorities here to dis- gard these considerations of discretion. Benedetti's proposal las therefore been published, and it may be followed by other locuments of the same description. The Count concluded his rections as follows : " We are at least entitled to tell the truth ith discretion in presence of such indiscreet lies." Buchcr brings me from the Minister the following sketch of paragraph for the press : " The despatch of the Due de Gram- ont, the full text of which now lies before us, is a desperate tempt to prove that the origin of the situation which they have emselves created was the HohenzoUern candidature, and to nceal the motive which they confessed on many other occa- ions — namely, the conquest by France of the left bank of the hine and of Belgium. The inconsistency of the whole assertion made clear by the circumstance that the offer of the Spanish rone to the hereditary Prince of HohenzoUern was first made a letter dated the 14th of February of the present year. erefore, there can be no connection between this offer and ; conversations in March, 1869, between Benedetti and Von iele, which were the outcome of aspirations or proposals fre- ently ventilated in the press (also with reference to Prince ederick Charles). In 185 1 the President Louis Napoleon suc- leded in obtaining credence both at home and abroad for cer- n fictions, so long as that was necessary for the attainment his object. The fiction which is now circulated, at a some- at late hour, to the effect that the Prince of HohenzoUern I 46 THE FRENCH FICTIONS [July was the candidate of Prussia is refuted in advance by the fact which has been well known for a long time, that the Prussia: Government as well as the officials of the Confederation hai absolutely no knowledge of, or connection with, the Spanis- proposal. It was resolutely opposed by his Majesty the Kin: as the head of the HohenzoUern family, until last June, whe: at Ems he reluctantly withdrew his opposition when it wa; represented to him that otherwise Spain would fall into th hands of the Republicans. We find it difficult to undcrstan: what interest the French Government can have in circulatir.; such lies now that war has actually broken out. The attemt of the Due de Grammont to conjure up the spectre of a restor; tion of Charles V.'s monarchy can only be explained by th: complete isolation of the French mind. That apparition ha;. no sooner manifested itself than it vanished before the angr; contempt of public opinion, which resented being supnoser capable of such credulity." The Chancellor desires to see the following consideratioq reproduced in the evening papers : " The Benedetti docuraer is by no means the only one dealing with the matter in que^ tion. Negotiations were also carried on by others, as, f: instance, by Prince Napoleon during his stay in Berlin. Sin- French diplomacy was ignorant enough to believe that a Gt; man Minister who followed a national policy could for : moment think of entertaining such proposals, it had on. itself to thank if it was befooled with its own schemes so lor as such fooling appeared calculated to promote the maintenan:: of peace. Even those who pursue the most ignorant and n^ row-minded policy must ultimately come to recognise that the have hoped for and demanded impossibilities. The belliroj temper which now prevails in Paris dates from such rccogr. tion. The hopes of German statesmen that they would be ab! to befool the French until a peaceful regime was established France by some transformation of her despotic constitutii have unfoitunately not been realised. Providence willed otherwise. Since we can no longer maintain peace it is m necessary now to preserve silence. For we preserved sileni solely in order to promote the continuance, and if possible ti permanency, of peaceful relations. . . ." The Minister co: eluded : " You can add, too, that the question of French S\v: lerland was al Wnted that in listricts begin July 2%th. - Ind I am to ifhich has be Jovernments. hucher hai ' eived by him { onie organ n \ Those who n^ ■ nsh to interfei ' ecausc the la ; 'hey allow Bo leir own choic • ther nations g ^ question of S] nother opinioi , jniper seems t ■ duel with the \ n unusually loi ^ July zot/i, \ lould be again (oking about f( Ew points : " F irticular to tal< )eculates upon Kll have nothii IS/OJ THE FRENCH IN SEARCH OF ALLIES 47 ierland was also mentioned in the negotiations, and that it was jinted that in Ticdmont they knew quite well where the French listricts begin and the Italian districts leave off." July 28///. — I see the original of Benedetti's draft Treaty, Ind I am to receive a photographic copy of it similar to that vhich has been prepared for distribution amongst foreign Jovernmcnts. Huchcr handed me the following sketch of an article, re- [eived by him from the Minister, which is to be inserted in jnie organ not apparently connected with the Government : f Those who now hold power in Spain declare that they do not ^ish to interfere in the conflict between Germany and France, Jecausc the latter might create internal difficulties for them, ["hey allow Bonaparte to prohibit their election of the King of leir own choice. They look on calmly with folded arms while • nations go to war over a difference that has arisen out of question of Spanish domestic interest. We had formed quite lother opinion of the Castilian gentilhomme. The Spanish fniper seems to resemble that of Gil Bias, who wanted to fight I duel with the army surgeon but observed that the latter had unusually long rapier." July 30///, 10 P.M. — The Minister desires that attention lould be again called to the manner in which the French are |)oking about for foreign assistance, and he once more gives a Bw points : " France is begging in all directions, and wants in articular to take Italy into her pay. Here, as everywhere, she jcculates upon the worst elements, while the better elements j^ill have nothing to do with her. How does that harmonise ith the greatness of the nation which ' stands at the head of isation,' and whose historians always point out that it was aly defeated at Leipzig because its opponents were four to ae ? At that time they had half Germany, Italy, Holland, and he present Belgium on their side. To-day, when they stand lone, they go round hat in hand to every door, and seek jercenaries to reinforce their own army, in which they can |erefore have but very little confidence." July list. — This morning received from Roland one of the btographic copies of the Benedetti draft. lu(.. y, 1 870 J I I'j CHAPTER II DEPARTURE OF THE CHANCELLOR FOR THE SEAT OF WAR - FOLLOW HIM, AT FIRST TO SAARBRUECK — JOURNEY FROyf THERE TO THE FRENCH FRONTIER — THE FOREIGN OFFICE FLYING COLUMN On the 31st of July, 1870, at 5.30 p.m., the Chancellor, ac companied by his wife and his daughter, the Countess Marie left his residence in the Wilhelm Strasse to take the train k Mayence, on his way to join King William at the seat of wa: He was to be followed by some Councillors of the Foreii,: Office, a Secretary of the Central Bureau, two deciphcra, clerks, and three or four Chancery attendants. The remaind of us only accompanied him with our good wishes as, with h. helmet on his head, he passed out between the two sphime that guard the door st2ps and entered his carriage. I also ha:| resigned myself to the idea of following the course of the arir; on the map and in the newspapers. A few days after tl declaration of war, on my begging the Minister to take me \vit:| him in case I could be of use, he replied that that depended i the arrangements at headquarters. At the moment there w no room for me. My luck, however, soon improved. On the evening of the 6th of August a telegram was rcj ceived at the Ministry giving news of the victory at Word Half an hour later I took the good tidings still fresh and wai to a group of acquaintances who waited in a restaurant hear how things were going. Everybody knows how willing Germans celebrate the receipt of good news. My tidings werj very good indeed, and many (perhaps most) of my frien celebrated them too long. The result was that next mornin was still in bed when the Foreign Office messenger Loreq brought me a copy of a telegraphic despatch, accordin which I was to start for headquarters immediately. Priv Councillor Hcpke wrote : — " Dear Doctor, Get ready to leav 48 fpr headquarte: |b follows: — liisch come he ifiidomil Zeitii Hcpke allowed ; I had theref fortune. In a j by midday I ha \x all military 1 jft Berlin toge iinistcr wished ^ernberg, for )eszler for th ivelled first cl Ir. There wer lemed still lon^ the 9th of A wait here for ^adquarters we: IS unable to inf [ything positive in Homburfi iarbrueck. It was midda lyof Darmstac 5d with heavy \ we proceedec fppages, which riages transpoi Serever a pause lern national flourishing th Ire brought to tl jluding poor ol lose poverty on lad. We crossed th ^ak, we noticed )r, who was spe servant. We VOL. I. — . K iSyoJ JOUKNEYINGS TO THE SKAT Ol- WAR 49 •KOV I •, ac. lari;. n fo: wa; )reig: lerir.; lindi th h:: linxc: ha:] arir;' ;r tb| e w edc: ■e waj ^as ri war ant s \\tl :riena ning Loreq ling ' PrH leavl )r headquarters in the course of the day." The telegram ran follows: — " Mayence, 6th of August, 7.36 p.m. Let Dr. lusch come here and bring with him a Correspondent for the hadonal Zeitung and one for the Kreuzzcitung. Bismarck." ^epkc allowed me to select these correspondents. ^ I had therefore after all attained to the very height of good tertune. In a short time I had provided for all essentials, and % midday I had received my pass, legitimation, and free ticket for all military trains. That evening a little after 8 o'clock I lift Berlin together with the two correspondents whom the linistcr wished to accompany me, namely, Herr von Ungarn- kernberg, for the Krenaaeitnng, and Professor Constantine [oeszler for the National Zeitung. In the beginning we ivelled first class, afterwards third, and finally in a freight There were numerous long halts, which in our impatience jemed still longer. It was only at 6 o'clock on the morning the 9th of August that we reached Frankfort. As we had [wait here for some hours, we had time to inquire where the ladquarters were now established. The local Commandant |is unable to inform us, nor could the Telegraph Director say iything positive on the subject. He thought they might be ill in Homburg, but more probably they had moved on to irbrueck. It was midday before we again started, in a goods train, by ky of Darmstadt, past the Oden^ aid, whose peaks were cov- 6d with heavy white fog, by Mannheim and towards Neustadt. we proceeded our pace became gradually slower, and the bppages, which were occasioned by seemingly endless lines of riages transporting troops, became more and more frequent. herever a pause occurred in the rush of this onward wave of iern national migration, crowds hurried to the train, cheering flourishing their hats and handkerchiefs. Food and drink Ire brought to the soldiers by people of all sorts and conditions, lluding poor old women — needy but good-hearted creatures lose poverty only allowed them to offer coffee and dry black tad. I We crossed the Rhine during the night. As day began to ik, we noticed a well-dressed gentleman lying near us on the |)r, who was speaking English to a man whom we took to be servant. We discovered that he was a London banker » VOL. I. — E III. 'I i 50 DUFlCULl'lES Ul' IKAVKL [Auu. named Dcichmann. He also was anxious to get to hca( quarters in order to beg Roon's permission to serve as a vol unteer in a cavalry regiment, for which purpose he had brough:! his horses with him. The line being blocked near Hosbach, (j:| Deichmann's advice we took a country cart to Neustadt, a little town which was swarming with soldiers — Bavarian riflemen Prussian Red Hussars, Saxon and other troops. It was here that we took our first warm meal since ou:| departure from Berlin. Hitherto we had had to content ourl selves with cold meat, while at night our attempts to sleep or. the bare wooden benches with a portmanteau for a pillow werj not particularly successful. However, we were proceeding ; the seat of war, and i had expeiienced still greater discomfonj on a tour of far less importance. After a halt of one hour at Neustadt, the train crossed th:| Hardt through narrow valleys and a number of tunnels, passinj the defile in which Kaiserlautern lies. From this point unJ we reached Homburg it poured in torrents almost without cd sation, so that when wc arrived at that station at 10 o'clock ttJ little place seenv 1 to be merely a picture of night and vvatcl As we stepped o of the train and waded thn ugh swamp anl pool with our luggage on our shoulders, we stumbled over itJ rails and rather felt than saw our way to the inn "Zur Post There we found every bed occupied and not a mouthful left:] eat. We ascertained, however, that had even the conditio:: been more favourable we could not have availed ourselves them, as we were informed that the Count had gone on wid the King, and was at that moment probably in Saarbruecl There was no time to be lost if we were to overtake him bcforf he left Germany. It was far from pleasant to have to turn out once more in:j the deluge, but we were encouraged to take our fate philosopJ cally by considering the still worse fate of others. In the tri room of the " Post " the guests slept on chairs enveloped inj thick steam redolent of tobacco, beer, and smoking lamps atj the still more pungent odour of damp clothes and leather, a hollow near the station we saw the watchfire of a large cacj half quenched by the rain — Saxon countrymen of ours, if were rightly informed. While wading our way back to train we caught the gleam of the helmets and arms of a Vvi \m SLOW rKOUKESS 51 jian battalion which stood in the poiirint; rain opposite the ruil- jxvay liotel. Thoroughly drenched and not a little tired we at Icrgth found shelter in a wagon, where Deichmann cleared a corner of the floor on which we too could lie, and found a few hancliuls of straw to serve us as a pillow. My other two com- ipanions were not so lortunate. They had to manage as best they I Duld on th e top of boxes and packages with the postmen land transport soldiers. It was evident that the poor Professor, 'who hud grov/n very quiet, was considerably affected by these hardshijis. About i o'clock the train set itself slowly in motion. By I'daybrcak, after several stoppages, we reached the outskirts of ia small tovvii with a be lutiful old church. A mill lay in the ivalley through which we could also see the windings of the road that led to Saarbrueck. We were told that this town was Dnly two or three miles off, so that we \"2re near our journey's end, Our locomotive, however, seemed to be quite out of breath, and as the headquarters might at any moment leave Saarbrueck and cross the frontier, where we could get no rail- way transport and in all probability no other means of convey- |ince, our impatience and anxiety increased, and our tempers »ere not improved by a clouded sky and drizzling rain. Hav- ng waited in vain nearly two hours for the train to start, Deich- nann again came to our rescue. After a short disappearance he returned with a miller who had arranged to carry us to the jcwn in his own trap. The prudent fellow, however, made )eichmann promise that the soldiers should not take his horses rom him. During the drive the miller told us that the Prussians were jinderstood to have already pushed on their outposts as far as he neighbourhood of Metz. Between 9 and 10 o'clock we eached Sanct Johann, a suburb of Saarbrueck, where we noticed [ery few signs of the French cannonade a few days ago, although ; otherwise presented a lively and varied picture of war times. I huddled and confused mass of canteen carts, baggage waggons, DJdiers on horse ai 1 foot, and ambulance attendants with their ^d crosses, etc., filled the streets. Some Hessian dragoon and tillery regiments marched through, the cavalrymen singing, \Morg-e»roi/i leuchtest mir zuni fruchen Tod!'' (Dawn, thou jhtest me to an early grave). 52 I Klil'oRT MYSI:M' to blS.MAKCK [Aug. 1.S70J At the hotel where we put up I heard that the Chancollir was still in the town, and l()d;;cd at the house of a merchant anc manufacturer named llaldy. I had therefore missed nothing; bv all our delays, and had fortunately at length reached harbour Not a minute too soon, however, as on going to report my arrival I was informed by Count Hismarck-Hohlen, the Minister's cousin, that they intended to move on shortly after midday. I bad; good-bye to my companions from Berlin, as there was no roon. for them in the Chancellor's suite, and also to our London friend whose patriotic offer General Roon was regretfully obligotl tc decline. After providing for the safety of my luggage, I pre sented myself to the Count, who was just leaving to call iipor. the King. I then went to the Bureau to ascertain if I could be of any assistance. There was plenty to do. Every one had his hands full, and I was immediately told off to make a tran*. lation for the King of Queen Victoria's Speech from the Throne, which had just arrived. I was highly interested by a declaration contained in a despatch to St. Petersburg, which I had to dic- tate to one of our deciphering clerks, although at the time I could not quite understand it. It was to the effect that w; should not be satisfied with the mere fall of Napoleon. That looked like a foreshadowing of some miracle. Strasburg ! and perhaps the Vosges as our frontier ! W'h; could have dreamed of it three weeks before ? In the meantime the weather had cleared up. Shortly k fore one o'clock, under a broiling sun, three four-horse carriad drew up before our door, with soldiers riding as postilions. On; was for the Chancellor, another for the Councillors and Coiir.:| Bismarck-Bohlen, and the third for the Secretaries and I)e.: pherers. The two Councillors and the Count having decide: to ride, I took a place in their carriage, as I also did siibsel quently whenever they went on horseback. Five minutes latej we crossed the scream and entered the Saarbrueck high rnaq which led past the battlefield of the 6th of August. Witiii: half an hour of our departure from Sanct Johann we were 0: French soil. There were still many traces of the sanguinarj struggle that had raged there five days ago — branches toi from the trees by artillery fire, fragments of accoutrements a: uniforms, the crops trampled into the earth, broken wheels, dug in the ground by exploding shells, and small wooden crossi ri)ii.!,'hly tied to ,ii)d others. S been ahvady h Here at the hvill break off words about th which the Chan and lived. Thi Aboken and Ht vioiisly spent se llJismarck-Bohlei these came the the two deciphc IliMally myself. pletcd by Lot ha lU'iehr, also join( lincroased by il( lEnibassy, the yoi j\Va/,'ner, the iatt lOffico work. Ho |Gohcim-Sekret;ir (lards reqinVed a ihc Chancellor w, pn^ed that all fiillors, should in Vhen circumstan fnd had the hon Throughout It was generally t If heavy Land we ampaign he as nc Order of the Ton Cross. I or lown. That was K as far as I k (hole war. Wh k carriage by I (e with him for My to please in t F »P with the m i>70 TIIK ( IIANCKM.OU'S STAFF 53 ri)Ui,'hly tied together, pioh.ibly markinj; the graves of oflficcrs ,iik1 others. So lar as one could observe, all the dead had been already buried. Here at the coiiuncnccmcnt of our journey throujjjh France 1 will break off my narrative for a while in order to say a few words about the Foreign Office Field Bureau and the way in which the Chancellor and his people travelled, lod};ed, worked, intl lived. The Minister had selected to accompany him Ilerr Abcken and lierr von Keudell, Count Hatzfeld, who had prc- Ivioiisly spent several years at the l^mbassy in I'aris, and Count Hismarck-Bohlen, all four Privy Councillors of Legation. After these came the Gihcim-Sckrctdr Holsing of the Centralbureau, the two deciphering clerks, Willisch and St. HIanquart, and finally myself. At Ferri6res our list of Councillors was com- Ipleted by Lothar, Bucher, and a new deciphering clerk, Ilerr IWiehr, also joined us. At Versailles the number was further lincroased by Ilerr von Holstein, subseciuently Councillor of JEmbassy, the young Count Wartensleben, and Privy Councillor IWai^ner, the latter, however, not being employed on Foreign lOffice work. Herr Holsing, who had fallen ill, was replaced by iGehoim-Sekretiir Wollman, and the accumulation of work after- vards required a fourth deciphering clerk. Our " Chief," as khe Chancellor was usually called by the staff, had kindly ar- pRod that all his fellow-workers, Secretaries as well as Coun- cillors, should in a certain sense be members of his household. i'hen circumstances permitted, we lodged in the same house knd had the honour of dining at his table. Throughout the whole war the Chancellor wore uniform. It was generally the well-known undress of the yellow regiment |f heavy Landwehr cavalry. During the early months of the ampaign he as a rule only wore the Commander's Cross of he Order of the Red Eagle, to which he afterwards added the pn Cross. I only saw him a couple of times in a dressing |own. That was at Versailles, when he was unwell, the only le, as far as I know, that anything ailed him throughout the [hole war. When travelling he was usually accompanied in lie carriage by Herr Abeken, but on some occasions he took with him for several days in succession. He was very ksy to please in the matter of his quarters and was willing to jit up with the most modest shelter when better was not to be I I 54 HOW THE CHANCELLOR WORKED [Aug. 10 I 1S70] pencil, letters t( published in th( reception of vis must occasional] or even 3 o'clocl the Chancellor i had. Indeed, it once happened that there was no bedstead and that his bed had to be made upon the floor. Our carriages usually followed immediately after those of the King's suite. We started generally about 10 o'clock in the morning, and sometimes covered as much as sixty kilometres in the day. On reaching our quarters for the night our first duty was to set about preparing an office, in which there was seldom B ride in the neigh any lack of work, especially wnen we had the Field Telegraph ■ continuing until at our disposal. When communications were thus established, ■ hour and a half a the Chincellor again became what, with shoU intervals, he hadB k frequently ren been throughout this entire period : namely, the central figureB In his mannci of the whole civilised European world. Even in those placesB differed from the where we only stayed for one night he, incessantly active him-B took a cup of tea self, kept his assistants almost continuously engaged until aB evening he, as a late hour. Messengers were constantly going and coming withB any luncheon and telegrams and letters. Councillors were drawing up notcsB between 10 and i orders, and directions under instructions from their chief, an(B fore had practical these were being copied, registered, ciphered, and deciphercBlikc Frederick the in the Chanccllerie. Reports, questions, newspaper articlesBare proverbially f etc., streamed in from every direction, most of them reqnirinBin this respect by instant attention. B they often have irti Never, perhaps, was the well-nigh superhuman power oB must be put in g work shown by the Chancellor, his creative, receptive, anBthat nothing is b critical activity, his ability to deal with the most difficult proiB cellar and a dinn lems, always finding the right and the only solution, more strilB (■//(/". Count liisn ingly evident t!ian during this period. The inexhaustible naturBcumstances permi of his powers was all the more astounding, as he took but littBcase for instance sleep. E.xccpt when a battle was expected and he rose at daB where the genius break to join the King and the army, the Chancellor rose rathBcreatcd breakfasts late, as had been his custom at home, usually about 10 o'clocBto a homely fare On the other hand, he spent the night at work, and only felat length resting asleep as daylight began to appear. He was often hardly oBspecially fine bral of bed and dressed before he commenced work again, reaB^racious gifts of ing despatches and making notes upon them, looking throuBtable was also en newspapers, giving instructions to his Councillors and otheBonly right and p and setting them their various tasks or even writing cr diiremcmbered the tating. Later on there were visits to be received, audicnclof good things, b to be granted, explanations to be given to the King. ThBants, monumental followed a further study of despatches and maps, the correctiBarceptable delicac of articles, drafts hurriedly prepared with his well-known m At first only tl isyo] THK CIIANCELI-OR'S TA15LK 55 pencil, letters to be written, information to be telegraphed, or published in the newspapers, and in tl>e midst of it all the reception of visitors who could not be refused a hearing yet must occasionally have been unwelcome. It was only after 2, or even 3 o'clock, in places where we made a longer stay, that the Chancellor allowed himself a little recreation by taking a ride in the neighbourhood. On his return he set to work again, continuing until dinner time, between 5.30 and 6 v.m. In an hour and a half at latest he went back to his writing-desk, where he frequently remained till midnight. In his manner of taking his meais, as in his sleep, the Count differed from the general run of mankind. F)arly in the day he took a cup of tea and one or two eggs, and from that time until evening he, as a rule, tasted nothing more. He seldom took any luncheon and rarely came to tea, which was usually served between 10 and 11 at night. With some exceptions, he there- fore had practically but one meal in the twenty-four hours, but, 'like Frederick the Great, he then ate with appetite. ^^Diplomats are proverbially fond of a good table, being scarcely surpassed in this respect by the clergy. It is part of their business, as tiicy often have important guests who, for one reason or another, must be put in good humour, and it is universally recognised that nothing is better calculated to that end than a well-filled cellar and a dinner which shows the skill of a highly trained iltcf. Count Bismarck also kept a good table, which, when cir- cumstances permitted, became quite excellent. That wap the case for instance at Rheims, Meaux, Ferri^res, and Versailles, where the genius of our cook in the Commissariat uniform created breakfasts and dinners that made any one accustomed to a homely fare feel, as he did justice to them, that he was at length resting in Abraham's bosom, particularly when some specially fine brand of champagne was added to the other gracious gifts of Providence. During the last five months our table was also enriched by presents from home, where, as was only right and proper, our people showed how fondly they remembered the Chancellor by sending him plentiful supplies of good things, both fluid and solid, geese, venison, fish, pheas- ants, monumental pastry, excellent beer, rare wines, and other acceptable delicacies. At first only the Councillors wore uniform, Herr von Keu- 56 PRIVY COUNCILLOR ABEKEN [Av lu, 1^ dell that of the Cuirassiers, and Count Bismarck-Bohlcn that o, the Dragoon Guards, while Count Hatzfeld and Herr Abeken wore the undress uniform of the Foreign Office. It was after wards suggested that the whole of the Minister's personnel, with the exception of the two gentlemen first mentioned, who wore also officers, should be allowed the same privilege. The Cliioi gave his consent, so the people of Versailles had an opportunity of seeing our Chancery attendants in a dark blue tunic with twd rows of buttons, black collar trimmed with velvet, and a cap of the same colour, while our Councillors, Secretaries, and Dcci- p^^erers carried swords with a gold sword knot. The eldcrlv Privy Councillor Abeken, who could make his horse prance as jiroudly as any cavalry officer, looked wonderfully warlike in this costume, in which, I fancy, he delighted not a little. It was to him just as great a pleasure to show off in all this militarv bravery as it had been to travel through the Holy Land dressed up as an Oriental, although he did not understand a word of Turkish or AraVic. CHAPTER III FROM THE FRONTIER TO GRAVELOTTE In the preceding chapter I broke off my narrative at the French frontier. We recognised that we had crossed it by the notices posted in the villages, " Departement de la Moselle." The white roads were thronged with conveyances, and in every hamlet troops were billeted. In these hilly and partially wooded districts we saw small camps being pitched here and there. After about two hours' drive we reached Forbach, which we passed through without stopping. In the streets through which we drove the signboards were almost entirely French, although the names were chiefly German. Some of the inhabitants who were standing at their doors greeted us in passing. Most of them, however, looked sulky, which, although [it did not add to their beauty, was natural enough, as they [hid evidently plenty of soldiers to provide quarters for. The [windows were all full of Prussians in blue uniforms. We thus jogged on, up hill and down dale, reaching Saint Avoid about ^;df-past four. Here we took up lodgings, Chancellor and all, jwith a M. Laity, at No. 301 Rue des Charrons. It was a one- Istory house, but rather roomy, with a well-kept fruit and Ivegetable garden at the back. The proprietor, who was said Ito be a retired officer, and appeared to be well to do, had gone away with his wife the day before, leaving only a maid and an eld woman, who spoke nothing but French. In half an hour ac had fixed up our office and chosen our sleeping quarters. HVork began without delay. As there was nothing to be done my department, I tried to assist in deciphering the de- Ipatches, an operation which offers no particular difficulties. At seven o'clock we dined with the Chancellor in a little 00m looking out on a small courtyard with some flower beds. fhc conversation at table was very lively, the Minister having bost to say. He did not consider a surprise impossible, as he 57 58 lUSMAKCK ON KKLKJIUUS LIHKKTY Ai I had satisfied himself during his walk that our outposts were only three-quarters of an hour from the town and very wide apart. He had asked at one post where the next was stationed, but the men did not know. He said, " While I was out I saw a man with an axe on his shoulder following close at my heels. I kept my hand on my sword, as one cannot tell in certain circumstances what may happen ; but in any case I should have been ready first." He remarked later on that our land- lord had left all his cupboards full of underdo* 'ting, addini,', " If this house should be turned into an ambulance hospital, hiv wife's fine underlinen will be torn up for lint and bandages, and quite properly. But then they will say that Count Bis- marck took the things away with him." We came to speak of the disposal of the troops in action. The Minister said that General Steinmetz had shown himselt on that occasion to be self-willed and disobedient. " Like Vogel von Falkenstein, his habit of taking the law into his own hands will do him harm in spite of the laurels he won at Skalitz." There was cognac, red wine, and a sparkling Mayence wine on the table. Somebody mentioned beer, saying that probably we should be unable to obtain it. The Minister replied, "Tha; is no loss ! The excessive consumption of beer is deplorable. | It makes men stupid, lazy, and useless. It is responsible for the democratic nonsense spouted over the tavern tables. A I good rye whiskey is very much better." I cannot now remember how or in what connection we can-.e! to speak about the Mormons. The Minister was surprised ,t| their polygamy, "as the German race is not equal to so nuic: — Orientals seem to be more potent." He wondered how the! United States could tolerate the existence of such a polyganioiii| sect. The Count took this opportunity of speaking of religion; liberty in general, declaring himself very strongly in favour oil it. But, he added, it must be exercised in an impartial spiri; " Every one must be allowed to seek salvation in his own way I I shall propose that one day, and Parliament will cer..'inlv| approve. As a matter of course, however, the property of lk\ Church must remain with the old churches that acquired i;[ Whoever retires must make a sacrifice for his conviction, c:J rather his unbelief." " People think little the worse of Cath-j iM mo] A MYTIIOLCXJICAL CONVEKSATUN 59 lies for being orthodox, and have no objection whatever to Jews being so. It is altogether different with Lutherans, however, and that church is constantly charged with a spirit of persecu- tion if it rejects unorthodox members. Jiut it is considered quite in order that the orthodox should be persecuted and scoffed at in the press and in daily life." After dinner the Chancellor and Councillors took a walk in the garden, from which a large building distinguished by a flag with the Geneva Cross was visible at a little distance to the right. We could sec a number of nuns at the windows, who wi'c watching us through opera glasses. It was evidently a convent that had been turned into a hospital. In the evening one of the deciphering clerks expressed great anxiety as to the possibility of a surprise, and we discussed what should be done with the portfolios containing State papers and ciphers in such circumstances. I tried to reassure them, promising to do my utmost cither to save or destroy the papers, should necessity arise. There was no occasion for anxiety. The night passed quietly. Next morning as wc were at lunch a green lu-ldjiiger, or Royal Courier, arrived with despatches from Berlin. Although such messengers usually make rapid progress, this one had not travelled any quicker than I had done in my fear to arrive too late. He left on Monday, the 8th of August, and had several times taken a special conveyance, yet he had spent nearly four (lays on the way, as it was now the 12th. I again assisted the Decipherers. Afterwards, while the Minister was with the King, I visited the large and beautiful town church with the Coun- cillors, the chaplain showing us round. In the afternoon, while the Minister was out for a ride, we inspected the Prussian artil- lery park on a neighbouring height. We dined at four, on the Chancellor's return. He had ridden a long way in order to see his two sons, who were serv- ing as privates in a regiment of dragoon guards, but found that the German cavalry had already pushed forward towards the upper reaches of the Moselle. He was in excellent spirits, evidently owing to the good fortune which continued to favour our cause. In the course of the conversation, which turned on mythology, the Chief said he could never endure Apollo, who flayed Marsyas out of conceit and envy, and slew the children ipF 60 ALARM IN I'AKIS [Auc. 14 of Niobe for similar reasons. " He is the genuine type of a Frenchman, one who cannot bear that another should play the flute better than, or as well as, hi self." Nor was Apollos manner of dealing with the Trojans > the Count's taste. The straightforward Vulcan would have been his man, or, better still, Neptune — perhaps because of the Quos ego ! — but he did not say. After rising from table we had good news to telegrapli t. Berlin for circulation throughout the whole country, namely, that there were ten thousand prisoners in our hands on the 7th of August, and that a great effect had been produced on the enemy by the victory at Saarbrueck. Somewhat later we had further satisfactory particulars to send home. The Minister ot Finance in Paris, evidently in consequence of the rapi J advance of the German forces, had invited the French people to deposit their gold in the Bank of France instead of keeping it in their houses. There was also some talk of a proposed proclamatif)n fur- bidding and finally abolishing the conscription in the distriet> occupied by the German troops. We also heard from Madrid that the Montpensier party, some politicians belonging to the Liberal Union such a^ Rios Rosas and Topete, as well as varioui' other party leaders, were exerting every effort to bring aboir, the immediate convocation of the representative assembly in order that the Provisional Government should be put an end to by the election of a King. The Due de Montpensier, whon: they had in view as a candidate, was already in the Spanish capital. The Government, however, obstinately oj^posed this plan. Early next morning we broke up our quai'ters and started for the small town of Falqucmont, which we now call Falken- berg. The road was thronged with long lines of carts, artillery, ambulances, in; itary police, and couriers. While some detach ments of infantry marched along the highway, others crossed the stubble fields to the right, being guided by wisps of straw tied to poles stuck in the ground. Now and then we saw men fall out of the ranks and others lying in the furrows, fagged out, while a pitiless August sun glared down from a cloudless sky Thick yellow clouds of dust raised by the marching of the| troops followed us into Falkenberg, a place of about two thou- !■ 7 1870] sand inhabita Schmidt. W( and I only aft the King at t through the t (lay. A Saxc fre(|iiently sen supply was so( In the aftc bcr of prisoner; his fez for a c uitnessed a bru camp-followers was obliged tc always i)aid for The peojilc humoured. \^{^ which was occa; the sacred pictu tn be Catholics. a small service, upon a supply them, as there v :I must do my c^ the food badly, compromise, wh to get a good Imorning. ^w Sunday, t pe Minister to Whitewashed pe: vhere his window grotty large, we ilso served as oi kish priest's, oj fonsisted of one Ndings. At th Nest confusion lapers, &c. Soni Iners. For scve iS;"J THE ARMV ()M Till!: MARCH 6i sand inhabitants, where I put up at the house of the baker, Soiimidt. We lost si^^ht of the Minister in the crowd and dust, and I only afterwards ascertained that he had gone on to see the King at the village of Herny. The march of the troops thn)Ui;h the town continued almost uninterruptedly the whole (lav. A Saxon regiment, which was stationed quite near us, ti\-iliicntly sent their caterers to our baker for bread, but the supply was soon exhausted owing to the enormous demand. In the afternoon some Prussian hussars brought in a num- ber ot jirisoners in a cart, including a Turco who had exchanged his fez for a civilian's hat. In another part of the town we witnessed a brawl between a shopman and one of the female camp-followers who had stolen some of his goods, which she was obliged to restore. So far as I could see, our people always paid for what they asked, sometimes doing even more. The people where I lodged were very polite and good humoured. Hoth husband and wife spoke a German dialect, which was occasionally helped out with French words. From the sacred pictures which were hung on the walls they appeared ti) be Catholics. I had an opportunity later on of doing them a small service, when some of our soldiers insisted willy nilly J upon a supply of bread, which the baker was unable to give :them, as there were only two or three loaves in the shop. Hut ;I must do my countrymen the justice to say that they wanted [the food badly, and were willing to pay for it. I proposed a |comproniise, wliich was accepted : each soldier was at once Ltfi get a good slice and as much as ever he required next fmorning. On Sunday, the 14th of August, after luncheon, we followed [the Minister to Herny. He had taken up his quarters in a ^whitewashed peasant's house, a little off the High Street, ihere his window opened upon a dung-hill. As the house was pretty large, we all joined him there. Count Hatzfeld's room ilso served as our ofifice. The King had his quarters at the barish priest's, opposite the venerable old church. The village tonsisted of one long wide street, with some good municipal [luildings. At the railway station we found everything in the Ifiidest confusion, the whole place littered vvith torn books, lapers, &c. Some soldiers kept watch over two French pris- Inors, For several hours after 4 p.m. we heard the heavv y t 6a INSIRUCTIONS K)K Tllli I'KKSS [Auu. 15 thunder of cannon in the direction of Mctz. At tea the Min- ister said : " I little thought a month ago that I should be tak- ing tea with ycu, gentlemen, to-day in a farmhouse at Herny.' Coming to speak of the Due de Grammont, the Count wondered that, on seeing the failure of his stupid policy against us, he had not joined the army in order to expiate his blunders. He was quite big and strong enough to serve as a soldier, "i should have acted differently in 1866 if things had not gone so well. I should have at once enlisted. Otherwise I could never have shown myself to the world again." I was frequently called to the Minister's room to receive instructions. Our illustrated papers were to publish picture of the charge at Spichcrnberg, and also to deny the statement of the Constitntionncl that the Prussians had burnt down every. thing on their march, leaving nothing but ruins behind them We could say with a clear conscience that we had not obscrvec the least sign of this. It was also thought well to reply ti the Ncuc Frcic Ptrsst\ which had hitherto been well disposed towards us, but had now adopted another policy, pos.siblv because it had lost some subscribers who objected to its Prus- 1 sopliiie tone, or perhaps there was something in the runion that the Franco-Hungarian party intended to purchase it. The Chancellor, in giving instructions respecting another article 01 the ConstitutioHHcl, concluded as follows: "Say that there | never was any question in the Cabinet Council of a cessior of Saarbrueck to P'rance, The matter never went beyond the i stage of confidential inquiries, and it is self-evident that ; national Minister, inspired by the national spirit, could neve: have dreamt of such a course. There might, however, hav;| been some slight basis for the rumour. A misunderstanding 0: a distortion of the fact that previous to 1864 the question vail raised whether it would not be desirable to sell the coal minei at Saarbrueck, which are State property, to a company, i wanted to meet the expenses of the Schleswig-Holstein war : this way. But the proposal came to nothing, owing to the King's objections to the transaction " On Monday, August 15th, about 6 a.m., the Minister drovej off in his carriage, accompanied by Count Bismarck-Bohler, and followed on horseback by Herr Abckcn, Herr von KeudeLl and Count Hatzfeld. The rest of us remained behind, wheri I870J TlIK ATlirUUE OF TlIK INIIAIUTANTS 63 we had plenty of work on hand, and could make ourselves usctul in other ways. Several detachments of infantry passed through the village during the day, amongst them being three Prussian regiments and a number of Pomeranians, for the most part tall, handsome men. The bands played " Heil dir im Siegerkranz," and " Ich bin ein Prcusse." One could sec in the men's eyes tlv fearful thirst from which they were suffer- ing. We speedily organised a fire brigade with pails and jugs and gave as many as possible a drink of water as they marched bv. They could not stop. Some took a mouthful in the palms i)f their hands, whilst others filled the tin cms which they carried with them, so that at least a few had bome momentary relief. Our landlord, Matthiote, knew a little Got man, hut his wife only spoke the somewhat unmtelU^vMc Vrench diaknt <»t this part of Lorraine. They were \h(»U};ht n\\\ to be too friendly towards us, but the Minister had wot observed it. Fe had onl^ seen the husband and said ho was not a bad fellow. " He asked me as he brought iu the dinner if I would try his wine. I I found il very tolerable, but on my offering to pay for it he declined, and would only accept payment for the food. He inquired as to the future frontier, and expected that they would be better off in the matter of taxation." We saw little of the other inhabitants of the village. Those we met were polite and communicative. An old peasant woman [; whom I asked for a light for my cigar led me into her room and showed me a photograph of her son in a French uniform. I Hursting into tears she n-jproachcd the Emperor vith the ■ war. \^CT pauvre garden was certainly dead, and sne was incon- [Solablc. The Councillors returned after three o'clock, the Minister [himself coming in a little later. In the meantime we were [joined by Count Henckel, a portly gentleman with a dark [beard, Herr Bamberger, a member of the Reichstag whom [Count Bohlen was accustomed to call the "Red Jew," and a |Herr von Olberg, who was to be appointed to an administrative position of some kind. We began to feel ourselves masters of [the conquered country and to make our arrangements accord- jly. As to the portion which we at that time proposed to tetain permanently, a telegram to St. Petersburg which I helped w^ 64 A RUSSIAN ANIXIJOIK LAuc. 16 to cipher said that if it were the will of Providence we intended to annex Alsace. We heard at dinner that the Kinpf and the Chancellor, ac- companied by General Steinmetz, had made a reconnaissance which took them within about three English miles of Mctz The French troops outside the fortress had been driven into the city and forts on the previous day by Steinmetz's impctii()u> attack at Courcelles. In the evening, as we sat on a bench outside the door, the Minister joined us for a moment. He asked me for a cigar, bii: Councillor Taglioni, the King's decipherer, was quicker thar 1, which was a pity, as mine were much better. At ten the Chancellor mentioned in the course of conversation that on two occasions he had been in danger of being shot by a sentry, once at San Sebastian and another time at Schluesselburg. From this we learned that he also understood a little Spanish. Passing; Irom the Schluesselburg story, he came to relate the following- anecdote, which, however, I was unable to hear quite clcarlv, and so cannot vouch whether it occurred to the Minister him- self or to some one else. One day the Count was walking in the Summer Garden at St. Petersburg, and met the Emperor, with whom, as a Minister in high favour, his relations were somewhat unreserved. The two, after strolling on together for | a while, saw a sentry posted in the middle of a grass plot Bismarck took the liberty to ask what he was doing there The Emperor did not know, and questioned the aide-de-camp, who was also unable to explain. The aide-de-camp was ther. sent to ask the sentry. His answer was, " It has been ordered, a reply which was repeated by every one of whom the aide-de- camp inquired. The archives were searched in vain — a scntnl had always been posted there. At last an old footman renieiTi bered that his father had told him that the Empress Catherine had once seen an early snowdrop on that spot, and had giverl instructions that it should not be plucked. They could find ncl better way of preserving it than by placing a sentry to guardl it, who was afterwards kept on as a matter of habit. The anti-l German feeling in Holland and its causes were then referred to It was thought to be partly due to the circumstance that Vaul Zuyler, when he was Dutch Minister at Berlin, had made hini-l self unpleasant, and consequently did not receive as muclj iSyo] UKAVY Ht'.HTING NEAK MKI7 65 » consideration as he desired, so that he possibly left us in ill- hiiinoiir. On the i6th of August, at 9.30 a.m., \vc started for Pont ;\ Moiisson. On the excellent high road to that town we passed throuL^^h several villages with fine buildings, containing the publii.- offices and schools. The whole way was brightened by detach nicnt.s of soldiers, horse and foot, and a great variety of vehicles. Here and there also we saw small encampments. A little after three o'clock wc reached our destination, a town of about eight thousand inhabitants. I'assing the market-place, where a regiment of Saxon infantry were bivouacked, some of thcin lying on the ground on bundles of straw, we turned into the Rue St. Laurent. Here the Chancellor, with three of the Councillors, took up their residence at the corner of Rue Rau- craf in a little chateau overgrown with red creepers. The rest of the party lived a few doors off. I slept with Saint Hlanquart in a room which was a veritable museum of natural history and ethnology, being filled with the most varied trophies from all parts of the world. After a hasty toilette we returned to the office. On our way we observed a number of notices posted on the walls, one announcing our victory of the fourteenth, another respecting the abolition of the conscription, and a third by the Mayor, apparently in connection with some attacks by civilians on our troops, warning the inhabitants to maintain a prudent attitude. There was also an order issued by our people strictly enjoining the population to keep lights in their windows at night, and to leave the doors of houses and shops open, and to deliver up all arms at the Town Hall. During the greater part of the afternoon we again heard the distant roar of cannon, and ascertained at dinner that there had been renewed fighting near Metz. Some one remarked that perhaps it would not be possible to prevent the French retiring Verdun. The Minister replied, smiling, "That hardened probate Molk (Moltke) says it would be no misfortune, as hey would then be delivered all the more surely into our and " — which must mean that we could surround and anni- ilatc them while they were retreating. Of the other remarks ade by the Chancellor on this occasion I may mention his iference to the " small black Saxons, who looked so intelli- VOL. I. — V IMAGE EVALUATBON TEST TARGET (MT-S) .<^' €f, y. f/. 1.0 I.! 1.25 [fiM IIIIM 1^ 12.2 2.0 1.8 U IIIIII.6 ♦V^ (? / Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STRisET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 iV '^ O V O^ % .%> MP. 'I o^ H/'V ■' 66 CHASSEPOrS AT MARS LA TOUR [Ave;. 17 gent " and who pleased him so much on his paying them a visit the day before. These were either the dark green Chasseurs or the io8th Regiment, which wore the same coloured uniform. "They seem to be sharp, ready fellows," he added, "and the fact ought to be mentioned in the newspapers." On the following night we were awakened several times by the steady tramp of infantry and the rumbling of heavy wheels as they rolled over the rough pavement. We heard next morn- ing that they were Hessians. The Minister started shortly after 4 a.m., intending to proceed towards Metz, where an im- portant battle was expected either that day or the next. As it appeared probable that 1 should have little to do, I availed myself of the opportunity to take a walk in the environs with Willisch. Going up stream we came upon a pontoon bridge erected by the Saxons, who had collected there a large number of conveyances, amongst others some carts from villages near Dresden. We swam across the clear deep river and back again. On returning to the bureau in the Rue Raugraf we found that the Chancellor had not yet arrived. We had news, how- ever, of the battle which had been fought the day before to the west of Metz. There were heavy losses on our side, and it was only with great difficulty that Bazaine was prevented from breaking through our lines. It was understood that the village of Mars la Tour was the point at which the conflict had raged most violently. The leaden rain of the chassepots was literally like a hailstorm. One of the cuirassier regiments, we were told, with the exaggeration which is not unusual in such cases, was almost utterl}'' destroyed and the dragoon guards had also suffered severely. Not a single division escaped without heavy losses. To-day, however, we had superior numbers, as the French had had yesterday, and if the latter attempted another sortie we might expect to be victorious. It did not, however, appear certain, and we were accordingly somewhat uneasy. We could not sit still or think steadily, and, as in fever, we we<-Q oppressed by the same ideas, which re- turned again and again. We walked to the market and then to the bridge, where we saw the wounded, who were now gradu- ally coming in, those with light injuries on foot and the others in ambulance cars. On the road toward Metz we met a batch At length great battle h able that an Chief told us ; Herbert, in the in consequenc received durin iSyoJ GENERAL SHERIDAN 67 of over 120 prisoners. They were for the most part small, poor-looking specimens; but there were also amongst them some tall, broad-shouldered fellows from the guards, who could be recognised by the white facings of their tunics. Then once more to the market-place and around the garden behind the tiouse, where a dog lies buried under a tombstone with the fol- lowing touching inscription : — Girard Aubert (5pitaphe h. sa chienne. Ici tu gis, ma vieille amie, Tu n'es done plus pour mes vieux jours. O toi, ma Diane chdrie, Je te pleurerai toujours. At length, about six o'clock, the Chancellor returned. No great battle had taken place that day, but it was highly prob- able that an engagement would occur on the morrow. The Chief told us at dinner that he had visited his eldest son. Count Herbert, in the field ambulance at Mariaville, where he was lying in consequence of a bullet wound in the thigh, which he had received during the general cavalry charge at Mars la Tour. After riding about for some time the Minister at length found his son in a farmhouse with a considerable number of other wounded soldiers. They were in charge of a surgeon, who was unable to obtain a supply of water, and who scrupled to take the turkeys and chickens that were running about the yard for the use of his patients. " He said he could not," added the Minister, " and all our arguments were in vain. I then threat- ened to shoot the poultry with my revolver and afterwards gave him twenty francs to pay for fifteen. At last I remembered that I was a Prussian General, and ordered him to do as I told him, whereupon he obeyed me. I had, however, to look for the water myself and to have it fetched in barrels." In the meantime the American General Sheridan had ar- rived in the town and asked for an interview with the Chan- cellor. He had come from Chicago, and lodged at the Croix Blanc in the market-place. At the desire of the Minister I called upon General Sheridan and informed him that Count Bismarck would be pleased to see him in the course of the cven- [iiig. The General was a small, corpulent gentleman of about forty-five, with dark moustache and chin tuft, and spoke the 68 WE DRIVE TO THE BATTLEFIELD [AlT., 15 '111 [1 purest Yankee dialect. He was accompanied by his aide-dc. camp, Forsythe, and a journalist named MacLean, who served as an interpreter, acting at the same time as war correspondent for the New York World. During the night further strong contingents of troops marched through the town — Saxons, as we ascertained next day. In the morning we heard that the King and Chancellor had gone off at 3 a.m. A battle was being fought on about the same ground as that of the i6th, and it appears as if this en- gagement were to prove decisive. It will be easily understood that we were still more excited than we had been during the last few days. Uneasy, and impatient for particulars of what was passing, we started in the direction of Mctz, going some four kilometres from Pont a Mousson, suffering both mentally and physically, from our anxiety and suspense as well as from the sweltering heat of a windless day and a blazing sky. W'e met numbers of the less severely wounded coming towards the town, singly, in couples, and in large companies. Some still carried their rifles, while others leant upon sticks. One had the red cape of a French cavalryman thrown over his shoulders They had fought two days before at Mars la Tour and Gorze, They had only heard rumours of this day's battle, and these, good and bad as they happened to be, were soon circulated in an exaggerated form throughout the town. The good news at length seemed to get the upper hand, although late in the even- ing we had still heard nothing definite. We dined without our I Chief, for whom we waited in vain until midnight. Later on I we heard that he, accompanied by Sheridan and Count Bis- marck-Bohlen, was with the King at Rezonville. On Friday, August the 19th, when we ascertained for cer| tain that the Germans had been victorious, Abeken, Keudelll Hatzfeld, and I drove to the battlefield. At Gorze the Coun- cillors got out, intending to proceed farther on horseback. The narrow road was blocked with all sorts of conveyances, so thai it was impossible for our carriage to pass. From the samel direction as ourselves came carts with hay, straw, wood, andl baggage, while ammunition-waggons and vehicles conveying thel wounded were coming the other way. The latter were bein^l moved into the houses, nearly all of which were turned i hospitals and were distinguished by the Geneva cross. At alnios'l ijj^o] THE FIRST TRACES OF THE liAlTLE 69 every window we could see men with their heads or arms in bandages. After about an hour's delay we were able to move slowly forward. The road to the right not far from Gorze would have taken us in little over half an hour to Rezonville, where I was to meet the Minister and our horsemen. My map, however, failed to give me any guidance, and I was afraid of going too near Metz. I therefore followed the high road further, and passing a farm where the house, barn, and stables were full of wounded, we came to the village of Mars la Tour. Immediately behind Gorze we had already met traces of the battle, — pits dug in the earth by shells, branches torn off by shot, and some dead horses. As we went on we came upon the latter more frequently, occasionally two or three together, and at one place a group of eight carcasses. Most of them were fearfully swollen, with their legs in the air, while their heads lay slack on the ground. There was an encampment of Saxon troops in Mars la Tour. The village seemed to have suffered little from the engagement of the i6th. Only one house was burned down. I asked a lieutenant of Uhlans where Rezonville was. He did not know. Where was the King .? " At a place about two hours from here," he said, " in that direction," — point- ing towards the east. A peasant woman having directed us the same way, we took that road, which brought us after a time to the village of Vionville. Shortly before reaching this place I saw for the first time one of the soldiers who had fallen in the late battle, a Prussian musketeer. His features were as dark as those of a Turco, and were fearfully bloated. All the houses in the village were full of men who were severely wounded. Ger- man and French assistant-surgeons and hospital attendants, all wearing the Geneva cross, were busy moving from place to place. I decided to wait there for the Minister and the Councillors, as I believed they must certainly pass that way soon. As I j went towards the battlefield through a side street, I saw a human leg lying in a ditch, half covered with a bundle of blood-stained I rags. Some four hundred paces from the village were two par- allel pits about three hundred feet in length, and neither wide nor deep, at which the grave diggers were still working. Near [by had been collected a great mass of German and French dead. 70 THE HORRORS OF WAR [Aug. 19 Some of the bodies were half naked, but most of them were still in uniform. All were of a dark grey colour and were fear- fully swollen from the heat. There might have been one him. dred and fifty corpses in all, and others were being constantly unloaded from the carts. Doubtless, many had already been buried. Further on in the direction of Metz the ground rose slightly, and there in particular great numbers appeared to have fallen. The ground was everywhere covered with French caps, Prussian helmets, knapsacks, arms, uniforms, undercloth- ing, shoes, and paper. Here and there in the furrows of a potato field lay single bodies, one with a whole leg torn away, another with half the head blown off, while some had the right hand stretched out stiffly pointing towards the sky. There were also a few single graves, marked with a chassepot stuck in the ground or with a cross made from the wood of a cigar box roughly tied together. The effluvium was very noticeable, and at times, when the wind came from the direction of a heap of dead horses, it became unendurable. I It was time to return to the carriage, and besides I had seen quite enough of the battlefield. I took another way back, but I was again obliged to pass further masses of the dead, thi? time all French. Near some of the bodies lay packets of letters that had been carried in their knapsacks. I brought some of these with me as a memento, amongst them being two letters in German from one Anastasia Stampf, of Scherrweiler, near Schlettstadt. These I found lying by a French soldier who had been stationed at Caen shortly before the outbreak of the war. One of them, in indifferent spelling, was dated "The 25th of the Hay Month, 1870," and concluded with the words, " We constantly commend thee to the protection of the Blessed Virgin ! " It was four o'clock when I got back, and as the Minister had not arrived, we returned to Gorze. Here we met Keudell, who, with Abeken and Count Hatzfeld, had called upon the Chief at Rezonville. During the battle of the i8th instant, which was decided at Gravelotte, the Minister had, together with the King, ventured a considerable distance towards the front, so that for a time both of them were in some danger. Bismarck had after- wards with his own hands taken water to the wounded. All 9 P.M. I saw him again safe and sound at Pont k Mousson, isro] NODLE I'AMILIES IN MOURNING 71 where we all took supper with him. Naturally, the conversa- tion turned for the most part on the last two battles and the resulting gains and losses. The French had fallen in huge masses. Hie Minister had seen our artillery mow down whole lines of their guards near Gravelotte. We had also suffered severely. Only the losses of the i6th of August were known uo to the present. " A great many noble Prussian families will go into mourning," the Chief said. "Wesdehlen and Reuss lie in their graves, VVedell and Finkenstein are dead, Rahden (Lucca's husband) is shot through both cheeks, and a crowd of officers commanding regiments or battalions have either fallen or are severely wounded. The whole field near Mars la Tour was yesterday still white and blue with the bodies of cuirassiers and dragoons." In explanation of this statement, we were informed that near the village referred to there had been a crreat cavalry charge upon the French, who were pressing for- ward in the direction of Verdun. This charge was repelled by the enemy's infantry in Balaclava fashion, but had so far served its purpose that the French were kept in check until reinforce- ments arrived. The Chancellor's two sons had also gallantly ridden into that leaden hailstorm, the elder receiving no less than three bullets, one passing through the breast of his tunic, another hitting his watch, and the third lodging in his thigh. The younger appears to have escaped unhurt. The Chief re- lated, evidently with some pride, how Count Bill rescued two comrades who had lost their horses, dragging them out of the miUe in his powerful grasp and riding off with them. Still more German blood was shed on the i8th, but we secured the victory, and obtained the object of our sacrifices. That even- ing Bazaine's army had finally retired to Metz, and even French officers whom we had captured admitted that they now believed their cause was lost. The Saxons, who had made long marches on the two previous days, were able to take an important part in the battle near the village of Saint Privat. They now oc- cupied the road to Thionville, so that Metz was entirely sur- rounded by our troops. It appeared that the Chancellor did not quite approve of the course taken by the military authorities in both battles. Among other things he said that Steinmetz had abused the really astounding gallantry of our men — " he was a spendthrift .'■f 73 HUNTIN(] STORIES [Ar,;. 21 of blood." The Minister spoke with violent indignation of the barbarous manner in which the French conducted the war; they were said to have fired upon the Geneva cross and even upon a flag of truce. Sheridan seemed to have speedily got on a friendly footing with the Minister, as I was instructed to invite him and his two companions to dinner on the following evening. At 1 1 o'clock on the 20th of August the Chancellor received a visit from the Crown Prince, who was stationed with his troops about twenty-five English miles from Pont a Mousson on the road from Nancy to Chalons. In the afternoon some twelve hundred prisoners, including two carts conveying offi- cers, passed through the Rue Notre Dame in charge of a detachment of Prussian cuirassiers. Sheridan, Forsythe, and Mac Lean dined that evening with the Minister, who kept up a lively conversation in good English with the American Gen- eral. The Chief and his American guests had champagne and porter. The latter was drunk out of pewter mugs, one of which the Minister filled for me. I mention this because no one else at table had porter, and the gift was particularly wel- come, as since we left Saarbrueck we had had no beer. Sheri- dan, who was known as a successful soldier on the Federal side in the last year of the American Civil War, spoke a good deal, He told us of the hardships he and his companions had under- gone during the ride from the Rocky Mountains to Chicago, of the fearful swarms of mosquitoes, of a great heap of bones in California or thereabouts in which fossils were found, and of buffalo and bear hunting, &c. The Chancellor also told some hunting stories. One day in Finland he found himself in dangerous proximity to a big bear. It was white with snow and he had barely been able to see it. " At last I fired, how- ever, and the bear fell some six paces from me. But it was not killed, and might get up again. I knew what I had to expect, and so without stirring I quietly reloaded, and as soon as it stirred I shot it dead." We were very busy on the forenoon of the 21st of August, preparing reports and leading articles to be forwarded to Germany. We heard that the bearer of a flag of truce who was fired upon by the French was Captain or Major Verdy, of Moltke's General Staff, and that the trumprter who accompa- iSjoJ THE JEALOUSY AMONG OUR GENERALS 73 nied him was wounded. Trustworthy information was received from Florence to the effect that Victor Emmanuel and his Ministers had, in consequence of our victories, decided to observe neutrality, which up to that time was anything but certain. Now it was at last possible to estimate, at least ap- pro.ximately, the losses of the French at Courcelles, Mars le Tour, and Gravelotte. The Minister put them at about 50,000 nien during the three days, of whom about 12,000 were killed. He added : " The ambition and mutual jealousy of some of our (renerals were to blame for the severity of our losses. That the ('uards charged too soon was entirely due to their jealousy of the Saxons who were coming up behind them." That afternoon I had some talk with one of the dragoon >niards who had been in the charge on the French battery on the 1 6th. He maintained that besides Finkenstein and Rcuss the two Treskows were also dead and buried; and that after the battle one squadron had been formed out of the three squadrons of his regiment that had been in action, and one regiment out of the two dragoon regiments that had been engaged. He spoke very modestly about that gallant deed. "We had to charge," he said, "in order to prevent our artillery being taken by the enemy." While I was talking to him, some Saxon infantry passed by with a batch of about 1 50 prisoners. I ascertained from the escort that after their long march the Saxons had fought in the battle near Roncourt and Saint Privat. Once they had charged with the bayonet and the butt ends of their rifles. They had lost a good many officers, including General Krausshaar. As I entered the room that evening at tea time, the Chief said: — " How are you, doctor ? " "I thank your Excellency, quite well." " Have you seen something of what has been going on ? " "Yes, your Excellency, the battlefield near Vionville." " It is a pity you were not with us to share our adventures nthe i8th." The Chancellor then went on to give us a full account of his ixperiences during the last hours of the battle and the following ight. I shall give these and other particulars later on, as I leard them from the Minister. Here I will only mention that e King had ventured too far to the front, which Bismarck ./»^" 74 PRINCE LUirPOLD'S SECRr:T IIOPKS [AUU, 2} .1 lit thought was not right. Refening to our men, the American General Sheridan said : " Your infantry is the best in the world; but it was wrong of your generals to advance their cavalry as they did." I may further mention that l^ohlen in the course of the conversation said to the Chancellor : " Did you hear how the Bavarian muttered when the result seemed doubtful^ 'Things look bad! It's a bad case!' — and was obvioiislv delighted to think we were going to be beaten.?" The Hava- rian referred to was Prince Luitpold. The name of (jciiLra: Steinmetz then came up. The Chancellor said that ho was brave, but self-willed and excessively vain. Small and slight o; figure, when he came into the Diet he always stood near th; President's chair so as to be noticed. He used to attract a;. tention by pretending to be very busy taking notes of wha; went on, as if he were following the debate with great care " He evidently thought the newspapers would mention it, and praise his zeal. If I am not mistaken his calculation provec correct." On Monday, the 22nd of August, I wrote in my diarv: " Called to the Chief at 10.30 a.m. He asked first after niv health and whether I also had been attacked by dyscnten He had had a bad time of it the night before. The Coun: | down with dysentery! God save him from it! It would be I worse than the loss of a battle. Without him our whole cause I would be reduced to uncertainty and vacillation." On the instructions of the Chief I sent the KoclHisck\ Zeitnng the translation of part of a confidential report accori ing to which the Emperor Alexander was favorably disposed | towards the French. I also wired to Berlin respecting the closing of some small telegraph offices the officials of whidj were required for the field service. There is no longer any doubt that we shall retain Alsace I and Metz, with its environs, in case of a final victory ove:j France. The considerations that have led the Chancellor t: this conclusion, and which have already been discussed in a:| academic way in the English press, are somewhat as follows:-! A war indemnity, however great it may be, would not conij pensate us for the enormous sacrifices we have made. Wei must protect South Germany with its exposed position agafei French attacks and thus put an end to the pressure exerciseal iSyo] ANNEXATION INlJiSl'KN'SAHLE 75 upon it by France cliiriii<; two centuries, especially as this pres- sure has during the whole time greatly contributed to German disorganisation and confusion, riadcn, Wurtembertj, and the other south-western districts must not in future be threatened by Strasburg and subject to attack from that point. This also applies to Bavaria. Within 150 years the French have made war upon South-west Germany more than a dozen times. Efforts were made in 18 14 and 1815 in a forbearing spirit to secure guarantees against a renewal of such attack.s. That forbearance, however, was without effect, and it would now also remain fruitless. The danger lies in the incurable arrogance and lust of power which is part of the French character, qualities that might be abused by every ruler — not by any means by the Bonapartes alone — for the purpose of attacking peaceful neighbours. Our protection against this evil does not lie in vain attempts periodically to soothe French susceptibili- ties, but rather in securing a well-defended frontier. France, by repeatedly annexing German territory and all the natural defences on our western frontier, has put herself in a position to force her way into South Germany with a comparatively small force before assistance can be brought from the north. Such invasions have repeatedly occurred under Louis XIV. and I his successor, as well as under the Republic and the First Empire, and the sense of insecurity obliges the German States to reckon constantly with France. That the annexation of a piece of territory will produce bitter feelings amongst the French is a matter of no consequence. Such feelings would exist in any case, even without any cession of territory. Austria did not lose an acre of soil in 1866, and yet what thanks have we had ? Our victory at Sadowa had already filled the French with hatred and vexation. How much stronger must that sentiment be after our victories at Worth and Metz ! I Revenge for those defeats will continue to be the war cry in Paris even without any annexation, and will spread to influen- Itial circles in the provinces, just as the idea of revenge for Waterloo was kept alive there for decades. An enemy who cannot be turned into a friend by considerate treatment must be rendered thoroughly and permanently harmless. Not the Idemolition, but the surrender, of the eastern fortresses of France can alone serve our purpose. Whoever desires dis- ..-'* 76 A (iEKMAN F.MriKK SUCf.F.SIKD [Auu. aa, is-y k| armiimcnt must wish to see France's neighbours adopt thi> course, as France is the sole disturber of luiropean peace, and will remain so as long as she can. It is astonishing how freely this idea of the Chief's now flows from one's pen. What looked like a miracle ten clays ago seems now quite natural and a matter of course. Per- haj)s the suggestion as to a German Empire which is under- stood to have been mentioned during the visit of the Crown Prince is also an idea of the same kind. Blessings follow closely upon each other's heels. We may now regard everything a> probable. At dinner the Minister complained of the excessive fruj^^alitv with which the principal officials of the Royal Househokl catered for the King's table. "There is seldom any chain pagne, and in the matter of food also short commons is the rule. When I glance at the number of cutlets I only take one, as I am afraid that otherwise somebody else would have to J,'.: without." These remarks, like similar hints given reccntlv, were intended for one or o^'her of the gentlemen from the Court, with a view to their b ing repeated in the proper quarter The conversation then turmid on the improper, not to say diii- graceful, manner in which the French soldiers carried on the war. The Minister said they had killed one of our officers near Mars la Tour (Finkenstein, I believe it was) while he was sitting; wounded by the roadside. One of the company maintaiiieii that he had been shot, but another said that an examination oi the body by a doctor showed that the officer had been stabbe The Chief remarked that if he had to choose, he should prefer j being stabbed to being shot. Count Herbert has been brought in from the Field Hospital, and a bed has been prepared for him on the floor in his fathers room. I was talking to him to-day. His wound is painful, bu!| up to the present it does not appear to be dangerous. He isl return to Germany one of these days, where he will remain | until he has recovered. COM ME On Tucs( westwards. us or to follo' wetter remai Saar' France, who probably would be then better prepared and would have secured more powerful allies." Three reserve army corps are to be formed in Germany. One, and the strongest, near Berlin; one on the Rhine; and a third at Glogau in Silesia, in consecjuence of the ec]uivocal attitude of Austria. That would be a purely defensive measure. The troops on the Rhine are to be comn-vnded by the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, those near Berlin by General von Can- I stein, and those at Glogau by General von Lowenfeld. Towards evening the military band played before the rcsi- , (Lnce of the King, the street urchins holding their notes for the [musicians in the friendliest possible manner. The King had also stopped at Commercy during the war against the First [Napoleon. Counts Waldersee and Lehndorff, and Lieutenant-General [van Alvenslcben (from Magdeburg) were amongst the Chief's Igiiosts at dinner. Alvenslcben told us the story of a so-called Marl-Major" who was accustomed to attribute all sorts of loccurrences to geognostic causes. He reasoned somewhat in Ithis style : *' It follows from the character and conduct of the JMaid of Orleans that she could only have been born on a fertile parly soil, that she was fated to gain a victory in a limestone poiintry, and to die in a sandstone district." Speaking of the barbarous way in which the French con- tacted the war, Alvenslcben said that they had also fired upon itla<;of truce at Toul. On the other hand, in officer who for fjoko rode along the glacis had a friendly ch.?t with the gentle- Ken on the walls. The question whether it would be possible ) take Paris by storm in spite of its fortitkations was answered 8o SHOULD PARIS BE DESTROYED? [Aug. 24 t i in the affirmative by the military guests. General Alvensleben said : ''' A great city of that kind cannot be successfully de fended if it is attacked by a sufficiently numerous force." ' Count Waldersee wished to " see Babel utterly destroyed " and brought forward arguments in favour of that measure with which I was immensely pleased. The Minister, however, re- plied : " Yes, that would be a very good thing, but it is impossi- I ble for many reasons. One of these is that numbers of Germans I in Cologne and Frankfort have considerable sums invested there." The conversation then turned upon our conquests in France and those still to be made. Alvensleben was in favour of keep- ing the country up to the Marne. Bismarck had another idea, which, however, he seemed to think it impossible to realise, "My ideal would be," he said, "a kind of German colony, a neutral State of eight or ten million inhabitants, free from the conscription and whose taxes should flow to Germany so far as they were not required for domestic purposes. France would thus lose a district from which she draws her best soldiers, ar would be rendered harmless. In the rest of France no Bourbo no Orleans, and probably no Bonaparte, neither Lulu (thej Prince Imperial) nor the fat Jerome, nor the old one. I did not wish for war in connection with the Luxemburg affair, as I knew that it would lead to six others. But we must now an end to all this. However, we must not sell the bear's skia j before we have killed it. I confess I am superstitious in that respect." "Never mind," said Count Waldersee, "our bear is j already badly hit." The Chief then again referred to the royal table and totlie] frugal manner in which food was doled out to the guests, hi; remarks being probably intended for Count Lehndorff, \vii)| was expected to repeat them. "We had cutlets there recently, and I could not take two as there was only one apiece for us.j Rabbit followed, and I debated with myself whether I shoiilc take a second portion, although I could easily have manageJ four. At length hunger overcame my politeness and I seized aj second piece, though I am sure I was robbing somebody else. [ The Chancellor then went on to speak of his sons, hope," he said, " I shall be able to keep at least one of youngsters — I mean Herbert, who is on his way to GcrmanvJ VOL. I. — G i87o] THE IRON CROSS FOR THE BAVARIANS 8l Ids I of my rmanv He got to feel himself quite at home in camp. Formerly he was apt to be haughty, but as he lay wounded at Pont k Mous- son he was almost more friendly with the common troopers who visited him than with the officers." At tea we were told that in 1814 the King had his quarters in the same street where he now lives, next door to the house he occupies at present. The Chief seems to have spoken to him to-day about decorating Bavarian soldiers with the Iron Cross. The Minister said : " My further plan of campaign for his Majesty is that part of his escort should be sent on ahead. The country must be scoured by a company to the right and left of the road, and the Royal party must remain together. Pickets must be posted at stated intervals. The King approved when I told him that this had been done also in 18 14. The I Sovereigns did not drive on that occasion, but went on horse- back, and Russian soldiers, twenty paces apart, lined the whole route." Somebody suggested the possibility that peasants or franctireurs might fire at the King. " Certainly," added the Chief, " and what makes it so important a point is that the per- sonage in question, if he is ill or wounded or otherwise out of sorts, has only to say ' Go back! ' and we must all of us go back." We left Commercy next day at noon, passing several mili- tary detachments and a number of encampments on our way. The measures of precaution mentioned by the Chief had been adopted. We were preceded by a squadron of uhlans and escorted by the Stabswache, which formed a bright picture of many colours, being recruited from the various cavalry regi- ments, such as green, red, and blue hussars, Saxon and Prussian dragoons, &c. The carriages of the Chancellor's party followed jdose behind those of the King's. For a long time we did not ome across any villages. Then we passed through St. Aubin, ind soon after came to a milestone by the roadside with the ords " Paris 241 kilometres," so that we were only a distance { some thirty -two German miles from Babel. We afterwards assed a long line of transport carts belonging to the regiments if King John of Saxony, the Grand Duke of Hesse, &c., which ihowed that we were now in the district occupied by the Crown rince's army. Shortly afterwards we entered the small town of Ligny, hich was thronged with Bavarian and other soldiers. \Vc VOL. 1. — G 82 "TOO MANY PRINCES" [Aug. waited for about three-quarters of an hour in the market-place which was crowded with all sorts of conveyances, while the Chief paid a visit to the Crown Prince. On our starting once more we met further masses of blue Bavarian infantry, some light horse collected round their camp fires, then a second squadron with a herd of cattle guarded by soldiers, and finally a third larger encampment within a circle of baggage waggons. Bar le Due, the largest town in which we have stayed up to the present, may have a population of some 15,000. The streets and squares presented a lively picture as we drove through, and we caught glimpses of curious female faces watching us through the blinds. On the arrival of the King the Bavarian band played " Heil dir im Siegerkranz." He took up his quarters in the house occupied by the local branch of the Bank of France, in the Rue de la Banque. The Chancellor and his party lodged on the other side of the street, in the house of a M. Pernay, who had gone off leaving an old woman in charge. Dr. Lauer, the King's physician, dined with the Minister that evening. The Chief was very communicative as usual, and appeared to be in particularly good humour. He renewed his complaints as to the "short commons" at the royal tabic, evi- dently intending the doctor to repeat them to Count Puckjer or Perponcher. During his visit at Ligny he had to take breai;- fast, which he said was excellent, with the Crown Prince and the Princes and chief officers of his suite. He had a seat near the fire, however, which was not quite to his taste, and other- wise it was in many ways less comfortable than in his own quarters. " There were too many Princes there for an ordinary mortal to be able to find a place. Amongst them was Frederidj the Gentle (Friedrich der Sachte — Frederick VHI. of Schles-I wig-Holstein). He wore a Bavarian uniform, so that I hard!) knew him at first. He looked somewhat embarrassed when he recognised me." We also gathered from what the Chief said that Count Hatzfeld was to act as a kind of Prefect while we remained here, a position for which probably his thorouglil knowledge of French and of the habits of the country had recommended him. We also heard that the headquarteri| might remain here for several days, — " as at Capua," added the Count, laughing. Before tea some articles were despatched to Germany, iaj eluding on^ which the By way Thursda in the uppc shops are a we ask to b€ is an old sto built before . Towards nin the town, pas spectators hs quite com fori green uniforn artillery and i the Command the King the sabres, and th colours were ]( blew an ear-sf stirring airs, o march. First followed by th fast with us. war of 1866, or a scene } Wrote sevei people are pre; G.Yman columr The formation been already n Powers raise s( French territor' western frontier Fown a dispos Petersburg appe J'sposed to us, ifie proposed mt «fhy of the Gr Nion to enforc 1870] AT BAR LE DUG 83 eluding one on the part played by the Saxons at Gravelotte, which the Chancellor praised repeatedly. By way of change I will here again quote from my diary : — Thursday, August 2$th. — Took a walk early this morning in the upper, and evidently the older, part of the town. The shops are almost all open. The people answer politely when we ask to be shown the way. Not far from our quarters there is an old stone bridge over the river which was unquestionably built before Lorraine and the Duchy of Bar belonged to France. towards nine o'clock the Bavarians began their march through the town, passing in front of the King's quarters. More French spectators had collected on both sides of the street than was quite comfortable for us. For hours together light horse with green uniforms and red facings, dark blue cuirassiers, lancers, artillery and infantry, regiment after regiment marched before the Commander-in-Chief of the German Forces. As they passed the King the troops cheered lustily, the cavalry swinging their sabres, and the foot soldiers lifting up their right hands. The colours were lowered before the Sovereign, the cavalry trumpets blew an ear-splitting fanfare, while the infantry bands played stirring airs, one of them giving the beautiful Hohenfriedberg march. First came General von Hartmann's Army Corps, followed by that of Von der Tann, who afterwards took break- fast with us. Who could have thought, immediately after the war of 1866, or even three months ago, of the possibility of such I a scene 1 Wrote several articles for post and others for the wire. Our [people are pressing forward rapidly. The vanguards of the German columns are already between Chalons and Epernay. The formation of three reserve armies in Germany, which has Ibeen already mentioned, began a few days ago. The neutral iPowers raise some objections to our intended annexation of JFrench territory for the purpose of securing an advantageous Iwestern frontier, especially England, who up to the present has [shown a disposition to tie our hands. The reports from St. Petersburg appear to be more favourable, the Tsar being well disposed to us, although he by no means unreservedly accepts pile proposed measures, while we are assured of the active sym- bathy of the Grand Duchess Helene. We hold fast to our in- lention to enforce the cession of territory, that intention being '•■'i',:,i 84 THE AUGUSTENBURGER [Auc. 26 based upon the necessity of at length securing South Germany from French attack and thus rendering it independent of French policy. When our intentions are made public they will certainly be energetically endorsed by the national sentiment, which it will be difficult to oppose. It is reported that a variety of revolting acts have been com- mitted by the bands of franctireurs that are now being formed, Their uniform is such that they can hardly be recognised as soldiers, and the badges by which they are distinguished can be easily laid aside. One of these young fellows lies in a ditch near a wood, apparently sunning himself, while a troop of cavalry rides by. When they have passed he takes a rifle which has been concealed in a bush, fires at them and runs into the wood. Knowing the way he again appears a little further on as a harmless peasant. I am inclined to think that these are not defenders of their country but rather assassins who should be strung up without ceremony whenever they are caught. Count Seckendorf, of the Crown Prince's staff, was the Chief's guest at dinner. The Augustenburger( Frederick VIII, of Schleswig-Holstein), who has joined the Bavarians, was spoken of, and not to his advantage. (The opinions ex- pressed were practically identical with those given in a letter which I received a few months later from a patriotic friend, Herr Noeldeke, who lived in Kiel at that time as a professor He wrote : " We all know that he was not born for heroic deeds. He cannot help that. If he waits persistently for his inheritance i to be restored to him by some miraculous means, that is a family trait. But he might at least have made an effort to appear heroic. Instead of loafing around with the army he might have led a company or a battalion of the soldiers whom at one time he was nearly calling his own, — or for my part he might have I led Bavarians. In all probability the result would not have beer I very remarkable, but at any rate he would have shown hisj good will.") Reference was made to the rumour that the Bavarian ball talions did not appear particularly anxious to advance at thej battle of Worth (or was it Weissenburg ?), and that Major vonj Freiberg called upon them to show themselves equal to "those! gallant Prussians." Seckendorf, if I am not mistaken, confirmeiT this report. On the other hand, he denied that the CrowDJ Prince hac He had, or ance, espec Count I and flashes subjected t( horses and mustering t fight, is it r The Chi( how he was nothing to i and brought highly please Hatzfeld' Prefects and < as to the capa officials in F be soon forgo energetically.' The conve were being £( following stor' stolen and the them during t although they promised that upon every po After that the and no further Menehould, wl Early in the dj i"g in detail wi missible in war We moved however, which land mobile gi [arrived at y I through several 1870] GERMAN OFFICIALS IN FRANCE 85 Prince had ordered treacherous French peasants to be shot. He had, on the contrary, acted with great leniency and forbear- ance, especially towards unmannerly French officers. Count Bohlen, who is always ready with amusing anecdotes and flashes of fun, said : " On the i8th von Breintz's battery was subjected to such a heavy fire that in a short time nearly all his horses and most of his men lay dead or wounded. As he was mustering the survivors, the Captain remarked, *A very fine fight, is it not r" The Chief said : " Last night I asked the sentry at the door how he was off for food, and I found that the man had had nothing to eat for twenty-four hours. I went to the kitchen and brought him a good chunk of bread, at which he seemed highly pleased." Hatzfeld's appointment as Prefect led to the mention of other Prefects and Commissaries in -fie. Doubt having been expressed as to the capacity of some of them, the Minister remarked : "Our officials in France may commit a few blunders, but they will be soon forgotten if the administration in general is conducted energetically." The conversation having turned on the telegraph lines which were being so rapidly erected in our rear, somebody told the following story. The workmen, who found that their poles were stolen and their wires cut, asked the peasants to keep guard over them during the night. The latter, however, refused to do this, although they were offered payment for it. At length they were promised that the name of each watchman should be painted upon every pole. This speculation on French vanity succeeded. After that the fellows in the long nightcaps kept faithful watch, and no further damage was done. Friday, Augiist 26th. — We are to move forward to Saint Menehould, where our troops have captured 800 mobile guards. Early in the day I wrote an article about the franctireurs, deal- ing in detail with the false view which they take of what is per- i missible in war. We moved forward on the 26th, not to Saint Menehould, [however, which was still unsafe, being infested by franctirturs and mobile guards, but to Clermont en Argonne, where we arrived at 7 o'clock in the evening. On our way we passed through several rather large villages with handsome old churches. 86 FRENCH MErilUUS OF WAR [Auu. 26 For the last couple of hours military policemen were stationed along the road at intervals of about 200 paces. The houses, which were built of grey sandstone and not whitewashed, stood close together. The whole population shuffled about in clunisv wooden shoes, and the features of the men and women, of whom we saw great numbers standing before the doors, were, so far as I could observe in a passing glance, almost invariably ugly, Probably the people thought it necessary to remove the prettier girls to a place of safety out of the way of the German birds of prey. We met some Bavarian troops with a line of transport waggons. The troops loudly cheered the King, and afterwards the Chancellor. Later on we overtook three regiments of infantry, some hussars, uhlans, and a Saxon commissariat detachment. Near a village, which was called Triaucourt if I am not mistaken, we met a cartful of franctireurs who had been captured by our people. Most of these young fellows hung their heads, and one of them was weeping. The Chief stopped and spoke to them. What he said did not appear to please them particularly. An officer of higher rank who came over to the carriage of the Councillors and was treated to a friendly glass of cognac told us that these fellows or comrades of theirs had on the previous day treacherously shot a captain or major of the uhlans, named Von Fries or Friesen. On being taken prisoners they had not behaved themselves lii^e soldiers, but had run away from their escort. The cavalry and rifles, however, arranged a kind of battue in the vineyards, so that some of them were again seized, while others were shot or cut down. It was evident that the war was becoming bar barous and inhuman, owing to these guerilla bands. Our soldiers were prejudiced against them from the beginning, even apart from the possibility of their lying treacherously in ambush, as they looked upon them as busybodies who were interfering in what was not their business, and as bunglers wjioj did not understand their work. We took up our residence at Clermont in the town school I house in the main street, the King's quarters being over the! way. On oui arrival, the Grande Rue was full of carts and! carriages, and one saw here and there a few Saxon rifles While Abeken and I were visiting the church, we could hearinl iSyo] 13ISMARCK AND rilK I-RANCTIREURS 87 the stillness the steady tramp of the troops and their hurrahs as they marched past the Kind's quarters. On our return we were told that the Minister had left word that we were to dine with him in the Hotel des Voyageurs. We found a place at the Chief's table in a back room of the hotel, which was full of noise and tobacco smoke. Amongst the guests was an officer with a long black beard, who wore the Geneva cross on his arm. This was Prince Pless. He said that the captured F"rench officers at Pont a Mousson had behaved in an insolent manner, and had spent the whole night drinking and playing cards. A general had insisted that he was entitled to have a separate carriage, and been very ob- streperous when his demand was naturpMy rejected. We then went on to speak of the franctireurs and their odious modes of warfare. The Minister confirmed what I had already heard from Abeken, namely, that he had spoken very sharply to the prisoners we had met in the afternoon. " I told them ' Fous serez tons pcndjis, — votis lietcs fas des soldats, voits ctcs des iismssins / ' On my saying this one of them began to howl." We have already seen that the Chancellor is anything but unfeeling, and further proof of this will be given later on. In our quarters the Chief's chamber was on the first floor, Abeken, I believe, having a back room on the same landing. The remainder of us were lodged on the second floor in a dormi- tory or kind of hall which at first only contained two chairs and I two bedsteads with mattresses but without quilts. The night I was bitterly cold, and I only with my waterproof to cover me. Still it was quite endurable, especially when one fell asleep thinking of the poor soldiers who have to lie outside in the [muddy fields. In the morning we were busy rearranging our apartment to jsuit our needs. Without depriving it of its original character Iwe turned it into an office and dining room. Theiss's clever- Iness conjured up a magnificent table out of a sawing bench and la baker's trough, a barrel, a small box, and a door which we Itook off its hinges. This work of art served as breakfast and ■dining table for the Chancellor of the Confederation and our- jseives, and in the intervals between those meals was used as a desk by the Councillors and Secretaries, who neatly committed Ito paper and reproduced in the form of despatches, instructions. 1 88 I-KICTION AT HEADQUARTERS [Auu. telegrams, and newspaper articles the pregnant ideas which th^: Count thought out in our midst. The scarcity of chairs was ti: a certain extent overcome by requisitioning a bench from the kitchen, while some of the party contented themselves with boxes as seats. Wine bottles that had been emptied by the Minister served as candlesticks, — experience proved that chain, pagne bottles were the fittest for this purpose, — and as a matter of fact good wax candles burned as brightly in these as in a silver chandelier. It was more difficult to secure the necessary supply of water for washing, and sometimes it was hard even to get enough for drinking purposes, the soldiers having during the last two days almost drained the wells for themselves and their horses. Only one of our party lamented his lot and grumbled at these and other slight discomforts, rhe rest of us, including the far-travelled Abeken, accepted llicm all with good humour, as welcome and characteristic features of our expedition. The office of the Minister of War, or rather of the General Staff, was on the ground floor, where Fouriere and a number of soldiers sat at the desks and rostrums in the two schoolrooms The walls were covered with maps, &c., and with mottoes, one of which was particularly applicable to the present bad times: Faites vans une ^tiuie de la patience, et sachez cdder par raison. The Chief came in while we were taking our coffee. He was m a bad temper, and asked why the proclamation threaten- ing to punish with death a number of offences by the population against the laws of war had not been posted up. On his in- structions I inquired of Stieber, who told me that Abeken had handed over the proclamation to the General Staff, and that he (Stieber), as director of the military police, could only put up such notices when they came from his Majesty. On going to the Chancellor's room to inform him of the re- 1 suit of my inquiries, I found that he was little better off than myself in the way of sleeping accommodation. He had passed I the night on a mattress on the floor with his revolver by his side, and he was working at a little table which was hardly i large enough to rest his two elbows on. The apartment wasj almost bare of furniture and there was not a sofa or armchair, &c. He who for years past had so largely influenced the I history of the world, and in whose mind all the great move-i 18701 WORKING UNDER DIFFICULTIES 89 nicnts of our time were concentrated and being shaped anew, had hardly a place on which to lay his head, while stupid Court parasites rested from their busy idleness in luxurious beds, and even Monsieur Stieber managed to provide for himself a more comfortable resting-place than our Master. On this occasion I saw a letter that had fallen into our hands. It came from Paris and was addressed to a French officer of high rank. From this communication it appeared that little hope was entertained of further successful resistance, and just as little of the maintenance of the dynasty. The writer did not know what to expect or desire for the immediate future. The choice seemed to lie between a Republic without republicans, and a Monarchy without monarchists. The re- publicans were a feeble set and the monarchists were too selfish. There was great enthusiasm about the army, but nobody was in a hurry to join it and assist in repelling the enemy. The Chief again said that attention should be called to the services of the Saxons at Gravelotte. " The small black fellows should in particular be praised. Their own newspapers have expressed themselves very modestly, and yet the Saxons were exceptionally gallant. Try to get some details of the excellent work they did on the i8th." They were very busy in the office in the meantime. Coun- cillors and Secretaries were writing and deciphering at full pressure, sealing despatches at the lights stuck into the cham- pagne-bottle candlesticks, and all around portfolios and docu- ments, waterproofs and shoe-brushes, torn papers and empty envelopes, were strewn about in picturesque confusion. Order- lies, couriers, and attendants came and went. Every one was talking at the same time and was too occupied to pay the least attention to his neighbours. Abeken was particularly active in rushing about between the improvised table and the messengers, and his voice was louder than ever. I believe that this morn- |ing his ready hand turned out a fresh document every half j hour, at least ; one heard him constantly pushing back his chair and calling a messenger. In addition to all this noise came the incessant tramp, tramp, tramp of the soldiers, the rolling of the I drums, and the rattle of the carts over the pavement. In this confusion it was no light task to collect one's thoughts and to 90 QUARTKKING TROOPS IS A CHURCH [An carry out properly the instructions received, but with plenty ot good will it could be done. After dinner, at which the Chancellor and some of the Councillors were not present, as they dined with the King, I took a walk with Willisch to the chapel of St. Anne on the tup of the hill. There we found a number of our countrymen, soldiers belonging to the Freiberg Rifle liattalion, at supper under a tree. They have been engaged in the battle of the 1 8th. I tried to obtain some particulars of the fight, but could not get much more out of them than that they had given it with a will to the Frenchmen. By the side of the chapel a pathway led between a row o[ trees to a delightful prospect whence we could see at our icct the little town, and beyond it to the north and east an extensive plain, with stubble field.s, villages, steeples, groups of trees, and stretches of wood, and to the south and west a forest that spread (uit to the horizon changing from dark green to the misty blue of the far distance. This plain is intersected bv three roads, one of which goes direct to Varennes. On this road not far from the town a Bavarian regiment was stationed, whose camp fires added a picturesque note to the scene. In the distance to the right was a wooded hill with the village oi Faucoix, while the small town of Montfaucon was visible further off. The second road, more towards the east, leads to Verdiir Still further to the right, not far from a camp of Saxon troops, was the road to Bar le Due, on which we noticed a detachment of soldiers. We caught the glint of their bayonets in the evening sunshine and heard the sound of their drums softened by the distance. Here we remained a goo^ while gazing at this pleasing pic- ture, which in the west was glowing with the light of the set- ting sun, and watching the shadows of the mountain spread slowly over the fields until all was dark. On our way back we again looked in at the church of St. Didier, in which some Hes- sians were now quartered. They lay on straw in the choir and before the altar, and lit their pipes at the lamps which burned | before the sanctuary — without, however, intending any disre- spect, as they were decent, harmless fellows. On Sunday, August 28th, we were greeted with a dull greyl sky and a soft steady rain that reminded one of the weather iSjoJ SOUTH GERMANY MUST BK MADE SECURE 91 experienced by Goethe not far from here in September, 1792, during the clays preceding and tollowing the artillery engage- ment at Valmy. At the Chietl's request I took General Sheri- dan a copy of the Pall Mall Gazette^ and afterwards tried to hunt up some Saxons who could give me particulars of the bat- tle of the 1 8th. At length I found an officer of the Landwehr, a landed proprietor named Fuchs-Nordhof, from Moeckern, near Leipzig. He was not able to add much to what I knew. The Saxons had fought principally at Sainte Marie aux Chines and Saint Privat, and protected the retreat of the guards, who had fallen into some disorder. The Freiberg Rifles took the position held by the French at the point of the bayonet with- out firing a shot. The Leipzig Regiment (107th) in particular had lost a great many men and nearly all its officers. That was all he could tell me, except that he confirmed the news as to Krausshaar's death. When the Minister got up we were again provided with plenty of work. Our cause was making excellent progress. I was in a position to telegraph that the Saxon cavalry had routed the 12th Chasseurs at Voussieres and Beaumont. I was informed (and was at liberty to state) that we held to our deter- mination to compel France to a cession of territory, and that we should conclude peace on no other conditions. The arguments in support of this decision were given in the following article, which was sanctioned by the Chief : — "Since the victories of Mars la Tour and Gravelotte the German forces have been constantly pressing forward. The time would, therefore, appear to have come for considering the conditions on which Germany can conclude peace with France. In this matter we must be guided neither by a pas- sion for glory or conquest, nor by that generosity which is fre- quently recommended to us by the foreign press. Our sole object must be to guarantee the security of South Germany from fresh attacks on the part of France such as have been [renewed more than a dozen times from the reign of Louis I XIV. to our own days, and which will be repeated as often as [France feels strong enough. The enormous sacrifices in blood and treasure which the German people have made in this war, together with all our present victories, would be in vain if the power of the French were not weakened for attack and the r 92 FRENCH TERRITORY TO BE CEDED [Aug. 2S l';i defensive strength of Germany were not increased. Our people have a right to demand that this shall be done. Were we to content ourselves with a change of dynasty and an indemnity, the position of affairs would not be improved, and there would be nothing to prevent this war leading to a number of others, especially as the present defeat would spur on the French to revenge. France with her comparatively great wealth would soon forget the indemnity, and any new dynasty would, in order to fortify its own position, endeavour to secure a victory over us and thus compensate for the present misfortunes of the country. Generosity is a highly respectable virtue, but as a rule in politics it secures no gratitude. In 1866 we did not take a single inch of ground from the Austrians, but have we received any thanks in Vienna for this self-restraint ? Do thcv not feel a bitter longing for revenge simply because they have been defeated ? Besides, the French already bore us a grudge for our victory at Sadowa, though it was not won over them but over another foreign Power. Whether we now generously forego a cession of territory or not, how will they feel towards us after the victories of Worth and Metz, and how will they seek revenge for their own defeat } "The consequences of the other course adopted in 1814 and 181 5, when France was treated with great consideration, prove it to have been bad policy. If at that time the French had been weakened to the extent which the interests of general peace required, the present war would not have been necessary " The danger does not lie in Bonapartism, although the latter must rely chiefly upon chauvinist sentiment. It consists in the incurable arroe^ance of that portion of the French people which gives the tone to the whole country. This trait in the French national character, which will guide the policy of every dynasty, whatever name it may bear, and even of a Republic, will cor stantly lead to encroachments upon peaceful neighbours. Our victories, to bear fruit, must lead to an actual improvement ol our frontier defences against this restless neighbour. Whoever wishes to see the diminution of military burdens in Europe, or desires such a peace as would permit thereof, must look not to moral but to material guarantees as a solid and perniuiient barrier against the French lust of conquest ; in other words, it should in future be made as difficult as possible for France to iSyoj METZ AND STRASBURG FOR GERMANY 93 invade South Germany with a comparatively small force, and even in peace to compel the South Germans, through the appre- hension of such attack, to be always reckoning with the French Government. Our present task is to secure South Germany by providing it with a defensible frontier. To fulfil that task is to liberate Germany, that is to complete the work of the War of Liberation in 1813 and 18 14. "The least, therefore, that we can demand and that the German people, and particularly our comrades across the Main, can accept is the cession of the French gateways into Germany, namely Strasburg and Metz. It would be just as short-sighted to expect any permanent peace from the mere demolition of these fortresses as to trust in the possibility of winning over the French by considerate treatment. Besides, it must not be forgotten that this territory which we now demand was origi- nally German and in grv^at part still remains German, and that its Inhabitants will perhaps in time learn to feel that they belong to one race with ourselves. "We may regard a change of dynasty with indifference. An indemnity will only temporarily weaken France financially. What we require is increased security for our frontiers. This is only attainable, however, by changing the two fortresses that threaten us into bulwarks for our protection. Strasburg and Metz must cease to be points of support for French attacks and be transformed into German defences. " Whoever sincerely desires a general European peace and disarmament, and wants to see the ploughshare replace the sword, must first wish to see the eastern neighbors of France secure peace for themselves, as France is the sole disturber of public tranquillity and will so remain as long as she has the I power." CHAPTER V WE TURN TOWARDS THE NORTH — THE CHANCELLOR OF THE CONFEDERATION AT REZONVILLE — THE BATTLE AND BATTLE- FIELD OF BEAUMONT Sunday, August 2Sth. — At tea we receive an important piece of news. We ourselves and the whole army (with the exception of that portion which remains behind for the investment of Metz) are to alter our line of march, and instead of going west- wards in the direction of Chalons, we are to turn northwards, following the edge of the Argonne forest towards the Ardenne? and the Meuse district. Our next halt will, it is believed, be at Grand Pr6. This move is made for the purpose of interccptini; Marshal MacMahon, who has collected a large force and is marching towards Metz for the relief of Bazaine. We start at lo o'clock on the 29th, passing through several villages and occasionally by handsome chateaux and parks, a camp of Bavarian soldiers, some line regiments, rifles, light horse, and cuirassiers. In driving through the small town 01 Varennes we notice the house where Louis XVI. was arrested by the pootman of Saint Menehould. It is now occupied by a firm of scythe manufacturers. The whole place is full of sol- diers, horse and foot, with waggons and artillery. After extri- cating ourselves from this crowd of vehicles and men, we push rapidly forward through villages and past other camps, until we reach Grand Pre. Here the Chancellor takes up his quarters in the Grande Rue, a little way from the Market, the King lodging at an apothecary's not far off. The second section of the Kings s>.:ite, including Prince Charles, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was quartered in the neighbouring village of Juvin. I am billeted at a milliner's opposite the Chief's quarters. I have a nice cbr, room, but my landlady is invisible. We saw a number of Frendi 94 AUG. 29. '^7°] '^il^ CIIANCKLLOR AT VARKNNES 95 prisoners in the market-place on our arrival. I am informed that an encounter with MacMahon's army is expected to-morrow morning. At Grande Pr6 the Chief again showed that he never thought of the possibility of an attempt being made to assas- sinate him. He walked about in the twilight alone and without any constraint, going even through narrow and lonely streets that offered special opportunities for attack. I say this from personal experience, because I followed him with my revolver at a little distance. It seemed to me possible that an occasion might arise when I might be of assistance to him. On my hearing next morning that the King and the Chan- cellor were going off together in order to be present at the great battue of the second French army, I thought of a favourite proverb of the Chief's which he repeated to me on his return from Rezonville : — " Wer sich griin macht, den frcsscn die Ziegen," and plucking up heart I begged him to take me with him. He answered, "But if we remain there for the night what will you do?" I replied, "That doesn't matter, Excel- lency; I shall know how to take care of myself." "Well, then, come along!" said he, laughing. The Minister took a walk in the market-place while I, in high good humour, fetched my travelling bag, waterproof, and faithful diary. On his re- turn he entered his carriage and motioned to me to join him, when I took my place at his side. One must have luck to secure such a piece of good fortune, and one must also follow it up. We started shortly after 9 o'clock. At first we retraced our ^teps along yesterday's road. Then to the left through vin€- vards and past several villages in a hilly district. We met some parks of artillery and troops on the march or resting by the way. About 1 1 o'clock we reached the little town of Ikisancy, where we stopped in the market-place to wait for I the King. The Chief was very communicative. He complained that [he was so frequently disturbed at his work by persons talking iitside his door, "particularly as some of the gentlemen have [such loud voices. An ordinary inarticulate noise does not lannoy me. I am not put out by music or the rattle of wag- kous, but what irritates mo is a conversation in which I can 96 COUNT WILLIAM BISMARCK [Al'g. distinguish the words. I then want to know what it is about, and so I lose the thread of my own ideas." He then pointed out to me that when officers saUited our carriage, it was not for me to return the sakitc. He himself was not saluted as Minister or Chancellor, but solely as a general officer, and soldiers might feel offended if a civilian seemed to think that the salute was also intended for him. He was afraid that nothing in particular would occur that day, an opinion which was shared by some Prussian artillerv officers who were standing by their guns immediately opposite Busancy, and with whom he spoke. " It will be just as it was oc- casionally when I was out wolf shooting in the Ardennes. After wandering about for days in the snow, we used to hear that a track had been discovered, but when we followed it up the wolf had disappeared. It will be the same with the French to-day." After expressing a hope that he might meet his second son, respecting whom he repeatedly inquired of oflficers along- the route, the Minister added : — " You can see from his case how little nepotism there is in our army. He has already served twelve months and has obtained no promotion, while others are recommended for the rank of ensign in little more than a month." I took the liberty to ask how that was possible. "I do not know," he answered. " I have made close inquiries as to whether he had been guilty of any slight breaches of discipline; but no, his conduct had been quite satisfactory, and in the en- gagement at Mars la Tour he charged as gallantly on the French square as any of his comrades. On the return ride he i dragged with him out of the fight two dragoons who had been unhorsed, grasping one of them in each hand.^ It is certainly well to avoid favouritism, but it is bitter to be slighted." A few weeks later both his sons were promoted to the rank] of officers. Subsequently, amongst many other things, the Chief oncol more gave me an account of his experiences on the evening of j the 1 8th of August. They had sent their horses to water, and J were standing near a battery which had opened fire. This was] not returned by the French, but he continued : " While wel thought their cannon had been dismounted, they were for thel ^ Not quite correct, according to a subsequent statement of the Minister's aril Count Bill's own account. li/o] AN ANXIOUS MOMENT 97 last hour concentrating their guns and mitrailleuses for a last neat effort. Suddenly they began a fearful fire with shells and smaller projectiles, filling the whole air with an inccasant crash- ing and roaring, howling and whistling. We were cut off from the King, whom Roon had sent to the rear. I remained by the battery, and thought that if we had to retire I could jump on to the next ammunition cart. We expected that this attack would be supported by French infantry, who might take mc prisoner, even if I were to treat them to a steady revolver fire. I had six bullets ready for them, and another half-dozen in reserve. At length our horses returned, and I started off to join the King. That, however, was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The shells that passed over our heads fell exactly in the space across which we had to ride. Next morning we saw the pits which they dug in the ground. It was therefore neces- jsary for the King to retire still further to the rear. I told him [this after the officers had mentioned it to me. It was now night. [ihe King said he was hungry, and wished to have something to eat. Drink was to be had from one of the sutlers, wine and bad rum, but there was nothing to eat except dry bread. At [last they managed to hunt up a couple of cutlets in the vil- lage, just enough for the King, but nothing for his compan- lions, so that I was obliged to look out for something else. His Ijlajesty wished to sleep in the carriage between dead horses land severely wounded soldiers. Later on he found shelter in la miserable hut. The Chancellor of the Confederation was {obliged to seek cover elsewhere. Leaving the heir of one of m mighty German potentates (the young Hereditary Grand 3uke of Mecklenburg) to keep watch over the carriage and see nothing was stolen, I went with Sheridan on a recon- koitring tour in search of a sleeping place. We came to a pse which was still burning, but that was too hot for us. I nquired at another, it was full of wounded ; at a third, and got he same answer, and still a fourth was also full of wounded. tlere, however, I refused to budge. I saw a top window in kihich there was no light, and asked who was there. * Only founded soldiers,' was the reply. 