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 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE CHLODWIG OF 
 HOHENLOHE-SCHILLINGSFUERST 
 
 VOLUME I
 
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 MEMOIRS OF 
 PRINCE CHLODWIG 
 OF HOHENLOHE- 
 SCHILLINGSFUERST 
 
 AUTHORISED BY PRINCE ALEXANDER 
 OF HOHENLOHE-SCHILLINGSFUERST 
 AND EDITED BY FRIEDRICH CURTIUS 
 
 ENGLISH EDITION SUPERVISED 
 BY GEORGE W. CHRYSTAL, B.A. 
 
 FORMERLY EXHIBITIONER OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN 
 I906 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 Copyright, 1906, 
 BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1906.
 
 EDITORIAL PREFACE 
 
 On March 31, 1901, Prince Chlodwig of Hohenlohe-Schillings- 
 fiirst, who had resigned the office of Imperial Chancellor in the 
 previous autumn, kept his birthday at Colmar in the house of 
 his son. After the birthday dinner he took the writer 
 aside and surprised him with the question, "Will you help me 
 to write my memoirs?" This led to a conversation in which 
 the Prince expressed the desire to spend the rest of his life in 
 arranging his papers and preparing them for publication. He 
 proposed to send all his deeds and papers to Schillingsfiirst, and 
 invited me to visit him there for some weeks during the summer. 
 We were then to look over the materials to hand and to arrange 
 the plan of the book. In the event of his death the Prince told 
 me that his son, Prince Alexander, would take possession of all 
 his papers, and that his relations with myself had been already 
 arranged. Decision upon matters of detail was postponed for 
 those further discussions which were reserved for our summer 
 meeting but were never held. At the beginning of July 1901, 
 the Prince again visited Colmar, but he was a dying man and the 
 end came a few days later in Ragatz. Thus he was denied the 
 pleasure of personally beginning the last piece of work with 
 which he proposed to conclude a long and laborious life. Prince 
 Alexander and myself thus remained under the obligation of 
 fulfilling the last desires of the Prince so far as possible. It 
 must be said that after the Prince's death his project could never 
 be more than imperfectly completed. He had intended to 
 refresh his memory by a re-examination of his papers, and thus to 
 become his own biographer. After his death all that can be done 
 is to publish the papers which he has left behind in accordance 
 with his desire so far as publication seems advisable. 
 
 From the year 1866 the Prince had been accustomed to keep 
 a continuous record of his experiences and impressions, which 
 he called his "Journal." The entries in this journal were com- 
 pleted by abstracts and copies of reports and letters which the 
 Prince had preserved as possessing some autobiographical value. 
 Had he been permitted personally to undertake the work of 
 editing his memoirs, he would probably have amalgamated the 
 journal and these documents into a uniform narrative. This he 
 could not do, and it was impossible for the editor to make any 
 attempt of the kind. A biography always gives that picture
 
 vi EDITORIAL PREFACE 
 
 of a character which the contemplation of its activities has 
 evoked in the author's mind. Even had I considered myself com- 
 petent to write such a biography of the Prince, the terms of my 
 commission would have forbidden the attempt. The Prince 
 asked me to help him to write his memoirs. For the accom- 
 plishment of this task it was an essential condition that the 
 editor's personality should be as far as possible suppressed. 
 Hence the form of the book in which the desires of the Prince 
 are as nearly fulfilled as was possible after his death. The 
 reader will see no figure before him but that of the Prince, and 
 will hear the Prince's words or read the documentary evidence 
 of his actions. No addition has been made beyond the inser- 
 tion of such matters of fact as are indispensable to the full under- 
 standing of the material at my disposal. 
 
 For the period before the beginning of the journal the Prince 
 left behind him nothing more than isolated descriptions of travel 
 with political reflections. A diary begun in Coblentz in the 
 year 1842 contains only a few entries intended to supplement 
 his memory, and is also incomplete for the period. These defi- 
 ciencies were partially filled by his letters to his mother and 
 sister, the Princess Amalie. Thus it was possible to provide 
 a first-hand account of the Prince's early development, the frag- 
 mentary character of which is compensated by the authenticity 
 of the record. 
 
 Valuable additions to the Prince's personal papers were pro- 
 vided by communications from the widowed Princess Konstantin 
 of Hohenlohe, nee Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, 
 and from the Prince's surviving sister, Princess Elise of 
 Salm-Horstmar. To the kindly interest of these noble ladies is 
 due the fact that during those later periods, when the papers 
 of the Prince were chiefly restricted to political affairs, it was pos- 
 sible to give some account of his personal life and of his wider 
 interests. This is especially true of the information concerning 
 the last months of his life provided by the Princess of Salm- 
 Horstmar. 
 
 I must avail myself of this opportunity to express my thanks 
 to his Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Baden for his gracious 
 permission to print certain of his letters to the Prince, especially 
 those which throw most valuable light upon the struggles and 
 difficulties of the transition period from 1866 to 1870 and also 
 form a fine memorial of that unbounded confidence which united 
 the Grand Duke and the Bavarian statesman. 
 
 My warmest thanks are due to my friend the Freiherr Julius 
 v. Freyberg of Munich for information upon Bavarian affairs, 
 and also to Professor Friedrich of Munich, whose kind informa- 
 tion and provision of references greatly facilitated the editing 
 of that part of the book which deals with the Vatican Council. 
 
 FRIEDRICH CURTIUS. 
 Strassburg, July, 1906.
 
 CONTENTS OF VOLUME I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Youth, 1819-1847 1 
 
 The Revolution and the Embassy, 1 848-1 850 .... 37 
 
 The Years 1850-1866 63 
 
 I. Paris and Russia, 1850-1866 66 
 
 II. Rome, 1856-1857 jt> 
 
 III. The Year 1859 81 
 
 IV. Russia and Vienna, 1 860-1 861 91 
 
 V. Proceedings in the Chamber of the Reichsrath, 
 
 1861 99 
 
 VI. Journeys to Baden, Silesia and Berlin, Paris and 
 Karlsruhe, and to the Frankfurt Congress of 
 
 Princes, 1861-1863 107 
 
 VII. Schleswig-Holstein 127 
 
 VIII. The Year 1866 142 
 
 The Bavarian Ministry, 1 867-1 870 181 
 
 vu
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe in 1846 .... Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe at the time of the Bavarian 
 