'Well, we are just going up )5oe,' I said, and marched up stairs. There we found three leds with good and tolerably clean straw mattresses, where we p up our quarters and slept capitally." VOL. I. — H ffHf^ 98 AT BUSANCY L'Vi >,. jo When the Minister first told this story at Pont i\ Mousson with less detail, his cousin, Count Bismarck-Bohlen, added: " Yes, you fell asleep immediately, as also did Sheridan, who rolled himself up in a white linen sheet — where he found it I cannot imagine — and seemed to dream of you all night, as I heard him murmur to himself several times, ' O dear Count ! ' " " Yes," said the Minister, " and the Hereditary Grand Duke who took the affair in very good part, and was altogether a very pleasant and amiable young gentleman." " Moreover," con- tinued Bohlen, " the best of it was that there really was no such scarcity of shelter. In the meantime a fine country house had been discovered that had been prepared for the reception of Bazaine, with good beds, excellent wine, and I know not what besides, all first rate. The Minister of War quartered himself there, and had a luxurious supper with his staff." On the way to Busancy the Chancellor further said : "The whole day I had nothing to eat but army bread and bacon fat. In the evening we got five or six eggs. The others wanted them cooked, but I like them raw, and so I stole a couple, and cracking the shells on the hilt of my sword, I swallowed them, and felt much refreshed. Early next morning I had the first warm food for thirty-six hours. It was only some pea soup with bacon, which I got from General Goeben, but I enjoyed it j immensely." The market-place at Busancy, a small country town, wasj crowded with officers, hussars, uhlans, couriers, and aii sorts o: conveyances. After a while Sheridan and Forsythe also ar- rived. At 11.30 the King appeared, and immediately after] wards we heard the unexpected news that the French were I standing their ground. At about four kilometres from Busancvl we came to a height beneath which to the left and right a small open valley lay between us and another height. Suddenly wel heard the muffled sound of a discharge in the distance. " Ai-\ tillery fire," said the Minister. A little further on I saw two) columns of infantry stationed on the other side of a hollow tol the left on a piece of rising ground bare of trees. They hadj two guns which were being fired. It was so far off, howeverj that one could hardly hear the report. The Chief was surj prised at the sharpness of my sight and put on his glassesj which I for the first time learned were necessary to him whcij iS]0] THE BATTLE OF BEAUMONT 99 he wished to see at a distance. Small white clouds like bal- loons at a great height floated for three or four seconds above the hollow and then disappeared in a flash. These were shrap- nel shells. The guns must have been German, and seemed to throw their shot from a declivity on the other side of the hollow. Over this hollow was a wood, in front of which I could observe several dark lines, perhaps French troops. Still further off was the spur of a hill, with three or four large trees. This, accord- ing to my map, was the village of Stonn, from which, as I after- wards heard, the Emperor Napoleon watched the fight. The firing to the left soon ceased. Bavarian artillery, blue cuirassiers, and green light horse passed us on the road, going at a trot. A little further on, just as we drove by a small thicket, we heard a rattle, as of a slow and badly delivered volley. "A mitrailleuse," said Engel, turning round on the box. Not far off, at a place where the Bavarian rifles were resting in the ditch by the road, the Minister got on horseback in order to ride with the King, who was ahead of us. We our- selve<5. ifter following the road for a time, turned towards the right across a stubble field. The ground gradually rose to a low height on which the King stood with the Chief and a num- ber of Princes, generals, and other officers of high rank. I followed them across the ploughed fields, and standing a little to one side I watched the battle of Beaumont till nearly sunset. It began to grow dark. The King sat on a chair near which a straw fire had been lit, as there was a strong wind. He was following the course of the battle through a field-glass. The Chancellor, who was similarly occupied, stood on a ridge, from which Sheridan also watched the spectacle. It was now possible to catch the flash of the bursting shells and the flames that were rising from the burning houses at Beaumont. The French continued to retire rapidly, and the combatants dis- appeared over the crest ci the treeless height that closed the horizon to the left behind the wood over the burning village. The battle was won. It was growing dark when we returned towards Busancy, and when we reached it it was surrounded by hundreds of small fires that threw the silhouettes of men, horses, and baggage wag- Igons into high relief. We got down at the house of a doctor who lived at the end of the main street, in which the King had 'flT'^ lOO THE FRENCH TAKEN BY SURPRISE [Aug, 31 U-: also taken up his quarters. Those of our party who had been left behind at Grand Pre had arrived before us. I slept hero on a straw mattress on the floor of an almost empty room, under a coverlet which had been brought from the hospital in the town by one of our soldiers. That, however, did not in the least pre- vent my sleeping the sleep of the just. On Wednesday, August the 31st, between 9 and 10 a.m., the King and the Chancellor drove out to visit the battlefield of the previous day. I was again permitted to accompany the Minister. At first we followed the road taken the day before through Bar de Busancy and Sommauthe. Between these two villages we passed some squadrons of Bavarian uhlans, who heartily cheered the King. Behind Sommauthe, which was full of wounded, we drove through a beautiful wood that lay between that village and Beaumont, where we arrived after 1 1 o'clock, King William and our Chancellor then got on horseback and rode to the right over the fields. I followed in the s^me direc- tion on foot. The carriages went on to the town, where they were to wait for us. The Chancellor remarked that the French had not offered a particularly steady resistance yesterday, or shown much pru- dence in their arrangements. " At Beaumont a battery of heavy artillery surprised them in their camp in broad daylight. Horses were shot tethered, many of the dead are in their shirt sleeves, and plates are still lying about with boiled potatoes, pots with half-cooked meat, and so forth." During the drive the Chief came to speak of " people who have the King's ear and abuse his good nature," thinking in the first place of the " fat Borck, the holder of the King's Privy Purse " ; and afterwards referring to Count Bernstorff, our then Ambassador in London, who, when he gave up the Foreign Office in Berlin, " knew very well how to take care of himself." In fact, "he was so long weighing the respective advantages of the two Embassies — London and Paris — that he delayed entering upon his duties much longer than was decent or proper." I ventured to ask what sort of a person Von der Goltz was, as one heard such different opinions about him, and whether he really was a man of importance and intellect as was main- tained. "Intelligent.? yes, in a certain sense," replied the iSyo] VON D1:R GOLTZ and the FRENCH COURT lOI Minister; " ti quick worker, well informed, but changeable in his views of men and things, to-day in favour of this man or this project, to-morrow for another and sometimes for the very opposite. Then he was always in love with the Princesses to whose Courts he was accredited, first with Amelia of Greece and then with Eugenie. He believed that what I had the good fortune to carry through, he, with his exceptional intelligence, could have also done and even better. Therefore he was con- stantly intriguing against me, although we had been good friends in our youth. He wrote letters to the King complain- ing of me and warning his Majesty against me. That did not help him much, as the King handed over the letters to me, and I replied to them by reprimanding him. But in this respect he was persevering, and continued to write indefatigably. He was very little liked by his subordinates, indeed they actually detested him. On my visit to Paris in 1862 I called upon him to report myself just as he had settled down to a siesta. I did not wish to have him disturbed, but his secretaries were evi- dently delighted that he should be obliged to get up, and one of them immediately went in to announce me. It would have been so easy for him to secure the good will and attachment of his people. It is not di<^cult for an Ambassador, and I too would do it gladly. But as a Minister one has no time, one has too many other things to think of and to do. So I have had to adopt a more military style." It will be seen from this descrip- tion that Von der Goltz was Arnim's forerunner and kindred spirit. The Minister went on to speak of Radowitz, saying he did not feel quite certain whether it was dulness or treachery on Radowitz's part that was to blame for the diplomatic defeat at Olmiitz. The army ought to have been brought into line before Olmiitz, but Radowitz had intrigued against it. " I would leave it an open question whether he did so as an Austrian ultra- montane Jesuit, or as an impracticable dreamer who thought he knew everything. Instead of looking to our armaments he occupied the King with constitutional trifles, of mediaeval fol- lies, questions of etiquette, and such like. On one occasion we heard that Austria had collected 80,000 men in Bohemia, and was buying great numbers of horses. This was mentioned be- fore the King in Radowitz's presence. He suddenly stepped 102 A BELLIGERENT PRIEST [Auu. 3, forward, looking as if he knew much more about it than any- body else, and said, ' Austria has 22,493 men and 2,005 horses in Bohemia,' and then turned away, conscious that he had once more impressed the King with a sense of his importance." The King and the Chancellor first rode to the field where the heavy artillery had been at work. I followed them after I had jotted down my notes. This field lies about 800 to 1000 paces to the right of the road that brought us here. In front of it towards the wood at the bottom of the valley were some fields surrounded by hedges in which lay about a thousand German dead, Tluiringians of the 31st Regiment. The camp itself presented a horrible appearance, all blue and red from the French dead, most of them being killed by the shells of the 4th Corps, and fearfully disfigured. The Chancellor, as he afterwards told me, noticed among some prisoners in a quarry a priest who was believed to have fired at our men. " On my charging him with having done so he denied it. ' Take care,' I said to him, ' for if it is proved against you, you will certainly be hanged.' lu the meantime I gave instructions to remove his cassock." Near the church the King saw a wounded musketeer, with whom he shook hands, although the man was rather tattered and dirty from the work of the previous day, doubtless to the surprise of the French officers who were present. The King asked him what his busi- ness was. He replied that he was a Doctor of Philosophy. " Well, then, you will have learnt to bear your wounds in philosophical spirit," said the King. " Yes," answered the musketeer, " I have already made up my mind to do so." Near the second village we overtook some common soldiers, Bavarians, who had broken down on the march, and were drag- ging themselves slowly along in the burning sun. " Hullo, countryman ! " called out the Minister to one of these, " will you have some brandy .-' " " Why, certainly ; " and so would a second and a third, to judge from their looks. All three, and a few more, after they had had a pull at the Minister's flask and at mine, received a decent cigar in addition. At the village of Crehanges, where the princely personages of the second section of the King's suite were quartered, together with some gentle- men of the Crown Prince's retinue, the King ordered a lunch, to which Bismarck was also invited. In the meantime I sat on .8701 TIIURINGIAN SEUENE HIGHNESS 103 a stone by the roadside and wrote up my diary, and afterwards assisted the Dutch ambulance corps, who had erected a brij;ht green t ^ t for the wounded in the vicinity of the village. When the Miiiister returned he asked me what I had been doing, which I told him. " I would rather have been there than in the com- pany I was in," he said, breathing deeply, and then quoted the line from Schiller's Diver, " Untey Larvcn die einzige fiihlende Bmst" (the only feeling heart amongst all those masks). During the rest of the drive the conversation moved for a considerable time in exalted regions, and the Chief readily gave me full information in answer to my inquiries. I re- gret, however, that I cannot for various reasons publish all I heard. A certain Thuringian Serene Highness appeared to be par- ticularly objectionable to him. He spoke of his '• stupid self- importance as a Prince, regarding me as his Chancellor also " ; of his empty head, and his trivial conventional style of talk. "To some extent, however, that is due to his education, which trained him to the use of such empty phrases. Goethe is also partly to blame for that. The Queen has been brought up much in the same style. One of the chairs in the Palace would be taken to represent the Burgomaster of Apolda, who was coming to present his homage. ' Ah ! ' she was taught to say, 'very pleased to see you, Herr Burgomaster ! ' (Here the Chan- cellor leant his head a little to one side, pouted his lips, and assumed a most condescending smile.) ' How are things going on in the good town of Apolda ? In Apolda you make socks and tobacco and such things, which do not require much think- ing or feeling.' " I ventured to ask how he now stood with the Crown Prince. "Excellently," he answered. "We are quite good friends since he has come to recognise that I am not on the side of the French, as he had previously fancied — I do not know on what grounds." I remarked that the day before the Crown Prince had looked very pleased. " Why should he not be pleased .-• " replied the Count. " The Heir Apparent of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world, and with the best prospects. He will be reasonable later on and allow his Ministers to govern more, and not put himself too much forward, and in general he will get rid of many bad habits that render old gentlemen of 104 THE AUCiUSriiXUURCJER [Aio. 31 his trade sometimes ratiier troublesome. For the rest, he Is unaffected and strai^Hitforward ; but he does not care to work much, and is quite liappy if he has plenty of money and amuse- ments, and if the newspapers praise him." I took the liberty to ask further what sort of woman the Crown Princess was, and whether she had much influence over her husband. "I think not," the Count said; "and as to her intelligence, she is a clever woman ; clever in a womanly way, She is not able to disguise her feelings, or at least not alwavs. I have cost her many tears, and she could not conceal how angry she was with me after the annexations (that is to say of Schleswig and Hanover). She could hardly bear the sight of me, but that feeling has now somewhat subsided. She once asked me to bring her a glass of water, and as I handed it to her she said to a lady-in-waiting who sat near and whose name I forget, ' He has cost me as many tears as there is water in this glass.' But that is all over now." Finally we descended from the sphere of the gods to that of ordinary humanity. After I had referred to the Coburg- Belgian-English clique, the conversation turned on the Angus- tenburger in his Bavarian uniform. " He's an idiot," said the Chancellor. " He might have secured much better terms. At first I did not want from him more than the smaller Princes were obliged to concede in 1866. Thanks, however, to Divine Providence and the pettifogging wisdom of Samwer, he would agree to nothing. I remember an interview I had with him in 1864, in the billiard-room near my study, which lasted until late in the night. I called him 'Highness' for Ihe first time, and was altogether specially polite. When, however, I men- tioned Kiel Harbour, which we wanted, he remarked that that might mean something like a square mile, or perhaps oven several square i; iles, a remark to which I was of course obliged to assent ; and ^vhen he also refused to listen to our demands with regard to the army, I assumed a different tone, and ad- dressed him merely as ' Prince.' Finally, I told him quite coolly in Low German that we could wring the necks of the chickens we had hatched. At Ligny he basely tricked me the other day into shaking hands with him. I did not know who the Bavarian general was who held out his hand to mc, or I should have gone out of his way." 1870] THE CHANCELLOR AT VKNORlisSE 105 After an unusually long drive un hill nn.i 1 arrived a. ; o'clock a/.he ^n,,,! \Z o n^ te'.'Hce';:^^"" Bandelet, w th the rest of his party, who had alrcac^^k™ possession of their quarters. ""-auy laKcn I. i CHArri'-K VI SKPAN — niSMARCK ANP NArN tho '.St ol Scptonihcr MiMtko's v^hasc ;itl(M \hc V\r.\r m iho INKniso jlisdi^'l was. ivoiu all wo i'»>\il(l lu\u. oviiUMUU ,, jivoaohiu;; its rUvsr, I h.nl tho j;ov>il ti>vtinu' to he \^\c^,-]\\ .,; it next \\.w. Attov rising very oarlv in iMiUm to wiito wv r , «liarv tv»>ni the liastv notes takon o\\ the jMOvions ilav in ;•, vMuiauo auil h\ the it^adsitlo at I'hiMuew. I wotit {o \hc li, ,>, oi Widow Hamlelot. As 1 entovotl. a laii^o v'avahv vlotaehnur,; tovnicil oi live Tmssian hnssav regiments, j-jeen. brown. M.un and red. ii>de ]^\st nnder the C'hiet's window. 'l"hes<' \\kM(' ;, aeeonipanx tlie King tit ,i ]>oint near Sedan, wluMue he vo,. , witness the eatastr(>pho whieh was now I'ontitlenllv e\i>»\;., When the eaniage eanie and the t'haneellor ai>p(\Uv'd. he le(^'iv>\ ahiMit him S<'ein;' nie he said. "I'an \o\i de»iphtM . vlovl,'; " I answered, ,\\u\ h e aiUlei). hen M a eiiMi(M aui a lorn; 1 did not w.tit to he asUi^l t' W start* att(M waids, (."onnt Hisni.ueU Hv^hlen this time oeenpx in;; th* next t(> the M nusler We tusl p.issed tluongh C'henuMv .tnd rhehetx. haltir.: A stnhMe field near a thitil villasve whiv-h la\ in a hollow i,> lei; of the road at tot^t i>l .\ haiv' hill»>i k. \\c\c \]\c Kni;,. v his snite o\ I'rinees. geneials. .u'.d eiuntiets. got o\\ ho\ni;hed field ti whieh one had an extensive view »^t the ilisttivt. Hene.Uh ' Ml a deep wide valley, mostly gieoti. with p.Uelu's o\ wood heights that simontuled it. The bine stie.im of tl\e Al flowed past a town ot moderate si;e. the fortress ot .Si^l.ni «0() .;.,-, I. iS^M sroAN 107 .,■ vii-s! o\ the lull novt \is, ;U ahoiit the »list;\noi' oi ;i r\i]c sh(>t, M. ,5 \\vH>vl. .v\ul thoro .uo also some tioos lo the Icit, To tho vi};ht 1 the toiegviHUul, which slopoil »iMiv}iuMv. in ;\ soiios o\ stoj^s .is ; \\A>iv. low.mls iho botttMti ol the valley, was statii>nevl a Hava- .m batteiv. whieh ke]>t v.p a sharp live at anil over (he tvuvn. i^vlutul the battery were dark eohinins of intantrv anil eavalrv. s;;,! 1 uther to the rij;ht. irom a hollow, rose a thiek eohnun »>l" ^ -.i^ko It eomes. we are toUl. from the binnim; villaj;e of K.uoilles. We are only about an b'n.ulish mile in a bee line : .vni Sedan, anil in the elear atmosphere one ean easily ilistii^- , ,;ish the houses and ehmvhes. In the distance. \o the lett .uul •,:;,h1. three or loin villa};es, and bevond them all, towards the IvMiron. .i r.m;;e ol hills eoye.ed th;oii,i;hont with wliat .\ppea\s ;,> Iv a jMne forest serves .is .» fiame tor the whole jMctnie It •s the .Ardennes, on the Heljiian frontier. The main ]>ositions i>t the b'reneh .i]V|.oat to b^ on the hil- '.vks innnediatelv beyond the totttess. .md it h^oks .is it om ',;>\M^s intended to .unromul them there, b'or the moment we c.vA l^nlv see their .ulv.mee on the ncjil. .is the lines ot our ii'.illorv. with the e\ee]>tion ot the Havati.ms. who .ire ]n>sted ;.;"dcr us. are lost behind the heights .is th.ev slowly move toi \\.\u\ lii.iduallv the smoke of the j;uns is seen bevond the ;;>inj; ,i;ro\md ahe.u'.-, mentioned. . 'ih the ilelile in the middle. V)c corps that are advaneing in halt eirele to enclose the enemy j,;:v steadily ondeavoiivinj; to complete the ciiclc To the lett ',', is still, At 11 o'clock a dark t;rey pillar of smoke with \cl- I'.w Olives rises trom (he fortress, whiv-h li.is haidlv taken .my v.r,; in the tirinj;. Ihe French troops bevond Sedan deliver r. oncri;etic tire, and .i( (he same (ime, ovet the wi>od in the hi.f.io, rise numbers of sm.ill white clouds trom the shells |v\'thor French or German we c.mnot s.iv. Sometimes, also, hv' h;\r. the rattle of (he mi(raillense. VluMv was ;\ brilliant assembly ui>on the liill. The Kini;, ir^iMii.uvk, Moltke. Ki^iMi. a number o\ Frinccs. Fiince (."h.irles. jco'i Highnesses o\ Weim.ir and I'obmi;. the Hereditary (irai^d |r..ko of Mecklenlnirg. generals, aiile*^ dec. imp. v'onrt otVicials, ''.lit Hat.'feld. who dis.i]^]>e.ircd .itter a while. Kutusow. the v.ssiiin. aiul C'oKmel Walker, the b"n;;lish Milit.iry Flenipoten- i.v\, tOi;ether with (ieneial .Sherid.in and his aide dc c.imp. .ill '..niform. and all looking through licld glasses. The King }^^ io8 DECIPHERING IN THE llELD l^m. stood, vvhile others sat on a ridge at the edge of the field, as did the Chancellor also at times. I hear that the King sent word round that it was better not to gather into large groups, as the French in the fortress might in that case fire at us. After 1 1 o'clock our line of attack advanced further on the right bank of the Meuse towards the main position of the French, who were thus more closely invested. In my eager- ness I began to express my views to Count Puckler, probably somewhat louder than was necessary or quite fitting in the cir- cumstances, and so attracted the attention of the Chief, who had sharp ears. He turned round and beckoned to me to come to him. " If you have strategic ideas to communicate to the Count it would be well if you managed to do so somewhat more quietly, doctor, as otherwise the King might ask who is speaking, and I should be obliged to present you to him." Shortly afterwards he received telegrams, six of which he gave me to decipher, so that for the time I had to resign my part as a spectator. On returning to th'? carriage I found in Counc Hatzfeld a companion who had also been obliged to combine business with pleasure. The Chief had instructed him to copy out a French letter of four pages which had been intercepted by our troops. I mounted the box and set to work deciphering, while j the battle roared like half-a-dozen thunderstorms on the other I side of the height. In my eagerness to get done I did not fee the scorching midday sun, which raised blisters on one of niv| ears. It was now i o'clock. By this time our line of fire encircled I the greater part of the enemy's position on the heights beyond the town. Clouds of smoke rose in a wide arch, while i ho vc!! known small puff-balls of the shrapnels appeared for a . and burst in the air. Only to the left there yet reniaiii'rTJJ space where all was still. The Chancellor now sat on a cliaii,| studying a document of several pages. I asked if he would like to have something to eat or drink, as we had come pro-j vided. He declined, however, saying, " I should be very glad,j but the King has also had nothing." The opposing forces on the other side of the river must! very near each other, as we hear oftoner than before the hate- ful rattle of the mitrailleuse. Its bark, however, wc are toklii iS/OJ BAZEILLES IN FLAMES 109 worse than its bite. Between 2 and 3 o'clock, according to my watch, the King passed near where I stood. After looking for a while through his glass towards the suburbs of Sedan, he said to those who accompanied him, "There, to the left, they are pushing forward large masses of troops ; I think it is a sortie." It was, as a matter of fact, an advance of some columns of infantry, which, however, soon retired, probably because they found that although this place was quiet it was by no means open. Shortly afterwards, with the assistance of the field-glass, one could see the French cavalry deliver several rttacks on the crest of the hill to the left of the wood near the defile, which were repelled by volleys from our side. After these charges it could be seen, even with the naked eye, that the ground was covered with white objects, horses or soldiers' cloaks. Soon j afterwards the artillery fire grew weaker at all points, and there i was a general retreat of the French towards the town and its immediate vicinity. As already mentioned, they had for some time past been closed in on the left, where the Wiirteniberg troops had a couple of batteries not far from our hill, and jwhere, as we v^ere informed, the 5th and i ith Army Corps had lent off all escape, with the exception of a small gap towards jthe Belgian frontier. After half-past 4 all their guns were [silent, and somewhat later ours also ceased firing. Once again the scene becomes more animated. Suddenly Ibluish white clouds rise first in one and then in a second part of Ithc town, showing that it is burning in two places. Bazeilles |also is stiil in flames, and is sending up a pillar of dense grey yellow vapour into the clear evening air. The soft radiance of [the declining sun is spreading more and more over the valley at lour feet, like burnished gold. The hillocks of the battlefield, jihe ravine in the midst, the villages, the houses, the towers of he fortress, the suburb of Torcy, and the broken bridge in the [listance to the left stand out in clear relief, from moment to Doment more distinct as if seen through stronger and stronger klasses. Towards 5 o'clock General Hindersin speaks to the King, nd I fancy I catch the words, " Bombard the town," and a heap of ruins." A quarter of an hour later a Bavarian officer ^llops up the height towards us. General von Bothmer sends koidtothc King that General ^-T.-iili'in:';^]-, -vho is stationed at ->■'*'■■" no GENERAL REILLE SENT TO THE KING [Stu, Torcy with the chasseurs, reports that the French desire to capitulate, and that their unconditional surrender has been de- manded. The King replied, " No one can negotiate this matter except myself. Tell the general that the bearer of the flag of truce must come to me." The Bavarian rides back into the valley. The King then speaks to Bismarck, and together they join the Crown Prince (who had arrived a little before), Moltke, and Roon. Their Highnesses of Weimar and Coburg are also with them, stand- ing a little to one side. After a while a Prussian aide-de-camp appears, and reports that our losses, so far as they can be ascertained up to the present, are not great — those of the Guards being moderate, of the Saxons somewhat more, while the remaining corps engaged suffered less. Only a small pro- portion of the French have escaped into the woods in the direction of the Belgian frontier, where search is now beinf^ made for them. All the rest have been driven towards Sedan, " And the Emperor.? " questioned the King. "We do not know," answered the officer. Towards 6 o'clock, however, another aide-de-camp appeared and reported that the Emperor was in the town, and would im- mediately send out a parlementairc. "That is a grand suc- cess ! " said the King, turning to the company. " I thank thee (he added to the Crown Prince) for thy share in it." With these words he gave his hand to his son, and the latter kissed it, He then held out his hand to Moltke, who also kissed it. Finally he likewise shook hands with the Chancellor, and spoke to him I alone for some time. This seemed to excite the displeasure ot | some of their Highnesses. Towards half-past 6, after a detachment of cuirassiers had I been posted near the King as a guard of honour, the French General Reille, Napoleon's parleuientairc, rode slowly up the I hill. He dismounted at a distance of some ten paces from the King, and after approaching his Majesty took off his cap ar.cj handed over a letter of large si;.e with a red seal. The gcnerail is an elderly gentleman of medium height and slender figure, hi an unbuttoned black tunic with epaulettes and shoulder straps, black vest, red trousers, and polished riding boots. He has nol sword, but carries a walking stick in his hand. All the conij pany move away from the King, who opens and reads tiic IctterJ :S70] AN EARLY VISITOR III afterwards communicating the contents, which are now gener- ally known, to Bismarck, Moltke, the Crown Prince, and the other personages. Reille stands a little further off, at first alone, and later in conversation with some Prussian generals. The Crown Prince, Moltke, and his Highness of Coburg also speak to him while the King takes counsel with the Chancellor, who then commissions Hatzfeld to prepare a draft of the answer to the imperial letter, Hatzfeld brings it in a few minutes and the King copies it, sitting on one chair, while the seat of an- other, held by Major von Alten, who kneels before him, serves as a desk. Shortly before 7 o'clock the French general rides back towards Sedan in the twilight, accompanied by an officer and a uhlan trumpeter carrying a white flag. The town is now in flames in three places, and the lurid columns of smoke that rise from Bazeilles shows it to be still burning. The tragedy of Sedan is over, and night lets down the curtain. There might be an epilogue on the following day, but for the present every one returned home. The King went back to Vendrcsse, the Chief, Count Bismarck-Bohlen, and I drove to the little town of Donchery, where it was quite dark when we arrived. We put up at the house of a Dr. Jeanjot. Tb^; town was full of Wiirtemberg soldiers, who were camped in the mar- ket-place. Our reason for coming here was that an arrange- ment had been made according to which the Chancellor and Moltke were this evening to meet the French plenipotentiary to try to settle the conditions of the capitulation of the four French army corps now confined in Sedan. I slept here in an alcove near the back room on the first floor, with only the wall between me and the Minister, who had the large front room. Towards 6 o'clock in the morning I was awakened by hasty footsteps, and heard Engel say : " Excel- lency, Excellency, there is a French general at the door. I can- 1 not understand what he wants." The Minister would appear to [have got up hurriedly and spoken a few words to the French officer, who turned out to be General Reille. The consequence was that he dressed immediately, and without waiting cither for breakfast or to have his clothes brushed, mounted his horse and rode rapidly off. I rushed to his window to see in what direc- |tion he went. I saw him trot off towards the market-place. 112 NAPOLEON [Sepi. I'i In the room everything was lying about in disorder. On the floor lay the " TdglicJic Losungen und Lehrtexte der Brildcr- gemeinde fiir 1870 "(Daily Wr.tchwords and Texts of the Mora- vian Brethren for 1870), and on the toilette stand was another manual of devotion, ^^ Die tiiglicJie Erquicknng fiir glduhi^rc Christen'' (Daily Spiritual Refreshment for Believing Chris- tians), which Engel told me the Chancellor was accustomed to read at night. I now hastily dressed myself also, and after I had informed them downstairs that the Chief had gone off to Sedan to meet the Emperor Napoleon, who had left the fortress, I followed him as fast as I could. Some 800 paces from the bridge across the Meuse at Donchery, \r the right of the road, planted with poplars, stands a single • juse, then the residence of a Belgian weaver. It is painted yellow, is but one story high, and has four windows on the front. There are white shutters to the windows on the ground floor ; the Venetian blinds on those of the first floor are also painted white, and it has a slate roof, like most of the houses at Donchery. Near it to the left is a potato field, now full of white blossoms, while to the right, across the path that leads to the house, stand some bushes. I see here that the Chancellor has already met the Emperor. In front of the house are six French officers of high rank, of whom five have caps with gold trimmings, while that worn by the sixth is black. What appears to be a hackney coach with four seats is waiting on the road. Bismarck and his cousin. Count Bohlen, are standing opposite the Frenchmen, while a little way off is Leverstrom, as well as two hussars, one brown and one black, At 8 o'clock Moltke arrives with a few officers of the general staff, but leaves again after a short stay. Soon afterwards a short, thick-set man, in a red cap braided with gold lace, and wearing red trousers and a hooded cape lined with red, steps from behind the house and speaks at first to the French ofificers, some of whom are sitting under the hedge by the potato field He has white kid gloves, and smokes a cigarette. It is the Emperor. At the short distance at which I stand from him I can clearly distinguish his features. There is something soft and dreamy in the look of his light grey eyes, which resemble those of people who have lived fast. His cap is set a little to the right, in which direction the head is also bent. The short 1870] NEGOTIATING THE CAPITULATION 113 icers, [field, the hire soft [mble Itle to short legs do not seem in proportion with the long upper part of the body. His whole appearance has something unmilitary about it. The man is too soft, I am inclined to think too pulpy, for the uniform he wears. One could even fancy that he is capable of becoming sentimental at times. Those ideas, which are mere impressions, force themselves upon one all the more when one alances at the tall, well-set figure of our Chancellor. Napoleon seems fatigued, but not very much depressed. Nor does he look so old as I had expected. He might pass for a tolerably well-preserved man of fifty. After a while he goes over to the Chief, and speaks to him for about three minutes, and then — still smoking and with his hands behind his back — walks up and down by the potato garden. A further short conversation follows between the Chancellor and the Emperor, begun by Bismarck, after which Napoleon once more converses with his French suite. About a quarter to 9 o'clock Bismarck and his cousin leave, going in the direction of Donchery, whither I follow them. The Minister repeatedly related the occurrences of this morning and the preceding ni^ht. In the following paragraphs I unite all these various statements into a connected whole. The sense of what the Chancellor said is faithfully given throughout, and his own words are in great part reproduced. "After the battle of the ist of September, Moltke and I [vent to Donchery, about five kilometres from Sedan, for the lurpose of carrying on the negotiations with the French. We ipent the night there, the King and his suite returning to Ven- Ircsse. The negotiations lasted until midnight, without, how- tver, leading to an understanding. In addition to Moltke and lyself, Blumenthal and three or four other officers of the gen- al staff were present. General Wimpffen was the French desman. Moltke's demand was very short. The whole rench army must surrender as prisoners of war. Wimpffen msidered that too hard. The army had deserved better treat- lent by the gallantry it had shown in action. Wc ought to be intent to let them go on condition that they took no further irt in the war and removed to some district in France to be led upon by us, or to Algiers. Moltke quietly maintained his mand, Wimpffen dwelt upon his own unfortunate position. le had joined the troops two days before on his return from VOL. I. — I 'ir^ 114 THE I KENCII CANNOT BE TRUSTED [Sm.; Africa, and only took over the command when MacMahon was wounded towards the close of the battle — and yet he must now put his signature to such a capitulation. He would rather trv to hold the fortress or venture a sortie. Moltke regretted that it was impossible for him to make allowance for the position of the general, the hardship of which he appreciated. He reco^. nised the gallantry of the French troops, but they could not possibly hold Sedan, and a sortie was out of the question, He was prepared to allow one of the general's officers to inspect our positions, in order that he might convince himself of that fact. Wimpffen then urged that from a political standpoint it was advisable to grant better terms. We must desire a speedy and permanent peace, and we could now secure it if we acted generously. A considerate treatment of the army would put both the soldiers and the whole people under an obligation oi gratitude, and would inspire friendly feelinjs towards us. An opposite course would lead to endless war. I intervened at this point, as my trade came into question here. I told Wimpffen it was possible to trust to the gratitude of a Prince but not to that of a people, and least of all to that of the French. They had no permanent institutions, they were constantly changin;; governments and dynasties, which were not bound by what their predecessors had undertaken. If the Emperor's throne were secure it would be possible to count upon his gratitude in return for more favourable conditions. As matters stood it would !: foolish not to avail themselves to the full of the advantages m I our success. The French were an envious, jealous people. They were angry with us for our victory at Sadowa, and coii!(i| not forgive us for it, although it had not injured them. Ho then could any generosity on our part prevent them from bear! ing us a grudge for Sedan.? Wimpffen could not agree to that The French had changed latterly, and had learnt under thej Empire to think more of peaceful interests than of the glory oil war. They were ready to proclaim the brotherhood of nations! and so on. It was not difficult to prove the contrary, and toj show that the acceptance of his proposals would le?d rather toj a prolongation of the war than to its termination. I finishel by saying that we must maintain our conditions. Ca^telneaij then spoke, explaining on behalf of the Emperor that the iattej had only given up his sword on the previous day in the hopeo| s -'Ouis de Cor ' •>•■ engagement at '°yal army, being I 1870] NAPOLEON ASKS TO SEE BISMARCK 115 an honourable capitulation. I asked, ' Whose sword was that ? The Emperor's, or that of France?' He replied, 'Merely the Emperor's.' 'Well then,' interjected Moltke, sharp as light- ning — a gleam of satisfaction overspreading his hawk-like features — ' there can be no further question of any other con- ditions.' 'Very well,' declared Wimpffen, 'in that case we shall renew the fight to-morrow.' ' I will see that our fire com- mences at 4 o'clock,' s.-\id Moltke, on which the French ex- pressed a wish to retire. I induced them, however, to remain a little longer and to consider the matter once more. The result was that they ultimately begged for an extension of the armistice, in order to consult with their people in Sedan. At first Moltke did not wish to agree to this, but finally consented on my pointing out to him that it could do no harm. "Towards 6 o'clock on the morning of the 2nd of Septem- ber, General Reille appeared before my lodging at Donchery, and said the Emperor wished to speak to me. I dressed immediately and got on horseback, dirty, unwashed, and dusty as I was, to ride to Sedan, where I expected to see the Em- peror. I met him, however, on the road near Fresnois, three kilometres from Donchery. He sat with three officers in a two-horse carriage, three others accompanying him on horse- back. Of these officers I only knew Reille, Castelneau, Mos- cowa, and Vaubert. I had my revolver buckled round my waist, and as I found myself alone in the presence of the six officers I may have glanced at it involuntarily. I may perhaps even have instinctively laid my hand upon it. Napoleon prob- ably noticed that, as his face turned an ashy grey. Possibly he thought that history might repeat itself — I think it was a Prince de Cond6 who was murdered while a prisoner after a battle.^ "I saluted in military fashion. The Enioeror took off his cap, the officers following his example, whereupon I also removed mine, although it was contrary to the regulations to do so. He said, ' Couvrez-vous, done' I treated him exactly as if we were at Saint Cloud, and asked him what his com- mands were. He wished to know whether he could speak to ' Louis de Conde was treacherously murdered on the 12th of March, 1569, after ihc engagement at Jarnac, just as he had delivered up his sword to an officer of the royal army, being shot by one Montesquieu, a captain of the guards. r Ii6 THE INTKRVIEW [SEn. : NS*^ the King. I said that was impossible, as his Majesty's quar- ters were about two German miles away. I did not wish hini te scv the King before we had come to an undcrstundinf; as to the capitulation. He then asked where he could wait, which indicated that he could not return to Sedan, as he had cither experienced or apprehended some unpleasantness there. The town was full of drunken soldiers, which was a great hardship for the inhabitants. I offered him my quarters at Donchcrv, which I was prepared to leave immediately. He accepted the offer, but when we had come within a few hundred yards of the town he asked whether he could not stay in a house which he saw by the road. I sent my cousin, who had followed me, to view the house. On his report I told the Emperor that it was a very poor place. He replied that it did not matter. After he had gone over to the house and come back again, having probably been unable to find the stairs, which were at the back, I accompanied him to the first floor, where we entered a small room with one window. It was the best in the house, but its only furniture was a deal table ana two rush-bottomed chairs. " Here I had a conversation with him which lasted for nearly three-quarters of an hour. He complained first of this fatal war, which he had not desired. He was forced into it bv the pressure of public opinion. I replied that in Germany no- body had wished for war, and the King least of all. \Vc h;id regarded the Spanish question as a matter concerning Spain and not Germany, and we were justified in expecting from the good relations between the princely house of Hohenzollcrn and himself, that an understanding could be easily come to with the Hereditary Prince. We then went on to speak of the present situation. He wished above all to obtain more favourable terms of capitulation. I explained that I could not go into that ques- tion, as it was a purely military one, with which Moltke would have to deal. On the other hand it was open to us to discuss an eventual peace. He replied that he was a prisoner, and therefore not in a position to decide. On my asking him whom he regarded as competent to treat, he referred me to the Gov- ernment in Paris. I observed that the situation had therefore! not changed since yesterday and that wc must maintain our demand respecting the army in Sedan, as a guarantee that we | 1870] WILLIAM AND NAPOLKON 117 should not lose the benefits of our victory. Moltke, to whom I had sent word, and who had arrived in the meantime, was of the same opinion and went to the King in order to tell him so. "Standing before the house the Emperor praised our army and the manner in which it had been led. On my acknowledg- ins; that the French had also fought well, he came back to the conditions of the capitulation, and asked whether we could not allow the troops shut up in Sedan to cross the Belgian frontier, there to be disarmed and held as prisoners. I tried again to make it clear to him that that was a question for the military authorities, and could not be settled without the concurrence of Moltke. Besides, he himself had ju.st declared that as a prisoner he was not able to exercise his authority, and that accordingly negotiations respecting questions of that kind should be carried on with the principal officer in command at Sedan. "In the meantime a search had been made for a better lodging for the Emperor, and the officers of the general staff found that the little d.ateau of Bellevue near Fresnois, where I first met him, was suitable for his reception, and was not yet requisitioned for the wounded. I advised him to remove there, as it would be more comfortable than the weaver's house, and that possibly he wanted rest. We would let the King know that he was there. He agreed to this, and I rode back to Donchery to change my clothes. I then accompanied him to Bellevue with a squadron of the ist Cuirassier Regiment as a guard of honour. The Emperor wished the King to be present at the negotiations which began here, — doubtless counting on his soft-heartedness and good nature, — but he also desired me to take part in them. I had however decided that the soldiers, who were made of sterner stuff, should settle the affair by them- selves; and so I whispered to an officer as I went up the stairs to call me in five minutes and say that the King wanted to speak to me. This was accordingly done. Napoleon was in- j formed that he could only see the King after the conclusion of the capitulation. The matter was therefore arranged between Moltke and Wimpffen, much on the lines that were laid down I the evening before. Then the two monarchs met. As the '■•iipcror came out after the interview, his eyes were filled with ii8 REVIEWING THE BATrLEKIELL) [8» heavy tears. In speaking to me he was much less affected, and was perfectly dignified." We had no detailed particulars of these events on the fore- noon of the 2nd of September ; and from the moment when the Chief, in a fresh uniform and cuirassier's helmet, rode off from Donchery until late at night, we only heard vague rumours of what was going on. About 10.30 a. m. a detachment of Wiir. temberg artillery drove past our house at a trot. In every direction clouds of dust rose from the hoofs of the cavalry, while the bayonets of long columns of infantry glistened in the sun. The road at our feet was filled with a procession of waggons loaded with baggage and forage. Presently wc met Lieutenant von Czernicki, who wanted to go into Sedan, and invited us to drive with him in his little carriage. We had accompanied him nearly as far as Fresnois, when, at about I o'clock, we met the King with a large suite on horseback, in- cluding the Chancellor, coming in the opposite direction. As it was probable that the Chief was going to Donchery we got out and followed him. The party, however, which included Hatzfeld and Abeken, rode through the town, and we heard that they were reviewing the battlefield. As "; did not know how long the Minister would remain away w ^ not venture to leave Donchery. About 1.30 P.M. some thousands of prisoners marched through the town on their way to Germany. Most of them were on foot, but some of them were in carts. They included about sixty to seventy officers, and a general who was on horseback. Amongst the prisoners were cuirassiers in white helmets, blue hussars with white facings, and infantrymen of the 22nd, S2nd, and 58th regiments. They were escorted by Wiirtcmberg infantry. At 2 o'clock followed a second batch of about 2000 prisoners, amongst whom were negroes in Arab cos- tume — tall, broad-shouldered fellows, with savage, ape-like features, and some old soldiers wearing the Crimean and Mexi- can medals. A little after 3 o'clock two French guns with their ammuni- tion waggons and still drawn by French horses passed through our street. The words " 5, Jager, Gorlitz " were written in chalk on one of the guns. Shortly afterwards a fire broke out in one of the streets to the left of our quarters. Wiirtember? iSyo] NAl'iJLKuN TO GO TO WII.IIKLMSIIOIIK 19 siililicrs had opened a cask of brandy and had imprudently made a fire near it. Considerable distress prevailed in the town, and even our landlord (he and his wife were good souls) suffered from a scarcity of bread. The place wa.s overcrowded with soldiers, who were quartered on the inhabitants, and with the wounded, who were sometimes put up in stables. Some of the people attached to the Court tried to secure our house for the Heredi- tary Grand Duke of Weimar, but we held out successfully against them. Then an oflficcr wanted to quarter a I'rince of Mecklenburg upon us, but we also sent him packing, telling him it was out of the question, as the Chancellor of the Con- federation lodged there. After a short absence, however, I found that the Weimar gentlemen had forced themselves into the house. We had reason to be thankful that they did not turn our Chief out of his bed. The Minister only returned after 1 1 o'clock, and I had sup- per with him, the party also including the Hereditary Grand Duke of Weimar, in the uniform of the Light Blue Hussars, and Count Solms-Sonncnwalde, fornv rly attached to the Em- bassy in Paris, and now properly speaking a mcmbor of our staff, although we had seen very little of him recently. The Chancellor gave us very full particulars of his ride over the battlefield. He had been nearly twelve hours in the saddle, with short intervals. They had been over the whole field, and were received with great enthusiasm in all the camps and bivouacs. It was said that during the battle our troops had taken over 25,000 prisoners, while 40,000 who were in Sedan surrendered under the capitulation, which was concluded about noon. The Minister told us that Napoleon was to leave for Ger- many, that is to say for Wilhclmshohe, on the following morn- ing, "The question is," said the Chief, "whether he is to go byway of Stcnay and Bar le Due or through Belgium." " In Belgium he would no longer be a prisoner," said Solms. "Well, that would not matter," replied the Chief, "and it would not even do any harm if he took another direction. I was in favour of his going through Belgium, and he seemed also inclined to take that route If he failed to keep his word it would not injure us. But it would be necessary to communi- .-f' I20 TllK lKi:NCll rKISOM:KS L^i-ri.: catc bcfoiclKind with Hrussels, and wo could not have m answer in less than two days." About 8 o'elock on the following morning;, just as I wa- a: breakfast, we heard a noise whieh sounded like heavy tiiiu:; It was only the horses in a neighbouring stable stainpinj; on ;i.o wooden tU>or, probably out of temp t that they also should luivo been put on short commons, as the drivers had only been ah';. to give them half measures of oats. As a matter of fact iluiv was a general scarcity. I heard subsequently that llat/Uld had been commissioned by the Chief to go to lirussels. Shorilv afterwards the Chancellor called me to his bedside. Ho had received 500 cigars, and wished me to divide them amoiii; the wounded. I accordingly betook myself to the barracks, whi^h had been transformed into a hospital, and to the bedrooms, barns, and stables in the street behind our house. At liist ! only wished to divide my stock amongst the Trussians; hut tl\ Frenchmen who were sitting by cast such longing glan, .s ,u them, and their German neighbours on the straw pleaded so warmly on their behalf — "We can't let them look on whilow: are smoking, they too have shared every tiling with us" — t!'.,i; I regarded it as no robbery to give them some too. Tlu-v ,1 complained of hunger, and asked how long they were goini; to be kept there. Later on they were supplied with soup, hrcu';, anci sausages, and some of those in the barns and stables woi; even treated to bouillon and chocolate by a Bavarian voluuloi". hospital attendant. The r^rirning was cold, dull, and rainy. The masses 1; Prussian and Wvirtemberg troops who marched throu!;li tho town seemed, however, in the best of sj)irits. Thev sani; to the nuisic of their bands. In all probability the feelings 01 the prisoners who sat in the long line of carts that passed in t \ oppi>site direction at the same time were more in li irnii":\ with the disagreeable weather and the clouded sky. About 10 o'clock, as I waded in the drizzling rain through the deep niiui of the market-place in fulfilment of my mission to the wonntloii, I met a long procession of conveyances coming from the Mcu^ bridge under the escort ol" the black death's-head liussars Most of them were covered coaches, the remainder beiiij; b.i« gage and commissariat carts. They were followed by a iiumUr of saddle horses. In a closed coupd immediately boliiml t' \>y] IKF.NlU AND I'KLSSIAN CiUNS 121 hussars sat the " Prisoner of Sedan," the Kmperor Napoleon, on his way to VVilhelnishohe through Belgium. General Castel- nc.ui had a seat in his earriage. He was followed in an i>pen waggonette by the infantry general, Adjutant-General von lioven, who had been selected by the King as the l''ini)eri>r's tnuclling companion, and by Prince Lynar and some of the oiVicors who had been present at Napoleon's meeting with the Ch.uKcllor on the previous day. " Boyen is cajMlally suilctl for that mission," said the Chief to us tlie night before ; " he can bo extremely rude in the most polite way." The Minister was probably thinking of the possibility that some of the officers in the (7/A'///v/^i,v of the august prisoner might take liberties. Wo learned afterwards that an indirect route through Donchery had been taken, as the l^mperor was particularlv .mxious not to pass through Sedan. The hussars went as far .IS the frontier near Bouillon, the nearest Belgian ti>wn. The Km{)cror was not treated with disrespect by the French prisoners whom the party passed on the way. The olficers on the other hand had occasionally to listen to some unpleasant remarks. Naturally they were " traitors," as indeed from this time forward everybody was who lost a battle or suffered any other mishap. It seems to have been a particularly painful moment for these gentlemen when they passed a great number 01 French lield-pieces that had fallen into our hands. Boyen rohUcd the following anecdote. One of the Kmperor's aides- lio-camp, I believe it was the Prince de la Mt)scowa, thought the guns belonged to us, as they were drawn by our horses, yet \v;is apparently struck by something in their appearance. He asked : — "Ouoi, cst-cc que vous avez deux systt^mes d'artilierie ? " "Non, monsieur, nous n'avons qu'un seul," vvas the rep.y. " Mais ces canons-l;\ } " "lis ne sont pas les ndtrcs, monsieur." CHAPTER VII FROM THE MEUSE TO THE MARNE I AGAIN quote from my diary. Saturday, September ird. — We left Donchery shortly be- fore I o'clock. On the way we were overtaken by a short but severe storm, the thunder echoing along the valleys. This was followed by a heavy rain, which thoroughly drenched the Chan- cellor, who sat in an open carriage, as he told us in the evening at table. Happily it had no serious consequences : it depends more on diplomacy, and if the Chief were to fall ill who could replace him } I drove with the Councillors. Count Bohlen gave us numer- ous details of the events of yesterday. Napoleon had left Sedan at such an early hour — it must have been before or shortly after daybreak — because he felt it was unsafe to re- main in the midst of the furious soldiciy, who were packed into the fortress like herrings in a barrel, and who burst into paroxysms of rage, breaking their rifles and swords on hearini; of the capitulation. During the first interview at Donchery the Minister had, amongst other things, told Wimpffen he must be well aware that the arrogance and quarrelsomeness of the French, and their jealousy at the success of neighbouring; peoples, did not originate with the working and industriiil classes, but with the journalists and the mob. These elements, however, swayed public opinion, constraining it to their will. For that reason the moral guarantees to which the general hnd referred would be of no value. We must have material guaran- tees, at present by the capitulation of the army in Sedan, and then by the cession of the great fortresses in the East. The surrender of the French troops took place on a kind of penin- sula formed by a bend of the Meuse. Moltke had ridden out some distance from Vendresse to meet the King. The interview between the two Sovereigns took place in the drawing-room of laa SKii 4. 1S70] A LE'ITKR FROM THE CHANCELLOR'S WIFE 123 the chateau of Bcllcvuc. They were alone together for about ton minutes. Subsequently the King summoned the officers of his suite, ordered the capitulation to be read to him, and with tears in his eyes, thanked them for their assistance. The Crown Prince is understood to have informed the Hessian regiments that the King had selected Cassel for the internment of the Emperor Napoleon, in recognition of their gallantry. The Minister dined with the King at Vendresse, where we once more put up for the night, but he nevertheless took some refreshment with us afterwards. He read over to us a portion of a letter from his wife, energetically expressing in biblical terms her hope that the French would be destroyed. He then added meditatively, "Well, in 1866 — seven days. This time possibly seven times seven. Yes — when did we cross the frontier ? On the 4th ? No, on the loth of August. Five weeks ago. Seven times seven — it may be possible." I again send off a couple of articles to Germany, amongst them being one on the results of the battle of the ist September. We are to start for Reims to-morrow, our first halt to be at Rethel. Rcthcl, September ^th. Evening. — Early this morning be- fore we left Vendresse I was called to the Chief, to receive instructions respecting reports for the newspapers of his meet- ing with Napoleon. Towards the close he practically dictated what I was to say.^ Shortly afterwards, about half-past 10, the carriages arrived, and we began our journey into the cham- pagne country. The way was at first somewhat hilly, then we came to a softly undulating plain, with numerous fruit gar- dens, and finally to a poor district with very few villages. We passed some large detachments of troops, at first Bavarians, and afterwards the 6th and 50th Prussian regiments. Amongst the latter Willisch saw his brother, who had been in battle and had escaped unwounded. A little further on the carriage of Prince Charles had to be left behind at a village, as the axle bd caught fire. We took Count Donhoff, the Prince's master I (if the horse, and Major von Frey berg, aide-de-camp to Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, into our conveyance. The tragedy at * These particulars are worked up into the preceding chapter. 124 "METZ AND STRASBURG WHAT WE REQUIRE" [Si;,rr . Bazeilles was mentioned, and the Major gave an account of the circumstances, which differed considerably from that of Count Bohlen. According to him twenty peasants, including one woman, lost their lives, but they were killed in fight while opposing the soldiers, who stormed the place. A priest was afterwards shot by court-martial. The Major, however, does not appear to have been a witness of the occurrences which he relates, so that his account of the affair may also prove to be inaccurate. He knew nothing of the hangings mentioned bv Bohlen. There are some people whose tongues are more cruel than their dispositions. We arrived at Rethel about 5.30 p.m. The quartermaster had chosen a lodging for us in the roomy and well-furnished residence of one M. Duval, in the Rue Grand Pont. The entire field bureau of the Foreign Office was quartered in this house. After dinner I was summoned three times to receive instructions from the Chief. Amongst other thinj^s he said : " Metz and Strasburg are what we require and what we wish to take — that is, the fortresses. Alsace is a profes- sorial idea." He evidently referred to the strong emphasis laid upon the German past of that province and the circum- stance that the inhabitants still retained the use of the German language. In the meantime the German newspapers were delivered. It was highly satisfactory to observe that the South German press also began to oppose the efforts of foreign diplomacy which desired to mediate in the negotiations for peace between ourselves and France. In this respect the ScJnvdhischc Mcrhr was perfectly in accord with the Chief's views in saying: "When the German peoples marched to the Rhine in order to defend their native land, European diplomacy said the two antagonists must be allowed to fight out their own quarrel, and that the war must be thus localised. Well, we have carried on that war alone against those who threatened all Europe, and we now also desire to localise the conclusion of peace. In Paris we shall ourselves dictate the conditions which must protect the German people from a renewal of such predacious invasion as the war of 1870, and the diplomats of foreign Powers who looked on as spectators shall not be allowed to have anything to say in the matter. Those who took no part 1870] WE ARRIVE AT REIMS 125 in the fight shall have no voice in the negotiations." "We must breed other articles from this one," said the Chief, and it did. Reims, September t^t/i. — During the whole forenoon great masses of troops marched along a road not far from our quar- ters at Rcthel Bridge. The procession was closed by four regiments of Prussian infantry. It was very noticeable how tew officers there were. Several companies were under the command of young lieutenants or ensigns. This was the case with the 6th and 46th, one battalion of which carried a capt- ured French eagle. Although the day was stiflingly hot, and the men were covered with the white dust of the limestone roads, they marched steadily and well. Our coachman placed a bucket of water by the way, so that they could fill their tin cans and glasses, and sometimes their helmets, as they passed. Between 12 and i o'clock we started for Reims; the district through which the road runs is in great part an undulating plain with few villages. At length we see the towers of the Cathedral of Reims rising over the glistening plains, and beyond the town the blue heights that change to green as we approach them, and show white villages along their sides. We drive at first through poor out- skirts and then through better streets, and across a square with a monumenr, to the Rue de Cloitre, where we take up our quar- j ters, opposite the Cathedral, in a handsome house, which belongs j to a M. Dauphinot. The Chief lodged on the first floor, while the office was set up on the ground floor. The streets are crowded with Prussian and Wurtemberg soldiers. The King has done the Archbishop the honour of taking up his quarters in his Palace. I hear that our landlord is the Maire of Reims. Keudell understands that the territory to be retained by us at the close of the war will probably not be incorporated with any [one State or divided between several, but will become the col- lective possession of all Germany. In the evening the Chief dined with us, and as we are here jin the centre of the champagne country we try several brands. Iln the course of conversation the Chief mentions that he is jusually bored at the royal table. "When there are but few jguests I sit near the King, and then it is tolerable. But when It'i^ire are a great number present I am placed between the 1 i i 126 THE REPUBLIC PROCLAIMED IN PARIS [Sept. s Bavarian Prince and the Grand Duke of Weimar, and then the conversation is inexpressibly tedious." Some one remarked that yesterday a shot was fired out of a caf6 at a squadron of our hussars. The Minister said the house must be immediately destroyed, and the proprietor tried by court-martial. Sticbcr should be instructed to inquire into the matter. I understand we are to remain here for ten or twelve days, Tuesday t September 6th. — I have been working hard from lo to 3 o'clock without interruption in preparing, amongst other things, exhaustive, and also shorter, articles respecting the con- ditions upon which Germany should make peace. The Chief found an article that appeared in the Volks Zeitting of the 31st of August "very sensible and well worth calling attention to." The writer argued against the annexation to Prussia of the con- quered French territory ; and after endeavouring to show that such a course would rather weaken than strengthen Prussia, concluded with the words : " Our aim ought to be, not the aggrandisement of Prussia, but the unification of Germany, and to put it out of the power of France to harm us." Bamberger has established a French newspaper at Nancy, to which we are to send reports from time to time. At dinner Count Bohlen remarked, as he counted the places, " I hope we are not thirteen." " No." " That's right, as the Minister does not like that number." Bohlen, who seems to be charged with the supervision of the fleshpots, has to-day evi- dently inspired the genius of our chef-de-cuisine to one of his greatest achievements. The dinner is magnificent. Amongst the guests are Von Knobelsdorff, a captain in the Guards; Count York, and one Count Briihl, a somewhat bashful young man, in the uniform of a lieutenant of dragoons. The latter brought the great news that a Republic had been proclaimed in Paris and a Provisional Government appointed, in which Gam betta, hitherto one of the orators of the Opposition, and Favre have portfolios. Rochefort, the editor of La Lanternc, is also a member of the Cabinet. It is said that they wish to continue the war against us. The position has, therefore, not improved in so far as peace is concerned ; but it is also by no means worse, especially if the Republic lasts, and it becomes, later on, a question of gaining friends at foreign Courts. For the present it is all over with Napoleon and Lulu. Like Louis iSyo] UN-UNIFORMED COMBATANTS 127 Philippe in 1848, the Empress has fled. We shall soon discover what the lawyers and literary men, who have now taken over the conduct of affairs, can do. Whether France will recognise their authority remains to be seen. Our uhlans are now at Chateau Thierry ; in two days they may reach Paris. It is now certain, however, that we shall remain another week at Reims. Count Bohlen reported to the Chief the result of his inquiries respecting the caf6 from which our cavalry were fired at. Yielding to the entreaties of the pro- prietor, who is believed to be innocent, the house has not been destroyed. Moreover, the treacherous shot failed of its effect. The proprietor has been let off with a fine of two hundred or two hundred and fifty bottles of champagne, to be presented to the squadron ; and this he gladly paid. At tea somebody (I now forget who it was) referred to the exceptional position accorded to the Saxons in the North Ger- man Confederation as regards military arrangements. The Chancellor did not consider the matter of much importance. "Moreover, that arrangement was not made on my initiative," he observed ; " Savigny concluded the treaty, as I was seriously ill at the time. I am disposed to regard even less narrowly the arrangements respecting the foreign relations of the smaller States. Many people lay too much stress on this point, and apprehend danger from the retention of their diplomatic repre- sentatives besides those of the Confederation. If such States were in other respects powerful, they could, even without official representatives, exchange letters with foreign Courts and in- trigue by word of mouth against our policy. That could be managed by a dentist or any other personage of that descrip- tion. Moreover, the Diets will soon refuse to grant the sums required for all such luxuries." Thursday, September ^th. — The Chancellor gives a great dinner, the guests including the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, I'err Stephan, the Chief Director of the Post Office, and the three Americans. Amongst other matters mentioned at table were the various reports as to the affair at Bazeilles. The Minister said that peasants could not be per- mitted to take part in the defence of a position. Not being in uniform they could not be recognised as combatants — they were able to throw away their arms unnoticed. The chances 138 THE FRENCH MUST BE MADE TO SUFFER [Seit. must be equal for both sides. Abeken considered that Bazeilles was hardly treated, and thought the war ought to be conducted in a more humane manner. Sheridan, to whom MacLean has translated these remarks, is of a different opinion. He con- siders that in war it is expedient, even from the political point of view, to treat the population with the utmost rigour also. He expressed himself roughly as follows : " The proper strategy consists in the first place in inflicting as telling blows as possible upon the enemy's army, and then in causing the inhabitants so much suffering that they must long for peace, and force their Government to demand it. The people must be left nothing but their eyes to weep with over the war." Somewhat heartless, it seems to me, but perhaps worthy of consideration. Friday, September <^th. — Engaged all the forenoon and until 3 o'clock in writing va-ious articles, amongst others one on the inconceivable attachment of the Alsacians to France, their vol- untary J elotry, and the blindness which will not permit them to see and feel that the Gauls only regard them as a kind of second- rate Frenchmen, and in many respects treat them accordingly. News has arrived that Paris is not to be defended against iia nor regarded as a fortress. This is very questionable, as, ac- cording to other reports, the French have still some regular troops at their disposal, although not many. Saturday, September lotk. — The Chief dined with the King to-day, but also joined us at table for half an hour. Bohlcn, who had visited the Imperial chateau at Mourmelon, near Cha- lons, told us how the people had wrecked the whole p'ace, breaking the furniture, mirrors, etc. After dinner the Chan- cellor had a long talk alone with Boyen and Delbriick, who were amongst the guests. I was afterwards summoned to the Minis- ter to receive instructions respecting a communique to the two French newspapers published here, namely the Courier dc k Champagne and the Independent Rhnois. It was to the follow- ing effect : " If the Reims press were to declare itself in favour of the proclamation of a French Republic, and recognise the new Government by publishing its decrees, it might be inferred that as the town is occupied by German troops the organs in question were acting in harmony with the views of the German Government. This is not the case. The German Government respects the liberty of the press here as at home. It has, how- 1870J THE RED SPECTRE 129 ever, up to the present recognised no Government in France ex- cept that of the Emperor Napoleon. Therefore until further notice it can only recognise the Imperial Government as author- ised to enter upon international negotiations." I give the following from my diary merely to show the genu- ine kindness and simple good-heartedness of our Chief. After living me my instructions he remarked that I had not been look- ing well ; and when I told him I had been rather unwell for the last few days, he inquired minutely into the details, and asked me whether I had consulted any doctor. I said I had not much faith in physicians. "Well," he replied, "they certainly are not of much use as a rule, and often only make us worse. But this is no laughing matter. Send to Lauer — he is really a good man. I cannot tell you how much my health owes to him during this campaign. Go to bed for a couple of days and you will be all right again. Otherwise you will have a relapse and may not be able to stir for three weeks. I often suffer in the same way, and then I take thirty to thirty-five drops from that little bottle on the chimney-piece. Take it with you, but bring it back again. And when I send for you tell me if you are not able to come and I will go to you. You can perhaps write in bed." Sunday, September nth. — The Chief's bottle has had an excellent effect. I was again able to rise early and work with ease. The contents of the communique ^qxq forwarded to the newspaper at Nancy as well as to the German press. It was pointed out, in correction of the remarks of the Kielcr Zcituug and the Berlin Volksscitnng, that Prussia did not conclude the Peace of Prague with France, but with Austria, and that, con- sequently, the French have as little to do with paragraph 5 as with any other paragraph of that treaty. In the course of the day one M. Werle called upon the I Chief. He was a tall, haggard man, with the red ribbon in his button-hole, which appears to be indispensable to every well- dressed Frenchman. He is understood to be a member of [the Legislative Thamoer, and a partner in the firm of Veuve iClicquot. He wished to speak to the Chief as to measures for pitigating the distress which prevailed in the town, and for Iproviding against popular riots. It was feared that the work- jing classes here, being in a state of ferment, would declare in VOL. I. — K 130 FAVRE "DOES NOT EXIST I'OR US" [Skit. favour of a Red Republic. As Reims was an industrial centre, with ten or twelve thousand oitvricrs within its walls, there might be general ground for apprehension on the withdrawal of our troops. That also was a thing one could have haroly dreamed of a month ago — German soldiers protecting the French from communism I After dinner I was summoned several times to the Chief to receive instructions. In Belgium and Luxemburg our wounded were received in an unfriendly manner, and it is .siis- pccted, probably not without reason, that ultramontane influ- ence is at the bottom of this conduct. Favre, " who does not exist for us," as the Chief declared to-day, has asked, indiroctlv through London, whether we are disposed to grant an armis- tice and to enter into negotiations. Favre seems to consider this question as very pressing. The Chancellor, however, does not. When Bolsing brought in the despatch from Bornstorff, stating that Lord Granville requested an early reply from the Chancellor of the Confederation to Favre's inquiry, the Minister simply remarked, " There is no hurry to answer this rubbish." After 10 P.M. the Chief joined us at tea. The conversation ultimately turned on the politics of recent years. The Chancellor said : " What I am proudest of, how- ever, is our success in the Schleswig-Holstein affair, in which the diplomatic intrigues would furnish matter for a play. In the first place, Austria could not well have sided with tlie Augustenburger in presence of her previous attitude as re- corded in the proceedings of the Germanic Diet, for which she was bound to show some regard. Then she wanted to find some tolerable way out of the embarrassment in which she had involved herself with the Congress of Princes at Frankfort. Immediately after the death of the King of Denmark I ex- plained what I wanted in a long speech at a sitting of the Council of State. The official who drew up the minutes of the sitting omitted the most important part of my speech; he must have thought that I had lunched too well and would be glad j if he left it out. But I took care that it was again inserted It was difficult, however, to carry my idea into execution. Everything was against it — Austria, the English, the small iSjo] BISMARCK AND WILLIAM I. 131 States — both Liberal and anti-Liberal, the Opposition in the Diet, influential personages at Court, and the majority of the Press. " Yes, at that time there was some hard fighting, the hardest being with the Court, and it demanded stronger nerves than mine. It was about the same at Baden-Haden before the Con- gress at Frankfort, when the King of Saxony was in leaden, and wanted our King to go to that Assembly. It was literally in the sweat of my brow that I prevented him from doing so." I asked the Chief, after some further remarks, if the King had really wished to join the other Princes. " He certainly did," replied the Minister, "and I only succeeded with the utmost difficulty in preventing him, literally hanging on to his coat- tails." The Chief then continued to the following effect: "His Majesty said he could not well do otherwise when a King had come to him as a courier to bring the invitation. All the women were in favour of his going, the Dowager Queen, the reigning Queen, and the Grand Duchess of Baden. I declared to the Dowager that I would not remain Minister nor return to Berlin if the King allowed himself to be persuaded. She said she was very sorry, but if I seriously meant that, she must surrender her own view and use her influence with the King in the other di- rection, although it was greatly opposed to her own convictions. The aitair was, however, still made quite disagreeable enough tor me. After the King of Saxony and Beust had been with him, his Majesty lay on the sofa and had an attack of hysterical weeping ; and when at length I had succeeded in wringing from him the letter of refusal, I vvas myself so weak and exhausted that I could scarcely stand. Indeed, I actually reeled as I left the room, and was so nervous and unhinged that in closing the outer door I tore off the handle. The aide-de-camp asked me if I was unwell. I said, ' No, I am all right again nozu.' I told Beust, however, that I would have the regiment stationed at Rastatt brought over to guard the house, and to prevent any- body else having access to the King in order to put fresh pres- sure upon him." Keudell also mentioned that the Minister had intended to get Beust arrested. It was getting late when the Chief had finished his narrative of those events, so he retired, saying: " Yes, gentlemen, a delicate nervous sy.stem has to en- I dure a good deal. I shall therefore be off to bed. Good night." 133 HKLLilAN ANlMOrtirV Lsw'i, u Monday, September \2th. — Engaged writing various para- graphs till noon. According to some of the German papers the Chief luul declared that in the battle of Sedan, Prussia's allies fouj^ht best. What he said, howevtir, was only that they cooperated in the best possible way. "The Belgians," said the Minister, "di.s. play such hatred towards us and such warm attachment for the French, that perhaps after all something might be done to sat- isfy them. It might at any rate be well to suggest that ar- rangements even with the present French Government arc not entirely out of the question, which would gratify Belgian yearn- ings towards France. Call attention," added the Chief, "to the fact that the present animosity in Belgium is due chiefly to ultramontane agitation." The liavarian Count Luxburg, who is staying with Kiihlwct- ter, has distinguished himself by his talent and zeal. In future he is to take part in the consideration of all important questions. A report has been received to the effect that Americci has offered her services as a mediator between ourselves and the new French Republic. This mediation will not be declined, and as a matter of fact would be preferred to that of any other State. It may be assumed that the authorities at Washin^^on are not disposed to interfere with our necessary military opera- tions, which would, however, probably be the consequence of such mediation. The Chief appears to have been for a consid- erable time past well disposed towards the Americans, and not long ago it was u: ; erstood that he hoped to secure permission to fit out ships in the American harbours against the French navy. Doubtless there is no longer any probability of this being done. To conclude from a communication which he has forwarded to Carlsruhe, the Minister regards the general situation as fol- lows : " Peace seems to be still very remote, as the Government in Paris does not promise to be permanent. When the proper moment for negotiations has arrived, the King will summon his allies to consider our demands. Our principal object is and remains to secure the South- Western German frontier against the danger of a French invasion, to which it has now been sub- jected for centuries. A neutral buffer State like Belgium or Switzerland would not serve our purpose, as it would unques- |S7"I lllK GL-KM OK llll', DREI KAISKK nUNUNlSS 133 tionably join France in case of a fresh outbreak of war. Metz and Strasbllr;,^ with an adequate portion of surrounding terri- tory, must belonj^ to all Germany, to serve as a protective bar- rier against the French. The partition of this territory between single States is inexpedient. The fact that this war has been waged in common cannot fail to have exercised a healthy influ- ence in other respects on the cause of German unity ; but never- theless Prussia will, as a matter of course, after the war as before it, respect the views of the South, and avoid even the suspicion of any kind of pressure. In this matter a great deal will depend upon the personal disposition and determination of the King of liavaria." Hefore dinner to-day Prince Luitpold of Havaria had a long interview with the Chief. In the evening at tea the Minister, referring to this interview, said : " The Prince is certainly a irood fellow, but I rather doubt whether he understood the his- torical and political statements which I made to him to-day." I have reason to believe that this interview was the begin- ning of negotiations (which were several times interrupted) between the Chancellor of the Confederation and the PLmperors of Austria and Russia, which gradually led to an understand- ing and finally resulted in the so-called Dm' Kaiser Biindniss, or Three Emperors' Alliance. The object of these " historical and political statements " was to induce Prince Luitpold to write a letter to his brother-in-law, the Archduke Albrecht, submit- ting ccrtpin views to the personal consideration of the Emperor Francis Joseph. This was one of the few ways in which it appeared possible for those considerations to reach the Em- peror's own ear in an ungarbled form. They were as foU'jws : Th'- turn which events have taken in Paris renders it possible to regard the present war between Germany and France as a defence of monarchical conservative principles against the re- publican and socialistic tenets adopted by the present holders of power in France. The proclamation of the Republic in Paris has been welcomed with warm approval in Spain, and it is to be expected that it will obtain a like reception in Italy. In that circumstance lies the great danger for those European States that are governed on a monarchical system. The best security for the cause of order and civilisation against this soli- darity of the revolutionary and republican elements would be a 134 AN ANTI-REVOLUTIONARY LEAGUE [SKl'i. closer union of those countries which, like Germany, Russia, and Austria, still afford a firm support to the monarchical princi- ple. Austria, however, can only be included in such an under- standing when it is recognised ni that country that the attempts hitherto made in the Cisieithan half of the monarchy to intro- duce a liberal System are based on a mistaken policy, jis :uc also the national experiments in a Polish direction. The ap- pointment of Klaczko, a I'olish literary man, to u position in which he is ir. close relations with Bcust, the Chancellor of the Empire, whose policy and tendency are well known, together with the latest declarations of Klaczko, must be regarded as indications of Beust's own views and intentions. This coopera- tion with the Polish revolutionists, together with the hostility to Russia which is manifested thereby, is for the Chancellor of the German Confederation a serious hindrance to good relations with Austria, and must at the same time be regarded as an indi- cation of hostility to ourselves. In connection with the above the position of the Cisieithan half of the dual State must be taken into consideration, and the difficulties which it presents cannot be overcome except by a conservative n[i;;ime. It is only through the frank adoption of relations of mutual confi- dence towards united Germany and Russia that Austria can find the support which she requires against revolutionary and centrifugal forces, a support which she has lost through the disastrous policy ot Count Beust. Prince Luitpold's letter giving exoression to these views failed to produce the desired result. It i.s irue that the Arch- duke Albrecht submitted it to the Emperor, but he showed it at the same time to Beust. His answer, which was ins])irecl by Beust, was in the main to the effect that Austria, so long as no special political advantages were offered by us, did not feel any need of support. If Prussia, as it would appear, regarded a rapprorhcmcnt with Austria as desirable or re(|uisitc, nothing had been heard so far as to what she had to offer in return tn the dual monarchy, whose interests were complex. The Mra- peror would gladly consider any suggestions that reached him in a direct way. The Tsar Alexander was informed of the attempt made in Vienna through the Bavarian Prince, his attention being at the same time called to the notorious understanding wiiich exi^)tJd i8;o] GENERAL VON BLUMENTIIAL 135 between the present Government in Paris and the revolutionary propagandists throii ,hout Europe. The desirability of a close cooperation of the Eastern Powers against this movement was urged upon him on the one hand, while on the other the neces- sity was pointed out for Germany to avoid, when concluding peace, anything which might look like disregard for the real requirements of the country in the matter of frontier protection and security, and thus give the German revolutionary party an opportunity of poisoning the public mind. The Tsar declared himself in perfect agreement with these views, and expressed a strong desire for the realisation of the proposed union of the monarchical elements against the revolutionary movement. Subsequently, after the insurrection of the communists in Paris, the progress of the International, upon which considera- ble stress was also laid in the Press, was used as a further argu- ment for the combination of the conservative Powers against the republican and socialistic pro ganda. This time the repre- sentations in question met with more success in Vienna. Tuesday, September 13///. — In the course of the forenoon I was called in to the Chancellor si.x times, and wrote as miiny paragraphs for the Press. Amongst them were two for the local French papers, which also received some information from us yesterday. Arrangements were made to secure the insertion of the portrait and biography of General von Hlumcnthal in the illustrated papers with which we entertain friendly relations, a distinction which he has well deserved. " So far as one can see," said the Chief, " the papers make no mention of him, Although he is chief of the staff to the Crown Prince, and, next after Moltke, deserves most credit for the conduct of the war. "I should like a grant to be made to him. He won the battles of Weissenhurg and Worth, and afterwards those of Beaumont and Sedan, as the Crown Prince was not always interfering with his plans, as Prince Frederick Charles did in 1866. The latter fancied that he understood a great deal about these matters." In the evening the Count sent for me once more. It was merely to show me a telegram, which he handed to me with a smile. It was a message from the Grand Duke of Weimar M the Grand Duchess, couched in the style of the King's i'spatches to the Queen, in which the Duke leported, "My I 1.^.6 MR. (AFILRWARDS SIR) EDWARD MALET [SKi-r, '4 army has fought very bravely." Greatness, like niurdor, will out. But still there are cases in which imitation had better bo avoided. On the 14th of September, shortly before 10 o'clock, wc started for Chateau Thierry, and reached Meaux on the next day. Before dinner we heard that a parlcnicntaiyc had arrived from Paris, a slight dark-haired young gentleman, who is now- standing in the courtyard before the Chief's house. From his language he would appear to be an Englishman. In the even- ing he has a long conversation with the Chief over a bottle of kirschwasser, and turns out to be Mr. Edward Malet, an attache of the British Embassy in Paris. As I had to pass through the ante-chamber I noticed the attendant, Engel, with his ear to the keyhole, curious to know what they were talking about. Ho had brought a letter to Lord Lyons asking whether the Count would enter into negotiations with P'aure as to the conditions of an armistice. The Chancellor is understood to have replied: "As to conditions of peace, yes; but not for an armistice."' I see from the letters ot some Berlin friends that many well- meaning and patriotic persons cannot bring themselves to ac- cept the idea that the conquered territory is not to be annexed to Prussia. According to a communication from Heinrich von Treitschke, of Freiburg, it is feared that Alsace and Lorraine may be handed over to Bavaria, and that a new dual system may thus arise. In a letter to the Chief he says : " It is obvious that Prussia alone is capable of once more Germanising the Teutonic provinces of P'rance." He refers to a " circumstance to which too little attention is paid in the North — namely, that all sen- sible men in South Germany desire to see Alsace handed ovor to Prussia;" and declares that "it is a great mistake if it is thought in the North that the South must be rewarded by an increase of territory and jjopulation." I cannot imagine whore Treitschke can have heard such erroneous views. So tar as I am aware they are held by none of our people. I fancy it is thought here that the South will be sufficiently rewarded in being at length secured against French lust of conquest. Other ideas of the writer can only be regarded as sound in certain circumstances. Our Chief's plan, to which I have previously referred, is unquestionably more just and better adapted to the ' In presence of later event* he con hardly have expressed himself in this way, iS-o] ALSACli-LORKAlXE TO lORM A REICIISL.VND 137 existing situation — namely, to make those provinces the com- mon property of all Germany. By taking that course the con- quered territory would not become an object of envy and a cause of dissatisfaction to Prussia's allies, but, on the contr:iry, would jcrvc as a bond of union between North and South. I hear from Willisch that certain apprehensions are enter- tained in Berlin, which are understood to originate in the (Htoiimge of the Queen. Owing to the anxiety occasioned by the blowing-up of the citadel at Laon, objections are raised to the King entering Paris, where, it is apprehended, something might happen to him. Wrangel has telegraphed in this sense to the Kmg, and it is stated that as a matter of fact his Majesty is now no longer inclined to go to Paris, and is disposed to await the further flevelopment of affairs at Rothschild's place in Ferriercs, whiL , lies about half-way between Meaux and Paris. Prince Hohcnlohe dines at our table, where the Chief also joins us after returning from dinner with the King. We learn that Reims will be the administrative centre of the French provinces occupied by our troops, with the exception of Alsace raid Lorraine. The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg is Governor- General, and will be at the head of the administration, and Hohenlohe will take a position under him. The Chief remarked to his cousin, who complained of not feeling well: "At your age" (Bohlen is now thirty-eight) "I was still as sound as a bell, and could take all sorts of liberties ivith myself. It was at St. Petersburg that my health first >prang a leak." Somebody furned the conversation on Paris and the subject of the I'rench and the A^sacians. The Chief gave his views on this matter very fully, u iressing his remarks to me at the close, which I took to be a permission, or a hint, that I should either i;i't his words or their purport into the newspapers. The .\lsacians and the Germans of Lorraine, he declared, supply France with numbers of capable men, especially for the army, [but they are not held of much account by the P'reuch, and sel- dom attain to high positions in the service of the State, while '.hey are laughed at by the Parisians, who make caricatures and ptories out of them, just as the Irish are laughed at in London. "Other French provincia.'iS are treated in the same way," added [the Minister, " if not quBte so badly. To a certain extent, 138 RUSSIA AN*D THE TREATV OF I'ARIS [•"ii:pr. '7 France is divided into two nations, tlie Parisians and the Pro- vinclals, and the latter are the voluntary helots of the lormer, The object to be aimed at now is the emancipation, the libera- tion, of France from Parisian rule. When a provincial tetls that he is capable of making a future for himself he comes to Paris, and is there adopted into, and becomes one of, the rulin:- caste. It is a question whether we should not oblige them to take back the Emperor as a punishment. That is still possible, as the peasants do not wish to be tyrannised from Paris. France is a nation of ciphers — a mere herd. The French are wealthy and elegant, but they have no individuality, no con- sciousness as individuals, but only as a mass. They are liki; thirty million obedient Kaffirs, each one of whom is in hinisel; featureless and worthless, not fit to be compared with Russians and Italians, to say nothing of ourselves. It was an easy task to recruit out of this impersonal, invertebrate mass a phalanx ready to oppress the remainder of the country so long as it was not united." Alter dinner wrote several paragraphs in accordance with the Chief's instructions and explanations. The subjects were: The German friends of the Republic — men like Jacobi, the socialistic democrats, and others holding similar views — wii] not hear of the annexation of French territory, being in the first place republicans, and only in a secondary sense, to a certain extent, German. The security afforded to Germany by the seizure of Strasburg and Metz is detestable to them, as it is a bulwark against the Ropublic which they want to see establishai, weakening their propaganda, and injuring their prospects on our side of the Rhine. They place thoir party higher than tluir country. They welcomed the opposition to Napoleon, because he was an opponent of their doctrines, but since he has been replaced by the Republic they have become F'renchmen in sentiment and disposition. Russia has expressed a desire for a revision of the treaty entered into as the result of her defeat i:; the Crimean War. The alterations proposed in cerlain pointsoi that instrument must be regarded as just. The Peace of Parisl includes conditions respecting the Black Sea which are untair,! in view of the fact that a great part of the coast belongs to| Russia. This must, however, be cautiously expressed. The conjecture that the Crown Prince is of opinion that thel iSjo] "NO SENTIMENT IN POLITICS" 139 Bavarians and Suabians, if they arc not disposed willingly to form part of united Germany, must be compelled to do so, is correct. He is inclined to act on the maxim, Dcr Bicn muss, I hear that at Donchery, or near that town, he had a long con- versation on the subject with the Chancellor, who declared him- self strongly against this idea. Satnrdiy, Sfptcmber \jtk. — I did a good deal of work this morning and afternoon from instructions received yesterday. Amongst other things, I embodied in an article the following ideas, which are very characteristic of the Chancellor's manner of thinking: — "The morning edition of the Nationil Zcifnni^ol September iith contains a paragraph entitled ' From VVilhelmshohe,' in which the writer, after lamenting the considerate treatment of the Prisoner of Sedan, falls into further errors. Nemesis should have shown no indulgence towards the man of December 2nd, the author of the laws of public safety, the prime mover in the Mexican tragedy, and the instigator of the present terrible war. The victor has been ' far too chivalrous.' That is the way in which the matter is regarded by ' public opinion,' as endorsed apparently by the writer. We do not in any way share those views. Public opinion is only too much disposed to treat politi- cal relations and events from the standpoint of private morals, and, amongst other things, to demand that in international con- iiicts the victor, guided by the moral code, should sit in judg- ment upon the vanquished, and impose penalties, not only for the transgressions of the latter towards himself, but also, if possible, towards others. Such a demand is entirely unjustifi- able. To advance it shovvs an utter misapprehension of the nature of political affairs, with which the conceptions of punish- ment, reward, and revenge have nothing in common. To accede to it would be to pervert the whole character of politics. Politics must leave to Divine Providence and to the God of Battles the punishment of princes and peoples for breaches of the moral law. The statesman has neither the authority nor the cbligation to assume the ofifice of judge. In all circumstances the solo question he has to consider is what, under the conditions given, is to the advantage of the country, and how that advan- tage is to be best secured. The kindlier affeotiitus have as little iplacein the calculations of politics as they have in those of trade. 140 EXFKDIENCY THE SOLE (JUIDE [f'Kir. I It is not the business of politics to seek vengeance for what has been done, but to take precautions that it shall not be don- again. Applying these principles to our case, and to our con- duct towards the vanquished and imprisoned Emperor of the French, we take the liberty to ask by what right are we tc punish him for the 2nd of December, the law of public safctv, and the occurrences in Mexico, however much we may dis. approve of those acts ? Political principles do not even permit us to think of taking revenge for the present war, of which \v. was the author. Were we to entertain such an idea, then it i^ not alone on Napoleon but almost on every single Frenchman that we should wreak the Blucher-like vengeance mentioned hv the National Zcitum^ ; for the whole of France, with her thirtv- five million inhabitants, showed just as much approval of, and enthusiasm for, this war as for the Mexican expedition. Ger- many has simply to ask herself the further question, which more advantageous in the present circumstances, to treat Napo- leon well or ill .-' And that, we believe, is not difficult to answer. Upon the same principles we also acted in 1866. If certain o; the measures taken in that year and certain provisions in the Treaty of Prague could be regarded as acts of revenge for former affronts, and punishments for the offences that led tn the war in question, the parties affected by those measures and conditions were not exactly those who had deserved the severos: punishment or had done most to e.xcitc a desire for vengeana. Herr von Beust's Saxony suffered no reduction of territory i;; consequence of that crisis, and Austria just as little." Thi.j last sentence, which appeared literally as it now stands in the Chief's instructions, was afterwards struck out by him. Hc[ remarked with a smile, " It is better not to mention names." Sioufay, September iSt/i. — Early in the day wrote pan-i graphs for Berlin, Hagenau, and Reims, dealing, infer alia, with! F'avre's declaration that " La Republique c'est la paix." Itwasj in the main to the following effect. During the last forty yearsi France has always declared herself in favour of peace in evorvj form, and has invariably acted in an entirely contrary spirit. I Twenty years ago the Empire declared peace to be its idcaJ and now the Republic does the same. In 1829 Lcgitimaqi made a similar declaration, and at the same time a l*>ano> Russian alliance was concluded with the object of attackiid iS/O] UUCRUl'S "INFAMOUS" ESCAPE 141 Germany ; and the execution of that plan was only prevented bvthe Rcvohition of 1830. It is also known that the " peaceful " administration of the "Citizen King" desired to seize the Rhine in 1840; and it will be remembered that under the Empire France has conducted more wars than under any other form of ;'Overnmcnt. These facts show what we have to expect from y. Favre's assurances respecting his Republic. Germany has one answer to all these representations, namely, '* La France cast la guerre ! " and will act in accordance with that convic- tion in demanding the cession of Metz and Strasburg. The Minister joined us at lunch to-day, at which two dragoon ;'iiardsmen were also present. Both wore the Iron Cross. One of them, Lieutenant Philip von Bismarck, was the Chan- cellor's nephew, an official of the Supreme Court of Judicature in times of peace. The Chief asked him whether the I'rince of Hohenzollern, who was attached to the Lieutenant's regiment, was "also a soldier, or merely a Prince.''" The answer was iavourable. The Minister replied : " I am glad of that. The fact of his having announced his election as King of Spain to ills superior officer, in accordance with the regulations, impressed 1 me in his favour." The conversation turned upon the cost of maintaining Na- Ipoleon at Wilhelmshohe, which is stated to be something I enormous. On this the Chief remarked: "It is at the Queen's instance that Napoleon has been allowed to maintain a Court at Itiie King's expense. His Majesty had only proposed to give Ihimone domestic who was to keep watch over him. But he himself observed to me that women are always addicted to I extravagance." Mention was made of General Ducrot, who was taken Iprisoner at Sedan, and who, being allowed greater liberty on Ipledging his word not to escape, disgraced himself by abscond- pi; on the way to Germany. The Chief remarked : " When lone catches scoundrels of that kind who have broken their wd (of course, I don't blame those who get away without it), ky ought to be strung up in their red breeches with the word '^ivjiirc written on one leg, and Infdvic on the other. In the meantime that must be put in its proper light in the press. The fellow must be shown up." The barbarous manner in khich the French were conducting the war having been again 142 SOUTH GLRMANY [Stn. 1.;, isju referred to, the Minister said : " If you peel the white hide off that sort of Gaul you will find a Turco under it." Added later. — Von Suckow, the Wtirtembcrg Minister of War, has been a considerable time with the Chief to-day, and it is understood that the German cause is making excellent pro . ress amongst the Suabians. Things appear to be goinmallcr one of the ame corridor as a breakfast and dining- room. Baron Rothschild was in Paris, and only left behind him three or four female domestics and a housekeeper, who i-ave himL-elf great airs of importance. It was already dark when the Chiel arrived, and shortly after we sat down to dinner. While we were still at table a message was received from Favre, asking when he could come to continue the negotiations. He had a conference tctc-a-tcte with the Chancellor in our bureau from 9.30 p.m. until after 1 1. On leaving he looked distressed, crestfallen, almost in desj^air -my diary remarks that possibly this expression was assumed with the object of impressing the Minister. In connection with the news that the King has gone to Claycs in order to prevent an attack being made by our troops, the Chief, in the course of conversation at dinner, said, among.st other things, that " many ot our generals have abused the de- votion of the troops in order to secure victory." " Possibly," he added, " the hard-hearted reprobates of the general staff are right when they say that even if the whole five hundred thou- sand men whom we have now in France were to be wiped out, [that should merely be regarded as the loss of so many pawns, so ag as we ultimately won the game. It is very simple strategy, liiowever, to plunge in head foremost in that way without count- ling the cost. Altogether, those who conduct the operations are lotten not worth much — armchair strategists. A plan is pre- pared in which the whole calculation is based first of all upon Ithe extraordinary qualities of both soldiers and regimental of- Ifcers. It is these w ho alone have achieved everything. Our kaccess is due to the fact that our soldiers arc physically stronger pan the French, that they can march better, have more pa- tience and sense of duty, and are more impetuous in attack. If pcMahon had commanded Prussian soldiers and Alvensleben frenchmen, the latter would have been defeated — although he VOL. I. — L 146 KU rUSCHlLD'b " llUSi'lTALI'l-Y " LSKI'I. 21 is my friend." " It is no longer possible, as it was in the Seven Years' War, to direct a battle from the saddle — the armies arc too large. There is also no genuine cooperation and niutua! assistance. Battles begin usually like those described by Homer. Some of the men commence with small provocations, and <;o o,i taunting each other, then they begin to shoot ; the others see this and rush forward, and so finally the engagement becomes general." " The plan of surrounding the enemy is the right one, and properly speaking that was only adopted at Sedan. The engagement of the i6th at Mctz was quite coircct, asit was necessary there at any cost to prevent the French from escaping. The sacrifice of the guards on the i8th, however, was not necessary. It was a piece of pure folly, occasioned by jealousy of the Saxons. They ought to have waited at Saint Privat until the Saxons had completed their manoeuvre fur cutting off the enemy." Keudell and Bohlen afterwards ascribed this unfavourable criticism to a quarrel which the Chief had had with Moitke at Reims. While still at table we had a specimen of the hospitality and gentlemanly feeling of the Baron, whose house is honoured by the presence of the King, and whose property has, in con- sequence, been treated with every consideration. M. dc Roths- child, the hundredfold millionaire, who, moreover, waj;, until recently, the Prussian Consul General in Paris, has declined, through his housekeeper, to let us have the wine we require, although I informed that functionary that it would be paid for, just as everything else was. When summoned before the Chief, he had the audacity to persist in his refusal, first denying abso- lutely that there was any wine in the house, and afterwards , admitting that there were a few hundred bottles of a common | Bordeaux. As a matter of fact, there were some seventeen j thousand bottles. The Minister, however, explained the situa- tion to him in a few sharp words, pointing out how niggardly! and discourteous it was of his master to requite the King in] such manner for the honour done to him in taking up his qiiar-, ters there. As the fellow still seemed obstinate, the Chancellorl asked him sternly if he knew what a bundle of straw was. The! man made no answer, but seemed to suspect what it meant, asl he became deadly pale. He was then informed that it v,::i| 3 Republic sire to utilise f'l'it country I^fench thems \ir>] THE FU'lURK OF FRANCE 147 ling ''III lis quar- lancel'orl . The leant, s5| it v;/i| a contrivance on which obstinate and impudent housekeepers were laid face downwards — he could imagine the rest for himself. Next day we got everything that we required, and so far as I am aware, there was no further cause of complaint. Next morning the Chief came into the cliambrc dc chasse of the chateau, which we occupied as our bureau. Turning over the game book which lay on the table he pointed out the entry for the 3rd of November, 1856, which showed that he himself, with Galiffet and other guests, had that day shot forty-two head of game — fourteen hares, one rabbit, and twenty-seven pheas- ants. He is now engaged with Moltke and others in chasing D nobler quarry — the bear to which he referred at Grand Pr6. At 1 1 o'clock the Chief had his third meeting with Favre, after which followed a conference with the King, at which Moltke and Roon were also present. In the evening I was called to the Chief, who had not appeared at table, and who, it was understood, did not feel quite well. A narrow stone winding stair, which was distin- i;iiished with the title, " Escalier particulier de M. le Baron," led to a very elegantly furnished room, where I found the Chancellor sitting on the sofa in his dressing gown. Wednesday, September 2\st. — As the Chief had recovered from his indisposition, we had plenty to do, and though most of it cannot be made public, I am now at liberty to quote the fol- lowing passage from my diary : — "The imperial emigrants in London have established an organ, La Situation, to represent their interests. Its contents are to be reproduced in the newspapers we have founded in the eastern districts of France, but the sources are to be so indi- cated as not to identify us with the views therein expressed : !>., it must be understood that we are not endeavouring to pro- mote the restoration of the Emperor. Our object is merely to maintain the sense of insecurity and discord between the vari- ous French parties, which are all equally hostile to us. The retention of the imperial symbols and formulas in despatches will prove of service in this respect; otherwise Napoleon or a Republic is a matter of indifference to us. We merely de- sire to utilise the existing chaos in France. The future of jthat country does not concern us. It is the business of the French themselves to shape it as best they can. It is only of 143 FAVRE SnilDS TEAKS l-'^tl'l. 22 importance to us in so far as it affects our own interests, the furtherance of which must be the guiding principle in politics generally," Under instructions from the Chief I telegraphed in the above sense to the principal officials at Nancy and Hagenau. At tea some further particulars were given of the last con- ference between the Chancellor and Jules Favre. Favro was, it seems, informed that we could not communicate to him the exact conditions of peace until they had been settled at a cim- ference of the German Powers engaged in the wrr. N e>"(->^ II ar- rangement could be come to, however, without a cession of territory, as it was absolutely essential to us to have a l)cltL'r frontier as security against French attack. The conference turned less upon peace and its conditions than on the nature of French concessions, in consideration of which we might a^icc to an armistice. On the mention of a cession of territory Favro became terribly excited, drew a deep sigh, raised his eyes td heaven, and even shr ^ some patriotic tears. The Chief does not expect that he will return. Doubtless an answer in this sense has been forwarded to the Crown Prince, who tele- graphed this mornuig to ask whether he should attend the negotiations. Thursday, September 22fi(i, eveninc^. — The French arc inde- fatigable in denouncing us to the world as cruel and destructive barbarians; and the pjiglish press — particularly the ShvtdarJ, which is notoriously hostile to us — willingly lends thcni its assistance. The grossest calumnies respecting our conduct tow- ards the French population and the prisoners in our hands arc circulated almost daily by that newspaper, and always purport to come either from eye-witnesses or other well-informed sources Thus, for instance, the Due de Fit/James recently drew a hor- rible picture of the abominations of which vvc had been guihy in Bazeilles, adding the assurance that he exaggerated nothiiij;; and a M. L., who represents himself to be a French officer whom we had captured at Sedan and subjected to ill-treatmc;!t, complains in a lamentable tone of Prussian inhumanity. Bern- storff sent the article in question to the Chief, with the sugges- tion that the charges should be refuted. The complaint of M L. might, perhaps, be left to answer itself, but that of the Duke is calculated to affect even those across the Channel who arc "f any such i^'it'k into thi French terroi "s. In this w f'lc Iiittcr V-f" iSyoj TIIK IKl 111 Al'.OlT l!A/.i;iI.I,KS 149 Jisposed in our fiivour. Hcsides, iripuclenf calumny is always apt to leave some traces behind it. A rofutal of these shameful slanders is accordingly being despatched to-day to certain Lon- don newspapers that are friendly to us. As the greater part of this conmiunication was dictated by the Chief, it is worthy of special attention. "In this war, as in every other, a great number of villages have been burned down, mostly by artillery fire, German as well as French. In these cases women and children who had soiij;ht refuge in the cellars and had not escaped in time lost their lives in the flames. That was also the case in IJazeilles, which was several times stormed by our infantry. The Due lie Fitzjames is only an eye-witness so far as the ruins of the village are concerned, whi; h. he saw after the battle, just as thousands more saw and regretted its fate. All the rest of his report is based on the stories of the unfortunate and exasper- ated villagers. In a country where even the Government has developed an unexampled talent for systematic lying, it is not to be expected that angry peasants, standing on the ruins of their homes, would bear truthful witness against their enemies. It is established by official re]iorts that the inhabitants of Bazcilles, not in uniform but in their blouses and shirt-sleeves, tired out of their windows at our troops and wounded soldiers, and that they killed whole batches of the latter in their houses. It has been likewise proved that women armed with knives and guns were guilty cf the greatest cruelty towards the fatally wounded, and that other women, certainly not in the uniform of the National Guards, took part in the fight with the male inhabitants, loading their rifles and even firing themselves, and that, like the other combatants, some of them were in these circumstances wounded or killed. Naturally these particulars were not communicated to the Due de Fitzjames by his in- formant. They would have fully excused the burning of the village even if it had been done intentionally with the object of torcing the enemy out of that position. Hut there is no evidence of any such intention. That women and children were driven back into the fire is one of those infamous lies with which the French terrorise the population, and incite their hatred against us. In this way they cause the peasants to fly on our approach. The latter return, however, as a rule, a few days after the 1 ISO IKENCIJ. I'ALSEHOODS [Seit. 22 entrance of the Germans, and are astounded to find that thev are better treated by them than by the French troops. When this sort of terrorism is not sufficient to force the inhabitants to flight, the Government sends a mob of armed civilians, souk- times supported by African troops, to drive the peasants from their homes at the point of the sword, and to burn down their houses as a punishment for their want of patriotism. Thi; letter of "an imprisoned officer" (Bouillon, September 9th) also contains more falsehood than truth. With respect to the tr-^.atment of the prisoners, Germany can call 150,000 bettor witnesses than this anonymous and mendacious officer, whose whole communication is merely an expression of the vindictive disposition which will for a long time to come inspire the vain and arrogant elements of the French people, by whom, un- fortunately, that country allows itself to be ruled and led. From this spirit of revenge arises the certainty of further attacks on the part of France, for which Germany must be pre- pared. We are thus unquestionably compelled to think solely of the security of our frontier in concluding peace. It is true, as stated in the letter of this imprisoned officer, M. L., that there was a scarcity of provisions after the surrender of Sedan, not only for the prisoners, but also for the victors, who shared with them what they had. When their own stock was ex- hausted, the prisoners also had to do without. L.'s complaint that he had been obliged to bivouac in the rain and mud fur- nishes the best evidence that he is no officer, and has not even followed the campaign up to that point. He is some hirelino; scribe who has never left his own room, and one must therefore assume that the man's whole story of his imprisonment is an invention ; as had he been an officer in the field, he would have known that most of his comrades (that is certainly the case with the Germans) have spent at least thirty nights out of the forty or so that have elapsed since the beginning of the war, under similar conditions. When it rained in the night they had to lie in the rain, and when the ground was muddy they had to lie in the mud. Only one who had not followed the campaign could have any doubt or manifest any surprise on that score. That M. L. prides himself on having retained his 'yather purse is the clearest proof that he was not plundered There can hardly be a single soldier who, if he happens to lS"0] now riiK KKENcii tiu;at i'iieir i'risoxl:rs 151 have money, does not carry it just as M. L. carried his, and in just such a purse ; so that if our men had wanted his money, they must have known very well where to find it. The few Germans who fell into French hands can tell how quickl}' their opponents could open a prisoner's tunic, and if his purse w.is ;i httle too firmly fastened on, hack it off with their sabres or a knife, without paying too much regard to his skin. We declare the assertions respecting the ill-treatment of prisoners at Sedan to be wilful and audacious lies. A great number of tlie French prisoners, perhaps one-fourth, were in a state of bestial drunk- enness, having during the last few hours before the cai)itulati()ii plundered the wine and brandy stores in the town. It is obvi- ous that it is not so easy to manage men in a state of drunken- ness as when they are sober, but such ill-treatment as the article describes occurred neither at Sedan nor elsewhere, owing to the discipline which prevails amongst the Prussian troops. It is well known that this discipline has won the admiration of the French officers themselves. Unfortunately one cannot speak as highly of the French soldiers in this respect as with regard to their gallantry in action. The French officers have on sev- eral occasions been unable to prevent their men from murder- ing; severely wounded soldiers, even when individual officers of hijjh rank endeavoured at the risk of their own lives to defenil the wounded, and that was not merely the case with African regiments. It is known that the German prisoners who were taken into Metz were spat upon and struck with sticks and stones on their way through the streets, and on their release had to run the gauntlet of a double line of African soldiers, who beat them with canes and whips. We can prove these facts by official records, which have more claim to credence than the anonymous letter of M. L. But are such things to be wondered at when the newspapers of a city like Paris, which now implores considerate treatment on the hypocritical plea of civilisntion, can propose, without eliciting the slightest protest, I that when the French troops are unable to take our wounded ivith them they should split their heads open ; and further, that [the Germans should be used like dead wolves to manure their "elds } The utter barbarism of the French nation, covered 'vith a thin veneer of culture, has been fully disclosed in this lur. French insolence formerly said, ' Grattez le Russe et ,A^ 1 152 GERMANY'S NATIONAL COLOURS [Sept. 2: vous trouvcro/- le barbarc' Whoever is in a position to com- pare the conduct ol the Russians towards their enemies in the Crimean War, v/iili that of the French in the present campajc^n can have no doubt that this statement recoils upon its authors," When he had finished, the Minister added : — " Write to Bernstorff that I decline in future to notice any suggestion for entering into a controversy with English newspapers. The Ambassador must act on his own responsibility." Just as we sat down to table, one of the Court officials announced that the Crown Prince proposed to come to dinner and to stay for the night. The Prince's secretary at the time asked that the bureau and the large salon next the Chancollor's room should be prepared for the five gentlemen who accom- panied his Royal Highness. The Chief replied, " We cannot give up the bureau, as we want it for our work." He then placed his dressing-room at their disposal, and further proposed that either Blumenthal or Eulenburg should sleep in his bed- room. He required the salon for the reception of the French negotiators and any Princes who might call upon him. The Court official went off, pulling a long face, and was impertinent enough to make some remarks in the corridor about "dis- courtesy " and so forth. Count Lehndorff dined with us, and the conversation was very lively. Some allusion having been made to Frederick the Great's statue in Unter den Linden, which had been decorated with black, red, and yellow flags, the Minister condemned Wurmb for allowing this controversy to be stirred up. "This stupid quarrel about the colours should not have been reopened, and it once more proves Wurmb's incapacity. For me the question is settled and done with since the North German flag has been adopted. Otherwise this battle of colours is a matter of indifference to me. As far as I am concerned they may k green, yellow, and all the colours of a fancy dress ball, or they can take the banner of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Only the Prus- sian soldier will have nothing to do with the black, red, nnd yellow." The Chief then spoke of the peace, which he still considered remote, adding: — "If they (the French Government) go toj Orleans, we shall follow them there, and further — right down to the seashore." He read out some telegrams, including one j |870] TIIIO STUDY OF LATIN AND GRKEK 153 .riving a list of the troops in Paris. " There arc supposed to be 180,000 men in all, but there are hardly 60,000 real soldiers amongst them. The mobile and national guards with their snuff-bo.xes (a reference to their obsolete weapons) are not to be reckoned as soldiers." I asked if I should telegraph about the report of artillery and rifle fire in the streets of Paris, which people fancied they had hcar^. He said I was to do so. '' But not yet, I suppose, about the negotiations with Favrc.'" " Yes," he replied, and then went on as follows: — "First at Hautc-Maison, near Montry, then the same evening at Fcrrieres, and next day a third conversation, but without effect, as regards the armistice and the peace. Other P'rench parties have also entered into ne{,^otiations with us," he caid, and gave some indications from which I gathered that he referred to the PImprcss Eugenie. Something else led him to speak of his skill in shooting. He said that as a young man he could hit a sheet of paper with a pistol at a hundred yards, and had shot off the heads of ducks in the pond. He then mentioned that he had again complained to Tre- skow of the " short commons at the Royal table," at which Treskow pulled a long face. " But if I am to work well I must have sufficient food. I cannot make a proper peace if I do not get enough to eat and drink. That's a necessity of my trade, and therefore I prefer to dine at home." The conversation then turned on the dead languages — I cannot now say how. " When I was in the first class at the high school," he said, " I was able to write and speak Latin very well. I should now find it extremely difficult ; and I have quite forgotten Greek. I cannot understand why people take so much trouble with these languages. It must be merely be- cause learned men do not wish to lessen the value of what they have themselves so laboriously acquired." I ventured to remind him of the mental discipline thus provided. The Chief replied, "Yes; but if you think Greek is a disciplina mentis, the Rus- sian language is far better in that respect. It might be intro- duced instead of Greek — and it has immediate practical value in addition." We then spoke of the way in which the Schleswig-Holstein question was treated by the Bundestag in the fifties. Count 154 AN ABOKTIVK ( IIALLKNGE [Skit. 22 Bismarck-Bohlen, who had come in in the meantime, remarked that those debates must have been '^ill enough to send every one to sleep, " Yes," said the Chiei " in Frankfort they slept over the negotiations with Lheir eyes wpen. Altogether it was a sleepy and insipid crowd, and things only became endurable after I had added the pepper." He then told us a delightful story about Count Rechberg, who was at that time Austrian Minister to the Bundestag. "On one occasion he said some- thing to me which I was obliged to answer very roughly. He replied that unless I withdrew my words it would be a case of going out on to the Bockenheimer Haide (a place where it was customary to settle affairs of honour). ' I never withdraw my words,' said I, carelessly, 'so we must settle it in that way, and it occurs to me that the garden down stairs would be a very suitable place. But in order that people may not think that I represent my King pistol in hand, without further cere- mony I shall write down here the cause of our quarrel. After you have read it over you will sign it, and thus testify to its correctness. In the meantime there is one of our officers lodg- ing here who will oblige me, and you can choose one of your own officers.' I ran?; che bell and sent word to the officer, requesting him to call upon me ; and then went on writing while Rechberg strode up and down the room — and gluck, gluck, gluck (here the Minister mimicked the act of drinking) he swallowed one glass of water after another. Of course not because he was afraid, but because he was considering whether he ought not first to ask permission of his Government. I quietly continued to write. The officer came and said he would gladly oblige me. I begged him to wait a moment. On my return Rechberg said he would think over the matter until morning, to which I agreed. As I did not hear from him next day, however, I sent the Mecklenburg Minister, old Oertzen, to deliver a formal challenge. Oertzen was told he was not at home. He went again next day, but Rechberg was still not to be seen. He had evidently written to Vienna and was wait- ing for an answer. At length Oertzen came to me after having spoken to him. Rechberg was prepared to withdraw what ho had said and offer an apology, either in writing or verbally, just as I liked. He would also come to me if I wished. I went to his place, however, and the affair was settled." iSjo] THE HISTORICAL CIGAR 155 I asked him then about the celebrated story of the cigars. "VVhich do you mean?" "Why, about the cigar which you lit, Excellency, when Rechberg was smoking in your presence." "Thun, you mean. Yes, that was very simple. I went to him while he was at work, and he was smoking. He begged me to excuse him for a moment. I waited a while and finding it rather slow, as he did not offer me a cigar, I took one ot my own and asked him for a light — which he gave me with rather a surprised look. But I have another story of the same kind. At the sittings of the Military Commission, when Rochow rep- resented Prussia at the Bundestag, Austria was the only one who smoked. Rochow, who was passionately addicted to smok- ing, would gladly have done the same, but had not sufificient confidence. When I came I also felt a longing for a cigar, and as I could not see why I should deny myself I begged the pre- siding power to give me a light, apparently much to his and the other gentlemen's astonishment and displeasure. It was evidently an event for them all. For the time being only Austria and Prussia smoked. But the remaining gentlemen obviously considered the matter of so much importance that they wrote home for instructions as to how they were to act in the circumstances. The authorities were in no hurry. The affair was one that demanded careful consideration, and for nearly six months the two great powers .smoked alone. Then Schrenkh, the Bavarian Minister, began to assert the dignity of his office by lighting his weed. Nostitz, the Saxon, had cer- tainly a great desire to do the same, but had probably not yet received the permission of his Minister. On seeing Bothmer, of Hanover, however, allow himself that liberty, Nostitz, who was strongly Austrian in his sympathies, having sons in the .