 Ministry 183
 
 YOUTH 
 
 1819-1847
 
 YOUTH 
 
 1819-1847 
 
 Prince Chlodwig of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfiirst was born at 
 Rothenburg on the Fulda, on March 31, 1819. His father, Franz 
 Joseph, was born at Kupferzell on November 26, 1787. At the 
 age of seven Prince Franz was sent with his brother Albert to a 
 Franciscan institute in Parma, and his recollections of this educa- 
 tional establishment were by no means agreeable. His education 
 was completed at the Theresianum in Vienna, and he then en- 
 tered a Hungarian hussar regiment. In 1804 he left the 
 Hungarian for the Prussian service, and belonged for a vear 
 to a hussar regiment stationed at Ansbach. His commanding 
 officer was Prince Solms, whose wife was the sister of Queen 
 Louise, and afterwards became Queen Friederike of Hanover. 
 When the Hohenlohe States were mediatised he left the ser- 
 vice, and in the year 1807 his elder brother, Karl, the first of 
 the Hohenlohe-Waldenburg line, gave him possession of the 
 estate of Schillingsfiirst with the consent of his collaterals. 
 He became a hereditary legislator, and a "major" of Bavaria. 
 He had abandoned the profession of arms much against his 
 will, and solely out of affection for his mother; and as the 
 estate of Schillingsfurst was not greatly productive, and was, 
 moreover, burdened with heavy liabilities, the business of 
 its administration proved an ungrateful task. From his 
 early youth he had been in love with Princess Konstanze of 
 Hohenlohe-Langenburg, but want of means delayed his 
 marriage for seven years. His two brothers-in-law were the 
 Landgrave Victor Amadeus of Hesse-Rothenburg, whose second 
 wife was Princess Elise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, sister of 
 Princess Konstanze, and Count Moritz Fries, the husband of the 
 Prince's sister, Princess Therese; they eventually removed the 
 pecuniary obstacles to the Prince's marriage by the provision 
 of an annual allowance. The marriage was celebrated on 
 March 30, 181 5, and the great happiness of his married life proved 
 some compensation to the Prince for the abandonment of his 
 military career. The young couple lived at first on the estate 
 of Count Fries at Voslau, near Vienna, and then alternately at 
 Schillingsfurst and Rothenburg. The Landgrave, indeed, who had 
 
 3
 
 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 no children, proposed to leave his allodial estates to the sons 
 of his brother-in-law, and was anxious to share the responsibility 
 of their education and the pleasure of watching their devel- 
 opment. The journeys backwards and forwards between 
 Schillingsfurst and Rothenburg took the most conspicuous 
 place among Prince Chlodwig's early recollections. 
 
 The character of Prince Franz is thus described by his 
 eldest daughter, the late Princess Theresa of Hohenlohe- 
 Waldenburg: "His life was darkened by the abandonment 
 of his military career. There was a strain of melancholy in 
 his character, though he was a great wit and could be very 
 merry on occasion. His kindness, courtesy, and amiability 
 were infinite, and he was universally popular. History and 
 politics interested him keenly, and he always said that he 
 had a prophetic soul. He did, in fact, predict many events. 
 It was with much reluctance that he left the peace of the home 
 life in his beloved Schillingsfurst to take his large family to 
 Hesse for the annual visit which was rarely missed ; but his 
 affection for his brothers obliged him to make this sacrifice to 
 the pleasure of good Uncle Victor. He was not very fond of 
 Corvey,* and when staying there was always longing to get 
 back to South Germany." This sketch may be supplemented 
 by the words of a longstanding member of his family, Frau 
 Schneemann (nee Freiin von Etzdorff), the governess of Princess 
 Therese. She writes with regard to Prince Franz: "The 
 light and lodestar of his existence was his love for his wife. 
 Her loftiness of soul, her strength of character, and the 
 fidelity of her love are above all praise. 'My wife fully 
 justifies her name (Konstanze, Constance),' said the Prince, 
 when praising the patient love and care with which she 
 tended him in a long illness. He was not a profound student, 
 but on many points his instinct proved more reliable than the 
 judgment of many a scholar. History was his favourite study, 
 and his criticisms were clear and impartial. Class prejudice 
 he had none, and was ready to respect an honest and straight- 
 forward worker, whatever his rank in life. The spirit of Josephine 
 which had purified the upper classes in Austria as elsewhere, 
 for a time at least, had made a beneficial impression upon him. 
 In his best moments the richness of his humour was delightful. 
 Family life was everything to him. Unable at that time to 
 serve his country, he took care that his children should grow 
 up in an atmosphere of parental love. He constantly spent 
 the evening with them, and their mutual confidence was abso- 
 lutely unrestrained. The Princess was an aristocrat, but her 
 inexorable common sense saved her from the errors committed 
 by others of her class. Kindliness and enlightened religious 
 opinions gave a special character to the every action of 
 husband and wife. They were, in the true sense of the word, a 
 
 * See p. 6.
 
 . MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 5 
 
 noble prince and princess, and this because they were a noble 
 man and woman." 
 
 The sons were brought up as Roman Catholics, while the 
 daughters were trained in the faith of their Protestant mother. 
 Religious toleration was thus for them the foundation and the 
 indispensable condition of domestic happiness, and the dominant 
 motives which guided the political career of Prince Chlodwig 
 wire the natural outcome of his tender affection for his 
 Protestant sisters. 
 
 The boy received his first lessons with his brother Victor, 
 afterwards Duke of Ratibor, who was born on February 10, 
 1818. The earliest account of their lives and lessons at this 
 period is found in the following letter from their mother to a 
 friend : 
 
 Rothenburg, February 13, 1826. 
 
 . . . Chlodwig is very amusing over his lessons, and the 
 Chamberlain is always laughing at his drolleries. Both the 
 boys are now having piano lessons. Father Ildephons gives them 
 religious instruction, and is so extraordinarily kind and gentle 
 that I am quite delighted with him. ... In the afternoon 
 they had a large children's party, and acted proverbs with 
 great zest ; this is almost a Sunday institution. Among other 
 proverbs they recently performed "Throw a sprat to catch 
 a salmon." Chlodwig was the salmon and Philipp Ernst * the 
 sprat ; Otto Quessel threw the latter against Chlodwig with 
 such violence that the unfortunate sprat tumbled down and 
 roared loudly. A short time ago Chlodwig was asked in his 
 geography lesson what the people were whose business it is 
 to see that their subjects (Untertanen) obey the laws; he 
 replied: "The objects (Obertanen)." Yesterday we had 
 theatricals, that is to say, a kind of panorama, in which 
 the battle of Leipzig was represented. The showman pointed 
 to certain figures, and said that they represented the allied 
 powers (Mdchte), whereupon Chlodwig observed: "But I don't 
 see any girls (Magde)." A short time ago he was asked to give 
 the half of 10, and replied: "o, because the two figures could 
 be divided by a stroke, thus, 1/0." 
 
 The Coblentz diary f refers to the winter of 1830-183 1 in 
 Rothenburg in the following terms: "Broken health of body 
 and mind; despondent imaginings." 
 
 From 1832 to 1833 the three Princes, Victor, Chlodwig, and 
 Philipp Ernst, were sent to the Ansbach Gymnasium. Chlodwig 
 was attacked by scarlet fever in the summer of 1833, and in the 
 autumn of that year the diary again refers to "sick ness." 
 
 In October 1833 Victor and Chlodwig entered the Erfurt 
 Gymnasium, and were placed in the Tertia (third form). "A 
 
 * The third of the brothers, born on May 24, 1820. f S ee Preface.
 
 6 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 joyless and friendless life," is the diary reference to early days 
 at Erfurt. 
 