\ustrian army, must have come to an understanding with Rech- berg, with the result that he too at the next sitting pulled out his cigar case and puffed away with the rest. Only the repre- sentatives of Wurtemberg and Darmstadt now remained, and they were non-smokers. The honour and dignity of their Slates, however, imperiously demanded that they should follow Isiiit, and so as a matter of fact the Wurtcmberger pulled out la cigar at the next sitting — I can still see it in my mind's leye, a long, thin, yellow thing of the colour of rye straw — land smoked at least half of it as a burnt-offering on the altar 156 I'AVUK Kl-:jKCrs HISMAKCK'S DDMANDS [>ii:i'i. 2fi of patriotism. Hesse-Darmstadt was the only one who tinallv refrained — probably conscious that he was not strong enough to enter into rivalry witl. the others." ^ Friday, Scptonbcr 21m. — Beautiful weather this morning. I took a walk in the park before the Chief got up. On my re- turn I met Keudcll, who called out •* War ! A letter from Kavre rejecting our demands. The Chief has given instructions to communicate the letter to the press with certain coninient> hinting that the present occupant of Wilhelmshohe is after all not so bad and might be of use to us." The conversation afterwards turned on Pomeranian affairs, and the Chief spoke amongst other things of the great estate of Schmoldin. The former proprietor had become bankrupt through treating the people on the estate — mostly Slav fisher- men and sailors — with too much consideration. The place, which consisted of about 8000 acres of arable land, and 12,000 to 16,000 acres of forest and downs, worth at least 200,000 thalers, was purchased by the Royal Treasury for 80,000 thalcrs. The change of proprietors had not benefited the tenants, as there was no question of forbearance or abatements. Many of them have fallen into a state of pauperism, and instead of being provided for by the Royal Treasury, they have become a burden on the local authorities. That is not as it ougiit to be. It was believed that Obstfelder was to blame for this hard and unfair treatment. Saturday, Scptcvibcr 24th. — The Minister spoke at dinner about the ostentatious decorations of the great hall of the chateau, which he had now seen for the first time. Amongst other things it contains a throne or table which some French marshal or general inadvertently packed up with his baggai;c somewhere in China, or Cochin China, and afterwards sold to our Baron. The Chief's verdict was : — "All extremely costly. but not particularly beautiful, and still less comfortable." He then continued: — "A ready-ma'-'e property like this would nrt give me any genuine satisfaction It was made by others and not by myself. True, there are many things in it really beauti- ful, but one misses the pleasure of creating and altering. It is iThe WUrtemherger was Von Reintiard.and the Darmirtaponents of Prussia. iSjo] DISCUSSING THK JEWS 157 jlso quite a different thing when I have to ask myself if I can aitoid to spend live or ten thousand thalcrs on this or that inipiovement, and when there is no need to thini< about the (•ost, In the end it must become tiresome to have always enough and more than enough." In an article w ctcn this evening we returned to our good friends the French ultramontanes, who are as active in war as they had been in peace in opposing the German cause, inciting people against us, circulating lies about us in the newsj^apcrs, and oven leading the peasants to take up .urns against our troops ;'.s at Heaumont and Uaxcilles. Sunday, Scptcmlur 25///. — At tahU: we somehow came to discuss the Jews. " They have nc u\il homo," said the Chief. "They are international — iMiropvwUH, cosmopolitms, noinads. Their fatherland is /ion, Jovv\.s,diM\\ Otherwise thev arc citi- zens of the whole world, and hold together everywh .mo. Thore are amongst then\ some g(^^Hl, honest people, as for instance one ;U owv own place \u Vomerania, who traded in hides and such things. lUisinoss cannot have pvosporod with him, as he becanii' bankrupt, lie begged of me not to press my claim, and promi.sed that ho would pay by instalments, when he could, yielding to my old habit, I agreed, and he actually paid off the debt. I received instalments from him while I was still in Frankfort as Minister to the Bundestag, and I believe that if I lost anything at all, I must have lost less than his other cred- itors. Certainly not many such Jews are to be met with in our large towns. They have also their own special virtues. They are credited with respect for their parents, faithf ul»ess in mar- riage, and benevolence." Monday, September 26th. — In the morning wrote various paragraphs for the press on the follov/ing theme : — It is urged that \vc cannot be allowed to bombard Paris, with its numerous museums, beautiful public buildings and monuments ; that to do so would be a crime against civilisation. But why not } Paris is a fortress, and if it has been filled with treasures of art, if it possesses magnificent palaces and other beautiful structures, that does not alter this character. A fortress is an instrument for warlike operations which must be rendered powerless with- out regard to whatever else may be bound up with it. If the French wanted to preserve their monuments and collections of 158 WHY Nor HOMUAKD TARIS? [SKI' \.iu books and pictures from the clangers of war, they should not have surrounded them with fortifications. Besides, the Frcncl: themselves did not hesitate for a moment to bombard Romr, which contained monuments of far greater value, the dcstriic- tion of which would be an irretrievable loss. Also sent off an article on the bellicose tendencies of the French radicals pre vious to the declaration of war, for use in our newspapers in Alsace. At dinner, as we were discussing military matters, the Chief declaied, vitcr alia, that the Uhlans were the best cavalrv. The lance gave the men great self-confidence. It was urj:;cd that it was a hindrance in getting through underwood, but tha; was a mistake. On the contrary, the lance was useful in mov- ing aside the branches. He knew that from experience, as, although he first served in the rifles, he was afterwards in the Landwehr cavalry. The abolition of the lance in the entire mounted Landwehr was a blunder. The curved sabre was not much use, particularly as it was often blunt. The straight thrusting sword was much more practical. After dinner a letter was received from Favre, in which he requested, first, that notice should be given of the commence- ment of the bombardment of Paris, in order that the diplomat!. corps might remove ; and, second, that the city should be per- mitted to remain in communication with the outer world bv letter. Abeken said, as he brought the letter down from the Chief's room, that the answer would be sent by way of Brussels " But then the letter will arrive late or not at all, and be re- turned to us," observed Keudell. "Well, that does not matter,' answered Abeken. From the further conversation it appears that the answer agrees to the French proposals under certain conditions. In the evening I was again called to the Chief on several occasions to take instructions. Amongst other things, I ascer- tained that, " While Favre's report respecting his interviews with the Chancellor shows, it is true, a desire to give a faithfiii account of what passed, it is not quite accurate, which is no: surprising in the circumstances, especially as there were three different meetings." In his statement the question of an armis- tice occupies a secondary position, whereas, in fact, it was the chief point. Favre was prepared to pay a considerable cash isyo] NEWbl'Al'KRS FOR THE KING 159 indemnity. In the matter of a truce two alternatives were dis- cussed. F"irst, the surrender to us of a portion of the fortifi- cations of Paris, namely, at a point which would give us the coniuumd of the city, we on our part to allow free communica- tion with the outer world. The second was thai we should forego that condition, but that Strasburg and ioul should be surrendered to us, Wc put forward the latter demand because the retention of these towns in the hands of the French in- creases our difficulties of commissariat transi)ort. The Chan- cellor stated that with respect to a cession of territory, he could only disclose its extent and frontiers when our demand had been accepted in principle. On Favre rec( losting to have at least an indication of what we proposed in this res])cct, he was informed that for our security in the future we rcciuircd Stras- burg, "the key of our house," the departments of the upper and lower Rhine, Metz, and a portion of the Moselle depart- ment. The object of the armistice was to submit the question of peace to a National Assembly to be summoned for the purpose. Again called to the Chief. " The King wishes to sec some of the newspapers, and he desires to have the most important passages marked. I have proposed Brass to him, and when the papers come, put that one (the NorddciitscJie AUgcuicinc Zcitnng) always aside for him." He added, smiling, " Just mark some places for the sake of appearances, it does not much matter what, and send me up the paper." At tea we hear a great piece of news: — the Italians have occupied Rome, the Pope and the diplomatists remaining in the Vatican. Tuesday, September 2yth. — Bolsing, on the Chief's instruc- tions, shows me the answer to Favre's letter, which the Minister has re-written in a shorter and more positive form. It says : I. — It is not usual in war to announce 'the commencement of an attack; 2. — A besieged fortress does not appear to be a suitable residence for diplomatists ; open letters containing nothing objectionable will be allowed to pass. It is hoped that the corps diplumatiqnc will agree with this view of the matter. They can go to Tours, whither it would appear the French Gov- ernment also intends to remove. The answer is written in Ger- man, a course already begun by Bernstorff, but which was •iU V^„ '- ^o. .o.A'^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 3 / O 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■^ lU 1 2.2 S Ul 1110 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation C^ «^ 5>' r^ rx> [V <* .. ^ -f^. <^^ ^ «> 23 WIST MAIN STREIf WiBSTIR.N.Y. 14380 (716) 873-4503 '.^"^i^s w.. % ^% w rf-a i6o FAVRE'S TEARS [Seit. 27 carried out more consistently by Bismarck. " Formerly," said Bolsing, " most of the Secretaries in the Foreign Office be- longed to the French colony, of which Roland and Uelacroix still remain. Almost all the Councillors also wrote in that language. Even the register of the despatches was kept in French, and the Ambassadors usually reported in that lan- guage." Now the speech of the " vile Gaul," as Count Bohlcn calls the French, is only used in exceptional cases, that is, in communicating with Governments and Ambassadors to whom we cannot write or reply in their mother tongue. The registers have for years past been kept in German. The Chief has been at work since 8 o'clock in the mornini; — unusually early for him. He has again been unable to sleep. Prince Radziwill and Knobelsdorff, of the General Staff, joined us at dinner. In speaking of that part of Favre's report in which he says that he wept, the Minister thinks that he can only have pretended to do so. " It is true," he said, " that ho looked as if he had done so, and I tried to some extent to con- sole him. On my observing him more closely, however, I felt quite certain that he had not succeeded in squeezing out a single tear. It was all merely a piece of acting on his part. He thought to work upon me in the same manner as a Parisian lawyer tries to move a jury. I am perfectly convinced that ho was painted at Ferri^res — particularly at the second interview, That morning he looked much greyer and quite green under the eyes — I am prepared to bet that it was paint — grey and green, to give himself an appearance of deep suffering. It is, of course, possible that he was deeply affected ; but then he can be no politician or he would know that pity has nothing to do with politics." After a while the Minister added : — " When 1 hinted something about Strasburg and Metz, he assumed a look as if he thought I was jesting. I could have given him the answer v/hich the great fur dealer of Unter den Linden in Ber- lin once gave me. I went there to choose a fur coat, and on his naming a very hi;^^^h price for one to which I had taken a fancy, I said, ' Surely you are joking.' ' No,' he replied, ' I never make jokes in business.' " The conversation then turned upon the occupation of Rome and the Pope's position in the Vatican, on which point the Chief i!;o] GENERAL BURNSIDE i6i said, amongst other things : " He must remain a Sovereign. The only question is, how ? It would be possible to do more tor him if the ultramontanes were not so much opposed to us everywhere. I am accustomed to pay people back in their own coin. I should like to know how our Harry (von Arnim, the North German Ambassador to the Holy See) now feels. Prob- ably, like his reports, his feelings change three times within the twenty-four hours. He is really too distinguished an Ambas- sador for such a small sovereign. The Pope, however, is not merely the ruler of the Papal States, he is also the head of the Catholic Church." After dinner, just as we had finished our coffee, the Ameri- can General Burnside, who had called whilst we were at table, presented himself again, accompanied by an elderly gentleman who wore a red woollen shirt and a paper collar. The General, a rather tall, portly gentleman, with thick, bushy eyebrows, and an exceptionally fine set of beautifully white teeth and close-cut, mutton-chop whiskers, might pass for an elderly Prussian major in plain clothes. The Chief sat with him on the sofa, and had a lively conversation in English over a couple of glasses of kirschwasser, which were afterwards replenished. Prince Radziwill, in the meantime, had a talk with the General's com- Ijanion. After the Minister had observed to his visitor that he had come rather late to see the fighting, he went on to say that in July we had not the least desire for war, and that when we were surprised by the declaration of hostilities, no one, neither the King nor the people, had thought of any conquests. Our army was an excellent one for a war of defence, but it would be difficult to use it for schemes of aggrandisement, because 'vith us the army was the people itself, which did not lust after I s'lOry, as it required and wished for peace. But for that very [reason both popular sentiment and the press now demanded better frontier. For the sake of the maintenance of peace '*e must secure ourselves in future against attack from a vain- h'ionous and covetous nation, and that security could only be jtoimd in a better defensive position than we had hitherto had. Siimside seemed mclined to agree, and he praised very highly |wir excellent organisation and the gallantry of our troops. ^^* 11'c(/nl'S(/(ij>, September 28///. VOL. I. — M The general conversation at l62 A MErAl'llVSlCAL GREASE-SPOT [Sept. 2S dinner gradually adopted a more serious tone. The Chancellor began by complaining that Voigts-Rhetz in his report had not said a single word about the gallant charge of the two regiments of Dragoon Guards at Mars la Tour, which nevertheless he himself had ordered, and which had saved the loth Army Corps, "It was necessary — I grant that; but then it ought not to have been passed over in silence." The Minister then began a lengthy speech, which ultimately assumed the character of a dialogue between himself and Katt. Pointing to a spot of grease on the tablecloth, the Chief re- marked : — " Just in the same way as that spot spreads and spreads, so the feeling that it is beautiful to die for one's coun- try and honour, even without recognition, sinks deeper into the skin of the people now that it has been bathed in blood— it spreads wider and wider. . . . Yes, yes, the non-commissioned officer has the same views and the same sense of duty as the lieutenant and the colonel — with us Germans. That feeling in general goes very deep through all classes of the nation. . . . The French are a mass that can easily be brought under one influence, and then they produce a great effect. Among.st our people everybody has his own opinion. But when once a large number of Germans come to hold the same opinion, great things can be done with them. If they were all agreed they would be all-powerful. . . . The French have not that sense of duty which enables a man to allow himself to be shot dead alone in the dark. And that comes from the remnant of faith which still abides in our people ; it comes from the knowledge that there is Some One there Who sees me even if my lieutenant does not see me." " Do you believe that the soldiers reflect on such things, Excellency .•' " asked Fiirsten stein. " ' Reflect ' } no. It is a feeling — a frame of mind ; — an in- stinct, if you like. When once they reflect they lose that feel- ing ; they argue themselves out of it. . . . I cannot conceive \ how men can live together in an orderly manner, how one can 1 do his duty and allow others to do theirs, without faith in a re- vealed religion, in God, Who wills what is right, in a higher | judge and a future life." The Grand Duke of Weimar was announced. But the! Minister continued, it might well be for a quarter of an hour iSjo] BISMARCK'S DUTY TOWARDS GOD 163 longer, at times suddenly departing from his proper theme, and frequently repeating the same idea in other words : "If I were no longer a Christian I would not serve the King another hour. " If I did not put my trust in God I should certainly place none in any earthly masters. Why, I had quite enough to live on, and had a sufficiently distinguished position. Why should I labour and toil unceasingly in this world, and expose myself to worry and vexation if I did not feel that I must do my duty towards God .-" ^ If I did not believe in a Divine Providence which has ordained this German nation to something good and great, I would at once give up my trade as a Statesman or I should never have gone into the business. Orders and titles have no attraction for me. A resolute faith in a life after death — for that reason I am a royalist; otherwise I am by nature a republican. Yes, I am a republican in the highest degree ; and the firm determination which I have displayed for ten long years in presence of all possible forms of absurdity at Court is solely due to my resolute faith. Deprive me of this faith and you deprive me of my fatherland. If I were not a firm believer in Christianity, if I had not the wonderful basis of religion, you would never have had such a Chancellor of the Confederation. If I had not the wonderful basis of religion I should have turned my back to the whole Court — and if you are able to find me a successor who has that basis I will retire at once. But I am living amongst heathens. I do not want to make any proselytes, but I feel a necessity to confess this faith." ■J iM \ ' Compare this passage with the speech deUvered by Bismarck in the United Diet on the 15th of June, 1847. On that occasion he said : " I am of opinion that the conception of the Christian state is as old as the so-called Holy Roman Empire, as old as all the European States, and that it is exactly the ground in which those States have struck deep roots; and further, that each State that wishes to secure its own perma- nence, or even if it merely desires to prove its right to existence, must act upon re- ligious principles. The words ' By the grace of God,' which Christian rulers add to ilieir names, are for me no mere empty sound. On the contrary, I recognise in them the :onfession that Princes desire to wield the sceptre with which God has invested tliem in accordance with His Will." Certain remarks made by the Chancellor in his speech of the 9th of October, 1878, during the debate on the Anti-Socialist Bill, should also be remembered in this connection. He said, infer alia : " If I had come to be- lieve as these men (the social democrats) do — yes, I live a full and busy life and am in opulent circumstances — but that would not be sufficient to make me wish to live another day if I had not, in the words of the poet, ' an Gott und bessere Zukunft Glauben' (faith in God and a better future)." 1 64 WHY HE SERVES HIS KING [Sept. 29 Katt said that the ancients had also shown much self-sacri- fice and devotion. They also had the love of country, which had spurred them on to great deeds. He was convinced that many people nowadays acted in the same way through devotion to the State, and a sense of duty to society. The Chief replied that this self-sacrifice and devotion to duty towards the State and the King amongst us was merely a rem- nant of the faith of our fathers and graiilfathers in an altered form, — " more confused, and yet active, no longer faith, but nevertheless faithful." "How willingly would I go away! I enjoy country life, the woods and nature. Sever my connection with God and 1 am a man who would pack up to-morrow and be off to Varzin, and say ' Kiss my ,' and cultivate his oats. You would then deprive me of my King, because why, if there is no Divine commandment, why should I subordinate myself to these Hohenzollerns .-' They are a Suabian family, no better than my own, and in that case no concern of mine. Why, 1 should be worse than Jacoby, who might then be accepted as President or even as King. He would be in many ways more sensible, and at all events cheaper." Keudell told me this evening that the Chief had already, while standing outside the chateau, several times expressed him- self in a similar manner. After dinner the Chancellor received in his own salon the Grand Duke of Weimar, as also Reynier, and subsequently Burnside and his companion of the day before. Thursday, September 2gth. — In the morning wrote articles on the folly of certain German newspapers that warned us against laying claim to Metz and the surrounding district be- cause the inhabitants spoke French, and on Ducrot's unpardon- able escape during the transport of prisoners to Germany. The second article was also sent to England. The newspapers contain a report on the prevailing public sentiment in Bavaria, which evidently comes from a thoroughly reliable and highly competent source.^ We are accordingly to note the principal points contained therein. The news given in the report is for the most part satisfactory — in some particulars 1 It was a report from Mohl, originally intended for his Government at Carlsru'.ie, which was communicated to tlie Chief, under whose instructions extracts therefrom were utilised in the press. iSjo] BAVARIAN FEELING 165 ,inly is it possible to wish it were better. The idea of German unity has evidently been strengthened and extended by the war, but the sf ocific Bavarian amour propre has also increased. The part taken by the army in the victories of the German forces at Worth and Sedan, as well as the severe losses which it has suf- tcred, has not failed to excite enthusiasm throughout all classes of the population, and to fill them with pride at the achievements of their countrymen. They are convinced that their King sin- cerely desires the victory of the Gerrr in arms, and has used every effort to secure that end. His immediate entourage is well disposed. That cannot, however, be said of all his Ministers. The Minister of War is without doubt sincerely anxious, and is doing his utmost to see the campaign brought to a satisfactory conclusion. He is in that respect thoroughly reliable, and he will no doubt be found on the right side in the matter of the conditions of peace. Count Bray, on the other hand, is and remains ultramontane and Austrian in his views. In his heart of hearts he is opposed to the war, and for him our successes have been too rapid, and our victories too complete. He would like to see the neutral Powers take steps to restrain us, and if he could he would support such measures. No conclusion is to be drawn from the very confident tone of the press as to an eventual rearrangement of German relations, which, through the brotherhood in arms during the war, might develop into a permanent and closer union also in times of peace. k% a matter of course Bray would be opposed to the entrance of Bavaria into the North German Confederation. But there are also other influential personages who do not contemplate such a course, or who regard the effective cooperation of the Bavarians in the German victories less as a means to promote ihe closer union of Germany than as a proof of the power of Bavaria and an assertion of her independence. The non-ultra- montane particularists take up a somewhat similar position. They are pleased at our victories and proud of Bavaria's share in them. They admire the manner in which the Prussians con- duct the war, and, like us, they desire to secure Germany against tuture attack from the West. But they will not hear of Bavaria joining the North German Confederation. The partition of the conquered French territory is also much discussed in such circles. Thev would like to see Alsace annexed to Baden on I -3 ■ < J ■ -A 1 66 THE GRAND DUKE OF WEIMAR [Ucr. condition that the Baden Palatinate were ceded to Bavaria. The more penetrating minds amonpjst them are forced to reckon with the probability that Baden, and in all likelihood also VViir- temberg, will after the peace demand admission into the F'cderal State already formed by the North. The ultramontanes remain what they always were, although they are now silent through fear. Fortunately they have lost all confidence in Austria, so that they lack support, while, on the other hand, the Bavarians, who are now in the field, have an entirely different opinion of the Prussians to that which they entertained before the war. They are full of the highest praise for their northern comrades, and not merely for their military qualities and achievements, but also for their readiness to help the Bavarians when they have earlier or better supplies than the latter. More than one of them has written home that their priests have maligned the Prussians. It is not true that they arc all Lutherans. Many of them are Catholics, and they had even seen some Catholic military chaplains with them. As the officers share these feel- ings the army on its return will carry on an effective propau;an(la against ultramontanism, and probably also against extreme par- ticularism. It will be easily understood that men of national sentiment in Bavaria should feel more confident than ever. They will also do what they can for the cause. But they are a minority in the Lower Chamber, and in the Upper House they have scarcely two or three representatives. At dinner the conversation turned on the Grand Uiikc of Weimar and such matters. The Minister said that the Grand Duke haa been to see him the evening before, and wished to obtain some information which he (the Chief) was unable to give him. ''' He thinks that I am also Ids Chancellor. On my politely declining, he said he must then apply to the King. 'Yes,' I replied, 'but in that case his Majesty will have to refer in the first place to his Minister.' ' And the Minister } ' (Here the Chief bent his head a little to one side and smiled sweetly.) 'He will maintain an impenetrable silence.'" The Chancellor then said that he had been asked what was to be done v/ith the Gardes Mobiles captured at Strasburg. They were disposed to set them at liberty and let them go home. "God forbid," said I; "send them to Upper Silesia." Friday, September loth. — Received another letter from they i ' n:. *>■■ of Grand :d to )le to )n my King, refer [(Here Letly.) lat was Isburg. im go sia. from rf'.- -^, i. rf "*'■ .!&.i.\ -I . \ I ' ( I T' ^V■ ■ 1 1. 1 f ■-, ■ f r-|. 1- ( !1. > j: i. \ "'al ' 0. 1 1 cu :■ ( .' / .ii' 111, it no 'rJ< . rt.ic in :■.!:)' lai..?(i A •h-.m '-'U' ocilv ;iii; VL:tKl the 1 ro { iii-v* ivccl unott 3S ■ft iSjol Ihnihcrj t.ilonts n views, consider while w( part of worst of whom tl' iiihahitar These g' may f;o i thev won "in ordc " prepost thing dec in the ciK |{amberg( than to in French W Snnda poorer ch wealthier, dan's obs( it should 1 and we m was to sec suffered fi who woulc "And the stand in b next momc out of the will shoot no worse i. yards, and The coi measure of on the min purchase o '" the form IS70] ruiirosTKRous husvuodies 167 IVinibcrger, who is in Hadcn-Haclen. lie oontiniics to use his taionts and inHucnce in the press to advance tiie Chancellor's views. In niv answer I bejjjfjed him to counteract the ill- considered arc;uments of certain German journalists who now, while we are still at war, and have hardly done the heaviest part of our task, are already strongly urging moderation. The worst of these is Dr. Kruse, of the Kdlnisc/ic Zcitntig, with whom the idea that Metz must not be annexed because the inhabitants speak French has become almost a monomania. These gentlemen offer their advice as to how far we can or may go in our demands, and plead in favour of France, while they would do much better to insist ui^on still heavier demands, "in order," as the Minister said in complaining of this being "preposterous" behaviour, "that we may at least get .some- thing decent, if not all that we ask for. They v/'ll compel me in the end to claim the Meuse as our frontier. Write also to Bamberger that I had credited him with more political acumen than to imagine that we really want to replace Napoleon on the French throne." Sunday, October 2nd. — At tea-time, to a remark that the poorer classes suffered comparatively more than the upper and wealthier, the Chief replied that this reminded him of Sheri- dan's observation at Reims, for it was perhaps after all as well it should be so, as there were more poor people than well-to-do, and we must always keep in mind the object of the war, which was to secure an advantageous peace. The more Frenchmen suffered from the war the greater would be the number of those who would long for peace, whatever our conditions might be. "And their treacherous franctireurs," he continued, "who now stand in blouses with their hands m their pockets, and in the next moment when our soldiers have passed by take their rifles out of the ditch and fire at them. It will come to this, that we / will shoot down every male inhabitant. Really that would be no worse than in battle, where they fire at a distance of 2000 yards, and cannot recognise each other's faces." The conversation then turned on Russia, on the communistic measure of dividing the land between the village communities, on the minor nobility, " who had invested their savings in the purchase of peasants, out of whom they squeezed their interest in the form of Obrok," and of the incredible wealth of many of I68 TlIK VUSSUPOFfS [()':•!■. the old Boyar families. The Chief mentioned several examples and gave a full account of the Yussupoffs, whose fortune although nearly half of it had been several times confiscated on account of their complicity in conspiracies, was still much larj^er than that of most German Princes. It was so great that " iwo serfs, father and son, who had acted in succession as managers of the estate, were able to bleed it of three millions without the loss being felt." " The palace of these princes in St. Petersburt^ contained a large theatre in the style of the Weisser S.uil in the palace at Berlin, and had magnificent rooms in which 300 to 400 persons could dine with comfort. Forty years ago the old Yussupoff kept open table daily. A poor old officer on the retired list had dined there almost every day for years, although no one knew who he was. The name and rank of their con- stant guest was only discovered on inquiries being made of the police when on one occasion he had remained away for a con- siderable time." Monday, October yd. — We were joined at table by the Grand Chamberlain, Perponcher, and a Herr vou Thadden, who was to be appointed a member of the Administration at Reims. The Chief told several anecdotes of the old Rothschild of Frankfort. He had on one occasion heard Rothschild talkinir to a corn-dealer who wanted to buy some wheat. The latter said that such a rich man ought not to put the price of wheat so high. " What have my riches got to do with it.-"" replied the old gentleman. " Is my wheat any the worse because I am rich.'' " " He gave dinners, however, which did all honour to his wealth. I remember cnce when the present King, then Prince of Prussia, was in Frankfort and I invited him to dinner. Rothschild had also intended to invite him. The Prince told him, however, that he must settle that with me, otherwise he would be quite as pleased to dine with him as with me. Roths- child then wanted me to give up his Royal Highness to him. I refused, whereupon he had the naivete to propose that his din- ner should be brought to my house, as of course he did nut partake of it himself — he only ate meat prepared in Jewish fashion. Naturally I also decl'.ricd ibis proposal, although thero can be no doubt that his dinner would have been better than mine." The Chief was once told by old Metternich, — "who, by the way, was very well disposed towards me," — that atone iSto] TllK EMS UESPATCH 169 time when he had lodged with Rothschild, on his way to loliannisberg (Metternich's estate), his host had put six bottles of Johannisberg wine into his lunch basket for the road. These wore taken out unopened on Metternich's arrival at Johannis- borg, where the Prince asked his chief cellarer what they cost per bottle. "Twelve florins," was the ansvver. "Well, then," said Metternich, " send these six bottles back to Baron Roths- child when he gives his next order, but charge him fifteen florins apiece for them then, as they will have grown older by that time." Tuesday, October ^th. — In the forenoon again called to the Chief Bucher, Councillor of Embassy ; and VViehr, a deci- pherer, arrived after lunch. Bucher appears to have been sum- moned here in order to replace Abcken, who has been ill and ought to have gone home, but who has now nearly recovered. No one could have filled his place better than Bucher, who is unquestionably the best informed, most intelligent and unpre- judiced of all the principal workers by whom the Chief is surrounded and who help to propagate his ideas. In the evening the Chancellor talked about Moltke, remarking how gallantly he had attacked the punch bowl on a recent occasion, and in what excellent spirits he was. " I have not seen him looking so well for a long time past. That is the result of the war. It is his trade. I remember, when the Spanish question became acute, he looked ten years younger. Afterwards, when I told him that the MohenzoUern had withdrawn, he suddenly looked quitC old and infirm. And when the French showed their teeth again ' Molk ' was once more fresh and young. The matter finally ended in a diner a irois — Molk, Roon, and I — which resulted (here the Chancellor smiled a cunning smile) in the Ems telegram." We sta.t early to-morrow morning, as we have a long jour- ney to make. Our next halt will be at Versailles. :^ ■- CHAPTER IX THE JOURNEY TO VERSAILLES — MADAME JESSE S HOUSE, AND OUR LIFE THERE We left Ferri^res about seven o'clock on the morning of the 5th of October. At first we drove along by-roads, which were, however, in excellent condition, passing a large wood, several parks and chateaus and a number of respectable villages that appeared to be entirely deserted by their inhabitants and were now occupied solely by German soldiers, Everywhere an appearance of exceptional prosperity. Later on we reached a pontoon bridge decorated with the Prussian colours which took us over the Seine. On the other side we met the Crown Prince and his suite, who had ridden out to welcome the King. The latter, accompanied by the Chancellor, was to proceed from this point on horseback to a review of troops. Wc then drove on alone, turning into a high road which led to the village of Villeneuve le Roi. I had long been looking forward to my first glimpse of Paris. It was, however, cut off on the right by a rather high range of wooded hills, on the sides of which we now and then noticed a village or small white town. At length we come to an opening, a little valley, and we observe the blue outline of a great cupola — the Pantheon ! Hurrah ! we are at last outside Paris. We shortly afterwards turned into a broad paved highway where a Bavarian picket was stationed to watch a road which crossed it at this point and led towards Paris. To the left an extensive plain, and on the right a continuation of the chain of wooded heights. A white town half-way up the slope, then, lower down, two other villages, and we finally pass through an iron gateway partially gilt, traverse some busy streets, and a straight avenue with old trees, and then find ourselves in front : of our quarters in Versailles. 170 Ocr 6,1870] THE CHANCELLOR'S QUARTERS AT VERSAILLES 171 On the 6th of October, the clay after our arrival in the old royal town of France, Keudell remarked that we might possibly remain here for some three weeks. Nor did I think it improb- able, as the course of the war up to that time had accustomed us to speedy success. We remained, however, five long months. But as will be seen later on, the Minister must have suspected that our stay would not be a short one. For this reason, and as our lodging was the scene of very important events, a fuller description of it will probably be welcome. The house which was occupied by the Chancellor of the Confederation belonged to one Madame Jesse, widow of a wealthy cloth manufacturer, who shortly before our arrival fled to Picardy with her two sons, leaving her property to the care of her gardener and his wife. It is No. 14 in Rue dc Provence, which connects the Avenue de St. Cloud with the Boulevarde de la Reine. The Rue de Provence is one of the quietest in Versailles. Many of the houses are surrounded by gardens. Ours is a slate-roofed house of three stories, the third of these being a garret. From the entrance in the courtyard a flight of stone steps leads up to the hall door. On the right of this hall is the principal staircase, and the following rooms open on to it: the dining-room looking out on the garden, the salon, a billiard-room, a conservatory, and the library of the deceased M. Jesse. On the table in the salon stood an old-fashioned chimney clock with a fiendish figure in bronze biting his thumb. This demon grinned sarcastically at all the negotiations which led to the treaties with the South German States, the proclamation of the German Emperor and Empire, and afterwards to the surrender of Paris and the preliminaries of peace, all of which were signed in this salon, thus securing it a place in the world's itory. The billiard-room was arranged as an office for the council- lors, secretaries, and decipherers. In January, when there was a severe frost, a portion of the winter garden was assigned to the officers on guard. The library was occupied by orderlies and chancery attendants. The principal staircase led to a second hall, which received a dim light from a square flat window let into the roof. The doors of the Minister's two rooms opened off this hall. Neither -T' .^•* 172 THE I'ARR BEHIND THE HOUSE [Oct. (, of them was more than ten paces by seven. One of these, the window of which opened on the garden, served at the same time as study and bed-chamber, and was very scantily furnished. The other chamber, which was somewhat better furnished, although not at all luxuriously, served, in addition to the salon on the ground floor, for the reception of visitors. During the negotiations for the capitulation of Paris it was put at the dis- posal of Jules P'avre for his meditations and correspondence. Count Bismarck-Bohlen had a room to the left of the Chan- cellor's, which also opened on the park and garden, Abekeii having the opposite room looking on the street. Bolsing had a small chamber near the back stairs, while I was lodged on the second floor over Bohlen's room. The park behind the house, though not large, was very pretty, and there during the bright autumn nights the tall figure and white cap of the Chancellor was frequently to be seen passing from the shade into the moonlight as he slowly strolled about. What was the sleepless man pondering over.? What ideas were revolving through the mind of that solitary wan- derer.-* What plans were forming or ripening in his brain during those still midnight hours ? It will be seen that the whole Field Foreign Office was not quartered at Madame Jesse's. Lothar Bucher had a handsome apartment in the Avenue de Paris, Keudell and the decipherers were lodged in a house somewhat higher up than ours in the Rue de Provence, and Count Hatzfeld lived in the last house on the opposite side of the way. There was some talk on several occasions of providing the Chancellor with more roomy and better-furnished lodgings, but the matter went no further, possibly because he himself felt no great desire for such a change, and perhaps also because he liked the quiet which prevailed in the comparatively retired Rue de Provence. During the day, however, this stillness was less idyllic than many newspaper correspondents described it at the time. I am not thinking of the fifes and drums of the troops that marched through the town and which reached our ears almost daily, nor of the noise which resulted from two sorties made by the Parisians in our direction, nor even of the hottest dav of the bombardment, as we had become accustomed to all that, much as the miller does to the roar and rattle of his wheels. lip] THE CHANCELLOR'S VISIHJRS 173 I refer principally to the numerous visitors of all kinds, many ot them unwelcome, who were received by the Chancellor during those eventful months. Our quarters was often like a pigeon house from the constant flow of strangers and acquaintances in and out. At first non-ofificial eavesdroppers and messengers came from Taris, followed later by official noo-otiators in the persons of Favre and Thiers, accompanied by a larger or smaller retinue. There were princely visitors from the Hotel des Reservoirs. The Crown Prince came sev- eral times and the King once. The Church was also repre- sented amongst the callers by high dignitaries, archbishops, and other prelates. Deputations from the Reichstag, individ- ual party leaders, higher officials, and bankers arrived from Berlin, while Ministers came from Bavaria and other South German States for the purpose of concluding treaties. Ameri- can generals, members of the foreign diplomatic body in Paris, including a "coloured gentleman," and envoys of the Imperial- ist party wished to speak to the busy statesman in his small room upstairs, and, as a matter of course, English newspaper correspondents eagerly tried to force their way into his pres- ence. Then there were Government couriers with their de- spatch bags, chancery attendants with telegrams, orderlies with messages from the General Staff, and besides all these a super- fluity of work which was as difficult as it was important. In short, what with deliberating on old schemes and forming new ones, seeking how to overcome difficulties, vexation, and trouble, the disappointment of well-grounded expectations, now and then a lack of support and readiness to meet his views, the ioolish opinions of the Berlin press and their dissatisfaction notwithstanding our undreamt-of success, together with the agitation of the Ultramontanes, it was often hard to under- stand how the Chancellor, with all these calls upon his activity and patience, and with all this disturbance and friction, was, iOn the whole, able to preserve his health and maintain that freshness which he showed so frequently late in the evening i in conversations both serious and humorous. During his stay I at Versailles he was only once or twice unwell for three or four I days, The Minister allowed himself little recieation — a ride be- Itwecn three and four o'clock, an hour at table with half an hour 174 MADAME JESSE [Ocr. 6 for the cup of coffee which followed it in the drawing-room, and now and then, after lo p.m., a longer or shorter chat at the tea table with whoever happened to be there, and a couple of hours' sleep after daybreak. The whole remainder of the day was devoted to business, studying or writing in his room, or i" conversations and negotiations, — unless a sortie of the French or some other important military operation called him to the side of the King, or alone to some post of observation. Nearly every day the Chancellor had guests to dinner, and in this way we came to see and hear almost all the weM-known and celebrated men prominently connected with the war. Favrc repeatedly dined with us, reluctantly at first " because his coun- trymen within the walls tvcre starving," but afterwards listening to wise counsel and exhortation and doing justice like the rest of us to the good things of the kitchen and cellar. Thiers, with his keen intelligent features, was on one occasion amongst the guests, and the Crown Prince once did us the honour to dine at our table, when such of the Chief's assistants as were not pre- viously known to him were presented. At another time Prince Albrecht was present. Of the Minister's further guests, I will here only mention Delbriick, President of the Bundeskanzleiarat, who was frequently in Versailles for weeks at a time, the Duke of Ratibor, Prince Putbus, von Benndigsen, Simson, Bamberger, Friedenthal and von Blankenburg, the Bavarian Ministers Count Bray and von Lutz, the Wurtemberg Ministers von Wachter and Mittnacht, von Roggenbach, Prince Radziwill, and finally Odo Russell, who was subsequently British Ambassador to the Ger- man Empire. When the Chief was present the conversation was always lively and varied, while it was frequently instructive as illustrating his manner of regarding men and things, or as throwing light upon certain episodes and incidents of his past life. Madame Jesse put in an appearance a few days before our departure and, as previously observed, did not produce a good impression. She seems to have made charges against us which the French press, even papers that laid claim to some respecta- bility, circulated with manifest pleasure. Amongst other things we are alleged to have packed up her plate and table linen, Furthermore, Count Bismarck tried to compel her to give him j a valuable clock. iSjoJ THE Sl'ORY UF THE CLOCK 175 The first assertion was simply an absurdity, as there was no silver in the house, unless it was in a corner of the cellar which was walled up, and which — on the express directions of the Chief — was left unopened. The true story about the clock was quite different to that circulated by Madame Jesse. The article in question was the timepiece in the drawing-room with the small bronze demon. Madame Jesse offered the Chancellor this piece of furniture, which in itself was of comparatively little value, at an exorbitant price, on the assumption that he prized it as a witness to the important negotiadons that had taken place in her room. I believe she asked 5000 francs for it. But she overreached herself, and her offer was declined. " I re- member," said the Minister afterwards in Berlin, "observing at the time that possibly the impish figure on the clock, which made such faces, might be particularly dear to her as a family portrait, and that I should l? sorry to deprive her of it." Oa. 6, 187 CHAPTER X AUTUMN DAYS AT VERSAILLES The day after our arrival at Versailles I forwarded the following statement with regard to the measures taken against Jacoby, in accordance with the Chief's views. It was an answer to the protests which had been made by the German press against his arrest, and not merely by the democi'atic and the progressist organs, which invariably criticise political and mili- tary affairs from the standpoint of private morals. " We still hear a great deal about the alleged illegality com- mitted in arresting Jacoby. That measure might have been in- opportune ; perhaps less importance might have been attached to his demonstrations. But there was nothing illegal in the course adopted, as we are now in a state of war, when the civil code must yield to military necessity. The imprisonment 01 Jacoby falls within the military jurisdiction, with whicli the police and the judicial authorities have nothing to do. It is in no sense to be regarded as a punishment. Jacoby is simply a prisoner of war, just as would be a spy arrested in Germany, with whom of course we do not wish otherwise to compare him. In other words, he was one of the forces that increased the difficulty of attaining the object of the war, and had accordingly to be rendered harmless. "This will be made clear by a glance at the numerous instances in which those entrusted with the conduct of war are obliged to override the rights of person and property recog- nised by the constitution. For purposes of successful defence private property may be destroyed without previously arranging the terms of compensation, houses may be burned and trees cut down, an entrance may be forced into private residences, street traffic may be stopped and every other means of transport such as ships, carts, &c., can be either seized or destroyed without j the previous permission of the owner, that rule applying to our 176 own as wc who affor merely gh same cate; "Thes applicable they are b; who wield fulfil the c purpose of the distance which requi rence of su easy, We forcing con( us in future. greatly encc declaration ( inexpedient festoand th< otniost by th Republicans I are right in r jiicans measu lie Governm J experience. I Brunswick an but the I The effect th rendered impc |ing:Iy be put o In the mo [Versailles for > capitulate, H. They w pat mortalitj Ipressed food. pis news. Th piforms for th pnnection the VOL. I. (XT 6, 1870] WAR PROSPECTS 177 own as well as to the enemy's country. The removal of persons who afford the enemy cither moral or material support, or who merely give rise to suspicion that they do so, comes under the same category of laws which apply to countries in a state of war. "These principles are not contested in so far as they are applicable to the immediate seat of war. The idea upon which they are based is not, however, affected by the locality. Those who wield the power of the State must exercise the rights and fulfil the duties accorded to and imposed upon them for the purpose of securing the object of the war, without regard to the distance from the actual scene of warfare of the obstacles which require removal. They are bound to prevent the occur- rence of such incidents as render the attainment of peace less easy. We are now carrying on a war for the purpose of en- forcing conditions which will hinder the enemy from attacking us in future. Our opponents resist these conditions and will be greatly encouraged and strengthened in their resistance by a declaration on the part of Germans that these conditions are inexpedient and unjust. The Brunswick working-class mani- festo and the Konigsberg resolution have been utilised to the utmost by the French press and have obviously confirmed the Republicans now holding power in Paris in the idea that they are right in rejecting those conditions. These French Repub- licans measure the influence of their German sympathisers on lie Governments of Germany by the standard of their own I experience. The impression which those demonstrations at i Brunswick and Konigsberg produced in Germany was probably little, but the point is, what effect did they have in Paris .•' The effect there is such that similar demonstrations must be rendered impossible in future, and their instigator must accord- [ingly be put out of harm's way." In the morning Keudell said to me we might remain in [Versailles for about three weeks. Metz would soon be obliged capitulate, as they now had only horseflesh to eat and no Isalt. They were still confident in Paris, although there was IjTeat mortality amongst their cattle, which were fed on com- [pressed food. Burnside, who had been in the city, confirmed 1 news. The Minister was less sanguine. The question of Worms for the Secretaries was again brought up, and in this [connection the Chief remarked that the war might yet con- VOL. I. — N .-'■'* 178 KOY/VL LOAIEKS L(Jci. . tiniic for a considerable time, perhaps till Christmas, possibly till lOaster, atid probably a portion of the troops would remain in France for years to come. Paris should have been imme- diately stormed on the 19th of September, or left entirely on one side. He then told his valet to send to Berlin for his fur coats. In the further course of conversation the Minister said: " I heard something really characteristic to-day. The host of Princes who have followed us and who aie lodging at thu Hotel des Reservoirs are living at the expense of the town! They let the municipality feed them, though they have mcrelv come out of curiosity, and are nothing more than distinguished loafers. It is particularly shabby of the Duke of Coburg, who is a rich man with an annual revenue of a million thalors. Such a piece of meanness ought to be noticed in the press. It is shameful for a Prince to allow himself to be fed by a town already so impoverished." The Chief again returned to this subject a little later: "The royal household is a very compre- hensive conception, and so it is impossible to object to these gentlemen being fed. The King pays for the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince for the other princely personages. But it is mean of the latter to help to suck the town dry, and the newspapers should not overlook it." I afterwards asked the Minister, who was alone with mc in the drawing-room, where he remained behind after taking a cup of coffee, whether I should send the press particulars of the not very gentlemanly conduct of the Princes. " Certainly, why not.-*" he replied; "and you can also give the name of the Coburger — not in our own papers, however." The bolt was accordingly despatched to Metzler, of the Foreign Office j in Berlin, who was to pass it on to the KoclniscJic Zcitung. "An Englishman at the headquarters at Meaux" wrote toj the Daily TelcgrapJi that the Chief on the conclusion of hisj interview with Malet said : " What gives myself and the King! most anxiety is the influence of a French Republic in Germany.! We are very well aware how American Republicanism has| reacted upon Germany, and if the French oppose us with republican propaganda it will do us more harm than thein armies." The Minister wrote on the margin of this statement! "An absurd lie." comes out a spatches for I wonder do 3nd fro betwe "But," sa from the city, The Chie: I that inspires ( The conve I 'he town of \ iSjoJ TlIK GRKEK MlNISlliR IN I'AKl.-. 179 Friday, October yth. — Hatzfeld informed us at lunch that the Greek Minister in Paris, with a " family " of twenty-four or twenty-five persons, has come out to us on his way to Tours to join the delegation of the Government of National Defence. His boy told the Count that he did not at all like Paris. They (Tot too little meat to eat there. Prepared an article for the press from the following sketch : "We are carrying on war, not with a view to a permanent occu- pation of Frank's, but to secure a peace on the conditions which we have laid down. For that reason we desire to negotiate with a Government which represents the will of France, and whose declarations and concessions will bind France as well as ourselves. The present Government has not that character. It must be confirmed by a National Assembly, or replaced by another Government. A general election is necessary for that purpose; and we are quite prepared to permit this to take place in those parts of the country which we occupy, so far as strategic considerations will allow. The present holders of power in Paris, hcwever, have no disposition to adopt this course. For personal considerations they injure the interests of the country by inflicting upon it a continuance of the evils of war." Hatzfeld complained at dinner that the Greeks, who are anxious to get away, pestered him with their lamentations. "Yes," said the Chief, " they too must be regarded with sus- picion. They must first be identified according to their de- scriptions, and it must then be seen whether they have been properly circumcised. But no, that is not customary among the Greeks. What seems to me, however, more suspicious even than this enormous diplomatic family is Wittgenstein, who comes out at the risk of his life on pretence of having de- spatches for me, and who afterwards turns out to have none. 1 wonder do they fancy that we shall tolerate this running to 1 and fro between Paris and Kutusoff .? " "But," said Hatzfeld, "he might be able to bring us news I from the city." The Chief : " For that purpose he should bear a character I tiiat inspires confidence, and that he does not do." The conversation then turned on the exhausted condition of [the town of Versailles, which has had heavy expenses to bear l8o THE MAYOR OF VKRSAII.LES [Oct. I during the last fortnij;ht. The new Mayor, a M. Rameau, was granted an audience with the Chief to-day. l<.eferrin^f to this the Minister said : " I told him that they should raise a loan. 'Yes,' he replied, 'that would be possible, but then he must ask permission to go to Tours, as he required the authority of his Government for such a measure.' Of course I could not promise him that, and besides they would hardly give him the necessary authority there. Probably they think at Tours that it is the duty of the Versailles people to starve in order that we may be starved with them. But they forget that we are the stronger and take what we want. They have absolutely no idea what war is." A reference to the neighbourhood between the palace and the H6tel des Reservoirs brought up the subject of the distin- guished guests who are staying at the latter house. Amongst other remarks upon the "troop of Princes," the Chancellor said : " They have nothing decent to eat at that hotel, pcssibly because the people think their highnesses wish to have it gratis." Finally some one broached the question of tolerance, a: ,1 at first the Chancellor expressed himse.^ much in the same sense as he had done at St. Avoid. He declared in decided terms for tolerance in matters of faith. " But," he added, " the free- thinkers are also not tolerant. They persecute believers, not indeed with the stake, since that is impossible, but with insult and mockery in the press. Amongst the people, so far as they are non-believers, there has also not been much progress. What pleasure it would afford them to see Pastor Knack hanged ! " Somebody having meuJoned that early Protestantism had shown no tolerance, Bucher called attention to the fact that, according to Buckle, the Huguenots were zealous reactionaries, as was, indeed, the case with all the reformers of that period. "They were not exactly reactionaries," replied the Chief, "but! petty tyrants — each parson was a small Pope." He then referred to the course taken by Calvin against Servetus, and added, " Luther was just the same." I ventured to recall j Luther's treatment of the followers of Karlstadt and Munzer.asj well as the case of the Wittenberg theologians after him, and! Chancellor Krell. Bucher related that towards the end of the| 1870] RELIGIOUS TOLERANCK 181 sciise terms lie free- l^rs, not insult |as they ogress. Knack sm had let that, )naries, period. ^{, " but le then tus, and |o recall Uzer, as i\m, andl of the] last century the Scottish I'resbyterians pumished a person for merely lending Thomas Palme's Ri)^/its of Man with twenty-one years' transportation, the offender being immediately cast into chains. I jjointed to the rigid intolerance of the New England States towards the members of other religious communions and to their tyrannical liquor law. " And the Sabbath-keeping," <;iid the Chief, " that is a horrible tyranny. I remembf r the tirst time I went to England, on landing at Hull I whistled in the street. An Englishman, whose acquaintance I had made on board, said to me, ' Pray, sir, don't whistle!' I asked, 'Why not.' is it forbidden here?' 'No,' he said, 'but it is the Sabbath.' That made me so angry that I immediately took a ticket on another steamer for Edinburgh, as it did not at all suit me not to be able to whistle when I had a mind to." Hucher remarked that in general the Sunday in England was not so bad. He himself had always greatly enjoyed the stillness after the rush and roar of the working day in London, where the noise began early in the morning. The Chancellor then con- tinued : " In other respects I am not at all opposed to keeping the Sabbath holy. On the contrary, as a landed proprietor, I promote it as much as possible. Only I will not force the people. Every one must know best for himself how to prepare 1 for the future life. No work should be done on Sunday, because it is wrong as being a breach of the Divine command- ment, and unfair to man, who requires rest. That of course does not apply to the service of the State and in particular to the diplomatic service, in which despatches and telegrams are delivered on Sundays which must be dealt with at once. There can also be no objection to our country people saving their hay or corn on a fine Sunday after a long spell of bad weather. I could not bring myself to coerce my farmers in those things. . . . I can afford to dc as I think right myself, as the damage done by a possible rainy Monday would not affect me. Our landed [Proprietors consider that it is not respectable to allow their [people to work on Sunday even in such an emergency ! " I mentioned that pious families in America do not even cook on the Sabbath, and that on being once invited to dinner in New York on a Sunday there was only cold meat on the table. " In Frankfort,'' said the Chief, " when I had more liberty we ahvays dined very simply on Sundays, w.nd I never ordered the 1 82 THIRTEEN AT TABLE [Ocr. Ill carriage out on account of the servants." I ventured to remark that in Leipzig all shops were closed on Sunday, with the exception of the bakers' and some tobacconists. " Yes, that is as it should be ; but I do not want to put pressure on anybody. I might possibly do it in the country by not buying from a tradesman — that is. if his goods were not of exceptionally hi<^h quality, for then I do not know whether I should be able to stand firm. Care should be taken, however, that noisy trades, such as that of the blacksmith, should not be carried on in the neighbourhood of a church on Sunday." I was summoned to the Minister in the evening. "Thile' writes to me," he said, " that the Norddcutschc Allgcmcinc Zti- tung has a terrible article against the Catholics. Is it by you ? " " I do not know which he alludes to, as I have recently called attention on several occasions to the proceedings of the Ultra- montanes." He then searched for the extract, which he read over half aloud. " But that is perfectly true and correct. Ves, that's quite right. Our good Thile has been thoroughly taken in by Savigny, He has gone out of his wits and howls because we have not rescued the Pope and his whole family." We were thirteen at table to-day. Dr. Lauer being one of the number. I pointed this out to Bucher, who sat near me. " Don't speak so loud," he replied. " The Chief has a very sharp ear and he is superstitious on that point." ^ Monday, October \oth. — Called to the Chief twice during ^ At that lime Secretary of Gtate in the Foreign Office. He was not a Catholic. 2 Bucher afterwards iold me that the Chancellor was affected both by the super- stition respecting the number thirteen and that relating to Friday. Other iliplomais, as, for instance, the French, seem to entertain the same objection both to the numlH-r and the day The following anecdote, which I was assured was perfectly gonuiiio, may serve as an example. After the negotiations respecting the duty payable by ships passing through the Sound had been completed, it was arranged that the ticity containirg the terms agreed upon should be signed at Copenhagen on the 1,5th f March, 1857. It turned out that the day thus chosen was not only the thirtcor! of the month, but was also a Friday, and that there were thirteen rienipotentiaries t sign the document. " A threefold misfortune ! " exclaimed the French ricnipotiii: - ary. To his delight, however, the addition of the signatures was postponed for sonu days owing to difficulties occasioned by the difference in the rate of exchange of Daivsh j and Prussian thalers. The number of representatives still caused him so iiv, '• anx ■ ety, however, that it made him ill, and it was only on the decease of the Hanoverian! Plenipotentiary a few weeks later that the Frenchman and the other signatories . 1 1 the treaty felt that they were no longer in danger of sudden deatli. \>lo] THE 7YMJ:s 183 the morning. He went subsequently to the Crown Prince's I'uarters, where he remained for hinch. The conversation at dinner at first turned on the interview ti{ the King with Napoleon at Bellevue, near Sedan, respecting which Russell sent a full report to the Tinus, although the two sovereigns were alone and the Chancellor himself was only ,warc of what had passed in so far as the King had assured him that there had been absolutely no reference to politics. "As a matter of fact," said the Chancellor, "it would not have been nice of * our Most Gracious ' to have maintained silence only towards his Ministers. Russell must unquestionably have received his news from the Crown Prince." I now forget how and by whom the subject of dangerous touring expeditions was introduced, Dut the Minister himself related some daring enterprises of his own. " I remember," he said, " being once with a party, amongst whom were the Orloffs, in South France near the Pont du Card. An old Roman aque- duct of several stories crossed the valley. Princess Orloff, a very spirited lady, proposed that we should go across over it. There was a very narrow path, about a foot and a half wide, along one side of the old water channel, and on the other side a wall of big slabs of stone. It looked a very hazardous under- taking, but I could not allow myself to be beaten by a woman. We two accordingly started on this enterprise, Orloff going with the rest of the company down by the valley. For some time we walked on all right along the stone wall, from which we could see a depth of several hundred feet beneath us. Further on, however, the stones had fallen off and we had to pick our way along the narrow ledge. Then we came to another stretch of relatively easy going, but after there was another very bad bit on an unsafe ledge. Screwing up my courage I stepped out quickly after the Princess, and grasping her with one arm, jumped down with her into the channel some four to five feet deep. Our companions below, who had suddenly lost sighL of ;is, were in the greatest anxiety until at length we came out on the other side." In the evening I was called to the Chief to receive instruc- tions respecting Garibaldi, who, according to a telegram from Tours, had arrived there and offered hir services to the French Republic. The Chancellor said : " Hut just tell me why you ■vf^ M 1 84 ULTKAMONTANISM [Oct. 12 sometimes write in such a sledge-hammer style ? It is true I have not seen the text of your telegram about Russell, but your recent article on the Ultramontanes in the Norddeutsche All. gemeine Zcitung was very strongly worded. Surely the Saxons are usually regarded as a very polite race, and if you have any ambition to become Court Historian to the Foreign Office, you must not be so violent." I ventured to reply that I could also be polite, and was capable of irony without rudeness. " Well then," he said, "be polite but without irony. Write diplo- matically. Even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness." Tuesday, October wth. — It appears from the conversation at dinner that an assembly of a congress of German Princes at Versailles has been for some time past under consideration. It is hoped that the King of Bavaria will also come. In that case Delbriick thinks " it would be well to place at his disposal one of the historic apartments in the palace — possibly the bed- room of Louis XIV. With his character he would be certainly delighted at such an arrangement, and would not be too exact- ing in the matter of comfort." The Chief dined to-day with the Crown Prince, and did not return until lo o'clock, when he had an interview with Burnside. Wednesday, October \2th. — Amongst other things I wrote to-day another article on the hostile attitude assumed by the Ultramontanes towards us in this war. It wuo directed against the ScJdesische Hatis-B latter, and concluded as follows : " We should have thought that it was impossible at this time of day to be misunderstood in using the terms * ultramontane ' and * ultramontanism.' We should have thought tliat honest Catholics would as clearly have understood what was meant thereby as do other Christians, and that as honest Catholics they could not possibly take offence at strict- ures upon ultramontane agitation and attacks. Acting on this supposition, we called attention to the resistance offered by that party to the latest development of German affairs. To our great astonishment, however, we learn through a Silesian jour- nal that our article, in which the party in question was de- scribed as ultramontane, has actually given offence, and been regarded as a censure and impeachment of Catholicism itself. We deprecate any such interpretation of our meaning. Nothing iSjo] THE FRENCH CLERGY AND THE WAR 185 was more remote from our intention. From our standpoint Ultramontanism has just as little in common with the faith of the Catholic Church as Atheism and Nihilism have with the Protestant Church. Ultramontanism is of a purely political character. It is the spirit of a sect with exclusively vorldly aims, namely, the restoration as far as possible of universal empire on a mediaeval theocratic basis. It does not recognise the claims of patriotism, and it considers the end to justify the means. In speaking of the Ultramontanes as zealous oppo- nents of Germany in the present war, the examples which we gave made it sufficiently clear to whom we referred. For the purpose of removing all doubt on this point, however, and to prevent the possibility in future of circles for whom we enter- tain feelings of respect taking unnecessary offence at remarks which were not intended for them, we will here add a few further examples. "When we complained of the hostility of the Ultramon- tanes, we were thinking of those French priests who were con- victed upon trustworthy evidence of having fired upon our soldiers. In repeating these charges we have other priests in mind who, a few days ago, under the pretext of bringing the last consolation to the dying, sneaked through our camp out- side Paris as spies ; and the manifesto of the former Ultra- montane deputy, Keller, an Alsacian, published in the Union, which declares that the war against us is a ' holy war,' and that every shot fired at a German is an oenvre sainte. We imagine that after this explanation our Silesian contemporary will no longer doubt our respect for the Catholic Church, and will not I itself desire to identify the Catholic cause with those who thus I act and speak, and are guilty of such a gross abuse of the con- [ception of ' holiness.' " On my submitting the article to the Chief he said : " You [still write too bluntly for me. But you told me that you were capable of delicate irony. Here, however, there is much more lirony than delicacy." (I had only reproduced his own expres- sions, which, however, shall be avoided in future.) "Write it in a different strain. You must write politically, and in poli- Iticsthe object is not to give offence." The Chief then altered Ithe article in part, the first paragraph assuming the following Iform : " We had not believed that at this time of day the use i 1 86 BISMARCK EDITS MY ARTICLE [Oct. 12 of the expressions ' ultramontane ' and ' ultramontanism ' could lead to any misunderstanding. We imagined that Catholics had as clear a conception of the meanings of those words as the members of other Christian communities, and that they would understand that no offence was intended to them in complaining of the attacks of the Ultramontanes. It was on this supposition that we dealt with the opposition of the party in question to the latest development of German affairs, and wo are surprised to find that a Silesian newspaper, notorious for its violence of language, has inverted our meaning, substituting the Catholic-Christian world for the coterie which we attacked," The Minister struck out the adjective " zealous " before " oppo- nents of Germany," and also the following sentence beginning with the words '• For the purpose of removing." The conclud- ing passage read as follows after the Minister had corrected it: " In complaining of the Ultramontanes we were thinking, as we expressly stated, of the party of the Miinchener Vo Iks bo ten and similar organs, whose slanderous jibes stir up the Germans against each other, and who encouraged the French to attack Germany and are partly responsible for the present war, inas- much as they represented French victory to be easy and cer- tain, and the German people to be disunited ; we had in mind the priests of Upper Alsace and the French priests who insti- gated the country population to murderous attacks upon our troops, in which they themselves took part ; we had further in view those priests who sullied the cloth, sneaking into our camp as spies under pretence of bringing the last consolation to the dying, and who are at the present moment being tried by court- martial for this conduct ; and we were also thinking of a manifesto published in the Union by the former Ultramontane deputy, Keller, an Alsacian, in which the present war was represented as a crusade, and every shot fired at a German as an amvn saintc. We imagine that the Silesian journal in question will hardly succeed in obtaining credence when it casts doubt upon our respect for the Catholic Church. It will not desire to identify the cause of Catholicism with that of men who have been guilty of such a wicked abuse of sacred things and of genuine faith." The Chief dined v/ith the King to-day, but afterwards joined us at table, where he complained of the way in which the smaller 1870] BISMARCK'S WEAKNESS FOR AMERICANS 187 potentates worried " their " Chancellor with all sorts of questions and counsels, " until Prince Charles noticed my appealing glance and saved me from their clutches." After dinner a gentleman who has come from Paris, supposed to be a Spanish diplomat, succeeded in obtaining an interview with the Chancellor, and remained with him for a long time. Like other gentlemen who have come from the city, he will not be allowed to return. Some of us considered the visit rather suspicious. Burnside came in while we were at tea. He wishes to leave here and go to Brussels, in order to find apartments for his wife, who is now at Geneva. He says that Sheridan has left for Switzerland and Italy. Apparently the Americans can do nothing further in the way of negotiations. The general wished to see the Chief again this evening. I dissuaded him, pointing out that although, owing to his great regard for the Americans, the Chancellor would receive him if he were an- nounced, yet consideration ought to be paid to the heavy pres- sure upon his time. This was quite in accord with the Chief's wishes, as on my being summoned to him at 10.30 p.m. he said : " As you know Burnside, please point out to him how much I am occupied, but in such a way that he will not think I have prompted you. He never quite finishes what he has got to say, but always keeps back something for another time. It is only fair that he should know how busy I am, and that I am a matter- of-fact man. I have a weakness for these Americans, and they know it, but they ought to have some consideration for me. Point that out to him, and say that I must make short work of it even with crowned heads. Besides, I require six or seven liours daily for my work and must therefore remain at it until late into the night." Thursday, October \%th. — Read and made use of a report from Rome giving the result of the plebiscite, which shows that there is no longer any Papal party there. It would appear as if the whole political organisation of the Papal State has fallen into dust like a corpse that, after remaining unchanged for a thousand years in its leaden shell, has been suddenly exposed to the air. There is nothing left of it — not a memory nor even a void which it had filled. The voting, which had to be con- ducted according to the Italian Constitution, is a voluntary i88 ITALY AND THE POPE [Oct. 14 manifestation of opinions which either involve no sacrifice or a very slight one, except, of course, to the emigrants. So far as those opinions indicate an antipathy to the political n^gime of the Papacy, there can be no possibility of a reaction. On the other hand, whether the Romans will desire to be and to re- main subjects of the King of Italy will depend, so far as the permanence of his rule is concerned, upon the manner in which they are governed. I received this report from the Chancellor, with instructions to utilise it in the press. The statistic"! information, however, was all that was to be taken. " It would appear therefrom," he added, " that there has been some trickery. But do not draw any moral against either the Pope or Italy." To judge by a letter from St. Louis, dated the 13th of September, national sentiment amongst the Germans in America would seem to have been greatly stimulated by the success of the war, and to be now much stronger than their republican leanings. "A German who has lived here ',r twenty years, who was formerly your deadly foe, but whose ideal you now are," thus enthusiastically addresses the Chan- cellor: "Forward, Bismarck! Hurrah for Germany! Hurrah for William the First, Emperor of Germany!" Bravo! But it appears that our democrats must emigrate before they can be brought to entertain such feelings. The conversation at dinner was not of particuk. interest to-day. While taking our coffee, the Chancellor again read us a portion of a letter from " Johanna " (his wife), which con- tained some very severe judgments upon the French, referring, amongst other things, to Paris as an " abominable Babel." Friday, October 14th. — Busy working for the post up to midday. Telegraphed afterwards to London and Brussels respecting the false assertions of Ducrot in the Libertd. Also reported that General Boyer, Bazaine's first adjutant, had arrived at Versailles from Metz for the purpose of negotiating with us. The Chief, however, does not seem to wish to treat seriously with him, at least to-day. He said in the bureau: "What day of the month is it.?" "The 14th, Excellency." "Ah, that was Hochkirchen and Jena, days of disaster for Prussia. We must not begin any business to-day." It may also be observed that to-day is a Friday. 1870] GENERAL liOYEK 189 At dinner the Chief, after thinking for a moment, said, smiling: "I havj a lovely idea in connection with the conclusion of peace. It is to appoint an International Court for the trial of all those who have instigated the war, newspaper writers, deputies, senators, and ministers." Abcken added that Thiers would also be indirectly involved, especially on account of his chauvinistic History of the Consulate and Evipirc. "The Emperor also," said the Chief. " He is not quite so innocent as he wants to make out. My idea was that each of the Great Powers should appoint an equal number of judges, America, England, Russia, and so forth, and that we should be the prose- cutors. But the English and the Russians would of course not agree to it, so that the Court might after all be composed of the two nations who have suffered most from the war, that is to say, of Frenchmen and Germans." The Minister also said: " I have read the article in the Indcpcndance Beige, which Gram- mont is believed to have written. He blames us for not having set Napoleon at liberty at Sedan, and he is not pleased at our marching on Paris instead of merely occupying Alsace and Lorraine as a pledge. I thought at first it might have come from Beust or some other good friend in Austria, but I am now convinced that it must have been written by a Frenchman." He gave his reasons for this opinion and then continued : " His argument would be just if his assumption were correct, namely, that we really did not want Alsace, but only an indemnity. But as it is it will be better to have Paris as well as Alsace as pledges. When one wants something decent the pledge can never be of too great value." A reference was made to Boyer, who created a great sensa- tion in the town, where the uniform of a French general has not been seen for a long time past, and who was greeted by the crowd with shouts of " Vive la France ! " He declared, it is said, that the army in Metz remained faithful to the Emperor and would have nothing to do with the Republic of Parisian lawyers. The Chancellor also expressed himself to this effect, adding : " The General is one of those people who become sud- denly lean when they grow excited. Unquestionably he is also a thorough scoundrel, but he can still blush." In reading the following further remarks by the Minister, it must be remem- bered that Gambetta had already preached war a, outrance, and 1 9© BISMARCK'S POLICY HAMPERED [Ucr. that the Parisian press almost daily recommended some new infamy. The Chancellor referred to varioiis horrors that had again been committed recently by bands of guerillas. He quoted the proverb Wie es in den Wald scliallt so schallt es wicdcr herans (The wood reechoes what is shouted into it), and said that to show any consideration to these treacherous franctireurs was a "culpable laziness in killing." "It is treason to our country." " Jur people are very good marksmen, but bad executioners. Every village in which an act of treachery ha> been committed should be burnt to the ground, and all the male inhabitants hanged." Count Bismarck-Bohlen then related that the village of Hably, where a squadron of Silesian hussars was set upon by francti- reurs with the knowledge of the inhabitants, so that they only succeeded in bringing away eleven horses, was actually burnt to the ground. The Chief, as was only right and proper, com- mended this act of energy. Bohlen further stated that sixty Bavarian infantrymen who were with the cavalry detachment had not kept proper watch, and that when the franctireurs poured in from all sides at 3 o'clock in the morning, they took to their heels. The Chief said: "That fact should be published in order that we may take proper precautions later when we enter into a military convention with Bavaria." The Chancellor's policy appears to be hampered by other influences. He said at table : "It is really a great nuisance that I must first discuss every plan I form with five or six persons, who as a rule know nothing about the matter. I must listen to their objections, and am forced to refute them politely. In this way I have been recently obliged to spend three whole days over an affair that I could otherwise have settled in three min- utes. It is exactly as if I began to give my opinion on the position of a battery, and the officer — whose business I do not understand — were obliged to reply to my argument." The Chief afterwards related the following : " Moltke and Roon were with me yesterday, and I explained to them my ideas. Roon, who is accustomed to Parliamentary procedure, was silent and let me speak, and then agreed with what I said. ' Molk,' whose profile resembles more and more every day that of a bird of 1S70J MOLTKE AND KOON 191 prey, also appeared to be listening. But when I had finished he came out with something utterly different, and I saw that he had not paid the least attention to my explanation, but had on the contrary been spinning out some ideas of his own which had nothing to do with the matter. 'Molk' is an exceedingly able man, and I am convinced that whatever he gave his attention to he would do well. But for years past he has devoted him- self to one single subject, and he has come to have no head and no interest for anything else. It put me in a temper to find I had been talking to deaf cars, but I took my revenge. Instead of repeating my explanation I observed to Roon : ' You have given me your opinion, therefore you have followed what I said. Will you now have the kindness to explain the matter once more.?'" Sunday, October 16/A. — This morning I received another letter from Bamberger, who writes from Lausanne. He thinks Bismarck can do what he likes if he will only follow a sound German policy, that is to say, "if a United German State is now firmly established." " In Germany people are convinced that this solution rests with the Chancellor of the Confedera- tion, and ail opposition offered to it is attributed by public opinion to the Minister. People say to themselves that if Count Bismarck did not secretly encourage that opposition it would not dare to manifest itself in such a great crisis." Finally Bam- berger asked whether he should come here. At his request I submitted a number of points in his letter to the Minister. The Chief said he would be very pleased to see Bamberger here, as his local knowledge of Paris would be very useful once we got in the city. " Then he can also on his return explain many things in his own circles which it would be difficult to write. It is strange, though, that they should think I do not desire to see Germany united. The cause is not progressing as it ought to do, owing to the constant tergiversation of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg, and because we do not know exactly what King Lewis thinks. For the same reasons, if this unity is at length secured, many things to which many people look for- ward will still be wanting." Monday, October 17th. — In the evening we were told to pack our boxes, and that the carriages were to take their place behind those of the King's suite opposite the Prefecture 192 THE POLISH QUESTION [Ocr. 20 in case of an alarm in the night. A sortie has been expected since yesterday. Tuesday, October \?>th. — The Chief took lunch with us to-day, a thing which has seldom happened recently. The Chief then read a number of particularly cdifyin^r private letters to the Emperor Napoleon which had been pub- lished by the Provisional Government, his comments upon them also containing occasional references to personages in Beilin, The Minister said, with reference to a letter from Pourtalcs, " Schleinitz was very discreet in speaking of his colleagues, but being a vain old coxcomb he was exceedingly loquacious with women of all sorts and conditions." (Turning to Delbriick.) "You should just have a glance at the police reports which Manteuffel had prepared on this subject." The Minister afterwards referred to a statement in the Kraj, and in connection therewith to the Poles in general. He spoke a good deal about the victories of the Great Elector in the East, and the alliance with Charles the Tenth of Sweden, which had promised him great advantages. It was a pity, how- ever, that his relations with Holland prevented him from fol- lowing up those advantages and fully availing himself of them, He would otherwise have had a good prospect of extending his power in Western Poland. On Delbriick remarking that then Prussia would not have remained a German State, the Chief replied : " It would not have done any great harm. In that case there would have been a northern State somewhat similar to Austria in the south. Poland would have been for us what Hungary is to Austria." This observation reminded me of what he had previously said on one occasion, namely, that he had advised the Crown Prince to have his son taught the Polish language, which, however, to his regret, was not done. Wednesday, October igth. — At dinner, at which Count Wal- dersee joined us, the Minister remarked: "It would be a good plan if the inhabitants of a few square miles of those districts where our troops are fired at from behind hedges, and where the rails are loosened and stones laid upon the railway lines, were transported to Germany and kept under close watch there." Bucher related how, on his journey hither, an officer had borrowed his revolver and played with it ostentatiously while they were passing under a bridge from which French iSjo] THE (JKANI) IKIKK OF WEIMAR 193 French scamps were accustomed to spit clown upon our people. The Chief exclaimed: "Why p/ar/ He should have waited till they ' • done it, and then fired at them." If I rightly understand, Weimar had "commanded" the Chancellor to call upon him this evening, as he wished to obtain information on some subject. The Chief said: "I sent him word that I was detained by my health and the business of State." Waldersee understands that, during the burning of the Pal- ace of Saint Cloud, some of the minor Princes had "saved for themselves " various " souvenirs," such as vases, trinkets, and boolf 195 ill peace, may not bo taken by military authoriti^.'s after war has actually broken out. The opinions therein expressed are almost the same as those which must have been ei\tertainecl by the ll'escr /^I'/fufi^ itscU when it remarked, ' We can easily conceive cases '■» which we should be prepared with all our hearts to grant not only an indemnity but a vote of thanks for the some- what illej^al arrest of any worthless individual who obstructed this holy war.' That is exactly the opinion of the Chancellor. If that much were not granted, it would then \>c impossible on an invasion of North German territory to delivci battle on our own soil unless some extensive and entirely uninhabited iieath were discovered and retained for the purpose, and even then the proprietor of that piece of ground would be afterwards able to claim compensation for the damage done to his property. "Either the authoritic- entrusted with the conduct of the military operations must, notwithstanding the actual outbreak of hostilities, be bound by the Constitution and the law, or they must be held at liberty to take such reasonable measures as ihcy consider necessary with a view to the fulfilment of their task. Theoretically, this question must be answered with a bare affirmative or negative. If it be answered in the negative it is hard to say by how many judicial officials every detachment of the fighting force on native soil would have to be accompanied, and what legal formalities gone through in the case of each sep- arate house and person before the military authorities could feel that they were constitutionally within their rights in the course they desired to adopt. If the question is answered in the af- firmative, then it must be recognised that it is impossible to codify the regulations governing the discretionary power which must be vested in the military commander in war, in such a manner that the general or soldier who executes his orders on native soil can in every instance refer to the particular para- graph of the Constitution or the law justifying his action. " The Chancellor of the Confederation cannot possibly have had any other intention than to lay down the principles just stated theoretically, since, as a Constitutional Prussian Minister of State, it is not competent for him to express any opinion as [ to whether the military commander has acted rightly in exercis- iig the power vested in him, or as to the extent to which he [may have exercised it. The military governors, who are ap- igb rillC CllANei:Ll.()K'S I'OSITION lOu. :i pointed before the outbreak of win, aie neither nonunated In the Minister nor ;ire tliey under his ei>ulrol. They are, on tlic eontrary, api^ointed without his et)neurrenee t)n tlie auihoiiu of the Commander-in-Chief, lik'- all other military eonunaniloi>. The Chaneellor of the Confederaiioi. and the other Ministers oi State are not the superiors oi the military governors, and the latter would not obey the direetions of the Ministers, but oulv those of the military authorities, whieh reaeh them without am Ministerial eot operation. " It is therefore an entirely unpraetieal eourse for those wlio consider themselves unjustly treated under the orders of iho military authorities to direct their complaints to the Ministers of State. They can only demand redress from tlie niilit.uv superiors of those aj^ainst whom they enter complaint. It inav therefore be taken for i;ranted that the Chancellor of the Con federation has not considered himself to be in a jiosition t.i otTiciallv express an opinioi\ on the expediency of the course ailopted in a sini;le instance, such as that of Jacoby, but has, on the contrary, merely dealt, from a theinetical standpoint. with the cjuestion whether, during" war and in the interest oi its successful prosecution, the arrest of individuals whose action in the judj;inent of the military authorities is injmious to us aiul advanta};eous io the enemy is temporarily permissible. " Stated in these general terms, the question can hardlv k answered in the negative by practical [loliticians and soldiers. although they may entertain many scruples both on thoorotie.L and judicial grounds against martial law as a whole. The eo;.- Crete question, however, wiielher this right, if it exists, was properly exercised it\ the cas « of Jacoby, is as nuich hevonii the comjietence of the INIinistry as, say, the question whet is necessary or desirable in delivering battle on native soil set a particular village on lire, or to arrest without legal jnoe a private person at a distance of litty miles from the Ixittleti becaase he is suspecteil of favouring the enemy. A discussie of the means by which the military commander couUl he \c dered responsible for what the parties concerned may considc false, hasty, or improper course is foreign to our purpose, have merely been at pains to show that the Cvmstitution.d tributes of the Ministry ilo not give it any authority to iiUeil ler eiii ii \\\ .!'• eri' iirec tly HI such cases. 1^7*^1 A Mil" ori-si'ioN 107 /•y/i/iiv, C\\'i'i''cr 2\s/. I'hc hoavv tirinj; which boj;an early this moriiiiiL;' iiKTcascil as Iho ihiy wore on. We did not allow this to ilisturb us, hi>wever. N'arious articles were eonijileted, iiKliulinj;' one on the departure ot the Nuncio and other dijilo- la.its from I'aris. At lunch Keudell stated that the French artillery had de- jtiovod the porcelain factory at Sevres. Ilatzfeld told us that his mother-in-law, an American lady who had remained in Paris, h.ul sent him good news respecting; the pi>nies of which he had often spoken to us. They were line and fat. The question w.is whether she should now eat them, lie was ahmit to an- swer. " Ves, in God's name ! " but he intemled to get the price ot these animals includi' 1 in the inilemnity to be paid by the French Goveriunent. ik^tween i and 2 o'clock the tiring seemed to have ap- proached the womls to the north of the town. The artillery lire was severe, the rcjiorts following each other in rapiil succes- sion, while the rattle of the mitrailleuse could also be recognised. It i;ave the impression that a regular battle had tleveloj)ed ami was drawing nearer to us. The Chief ordered his horse to be suklled, and rode iW'f. The rest of us also followed in the di- reetion in which the tight seemed to be raging. W'e saw the t.uniliar white clvuuls that act. mpany shell the rise and burst in the air to the left, over the wood through which the roail to ];udy and Vaucresson leads. Onlerlies were galloping along the road thither, and a battalion was marclung towartls the point where the engagement was taking place. The tight ci>n- tinued until after 4 o'clock, ami then mie heanl only isolated iHseharges from the large Uni on Mont Valerien, and finally they too ceased. As was only natural, great excitement pre- vailed during the afternoon amongst the I'^rench in the town, .tiul the groups who shn>il before the houses probably expected every moment, as the noise o{ the tiring came nearer ami nearer. to see our troops in full tlight before the red breeches. They .itterwards drew long faces and shrugged their shoulders. In the evening the Chief said we ought mU to jicrmit groups I't poi^ple to collet't in the streets on the i>ccasion of an. engage- ment, ami that the inhabitants sl^oulil be ordered in such cir- "unistances to remain within doors, the p.itrols being instructed to fire upi)n those refusing obcilience. M\ 198 FRANCE AND SPAIN [Ocr. Sunday, October 22iid. — This has now been done, Voi,i;ts- Rhetz, the Commandant of Versailles, having issued an order to the effect that on the alarm signal being given, all the inhab- itants must immediately return to their houses, failing which the troops had received instructions to fire upon them. The Parisian Prefect of Police, Keratry, has appeared in Madrid with the object of submitting two proposals to General Prim. The first is that France and Spain should enter into an offensive and defensive alliance, under which the latter country should send an army of fifty thousand men to the assistance ot the French. The object of the alliance would be the common defence of the nations of the Latin race against the supremacy of the Germanic race. On Prim declining this strange offer (strange inasmuch as the Spanish support of France, which but three months before had in the most arrogant manner forced its own policy upon Spain, would be an unexampled piece of self- renunciation and a misconception of the clearest interests of the Spanish people), the French intermediary asked that at least a decree should be issued permitting the importutiun of arms into France. This suggestion was also rejected by Prim. The surrender of Metz is expected within the next week, Prince Frederick Charles desires, if I rightly understand, capitu- lation on the same conditions as at Sedan and Toul, while the Chancellor, for political reasons, is in favour of a more con- siderate treatment of the garrison. The King seems to hesitate between the two courses. The Chief said yesterday to the Mayor of Versailles : " No elections, no peace. But the gentlemen of Paris will not hear of them. The American generals who were in Paris with the object of inducing them to hold the elections tell me ♦^Irat there is no getting them to consider the matter. Only Ti )ch'\ said they were not yet so hard pressed that they need cnt-r .ito negotiations, — the others would not hear of them, not even of submitting the question to the country." " I told him finally," said the Minister, " that we should have no alternative but to come to an understanding with Napoleon, and to force him back upon the French again. He did not believe we would do that, as it would be the grossest insult we could ofTer them. I re plied that it was nevertheless in the interests of the victor to leave the defeated nation under a n'gime which would have to iS;o] POLITICAL rARlTES IN FRANCE 199 rclv solely upon the army. In such circumstances it would be impossible to think of foreign wars. In conclusion, I advised him not to make the mistake of thinking that Napoleon had no hold upon the people. He had the army on his side. Boyer had negotiated with me in the name of the Empetor. How far the present Government in Paris had the support of the people remained to be seen. The rural population could hardly share the opinion that peace was not to be thought of. He then gave his own view respecting the conditions of peace, namely, the razing of their fortresses and ours, and the disarmament of both countries in proportion to the population, &c. As I told him at the commencement, these people have no right conception of what war really is." The Notivcllistc being now the only newspaper in Versailles, and as it sensibly avoids unnecessarily hurting the patriotic sen- timents of the French, the people here take some account of it. Lowensohn tells us that the number of copies sold varies, some issues have been quite cleared out, while of others he has only thirty to fifty, and of yesterday's 1 50 copies on hand. Up to the present his weekly balance shows no loss. In the evening wrote an article for the Norddcntschc, in which the following ideas are developed. The first condition upon which the Chancellor of the Confederation insisted in speaking to the various persons who have desired to negotiate with him respecting peace was the election of an assembly representing the will of France. He addressed the same de..iand to the emissaries of the Republicans and to the Imperialists, and to another third party. He desires to grant all possible facilities for thus consulting the wishes of the popu- lation. The form of government is a matter of entire indiffer- ence to us. But we can only deal with a real Government recognised by the nation. The NoHvellistc will shortly publish the following ideas in a French dress : " At the present moment in France, events are constantly occurring which are not only opposed to common sense, but are frequently an outrage on all moral feeling. Former Papal Zouaves, and not alone Frenchmen, serve without scruple in the army of a Republic which is governed by Voltair- ians. Garibaldi comes to Tours and offers, as he says, what remains of his life to the service of France. He can hardly 1 200 AN IMPOSSIBLE SUGGESTION COcr. 26 have forgotten that this same France, twenty years before, de- stroyed the Roman Republic, while the wounds which it infljctct upon his country at Mentana must be still fresh in his memory Nor can we have forgotten how his native town of Nice was filched from the Italian fatherland by this same France, and that it is at the present moment only restrained by a state of siege from throwing off the French yoke." Delbriick mentioned that during the preliminary negotia- tions for the reorganisation of Germany, Bavaria laid claim to a kind of joint participation in the representation of the Fed- eral State in foreign countries, the Bavarian idea being that when the Prussian, or rather the German, Minister or Ambas- sador was absent, the Bavarian representative should have the conduct of affairs. The Chief said : " No, whatever they like, but that is really impossible. The question is not what Ambassador we are to have, but what instructions he is to receive, and under that arrangement there would be two Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Germany." The Count then proceeded to further develop this point of view, illustrating it by examples. Monday, October 24///. — Strange news comes from Mar- seilles. It appears that the Red Republicans have there gained the upper hand. Esquiros, the Prefect of the Mouths of the Rhone, belongs to this variety of French Republicans. He has suppressed the Gazette dti Midi, because the clubs of his party maintain that it favours the candidature of the Comte de Chambord, whose proclamation it has published. He has also expelled the Jesuits. A decree has been issued by Gambctta, declaring the Prefect to be dismissed, and his measures against the newspaper mentioned and the Jesuits to be abrogated, Esquiros, however, supported by the working classes, has de- clined to obey this order of the Government Delegation at Tours, and continues to hold his post. The Gazette du Midi is still suppressed, and the Jesuits are expelled. Just as little heed was paid to Gambetta's decree disbanding the Civic Guard, which was recruited from Red Republicans, and is not to be confounded with the Marseilles National Guard. The Chief remarked with reference to this news : " It looks as if things were tending towards civil war ; and it is possible that we may shortly have a Republic of South France." I worked iSyo] THE WAR INDEMNITY 201 up this news into paragraphs, written in the sense of the fore- going comment. At 4 o'clock M. Gauthier, who comes from Chislehurst, called upon the Chancellor. Tuesday, October 2$th. — This morning the Chief said, in reference to a statement in the Pays mentioning an indemnity of three and a half milliards : " Nonsense ! I shall demand much more than that ! " During dinner the subject of "William Tell" was intro- duced, I cannot now remember how, and the Minister confessed that, even as a boy, he could not endure that character ; first, because he shot at his own son, and secondly, because he killed Gcsslcr in a treacherous way. " It would have been more natural and noble to my mind if, instead of shooting at the boy, for after all the best archer might hit him instead of the apple, he had immediately shot down the Governor. That would have been legitimate wrath provoked by a cruel com- mand. But the lurking and skulking is not to my taste. It is not the proper style for a hero, not even for franctireurs." Two copies of the Notivelliste are pasted up daily in differ- ent parts of the town, and are read by the people, although, when a German passes by, the group engaged in per i sing them greets him with such criticisms as, " Mensonges ! " or "Impossi- hk!" One of Stieber's attendant spirits, or some other guar- dian of the truth, caught a working man to-day in the act of writing the word " Blague " on one of the copies posted up in the neighbourhood of the Prefecture. It is said that he is to be transported to Germany. Wednesday, October 26th. — In the morning I translated Granville's despatch for the King, and afterwards prepared an abstract of it for the press. The latter was accompanied by the remark that we had already twice offered the French an armistice on favourable terms, once through Favre, and again, on the 9th of October, through Burnside, but that they would not accept it because we desired it. Then telegraphed to London that Thiers is receiving a safe conduct to our head- quarters and permission to proceed thence to Paris. Also that the Comte de Chambord had a meeting at Coppet with the Comte de Paris. In the evening I wrote another article on the instnictions 202 METZ (AriTULATES [Of-T. 2 21) of the Chief to the following effect. It is rumoured that Vienna clii)lomacy has again taken steps to induce the Ger- mans to grant an armistic". We find it difficult to credit this report. The only advantage to the French of an armistice at the present moment would be to strengthen their resistance and to render it more difficult for us to enforce the conditions which we recognise as essential. Can that be the object Aus- tria has in view in taking this measure ? The following con- siderations are of an obvious nature. If the authorities in Vienna deprive us of the fruits of our victory, if we are pre- vented from .securing that safe western frontier which we arc striving to win, a new war with France is unavoidable, or rather the continuatio" of the one thus interrupted. It is quite clear where in .-uch circumstances France would seek allies and probably find them. It is equally certain that in that case Germany would not wait until the recovery of France from her present chaotic condition, which would be promoted by a cessation of the war now in progress. Germany would be obliged to deal first with this future ally of France and to scd to render it powerless, and the latter standing alone would have to bear the cost of its own act in preventing us from attainini:; our present object. In other words, it might then happen that Austria would have to compensate us by the cession of Bohemia for the loss of Lorraine, which it once before alienated from the German Empire. Friday, October 2St/i. — In the afternoon Moltke sent the Chief a telegram which reported that the capitulation of Metz was signed to-day at 12.45 p.m. The French army thus made prisoners number in all 173,000 men, including 16,000 sick and wounded. Bennigsen, Friedenthal, and Von Blankenburg, a friend of the Chancellor's in his youth, joined us at dinner From the French officers captured at Metz and their approach- ing transportation to Germany, the conversation turned upon General Ducrot and his disgraceful escape from Pont a Mous- son. The Minister said : " He has written me a long letter explaining that there is no foundation for the charge of breacli of faith we have brought against him, but he has not materiaily modified my view of the case." The Chief then related that recently an " intermediary of Gambetta's " had called upon him, and that towards the close of the conversation he asked whether iS-o] A wiiisr I'Aurv lou \viliiklmsii»")Iie 203 wc would rccop^nisc the Ropulilic. " I ropliL-d," continued the Chief, " certainly, without any duul)t or hesitation. Not only tlic Republic, but, if you like, a Ciambetta dynasty ; only it must secure us the advantages of a safe peace." " Or for the matter of that any dynasty, whether it be a Bleichroder or a Rothschild one." The NoHvcllislc is to be stopped, and to bo replaced by a journal of larger size bearing the title, Moiiihiir Officicl dc Seine ct Oisc, which will be published at the expense of the Government. Saturday, October 29///. — At dinner our great success at Metz was discu.ssed. " That exactly doubles the number of our prisoners," said the Minister — "no, it does more. We now have in Germany the army which Napoleon had in the field at the time of the battles of VVeissenburg, Worth, and Saar- briickcn, with the exception of those whom we killed. The troops which the French now have were afterwards brought from Algiers and Rome, and newly recruited, together with a few thousand men under Vincy who made off before Sedan. We have also nearly all their generals." The Chief then said Napoleon had requested that Marshals Bazaine, Lebcuuf, and Canrobert, who had been taken at Metz, should be sent to him at Wilhelmshohe. The Minister added : " That would make a whist party. I have no objection, and shall recommend the King to do so." He then went on to say that so many extraor- dinary events which no one could have imagined previously were now of daily occurrence that one might regard the most wonderful as being within the range of possibility. "Amongst other things it might well happen that we should hold a Ger- man Reichstag in Versailles, while Napoleon might summon the Legislative Chamber and the Senate to Cassel to consider the terms of peace. Napoleon is convinced that the former representative body is still legally in existence, an opinion against which there is little to be said, and that he could sum- mon it to meet wherever he liked — of course, however, only ill France. Cassel would be a debatable question." The Chief then said that he had invited the representatives of the parties "with whom it is possible to discuss matters " — Friedenthal, Bennifjsen, and Hlankenburg — to come here in order to ascer- tain their views respecting a session of our Parliament at ,r^' 204 LOAFERS AT IlEADOUARTERS [Ocr. 29, is-o Versailles. " I was obliged to omit the Progressist party, as they only desire what is not possible. They are like Russians, who eat chcnics in winter and want oysters in summer. When a Russian goes into a shop he asks for Kaknjc bud, that is to say, for what does not exist." After the first course Prince Albrecht, the father, came in and took a seat on the Chief's right. The old gentleman, like a genuine Prussian Prince always gallant and loyal to his dutv, has pressed forward with his cavalry beyond Orleans. He tells us that the engagement in Chateaudun was " horrible." Ho warmly praised the Duke of Meiningen, who had also shirked no danger or privation. On this the Chief remarked : " I have nothing to say against Princes who go with the army and as officers and leaders share the dangers and hardships of the soldiers. But I should prefer to see those who loaf around here at Puckler's expense, and who are mere spectators of the man-hunt, anywhere rather than at headquarters. It is all th.' more unpleasant to me to have them here, as they storm nie with questions and force wise counsels upon me respcctin^; matters that are in course of development and which are now being worked out." . . . "May I ask," said the Prince (doubt- less to get away from this subject), "how the Countess is?" " Oh, she is quite well," replied the Chief, " now that our son is better. She still suffers from her ferocious hatred of the Gauls, all of whom she would wish to see shot and stabbed to death, down to the little babies — who after all cannot help having such abominable parents." CHAPTER XI THIERS i^ND THE F11\ST NEGOTIATIONS FOR AN ARMISTICE AT VERSAILLES On the morning of the 30th of October, while taking a walk along the Avenue de Saint Cloud, I met Bennigsen, who was to start for home with IMankenburg in a few days. On my asking what progress had been made in Germany with the question of unity, he said that the prospects were very good. The only point which the Bavarians still insisted upon was a certain degree of independence for their army. The feeling amongst the majority of the people was all that could be desired. On my return to the house a little after 10 o'clock Engel told me that Thiers had arrived shortly before but had left ajjain almost immediately. He had come from Tours, and had only called to get a safe conduct through our lines, as he wished to go to Paris. Hatzfeld had breakfasted with Thiers at the Hotel des Reservoirs, and afterward saw him into the carriage, in which, accompanied by Lieutenant von Wintcrfeldt, he was conducted to the French outposts. He told us at lunch that Thiers "still remained the same bright witty old gentleman, but was weak as a baby." Hatzfeld had been the first to recog- nise him on his calling at cur place, and told him that the Chief was just getting up. He then showed him into the salon, and informed the Minister, who hastily finished his toilet and shortly afterwards came down. They were, however, only together alone for a few minutes, the Chief thcL instructing Hatzfeld to make the necessary preparations for Thiers' visit to Paris. The Minister afterwards told Hatzfeld that Thiers said to him, immediately after they had exchanged greetings, that he had not come to speak to him. "That strikes me as quite natural," added Hatzfeld, " as, although Thiers would like to conclude peace with us (just because it would be Thiers' peace, since he is terribly ambitious), he does not know what the people in Paris would say to it." 205 206 rilllIRS' I'lRST VISIT t(3CT. In the inoiiiitiinc the Chief had ridden off with his cousin to \ ': review of 9,000 Landwehr (iUurds which was i)eini; held this niorninjj; by the King.. At luncheon the Chief referral to the Landxv'chr, who hud arrived that morning, and said thcv were all broad-shouldered fellows, who must have impressed the people of X'ersailles. "The front of one of their companies is at least five feet broader than that of a French company, par. ticularly in the Pomeranian Landwehr." The Minister then turned to Ilatzfeld, and said: "1 Jiope you have not mentioned anything about Metz to Thiers." *'No, and he also said nolh. ing about it, although there is no doubt that he knows." "lie certainly does, but I did not speak about it either." llatzfeld then observed once more that Thiers was very charming in his manner, but had lost nothing of his old vanity and self-com- placency. As evidence of this Matzfeld mentioned that Thier> had told him that a few days before he met a peasant whom he asked whether he desired to see peace concluded. " Certainly, very much." " Whether he knew who he (Thiers) was.^" No, the peasant replied, and appealed to a neighbour who had conic on the scene, and who passed as the oldest inhabitant. Thi> ancient was of opinion that M. Thiers must be a member of the Chamber, Hatzfeld added, " It was obvious that Thiers was angry at not being better known." The Chief went out for a moment, and brought back a case containing a gold pen, which a jeweller of Pforzheim presented to him for the purpose of signing the Treaty of Peace. At dinner the Chief again spoke at some length of the pos- sibility of holding a session of the German Reichstag at Ver- sailles, while the French Legislative Chamber should at the same time meet at Cassel. Delbriick observed that the hall of the Diet at Cassel would not be large enough for such an assembly. "Well, then," said the Chief, "the Senate could meet somewhere else — in Marburg or F'ritzlar, or some similar town," Monday, October },ist. — In the morning wrote some articles, one of which advocated the idea of an international court for the trial of those who had instigated this war against us. Also directed attention to the case of M. Flermieux, the Comman- dant of a French battalion, who like Ducrot had broken his word by making his escape from hospital, and whose descrip- tion was now published in the newspapers. iSjoJ IJHRMAN I'KlSiJM-ikS IN IRANCl-; 207 Gaiithicr called a^ain at 12 o'clock, and had another lon^ interview with the Chict". Hatzfeld announced at tea that on paying a visit early in the evening at the H6tel dcs Reservoirs he learned by accident that M. Thiers had returned, and he had afterwards spoken to him. Thiers informed hiin that on the day before he had been cn^^a^ed from 10 o'clock at night until 3 in the morning in iiei;otiating with the members of the Provisional Government ; he rose again at 6 a.m. and from that time until 2 in the after- noon received visitors of all descriptions, after which he drove back here. He wishes to have a conference with the Chan- allor to-morrow. " He began to speak of disturbances having Uikcn pkicc yesterday in Paris," continued I iat/ield, " but on an exclamation of surprise escaping me he immediately changed the subject." In the evening I was instructed to see that the decree addressed to Vogel von I'alkenstein, and published in the Stimtsan:;ci;^rr of the 27th instant, was reproduced by our other papers. It was t'" be accompanied by a collection of newspaper reports respecting the ill-treatment of German prisoners by the French. I then began a second article against Beust's interven- tion in our quarrel with the French, based on the suggestions of the Chief, who said it was to be " very sharply worded." This, however, was not sent off, as the situation altered in the mean- time. I reproduce the article here as being characteristic of the position of affairs at the moment. It ran as follows: — " If in a struggle between two Powers, one of whom proves obviously weaker and is at length on the point of being defeated, a third Power, which has hitherto been neutral, urges an armistice, its motive must certainly be regarded less as a benevolent desire for the welfare of both parties than as anxiety for the weaker State and as evident partisanship in favour of the same. It is, in fact, an armistice in favour of the Power that is on the point of being defeated, and to the dis- advantage of that which has won the upper hand. If this third Power furthermore endeavours to induce other neutral States to take similar action, thus strengthening and giving more weight to its own proposal, then it is clearly departing still further from a neutral attitude. Its one-sided warnings are transformed into partisan pressure, its proceedings become 20» TIIK AITITUDK OK AUSTklA LNnV. , intrigues, and its whole action presents an apjjearanci: of threatened violence. "This is the case with Austria-Huii Government at the outposts, M. Thiers was not authorised to accept either of these offers. He demanded first of all permis- sion to provision Paris, without offering any military equivalent. As this proposal could not be accepted by the Germans on mil iSjo] THE QUESTION OF BOMBARDMENT 217 tary grounds, M. Thiers yesterday received instructions from Paris to break off the negotiations." The following particulars have been ascertained from other sources: — The instruction referred to was received by Thiers ill the form of a curt letter from Favre desiring him to return to Tours, whither he has gone, to-day. The Chancellor tells me that Thiers was very depressed at the foolish obstinacy of the Paris Government, of which both he hi.nself and several of the Ministers disapprove. Favre and Picard, particularly the htter, are desirous of peace but are too weak to withstand the opposition of the others. Gambetta and Trochu will not hear of the elections, which would in all probability put an end to thc'r rule. I write articles to the following effect : — We were prepared to do everything possible, but all our concessions were rejected owing to the ambition of MM. Favre and Trochu, who do not want to be forced by the true representatives of the French peo- ple to give up the power which fell into their hands through an insurrection. It is that ambition alone which prolongs the war. We, on the other hand, have shown that we desire peace, by carrying our complaisance to the utmost point. The postponement of the bombardment was again discussed at dinner. The Chancellor said he could not understand the absurd rumour circulated in the newspapers to the effect that he was opposed to the bombardment while the military authorities were pressing for it. " Exactly the contrary is the case. No one is more urgent in favour of it than I am, and it is the military authorities who hesitate. A great deal of my correspondence is taken up in dispelling the scruples and excessive circum- spection of the military people. It appears that the artillery are constantly requiring more time for preparation and particu- larly a larger supply of ammunition. At Strasburg, they also asked for much more than was necessary, as notwithstanding the foolish waste of powder and shell, two-thirds of the supply collected was never used." Alten objected that even if the forts in question were captured they would be then subjected to the fire from the enciente, and we should have to begin over again. " That may be," said the Minister, " but they ought to have known that sooner, as there was no fortress we knew so much about from the commencement as Paris." ^ p~^ 2l8 "lUK FIRST FOUKI(}N Oll'ICF, OK THE WORLD' >'<'V.8 Somebody remarked that in the two balloons that had been seized five persons had been taken prisoners. The Chief con- sidered that they ought to be treated as spies without anv lengthy deliberation. Alten said they would be brought up be- fore a court-martial, whereupon the Minister exclaimed, "Well, nothing will happen to them there ! " He then observed how stout and strong Count Bill wj.s. At his age he himself was slight and thin. "At Gottingen I was as thin as a knittiiii;- needle." Mention having been made of the circumstance that the sentry posted outside the villa occupied by the Crown Prince had been shot at and wounded the night before, and that the town would be obliged to pay him five thousand francs as com- pensation, the Chief said that in going out in the evening he would not take his sword but rather a revolver — "as althoiij^h in certain circumstances I should be quite willing to let myself be murdered, I should not like to die unavenged." After dinner I was instructed by the Chancellor to again telegraph an account of the negotiations with Thiers, only in a somewhat different form. On my venturing to observe that the contents of the despatch had been telegraphed in the morning, he replied, " Not quite accurately ; you sec hero ' Count Bismarck proposed,' &c. You must notice such fine shades if you want to work in the first Foreign dTcsofthe world." Tuesday, November St/t. — In the morning I sent off a tele- gram stating that the prisoners taken in the balloons have been transported to a Prussian fortress in order to be tried there bv court-martial. Furthermore that the confiscated let'jers com- promised diplomats and other personages who have been per- mitted to remain in communication with the outer world out of consideration for their position and sense of honour. Such communication would no longer be tolerated. At about 12.30 P.M., while we were at lunch, the Chief re- ceived a visit from Archbishop Ledochowski of Posen, and it was understood that his business was to submit an offer of the Pope to intervene with the French Government. They proba- bly hope in this way to purchase the intervention of the German Government on behalf of the Holy Father. The Archbishop remained till nearly 3 o'clock, and on his leaving the Chief went to see the King. He subsequently took dinner at the Crown 8;o] i»7 FEMININK INKLUKNCK 219 Prince's, where the Grand iJukc of Baden, who had arrived in the meantime, also dined. Dclbriick, General Chauvin, and Colonel Meidam, the officer in command of the Field Telegraph, were the Chief's guests at dinner. Mention was made of the improper use of the telej^raph wire by distinguished personages for their private purposes. After a while the Chancellor remarked : — "I hear that the Augustcnburger also telegraphs. That really should not be. Xnr has the Coburger any right to do so. The telegraph is for military and diplomatic purposes and not for minor potentates to use for inquiries respecting their kitchens, stables, and theatres. None of them has any rights here. Their rights ceased on passing the German frontier." On some one referring to the destruction of the telegraph wires and other similar misconduct on the part of franctircurs and peasants near Epernay, the Minister said : — " They should have immediately sent three or four battalions there, and trans- ported six thousand peasants to Germany until the conclusion of the war." /Amongst other subjects discussed at tea was the rumour that the postponement of the bombardment was in part due to the influence of ladies, the Queen and the Crown Princess being mentioned in this connection. The Chief was in the drawing- room engaged in conference with the Bavarian General von Bothmer on the military question in connection with the closer unification of Germany now in progress. The Minister joined us afterwards, remaining for about an hour. On sitting down he breathed a deep sigh and said : — "I was thinking just now, what I have indeed often thought before — If I could only for five minutes have the power to say : ' That must be done thus and in no other way!' — If one were only not compelled to pother about the ' why ' and the ' wherefore,' and to argue and plead for the simplest things! — Things made much more rapid progress under men 'ike Frederick the Great, who were generals themselves and also knew somr :hing about administration, act- ing as their owi . Ministers. It was the same with Napoleon. But here, this eternal talking and begging ! "y After a while the Chief said, with a laugh : — "I have been busy to-day educating Princes." "How so, Excellency.?" asked Hatzfeld. 220 IF THE VOVE CAME TO (JKRMANY [Nov, s "Well, I have explained to various fjentlemen at the llotd des Reservoirs what is and what is not projier. I have i^jvcn the Meiningcr to understand through Stein that he is not to be allowed to use the Field Telegraph for giving instructions about his kitchen garden and theatre. And the Coburgcr is still worse. Never mind, the Reichstag will set that right and put a stop to all that kind of thing. But only I shall not be there." Hatzfeld asked : — " Has your Excellency seen that the Italians have broken into the Quirinal ? " "Yes, and I am curious to know what the Pope will now do, Leave the country ? But where can he go ? He has already requested us to ask the Italians whether he would be allowed to leave and with fitting dignity. We did so, and they replied that the utmost respect would be paid to his position, and that their attitude would be governed by that determination in case he desired to depart." "They would not like to .see him go," added Hatzfeld; "it is in their interests that he should remain in Rome." The Chief: — "Yes, certainly. But perhaps he may be obliged to leave. But where could he go .-• Not to France, because Garibaldi is there. He would not like to go to Au.stria, To Spain .-• I suggested to him Bavaria." The Minister then reflected for a moment, after which he continued : — " There remains nothing for him but Belgium or North Germany. Asa matter of fact, he has already asked whether we could grant him asylum. I have no objection to it — Cologne or Fulda. It would be passing .strange, but after all not so very inexplicable, and it would be very useful to us to be recognised by Catholics as what we really are, that is to say, the sole power now cxi.stini; that is capable of protecting the head of their Church. Stofflet and Charette, together with their Zouaves, could then go about their business. We should have the Poles on our side. The opposition of the Ultramontanes would cease in Belgium and Bavaria. Malinkrott would come over to the Government side. But the King will not consent. He is terribly afraid. He thinks all Prussia would be perverted and he himself would be obliged to become a Catholic. I told him, however, that if the Pope begged for asylum he could not refuse it. He would have to grant it as ruler over ten million Catholic sub- jects who would desire to see the head of their Church pro- iSjo] UISMAKCK AS A llOkSKMAN 221 iccted. Besides, imaginative people, particularly women, may possibly feel drawn towards Catholicism by the pomp and ritual of St. Peter's, with the Tope seated upon his throne and be- stowing his benediction. The danger would not be so great, however, in Germany, where the people would see the Pope amongst them as a poor old man seeking assistance — a good „1(1 gentleman, one of the Bishops, who ate and drank like the rest, took his pinch of snuff, and even perhaps smoked a cigar. And after all even if a few people in Germany became Catholic v;,m (I should certainly not do so), it would not matter much so Img as they remained believing Christians. The particular sect is of no consequence, only the faith. People ought to be more tolerant in their way of thinking." The Chief then dilated on the comic aspect of this migration of the Pope and his Cardinals to Fiilda, and concluded : — "Of course the King could not sec the humorous side of the affair. But (smiling) if only the Pope remains true to me, I shall know how to bring his Majesty round." Some other subjects then came up. Hatzfcld mentioned that his Highness of Coburg had fallen from his horse. "Happily, however, without being hurt," hastily added Abeken, with a pleased expression. This led the Chief to speak of similar accidents that had happened to himself. " I believe I shall be more than within the mark in saying that I must have fallen from horseback fifty times. It is noth- ing to be thrown from your horse, but when the horse lies on top of you, then it's a bad case. The last time was at Varzin, when I broke three ribs. I thought it was all up with mc. It was not, however, so dangerous as it seemed, but it was terribly painful. . . . But as a young man I had a remarkable accident, which shows how our thinking powers are dependent upon the brain. I was riding home one evening with my brother, and we were both galloping as hard as our horses could go. Sud- denly r.'.y brother, who was in front, heard a fearful bang. It was my head that had struck against the road. My horse had shied at a lantern in a cart coming in the opposite direction, and reared so that he fell backwards, and I tumbled on my head. .\.{ first I lost consciousness, and on returning to my senses my power of thinking remained on some points quite clear, but had quite deserted me on others. I examined my horse and found 222 A strancl: case [Nov. I that the saddle was broken, so I called the groom and rode home on his horse. When the dogs there barked at me by way of greeting, I thought they did not belong to us, got cross with them, and drove them away. Then I said the groom had fallen from his horse and they should send a stretcher to bring him in; and I got very angry when, taking their cue from my brother, they showed no disposition to move. Were they going to leave the unfortunate man lying in the road.? I did not know that 1 was myself and was at home, or rather I was both myself and the groom. I asked for something to eat and afterwards went to bed. After having slept through the night I woke up ne.\t morning all right again. It was a strange case. I had exam- ined the saddle, taken another horse, and so forth. I had done everything that was practically required. In that respect the fall had produced no confusion in my ideas. A singular exam- ple which shows that the brain harbours various intellcctua powers — only one of these had remained stupefied by my fall for a somewhat longer time. " I well remember another incident of the kind. I was rid- ing rapidly through some young timber in a large wood a consid- erable distance from home. As I was crossing over a hollow road the horse stumbled and fell, and I lost consciousness, I must have lain there senseless for about three hours, as it was already twilight by the time I stirred. The horse was standin^ near me. As I said, the place was at a great distance from our estate, and I was entirely unacquainted with the district. I had not yet quite recovered my senses, but on this occasion also I did what was nc ssary. I took off the martingale, which was broken, and followed the road across a rather long bridge which, as I then ascertained, was the nearest way to a farm in the neighbourhood. The farmer's wife ran away on seeing a big man standing before her with his face all covered with blood. Her husband, however, came to mc and wiped away the blood. I told him who I was, and as I was hardly fit for such a long ride home I asked him to drive me there, which he accordingly did. I must have been shot fifteen feet out of the saddle and fallen against the root of a tree. On the doctor examinini; my injuries, he said it was against all the rules of his art that I had not broken my neck. " I have also been a couple of other times in danger of my i>:oJ TlIK ollJIUT OF AN AKMISIICK 223 iito," continued the Chief. " For instance, before the Scmmer- iii(; railway was finished (I believe it was in 185J) I went with a party throu^^h one of the tunnels. It was quite dark inside. I went ahead with a lantern. Now right across the floor of the iiinnel was a rift or gully, which must have been about fifteen foot deep and half as wide again as this table. A plank was laid across it, with a raised skirting board on both sides to pre- vent the wheelbarrows from slipping off. This j)l;uik must have boon rotten, as when I reached the middle it broke in two and I tell down ; but having probably involuntarily stretched out my arms, I remained hanging on the skirting. The lantern having ;;one out, those behind thought I had fallen into the gully, and were not a little surprised when the reply to their question, 'Arc vou still alive ? ' instead of coming from the depths below came from just under their feet. I answered, ' Yes, here I am.' I had in the meantime recovered hold also with my feet, and I Askcd whether I should go on or come back. The guide thought I had better go on to the other side, and so I worked my way over. The workman who acted as our guide then struck a light, got another plank, and brought the party across. That plank was a good example of the slovenly way in which such things were managed in Austria at that time ; because I cannot believe that it was intentional. I was not hated in Vienna then as I am now — on the contrary." Thnrsday, November \oth. — In the morning I am instructed by the Chief to telegraph that great distress has been occa- sioned "n France and that still more is to be anticipated in con- sequence of the application by the Provisional Government of Savings Bank funds for the relief of the poor, and of the prop- erty of corporations to military purposes. I had permission to study the documents connected with the abortive negotiations tor an armistice. Thiers had stated in a memorandum the principles which he, iind the French Government which he represented, regarded as a basis for the proposed armistice. It was to the following effect: — The object of the understanding was to put an end as soon as possible to the bloodshed, and to permit the convoca- tion of a National Assembly which would represent the will of France in dealing with the European Powers, and be in a position sooner or later to conclude peace with Prussia and her 224 THE rROVLSIONING OF PARIS [Nov. 10 i allies. The armistice must last for twenty-eight days, of whidi twelve would be required for canvassing the constituencies, om for the polling, five for the elected deputies to meet in some given place, and ten for examining the returns and appointing the bureau of the Assembly. Tours might for the present remain the seat of such an Assembly. The elections must be allowed to take place free and unhindered in all parts of France, incliui. ing those occupied by the Prussians. Military operations on both sides to cease, although both parties would be at liberty to enlist recruits and proceed with works of defence. The armies to be at liberty to obtain for themselves supplies of provisions, but requisitions on the other hand to be suspended as " constitut- ing a military operation which should cease together with other hostilities." IVIoreover, fortified places were to be provisioned for the duration of the truce in i)roportion to the strength nf the population and garrison. For this purpose Paris to he allowed to receive the following live stock and other jMovisions over four railway lines to be determined : 34,000 hullock>, 80,000 sheep, 8,000 pigs, 5,000 calves, 100,000 metric centals ot corned meat, 8,000,000 metric centals of hay or straw as fodder for the cattle in question, 200,000 metric centals of flour, 30,000 metric centals of dried vegetables, 100,000 tons of coal, and 500,000 cubic metres of firewood. In these calculations the pdp- ulatlon of Paris and its suburbs, including the garrison of 400. 000 men, was estimated at 2,700,000 to 2,800,000 inhabitants. These demands on the part cf the French could not be accepted. Had we agreed to them we should have surrendered the greater and more important portion of the advantages \vj had gained in the last seven weeks, at the cost of great sacri- fices and severe exertions. In other words, we should in the main have returned to the position in which we were on the 19th of September, the day on which our troops completed the investment of Paris. We are asked to allow Paris to pro- vision itself, when even now it suffers from scarcity and will shortly be obliged to starve or surrender. We are to suspend our military operations just at the moment when the fall ot Metz and the release of the army of Prince Frederick Charles enable us to extend and render them more effective. We arc quietly to permit recruiting and organisation, by means oi which the I'rench Republic is to create a new field force, while iSp] NO iMlLlTARY EQUIVALENT 225 WO require no recruits. At the same time that we are to allow Paris and the othi r French lortrcsses to supply themselves with provisions, we are to provide lor our own troops without the requisitions which are necessary in an enemy's country. We are to make all these concessions without any military cquiva- lont — such, for instance, as the evacuation of one or two of the Paris forts in return for the liberty to provision the city — and without being offered any clear prospect of peace. The first object of the armistice, according to the Thiers memorandum, namely, the restoration of an orderly state of affairs by the lawful election of a Constituent Assembly, is unciuestionably more in the interest of the French themselves than in ours ; and, considering the constant excitement maintained by the inflammatory proclamations of the Provisional Government, it may possibly not be secured even under a new administration. More orderly conditions could be brought about even now with- out a truce if the present Gov 'nment were seriously disposed to work in that direction. It was absolutely impossible on the German side to have anything to do with such proposals. A different arrangement altogether was needful, and therefore the Chancellor of the Confederation offered M. Thiers a truce of twenty-live to twenty-eight days on the basis of the maintenance of the military status quo, which would enable the l^'rench to carry on the elecMons in peace, and to convoke the Assend)ly thus constituted. This also was a ct)ncession on our part in whieh the advantages were all on the l''rench side. If, as Thiers asserted, Paris v/as supplied with provisions and other necessaries for several months, it is not easy to see why the Provisional Government broke off the negotiations which, at the outside, would have prevented the Parisians <"rom making use- less sorties. France, on the other hand, woulti have had the ,;Teat advantage of having a line of demarcation drawn which would have arrested tho advance (jf the German forces, restrict- \\vi the unopposed occupation of further districts by our army that had been set free by the fall of Metz. In the meantime Thiers refused this very acceptable offer, and maintained that the provisioning of Paris was an indispensable condition for an understanding, while he was not emj)owered to give any pros- l^ct of a military equivalent for the same, such as the evacua- tion of one of the Paris forts. VOL. I, — y 226 THE WAIER SUITLY LNuv. ic On coming in to dinner, the Chief mentioned that the Min- ister of War is seriously ill. He feels very weak, and will scarcely be able to rise from his bed for a fortnight. Tlic Count afterwards made some jokes about the water supplied to us for w.ishing. "The inhabitants of the local reservoir," he said, " seem to have their seasons. First came the scolopendria which arc particularly distasteful to me, ' moving their thousand limbs together' (Schiller's Diver). Then followed the wood lice, which I cannot bear to touch, although they are perfectlv harmless. I'd sooner grasp a snake. Now the leeches havi; arrived. I found quite a small specimen to-day, doubled up into a button. I tried to induce him to dei)loy, but he declined — remained a button. I then poured some well water over liini, and he stretched out straight, long and thin like a needle, and made off with himself." The conversation then turned on a variety of simple but nevertheless estimable delicacies, such as fresh and salt herrings, new potatoes, spring butter, &c. The Minister observed to Delbriick, who also approved of those good things : "The sturgeon is a fish which is also to be found here, but it is not appreciated as it ought to be. In Russia they recognise its good qualities. It is often caught in the I^lbc in the Magdeburg district, but is only eaten by fishermen and poor people." He then explained its good points, and thus came to s]ieak of caviare, and treated of the several varieties with the knowledge of a connoisseur. " The fresh caviare which we now get in Berlin is verv good," he said, " since it can be brought by rail from St. Peters- burg in forty hours. I have had it several times, and one of my principal complaints against that fat Borck is that he inter- cepted forty pounds of this caviare which I once sent to the King. I suspected something of the kind, as the King made no mention of it, and did not send me any present in return. Later on, Perponcher or some one told me that on dropping in to Borck's room he saw there a barrel of caviare with a spoon standing in it. That made me wild with him {Das hat vtir sckr vcrdrosseii). " The Chief remarked at dinner : " To-day, again, I noticed when it snowed how many points of resemblance there are be- tween the Gauls and the Slavs. The same broad streets, with the houses standing close together, the same low roofs, as in 1870] DRINKING FEATS 227 Russia. The only thing wanting here is the green onion- bhaped steeple. But, on the other hand, the vcrsts and kilo- metres, the arshecns and metres, arc the same. And then the tendency to centralisation, the uniformity of views of the whole population and the communistic trait in the popular character." He then spoke of the wonderful " topsy-turvy " world we live in nowadays. " When one thinks that perhaps the Pope will shortly be residing in a small town of Protestant Germany, that the Reichstag may meet in Versailles and the Corps L6gis- htif in Cassel, that Garibaldi has become a French general in spite of Mentana, and that Papal Zouaves are fighting side bv side with him!" He followed up this train of ideas for some little time. The Minister then remarked suddenly : " Metternich has albu writt' to mc to-day. He wants me to allow Hoyos to enter Paris, in order that he may bring away the Austrians. I replied that since the 25th of October they have had permis- sion to come out, but that we could allow no more people to enter, not even diplomats. We also receive none in Versailles, but I would make an exception in his favour. He will then perhaps again raise the Austrians' claims respecting the prop- erty of the old Bund in the German fortresses." On the subject of doctors, and the way in which nature some- times comes to its own assistance, the Chief related that he was once with a shooting party for two days at the Duke of 's. "Iwas thoroughly out of sorts. Even the two days' shooting and fresh air did me no good. On the third day I visited the Cuirassiers at Brandenburg, who had received a new cup. I was to be ihe first one to drink out of it, thus dedicating it, and then it was to go th round of the table. It held nearly a bot- tle. I made my spec h, however, drank and set it down empty, :o the great surprise of the officers, who had but a poor opinion ' i mere quill-drivers. That was the result of my Gottingen ::aining. And strangely, or perhaps naturally enough, it set ne all right again. On another occasion, when I was shooting at Letzlingen in the time of Frederick William IV., the guests v.ore asked to drink from an old puzzle goblet. It was a stag's horn, which contained about three-quarters of a bottle of wine, and was so made that one cuuld not bring it close to the lips, yet one was not allowed to spill a drop. I took it and drank i 228 A "KINDLY" REPLY! [Nov, 12 it off at a draught, although it was very cold champagne, and not a single drop fell on my white waistcoat. Everybody was immensely surprised; but I said, 'Give me another.' The King, however, who evidently did not appreciate my success, called out, ' No, no more.' Such tricks were formerly an indis- pensable part of the diplomat's trade. They drank the wcaktr vessels under the table, wormed all they wanted to know out of them, made them agree to things which were contrary tu their instructions, or for which, at least, they had no authoritv. Then they were compelled to put their signatures at once, and afterwards when they got sober they could not imagine how they had done it." Bismarck-Bohlcn, who seemed to be particularly communi- cative to-day, told the following anecdote about the Chief. At Commercy a woman came to him to complain that her hus- band, who had tried to strike a hussar with a spade, had been arrested. "The Minister listened to her very amiably, and when she had done he replied m the kindliest manner possible, ' Well, my good woman, you can be quite sure that your hus- band ' (drawing a line round his neck with his finger) ' will be presently hanged.' " Saturday, November 12///. — While we were at lunch the Chief was out. He shortly afterwards passed through the dining-room into the saloon, accompanied by a bearded officer in a Prussian uniform, the Grand Duke of Baden. In about ten minutes the Chief returned to table. He was very angry and indignant, and said: "This is really too badi No peace from these Grand Dukes even at one's meals. They will eventually force their way into one's bedroom. That must be put a stop to. It is not so in Berlin. There the people who want something from me announce their visits in writing, and I fix a suitable time for them to call. Why should it not be the same here.'' " After a while the Chief said to one of the attendants who was waiting upon us, " Remember in future in such cases to say that I am not at home. Whoever brings any visitor to me unannounced will be put under arrest and sent off to Berlin;" and after eating a few mouthf uls more, he went on : " As if it were anything of importance! But merely curiosity and a desire to kill time. He shall see, however ; I will shortly oa} iS-o] COUNT HARRY ARNIM 229 liini a surprise visit on some official matter, so that he cannot send mc away. ..." The conversation then turned on Roon's asthma, which according to Lauer is now improving. His rage at the appear- ance of the Grand Duke during the dinner hour still visibly affected the Chief, who asked Lauer, " What should one drink with his food when in a bad temper.''" and on Lauer recom- mending something the name of which I could not catch, the Minister continued: "It upsets my digestion when anything exasperates me at meals; and here I have had good reason [i) be angry. They think that one is only made for their use." Then addressing the servant ugain the Chief said: "Mind you send away the red lackeys, and say that I am not at home. Remember that! And you, Karl (to liohlen), must take care that this is done." The name of Arnim l^oitzenburg, the former Minister, then came up. The Chancellor said he had been his chief at Aix- la-Chapelle, and he went on to describe him as " amiable, clever, but unstable and incapable of persistent or energetic action. He was like an india-rubber ball that bounces again and again, but each time with diminishing force until at length it ceases to move. He first had an opinion, then weakened it by argu- ing' a<:jainst it himself, and went on criticising his own criticism, until at last there was nothing left and nothing done." Delbriick praised the son-in-law (Harry Arnim) as being well-informed and intelligent, though unsympathetic and un- ambitious. This was confirmed by the Chief, who said : " Yes, he is a rocket in which they forgot to put the powder. He has, however, a good head, but his reports are not the same on any two successive days — often on the same day two thor- ou;;hly contradictory views. No reliance can be placed upon him." Arnim's lack of ambition led some one to speak of orders and titles, and the Chief said his first decoration was a medal for saving life, which he received for having rescued a servant from drowning. " T was made an ' Excellency ' at the palace in Kor.igsberg in 1861. I, however, already had the title in Frankfort, only there I was not a Prussian but a Federal Kxcellcncy. The German Princes had decided that each Min- ister to the Diet should have that title. For the matter of that 230 "WHY NOT BE CIVIL?" [N..V. ,5 I did not trouble myself much about it — nor afterwards either — ^I was a distinguished man without it." Sunday, November \yh. — The Chancellor, in a general's uniform and helmet, and wearing several orders, went to-dav to dine with the King. As he was leaving, Bohlen c-id to him : " But you ought to have the ribbon of the Iron Cross in your button-hole." "It is there already," replied the Minister. "In other cir- cumstances I should not wear it. I am ashamed before my own sons and many others who have earned it but not got it, while all the loafers at headquarters swagger about with it." In the evening the Chancellor desired me to send a th'mcnh of a false report published by the Augsburg AUgcvicinc Zd. tung, to the effect that Count Arnim paid a visit to head- quarters before his departure for Rome. The Chief at the same time remarked : " I have told you more than or .e that you must not write so violently. Here you are again, speak- ing of ' hallucination ' (in correction of an article by Archibald Forbes in the Daily Nezvs). Why not be civil } I, too, have to be civil. Always this carping, malignant style ! You must learn to write differently if you want to work in such a distin- guished Foreign Office, or we must make other arrangements. And such a bullying style ! Just like Brass, who might have had a brilliant position if he were not so brutal." " Hallucina- tion " was the word used by the Minister himself ; but in future I shall be careful to sift my phrases so as to eliminate all roui;n words and only let soft ones find their way into the press. Hatzfeld told me at tea that the Chief had also " carried on awfully " with him, adding that if he remained in such a temper for long he (Hatzfeld) would think of leaving. The Count will, however, in all probability take plenty of time to reconsider this matter. Tuesday, November i$th. — The Chief is still unwell. Theiss reports that the Court have their things ready packed to-day, ana this is confirmed at lunch. The position of affairs between here and Orleans is not as good as it might be. The Minister also on sitting down to table mentions the possibility of our having to retire and evacuate Versailles for a time. There might be an attack from Dreux combined with a sortie on a large scale from Paris. He had repeatedly spoken of iSjo] POSSIBILITY OF EVACUATING VERSAII.IJvS 231 that possibility to members of the general staff. Even a lay- man could see that a successful attempt of that kind in which not only the Court and general staff, but also the heavy siege guns, would be in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy must be the sole chance of relieving Paris, and that the French, therefore, may well hazard the attempt. CHAPTER XII GROWING DESIRE FOR A DECISION IN VARIOUS DIRECTIONS lVcdncS(I(7}>, November \6t/i. — The Chief is still unwoll, One of the causes is supposed to be his mortification at the course of the negotiations with the South German Statis (which once more seem as if they would come to a standstill) and at the conduct of the military authorities, who have on various occasions neglected to consult him, although the matters dealt with were not merely military questions. Count Waldersee dines with us. The Chief complains onco more that the military authorities are proceeding too slowly for him, and do not inform him of all matters of importance. Ho had only succeeded, " after repeated requests," in getting them to send him at least those particulars which they telegraph to the German newspapers. It was different in 1866. He was then present at all councils, and his view was frequently ac- cepted. For instance, it was due to him that a direct attack upon Vienna was given up, and that the army marched on to the Hungarian frontier. "And that is only as it should be. It is necessary for my business. I must be informed of the course of military operations, in order that I may know the proper time at which to conclude peace." Thursday, November lyth. — Alten and Prince Radziwill aro the Chief's guests at dinner. A rumour is mentioned to the effect that Garibaldi and 13,000 of his volunteers have been made prisoners. The Minister observed : " That is really dis- heartening — to make prisoners of 13,000 franctireurs who arc not even Frenchmen ! Why have they not been shot .■• " He then complained that the military authorities so seldom consulted him. "This capitulation of Verdun, for instance- I should certainly not have advised that. To undertake to return their arms after peace had been concluded, and still 232 N-v. 17. «S7oJ ^VIIV NOT SHOOT THE GARIIiALDIANS? 233 more to let French officials continue the administrati(-]0] "qup:kns and princksses" 239 ,unthinj;j very important. Could you imagine what it was that recently nearly wrecked the negotiations ? The question of col- lars or epaulettes ! The King of Bavaria v anted to retain the Bavarian collar, while his Majesty wished to have it replaced by ours. The Chief, however, finally brought him round by say- ing: 'IJut, your Majesty, if the Treaty is not concluded now, .i:ul in ten years' time perhaj)s the liavarians are arrayed against us in battle, what will history say when it becomes known that ;iic negotiations miscarried owir 1 to these collars ? ' Moreover, the King is not the worst — but rather the Minister of War." As I was then called away I could not for the moment un- riddle this mystery. I afterwards learned that the question was whether the Bavarian officers should in future wear the badge of their rank on their collars as hitherto, or on their shouider- vtraps like the North German troops. Bucher having alluded to the strong Republican .sympathies which Allen had yesterday displayed, Pless also observed : " Really, if we had known what Mirt of people these Princes were at the time we were discussing the Criminal Code in the Diet, we should really not have helped to make the provisions respecting Icsc-majcsii^ ?,o severe." The Chief remarked with a laugh : " Every one of us has already deserved ten years' penal servitude if all our jibing at princes during the campaign were proved against us." Wo were joined at dinner by Count Frankenberg and Prince Putbus. Both wore the Iron Cross. The guests mentioned that people were very anxious in Berlin for the bombardment to begin, and grumbled a great deal at its postponement. The rumour as to the influence of certain great ladies being one of the causes of the delay appears to be very widespread. " I have often told the King so," said the Chief, "but it cannot be done; they will not have it." "The Queen .-' " suggested some one. "Several queens," corrected the Chancellor, "and princesses. I believe also that Masonic influences and scruples have h.'l|)ed." He then again declared that he regarded the invest- ment of Paris as a blunder. " I have never been in favour of it. !t they had left it alone we should have made more progress, or at least we should have had a better position before luirope. \\.:havc certainly not added to our prestige by spending eight veeks outside Paris. We ought to have left Paris alone and ^'Highl the P'reuch in the open country. But otherwise the 240 "UK Civil,, liUT HANG ALL Till-: SAML" [N'"v.- bombardment ought to have begun at once. If a thing has tu be done, do it ! " The conversation then turned upon the treatment of the French rural population, and Putbus related that a liavarian ofificer had ordered a whole village to be burned to the ground and the wine in the cellars to be poured out into the gutter be- cause the inhabitants of the place had acted treachcrouslv. Some one else observed that the soldiers at some other place had given a fearful dressing to a cure who had been caught in an act of treachery. The Minister again praised the energy of the Bavarians, but said with regard to the second case : " One ought either to treat people as considerately as possible or to put it out of their power to do mischief — one or the other." After reflecting for a moment, he added: " Be civil to the vcrv last step of the gallows, but hang all the same. One should only be rude to a friend when one feels sure that he will not take it aiiiiss. How rude one is to his wife, for instance! That reminds me, by the way, Herr von Keudell, will you please tele- graph to Reinfeld, ' If a letter comes from Count Bismarck hold it back, and forward it to the Post Restante or to Berlin.' I have written various things to my wife which are not oveiHou- ing with loyal reverence. My father-in-law is an old gOiitleni:in of eighty-one, and as the Countess has now left Reinfeld, where she was on a visit to him, he would open and read the letter and show it to the pastor, who would tell his gossips about it, and presently it would get into the newspapers." Bleibtreu's sketch representing General Reille as he came up the hill at Sedan to deliver Napoleon's letter to the King was then mentioned, and some one remarked that from the way in which the general was taking off* his cap, he looked as if he were going to shout Hurrah ! The Chief said : " His demean- our was thoroughly dignified and correct. I spoke to him alone while the King was writing his re{Dly. He urged that hard c(in- ditions should not be imposed upon a great army which had fought so bravely. I shrugged my shoulders. He then said that rather than submit they would blow up the fortress. 1 said, 'Well, do so — faitcs saiitev!' I asked him then if the Emperor could still depend upon the army and the officers. He said yes. And whether his instructions and orders still held good in Metz ? Reille answered this question also in the affirma- iSp] GERMAN UNITY IS SECURE 241 tive, and, as we saw, he was right at the time. ... If Napo- leon had only made peace then I believe he would still be a respected ruler. But he is a silly fool ! I said so sixteen years 3(ro when no one would believe me. Stupid and sentimental. The King also thought for the moment that it would be peace, and wanted me to say what conditions we should propose. But I said to him, ' Your Majesty, we can hardly have got as far as that yet' Their fiighncsses and Serene Highnesses then pressed so close to us that I had twice to beg the King to move further off. I should have preferred to tell them plainly, ■Gentlemen, leave us alone; you have nothing to do here.' The one thing which prevented me from being rude to them was that the brother of our Most Gracious was the ringleader and chief offender of the whole prying mob." About 10 o'clock I went down to tea, and found Bismarck- Bohlen and Hatzfeld still there. The Chief was in the sa/on with the three Bavarian Plenipotentiaries. In about a quarter of an hour he opened one side of the door, bent his head forward with his friendliest look, and came in with a glass in his hand and took a seat at the table. "Well," he said, his voice and looks betraying his emotion, "the Bavarian Treaty is made and signed. German unity is secure, and the German Emperor too." We were all silent for a moment. I then begged to be allowed to bring away the pen with which he had signed it. " In God's name, bring all three," he said; "but the gold one is not amongst them." I went and took the three pens that lay near the document. Two of them were still wet. Two empty champagne bottles stood close by. "Iking us another bottle," said the Chief to the servant. "It is an event." Then, after reflecting for a while, he observed: "The newspapers will not be satisfied, and he who writes history in the usual way may criticise our agreement. He may possi- bly say, ' The stupid fellow should have asked for more ; he would have got it, as they would have been compelled to yield.' And he may be right so far as the ' compelled ' is concerned. But what I attached more importance to was that they should I be thoroughly pleased with the thing. What are treaties when people are compelled to enter into them! And I know that they went away pleased. ... I did not want to squeeze them or to make capital out of the situation. The Treaty has its VOL. I. — R 242 THE ANGEL OF DEATH LNov. 24 deficiencies, but it is for that the more durable. The future can supply those deficiencies. . . . The King also was not satisfied. He was of opinion that such a treaty was not worth much. Tviy opinion is quite different. I consider it one of the most important results which we have attained during recent years. I finally succeeded in carrying it through by exciiinr apprehensions of English intervention unless the matter were speedily settled. ... As to the question of the Emperor, I made that proposal palatable to them in the course of the negotiations by representing that it must be easier and more satisfactory for their sovereign to concede certain rights to the German Emperor than to the neighbouring King of Prussia." On the Minister then speaking somewhat slightingly of the King of Bavaria, he was like a boy, did not know his own mind, lived in " dreams," and so on — Abeken (who had entered in the meantime, and was naturally aggrieved at these remarks) said : " But surely the young King is a very nice man ! " "So are all of us here," said the Chief, as he looked round at the whole company one after another. Loud laughter from the Centre and the Left. Over a second bottle of champagne which he drank with us, the Chief came (I forget how the subject was introduced) to speak of his own death. He asserted that he should die in his 71st year, a conclusion which he arrived at from some combination of figures which I could not understand. I said : " Excellency must not do that. It would be too early. One must drive away the Angel of Death ! " " No," he replied. "In 1886 — still fifteen years. I know it. It is a mystic number." Tluirsday^ November 2\th. — Busily engaged all the morning' with various articles on the Treaty with Bavaria, written in the sense of the Chief's utterances of last night. Wollmann told me that a Colonel Krohn had arrested a lawyer at a place in the Ardennes for having treacherously entered into communication with a band of franctireurs, and the court-martial ha/ing sen- tenced the man to death, he had presented a petition for pardon, The Chief had, however, written to the Minister of War to-day that he would advise the King to let justice take its course. Colonel Tilly, of the General Staff, and Major Hill are the Chief's guests at dinner to-day. The Minister again complained iSyo] THE CROWN PRINCESS 243 that the military authorities do not communicate sufficient infor- mation to him and too seldom consult him. " It was just the same with the appointment of Vogel von Falkenstein, who has now locked up Jacoby. If I have to speak on that subject in the Reichstag, I shall wash my hands at "he matter. They could not possibly have done more to spoil the broth for me." " I came to the war," he repeated, "disposed to do everything for the military authorities, but in future I shall go over to the advocates of Parliamentary government, and if they worry me much more, I shall have a chair placed for myself on the extreme Left." The Treaty with Bavaria was then mentioned, and it was said that the difficulties which had been encountered arose partly on the Nation^'l side, on which the Minister observed : 'it is really remarkable how many clever people there are who, nevertheless, understand nothing about politics. For in- stance, the man who alv/ays sat on my right here (Delbriick). A very clever man, but no politician." Suddenly changing the subject, he said: "The English are beside themselves, and their newspapers demand war on account of a note which is nothing more than a statement of opinion on a point of law — for that is all that Gortchakoff's Note amounts to." Later on the Minister returned once more to the postpone- ment of the bombardment, which he regarded as dangerous from a political standpoint. " Here wt; have now collected this enormous mass of siege artillery. The whole world is waiting for us to begin, and yet the guns remain idle up to the present. That has certainly damaged us with the neutral Powers. The effect of our success at Sedan is very seriously diminished thereby, and when one thinks on what grounds." One of the causes of the delay brought him to speak of the Crown Prin- cess, of whom he said: " She is in general a very clever person and really agreeable in her way, but she should not interfere in politics." He then again related the anecdote about the glass of water which he told me near Crehanges, only this time it was in French that the Princess spoke. Friday, November 2^th. — In the morning I cut out for the King an article from the N'eue Freie Presse, in which Granville's note is described as timid and colourless, and arrange for the 244 FKKNCII MKKOICS IN'"V. 2(, republication by all our papers in France of the telcj^ram o: July last, in which Napoleon stated that the whole French people approved of the declai ion of war which he hud just despatched. Whilst I was walkinj; with WoUmann in the afternoon, he told me an anecdote of the Chief which is very neat — althou;' - I must add that my informant is not quite trustworthy, Wdi). mann said: " On the nij^ht of the 14th to the 1 5th of June, iW\ Manteuffel telegraphed that he had crossed the I'^lbe, and iiskal how he was to treat the Hanoverians. Thereupon the Minister wrote the answer : ' Treat them as countrymen, if necessary to death.' lie asked me: 'Do you understand that.'' ' \\.,, Excellency,' I replied. 'All right, then,' he added, * but, yoi; see, it is for a general.' " Saturday, November 26///. — Wrote several articles, includ- ing one on Trochu's extraordinary production in the l-ii^ato of the 22nd instant, praising those whom he considered spcciallv deserving of commendation in the defence of the city. Thj Chief read over to me some of the passages he had markd. saying: "These heroic deeds of the defenders of Paris arc mostly of such :. i ordinary kind that Prussian generals would not think them worth mentioning, while others are mere swag- ger and obvious imijossibilities. Trochu's braves have made more prisoners when they are all reckoned up than the whole French army during the entire investment of Paris. Then here is this Captain Montbrisson, who is commended for having marched at the head of his column to the attack, and had himself lifted over a wall in order to reconnoitre, — that was merely his duty. Then here is this theatrical vanity, where Private Glctty made prisoners of three Prussians, par la j;r- metCiie son attitude. The firmness of his attitude ! And our Pomeraivi ns ate humble pie before him! That may do for a Boulevard theatre, or a circus, — but in reality! Then this llolf, who on several oc-'sions slaughtered in single combat no lc?s than twenty-seven Prussians ! He must be a Jew, this triple nine- pounder! Probably a cousin of Malz-Hoff of the Old or Nc" Wilhelmstrasse — at any rate a Miles Gloriosus. And fina'iy this Tcrreaux, who captured -a. f anion, together with the/i/' fiinion. That is a company flag for marking the line — whicii we do not use at all. And the Commander-in-Chief of an arnr i'*:oJ SIRUM; l.ANGUAdK Tf) A CJRAXD Dl'KI': 245 niiiicially reports such stuff! Really this list of commendations is just like the battle pictures in the gallery of toittcs Ics gloircs ,/(• la France, where each drummer at Sebastopol and Ma- i^cnta is preserved for posterity, simply because he beat his drum." At dinner the Chief complained : " I was yesterday visited bv a whole series of misfortunes, one on top of the other. First of all some one wanted to see nic on important business (Odo Russell). I send word requesting him to wait for a few mo- ments, as I am engaged on a pressing matter. On my asking tor him a quarter 01 an hour later, I find he has gone, and pos- sibly the peace of Murope is at stake. "Then I go to sec the King as early as 12 o'clock, and the consequence is that I fall into the hands of the Grand Duke of Weimar, who obliges me, as his Chancellor, to listen to a letter which he has written to an august personage (the I'Lmperor of Russia), and thus wastes a good deal of my time. ... I am to tell him what I think of the letter, but I decline to do so. [lave I then anything to object to it } he asked in a piqued tone. I cannot say that either, although I would observe that I should have written the letter differently. What do I wish altered .'' I stick to my point, and say I cannot express an opinion, because it the letter went with my corrections I should be held respon- sible for its contents. ' Well, then, I must sjieak to the King.' 'Do so,' I reply coolly, 'and take over the office of Chancellor of the Confederation, if you like, liut if the letter goes off, I for my part shall immediately telegraph to the place of desti- nation that I have had nothing to do with it.' I thus lost an hour, so that telegrams of great importance had to wait, and in the meantime, decisions may have been arrived at and reso- lutions taken which would have very serious consequences tor all Europe, and might change the political situation. That all came of its being a Friday. Friday negotiations, FYiday measures ! " Bucher told me the Crown Prince recently said to the Chancellor that too little had been secured by the Bavarian Treaty. After such great successes we ought to have asked for more. " Yes ; but how were we to get it .-* " asked the Chief. "Why, we ought to force them," was the Crown Prince's reply. "Then," said the Chancellor, " I can only recommend your w^ 246 THE TURCOS ARE "BEASTS OF PREY" [Nov. 27, is-o Royal Highness to begin by disarming the Bavarian Ainv, Corps here," a remark which, of course, was intended ironically, Sunday, November 2'jth. — We were joined at dinner by Count Lehndorff and Count Holnstein. The latter is Master of the Horse to King Lewis, and one of his confidential advisers. The Chief spoke at first of the Russian question. He said: " Vienna, Florence, and Constantinople have not yet expressed their views ; but St. Petersburg and London have done so, ami those are the most important factors. There, however, the matter is satisfactory." Subsequently affairs at Munich were discussed. Holnstein observing, amongst other things, that the French Legation had greatly deceived themselves before the outbreak of the war as to the attitude of Bavaria. They judged by two or three ardently Catholic and anti-Prussian salons, and even thought that Prince Luitpold would become King. The Chief replied " I never doubted that Bavaria would join us, but I had nut hoped that she would decide so speedily to do so." Holnstein told us that a shoemaker in Munich had made a good deal of money by letting his windows, from which a good view could be had of the captured Turcos as they marched by, and presented seventy-nine florins to the fund for the wounded soldiers. People had come even from Vienna to see that pro- cession. This led the conversation to the shooting of these treacherous Africans, on which the Chief said : " There should have been no question of making prisoners of these blacks." Holnstein : "I believe they do not do so any longer." The Chief: "If I had my way every soldier who made a black man prisoner should be placed under arrest. They are beasts ot prey, and ought to be shot down. The fox has the excuse that Nature has made him so, but these fellows — they are abomina- bly unnatural. They have tortured our soldiers to death in the most shameful way." CHAPTER XIII REMOVAL OF THE ANXIETY KESPECTING THE BAVARIAN TREATY IN THE REICHSTAG — THE BOMBARDMENT FURTHER POST- PONED Monday, November 28///. — Prince Pless and Count Maltzahn dined with us. At first the Miuistor s|M)ivc al^oul ilumc, the American spiritualist, a doubUvd character, who had been aiJ Wrsaillcs, and who was U> l>c avrcstvvl if he showed himself here :igain. Ti\o Chid lhe(\ said ; " The fellow manns-ed to sneak into the Crown Prinee's. WwX. that is explained by the fad that whoever ciU\ npeak even broken Enf;lish is welcome •ihero. The next thing will be for them to appoint Colonel Walker \uy successor as Chancellor of the Confederation." ^ Bohlcn exclaimed, " I suppose you know that Garibaldi has been thrashed." Some one observed that if he were taken pris- oner he ought to be shot for having meddled in the war without authority. " They ought to be first put into a cage like beasts in a menagerie," said Bohlen. "No," said the Minister; "I have another idea. They should be taken t( Berlin, and marched through the town with these words on a placard sus- pended round their necks, ' Italians, House of Correction, In- gratitude,' and be then marched through the town." " And afterwards to Spandau," suggested Bohlcn. The Chief added, " Or one might inscribe merely the words, ' Italians, Venice, Spandau.' " The Bavarian question and the situation at Munich was then discussed. The Chief said: "The King is undecided. It is obvious that he would rather not. He accordingly pretends to bo ill, has toothache, keeps to his bed, where the Ministers can- not reach him. Or he retires to a distant hunting-box in the 'Walker, the English Kutusofif of Count Bismarck-Hohlen, II.IJ.M.'s Military Plenipotentiary at headquarters, was not held in much estimation by the Chancellor and his entourage, 247 'i 248 lusiror DUPANr.orp [Nov. 2S mountains to whicli there is no telegraph line, nor even a proper road." Some one having remarked that in the present circumstances he is, after all, the best liavarian ruler for our i)urposes, the Chief said : " Yes ; if he were to die he would be succeeded bv little Otto, whom we have had here. A poor creature, with very little intelligence. lie would be entirely in the hands of the Austrians and Ultramontanes. He has ruined himself; that is, if he was ever worth anything." General Reille's name again brought up the question nf Napoleon's surrender. "The King thought," said the Chan- cellor, " on reading Napoleon's letter, that it meant more for us than it did. * He must at least surrender IMetz to us,' said the King to me. I replied, 'I do not know, your Majesty; we are not aware what power he still has over the troops.' The Emperor should not have needlessly surrendered himself as a prisoner, but have made peace with us. His generals would have followed him." The Minister then again related the in- cident of the letter Weimar wished to write to the Emperor Alexander ; and it appeared that the day before yesterday the Chief had, in a moment of irritation, represented the expressions which he had used in speaking to the Grand Duke as stronjjer than they actually were. According to the present account, Weimar said, in conclusion, that his only object was a patriotic one. He (the Minister) replied he quite believed that, but it would not make the letter any more useful. The letter has probably not been sent off. The question of the bombardment then came up, and, in connection therewith, the intrigues which are now being carried on by Bishop Dupanloup, and the part he played in the opposi- tion at the Vatican Council. " Women and freemasons," said the Chief, " are chiefly responsible if our operations against Paris are not conducted as energetically as they should be. Dupanloup has influenced Augusta. . . . He also wrote mc a pile of letters, and took me in to such an extent that I sent them to Twickenham." (The Chancellor must have meant Chislehurst.) " He must be packed off when our people get to Orleans, so that Von der Tann may not be swindled by him," . . . "That reminds me," continued the Chief, "that the Pope has written a very nice letter to the French Bishops, or iS^)] THE CKOWN PRINCK AND Till: IIOMIJAKUMKNT 249 ;o >i.'veial of them, snyiiij; tli:it they should not enter into any indcrstantlin^^ with the GuribaUliuns." Somebody havin<; expressed anxiety about some matter i,li I was unable to catch, the Chief observed: "A more important question for mc — indeed, the most important — is what will be done at Villa Coublay ; that is the main point. The Crown Prince said recently, when I mentioned the matter to him, 'I am ready to give up the command for that purpose.' I tclt like replying, ' And I am jirepared to assume it.' Give me the post of Commander-in-Chief for twenty-four hours, and I will take 'it upon myself. I would then give one command only: 'Commence the bombardment.' " \illa Coublay is a place not far from Versailles, where the siege park has been collected and still remains, instead of being placed in position. Hucher tells me that the Chancellor has appealed directly to the King to hasten the bombardment. The Chief continued : "The assertion of the generals that they have not enough ammunition is untrue. They do not want to begin because the Heir Apparent does not wish it. He docs not wish it because his wife and his mother-in-law are against it. "They have brought together three hundred cannon and fifty or sixty mortars, and five hundred rounds of ammunition for each gun. That is certainly enough. I have been speak- ing to artillerymen, who said that they had not used half as much ammunition at Strasburg as they have collected here ; and Strasburg was a Gibraltar compared to Paris. It would bo easy to fire the barracks on Mont Valerien, and if the forts of Issy and Vanvres were properly shelled so that the garrisons should be compelled to bolt, the enceinte (of course we know it) would be of little importance. The ditch is not broader than the length of this room. I am convinced that if we poured shells into the city itself for five or six days, and they found out that our guns reached farther than theirs — that is to say, 9,000 yards — Paris would give in. True enough the wealthier quarters arc on this side of the city, and it is a matter of indif- ference to the people at Belleville whether we blow them to pieces or not; indeed, they are pleased when we destroy the houses of the richer classes. As a matter of fact, we ought to have attacked Paris from another direction ; or still better, left it altogether alone, and continued our forward march. Now, IMAGE EVALUATION VEST TARGET (MT-3) /. '\'- ^° y, ^^ 1.0 I.I 1^ 12.3 t 1^ 2.5 M I.R 1.25 '•^ I'-* ^ 6" ► ^> % ^? V .>- Photographic Sciences Corporation i\ ^ ^\ -^\. rv ,V 6^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 1^ V 4KJ, m 6^ 250 NO COERCION FOR SOUTH GERMANY ["^W. 2S however, that we have begun, we must set about the affair in earnest. Starving them out may last a long time, perhaps till the spring. At any rate, they have flour enough up to Janu- ary. ... If we had begun the bombardment at the right time there would have been no question of the Loire army. After the engagement at Orleans, where Von der Tann was obliged to retire, the military authorities (not I) regarded our position in Versailles as critical. Had we begun the bombardment four weeks ago, we should now in all probability be in Paris, and that is the main point. As it is, however, the Parisians imagine that we are forbidden to fire by London, St. Petersburg, and Vienna; while, on the other hand, the neutral Powers believe that we are not able to do so. The true reason, however, will be known at a future time. One of its consequences will be to lead to a restriction of personal rule." In the evening I telegraphed to London that the Reichstag had voted another hundred million thalers for the continuation of the war with France, eight social democrats alone opposing the grant. Also that Manteuffel has occupied Amiens. Sev- eral paragraphs were afterwards written for the Norddcntsck, including one (on the directions of the Chief) in which the moderate demands of the Chancellor in the negotiations with Bavaria were defended as being not only right and fair, but also wise and prudent. I said that the object was not so much to r^ecure this or that desirable concession from the authorities at Munich as to make the South German States feel satisfied in forming part of the new organisation of united Germany. Any pressure or coercion for the purpose of obtaining further con- cessions would, in view of the circumstance that they had fulfilled their patriotic duty, be an act of ingratitude ; while, in addition, it would have been, above all things, impolitic to show ourselves more exacting in our demands upon our allies. The discontent which would have resulted from such an exer- cise of force would have far outweighed half a dozen more favourable clauses in the Treaty. That discontent would soon have shown the neutral Powers, such as Austria, where to insert the thin edge of the wedge in order to loosen and ulti- mately destroy the unity which had been achieved. At dinner I suggested to Bucher that it might be well to ask the Chief's leave to hint in the press at the real cause 0! iSyo] ATTACKING " AUGUSTA " 251 the postponement of the bombardment. He agreed with me that it would, and added : *' I myself have already vehemently attacked Augusta in the newspapers." On the Chancellor sending for me in the evening, I said : " May I venture to ask your Excellency a question .-' Would you have any objection if I made a communication, in an indirect way, to non-ofificial organs respecting the causes of the postponement of the bom- bardment, in the sense in which they have repeatedly been discussed at table .■' " He reflected for a moment, and then said, " Do as you like." I accordingly wrote two paragraphs — one for the Vossische Zeitung, and one for the Wcser Zcitung, which I had copied out by another hand in Berlin, and for- warded to their destination. One of these paragraphs ran as follows : — "Versailles, November 29th. It has been asserted here for some considerable time past that the real cause of the post- ponement of the bombardment is not so much a scarcity of ammunition for the siege guns that were brought here weeks ago, nor the strength of the forts and ramparts of Paris ; in short, that the delay is not due to military considerations, but rather to the influence of very highly placed ladies, and — can it be credited .? — of freemasons. I can assure you, on very good authority, that these rumours are not unfounded. I have no reason to apprehend a denial when I add that the interference of one of these ladies has been prompted by a well-known French prelate, who took a prominent part in the opposition at the Vatican Council. For the moment we would only ask a few questions : Is it true humanity to let masses of gallant soldiers fall a prey to the hardships of the investment by post- poning an artillery attack merely in order to save a hostile city from damage ? Is it good policy to let the impression produced by Sedan upon the neutral Powers be frittered away by such a postponement .'' Is that true freemasonry which troubles itself with political questions "*. It was thought hitherto that politics were not permitted to enter into the German lodges." Tuesday, November 2()th. — In the afternoon I sent off an- other article on the Treaty with Bavaria, which is to be repro- duced and circulated in Berlin. It is becoming more and more difficult to satisfy the people there. Lieutenant-General von Hartrott joined us at dinner. The 252 THE KING DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO LIE [Nov. 29 distribution of the Iron Cross having been mentioned, the Chief observed : " The army doctors should receive the black and white ribbon. They are under fire, and it requires much more courage and determination to quietly allow one's self to be shot at than to rush forward to the attack. . . . Bhmienthal said to me that properly speaking he could do nothing to deserve the Cross, as he was bound in duty to keep out of danger of being shot. For that reason when in battle he always sought a position from which he could see well but could not be easily hit. And he was perfectly right. A general who exposes him- self unnecessarily ought to be put under arrest." The Chancellor then remarked suddenly: "The King told me an untruth to-day. I asked him if the bombardment was not to commence, and he .replied that he had ordered it. Rut I knew immediately that that was not true. I know him. He cannot lie, or at least not in such a way that it cannot be de- tected. He at once changes colour, and it was particularly noticeable when he replied to my question to-day. When I looked at him straight into his eyes he could not stand it." The convm-sation then turned upon the conduct of the war. The Minister said: "Humility alone leads to victory; pride and self-conceit to an opposite result." The Chancellor, speaking of his friend Dietze, talked of his natural inborn heartiness — politesse dti cceitr. Abeken asked if that term was originally French, as Goethe uses it — Hoflichkcit des Hersens ? " It must come from the German, I ^""cy." "It certainly does," replied the Chief. "It is only to be found amongst the Germans. I should call it the politeness of good- will — good nature in the best sense of the word, the politeness of helpful benevolent feeling. You find that amongst our com- mon soldiers, although, of course, it is sometimes expressed rather crudely. The French have not got it. They only know the politeness of hatred and envy. It would be easier to find something of the kind amongst the English," he added; and then went on to praise Odo Russell, whose pleasant, natural manner he greatly appreciated. " At first one thing aroused a little suspicion against him in my mind. I have always heard and found that Englishmen who know French well are not worth much, and he speaks quite excellent French. But he can also express himself very well in German." iSyo] (2UEEN VICTORIA'S "SENTIMENTALITY" 253 At dessert the Minister said : " I recognise that I eat too much, or, more correctly, too much at a time. It is a pity that I cannot get rid of the absurd practice of only eating once a (lay. Formerly it was still worse. In the morning I drank my tea and ate nothing until 5 o'clock in the evening, while I smoked incessantly. That did me a great deal of harm. Now, on the advice of my doctor, I take at least two eggs in the morning and smoke little. But I should eat oftener ; yet if I take any- thing late I cannot sleep, as I only digest while awake. This morning, however, I got up early. I was waked by the firing just at the time when I sleep best, that is between 7 and 9 o'clock, and as it seemed to be near I sent to incjuire if the King was going to the scene of the engagement. Otherwise he might start suddenly and go nobody knows where, or where nothing is to be seen." While at tea the conversation turned once more on the now constant theme of the postponement of the bombardment, and afterwards on the Geneva Convention, which the Minister said must be denounced, as it was impossible to conduct war in that manner. " The principal reason why the bombardment is delayed," said the Chancellor, " is the sentimentality of the Queen of England and the interference of Queen Augusta. . . . That seems to be a characteristic of the Hohenzollerns — their women folk have always a great influence upon them. It was not so with Frederick the Great, but with his successor and the late King, as well as the present Most Gracious and his future Majesty. The most curious example is that of Prince Charles, who is anything but a good husband, and yet depends upon his wife ; indeed, he is thoroughly afraid of her and is guided by her wishes. . . . But it is somewhat different with these two (the King and the Crown Prince). They want to be praised. They like to have it said in the English and French press that they are considerate and generous. They find that the Germans praise them enough as it is." It appears that Delbrtick has not expressed himself very clearly in his telegram respecting the prospect of the agree- ment with Bavaria being sanctioned by the Diet. It seems as it there were not sufficient members present to form the neces- sary quorum, and that it would be opposed both by the Pro- r—-^^ ■' 1 254 PROGRESSISTS AND NATIONAL LIBERALS [Nov, 30 gressists and National Liberals. The Chief observed : " So far as the Progressists are concerned, their conduct is consistent. They wish to return to the state of affairs which prevailed in 1849. But the National Liberals? If they will not have now what they were striving for with all their might at the begin- ning of the year, in February, and what it now depends upon them to secure, then we must dissolve. The new elections will weaken the Progressist party still more, and some of the Na- tional Liberals will also lose their seats. But in that case the Treaties would not be completed, Bavaria would reconsider the matter, Beust would put his finger in the pie, and we do not know what the result would be. I cannot well go to Berlin, It is a very uncomfortable journey and takes up a lot of time, and besides I am really wanted here." Proceeding from this point the Minister spoke of the posi- tion of affairs in 1848. " At that period the situation was for a long time very favourable for the unification of Germany under Prussia. The smaller Sovereigns were for the most part powerless and despondent. If they could only save their money, their domains, and their appropriations, they were pre- pared to consent to everything. The Austrians were engaged with Hungary and Italy. The Tsar Nicholas would not have intervened at that time. If they had only acted in a resolute way previous to May, 1849, ^^^ come to terms with the smaller States, they would doubtless have carried the South with them, particularly if the Wurtemberg and Bavarian armies joined the Baden revolution, which was not impossible at that stage. Time was lost, however, through hesitation and half measures, and so the opportunity was thrown away." About 1 1 o'clock another telegram arrived from Verdy re- specting this morning's sortie, which was directed against La Haye. Five hundred red breeches were made prisoners. The Chief bitterly regretted that further prisoners should be taken, and that it was not possible to shoot them down on the spot, " We have more than enough of them, while the Parisians have the advantage of getting rid of so many mouths to feed, which must now be supplied by us, and for whom we can hardly find room." Wednesday, November 30///. — Wrote fully to Treitschke, giving him the reasons why the demands which he and those lip] THE NEUCIIATEL QUESTION 255 of his way of thinking consider absolutely necessary had not been made upon the Bavarians. Arranged to have a similar communicatLn made to Schmidt. The Chief seems to be seriously considering the idea of ask- ing the King to relieve him of his ofificc. According to Bucher, he is already on the point of resigning. "The Chief," he said, "informed me of something to-day which nobody else knows. He is seriously considering whether he will not break with the King." I s.iid that in that case I should also take my leave. I did not wish to serve under any one else. Bucher : " Nor I either. I, too, would then resign." At dinner, at which Prince Putbus and Odo Russell were present, the Chief related that he had once tried to use his knowledge of State secrets for the purpose of speculating in stocks, but that his attempt was not successful. " I was com- missioned in Berlin," he said, " to speak to Napoleon on the question of Ncuchatel. It must have been in the spring of 1857. I was to inquire as to his attitude towards that question. Now, I knew that his answer would be favourable, and that this would mean a war with Switzerland. Accordingly, on my way through Frankfort, where I lived at that time, I called upon Rothschild, whom I knew well, and told him I intended to sell certain stock which I held, and which showed no disposition to rise. ' I would not do that,' said Rothschild. 'That stock has good prospects. You will see.' ' Yes,' I said, ' but if you knew the object of my journey you would think otherwise.' He re- plied that, however that might be, he could not advise me to sell. But I knew better, sold out, and departed. In Paris, Napoleon was very pleasant and amiable. It was true he could not agree, as the King wanted to let us march through Alsace- Lorraine, which would create great excitement in France, but in every other respect he entirely approved of cur plans. It could only be a matter of satisfaction to him if that nest of democrats were cleared out. I was, therefore, so far successful. But I had not reckoned with my King, who had in the meantime, be- hind my back, made different arrangements — probably out of consideration for Austria ; and so the affair was dropped. There was no war, and my stock rose steadily from that time forward, and I had reason to regret parting with it." 256 THE PRUSSIAN EMBASSIES ABROAD [Nov. 30 Villa Coublay and the bombardment were then referred to and the alleged impossibility of bringing up at once the neces- sary supply of ammunition. The Chief said : " I have already informed the august gentlemen a couple of times that we have here a whole herd of horses that must be ridden out daily merely for exercise. Why should they not be employed for once to better purpose ? " It was mentioned that the Palazzo Caffarelli in Rome had been purchased for the German Embassy, and both Russell and Abeken said it was a very fine building. The Chancellor observed : " Well, we have also handsome houses elsewhere, in Paris and in London. According to Continental ideas, however, the London house is too small. Bernstorff has so little room that he has to give up his own apartments when he has a re- ception or any other function of the kind. His Secretary of Embassy is better off in that respect. The Embassy in Paris is handsome and well situated. Indeed, it is probably the best Embassy in Paris, and represents a considerable money value, so that it has already occurred to me whether it might not be well to sell it and give the interest on the capital to the Ambas- sador as an allowance for rent. The interest on two and a halt million francs would be a considerable addition to his salary, which only amounts to one hundred thousand francs, liut on thinking the matter over more, I found that it would not do. It is not becoming, not worthy of a great State, that its Ambassa- dor should live in a hired house, where he would be subject to notice to qu'^. and on leaving would have to remove the archives in a cart. We ought, and must have, our own houses every- where." ... " Our London house is an exceptional case. It belongs to the King, and everything depends on the way in which the Ambassador knows how to look after his own inter- ests. It may happen that the King receives no rent — that actually does occur sometimes." The Chief spoke very highly of Napier, the former Englisli Ambassador in Berlin. " He was very easy to get on with. Buchanan was also a good man, rather dry, perhaps, but abso- lutely trustworthy. Now we have Loftus. The position of an English Ambassador in Berlin has its own special duties and difficulties, if only on account of the personal relations of the two Royal families. It demands a great deal of tnct and care." 1870J Till': CROWN I'KINCK'S KNGLISII LE'n'KKS 257 (rrcsumably a quiet hint that Loftiis docs not fulfil those re- quirements.) The Minister then led the conversation on to Grammont. He said : " Grammont and OUivier strike me also as a pretty pair ! If that had happened to me — if I had been the cause of such disasters, I would at least have joined a regiment, or, for the matter of that, have become a franctireur, even if I had had to swing for it. A tall, strong, coarse fellow like Grammont would be exactly suited for a soldier's life." Russell mentioned having once seen Grammont out shooting in Rome dressed in blue velvet. " Yes," added the Chief, " he is a good sportsman. He has the strength of muscle required [or it. He would have made an excellent gamekeeper. Hut as a Minister for Foreign Affairs, one can hardly conceive how Napoleon came to select him.." The Minister joined us at the tea-table about 10 o'clock, and referred again to the bombardment. He said : " I did not from the very beginning wish to have Paris invested. If what the general staff said at Ferri6res were correct, namely, that they could dispose of a couple of the forts in three days, and then attack the weak cnccintc\ it would have been all right. But it was a mistake to let 60,000 regulars keep an army of 200,000 men engaged in watching them." " One month up to Sedan, and here we have already spent three months, for to-morrow is the 1st of December. If we had telegraphed immediately after Sedan for siege guns we should be now in the city, and there would be no intervention on the part of the neutral Powers. If I had known that three months ago, I should have been ex- tremely anxious. The danger of intervention on the part of the neutral Powers increases daily. It begins in a friendly way, but it may end very badly." Keudcll remarked : " The idea of not bombarding first arose here." "Yes," replied the Chief, "through the English letters to the Crown Prince." Thursday, December \st. — We were joined at dinner by a first lieutenant. Von Saldern, who took part in the last engage- ment between the loth Army Corps and the Loire army. Ac- cording to him, that corps was for a considerable time surrounded by the superior French force at Beaune la Rolande, the enemy endeavouring to force their way through one of our wings towards Fontainebleau. Our soldiers defended themselves with the VOL. I. — s 258 THE Jil,ACK SKA C(jni'i:i Chief by playing the informer. He hinted to a Dr. Schuster of Geneva that "there might possibly be collusion between the foreign settlement collected round headquarters, and the person- nel oi the Government of National Defence," and also that there were "fresh symptoms of intimate relations being maintained across the German investing lines with the Oriental colony at Versailles." Schuster managed to convey these hints to the Minister. The " Oriental colony," however (a title which is intended to apply chiefly to Linvensohn, and after him to Bam- berger), appears to be innocent, and the intrigue to have been contrived merely for the purpose of providing a better position for Neininger on the Monitcnr by securing the dismissal of the othf"- two journalists. Subsequently wrote some letters and articles again setting forth the Chief's views in the matter of the Bavarian Troatv, and translated for the King the leading article in the Times on Gortchakoff's reply to Granville's despatch. Alten, Lehndorff, and a dragoon oflficer, Herr von Thaddcn, were the Chief's guests at dinner. The Chief said that he had taken measures for providing our sentries with more comfortable quarter?. " Up to the present they occupied Madame Jesse's coach-house, which has no fire- place. That would not do any longer, so I ordered the gar- dener to clear out half of the greenhouse for them. ' But Madamc's plants will be frozen,' said the gardener's wife. 'A great pity,' said I. ' I suppose it would be better if the soldiers froze.' " The Chief then referred to the danger of the Reichstag rejecting, or even merely amending, the treaty with Bavaria. "1 am very anxious about it. People have no idea what the position is. We are balancing ourselves on the point of a light- ning conductor. If we lose the equilibrium, which at much I'.ains I have succeeded in establishing, we fall to the ground. They want more than can be obtained without coercion, and more than they 'vould have been very pleased to accept before i«S66. If at that time they had got but half what they are getting i!i70] TR I NCL W ITVG EN ST E 1 N 263 today! No; they must needs improve upon it and introduce ,11010 unity, more uniformity ; but if they change so much as a lonima, fresh negotiations must be undertaken. Where are they to take place ? Here in Versailles ? And if we cannot bring them to a close before the ist of January — which many of the people in Munich would be glad of — then German unity is lost, probably for years, and the Austrians can set to work again in Munich." Mushrooms dressed in two ways were the first dish after the soup. "These must be eaten in a thoughtful spirit," said the Chief, "as they are a present from sonic soldiers who found them growing in a quarry or a cellar. The cook has made an excellent sauce for them, A still more welcome gift, and cer- tainly a rare one, was made to me the other day by the — what a shame ! I have quite forgotten. What regiment was it sent me the roses .'' " "The 46th," replied Bohlen. "Yes; it was a bouquet of roses plucked under fire, probably in a garden near the outposts." " By the way, that reminds me that I met a Polish soldier in the hospital who cannot read German. He would very much like to have a Polish prayer book. Does any- body happen to have something of that kind .-• " Alton said no, but he could give him some Polish newspapers. The Chief : "That won't do. He would not understand them, and besides they stir up the people against us. But perhaps Radziwill has something. A Polish novel would do — J^au Twcirdinvski or something of that kind." Alten promised to sec if he could get anything. Mention was made of Ducrot, who in all likelihood com- manded the I'rench forces engaged in to-day's sortie, and it was suggested he had good reason not to allow himself to be made prisoner. "Certainly," said the Minister. "Me will either get hitnself killed in action, or if he has not courage enough for that, which I am rather inclined to believe, he will make off in a balloon." Some one said Prince Wittgenstein (if I am not mistaken, a Russian aide-de-camp) would also be glad to leave Paris. Alten added : " Yes, in order that he might go in again. I fancy it is a kind of sport for him." The Chief : " That might be all very well for a person who inspired confidence. But I never trusted him, and when he . -- --■ 11 264 STOCK EXCHANGE SPECULATION [Uec. 2 wished to return to Paris recently, neither I nor the general staff wanted to let him through. He succeeded in obtaining permission surreptitiously through the good nature of the Kiir^, Never mind. Possibly things may yet be discovered about him that will ruin him in St. Petersburg." The subject of Stock Exchange speculation was again intro- duced, and the Chief once more denied the possibility of turn- ing to much account the always very limited knowledge which one may have of political events beforehand. Such events only affect the Bourse afterwards, and the day when that is going to happen cannot be foreseen. " Of course, if one could contrive things so as to produce a fall — but that is dishonourable! Grammont has done so, according to what Russell recently stated. He doubled his fortune in that way. One might al- most say that he brought about the war with that object, Moustier also carried on that sort of business — not for him- self, but with the fortune of his mistress — and when it was on the point of being discovered, he poisoned himself. One might take advantage of one's position in a rather less dishonest way by arranging to have the Bourse quotations from all the Stock Exchanges sent off with the political despatches by obliging ofificials abroad. The political despatches take precedence of the Bourse telegrams, so that one would gain from twenty min- utes to half an hour. One would then want a quick-footed Jew- to secure this advantage. I know people who have done it. In that way one might earn fifteen hundred to fifteen thousand thalers daily, and in a few years that makes a handsome fort- une. But, all the same, it remains ugly ; and my son shall not say of me that that was how I made him a rich man. He can become rich in some other way — through speculation with his own property, through the sale of timber, by marriage, or some- thing of the kind. I was much better off before I was made Chancellor than I am now. My grants have ruined me. My affairs have been embarrassed ever since. Previously I regarded myself as a simple country gentleman ; now that I, to a certain extent, belong to the peerage, my requirements are increasing and my estates bring me nothing. As Minister at Frankfort I always had a balance to my credit, and also in St. Petersburg, wh ^re I was not obliged to entertain, and did not." In the afternoon Friedlander called upon me with an invita' 1870] HOW LUXEMBURG OBSERVES NEUTRALITY 265 tion, which I was obliged to decline. Our fat friend knew ex- actly why the bombardment did not take place. " Blumenthal will not agree to it because the Crown Prince does not want it," he said; "and behind him are the two Victorias." So an artillery officer told him a few days ago. Addendum. — According to a pencil note which I have now laid hands on, Bohlen remarked yesterday at dinner that he understood many valuable pictures and manuscripts removed by the French from Germany had not been returned. Some one else observed that it would be difficult to put this right now. " Well," said the Chief, " we could take others of equal value in their stead. We could, for instance, pack up the best of the pictures out of the Gallery here." "Yes, and sell them to the Americans," added Bohlen ; " they would give us a good price for them." According to another note the Chancellor related (doubtless on the occasion when Holnstein dined with us) : " In Crehanges the Augustenburger again tricked me into shaking hands with him. A Bavarian colonel or general came over to me and held out his hand, which I took. I could not put a name to the face, and when I had, it was too late. If I could only come across him again, I would say to him, ' You treacherously purloined a hand from me at Crehanges ; will you please re- store it .? ' " I afterwards wrote an article on the neutrality of Luxem- burg, and the perfidious way in which people there are taking advantage of it to help the French in every sort of way. It ran as follows: — We declared at the commencement of the war that we would respect the neutrality of the Grand Duchy, the neutrality of its government and people being thereby assumed. That condition, however, has not been fulfilled, the Luxem- burgers having been guilty of flagrant breaches of neutrality, although we on our part have kept our promise in spite of the inconvenience to which we have often been put, especially in connection with the transport of our wounded. We have already had occasion to complain of the fortress of Thionville having been provisioned by trains despatched at night with the assist- ance of the railway officials and police authorities of the Grand Duchy. After the capitulation of Metz numbers of French 'i'lldiers passed through Luxemburg with the object of return- 266 "WE SHALL SPEND CHRISTMAS HERE' [Dec.. ing to France and rejoining the French army. The French Vice-Consul opened a regular office at the Luxemburg railway station, where soldiers were provided with money and passports for their journey. The Grand Ducal Government permitted all this to go on without making any attempt to prevent it. They cannot, therefore, complain if in future military operations we pay no regard to the neutrality of the country, of if we demand compensation for the injury done by breaches of neutrality due to such culpable negligence. Sunday y December ^t/i. — We were joined at dinner by Rog. genbach, a former Baden Minister, and von Niethanimer, a member of the Bavarian Ambulance Corps, whose acquaintance the Chief made recently in the hospital. The Chief spoke at first of having again visited the wounded, and afterwards added : — " Leaving Frankfort and St. Peters- burg out of account, I have now been longer here than in any other foreign town during my whole life. We shall spend Christmas here, which we had not expected to do, and we may remain at Versailles till Easter and see the trees grow green again, whilst we wait for news of the Loire army. Had we only known we might have planted asparagus in the garden here." The Minister afterwards said, addressing Roggenbach:- " I have just looked through the newspaper extracts. How they do abuse the treaties ! They simply tear them into shreds. The National Zeitung^ the Koelnische, — the Weser Zeitung is still the most reasonable, as it always is. Of course one must put up with criticism ; but then one is responsible if the negotia- tions come to nothing, while the critics have no responsibility, I am indifferent as to their censure so long as the thing gets through the Reichstag. History may say that the wretched Chancellor ought to have done better ; but I was responsible. If the Reichstag introduces amendments every German Diet can do the same, and then the thing will drag on and we shall not be able to secure the peace we desire and need. We can- not demand the cession of Alsace if no political entity is created, if there is no Germany to cede it to." The question of the peace negotiations to follow on the approacl ing capitulation of Paris was then discussed, and the difficulties which might arise. The Chief said : — " Favre and iSjo] MAUDLIN SENl'IMENTALITY 267 Trochu may say, ' We arc not the Government. We were part of it at one time, but now that we have surrendered we are private persons. I am nothing more than Citizen Trochu.' But at that point I should try a little coercion on the Parisians. I should say to them : ' I hold you, two million people, responsi- ble in your own persons. I shall let you starve for twenty-four hours unless you agree to our demands.' Yes, and yet another four-and-twenty hours, come what might of it. "I would stick to my point — but the King, the Crown rrince, the women who force their sentimental views upon them, and certain secret European connections — I can deal with those in front of me — but those who stand behind me, behind my back, or rather who weigh upon me so that I can- not breathe ! — people for whom the German cause and Ger- man victories are not the main question, but, rather, their anxiety to be praised in English newspapers. Ah, if one were but the Landgrave ! — I could trust myself to be hard enough. But, unfortunately, one is not the Landgrave.^ Quite recently, in their maudlin solicitude for the Parisians, they have again brought forward a thoroughly foolish scheme. Great stores of provisions from London and Belgium are to be collected for the Parisians. The storehouses are to be within our lines, and our soldiers are merely to look at them, but not to touch them, however much they may themselves suffer from scarcity and hunger. These supplies are to prevent the Parisians starving when they shall have capitulated. We, in this house, it is true, have enough, but the troops are on short commons ; yet they must suffer in order that the Parisians, when they learn that supplies have been collected for them, may postpone their capitulation till they have eaten their last loaf and slaughtered their last horse. I shall not be consulted, otherwise I'd rather be hanged than consent to it. But I am, nevertheless, respon- sible. I was imprudent enough to call attention to the famine that must ensue. It is true I mentioned it merely to the diplo- matists. But they have thus become aware of the fact. Other- wise it would not have occurred to them." Swiss cheese having been handed round, some one raised the question whether cheese and wine went well together. ' A reference to the pn|nilar Thuringian ballad of " The Landgrave and the Smith." 268 THE GORTCIIAKOKF NOTE [Dec. , " Some descriptions with certain wines," was the Minister's decision. " Not strong ones like Gorgonzola and Dutch cheese, but others are all right. I remember that at the time when people drank hard in Pomerania — two hundred years ago or more — the good folks of Ramniin were the greatest topers in the country. One of them happened to get a supply of wine from Stettin, which was not quite to his liking. He com- plained accordingly to the merchant, who replied : *■ Eet kecs to Wic7i, Herr, von Rammin, dcnn snicckt dc Wicn ivie in Stettin ook to Rammin.' " (Low German : " Eat cheese to your \;ine, good sir, from Rammin, then the wine will taste as good in Rammin as it does here in Stettin.") Abeken, who had been with the King, came in afterwards, and reported that his Majesty considered it would be well to write again to the Emperor of Russia, and give him the views held here respecting the Gortchakoff Note. The Chief said: " I think not. Enough has been already written and tele- graphed on the subject. They know in St. Petersburg what we think. At least we must not write discourteously, but •rather in a friendly and amiable spirit. It is better, however, to say nothing. If it were England! But we shall still want Russia's good will in the immediate future. When that is no longer necessary, we can afford to be rude." Bohlen said : " They are quite beside themselves in Berlin, They will have tremendour- rejoicings there to-morrow, about the Emperor. They are going to illuminate the town, and are making immense preparations — a regular scene from fairy- land! " "I fancy that will have a good effect on the Reichs- tag," observed the Chief. " It was really very nice of Rog- genbach to start off at once for Berlin " (in order to urge mod- eration upon the grumblers in the Reichstag). " They " (the members of Parliament, or the Berliners.-') "attach much more importance to the title of Emperor than the thing really de- serves — although I do not mean to say it is of no value." "That was really funny," said Bohlen, "what Holnstein told us about his interview with the King of Bavaria while he had a toothache! " " And the way I wrote to him in order to bring him round, " added the Chancellor. " I knew that he could not bear ae, and did not trust me. So I wrote to him at last that one of iSyo] A LEITER TO THE KING OK IJAVARIA 269 our estates had been granted to our family by Ludvvig, the Bavarian, as Lord of Brandenburg, and that consequently we had had relations with his house for more than five centuries. That was true, in so far as the estates which we now hold were dven to us in exchange for those which the Hohenzollerns extorted from us. Holnstein said the letter must have pleased the King very much, as he asked to read it again. " It was Holnstein who did most in this matter. He played his part very cleverly. Tell me (to Bohlen), what Order can we give him?" Bohlen : " He got the first class of the red fowl (the Red Eagle) when the Crown Prince was in Munich." "Well then," said the Chief, "he has got the highest deco- ration that can be given to him." Bohlen: "Well, the King might give him the Imperial Ger- man Order, about which Stil! "ried is already meditating, or he can found a new Prussian Order, and thus supply a long-felt want." The Chief: "The Green Lion." Bohlen : " The German Order, with a black, white, and red ribbon." The Chief: "Or with the colours of the German Knights, a white ribbon with small black stripes. It looks very well. The King did not rightly know what it was all about when Holnstein requested an audience. He said to me, ' I observed to Holnstein, that I supposed he wished to see Versailles.' Of course, he (King William) could not have arranged that him- self" (?>., he could not have arranged to acquire the Impe- rial dignity through the good offices of Bavaria). Werthern, our Minister at Munich, seems to have reported that it was intended there to commission Prince Luitpold with the proclamation of the Emperor. The Chancellor observed: "A singular idea! Another example of the way in which Bray treats matters of business. How is he to do it } Step on to a balcony, and proclaim it ! — to whom ? That might do if all the Princes were here — but with the three or four now present! 1 had hoped that we should have made peace before German unity was secured." Bohlen: "How pleased the King will feel at being made Kmperor! and still more so, the Crown Prince! " ^^--4 270 THE GERMAN TREATIES LDiic. The Chief: "Yes, and no doubt he is already thinking about the cut of the Imperial robes." Monday^ December ^tJi. — The Chief sent for me, and gave me his instructions for a dtUnenti with regard to the Bavarian Treaty, in which his ideas were to be somewhat differently expressed. It was to the following effect. The rumour that the Chancellor of the Confederation only concluded the treaties with the South German States in anticipation that they would be rejected, or at least amended in the Reichstag, is entirely without foundation. The debate on the treaties mu.st be brought to a close during the month of December, and they must be adopted in their entirety, in order that they may come into force on the ist of January. Otherwise, everything will remain uncertain. If the representatives of North Germany alter the treaties, the South German Diets will be entitled to make further amendments in a contrary sense, and there is no knowing how far that right might not be exercised. In such circumstances, the nation might have still to wait a long time for its political unity. (" Perhaps ten years," said the Chiet, "and interitn aliquid fitT) In that case, also, the Treaty of Peace might not be what we desire. The treaties may be deficient, but they can always be gradually improved by the Reichstag, in cooperation with the Bundesrath, and through the pressure of public opinion and national sentiment. There is no hurry about that. If public opinion brings no pressure to bear in that direction, it is obvious that the present arrange- ment meets the views of the majority of the nation. Men of national sentiment at Versailles are very anxious and uneasy at the prevailing dispositions in Berlin. They are, however, to some extent reassured by the fact that the Volkszcitung opposes the Bavarian Treaty, as people have gradually grown accustomed to find that all persons of political insight as a rule reject whatever that journal praises and recommends, and are disposed to adopt whatever it deprecates and censures. At dinner Bamberger, the member of the Reichstag, was on the Chief's left. He is also going to Berlin in order to plead for the adoption, without alteration, of the treaties with South Germany. The conversation first turned on doctors and their knowledge, whereupon the Chief (I cannot now remember on what grounds) delivered the following weighty judgment: "Ah 7o] THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARLIAMENTS 271 ves, if doctors were only sensible men ; but as it is, they are dolts." The question of the treaties was then discussed, and the attitude of the Princes in this matter was admitted to be correct. "Yes, but the Reichstag," said the Chancellor; "it reminds me of Kaiser Heinrich and his ' Gentlemen, you have spoiled my sport.' ^ In that instance it ultimately turned out all right, but in this! All the members of the Reichstag might jjcrifice themselves one after another upon the altar of the Fatherland — it would be all to no purpose." After reflecting lor a moment, the Minister continued, with a smile : " Members of the Diet and the Reichstag should be made responsible, like Ministers, no more and no less, and placed on a footing of absolute equality. A Bill should provide 'or the impeachment for treason of members of Parliament when they reject important State treaties, or, as in Paris, approve of a war undertaken on frivolous pretexts. They were all in favour of the war, with the exception of Jules Favre. Perhaps I shall bring in some such measure one day." The conversation then turned upon the approaching capitu- lation of Paris, which must take place, at latest, within a month. "Ah!" sighed the Chancellor, "it is then that my troubles will begin in earnest.'" . . . Bamberger was of opinion that they should not be allowed merely to capitulate, but should immedi- ately be called upon to conclude peace. " Quite so," said the Chief. " That is exactly my view, and they should be forced to do so by starvation. But there are people who want, above all else, to be extolled for their humane feelings, and they will spoil everything — altogether forgetting the fact that we must think of our own soldiers, and take care that they shall not suffer want and be shot down to no purpose. It is just the same with the bombardment. And then we are told to spare people who are searching for potatoes ; they should be shot too, if we want to reduce the city by starvation." After 8 o'clock I was called to the Chief several times, and wrote two paragraphs for the Spcnersche Zeitung in accordance with his instructions. The first ran as follows: — "The Vienna newspapers recently stated that ' the German Austrians did not wish for war, and the majority of the Austrian Slavs just as ' His greeting to those who brought him the news of his election as Emperor >vliile he was netting birds in the forest. ■,-! 2/2 THE DECAY Ol*' AUSTRIA [Utc. little.' Hut there is in Austria, and in Hungary, a not very numerous but influential party which does desire war. When inquiry is made as to their real motive for doing so, it is found to arise from pride and arrogance, from a kind of frivolous chivalry, from a real hunger for political luxuries, from the determination to play the Grand Seigneur before the world, The Austrians of this party, in which very distinguished person- ages are the moving spirits, seem to us to resemble the princclv family of Esterhazy. It is an ancient house, of high rank, with great estates and a large fortune. Its members might well have been content to occupy so eminent a position, Hut the evil genius of the family continually drove them into extrava- gance, into making too great demands upon their resources, into squandering enormous sums on horses, diamonds, &c., with the object of displaying their wealth and importance; so that they fell into debt, and, finally, came to the verge of bank- ruptcy. The Esterhazy Lottery was then resorted to, and actually did tide them over their difficulties. The family was saved. But scarcely have they begun to breathe freely, and to regain their footing, when their evil genius once more inspires them, and the old game goes on again, until, at length, a time will come when even a lottery will no longer save them. The Austrian party to which we have already referred seems to us to present a close resemblance to the Esterhazys. The State is a fine property, with excellent natural advantages, a rich soil, and a great variety of valuable resources. But the policy of the proprietors is exactly the same as that of the Esterhazys, They must always overreach themselves, and try to be more than they really are. The evil genius of the State regards as a necessity what is in reality mere luxury, self-conceit, and the desire to cut a great figure in the world. In that way, the ancient and wealthy house has become a comparatively poor one, with a touch of the Quixotic, and a still stronger flavour ol unfair dealing, which is very badly suited to our matter-of-fact age, when so much importance is attached to the ability to pay one's way. Every now and then, the State, like its prototype the Esterhazys, escapes out of its troubles by means of a lot- tery, or of some not particularly respectable financial manauvre; but then it suddenly puts forward fresh claims to a position beyond its means, presumes to play the part of a great Power, iSjoJ TII12 IIAI'SUURUS AND THE UULDANS 273 squanders millions on mobilisation, as its prototype docs on stables and diamonds, and thus sinks deeper and deeper into financial difficulties. Instead of being able to satisfy its cred- itors by good management and a modest bearing, it moves steadily forward, without pause or rest, towards that bank- ruptcy which for a considerable space has only been a ques- tion of time." The foregoing is an almost literal reproduction of the Chief's own words. I did not venture, however, to incorporate his con- cluding remarks, which were as follows: "The Hapsburgs have really become great through plundering old families — the Hun- garians, for instance. At bottom they are only a family of police spies {polizcilich-Spitzclfainilic) who lived upon and made their fortune by confiscations." The second paragraph, which referred to a statement in the hdipcndance Beige ^ pointed out that the relationship between the Orleans and the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine through the Due d'Alengon could not induce us Germans to regard them with any special favour The paragraph was to the following effect: It is known that Trochu declined the offer of the Princes of the House of Orleans to take part in the struggle against us. The Indipcndance Beige now states that the Due d'Alen9on, second son of the Due de Nemours, who was at that time incapacitated by illness from joining his uncles and cousins in th^ir offer of service, has now sought salvation by adopting a similar course. The Brussels organ adds the signifi- cant remark : " It will be remembered that the Due d'Alen^on is married to a sister of the Empress of Austria." We under- stand that hint, and believe we shall be speaking in the spirit of German policy in replying to it as follows : — The Orleans are quite as hostile to us as the other dynasties that are fishing for the French throne. Their journals are filled with lies and abuse directed against us. We have not forgotten the hymn of praise which the Due de Joinville raised after the battle of Worth to the franctireurs, who had acted like assassins. The only French Government we care for is that which can do us the least harm, because it is most occupied with its own affairs, and with maintaining its own position against its rivals. Other- wise Orleanists, Legitimists, Imperialists, and Republicans are all of the same value or no value to us. And as for those who VOL. I. — T 274 A DULL EVENING WITH THE KING [lite. 5 throw out hints about the Austrian relationship, they would do well to be on their guard, as we are on ours. There is in Austria-Hungary one party in favour of Germany and another hostile to her, — a party that wants to continue the policy of Kaunitz in the Seven Years' War, a policy of constant conspir. acy with France against German interests, and particularly against Prussia. That is the policy which has recently been connected with Metternich's name, and which was pursued from 1815 to 1866. Since then more or less vigorous attempts have been made to continue it. It is the party of which the younger Metternich is regarded as the leader. He has for years past been looked upon as the most ardent advocate of a Franco-Austrian alliance against Germany, and one of the principal instigators of the present war. If the Orleans believe that their prospects are improved by their connection with Aus- tria, they ought also to know that for that very reason they have nothing to hope from us. After Buchcr, Keudell, and myself had been for some time at tea, we were joined by the Chief, and afterwards by llatz- fcid, who had been with the King. He said it was intolerably dull there. " Grimm, the Russian Councillor of State, gave us a variety of wearisome particulars about Louis Quatorze and Louis Quinze. The W. worried us, and me in particular, with silly questions." (He pouted his lips, assumed a killing smile, and bent his head to one side, imitating the Grand Duke's affecta- tions.) " He informed us that the students at St. Cyr all re- ceived a portrait of Madame Maintenon, and that he himself had one also. The King, who had occasionally rubbed his eyes, observed somewhat pointed!/, ' I suppose they were pnoto- graphs.' 'No, oh no, engravings.' 'Well, then, what did you do with yours ? ' the King asked. ' Why, nothing, I kept it.' The Grand Duke then asked me — he had obviously prepared the question in advance, and perhaps learnt it by heart— 'Is the Revue des Deux Mondes still published.^ An interesting newspaper.' I replied, ' I do not know, your Royal Highness.' ' Who is the editor ? ' *I do not know that either.' 'So-o-o!' The aides-de-camp were cruelly bored, and one of them nudged Lehndorff, begging him in a whisper to give the old fool a rap on the head with his crutch. iSyo] ALliXANDLR VON HUMIJOLDI" 275 "Yes, he is a fearful bore." added the Chief. "What a miserable position it must be lior a man whoso father was a Court official to him or one like him, and who has to assuric the same office himself — a chamberlain or something!; of that kind, who has to listen day after day to all that twaddle, and has no prospect of ever becoming anything else ! The Queen is just such another. She was educated in the same school. I remem- ber she once questioned me on a literary subject, I believe it was about some French book or other. ' I do not know, your Majesty,' I replied. ' Ah, I suppose that docs not interest you.' 'No, your Majesty.' Radowitz was very strong on those sub- jects. He boldly gave every kind of information, and in that way secured a great deal of his success at Court. He was able to tell exactly what Maintcnon or Pompadour wore on such and such a day ; such and such a gewgaw on her neck, her head- dress trimmed with colibris or grapes, her gown pearl-grey or peacock-green with furbelows or lace of this or that description —exactly as if he had been there at the time. The ladies were all cars for these toilette lectures, which he poured forth with the utmost fluency." The conversation then turned upon Alexander von Hum- boldt, who appears to have been a courtier too, but not of the amusing variety. The Chief said : " Under the late King I was the sole victim when Humboldt chose to entertain the com- pany in his own style. He usually read, often for hours at a time, the biography of some French savant or architect in whom nobody in the world except himself took the slightest interest. He stood by the lamp holding the paper close to the light, and occasionally paused for the purpose of making some learned observation. Although nobody listened to him, he had the ear of the house. The Queen was all the time at work on a piece of tapestry, and cei tainly did not understand a word of what he said. The King looked through his portfolios of engravings, turning them over as noisily as possible, evidently with the intention of not hearing him. The young people on both sides and in the background enjoyed themselves without the least restraint, so that their cackling and giggling actually drowned his reading, which, however, rippled on without break or stop like a brook. Gerlach, who was usually present, sat on his small round chair, which could barely accommodate his volumi- 276 "ON THE PEAK OF POPOCATAPETL' [iHx.j nous person, and slept so soundly that he snored. The Kiii" was once obliged to wake him, and said, ' Pray, Gcrlach, don't snore so loud ! ' I was Humboldt's only patient listener, that is to say I sat silent and pretended to listen, at the same time follow- ing my own thoughts, until at length cold cake and white wine were served. It put the old gentleman in very bad humour not to be allowed to have the talk all to himself. I remember once there was somebody there who managed to monopolise the conversation — quil^ naturally, it is true, as he was a clever raconteur and spoke about things that interested everybody. Humboldt was beside himself. In a peevish surl) icmpcr he piled his plate so high (pointing with his hand) with pati^ dc foU gras, fat eels, lobsters' tails, and other indigestible stuff,— a real mountain, — it was astounding that an old man could put it all away. At last his patience was exhausted, and he could not stand it any longer. So he tried to interrupt the speaker. 'On the peak of Popocatapetl,' he began, — but the other wont on with his story. ' On the peak ot Popocatapetl, seven thousand fathoms above ' — but he again failed to make any impression, and the narrative maintained its easy flow. ' On the peak of Popocatapetl, seven thousand fathoms above the level of the sea,' he exclaimed in a loud and excited tone, — but with as lit- tle success as before. The talker talked on, and the companv had no ears for anybody else. That was something unheard of, outrageous ! Humboldt threw himself back in morose medita- tion over the ingratitude of mankind, and shortly afterwards left. The Liberals made a ^^a^X. deal of him, and counted him as one of themselves. He was, however, a sycophant who aspired to the favour of Princes and who was only happy when basking in the sunshine of royalty. That did not prevent him, however, from criticising the Court afterwards to Varnhagen, and repeating all sorts of discreditable stories about it. Varn- hagen worked these up into books, which I also bought. They are fearfully dear when one thinks how few lines in large typo go to the page." Keudell observed that they were nevertheless indispensable for historical purposes. " Yes, in a certain sense, " replied the Chief. " Taken individually the stories are not worth much, but as a whole they are an expression of the sourness 0. Berlin at a period when nothing of importance was happening. At that time everybody talked in that maliciously impotent way. iSjo] MEITEKNICII 277 It was a society which it would be hardly possible to realise to- day without the assistance of such books, unless one had per- sonal experience of it. A great deal of outward show with nothing genuine behind it. I remember, although I was a very little fellow at the time, it must have been in 1821 or *22. Min- isters were still like strange animals, regarded with wonder as something mysterious. There was once a large party, which was at that time called an assemblh\ given at Schuckmann's — what a monstrous huge beast he was as a Minister ! My mother also went there. I remember it as if it were to-day. She wore long gloves that went up to here." (He pointed to the upper part of his arm.) " A dress with a short waist, her hair puffed out on both sides, and a big ostrich feather on her head." (The Chief left this anecdote unfinished, if indeed there was any con- clusion to it, and returned to his former subject.) " Humboldt, however," he continued, " had a great many interesting things to tell when one was alone with him, about the times of Fred- erick William ni., and in particular about his own first sojourn in Paris. As he liked me, owing to the attention with which I listened to him, he told me a number of pretty anecdotes. It was the same with old Metternich, with whom I spent a few days at Johannisburg. Thun afterwards said to me, ' I do not know how you have managed to get round the old Prince, but he has indeed looked into you as if you were a golden goblet, as he told me. If you do not come to an understanding with him, then I really don't know what to say.' ' I can explain that to you,' I replied. ' I listened to all his stories, and often prompted him to continue them. That pleases the garrulous old people.' " Hatzfeld s?id that Moltke had written to Trochu telling him how affairs stood at Orleans, and expressing his readiness to allow one of Trochu's officers to satisfy himself of the truth of his statement. He would be furnished with a safe conduct to Orleans. The Chief said : " I know that. But he should not have done so. They ought to find that out for themselves. Our lines are now thin at various points, and they have also a pigeon post. They will only imagine we are in a hurry to get them to capitulate." Tuesday, December 6th. --\n the morning I telegraphed to Horlin and London more detailed particulars of the victory at 278 GRAMMONT'S "BRAZEN IMPUDENCE" [Dec. 6, 187c Orleans. Then wrote articles for the Monitetir and the German papers on the way in which French officers interned in Ger- many are breaking their parole. So long as this unworthy con- duct receives approval and encouragement from the Government of National Defence, it is impossible for us to carry on anv negotiations with it. Dr. Lauer and Odo Russell dined with us to-day. The con- \ersation was not of particular interest. We had, however, a delicious Palatine wine — Deidesheimer Hofstuck and Forster Kirchenstuck, a noble juice, rich in all virtues, fragrant, and fiery. Aus Feuer ward der Geist erschaffen. Even Bucher, who usually drinks only red wine, did justice to this heavenly dew from 'he Haardt Hills. I afterwards wrote an article in which I politely expressed surprise at the brazen impudence with which Grammont reminds the world of his existence in the Brussels Gaulois. He who, through his unparalleled ineptitude, has brought so much misery upon France, should, like his colleague Ollivier, have hidden himself in silence and been glad to be forgotten, Or, inspired by his ancient name, he should have joined the army and fought for his country, so as in some degree to ex- piate the wrong he has done it. Instead of doing anything of the kind, however, he dares to remind the world that he still lives, and once conducted the foreign policy of France. "A blockhea'^ a coward, an impudent fellow ! " said the Chief, when he instructed me to write this article, strongest expressions in dealing with him." " You can use the CHAPTER XIV THE PROSPECTS OUTSIDE PARIS IMPROVE Wednesday t December Jth. — At dinner the Chief related some of his Frankfort reminiscences. " It was possible to get on with Thun," he said. " He was a respectable man. Taken altogether, Rechberg^ was also not bad. He was at least honourable from a personal standpoint, although violent and irascible — one of those passionate, fiery blonds ! It is true that as an Austrian diplomat of those days he was not able to pay too strict a regard to truth. I remember his once receiving a despatch in which he was instructed to maintain the best relations with us, a second despatch being sent to him at the same time enjoining him to follow an exactly opposite course. I happened to call upon him, and he inadvertently gave me the second despatch to read. I saw immediately how matters stood and read it through. Then handing it back to him I said : ' I beg your pardon, but you have given me the wrong one.' He was fearfully embarrassed, but I consoled him, saying I would take no advantage of his mistake, using it merely for my personal information." " The third, however, — Prokesch, — was not at all to my liking. In the East he had learnt the basest forms of intrigue and had no sense of honour or truth. A thorough- paced liar. I remember being once in a large company where some Austrian assertion which was not in accordance with the truth was being discussed. Prokesch, raising his voice in order that I might hear him, said : ' If that be not true, then the Imperial and Royal Cabinet has commissioned me to commit an act of perfidy ; indeed, his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty has lied to me ! ' and he emphasised the word lied. He looked at me whilst he was speaking, and, when he had finished, I replied quietly : ' Quite so. Excellency ! ' He was obviously 1 Thun, Rechberg, and Prokesch held in succession the position of Austrian Min- ister to the Bundestag. 