 In 1834 the Prince was promoted to the Secunda. In the 
 autumn of this year the diary observes: "Arrival of the whole 
 family at the new inheritance; everybody ill." The fact was 
 that the Landgrave Victor Amadeus had died on November 12, 
 1834, leaving to his nephews, the Princes Victor and Chlodwig, 
 his allodial estates, the Duchy of Ratibor in Silesia, the Principality 
 of Corvey in Westphalia, and the estate of TrefTurt in the Govern- 
 ment Department of Erfurt. Henceforward Corvey became the 
 family home. 
 
 The first of the Prince's letters which has been preserved 
 belongs to the summer of 1835. It was written during a walk- 
 ing tour through the Harz mountains, and is dated from the 
 Brockenhaus, June 12, 1835. The letter describes the road through 
 the "awful and romantic beauty of the Bodetal," and re- 
 cords with much satisfaction certain botanical discoveries. On the 
 Brocken he found trientalis Europaa and the "Brocken myrtle." 
 
 The summer holidays were again spent by the family in 
 Corvey, whence visits were exchanged with the Biickeburg Court. 
 The Prince's social life during his school days is described in 
 the following letter to his sister Amalie.* She was eighteen 
 months younger than himself, and their confidence became ever 
 closer as he grew towards man's estate. 
 
 Erfurt, March 3, 1836. 
 
 . . . Yesterday evening we were at the house of the district 
 doctor, where we spent a very pleasant evening, though the 
 company was not numerous. First charades were played, 
 and then there was dancing to the piano. Herr Golde played. 
 This evening we are going for an hour or two to the Casino 
 ball; we cannot get out of it, as this is the second time we 
 have been invited, and we did not go before. . . . 
 
 Ketschau brought us a very fine song yesterday for bass 
 voices, of his own composition; we are learning it now, and 
 I am sure you will like it. Gustel's f new piano is splendid, 
 and Ketschau says it has a better tone than the piano at Corvey ; 
 Gustel is always playing on it. I forgot to tell you that we 
 had a very pleasant visit to Weimar a short time ago. A new 
 opera by Auber was produced with immense splendour, the 
 Ballnacht. I can say nothing about the music, for I sat 
 next to the Grand Duke,| and he talked nearly all the time. 
 The Weimar family are tremendously civil. They have asked 
 us to a concert next Sunday, but of course we are not going. 
 The Grand Duke also spoke of a State ball. 
 
 *Born August 31, 1821. 
 
 t The Cardinal of later years ; born February 26, 1823. He entered 
 the Erfurt Gymnasium, as also did Prince Philipp Ernst. 
 % Karl Friedrich (1828-1853).
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 7 
 
 We have a great deal to tell one another, and I am eagerly 
 looking forward to the Easter holidays. Give my love and 
 kind remembrances to everybody, 
 
 Ever your loving 
 
 Chlodwig. 
 
 In the autumn of 1836 the diary notes : "Fears of the approach- 
 ing abiturient (leaving certificate) examination. Solitary rides." 
 
 At the request of Prince Franz Joseph the Minister Alten- 
 stein issued a decree on April 28, 1837, admitting the Princes 
 Victor and Chlodwig under exceptional circumstances to the 
 abiturient examination, though they had been in the Prima for 
 little more than a year. Chlodwig announces his success in the 
 examination to his sister in the following letter : 
 
 Erfurt, June 1, 1837. 
 To-day I write my last letter from Erfurt ; perhaps we 
 shall arrive before it. The examination took place this morning, 
 and the business actually lasted from eight to one o'clock. 
 Naturally we are glad to see the end of it, partly because one 
 is always glad to have an examination over, partly because 
 we are delighted at the prospect of coming home. We have 
 not yet received our certificates. At the end of the affair, 
 the Landrat Turk (presiding examiner) told us that we had 
 passed without difficulty. So we are now free from anxiety, 
 though we shall be even more so at Corvey with you than here. 
 Packing is going on vigorously, and there is plenty of "row," 
 as they call it. We have a heap of visits to pay to-morrow. 
 After all, there is always something sad in leaving people with 
 whom one has spent three years. But hope overcomes the 
 unpleasantness of the moment, the hope of seeing you all 
 again. . . . 
 
 The formal leave-taking of the Prince took place on June 3. 
 In his farewell speech, the Direktor (headmaster) Strass said : 
 "One of the triumphs of the age and of its learning is to 
 be seen in the fact that young German Princes are not content 
 to rely upon the achievements of their great ancestors, but 
 are desirous of proving their own value by showing themselves 
 worthy sons of those progenitors; thus they make it impossible 
 for envy and malice to deny them that recognition which is 
 now more than ever their due. By entering into that open 
 field of competition where a man can secure respect only by 
 his actions and his character, they have put to shame purse- 
 proud indolence, complacent emptiness, and presumptuous igno- 
 rance, the forwardness of the boor and the underhand intrigues 
 of the hypocrite, while they have also secured a higher place 
 in the ranks of their equals." 
 
 Prince Chlodwig's certificate praises his high moral character,
 
 8 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 his talents and his industry. "Ever distinguished by moral 
 earnestness and good behaviour, honourably desirous to be blame- 
 less in every respect, and to succeed by his own efforts, the Prince 
 invariably secured the sincere respect of his companions, and 
 the warm affection of all his masters. His excellent abilities 
 were stimulated and developed at an early date, and found 
 congenial employment in the various branches of learning. 
 His attention and eager interest in every subject of instruction 
 was a marked feature, and was evidenced by his indefatigable 
 industry both in school- work and private study." As regards 
 the attainments of the Prince in the various subjects of the 
 curriculum, special emphasis was laid upon his German, and 
 his "power of grasping the essential points of a subject, and 
 of arranging them in logical order." "He writes," the document 
 continues, "correctly and fluently, and his poetical essays show 
 much life and imagination." 
 
 On June 23 the Prince matriculated at Gottingen, and 
 attended Miihlenbruch's lectures on the Institutes during 
 that summer. In September he made a tour from Corvey 
 through Driburg to Paderborn, Iserlohn, Barmen and Elberfeld, 
 Cologne, Bonn and Neuwied. The diary of this tour has been 
 preserved, and contains lively and vivid descriptions which show 
 that the young traveller was possessed of a keenly inquiring mind. 
 During the winter of 1837-38 the Prince attended Miihlenbruch's 
 lectures on the Pandects, "without understanding them," 
 as the diary observes. He also attended Herbart's lectures 
 on logic and on elementary philosophy. 
 
 The only record in the diary of the Easter vacation at 
 Corvey runs : "Sentimental. Beautiful April. Read Werther." 
 
 During the summer semester of 1838 the Prince studied 
 at Bonn. The diary refers to his social companions among 
 his contemporaries ; these were the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg- 
 Strelitz, the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe and Lowenstein, 
 the future Duke Ernst II. of Saxony, and his brother, Prince 
 Albert, afterwards consort of Queen Victoria. 
 
 Information about social life in Bonn is provided by a letter 
 to Princess Amalie : 
 
 Bonn, July 20, 1838. 
 