279 28o ENGLISH IDIOMS [Dec. 8 aghast, and as he looked round and found all eyes cast down and a deep silence which showed approval of what I had said he turned away without a word and went into the dining-room where the table was laid. He had recovered himself, however after dinner, and came over to me with a full glass in his hand — but for that I should have thought he was going to challenge me — and said, 'Well, let us make peace.' 'Certainly,' i replied, ' but what I said in the other room was true, and the protocol must be altered.' The protocol was altered, an ad- mission that it had contained an untruth. A rascally fellow ! " Thursday , December ?>th. — Some one asked at dinner how the question of Emperor and Empire now stood. The Chief replied inter alia : " We have had a great deal of trouble with it in the way of telegrams and letters. But after all Holnstein has done the greater part of the work. He is a clever fellow, and not in the least spoilt by or prepossessed in favour of Court manners." Putbus asked what position he held. " Master of the Horse. He showed himself very willing and energetic, making the journey to Munich and back in six days. In the present condition of the railways that requires a great deal of good will. Of course he has the necessary physique. Indeed, not merely to Munich, but to Hohenschwangau, — and there saw the King, who had just been operated under chloroform for a tumour in the gum. But King Lewis also greatly contributed to the speedy settlement of the matter. He received the letter immediately, and at once gave a definite answer. He might easily have said that he must first take some fresh air in the mountains, and would answer in three or four days. The Count has certainly done us a very good service in the affair ; but I really do not know how we can reward him." I forget how the conversation came to deal with the terms " swell," " snob," and "cockney," which were the subject of much discussion. Tlie Chief mentioned a certain diplomat as a "swell," and observed: " It is really a capital word, but we cannot translate it into Ger- man. ' SUttzer,' perhaps, but that conveys at the same time pompousness and self-importance. ' Snob ' is something quite different, while it is also very difficult for us to render properly. It denotes a variety of attributes, but principally one-sidedness, narrowness, slavery to local or class prejudices, philistinism. A 'snob' is something like our * Pfalbiirger,* yet not quite. It 1870] VARIETIES OF "SNOBS" 281 includes also a petty conception of family interests, political narrow-mindedness, rigid adherence to ideas and habits that have become a second nature. There are also female snobs and very distinguished ones. The feminine half of our Court are snobs. Our two most exalted ladies are snobs. The male element is not snobbish. One may also talk of party snobs — those who in larger political issues cannot emancipate them- selves from the rules that govern private conduct — the ' Pro- gressist snob.' The cockney again is quite another person. That term applies more particularly to Londoners. There are people there who have never been outside their own walls and streets, never got away from the brick and mortar, who have never seen life anywhere else nor travelled beyond the sound of Bov,' Bells. We have also Berliners who have never left their city. But Berlin is a small place compared to London, or even Paris, which has also its cockneys, although they are known by another name there. There are hundreds of thou- sands in London who have never seen anything but London. In such great cities conceptions are formed which permeate the whole community, and harden into the most inveterate prejudices. Sich narrow and silly ideas arise in every great centre of popu- lation where the people have no experience, and often not the ...intest notion of how things look elsewhere. Silliness without conceit is endurable, but to be silly and unpractical, and at the same time conceited, is intolerable. Country life brings people into much closer contact with realities. They may be less educated there, but what they know they know thoroughly. There are, however, snobs in the country also. (Turning to Putbus.) Just take a really clever shot. He is convinced that he is the first man in the world, and that sport is evv^rything, and that those who do not understand it are worth nothing. And then a man who lives on his estate in a remote district, where he is everything, and all the people depend upon him ; when he comes to the wool market and finds that he is not of the same importance with the townspeople as he is at home, he gets into a bad temper, sits sulking on his sack of wool, and takes no notice of anything else." At tea, Keudell said that I ought really to see, not merely those political despatches, reports, and drafts which I received from the Minister, but everything that came in and went out. 282 CARLYLE'S LETTER TO THE TIMES [Dec, 12 He would speak on the subject to Abeken, who acts here as Secretary of State. I accepted his proposal with many thanks. Bucher informed me that the Minister had made some very interesting remarks in the drawing-room while they were taking coffee. Prince Putbus mentioned his desire to travel in far-dis- tant lands. " It might be possible to manage that for you," said the Chief. " You might be commissioned to notify the foundation of the German Empire to the Emperor of China and the Tycoon of Japan." The Minister then discussed at length the duties of the German aristocracy, of course with special reference to his guest. The King was faithful to his duty, but he was born in the last century, and thus he regarded many things from a point of view which was no longer suitable to the times. He would allow himself to be cut to pieces in the interests of the State, as he understood them, if he knew that his family would be provided for. The future king was quite different. He had not this strong sense of duty. When he found himself in good case, had plenty of money at his disposal, and was praised by the newspapers, he was quite satisfied. He would choose his Ministers in the English fashion from the Liberal or from other parties just as things happened in the Diet, in order to avoid trouble. In that way, however, he would ruin everything, or at least produce a condition of constant instability. The great nobles ought then to intervene. They must have a ^jnse of the necessities of the State and recognise their mission, which is to preserve the State from vacillation and uncertainty in the struggles of parties, to give it a firm support, &c. There was no objection to their associating with a Strousberg, but they would do better to become bankers straight away. Monday, December 12th. — The Chief's indisposition seems to have again grown worse, and it is said that he is in a par- ticularly bad humour. Dr. Lauer has been to see him. The Times contains the following communication, which it would be impossible for us to improve upon.^ 1 The communication referred to is a letter by Thomas Carlyle published in the Times of November 18, in which it occupied two and a half columns. The passages quoted by Dr. Busch are here reproduced from the original : — " The question for the German*, in this crisis, is not one of * magnanimity,' of 'heroic pity and forgiveness to a fallen foe,' but of solid prudence and practical i870] ENGLISH PRESS OPINIONS 283 An excellent letter, which we must submit to the Versailles people in the Moniteur. Busily engaged all the evening. Translated for the King articles published by the Times and Daily Telegraph warmly ap- proving of the restoration of the German Empire and the Impe- rial dignity. The Times article, after stating that not merely the fact of the restoration of the German Empire but also the manner in which it had been brought about could only be regarded with the liveliest satisfaction, proceeds as follows : — " The political significance of this change cannot be placed too high. A mighty revolution has been accomplished in Eu- rope, and all our traditions have suddenly become antiquated. No one can pretend to predict the relations of the Great Pow- ers ; but it is not very difificult to forecast in a general way the political tendencies of the time on which we are about to enter. There will be a powerful united Germany, presided over by a hr^Wr which represents not only its interests, but its military fame. On the one side will be Russia, strong and watchful as tnns. The passages consideration what the fallen foe will, in all likelihcccl, do when once on his feet again. Written on her memory, in a distinctly instructive manner, Germany has an experience of 400 years on this point; of which on the English memory, if it ever was recorded there, there is now little or no trace visible, ... No nation ever had so bad a neighbour as Germany has had in France for the last 400 years; bad in all manner of ways; insolent, rapacious, insatiable, unappeasable, continually aggres- sive. . . . Germany, I do clearly believe, would be a foolish nation not to think of raising up some secure boundary fence between herself and such a neighbour now that she has the chance. There is no law of nature that I know of, no Heavens Act of Parliament whereby France, alone of terrestrial beings, shall not restore any por- tion of her plundered goods when the owners they were wrenched from have an opportunity upon them. . . . The French complain dreadfully of threatened ' loss of honour'; and lamentable bystanders plead earnestly, ' Don't dishonour France; leave poor France's honour bright.' But will it save the honour of France to refuse paying for the glass she has vo'untarily broken in her neighbour's windows? The attack upon the windows was her dishonour. Signally disgraceful to any nation was her late assault on Germany ; equally signal has been the ignominy of its execution on the part of France. The honour of France can be saved only by the deep repentance of France, and by the serious determination never to do so again — to do the reverse of so forever henceforth. . . . For the present, I must say, France looks more and more delirious, miserable, blamable, pitiable, and even contemptible. She refuses to see the facts that are lying palpably before her face, and the penalties she has brought upon herself. A France scattered into anarchic ruin, without recog- nisable head; ^^ai/, or chief, indistinguishable itomfeet,ox rabble; Ministers flying up in balloons ballasted with nothing but outrageous public lies, proclamations of 284 THE COSMOPOLITAN REPUBLICANS [Dec. 12 ever ; but on the other side will be France, which, whether patient under her reverses or burning for revenge, will be for a time incapable of playing that great part in Europe which belonged to her even under the feebleness of the Restoration. Thus, whereas we had formerly two strong centralised military em- pires, with a distracted, unready nation between them, which might be ground to powder whenever the two closed to crush it, there is now a firm barrier erected in Central Europe, and the fabric is coirespondingly strengthened. In this the policy of past generations of English statesmen is fulfilled. They all desired the creation of a strong Central Power, and laboured for it in peace and war by negotiations and alliances, now with the Empire, now with the new State which had arisen in the North." On the instructions of the Chief, I also wrote a paragraph for the press to the effect that we are no longer opposed by France, but rather by the cosmopolitan Red Republicans, Gari- baldi and Mazzini (who are with Gambetta, and act as his coun- sellors), and Polish, Spanish, and Danish adherents of that party. The aims of these good people are indicated in a letter from the son of the Prefect Ordinaire, who describes himself as victories that were creatures of the fancy; a Government subsisting altogether on mendacity, willing that horrid bloodshed should continue and increase rather than that they, beautiful Republican creatures, should cease to have the guidance of it; I know not when and where there was seen a nation so covering itself with dis- honour. . • . The quantity of conscious mendacity that France, official and other, has perpetrated latterly, especially since July last, is something wonderful and fearful, And, alas ! perhaps even that is small compared to the self-delusion and unconscious mendacity long prevalent among the French. ... To me at times the mournfuliest symptom in France is the figure its ' men of genius,' its highest literary speakers, who should be prophets and seers to it, make at present, and, indeed, for a generation back have been making. It is evidently their belief that new celestial wisdom is radiating out of France upon all the other overshadowed nations; that France is th new Mount Zion of the universe; and that all this sad, sordid, semi-delirious, and, in good part, inftrnal stuff which French literature has been preaching to us for the last fifty years is a veritable new Gospel out of Heaven, pregnant with blessed, ess for all the sons of men. ... I believe Bismarck {sic) will get his Alsace and what he wants of Lorraine; and likewise that it will do him, and us, and all the world, and even France itself by and by, a great deal of good. . . . (Bismarck) in fact seems to me to be striving with strong faculty, by patient, grand, and successful steps, towards an object beneficial to Germans and to all other men. That noble, patient, deep, and solid Germany should be at length welded into a nation and become Queen of the Continent, instead of vapouring, vainglorious, gesticulating, quarrelsome, restless, and over-sensitive France, seems to me the hopefullest public fact that has occurred in my time. " — The Translator. 187°] FRENCH RAVINGS 285 hether patient be for a time lich belonged ation. Thus, . military em- them, which 3sed to crush Europe, and lis the policy ed. They all i laboured for now with the :n the North," ; a paragraph r opposed by ibliwans, Gari- ;t as his coun- rents of that ited in a letter bes himself as ting altogether on crease rather than le guidance of it; ing itself with Jis- official and other, iderful and fearful, and Mwconscious the mournfullest rary speakers, who for a generation elestial wisdom is hat France is the delirious, and, in ling to us for the ith blesseu. ess for sace and what he all the world, and ;) in fact seems to iful steps, towards patient, deep, and me Queen of the relsome, restless, hat has occurred an officer in Garibaldi's General Staff. This letter, which is dated from Autun on the i6th of November, and addressed to the editor of the newspaper Droits dc V Homme, contains the fol- lowing passage : — " You will see from the postmark where we are now sta- tioned — in one of the most priest-ridden towns of France. It is the centre of monarchical reaction. It looks less like a town than an enormous monastery, huge black walls and barred windows, behind which monks of all colours intrigue and pray in darkness and silence for the success of the good cause. In the streets our red shirts are constantly brushing against the black cassock of the priest. The whole population, from the tradespeople downwards, present a mystic aspect, and appear as if they had been all drenched in holy water. We are re- garded here as if we hr^i been inscribed upon the Index, and the calumnies thu,t are rained upon us rival the deluge. A breach of discipline (which is unavoidable in the case of a volunteer army) is immediately exaggerated into a great crime. Trifles are transformed into outrages that deserve to be punished by death. The mountain frequently gives birth to a mere mouse, but the bad impression produced upon the public mind remains. " Would you believe it } The officials themselves put diffi- culties in our way ! They echo, I hope unwittingly, the calum- nies that are circulated against us, and regard us with evident ill will. Indeed, our fellow-citizens are almost inclined to look upon our army as a band of brigands. Can you imagine that the monarchists have not in the least renounced their mischiev- ous endeavours, and hate us because we have sworn never to permit the reerection of those mountebank stages from which kings and emperors have ordered nations as the humour took them } Yes, we proclaim the fact aloud that we are soldiers of the Revolution, and I would add not of the French Revolution alone, but of the cosmopolitan revolution. Italians, Spaniards, Poles, and Hungarians, in gathering under the French flag, clearly understand that they are defending the Universal Republic. The real nature of the struggle is now evident. It is a war between the principle of the divine right of kings and of force, and that of popular sovereignty, civilisation, and free- dom. The fatherland disappears before the Republic. 286 "CITIZENS OK THE WORLD" [Dec. ij " We are citizens of the world, and whatever may happen we will fight to the death for the realisation of that noble ideal of the United States of Europe, that is to say, the fraternisation of all free peoples. The monarchical reactionaries know that, and so they reinforce the Prussian forces with their own legions We have the enemies' bayonets in front, and treason behind us Why is not every old official sent about his business ? Why are not all the old generals of the Empire ruthlessly cashiered.' Cannot the Government of National Defence see that they arc being betrayed, and that these people, with their hypocritical manoeuvres, shameful capitulations, and inexplicable retreats are preparing for a Bonapartist restoration, or, at least, for the accession of an Orleans or a Bourbon ? " But the Government which has undertaken the task of delivering the contaminated soil of France from foreign hordes should take caie. In times like the present, and under the fearful conditions in which we find ourselves, it is not enough to be hone.st. It is also necessary to show energy, to keep a cool head, and not to allow one's self to be arowned in a glass of water. Let the Cremieuxs, the Glais-Bizoins, and the Fourichons remember the manner in which the men of 1792 and '93 acted ! To-day we need a Danton, a Robespierre, the men of the Convention ! Away with you, gentlemen ! Make room for the Revolution ! That alone can save us. Great crises demand great measures 1 " The fatherland disappears before the Republic ! Resort .j the great measures adopted by Danton and Robespierre ! Be- head every one who differs from us in religious and political affairs, and establish the guillotine as a permanent institution. Dismiss Generals Chancy and Bourbaki, Faidherbe and Vinoy, Ducrot and Trochu, and appoint private soldiers in their place, That is the gospel preached by the son of a Prefect in the de- partment of Doubs, an officer of Garibaldi's General Staff. I wonder whether these proposals will commend themselves to many of the Versailles people when they see this letter in the Moniteur one of these days ? Tuesday, December ij,th. — In the morning wrote another article on the confession of faith of the cosmopolitan Repub- licans. The Chief's health is somewhat better, only he feels very exhausted. . . . 1870] CAN UISMAkLIv KliSICJN ? 287 At lunch Bucher, Hatzfeld, and Keudell declared in all seri- ousness that they thought the Chancellor would resign. It was jestinp suggested that he would be followed by a Ministry under Lasker, who would be "a kind of Ollivier," and then half in joke, half in earnest, the possibility was discussed of our having for a Chancellor Delbriick, — "a very clever man, but no politician." I regarded it as absolutely inconceivable that the Chief could ever be allowed to resign, even if he requested to be relieved from office. They thought, nevertheless, that it was possible. I said that in such circumstances they would be obliged to re- call him in less than a month. Bucher questioned whether he would come back, and said positively that so far as he knew him, if the Count once retired he would never take office again. He enjoyed himself far too well at Varzin, free from business and worry of every kind. He liked best of all to be in the woods and fields. The Countess had once said to him : " Be- lieve me, a turnip interests him (Bismarck) more than all your politics." That statement, however, must not be too hastily ac- cepted, and must be limited to a temporary state of feeling. About 1.30 P.M. I was summoned to the Chancellor. He wished me to call attention to the difficulties of the King of Holland with regard to a new Ministry, and to point to this as the result of a purely Parliamentary system under which the advisers of the Crown must retire, whatever the condition of affairs may be, when a majority of the representatives is op- posed to them on any question. He observed : " I remember when I became Minister that there had been twenty or twenty- one Ministries since the introduction of the constitutional sys- tem. If the principle of Ministers retiring before a hostile majority be too strictly enforced, far too many politicians will be used up. Then mediocrities will have to be taken for the post, and finally there will be no one left who will care to de- vote himself to such a trade. The moral is that either the advantages of a Minister's position must be increased, or the Parliamentary system must be applied less stringently." The Chief went out for a drive at 3 o'clock, after Russell had again called upon him. He talked after dinner about his negotiations with Russell and the demands of Gortchakoff. He said amongst other 288 GERMANY AND RUSSIA Cnnc. 14 things : " They do not want in London to give an unqualitlcd approval to the proposal that the Black Sea shall be again given up to Russia and the Turks with full sovereignty over its coast, They are afraid of public opinion in England, and Russell returns again and again to the idea that some equivalent mi;;hi possibly be found. He asked, for instance, whether it would not be possible for us to join in the agreement of the iGlh oi April, 1856. I replied that Germany had no real interest in the matter. Or whether we would bind ourselves to observe neutrality in case of a conflict some day breaking out there, 1 told him I was not in favour of a conjectural policy, such as his suggestion involved. It would depend altogether on circum- stances. For the present we saw no reason why wc should take any part in the matter. That ought to suffice for him, Besides, I did not believe that gratitude had no place in politics The present Tsar had always acted in a friendly and benevo- lent manner towards us. Austria, on the other hand, was up to the present little to be trusted and took up at times a very dubious attitude. Of course he knew himself how far we were indebted to England. The friendship of the Tsar was the legacy of old relations, based partly on family connections, but partly also on the recognition that our interests are not op- posed to his. We did not know what those relations would bo in future, and therefore it was impossible to speak about them. . . . Our position would now be different to what it was formerly. We should be the only Power that had reason to be satisfied; we had no call to oblige any one of wh->se willingness to reciprocate our services we could not altogether feel sure, . . . He returned again and again to the suggestion as to an equivalent, and at length asked me if I could not propose something. I «= <^oke of making the Dardanelles and the Black Sea free to all. That would please Russia, as she could then pass from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, and Turkey also, as she could have her friends, including the Americans, near her. It would remove one of the reasons why the Ameri- cans held with the Russians, namely, their desire for free navigation in all seas. He seemed to recognise the truth of that." The Chancellor added : " As a matter of fact, the Rus- sians should not have been so modest in their demands. They ought to have asked for more, and then the matter of the Black iSjoJ DISSATISI- ACTION WIl'H THE HAVAKIAN TKLAIY 28y Isca would have been granted to them without any difficulty," Tiiniint; to Abeken the Minister said : " Write that to Ikrn- storff and also to Reuss for his inl'orniation. In wriling to the latter, suggest that in St. Petersburg they should try to find somcthi'"'; harmless that would look like an equivalent." The conversation then turned upon the four new points of international law respecting navigation — that no i^rivateers should be fitted out, that goods should not be seized so far as they were not contraband of war, and that a blockade was only valid when effective, &c. The Chief remarked that one of ihesc was flagrantly violated by the l^'rench in burning a Ger- man ship. He concluded the conversation on this head by saying, " We must sec how wc arc to get rid of this rub- bish," Wednesday, December 14^/^ — The German party of centrali- sation are still dissatisfied with the Ikivarian Treaty. Trei- tschkc writes me from Heidelberg on the subject in an almost doapairing tone: "I quite inulerstand that Count Bismarck could not have acted otherwise, but it remains a very regret- table affair all the same. Bavaria has once more clogged our teet us she did in 181 3 in the Treaty of Ried. So long as we have our Icatling statesman we can manage to mt)ve in spite of that. But how will it be later on ? I cannot feel that uiuiucstioning confidence in the vitality of the new I^mpirc which I had in that of the North German Confederation. I only hope that the nation will prosper, owing to its own healthy vigour, in spite of constitutional deficiencies." The Chief and Count Holnstein dined with us. Politics were not discussed. The Minister was very cheerful and com- municative, and spoke on a variety of subjects. He said, amongst other things, that as a young man he was a swift runner and a good jumper. His sons, on the other hand, are unusually strong in the arms. He should not care to try a fall with either of them. The Minister then sent for the gold pen that had been pre- sented to him by Bissinger, the jeweller, and mentioned that the Countess had written to him asking about it, remarking that "doubtless it was a lie, like the story of the baby at Meaux." We now heard for the first time that a new-born baby, the child of one of the French soldiers who had fallen in one of the VOL. I. — U 290 TUli DLrUTATION FROM THE KDICllSTAC [1)1 r. l; recent battles, was supposed to have been smuggled into thi Chief's bed. This was, of course, a mere newspaper invention The conversation afterwards turned on the deputation from the Reichstag, which was already at Strasburg, and wouk! arrive here to-morrow. The Chpncellor said: "We must bcnn to think what we are to reply to tuviir address. The spcoch. making will be a real pleasure to Simson. Me has been already engaged in several affairs of the kind — in the \'\\\: deputation to the Hohenzollernburg lespecting the inipLMii. dignity. He makes a good speech, loves to talk, and thor- oughly enjoys himself on such occasions." Abeken observed that Loewo, the member of the Reichsta;;, said that he also had taken part in such a function, but had afterwards plenty of opportunity to think over the matter in a foreign country. " Ah ! Was he also engaged in the 1S49 ^iff-iir .? " asked the Chief. " Ves," said Buchcr; " he was President of the Reiclistai;' " lUit," said the Chief, " he need not have left his country 011 account of the part he took in the proposal as to the Isnipcn /^ It must have been because of his journey to Stuttgart, which was quiie a different story." The Minister then spoke of the Hohenzollernburg, whore each branch of the family had a special suite of apartnionts; of an old castle in Pomerania, where all members of the taiiiih of Dewitz had a right to lodgings, — it was now reduced to a picturesque ruin, after having long served as a stone ciuany to: the inhabitants of the neighbouring country town ; ami alter wards of a landed proprietor who had a singular way of raisin, money. " He was always hard up, and on one occasion, when he was in desperate straits, his woods were attacked by cater- pillars, then a tire broke out, and fmally a luuubcr of trec> were blov.'u down by a grde. He was miserable, and thou^^h: he was bankrupt. So the timber had to be sold, and ho smi denly ■" >und himself in possession of a lot of money, fifty or sixty thousand thalers, which set him on his legs again. It haJ never occurred to him that he could have his trees cut down." This story led the Chief to speak of another e.vtraiirdinary gentleman, a neighbour of his. (Query, in Varzin.) "Ilohai. ten or twelve estates, but was always short of ready money, auii im BISMAKL lv\S " YOUNGS riiKS ' 291 air ? " iiskcd Ihc lioqucntly felt a desire to spend some. When he wished to invite some peojile to a decent lunch he usually sold an estate, .so that at length he had only one or two left. Some ot" h.is own tenants bought one of the former lot from him for 35,000 thalcrs, paying him 5,000 thalers down. They then sold a lUiantity of timber for shipbuilding purposes for 22,000 thalers, an i'loa which, of course, had never occurred to him." The Minister then referred to the Hartschiere (big tall men, chosen for the Royal l^ody-Guard on account of their size) in Munich, who made a great impression upon him owing to their bulk anil general character, and who are understood to be ex- cellent connoisseurs of beer. Finally, it was mentior.ed that Count Hill was the first Ger- man to ride into Rouen. Somebody remarked that his appear- .mce would have convinced the inhabitants of that city that our troops had not up to the jiresent been put on short rations. This led the Chancellor to speak again of the strength of his "youngsters." " They are imusually strong for their age," he said, "although they have not learnt gymnastics— very much against my desire, but it is not considered the proper thing for the sons of a diplomatist." While enjoying his after-dinner cigar the Chief asked if the members of his staff were smo. ^'-s. Yes, every one of them, Abokcn replied. " Well, then," said the Minister, " iMigel must divide the Hamburg cigars between them. I have received so many that if the war were to last for twelve months 1 should slill bring some home with me." T/a/rst/dv, DtCctNlhr 15///. — Count I^'rankenberg and Count Lehndorff joined us at tlinner. Prince I'less coming in half an hour later. The Chief was in high spirits and very talkative. The conversation at first turned on the (picstion of the day, that IS to say, the commencement of the bombardment. The Minis- ter said it might be expected within the next eight or ten days. It would possibly not be very successful during the first weeks, .IS the Parisians had had time to take precautions ogainst it. Frankonberg said that in l^erlin, and particularly in the Reich.s- t:it;, no subject was so much discussed as the reasons why the bombardment had been postponed up to the i")resent. livery- thins; else gave way to that. The Chief replied : " Yes, but now that Roon has taken the matter in hand, something will be 292 BAD STAGE MANAGEMENT [Uk. 15 done. A thousand ammunition waggons with the necessary teams are on their way here, and it is said that some of the new mortars have arrived. Now that Roon has taken it up, somethin ' will at last be done." The manner in which the restoration of the imperial dignity in Germany had been brought before the Reichstag was then discuf^sed, and Frankcnberg as well as Prince Pless were ot opinion that it might have been better managed. The Con- servatives had not been informed beforehand, and the state- ment was actually made when they were sitting at lunch. To all appearance Wiudthorst was not wrong when, with his usual dexterity in seizing his opportunities, he remarked that he haa expected more sympathy from the Assembly. •' Yes," said the Chief, " there ought to have been a better stage manager for the farce. It should have had a more effective viisc-cn-scbnc, — but Dclbriick does not understand that sort of thing. Some one should have got up to cxprcs> his dissatisfaction wit'a the Bavarian Treaties, ■". ' 'ch lacked this, that, and the other. Then he should have said: 'Ii, however, an equivalent were found to compensate for these defects, something in which the unity of the nation would fmd expression, that would be different,' — and then the Empcioi should have been brought forward." ... " Moreover, the Emperor is more important than many people think. I could not tell them (that is to say, the Princes) what it all means — if I .had, I certainl) should not have succeeded. ... I admit that the Bavarian Treaty has defects and deficiencies. That is, however, easily said when one is not responsible. How would it have been, then, if I had refused to make concessions and no treaty had been concluded } It is impossible to cc- '.coive all the difficulties that would have resulted from such a hi')!. , and for that reason I was in mortal anxiety over the easy i • concern of centralising gentlemen in the Diet." . . . "Last night, after a long interval, I had again a couple of hours of good deep sleep. At first I could not get off to sleep, worrying and pondering over all sorts of things. Then suddenly I saw Varzin before me, quite distinctly to the smallest detail, like a big picture, with all the colours even — green trees, the sunshine on the stems, and a blue sky above it all. I saw each single tree. I tried to get rid of it, but it came back and tormented iSyo] UELBRUCK, THE "LIUERAL MINISTER" 293 me, and at length when it faded away it was replaced by other pictures, documents, notes, despatches, until at last towards morning I fell asleep." Whilst Bucher and myself were alone at tea, he told me that Delbriick, who is the " Liberal Minister," holds with the Liberals and is "thmking of the future." "At an early stage of his career the Chief offered him the Ministry of Commerce Del- briick declined it, saying : ' Yes, Excellency, but you may not remain long yourself, and I should prefer not to accept it What should I do if you retired ? I should be obliged to go too and renounce official life, and of course that would not do ' " -;**"' CHAPTER XV CHAUDORDY AND THE TRUTH — OFFICERS OF BAD FAITH — FRENCH GARBLING — THE CROWN PRINCE DINES WITH THE CHIEF Friday , December \6th. — In <-he morning I wrote several articles on M. de Chaudordy's circular as to the barbarity with which we are alleged to conduct the war. They were to the following effect : In addition to the calumnies that have been circulated for months past by the French press with the object of exciting public opinion against us, a document has now been issued by the Provisional Government itself for the purpose of prejudicing foreign Courts and Cabinets by means of garbled and exaggerated accounts of our conduct in the present war. An official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Tours, M. de Chaudordy, impeaches us in a circular to the neutral Powers, Let us consider the main points in his statement and see how the matter stands in reality, and who can be justly charged with barbarous methods of warfare, ourselves or the French, He asserts that we make excessive requisitions, and abuse our power in the occupied towns and districts, to extort impos- sible contributions. We are further stated to have seized pri- vate property, and to have cruelly burnt down towns and villages, whose inhabitants have offered resistance, or have in any way assisted in the defence of their country. Our accuser says: " Commanding officers have ordered a town to be plundered and burnt down as a punishment for the acts of individual citizens whose sole crime consi5:*"ed in resisting the invaders, thus misusing the inexorable discipline imposed upon their troops. Every house in which a franctireur had been con- cealed, or received a meal, has been burnt down. How can this be reconciled with respect for private property } " The circular states that in firing upon open towns we have introduced a pro- cedure hitherto unexampled in war. Finally, in addition to all 294 DEC. i6, 1870] FRExNCII BARBARITY 295 BAD FAITH — NES WITH THE wrote several barbarity with ey were to the that have been with the object t has now been the purpose of ;ans of garbled lie present war, t Tours, M. de leutral Powers, it and see how justly charged or the French, ons, and abuse ;o extort impos- lave seized pri- ns and villages, .ve in any way accuser says; be plundered of individual ■ the invaders, ed upon their ad been con- How can this The circular roduced a pro- addition to all our other cruelties, we take hostages with us on railway journeys to secure ourselves against the removal of the rails and other injuries and dangers. In reply to these charges we offer the following observations : If M. de Chaudordy understood anything about war, he would not complain of the sacrifices which our operations have imposed upon the French people, but would, on the contrary, be surprised at our relative moderation. Moreover, the German troops re- spect private property everywhere, although they can certainly not be expected, after long marches and severe fighting, and after enduring cold and hunger, to refrain from securing as comfortable quarters as possible, or from demanding, or, if the inhabitants have fled, helping themselves to absolute necessaries such as food, drink, firing, &c. Moreover, instead of seizing private property, as M. de Chaudordy asserts, our soldiers have frequently done the reverse, and at the risk of their own lives rescued for the owners works of art and other valuables which were endangered by the fire of the French guns. We have burnt down villages, but does our accuser know nothing of our reasons for doing so } Is he not aware that in those villages franctircurs have treacherously fired upon our peoph^ and that the inhabitants have given every possible assistance to the murderers ? Has he heard nothing of the franctircurs who recently left Fontaines, and who boldly stated that the object of their march was to inspect the houses in the neighbourhood which were worth pillaging ? Can he bring forward a single well-established case of outrage committed by our soldiers such as those of which the Turcos and French guerillas have been guilty ? Have our troops cut off the noses or ears of their wounded or dead opponents, as the French did at Coulours on the 30th of November.-' On the nth of December, when 800 German prisoners should have been brought into Lille, only 200 of them actually arrived. Many of these were severely wounded, yet instead of affording them succour, the people of the town pelted them with snowballs, and shouted to the soldiers to bay- onet them. The frequency with which the French have fired at the bearers of flags of truce is something unheard of. There is good evidence for the truth of the following incident, however incredible it may appear. On the 2nd of December, a German sergeant named Steinmetz, at the express desire of an oflicer ,.-*^ ' L 296 FRANCTIREURS AND HOSTAGES [Dec. 16 of the Garibaldian troops, wrote a letter to his lieutenant in Mirecourt, stating that if our side took reprisals against Vittul or other places in the neighbourhood, the ears of fourteen Prus- sian prisoners, who had fallen into the hands of the guerillas in a surprise attack, would be cut off. In many instances we have not treated those volunteers as soldiers, but that was only in cases where they did not act as soldiers, but, on the contrary, followed the principles recom- mended by the Prefect, Luce Villiard, in the address issued bv him through the Maires to the peasants of the Cote d'Or do- partment. M. Villiard said : " The country does net demand that you should collect in large masses and openly oppose the enemy. It expects that ery mornmg three or four resolute men amongst you shall 1- tve your villages and select some good natural position from which you can fire upon the Prussians without risk. You m jst above all direct your fire against the enemy's cavalry, and bring their horses in to the chief district towns. I will distribute premiums amongst you, and your heroic deeds shall be published in all the newspapers of the Provinces as well as in the Ofificial Journal." We have bombarded open cities, such ?.s Orleans, but is M, de Chaudordy not aware that they were occupied by the enemy? And has he forgotten that the French bombarded the open towns of Saarbrticken and Kchl ? Finally, as to the hostages who were obliged to accompany the railway trains, they were taken not to serve as a hindrance to French heroism, but as a precaution against treacherous crime. The railway does not convey merely soldiers, arms, ammunition, and other war mate- Tial, against which it may be allowable to use violent measures; it also conveys great numbers of wounded, doctors, hospital attendants, and other perfectly harmless persons. Is a peasant or a franctireur to be allowed to endanger hundreds of those lives by removing a rail or laying a stone upon the line } Let the French see that the security of the railway trains is no longer threatened and the journeys made by those hostages will be merely outings, or our people may even be able to forego such precautionary measures. We forbear to deal any further with the charges of M. de Chaudordy. The European cabinets are aware of the humane sentiments which inspire German methods of warfare, and they will easily be able to form a just iS/o] PARTICULARISTS IN BAVARIA 297 : volunteers as iid not act as iciples recom- rcss issued by Cote cVOr de- :s net demand nly oppose the r four resolute lect some good the Prussians fire against the e chief district md your heroic ' the Provinces estimate of the vahic of these charges. War, moreover, is and remains war, and it cannot be waged with velvet gloves. Wc should perhaps less frequently employ the iron gloves if the Government of National Defence had not declared a people's war, which invariably leads to greater harshness than a conflict between regular armies. Bohlen, who is still unwell, Hatzfeld, who is indisposed, and Keudell, who received a command to dine with the King, were absent from dinner. Count Holnstein and Prince Putbus were present as guests. The lirst subject to be touched upon was the Bavarian Treaty, which Holnstein expected would be ap- proved of by the second Bavarian Chamber, in which a two- thirds majority was necessary. It was already known that there were only some forty members opposed to it. It was also practically certain that it would not be rejected by the Upper House. " Thuengen will doubtless be in favour of it," observed the Chief. " I believe so," replied Holnstein, " as he also voted in favour of joining in the war." "Yes," said the Minister, "he is one of the honest Particu- larists ; but there are some who are not honest and who have other objects in view." " Certainly," added Holnstein. " Some of the patriots showed that quite clearly. They omitted the words, ' For King and Country,' retaining only ' Mit Gott.' " Putbus then referred to the approaching holidays, and said it would be a good idea to give the neople in the hospital a Christmas tree. A collection had been started for that pur- pose, and 2500 francs had already been received. " Pless and I put down our names," he 3aid. "The subscription list was then laid before the Grand Duke of Weimar, and he gave 300 francs; and the Coburger, who was then attacked, gave 200. He would certainly have been glad to get out of it. He should at least have contrived not to give more than Weimar or less than Pless." " It must certainly have been very disagreeable to him," said the Minister. Putbus: "But why? He is a rich man ! " The Chief : " Very rich ! " Putbus : " Why, certainly, he has come in for an enormous forest which is worth over a million." The Chief : " The Crown Princess secured that for i I' 2cjH THE NEW FRENCH LOAN rOi:r. ,6 him through all sorts of stratagems, which she also tried on with me. But I have clone with him. He shall never get niy signature again." Putbus: "Besides, 2CX3 francs! He ought not to feel it so much. It is not much more than fifty thalers. But it is just like him ! " Putbus then said they intended to submit the list of subscriptions to his Majesty, whereupon the Chief remarked: "Then you will also allow me to join." \\\[. bus afterwards added that Weimar had " not shown himself over-generous in other matters. He established an ambulance for his regiment, where a couple of officers are now being cared for. He demanded payment for their keep from the Comman- dant, which of course only the doctors are entitled to do." " But surely they have not given it to him," said the Chief. Putbus; " Oh, yes ; they have though, but not without making sonic remarks on the subject that led to a great deal of bad language on his part." It was then mentioned that a French balloon had fallen down near Wetzlar and that Ducrot was said to be in it. "I suppose he will be shot then," said Putbus. "No," replied the Chief. "The common jail. Ten years' penal servitude. If he is brought before a court-martial nothing will happen to him. But a Council of Honour would certainly condemn him. So I have been told by officers." " Any other news on military matters ? " asked Putbus. "Perhaps at the General Staff," replied the Minister, "but we know nothing here. We only get such information as can be obtained by dint of begging, and that is little enough." Later on it was stated that the Government of National Defence was thinking of contracting a new loan. Turning to me, the Minister said : " It may be useful to call attention in the press to the danger investors run in lending money to this Government. It would be well to say that the loans made to the present Government might possibly not be recognised by that with which we concluded peace, and that we might :ven make that one of the conditions of the peace. That should be sent to the English and Belgian press in particular." Lowinsohn mentioned to me in the evening that a Conscr\'a- tive of high position, from whom he sometimes obtained in- formation, had said to him that his friends were anxious to know what the King was going to say to the deputation from 1870] A WARNING TO INVESTORS 299 the Reichstag. It was understood that he was not pleased at their coming, as only the first Reichstag which would represent all Germany, and not the North German Reichstag, could tender him the imperial crown. (Doubtless the King is think- [r\(r less of the Reichstag, which cannot proffer him the impe- rial dignity independently, but only in concert with the Princes in the narae of the whole people, than of the Princes them- selves, all of whom will not as yet have replied to the proposal of the King of Bavaria.) Furthermore, this Conservative of hicrh position would prefer to see the King become Emperor of Prussia. (A matter of taste.) Under the other arrangement Prussia will be lost in Germany, and that arouses scruples in his mind. Lowinsohn also reported that the Crown Prince is very indignant at certain correspondents who compared Cha- teaudun to Pompeii and drew lively pictures of the devastation of the country owing to the war. I suggested to Lowinsohn that he should deal with the subject of the new French loan and that of " Chaudordy and Garibaldi's ear-clippers " in the Jnd^pcndance Dclgc, with which he is connected. He promised to do this to-morrow. An article for the Kolnischc Zcitiing on the new French loan was accordingly despatched in the following form : — " Yet another loan ! With wicked unconcern the gentlemen who now preside over the fortunes of France, and who are plunging her deeper and deeper into moral and material ruin, are also trying to exploit foreign countries. This was to be anticipated for some time past, and we are therefore not sur- prised at it. We would, liowever, call the attention of the financial world to the very obvious dangers accompanying the advantages which will be offered to them. We will indicate them in a few words, in order to mak*^ the matter clear. High interest and a low rate of issue may be \ery tempting. But, on the other hand, the Government which makes this loan is recognised neither by the whole of France nor by a single European Power. Moreover, it should be remembered that we have already stated our intention that measures would be taken to prevent the repayment of certain loans which French munici- palities tried to raise for the purposes of the war. We imagine that is a sufficient hint that the same principle might be applied on a larger scale. The French Government which concludes ( r 300 TiiK REirnsTAc. nr.i'UT.vnoN rn'''. I- peace with Prussia and her allies (and that will presumably not be «'hc present (lovernment) will in all prohabilily h- bound, anioHj; other conditions of peace, not to reco-^nise as bindini; the en<;agements for payment of interest and redemption oi loans made by MM. Gand)etta and Favrc. The (Government referred to will uncpiestionably have the right to do this, as those gentlemen, although it is true they speak in the name of France, have received no mission and no authority from the country. People should therefore be on their guard." Wollmann came up to me after lO o'clock, and said that the deputation from the Reichstag had arrived. Their cliairman, Simson, was now with the Chief, who would doubtless inform him of the King's disinclination to receive them before all the Princes had sent letters declaring their approval. These letters would go first to the King of Bavaria, who would afterwards send them to our King. All the Princes had already tele- graphed their approval — only Lippe still appeared to miter- tain scruples. Probably in consequence of ihis po.stponement it will be necessary for a few members of the deputation tn fall ill. Saturday, December i "jth. — In the course of the forenoon I wrote a second paragraph on the new French loan. In the afternoon wrote another article on the ever-increas- ing instances of French officers breaking their parole and absconding from the places where they were interned, and returning to France to take service against us again. Over fifty of these cases have occurred up to the present. Thev include officers of all ranks, and even three generals — namely, Ducrot, Cambriel, and Barral. After the battle of Sedan we could have rendered the army that was shut up in that fortress harmless by destroying it. Humanity, however, and faith in their pledged word induced us to forego that measure. The capitulation was granted, and we were justified in considcrin;: that all the officers had agreed to its terms and were prepared to fulfil the conditions which it imposed. If that was not the case, we ought to have been informed of the fact. VVe should then have treated those exceptions in an exceptional way, that is to say, not accorded to the officers in question the same treatment that was granted to the others. In other words, they would not have been allowed the liberty which they have iSjoJ THE CKOWN rUlNCK AND I'llli iJUMUAUUMliNT 301 now abused in such a clisi^raccful manner. It is true that the acat majority of the captive officers have kept their word, and one might therefore have dismissed the matter with a shru<; ot the shoulder;;. lUit the affair assumes another aspect when tlK French Provisional Government approves this breach of their pledged word by reappointing such officers to the regi- ments that are opposing us in the field. Has there been a single case in which one of these deserters was refused read- mission to the ranks of the l^'rench army .'' Or have any French officers protested against the readmission of such com- nulcs into their corps.'* It is, therefore, not the Government alone, hut also the officers of l<"rance, who consider this dis- graceful conduct to be correct. The consecpience, however, will be that the German Governments will feel bound in duty to consider whether the alleviation of their imprisonment hitherto accorded to French officers is consistent with the in- terests of Germany. And further, we must ask our.selves the question whether we shall be justified in placing c(jnlklence in any of the promises of the present French Government when it wants to treat Wiuh Germany, without material guarantees and pledges. VVc were joined at dinner by lierr Arnim-Krochlendorff, a brother-in-law of the Chief, a gentleman of energetic asj^cct, and apparently a little over fifty. The Minister was in very good humour, but the conversation this time was not particularly interesting. It chiefly turned upon the bombardment, and the attitude assumed towards that question by a certain party at headquarters. Arnim related that when Griivcnitz spoke to the Crown Prince on the matter, the latter exclaimed : " Impossible ! nothing to be done; it would be to no purpose," and when Griivenitz ventured to argue the point, the Prince declared : "Well, then, if you know better, do it! Bombard it yourself ! " To which Griivenitz replied: "Your Royal Highness, I can only fire a/ ved to have made representations to the King respecting the expediency, on po- litical grounds, of greater concentration in the military opera- tions. We had no guests at dinner, and the conversation was, for the most part, not worth repeating. The following may, how- ever, be noted. Abeken said he had observed that I was keep- ing a very complete diary, and Bohlen added in his own lively style : " Yes, he writes down : ' At 45 minutes past 3 o'clock Count or Baron So-and-so said this or that,' as if he were going to swear to it at some future time." Abeken said: "That will cne day be material for history. If one could only live to read it I " I replied that it would certainly furnish material for isyo] MY "MATERIAL FOR HISTORY" 319 ass of the Ir history, and very trustworthy material, but not for thirty years to come. The Chief smiled and said : " Yes, and the reference will then be : ' Confcras Buschii, cap. 3, p. 20. After dinner I read State documents and ascertained from them that an extension of the German frontier towards the west was first officially submitted to the King, at Hcrny, on the 14th of August. It was only on the 2nd of September that the liadcn Government sent in a memorial in the same sense. Monday, December 26t/i, — Waldersee dined with us. The conversation was almost entirely on military subjects. With respect to the further conduct of the war, the Chief said that the wisest course would be to concentrate our forces in Alsace- Loiraine, the department of the Meuse, and another neighbour- hig department, which would amount to a strip of territory with about _ 6oo,0(X) inhabitants. If one took in a few other depart- ments ill addition, without Paris, would amount to about seven millions, or with Paris to about nine million inhabitants. In nny case the operations should be limited to a smaller area than that occupied by our armies at present. People's ability to carry liquor was then discussed, and the Chief observed : " Formerly drink did not affect mc in the least. When I think of my performances in that line ! The strong wines, particularly Burgundy ! " The conversation afterwards turned for a while on card-playing, and the Minister remarked that he had also done a good deal in that way formerly. He had once played twenty-one rubbers of whist, for instance, one after the other — "which amounts to seven hours' time." He could only feel an interest in cards when playing for high stakes, and then it was not a proper thing for the father of a family. This subject had been introduced by a remark of the Chief's that somebody was a *' Ricmchenstccher." He asked if we understood what the word meant, and then proceeded to explain it. " Riemchenstechcn " i» an old soldiers' game. And a " Riem- chenstechcr" is not exactly a scamp, but rather a sly, sharp fellow. The Mini.ster then related how he had seen a father do his own son at cards out of a sum of twelve thousand thalers. "I saw him cheat, and made a sign to the son. who understood 320 A CHRISTMAS CUTTING FOR THE KING [Dec. 26, 1870 me. He lost the game and paid, although it cost him two years' income. But he never played again." After dinner wrote another article on the barbarity with which the French wage war, and cut out for the King an article from the Staatsbiiergerzeitungy recommending a less considerate treatment of the enemy. Ill * CHAPTER XVI FIRST WEEK OF THE BOMBARDMENT On Tuesday, the 27th of December, the long-wished-for bombardment of Paris at length began, commencing on the cast side. As the following particulars show, we at first knew nothing "f it, and afterwards also it was only for a few days that the firing gave an impression of being particularly violent. We very si >n grew accustomed to it, and it never entirely (lucrtcd our attention even from trifles, nor caused any lengthy interruption of our work or of the flow of thought. The French forts had been prepared for it The diary may now resume its narrative. From early morning on Tuesday until far into the day there was a heavy fall of .^now and rather severe cold. In the morn- ing Theiss, who serves Abeken as well as myself, and who seems to consider that our old Geheimrath is a Catholic, told me: — " He always reads his prayers in the morning. I believe it is Latin. He speaks very loud, so that he can sometimes be heard in the antechamber. Probably it's a mass." He then added that Abeken supposed the heavy firing that was heard from 7 A.M was the commencement of the bombardment. Wrote several let* ts to Berlin with instructions as to articles. Bray is to be sharpi attacked by our newspapers. After 12 o'clock I telegraph to London on the instructions of the Chief that the bombardment of the outer fortifications began this morning. Our artillery has commenced with an attack upon Mont Avron, a redoubt near Bondy, and it appears that the Saxons had the honour to fire the first shot. The Minister remained in bed the whole day, not because he was particularly unwell, but, as he told me, to maintain an equable warmth. He was also absent from dinner, at which we were joined by Coont Solms. The only point of note in the vol.. I. — V 321 322 BONArARTISr ACriVIl'Y [Del-. : conversation was Abcken's mention of a very pretty poonvin the Kladdcradatsch, on the Duke of Coburj,^ — probably a panegyric. The IJonapartists seem to have become very active, and to entertain great plans. According to Bernstorff's despatches Persigny and Palikao intend to get us to grant neutrality to Orleans, and to convoke there the Corps Legislatif to dccidi; whether the country is to have a republic or a monarchy, and if the latter which dynasty is to reign. It is intended, however, to wait for a while, until greater discouragement shall haw made the people more accommodating. Bonnechose jjroposL^ to attempt a negotiation for peace between Germany and France. This prelate was formerly a lawyer, and only entered holv orders subsequently. He is considered to be intelligent, is con. nected with the Jesuits, and, although in politics he is reallv a Legitimist, he has a high opinion of Eugdnie because of iier piet)^ He was an ardent supporter of the doctrine of infalli- bility, and e.vpects to be elected Pope, which position he has indeed some prospect of attaining. The Archbishop told Pro- fessor Wagener, who had been sent to see him by Manteuffe! respecting the hospital arrangements, that he could induce Trochu, with whom he is accjuainted, to surrender Paris in case we did not insist upon a cession of territory. The Arch- bishop suggested that instead of a cession of territory we might demand the return of Nice and Savoy to Victor Emmanuel, and then oblige the latter to restore their territories to the Pope and to the Sovereigns of Tuscany and Naples. In that way we should win renown as the protectors of order and the restorer? of justice in pAirope. A strange idea indeed ! The Chief has given directions to adopt the severest meas- ures against Noquet le Roi, where a surprise by franctireurs was assisted by the inhabitants. He has also rejected the appeal of the mayor and municipality of Chatillon to be relieved from a contribution of a million francs imposed upon the town as a penalty for similar conduct. In both cases he was guided by the principle that the population must be made to suffer by the war in order to render them more disposed to peace. At II P.M. called to the Chief, who gave me several news- ])aper articles from Berlin "for Ihe collection " (of examples of French barbarity in the conduct of the war which I have begun liy] AN AMERICAN l.AUY'S LKITER 323 under his instructions), as well as two other articles that are to be sent to the King. Wednesday, December 2?>th. — Snowfall and moderately cold. The Chief again kept to his room to-day. He handed mc a letter in French, dated the 25th instant, which he had received iioni "Une Americainc." I am to make what use I like of it. It runs as follows : — ''Graf von Bismarck. Jouissez autant que possible, Herr Graf, du climat frais dc Versailles, car, un jour, vous aurez a supporter des chaleurs infernales pour tons les malheurs que vous avez causes a la France et a I'Allemagne." That is all ! His Excellency Herr Delbriick again lunches with us. He is convinced that the Second Bavarian Chamber will ultimately approve the Versailles treaties just as the North German Diet (lid, respecting whose decision he had been really uneasy for some days. Thursday, December 29///. — The Mini.ster still remains in bed, but works there, and does not seem to be particularly unwell. In the afternoon I translated for the King Granville's de- spatch to Loftus respecting Bismarck's circular on the Luxem- burg affair. Afterwards studied documents. In the middle of October the Chief received a memorial from Coburg with pro- posals as to a reorganisation of Germany. These also included the restoration of the imperial dignity, and finally the substitu- tion for the Bundesrath of a F'ederal Ministry, and the creation of a Reichsrath to consist of representatives of the Govern- ments and delegates from the Diets. The Chief replied to this memorial that some of the ideas brought forward were already tor some time past in process of realisation. He could not agree to the proposals as to a Federal Ministry and the Reichs- rath, as he considered them calculated to hamper the new organisation, and, if necessary, he would openly declare against them. It is reported from Brussels that the King of the Bel- gians is well disposed towards us, but has no means of controll- ing the anti-German press of the country. The Grand Duke of Messe has stated that Alsace and Lorraine must become Prus- Man provinces. Dalwigk (his Minister), who is as opposed to ^is as ever, wishes to sec the territory to be ceded by France incorporated with Baden. The Grand Duchy would then cede 324 THE BAVARIAN COURT [Uhc, the district near Heidelberg and Mannheim to Bavaria, whose connection with the Palatinate on the left bank of the Rhine would be thus reestablished. In Rome the Pope wishes tj undertake " mi^diation " between ourselves and France. The expression quotsd was objected to by Arnim as inappropriate. The following particulars relating to the King of Bavaria are contained in a report from Munich : " His kingdom is not of this world. It has been further observed that Major Sauer has no longer any influence upon him, while that of Pnw Councillor Eisenhart has increased, as indeed also that of Count Holnstein. He is not coming to Versailles, in the first place because he would be obliged to ride, which he can no longer do with comfort, and in the next place because he does not like to play second fiddle. All that Bray thinks of is to keep his own position in Vienna warm, if only for the sake of his livelihood.' Lutz is " the tctc forte in the Ministry, and is very ambitious." The Princes Karl and Ludwig are strongly anti-Prussian, fhe Nuncio's secretary exercises a great influence with his chief. - Read a letter from King Lewis to our Crown Prince. It was written at the commencement of the war. The handwriting is coarse and ugly and the lines are not straight. It expresses a hope that the independence of Bavaria will be respected Otherwise the tone of the epistle is soundly patriotic. In the evening I handed Bucher, as material for an article, all the newspaper reports I have collected on the barbarous conduct of the war by the French, contrary to the law o; nations. At 10 o'clock I was called to the Chief, who was lying be- fore the fire on a sofa, wrapt in a blanket. He said : " Well, we've got him ! " " Whom, your Excellency .'' " " Mon: Avron." He then showed me a letter from Count Waldersce. reporting that this redoubt was occupied by the troops of the 1 2th Army Corps this afternoon. " It is to be hoped that they have laid no mine and that the poor Saxons will not be blowr. up." I telegraphed the news of this first success in the bom- bardment to London, but in cipher, " as otherwise the genera! staff might be angry." Subsequently the Chancellor sent for me once more to show me an outburst of the Vienna Tagcblatt which has been repr^^l ducod by the Kolnisihc Zcitnng. It declares tliat Bismarck has iSjo] IRI^NCII DK.MURALISATION 3:^5 been thoroughly deceived as to the power of resistance of Paris, and in his overhaste, which has already cost the lives of hun- dreds of thousands (why not at once say millions ?), has put for- ward excessive demands in connection with the peace. We reply, through the Spcncrschc Zcitung, that up to the present no one knows what the Chancellor's conditions are, as he has not yet had any opportunity of stating them officially, but they do not in any case go so far as German public opinion, which almost unanimously demands the cession of all Lorraine. No one can say either what his views were respecting the power of resistance of Paris, as he has never had to give official expres- sion to them. Friday, December loth. — The bitter cold of the last few days still continues. In consequence of his indisposition the Chief still keeps to his room, and is indeed mostly in bed. In the morning, on his instructions, I telegraphed particulars of the occupation of Mont Avron, and of the disgraceful conduct of the French authorities, who, according to the official ac- knowledgment of the delegation at Tours, have offered a pre- mium to imprisoned officers to return to France, in breach of their word of honour. On the suggestion of the Chief I write paragraphs on this subject for the German press as well as for the local Moniteur to the following effect : — " We have frequently had occasion to direct attention to the profound demoralisation manifested by French statesmen and oflficcrs in the matter of military honour. A communication, which reaches us from a trustworthy source, proves that we had not up to the present realised how deep and widespread that evil is. We have now before us an official order issued by the French Ministry of War, the 5th Bureau of the 6th Depart- ment, which bears the title ' Solde et revues.' It is dated from Tours on the 13th of November, and is signed by Lieutenant- Colonel Alfred Jerald, and by Colonel Tissier of the general staff of the 17th Army Corps. This order, which is based upon another dated the loth of November, assures all French officers imprisoned in Germany, without distinction, a money payment in case they escape from custody. We repeat, all the French officers without distinction ; that is to say also those who have given their word of honour not to escape. The premium offered for such dishonourable conduct amounts to 326 BISMARCK AND BEUST [Jan. 750 francs. A measure of this description needs no comment! Honour (which is the dearest treasure of every German officcrl and — duty and justice demand that we should add — formerlj also of all French officers) is regarded by the men who came tol power on the 4th of September as a commodity to be bought[ and sold, and indeed very cheaply. In this way officers of thel French army will come to believe that "France is no lon'^rl administered by a Government, but is on the contrary exploited by a trading firm, and one with lax principles of honesty an J decency, under the title of ' Gambetta and Co,' 'Who'll bnv| gods .'' ' ' Who'll sell his word of honour ? ' " Afterwards I write another short article on an error frc quently committed by the KolniscJic Zcitnng and recently re- peated in connection with the Chancellor's despatch to Vienna. The great Rhenish newspaper writes: "Ever since 1866 wo I have been amongst those who have persistently warned both Vienna and Berlin to dismiss their idle jealousies and to conic to the best understanding possible in the circumstances. Wc have often regretted the personal irritation between Bismarck and Beust which appears to stand in the way of such a| rapprochoncnt, &c." The reply is to the following effect: " It has been observed that the Kolnische Zcitnng has alrcadvj frequently sought to explain political acts and omissions of the I Chancellor of the Confederation by personal motives, person i: likes and dislikes, personal disposition and ill humour; and \vc have here a further instance of this unjustifiable course. \\V cannot imagine why such suspicions are time after time brought forward. We only know that absolutely no feeling of persona! irritation exists between the Chancellor of the North German] Confederation and the Chancellor of the Austria-Hungariar Monarchy, and indeed that, previous to 1866, when they often came into personal contact, they were on excellent terms, as Count J^ismarck himself declared in the North German Reichs- tag. Since then nothing has happened between them as private persons calculated to create bitterness, if for no other | reason than because they have had no personal intercourse. Ii they have taken up a position more or less antagonistic to each other, the reasons are obvious. Up to the present they were the representatives of different political systems, and acted upon different political principles which it was difficult, a! TREAIMENT OF THE ALSACIANS s^: though not quite impossible, to reeoncile. This, and this alone, is the sole explanation of what the K'olnischc Zcituiii:; ascribes to personal motives, from whieh the thoughts and acts of no Statesman of the present day are farther removed than those ol the Chancellor of the Confederation. It may also be remarked I incidentally that not only has Count Bismarck not been 'thoroughly ' deceived as to the power of resistance of Paris, I but he has not been deceived at all. His opinion has never been asked on the subject; but we know on the best authority that months ago he regarded the capture of the city as difficult, ;ind was decidedly opposed to the investment even before the tall of Metz." In reading documents in the evening I find that the Chief has had a letter sent to General Bismarck-Bohlen stating that he docs not agree with the general in thinking that his main task should be to alleviate the misery caused by the war, and to render the Alsacians well disposed towards the future masters of the country. For the moment his first business must be to promote the objects of the war and to secure the safety of the troops. He should therefore expel such French officials as will not take service under us, including the magis- trates who will not discharge the duties of their office; and he should also withhold the payment of pensions directing the pensioners to apply to the Government at Tours. Under such conditions the people would be more disposed to call for peace. Saturday, December ^ist. — All our people arc ailing. I also begin to feel exhausted. It will be well to shorten the night work which my diary entails, or to interrupt it altogether for a few days. Tuesday, January Z^'d. — I observe that the opinion already expressed by the Chief on several occasions, that the dispersion of the German forces towards the north and south-west is dangerous, and that more concentration is desirable, is also held elsewhere. A military authority has written on this sub- ject in the Vienna Presse ; and the National Zcitung of the 31st of December publishes an article which is even more in harmony with the Chief's views. It says, inter alia: — "The withdrawal of our troops from Dijon and the non-occupation of Tours, to the gates of which a division of the loth Army I ,r-^'* 328 A NATIONAL ASSEMIJLY FOR I'UANCE [J*N.6 Corps had advanced, give perhaps an indication of the views entertained generally on the German side, and which will govern the continuation of the campaign. It may possibly be expected that F*rance will forego further resistance after the fall of Paris, and will agree to the German conditions of peace That, however, is not certain, and it is necessary to be prepared for an opposite contingency. In any case the fall of Paris will not be immediately followed by the establishment of a Govern- ment generally recognised and supported by a National Assem- bly, with which we could enter into negotiations for peace, Then if hostilities are to be continued they cannot aim at con- quering the whole of such an extensive country as France. Our army, as hitherto, might indeed be everywhere victorious and disperse the hosale forces. That, however, would not be sufficient. It would be necessary to organise a new civil admin- istration in all the conquered districts and to subject the popu- lation to its rule. Even in the country lying between the Channel and the Loire our forces would not be sufficient lo completely secure the safety of communications and to main- tain the authority of a foreign administration in each town and village, to prevent 'T-cacherous attacks and to collect the taxes as well as the com /butions and supplies that are indispensable for the purposes of the war. To extend the area of occupation indefinitely would not only be to overtax our military power, however highly we may rate it, but to unduly drain our home ser- vices for the necessary supply of civil administrators. There- fore, if peace is not attainable within a very short time our military authorities must set clear and distinct limits to the task which they propose to themselves. They must select a fixed portion of French territory, which they can occupy so com- pletely that we shall have full command over it, and can retain it as long as may be desired. This portion should include the capital and the best provinces, with the finest and most war- like population, and it would have, of course, to bear the whole burden and cost of the war until a peace party had grown up throughout the country strong enough to force its views upon the government of the day. The occupied territory should be so limited as to make its defence as easy as possible from a military point of view. Of course further offensive operations for temporary purposes might be undertaken beyond those niSMARC'K UNWF.LL 329 lines, but there should trom the beginning be no Mitcntion of goinfj permanently boyoiul them. In the meantinu the work oi annexation should be proceeded with in those districts which Germany requires for the security of her frontier without await- i,:(j the conclusion of peace." frhfmy, January 6t/i. — Up to yesterday the cold was very severe. The Chief has been unwell nearly the whole week. Yesterday for the first time he went out for a short drive, and again this afternoon. The Bureau has been reinforced by two officials, namely O,, .rregierungsrath VV^ugencr and Baron von Holstcin, a secretary of embassy. Amongst the articles whii-h I have written within the last few days was t)ne concerning the withdrawal of a number of railway waggons from home traffic, and consequently from the use of German industry, solelv for the purpose of collecting provisions here in anticipation of the dnie when famine shall at length con-nd Paris to surrender. I described this as humane, but unpractical and impolitic, as the Parisians, when they hear that we have made preparations for that event, will continue their resistance to the last crust of bread and the last joint of horseflesh. We shall, therefore, ourselves be contributing through such acts of humanity to a prolongation of the siege. It is not for us to provide against the threatened danger of famine by establishing storehouses or collecting the means of transport for reprovisioning the city, but rather for the Parisians themselves by means of a timely capitulation. I yesterday translated for the use of the King two luiglish docu- ments respecting the sinking of iMiglish coal ships near Rouen by our troops, who considered the measure necessary. After dinner I read despatches and drafts. A demand has been addressed to the German railways to supply a number of waggons ( " 2,800 axles " ) for the purpose of transporting provisions to Paris. The Chief entered an energetic protest against this measure, which would be prejudicial to us from a political standpoint, as the knowledge of those provisions would enable the holders of power in Paris to exhaust all their sup- plies before final- yielding, without any fear of famine at the last moment. A telegram was sent to Itzenplitz on the 3rd of January suggesting that he should not deliver a single waggon for this purpose, and asking him to reply by wire whether he would decline such requisitions. If not, the Chief " would 33t) A LKl II:R I'KOM TIIK KlN(i OF SWKDKN [Jan, request his Majesty to relieve him from all rcspnnsil^ilitv Itzenplitz telegraphed baek that he aj^reed with the views i,; the Chaneellor of the Confederation, and would act accordiii"Iv A letter trom the King of Sweden, addressed to a Commanda:!; Vcrrier in Krfiirt, is to be returned through the Dead LdL; Office. His Swedish Majesty, whom we know not to be p;ir. ticularly well disposed towards us, says in this epistle, wliich, by the way, is written in bad French, with many orthographi- cal errors, that he regrets to have to watch the struggle witi "folded arms," and to be obliged to "eat his bread in peace " iVous nous aniions tardivcvicnt^ lu'las ! vuiis avec viy;nc}t)\ ,; fcsphr que Ic joitr dc voisj^cauce arriviia ! " Vengeance ? Whit have the Swedes to avenge upon us ? It would seem as i; Prince Charles of Rumania were no longer able to manage the local extremists, and were thinking of abdicating and k;avin,' the country. " We have no political interests in Rumania. The Chief has made representations to the King suggestinj,^ limitation of the seat of war for political reasons, namely fn th(.; ground that only thus shall we be able to maintain our pi,- sition in the occupied portions of France and take full advan- tage of our occupation ; and he has further proposed that uc should give notice to withdraw from the Geneva Conventinr,, which is unpractical. Honnechose has, at the instance of th Pope, addressed a letter to King William in favour of peaco, but of an " honourable " peace, that is to say, one that won': not involve a cession of territory. That we could have hai twelve weeks ago from Monsieur Favre, if the Chief had \v.\ preferred a useful peace. For this reason the Minister rccoir mended that the letter should be left unanswered. Accordiii, to an intimation from Persigny, Prince Napoleon wishes t come to Versailles in order to act as intermediary. Ho is; I highly intelligent and amiable gentleman, but enjoys little cor- sideration in France, and therefore the Chancellor declined t negotiate with him. In the London Conference on the Hbcil Sea question we arc to give every ])ossiblc support to Russia j demands. The Dowager Queen at Dresden has suggested; Eichmann (the Prussian Minister) that it would be an indiu tion of confidence in Saxony if we were to allow them to garni son Konigstein with Saxon troops alone. Saturday, January yth. — Haber suggested that pnssiK I iSjiJ TiiK ri.i;A.suki;s ok nii: iaiii.k 331 ested that pnssiK; some political documents of importance for us mi;;ht ho found in Odillon Harrot's house at Hou-ival. I asked the Minister's perinission to go over there with Hucher. lie replied: "TlKit is all very well, hut is it a private lihrary ? I must preserve the things for M. Odillon Harrot. Ikit you can sec if there is anything political amongst them." It proved on examination to be a well-chosen lihrary, containing historical and political works, as well as polite literature. It included also a numher of English books, but contained nothing of the character sus- pected by Habcr. This evening the Minister dines ..ith us again. We hear at tea that the bombardment of the forts on the north side of Paris has also begun, and shows good results. Fires have broken out in Vaugirard and Grenelles — whence probably the smoke arose which we saw yesterday from the hills between Ville d'Avray and Sevres. Keudell thinks I ought to tell the Chief. I go up to him at a quarter to 1 1. He thanks me, and then asks, " What time is it.'" I answer, " Nearly ii. Excellency." "Well, then, tell Keudell to prepare the communication for the King." I ascertain down.stairs that this is a complaint that by 1 1 o'clock at night the military authorities have not communicated to the Minister matters of which civilians were informed at 2 i'.m. Sunday, J(^nu(xry Stk. — At dinner the Chief gave some further reminiscences of his youth. He spent the time from his sixth to his twelfth year at the I'hihmann Institute in Ik-rlin, a:i educational establishment worked on the jjrinciples of Pesta- lozzi and Jahn. It was a period he could not think of with pleasure. The irt^ivw was artificially Spartan. While there he never fully satisfied his hunger, except when he was invited out. "The meat was like india-rubber, not exactly hard, but too much for one's teeth. And carrots — I liked them raw, — but cooked, and with hard potatoes, square junks ! " This led up to the pleasures of the table, the Chief giving his views chiefly of certain varieties of fish. He had a pleasant recollection of fresh-river lampreys, of which he could eat eight or ten ; he then praised schnapel, a kind of whiting, and the Elbe salmon, the latter being " a happy mean between the Bal- tic salmon and that of the Rhine, which is too rich for mc." With regard to bankers' dinners, " nothing is considered good 332 i;iSMAU( K'S IIKST NEWSl'AI'liU ARIK LK f Jan. 9 unless it is dear, — no carp because it is comparatively cheap in Berlin, but zander (a kind of perch-pike) because it is difficuli to carry. As a matter of fact, I do not care for these, and just as little for lampreys, of which the flesh is too soft for me. But I could eat marena every day of the week. I almost prefer them to trout, of which I only like those of a medium size, weighing about half a pound. The large ones that are usually served at dinners in Frankfort, and which mostly come from the Wolfsbriinnen near Heidelberg, are not worth much. Thcv are expensive, and so one must have them. That's also the way at Court with oysters. They don't cat any in Iv.gland when the Queen is present, as they are too cheap there." The conversation then turned on the Arc dc Trlompho in Paris, which was compared with the Brandenburg Gate. The Chief said of the latter: "It is really beautiful in its way — particularly without the two pillared porticos. I have advised the King to let it stand free, and have the guardhouses removed. It would be much more effective, as it would no longer be squeezed in and parti'- concealed as it is now." Wagener having mentioned his former journalistic work, the Minister said : " I know my first newspaper article was about shooting. At that time I was still a wild junker. Some one had written a spiteful article on sport, which set my blood boil- ing, so that I sat down and wrote a reply, which I handed to Altvater, the editor, but without success. He answered very politely, but said it would not do, he could not accept it. I was beside myself wit'i indignation that any one should be at liberty to attack sportsmen without being obliged to listen to their reply; but so it was at that time." The defence; put forward by the Luxemburg Government in reply to our complaints respecting breaches of neutrality is in- sufficient. It perhaps shows the good will of that Government, but certainly the facts prove that they are not ;.ble to maintain their own neutrality. They have been again warned, further evidence being given in support of our charges. If this does not prove effective, we shall be obliged to occupy the Grand Duchy, and hand over his passports to the Grand Ducal Minister in Berlin. A communication to the same effect has been made to the Powers that signed the Treaty of 1867. According" to a memorandum in which the Chief proposed to the King that the I,E i87'J ruiNci-: NAi'OLi;oN has a plan 353 itivcly cheap in sc it is (lifficuli these, and just ft for me. But I almost prefer a medium size, that are usually stly come from ,h much. Thoy at's also the way Iv. gland when re." do Triomjiho in urg Gate. Thc ul in its way — I have aciviscd houses removed. d no longer bo lalistic work, the rticle was about ker. Some one my blood boil- ,ch I handed to answered very ccept it. I was ukl be at liberty listen to their Government in neutrality is in- at Government, .ble to maintain warned, further s. If this does :upy the Grand Ducal Minister has been made According to a e King that the statesmen who concluded the treaties providing for the acces- sion of leaden and Wurtcnil)crg to the North German Confed- eration should receive decorations, an exception was to be made in the case of Dalwigk, because he had constantly intrigued and worked against Prussia and the cause of German unity, and only finally gave way on the compulsion of necessity ; and his decora- tion would, therefore, have a bad effect upon public opinion, which had frequently urged the exercise of Prussian influence to secure his dismissal. Monday, JduiuD'y c)tJi. — It is reported fionv London that Prince Napoleon has a plan under consideration for conclud- ing on his own authority a peace satisfactory to us, and then after the capitulation of Paris convoking the two Chambers to ratify the treaty, and to decide upon the future form of gov- ernment, and eventually upon the future dynasty. This plan would be sujiported by Vinoy and Ducrot. The Orleanists are also active, and hope to win over Thiers to their side. Kernstorff reports that it has been ascertained from a servant of Dr. Reitlinger, Favrc's secretary, that he has endeavoured to hatch a democratic conspiracy in South Germany. Gladstone has received Reitlinger, and promised to support him in every possible way. In the afternoon I drafted a telegram as to the further suc- cessful progress of the bombardment. On submitting it to the Chief, he struck out a passage in which it was mer«:ioned that our shells had fallen in the Lu.xembourg Gardens, as being "impolitic." He also instructed me to telegraph to the Foreign Office in Berlin to omit this passage from the report of the general staff. The following pretty story is making the round of the news- papers. It is taken from the private letter of a German officer, and was first published in the Lcip::igcr Tagcblatt. " One day the aide-de-camp, Count Lehndorff, visited Captain von Strantz at one of the outposts at Ville d'Avray, near Paris. In reply to the Count's question as to how he was getting on, the Cap- tain said: 'Oh, very well; I have just been dining for the si.xty-seventh time off roast mutton.' The Count laughed, and after a while drove off again. Next day a policeman called upon the Captain with the following message : * It having come to the knowledge of his Excellency Count Pisni.irck, Chnnrcllm" 334 Tllli IRON' CROSS [Jan, (^ of the Confederation, that Captain von Strantz would doubiloss be dininjj; to-day off his sixty-eighth joint of roast mutton, his Excellency sends him herewith four ducks as a change oi n.enu.' " This anecdote has the advantage over most of those appearing in the press, that it is in the main correct. But the policeman did not call on the next day. Count Lehndorff diiKd with us a few days before Christmas. The Chief was shaved as usual on coming to dinner to-chiv. He first mentioned that Count Bill had received the Iron Cross, and seemed to think that it should more properly have been g'vcn to his: elder son, as he was wounded in the cavalry charge at Mars la Tour. " The wound was an accident," he went on, "and others who were not wounded may have been equally brave. Hut it is, after all, a distinction, a kind of compensa- tion for the wounded." " I remember when I was a youn;:; man that one Herr von Reuss went about lierlin also wearin-^ the Cross. I thought to myself what wonders he must have done ; but I afterwards ascertained that he had an uncle who was a Minister, and he had been attached to the general staff as a kind of private aidc-de-carnp." The Chancellor suddenly remarked : " It must be three weeks since I saw Serenissimus.^ It is not so long since I saw Serenior.^ I cut the Sereni." The Chancellor then continued, obviously with reference to the Sereni, that is the Princes at the Hotel des Reservoirs, or one of them, but without any con- necting sentence: "I remember at G^tungen I once called a student a silly youngster. (Dummer Junge, the recognised form of offence when it is intended to provoke a duel.) On his sending me his challenge I said I had not wished to offend him by the remark that he was a silly youngster, but merely to express my conviction." While we were discussing pheasant and sauer-kraut, some one remarked that the Minister had not been out shootini; for a long time, although the woods between Versailles and Paris were full of game. "Yes," he rejilied, "something has always happened to prevent me, The last time was at Ferrieres; the King was away and he had forbidden shooting, that is to say, in the park, just as he has now given orders that Ferrieres must 1 The King, "^ 'Pile Crown I'rincc. [Jan. ,j would doubUc'ss ):ist mutton, his IS a change ot 2r most ot" those irrect. But the Lchndorff dined :) dinner to-dav. the Iron Cruss, )er]y have been ; cavalry charge It," he went on, e been equally d of compcnsa- I was a young lin also wearini: s he must have 1 an uncle who he general staff .^ must be three ong since I saw- then continued, the Princes at ithout any con- '. once called a the recognised c a duel.) On ishcd to offend , but merely to .ler-kraut, some ut shooting for illes and Paris Mig has always Ferrieres; the that is to say, Ferrieres must ^/i^/? iwn I'riiu'c. I . .: '- M. ■ , 1 r„ ' I ,1' \' • . ! MU :/''v;l- isy] BISMARCK AND KOTIISCIIILU 335 be spared, merely because it belongs to a rich Jew. We did not ■ro intt) the park, and there was plenty of game, but not much of it was shot, as the cartridges were bad." Holstein, who, by the way, turns out to be exceedingly amiable, hard-working, and helpful, remarked: "This is the account given of the affair, Kxcollency. You were aware of his Majesty's orders, and of course desired to obey them. But it unfortunately happened as you were taking a walk on one occasion you were suddenly sot upon by three or four pheasants and were obliged to shoot thcni down in self-defence." The French Rothsrhild recalled the German one, of whom tliL Chief related a very amusing story. He said : " When the members of the Reichstag were here recently, I was seated next to Rothschild at the Crown Prince's. The Prince sat next to me, and on his other side was Simson. Rothschild smokes a groat deal, and smelt of that and other things, and so I thnuj^ht I would play a little practical joke before we sat down. Hut it did not succeed. It is only after dinner that stewards of the household begin to be sensible and listen to a body. I had my revenge, however, by letting my neighbour have the benefit of my remarks. I said to him, ' You should have a house in Berlin, and invite people to see you and so on.' 'What do you mean?' he asked, in a loud and almost angry voice. 'Am I to give dinners in a restaurant.^' 'Well, you might do that too,' I replied, ' but to other people, not to me. In my opinion you owe it to the credit of your house. But the best thing would be to have a place of your own in Berlin. You know there is nothing to be expected any longer from the Paris and London Rothschilds, and so you ought to do something in Berlin. People are constantly surprised that you have not yet got into the Almanach de Gotha. Of course, what has not been done up to now may yet happen, but I am afraid you are not going the right way to work." Finally polite literature came to be discussed, and Spiel- hagen's " Problematische Naturen " was mentioned. The Chan- cellor had read it, and did not think badly of it, but he said : "I shall certainly not read it a second time. One has abso- lutely no time here. Otherwise a much-occupied Minister might well take up such a book and forget his despatches over il for a couple of hours." Freytag's "Soil und Ilaben" was :!|f ' 'ill 336 TIIIC LIIANlLLLOR OiN (lOETllli [Jan. also mentioned, and his description of the Polish riots, as uol! as the story of the bread-and-butter Miss and the bull, wxrc praised, while his heroes were considered insipid. One said they had no passion, and another no souls. Abeken, who took an active part in the conversation, observed that he could not read any of these things twice, and that most of the well-known modern authors had only produced one good book apiece "Well," said the Chief, "I could also make you a present 1: three-fourths of Goethe — the remainder, certainly — I sln)u!(; like to live for a long spell on a desert island with seven nr eight volumes out of the forty." Fritz Reuter was then re- ferred to, and the Minister remarked, '"Uit de Franzoscntid,' very pretty but not a novel." " Stromtid " was also mentioned " H'm," said the Chief, "'A?/ is as chxt Icddcr ?>' (That's just how it is, a favourite expression of one of the characters in the book) — that, it is true, is a novel, and it contains many gdod and others indifferent, but all through the peasants are de scribed exactly as they are." In the evening I translated for the King a long article from the Times on the situation in Paris. Afterwards at tea Keudel! spoke very well and sensibly of certain qualities of the Chancel- lor, who reminded him of Achilles, his great gifts, the youth- fulness of his character, his quickness of temper, his tendencv to Wcltschmerc, his inclination to withdraw from great affairs, and his invariably victorious action. Our times could boast :■. Troy, and also an Agamemnon, shepherd of the nations. Tuesday, Jannaiy lof/i. — Earth and sky are full of .snow. A shot is only to be heard now and again from our batteries, nr from the forts. Count Bill is here, and General von Manteuffel calls at I o'clock. They are passing through on their way to the army that is to operate against Bourbaki in the southeast under Manteuffel. During the afternoon I telegraph twice to London reporting the retreat of Chanzy at Le Mans, with the loss of a thousand men who were made prisoners, and Werdcr's victorious resistance at Villersexel to a superior French force advancing to the relief of Belfort. The first subject mentioned at dinner is the bombardment, The Chief holds that most of the Paris fort* are of little impor- tance, except perhaps Mont Valericn — "Not much more than the redoubts at Diippel." Thjit is to say the moa^s arc notverv )lish riots, as well id the ball, Were isipid. One said ^bekcn, who todk that he could iv-. of the well-known 3od book apicec you a present! if •tainly — I should nd with seven or .iter was then re- de Franzosentid; IS also mentioned cr is' (That's juvt 5 characters in tlic n tains many good peasants are dc- I long article from rds at tea Kcuda! es of the Chance!- t gifts, the youth- iper, his tendency rom great affairs, es ccdild boast a ic nations. are full of snow. our batteries, nr al von Manteuffcl on their way to in the south-ca''t elegraph twice to e Mans, with the ers, and Werder's ior French force c bombardment. re of little impor- much more than oats arc not vcrv 187'] BISMARCK'S ANCESTORS 337 n deep, and formerly the walls were also weak. The conversation then turns on the International League of Peace and its connec- tion with social democracy as shown by the fact that Karl Marx, who is now living in London, has been api)ointed President of the German branch. Bucher describes Marx as an iniclligent man with a good scientific education and the real leader of the international labc movement. With reference to the League of Peace the Chief says that its efforts arc all o{ an equivocal character, and that its aims are something very different to peace. It is a cloak for communism. " lUit." he concludes, "certain august personages have even now no idea of that. Foreign countries and peace ! " In this connection he referred to the influence and attitude of Queen Augusta. Count Bill, according to the ChWi, "Umks from a distance like an old staff officer, he is .so HU>ut, liv wan vci) lucky in being selected to accompany M,\ni«\\rfel. Oi course', it would be only A temporary billet, but he would see a grea deal of tihe war. For his age he has a ^\hk\ opportunity to learn some- thing. That was imp(^ss\\^le for one of us at eighteen. I should have been b(^rn in 1795 to have taken part in the campaign of 1813." " Nevertheless since the battle of (I could not catch the name, but he referred apparently to an engagement in the Huguenot war) there was not one of my ancestor.s who did not draw the sword against France. My father and three of his brothers were engaged against Napoleon I. Then my grand- father fought at Rossbach ; my great-grandfather against Louis XIV., and his father against the same King in the little war on the Rhine in 1672 or 1673. Then several of us fought on the imperial side in the Thirty Years* War, others, it is true, joining the Swedes. And finally still another was among.st the Ger- mans who fought as mercenaries on the Huguenot side. One — there is a picture of him at Schonhausen with his children — was an original character. I still have a letter from him to his brother-in-law in which he says, ' The cask of Rhine wine costs me eighty reichsthalers. If my worthy brother-in-law considers that too dear I will, so God spares me, drink it myself.' And another time : 'If my worthy brother-in-law maintains so-and- so, I hope, so God preserves me, to come into closer contact '-vith his person than will be pleasant to him.' And again in another place: 'I have spent 12,000 reichsthalers on the regi- VOI,. I. — z 33« Oi'l'H'KUS' l'r,k( II ISl TES IN RUSSIA [Jan. mcnt, but I hope, if Clod spares mc, to make as much out of it in time.' The economies referred to consisted probably in draw, ing pay for men who were on furlough or who only existed on paper. Certainly the conmiander of a regiment was bettor off at that time than now." Some one observed that was also iIk rule at a later period, so long as regiments were recruited, paid, and clad by the colonels and hired by the Princes, and possibK the same thing still hapjiened in other countries. The Chief; " Yes, in Russia for instance, in the great cavalry regimeiUs in the Southern |)rovinces which often have as many as si.xtccn squadrons. There the colonel had, and doubtless yet has, other sources of income. A German once told me, for instance, that on a new colonel taking over the command of a regiment, —I believe it was in Kursk or Woronesch, — the peasants of ttiiv wealthy district came to him with waggons full of straw and hay, and begged the ' little father ' to be gracious enoii<;h ti) accept them. 'I did not know what they wanted,' said the colonel, and so I told them to be off and leave me in pcaci' But the ' little father ' ought to be fair, they urged ; his predeces- sor had been satisfied with that much, and they could not fjive more, as they were poor people. At length I got tired of it, particularly as they became very pressing and went down on their knees entreating me to accept it, and I had them hiindled out of doors, lint then others came with loads of wheat and oats. Then I understood what was meant, and took everything as my predecessor huJ done, and when the first lot returned with more hay I told them that >vhat they had brought before was enough and they could take back the rest. And thus I secured an annual sum of 20,000 roubles, as I charged the Gov- ernment for the hay and oats required by the regiment.' He related that quite frankly and unabashed in a drawing-room in St. Petersburg, and I was the only one who was sur[)rised at it." " Hut what could he have done to the peasants .' " asked Del- briick. " He himself could have done nothing," replied the Chief, " but he might have ruined them in another way. He only required not to forbid the soldiers to take what they liked from them." Manteuffel was again spoken of, and somebody mentioned that he had broken his leg at Metz, and had to be carried 011 the battlefield. Manteuffel was greatly surprised that we had Dll'LOM.VIlC (iAMIlLINd 33'; not known this, and the Minister remarked that he must cer- tainly have thouj^hl us very badly informed as to the incidents of the war. Later on the Chief said : " ! remember how 1 sat with him and (I did not catch the name) on the stones out- side the Church at Jilekstein. The Ring came up, and I pro- posed that we should greet him like the three witches in Maclnth: Ihiil, Thane of Lauenburg ! Hail, Thane of Kiel ! Ilail.Tbane of Schlcswig!' It was when I was negotiating the Treaty of Gastein with I^lomc. I then played quinze for the last time in my life. Although I had not played then for a long time, I (^ambled recklessly, so that the others were astounded. Hut I knew what I was at. Hlome had heard that cpiinze gave the best opi)ortunity of testing a man's character, and he was anxious to try the experiment on mc. I thought to myself, I'll teach him. I lost a few hundred thalers, for which I might well have claimed reimbursement from the State as having been expended on his Majesty's service. Hut 1 got round Hlome in that way, and made him do what I wanted. He took me to be reckless, and yielded." The conversation then turned upon Herlin, some one having remarked that it was from year to year assuming more the appearance of a great capital, also in its sentiments and way of thinking, a circumstance which to some extent reacted on its Parliamentary representatives. "They have greatly altered during the last five years," said Dclbriick. "That is true," said the Chief ;" but in 1862, when I first had to deal with those gentlemen, they recognised what a hearty contempt I enter- tained for them, and they have never become friends with me again. The Jews then came to be discussed, and the Minister wished to know how it was that the name Meier was so common amongst them. That name was after all of German origin, and in Westphalia it meant a landed proprietor, yet formerly the Jews owned no land. I submitted that the word was of Hebrew origin and occurred in the Old Testament and also In the Tal- mud, being properly MeYrand akin to " Or," i.e., light, brilliance, whence the signification of Enlightened, Brilliant, Radiant. The Chief then inquired the meaning of Kohn, a name very common amongst them also. I said it signified Priest, and was originally Kohen. From Kohen it became Kohn, Kuhn, Cahen, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) t v. «? 1.0 I.I lii|Z8 r2.5 •^ l« III 2.2 t lis. iio 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 « 6" ► % <^ w n / -p: J^.> >, Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STR6ET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14583 (716) 872-4503 ^\ iV •SJ '^<\ V ^iblc to see far, but fternoon. 1 las the prevent the sound o Moltke, in which ck the hospitals in .mg out indicating cannot have been crnational treaties 3C held inviolable, g been in any way we have conducted given to it by the itted," secured us :learer atmosphere to recognise the light be possible to ites requesting me s, he should allow .y the letter before )m experience how rt, I should be ex- tremely pleased if he were elected. Write him to that effect. Only he should not speak too much." Prince I'less and Maltzabu dine with us. We learn that the proclamation to the German people is to be read the day after to-morrow, at the Festival of the Orders, which will be held in the Galerie des Glaces at the Palace. There, in the midst of a brilliant assembly, the King will be proclaimed Kmperor. Detachments of troops with their flags, the generals, the Chan- cellor of the Confederation, and a number of princely i)erson- ages will attend. The Chief has altered bis mind as to letting Favrc pass through our lines, and has written him a letter which amounts to a refusal. " Favre," he said, " with his demand to be allowed to attend the Conference in London, reminds me of the way children play the game of Vox in the Hole. They 'touch' and then run off to a place where they cannot be caught. But he must swallow the potion he has brewed. His honour requires it, and so I wrote him." This change of view was due to Favre's circular of the 12th of January. Later on, the Chief said he believed he was going to have an attack of gout. Altogether he was not in good humour. While he was reckoning up the fortresses taken by us, Holstein addressed a remark to him. The Chief looked straight at him with his large grey eyes, and said in a dry cutting tone : " One should not be interrupted when engaged in counting. I have now lost count altogether. What you want to say might be said later." I here introduce a survey of this incident, with particulars of documents which afterwards came to my knowledge. Favrc, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, was informed on the 17th of November (in a despatch from Chaudordy, dated from Tours, on the i ith of the month), that it had been reported from Vienna, that the Russian Government no longer considered itself bound by the stipulations of the Treaty of 1856. Favre replied immediately. While recommending the strictest reserve, until the receipt of official information, he said that no oppor- tunity should be neglected of emphasising the right of France to take part in such international deliberations as the Russian declaration might provoke. Negotiations were then conducted, both verbally and in writing, between the various Powers and the French Provisional Government, in which the French en- 352 FRANCE AND THE LONDON CONFERENCE [Jan, dcavoured to induce the representatives of thoso Powers to admit the justice of their contention, that the representatives of France " would be bound in duty to bring up at the same time for dls- cussion another matter of entirely different import." The Dele- gation at Tours, while giving expression to these views, was of opinion that any invitation given by Europe should be accepted, even should no promise be obtained beforehand, nor even an armistice. On the 31st of December, Gambctta wrote to Favre : " You must be prepared to leave Paris, to attend the London Conference, if, as is stated, lingland has succeeded in obtaining a passport." Before this communication arrived, Favre had announced to Chaudordy that the Government had decided that France, "if called upon in regular form " would send a representative to the London Conference, provided its Parisian representatives, who were verbally invited by England, were supplied with the necessary passport. To this the En'^ lish Cabinet agreed, and Chaudordy informed Favre in a de- spatch which arrived in Paris on the 8th of January, and also contained the announcement that he, Favre, had been appointed by the Government to represent France at the Conference, This communication was confirmed in a letter from Lord Gran- ville to Favre, dated the 29th of December, and received in Paris on the lOth of January, which ran as follows : — " M, de Chaudordy has informed Lord Lyons that your Excellency has been proposed as the representative of France at the Conference. He has at the same time requested that I should procure a passport permitting your Excellency to go through the Prussian lines. I immediately requested Count Bernstorft to ask for such a passport, and to send it to you by a German officer with a flag of truce. I was informed yesterdav by Count Bernstorff that a passport will be at your Excel- lency's disposal on its being demanded at the German head- quarters by an officer despatched from Paris for the pur])0Sv He added that it cannot be delivered by a German officer, s^ long as satisfaction is not given to the officer who was fired at while acting as the bearer of a flag of truce. I am informed by M. Tissot that much time would be lost before this comniu nication could be forwarded to you by the delegation at Bor- deaux, and 1 have accordingly proposed to Count Bernstortf another way in which it may be transmitted to you. Request THE KRi-:r:cii tir^cuLAii 353 in? your Excellency to permit me to take this opportunity of expressing my satisfaction at entering into personal communica- tion with you," &c. Favre regarded the last sentence in this letter as a recogni- tion of the present French Government, and an invitation that he mif^ht take advantage of to address the Powers in London on French affairs. In the circular of the 12th of January which he addressed to the French Ministers, he says : — " The Government, directly invited in this despatch, cannot, without surrendering the ights of France, refuse the invitation thus conveyed to her. It may certainly be objected that the time for a discussion concerning the neutralisation of the Black Sea has not been happily chosen. But the very fact that the European Powers should thus have entered into relations with the French Republic at the present decisive moment when France is fighting single-handed for her honour and existence, lends it an exceptional significance. It is the commencement of a tardy exercise of justice, an obligation which cannot again be renounced. It endues the change of Government with the authority of international law, and loaves a nation which is free notwithstanding its woiuids to appear in an independent posi- tion upon the stage of the world's history, face to face with the ruler who led it to its ruin, and the Pretenders who desire to reduce it into subjection to themselves. Furthermore, who does not feel that France, admitted to a place amongst the repre- sentatives of Europe, has an unquestionable right to raise her voice in that council } Who can prevent her, supported by the eternal laws of justice, from defending the principles that secure her independence and dignity.-' She will surrender none of those principles. Our programme remains unaltered, and Europe, who has invited the man who promulgated that pro- gramme, knows very well that it is his determination and duty to maintain it. There should, therefore, be no hesitation, and the Government would have committed a grave error if it had declined the overtures made to it. 'While recognising that fact, however, the Government consider, as I do, that the Minister for Foreign Affairs should not leave Paris during the Viombardmcnt of the city by the enemy, unless greater interests were at stake." (Then follows a long sentimental lamentation as to the damage caused by the VOL. I. — 2 A 354 KAVKE'S REPLY TO LORD GRANVILLE [Jan. : " rage of the aggressor " in throwing bombs into churches, hospitals, nurseries, &c., with the intention of " sproadiiT^ terror." The document then proceeds :) " Our brave Parisi^m population feels its courage rise as the danger increases. Thus exasperated and indignant, but animated by a firm resolve, it will not yield. The people arc more determined than ever to fight and conquer, and we also. / cannot think of si'/^amtk'^ myself from than dnring this crisis. Perhaps it will soon be brought to a close by the protests addressed to Europe and to the members of the Corps Diplomatique present in Paris. England zvill understand that until then my place is in the midst of my fellow-citizens. ' ' Favre made the same declaration, or rather the first half of it, two days before in the reply sent to Granville's despatch, in which he says : " I cannot assume the right to leave my fellow- citizens at a moment when they are subjected to such acts oi violence " (against "an unarmed population," as — in the liik immediately preceding — he describes a strong fortress with a garrison of about 200,000 soldiers and militia). He then con- tinues : " Communications between Paris and London, thanks to those in command of the besieging forces " (what naivete 1 1 " are so slow and uncertain that with the best will I cannot act in accordance with the terms of the invitation contained in your despatch. You have given me to understand that the Con- ference will meet on the 3rd of February, and will then probablv adjourn for a week. Having received this information on the evening of the loth of January, I should not be able to aval! myself in time of your invitation. Besides, M. de Bismarck, in forwarding the despatch, did not enclose the passport, which, nevertheless, is absolutely essential. He demands that a French officer shall proceed to the German headquarters to receive it, on the plea of a complaint addressed to the Governor of Paris, with regard to the treatment of the bearer of a flag of truce, an incident which occurred on the 23rd of December. M. de Bismarck adds that the Prussian Commander-in-Chief has tor- bidden all communication under flags of truce until satisfaction is given for the incident in question. I do not inquire whether such a decision, contrary to the laws of war, is not an absoluio denial of a higher right, always hitherto maintained in the con- duct of hostilities, which recognises the exigencies of a situation ,'VILLE [Jan. 1S71] A l'Ki:NCir PROTEST 355 mbs into churches, ion of " spreading; ' Our brave Parisian jcr increases. Thus by a firm resolve, i: irmined than ever to ' think of separating haps it will soon be ;d to Europe and to le present in Paris. > place is in tlumidi: ther the first half ot anville's despatch, in t to leave my fellow- cted to such acts ot on," as — in the liik trong fortress with a litia). He then con- and London, thanks •ces " (what naivete! )est will I cannot act ion contained in ynv,: tand that the Co:-- md will then probably information on the not be able to aval'. M. de Bismarck, ill the passport, which, emands that a French uarters to receive it, Governor of Paris, of a flag of truce, an December. M. de ider-in-Chief has tor- uce until satisfactior. not inquire whetlie: ir, is not an absohite aintaincd in the con- igencics of a situat® and the claims of humane feeling. I confine myself to inform- iiio- your Excellency that the Governor of Paris hastened to order an incjuiry into the incident referred to by M. de Bismarck, and that this inquiry brought to his knowledge much more numerous instances of similar conduct on the part of Prussian sentries which had never been made a pretext for interrupting the usual exchange of communications. M. de Bismarck appears to have acknowledged the accuracy of these remarks, at least in part, as he has to-day commissioned the United States Minister to inform me that, with the reservation of inquiries on both sides, he to-day reestablishes communications under flags of truce. There is, therefore, no necessity for a French officer to go to the Prussian headquarters. I will put myself in communication with the Minister of the United States for the purpose of receiving the passport which you have obtained for me. As soon as it reaches my hands, and the situation in Paris permits me, I shall proceed to London, confident that I shall not appeal in vain in the name of my Government to the principles of justice and morality, in securing due regard for which Europe has such a great interest." So far M. Favre. The condition of Paris had not altered, the protests addressed to Europe had not put an end to the crisis, nor could they have done so, when Favre, on January 13th, that is, three days after the letter to Granville, and on the day of the issue of his circular to the representatives of France abroad, sent the following despatch to the Chancellor of the Confederation : — " M. le Comte, — Lord Granville informs me in his despatch of December 29th, which I received on the evening of January loth, that your Excellency, at the request of the English Cabi- net, holds a passport at my disposal which is necessary to enable the French Plenipotentiary to the London Conference to pass through the Prussian lines. As I have been appointed to that office, I have the honour to request your Excellency to give instructions to have this passport, made out in my name, sent to me as speedily as possible." I reproduce all these solely with the object of illustrating the great difference between the character and capacity of Favre and of Bismarck. Compare the foregoing documents with those which the Chancellor drafted. In the former, in- I 'll '.', 356 BISMARCK'S REPLY TO FAVRE [Jan. decision, equivocation, affectation, and fine phrases, ending in the very opposite of what had been emphatically laid down a few lines or a few days previously. In the latter, on the con- trary, decision, simplicity, and a natural and purely business- like manner. On January i6th the Chancellor replied to Favrc as follows (omitting the introductory phrases) : — " Your Excellency understands that, at the suggestion of the Government of Great Britain, I hold a passport at your disposal for the purpose of enabling you to take part in the London Conference. That supposition is, however, not correct. I could not enter into ofificial negotiations, which would be based on the presupposition that the Government of National Defence is, according to international law, in a position to act in the name of France, so long at least as it has not been recognised by the French nation itself. " I presume that the officer in command of our outposts would have granted your Excellency permission to pass through the German lines if your Excellency had applied for the same at the headquarters of the besieging forces. The latter would have had no reason to take your Excellency's political position and the object of your journey Into consideration, and the au- thorisation granted by the military authorities to pass through our lines, which, from their standpoint, they need not have hesitated to grant, would have left the Ambassador of his Majesty the King in London a free hand to deal without prejudice with the question whether, according to international law, your Flxcellency's declarations could be accepted as the declarations of France. Your Excellency has rendered the adoption of such a course impossible by officially communi- cating to me the object of your journey, and the official request for a passport for the purpose of representing France at the Conference. The above-mentioned political considerations, ir. support of which I must adduce the declaration which your Excellency has published, forbid me to accede to your request for such a document. " In addressing this communication to you, I must leave it to yourself and your Government to consider whether it is possible to find another way in which the scruples above mentioned may be overcome, and all prejudice arising from your presence in London may be avoided. iS?!] A SHARP REPROOF 357 " But even if some such way should be discovered, I take the liberty to question whether it is advisable for your Excel- lency at the present moment to leave Paris and your post as a member of the Government there, in order to take part in a Conference on the question of the Black Sea, at a time when interests of much greater importance to France and Germany than Article XI. of the Treaty of 1856 are at stake in Paris. Your Excellency would also leave behind you in Paris the agents of neutral States and the members of their staffs who have remained there, or rather been kept there, notwithstand- ing the fact that they have long since obtained permission to pass through the German lines, and are therefore the more spe- cially committed to the protection and care of your Excellency as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the de facto Govern- ment. I can hardly believe that in a critical situation, to the crea- tion of which yoH have so largely contributed, your Excellency will deprive yourself of the possibility of cooperating towards that solution, for which you are equally responsible." I now let the diary resume its narrative. Tuesday, January lyth.