 . . . Our mode of life here is almost equally divided by 
 study and amusement. I had begun a letter to you, but my 
 visit to Biickeburg prevented its completion. We were invited 
 to Godesberg, where a splendid dinner awaited us. The Prince 
 was very kind and the Princess also, though the latter seemed to 
 keep a sharper eye upon us than before: perhaps she did not 
 quite trust us, or she was looking to see which of the eight Princes 
 would be most suitable for her daughters. I was not so for- 
 tunate as to have much of her conversation, as I was not often 
 placed next to her. In the evening we went up to the Godesberg 
 ruins, and an old Count Beust, to the general amusement, talked
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 9 
 
 Count Erbach over a vineyard wall. Both were so absorbed in 
 their conversation that they did not notice the proximity of the 
 precipice until Erbach found himself at the bottom of it. Of 
 course, he was not hurt. The next day there was a professors' 
 dinner at the Prince's house, at which we were not present. In 
 the afternoon we made an excursion with the Prince's family 
 to the Rosenburg and Kreuzberg, and took tea in Godesberg. 
 Then there was a general leave-taking. The Princess Mathilde * 
 looks very well. 
 
 On Monday the Duke of Coburg f is returning here from 
 England. . . . You will see that life here is bv no means 
 monotonous. We are sowing seed for the future, which should 
 bring forth valuable fruit. 
 
 Our swimming lessons from one to three o'clock every day 
 are extremely pleasant. We are a cheerful and noisy company — 
 the Hereditary Prince, the Prince of Coburg, the Prince of Lowen- 
 stein, Erbach, and myself. We have had a boat built to suit 
 us, which bears our several flags and in which we row ourselves. 
 
 At the beginning of the vacation of 1838 the Prince made a tour 
 in Switzerland with his brothers Victor and Philipp Ernst. The 
 tourists travelled up the Rhine to Mannheim and Leopoldshofen. 
 There they left the steamer and passed through Karlsruhe, Baden, 
 Freiburg, and the Hollental to Schaffhausen, Zurich, and Zug, 
 over the Rigi to Lucerne, Langnau, and Bern, and finally through 
 Lausanne to Geneva, where they stayed at the Hotel des Bergues. 
 After an excursion to Chamonix, they settled in Plongeon, near 
 Geneva, to pursue the study of French. Their stay does not seem 
 to have been devoted exclusively to educational purposes, for 
 the diary reports: "Follies, fine evenings, recollections! Philipp 
 Ernst and myself thoughtful under the chestnut-trees. Miss 
 Jones." 
 
 In November the Princes moved to Lausanne; the diary 
 refers to their stay as "sad days," perhaps with reference to the 
 greater cheerfulness of life at Plongeon. A letter from the Prince 
 to his sister, under date December 18, is written in French and 
 gives proof of the industry and zeal with which the writer pursued 
 his studies. Vaudois society received the German Princes with 
 much kindness, and in this connection we hear of M. de Blonay, 
 Mesdemoiselles de Seigneur, and Madame de Gingins ; also of the 
 Baron de Chavette, whose wife was a daughter of the Due de 
 Berry. The Prince attended lectures in the Academy, and was 
 constantly present at the sessions of the Vaudois Assembly. 
 About noon he usually "walked alone and gave audience to 
 his own thoughts, which turned chiefly upon recollections of 
 the past, plans for the future, and soi-disant philosophical, or 
 possibly misanthropical and philanthropical, speculations." A 
 
 * Afterwards Duchess of Wiirtemberg (1818-1891). 
 t Ernst I. (1784-1844).
 
 io MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 society was formed by seven young men in the pension, and in- 
 cluded the three Princes, two Kantakuzeni, a Dutchman, and 
 a Swiss ; the society possessed a president, vice-president, and 
 secretary, and discussed political questions in French. "We 
 generally discuss politics," he writes to Princess Amalie on 
 January 15, 1839. "Discussion sometimes grows so fierce that 
 the members turn white, green, and red. We defend our position 
 and they theirs, from their liberal standpoint. Afterwards our 
 former relations are resumed, and every one adheres to his own 
 opinion. We have constantly attended the sessions of the 
 Grand Conseil du Canton de Vaud the Legislative Assembly. 
 The arguments are often terrible stuff — bad logic as well as bad 
 politics. The local peasantry have a certain veneer of education, 
 which is really worse than none. Their culture is only on the 
 surface. But the fellows plume themselves upon their wisdom, 
 boast of their fine republic, and so forth. I never felt so strong 
 an aristocrat and monarchist as in this republic. I hate the 
 Radicals more than ever, now that I have been behind the scenes 
 and learned the nature of their egotistical projects. However, 
 one must give many of the members their due — for instance, 
 Professor Monnard, whose name you may have seen in the 
 newspapers. People cry out against him as a radical, but he is 
 nothing more than a simple republican, and in a republic he could 
 hardly be anything else. He is a very noble and high-minded 
 character, and the best speaker in the Grand Conseil. It is very 
 interesting to see the working of this constitution, which is quite 
 new to us. 
 
 You cannot imagine the pleasure of talking French in 
 society. Now that I have attained some fluency, I become 
 more and more convinced that French is the one language for 
 conversation. One can talk the whole evening without saying 
 anything. Several Frenchmen are here just now whose con- 
 versation is full of interest at times — for instance, the well- 
 known Carlist, Chavette, a very nice fellow." 
 
 The Princes made a tour in Italy from March 5 to April 29, 
 and went as far as Naples. In Rome they met Prince Albert of 
 Coburg. 
 
 In May 1839 a move was made to the University of Heidel- 
 berg. Among his fellow students the Prince's diary names the 
 Prince Karl Egon of Fiirstenberg (born March 4, 1820), Count 
 Erbach-Erbach (born November 27, 18 18), and the Marshals of 
 Baden, Dusch and Sternberg. The Prince's letters to his sister 
 testify to his great industry. Every morning he worked from 
 five to ten o'clock ; lectures * then began, and only the evenings 
 were reserved for recreation. 
 
 * In the summer of 1839 the Prince attended lectures upon feudal 
 law, general European International law, general and German constitutional 
 law by Zacharia, upon criminal law by Zopfl, upon psychology and Goethe's 
 Faust by Reichlin-Meldegg; in the winter of 1839-40 he followed 
 courses on German constitutional law by Morstadt, on Catholic and
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE n 
 
 Heidelberg, June 30, 1839. 
 
 . . . Lectures are a magnificent spectacle during the hot 
 weather, as it is the custom here for students to take off their 
 coats. A very disgusting custom, too, as the original whiteness 
 of their shirt-sleeves is a matter of conjecture, from which fact 
 other inferences may be made. 
 
 I am working hard now, and go out very little ; I sometimes 
 get a ride in the evening with Fiirstenberg and Erbach, or a walk 
 with Sternberg and a certain Herr Uhde of Dresden. The last 
 named, a friend of Sternberg's, is very pleasant and intelligent. 
 I prefer these walks to any other form of excursion, and certainly 
 to the long rides with a large number of friends, on which Erbach 
 is very keen; on these occasions he generally insists on riding 
 through the streets five abreast. 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 Heidelberg, August 5, 1839. 
 
 . . . Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (the King's son) was ex- 
 pected in Heidelberg in the afternoon, but did not arrive until 
 eleven o'clock at night. We could not possibly call upon him 
 then. To-day we learned that he was staying until half-past 
 eleven, so we (Victor and I) paid our call to-day. He received us 
 very kindly, asked how long our studies were to continue, &c. 
 . . . He seemed to be pleased by our inquiries after his health, 
 which is said to have been very indifferent. As we went away 
 he shook hands, and hoped we would work hard that we might 
 be better fitted for the duties of life. This wish has reassured me 
 considerably with regard to my plans for the future, as he must have 
 assumed that I should enter the Civil Service, because he wished 
 me success in my legal studies (I had previously mentioned that 
 I was thus occupied). Moreover, we may also infer that he is 
 not surprised at our long absence from Berlin. It is assumed 
 that we are to learn something, before we present ourselves at 
 Court. All this is mere conjecture, but so much and more may 
 be inferred from the tone and course of the conversation. 
 
 The vacation* was spent amid the pleasures of family life at 
 Corvey. 
 
 Protestant ecclesiastical law by Zacharia, on the history of the German 
 States and constitutions by Zopfl, and on the philosophical systems of 
 Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel by Reichlin-Meldegg. 
 
 *"It was very pleasant," writes the Prince's surviving sister, the 
 Princess of Salm -Horstmar, "when the brothers came home for the 
 vacations from the University and brought some life into the great Castle 
 of Corvey. My sister Amalie would sit at the piano in the splendid large 
 room and accompany my brother Chlodwig, who had a fine baritone voice, 
 or would sing duets with him. I was then a small child, and looked 
 with admiration upon my brother and sister. My sister would also 
 accompany herself upon the harp. My other brothers were fond of 
 drawing, especially Philipp Ernst, whose life was to be so short."
 
 12 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 The studies at Heidelberg were then resumed and continued 
 over Christmas without interruption. "A quiet Christmas," 
 says the diary. On Christmas Day the Prince writes to his 
 sister : 
 
 "lam now reading Muller's letters to Bonstetten. Nothing 
 so inspires the ordinary man as to see how great men, the glorious 
 phenomena of the intellectual world, rose by their own efforts, 
 though also with the help of 'genius,' to a height which we poor 
 sublunary mortals can only admire. I have bought a Latin copy 
 of Thomas a Kempis. It is a revelation in the original: a fine 
 strong language the spirit of which does not lend itself to a Ger- 
 man translation. And the meaning can only be grasped in its 
 entirety in the original." 
 
 Heidelberg, January 25, 1840. 
 
 Our life is at present diversified by many distractions in the 
 form of evening entertainments, which contribute little to the 
 study of jurisprudence, little to the study of people not worth 
 studying, and nothing at all to our personal pleasure. However, 
 I must not do any one an injustice. A few days ago Philipp 
 Ernst and myself had a very pleasant time at Count Rantzau's 
 house. He has a small reading circle where parts are distributed 
 and tragedies read. The Merchant 0) Venice was read when we 
 were there. We both took parts, and on the whole amusement 
 is not lacking. 
 
 We are delighted with the kind letter which Prince Albert 
 sent in reply to our congratulations.* It was a really kind and 
 sympathetic letter. I am looking forward to a ball which the 
 Grand Dukef is soon to give at Mannheim. One of my fancies is 
 a growing preference for the society of large towns as against that 
 of small, though the results in either case are the same. The 
 evening parties sometimes given by Count Rantzau are, in the 
 first place, entertaining; and further, instead of the odious gossip 
 and the medisances of scandal-mongers male and female, one can 
 indulge in sensible conversation and avoid that horreur des 
 horreurs, the affectations of a provincial tea-party. I know that 
 il fant savoir s'ennuyer avec grace! Bien! ma is je n'ai pas le 
 temps de m'ennuyer. On the other hand, I must admit that 
 one ought not to despise tiresome parties so absolutely. In 
 every company of people there is an element of interest which 
 ought to be discovered and stimulated. The man who is bored 
 usually has only himself to blame, and he ought to determine 
 not to be bored. For instance, a short time ago I took a young 
 Polish countess in to supper. She was said to be a poor conver- 
 sationalist, and generally has nothing to say. My lucky star 
 led me to begin upon a topic which proved surprisingly successful 
 and attracted the general attention to the liveliness and the 
 
 * On his betrothal to Queen Victoria. 
 t The Grand Duke Leopold of Baden.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 13 
 
 excellent French of this usually silent lady. So I say that a 
 man who is bored has only himself to blame. In the case of 
 unintellectual people who cannot express themselves one must be 
 content to study their character and to compare their stupidity 
 with one's own — a process which in my case has often led to 
 pleasant and often to sad results; in other words, one must be 
 contented to remain a psychologist, an investigator of mental 
 powers. Only thus can one retain one's own character in the 
 presence of a scoundrel, one's small intellectual powers before a 
 fool, and one's cheerfulness before a grave-digger. 
 
 In a letter of February 13, 1840, the Prince speaks of the 
 pleasures of music, and concludes with the words, "without 
 music man is but half complete." 
 
 Speaking of foolish and uninteresting society, he says: "It 
 has happened to me to stand by a lady with such a lack of interest 
 in her that I was able to run over the whole of my revision-lecture 
 for the next day." The Prince also felt strongly about the "anti- 
 pietist" movement which arose in Heidelberg. "The greatest 
 philosophers," he writes, "have been led back to the fundamental 
 truths of Christianity in the course of their investigations, and 
 have been astounded by the magnificence of these truths; yet 
 insignificant creatures, unworthy to loose their philosophical shoe- 
 strings, would cast off the faith and the principles of true piety." 
 
 At the beginning of March 1840, the Prince was present at the 
 carnival of Mannheim. Thence he writes on March 2 : " Yester- 
 day there was a really magnificent pageant here; a hunting 
 procession in costume from the earliest times of German history 
 to the present day. Splendid dresses, beautiful horses, a hundred 
 chief figures and many attendants. The local gentlemen, officers 
 and others, organised the undertaking at much expense and with 
 great historical accuracy." 
 
 The Easter holidays were spent at Corvey, and University 
 work was resumed in the spring of 1840.* The Prince's letters to 
 his sister are full of his delight with the situation of the new house 
 on the Neckar. 
 
 "The University has not as yet entirely assembled," he 
 writes .on May 9, 1840. "Mittermaier and Rau, two of our 
 best professors, are still at the Landtag, which I have so 
 often and so comprehensively anathematised. I am at some 
 pains to avoid the use of even stronger language in description 
 of this idiotic assembly. These chattering institutions have 
 never made me so angry as now, when we are suffering under 
 them ourselves. If I ever get an opportunity of venting my 
 indignation upon them and their like, I shall seize it." 
 