— Wc were joined at dinner by the Saxon Count Nostiz-Wallwitz, who, it is understood, is to take up an administrative appointment here, and a Herr Winter, or von Winter, who is to be Prefect at Chartres. On some one referring to the future military operations, the Chief observed : "I think that when, with God's help, we have taken Paris, we shall not occupy it with our troops. That work may be left to the National Guard in the city. Also a French commandant. We shall occupy merely the forts and walls. Everybody will be permitted to enter, but nobody to leave. It will, therefore, be a great prison until they consent to make peace." The Minister then spoke to Nostiz about the French Con- seils Generaux, and said we should try to come to an under- standing with them. They would form a good field here for further political operations. "So far as the military side of the affair is concerned," he continued, "I am in favour of greater concentration. We should not go beyond a certain line, but deal with that portion thoroughly, making the administra- I i' 358 THE LANGUAGE OF DIPLOMACY [Jan. tion effectual, and in particular collect the taxes. The militarv authorities arc always for advancing. They have a centrifugal plan of operations and I a centripetal. It is a question whether we ought to hold Orleans, and even whether it would not be better to retire also from Rouen and Amiens. In the south- east — I do not know — they want to go as far as Dijon. And if we cannot supply garrisons for every place within our sphere of occupation, we should from time to time send a flying col- umn wherever they show themselves recalcitrant, and shoot, nang, and burn. When that has been done a couple of times they will learn sense." Winter was of opinion that the mere appearance of a detachment of troops entrusted with the task of restoring order would be sufficient in such districts. The Chief : " I am not so sure. A little hanging would ccrtainlv have a better effect, and a few shells thrown in and a couple of houses burned down. That reminds me of the Bavarian who said to a Prussian officer of artillery : ' What do you think, comrade, shall we set that little village on fire, or only knock it about a little ? ' but they decided after all to set it on fire." I do not now remember how it was that the Chief came to speak again of his letter he wrote yesterday to Favre. " I have given him clearly to understand that it would not do, and that I could not believe that he who had taken part in the affair of the 4th of September would fail to await the issue. I wrote the letter in Fi'cnch, first becavse I do not regard the corre- spondence as official but rather as private, and then in order that every one may be able to read it in the French lines until it reaches him." Nostiz asked how diplomatic correspondence in general was now conducted. The Chief : " In German, Formerly it was in French. But I have introduced German — only, however, with Cabinets whose language is understood in our own Foreign Office. England, Italy, and also Spain — even Spanish can be read in case of need. Not with Russia, as I am the only one in the Foreign Office who understands Russian. Also not with Holland, Denmark, and Sweden — people do not learn those languages as a rule. They write in French and we reply iki the same language." " At Ferrieres I spoke to Thiers " (he meant Favre) ''in French. But I told him that was only because I was not treating with him offi- ACY [Jan. : 87'] i»7 PROCLAMATION OF THE EMPIRE 359 axes. The military :y have a centrifugal 5 a question whether lier it would not b^ lens. In the south- far as Dijon. And ce within our sphere e send a flying col- .Icitrant, and shoot, le a couple of times inion that the mere rusted with the task 5uch districts. The ing would certainly kvn in and a couple of the Bavarian who /hat do you think, ; on fire, or only after all to set it on i: the Chief came to to Favre. " I have Id not do, and that part in the affair of the issue. I wrote regard the corre- and then in order French lines until tic correspondence ief : " In German. ntroduced German Liage is understood and also Spain — Not with Russia, who understands -k, and Sweden — lie. They write in "At Ferrieres rench. But I told :ir.g with him offi- cially. He laughed, whereupon I said to him : ' You will see that we shall talk plain German to you in the negotiations for peace. At tea we hear from Holstein that the bombardment on the south side has been stopped, Blumenthal, who was always ac;ainst it, having got his way. It is hoped, however, that the Crown Prince of Saxony will proceed vigorously with the bom- bardment on the north side. One would like to tell this to our own Crown Prince, and to ask him what would be said when it was known that the Saxons had forced Paris to capitulate. "Unless you are quite certain of that," said Wagener, "and have it on absolutely trustworthy authority, do not let the Chief hear of it. I should not like to guarantee tha L in that case he would not be off to-morrow. He is a volcano whose action is incalculable, and he does not stand jokes in such matters." Holstein, however, appears to have been misinformed. At least Count Donnoff, who came in afterwards, declared that our siege guns in the south were also at work, but that owing to the south-west wind we did not hear the firing, and, more- over, it was not so heavy as during the preceding days. Fire would probably be opened to-morrow from St. Denis upon the city, a pleasant surprise for the inhabitants of the northern quarters. Wednesday, January 18///. — In the morning read despatches and newspapers. Wollmann tells me that an order has been issued promoting our Chief to the rank of Lieutenant-General. When Wollmann took the order up to him and congratulated him, the Chancellor threw it angrily on the bed and said : "What is the good of that to me?" {^'Wat ik mich davor koofcV — Low Germap dialect.) Doubtless imagination, but it appears to be correct that the Minister is to-day in very bad humour and exceptionally irritable. The festival of the Orders and the Proclamation of the German Empire and Emperor took place in the great hall of the Palace between 12 and 1.30 p.m. It was held with much military pomp and ceremony, and is said to have been a very magnificent and imposing spectacle. In the meantime I took a long walk with Wollmann. The Chief did not dine with us, as he was bidden to the Emperor's table. On his return I was called to him twice to 36o FOREIGN DIPLOM/VTS IN PARIS [Jan. receive instructions. His voice was an unusiuilly weak voice and he looked very tired and worn out. The Chief has received a communication from a number of diplomats who have remained behind in Paris. Kern, the Swiss Minister, who is their spokesman, requests the Chancellor to use his influence in order to obtain permission for the persons committed to their protection to leave the city. At the same time our right to bombard Paris is questioned, and it is insinu- ated that we intentionally fire at buildings that ought to be respected. The reply is to point out that we have already re- peatedly, through their diplomatic representatives, called the attention of the citizens of neutral states living in Paris to the consequences of the city's prolonged resistance. This was done as early as the end of September, and again several times in October. Furthermore, we have for months past allowed every citizen of a neutral state, who was able to give evidence of his nationality, to pass through our lines without any diffi- culty. At the present time, for military reasons, we can onlv extend that permission to members of the Corps Diplomatique, It is not our fault if subjects of neutral states have not hithcrtd availed themselves of the permission to seek a place of safety for their persons and their property. Either they have not wished to leave, or they have not been allowed to do so by those who at present hold power in Paris. We arc fully justi- fied by international law in bombarding Paris, as it is a fortress, the principal fortress of France — an entrenched camp which serves the enemy as a base of offensive and defensive action against our armies. Our generals cannot, therefore, be expected to refrain from attacking it, or to handle it with velvet gloves. Furthermore, the object of the bombardment is not to destroy the city, but to capture the fortress. If our fire renders resi- dence in Paris uncomfortable and dangerous, those who reco;:j- nise that fact ought not to have gone to live in a fortified town, or should not have remained there. They may, therefore, ad- dress their complaints not to us, but to those who transformed Paris into a fortress, and who now use its fortifications as an instrument of war against us. Finally, our artillery docs not intentionally fire at private houses and benevolent institutions, such as hospitals, &c. That should be understood as a matter of course from the care with which we have observed the pro- isy] " EVII.-MINDFD SIIF.rj.S! " 361 again several times visions of the Geneva Convention. Such accidents as do occur arc due to the great distance at which we are iirnig. It cannot, however, he tolerated that Paris, which has been and still is the chief centre of military resistance, should bring forward these cases as an argument for forbidding the vigorous bombardment which is intended to render the city untenable. Wrote articles to the above effect. T/iitrsday, January iq/*//. — Dull weather. The post has not been delivered, and it is ascertained on intjuiry that the railway line has been destroyed at a place called Vitry la Villc, near Chalons. From 10 a.m. wc hear a rather vigorous can- nonade, in which field guns ultimately join. I write two articles on the sentimental report of the Journal dcs Dcbats, according to which our sheils strike only ambulances, mothers with their daughters, and babies in swaddling clothes. What evil-minded shells ! Keudell tells us at lunch that to-day's cannonade was directed against a great sortie with twenty-four battalions and numerous guns in the direction of La Celle and Saint Cloud. In my room after lunch Wollmann treats me to a number of anecdotes of doubtful authenticity. According to him the Chief yesterday remarked to the King, when his Majesty changed the Minister's title to that of Chancellor of the Empire, that this new title brought him into bad company. To which the King replied that the bad company would be transformed into good company on his joining it. (From whom can Wollmann have heard that .'') My gossip also informs me that the King made a slip of the tongue yesterday at the palace, when in announcing his assumption of the title of Emperor he added the words " by the Grace of God." This requires to be confirmed by some more trustworthy authority. Another story of Wollmann's seems more probable, namely, that the Minister sends in a written recjuest to the King, almost every day, to be supplied with the reports of the General Staff respecting the P^nglish coal ships sunk by our people near Rouen. He used in the s?me way to telegraph day after day to Eulenburg, who has always been very dilatory : " What about Vil- liers.?" And before that in Berlin he had a request addressed to Eulenburg at least once every week : Would he kindly have the draft of the district regulations sent forward as early as possible ? 36: " IIIKY MUST IJCAUX WIIAl' WAR MKANS" LjAN, iu i Towards 2 o'clock, when the rattle of the mitrailleuse con],! be clearly clistin^^uished, and the h'rcnch artillery was at the outside only half a German mile in a straight line from Ver- sailles, the Chief rode out to the aqueduct at Marly, whither ihr King and the Crown Prince were understood to have goiic. The affair must have caused some anxiety at Versailles in the meantime, as we see that the Bavarian troops have been called out. They are posted in large masses in the Thcc d'Armcs and the Avenue de Paris. The French are camped, sixty thousand strong it is said, beneath Mont Valcrien and in the fields to the east of it. They are understood to have capi- ured the Montretout redoubt, and the village of Garches to the west of Saint Cloud, which is not much more than threc-c|uarters of an hour from here, is also in their hands. They may, it i^ feared, advance further to-morrow and oblige us to withdraw from Versailles, but this seems to be at least an exaggeration At dinner there is scarcely any talk of immediate daiiLjcr Geheimrath von Lopcr, who is under.stood to be Under Sccrc tary in the Ministry of the Royal Household, dines with u> We hear that there is no longer any danger for our comniuiiic:i tions in the south-east, as liourbaki, after -pressing Werdor vcrv hard for three days without, however, being able to defeat him, has given up the attempt to relieve liclfort and is now in full retreat, probably owing to the approach of Manteuffel. Thi- Chief then refers to a report that the taxes cannot be colleclrd in various districts of the occupied territory. He says it is dilVi cult, indeed impossible, to garrison every place where the po[)ii- lation must be made to pay the taxes. " Nor," he adds, " is i'. necessary to do so. Flying columns of infantry accompanied by a couple of guns are all that is needed. Without even enter- ing into the places, the people should be simply told, 'If you do not produce the taxes in arrear within two hours, wo shall pitch some shells in amongst you.' If they sec that we arc in earnest, they will pay. If not, the place should be bombarded, and that would help in other cases. They must learn what war means." The conversation afterwards turned on the grants that were to be expected after the conclusion of peace, and alluding tu those made in 1866, the Chief said, in/er alia: "They should not be grants of money. I at least was reluctant for a Ion:;; iS/iJ liUCIIER AND TIIK SPANISH (^UKSIKJN 3<>3 time to accept one, but at length I yielded to the temptation. Besides, it was worse still in my case, as I received it not from the King but from the Diet. I did not want to take any money from people with whom I had fought so bitterly for years. " Moreover, the King was to some extent in my debt, as I had sent him forty pounds of fine fresh caviare — a present for which he made me no return. It is true that perhaps he never received it. Probably that fat rascal Horck intercepted it." "These rewards ought to have taken the form of grants of lanci, as in 1815; and there was a good opportunity of doing so, particularly in the corner of Bavaria which we acquired, and which consisted almost entirely of State property." While we were alone at tea, liucher told mc that " before the war he had a good deal to do with the Spanish affair." (This was not exactly news to me, as I remembered that long before that he suddenly ordered the Imparcial, and commissioned various articles directed against Montpensier.) He had nego- tiated in the matter with the Hohenzollerns, father and son, and had also spoken to the King on the affair in an audience of one hour's duration which he had had with him at Kms. Fn day, January 20th. — I am called to the Chief at 12 o'clock. He wishes to have his reply to Kern's communication, and the letter in which he declined to supply Favre with a pass- port, published in the Monitcur. Bohlen again came to dinner, at which wc were also joined by Lauer and von Knobclsdorff. The Chief was very cheerful and talkative. He related, amongst other things, that while he was at Frankfort he frequently received and accepted invita- tions from the Grand Ducal Court at Darmstadt. They had excellent shooting there. " But," he added, " I have reason to believe that the Grand Duchess Mathilde did not like me. She said to some one at that time: 'He always stands there and looks as important as if he were the Grand Duke himself.' " While we were smoking our cigars, the Crown Prince's aide- de-camp suddenly appeared, and reported that Count (I could not catch the name) had come, ostensibly on behalf of, and under instructions from, Trochu, to ask for a two days' armistice in order to remove the wounded and bury those who fell in yesterday's engagement. The Chief replied that the request should be refused. A few hours would be sufficient 364 TIIF. n.WARTAN TRKAIY CAUKIKl) [Jan. 21 for the removal of the vvouiulcd rincl the burial of the dead; and, besides, the latter were just as well off lyin^ on the ground as they would be under it. The Major returned shortly after- wards and announced that the King would come here; and, hardly a quarter of an hour later, his Majesty arrived with the Crown Prince. They went with the Chancellor into the drawing-room, where a negative answer was prepared for Tro- chu's messenger. About 9 I'.M. Hucher sent me up a couple of lines in pencil to the effect that the letter to Kern should be published in the Moititcur to-morrow, but that the cf)mmunication to Favrc should be held over for the present. Satin-t/ay, January 2ist. — At 9.30 A.M. the Monitcur is delivered, and contains the Chief's letter to Favrc. Very dis- agreeable; but I suppose my lettL-r to Bamberg only arrived after the paper was printed. At 10 o'clock I am called to the Minister, who says nothing about this mishap, although he has the newspaper before him. He is still in bed, and wishes the protest of the Comte de Chambord against the bombardment cut out for the King. I then write an article for the Kblnisck Zcitnns^, and a paragraph for the local journal. Voigts-Rhctz, Prince I'utbus, and the Bavarian Count Hcrg- hem were the Chancellor's guests at dinner. The Bavarian brought the pleasant news that the Versailles treaties were carried in the second chamber at Munich by two votes over the necessary two-thirds majority. The German Empire was, therefore, complete in every respect. Thereupon the Chief invited the company to drink the health of the King of Bavaria, '• who, after all, has really helped us through to a successful conclusion." "I always thought that it would be carried," he added, "if only by one vote — but I had not hoped for two. The last good news from the scat of war will doubtless have contributed to the result." It was then mentioned that in the engagement the day before yesterday the French brought a much larger force against us than was thought at first, probably over 80,000 men. The Montretout redoubt was actually in their hands for some hours, and also a portion of Garches and Saint Cloud. The French had lost enormously in storming the position — it was said 1,200 dead and 4,000 wounded. The Chancellor ob- i!t7«J A SIIAKl' Ki;i'AUli:ii 3(>5 served: "The capitiiliitinn must follow snon. I imagine it nKiy bo even next week. After the capttuhition we shall supj)!)' them with i)rovisit)nH as a matter of course. JUit before they deliver up 700,cxx) r:(ks and 4,000 j;uns they shall not f;et a single mouthful of bread — and then no one shall be allowed to leave. We shall occupy the forts and the walls and keep them on short commons until they accommodate themselves to a peace satisfactory to us. After all there are s'ill many per sons of intelligence and consideration in Paris with whom it must be possible to come to some arrangement." Then followed a learned di.scussion on the difference be- tween the titles "German lOmperor " and " lunperor of Ger- many"; and that of "Emperor of the Germans" was alsn mooted. After this had gone on for a while the Chief, who had taken no part in it, asked : " Does any one know the Latin word for sausage (Wurscht).^" Abekcn answered " Farcimen- tiim," and I said " Farcimen." The Chief, smiling : " Farci- mentum or farcimen, it is all the same to me. AUscio quid milii magis farcivicntum cssctT {''lis ist niir IViirst'' is student's >!ang, and means, " It is a matter of the utmost indifference to me. ) Sunday, Januayy 22nd. — In the forenoon I wrote two para- ;,'raphs for the German newspapers, and one for the Monitcnr, in connection with which I was twice called to see the Chief. Von Konncritz, a Saxon, General von Stosch, and Loper joined us at dinner. There was nothing worth noting in the conversation except that the Minister again insisted that it would be only fair to invest the wounded with the Iron Cross. "The Coburger," he went on, "said to mc the other day, 'It would really be a satisfaction if the soldiers also got the Cross now.' I replied, ' Yes, but it is less satisfactory that we two should have received it.' " Monday y January 2yd. ~I telegraph that the bombardment on the north side has made good progress, that the fort at Saint Denis has been silenced, and that an outbreak of fire has been observed in Saint Denis itself as well as in Paris. All our bat- teries are firing vigorously, although one cannot hear them. So we are told by. Lieutenant von Uslar, of the Hussars, who brings a letter to the Chief from Favre. What can he want.'' Shortly after 7 p.m. Favre arrived, and the Chancellor ha;' ;o() FAVKE ARRIVES [Jan. 24 an interview with him, which lasted abont two and a half hours. In the meantime Ilatzfeld and l^ismarck-lkihlen conversed down- stairs in the drawing-room with the gentleman who accompanied Favre, and who is understood to be his son-in-law, del Rio. 1]^ is a portrait painter by profession, but came with his fathor-in- law in the capacity of secretary. Both were treated to a hastily improvised meal, consisting of cutlets, scrambled eggs, ham, &c., which ^vill doubtless have been welcome to these poor mar- tyrs to thei • own obstinacy. Shortly after 10 o'clock they drove off, accompanied by Hatzfeld, to the lodgings assigned to them in a house on the Boulevard du Roi, where Stieber and the niili. tary police also happen to have their quarters. Hatzfeld accom- panied the gentlemen there. Favre looked very depressed. The Chief drove off to see the King at 10.30 p.m., returniiii; in about three-quarters of an hour. He looks exceedinp;lv pleased as he enters the room where we are sitting at tea. Ho first asks me to pour him out a cup of tea, and he eats a few mouthfuls of bread with it. After a while he says to his cousin, " Do you know this .•' '' and then whistled a short tune, the signal of the hunter that he has brought down the deer. Bohlen re- plies, "Yes, in at the death." The Chief: "No, this way," and he whistled again. "A hallali,'' he adds. "I think the thins; is finished." Bohlen remarked that Favre looked "awfullv shabby." The Chief said: "I find he has grown much greyer than when I saw him at Ferrieres — also stouter, probably on horseflesh. Otherwise he looks like one who has been through a great deal of trcable and excitement lately, and to whom everything is now indifferent. Moreover, he was very frank, and confessed that things are not going on well in Paris. I also ascertained from him that Trochu has been superseded. Vinov is now in command of the city." Bohlen then related that Mar- tinez del Rio was exceedingly reserved. They, for their part, had not tried to pump him ; but they once inquired how things were going on at the Villa Rothschild in the Bois de Boulogne, where Thiers said the General Staff of the Paris army was quartered. Del Rio answered curtly that he did not know. For the rest, they had talked solely about high-class restaurants in Paris, which, they acknowledged, was an unmanncr.y thing to do. Hatzfeld on his return, after conducting the two Parisians to their lodgings, reported that P'avre was glad to hav.' arrived 1^7"] DIPLOMAIIC rWADDl.E 367 itter dark, and that he does not wish to go out in the daytime in order not to create a sensation, and to avoid being pestered by the Versailles people. Tuesday, Jauitaiy i^t/i. — The Chief gets up before 9 o'clock ,iiul works with Abeken. Shortly before 10 he drives off to scc the King, or, let us now say, the Kmj)eror. It is nearly i o'clock when he returns. We are still at lunch, and he sits ilown and takes some roast ham and a glass of Tivoli beer. After a while he heaves a sigh and says: " Until now I always :houi;ht that Parliamentary negotiations were the slowest of all, but I no longer think so. There was at least one way of escape there — to move 'that the question should be now put." l?ut here everybody says whatever occurs to him, and when one im- agines the matter is finally settled, somebody brings forward an irgument that has alnnidy been disposed of, and so the whole thing has to be gone over again, which is quite hopeless. That is .^^tewing thought to rags — mere flatulence which people ought 1. lily to be able to restrain. Well, it's all the same to me ! I oven prefer that nothing should have been yet decided or shall be decided till to-morrow. It is merely the waste of time in luiving to listen to them, but of course such people do not think il that.' The Chief then said that he expected Favre to call ipon him again, and that he had advised him to leave at 3 o'clock (Favre wishes to return to Paris) "on account of the soldiers who would challenge him after dark, and to whom he could not reply." Favre arrived at 1.30 p.m. and spent nearly two hours in nesrotiation with the Chancellor. He afterwards drove oft towards Paris, being accompanied by Bismarck-Bohlen as far as the bridge at Sevres. These negotiations were not mentioned at dinner. It would Appear, however, to be a matter of course that the preliminaries of the capitulation were discussed. The Chief spoke at first of Hcrnstorff, and said : " Anyhow, that is a thing I have never yet been able to manage — to fill page after page of foolscap with the most insignificant twaddle. A pile so high has come in again to-day " — he pointed with his hand — "and then the b.ick references: 'As T had the honour to report in my de- s;!;iloh of Januarv 3rd, iS; ;,, Xo. So-and-so; as I annoimced most obediently in my tolcgrMU Mo. 1666.' 1 .';cnd them to the 368 BISMARCK'S HUMOURS [Jan, 24 King, and he wants to know what Bcrnstorff means, and always writes in pencil on the margin, ' Don't understand this. This is awful ! ' " Somebody observed that it was only Goltz who wrote as much as Bernstorff. "Yes," said the Chief, "and in addition he often sent me private letters that filled six to eight closely written sheets. He must have had a terrible amount of spare time. Fortunately I fell out with him, and then that blessing ceased." One of the company wondered what Golt/, would say if he now heard that the Emperor was a prisoner, and the Empress in London, while Paris was being besieged and bombarded by us. " Well," replied the Chief, " he was not so desperately attached to the Emperor — but the Empress in London ! Nevertheless, in spite of his devotion to her, he would not have given himself away as Werther did." The death of a Belgian Princess having been mentioned, Abeken, as in duty bound, expressed his grief at the event. The Chief said : " How can that affect you so much .-' To mv knowledge, there is no Belgian here at table, nor even a cousin," The Minister then related that Favre complained of our firing at the sick and blind — that is to say, the blind asylum. " I said to him, ' I really do not see what you have to cumplain about. You yourselves do much worse, seeing that you shoot at our sound and healthy men.' He will have thought, What a barbarian ! " Hohenlohe's name was then mentioned, and it was said that much of the success of the bombardment was du>. to him. The Chief : " I shall propose for him the title of Poliorketes." The conversation then turned on the statues and paintings of the Restoration, and their artificiality and bad taste. "I remember," said the Chief, "that Schuckmann, the Mini.ster, was painted by his wife, en coqiiille I think it was called at that time, that is, in a rose-coloured shell, and wearing a kind of antique costume. He was naked down to the waist — I had never seen him like that." "That is one of my earliest remem- brances. They often gave what used to be called asscnibh'is, and are now known as routs — a ball without supper. My parents usually went there." Thereupon the Chief once more described his mother's costume, and then continued: "There was afterwards a Russian Minister in Berlin, Ribeaupierre, who also gave balls, where people danced till 2 o'clock in the morn- ing, and there was nothing to eat. I know that, because I aiv.l &,i] AN INHOSPITABLE HOUSE 369 , couple of good friends were often there. At length we got I tired of It. and played them a trick. When it got late, we pulled I out some bread and butter from our pockets, and after we had I finished, we pitched the paper on the drawing-room floor Refreshments were provided next time, but we were not in- [vited any more." VOL. I. — 2B ■■3* CHAPTER XVIII DURING THE NEGOTIATIONS RESPECTING THE CAPITULATION OF PARIS i: Wednesday, January 2$th. — Count Lehndorff dined with us, and talked about hunting and hunting dinners, including a great banquet given by some Baron which consisted of no less than twenty-four courses. His brother was present and fell asleep propped on his elbows, while a neighbour of his sank into slumber on the shoulder of a governess who was sitting next him. The dinner lasted over five hours and the people were most horribly bored, as often happens in the country. The Chief remarked : " I always know how to get over that diffi. culty. One must put down a good bit of liquor right at the beginning, and under its influence one's neighbours to the left and right grow ever so much cleverer and pleasanter." The Minister then spoke about his first journey to St. Peters- burg. He drove in a carriage, as at first there was no snow, It fell very heavily later on, however, and progress was tcrriblv slow. It took him five full days and six nights to reach the first railway station, and he spent the whole time cramped u in a narrow carriage without sleep and with the thermometer a; fifteen degrees Reaumur below zero. In the train, however, he fell so fast asleep that on their arrival in St. Petersburg, after a ten hours' run, he felt as if he had been only five minutes in the railway carriage. " The old times before the railways were completed had also their good side," continued the Minister. " There was not so much to do. The mail only came in twice a week, and then one worked as if for a wager. But when the mail was over we got on horseback, and had a good time of it until its next arrival." Somebody observed that the increased work, abroad and at the Foreign Oflfice, was due more to the telegrapl than to the railways. This led the Chief to talk about 370 JAN.25, i87«] DIPLOMATIC DESPATCH-WRITERS 371 [E CAPITULATION OF hndorff dined with dinners, including a consisted of no less vas present and fell ighbour of his sank less who was sitting ours and the people in the country. The get over that diffi- )f liquor right at the eighbours to the left pleasanter." journey to St. Peters- there was no snow. progress was terribly X nights to reach the lole time cramped up th the thermometer at ;he train, however, he 3t. Petersburg, after a I nly five minutes in the ;re completed had also "There was not s- lice a week, and thee I the mail was over we ; of it until its nc\l| increased work, more to the telegraplj f to talk about matic reports in general, many of which, while written in a pleasant style, were quite empty. " They are like feuillctons, written merely because something has to he written. That was the case, for instance, with the reports of Bamberg, our Consul in Paris. One read them through always thinking: Now something is coming. But nothing ever came. They sounded very well and one read on and on. But there was really noth- ing in them. All barren and empty." Another instance was then mentioned, Bernhardi, our Military Plenipotentiary at Florence, of whom the Chief said : " He passes for being a good writer on military subjects because of his work on Toll. We do not know, however, how much of that he himself wrote. Thereupon he was given the rank of major, although it is not certain that he ever was an officer at all, and he was appointed Military Plenipotentiary in Italy. Great things were expected of him there, and in the matter of quantity he did a great deal — also in the matter of style. He writes in an agreeable way, as if for a feuilleton, but when I have got to the end of his closely written reports in a small neat hand, for all their length I have found nothing in them." . . . The Minister then returned lO the subject of tiresome jour- neys and long rides. He said : " 1 remember after the battle of Sadovva I was the whole day in the saddle on a big horse. At first I did not want to ride him, as he was too high and it was too much trouble to mount. At last, however, I did so, and I was not sorry for it. It was an excellent animal! But the long waiting above the valley had exhausted me and my seat and legs were very sore. The skin was not broken, — that has nevf^r happened to me, — but afterwards when I sat down on a wooden bench I had a feeling as if I were sitting on something that came between me and the wood. It was only a blister. After Sadowa we arrived late at night in the market-place of Horsitz. There we were told that we were to seek out our own quarters. That, however, was much easier said than done. The houses were bolted and barred, and the sappers, who might have broken in the doors for us, were not to arrive before five in the morning." " His Excellency knew how to help him- self in a similar case at Gravelotte," interrupted Delbriick. The Chief continued his story : " Well, I went to several houses at Horsitz, three or four, and at length I found a door open. 372 HENRI IV.'S HAD LUCK [Jan. aj After making a few steps into the dark, I fell into a kind of pit, Luckily it was not deep, and I was able to satisfy myself that it was filled with horse-dung. I thought at first, ' How would it be to remain here,' — on the dung-heap, but I soon recognised other smells. What curious things happen sometimes ! If that pit had been twenty feet deep, and full, they would have had a long search next morning for their Mini;*ter, and doubtless there would be no Chancellor of the Confederation to-day, I went out again and finally found a corner for myself in an arcade on the market-place. I laid a couple of carriage cush- ions on the ground and made a pillow of a third, and then stretched myself out to sleep. Later on some one waked mo. It was Perponcher, who told me that the Grand Duke of Meck- lenburg had a room for me and an unoccupied bed. That turned out to be correct, but the bed was only a child's cot, I managed to fix it, however, by arranging the back of a chair at the end of it. But in the morning I could hardly stand, as my knees had been resting on the bare boards." " One can sleep quite comfortably if one has only a sackful of straw, how- ever small. You cut it open in the middle, push the straw to the two ends, and let yourself into the hollow part. I used to do that in Russia when out hunting. I ripped the bag open with my hunting knife, crept into it and slept like a log." " That was when the despatch from Napoleon came," observed Bohlen. The Chief replied : " Yes, the one at /hich the King was so pleased, because it showed that he had won a great battle — his first great battle." "And you were also glad," said Bohlen, " and you swore an oath that you would one day requite the Gauls when an opportunity offered." . . . Finally the Chief related : " Favre told me the day before yesterdaj that the first shell that fell in the Pantheon cut off the head of the statue of Henri IV." " He doubtless thought that was a very pathetic piece of news," suggested Bohlen. " Oh, no," replied the Chief, " I rather fancy that, as a demo- crat, he was pleased that it should have happened to a King. ' Bohlen : " That is the second piece of bad luck that Henri has had in Paris. First a Frenchman stabbed him there, and now we have beheaded him." The dinner lasted very long this evening, from 5.30 till after 7. Favre was expected back from Paris every moment i87': FAVRE CONFERS WITH BISMAUCK 373 He came at length at 7.30, again accompanied by his son-in-law with the Spanish name. It is understood that neither hesitated this time, as they did on the former occasion, to take the food that was offered to them, but, like sensible people, did justice to the good things that were laid l^efore them. It is doubtless to be inferred from this that they have also listened to reason ill the main point, or will do so. That will soon appear, as Favre is again conferring with the Chancellor. After dinner read drafts. Instructions have been sent to Rosenberg-Grudcinski at Reims respecting the collection of taxes. The Municipalities are to be called upon to pay five per cent, extra for each day of arrears. Flying columns with artillery arc to be sent to districts where payment is obstinately refused. They arc to summon the inhabitants to pay up the taxes and if this is not done immediately to shell the place and set it on fire. Three examples would render a fourth unneces- sary. It is not our business to win over the French by con- siderate treatment or to take their welfare into account. On the contrary, in view of their character, it is desirable to inspire them with a greater fear of us than of their own Government, which, of course, also enforces compulsory measures against them. According to a report by the Minister of the Nether- lands to his Government, the Red Republicans in Paris at- tempted a rising the night before last, released some of their leaders, and then provoked a riot outside the Hotel de Ville. The National Guards fired upon the Mobiles, and there were some dead and wounded, but ultimately order was restored. About 10 o'clock, while Favre was still here, there was heavy firing from big guns, which continued for perhaps an hour. I went to tea at 10.30 p.m., and found Hatzfeld and Bismarck- Bohlen in conversation with Del Rio in the dining-room. He is a man of medium height, dark beard, slightly bald, and wears a pince-nez. Shortly after I came ('.own, he left for his quarters at Sticber's house, accompanied by Mantey, and he was followed a quarter of an hour later by Favre. Del Rio spoke of Paris as being the *• centre du monde," so that the bombardment is a kind of target practice at the centre of the world. He men- tioned that Favre has a villa at Reuil and a large cellar in Paris with all sorts of wine, and that he himself has an estate in Mexico of six square German miles in extent. After Favre' s departure 374 FAVRE IMl'ROVES ON ACQUAIiNTANc:E [Jan. the Chief came out to us, ate some cold partridge, asked for some ham, and drank a bottle of beer. After a while he sighed, and sitting up straight in his chair he exclaimed: *' If one could only decide and order these things oneself ! But to bring others to do it ! " He paused for a minute and then continued: "What surprises me is that they have not sent out any general. And it is difficult to make Favre understand military matters." He then mentioned a couple of French technical terms of which Favre did not know the meaning. "Well, it is to be hoped that he had a proper meal to-day," said Bohlen. The Chief replied in the affirmative, and then Bohlen said he had heard it rumoured that this time Favre had not despised the champagne. The Chief : " Yes, the day before yesterday he refused to take any, but to-day he had several glasses. The first time he had some scruples of conscience about eating, but 1 persuaded him, and his hunger doubtless supported me, for he ate like one who had had a long fast." Hatzfeld reported that the Mayor, Rameau, had called about an hour before and asked if M. Favre was here. He wanted to speak to him and to place himself at his disposal. Might he do so ? He, Hatzfeld, had replied that of course he did not know. The Chief : " For a man to come in the night to a person who is returning to Paris is sufficient of itself to bring him before a court-martial. The audacious fellow ! " Bohlen : " Mantey has doubtless already told Stieber. Probably this M. Rameau is anxious to return to his cell." (Rameau was obliged some time since to study the interior of one of the cells in the prison in the Rue Saint Pierre for a few days in company with some other members of the corporation — if I am not mis- taken, on account of some refusal or some insolent reply about supplying provisions for Versailles.) The Minister then related some particulars of his interview with Favre. " I like him better now than at Ferri^res," he said. "He spoke a good deal and in long, well-rounded periods. It was often not necessary to pay attention or to answer. They were anecdotes of former times. He is a very good raconteur!' " He was not at all offended at my recent letter to him. On the contrary, he felt indebted to me for calling his attention to what he owed to himself." " He also spoke of having a villa near Paris, which was, however, wrecked and pillaged. I had it on the tip NCE 1871] INTERMITFENT STARVATION 375 rtridgc, asked for a while he sighed, led: " If one could Jut to bring others continued: "What ,ny general. And iry matters." He il terms of which s to be hoped that The Chief replied heard it rumoured champagne. The fused to take any, time he had some ersuaded him, and ; like one who had meau, had called re was here. He slf at his dispcsal. that of course he )me in the night to of itself to bring ellow!" Bohlen: ler. Probably this (Rameau was of one of the cells V days in company — if I am not mis- solent reply about s of his interview at Ferri^res," he U-rounded periods, to answer. They y good raconteur'.' IX to him. On the attention to what a villa near Paris, I had it on the tip of my tongue to say, ' But not by us ! ' but he himself immedi- ately added that it had doubtless been done by the Mobiles." "He then complained that Saint Cloud had been burning for the last three days, and wanted to persuade me that we had set the palace there on fire." " In speaking of the franctireurs and their misdeeds, he wished to call my attention to our guerillas in 18 13 — they indeed had been much worse. I said to him : * I don't want to deny that, but you are also aware that the French shot them whenever they caught them. And they did not shoot them all in one place, but one batch on the spot where the act was committed, another batch at the next halt, and so on, in order to serve as a deterrent.' " " He maintained that in the last engagement, on the 19th, the National Guard, recruited from the well-to-do classes, fought best, while the battalions raised from the lower clnsses were worthless." The Chief paused for a while and seemed to be reflecting. He then continued : " If the Parisians first received a supply of provisions and were then again put on half rations and once more obliged to starve, that ought, I think, to work. It is like flogging. When it is administered continuously it is not felt so much. But when it is suspended for a time and then an- other dose inflicted, it hurts! I know that from the criminal court where I was employed. Flogging was still in use there." The subject of flogging in general was then discussed, and Bohlen, who favours its retention, observed that the English had re-introduced it. "Yes," said Bucher, "but first for per- sonal insult to the Queen, on the occasion of an outrage against the Royal person, and afterwards for garroting." The Chief then related that in 1863, when the garroters appeared in London, he was often obliged to go after twelve o'clock at night through a solitary lane, containing only stables and full of heaps of horse-dung, which led from Regent Street to his lodg- ings in Park Street. To his terror, he read in the papers that a number of these attacks had taken place on that very spot. Then, after a pause, the Minister said : " This is really an unheard-of proceeding on the part of the English. They want to send a gunboat up the Seine " (Odo Russell put forward this demand, which the Chancellor absolutely refused) "in order, they say, to remove the English families there. They merely want to ascertain if we have laid down torpedoes and then to let 376 THE LUXEMBURG QUESTKJN [Jan. 2i) the French ships follow them. What swine I They arc full of vexation and envy because we have fought great battles heix' — and won them. They cannot bear to think that shabby little Prussia should prosper so. The Prussians are a people who should merely exist in order to carry on war for them in their pay. This is the view taken by all the upper classes in Eng- land. They have never been well disposed towards us, and have always done their utmost to injure us." "The Crown Princess herself is an incarnation of this way of thinking. She is full of her own great condescension into marrying in our country. I remember her once telling me that two or three merchant families in Liverpool had more silver plate than the entire Prussian nobility. 'Yes,' I replied, 'that is possibly true, your Royal Highness, but we value ourselves for other things besides silver.' " The i\ minister remained silent for a while. Then he said; " I have often thought over what would have happened if we had gone to war about Luxemburg — should I now be in Paris or would the French be in Berlin .'' I think I did well to pre- vent war at that time. We should not have been nearly so strong as we are to-day. At that time the Hanoverians would not have made trustworthy soldiers. I will say nothing about the Hessians — they would have done well. The Schleswig- Holstein men have now fought like lions, but there was no army there then. Saxony was also useless. The army had been disbanded and had to be recruited over again, i) id there was little confidence to be placed in the South Germans. The Wurtembergers, what excellent fellows they are now, quite first rate! But in 1866 they would have been laughed at by every soldier as they marched into Frankfort like so many militiamen. The Baden troops were also not up to the mark. Beyer, and indeed the Grand Duke, has since then done a great deal for them." " It is true that public opinion throughout Germany would have been on our side had we wished to fight for Luxem- burg. But that was not enough to compensate for such defi- ciencies. Moreover, we had not right on our side. I have never confessed it publicly, but I can say it here : after the dis- solution of the Confederation the Grand Duke had become the sovereign of Luxemburg and could have done what he liked with the country. It would have been mean of him to part [Jan. 30 IV" A GRIM JUKE 377 ic! They arc full t great battles hcri- k that shabby little are a people who : for them in their er classes in Eng- d towards us, and ,s." "The Crown of thinking. She marrying in our that two or three Iver plate than the lat is possibly true, }s for other things e. Then he said; ve happened if we 1 I now be in Paris . I did well to pre- ve been nearly so rianoverians would say nothing about The Schleswig. but there was no , The army had again. A id there Germans. The ire now, quite first aghcd at by every many militiamen. )ark. Beyer, and e a great deal for oughout Germany ) fight for Luxcm- ate for such dcfi- )ur side. I have ;re : after the dis- 2 had become the ne what he liked n of him to part with it for money, but it was open to him to cede it to Fiance. Our right of occupation was also not well founded. Properly s - ung, after the dissolution of the Confederation we ought no longer to have occupied even Rastatt and Mayence. I said that in the Council — I had at that time yet another idea, namely, to hand over Luxemburg to Belgium. In that cas' we should have united it to a country on behalf of whose neutrality, as people then thought, England would intervene. That would also have strengthened the German element there against the French-speaking inhabitants, and at the same time have secured a good frontier. My proposal was not received with any favour, and it is just as well as it has turned out." Bismarck-Bohlen drew attention to a capital cartoon in Kladdci'adatsc/i : Napoleon waiting on the platform of the rail- way station and saying, " They have already given the signal to start." He has put on an ermine cloak for his journey to Paris, and is carrying his portmanteau in his hand. The Chief, how- ever, observed : " Doubtless he thinks so, and he may be right. ]]ut I fear he will miss the train. Yet, after all, there may be no other way left. He would be easier to convince than Favre. Hut he would always require half the army to maintain him on the throne." Thursday, January 26th. — The Chief drove off to see the King at 10.30 a.m. Hcrr Hans von Rochow and Count Lchndorff dined with us. The Chief talked about Favre : " He told me that on Sundays the boulevards are still full of fashionably dressed women with pretty children. I remarked to him, ' I am surprised at that. I wonder you have not yet eaten them ! ' " As some one noticed that the firing was particularly heavy to-day, the Minister ob- served : " I remember in the criminal court we once had a subordinate ofificial — I believe his name was Stepki — whose business it was to administer the floggings. He was accustomed to lay on the last three strokes with exceptional vigour — as a wholesome memento ! " The conversation then turned upon Stroussberg, whose bankruptcy was said to be imminent, and the Chief said : " He once told me, * I know I shall not even die in my own house.' But for the war, it would not have happened so soon, perhaps not at all. He always kept afloat by issuing new shares, and the game succeeded, although other 378 TIIK DUC DK MOKNV [Jan. 2(, Jews, who had made money before him, did their best to spoil it. Hut now comes the war, and his Rumanians have fallen lower and lower, so that at present one might ask how nuuh they cost per hundredweight. For all that, he remains a clover man and indefatigable." The mention of Stroussberg's clever- ness and restless activity led on to Gambetta, who was said to have also "made his five millions out of the war." Hut doubts were expressed on this point, and I believe rightly. After the Dictator of Bordeaux, it was Napoleon's turn to be discussed, and according to Hohlen, people said he had saved at least fifty millions during the nineteen years of his reign. " Others .say eighty millions," added the Chief, "but I doubt it. Louis Philippe spoiled the business. He had riots arranged, and then bought stocks on the Amsterdam Exchange, but at la.st business men saw through it." Hatzfeld or Keudell then ob- served that this resourceful monarch used to fall ill from time to time with a similar object. Alorny was then spoken of as having been specially ingen- ious in making money in every possible way under the lunpire. The Chief told us that " when Morny was appointed Ambas- sador to St. Petersburg he appeared with a whole collection of elegant carriages, some forty-three of them altogether, and all his chests, trunks, and boxes were full of laces, silks, and femi- nine finery, upon which, as Ambassador, he had to pay no customs duty. Every servant had his own carriage, and every attach^ and secretary had at least two. A few days after his arrival he sold off the whole lot by auctioi., clearing at least 800,000 roubles. He was a thief, but an amiable one." The Chief then, pursuing the same subject and quoting further instances, continued : " For the matter of that, influential people in St Petersburg understood this sort of business — not that they wore willing to take money directly. Hut when a person wanted something, he went to a certain French shop, and bought expensive laces, gloves, or jewellery, perhaps for five or six thousand roubles. The shop was run on behalf of some official or his wife. This process repeated, say, twice a week, produced quite a respectable amount in the course of the year."y Hohlen called out across the table : " Do, please, tell that lovely story about the Jew with the torn boots who got twenty- 137' 1 A "LOVKLY" STORY 379 hve lashos." The Chief : " It came about in this way. One Jay a Jew culled at our Chancellerie dcchiriii}; that he was penniless, and wanted to be sent back to Prussia. He was terribly tattered, and he had on in particular a pair of boots that showed his naked toes. lie was told that he would be sent hiimc, but then he wanted to get other boots, as it was so cold. He demanded them as a right, and became so forward and impudent, screaming and calling names, that our people did not know what to do with him. And the servants also could not trust themselves to deal with the furious creature. At length. Alien the row had become intolerable, I was called to render physical assistance. I told the man to be quiet or I would have him locked up. He answered defiantly : ' You can't do that. You have no right whatever to do that in Russia ! ' ' Wc shall see!' I replied. 'I must send you home, but I am not called apon to give you boots, although perhaps I might have done so. Hut first you shall receive punishment for your abominable behaviour.' He then repeated that I could not touch him. Thereupon I opened the window and beckoned to a Russian policeman who was stationed a little way off. My Jew con- tinued to shriek and abuse us until the policeman, a tall stout man, came in. I said, ' Take him with you — lock him up till to-morrow — twenty-five!' The big policeman took the little Jew with him, and locked him up. He came again next morn- ing quite transformed, very humble and submissive, and declared himself ready for the journey without new boots. I asked how he had got on in the interval. Badly, he said, very badly. But what had they done to him ? They had — well, they had — physically maltreated him. I thought that when he got home he would enter a complaint against me, or get his case into the newspapers — the Vo//.'s Zeitiing^ or some such popu- lar organ. The Jews know how to make a row. But he must have decided otherwise, for nothing more was heard of him." When I came down to tea at 10.30 p.m., I found the Chief in conversation with the members of Parliament, Von Koller and Von Forckenbeck. The Minister was just saying that more money would soon be required. " We did not want to ask more from the Reichstag," he said, " as we did not antici- pate that the war would last so long. I have written to Camp- hausen, but he suggests requisitions and contributions. They . \ .V'^o Kli.niSiriONS AND CONTKHU rioNS Ian :- ;irc very ditVuniU lo collect, as the itiimenr.c area of countrv over which \vc arc disporsed requires more trotjis than we can spare for iuirposes of coercion. Two million soUliers would be necessary to deal thorout^hly with ii territory of 12,000 C'lcrnian square miles. Besides, everything has grown dearer in conse- quence of the war. When w^ -nake a req\iisition we j;ct nothing. When we ]iay cash there is always enough to be had in the market, and cheaper than in Germany. Here the busho! of oats costs four francs, and if it is brought from Germanv six francs. I thought at first of getting the contributions of the ditYerent States paid in advance. lUit that would only amount to twenty millions, as J^avaria will keep her own accounts unt;', 1872. Another way out of the diflknilty occurred to mo, namely, to apply to our Diet for a sum on account. Hut wo must hrst hnd out what Moltke proposes to extort from iho Parisians, that is to say, from the city of Paris — for that is what we are dealing with for the present." Forckenbeclv was of opinion that the Chief's plan wouUl meet with no insui- mountablc resistance in the Diet. It is true the dcKlrinaiios would raise objections, and others would complain thai Trussia should again have to come to the rescue and make sacritu'os for the rest of the country, but in all ]Mobability the majoriiv wouUl j^o with the Government. Roller eouUl conlirm that opinion, which he did. Afterwards an officer of the dark blue hussars, a Count Arnim. who had just arrixed from Le Mans, came in and j;a\o us a great deal of intercsthig news. He said the inh ibitanis of the town appeared tt) be very sensible people who dis- approvcil of Gambetta's polic y, and everywhere expressed thoii desire for peace. " Yes," replied the Chief, "that is verv i:oi\\ of the people, but how does it help us if WMth all their Liood senr-c they allow Ciambetta, time after tinu\ to stamp now armies of 150,000 men out of the grmmd ? " Arnim h.ivinc further related that they had again rnade great nueihers ot priscMcrs. the Minister exclaimed: "That is most unsatisfac- tory! What shall we do with them all in the end? Whv make so many prisoners.' Kvery one who makes prisoners ought to be tried by court-martial." This, like many other similar expressions, must doubtless not he taken literallv. ;nui applies only to the franetireurs. NS IVN ;S:i ! i;i'\i;rai lU'iAiiour d'u \rirori k 3^^' area of country o.ips than we c;in j^oUlicrs would bo }i 12,000 Ciornun \ clearer in conso- iquisilion we j;ot cnouiih to bo h;ul Hero the bushel troiu Cjormany six ntributious of the •oulil only anio;;;'.: \vn aecounts until occurred to nu\ account. Hut wo o extort trou) iho 'aris — tor that is I'orckonbeck was ct with no insui- e the doctrinaires plain that rrus.si.i id make >;acrilicos bilily the niajoriiv >uld conlirni thai hussars, a Couni •anie in and j;avo ill the inh ibitanis people who dis- ro cxpresscil thci; that is verv j^dod ith all their '^ooA e. to stamp now Arnini havin; i;Teat n\mbcrs o\ most unsatist.io- the end? Whv makes prisoners liko many other ken literallv. aiui fruiiiy, J,innjry j;,'/-. — U is said that the bombardment ;eased at midnij;ht. It v.ms to have recommenced .it o o'clnck ;his morning in case the Taris (iovcrnment was not prepared ;o ai;ree to our conditions tor a truce. As it h.is ceased, the r.irisians have doubtless yielded, l^ut (.iambetta ? Molikc arrives at 8.30 a.m., and remains in conterenco with ;hc Chiet lor about three-quarters ot an hour. The b'rench- -en put in an apjioarance shortly betorc 11. b'avre (^who has h.ul his grey Radical beanl clipped), with thick underlip, \elUnv ;ouiplexion, and light grey eyes; (.ieneral Heautort d'llaut- nnilc. with his aide-de-camp. Calvel ; and Durrbach, a " t'hiet ^^! ihe Mnginecrs ot the Mastern Railway," Heaut\)rt is under- s-uvd to have led the .ittack on the redoubt at Montretout on ;hc ii)th. Their negotiations with the Chiet appear to h.ive ,\Miio to a specily conclusion, or to have been bioken ot't", SluMlly alter twelve o'clock, just .is we sit down to lunch, thev >;;ivc otT again in the carriages that brought them here. Favre .loks very dejMessed. The gener.d is niUiceably red in the :,K'c, and does not seem to be quite steailv on his legs. ShiM'tly ,,Uer the b'rench had gone the t."hancellor came in to us and s.iiil: "I only want a brc.ilh ot tresh air. Tlease do not ilis- ;urb yovnselves." Then, turning to Oclbruck and shaking his '.o.ul, ho said : "There is nvHliing lo be done with him. Men- '„illv incapable — ilrimk. I Ik ' -ve. I {old him to think it over until halt-past one. rerhaj's he will have recovered bv that time. Miuldle-headed and ill-mannered. What is his name? Nnnething like JUnit't're or Tauvre ? " Keudell s.iid : " Hean- lert," The Chief : " A distinguished name, but not at all dis- ;iii,i;uished manners." It appears, then, that the general has ,ictuallv taken more than he was able to carry, pcrhajis in con- sequence of his natural capacity having been weakened by huni^or. At lunch it was mentioned that on his way hero, Forekcn- beck saw the village of Fontenav still in tlames. It had beeii fired by our troops as a punishment for the destruction of the niUvav bridges by the tnntinous iieasantry. Delbriick rejoiced with us " that at last adequate punishment had been once more intlioted." In the afternoon we heard that the Chancellor drove off shortlv before i o'clock, tirst to see the Kmperor, and then to 382 HOW TO MANAGE THE MOB [Jan. 27 Moltke's, where he and Podbielski again met the Frenchmen. The latter afterwards left for Paris, about 4 o'clock, and will return to-morrow at noon for the purpose of completing the capitulation. At dinner, the Chief, speaking of Beaufort, said he had be- haved like a man without any breeding. "He blustered and shouted and swore like a trooper, and with his ' moi, general de I'armee fran^aise,' he was almost unendurable. Favre, who is not very well bred either, said to me : ' J'en suis humilie ! ' Be- sides, he was not so very drunk ; it was, rather, his vulgar man- ners. At the General Staff they were of opinion that a man of that sort had been chosen in order that no arrangement should be come to. I said that, on the contrary, they had selected him because it did not matter for such a person to lose credit with the public by signing the capitulation." The Chief then continued : " I said to Favre during our last interview : ' Vous avcz ete trahi — par la fortune.' He saw the point clearly, but only said : ' A qui le dites-vous ! Dans trois fois vingt quatre heures je serai aussi co.nptc aa nombre des traitres.' He added that his position in Paris was very critical. I proposed to him : ' Provoqucz done une emeute pendant que vous avez encore une armee pour I'^touffcr.' He looked at me quite terror-stricken, as if he wished to say. How bloodthirsty you are. I explained to him, however, that that was the only right way to manage the mob. Then, again, he has no idea of how things are with us. He mentioned several times that France was the land of liberty, while Germany was governed by a despotism. I told him, for instance, that we wanted money and that Paris must supply some. He suggested that we should raise a loan. I replied that that could not Ix: done without the approval of the Diet. ' Ah,* he said, ' you can surely get five hundred million francs without the Cbar.iV .' I answered : ' No, not five francs.' But he would not belic\o it. I told him that I had been at loggerheads with the popular representatives for four whole years, but that the raising of a loan without the Diet was the limit to which I went, and which it never occurred to me to overstep. That seemed to disconcert him somewhat, but he only said that in France * on ne se gene- rait pas.' And yet he returned afterwards to the immense freedom which they enjoy in France. It is really funny to hear [Jan. 27 1871J A RUSSIAN NOTE IN KUSSL\N 383 ;t the Frenchmen, [ o'clock, and will of completing the rt, said he had be- He blustered and ;s * moi, general de le. Favre, who is uis humilie ! ' Be- 3r, his vulgar man- nion that a man of rrangement should y had selected him to lose credit with vre during our last ;une.* He saw the -vous ! Dans trois pt-j aa nombre des is was very critical. leute pendant que He looked at me , How bloodthirsty that was the only in, he has no idea several times that any was governed that we wanted le suggested that ould not be done le said, ' yo^x can )ut the C;iat..iV ■.' ould not bclicv c it. with the popular t the raising of a I went, and which :med to disconcert e ' on ne se gene- to the immense ially funny to hear a Frenchman talk in that way, and particularly Favre, who has always been a member of the Opposition. But that's their way. Vou can give a Frenchman twenty-five lashes, and if you only make a fine speech to him about the freedom and dignity of man of which those lashes are the expression, and at the same time strike a fitting attitude, he will persuade himself that he is not being thrashed." "Ah, Keudell," said the Chief suddenly, "it just occurs to me. I must have my full powers drawn up for to-morrow, of course in German. The German Emperor must only write Ger- man. The Minister can be guided by circumstances. Official communications must be written in the language of the country, not in a foreign tongue. Bcrnstorff was the first to try to intro- duce that system in our case, but he went too far with it. He wrote to all the diplomatists in German, and they replied, of course by agreement, each in his own language, Russian, Span- ish, Swedish, and what not, so that he had to have a whole army of translators in the office. That was how I found mat- ters when I came into power. Budberg (the Russian Ambassa- dor in Berlin) sent me a note in Russian. That was too much for me. If they wanted to have their revenge Gortchakoff should have written in Russian to our Ambassador in St. Peters- burg. That would have been the right way. It is only fair to ask that the representatives of foreign countries should under- stand and speak the language of the State to which they are accredited. But it was unfair to send me in Berlin a reply in Rissian to a note in German. I decided that all communica- tions received in other languages than German, French, Eng- lish, and Italian should be left unnoticed and put away in the archives. Budberg then wrote screed after screed, always in Russian. No answer was returned and the documents were all laid by with the State papers. At last he came himself and asked why he had received no reply. ' Reply ! ' I exclaimed. 'To what.'' Wliy, he had written a month ago and had after- wards sent me several reminders. ' Ah, quite so ! ' I said. 'There is a great pile of documents in Russian downstairs, and yours are probably amongst them. But we have no one who understands Russian, and I have given instructions for all doc- uments written in a language we do not understand to be put away in the archives.' It was then arranged that Budberg 384 CAPITULATION AND ARMISTICE [Jan. j! should write in French, and the Foreign Office also when suited them." The Chief then talked about the French negotiators and said : •' M. Durrbach introduced himself as ' membre de Tadmin- istration du Chemin de fer de I'Est ; j'y suis beaucoup intdresse.' — If he only knew what we intend." (Probably the cession of the Eastern Railway.) Hatzfeld : " He threw up his hands in dismay when the General Staff pointed out to him on the map the tunnels, bridges, &c., destroyed by the French themselves, ' I have always been against that,' he said, ' and I pointed out to them that a bridge could be repaired in three hours — but they would not listen to me.' " The Chief : " Repaired after a fashion, certainly, but not a rr.ilway bridge capable of carry- ing a train. They will find it hard now to bring up provisions to Paris, particularly if they have committed the same stupid destruction in the west. I think they rely upon drawing sup- plies from Brittany and Normandy, where there are large flocivs of sheep, and from the ports. To my knowledge there are plenty of bridges and tunnels in those parts too, and if they have destroyed them they will find themselves in great straits, I hope, moreover, that people in London will only send them hams and not bread I " Saturday, /am/aty 28///. — At 11 o'clock the French negotia- tors again arrived — Favre, Durrbach, and two others, who are understood to be also leading railway officials ; and two officers, another general, and an aide-de-camp, both men with a good presence. They take lunch with us. Then follows a lengthy negotiation at Moltke's lodgings. The Chief afterwards dictates to the Secretaries Willisch and Saint Blanquart the treaties of capitulation and armistice, which are drawn up in duplicate, They are afterwards signed and sealed by Bismarck and Favre, at twenty minutes past seven, in the green room next to the Minister's study upstairs. The Frenchmen dined with us. The general (Valden is his name) ate little and hardly sprke at all. Favre was also de- jected and taciturn. The aide-de-camp, M. d'H^risson, did not appear to be so much affected, and the railway officials, after their long privations, devoted themselves with considerable gusto to the pleasures of the table. According to what I can gather from the latter they have, as a matter of fact, been on nCE [Jan. j8 Office also when it nch negotiators and ' membrc de I'admin. i beaucoup interessc,' bably the cession of irew up his hands in It to him on the map French themselves. , ' and I pointed out n three hours — but ii : *' Repaired after ;e capable of carrv- bring up provisions ted the same stupid ^ upon drawing sup- here are large flotis :nowledge there are ,rts too, and if they ;lves in great straits. vill only send them the French ncgotia- two others, who are Is ; and two ofificcrs, 1 men with a good 1 follows a lengthy afterwards dictates uart the treaties of vn up in duplicate ismarck and Favre, room next to the neral (Valden is his Favre was also de- d'Hdrisson, did not ilway officials, after with considerable 'ding to what I can ir of fact, been on 187'] THE PARIS FORTS OCCUPIED 385 very short commons in Paris for some time past, and the death rate last week amounted to about five thousand. The mortality was especially heavy amongst children up to two years of age, and cofifins for these tiny French citizens were to be seen in all directions. Delbriick declared afterwards that " Favre and the General looked like two condemned prisoners who were going to the gallows next morning. I pitied them." Keudel expects that peace will soon be concluded and that ive shall be back in Berlin within a month. Shortly before 10 o'clock a bearded gentleman, apparently about forty-five, who gave his name as Duparc, called and was immediately con- ducted to the Chief, with whom he spent about two hours. He is understood to be the former French Minister Duvernois, coming from Wilhelmshohe with proposals for peace. The capitulation and armistice do not yet mean the end of the war with France. Sundciy, January 2<^th. — Our troops moved forward to occupy the forts. In the morning read despatches respecting the London Conference, and other subjects, as well as the treaties for the armistice and capitulation signed yesterday. Rernstorff reported that Musurus became very violent at one of the sittings of the Conference. He could not cor eive why the stipulation closing the Dardanelles against Russian men- of-war should not be worded in an indirect and therefore less offensive form for Russia, and at the same time quite as accept- able to the Porte. From another of Bernstorff's despatches the Chief appears to have hinted that Napoleon should not miss the right moment. It is also stated that Palikao, who was of the same opinion, thought it would be dangerous to agree in the capitulation to leave the National Guard under arms. Vinoy and Ronciere, being in favour of the Emperor, would doubtless be the right men to assume command of the troops in the city. Our copy of the capitulation fills ten folio pages, and is stitched together with silk in the French colours, on the end of which Favre has impressed his seal. Wc were joined at lunch by Count Henckel, who has been appointed Prefect at Metz. He maintained that in about five years the elections in his department would be favourable to the Government ; indeed, he was confident even now of being VOL. I. — 2C 386 STARVATION COMMONS IN PARIS LJ.VN.. able to bring about that result. In Alsace, however, the pro; pect was not so good, as Germans arc not so docile to authorii as the French. He also '.nentioned that his department hai really suffered severely. At the commencement of the war had some thirty-two to thirty-five thousand horses, and now hi believed there were not more than five thousand left. Before dinner I read further drafts, including a memoran dum, in which the Chief explained to the King that it was Ira. possible to demand from Favre, after the conclusion of the capitulation, the surrender of the flags of the French regiments in Paris. We were joined at dinner by Count Henckel and the French aide-de-camp who was h /e yesterday. The latter, whose full name is d'Herisson dc .aaulnier, wore a black hussar uniform, with yellow shoulder-straps and embroidery on the sleeves. He is said to understand and speak German, yet the conversation, into which the Chief entered with zest, was for the most pan carried on in French. In the absence of Favre and the General (the former was still in the house, but as he was very busy he had his dinner sent up to him in the small drawing-room) the aide-de-camp was more lively and amusinp: than yesterday. He bore the whole burden of the conversation for a considerable time, with a series of droll anecdotes. The scarcity of food in the city had become of late very painfully perceptible, but his experience would appear to have been more with the amusing, than with the tjcrious, side of the qu'^stion. He said that for him the most interesting period of their fast was " while they were eating up the Jardin des Plantes." Elephant meat cost twenty francs per kilogramme and tasted like coarse beef, and they had really had " filets de chameau " and " c6telcttes de tigre." A dog flesh market was held in the Rue Saint Honore, the price being two francs fifty per kilo. There were hardly any more dogs to be seen in Paris, and whenever people caught sight of one, they immediately hunted it down. It was the same with cats. If a pigeon alighted on a roof a view holloa was at once raised in the street. Only the carrier pigeons were spared. The despatches were fastened in the middle of their tail feathers, of which they ought to have nine. If one of them happened to have only eight, they said : " Ce n'est qu'un civil" and it had to go the way of all flesh. A lady is said to have VRIS [Jan.:,, Pr'J RUSSIAN ADVICE ABOUT LUXliMBUKG 3S7 ;, however, the pros. ;o docile to authoriij his department had :ement of the war i: horses, and now he isand left, icluding a memoran- King that it was iiii. e conclusion of the tie French regiments ickel and the French he latter, whose ful! ack hussar uniforni, ' on the sleeves. He yet the conversation, IS for the most part avre and the General he was very busy he 11 drawing-room) the than yesterday. He 1 for a considerable scarcity of food in perceptible, but his re with the amusing, He said that for ast was " while they ilephant meat cost ce coarse beef, and and "c6telettes de Rue Saint Honore, There were hardly never people caught down. It was the roof a view holloa arrier pigeons were the middle of their ine. If one of them e n'est qu'un civil " ady is said to have (■marked : " Jamais je ne mangerai plus de pigeon, car je croi- ais toujours avoir mange un facteur." In return for these and other stories the Chief related a Unber of things which were not yet known in the drawing- looms and clubs of Paris, and which people there might be glad hear, as for instance the shabby behaviour of Rothschild at ferrieres, and the way in which the Elector of Hesse trans- [orined Rothschild's grandfather Amschel from a little Jew into 1 great one. The Chancellor repeatedly referred to the latter Is the " Juif de cour," and afterwards gave a description of the lomesticated Jews of the Polish nobility. On Bohlen reporting later on that he had, in accordance with nstructions, sent certain papers to "the Emperor," the Chief [ibserved : " The Emperor .-* I envy those to whom the new title klready comes so trippingly." Abeken returned from his ilajesty's and announced that " The matter of the flags was lettled." The Chief : " Have you also fired off my revolver letter?" Abeken: "Yes, Excellency, it has been discharged." After dinner read drafts and reports, amongst the latter a jfery interesting one in whic'i Russia advises us to leave Metz i!id German Lorraine to the P'rcnch, and to annex a neighbour- piece of territory instead. According to a recent despatch irom St. Petersburg, Gortchakoff has suggested that Germany blight take Luxemburg and leave the French a corresponding portion of Lorraine. The geographical position of the Grand )uchy indicated that it should form part of Germany, and Prince Henry, who is devotedly attached to his separate Court, tlone stood in the way. King William wrote on the margin of jthe despatch that this suggestion was to be absolutely rejected. The Chief then replied as follows : " The future position of jixemburg would, it is true, be an unpleasant one — not for us, but rather for the Grand Duchy itself. We must not, however, ^xercise any compulsion, nor take the property of others. We piust, therefore, adhere to the programme communicated five nonths ago to St. Petersburg, especially as we have since then made great sacrifices. The realisation of that programme is Indispensable for the security of Germany. We must have Metz. The German people would not tolerate any alteration of the iprogramme." Favre did not leave till 10.15 p.m., and then not for Paris, 388 THE REVICTUALLINU OF PAKLS [Jan. but for his quarters here m the Boulevard du Roi. lie w come again to-morrow at noon. The Chief a ♦'♦^crwards joined us at tea. In speaking of tl capitulation and the armistice, Bohlen asked : " But what if th others do not agree — Gambetta^and the Prefects in the south - " Well, in that case we have the forts which give us the contn of the city," replied the Chief. " The King also could nc understand that, and inquired what was to happen if the pcopl at Bordeaux did not ratify the arrangement. ' Well,' I replied ' then we remain in the forts and keep the Parisians shut up and perhaps in that case we may refuse to prolong the armistia on the 19th of February.' In the meantime they have delivers up their aims, and they must pay the contribution. Those \\\ have given a material pledge under a treaty are all the worse off if they cannot fulfil its conditions." Favrc had, it seems, confessed to the Cl.'.ef that he had pro- ceeded " un peu temerairement " in the matter of the revictiial- ling of Paris. He really did not know whether he would be able to provide in good time for the hundreds of thousands in the city. Somebody observed : " In case of necessity Stosch could supply them with live-stock and flour." The Chief: "Yes, so long as he can do so without injury to ourselves." Bismarck-Bohlen was of opinion that we need not give them anything ; let them see for themselves where they could get supplies, &c. The Chief : " Well, then, you would let them starve ? " Bohlen : " Certainly." The Chief : " But then hov; are we to get our contribution .? " Later on the Minister said : " Business of State, negotiations with the enemy, do not irritate me. Their objections to my ideas and demands, even when they are unreasonable, leave me quite cool. But the petty grumbling and meddling of the military authorities in political questions, and their ignorance 0: what is possible and not possible in such matters ! One of then comes and wants this, another one that, and when you have go; rid of the first two, a third one turns up — an aide-de-camp or aide-de-camp general — who says : ' But, your Excellency, sureiy that is impossible,' or ' We must have this too in addition, else we shall be in danger of our lives.' And yesterday they went so far as to insist that a condition (i.e., for the surrender of the flags), which was not mentioned in the negotiations, should be VRIS [Jan. 1S71] DIPLOMAIIC MLSSKXGERS 389 ird du Roi. He \vi;;| In speaking of \YA ed : " But what if the I •cfects in the south' :h give us the contrn King also could niil » happen if the people | nt. ' Well,' I replied, lie Parisians shut up, prolong the armistice I le they have dclivcad :ribution. Those who I :y are all the worse Cl.'.ef that he had pro- latter of the revictiia!- whether he would be dreds of thousands i?.| e of necessity Stosch I flour." The Chief: injury to ourselves." need not give then I where they could getl you would let theml lief : " But then hov;| of State, negotiations leir objections to myj nreasonable, leave mel ,nd meddling of the! md their ignorance oil latters ! One of theni[ id when you ha>"^ go:j — an aide-de-camp orj )ur Excellency, sureiyl s too in addition, else! yesterday they werJ the surrender of thel gotiations, should be| introduced into a document that was already signed. I said to them, however: 'We have committed many a crime in this war -but falsification of deeds! No, gentlemen, really that cannot be done.' " Bernstorff, it was mentioned, reports that he had informed the Conference that from this time forward he represented the German Empire and Emperor; and that the other members I received this announcemcit with approval. Thereupon the Chief remarked : " BernstoriT is after all a man who has had business experience. How can he do such things.' His wife I -what's her name? Augusta — no, Anna — will have a fine opinion of herself now. Imperial Ambassadress ! I cannot lay much store by such titles. A prosperous and powerful King is better than a weak Emperor, and a rich Baron better than a poor Count." " Such an Emperor as that of Brazil or Mexico! " " With a salary of 800,000 florins," interjected Hol- jtoin. The Chief : " Well, that would be enough to get on with, They require no firing and no winter clothes." Hatzfeld mentioned that a Spanish secretary of embassy had called. He had come from Bordeaux and wanted to enter Paris in order to bring away his countrymen. He also had a letter from Chaudordy for Favre, and was in great haste. What answer should be given to him .' The Chief stooped down a little over the table, then sat bold upright again, and said; "Attempting to carry a despatch from one member of the enemy's Government to another through our lines — that is a case exactly suited for a court-martial. When he comes back you will treat the matter in a very serious way : receive him coolly, look surprised, and say that we must complain to the new King of Spain with regard to such a breach of neu- trality and demand satisfaction. Besides, I am astonished that Stichle should have let the fellow pass. 1 hese soldiers always pay too much deference to diplomats. And even if he had been an ambassador, Metternich for instance, he should have been turned back even if had to freeze and starve in consequence. Indeed, such carrier service borders closely on spying." The rush of people to and out of Paris that was now to be apprehended then came up for discussion. The Chief: "Well, the French will not let so very many out, and we shall only let «inS 390 l.OKI) GUANVILLK'S TKACK PROrOSAIS lA-, those pass who have a permit from the authorities inside, a perhaps not all of those." .)me one said that Rothschild, who had hecn supplied wit; :< safe-conduct, wanted to come out; upon which the Chief: would be well to detain him — as a franctircur, and incliulo hii, amongst the prisoners of war. (To Kcudell :) Just inquire iiu„ the matter. I mean it seriously." liohlen e.\claiincd: " Thci Bleichnklcr will come rushing over here and prostrate himsi;!: in the name of all the Rothschild family." The Chief: ' that case we will send him in to join them in Paris, where lie can have his share of the dog hunting." Astonishment was then expressed that the Daily Tclcs^rnf should have already published a detailed epitome of the con vention signed yesterday, and in this connection Stieber, FavrcV fellow-lodger, was mentioned. The English correspondent had acknowledged, according to Bucher, that he had received the news from Stieber, and the Minister added : " I am convinLcd that Stieber opened Favre's writing desk with a picklock, and then made extracts from his papers which he gave to the Eiii,- lishman." This is scarcely probable, as Stiebcr's knowledge of French is inadequate for that purpose. He much more prob- ably received the news from nis patron Bohlen, or perhaps from some officer who heard it from the General Staff, who — as the Chancellor recently remarked — "are very obliging mil com- municative in such matters." Monday, January 30/'//. — Favrc and other Frenchmen, in- cluding the Chief or Prefect of the Paris police, were busily engaged with the Chief during the afternoon, and dined with him at 5.30 p.m. The secretaries and I were to go to the Hotel des Reservoirs, as there was not room enough at table. I re- mained at home, however, and translated Granville's latest peace proposals for the Emperor. Abeken came up to me after dinner to get the translation, and was sorry I had not been present, as the conversation was spe- cially interesting. The Chief had told the Frenchmen, amongst other things, that to be consistent in one's policy was frequently a mistake, and only showed obstinacy and narrow-mindedness. One must modify his course of action in accordance with events, with the situation of affairs, with the possibilities of the case, taking the relations of things into account and serving hi iSyi ' A PKOlOUXt) REMARK 301 country as the opportunity offers and not according; to his opin- ions, which are often prejudices. VV^hen he first entered into political life, as a younj; and inexperienced man, he had very different views and aims to those which he had at present. He had, however, altered and reconsidered his opinions, and had not hesitated to sacrifice his wishes, either partially or wholly, to the requirements of the day, in order to be of service. One must not impose his own leanings and desires upon his country. •'La patrie veut etrc servic ct pas dominee." This remark greatly impressed the Parisian gentlemen, of course principally because of its striking form. Favre replied : " C'est bien juste, Monsieur le Comtc, c'est profond." Another of the French- men also declared enthusiastically : " Oui, Messieurs, c'est un mot profond." Bucher, when I went down to tea, confirmed the above par- ticulars, and related that Favrc after praising the truth and profundity of the Chief's remark — which, of course, was made for the edification of the Parisians, just as in general his table talk is intended for the benefit of his guests — must needs add the following bctisc : " Nf [Jan, martyred saint, and looks as if he had some most important cnininunication to make. So I say to him, ' Shall we j^o up stairs ? ' ' Yes,' he says, ' let us do so.' Hut when we are thcro he sits down and writes letter after letter, and I wait in vain fur any important statement or piece of news from him. As a matter of fact, he had nothinj; to say. What he has done for us would go into two pages of note-paper." "And this rrefcct of Police ! I have never in my whole life met such an unprac- tical man. We are expected to advise and help them in every- thing. In the course of half an hour he fires all sorts of requests into me, so that at last I nearly lost patience, and said to him, ' Kut, my good sir, would it not be better to let me have ail this in writing ? Otherwise it cannot be properly attended to, for it is impossible for mc to carry it all in my head.' Thousands ul things pass through one's mind, and when I think seriously df one matter I lose sight of all others." The conversation then turned on the difficulty of supplying; the Parisians with provisions. Several railways were useless, at least for the time being ; to allow supplies to be drawn from those parts of France immediately adjoining the districts wc occupy might result in scarcity and embarrassment to ourselves; and the port of Dieppe, where they count upon nving con- signments from abroad, could only hold a few Js. The Chief reckoned out how many rations would be required daily, and how much could be transported in moderately normal cir- cumstances. He found that the supply would be a very scanty one, and that possibly large numbers might still have to starve. He then added : " Favre himself said to me that they had held out too long. That was, however, as he confessed, merely be- cause they knew we had provisions stored for them at Lagny. They had exact particulars on that point. At one time we had collected for them there 1,400 loaded waggons." The levying of taxes and contributions was then discussed, and the Chief explained to Maltzahn the arrangements he wished to see made. Instead of scattering our forces they should in general be massed in the chief town of the department or arrondissement, and from these centres flying columns should be despatched against those who refused to pay taxes, as well as against the guerillas and their aiders and abettors. With regard to the ten million francs' contribution imposed '•I now riiK iMi'iikiAi, ii)i;a okicixatki) 303 III the district of I-'ontciuiy for the dostriiction ol llic railway l::\i'^<^^, Ilcnckol dcchircd, as an expert, that that was an im- ssible demand — they could not st[ueeze even two millions |j;t of the people. " Probably not one million," remarked the IChicf. " Hut that is our way of doii.^ things. All sorts of -rriblc threats are constantly uttered, and then afterwards ]:xy cannot be carried out. The people end by seeing through ;.it sort of thing, and get accustomed to the threats." Then followed a highly interesting and detailed review of |;:.o various phases in the development of the scheme for the ■cccssion of the South German States to the Northern Con- lljdoration. "While we were still in Mainz," related the Chan- jjlor, "the King of Havaria wrote a letter to our most gracious raster in which he expressed a hope that he would not be :icdiatised. As a matter of course, his mind was set at ease I III that point. 15ut the King did not want the answer to be Giiitc so categorical. That was the first conflict between the I King and myself during the war. I told him that King Lewis ivould probably in that case withdraw his troops, and that he iivould be within his right in doing so. I remember it was in ;he corner room. It was a hard strug^'j, and finally he left ne still in doubt as to what he was going to do. After tlv- first I i;roat victories and before Sedan, there was another idea, namely, I '.hat of a military revolution and a military Emperor of Ger- many, who should be proclaimed by the troops, including the Bavarians. That idea was not to my liking. Subsequently, when Bray came here, they had thought out a plan of their own in Munich. They felt themselves to be safe, and wished for something more. Bray brought with him the plan of the alternating imperial dignity. As Bray said to me, an agree- ment could be come to between the North German Confedera- tion and Bavaria or between Germany and Bavaria. In the meantime we might very well conclude treaties with Baden and Wiirtemberg, ana afterwards come to an understanding with Bavaria. I was quite satisfied with that. But when I told it to Delbriick, he looked as if he were going to faint. I said to him, For Heaven's sake, why not accept it ? It is exactly what we want.' And so it was too. For when I informed Suckow and Mittnacht, they were beside themselves with rage, and imme- diately came to terms with me. Later on, however, the King 394 "AND THE GERMAN EMriUE WAS MADE! [Jan (of Wiirtembcrg) was induced to strike out aj^aiii in a new liin It was through Frau von Gasser, who had great influence at t:i Court in Stuttgart. He wanted to act once more with Ikivari The Ministers, however, remained firm, and assured me the would rather resign, and thus it came about that the Tnat with Wiirtemberg was not concluded until afterwards in Berlii Finally, after all sorts of difficulties on both sides, the arrang ment with Bavaria was also settled. Now there was only on thing wanting — but that was the most important of all ! I sa a way, and wrote a letter — and after that the credit belon[;s| a Bavavian Court official. He achieved an almost inipossibl feat. In six days he made the journey there and back, eightee German miles, without a railway, to the palace in the mountain where the King was staying — and in addition to that his wi was ill at the time. It was really a great deal for him to di He arrives at the palace, finds the King unwell — suffering froi a tumour in the gum, or from the after effects of an operat' under chloroform. He is not to be seen. Well, but he had letter from me to deliver — very pressing. In vain ; the Kin will not be disturbed ; he will do no business to-day. At las his Majesty's curiosity is aroused, and he wants to know wlia I have to communicate to him — and the letter is well received But there is no ink, no paper, no writing materials. They soik off 9 groom, who ultimately comes back with some coarse Ictte paper; the King writes his answer, just ?s he is, in bed— am the German Empire is made ! " Jacoby's arrest having been mentioned, the Chief observedj "Otherwise, Falkenstcin acted quite sensibly, but thanks t(| rnat measure of his nnd to his refusal to release Jacoby when requested him to do so, we were unable to convoke the Diet tV a whole month, As far as I am concerned, he might have hr.u Jacoby carved up for himself into rhinoceros cutlets, but hi ought not to have locked him up ! All he had to show for pains was the possession of a dried-up old Jew, The KinL,sti"\ would not at first listen to my representations. We were accdid ingly obliged to wait, as the Diet would have been within its right in demanding his liberation." Jacoby's name brought up that of another congenial niiiu;, viz., Waldeck(the Radical leader in the Prussian Diet), of wh^ni the Chief gave the following description : " Something like VS MADE! Tin; KIXC. OF SWEDEN'S BELLICOSE sri'.iril '95 Favrc, always consistent, his views and decisions cut and dried in advance, and, in addition to tliat, a stately presence and a venerable white beard, fine speeches delivered with the earnest- ness of deep-toned conviction, even on trifling matters, that is ,0 impressive ! He makes a speech in a voice throbbini; with devotion to principle in order to i>rove to you that this spoon is in the glass, and he prochiims that any one who refuses to accept that statement is a scoundrel ! And all the world believes him, and praises him for his staunchness in every key from :reble to bass." Tuesday, January 31.?/'. — The King of Sweden has delivered a bellicose speech from the throne. Why, ye gods.' I write two paragraphs under instructions from the Chief, and then a third, which calls attention to the sufferings during the bombard- ment of a number of inoffensive German families who, for various reason s, remained behind in Paris after the expulsion of their fellow-countrymen, and commend Washburne, the United States Minister, for the efforts he made to alleviate the lot of these unfortunate people. In this respect he has really acted in a manner that deserves our warmest thanks, and has been loyally assisted by his subordinates. The Parisian gentlemen are again here, including Favre, who has sent a telegram to Gambetta urgently requesting him to yield. It is to be feared he will not do so. At least the Prefect of Marseilles is showing his teeth and snarling at poor Favre with the patriotic declaration : " Je n'oheis plus le cajMtule de Bismarck. Je ne le connais plus." Proud and staunch — but danger is best at a distance. At tea I hear from Pucher that the Chief has been speaking very strongly about Garibaldi, that old dreamer, whom Favrc declares to be a hero. Subsequently Duparc had an interview with the Minister. Shortly after ten the Chief joined us at tea. He first spoke of the unpractical character of the P^renchmen who have been working with him during the past few days. Two Ministers, Favre and Magnin, the Minister of Finance who has aecom- i)anicd him this time, spent half an hour to-day worrying over one telegram. This led him to speak of the French in giMieral and of the entire Latin race, and to compare them with the Germanic peoples. "The Germans, the Germanic race," he 396 " INTFLLIGENT Al'.SOI.UTISM " [Jan. 3> said, "is, so to speak, the male principle throughout Europe — the fructifying principle. The Celtic and Slav peoples represent the female sex. That principle extends as far as the North Sea and then across to England." I ventured to add: "And also as far as America and the Western States of the Union, where some of our people form the best part of the population and influence the manners of the rest." "Yes," he replied, "those are their children, the fruit they bear." " But that was to be seen in France while the Franks had still the upper hand. The Revolution of 1789 was the overthrow of the Germanic element by the Celtic. And what have we seen since then .-• And this held good in Spain so long as the Gothic blood predominated. And also in Italy, where in the North the Germans also played a leading part. When that element had exhausted itself, there was nothing decent left. It was much the same thing in Rus- sia, where the Germanic Warager, the Ruriks, first bound them together. As soon as the natives there prevail over the Ger- man immigrants and the Germans of the Baltic Provinces, they fall asunder into mere communes." " It is true that the un- mixed Germans are not of much account cither. In the south and west where they were left to themselves, there were onlv Knights of the Empire, Imperial Towns, and Immediate Vil- lages of the Empire, each for itself, and all tumbling to pieces, The Germans are all right when they are forced to unite — excellent, irresistible, invincible — otherwise each one will act according to his own ideas." " Really, after all, an intelligent absolutism is the best form of government. Without a certain amount of it everything falls asunder. One wishes this thing and another that, there is eternal vacillation, eternal delays.' " But we have no longer any genuine absolutists — that is to say, no kings. They have disappeared. The variety has died out." " A Republic is perhaps after all the right form of gov- ernment, and it will doubtless come in the future ; but I dislike our Republicans. Formerly things were different, when princes still appeared in brocaded coats and covered with stars. They are declining everywhere, and that decline will be much greater in future. One sees that in the younger generation. It is the case with us also. No more rocJicr dc bronce. They no longer wrant to govern, and are glad when some one relieves them ot the trouble. All they care for is to be praised in the news- iS/'] AN ArOCRYI'IIAL STORY 397 papers, and to get as much money as possible for their personal requirements. The only one who still conducts his business oroperly is the old King of Saxony." " And when they sit at the table cTJiote in the Hotel dcs Reservoirs, here near the Palace of Louis XIV., and every one sees that they are ordi- nary human beings — and how ordinary ! — why, the halo is quite lost. And then one fine morning three Grand Dukes pay their respects to me, and find me in my dressing gown ! " I ventured to relate that as a little child I pictured to my- self the King of Saxony, who was the only monarch I knew of at that time, as resembling the king in the pack of cards — clad in ermine, and wearing a crown with orb and sceptre, stiff, gorgeous, and imperturbable : and that it was a fearful disap- pointment for me when my nurse once pointed out to me a ;;ontlcman in the passage between the palace and the Catholic church in Dresden, and told me that that little, crooked, frail, old man, whose uniform became him so badly, was King Anton. The Chief said : — " Our peasants also had very curious concep- tions, and the following story was current amongst them. It was to the effect that on one occasion, when a number of us voung people were gathered together in some public place, we said something against the King, who happened to be close to us, but was unknown to us. He suddenly stood up, opened his mantle and showed the star on his breast. The others were terrified, but it did not affect me, and I pitched him down the stairs. I received ten years' imprisonment for it and was not allowed to shave myself. As I wore a bcird at that time, a habit which I had acquired in France (1842) where it was then the fashion, it was said that the executioner came once every year on St. Sylvester's night to shave ic off. Those who told this story were rich peasants and otherwise not at all stupid, and they repeated it, not because they had anything against me but quite in a friendly way, and full of sympathy for a young man's rashness. The pitching down stairs was rather a coarse inven- tion, but I was pleased all the same that it was only to me they gave credit for not being intimidated by the star." I thereupon asked the Chief if there was any truth in the story of the beer glass he was said to have broken on some one's head in a Berlin restaurant because he had insulted the Oueen or refused to drink her health. " It was quite different," 398 THE IKUTIl ABOUT THE BEER (J LASS [I'liB, he replied, " and hud no political sij^nificancc whatever. As I was going home late one evening — it must have been in the ' year 1847 — I met some one who tried to pick a quarrel with me. As I pulled him up on account of his language, I discov- ered that he was an old acquaintance. We had not seen each other for a long time, and on his proposing to me, ' Come, let's go to ' (he mentioned a name), I went with him, although I really had had enough already. But after getting our beer he fell asleep. Now there were a lot of people sitting near us, one of whom had also taken more than he could carry, and who was attracting attention by his noisy behaviour. I quietly drank my beer, and this man got angry at my being so quiet and began to taunt me. I took no notice, and that made him only the more angry and his language grew more and more violent. J did not want to have any quarrel, nor did I like to go away, as people would have thought I was afraid. At last, however, he canie over to my table and threatened to throw the beer in my face. That was too much for me. I stood up and told him to go aw .y, and as he made a motion to throw the beer at me, I gave him a blow under the chin, so that he fell backwards, breaking the chair and the glass, and rolled across the room right on to the wall. The landlady then came and I told her she need not worry, as I would pay for the chair and the beer glass. I said to the others : ' You are witnesses, gentlemen, that I did not seek a quarrel, and that I endured it as long as possible. But I cannot be expected to allow a glass of beer to be poured on my head simply because I was quietly drinking my glass. If the gentleman has lost a tooth in consequence I shall be sorry. But I was obliged to defend myself. Besides, if anybody wishes to know more, here is my card.' It turned out that they were quite sensible people and took my view of the case. They were annoyed with their comrade and acknowledged that I was in the right. I afterwards met two of them at the Brandenburg Gate. I said ; ' I think, gentlemen, you were present when I had that affair in the beer house in the Jagerstrasse. What has happened to my adversary ? I should be sorry if he had been hurt.' 1 must explain to you that he had to be carried away on that occa- sion. ' Oh/ they replied ; 'he is all right, and his teeth are quite sound again. He is altogether subdued, and extremely sorry for what he did. He had just entered the army to serve BISMARCK'S DUELS 39'J [ivoar, as he is a doctor, and it would have been very unplcas- jttor him if people had heard of the affair, and especially if it iadcome to the knowledge of his superiors.' " The Chief then related that when he was attending the [diversity at Gottingen he fought twenty-eight students' duels ; three terms, and was always lucky enough to escape with a [liole skin. Once his opponent's blade flew off, probably scauso it was badly screwed in, and caught him in the face, [o.ere it remained sticking. Otherwise he had nf.ver received a iir, " I had one very narrow escape, though, at Greifswald. here they had introduced an extraordinary head-dress, a white [.:, sugar-loaf hat, and I took it into my head that I must snip |: the top of the sugar-loaf, and thus I exposed myself so that blade whizzed by close to my face. I bent back, however, irood time." Wednesday, February ist. — It was stated at lunch that l^imbetta had approved of the armistice, but expressed surprise :at wo still continued to attack the French in the south-east. |m', with his unbusiness-like habits, had omitted to telegraph J him that operations were not suspended there. This, by the |uv, was at his own request. There were no guests at lunch. The Minister, speaking |;}oiit Favre, said : " I believe he came here to-day merely in ^sequence of our conversation of yesterday, when I would not knowledge that Garibaldi was a hero. He was evidently Imioiis about him, because I would not include him in the ar- •istice. He pointed to the first article like a thorough lawyer. Ilsaid: 'Yes, that was the rule, but the exceptions followed, lad Garibaldi comes under them.' I quite understood that |i Frenchman should bear arms against us — he defended his rantry, and had a right to do so ; but I could not recognise ];:.o right of this foreign adventurer with his cosmopolitan J!(ei)"blic and his band of revolutionaries from every corner of tje earth. He asked me then what we should do with Gari- jiildi in case we took him prisoner. 'Oh,' I said, 'we will |e\hibit him for money, and hang a placard round his neck bear- iL-athe word " Ingratitude." ' " The Chief then asked : " But where is Scheidtmann ? " Some- iWy told him. " He will have, I think, to give me legal advice linthe matter " (viz., the war contribution of two hundred millions 9 400 A BET WITH AN AMERICAN [FKB. ; to be paid by Paris). " Is he not a lawyer ? " Buchcr said no he had not studied at all, was originally a tradesman, &c. Th( Chief: "Well, then, Bleichroder must first go into action. Hi must go into Paris immediately, smell and be smelt at by hii brethren in the faith, and discuss with the bankers how it is to b( done. Surely he is coming ? " Keudell : " Yes, in a few days,' The Chief: " Please telegraph him at once, that we want hin immediately — then it will be Scheidtmann's turn. I supposd he can speak French.'" No one could say. "I am disposed to select Henckel as the third string. He is well acquaintd with Paris, and knows the financiers. A member of the /latiti finance once said to me : ' On the Stock Exchange we alwnyi lay our money on lucky players,' and if we are to follow tba| rule Count Henckel is our man." A propos of German unity, the Minister told us that thin years ago, at Gottingen, he had made a bet with an American as to whether Germany would be united within twenty-five ycarsj "The winner was to provide twenty-five bottles of champagne and the loser was to cross the ocean to drink them. Thd American wagered against union, and I in favour. The intorl esting point is that, as far back as 1833, I must have had tha idea which has now, with God's help, been realised, although aj that time I was opposed to all those who professed to desir| such a change." Finally, the Chief declared his belief in the influence of thd moon on the growth of the hair and of plants. This subjccj came up through his jocularly congratulating Abekcn on thj style in which his locks had been trimmed. " You look twicj as young, Herr Geheimrath," he said. " If I were only youj wife! You have had it cut exactly at the right time, under < crescent moon. It is just the same as with trees. When the)| are intended to shoot again they are felled when the moon ij in the first quarter, but when they are to be rooted up then is done in the last quarter, as in that case the stump decayj sooner. There are people who will not believe it, learned nicnj but the State itself acts on this belief, although it will not openl] confess to it. No woodman will think of felling a birch trel which is intended to throw out shoots when the moon is waning.'! After dinner I read a number of documents relating to tlij armistice and the rcvictualling of Paris, including several lettcrl ^N [Vn. b'.i A SOVKREIGN IN READINESS FOR FRANCE 401 ' " Buchcr said m -adcsman, &c. Th^ go into action. \{i be smelt at by hij nkers how it is to bj Yes, in a few days,' e, that we want I's turn. I supposd y. "I am disposed ; is well acquaiiUc(J ncmber of the fianh exchange wc alwayi e are to follow tlia| r told us that thirtjj with an American ;i^ lin twenty-five ycarsj jttles of champagnel ) drink them. Th( H favour. The intorl must have had th( realised, although aj professed to desirJ the influence of th( ilants. This subjccj ting Abekcn on th "You look twicf f I were only yoiij right time, under trees. When thei d when the moon De rooted up then e the stump decay ievc it, learned menj gh it will not openl felling a birch tre( he moon is waning.'j lents relating to thi uding several letterj Favre's own hand, which is neat and legible. One of the letters states that Paris has only flour enough to last up to the of February, and after that nothing but horse-flesh. Moltke I; requested by the Chief not to treat Garibaldi on the same Ijoting as the French, and In any case to demand that he and lis followers shall lay down their arms — the Minister desires jris to be done on political grounds. Instructions have been Lntto Alsace that the elections for the Assembly at Boraeaux, lihich is to decide as to the continuance of the war, or peace, y eventually as to the conditions on which the latter is to be Ijiicluded, are not to be hindered, but rather ignored. The liections are to be conducted by the Maires and not by the Pre- |:ects in the districts we occupy, Thursday, February 2nd. — We were joined at dinner by JMo Russell, and a tall stout young gentleman in a dark-blue liiform, who, I was told, was Count Bray, a son of the Minis- »r, and formerly attached to the Bavarian Embassy in Berlin, llhe Chief said to Russell : " The English newspapers and also Ue German ones have censured my letter to Favre and con- per it too sharply worded. He himself, however, does not ■ppear to be of that opinion. He said of his own accord : ' You iere right in reminding me of my duty. I ought not to leave bre this is finished.' The Minister praised this self-abnega- Iton. He then repeated that our Parisians were unpractical xople and that we had constantly to counsel and assist them. lie added that they now wished apparently to ask for altera- lions in the Convention of the 28th of January. Outside Paris title disposition was shown to help in reprovisioning the city. the directors of the Rouen-Dieppe railway, for instance, upon pm they had relied for assistance, declared there was not rough rolling stock, as the locomotives had been taken to jieces and sent to England. Gambetta's attitude was still pibtful, and he seemed to contemplate a continuation of the pr. It was necessary that France should soon have a proper tovernment," " If one is not speedily established, I shall give lem a sovereign. Everything is already prepared. Amadeus frived in Madrid with a travelling bag in his hand as King of Ipain, and he seems to get on all right. My sovereign will »me immediately with a retinue. Ministers, cooks, chambcr- [lins, and an army." VOL. I. — 2D 402 HEROIC ATTITUDES tl'KH.I With regard to Napoleon's fortune, very different opinion! were expressed. Some said it was large, others that it \va» inconsiderable. Russell doubted if he had much. He thou'^ht the Empress at least could not have much, as she had only d^ posited ;^6,ooo in the Bank of England. The Chancellor the| related that on the way to Saint Cloud to-day he met niant people removing their furniture and bclding. Probably thef were inhabitants of neighbouring villages, who had nevorthelcsi been unable to leave Paris. " The women looked quite friundlv ? he said, " but on catching sight of the uniforms the men bc"-a8 to scowl and struck heroic attitudes. That reminds mc that \% the old Neapolitan army they had a word of command, whc4 we say, ' Prepare to charge, right ! ' the command was ' Faccii feroce!* (Look ferocious!). A fine presence, a pompous stvle of speech, and a theatrical attitude are everything with thj French. So long as it sounds right and looks well the sub. stance is a matter of indifference. It reminds me of a citizoa of Potsdam who once told me he had been deeply impressed b# a speech of Radowitz's. I asked him to show me the passa;^e that had particularly stirred his feelings. He could not mention one. I then took the speech itself and read it through to liinj ; in order to discover its beauties, but it turned out that there wai^ nothing in it either pathetic or sublime. As a matter of fact, it ; was merely the air and attitude of Radowitz, who looked as if he were speaking of something most profound and significantl and thrillingly impressive, — the thoughtful mien, the contci* j plative eye, and the sonorous and weighty voice. It was nuicS the same with Waldeck, although he was not nearly such clever man, nor so distinguished-looking. In his case it \\i more the white beard and the staunch convictions. The gift i eloquence has greatly spoilt Parliamentary life. A great de^ of time is consumed as every one who thinks he has anythin in him wants to speak, even when he has nothing new to saj There are far too many speeches that simply float in the aj and pass out through the windows, and too few that go straight! the point. The parties have already settled everything beforj hand, and the set speeches are merely intended for the publij to show what members can do, and more especially for th newspapers that are expected to praise them. It will come this in the end, that eloquence will be regarded as dangerous THE FEDERAL COUNCIL 403 L public welfare, and that people will be punished for making |j](r speeches. We have one body," he continued, "that is not pthe least eloquent, and has nevertheless done more for the ;^nnan cause than any other, that is the Federal Council. I Ljieniber, indeed, that at first some attempts were made in ^jt direction. I cut them short, however, though as a matter ;lact I had no right to do so, albeit I was President. I ad- ksscd them much as follows : * Gentlemen, eloquence and Leches intended to affect people's convictions are of no use Vk, as every one brings his own convictions with him in his kket — that is to say, his instructions. It is merely waste of [j.e, I think we had better restrict ourselves to statements of And so we did. No one made a big speech after that, |:;siness was speedily transacted, and the Federal Council has kly done a great deal of good." Friday, February yd. — In addition to a violently warlike •:3clamation, Gambetta has issued a decree declaring a number :; persons ineligible for the new Representative Assembly. i'jsticc demands that all those who have been accessory to |:,e acts of the Government which began with ihc outrage of :e 2iid of December, and ended with the capitulation of Sedan, jaiild now be reduced to the same political impotence as the Tity whose accomplices and tools they were. That is a licessary consequence of the responsibility which they assumed Lcarrying out the Emperor's measures. These include all pcr- |;:p5 who have occupied the positions of Minister, Senator, luncillor of State, or Prefect from the 2nd of December, 185 1, ; tie 4th of September, 1870. Furthermore, all persons who, |:the elections to the legislative bodies during the period from p2nd of December, 185 1, to the 4th of September, 1870, live been put forward in any way as Government candidates, lijwell as the members of those families that have reigned in JFrance since 1789, are ineligible for election." The Chief instructs me to telegraoh to London and Cologne liith respect to this decree, that the Government at Bordeaux lias declared whole classes of the population — Ministers, Sena- ps, Councillors of State, and all who have formerly been ofifi- jiial candidates — as ineligible for election. The apprehension jespressed by Count Bismarck during the negotiations for the IConvention of the 28th of January, that freedom of suffrage 404 GERMANY PROTESTS [FKB.i could not be secured, has thus been confirmed. In cons qucnce of that apprehension the Chancellor of the Confo eration at that time proposed the convocation of the Curj Legislatif, but Favre would not agree to it. The Chancclli has now protested in a Note against the exclusion of thei classes. Only an Assembly that has been freely elected, provided by the Convention, will be recognised by Germany representing France. Count Herbert Uismarck arrived this evening from Gcrmani Saturday, February ^tli. — The Chief has protested a<,^aini| Gambetta's decree in a telegram to Gambetta himself and miil note to Favre. The telegram runs : " In the name of the fra dom guaranteed by the Armistice Convention, I protest again the decree issued in your name which robs numerous class of French citizens of the right to be elected to the Assembli The rights guaranteed by that Convention to the freely elect! representatives of the country cannot be acquired through elg tions conducted under an oppressive and arbitrary rule." Tlj despatch to Favre, after giving an epitome of Gambetta's cree, goes on to say : " I have the honour to ask your Excl lency if you consider this to be in harmony with the stipulatia of the Convention that the Assembly is to be freely electe Allow me to recall to your Excellency's memory the negoti| tions which preceded the arrangement of the 28th of Januan Already at that time I expressed the apprehension that in pra ence of the conditions then prevailing it would be difficult secure the entire freedom of the elections, and to prevent tempts being made to restrict it. In consequence of that appr hension, the justice of which M. Gambetta's circular of to-da| seems to confirm, I raised the question whether it would notl better to convoke the Corps Legislatif, which would constitu| a legal authority returned by universal suffrage. Your Excq lency declined to adopt that suggestion and expressly promisd that no pressure should be exercised upon the electors, an that perfect freedom of voting should be secured. I appeal 1 your Excellency's sense of rectitude in requesting you to sa whether the exclusion of whole categories laid down as a matt^ of principle in the decree in question is in harmony with tl freedom of election guaranteed in the Convention of the 28^ of January. I believe I may confidently express the hope thJ Tin: KNiiLIbll TAPERS 405 ening from German las protested ajra decree in question, the application of which would appear be an infraction of the stipulations of that Convention, will mmcdiatcly withdrawn and that the Government of National ;ii;nce will take the necessary measures to ensure the free- :nof election guaranteed by Article II. We could not grant persons elected in pursuance of the Bordeaux decree the rights cared by the Armistice to the members of the Assembly." After 10 o'clock I was called to the Chief, who said: "They niplain in Berlin that the English papers are much better iormed than ours, and that we have communicated so little to [journals respecting the negotiations for the armistice. How sthat come about.''" I replied: "The fact is, E.xcellency, it the English have more money and go everywhere to get iormation. Besides, they stand well with certain august irsonages who know everything, and finally the military au- irities are not always very reseived with regard to matters at ought, for the time being, to be kept secret. I, of course, only make public what it is proper that the public should ,o\v." " Well, then," he said, "just write and explain how it hat the extraordinary state of affairs here is to blame, and ::we." I then took the opportunity of congratulating him on the eedom of the city of Leipzig, which has been conferred upon 31 within the la t few days, and I added that it was a good ;:v, the best in Saxony, and one for which I had always had reat regard. " Yes," he replied. " Now I am a Saxon, too, d a Hamburger, for they have also presented me with the eedom of Hamburg. One would hardly have expected that mthem in 1866." As I was leaving he said : " That reminds me — it is also :3eof the wonders of our time — please write an article show- up the extraordinary action of Gambetta, who, after posing [>)long as the champion of liberty and denouncing the Govern- ent for influencing the elections, is now laying violent hands the freedom of suffrage. He wants to disqualify all those to differ from him, i.e.y the whole official world of France ith the exception of thirteen Republicans. It is certainly very id that I should have to defend such a principle against Gam- :t*a and his associate and ally Garibaldi." I said : " I do not ow whether it was intended, but in your despatch to Gnm- 406 lUSMARCK AS A flfAMriON OF I.IUKKTY [h\i bctta the contrast is very striking where you protest, nn noun la Itherh' dcs elections against Ics dispositions in votrc now f',\ priver dcs C(iti\iioHfs nombvenses du droit d'etre lUiics" " Yej he rejilied, "anil you might also mention that Thiers, after negotiations with me, described mc as an amiable barbariim. //;/ barhare aimablc. Now they call me in Paris a cralty hj barian — un barbetrc cistutienx, and perhaps to-morrow I sluil un barbarc constitutionnel^ The Chief had more time and interest for the newspapa this morning than during the past few days. I was culled ' him six times before midday. On one occasion he handed a lying French pamphlet, "Za guerre commc la font Ics Pr^ siens" and observed : " Please write to Ikrlin that they shou put together something of this description from our point d view, quoting all the cruelties, barbarities, and breaches of tS Geneva Convention committed by the French. Not too nnic however, or no one will read it, and it must be done spccdilyi'l Later on the Minister handed me a small journal published a certain Armand le Chevalier at 6i Rue Richelieu, withi woodcut of the Chancellor of the Confederation as frontispicc The Chief said: "Look at this. Here is a man who refers I the attempt by Blind, and recommends that I should be mi dered, and at the same time gives my portrait — like the \m tographs carried by the franctireurs. You know that in til forests of the Ardennes the portraits of our rangers were foim in the pockets of the franctireurs who were to shoot thin Luckily it cannot be said that this is a particularly good li ness of me — and the biography is no better." Then reading over a passage and handmg me the paper, he said : " This pon tiori should be made use of in the press, and afterwards introduced in the pamphlet." Finally he gave me some more French newspapers, saying " Look through these and see if there is anything in them f| mc or for the King. I must manage to get away or I shall caught by our Paris friends again." Prince Putbus and Count Lehndorff joined us at dinne The Chief related how he had called Favre's attention to til singular circumstance that he, Count von Bismarck, who ha been denounced as a tyrant and a despot, had to protest the name of liberty against Gambetta's proclamation. Favi AN EXPIATION 407 Led, with a **Oni, c'csf hicti drdle.'' The restriction on the [join of election decreed by Gaiiibetlu has, however, now ,■11 withdrawn l)y the Paris section of the French Govern- |;nt. " He announced that to me this morning in writing, [j ho had previously given mc a verbal assurance." It was then mentioned that several German newspapers In; dissatisfied with the capitulation, as they expected our lops to march into Paris at once. " That conies," said the [;ief, " of a complete misapprehension of the situation here Paris. I could have managed Favre, but the population 1 [ey have strong barricades and 300,000 men of whom cer- bly 100,000 would have fought. Blood enough has been \ii in this war — enough German blood. Had wc a))pealed •orce much more would have been spilt — in the excited [jdition of the people. And merely to inflict one additional Lniiliation upon them — that would have been too dearly light." After reflecting for a moment, he continued : " And liotold them that we shall not still enter Paris and occupy a jrtion of it ? Or at least march through, when they have ilcd down and come to reason. The armistice will probably [. prolonged, and then, in return for our readiness to make lacessions, we can demand the occupation of the city on the f.ht bank of the river. I think we shall be there in about we weeks." "The 24th" — he reflected for a moment — ves, it was on the 24th that the Constitution of the North Icniian Confederation was made public. It was also on the jxhof February, 185'^, that we had to submit to certain par- Iciilarly mean treatment. I told them that it would have to I; expiated. Exoriarc aliquis. I am only sorry that the VViir- lemberg Minister to the Bundestag, old Reinhart, has not lived losee it. Prokcsch has though, and I am glad of that, because p was the worst. According to a despatch from Constanti- rople, which I read this morning, Prokesch is now quite in ligrcement with us, praises the energies and intelligence of IPrussia's policy, and (here the Minister smiled scornfully) has jiiways, or at least for a long time past, recommended coopera- mwith us." The Chief had been to Mont Val6rien to-day. "I was liievcr there before," he said, " and when one sees the strong horks and the numerous contrivances for defence — we should 408 BISMARCK AT SAINT CLOUD [I'tH. have terrible losses in storming it. One dares not even thin of it." The Minister said one of the objects of Favre's visit to-da was ':;o request that the masses of country people who had fl, to Paris in September should be allowed to leave. They we mostly inhabitants of the environs and there must be nearl 300,(X)0 of them. "I declined permission," he continued, "ex plaining to him that our soldiers now occupied their houses, the owners came out and saw how their property had bee wrecked and ruined they would be furious, and no blame tft them, and they would upbraid our people and then there mi<(h be dangerous brawls and perhaps something still worse." The Chancellor had also been to Saint Cloud, and whilst he was loofe ing at the burnt palace and recalling to mind the condition the room in which he had dined with Napoleon, there was well-dressed Frenchman there — probably from Paris — whl was being shown round by a man in a blouse. " I could caich every word they said, as they spoke aloud, and I have si ears. ' C'est I'ceuvre de Bismarck,' said the man in the blouse^ but Vne other merely replied ' C'est la guerre.' If they had onl/ known thctt I was listening to them ! " Count Bismarck-Bohlen mentioned that the Landwciir> somewhere in this neighbourhood, gave a refractory Frenchf' man, who tried to stab an officer with a penknife, sevcnty-fivfr blows with the flat of the sword. " Seventy-five ! " said the Chief. " H'm, that, after all, is somewhat too much." Some- body related a similar instance thai had occurred in the neii;!!. bourhood of Meaux. As Count Herbert was pass' >?; reccnily, a miller, who had abused Count Bismarck and said he wishei he had him between two millstones, was laid flat by the soldieri and so fearfully beaten that he was not able to stir for a couple! of hours. The election addresses posted on the walls by the candi* dates for the National Assembly were then discussed, and it was observed that, in general, they were still very aggressive, and promised to achieve wonders at Bordeaux. " Yes," said the Chief, " I quite believe that. Favre also tried once ot twice to ride the high horse. But it did not last long. I alwaysi brought him down with a jesting remark." Some one referred to the speech made by Klaczko on the )UD [l-t«.i HOW BISMARCK CHEERED HIMSELF 409 : dares not even thi >f Favre's visit to-da people who had fle to leave. They wei ;here must be nearll \," he continued, "ej pied their houses, r property had bee] •us, and no blame and then there mH ng still worse." Tli id whilst he was looll lind the condition fapoleon, there was y from Paris — whj use. " I could catcj id, and I have sharj le man in the blousJ re.' If they had onlj :hat the Landwchil refractory Frenc'i lenknife, sevcnty-fiv( enty-five ! " said th^ too much." Some urred in the nei'r!i as passing recently and said he wishe( i flat by the soldierl to stir for a coupld walls by the candil n discussed, and il till very aggressivc| leaux. " Yes," said also tried once oi last long. I always by Klaczko on thd |;i;h of January in the Delegation of the Reichsrath against Ijstria's cooperation with Prussia, and to Giskra's revelation ■the morning edition of the National Zeitttng of the 2nd of ebruary. Giskra said that Bismarck wished to send him from [riinn to Vienna with proposals for peace. These were, in ijcct : Apart from the maintenance in Venetia of the stattis \) before the war, the Main line was to be recognised as the :,iit of Prussian ascendancy, there was to be no war indemnity, ;:t French mediation was to be excluded. Giskra sent liaron lerring to Vienna with these proposals. The latter was, how- ler, coolly received by Moritz Esterhazy, and after waiting for ateen hours obtained only an evasive answer. On proceeding liNikolsbLirg, Herring found Benedetti already there, and was lid: "You come too late." As Giskra points out, the French Irediation accordingly cost Austria a war indemnity of thirty lallions. It was observed that Prussia could have extorted l-iire from Austria at that time, and also a cession of territory, r instance, Austrian Silesia, and perhaps Bohemia. The l.hief replied: "Possibly; as for money, what more could the |;ior devils give "i Bohemia would have been something and there j.ere people who entertained the thought. But we should have ,:eatcd difficulties for ourselves in that way, and Austrian Silesia las not of much value to us ; for just there the devotion to the (hipcrial house and the Austrian connection was greater than Itsewhcre. In such cases one must ask for what one really jiants, and not what one might be able to get." In this connection he rela*;ed that on one occasion, as he |ias walking about in mufti at Nikolsburg, he met two police- -en who wished to arrest a man. " I asked what he had done, |jjt of course as a civilian I got no answer. I then inquired of he man himself, who told me that it was because he had spoken disrespectfully of Count IMsmarck. They nearly took me along lith him because I said that doubtless many others had done luiesame." "That reminds me that I was once obliged to join in a cheer |!or myself. It was in 1866, in the evening, iiftcr the entry of |:he troops. I was unwell just then, and my wife did not wish ralet me go out. I went, however — on the sly — and as I was about to cross the street again near the palace of Prince Charles, 'here was a great crowd of people collected there, who desiiod 4IO A LLillER FROM FAVRE [I'LII. to give me an ovation. I was in plain clothes, and with ia»| broad-brimmed hat pulled down over my eyes, I perhaps loijked] like a siisi)icious character — I don't know why. As sonic ofl them seemed inclined to be unpleasant, I thought the bcs thing to do was to join in their hurrah." From 8 p.m. on read drafts and despatches, including Favre'ii answer to the Chief in the matter of Gambetta's electionccringl manoeuvre. It runs as follows : — " You are right in appealing to my sense of rectitude,! You shall never find it fail me in my dealings with you. It if] perfectly true that your Excellency strongly urged upon niel as the sole way out of the difficulty to convoke the fornierl legislative bodies. I declined to adopt that course for variouil reasons which it is needless to recall, but which you will doubt, less not have forgotten. In reply to your Excellency's objeo tions, I said I was convinced that my country only desired thj free exercise of the suffrage, and that its sole resource lay ial the popular sovereignty. That will make it clear to you that if cannot agree to the restrictions that have been imposed upon] the franchise. I have not opposed the system of official candid daturcs in order to revive it now for the benefit of the present Government. Your Excellency may therefore rest assured th:it if the decree mentioned in your letter to me has been issued byl the Delegation at Bordeaux, it will be withdrawn by the Gov* ernment of National Defence. For this purpose I only require! to obtain official evidence of the existence of the decree m question. This will be done by means of a telegram to bei despatched to-day. There are, therefore, no differences oil opinion between us, and we must both continue to co<)poratc m resolutely carrying into execution the Convention which \ve| have signed." Called to the Chief at 9 p.m. He wants to have an articlel written pointing out that the entry of our troops into Paris is atj present impracticable, but may be possible later on. This is in| answer in the National Zcitung\.o an article criticising the termsj of armistice. With regard to an article in the Cologne Volksccitnng showJ ing that the Ultramontanes have offered a subsidy to the leadcrsl of the General Association of German Workers on conditiouj that they promote the clectiow of clerical candidates, the! AN ARTICLE FOR THE MONITEUR 411 ilinister says : " Look here. Please see that the newspapers Iseak of a ' Savigny-licbel ' whenever an opportunity occurs, hdthat must be repeated." And just as I am going out of the lioni he calls after me : " Or the ' Liebknecht-Savigny party.' " \'c take note of that, and shall speak from time to time of this |:.ew party. Saturday, February $t/i. — We are joined at dinner by Favre, iHcrisson, and the Director of the Western Railway, a man jvitha broad, comfortable, smiling face, apparently about thirty- jiix years of age. Favre, who sits next to the Chief, looks Inxious, worried, and depressed. His head hangs on one side, lad sometimes for a change sinks on to his brea.st, his under- jp following suit. When he is not eating, he lays his two hands (in the tablecloth, one on the top of the other, in submission bthc decrees of tate, (j. le crosses his arms in the style of j\'apoleon the First, a sign that, on closer consideration, he still liels confident in himself. During dinner the Chief speaks nly French, and mostly in a low voice, and I am too tired to liollow the conversation. The Chief instructs me to send the following short paragraph llo one of our newspapers : The Kolnischc Zcitiing nas made (itself the organ, it is true with some reservations, of those who (complain of the alleged destruction of French forests by our officials. One would think it could have found some other (occupation than to scrutinise our administration of the public forests of France. We act in accordance with the principles of torestry, even if we do not follow the French system. More- over, we should be within our rights if we exploited these re- sources of the enemy in the most ruthless manner, as that I would render the French more dis, sed to conclude peace. He also warmly praised the active part taken by the Duke lot Meiningen in the conduct of the war. He concluded : " I wish that to be mentioned in the press. The background is ready to I hand in the princely loafing and palace looting of the rest of them." Monday, February 6th. — The Chief desires to have an article against Gambetta published in the Moniteiir. I write the fol- lowing : — "The Convention of the 28th o^ January, concluded between Count von Bismarck and M. Jii'-r* Favre, has revived the hopes i i 412 GERMANY'S INTENTIONS [ti-i: G of all sincere friends of peace. Since the events of the 4th of September the military honour of Germany has received sufficient satisfaction, so that it may now yield to the desire to enter into negotiations with a Government which truly represents the French nation for a peace that will guarantee the fruits of victory and secure our future. When the Governments reprc- sented at Versailles and Paris finally succeeded in coming to an understanding, of which the conditions were prescribed by the force of circumstances, and France was restored to herself, they were justified in expecting that these preliminaries of a new era in the relations of the two countries would be generally re- spected. The decree issued by M. Gambetta disqualifying all former functionaries and dignitaries, senators, and official can. didates from election to the National Assembly was perhaps necessary to show Fi. nee the abyss towards which it has been gravitating since the dictatorship, sacrificing the best blood of the country, refused to convoke the representatives of the nation in the regular way. " The second article of the Convention of the 28th of Janu- ary shows clearly and plainly that the freedom of the elections is one of the conditions of the Convention itself. In entering into such an arrangement for the elections, Germany only took into consideration the existing French laws, and not the good will and pleasure of this or that popular Tribune. It would be just as easy to call together a Rump Parliament in Bordeaux, and make it a tool for the subjection of the other half of France. We are convinced that all honourable and sincere FroiKh patriots will protest against the action of the Delegation at Bordeaux, which is entirely arbitrary and opposed to all soun! reason. If there were any prospect that this action would ]\: allowed to unite all the anarchical parties who tolerate the die; l torship in so far as it represents their favourite ideas, the nii-^t serious complications would inevitably ensue. "Germany does not intend to interfere in any way in the domestic affairs of France. She has, however, through the agreement of the 28th of January, secured the right to see that a public authority is established which will possess the attributes necessary to enable it to negotiate peace in the name of France. If Germany is denied the right to negotiate for peace with the whole nation, if an attempt is made to substitute the representa- LORD AUGUSTUS LOFfUS 413 events of the 4tli many has received eld to the desire to ich truly represents ■antee the fruits of lovernments repreJ led in coming to an I prescribed by the ired to herself, they naries of a new eras Id be generally reJ ta disqualifying all rs, and official canJ mbly was perhaps! which it has been} the best blood off esentatives of the! any way in the /er, through the right to see that ess the attributes name of France. >r peace with the c the representa- Ives of a faction for the representatives of the nation, the armis- r;o convention would thereby become null and void. We read- |v acknowledge that the Government of National Defence has Inniediately recognised the justice of the complaints made by lount von Bismarck in his despatch of the 3rd of February. jihat Government has addressed itself to the French nation in |:ngaage marked by nobility and elevation of feeling, setting :)rth the difficulties of the situation and the efforts made to [elievc the country from the last consequences of an unfortu- nate campaign. At the same time, it has cancelled the decree the Delegation at Bordeaux. Let us hope, therefore, that Reaction of M. Gambetta will receive no support in the coun- y, and that it will be possible to conduct the elections in brfect harmony with the spirit and letter of the Convention of |:e 28th of January." I am called to the Minister again at 11 o'clock, and in- l;ructed to defend Favre against the rabid attacks or some Irrench newspapers. The Chief says : " They actually take |:im to task for having dined with me. I had much trouble in letting him to do so. But it is unfair to expect that, after liarking with me for eight or ten hours, he should either starve lis a staunch Republican, or go out to a hotel where the people liould run after him and stare at him." The Frenchmen are again here between 2 and 4 p.m. They |;:e six or seven in number, including F'avre and, if I rightly j:eard the name, General Leflo. The Chief's eldest son and [lount Donhoff join us at dinner. Subsequently I despatch a dthncnti of a Berlin telegram jj.blished by the Timcs^ according to which we propose to liemand the surrender of twenty ironclads and the colony of Pondicherry, together with a war indemnity of ten milliards |jt francs. This I describe as a gross invention which cannot possibly have been credited in England, or have created any linxiety there. I then hint at the probable source, namely, the Idumsy imagination of an unfriendly and intriguing diplomatist. 'That comes from Loftus," says the Chief, as he gives me these instructions. " An ill-mannered fellow who was always I seeking to make mischief with us." Tuesday, February 7th. — From Bucarest despatches it I seems as if the reign of Prince Charles were really coming to a 414 BISMARCK'S OPINION Ol'' COLONICS LIM'H. ,,, |N,,I speedy end. With the retention of Dalvvigk at Darmstadt, the! old confederacy of opponents of German unity remains finnlyl entrenched, and the well-known intrigues continue unhindered.! A telegram from Bordeaux brings the expected news. Gam. betta yesterday announced in a circular to the Prefects that his I Parisian colleagues havii;g annulled his decree with regard to the elections, he has informed them of his resignation. A "mi sign. He can hardly have a strong party behind him or he would scarcely have resigned. Wednesday, February S//i. — The Chief is up at an unusually early hour, and drives off at 9.45 to see the King. Favre arrives shortly before i o'clock, accompanied by a swarm of P'renchmen. There must be ten or twelve of them. He con. fers with the Minister after first lunching with us. In the evening the Chief and his son dined with the Grown Prince, but first remained for a while with us. He a^ain observed with satisfaction that Favre had not taken offence at his " spiteful letter," but, on the contrary, had thanked him tor it. The Chief had repeated to him verbally that it was his duty 5 to share the dish which he had helped to cook. To-day they had discussed the way of raising the Paris war contribution; the French wanted to pay the greater part of it in bank notes, and we might lose in that way. " I do not know the value of what they offer," he said ; "but in any case it is to their advan- tage. They must, however, pay the whole amount agreed upon. I will not remit a single franc." Thursday, February C)th. — Speaking again of the Paris cin- tribution, the Chancellor observed at dinner : " Stosch tells me, he can dispose of fifty million francs in bank notes to pay tor] provisions, &c., in France. We must have proper securitv,; however, for the remaining hundred and fifty millions." Thcnj alluding to the foolish story about our wanting Pondicherry, he] continued : " I do not want any colonies at all. Their only use is to provide sinecures. That is all England at present scts| out of her colonies, and Spain too. And as for us GerniansJ colonies would be exactly like the silks and sables of the Polish nobleman who had no shirt to wear under them." iN'ii:s ['•'"• 9, i,S7J ;k at Darmstadt, thel unity remains firniljri :ontinue unhindcre^j pected news. Gain,! the Prefects that hid :cree with regard taj •esignation. A good' y behind him or hi is up at an unusuallyl ^ the King. Favrd nied by a swarm oj ^ of them. He cor 'ith us. ined with the Crowi A'ith us. He aj not taken offence a| lad thanked him Ui r that it was his dutv cook. To-day tht) is war contribution i of it in bank notes t know the value o| it is to their advanj mount agreed upon] in of the Paris conl ■ : " Stosch tolls md ik notes to pay foi ^e proper securityJ y millions." Then ng Pondicherry, ha 11. Their only usq nd at present gets s for us Germansi ables of the Polish fcm." CHAPTER XIX [soM gambetta's resignation to the conclusion of the PRELIMINARIES OF PEACE Friday, February lot/i. — Fresh complaints respecting the ;trigues of Dalwigk, and especially the measures for depriving te national constituencies in Hesse of their representatives and Icuring the victory of the Ultramontane and Democratic coali- pon. The Chief desires me to see that an "immediate and tiergct* : campaign in the press " is organised against these and ];hcr mischievous proceedings inspired by Beust's friends. He ;so wishes the Monitcur to reprint the long list of French Hiiers who have broken their parole and escaped from Ger- jriiiy. We were joined at dinner by the Duke of Ratibor and a pcrrvon Kotze, the husband of the Chief's niece. Stroussberg, libusiness friend of the Duke's, was mentioned, and the Chief Dserved that nearly all, or at least very many of the members : the Provisional Government were Jews : Simon, Cremieux, tlagnin, also Picard, whose Semitic origin he would hardly lave suspected, and "very probably Gambetta also, from his :;atures." " For the same reason, I suspect even Favre," he lidded. Saturday, February nth. — In the morning I read the news- hapers, and particularly certain debates in the English Parlia- ment at the end of last month. It really looks as if our good Mends across the Channel had a suspicious leaning towards France, and as if they were not at all disinclined to interfere nee more — indeed, in certain circumstances, an Anglo-French |alliance would appear quite possible. It is a question, however, ■vhether they might not fall between two stools. A very differ- leiit result might well ensue. From what one hears and reads [inthe newspapers, the feeling in this country is almost as hos- ilotothe English as to ourselves, and in certain circles more so. 415 4i6 ENGLAND AND FRANCK [Kkii. It may well happen that if England adopts a threatening; attl tude towards us, we may surprise our cousins in London witl the very reverse of a Franco-English alliance against Cicrmanvl We may even be obliged to seriously consider the forcible resl toration of Napoleon, which we have not hitherto contemplatcdj According to a telegram of the 2nd inst., Bernstorff is to see that these ideas are cautiously ventilated in the press. Count Henckel and Bleichroder dined with us. It seems that in the negotiations with the French financiers, Scheidt.J mann described them to their faces in language more vigorous than flattering, talking of them as pigs, dogs, rabble, &:c., ignorance of the fact that some of them understood Gernwn| The Chief then spoke of the insolence of the Parisian prcssj which behaved as if the city were not in our power : " If thai goes on we must tell them that we will no longer stand it. II must cease, or we shall answer their articles by a few shell! from the forts." Henckel having alluded to the unsatisfactory state of public opinion in Alsace, the Chief said that, propcrlj speaking, no elections ought to have been allowed there at ali and he had not intended to allow them. But inadvertently th< same instructions were sent to the Gern.an officials there as else where. The melancholy situation of the Prince of Rumani| was then referred to, and from the Rumanian Radicals thi conversation turned to Rumanian stocks. Bleichroder saij that financiers always speculated or the ignorance of thi masses, and upon their blind cupidity. This was confirmel by Henckel, who said : " I had a quantity of Rumanian secii rities, but after I had made about 8 per cent. I got rid of then as I knew they could not yield 15 per cent., and that alone couH have saved them." The Chief then related that the French wen committing all sorts of frauds in the rcvictualling of Paris was not out of pride that they refused our contributions, bii merely because they could make no profit out of them. Eve members of the Government were involved, and Magnin w^ understood to have recently made 700,000 francs on the pu chase of sheep. " We must let them see that we know thati said the Chief, glancing at me ; " it will be useful in the pea(j negotiations." This was done without delay. After dinner I wrote some paragraphs on the instnictioij of the Chief. The first was to the effect that we ouj-jht Vn. THE BORDEAUX A.SSEM15LY 417 a threatcninp; atii, ins in London wit! :e against GormanyJ :lcr the forcible rcsj herto contemplatcdJ Bernstorff is to set the press, with us. It seems financiers, Scheidtj ;uage more vigorouj logs, rabble, &c., ii understood Gcvman| the Parisian press lur power: "If th; longer stand it. I| cles by a few shell to the unsatisfactoi [ said that, properlj allowed there at all 3ut inadvertently th fficials there as else Prince of Rumani anian Radicals thi Bleichrodcr sail ignorance of thj his was confirmel of Rumanian sect I got rid of ther ,nd that alone coul Ihat the French wci ailing of Paris contributions, h\ ut of them. Eve and Magnin ws francs on the pi at we know that .iseful in the pea< )n the instructioi Ithat we ou,;ht jnjor to tolerate the insolence of the Parisian journalists. ;i\vcver generous and patient we might be, it was past endur- cc that the French press should venture to deride and insult Ihis face the victor who stood before the walls of the capital Ijch he had absolutely in his power. Moreover, such men- Lity and violence would prove an obstacle to the conclusion peace, by producing bitterness on both sides and delaying [.advent of a calmer spirit. This could not be foreseen when L armistice Convention was concluded, and in discussing any hlongation of the truce, effective means would have to be |;ncl foi" preventing further provocation of the kind. Un- iibtcdly the best way would be the occupation of the city Iclf by our troops. We should thus relieve the French Gov- Vjiient of a source of grave anxiety, and avert the evil conse- Icncos of inflammatory articles in the press, which they are laps not in the position to repress. Sunday, February i2t/i. — It is announced in a telegram from pscl that Napoleon has issued a proclamation to the French. r Minister handed it to me, saying: " Please have this pub- led in our local paper. It is in order to lead them astray, so |;;thcy may not know where they stand. But for God's sake ;t date it from Wilhelmshohe, or they will think that we are l.onimunication with him. 'Zr bureau Wolff UHegraplticy : Chief seems to be unwell. He does not come to dinner. Wednesday, February i^th. — I again draw ; Ltention in the \Mcur to the disgraceful tone of the Parisian press. I inti- Le that this agitation is delaying the conclusion of peace, and pthe most certain way of putting an end to it would be the |,ipation of Paris. Vcdnesday, February 22nd. — During the last week I have hten a number of articles and paragraphs, and despatched tat a dozen telegrams. The Assembly at Bordeaux shows a proper appreciation of J: position. It has declined to support Gambetta, and has tctcd Thiers as chief of the Executive and spokesman on of France in the negotiations for peace which began b yesterday. At dinner yesterday, at which we were joined [Henckcl, the Chief remarked, with reference to these ncgo- tions, " If they were to give us another milliard we might paps leave them Metz, and build a fortress a few miles VOL. I. — 2K 41^ ItlSMAKt K lAl.KS GERMAN Willi TIIIKKS [It further back, ''n the neighbourhood of Falkenbi-r}; or towa Suarbriieken - there must be some suitable position there. do not want so many Frenchmen in our house. It is the su with IJelfort, which is entirely French. Hut the soldiers not hear of giving up Metz, and perhaps they are right. Generals von Kameke and von Treskow dined wiih to-day. The Chief spoke about his second meeting with Thii to-day : " On my making that demand " (what the demand w escaped me), " he jumped up, although he is otherwise qu capable of controlling himself, and said ' Mais c'est uiic dignite!' 1 did not allow that to put me out, however, began to speak to him in German. lie listened for a while, a; evidently did not know what to make o*" it. lie then said querulous voice, ' Mais, Monsieur le Comtc, vous savez bicii qi jc ne sais point Tallemand.' I replied, speaking in Frcin again, ' When you spoke just now of indignite I found that did not know enough French, and so preferred to use (jcrmai in which I understand what I say and hear.' He immediatel caught my meaning, and wrote down as a concession* th demand which he had previously resented as an indigniti^r The Chief continued ' Yesterday he spoke of 1 iuiops which would intervene if we did not moderate our demands But I replied, ' If you speak to me of Europe I shall speak t( you of Napoleon.' He would not believe that they had any thing to fear from him. I proved the contrary to him, however He should remember the plebiscite and the peasantry, togethei with the ofificers and soldiers. It was only under the Emperoi that the Guards could again have the position which the] formerly occupied; and with a little cleverness it could not bi difficult for Napoleon to win over 100,000 soldiers among thi prisoners in Germany. We should then only have to arm then and let them cross the frontier, and France would be his onci more. If they would concede good conditions of peace «i might even put up with one of the Orleans, though we knc; that that would mean another war within two or three years If not, we should have to interfere, which we had avoided doini up to the present, and they would have to take Napoleon bad again. That, after all, must have produced a certain cffec upon him, as, to-day, just as he was going to talk about l^uropi again, he suddenly broke off and said, 'E.xcuse me.' For thi II rniKKs Li'i^ ^;'J THE WAR INDEMNHY 419 "alkcnherf^ or towurcj ible position thore. house. It is the sanij Hut the soldiers ,v;u they are ri^ht. eskow dined with J id meeting with ThicrJ \vhat the demand waj he is otherwise qiii;i X ' Mais c'est une me out, however, ba istened for a while, ar.i] it. lie then said in: te, vous savez bion quJ , speaking in Frencf digniti! I found that f erred to use (icinian lear.' He immediate!] as a concession* \:\ d as an indigniti'." he spoke of lairo; oderate our denianasl urope I shall speak tJ t'e that they had ami itrary to him, howcvorj e peasantry, togethi y under the Emper: position which t'aejj erness it could not bj )0 soldiers among thi )nly have to arm thcr ice would be his ond ditions of peace wj ans, though we kncf two or three years we had avoided doin« take Napoleon bad iced a certain effecl to talk about Europ^ ■Excuse me.' For tlw 1 |rest, I like him very well. He is at least highly intelligent, has iod mann :rs, and is an excellent story-teller. Jiesides, I often Ipity him, foi he is in an extremely awkward position. lUit all jthat can't help him in the least." With regard to the war indemnity, the Chief said: "Thiers Insisted that fifteen hundred million francs was the maximum, las it was incredible how much the war had cost them. And in Ldition to that everything supplied to them was of bad quality. jil a soldier only slipped and 11 down, his trousers went to [pieces, the cloth was so wretched. It was the same with the Ihoes, which had pasteboard soles, and also with the rifles, [particularly those from America." I replied: " l^ut just ini- biiie, you are suddenly jxjunced upon by a man who wants to fhrash you, and after defending yourself and getting the better 0: him, you demand compensation — what would you say if he tskcd you to bear in mind how much he had had '.o pay for the Kick with which he had intended to beat you, and how worth- less the stick had proved to be .-• However, there is a very wide nar'gin between fifteen hundred and six thousand millions." The conversation then lost itself — I can no longer renieni- er how — in the depths of the Polish forests and marshes, bning for a while on the large solitary farmhouses in those jiistricts and upon colonisation in the " backwoods of the east." ae Chief said : " Formerly when so many things were going irong — even in private affairs — I often thought that if the forst came to the worst I would take my last thousand thalers l^nd buy one of those farms out there and set up as a farmer. But things turned out differently." Later on, diplomatic reports were again discussed, and the C'nief, who seems in general to have a poor opinion of them, N: "For the most part, they are just paper smeared with The worst of it is that they are so lengthy. In Bern- i'orff's case, for instance, when he sends a ream of paper filled kith stale newspaper extracts — why, one gets accustomed to Rut when some one else ".rites at interminable length, and b a rule there is nothing in it, one becomes exasperated. As lor using them some day as material for history, nothing of any Value will be found in them. I believe the archives are open 10 the public at the end of thirty years — but it might be done Jiuch sooner. Even the despatches which do contain informa- 420 rilK RUSSIAN fOUNT [Fkh, tion arc scarcely intelligible to those who do not know thi l)eople and their rehitions to each other. In thirty years' tim, who will know what sort of a man the writer himself w;is, hdu he looked at things, and how his individuality affected tiic in;m. ner in which he presented them ? And who has really ;m jntj mate knowledge of the people mentioned in his reports? ()n^^^ must know what Gortchakoff, or Gladstone, or (iranvillc had in his own mind when making the statements re|)orted in [\]^ despatch. It is easier to fmd out something from the news- papers, oi which indeed governments also make use, and in which they frequently say much more clearly what they want. Hut that also requires a knowledge of the circumstances. The most important i)oints, however, are always dealt with in private letters and confidential communications, also verbal ones, and these arc not included in the archives. "The Emperor of Russia, for instance, is on the whole vcrv friendly to us — from tradition, for family reasons, and .so on — and also the Grand Duchesse Ilelenc, who influences him and watches him on oiu" behalf. The l-^mpress, on the olhcri hand, is not our friend. But that is only to be ascertained through confidential channels and not ofTicially." Thursday, Fibniary zyd. — We retain Metz, but not Ikltort. It has been practically decided that a portion of our army sh.ill enter Paris. And I write the following intimation for the Moiiitciir:- *' The arrogance with which the Parisian press insults and abuses the victorious German army that stands outside the K^itis ■ of the capital has been frequently stigmatised by us as it dc serves. We have likewise pointed out that the occupaticin of Paris by our troops would be the most effectual means of put- ting an end to this sort of insolence. At the present moment these lies and calumnies and provocations know no bounds.; For instance, the Figaro of the 21st of P'ebruary, in a feuillcton entitled ' Les Prussiens en France,' and signed Alfred d'Aunay,^ charges German ofificers and the Germans in general witli 'li>; most disgraceful conduct, such as theft and pillage. We learn that these proceedings, which we forbear to characterise, have entirely frustrated the efforts made by the Parisian negotiators to prevent the German army entering into Paris. Wc arc, positively assured that the entry of the German forces into tlvj [h.r, do not know the n thirty years' tinici r hiniSL'lt was, howj ty affected the m;m. 3 has really an intj. , his reports? Oi^j c, or Granville had nts reported in tlic| in^ from the news- } make use, and in •ly what they want, lircumstances. Thol dealt with in privatol 50 verbal ones, andl is on the whole very] reasons, and so on who intUiences himj ipress, on the oUiirJ to be ascertaiiicdl kUy." elz, but not Iklfort. n of our army shullj the Afoiiifciir: — n press insults andj ds outside the ^atL'sl scd by us as it do- the occupation ofl tual means of put- ic present momcntj know no bounds.! nary, in a feiiilletoiij ed Alfred d'Aiinay, "1 general witli ''^o pillage. Wc lean characterise, havi; 'arisian negotiator^ " o Paris. We ari;| lan forces into th || STUPID UKUr.M.ITY 431 \nch capital will take place iunnedialely after the expiration [the armistice." Fiit| him. He rode up to one man who looked particularly vici( is, and asked him fur a light, which he willingly gave. The Chancellor afterwards took occasion once more to speak his mind out on the obtrusiveness of certain princely pcrs ;. ages. " They are like flies," he said, " there is no getting vA of them. But Weimar is the worst of the lot. He said to :: e to-day, 'Please tell me where did you disappear to so qim!;,' yesterday .<* I should have been glad to put some further ([uc^- tions to you.' I replied, 'That was exactly it, your Royal High. ness. I had business to do, and could not enter into a lengthy^ conversation.' He fancies that the whole world has bed created merely for his sakCj for his amusement, the im prove- ment of his education^ and the satisfaction of his curiosity,) which is insatiable, and he has absolutely no tact." Somebody observed that as a rule when he talks he does not think of what; he says, but rather repeats phrases that he has learnt by rote. Mittnacht told another story about this august personaf; " Some cne was introduced to him : ' Ah, very pleased indeed, I have heard so much to your credit. Let me see, what was it I heard } ' " TJmrsday, March 2nd. — Favre arrived this morning at 7.30 A.M., and wished to be shown in to the Chief. Wollmann de- clined to wake him, however, at which the Parisian Excerencv was very indignant. Favre wanted to inform the Chancellor of' the news he had received during the night that the National Assembly at Bordeaux had ratified the preliminaries of peace, and thereupon to ask that Paris and the forts on the left bank of the Seine should be evacuated. This request was submitted in a letter which he left behind him. Sunday, March fjh. — We leave to-morrow, first going to Lagny and thence to Metz. The Chief is present at dinner ss [Makcik THE JOURNEY IK, ME 423 rning I crossed th« de Boulogne, wherej ourse, I saw the KmJ ed into Paris, ht, and the Wiirtem^ lerly attached to the utmost against I'rus Paris, and was rocotJ emonstration againslj I particularly vicir isJ ;ly gave, n once more to speali tain princely pcrsoii ;re is no getting rid| : lot. He said to me ippear to so quickl Lit some further quesJ it, your Royal Highj ; enter into a lenirtln olc world has been lemcnt, the improveJ an of his curiositv,! 10 tact." Somcbodyl es not think of whatj he has learnt bv is august personaj;o.l /ery pleased indccdj me see, what was ilj his morning at 7.3a ief. Wollmann do-l 'arisian Excel'enqi m the Chancellor ofl that the NationaU iminaries of peaceJ s on the left bankj uest was submittedl JThe conversation first turned upon our landlady, Madame Jesse, ,vho put in an appearance either to-day or yesterday and made h variety of complaints to the Minister as to the damage we are Liipposed to have done to her property. He replied that was :ho way in war, particularly when people deserted their homos. 1 Besides, she had reason to be thankful that she had got off :0 easily. The little table on which the Treaty of Peace was signed is to be taken with us to Germany. Ta . lioni, who is to [remain behind a few days with the King, is instructed to have it replaced by an exactly similar piece of furniture. In speak- ing of the pre))arations for our departure the Chief says : "Kiihnel thinks we ought not to travel by night, as Lorraine iivill be haunted, and they might lay something on the rails." I replied, "Then I will travel incognito a.> the Duke of Coburg. N'obody owes him a grudge. He is regarded as perfectly lianocent — and with justice." Monday, March 6t/i. — A lovely morning. Thrushes and I nnches warble the signal for our departure. At i i/cloJc the carriages get under way, and with light hearts we drive off towards the gate that we entered five months ago, and passed Villa Coublay, Villeneuve Saint Georges, Charenton, and La Fasanerie to Lagny, where we take up our quarters for the I night. We leave here next day by a special train for Metz, where I we arrive late at night. We put up at a hotel, while the Chief ^tays with Count Henckel at the Prefectuie. Next morning we stroll through the town, visit the cathedral, and survey the neighbourhood from the bastions of the fortress. Shm-tly before II o'clock we are again in the train, and travel by Saarbriicken and Kreuznach to Mayence, and thence to Frankfort. The Chief has an enthupiasti'^ reception everywhere along the line and particularly at Saarbri-.cken and Mayence. Frank- fort is the only exception. We arrive there at a late hour, and start again in the night. At 7.30 on the following morning we reach Berlin, after exactly seven months' absence. All things considered, everything has been done during those seven months which it was possible to do. row, first going toj present at dinner! T"!" CHAPTER XX NO. 76 WILHELMSTRASSE — THE CHANCELLOR'S RESIDENCE AND! THE FOREIGN OFFICE — THE CHIKF's OFFICIAL SUKROUND.j INGS AND HIS LIFE AT HOME — BUCHER AND ABEKEN Beforf resuming the extracts from my diary I beg to bo I allowed to present the reader with a picture of the house inj which the Chancellor resided during his stay in Berlin at thej time when I had the honour of working under his instructions,! and to add a few words upon the life of which that house was! the centre. I purpose to do this in some detail, not omitting evonl matters of secondary interest, and regardless of the question whether it may be to the taste of certain critics, as I hope thoj public will come to a very different conclusion, and will wcl-j come my description. In spite of the Radical newspapers of Berlin, and :n the oldj women who write in the National Zcitnng, and of the parlia- mentarian spirit which hovers over the turbid waters of tlicj Press, No. 76 Wilhelmstrasse is, in the highest sense of the word, a house of historic interest. Under its roof and in itsj rooms, German history has been made, and — (as the new-born Germany, now raised to the position which is her due, maybe regarded, without boastfulness, as one of the leading European] Powers) — also a great, and perhaps the best part of the politi- cal history of the Continent. It has been the scene of groat! thoughts and deeds; and to give as precise an account of suclij a place as discretion will permit, enabling the reader to formal distinct picture of it in his mind's eye, appears to mo to bo a praiseworthy undertaking, particularly when, as in the pros ent instance, the house in question has already underj^onoj important changes, and will in time altogether disappear. What was the dwelling of the political regenerator of our! people ? ho". did he live at the time when he began his work and 424 THE SrKNK (W T.RFAT THOUGHTS AM) DKHOS 425 t S RESIDENCE AM)| TICIAL SURROUND AND ABEKEN diary I beg to bcl ire of the house inj ly in Berlin at thej :ler his instructions,! lich that house wasl not omitting even] :ss of the question itics, as I hope thej ision, and will wd rlin, and :,i the oldj and of the parlia- •bid waters of thoi best sense of thei |its roof and in its! (as the new-born I |s her due, may bo leading European] part of the politi- be scene of groat I n account of such I reader to form a ears to mo to bo |n, as in the pres- ready undergone :;r disappear, generator of our] Igan his work and \ Uiod the most important part of it into cxccuticm? and what Lrc the instruments which be employed ? Our great-grand- (;:;drcn and their grandchildren will ask these questions, and 1 the following generations, as we now do respecting the |;:oes of the two preceding periods of regeneration in the life the German people, respecting Luther, who liberated and avenated our spiritual life, and 1 jspecting Goethe and Icr, the two central suns of the days when, in the literary [x're, clear morning rose upon a world of night and twilight. ■e cell in which Brother Martin, the Augustinian monk of |,iitenberg, in October, 15 17, drew up the ninety-five Propo- fons with which he delivered the first powerful blow against L Papacy ; the house and room where Faust and Gretcben Id VVilhelm Meister's apprenticeship were completed, and |at in which the powerful tragedy of the " Friedlaender " :rang from the poet's imagination, have been maintained by ;}iis hands in the condition in which they were when occupied those great spirits. That is also the case with Sans Souci, b chateau of the great Frederick. No. 76 Wilhelmstrasse [)es not stand under such favourable auspices. During the l.jmc of the former occupant of this house, and immediately l,er his removal into the neighbouring palace which had been l.i't for him, the inner apartments underwent considerable [terations, as the upper floor was also to be used for offices. itor, however, and perhaps at no very di-stant date, workmen Vl come with pick and shovel to tear down and cart away [esc historic walls. The stones and woodwork which, as a pisc, once sheltered the greatest statesman of our time, the tindows through which he saw the sun shine upon his most portant labours, will be applied to vulgar uses. The wall bors which witnessed momentous councils and interviews fiilbc scattered to the winds, and after the rubbish heaps have ken cleared away, a pretentious palatial building of two or tree stories will rise on the site, and cause the old house to be [orf;ottcn. Reason says it must be so. The little house in which he ed may disappear, if only the great structure which he [rectcd remains filled with his spirit. But for those to whom fce house has become as closely identified with its occupants ithe shell with its inlying mother-of-pearl, sentiment also has F9 I 436 NO. 76 WILIIELMSTRASSE Its claims, and if those claims are to be disciuirgcd, care niu be taken that when destruction overtakes it, our hero's dwell place shall at least continue to live in the printed annals uf oi race. No. y^ WilheliVistrasse, which, during the decade and a h; spent by Bismarck under its roof has been the most disi guished and finally the most influential Foreign Office in tl world, was, both externally and internally, one of the most i significant-looking and uncomfortable of buildings. The I't fecture of a French provincial town, such, for instance, as th of Versailles or Nancy, is, as a general rule, both more roon and imposing than the narrow and old-fashioned tenement which the Chancellor of the German Empire and the oifici; of the Political Department of the Foreign Office were housi for almost si.xteen years. Chosen as the residence of the M ister at a time when Prussia was only occasionally reck \onfl among the effectually great Powers of Europe, it may merely have sufficed for its purpose, so long as that pcric lasted, but have been, to some extent, an adequate symh( her slight importance in the eyes of the outer world. Aft Prussia had taken a higher rank and compelled the work attention, after her diplomacy had developed into fuller activit it was, if not materially indispensable, at least fitting and pedient that something better should be provided. The fa that this was only done at a late period is due mainly to tl simple tastes of Prince Bismarck, who, as we have already suc contented himself throughout his campaigns with scanty shelte quite incommensurate with his rank. The former residence of the Imperial Chancellor was Im in the first half of the last century, and in 1819, when it w; purchased by the Treasury, was in the possession of Aiopacu the Russian Minister of that time. It is situated not far fro the VVilhelnisplatz, and nearly opposite ':o the palace oi Prin Charles. It is flanked on the one side by a palace which b longed to Prince Radziwill until about four years ago, whe having passed into the possession of the German Empire, was transformed into a residence for Prince Bismarck, and tl Imperial Chancellerie, while on the other side is the buiklii formerly occupied by Deckner's printing establishment, \vl has also been for some time the property of the .State. HchirtB ;e THE ENTRANCE 427 lisciuirgctl, care niui t, our hero's chvellinj printed annals uf o] ;he decade and a ha icen the most distil Foreign Office in t( , one of the most i| buildings. The Pr , for instance, as thl •lie, both more rooi/ ishioned tenement ipire and the officia :n Office were housJ residence of the Mil accasionally reckond Europe, it may nj long as that perid \ adequate symbol ! outer world. Aft| ompelled the world ed into fuller activit least fitting and provided. The fa is due mainly to d vc have already seel with scanty sholtcj Chancellor was bul in 1 8 19, when it \v| session of Aiopaeo ituated not far frol the palace of Prinj y a palace which Lir years ago, whel German Empire, e Bismarck, and t^ side is the buildin istablishment, whid " the State. Behiij I house is a spacious garden, which reaches as far as the Kiinig ketzor Strasse — the only beautiful feature of the whole resi- Lce. Looked at from the front, No. 76 Wilhelmstrasse is a Lev stucco house of moderate size. To the left on thf^ ground jjor is a carriage entrance, while to the right extends a row of [even window On the first floor there are thirteen windows, H above a small flat gable projects from the tiled rooi, beneath [jich are four pilasters in low relief, with Corinthian capitals Jjing between the middle windows. There is no other orna- [entation of any kind. Whoever wishes may add to the pict- k\ according to his own fancy, a few Chancery messengers U leather portfolios ; Leverstroem, the " Black Horseman " jiho acts as the bearer of hurried messages, inquiries, and ivitatlons); or one or other of the Ministers of foreign rcpre- Intatives stepping out of his carriage to pay the Chancellor a lit- If we pull the bell of the outer door it opens for us, only to lie immediately behind our backs. We find ourselves in a kcway which opens on a small passage between two walls, t'lind which a portion of the garden is visible. On the right tere is a window, behind the panes of which a watchful eye piles our appearance. Further on we come to the steps of a e staircase, and a landing with a chessboard pattern in red white ; then a yellow folding screen before a glass door bveen two grey Doric columns. On either side right ;;nd left (: the staircase crouches a sphinx — mute, deep-ga7ing, and lubtless profoundly wise, which the stranger may regard as [j intimation that he stands on the threshold of a mysterious Lion, inaccessible to most mortals. The watchful one awaits L visitor outside the small door, which opens on to the landing fchind one of the sphinxes, scrutinises him closely, and inquires Ithom he wishes to see. This is Herr Linstedt, the Porter of |:e Foreign Office. Let us suppose that the stranger is in a position to satisfy fcis strict, though polite, janitor as to his right to visit all the ly^terious chambers behind the screen (which, by the way, li'rince Napoleon on his visit to Bismarck is understood not to lave been able to do without some delay), and let us further ji^ppose that our stroll through the building takes place in one tthc three years from February, 1870, to March, 1873. These 1 !■ I 428 11 IK FOkKCOURT OK THE GEN TIKES arc anu)n<; tlic most important years of the last decades ; ai since then, as already indicated, alterations have been ni;u both in the arrangement of the rooms ad in the pcrsoun employed there. Finally, it may perhaps 1^ well to rcnicmbi before entering, and lo bear constantly in mind, that this is n the office of the Imperial Chancellor, — a misunderstandin which to my knowledge was formerly very frequent, and \vhi( may occur occasionally even now, — but the Foreign Office, to be still more precise, the first or i)olitical department of tj Foreign Office, which works immediately under the control the Inijierial Chancellor. The Imperial Chanccllerie, i)r()])cr so called, is now located in the palatial building, Nos. i and Wilhelmsplatz ; while during the period here referred to it w, also rather poorly housed. The Imperial Chanccllerie, whic is to a certain extent the Ministry of the Interior for German at that time under the control of Herr Delbrlick, was, and i both actually and for purposes of business, about as distim from the Foreign Office as is the Ministry of War and tJ Admiralty. An ominous twilight prevails in the chambers behind th( screens. A door to the righ' leads into the room occupied bj the deciphering clerks. To the left a rather broad staircasi which receives its light from a small cupola decorated wil green and gold arabesques, leads to the first floor, on whic is situated the official residence of the Imperial Chancello For the present we pass by these carpeted stairs in order continue our inspection of the lower regions. A few paci further on, and we find ourselves in a small dark passaj which is ighted with hanging lamps, even in the daytira It ends at a folding door leading into a large chamber occi pied by the Secretary of State, which looks out on to the bac yard and the garden. On the left-hn id side of the passa^ a second door opens inio the room of the Chancery attendant Passing through this to a third door we enter a small dim lighted antechamber, which might — if it were possible compare the Foreign Office to the Temple at Jerusalem - correspond to the Forecourt of the Gentiles, or be dcscrib( as the space where the Proselytes of the Gate collected t gether. In other words, here the minor officials of the Mil istry receive and despatch business with outsiders, i.e., wit mN'TII.KS :hc last decades ; ar ^ns have been nmri ul in the />rKu>iii} tc well to remenibj mind, that this is n| -a misunderstandir y frequent, and whij he Foreign Office, al department of tlj under the control Ihancellerie, propcrj )uilding, Nos. i and! lere referred to it w, 1 Chancelleric, whiJ Interior for Gcrmani Delbriick, was, and CSS, about as distinJ stry of War and tl] chambers behind tli the room occupied ither broad staircasi ipola decorated will irst floor, on whiq mpcrial Chancel ed stairs in order ions. A few pad small dark passaJ /•en in the daytinij arge chamber occj out on to the baci side of the passa^ Dhancery attendant enter a small dinil t were possible le at Jerusalem- les, or be describe 2 Gate collected ii facials of the MiJ outsiders, i.e., AN ori'KKSSlVE ATMOSrillOKK 429 Lons who do not belong to the Foreign Office, liehind I; folding doors visible t») the right and left of this ante- anibcr is holy ground, unapproachable for the profane world, only accessible to the Levites and ])riests. On the right Irctaries cipher, decipher, and copy despatches. To the left Le who are initiated and have the right of entry find them- Ives first in the Central Bureau, the headciuarlers of the Irctaries for confidential correspondence, and then in a small [vrinth of rooms, cells, and partitions, in which officials of :ioiis grades in the di[)lomatic hierarchy are engaged with I' secrets of the house, mostly seat-^d a few paces, and some- jrcs hardly three feet, from each other. The impression left by this series of chambers is not at all bicusant one, especially if the visitor has been previously in I Ministry of Commerce or the Imperial Chanccllerie, and is [leand disposed to make comparisons. In such circumstances may perhaps think of Faust's " drangvoll f uerchterliche ;e :■— " Beschraenkt von diesem liuecherhauf, Mit Instrumenten vol! gepfropft, Urvaeler Hausiath drein gestopft." Such is the oppressive sultriness, particularly when the visit lie:, place in the evening, and the steam of a dozen oil lamps ladded to the smell of documents, printer's ink, and the close [.'.revolting the nose and distressing the lungs, that one can- [: help wondering how it is that lamps can possibly buin in an atmosphere, and that such an accumulation of evil his does not lead to explosions and accidents as in ill-ven- tated mines. This is no exaggeration. Man becomes accustomed to hrything upon this earth, even to eating arsenic and to the iiisonous air of overcrowded rooms. Such rooms, however, I not on that account become any the pleasanter to live in. pother and almost equally serious inconvenience to which jtveral of those engaged there have perforce to become recon- fii is that of having to work so close together in small oms, sometimes only divided by a papered partition, through hich every conversaticn not conducted rn a whisper interrupts 430 ANIl<)LATED FURNITURE the course of their own thoughts, and (I refer of course to tl period above specified, though I quote from my diary in J present tense) the inconvenience is not diminished by the J cumstance that some of the gentlemen employed there see unable to speak in a low voice The furniture, which includes some fossils from the piim val Alopaeus period, is made of every kind of wood grown our forests and gardens, and constructed in every fashion an style of cabinet-making, reaching back to the last ceni r Yellow plum-tree, dark mahogany, common deal, japanne polished, and merely planed wood, writing-tables, standing aij cylinder desks, document cupboards, open shelves for booi journals and papers, and, in the furthest chambers of the labj rinth, a few sofas, each of which almost invariably differs shape and material from its neighbour, are arranged alon;; tM walls in motley array. Several of these have the dignity age. Not the most ancient of these grey and antique relics I a desk at which some official has, I believe for thirty ycaJ always sharpened his pencil on the same spot, until at \c\v^ his penknife has dug a hole right through the inch and a ha thickness of the wood. These venerable survivals arc calcj latcd to provoke many thoughts both serious and humornu^ but there is one in particular which they all suggested, at an rate to mc. How it nuist have worried these ancient pieces i furniture, after so many years and decades of fruitless but con fortable routine, to find themselves suddenly roused in i86: the new spirit that had entered and filled the house ! Can the ever have grown reconciled to that swift, exacting, imperiouj and not very considerate genius, even when they saw the fruiti the immense success, of the organisation which he introduced One must assume that furniture has no interest in or undei standing of such matters. It would be a pleasant addition if I were at liberty to con plete my description of these rooms with characteristic portraij of their occupants. They would be as statues and pictures the house which I have built with words, anH it is possible th^ a couple of original figures would be found among the numbej There are, however, certain grounds for hesitation, of whici will only mention the following — that as a rule dignity will no suffer a jest ; furthermore, that a mcjr.ber of the non-ofn ": RE A DELK Al'E I'OINT 431 refer of course to [i from my diary in tj diminished by the employed there sec ossils from the priin ind of wood grown I in every fashion at to the last centur imon deal, japanne g-tables, standin,!; at en shelves for boo :hambers of tlio h\ t invariably differs c arranged alon^^ til ; have the dignity ' and antique relics I ieve for thirty ycari ; spot, until at leni h the inch and a ha ; survivals arc calc rious and hunioroui all suggested, at an esc ancient pieces 1 of fruitless but con dy roused in 1S6: le house ! Can the exacting, imperiouj they saw the friiit| hich he introduced nterest in or unde e at liberty to con aracteristic portrait ues and pictures d it is possible thd among the numbej sitation, of whicl ulc dignity will no ol the non-o;TRi; ,;;cl runs some risk of forming an incorrect or unfair opinion I, m official ; and that the latter — if he is of the right sort b.cs neither to be praised nor blamed by persons outside his inircle, nor indeed even mentioned oftener than is necessary. I.h an one desires simply to do his duty, and contents himself p his own legitimate sense of personal worth, which in this Icmce is all the more praisewmthy, as those whose portraits ,;,i)uld here have to attempt are officials of rank and title. These considerations made me hesitate. Finally, however, krs forced themselves upon me. The jiicture of the Chan- br's lifii must be made as complete as possible; and the (;;ii, which through machinations in the press has been in ;:n' instances seriously obscured anil disligurvyl, n\ust no ^cr suffei' vii)lence. I therefore adopt a mitUUv vovusc, and c from my diary, where they have been pivscrved till how the purpose of private reference, certain ol \he .;bove-men- incd statues and i)ictures, the originals ot which have in the Litiine either died or been placed in \V\\ entirely false light in jc public mind. These 1 exhibit pailly here and partlv in the Lr chapters. History, to which these fellow-workers of the Lncellor now belong, must know how they appear to an im- L'tial observer. To this necessity all other considerations \k[ ;;ive way. Of the other gentlemen I only give the names, all their titles, mention in general that they are more or less r.ly provided with the usual decorations, and indicate in a few :ras s some of their principal features. \Vc had remained in the first room to the left of the dusky bchamber already described, which I took the liberty of com- Iring to the Forecourt of the Gentiles. Under the windo.vs b the writing tables and desks of the secretaries of the Central [ireau, who, if 1 am rightly informed, occupy the first rank jong the minor officials of the Empire. Gchcimcr Hofrath Island, the Chief of the Bureau, has his place under the fur- pt window, in the region of the Councillors of F^mbassy. He [an elderly gentleman, who entered at a time when these posi- es were mainly or exclusively occupied by members of the rcnch colony, and when the principal business of the Central bivau, namely the registration of all documents despatched '■: received, was conducted in the F'rench language. He is Iparagon of registrars, although just a little brusque, and he 432 11 IK CKNIKAI- IJUKKAU -01 nii^hl perhaps also he described as a {;ond calculator, in ;i tain sense. Nine orders and medals decorate his nieriim breast, when on lestive occasions he dons his unilorni ol ,i tenant of the Reserve. Thoroiij;hly well versed in the oti(|iK of official hitercour.se, he would, in writin<; to the Minister, m subscribe himself other than "most obedient humble .srivani to the Secretary of Slate, " obedient " ; to an Ambassador, " r, dutiful"; or to an ICnvoy, "most respectful." In writing liulow and Keudell, he si^ns himself "your most ohcdicii ])ossibly because they are Kassenraethe, or perhaps because their titles of nobility. To lUicher and the other Privy Ci cillors he is only "your obedient," to officials of e(|ual ra " mo.st humble," and to inferiors " humble." The ne.xt in pla and rank is " llofrath " Hesse, formerly a theologian, and al advanced in years. Then come Herr Bolsing, also for son time past a "//^w///," and the " Gclicim Sckrctdy^' Wollman who has not yet been awarded the higher predicate. I wish again to call attention to the fact that these dcscri tions and names refer to the [)eriod of 1S73. As already cursorily noted, the Central Bureau is the di spatching and registering department of the Foreign Offui It is the centre from which all the ideas and orders of the Chai ccllor, as worked up by the Councillors in the form of note despatches, telegrams, instructions, &c., radiate out into tli world, and it is the point at which all those coming in from ou side, such as documents, reports, and letters addressed to th Minister personally, or to the Ministry, are opened, registcro according to their contents, communicated to the Chief, aii( after use — so far as it is desirable to retain them — arrange in bundle- and pigeon-holed in the presses which line the wall until they ultimately find their way into the State archives. Adjoining the room occupied by the Gcltcim Sckretdrc, a narrow, one-windowed cell, with book shelves, newspapt cupboards, and other furniture, including the patient writini desk above mentioned, with its counterpart to the proverb th: " Constant dropping wears the stone," which has made th clearest and most lasting impression upon my memory, as i was assigned to me as my place of work. Next to this littl chamber, which at the same time served as a thoroughfare t the larger room of the Secretaries, was a still smaller one, no vu I.OTIIAK I»L( IIKR 433 od calculator, in ;i cc icoralc ills nicriioriiii 5 his unilorm of a jJ versed in the etiquctl ; to the Minister, iKv( lient humble .servant 'I an Anibassad<»r, " ni,|| ictful." In vvritini; 'your most ohcdicntj or perhaps becaiisi;, the other Privy Guii officials of e(|ual nuJ c." The next in \)\J a theologian, and al^ [iolsing, also tor sdi ' Sci'/'c'/df," VVolliiianj r predicate. ;ict that these dcscrii 73. tral Bureau is tin; d| |)f the Foreign OfficJ nd orders of the Chai in the form of notej radiate out into th se coming in from ou ters addressed to th re opened, registers ed to the Chief, aiiij tain them — arrange! which line the wall| e State archives. Gclicim Sckretiirc, shelves, newspapd the patient writing t to the proverb \\\\ .vhich has made th n my memory, as Next to this litt!| as a thoroughfare still smaller one, nd 1 10 than two good paces in JMoadth, which was divided from h lornier by a tliin wooden partition papered over. Within [isc narrow confines two Rat lie (Councillors), the antipodes each other, Lothar Hucher and Aegidi, were from the sum- Lrof i«S7i driven to seek elbow-room and a few feet of space nu)ve about in, and, what is still stranger, they managed to it. A full account must be given of the first mentioned rthese. One day, when the secret history of the l^ismarckian fuan be written, the name of this little unpretentious man in [e modest cell will have to occupy a proniinent, and perhaps, A'cil, the (irst place among the Chancellor's fellow-labourers, bd with justice! I do not exaggerate when I assert thit of [e assistants who cooperated in the work of our political re- Incrator, liuchcr was in every respect the nu)st gifted and the lit informed, while at the same time he was uncpiestionably ■man of strongest character, conscientiousness, unselfishness, tdloyalty among them. He was a man of genuine distinction, td with his clear and fine understanding, his wealth of know- [;li;e, his skill in political affairs, and his great j'ower of work, 1^ was, in short — to borrow the words in which our ma.ster Kc spoke of him to me — "a real pearl." Space fails me to bw this at due length, and indications and outlines, with a few ptrations of his worth, must suflfice in some degree to give pidca of this rare character. His name will recur repeatedly the diary, which will, as far as possible, make up for what ^ay be lacking here. Adolph Lothar Bucher was born at Neustettin, on the 25th I October, 18 17. When he was two years of age his family pvcd to Koeslin in Further Pomerania, where his father, a faxon of the Electorate, and much respected as a philologian fd geographer, was Professor and Pro-Rector of the Gymna- |iim or High School. Here the boy received his earliest in- imction and his first conscious impressions of the world and lie. The fact that his father was a friend of Ludwig Jahn's lust have had some influence on his riper youth. The sub- lets for which he showed the greatest aptitude at school were khematics and natural philosophy ; and as the time for choos- \l a profession drew near he first wished to become a sailor nd afterwards an architect. His parents, on the other hand, [referred one of the learned professions; and he decided to VOL. I. — 2 F IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 I !^ IB ^ lis lllllio 18 14 IIIIII.6 'm vQ >> Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST .^AIN STREET WEBSTEM, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 •^ f\ •O^ N> ^9) .V « ^ 6^ 434 BUCIIEK'S EAKLV CAREER adopt the Study of the law, for which purpose he went to Ber- lin University. Here he found in progress the well-known conflict between the historical and philosophical schools, be- tween Savigny and Gans. He threw in his lot with the latter, and occupied himself diligently with the study of Hegel, their chief master. Subsequently, howev^er, his inclination for phi- losophy cooled down, and he devoted himself exclusively to jurisprudence. From 1838 to 1843 he was engaged in the chief Provincial Court at Koeslin, and in the latter year was appointed Assessor in the Court at Stolp, which town returned him as its representative to the Prussian National Assembly in March, 1848, and a year later to the Parliament which had in the meantime been created. Up to 1840 there had practically' been no public life in Prussia in the present sense of the words. The new representative from Further Pomerania was a jurist, whose education had been in the main confined to civil law, and who had had no experience whatever of affairs of State, Moreover, he had read Rotteck and Welcker in his leisure hours, anu had with his inborn thoroughness assimilated their views j on history and politics. It was therefore almost a matter of j course, particularly when the revolutionary spirit is taken into account, which at that time swept like a stormy west wind , through the German States, shaking all the trees and loosenin;' every joint, that Bucher should have taken his seat upon the left benches and devoted his gifts as a jurist and as a spcake: to the service of Radicalism. It should be observed, however, that he did not belong to the Waldeck party, which despised the rules of polite conduct, and just as little to those who de- lighted in the art of pathetic oratory. Speaking of him in his " Doikiuiicrdigkciten," General von Brandt says : " I have never heard any one speak with more talent and moderation than Bucher on this occasion (the debate in Committee on the so- called Habeas Corp?is Act). His blond hair and dispassionate attitude reminded me strongly of pictures of St. Just. Bucher was a ruthless leveller of all existing institutions, rank, and property. He was one of the most consistent members of the National Assembly, and was determined to take every step which seemed to lead towards the attainment of his object, namely virtue as the principle, and fraternal affection in the conduct of affairs. With no knowledge of society and devoted AS A PAKLIAMEM'ARIAN 435 |;o sterile legal abstractions, he was fully convinced that the ■alvation of the world could only be secured by the sudden and violent destruction of the existing State and social arrange- nients. He helped to organise the public opposition, and in particular to spur on the ambitious and turbulent fraction of •jie National Assembly to seize a Dictature. The ironical con- tempt with which he treated the existing authorities and evinced his hatred of the old constitution of the State, his dogma of the I sovereignty of the people, whom he intoxicated with their own Radical chimeras, together with the ability which he displayed tor the role of a demagogue, would have enabled him in time to surpass all the members of his party in his strictly logical endeavours." In Parliament Bucher was particularly active in promoting the various measures of reorganisation. He played an espe- cially important part as the reporter on the motion by Waldeck, calling upon the Ministry to raise the state of minor siege which had been declared against Berlin on the 12th of Novem- ber, 1848. He found no difficulty on this occasion, when he again spoke mainly as a jurist, in proving the illegality of the measure, as there could be no doubt that it was impossible to justify it by Article no of the Constitution which only came into force three v;eeks later, and the more so as this article only dealt with the suspension of certain fundamental rights in case of war or revolution. Neither the one nor the other existed in Berlin on the 12th of November, and the Minister had not only suspended the fundam.ental rights, but had subjected citizens to the jurisdiction of courts-martial, of which there was no men- tion in Article no, and for which older laws also contained no provision. The resolution passed by the House on that occasion led to its dissolution, followed on the 4th of February by the so-called Refusal of Taxes Trial. . . . The special hatred of Bucher in the higher circles, as evinced in the course of this trial, was due to his above-mentioned report on the illegality of the state of siege. The proceedings ended in the acquittal of most of the accused. Bucher and three others were, however, found guilty and sentenced to three months' confinement in a fortress, with the usual additions, namely loss of civic rights, and, for officials, dismissal from the service of the State. This turn of affairs, and still more the vexations with which 436 BUCIIER'S SOJOURN IN LONDON 11 he was threatened by the police after the termination of his imprisonment, decided Bucher to go abroad. He settled pur- manently in London. Here began for him a period of enliglu- enment, which resulted in the gradual transformation of the juridical theorist and idealist into a practical politician. H^ occupied himself at first with the study of politics and political economy, and with the observation of English methods and customs, whereby he found himself in many respects disap. pointed with his former ideals, and filled with repugnance and contempt of things and persons which he, like other Liberals, had previously admired. Among the acquaintances which he made here were Urquhart, and afterwards Mazzini, Lodm Rollin, and Herzen. The last three in particular contributed to his further transformation by openly speculating in his pres- ence on sundry strips of German territory in the South, West, and East, which were required in satisfaction of the doctrine of nationalities. This aroused a certain distrust in Bucher's mind, which in this respect did not suffer from the disease of " prin- ciple." His untainted patriotism warned him of the desirability of prudence. The experience and the convictions which he obtained in this way were, together with other material, utilised by him in the German press, and particularly in the Nntional Zeitung, to which he for several years contributed political ' articles which attracted widespread attention by the thorough knowledge of the subjects dealt with, their wealth and depth of thought, and the highly original views of which they gave evi- dence. He also wrote for the same paper some excellent \ reports of the London Industrial Exhibition, on English house- hold arrangements worthy of imitation, and on other practical matters. He did eminent service in the enlightenment of such Liberal minds as were not closed to argument by his letters on English Parliamentarism, a brilliant criticism, which indi- rectly hit upon the weak points of Parliamentarism in general, and confuted the current heresy that the German popular rep- resentation should be modelled in every particular on the British system. He produced convincing arguments that the English Constitution was not a manufactured article, but a growth, the product of the English State and social life and character, and further that Constitutional arrangements cannot be everywhere the same, but must correspond with the fundamental character, BUCHER AND LASSALLE 437 history, and prevailing conditions of each separate country. To this was added evidence, which was then necessary, but is now no longer required by any sensible man, showing that the Eng- lish art of government, so far as foreign affairs are concerned — Lvhon the ornamental veil of fine phrases is torn off — is noth- ing more than a commercial policy of the most self-seeking kind, devoid of all ideal motives and historical breadth. In these Letters the difficulties and the seamy side of English Parliamen- tary life and the weaknesses of their leaders, Palmerston, Glad- stone, the "Doctor supernaturalis " Cobden, and the whole jang of hypocritical and egotistic apostles of English Free Trade were illuminated by a light of truly electric brilliancy and clearness. It was a ruthless exposure of a kind that has I rarely been witnessed.^ In i860 Bucher, probably tired of working for the press, I thought of emigrating to Central America, where he had ac- quired a piece of land (which was still in his possession twenty years later), in order to become a coffee planter under his own I palms and mangrove bushes. Fate decided, however, that he belonged to growing Germany, and the amnesty of that year I permitted his return to Berlin. Here he renewed his former [ricndship with Rodbertus, and made the acquaintance of Lassalle, to whom his intercourse soon became indispensable, while Bucher on his side felt attracted in many ways towards Lassalle. The Socialist agitator was a very different character to his heirs of to-day, a man of the highest ability, with whom Bismarck himself did not disdain to correspond, a respected \ savant who was highly esteemed by Bockh, and a resolute patriot who was only led into folly by his boundless ambition. As a follower of Hegel, he belonged to a different school of thought to Bucher, but was yet in agreement with the latter in his belief in the " iron law of wages," and like him convinced that the State alone could reform the evils from which the labourmg classes suffered. Bucher's former political associates on the other hand belonged to the Manchester school, consider- ing that the true way of salvation lay in " laisser faire " and free i'M! 1 These articles formed the basis of the book Der Parlamentarismtis 7vie er ist, asecoiifl edition of which appeared in 1881, while others were utilised for a second volume, Bilder aus der Fremde, fiir die Heimath gezeichnei ( " Pictures from Abroad painted for those at Home "). 438 BUCIIER ENTERS THE FOREIGN (Ji'MCE competition, that is to say in the destruction of the weak by the strong. They further swore by the principle of the National verein, and detesting the idea of war for this purpose, they wished to unite Germany under Prussia by " moral " means, by a *' popular policy," speeches, and leading articles, and by athletic, singing, and prize-shooting festivals. In this respect also Bucher, as a practical politician and contemner of phrases, was of a decidedly different opinion to his friends of the X.u tioiial Zeititng, and the difference in their views led gradually to an estrangement which was accompanied by an inward approach to Bismarck's standpoint in the German question, resulting ultimately in the cooperation of the two. Bucher had severed his connection with the National Zeitimg, and was by no means satisfied with the position which he afterwards took in Wolf's Telegraph Agency. He therefore thought of seeking work as a lawyer, and wrote to the Minister of Justice on the subject. Bismarck heard of his plans through the latter. He asked Bucher to see him, and offered him occupation at the Foreign Office, which was accepted after some little hesitation. Bucher, the whilom democrat, the former member of the Pins' sian party of the Mountain, who had hurled oratorical boml> shells at the Minister, had been cured by a sound understanding, experience, and change of air ; and, in 1 864, he was already in full and fruitful activity at No. y6 Wilhelmstrasse, where he continued for two decades. He did excellent service to the new German world in the most various ways, as lawyer, diplomatist, and publicist, and fully justified the confidence of him who had chosen him as a fellow-worker. In the years 1865 to 1867 he was chiefly entrusted with the administration of Lauenburg, a difficult task, as this Duchy when it came into the possession of Prussia was two centuries behind the times, both in its legal institutions and in its methods of administration. During the! same period, in 1866, he drew up for his Chief the Constitution! of the North German Confederation (the principal articles oS which agree in the main with that of the German Empire)J Bismarck of course had given him the main lines for his task,-^ which Bucher, by the way, completed within twenty hours. He was afterwards repeatedly engaged in the preparation and execution of important political work and regulations, and dis- charged with skill and success several diplomatic missions, in- BISMARCK'S CONFIDENCE 439 .iding two of universal historical importance. He bcciime so jispensable to the Minister that the latter took him to Varzin r several summers while on holiday. During the war with ranee Bucher was working with the Chancellor at headquarters ini the end of September up to t!ie preliminaries of peace, and join 1871 on the conclusion of the definitive treaty at Frank- rt. He kept the minutes of the Berlin Congress in 187S. e wrote a great number of the most important despatches and memorials, as well as a pamphlet on the Cobden Club, for which ; had collected material in England. The Chancellor very Idom made any alterations in his work. As a matter of fact, lucher had from the beginning understood him, and easily jsimilated his views of things in individual cases, while he had "C further advantage of being able to take down verbal com- :imications in shorthand. While in his official life Bucher enjoyed the high esteem and ill confidence of the Chief, whose example was followed more less willingly by others, he experienced in later years consid- ;rable bitterness and neglect, principally, but not exclusively, nder the Secretaries of State, von Biilow and Hatzfeld. He wily asked for his discharge, not merely on account of age iiid illness, which were the ostensible motives. His request las acceded to. He declined the proposal of the Prince that :e should retire into private life with the title of Excellency, Kcause "he could not then have continued to stitch on his own Mttons, or to stroll about the Jungfernhaide with a botanist's :;iipcdimenta on his back." Bucher, who was one of the truest t the true, paid several long visits to the Prince after the fatal ;8th of March, 1890, and helped him to prepare his Memoirs, of which, so long as he was engaged upon them, his valuable assistance materially enhanced the trustworthiness. It may be added that Bucher remained unmarried, and that, considering his position, he had little intercourse during recent years with his fellows. His friends in diplomatic circles included Schloetzer, Limburg-Stirum, and Kusseroff ; and in the financial rorld, Hansemann and Werner Siemens. The bond between him, Victor Hehn, and myself was our common veneration for the Chancellor and our equally deep contempt for hypocrisy and place-hunting. His character in company was that of a sober, taciturn man, who was, nevertheless, by no means devoid of 440 AliliKEN poetic feeling and humour, who could tell many a good story iii| an effective manner, and who sometimes talked also in vcr»J pleasant fashion of his canaries and the Alpine flowers in hio herbarium. His ideas and feelings were expressed in a hM tone, without being wanting in energy. A cool head, but §k warm heart ; still water, but clear and deep. I have given mor^l time and space to his picture than I had intended at first, bii|| I believe I shall have thereby compensated for the mischieS done by others to his memory ; for I remember that CounP Caprivi's menials, who had the preparation of the RcichsivncL \ gcr, thought it sufficient to devote throe dry lines to his depart. • ure when he passed into eternity at Glion, on the Lake utj Geneva, on the 12th of October, 1892. ■ I propose to deal with Keudell later. Of Biilow I will on« remark that he is a man of routine, of moderate ability, and i|] understood to be not altogether free from an inclination to in- trigue. Geheimrath Hepke, a lean, wizened man in the fifties, ; is not a very pleasant personage. He has something in hira , of the Privy Councillor as he exists in the popular ima<,niia. ■ tion — great self-conceit, a consciousness that he knows prac- tically everything considerably better than the rest of the world, and doubtless also a high opinion of his own rank and title. Leaving the room where Geheimrath Hepke works, and proceeding to the right along the adjoining narrow pas.sago, we reach the small room containing the reference library of the Ministry. Here at a window which opens on the court another Privy Councillor of Embassy, Count Hatzfeld (after- wards promoted to the position of Minister in Madrid, then rep- resentative of the Empire at the Porte, and in 1880 appointed Secretary of State under the Imperial Chancellor), spends a few hours daily. In the next room we hear the scratching of th^j ever-ready pen of his older colleague, Abeken, whose gifts and: character must now be dealt with. While the Chancellor him-' self selected Lothar Bucher as his fellow-worker, Abeken came to him by inheritance. Heinrich Abeken may be regarded in almost every respect as the type of the official of the old school. His whole being and inclinations belong to that epoch in our history which may be described as the literary-aesthetic era, a time when political affairs were of secondary interi^st to poetry, ECCl.KSIASilCAL TASTES 441 lilosophy, philolo^^y treated from an artistic standpoint, and •her scientific questions. He enjoyed himself most, and felt imsclf most at liome, in a circle of ideas which, previous to le appearance of Jiismarck, chieHy attracted the attention of x Court, the upper classes, the higher bourgeoisie, and persons education. Indeed, he hardly ever for a single moment ioroughly threw himself into politics. Even at times when the Ifare of his country appeared to be at stake he seemed to i more interested in some cesthetic question than in measures lorc closely connected with the sphere to which his office bsigned him. It happened not infrequently that while others [vere anxiously awaiting the outcome of a political crisis his oughts were occujiied by an entirely different subject, so that r instance the verses of some old or new poet kept running irough his head, and were usually recited by him with much athos, although they had no visible connection with the situa- in of the moment. Abckcn, who hailed from Osnabriick, was ira in 1809. His education was conducted by his uncle Bern- ard Rudolf Abeken, the philologist and writer on aesthetics, vho lived at Weimar in Schiller's time, and who had assimilated ne style of sentiment which then prevailed there. The nephew ;iter\vards studied theology, and in 1834 held the position of ;haplain to the Prussian Embassy in Rome under Josias Bun- en. He there married an Englishwoman, who was taken from liim by death a few months later. A friend of Bun sen, whom [e followed to London on his transfer to that post in 1841, and those views and aspirations in ecclesiastical matters he shared, ibeken even at that time devoted himself so far to diplomacy hat he drew up a memorandum on the creation of an evangeli- :al bishopric in Jerusalem. This idea was regarded with lively ivmpathy in the most exalted quarters in Berlin, although, later :n, under William I., it would scarcely have occurred to any ;iie, or have served as a recommendation for its originator. In m connection we meet Abeken again among those who ac- impanied Professor Lepsius on his exploring tour through .'pper Egypt in 1842, v.'hen he also visited the Holy Land. \k entered the Foreign Ofifice under Heinrich von Arnim, and aere he remained until his death in August, 1872, notwithstand- [ag the important changes that had occurred in the meantime, ■ model of loyalty and attachment, even though his virtues 442 COMl'Ri )MISI\(i AUJUAIN TAXCKS recalled in many ways those of the venerable old furniture t > which I alluded just now. The extracts from the diary during the war have alrcadvr given some instances of the exceptional and occasionally comic attraction which everything connected with the Court and othir princely circles seemed to exercise upon Abeken, and the sul>- sequent chapters will contain a few more. In this respect he was the very antitype of his colleague Hucher, as also in the fact that he was particularly sociable and talkative. It was u satisfy the longing which he felt for intercourse with persons of rank that he used to frequent the circles which made the Rad/:iwill Palace their headquarters. He was unable to foic,i;o these visits even when the society that collected there formed the centre of the ultramontane opposition to the ecclesiastical policy of the Chancellor. Apart from such social gatherinf;3 as the above, the old gentleman must have felt himself most at home at the weekly meetings of the " Gracca," a society " con- sisting chiefly of former Romans," the rules of which excluded all political discussions, its sole object in addition to its social aims being of a philological and aesthetic character. With regard to Abeken's business capacity and the limita- tions of his usefulness I would first recall the circumstance that our Chief, at the time when he described Bucher to nic as a " real pearl," is understood to have spoken of Abeken as a "true strawchopper " — a comparison which is less flattering than appropriate. Unquestionably Abeken was a very meri- torious worker in the routine of the Foreign Office, but he was by no means such a prominent one as many outsiders thought. Owing to his long service thoroughly acquainted with all the ins and outs of official business, he had become a virtuoso in red tape. Provided with an ample store of phrases which, when he received his instructions, ran from his fingers' ends without much thinking, and with a knowledge of several lan- guages just about sufficient for his task, it was as if he had been specially created for the purpose of putting into shape the ideas given to him by the Chief with the readiness of a sewing ma- chine. In addition to this he was an indefatigable worker, and would deliver in the course of the day astonishing quantities of well-written documents for the messengers and despatch bags. But when he had to deal with questions of importance, he was COUNT 1USMARCK-B(JIIL1:\ 443 ^arcely in a position to draw for the material upon his own •.sources. It was not, however, at all necessary that he should ;o so. The ready writer with a good knowledge of traditional ornis was sufficient. It was the Minister's genius and know- ;dge of men and things that provided the substance for his vork, and sometimes also improved the form. He is under- tood to have worked with more independence under Bismarck's rcdeccssor, and among other things to have drafted the treaty ; Olmiitz. I have heard it asserted that he drew up on his wn initiative documents of great political importance under he First Imperial Chancellor, and prepared speeches from the hronc — but this is a baseless legend. On many occasions, owever, when the Minister was out of temper with the King, \bekcn acted for weeks at a time, entrusted as the mouthpiece t his Chief, and, of course, under instructions from the latter, eported to his Majesty on current affairs. He also on various ccasions accompanied the monarch, in an official capacity, to Mthing resorts, as for instance to Ems in the early summer of 870, where he made himself useful during the last days of his itay and earned the thanks of the Chancellor. In the adjoin- ing salon his Excellency the Secretary of State, von Thile, re- :eives the diplomatists whom the Chancellor himself is unable ;o see. He suddenly resigned, if I remember rightly, on the :nd of October, 1872, and retired into private life. I will, later in, give some particulars of the motives for this step. He was ipposed to the Knltnrkampf, and longed for the return of the jeace of former times. He was exceptionally amiable as a Hiperior. For a short time after his retirement his position ivas filled by von Balen, the German Minister at the Belgian Court. A definite successor was then appointed in the person of von Billow of Mecklenburg, who (I am also writing for the lay public) as Minister of State and Excellency, must not be confounded with his namesake mentioned above. Count Bis- Jiarck-Bohlen and Baron von Gundlach only put in an appear- mce here occasionally. The former, a cousin of the Chancellor's, j.as a lieutenant in the Dragoon Guards and a Councillor of Embassy, and had charge of all sorts of personal affairs of the Chief, principally such as were of little importance. He was also the medium for the Minister's communications with the Literary Bureau in the Ministry of State, and with Stieber, the 444 lORKIGN OFFIC:ii DISCI I'l.INE Hi chief of the Ikilin detective force. Naturally good-n.ituinl he was addicted to braj^^^'in^s played the heathen and the iviu' on a small scale, and indulj;ed in jokes and pinis vvhich wcrfl not always bad ; but he never carried wei[;ht wiHi any ono, cwa^ the Secretaries upon whom he occasionally tried to shift sonnj of his work shruj^j^ing their shoulders at him. All that is to bq said of (jundlach, a lean and sickly gentleman, who afterward^ died at Lisbon as Charge d'Affaires, is that he put in an appear] ance daily for half, or sometimes a whole, hour, glanced at thq Joiintal (lis Dclxits, the Tiiiu's, &c., chatted for a while, coughed a little, chatted again, and for these labours drew an allowance of six thalers a day. For some time after the war Coimjl Wartensleben, a young and amiable nobleman, who was preJ paring himself for the diplomatic service, in which he died of cancer in i8(So, and Count Solms-Sonnenwalde, who had pre- viously been attached to the I^nbassy in Paris, and who after! wards acted as IMinister first in Brazil, then in Dresden, and finally in Madrid,' passed in and out amongst us for a time. It is hardly necessary to po'nt out that notwithstanding the narrowness and discomfort of tiie Foreign Ofifice there is plcntj of hard and good work done there, particularly by Bucher and Abeken. The Chancellor demands it, and gives a good example of it in his own person. The strictest order prevails from topi to bottom, unconditional obedience is the rule, and, as is right and proper, every one obeys without protest or contradiction,! whatever his own opinion may be. At times one or other of the distinguished gentlemen who sit here kicks against the pricks, fancies he should do a little more or a little less, argues! about some special instruction given to him, gnashing his toethj and clenching his fist — in his pocket. He prudently abstains,! however, from giving expression to his dissatisfaction otherwise! than in soliloquies within the walls of his own room. Every-^ thing downstairs moves at the bidding of otic will, that which comes from upstairs, and every one works to the best of his ability. Whoever does not care to work within the broader or narrower sphere prescribed for him by the genius who rules here may take himself off. Discipline must be maintained, and absolute subordination, so that every wheel of the machine shall work readily and promptly and in its proper time and 1 He was subsequently Ambassador to the Italian Court, !•; " MlNISThKlAL DL.Si'Ullb.M ' 44S rally S^nd-naturcii '^'^'' There must bo tio stojjpa^^o caused by this or that atheu and the roiS 1 puns which wcra : wi^h any one, cvotf tried to shift sonii 1. All that is to bj an, who after\vaid| e put in an appcar4 our, glanced at th Dr a while, coughc drew an allowancrf er the war Conn lan, who was pic« which he died of tide, who had pre. : iris, and who aftcr^ n in Dresden, an t us for a time, otwithstanding th^^ 'fice there is plcnt rly by Bucher an 'cs a good cxamp] prevails from to le, and, as is right! t or contradiction, ;s one or other o kicks against the! Jividuality. Acquiescence is the first and highest law. Koimerly things were different, but no great harm was )ne. Those who are acc|uaintecl with the history of I'russia :ior to Bismarck's entry into office know why. To-day when fertile mind and an energetic will preside here, and matters of :c j;reatest moment are at stake, there is nothing for it but to ]oy orders. The Councillors have no longer to offer counsel, ;;t simply to regard themselves as instrunieiits of the Chan- .'lor's will, who, like other instruments. Charges d'Affaires, linisters, and Ambassadors, have to use their knowledge and 3ility in carrying his ideas and intentions into execution. ;;rong self-consciousness is not compatible with the necessity maintaining a continuous and homogeneous policy. This was called "Ministerial desj^otism," by Count Harry Irnim. I call it the maintenance of an absolutely essential ;votion to duty under a great leader. Arnim was offended at :c expression made use of on one occasion by the Chancellor: .\Iy Ambassadors must wheel round like non-commissioned Sccrs at the word of command without knowing why." I, on contrary, consider it quite an excellent description of the ilations which should always exist between the loading spirit the Foreign Office and its branches at foreign Courts, pccially when a man of highly original character and quite xceptional ideas and principles is in charge of the administra- on. With the kind permission of the Excellencies and Grand rosses in question I should not have objected even if in that I little less, arLniosB''P^''^^^^°^ °^ ^^'^ Chancellor's they had been described as his gnashing his toeth»"ior clerks. The more they subordinate to him their own ievvs, tastes, and wills, regarding themselves as his staff ser- vants, or clerks, and acting accordingly, the better services n\ they render, and the better will be their work. If, in idition thereto, they should prove to be impartial, clear-sighted ibservers and diligent reporters, with a sense of what is of im- :ortance, and a distaste for phrasemongering and smart writing )f these attributes, by the way, the only one with which Count Arnim could be credited was a desultory industry), they will ■ave done pretty well everything that can be fairly expected of 'km. I ought now to conduct the reader upstairs under the green Drudently abstains, isfaction otherwise! ivn room. Every- w will, that which to the best of his lin the broader or genius who rules st be maintained, el of the machine proper time and an Court, 446 THE CHANCELLOR'S ROOMS AND THE GARDEN J» and gold cupola to the first floor and there show him the rooms occupied by the Imperial Chancellor and his family. I prefer however, first to pay a visit to the park behind the courtyards and the smaller outbuildings. It is a stately and pleasant fri' . ment of the Thiergarten which formerly extended to this spot and of which many fine groups of beautiful old shady trees are still preserved behind the Wilhelmstrasse, where the nightingales beneath their spreading branches celebrate the budding sprin;'. time and the sunrise. The long avenue which runs in a straight line tc the left, shaded by elm trees or white beech, and which finishes not far from the further end of the garden, narrowin-T more and more in perspective, I always thought to be specially charming and indeed fairy-like. Exceptionally beautiful in the first days of summer with the green shadows falling athwart the branches in the foreground while the far end is bathed in a soft green light, it remains beautiful even in winter, when the fine lichens and mosses lend a greenish sheen to the stems of the trees. I believe the garden is one of the Chancellor's favourite walks, and I hope that this, at least, will be preserved when the house is pulled down. A further reason for hoping so is that many a deep plan was thought out, and many a de- cision of great moment taken here. The Minister had often- strolled up and down here at a late hour of the evening await- ing news from the King at times when important measures were under consideration. Here on the night of the 14th and 15th of June, in the Year of Victory, 1866, the idea occurred to him of inducing Moltke to order the Prussian forces to cross the frontier, and thereby the Rubicon, twenty-four hours earlier? than had been originally intended; and here, in 1870, about the time of the declaration of war, he was to be seen repeatedly pacing up and down that evergreen avenue in a meditativ^ mood, swinging a big stick, and from time to time sending the messenger in waiting to summon one of his assistants in order to give instructions for despatches, telegrams, or newS' paper articles. Returning from the garden behind No. 76 Wilhelmstrasse, we observe that the two wings in which the house ends at this side contain only work rooms, servants' apartments, stables, &c., and that the courtyard between them is shaded by a broad branched nut-tree. IE garu?:n THE DRAWING-ROOM 447 rrocccding up the stairs behind the screen in the main luikling, and passinjj through the glass door at the top, we cuter a small antechamber. When the Chancellor is in I^erlin, lervants in livery and Chancery attendants in black swallow- Mil coats await here the arrival of visitors and of those who are ;} be received in audience, or have to make verbal reports to ;ac Chancellor. A door to the left leads into a second small •ntcchamber, while another to the right brings us into a large val drawing-room, which extends almost throughout the entire icpth of the building. We are told that this was once the ball- room of the Minister Alopeaus, while it now serves as a dining- room when big dinners are given, and for the buffets at the :vcll-known Parliamentaiy evenings.^ From this room we pass into a somewhat smaller one, the inir windows of which open on to the Wilhelmstrasse. . . . The whole room leaves a bright and pleasant impression. It is elegant, but by no means sumptuous, and indeed might be de- bribed as comparatively simple. The lack of pictures, and the entirely white ceiling, gives it a certain emptiness and loneli- ness, while the old-fashioned arrangements for lighting it are not quite in harmony with the remainder of the apartment. In :his respect, also, the Chancellor is more unassuming and in- different to luxury and elegance than his colleagues of the diplomatic world. Not to speak of those who live nearer home, '.d us imagine how the French Minister for Foreign Affairs vould have his residence furnished by the State ! This drawing-room is used for receptions, but sometimes the Chancellor also dines here with his family. This reminds me if a characteristic remark of his. On the 6th of April, 1 878, 1 had the honour to be invited to dine with him. Having in ;he course of the conversation referred to himself as an " old nan," the Priu'^ess remonstrated : " Why, you are only sixty- :hioc!" He replied: "Yes, but I have always lived at high pressure, and paid hard cash for everything." (/a, abcr ich khc iinmcr sdincll nud baar gelcbt.) Then, turning to me, he added: "Hard cash — that means that I have always put my rtole heart into my work : I have paid with my strength and my health for whatever has been achieved." The German 1 In the late autumn of 1878 I found the library of the Foreign Office installed are. 448 THE CHINESE SALON I . people should be grateful to him for this, instead of allowin themselves to be represented in the Reichstag by men who in their vanity and self-will vie with each other in ingratitude. The Chinese Salon is about twenty-two paces in length Iv twelve in breadth, and has three folding doors. One of these opens into the dining-room, another into the second ante- chamber mentioned above, and the third into the billiard-room, which also looks out on the Wilhelmstrasse. The latter is of the same depth as the room just described, and is about three paces less in length. This room is full of historic memories, the spirit of decisive conferences. The decisive interview with the "Duke of Schleswig-Holstcin " took place here in 1864, at which he, with his teiiacious self-seeking and narrow- mindedness, suddenly found himself transformed into a modesty " Hereditary Prince of Augustenburg." In the last month pre-; ceding the war of 1866 the walls of this chamber listened to a fateful exchange of views between Herr von Bismarck and the Austrian Minister. Some time afterwards Prince Napoleon was received here; and in the spring of 1870 the slight figure of Benedetti might be observed waiting in this room for the Minister with whom he was to enter into negotiations. If we now pass through the folding doors which open oppo- site those leading into the Chinese Salon, we find ourselves in the Chancellor's study, a room about eleven paces long by ten broad.; There is no lack of pictures in this room. If we turn to the wall on the right of the door through which we have entered we observe over a sofa covered in dark red woollen .stuff, a number of portraits in gilt frames. The uppermost of these is a portrait, either lithographed or in crayon, of the Emperor in plain clothes, then that of his sister, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and two small photogrnnhs of thei Emperor in the uniform of a general. In front of this sofa! there lay in 1870 the skin of a white lioness, in whose head?' gleamed two bright glass eyes. On the next wall, not far from: the sofa, we find, again in a gilt frame, the portrait of the Kim; of Bavaria in the dress of a civilian; and under this, framed in black, is a small water-colour portrait of the King of Italy, as a permanent guest in the Chancellor's room. This picture has an irrcresting history, which will be given in a subsequent chaj or on the Prince's own authority. Victor Emmanuel, who THE PICTURES 449 represented in uniform, has written a dedication under it. hen follows a small mahogany tabic with books, a carved ibacco chest, a white earthenware stove and a fireplace, to- other with a narrow door, papered over. Turning towards e third door we observe in a corner a carved pipe-rack, in hich are a number of cherry-stick and jasmin stems and thick amounted meerschaum heads, without mounts. Next to these a cupboard with a mirror, and resting against it the full- ngth portrait of a lady, in a carved oak frame. This is the nsort of Prince Charles, who died a few years ago. Behind :is hang a plaster medallion, in a black frame, giving the bust Moltke in profile, and above it the Great Elector and the inly Frederick look down upon us in life-size lithograph half- :,igth portraits framed in gold. Further on we find a standing jesk with maps, which, like all the furniture in this room, is lade of mahogany, and a photograph of Princess Bismarck, io in a gilt frame. Near this a second papered door leads into :,e Chancellor's bedroom. On the wall to the left of the door trough which we entered is the only oil painting in the room, life-size portrait, in an oval gilt frame, of the Prince's daugh- r, in a ball dress. Beneath it on a cylinder desk stand a deer ,id a wild boar in cast iron, and a thermometer in the form of .1 advertisement pillar, and on a smaller adjoining table lies a Section of gloves and white and red military caps. The Minister's writing-table, which our descendants will subtless find in some historical museum, occupies nearly the iddle of the room. It is about two and a half metres long by in width, and is so placed that the person sitting at it has s face turned towards the wall with the oil painting which I ive just described. Over it hangs a red woollen bell pull, hich many a time and oft has called the Chancery attend- before the door, in order to summon me to make my appear- ace before the Chief. On such occasions one hurried upstairs stantly, leaving everything just as it happened to lie, stood fore the Chief at attention like a lieutenant before his general, lear and memory, and then rushed off again to his place to mmit the orders received to paper as speedily as possible. It as not permissible to misunderstand ; and questions as to what id been said were, for the most part, also excluded, while the estion that something could not be done met with an angry J'fro- lao VOL. I. ■2G Il "▼■ 450 SOME BOOKS 01-' RErERENCE retort. It had to be done, and as a matter of fact was done m most cases. A severe school, but he who would enjoy the: honour of having direct intercourse with a great man, of servinf- him and his country, and of learning from him, must be able to overlook a certain hardness in his nature. In the present in- stance this was all the easier, as the Chancellor never bore a grudge, and could be most amiable when off duty. Moreover, others, and some of very high position, fared no better. " I am always frightened when I am obliged to go up to him," said hii Excellency von Thile to me one evening. Alongside the writing-desk and its belongings stand two chairs covered like the sofa, in one of which the Prince is accu»- tomed to sit on the appearance of a visitor, while he invites hii guest to occupy the other. At work he uses the oak armchair, with a low open back, which stands behind the writing-tabla On his right-hand side is an dtagtre, upon the top of which resH the bronze figure of a greyhound, and some writing paper and envelopes, lower down some leather portfolios with documents, and quite at the bottom four or five thick folio volumes. On the left of the writer is another stand, with some handbook! On a visit which I paid to the room in 1873, I found among these books the thick volumes of the " List of Orders " froia 1862 to 1868, a number of Petermann's " Mittheilungen," Marten's " Guide Diplomatique," a collection of Hymn^ " Hymnarium, Bluethcn lateinischer-Kirchenpoesie " (Halle; 1868), Gottfried Cohn's "Constitution and Procedure of the British Parliament," Joel's " Lessons in the Russian Language accordmg to Ollendorff's System," and Schmidt's " Small Ruj-j sian and German Dictionary." On the green baize cover of] the writing-table usually lies a fold of red blotting paper o|j which the Chancellor writes. To the right of this under a glaa shade we notice a gilt clock, on which a painter in Spanish co| tume sits with a pencil and drawing board. We also obser on the green cloth a plain white porcelain writing-stand with || little gilding, four or five lead pencils of the largest variety, sucli as the Minister now principally uses, and half a dozen quill pen| with the feathers cut short, which are prepared by the artisti hand of Hofrath Willisch, one of the decipherers, a paper knifj a seal, a couple of sticks of sealing wax, and a candlestick wit! two candles. A FEW KNICKKNACKS 451 In 1873 various additions were made: a paperweight, with |i piece of the famous colossal zinc lion that stood up to 1864 in Ithe churchyard of Flensburg as a monument of the Danish vic- tory at Idstedt, and which has now been added to the trophies |in the Berlin Zeughaus, and two other paper-weights made of l;hick metal discs, one of which had been cast from an Austrian Lannon captured in 1866, and the second from one of the iFrench cannon taken in 1870; a pen- wiper in black, red, and white; two columnar cigar-cutters; an ash-tray, in the form of la large flower like a tulip, which, together with the two objects jlast mentioned, have now been removed, as the Prince has L'iven up smoking for several years past on account of his jiiealth. Besides these, some old Roman bronze lamps with liandles formed of green serpents, a terra-cotta pot with the ligures of Massinissa and Sophonisba; and finally, at that time, la few books lay on the table: the red bound "Army List," iHirth's " Parlaments-almanach," the Gotha handbooks, a rail- Iway guide, and Henry Wheaton's " Commentaire du Droit International." What tales could be told by that writing-table if it had Imderstanding, memory, and speech ! What secrets, what men- la! struggles, what inspiration and illumination, what slow lievelopment of ideas, what sudden energetic decisions ; what Iprayers, perhaps, may those pictures on the walls have wit- nessed ! How the eyes of old Fritz and of the Great Elector Inust have gleamed when they looked over the writer's shoulder las he drafted bold and far-reaching measures which were to recast the German world, and with it the entire relations of [Europe ! The creative mind that ruled here has departed, never to Ireturn. To-day perhaps some unimportant but pretentious Herr von So-and-So, the possessor of three high-sounding titles land three times three exalted orders, makes himself at home in lis old workshop, for this part of the house has also been altered, and what was formerly on the ground floor has now Iteen shifted upstairs. In our thoughts, however, he still oc- cupies his old place. The Minister is now far away, but, as we teel, only for a time. We, at any rate, feel his invisible pres- ence. We cannot picture to ourselves this historic chamber Ivithout thinking of him as its occupant. We pass through it 452 THE BEDCHAMBER silently, and hold our breath as if we might disturb him. VVe seem to be standing within sacred precincts. And these must be the feelings of every one, even after years and tens of years, who brings with him a sense of greatness and of hero-worship, The house will one day disappear, and with it this chambRr. Otherwise the visitor who might come here a hundred years hence would be still more deeply impressed than we are to-day, and an inner voice would whisper to him, " Hush, this place is sacred ground ! " Continuing our tour of inspection through the front rooms, which were occupied by Prince Bismarck up to 1878, we pass through the papered door into the bedchamber. Here the walls are covered with a white paper. There is but one win- dow with two curtains, one white and the other of woollen stul^, with a black and red arabesque pattern. The bed is shut in bv a screen covered with red cloth, and on an adjoining shelf stand some cloth slippers and a pair of huge wooden shoes, with the colours of the Empire painted across the instep, a present from a simple-minded but skilful and patriotic patten-maker. A sofa in green stuff stands against the wall opposite the bed, and near it a table and a couple of cushioned armchairs. An old woodcut over the sofa, representing two knights with horses and hounds, and a white earthenware stove complete the fittings of the chamber. As we return to the study previous to paying a short visit to the back rooms of the residence, we may recall the circum- stance that in 1873 a large portrait of General Grant, in a hand- some carved oak frame, rested on a chair near the sofa in the former chamber, doubtlebs an indication of the Prince's liking for Americans. Their substantial qualities, their practical char- acter, which, however, neither excludes idealism nor the power of self-sacrifice in its pursuit, their youthful audacity combined with far-seeing shrewdness in all their public and private under- takings, inspired the Prince with a hearty admiration, to which he frequently gave expression in my presence. Of the rooms at the back of the house, the windows of which open on the courtyard with its nut-tree and on the garden, we need only inspect, and quite cursorily, those in the main build- ing. We enter first of all a small sitting-room used by the Princess, in which hangs an excellent picture of Bismarck in disturb him. We And these must and tens of years, d of hero-worship, : it this chamber. a hundred years i han we are to-day, ; ^ush, this place is; h the front rooms, ) to 1878, we pass- mber. Here the re is but one win- ;r of woollen stuff, e bed is shut in hv joining shelf stand. en shoes, with the; ep, a present from patten-maker. A )osite the bed, and ■mchairs. An old its with horses and lete the fittings of ylng a short visit recall the circum- l Grant, in a hand- 1 ir the sofa in the he Prince's liking leir practical char- sm nor the power j ludacity combined and private under- miration, to which windows of which n the garden, we n the main build- 'oom used by the e of Bismarck in AN HISTORICAL TABLE 453 0, his Frankfort days ; and then we pass into a larger room be- hind the billiard-room, which contains some oil paintings of the Prince's ancestors, amongst others his grandfather, to whom as a youth he is said to have borne a striking resemblance. The most interesting piece of furniture is a small mahogany table, which conveys a faint echo of the historic deeds and events that fill the stillness of the front rooms into the cosy comfort of these family apartments. We read on a metal plate that has been inserted into it: "The Preliminary Treaty of Peace between Germany and France was signed upon this table on the 26th of February, 1871, at No. 14 Rue de Provence, Versailles." I may add that the gold pen set with diamonds which the Chancellor received for the purpose from one of his admirers in the Grand Duchy of Baden was really used in sign- ing this instrument. If I am not mistaken the Treaty with Ba- varia, which was the keystone in the building of the German Empire, was not signed upon this table. Of course the owner of this otherwise comparatively worthless piece of furniture, to which the Chancellor had thus given value and importance, was provided with an exactly similar article. Adjoining the tea-room is the chamber in which the Prince is accustomed to take lunch, and where the family also occasion- ally dines. It lies behind one half of the Chinese Salon, and like the latter is furnished with a Turkish carpet, red-cushioned chairs and gilt mirrors, and decorated with a few oil paintings, including a picture of Frederick the Great and a portrait of Frederick William III. It may be mentioned that the rooms just described play a not unimportant part in the orders of the day for the official world below. Towards 10 o'clock in the morning, sometimes later, seldom earlier, one of the Chancery attendants comes into the Central Bureau and calls out, "The Prince is in the breakfast-room." That is the riveilU, the first signal for action of the Chancellor's little army of assistants, to whom the departmental secretaries now hand all the despatches and documents received for him through the post or otherwise. Some time afterwards the second signal follows : " The Chancellor is in the study " — a sign that the higher officials who have communications to make may report themselves to the Chief, and that the others should hold themselves in readiness to be summoned to him. 454 A DAY'S WORK Finally, in busy seasons late at night, as a general rule about I 10 P.M., those who have been kept at their desks by their work] (while the Chancellor is in Berlin the faithful Lothar Bucherl is always amongst the last of these) hear the retreat sounded ; "The Chancellor is in the tea-room." That puts an end to thej day's work, or to the obligation of sitting booted and spurred, awaiting orders. The workers put on their hats and leave, the shutters are closed, and the Chancery servant puts out thej lights. Ni CHAPTER XXI |,ROM OUR RETURN FROM THE WAR UP TO THE TEMPORARY DISCONTINUANCE OF MY PERSONAL INTERCOURSE WITH THK CHANCELLOR — GLIMPSES OF THE DIPLOMATIC WORLD — COMMISSIONS FOR THE PRESS After a few days' rest we returned again to our former work It the office, accustoming ourselves to it o.ice more, so that Lrything fell again into the old groove. The only difference lor me was that I continued to enjoy the privilege accorded to 1,10 at Versailles, of access to all documents of a political Iharacter received by or despatched from the Foreign Office. Lome of these were entrusted to my diary in the form of short |,iimmaries, or longer notices, together with many of my ex- locriences and observations of that period, and an anthology of ]:he tasks set to me by the Chief, which, as formerly, I noted down at once for future use. And now these faded leaves may |:hemsclves speak. March 24///, 1 871. — To-day, as also during the last few I days, read old and recent despatches and other correspondence. It is reported from Vienna that Beust has been " much affected " by the telegrams exchanged by the Emperors William and Alex- ander, as from these it would appear as if the forbearance shown by the Austrians up to the last hour were not voluntary. A wire has been sent informing him that the telegram of the Ger- man Emperor was a purely personal act, and was despatched without the knowledge of the Miviister. M. in Cassel reported that Madame Guisolphe from Versailles had been with Napoleon at Wilhelmsh5he ; further, that Count Clary, passing as a M. Bertram, had, shortly before our departure, twice visited Ver- sailles at the instance of the ex-Emperor, and then returned to Wilhelmshohe; and finally, that Count Meulan had also been I there on a visit, and that his communications appeared to afford Napoleon great satisfaction. Horace Rumbold. the English 455 456 THE GRAND DUKL OF WEI.MAK [Al'KlL Charge d'Affaires at St. Petersburg, is stated, in a report fiDni that capital, to be vehemently hostile to J'rutisia as well as tJ Russia. According to a despatch sent to Uernstorff on thJ 17th of March, in which a desire is expressed that Loftui should be recalled, the latter had declared that England forbiidJ the bombardment of Paris, and would know how to prevent ia through the influence of the Crown Princess. A communicai tion from Stockholm states that the King of Sweden had als written to General Brincourt of the French Guards, who had formerly been in Metz, and was there made prisoner by thei Germans, a letter in which he expressed sentiments of strongly anti-German character. March 2<^th. — A letter from St. Petersburg reports that) Oubril has been selected for the Russian Embassy in ruriJ and that the Grand Duchess Helene wishes him to be succeedd| in Berlin by Walujeff, and not by the francophil Albedinski-j also not by Orloff, who is very sensitive, and whose policy isl governed by the treatment which he receives. The Enipciurl Alexander will nominate Walujeff if the Emperor William de- sires it, and she, the Grand Duchess, is prepared to communi- cate his wishes. P'icld Marshal von Berg, of Warsaw, is understood to be very well affected towards us. April "J th. — Bucher told me this evening that "the vener- able " Abeken drafted the Treaty of Olmiitz, which is hardly calculated to add to our respect for the Herr Geheimrath, who passed through the room at the time, whistling as he went. April ?