 * During the summer semester of 1840 the Prince attended lectures 
 on Roman civil law and procedure and on the Roman testamentary law 
 by Deurer, on civil procedure by Mittermaier, on natural law by Roder, 
 on political economy by Rau, and, finally, special lectures by Zopfl on 
 German constitutional law and civil procedure.
 
 i 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 In September of the same year the Prince was invited to 
 Windsor by Prince Albert, whose marriage with Queen Victoria 
 had been celebrated on February 10. The Prince was in England 
 from September 20 to 24, but, unfortunately, the only records of 
 this visit are the names of persons and places of interest. The 
 rest of the autumn vacation was spent at Corvey, but was inter- 
 rupted by a journey to Berlin for the act of homage on October 15 
 and to Silesia. Then followed " cheerful wedding-days," when 
 his eldest sister, Therese (born April 19, 1816), was married to 
 Prince Friedrich Karl of Hohenlohe- Waldenburg ; the ceremony 
 took place at Langenburg on November 26, 1840. Shortly after- 
 wards Prince Franz Joseph fell seriously ill, though this did not 
 prevent the Prince from concluding his studies. Bonn was chosen 
 for his preparation for the examination. " The winter months 
 here are very quiet and sad," says the diar\. 
 
 On January 14, 1841, the Prince Franz Joseph died. "A sad 
 journey to Corvey. Return to Bonn," says the diary. The 
 preparation for the examination admitting to the legal pro- 
 fession (Auskultator) was now completed, and the Prince sat 
 for his examination on April 3 in Coblentz. According to the 
 certificate dated April 10 he displayed "unusual knowledge and 
 capacity." When the examination was over the Prince employed 
 his leisure in visiting his relations. The diary observes : " Pleasant 
 journey to Castell by way of Meiningen, Langenburg, Kupferzell, 
 and Wickersheim. Wonderful May weather. Cheerful recol- 
 lections of a joyous union." A page of the diary informs us of 
 his state of mind. 
 
 Kupferzell, May 6, 184 1. 
 
 Why, among the many hearts that can feel, should it not be 
 possible to find one capable of understanding us because it tenderly 
 loves us? How true it is that the differences between people 
 largely consist in their varying possession of that most indi- 
 vidual characteristic, the power of feeling. Education, environ- 
 ment, difference of inclination and talent necessarily imply a 
 different point of view in any two individuals. But is the power 
 of "understanding" a person — I use the term in its consolatory 
 sense — merely the product of these influences? Surely the true 
 consolatory " understanding " consists rather in the appreciation 
 of another person's ideas, of new points of view, in receptivity to 
 another's sorrows, and in all other impressions of the kind, in 
 an ever-intensified harmony of two kindred souls. Is any other 
 theory desirable or possible, and is this one impossible? At 
 any rate I do not abandon hope ! 
 
 After their father's death the brothers had agreed that the 
 third of them should be Prince in Schillingsfiirst as the two elder 
 were provided with the Rothenburg inheritance, Victor in Ratibor 
 and Chlodwig in Corvey. In June 1841 the Prince travelled to
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 15 
 
 Silesia to visit his elder brother, who had gone into residence at 
 the Castle of Rauden, near Ratibor, on November 3, 1840. A 
 further object of this journey was to enter into relations with the 
 leading personalities of the Prussian Ministry with the intention 
 of securing admission to the Prussian Diplomatic Service. The 
 Prince resolved to prefer a request to the King that he might 
 be excused the necessity of performing the prescribed preliminary 
 service under the judicial and administrative authorities — a 
 regulation which the high nobility regarded as somewhat deroga- 
 tory. On September 21, 1841, he wrote to his mother from 
 Rauden : " . . . Our journey to Breslau went off very well. I 
 had an interview with Count Stolberg, who was very kind and 
 encouraging. We have been received in the kindest manner by 
 the high society of Breslau, especially by the Prince of Prussia, 
 and on this Count Styrum observed : ' On voit que le roi vous 
 veut du bien. a voire place fen profiterais 1 ; and turning to 
 Victor he said : ' 77 rfy a pas d' 'autre moyen d'en profiler, Mon- 
 seigneur, que d'entrer au service militaire.'' But this Victor can- 
 not do. . . ." 
 
 In pursuit of his intentions Prince Chlodwig spent the autumn 
 in Berlin. "Fine promises," observes the diary. At the end 
 of the autumn he went to Corvey to await the decision. It was, 
 however, long delayed. In his impatience he began to consider 
 the advisability of renouncing his hopes of a Government post 
 and of living in Corvey as an independent nobleman. But the 
 passion for politics was rooted in him, and was far too strong to 
 permit the permanent abandonment of his original intention. 
 Thus he writes to his mother from Corvey on November 23, 1841 : 
 "My stay here has shown me more clearly the impossibility of 
 settling here definitely, which in its way is no bad thing. I am 
 now setting forth homeless through the world, and must zealously 
 pursue some prospect of entering a profession, and in this quest 
 homelessness is the best condition to be in. . . . If I could only 
 be certain of my future and settle my plans for the winter ! If I 
 cannot enter the Diplomatic Service I shall try to enter the Eng- 
 lish military service and then join the Chinese expedition. But 
 this plan is as yet quite vague." 
 
 Corvey, December 19, 1841. 
 
 ... I have just received a letter from Lowenstein which 
 has decided me to start for Berlin at once. I think Stolberg 
 cannot have given my letter to the King. However, that 
 does not matter now; I shall stay the winter in Berlin and 
 settle down there. If I meet with a refusal I shall wait till spring 
 and see what else there is to do. 
 
 From Berlin he wrote to his mother on January 3, 1842: "I 
 have your dear letter of the 21st, and thank you most heartily for 
 your wishes and hopes. I will gather my forces for an advance
 
 i6. MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 upon the object which I have set before me. Nobody can 
 advise an individual upon his future life ; I have had far too much 
 advice already, both about the end and the means, and for 
 this reason I have often been led astray, but I think I pretty 
 well understand my position at present. I am beginning to 
 work and to see and hear a lot. I go about a great deal, and 
 I have very pleasant society in the Furstenbergs, Lowenstein, 
 and other very nice people." 
 
 January 17, 1842. 
 
 Unfortunately, I have no very good news for you to-day. I 
 have an answer from the King in the negative. It runs as 
 follows : 
 
 Your Highness, — I have requested a report from the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon your Highness's wish, 
 communicated to me on October 19, respecting your admission 
 to the examination for the Diplomatic Service without under- 
 going the preliminary training in judicial and administrative 
 practice hitherto obligatory. In view of the report I hesitate 
 to comply with your request, and my decision is determined 
 not only by the general considerations upon the present con- 
 ditions of the service examination which the report brings to 
 my notice, but chiefly by personal regard for the interests 
 of your Highness. You cannot fail to see, as I see, that to 
 grant the preference which your Highness desires would be to 
 place you in a position of some inferiority to those with whom 
 the Diplomatic Service would bring you into association. 
 In consequence, it will be a pleasure to me if your Highness 
 will pursue your desire of beginning a diplomatic career in 
 our service, by first complying with the general regulations 
 existing upon this head. 
 