>th. — It is reported from Weimar, with "satisfaction and pleasure," that for some time past there has been a marked change for the better in the political sentiments of the Grand Duke. " While his Royal Highness has never spoken to the writer on political subjects since the spring of 1866, and always carefully avoided touching upon them even at the most decisive moments, turning the conversation to private matters, he recently at a Court concert spoke to the writer on the internal affairs of the German Empire, and expressed his warm approval of the first parliamentary speech made by the Chancellor against the Ultramontanes. The report continues : The Grand Duke re- turned to the same subject yesterday at dinner, and spoke in high praise of the Chancellor, whom he had desired to thank personally the last time he was in Berlin, but had been unable MAK [AlKlL in a report froi russia as well as t( o Bernstorff on thi iprcsscd that Loftu; •iJ SAVICiNY 457 find at home. The communication concludes as follows : It is to Lc hoped that the ice is now broken, and that our l.itions with the Grand Duke will improve." It was probably on one of the immediately preceding or fol- hat England forbad, ^.i^g days of April that the Chief gave me the ideas for an V how-to prevent i| ,^^^q for the press which I here reproduce : " On the forma- jii of the Centre Party, in which Savigny rendered considera- ussistance, the public was inclined to believe that the latter, ho had been a Goverr nent official up to 1866, wished to con- ;iuc to support the Government. In this view, however, the wnge which had taken place in his attitude was overlooked. [ftcr the first draft of the Constitution of the Confederation £ was thought of for the post of Chancellor of the Confedera- , which, however, would then practically have had only the •iportancc of a Presiding Minister, such as the Austrian rep- isentative had formerly been at Frankfort. But the Diet ]iended the Constitution so as to make the Chancellor of the oufederation a responsible Minister, and the position became atircly different. It gave the Chancellor complete control of ]i affairs and policy of the Confederation, and it had never een the intention of the King to appoint Herr von Savigny to jch a post. To the latter, however, this was a severe disapp- int- lent, aggravated further by physical discomforts, the worst of hich was the necessity of again removing from the apart- ionts in the Chancellerie of the Confederation, which he had ready occupied and had arranged very comfortably." Afri/ \oth. — Wollmann told me to-day that recently an idignant communication with documentary enclosures had been eceived from Fabrice, reporting that , who had been acting s Prefect in a French provincial town, had been found guilty serious misbehaviour. Fabrice had for a long time regarded im as unfit for the post. Now, on his departure, however, he as found in possession of 41,000 francs, which he had con- ealed in some old clothes, together with a number of silk cur- ains and chair covers, with which he wished to pack his boxes n leaving. Finally, when receiving money from the French, e allowed the latter less than 3 francs 75 centimes for the lialer, which was the rate at which he paid it over to the Treas- ry, and put the difference into his own pocket. Hardly credi- ble, yet W. says that he has himself seen the General's letter. ess. A communis. 3f Sweden had also :h Guards, who had ide prisoner by the :d sentiments of rsburg reports thai Embassy in Paris, him to be succeeded :ophil Albedinski- nd whose policy is /es. The Empcioi nperor William dc. pared to communi. rg, of Warsaw, is is us. ? that "the vener- tz, which is hardly r Geheimrath, who ng as he went. , with " satisfaction has been a marked ents of the Grand 2ver spoken to the f 1866, and always t the most decisive natters, he recently internal affairs of n approval of the icellor against the I Grand Duke re- ner, and spoke in desired to thank had been unable 458 11 1 1", six.oNi) snail': oi i'akis LAlKll April \^th, — The Chief wishes to have the sensatinna stories ])iihlishe(l by the Avcnir dc Loire ct Cher aiul the Rc\\k des Deux Moiuics tontrailicted in the jiress, and the real f;Kj related — but "iiot in the Herliii [)ai)ers." According to thci romancers, we took away with us the silver and table linc?i liuij Madame Jesse's house, and the Chancellor tried to extort valuable clock from the poor oppressed lady. The Miiiist^ at the same time gave mc the necessary particulars. '\\ article appeared in the Kohiisclic ZcitiiUi:; of the i8th of April, April \6t/i. — Wrote the following article for the Kdlnisd ZcitHUi^, on information received from the Chief: " Is theij not a proverb to the effect. What is sauce for the goose sauce also for the gander ? For some considerable time pnsj the west end of Paris has been bombarded, and, indcj without previous notice. A hail of shells has fallen on th Turkish Legation, and there has been a similar downpour the immediate vicinity of the American Legation, so that Mj Washburne found himself obliged to remove to another part the city. That is done on behalf of a government to whoi these diplomatists are accredited, yet, lo and behold, they ni;il< no complaint. Nor apparently do any of their colleagues, we Germans had no memory, we should consider this silcij resignation quite proper, as no one who takes up his residond in a fortress is justified in protesting if he has to share its fatj a rule which applies to diplomatists as well as to all othd mortals. But, having a memory, we may be permitted to aa why did the diplomats residing in Paris shriek and protest s^ loudly against our bombshells, when the majority of thoa gentlemen were no longer accredited to any one, and thercfon had no official character. Wc refer to the declaration of eigh| een foreign Ministers, Charges d' Affaires, and Consuls Genera dated the 1 3th of January, in the present year, denouncing th bombardment of Paris by the German Army, and complainir that the citizens of neutral States were being wounded an exposed to constant danger. It was further urged that th bombardment had been begun without previous notice, thu depriving the diplomats in question of the opportunity of warij ing \\iQ\x prot^gh. Feeling their responsibility, they joined a resolution, which was unanimously adopted, in which thi| referred to the principles and usages of international law i| THl. OLD AM) THE NEW DIPLOMACY 459 Import of their clcmand that measures should hv t ikeii to [ible them to bring the persons andl property of their coun- vnicn into a pUice of safety. Nothing whatever of this kind U taken place now. Shall we try to solve the riddle by as- Uing that personal partisanship was the motive of the com- jiint, partisanship against (iermany and for l^'rancc ?" — I [en (|uoted the names of the diplomats who hud formerly Irotested and were now silent. A/>fi/ lyt/i. — The Chancellor wishes to have the following [ri/ 20tli. — We hear from Vienna that Beust is trying draw nearer to the Hoheriwart and Klerhalm Ministry, as the: is now a power in the public life of Austria which is strong! than the Imperial Chancellor, and which, although it now span him, could at a later moment bring about his fall. Many thin which now happen probably have their origin in the Cabinet the Emperor, and are therefore due to Herr von Braun, who married to .1 Frankfort lady, and who is in regular intercouri with the ex-Senator Bernus, who, in turn, has frequent meetin with Fre.e. Among the drafts is an instruction to W. Munich, dated the i8th instant, which runs as follows: " In telegram of the 7th I referred to the attitude of the Clericals the Reichstag, where their hostility to the Imperial Governmei is becoming more evident from day to day. At first it mig have been expected that the party which was being formed, evi if it had a strongly Catholic tendency, would not subordinate political questions to sectarian differences, but would, to so extent, join with the Imperial Government upon the basis Conservative principles and the honourable promotion of t common national interests, supporting it in the same way as t strictly orthodox wing of the Evangelical Church has done, wit! out sacrificing their independence. In consequence of thi expectation, the Government had observed a friendly attitui VP J THE CLERICALS IN THE REICHSTAG 463 |;o\vards the party, and in the debate on the Address had avoided jmy rejoinder to the plea openly put forward for German inter- lention in Italy, in order to leave free play to the expression of ;hc various aspirations and views. That debate, and still more Ihose that followed on the introduction of certain fundamental jilterations in the constitution of the Empire, showed clearly that Ihe Clerical party had developed into a close organisation on a [purely sectarian basis, and were prepared to sacrifice all national Ind political interests to those of their creed. The result is that Ihey have made opponents of all the other parties, and particu- larly of those Catholics who remain faithful to the national |;ause, finding no support on any side except among the Hano- lierian Separatists and the Poles. I greatly regret these tactless Ijnd inept proceedings which aggravate the strain of sectarian Ijiffercnces. I learn that the Clerical party regards the failure |)t its efforts to find support in the Federal Council as a sort of Ikclaration of war on the part of the Government. The allied JGovernments, on the other hand, find that the aggressive ten- Ifencies of this party, which is only a continuation of the attitude [kg since adopted, and, unfortunately, still maintained by the (Clerical press, naturally affects their position, and must force lihem into taking defensive measures of a more effective char- jicter, and oblige them on their side to assume the aggressive. Ilhc uncompromising attitude of the Clericals greatly promotes l:hc Dollinger movement, and helps to win sympathy for it in Icircles which previously held aloof from it, where the course Itaken is regarded as confirmation of the assertion of Dollinger land his friends respecting the incompatibility of Clerical and lUltramontane tendencies with the demands of a national com- Imonweal." W. was to speak confidentially to Bray in this sense. I find from one of W.'s reports that this has been done. The Bavarian Minister has, indeed, expressed his agreement with the foregoing statement, but the chief cause of his regret is that the foolish course taken by the Clericals in the Reichstag has ren- Idered it impossible for the Government to cooperate with them, a policy which would, in his opinion, have been desirable, and will now oblige it on principle to oppose them. Dollinger, in I his opinion, had also gone too far. April 2ist. — ^This morning the Chief wished to have an I article written for the Kolnische Zeitung calling attention to the 464 BARRICADE HEROES' [April 24I i' contrast between the intellectual impotence of the French and! their self-conceit, and to the circumstance that in recent times} they have always had to trust to foreigners for their salvationl — a theme for which he gave me the ideas. The article ran as| follows : — " The forces at the disposal of the insurgents num-i ber about 120,000. In addition to these may be reckoned somcl 10,000 or 12,000 more or less convinced Republicans who havel come from abroad, from the provinces, from Belgium, and from! England ; and perhaps an equal number of criminals and mis-j demeanants. A large proportion of the National Guards, who! are only serving undet compulsion, long for the moment whcnj they shall be obliged to lay down their arms. The rcmainderl consist of workmen who prefer the pay of the Commune, the] daily excitement and amusement of chasing former gendarmesl and policemen, to a peaceful return to their workshops. That! cannot last long. It would be unnatural if, among these thou- sands of idle workmen and insurgents under duress, a disgust! for such a life did not make itself felt, together with a surfcit| of the hardships of the soldier's trade, and a loosening of disci- pline. For the moment, indeed, Dombrowsky, who enjoys aj certain popularity, succeeds in holding them together. This isj a new symptom of the extraordinary intellectual poverty and weakness of will which characterises the Frenchman of to-day, and particularly the Parisian. They boast of being the centre! of civilisation, the focus of the intelligence of our time ; and! yet, lo and behold, in the recent crises they have always selected foreigners for their leaders, and have sought their salvation abroad ! After the fall of the Empire they allowed themselves to be tyrannised by Gambetta. At the same time they placed their hopes in Garibaldi, another Italian, who v/ould now be Dictator in Paris had he desired it. Instead of Garibaldi, they must now depend upon Poles of the notorious guild of 'barri-j cade heroes ' — such as Dombrowsky, Okolowitch, &c. ; while, finally, there is an almost universal wish entertained by the party of order, who are dissatisfied with the lack of energy manifested at Versailles, that the Germans — again foreigners — should undertake the restoration of law and order." The following is an almost literal reproduction of the Chancellor's] own words : — " Scarcely another people in the whole world would condescend in such a pitiful way to borrow its heroes! (;■] FRANCE'S OBLIGATIONS 465 [iin abroad. With the exception of these Parisians who boast [being the cream of civilisation, but who in reality are merely [c redskins of the pavement, as empty-headed and weak-willed savages, none would submit to be driven by energetic, bough otherwise insignificant, foreigners towards ends that [e in every respect opposed to their own interests. Truly a Ipulsive and most pitiable degeneracy! " April 2^tli. — Called to the Chief this evening, and received fctructions and materials for an article in the Koliiische Zci- ;^, which ran as follows : — " If the French ship which came Gliickstadt to convey 40,000 French prisoners of war back I their country was obliged to return without having effected i object, the reasons were very clearly indicated by the Impe- Chancellor in his last speech in the Reichstag. According I the Preliminary Peace, the prisoners were to be surrendered ; ;t, on the other hand, the French Government was not at [erty, until after the signature of the final treaty, to station ly troops between the Seine and the Loire, with the excep- In of 40,000 men in Paris. In consideration of the embar- Bsment caused to the Government of M. Thiers by the ImmuniSt rising, no objection was raised on the part of Gcr- Iny to the collection of a force of over 40,000 men near pailLs; and, indeed, this measure was for a time endorsed the liberation of a large number of prisoners. The Ger- |ans were, however, under no obligation to do this. On the ntrary, their obligation ceased so long as the French Govern- |ent was not in a position to fulfil its share of the undertaking establish and maintain a neutral zone between the Seine and Hire. The concessions made on the German side in the mat- of the liberation of prisoners were voluntary concessions, lere acts of a complaisance dictated by our own interest, the [ntinuance of which depended entirely upon circumstances, ton the good will manifested at Versailles, and upon the con- tence which may be reposed in Berlin, in the loyalty to its pty engagements, as well as the energy and capacity of the lersailles Government. But theie was also another considera- In, Notwithstanding the order issued by Favre, all the Ger- lan prisoners in the hands of the French have not yet been Int back, although their liberation should have taken place pmediately after the Convention of the 28th of January. This VOL. I. •2H 466 THE I'ARIS COMMUNE [Al'Kl,. II ' is doubtless due to the independent position of the Frenq Minister of War, as well as of the Chief of the Admiralty, wl have shown a reluctance to discharge strictly and speedily tl engagements entered into by Favre and Thiers for the reloa of some fourteen hundred German officers and soldiers, wl are still held as prisoners, as, amongst other matters, for t! surrender of the merchant vessels that had not been co demned before the conclusion of the Preliminary Peace. C; the Versailles Government fairly expect us to make furth concessions when it has itself contumaciously neglected t| fulfilment of its own obligations for fully three months ? " April 2()th. — The Minister wishes the following explanatk of the " double face " of the Paris Commune inserted in t press: — "Many reports from Paris, and all those origlnatii with persons who have access to the Government at Versaillf allude only to one of the tendencies which have contributed the revolution in Paris and the foundation of the Commun They represent it, namely, as the work of the cosmopolitan re olutionary spirit and as an attempt to realise socialistic ai communistic chimeras. The truth of this is not to be denie It is a cosmopolitan revolutionary spirit which united under tl communistic flag MM. Dombrowski, Okolowitch, Stupny, La duski, Burnaki, and other Polish ' heroes of the barricades,' ! gether with the Garibaldians and the crowd of Belgian ai English members of the International, and which wou lOr the the sympathies of Bebel and Schraps in the Imperial Diet, is the grossest form of Communism that has united these chai pions of revolt with fifteen to twenty thousand liberated criii nals and the rest of the dregs of modern civilisation. But addition to the fantastic and criminal cravings of which the are the representatives and tools, there is another eleme involved in the present Revolution that should never be lo sight of. This movement, which is thoroughly well founde and is supported by order-loving and sensible citizens, aims at more reasonable municipal organisation by the curtailment an unnecessary and burdensome State guardianship. This te dency is explained by the history of France. The tyrannoi municipal policy of Hausmann, which had a highly prejudici effect upon the interests of the Corporation of Paris, is a stri ing example of the evils referred to. If the Parisians we [Al'KI,, m OVERTURES FROM THE COMMUNE 467 sition of the FrenMiven a municipal constitution approximating to that of the >f the Admiralty, wBriissian towns in the Hardcnberg period, many thoughtful and ictly and speedily tiactical men in Paris who are now opposed to the Versailles rhiers for the relcaB;overnment would be satisfied, and would be no longer inclined ;o encourage the Revolution by their passive support." April 30///. — Yesterday and to-day read a number of inter- ting documents treating of negotiations with Cluseret, the iresent General of the Commune, and took note of them for uturc use. In the first of these dated the loth instant, Fabrice ers and soldiers, w ither matters, for tl : had not been c iliminary Peace. C : us to make furthl :iously neglected mjs instructed by telegraph to say in reply to Cluseret that he three months } ' following explanatii mune inserted in tl all those originati 2rnment at Vcrsaill li have contributed on of the Commu [lould listen to any overtures which the latter might desire to aake to him, and bring them to the knowledge of the Chancel- lor. The telegram then continued: — "If he should then call [pon you it might be possible, without actually negotiating, to him to say how the Commune would propose to raise the noney for us. You might also be able to bring home to him [he helplessness of the whole affair, and in that way form an the cosmopolitan rev.ipinion ps +:o the prospects of an attempt at mediation between realise socialistic a ; is not to be deni hich united under t owd of Belgian ai I which woi; lOr the le Imperial Di^^t. as united these chai isand liberated crin civilisation. But dngs of which the is another eleme should never be lo >uglily well founde 3le citizens, aims at •y the curtailment rdianship. This te Paris and Versailles. In reply to a despatch of the 21st of \pril, in which Fabrice says that the Commune has no money, •nd that in order to raise some it has already seized upon the owitch, Stupny, La iropcrty of societies and Individuals, the Chief said that the gen- )f the barricades,' t ,j^\ should nevertheless sound them as to the surrender of Paris ;o us, but only for purposes of information and report. The ilea that the Commune could be really considered solvent had 3ccn entirely foreign to the telegram of the lOth instant. It was only a reconnaissance for the purpose of ascertaining the inten- [ions and resources of the holders of power in Paris. Fabrice jeports from Soissy on the 27th instant that Holstein, who had emained behind with him, had had a meeting with Cluseret, and hat the Commune was disposed to pay a sum of 500,000,000 irancs, of which 300,000,000 was in hand, in the form of secu- nties belonging to the city, while the remaining 200,000,000 ;ould be raised by the sale of the Octroi dues. In return for this the Germans would be required to abstain from taking any )art in the stoppage of supplies, and not to deliver any of the ice. The tyrannoi i^^^^ occupied by them to the Versailles Government. A desire a highly prejudici ,^^5 ^■[^^ expressed that we should endeavour to bring about 1 of Pans, IS a stn .^ understanding as to a modus vivcndi between the two bel- the Parisians weB jggj.gj^j. parties. There was a twofold basis upon which this 4o8 BISMARCK'S REPLY [Al'KlL J, could be effected. One was that the city should be disarmed but should not; be occupied by the troops of the Versailles Gov ernment, and that it should be granted a communal administra tion, together with security against a recurrence of Hausmaiu or Pietri Budgets. The second was the dissolution of the pre ent National Assembly, which had exhausted its mandate, aiii a fresh appeal to France, whose decision would be accepted b Paris. Cluseret had described the socialist and other excossc as a phase of tV "s 'dr61e de mouvcment' which had now pass away. He treated the military siege of the city as an impossi bility, but begged in the event of Versailles being, in spite of al human probability, victorious that they should not be permitte to destroy Paris. This, as well as the expectation that we niig! mediate, was only a desire on their part, and not one of the con ditions of payment. The Frenchman then observed that ncgo tiations with us would subject him to less suspicion in Paris tha would negotiations with the Versailles Government. He furthe promised to release all German prisoners as soon as he \va informed who and where they were, and also to move at onci for the liberation of the Archbishop, whose imprisonment \va an inheritance from the first phase of the movement. Finally he repeated that the only important points were our neutralit] and the abstention from interference with their supplies, a from a military standpoint the Versailles people caused him n anxiety." The Chief replied on the same day, that from this it ap peared, if Cluseret's views could be accepted as authoritativ in Paris, that mediation between the latter and Versailles wa not hopeless, those views being more moderate than he ha expected, particularly with regard to disarmament. Fabric might try to ascertain what Favre thought of the first alterna tive. In the meantime our attitude should be made to corre spend with Cluseret's expectations by observing neutrality, ani taking no part in the maintenance of the cordon round Paris A despatch setting forth the reasons for this course would bi sent to him, Fabrice, that day. The telegram concluded :- "The demands of the French nogotiators in Brussels wit respect to the five milliards and the Eastern Railway shov qiCon se moqiie dc noiisy These telegrams were supplemented by a further communi [Al'KlL should be disarmed iSji] GERMANY'S MEDIATION 469 •ation dated the day before yesterday, which said that Fabrice if the Versailles Gov >"°"'^ U.CQp up the relations that had been established with ommunal administra rrence of Hausmam ssolution of the pres ted its mandate, ani rould be accepted b t and other exccsse hich had now passci e city as an impossi being, in spite of al uld not be permitte( :tation that we migh d not one of the con observed that nego ispicion in Paris thai ;rnment. He furthe as soon as he wa also to move at onci se imprisonment wa movement. Finally s were our neutralit ;h their supplies, a eople caused him ni ^luscret, and should try to ascertain whether he was of opinion hat in case of the disarmament of the city and its non-occu- pation by the Versailles troops it could be garrisoned by our oldiers. If that were the case, it would be desirable to make a icrious endeavour to mediate with Versailles. Communal inde- pendence, after the fashion of the Prussian municipal regula- [ions, was not in itself an unreasonable demand, if no efforts lere made to secure communistic adjuncts. Perhaps it would lie possible to sever the reasonable communal movement from he international one. If in doing this we succeeded in occupy- ing Paris with the approval of the two parties, guaranteeing :ommunal independence until the French had come to an un- derstanding among themselves, and intervening with a strong hand in restoring domestic peace in France, we should improve our own position and gain fresh securities against possible bad iaith at Versailles. In these circumstances P'abrice was to avoid taking sides in any way against the Parisians, The despatch mentioned in the last telegram of the 27th of April, which was to be forwarded by courier on the same day, began by referring to a telegram from Fabrice, according to ivhich Favre begged in a formal Note that the French troops night be permitted to pass through our lines over the Northern Railway and force their way into Paris ; further, that the Ger- man military authorities should call upon the insurgents to dis- arm the enceinte, in accordance with the Convention of the 28th of January ; and, finally, that the French army might be permitted to pass through the district and gate of St. Ouen. It rans as follows: — "The French Government requests us to permit the passage of their troops through St. Ouen. This lies within the neutral zone, where the presence of both armies is forbidden by the Convention of the 28th of January. In order to enable us to agree to this we should be convinced that any arrangements we may come to with the French Government would be carried out by the latter. This conviction has been shaken by the dilatoriness of the French in the fulfilment of previous obligations, and by certain indications of a tendency to place an arbitrary interpretation, contrary to their true sense, a further communilupon stipulations that are now in force. The French Govern- hat from this it ap ited as authoritativ r and Versailles wa derate than he ha( armament. Fabric of the first alterna i be made to corre rving neutrality, am cordon round Paris his course would b( igram concluded :- •s in Brussels will ;tern Railway show r^ 470 I'KKNCII TRETKNSIONS [Al'RII, mcnt is in arrears with the greater part of the money payabli for the maintenance of our troops, with the release of Germaij prisoners of war, and with the issue of clear and peremptory instructions to the Governors of the Colonies and the Comjj mandcrs of the naval stations in Eastern Asia for the suspenl sion of hostilities. The disposition to put a construction Mpnif agreements which they never had, as well as to extend and over ride them without an understanding with us, is betrayed by th^ collection of 140,000 troops, where they are only justificci iij having 100,000; in the attempt to reduce the war indemnity bjl making payments below par ; and in what, to my astonishment appears to be the manifestation of a desire for the commence ment of the evacuation of the districts occupied by us. If th^ French Government should really assert that we are bouncU upon the payment of the first half milliard, and before the conj elusion of a definitive peace, to any sort of evacuation, that cir cumstance would destroy all my confidence in its loyalty, aj during the negotiations no other view was ever held than thai a definitive peace must precede any evacuation by us of thij side of the Seine. " It was then supposed that the conclusion of a definitiv^ peace would take place previous to any payment by France M. Thiers expressed his intention to commence his financia operations after a lapse of two months at the earliest, and con sidered that the definitive treaty would be concluded in fron four to six weeks. There was no question that the whole pre. ent occupation was regarded as a guarantee to us for the coni elusion of the definitive peace ; and the terms clearly show thai all the evacuation yet to take place was subordinated to thi final peace, and that the payments only affected the variouj stages of these evacuations. The sentence following thesJ stipulations, according to which the evacuation is to take placd after the conclusion of peace and after the payment of the firsj half milliard, was not contained in the original text. M. Thierj wished to have it concluded, and M. Favre considered it super! fluous. I declared myself in favour of its inclusion, as on th( day before I had agreed that a comparatively large and imporj tant stage of the evacuation should be made dependent upon this first payment, which might be reckoned on the basis of thej proportion between the entire territory occupied and the whole CONSrRUC'lKJN OF THE TREAIA' 471 le milliards, M. Thiers kept mc to my word, which I ac- )\vlcdged ; but there was never any question of the cvacua- in of this s'' » of the Seine before the ratification of the nnitive trecvt^ of peace, " Should the French entertain any doubt on this point, your xccllency will explain to M. Favre that I would rather advise j Majesty to immediately renew hostilities than submit to such falsification of the spirit in which the Versailles negotiations ere conducted, "The decision of his Majesty with respect to our expected operation, direct or indirect, will depend, on the one hand, ipon military considerations which are still under discussion, well as upon the contents of the French official overtures nounced in your Excellency's telegram No. 196. On the ;her hand, we must take advantage of the present situation ith the object of removing every uncertainty which the French ly endeavour to read into our agreements. Should your Ex- ;llcncy really have occasion to suppose, as would appear to e from the contents of your reports of the 22nd and 23rd stant, that the French intend to interpret the treaty of peace if the sentence in Article 3 — V dvacuation des d^partemcnts s\)ptrera gradiicllcment apris la ratification du traitd de paix vftnitif — were modified by that which follows it, separated nly by a semicolon: aprh le verscment — la rive droitc, in iich a way that the words of the first sentence, from aprbs to ifinifif, would be rendered of no effect for the territory in question, your Excellency will please demand from the French ovcrnment, in the form of an ultimatum, a clear explanation pon this point. Were this to be refused I should lose all faith its intention to honourably fulfil its treaty obligations, and would then become desirable to renew the military operations s early as possible. We will not permit ourselves to be cozened ut of our present position, but will, on the contrary, hold fast it until the definitive peace has been concluded to our satis- action. We have made these stipulations in order that we aay be able to bring pressure to bear with this object. So ong as the obligations undertaken, but not yet fulfilled, by ranee with respect to the indemnity and the prisoners of war etnain unfulfilled, and so long as the above-mentioned doubt as the intentions of the French Government respecting the in- '172 A ( KITKAI, SIIUAIION IMv,, torprctatioii of the preliminary peace and the conclusion ot definitive treaty is not removed, I must advise his Majesty against every form of support for the Versailles Government and instead of any such support, I must recommend that i demand be at once addressed to the I'rench authorities to reduce the number of their troops in accordance with the terms of the treaty, or to be prepared for a renewal of hostilities." May \st. — According to a communication of yesterday'i date, from Fabrice, Colonel de la Hayc had said to him that probably a memorial from Thiers would be received, and mjt the Note from Favre, which had been announced, and that Favre had repeatedly declared that France was now fulfilling the obligations which she had undertaken, would continue to do so, and was prepared to conclude peace, and to recognise the preliminaries as merely intended to lead up to it. In return, he asked for permission to attack Paris by way of Epinay, and the Northern Railway line, through St. Denis, and that the Coitv mune should be called upon, in accordance with the Conventiuiii to withdraw its troops from the enceinte. The colonel requests Fabrice to inform the Chancellor of this. Should the latter decline, the French Government would be able to say, in presence of Europe, that it had discharged its duty to the bcs of its ability, but that Germany had prevented it from offerinj an effective resistance to the insurrection. Favre declared tha he had exhausted all his resources, and that it was now neces- sary to know whether Prussia wished to favour the Governme or the Commune. De la Haye had expressed a strong desire that Fabrice should not communicate this stateme. t to the Chief, before the receipt of Thiers' memorial. Fabrice, first of al begged the Frenchman to hasten the despatch of the letter, but, also, before that was done, to explain to Favre the significance and consequences of the demand which he expected us to mak upon the Commvae for the disarmament of the enceinte, a poir upon which Fax re did not, at the moment, appear to be quite clear. To this the Prince replied immediately that we were not bound by any Convention to help the French GovernmeiU, although we were justified in demanding from it the disarma- ment of the enceinte, and eventually enforcing the same, if we found it to be in our interest. The latter, however, was not the case. We had no interest in overthrowing the opponents of » I GKRMANY'S DISIKUST 473 •he I'^rcnch riovcrnmcnt at the cost of Gorman blood, so lon^ I as that Government did not carry out the stipulations of the preliminary treaty, but sought, on the contrary, to alter them |to our prejudice. With the object of dissipating the mistrust that had arisen in this way, by means of a personal discussion of stronger "uarantees, or of a fixed term for the payment of ;he five milliards, the Chancellor finally proposed to Favre that they should meet at Frankfort or Mayence on any day he chose to select. As I saw later, Favre telegraphed that he would be in Frankfort on Friday, and the Chief replied that he would arrive there on Saturday — perhaps because he considers Friday I unlucky. RTixy 2nd. Evening. — On the instructions of the Prince, I wrote an article for the Kolnischc Zcitnng, which was dated from Lagny, and was based on the foregoing despatch and other information. It was to be submitted for approbation up- stairs to-morrow, before being despatched. It ran as follows: — "The conduct of the French Government in the matter of the execution of the preliminaries of peace is quite enigmatic, not to use the stronger term of prevarication. In the position which it occupies towards the insurrection in the capital, which is growing more and more serious, it stands in urgent need of the good will of the Germans, of their indirect assistance, or, at least, of their neutrality. Yet up to the last few days it has I shown itself extremely remiss in the fulfilment of the treaties concluded with us in January and March, quibbling in a very I suspicious way over their most important stipulations, seeking in Brussels, as we hear, to enforce views which, if adopted in the definitive treaty, would bring about a change, by no means favourable to Germany, of the basis secured by us in the pre- liminary peace at Versailles. Moreover, it would appear that these unacceptable proposals are brought forward merely with I the object of protracting the negotiations, and, in the interval thus gained, of securing, through the suppression of the insur- rection of the Paris Communists, a position which would perhaps permit them, with some hope of success, to demand easier terms from those who have the control of our policy. M. Thiers' Government only paid the maintenance money in a tardy way, and under the pressure of threats from the Germans. It tem- porised with the liberation of the German prisoners who still 474 rill'; iRKNCii I'o c;ivE kxplanations [May 3 remain in France, and it shirked in like manner the just de- mands of the Germans for the surrender of the prize vessels that had not been condemned before the conclusion of the pre- liminary peace. There is reason to believe that it collected more troops near Versailles than had been agreed to in Berlin in view of so desperate a conflict w: h a powerful insurrection. It expressed an opinion that we were bound to evacuate the forts of St, Denis and Charenton — not after the ratification of the definitive peace, but after the receipt by us of the first half milliard. Finally, it caused proposals to be made in Brussels respectinj:^ the payment of the five milliards which were in no sense justified by the preliminary treaty, and which, if accepted — ■ a thing utterly inconceivable — would delay the payment to a late period, and, besides, would leave Germany only four-fifths, and perhaps only three-fifths, of the war indem- nity guaranteed in the agreement of the 26th of February. It is not to be wondered at if these and other similar facts have shaken the confidence which was felt at first on the German side in the loyalty of the leading French statesmen, if suspicion has begun to be felt, and if some disinclination exists to con tinue the favours which have already been extended to the French Government in dealing with the insurrection — favours which the latter sorely needed, and, it seems, formally asked for — until mistrust has been dispelled by explanations of an unequivocal character, or, perhaps, entirely removed by fresh guarantees. It is reported that the Chief 01 the Executive has been left in no doubt upon this point, and it is now stated here that M. Favre, who is understood to have given least ground for want of confidence, will in a few days have a conference with Prince Bismarck, for the purpose of giving explanations * and coming to an understanding. It will take place, as wi; f hear, at Frankfort. It is to be hoped that this meeting will clear up the situation and hasten the conclusion of a defini- tive peace. ' May yd. — The foregoing article was returned to me un- altered fro."'-' upstairs, and is now on its way to Cologne. Among the documents received, the following is of importance : F. reports from Soissy, on the ist instant, that on the previous day Cahn, who is now attached to the Swiss Embassy, was authorised at the instance of Cluseret to go through the French noNs ^^''^^■.i J,s-.] THE EMPEKOR ALEXANDER 475 anncr the just de- if the prize vessels elusion of the pre- e that it collected agreed to in lierlin .^crful insurrection. d to evacuate the ter the ratification by us of the first Is to be made in 'C milliards which treaty, and which, — would delay the Id leave Germany of the war indcm- 1 of February. It similar facts have st on the German jsmen, if suspicion tion exists to con extended to the rrection — favours IS, formally asked >cplanations of an removed by fresh he Executive has now stated here iven least ground ave a conference ving explanations ike place, as \\x this meeting will ision of a defini- urned to me un- vay to Cologne. is of importance : on the previous > Embassy, was ough the French I : prisons to find what Germans were detained there, in order || that they may b<^ set at liberty. Cluseret had also stated that f:l he had proposed the liberation of the Archbishop. It was true I that part of the Committee was opposed to this measure, but if; the life of his Eminence was nevertheless perfectly safe, A |: meeting with Cluseret was arranged for on the ist instant. I Cahn, however, came instead, and reported that Cluseret was I; now replaced by Captain Rossel as Minister of War for the f 1 Commune. Cahn was then instructed to see the latter, and 1; ask him whether he maintained the decision of his predecessor IS to the liberation of the German prisoners, and to seriously warn him against any ill-treatment of the Archbishop. The telegram adds that this will give the Commune an opportunity of entering into relations with us. If they do not avail them- selves of it, doubtless an anti-German intrigue will have had something to do with the fall of Cluseret. The supply of pro- visions for Paris is seriously retarded on the north side, owing to the exceptional vigilance of the French administration, which 13 very well informed. According to a report from St. Petersburg of the 26th of April, the King of Denmark has written to the Tsarevna, ask- ing her to beg the Emperor Alexander to bring up the question of North Schleswig in Berlin, The Grand Duchess did not give her father's letter to the Empei • himself, but applied to the Empress, who afterwards communicated its contents to him. Although the Emperor Alexander had said no*^Inng on the subject to R., he nevertheless observed that he greatly desired to have a talk with the Emperor William, and hoped to see him in June either in Berlin or at Ems. The Grand Duchess HH^l^ne informed R. of this, and asked what reply she should give to the Tsarevna, who had repeatedly inquired whether he had not said anything on this affair. The Grand Duchess was of opinion that our Government, whose German sentiments were doubted by no one, could now in its hour of triumph more easily make concessions than before. The matter might one day become unpleasant, and counter-concessions of a com- mercial character {}) could now be demanded from Denmark, which would secure the position of individual Germans in the territory to be ceded. R. replied that Germany would be pre- pared to make concessions, but that Denmark would not be I'r ■■ I 476 THE FRANKFORT CONFERENCE [Mav r, satisfied with what could be granted. The reason of the Em. peror Alexander's great anxiety to see the affair settled is that he knows how eagerly the Danish Court stimulates the anti- German sentiments of the heir to the Russian throne. The same authority reports that the French Government, through the Marquis de Gabriac, their present representative in St. Petersburg, has complained to Gortchakoff that we are no longer as friendly as we were, and requested him to mediate between France and ourselves. This request was, however, declined, attention being' called to the obligations undertaken in the preliminary peace, the fulfilment of which was the right means of securing the good will of Germany. At a Court ball the Emperor Alexander also observed to the marquis: "Rem- plissez d'abord loyalcment vos engagements et aprh je serai votre avocaif si voiis aiires des raisons de plaint e. Anjourdhni ccs raisons je ne les vois pas" May Ofth. — The Chancellor, who leaves for Frankfort to- morrow, wishes the Kolnischc Zcitung to write somewhat as follows on the object of the journey: — "The : ' onal con- ference between Prince Bismarck and the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, the necessity of which has been felt for some considerable time past, will have begun by the time these lines go to press. To-morrow morning at 8 o'clock the Imperial Chancellor, accompanied by the Councillors of Embassy Bu- cher. Count Hatzfeld, and the Attach^ Count Wartensleben, will leave for Frankfort, where Jules Favre will probably have already arrived. Apparently the French have come to under- stand that their interests urgently require the removal of the suspicions which have arisen in regard to their good faith since the arrangement at Versailles. We ourselves must also ] 1 .w. exactly where we stand with them. It is necessary to h t.^ten the conclusion of a definitive peace. Some progress ix\\.:x^ finally be made in that matter, and France must cease i . j imagine that we will allow ourselves to be kept dangling in suspense, or to be imposed upon and manoeuvred into an un- favourable position. She must respect our rights and not endeavour by pettifogging subterfuges to whittle down or per- haps, indeed, disown the consequences of the preliminary peace. It may be taken for granted that the principal subjects to be dealt with at Frankfort will be the manner of payment of the SICE [Mav 6 7'] PRINCE PETER OLDENBURG 477 I reason of the Eni- iffair settled is that stimulates the anti- issian throne. The lovernment, through ;presentative in St, I )ff that we are no ted him to mediate uest was, however, igations undertaken which was the rights y. At a Court ballf he marquis : "Rem-j t aprh je serai votnl te. Atijoiirdhni ccs\ 3 for Frankfort to- J write somewhat as The pcr.onal con- French Minister for been felt for some the time these lines I clock the Imperial rs of Embassy Bu- Dunt Wartensleben, will probably have! ave come to under- the removal of the eir good faith since 'es must also ^ now necessary to h .^ .': me progress r: : ice must cease i, \ kept dangling in Euvred into an un- jr rights and not hittle down or per- preliminary peace, ipal subjects to be of payment of the lar indemnity of five milliards of francs, the surrender of the Jcrman merchant vessels which were not condemned by the prize Courts before the signature of the preliminary treaty, he position of the Eastern Railway — which, after the Ver- [ailles arrangement, can no longer be regarded as an open ^uestion, although it has been treated as such by the Govern- liient of M. Thiers — and finally the regulation of the frontier. On the German side, however, it will be sought first of all to !ear up the situation, and hasten the negotiations for peace, vhich have been brought to a standstill through the unjustifi- ble demands of the French. It is to be hoped that the Frank- ort negotiations will open the eyes of those members of the French Government who have not yet succeeded \\\ thoroughly iderstanding the position of affairs and in recognising the egitimacy of the claims based upon it from the German stand- point, and their necessity from the French standpoint. In all Drobability they will not fail to receive a serious and unequivo- cal reminder of this necessity from our side." May 6th. — Again a few comic episodes to break the monot- uiiy of these grave affairs. Prince Peter of Oldenburg, who seems to be a very ancient gentleman, writing from St. Peters- burg, sent the Chief a memoir which he forwarded to the Em- neror on the ist of April (not as a joke for All Fools' Day), in which, after proclaiming his strictly monarchical, legitimist, con- servative, and religious principles, he argues, in an extremely prolix and nebulous fashion, in favour of perpetual peace, and begs the Chancellor to summon a Conference for the Abolition of War. This magnum opus ought to be laid in its author's coffin. Wollmann says that Abeken is in the habit of keeping the envelopes of letters from the King in order, as he is re- ported to have said, " that the handwriting of his Imperial and ] Royal master should not be trampled upon by muddy shoes." He is said to have whole bundles of these relics in his posses- sion. Very touching ! Bucher afterwards confirmed the fact that Abeken had actually delivered himself of the above re- mark. He appears to have acquired this tender sentimentality during his stay in the East. He ought to have been Councillor of Embassy to the Dalai Lama. May I4t/i. — The Chief is again here. Count Wartensleben, who was with him at Frankfort, told me to-day that he had been r 478 AN OBl.lGING NEGOTIATOR [May out driving with the Chancellor several times outside the town and while they were walking about in the woods the latter gnvo him numerous particulars of his negotiations with the French- men. " Once," said the Count, who by the way is a very pleas- ant young man, "in speaking of the German negotiators at Brussels, he remarked to me, ' It is very unlucky for those gentlemen that we cannot conclude our business there.' (Possl bly on account of the gratuities in the way of orders.) ' I am particularly sorry for poor Balan. But what can one do ? The snipe must be shot where it rises.* Another time (it was after the first conference with Favre and Pouyer-Quertier) he looked very fagged and worried, and on my asking him about it he replied that the French had proveu exceptionally obstinate. He told me then how he managed to secure himself an ally against them. He said, ' I proposed to Favre to bring M. Goulard to the Conference as he was a member of the National Assembly Favre was at first greatly surprised at this suggestion, and would not hear of it. I pointed out to him, however, that it would h to his own advantage, Goulard would feel flattered and would be grateful to him, and would furthermore as one of the nego- tiators support him, Favre, in the National Assembly. Favre thereupon consented.' But it was also of great advantage foi the Chief (continued Wartensleben), as when Favre finally con sented, the little gentleman in the white necktie and high stand-up collar was also grateful to him for being admitted to the negotiations, and when the two others were inclined to refuse something, he always spoke in favour of giving way- it could be managed, he would himself take the responsibility for it, he thought that one really might agree to it. Eventually Favre thanked the Chief formally for his advice to include Goulard. Afay ist/i. — On the instructions of the Chief, wrote to Brass respecting an article in No. 113 of the Norddeutsck Allgemcinc Zeitung^ that the Prince did not consider it propei for a journal which was praised i i another paper to reproduce this praise, and he positively prohibited all such misconduct in future. May lyth. — Yesterday and to-day again read a number of telegrams and other documents received and despatched, which threw light on the Frankfort negotiations and recent events in i [May 1 iS outside the town, Dods the latter gave s with the French- way is a very pleas man negotiators at unlucky for those ness there.' (Possi- of orders.) 'I am ; can one do ? The r time (it was after Quertier) he looked ig him about it he lally obstinate. He iself an ally against "ing M. Goulard to National Assembly ggestion, and would ^er, that it would be flattered and would as one of the nego- Assembly. Favre reat advantage for n Favre finally con necktie and high being admitted to were inclined to ir of giving way- e the responsibility e to it. Eventually advice to include le Chief, wrote to the Norddeutsck consider it proper Daper to reproduce >uch misconduct in read a number of despatched, which d recent events in 1S7O NEGOTIATIONS AT FRANKFORT 479 Paris. The Chief had from Frankfort addressed an inquiry to Fabricc as to whether he believed that progress had been made in the fusion between the Comtc de Chambord and the Princes of the House of Orleans, and whether it had a prospect of success. Count Arnim thought it had. The Republican form of government in France was more to our advantage, and there- fore he would not oppose it unless he were compelled to. A telegram to Moltke on the i8th instant informed him that the Chief hoped to bring about the conclusion of a definitive peace at Frankfort. Some of the conditions would, however, be that we should assist as far as possible in promoting the speedy occupation of Paris, which would then be in our interest, with- out exposing our men to danger, and in particular that we should consider the question of the passage of the French troops through our lines, of calling upon the Commune to evacuate the enceinte, of cutting off the supply of provisions, and of immediately liberating 20,000 prisoners of war for use in Algeria and the larger towns of the south. In case it were possible to secure at Frankfort a peace which should receive the approbation of the Emperor, Moltke was requested to take the necessary preparatory measures for the above purposes. A short telegram of the same day, addressed to Thile and which was to be communicated to Delbriick, says that on the two pre- ceding days the Chief was engaged in negotiations for fifteen hours, and had sent Favre a "strong ultimatum." Another telegram reports to the Emperor that, according to the French Ministers, the stability of the present Government will in a great measure depend upon the speedy conclusion of the definitive treaty of peace. On the nth a further telegram was sent to Moltke saying that, from Fabrice's reports, the French generals, believing they could themselves dispose of the Com- munists, would endeavour so to arrange matters that they could dispense with our cooperation. But in that case also it would be desirable to mass our troops near Paris, as we could thus bring pressure to bear upon the French National Assembly in connection with the ratification of the treaty which would be discussed in about ten days, by exciting the apprehensions of that body as to the decision which we might take if the treaty were rejected. Again a comic interlude between the serious scenes of the 480 A STRANGE PROPOSAL [May drama. Fabricc sends a report from Lieutenant von Mirbach, of the Guards, at St. Denis, which reached him through General von Pape, with the extremely naive marginal note : " Most obedi- ently submitted for kind consideration with the object of pro moting the accession to the French throne of Prince Frederick Charles." The document in question was to the follo\vin<^r effect : Persons of all ranks and conditions, and quite recently an Attache of the American Embassy, had inquired whether ii was true that Prince Frederick Charles had been selected as the Regent of P'rance. As far back as the winter a party had been formed with that object. Merchants, bankers, manufacturers, many citizens of standing and repute, " including even noble- men," wished to offer the throne to the Prince, and were sure of the support of their frie " *s, their employees, and of a part of the press. " Influentia' agents and leaders of the National Guard, and even some important members of the Commune, are understood to be well disposed towards this plan. The American inquired whether a deputation from this ' Prussian ' party would be well received." The writer had been informed by the " rich M. Vincent," the Commandant of the National Guard in Versailles, and by M. de Bastide, that the same scheme , had been discussed in that town. Obviously some one has been i playing off a joke on the lieutenant, for, although we live in an ! age of miracles, it would be a miracle of miracles if a French pariy were now found to desire for their ruler a nephew of our j old Master, after the efforts made by France to prevent the election as King of Spain of the Prince of Hohenzollern, who is only a remote relative of the Emperor William. The Commander-in-Chief of the Third Army Corps in Compi^gne has been informed that a conference took place on the nth instant at Soissy between General von Schlothcim and General Borel, the chief of MacMahon's staff. " MacMahon desires to deliver the main attack on Paris on the west front of the enceinte, from the Bois de Boulogne or Billancourt against the bastion of the Point du Jour. In order to prevent the insurgents from continuing their resistance in the city from point to point, he wishes, at the same time — that is, during the same night — to endeavour to surprise the north front, and seize some positions in the north of Paris. Ten or twelve thousand men would be employed for this purpose, who [May I ■ f, nant von Mirbach, n through General ' lotc : " Most obcdi- . the object of pro- Prince Frederick ;j to the followiri'^ J md quite recently J iquired whether it | cen selected as the r a party had been :; !rs, manufacturers, } uding even noble- i ice, and were sure | zcs, and of a part | :s of the National 1 of the Commune, i s this plan. The \ im this ' Prussian ' i lad been informed •: It of the National i t the same scheme '. lOme one has been 'i ough we live in an acles if a French ; a nephew of our 1 :e to prevent the ; lohenzollern, who iam. Army Corps in rence took place al von Schlotheim taff. ittack on Paris on s de Boulogne or Jour. In order resistance in the ne time — that is, rprise the north if Paris. Ten or his purpose, who 187'] MACMAHON'S PLANS 481 would Start in the evening from Gemevilliers, and march by way of Villeneuve la Garonne and St. Denis, as also through Epinay, St. Denis, and Aubervilliers, towards the gates of La Chapelle and La Villette. With the assistance of some of the command- ants of the National Guard, with whom an understanding was being entered into, and by taking advantage of the railway, and of the numerous conveyances which still frequented the main roads, it was considered possible to bring small detachments of trustworthy troops right into the city. In case the attack were repulsed, MacMahon binds himself to withdraw all the troops employed by him along the same route, on the same day, behind the rayon on this side, that is to say, behind the left bank of the Seine. By this means the proximity of French and German troops for any length of time would be avoided. Permission could hardly be refused for the French troops to march through St. Denis, although they are on no account to be allowed to tarry or post reserves there. General Borel was obviously de- sirous of preventing all cooperation on the part of the German troops and of the forts occupied by us, and gave it clearly to be understood that he regarded such direct support as undesirable on political grounds. He did not believe the insurgents would venture to pursue the storming parties in case the latter did not succeed — an opinion which is also shared here — and he posi- tively denied that the French Commander-in-Chief intended to bombard the north front, or to proceed to a regular attack upon it if the surprise were to fail. As, according to these overtures, the French were prepared to forego our cooperation, and our nvn forces in and behind the forts are quite sufficient, I have, as already reported in a telegram of the lOth instant, given up the idea of a concentration of further troops outside Paris. In accordance with the wishes of the French Government, I con- sider it desirable in the first place ^0 avoid everything that would attract the attention of the insurgents to the north front, and hereby endanger the success of the surprise. At the same time we consider it necessary to avert, as far as possible, all ac- cidental losses to our troops should the insurgents, after repel- ing an attack, open fire with their artillery on the retiring French columns. Ii. the event of his Majesty the Emperor and King afterwards expressly ordering the German troops to co- operate in the attack on Paris, I venture to express the humble VOL. I. — 21 r 482 AEGIDI ENTERS THE FOKEICJN UEFICE Ma\ 20 opinion that, in view of the situation at the present moment, when the resistance is ah-eady organised and the insurgents are accustomed to fire, a simple bombardment of the enceinte would scarcely secure our object. It might then be desirable to pro- ceed against the nearest gates and bastions with a battering train posted on the plateau of Romainville, and probably an oc- cupation of the enceinte would only be attended with decisive success after we had advanced as far as Buttes Chamont, as this position commands the greater part of the northern half of Paris." Bucher informed me this evening that Professor Aegidi of Bonn has entered the Foreign Office as Councillor in charge of press matters, and is to undertake the appointment of agents, journalists, and other such gentlemen. He added : " Some- thing has already been said in the newspapers on the subject. One newspaper contained a note which had doubtless been pro- vided by Aegidi himself to the effect that he would replace Abeken, who had begun to grow old and weak. That rufifled our friend very considerably, and he grew as red as a turkey- cock as he remarked: ' In such circumstances one can only wish to retire at once on his pension.' " Bucher further stated that Aegidi had been recommended by Keudell, whose cousin he had married, and who had previously secured him the position at Bonn after he had failed in Hamburg. In conclusion Bucher said : " Keudell has already appointed many useless people and expended large sums upon them. For example, some time ago he took up a Dane, whom he employed as an agent and richly remunerated, but who did absolutely nothing." I recalled the case of Rasch, and B. said that he too had advised against employing him, describing him as a conceited blockhead to Keudell, who nevertheless sent him to Garibaldi with 20,000 thalers. A telegram of the 15th instant from Fabrice states that the French had demanded in a despatch that the cordon drawn round Paris should be made complete so far as the Gerhian troops were concerned, as it was important that the leaders of this criminal undertaking (the Commune) should not escape the hands of justice. In reply to the French Government, Fabrice said that Borel had come to no understanding with the Third Army Corps respecting a blockade of the city. If the MCE IMa\ isyJ n.WARIA AND NVL KTEMUEKG 4«3 present moment, he insur<;ents aro :he eneeinte wouUl desirable to pro- with a batterinjr id probably an ce- ded with decisive ittcs Chamont, as c northern half of ■ofessor Aegidi of cillor in charge of iitment of agents, J added : " Sonie- ■s on the subject. OLibtless been pro- le would replace ;ak. That ruffled s red as a turkey- one can only wish arthcr stated that lose cousin he had m the position at :onclusion Buchcr iseless people and lie, some time ago agent and richly ' I recalled the d advised against ited blockhead to baldi with 20,000 ce states that the :he cordon drawn T as the German lat the leaders of hould not escape mch Government, •standing with the the city. If the cordon was to be drawn at an early date, it would have to be preceded by an arrangement of that kind. The Chief tele- graphed at once that, according to the understanding arrived ,it in Frankfort, we were bound to completely isolate Paris as soon as the French desired it, to permit the Versailles troops to march through our lines, and to call upon the Commune to withdraw from tlie enceinte. We were not bound, however, to emphasise this demand by force of arms, l^ut the three points in question must be carried into effect by the Commander-in- Chief, as we should otherwise commit a breach of the agree- ment entered into with the French Government. It previously appeared from a jiencil minute by Abeken on |^;i report from Fabrice that we had offered, or that the F>ench had demanded, something more than this, namely, in addition to the complete isolation of the city and the passage of the French troops through our lines, we should, in case the French Government asked for our support, give it in the shape of an artillery attack upon the enceinte, and, if the French storming parties were to fail, use all our forces to prevent a pursuit on the part of the Parisians. Mtiy 20th. — According to a report from Stuttgart of the 17th instant, von Wachter, the Wiirtemberg Minister for For- eign Affairs, had remarked that King Charles now considered Wiirtemberg not to have been properly treated in connection with the Frankfort treaty of peace (on the previous day he had known nothing about it), and he appeared to feel hurt at this. The Wiirtemberg Minister at Munich has reported that the treatment of Bavaria in connection with the conclusion of peace is greatly blamed in competent circles there, and that Count Ouadt has been instructed to give expression to this dissatis- faction. It is doubtless Bavaria, therefore, that has altered the sentiments of Wiirtemberg. Count von F., who has been in London, ha'> informed I^alan that the French Ambassador to the English Court as well as the Due de Grammont, have attracted a great deal of attention by their want of tact. The former had remarked to the Count in a reproachful tone that the Socialists in Paris had been prin- cipally recruited in Belgium. Grammont predicted the ap- proaching return of Napoleon to France, and added, "7:7 dloKS on va bientot viettre fin a ccttc ridicule chose qtCon appelle la 484 THE INTERNATIONAL [May 24 Bclgiquc.'" Prince Napoleon, on the other hand, had observed to the Count that the neutrality of BeJf^ium was an advantage to F ice durhig the last war. Haron Haudc, the Freiu ii Min- is. 'ir in Brussels, had stated in the presence of the English Minister d'Anethan that immediately after the Versailles troo]xs had taken possession of Paris the National Assembly would proclaim the Comte de Chambord as King. May 2/[th. — To-day read and noted down the draft of a despatch by the Chief respecting the International, and joint action on the part of the Governments against this organisation of the Socialist party. This is to be utilised in the press. The despatch is dated the 7th instant, and is addressed to Schweinit/ in Vienna. Drafted at first by Abeken, the Chancellor struck out all but eight or ten lines, and then completed it in his own hand. Thus transformed it read as follows : " The events that have occurred in Paris during the last few weeks and days have disclosed in the most unmistakable fashion the common organi- sation of the socialistic elements in European countries, and the dangers with which the State is threatened by that organisation. In Germany the influence of the communistic working-class association is evident in the large centres of industry in our western provinces, and particularly in the manufacturing dis- tricts of Saxony. Herr Bebel, a member of Parliament, who is said to receive pecuniary support for his agitation from the funds of the late King of Hanover, has in the Reichstag given open expression to the criminal intentions of his party. Cer- tain symptoms would go to show that in Austria, and indeed in Vienna itself, this agitation is making way among the workers. If your Excellency considers that the desire, and indeed the necessity, of opposing these movements of disaffection is felt by the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Government, please initi- ate a confidential discussion of ways and means. In my opinion, the first step would be an exchange of views respect- ing the extent and direction of the Socialist organisation, and the recognition of the principle that Socialist menaces to life and property, such as have been carried into execution in ParLs, belong to the category of ordinary crime, and not to that of political offences." I here add the contents of some other documents on the same subject received and despatched later. land, had observed i was an advantage ; c, the Frcncli Min- i' ce of the English ic Versailles troo]),s 1 Assembly would wn the draft of a national, and joint St this organisation in the press. The :ssed to Schweinitz Chancellor struck )leted it in his own " The events that ;eks and days have le common organ!- countries, and the y that organisation, istic working-class of industry in our manufacturing dis- f Parliament, who agitation from the le Reichstag given i his party. Cer- tria, and indeed in mong the workers, 2, and indeed the disaffection is felt nent, please initi- means. In my of views respect- organisation, and St menaces to life execution in Paris, .nd not to that of documents on the 1S71; DIPLOMATIC ACTION 485 Writing on the 3rd of June, R. reported that the Emperor Alexander said to him that he intended to discuss with the Emperor William and the Chief the question of the means by which the European monarchies could be protected from the Socialist danger, and in particular from the International. In his opinion all the Governments of Europe should unite and assist one another in the struggle against this enemy. The Emperor will have a memorial on the subject drawn up by the Minister of Justice, in which, in particular, evidence will be adduced with the object of proving that the members of these socialistic associations should be treated, not as political of- fenders, but as ordinary criminals. During the second week of June, IJucher was much occupied in studying the International, and despatches drawn up by him were sent to Florence, Brussels, Vienna, and London. These wore intended to pave the way for a joint intervention of the Governments against the agitation of the Communists. That addressed to Brassier St. Simon was dated the 9th of June, and that to Bernstorff the 14th. The following passage occurred in the former: " However much the ultimate aims of the revo- lutionary elements may differ in various countries, according to the conditions of the latter, yet their immediate purpose is in every instance the same, namely, the overthrow of the existing order in the State. It therefore follows that all existing Gov- ernments have a common interest in opposing them. When the State is defeated by the revolutionary movement in any one country, as was the case in Paris for two months, its power will be reduced in all other countries, and that of its opponents pro- portionately increased." On the 1 2th of June, the Chief's answer, in which he gave an account of the steps already taken, was despatched to R. He had first sent the enclosed despatch to General von Schwei- nitz, and afterwards caused the latter to speak to Count Andrassy, who (perhaps in consequence of a private request on the part of the Chief) had already mooted the subject confidentially, in the same way as he had done to Count Beust. He (the Chief) then had copies of the despatch sent to the representatives of the Empire in Brussels, Florence, Dresden, and London, with the addition in each instance of some further observations more applicable to the special conditions of the country in question. mm 486 UtUST'S SUi;ciKSTI()N In Brussels he had had attention called to the fact that Helf^umi, on account of its ^eof^rapiiical position and its condition \n i\;. tjard to languages and industry, was most exposed to dan^^cr; that in the year i8r)S, on the occasion of the first International Congress of the Working Classes, Belgium was the scene of the first proclamation of Communism ; and that, according to the statement of the leaders of the Paris Commune, Helgium had been chosen as the next field for their practical operations. In Florence he pointed out that the great associations which kept up disturbances in Italy, if they did not follow the same ends as the Communists, were still at one with them in their immediate task, namely, the overthrow of the existing govern- ment and form of State, and were intimately associated with them, as was evident from the appearance of the Garibaldi;ins in Paris. In Dresden it was pointed out that the industrial districts of Saxony furnished the largest contingent of Socialist members to the Reichstag. And, finally, in London it was shown that there the Communist associations, which had in llu: fifties given rise to criminal trials in Germany and France, together with the international union of the working classes, an offsjiring of that association, were founded in London, which was their ofificial centre. Count Waldersee (at present interim repr ativc of Ger- many at Versailles) has been instructed to xniorm M. Jules Favre, in connection with his circular of the 6th instant, of our readiness to cociperate. All these communications contained as an enclosure an article from the Times, apparently based on of^cial information. About the middle of June, Bcu.st suggested that a "Note" should be sent asking for information respecting the Socialist organisation. The Chief believes that Beust's proposal con- templates "blue-book lucubrations, which would only hamper the attainment of the real object in view," as it would give warning to the Socialists and furnish the European press with a theme for denouncing new " Karlsbad resolutions," and, to judge from the bias displayed in other complicated compilations of a similar character, the Austrian Chancellor would not be above making capital out of it for the benefit of his own popu- larity. The Minister was therefore to inform him that we were prepared, without any official demand on his part, to fur- rilK AITlTUItK Ol' KNGLAND 487 tact lluit I^clKUini, its condition it) j-,.. jxposed to (hm;;L'r; : first Intcrnatidiia] as the scene ol ih^. :, according; to the nine, Hel-^ium had actical operations, associations which ot follow the saiv.e vith them in their e existing Sf)vorn- ly associated with f the Garibaidiiuis :hat the industrial ingent of Socialist n London it was ?, which had in the nany and Franco, c working classes, mded in London, r ativc of Gcr- iiiiorm M. Jules 6th instant, of our ications contained jparently based on :cd that a "Note" icting the Socialist 5t's proposal con- ni\d only hamper as it would give )pean press with a )lutions," and, to :atcd compilations llor would not be of his own popu- 3rm him that we n his part, to fur- nish him with the results of our observations upon the connection 'lelween the connnunistic parties. A letter, dated the 26th of I June, and addressed to S., contains the following further re- marks: "I hnd him (Haron von Gablenz) much more disposed to meet our views in the matter of joint action against this danger (the socialistic agitation) tl in has hitherto been the case in Vienna. He was of opinion that the Emperor Francis Joseph was very favourably inclined towards the understanding we had suggested. ... I have not concealed from him, how- ever, that Count Beust's desire to see this suggestion embodied in the form of a ' Note ' has, to some extent, cooled our zeal." B. reports, under date of the ist of June, that Baron d'Ane- than is in perfect agreement with the proi)osal of the Chief for an exchange of communications on the extent and direction of the socialistic agitation, and also as to the recognition of the principle that socialistic threats against life and property should be included in the category of ordinary crimes. He further- more considers it absolutely necessary that the Governments should unite in establishing an international principle, and, act- ing on that basis, should proceed against trie revolutionary agi- tation with inexorable rigour. The Belgian Minister strongly condemned the attitude of England, .md expressed the appre- hension that it would be difficult to procure the adhesion of the English Government to a common understanding. There are grounds for believing that the motive for raising the whole subject was less the danger of the socialist organisa- tion (which, however, was strongly emphasised by me in the press under instructions from the Chief, and afterwards on my own account in the pamphlet Zur Gcschichte der Internationale, Leipzig, 1872) than the opportunity which would be thereby afforded of bringing all the Powers together for the considera- tion, in common, of one question ; and, in particular, of pro- ducing a rapprochement between two of them. In other words, the main object of the manoeuvre was to maintain the antago- nism between Russia and France — the land of the Commune, by exaggerating the danger of the International, and to win over Austria. I now return to the chronological order of my diary, observ- ing at the same time that some of the most important notes and instructions which I received from the Chief at that time can- 4-38 NEWSPAPER POLEMICS LJi'Ni; not be reproduced, as the slips upon which they were written have been mislaid. May 2)^t/i. — The National Zcitung, commenting in an ex- ceptionally violent and discourteous tone upon an article in lirass' paper, spoke of "the Mamelukes of the Norddcutschc Allgcmeinc Zeitinig,' of a "coarseness and boorishness, that can only be explained by the habits of literary menials," and of the "tone of the Imperial Chancellor to which the anti- Parliamentary press, watching his every gesture, and exhibiting the zeal of a retriever, barks in eager response." The Chief wished to have a reply written to this article, somewhat to the following effect : It was not necessary to enter into the attacks made upon the newspaper. The specimens quoted from the organ of MM. Bamberger and Lasker would suffice to show that persons who gave vent to their own irritation in that style were hardly entitled to complain of the manner in which others expressed themselves. But when the article charges the Impe- rial Chancellor with adopting an unseemly attitude towards the Reichstag, whereas his attitude has been eminently prudent and patriotic, when it accuses him of "domineering over men," and of "demanding blind submission," it may well be asked what part of the verbatim reports has given rise to these invec- tives. (From this point on dictation.) "We, who have not left these reports unread, as the author of this philippic would appear to have done, fail to find anything in the expressions of the Imperial Chancellor, but a declaration, for which he gave his reasons, that the motion under discussion was inacceptablc, and that if it were maintained he could not imdertake the responsibility for the administration of Alsace-Lorraine, during the period of provisional government. If any one discovers, ia what he said, anything which would appear to justify in any way the charges in question, we would ask him to remember that a tone of bitterness and violence was first adopted by the Reichstag, and exactly by that party which takes credit for prudence and patriotism — and in general not without justifi- cation. We at least fail to recognise as models of prudence and patriotism the sallies of Herr Bamberger in the last debate, in which he fell upon the Post Office officials. ' When all is said, we are curs,' and ' Look out for the whip,' were some of the flowers of rhetoric with which he presented the Govern- L J I'M: 5 they were written meriting in an ex- [jon an article in the Norddeutschc boorishness, that rary menials," and 3 which the ami- are, and exhibitinf^ jnse." The Chie'f , somewhat to the er into the attacks quoted from the d suffice to show ition in that style er in which others charges the Impe- itude towards the minently prudent eering over men," ay well be asked ise to these invcc- e, who have not is philippic would n the expressions "or which he gave was inacceptablc, ot imdertake the i-Lorraine, during ly one discovers, to justify in any lim to remember / adopted by the takes credit for it without justifi- lels of prudence 1 the last debate, 5. 'When all is p,* were some of ited the Govern- M'l THE ROMAN QUESTION 4S9 iient — and Ilerr von Hoverbeck's feats of eloquence on the anie occasion leave us in the same difficulty." May },\st. — Wrote to Brass to-day on the instructions of :!ic Chief respecting the leading article in No. 124 of the Noni- IcutscJic Allgemcinc Zcitung, which struck the Prince as too .ehement in its attack upon the National Liberals. I recom- mended greater moderation and dignity. In reply. Brass ex- uses himself on the ground that he received that article from an official source, and was, therefore, in a dilemma — which is very probable. A letter is to be sent to Vienna to-day, saying that Favrc lad stated at Frankfort that a proposal from Bcust in favour A the Pope had been submitted to the Versailles Government. This was made in such a form as to give rise to the inference hat it was in harmony with the intentions of the Emperor William, as it referred to intimations from Count Bray, and iavaria would not, presumably, adopt a policy on that ques- tion which deviated from that of the German Empire. S. is then requested to make guarded inquiries as to whether the Bavarian Minister for Foreign Affairs has taken any, and if so, hat, steps in that direction. Of course, there was no doubt as to Bray's personal views in the matter, but only a desire hat, should he have actually taken such steps in Vienna, no room should have been left for misconception as to the per- onal and individual character of his action. The German For- eign Office had had no share in it, and "we have," the letter concludes, "avoided, up to the present, expressing any opinion on the Roman question, or on the attitude of the German Empire towards it." June $th. — Wrote an article, dated from Darmstadt, for the Kohiischv Zcitiing. The Chief gave me the information. The article ran as follows : — " However much our new Ministers may adapt themselves to circumstances, it is nevertheless no secret that the feeling in the spheres above them still continues unfavourable to the new state of things in Germany, and that it is sought here to preserve as much as possible of the old arrangements without causing too " great offence. Whatever the spontaneous initia- tive of the powers that be fails to do in this direction is sup- plied by the very considerable influence of Prince Alexander, 490 AUSTRIAN DIPLOMATS [JlINK 7 who is still associated with those circles in Vienna which m German affairs have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing, and which now as formerly exercise a kind of co-regency that makes itself felt in many different ways. A case in poirt is the main. tenance of the Legation in Vienna, which has long since lost] all importance, particularly since the foundation of the Ger*; man Empire through the Versailles Treaties. We hear oij good authority that the present holder of that office, Heinricli von Gagern, the whilom President of the Frankfort Parliament,! requested several months ago to be allowed to retire from liis| post, at the same time recommending that it should be abolfl ished, but he received a negative answer. He is now underl stood to have repeated his request and recommendation to tli^ new Minister for Foreign Affairs, and — as we are informed Herr von Lindelhof was not unfavourably disposed, particu- larly as there is no prospect of the representative body con- tinning to vote supplies for this post, which has become purely ornamental, as a necessary item of expenditure. In the hij^hest"^ quarters, however, a different view prevails, which is evidentl)i due to the Prince, and if Gagern is permitted to resign he wil have a successor. It is understood that in these circumstances] the prospective successor would be von Biegeleben, the Prince's! intimate friend, a statesman as Ultramontane as could be found | in the Episcopal Palace at Mayence, and as anti-Prussian as] could be desired anywhere. I report this merely as a symp.[ torn of the sentiments prevailing in competent quarters here Given adequate power, mischief can be wrought even without a Legation, but when that element is lacking, all diplomatic posts become merely ornamental, not to say ridiculous." June Jth. — According to a communication from Bernstorltj of the 3rd instant, Brunnow reports that Napoleon has greatly aged and become very infirm. He speaks with gratitude of our Emperor and without hatred of Prussia ; while, on the other hand, he is strongly incensed against Thiers and Favre, who will be overtaken by the just vengeance of Heaven for having brought about the overthrow of the Empire. Their punish- ment has already commenced in the severe conditions to which they have been compelled to allow the country to be subjected. According to this report, the Emperor did not express any hope of his restoration. The Empress, however, is full of courage, [J"nkBiS7i] rni': bonapai^iists 491 in Vienna which i rj^ottcn nothin-;-, an i-rcgcncy that make in poii, t is the mai has long since los iidation of the Ge ties. We hear that office, Heiink rankfort Paiiiamcn 2d to retire from hi : it should be abol, He is now undcn )mmendation to th we are informed /• disposed, particii sentative body con I has become pure ire. In the highes . which is evidently ted to resign he wij these circumstances :eleben, the Princc'a e as could be found as anti-Prussian as merely as a symp- tent quarters here aught even without ing, all diplomatic ridiculous." on from Bernstorfl poleon has greatly ith gratitude of 011 ^hile, on the othe •s and Favre, who -leaven for havini re. Their punish conditions to which :ry to be subjected t express any hope is full of courage and has great expectations. The Bonapartists share her views. Some of them look forward to a restoration of Napoleon ; and others, though a minority, to the regency of the P3mpress. Hopes are entertained that although Germany might not give any direct assistance to a restoration, it would moderate the conditions of peace if Napoleon were reelected. In case of a plebiscite also, Germany might be helpful in the occupied prov- inces. Some are in favour of a national vote, as they feel sure of the rural population ; while others are for violent measures, relying upon 180,000 soldiers. In their opinion, the main point is that neither the Comte de Chambord nor any one of the Orleans has any prospect of success. The following communication was sent to Fabrice on the 4th inst. : "As the Government of which M. Thiers is the head has concluded a definitive peace with us, it is in our interest, and in that of our international position, to recognise only the present Government in France, so long as no other government has been evolved out of it in a legal way which would secure tor the future the execution of the Treaty of Peace, and the maintenance of the present relations between the two countries. The present Government is bound by its past, and by its entire position, to fulfil its obligations towards us, and it therefore finds a support in Germany. Any other Government which may seize power in an irregular way may possibly seek its salvation by sacrificing to popularity the Treaties concluded with us, and in that manner force us to renew the war. We have, therefore, not only an interest in the maintenance of the present Government, but also the right to withhold our recogni- tion from any violent change in the form of government, how- ever brought about, and to make our decision dependent upon the guarantees provided for our treaty interests. It must, furthermore, be remembered that everything calculated to dis- turb order, which is scarcely restored as yet, must prejudicially affect the power of France to meet its obligations towards us within the periods laid down in the Treaty, whoever may be at the head of affairs, and that we must therefore desire to avoid every crisis which would lead to a renewal of civil war. You will please express yourself in this sense to the French Govern- ment, and make it clear to them beyond all question that in those portions of the country which we occupy we shall recog- r 492 MR. VVASHBURNE'S VIEWS [JL'NE 19 nise no alteration in the form, and no change in the principal holders of power, which does not arise out of the existing situa- tion in the regular way, and in accordance with the laws now in force. We are giving evidence of the confidence which we repose in the present Government by rapidly reducing the Ger man forces in the occupied districts. Should new movements in France force us to doubt the maintenance of the peace which has been concluded, your Excellency is aware that within four teen days we could again put the same army in the field which we had in France last winter." June 1 1 th. — Fabrice telegraphed the day before yesterday] to the Chief stating, inter alia, that the rapid withdrawal of our troops outside Paris and elsewhere before the payment of the first half milliard was obviously exercising an influence upon the temper and behaviour of the population, whose attitude would grow more and more confident, if not hostile, as the evacuation proceeded. Washburne had confidently advised prudence, and in speaking to Holstein had described the sentiments of the Parisians towards the Germans as doubtful, adding that the Government lacked the power, and perhaps the will, to counteract this tendency, and that the protection of the Germans in Paris depended solely upon the German garrisons still in the neighbourhood. No reliance could be placed upon the future development of affairs in France. The first two milliards would be paid in order to give Germany a sense of security. The balance of three milliards, however, would not be paid — as had been openly stated by personages in authority, not soldiers — while, on the other hand, there was a determina- tion to recover the ceded territories. The Chief thereupon telegraphed to the Saxon General yesterday that neither were we bound nor did we intend to reduce the zone of occupation, and that we should certainly not evacuate the forts before the date specified in the Treaty of Frankfort. If we reduced the number of our troops in the occupied districts, it was not that we trusted France, but only that we had confidence in our own rapidity of mobilisation. It was possible that the French would not carry out the treaty of peace in full, and even that they intended to attack us, but as soon as the mobilisation of the French forces rendered the latter eventuality probable, or if there were a wilful delay in the ^ [Jl'NK 19 ige in the principal >f the existing situa- with the laws now onfidence which we y reducing the Ger- aild new movements ; of the peace which are that within lour- ly in the field which ay before yesterday d withdrawal of our the payment of the an influence upon ion, whose attitude not hostile, as the confidently advised had described the :rmans as doubtful, er, and perhaps the le protection of the : German garrisons lid be placed upon ce. The first two ermany a sense of lowever, would not •nages in authority, e was a determina- le Saxon General did we intend to hould certainly not I in the Treaty of our troops in the i France, but only y of mobilisation, irry out the treaty to attack us, but )rces rendered the wilful delay in the 1S71] FAVRE'S "IMPUDENCE" 493 j):iymcnts to be made, a force of 600,000 could, within a fort- night, be put into the field between Metz and Paris. He, Fabrice, should permit no doubt to exist upon this point. It was cheaper to strengthen our forces outside Paris as required than to leave them there for an indefinite period. There was no disposition to conceal the possibility of a renewal of the war, but on the other hand such a renewal was not feared. June \^th. — This morning read a number of telegrams which have been exchanged between Waldersee and the Chief, from which it would almost seem as if it might come to hostili- ties if the French only had sufficient power. On the evening of the 15th instant their troops stationed near Lilas pushed forward their outposts to within twenty-five paces of ours, and on ground that belonged to us. The Chief, upon advices to this effect from Waldersee on the i6th instant, immediately instructed him to demand the punishment of the officers who had been guilty of this breach of existing arrangements, adding that our men had received instructions to attack the French troops posted within rifle range of them if the latter did not withdraw in the course of the day. He would also immediately advise the King to withdraw the orders for the recall of all our troops until satisfaction had been received. A telegram to the like effect was at the same time despatched to Favre. It con- cluded as follows : ^'Les protestations du commandant allemand contre cette violation des stipulations en vigiieur sont resttfes in- fructcuses. Je regrette vivement nn incident qui trouble les rela- tions de confiance mutnelle qui commencaient a naitre." The Frenchmen were greatly frightened by this Quos ego, particu- larly MacMahon, who immediately ordered the withdrawal of the troops from a position in which they had no right to be. Favre has declared that Pouyer Quertier cannot pay the first half milliard before the 15th of July, as the Ministry of Finance has been destroyed (by the Communists). Moreover, the res- toration of order, mentioned in Article 7 of the treaty, has not yet been completed. In a telegram sent to Waldersee the day before yesterday the Chief described these observations as "impudent," and instructed Waldersee to tell Favre that if the money is not paid on the ist of July, France will have failed to fulfil its obligations under the article in question. Waldersee further reported the day before yesterday that he a<>. 494 A RUSSIAN DU'LOMATIC REPORT [J'Nli. had presented his credentials to Favrc, and was then received by Thiers. His reception by both gentlemen was exceedingly polite and amiable. A 6 per cent, voluntary loan of two mil. liards, with a 1 5 per cent, payment on account, was to be placed on the market on the 26th of June. With the money raised by this means, and with some other funds at the disposal of the Government, a payment of 375 million francs would be made, Thiers assured him that with the best will in the world he could not promise him the complete payment of the first half milliard before the loth of July, as nobody could foresee at the present moment how the subscriptions would go. He, Walder- see, had, however, insisted upon the ist of July, as otherwise we should be driven to question the good will of the French, and moreover — owing to certain financial arrangements — we re- quired the money at that date. Thiers replied that he both desired and hoped to be able to begin the payment on the ist, but it was a physical impossibiliiy for him to collect the whole sum before the loth. Waldersee had not stated that the pro- posal would be accepted in Berlin. The Chief thereupon telegraphed the same day that the proposal of M. Thiers was incompatible with the 7th Article of the Frankfort Treaty of Peace, and could not, therefore, be accepted without counter-concessions. The telegram continues: " Besides, the understanding at first was that the occupation of Paris should be taken as the term for this payment, and it was only in consequence of a concession made by us out of com- plaisance that the expression ' rctablisscment de rantorite' was inserted in the French draft of the treaty. Furthermore, through an oversight, the payment of the following 125 mil- lions was fixed in the French draft at sixty days after the pay- ment of the 375 millions, instead of thirty days, or sixty days after the occupation of Paris, as M. Pouyer Quertier himself had proposed. In the presence of the unconciliatory attitude which the French negotiators now manifest, we see no occasion to show them any favour without counter-concessions. If, there- fore, the French Government does not make the payment pro- vided for by the treaty on the ist of July, we must regard it as a failure to fulfil its obligations under Article 7. I beg your Excellency to leave M. Favre in no doubt upon this point." June 20th. — Again an amusing interlude provided by the >Rr [JVtiE 23 was then received in was exceedingly y loan of two mil. It, was to be placed be money raised by :he disposal of the ics would be made. ill in the world ho nt of the xirst half :ould foresee at the d go. He, Walder- ily, as otherwise we of the French, and ngements — we re- :plied that he both oayment on the ist, :o collect the whole stated that the pro- same day that the I the 7th Article of not, therefore, be elegram continues; ; the occupation of ayment, and it was by us out of com t de rautorite' was ty. Furthermore following 125 mil ays after the pay days, or sixty days Quertier himself )nciliatory attitude we see no occasion :essions. If, there- the payment pro- must regard it as :le 7. I beg your ")n this point." t provided by the 1S71] A SAXON AGITATOR 495 diplomatic world. Von K., a Russian envoy abroad, has ad- Jrcsied to the Emperor Alexander a long memorial dated the 25th of May, or the 6th of June according to our calendar. This document, which deals with the Socialist parties and agitation in Germany, includes the following, among a number of other extraordinary whimsicalities: "Wuttke (our Leipzig Professor and puzzlehead), iin des piliers republicains en Saxc, a dit dernib'cvient asscz haut pour etre cntendu a Dresdc : 'Dans cinq ans il ny aura plus dc princes. ' " Most wonderful and admirable knowledge of affairs and men ! Wuttke, a pillar and prophet of Saxon Republicanism ! And this is the sort of stuff which a diplomatist reports with a serious face ! /unc 22nd. — Under instructions from the Chief utilised in the press the main ideas of a memorial written by Bucher on the Paris Commune, and the reasons why it was not supported in the provinces. This document, which was dated the 17th instant, was forwarded to Vienna. . . . The following appears in the Volkszeitung to-day : " We have been requested to publish the following letter : ' Desir- ing an audience of his Serene Highness Prince Bismarck,- I addressed him as he was passing in the street, for the pur- pose of obtaining permission to present myself. Hardly had I spoken to the Prince before two detectives laid hold of me by both arms and wanted to arrest me. In spite of my protest that I was under no obligation to accompany two civilians, and, moreover, that I had committed no offence, I was dragged through the streets to the police station in the Taubenstrasse. 1 was then taken in charge of a policeman to the Molkenmarkt, where I was kept in custody for the whole night, being liberated at 1 1 o'clock next morning, with the remark that my arrest was doubtless due to a misunderstanding. I leave the whole affair to the judgment of the public. H. L. Back.' " June 2yd. — Called this morning to the Chief, who showed me the above letter. He was in good humour, and while dress- ing he gave me the following account of the incident: "As I was leaving the Reichstag on my way home an exceptionally greasy individual, evidently a Jew, came up and said he wished to have an audience of me. I declined, but he remained at my side and kept on talking to me; I would surely not refuse a Ger- man writer such a request, as he had something of importance 496 M. DK VALI.OX'S "REVKLAIIONS" [Jl'NE 2J J to communicate to me. Yes, but I do though, I replied, I never give audiences to German authors. He continued to follow nic, however (with the fly-like persistence, obtrusiveness, and fool. hardiness of the young Jew), and while he kept on talking he pressed so close to me that he trod on one of my spurs, breaking it off. I wheeled round and was about to chastise liini physically, when the two policemen took him in charge. He really was exceptionally greasy ; one could have scraped the pot- house fat off him." Wrote a paragraph on the subject for the papers. Called again to the Minister later on, and received instruc- tions for an article on certain pretended revelations of a M. dc Vallon in the Versailles Assembly, A^hich had been commented upon in the National Zeitung. He read through and corrected this article before it was sent off. In giving me the information, he said : " Favre has ''.ere made several erroneous statements. He gave an inaccurate account of the facts in his speech of the 19th ins':ant, in which he referred to Vallon's assertion that he, Favre, had told him I had been disposed at Ferrieres to con- clude peace on the cession of Strasburg and its environs. He declared that at that time there had been no negotiations re- specting peace, though M. de Bismarck had, indeed, told him that it would be possible to negotiate on the conditions indicated by M. de Vallon in the National Assembly. Say, with reference to that point, that the French Minister for Foreign Affairs had thereby given evidence of a defective memory. Or, better .still, say : It is quite conceivable that all the details of several 'ong interviews have not been retained with equal clearness by all those concerned in them. According to the reports now before us, the question of the armistice occupied the first place, as a means of preparing the way for peace through the convocation of a National Assembly ; but the peace itself was also discussed. M. Favre himself says in his report of September last to the Government of National Defence, describing the occurrences at Haute Maison. There we read : ' After I had made known the intentions of the French Government by means of a circular, I desired to ascertain those of the Prussian Minister. It seemed to me out of the question that two nations, without first ascer- taining each other's views, should continue a war which, notwith- standing its advantages for the victor, would be a cause of great S" [June 2j , I replied, I never nued to follow nic, siveness, and fool- cept on talking he one of my spurs, )ut to chastise him n in charge. Ho ve scraped the pot- 1 the subject for I received instruc- jlations of a M. dc 1 been commented Ligh and corrected le the information, meous statements, his speech of the assertion that he, t Ferrieres to con- its environs. He o negotiations re- I, indeed, told him )nditions indirpted )ay, with reference reign Affairs had Or, better still, s of several 'ong i!i7'J TilK TREATMENT OF GERMANS IN FRANCE 497 d clearness b}- all eports now before le first place, as a h the convocation /as also discussed. 3mber last to the he occurrences at made known the IS of a circular, I lister. It seemed ithout first ascer- ar which, notwith- ; a cause of great suffering, lirought about by the will of one individual, this war had no longer any raison d'etre when France had again become her own mistress. I vouched for her love of peace, and at the same time for her resolve not to accept any conditions which would transform this peace into a short and threatening armis- tice. M. de Bismarck replied that if he were convinced of the possibility of such a peace, he would sign it immediately.' " On this occasion M. Favre also ascertained the conditions put forward by Germany, and these were by no means restricted to the cession of Strasburg and its environs. M. Favre's above- mentioned report goes on to say : ' On my pressing him very strongly with respect to the conditions, he told me plainly that the security of his country imposed upon him the necessity of retaining the territory which would guarantee the same. He repeated several times : Strasburg is the key of the house. (I said our house.) I begged him to speak still more plainly. That is useless, he replied, as we cannot come to an understand- ing ; that is a matter that can be settled later. I requested him to do so immediately. (The following is given in italics in the article.) He then said to me that the departments of the Upper and Lower Rhine and a portion of the Moselle department, with Metz, Chateau Salins, and Soissons (incorrect, it was Saarge- mund which was mentioned) were indispensable to him, and that he could not forego them.' " About the same time, probably shortly before the above arti- cle was written, the following communique was prepared for the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung under the instructions from the Chief, who also saw and corrected it before it Wcis sent to the press. He struck out the portions within brackets, although they were almost literally his own words : " Reports reach us daily of bad treatment and serious prejudice to their rights to which the Germans in France, and particularly those in Paris, are subjected. Bankers dismiss German clerks who have served them long and faithfully ; manufacturers announce that they will no longer employ G jrman workpeople ; even acade- mies and institutions, centres of Trench learning (and, as one would wish to ti.ink, of French wisdom), indulge in anti-German demonstrations, and decline in future to elect any corresponding members from among the German citizens of the Universal Republic of Letters. All these, more or less petty expressions VOL, I. — 2 K 498 RETALIATION TIIREAIKNKI ) tJUNK J-, of bitter resentment, may be merely regarded as symptoms of a feeling, which is of significance for the future, and against which we must secure ourselves. Hut the French, and particu- larly the Parisians, have gone further in the petty warfare, which they carry on in continuation of the great war now con- cluded. Incited by an unbridled press, they have permiltcd themselves to adopt towards those Germans who have returned to France, cither to put their affairs in order, or to reopen busi- ness, an attitude which would be regarded by civilised nations as improper, even in time of war. They have prevented Ger- mans from opening their shops, and have wrecked German establishments. They have prohibited other Germans from attending the Bourse, and have arrested harmless German sub- jects, simply because they were German. That is not an affair of the future, but of the immediate present, and demands im- mediate redress. We have concluded peace, and we honestly and sincerely desire to maintain^it, but of course, on the assump- tion that the French people preserve this peace, which was sought for and demc.ndcd by their Government. If the offences in question are not (speedily and thoroughly) checked, and if the French Government does not protect peaceful and law-abiding Germans, we must, in the interest of German sub- jects, and in view of the honour of Germany, decide upon the reprisals to be exercised. We should not be surprised if, then, for every German illegally arrested and not released immedi- ately upon representations being made, arrests of French citi- zens were ordered in those districts of France which we tem- porarily occupy. We should not consider it out of order, if the evacuation of certain departments were postponed until these passions had calmed down, and indeed, according to circum- stances, these regrettable occurrences might lead to fresh action against Paris, which is the seat of the evil." June 2\th. — Wrote the following article for Brass from materials supplied by the Chief, whose attention was called to the matter by an article in the Schlesische Zeitung, on " Napo- leon and the Men of the 4th of September ": " Trochu's attempt to exculpate himself before the bar of public opinion has failed conclusively. His speech only confirmed the fact that he had betrayed the Emperor by using, in order to bring about his fall, the forces entrusted to him. It was principally tJUNK JO 1871 TKOCIIU'S AI'OI.OCIA 499 I as symptoms of iture, and against ench, and particu- he petty warfare, rcat war now con- y have permitted k'ho have returned or to reopen busi- y civilised nations /e prevented Gcr- wrecked German ;r Germans from iless German sub- lat is not an affair and demands im- , and we honestly se, on the assunip- peace, which was t. If the offences ily) checked, and ect peaceful and st of German sub- ^ decide upon the surprised if, then, ; released immedi- 3ts of French citi- ice which we teni- )ut of order, if the tponed until these :ording to circum- ead to fresh action e for Brass from ition was called to eitung, on " Napo- ber ": " Trochu's of public opinion ;onfirmed the fact , in order to bring It was principally through the men on the 4th of September that he came to the head of affairs. He was chiefly responsible for the continua- tion of the war from that date. And in addition to his treason came his incapacity. He was constantly giving assurances that he had plans which would infallibly succeed, and yet when they were carried out not one of them was really successful. When he finally, however, with brazen impudence, charges the Prussians with having supported the Commune and with com- plicity in the scenes of terror enacted since the outbreak of the Socialist conspiracy, it may be pointed out (r) that German policy would have incurred no reproach before Europe if it had shown a certain readiness to meet the Commune during the first weeks following the i8th of March, when it had not as yet disclosed its true nature, particularly as there appeared to be very little good will and very considerable equivocation on the other side; (2) that there has been no question of any kind of complaisance on the part of the Germans towards the Commune, to say nothing of an understanding or of support, and that on the contrary everything which was permissible in the circumstances was done to assist the Versailles Government in its preparations to suppress the rising, and during the fight- ing itself. It is therefore to be expected that the members of the French Government, who are better informed, will contra- dict the assertions of the General, which if not mendacious are at lea..t utterly erroneous. We still await such a correction. If this disavowal were not made, we should consider it desirable that the matter should be taken up on the German side and that those diplomatic documents should be published which show that assistance was really given and in what manner, and that this was done at the wish and request of the Versailles Government." June 2)0th. — During the last few days again read a number of interesting documents despatched and received. Tauff- kirchen, the Bavarian representative at the Curia, reported from Rome en the 21st mst. that the Pope had spoken to him on the previous day of the danger by which society was threat- ened by the Communists. "They are," he said, as he drove away some flies from his table, " like these insects. It is no use to kill a few, still less to drive them away. General measures must be taken to prevent their entrance and propagation." 500 ITALY'S NEW CAI'IIAL tjui.v 5 Respecting the removal of the Italian Government to Rome, a recent despatch says that if the King proceeds thither the for- eign representatives will follow him in accordance with diplo. matic custom. If the Minister for Foreign Affairs were to reside there without the sovereign, it would then depend upon the requirements of business whether, and for how long, an envoy would go to Rome for purposes of personal communica- tion. France and Austria had instructed their representatives to follow the Minister to Rome, irrespective of the circumstance whether Victor P2mmanuel went there or not ; in that case, how- ever, they were to take leave of absence, leaving a substitute in charge. A despatch from Waldersee, dated the 25th instant, contains the following sentence : " It is not in the interest of the Empire that the different Federal States should maintain separate envoys abroad. We may, however, await their gradual disappearance as a work of time, and as the result of the Budget debates in the several States." According to a report from Tauffkirchen, Prince Lowenstein-Heubach, who has gone to Rome on behalf of the Clericals, threatened Cardinal Antonelli with the consequences of any disavowal of the Centre party in the Reichstag. July 2nd, — The Chief asked me yesterday if I had not, in accordance with his instructions, informed Brass ^ that he should cease his attacks upon the French Government. I replied : "Yes, several times, both by letter and verbally." He then said : " That must be put a stop to. But I believe he is paid by Napoleon." To-day he wished me to send Brass the follow- ing article, for whi( i he gave me the ideas: "There has been much discussion of the question, whether the war indemnity imposed upon France by Germany is too high, and whether the former will be able to bear the burden of those five milliards. Some answer the question in the affirmative, some in the nega- tive, while others remain in doubt. Now, however, we may con- sider the point as settled, by the programme which M. Thiers has submitted to the National Assembly, first, as regards the loan, and the financial position of France, and then with respect to the future of the country in general. Undoubtedly France is obliged to exercise greater economy than she has hitherto done. She must increase the productiveness of her ^ The editor of the North German Gazette, Dm 5 1 1871] FRENCH ARMAMKNrS 501 imcnt to Rome, a Is thither the for- lance with diplo- Affairs were to hen depend upon or how long, an sonal communica- if representatives the circumstance in that case, how- ng a substitute in the 2Sth instant, n the interest of should maintain vait their gradual ult of the Budget :o a report from ho has gone to ardinal Antonelli Centre party in f' if I had not, in is ^ that he should lent. I replied: •ally." He then jlicvc he is paid Brass the foUow- ' There has been 2 war indemnity and whether the se five milliards, ome in the nega- ver, we may con- ivhich M. Thiers irst, as regards , and then with 1. Undoubtedly ly than she has :tiveness of her resources, and administer them with the utmost care. Notwith- standing this, M. Thiers has no idea whatever of reducing the army or the navy, which nevertheless offer the largest field for economies. On the contrary, he desires to bring both up to the highest figure they have yet reached, and to keep them at that point, and what is more, he wishes to have the army reinforced by a reserve of 900,000 men. This clearly proves to us that the idea of France being entitled to dominate Europe has by no means been given up in Government circles at Versailles, and that now, as formerly, they hold fast to the statement in which M. Thiers during his autumn tour expressed the hope and self-confidence of the French politician : *L' Europe nc vent pas changer dc mattre' Indeed, now that the French Govern- ment thinks of submitting the same military budget, and the French seem to consider that they can bear their old military burdens even under more unfavourable conditions than prevailed formerly, the indemnity demanded must be regarded rather as too low than too high. Moreover, France is nowhere endan- gered or threatened, and these formidable armaments can there- fore only betray aggressive aspirations, the expression of which must be looked upon as a direct threat to her neighbours. On both these grounds there ceases in our opinion to be any moral obligation to show indulgence in the matter of the indemnity." Jtdy tfth. — This afternoon Keudell brought down from the Chief an article which appeared in the Norddeiitsche AUge- mcine Zcitung of the 2nd inst., which began with the words " Der Tel graph." The Chief had written on the margin : "This article is contrary to the instructions given. The Minis- ter of the Interior is to be written to respecting a warning to the editorial staff, or the withdrawal of all favours. Strict daily supervision necessary." Keudell said the Chancellor was furi- ous with Brass, and almost believed that he was paid by Napoleon to make mischief between ourselves and Versailles. He then begged me to write the necessary letter to the Minister of the Interior. The article of the 2nd of July was the last which I wrote for the Foreign Office from the direct personal instructions of the Chancellor. From that time forward the direct intercourse with the Chancellor, which I had hitherto enjoyed, was trans- ferred to the new "Press Councillor," Aegidi, who had been 502 AEGIDI [Jn.v here for some weeks, but had not been received by the Prince until eight or ten days after his arrival, and who, even then, was not employed immediately. I did not know at the time what was the reason of the change, and Bucher also was unable to explain it. He was afterwards of opinion that Aegidi was introduced by Keudell, who intended to leave the Foreign Office and take an appoint- ment abroad, in order that he might be kept informed of what was going on here. It would be his business also to see that the press men should not cease to accord him that recognition which he, as Personal Councillor, Treasurer, and Administrator of Pensions, was accustomed to receive from time to time, but that it should, on the contrary, continue to flow in a stronger and deeper stream. I cannot say whether the former surmise was correct. I will show later on, when I come to deal with Herr von Keudell himself, that the other point did not remain any mere suspicion. For the present I will only remark that the censer, which used to be swung before the latter in the press, was much more frequently in use after the arrival of his prot^gi' in Herlm, and that the smoke of the incense recalled in a very suspicious way Aegidi's own style. (...) James Ludwig Carl Aegidi, a Protestant, son of a doctor in Freienwalde, was born in 1825. He studied law at Konigsberg, Heidelberg, and Berlin, and was married to a Fraulein von Senden, a cousin of Keudell's. ... A few days after Aegidi's arrival Keudell, speaking of him to me, credited him with " exceptional scientific knovdedge, relations with almost all literary circles, and the tact which was desii.ible for mediating between the Chief and the daily press." The following chapters will show the nature of those rela- tions and this tact. Let one proof suffice for the moment. Some months after the appointment of the new Councillor the following was to be read in the Spenersche Zcitung, with which he had exceptionally inth.iate relations : " A Berlin correspond- ent of the Pester Lloyd, recalling the circumstance that the Norddcutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, which is regarded as a semi- official organ, received some sharply worded dementis during the summer of the present year, draws attention to the fact that for a short time past the journal in question has again come to be considered as official in the highest sense. The corre- [J.-.,V5 ved by the Prince d who, even then, the reason of the plain it. He was duced by Kcudcll, d take an appoint- informed of what is also to see that ■n that recognition and Administrator 1 time to time, but flow in a stronger he former surmise come to deal with nt did not remain only remark that ; the latter in the r the arrival of his incense recalled in • •) son of a doctor in aw at Konigsbcrg, a Friiulein von ays after Acgidi's redited him with with almost all ible for mediating lire of those rela- for the moment, ew Councillor the ituug, with which Berlin correspond- mstance that the garded as a semi- I dementis during 3n to the fact that 1 has again come ;nse. The corre- 1871] SHOULD 1 RESIGN? 503 spondent writes that, 'Since Professor Aegidi, who is at the same time one of the most eminent and respected of German professors of law and a spirited publicist, has been in charge of the press department of the Foreign Office, much more atten- tion has again been paid to the newspapers. He has taken care, in particular, to maintain a certain continuity of views in the official press. The Norddcutsclic Allgcmeinc Zcitung has again become the principal official organ, and since the ist of December all the leadinj.; articles published under the heading "Political News of the Day," dealing with foreign affairs, the affairs of the Empire, the relations of the Federal States to the President of the Council, as well as those on Church and State, may be considered as the direct expression of the views held by the highest officials of the Empire.' The correspondent states he is informed, on trustworthy authority, that for the most part Professor Aegidi himself edits the 'Political News of \the Day,' utilising for the purpc^e the information which he \\eceives direct from the Chancellui." \ The Chief was beside himself at this article. Aegidi was sMimioned before him, and returned — as a gentleman in the Central Bureau remarked — looking quite crestfallen and red in the face. He denied that he had prompted the communication in the Pester Lloyd. We soon ascertained, however, that it had emanated from one Julius L., a writer of the lowest rank and the most unenviable reputation, who had formerly served Keu- dcll, and was now intimately associated with Aegidi. I ought, perhpps, to have now tendered my resignation. Certain considerations, however, prevented my doing so for some time. There was still something for me to learn, and I soon observed that I could yet do good service. It was also Conceivable that my old relations with the Prince might be re- stored, as a man of Acgidi's character, with his self-seeking, mercurial exuberance of zeal, and his almost Jewish vanity, would sooner or later render himseK impossible. I therefore remained, and fell in with the wish of the Councillor to " enter into friendly relations with him," so Tar as that was possible. Subsequently, however, when he attempted to give me instruc- tions, as a kind of superior, I once and for all entered an ener- getic protest against such presumption, and declared that I could only carry out such instructions as he cculd assure me 504 I DECIDE TO REMAIN [JuJ-v 5, 1871 were the direct expression of the Chief's desire, thus taking up a position towards him not of subordination, but of equality. I did well in deciding to remain yet a while. I learnt a great deal more, as I still had access to the documents received and de- spatched, and became more and more intimate with Bucher. The hoped-for opportunities of serving the Chief at the same time as the representative of Keudell's interests, and without his knowledge, occurred more frequently than I had expected, although my personal intercourse with the Chief was not re- newed for the time being. BND OF VOL. I, [July 5, 1871 2, thus taking up ut of equality. I earnt a great deal received and de- ate with Bucher. hief at the same •ests, and without I had expected, Ihief was not re- :|