 Your Highness's affectionate friend, 
 
 Friedrich Wilhelm. 
 Berlin, January 14, 1842. 
 
 Thus the matter now stands. You may well imagine that my 
 state of mind is by no means cheerful. 
 
 The Prince, however, overcame the prejudice of the media- 
 tised against the obligatory training in the Prussian Civil 
 Service, and agreed to follow the course which the King had 
 indicated. On April 6, 1842, he went to Coblentz to work as 
 Auskultator in the law courts. 
 
 The diary complains of the "monotony of the first days," 
 gives the names of the people he met at dinner, chiefly officers 
 and functionaries, and the visits which he paid. Among others, 
 the Chief President von Bodelschwingh is mentioned as "a very 
 agreeable man whose face betokens the uprightness of his 
 character and the nobility of his mind, as well as his high 
 intelligence."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 17 
 
 The Prince soon found complete satisfaction in the serious 
 work of legal practice, and his spare time was employed in hard 
 study. "The meaning and delight of real hard work," says the 
 diary, "I experienced to-day and yesterday to the full, in the 
 careful study, pen in hand, of the work of Biilow-Cummerow.* 
 When the intellectual life revives, all minor external cares dis- 
 appear, life loses its monotony and I begin once again to live. 
 It was fortunate that the King's decision sent me back to the 
 realities of life. The form of judicial procedure customary here 
 gives me no insight into the Prussian system, but the training which 
 I am gaining from it, and the power of clear and definite judi- 
 cial thought, is even more valuable. Circumstances have shown 
 me that my stay here was necessary, and that there was no other 
 course open to me. I must make the best I can of it. 
 
 "One advantage I am obliged to do without, and yet I need it 
 so greatly : a friend or any soul in whom I can thoroughly confide 
 and to whom I can tell my sorrows and my joys. Except Philipp 
 Ernst and Victor, I have never had any one of the kind. Stern- 
 berg,! a noble sympathetic character with high ideals, has been 
 the only friend of the kind with the exception of those two (and 
 mother and Amalie). Alas ! why is man so distant with his un- 
 fortunate fellow men? Why should an unhappy soul torment 
 itself throughout the paltry span of human life? And to what 
 end ? Merely to die ; and yet they all pass to and fro unheeding, 
 make their plans, torture and deceive themselves." 
 
 April 11, 1842. 
 
 The homely manners of the Coblentz high society do not 
 altogether please one. One misses the aplomb and the lack of 
 restraint which characterise the great world. An evening party 
 is an extraordinary event in a small town and seems to throw 
 every guest into a state of surprise which speedily tends to vul- 
 garity, unless natural good-breeding holds the balance. 
 
 On April 12, the diary complains of "intellectual indolence, 
 the result of idleness in Berlin." "What a wholly different 
 character I might have become had I remained free from strict 
 domestic supervision from my sixteenth year onwards. I should 
 have committed many follies and perhaps have gone to the devil. 
 But it seems to me, though I do not complain of the past, that I 
 might have become a better man. A passive and dreamy character 
 weak in action requires the stimulus of being left to act for itself, 
 
 *Von Biilow-Cummerow, Preussen: seine Verjassung und Yerwal- 
 tung, sein Verhaltnis zu Deutschland. Berlin, 1842. Cf. Treitschke, 
 Deutsche Geschichte, vol. v. p. 198. 
 
 t Freiherr August von Ungern -Sternberg was a fellow student of the 
 Prince at Bonn and Heidelberg. He was born at Mannheim on August 16, 
 181 7, and died March 20, 1895. He was then Privy Councillor to the 
 Grand Duke of Baden and President of the Privy Council of Karlsruhe. 
 vol. 1 — c
 
 18 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 and must not be allowed to let things slide if it is really to 
 develop. I am by nature passive, and this continuous state of 
 tutelage has given me a great capacity for introspection, I can 
 hardly say for philosophy, but has contributed in no way to the 
 strengthening of my character. Upon this latter object my 
 efforts must now be concentrated. 
 
 To Princess Amalee. 
 
 Coblenz, May 3, 1842. 
 
 . . . You are right when you think that I can never be 
 unhappy, I mean really unhappy. The power to appreciate 
 unhappiness and to think about it will save me from ever being 
 entirely crushed by it. "The only mac who is really unhappy is 
 the man who is unable to weep over his troubles;" I shall put 
 this into a novel some day. This brings a poem to my mind 
 which I have recently composed and which fits very well here. 
 It is in the so-called gazul metre: 
 
 Clouds o'ercast with gloom the sky; 
 
 Wilted blossoms droop the head; 
 
 Waters cease their lullaby. 
 
 Comes a boding hush of dread 
 
 O'er the parching face of earth. 
 
 Ah, the signs of thunder-shower 
 
 In the sultry summer days 
 
 Oft recall each weary hour 
 
 When the worn, long hardened heart 
 
 Yearns for tear-drops' softening power. 
 
 You are right when you envy me my pleasant stay here. 
 For almost three weeks the weather has been so warm that 
 everything is calling for rain. The fruit blossom is almost over, 
 and the woods are beginning to grow green. It is a beautiful 
 sight to behold the silvery moonlight reflected in the Rhine and 
 the dark mountains and the noble Ehrenbreitstein opposite me. 
 Were it not for the beauties of nature I should be unhappy 
 in spite of all my philosophy, for the natives are anything but 
 oreads or hamadryads. I have made the acquaintance of many 
 excellent people, and many of them I like very well. But they 
 like distinction and the power of taking things for granted ; you 
 will understand what I mean. It is a faculty only found in well- 
 bred or cosmopolitan people. My social amenities are more or 
 less confined to those of the "how-do" type, even in the case 
 of the most superior ladies, Excellencies, &c. (with honourable 
 exceptions). A fair widow . . . twenty-one years of age, with a 
 very beautiful contralto voice, pleases at the first glance. But an 
 attentive listener speedily discovers a lack of proper training in 
 her singing, and similarly her manners soon displayed, to my 
 thinking, a kind of rustic vulgarity, tempered by an acquaintance 
 with sentimental literature and with the English language, a
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 19 
 
 mixture even more disagreeable to my mind than the unadul- 
 terated country bumpkin who is neither able nor wishes to be other 
 than he is. The old ladies are great bores, and I miss my 
 talks with my Berlin lady friends, Frau von Luck and others. 
 Among the men, and indeed throughout the country, not- 
 withstanding their Rhenish good-nature, a certain pot-house 
 tone prevails which galls me exceedingly. The sole consolation 
 here is music. Everybody is musical, and the charming Frau . . . 
 and her sister . . . sing and play at every party from the beginning 
 to the end ; a chorus or a trio or a quartette or something of the 
 kind is then sung and Maitrank is handed round ; so the evening 
 passes and one quite enjoys oneself. My singing powers have 
 not yet been discovered. I now take singing lessons regularly, 
 and after some practice shall suddenly appear the only decent 
 baritone in the town and enchant everybody. My teacher is not 
 so bad, he makes me sing the solfeggi of Cherubini, drums the 
 notes into me, and is anxious that I should be able to sing at 
 sight in two months. Think what a pleasure that will be ! 
 I am also learning to understand the scales, B flat minor, C 
 major, the minor keys, accidentals, &c. I shall soon have got 
 far enough to compose songs, and my teacher will then have to 
 accompany me. 
 
 Yesterday I went to Neuwied and cannot say enough in praise of 
 the good people there. I had feared they would look at me askance 
 on account of my position as Auskultator, but, on the contra ry, I 
 was received with astonishment as an extraordinary phenomenon. 
 This calmed my fears entirely. For such is human nature; 
 man looks for outward approval though he should be satisfied 
 with the consciousness that his motives are pure. The Prince* 
 has something very interesting in his suffering face; his fine eyes 
 contrast in an extraordinary manner with the deathly pallor of 
 his complexion; he is said to be very talented, draws beauti- 
 fully, &c. I liked him at first sight and much regret his shattered 
 health. Schonleinf was here a short time ago, and gave great 
 hopes of improvement; he is in fact somewhat better. Prince 
 Max is a capable and talkative man. Prince Karl often used to 
 see papa and mamma in Vienna, and looked back upon that time 
 with much pleasure. Prince Philipp Lowenstein came in during 
 dinner, jeune homme fort elegant as usual and rajeuni if possible. 
 He seemed never tired of saying to me, "Why, you are looking 
 very well." 
 
 Last summer you observed that the air of the pine woods 
 has a bad influence, and here the contrary observation seems in- 
 dicated that spring air on the Rhine exerts a good influence. When 
 I take my evening walk along the most frequented of the paths 
 by the Rhine, I find even the most prosaic Philistines inspired by 
 a kind of poetical illumination which is quite touching. And yet 
 
 * Prince Hermann of Wied (1814-1846). 
 f The famous Berlin pathologist.
 
 20 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 no other result is conceivable ; when the cool Rhine breeze comes 
 down laden with the scent of flowers, no matter how sad my 
 thoughts, straightway my whole being is cheered, and I look 
 with keener pleasure upon the golden hills and the peaceful church 
 towers of the opposite villages. Then the evening bells begin to 
 ring, and I am borne perforce into that heavenly frame of mind 
 which excludes all earthly wishes, except that you might be here 
 with me. 
 
 This letter has been at a standstill for several days; an 
 excursion to Frankfurt, and the sense of isolation which follows 
 the conclusion of these steamer trips prevented me from writing. 
 In Frankfurt I sat opposite to Paul, Duke of Wurtemberg dur- 
 ing lunch; he talked incessantly, the more so as his neighbour 
 Riippell,* one of the most famous travellers of the day, was good 
 enough to act as gutter-spout for the trickle of his stories. It 
 was all I could do to avoid laughing at the fellow, nice as he is. 
 
 The steamer was as utterly wearisome as ever. Moreover, I 
 made the acquaintance of a young Saxon officer whose behaviour 
 was entirely governed by those "manuals of polite society," as 
 they are called, and who consequently proved a terrible bore. Now 
 I am sitting again at my desk studying my statutes and rejoicing 
 over a Havana cigar (50 thalers a thousand, tell this to Victor) 
 and a cup of coffee. 
 
 I advise you to keep my letters, as I keep yours and, in fact, all 
 that I receive. Even if we do not hereafter publish the Bettina 
 correspondence it will be interesting to read it again in after years. 
 When we afterwards secure some measure of personal success it is 
 pleasant to look back upon the path by which we have travelled. 
 
 Tell Victor that if the Arnimsf come to Winkel-am-Rhein, 
 I shall go there and hope to spend some pleasant hours (in the 
 society of Bettina). 
 
 From the Journal. 
 
 June 3, 1842. 
 
 From May 3 to June 3 my activity has been interrupted by an 
 attack of measles. Unpleasant as such an illness is, it has this 
 benefit, that it entirely absorbs any superfluous energy, and I must 
 admit that this illness and my solitary studies and self-question- 
 ings have done much to clear my mind. I have even come to love 
 this solitude; the monotony of a sick-bed, provided one is in no 
 special pain, gives many pleasant hours to any one capable of 
 thought, and some sad moments also, for "it brings one back to 
 the question that torments the sick, but never the healthy man." 
 The noise of the children was abominable, and if I had any thought 
 
 * Eduard Riippell (1794-1884), naturalist and traveller in Egypt, 
 Nubia, and Arabia. 
 
 t The Prince had made the acquaintance of Bettina von Arnim in 
 Berlin in the winter of 1841-42.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 21 
 
 of marriage it would be postponed for ten years by the out- 
 cries of my housemates. There is nothing more unpleasant 
 in the world than a crying child. 
 
 As soon as I can get to work again, I shall have to begin 
 a thorough study of constitutional law. Nothing is more 
 dangerous than a state of mental indolence when engaged in the 
 study of constitutional questions. Without thorough training, 
 we become, especially in the Public Service, either mere tools or 
 fickle weather-cocks, or one-sided characters, easily absorbed 
 by party considerations. Thoroughness is the only means by 
 which to preserve integrity of character. 
 
 August 16, 1842. 
 
 . . . There is something sad about the lives of our modern 
 youth in their constant praise of ''freedom." Any one who 
 finds satisfaction in immorality is certainly welcome to such 
 freedom. But in this freedom of the old bachelor lie terrible 
 possibilities of selfishness and heartlessness. 
 
 September 11, 1842. 
 
 I have been studying the report of Marheineke upon the 
 Bruno Bauer affair* in which his arguments are by no means 
 logical, as the Deutsche Jahrbucher show. It must, however, 
 be said that want of logic may easily result if passages torn 
 from their context are fitted together, as they are in the 
 Jahrbucher. 
 
 In the course of the summer the Prince was invited to an 
 evening party at the Castle of Bruhl, where he was very kindly 
 received by the King and Queen. Among the guests the diary 
 mentions the Duke of Cambridge, the Prince of Orange, the 
 Archduke Johann of Austria, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, 
 and the Hereditary Prince of Baden; "the latter extremely 
 agreeable." At the concert the sisters Milanollo played. 
 
 In September the Prince and his brother Gustav made a 
 journey to Lausanne, by way of Strassburg, Basle, Solothurn, and 
 Bern. Here the diary observes on September 27 : 
 
 "Notwithstanding all this pleasure I cannot say that I am so 
 attracted by it as before, or that I could give up everything to 
 remain here for the rest of my life. Perhaps I am now becom- 
 ing too thoroughly German. Perhaps also my troubled state of 
 mind and my rising ambition are also responsible for this change. 
 A man must make trial of life in his youth ; must see what it 
 brings him and what spiritual help he can thence gain for himself 
 and others. The sentimental appreciation of the beauties of 
 nature weakens a mind which ought to advance more and more 
 
 * The Minister Eichhorn had demanded a report from the theological 
 faculties upon the question whether Bruno Bauer was competent or 
 should be allowed to teach theology in view of his radical publications.
 
 22 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 in determination and clarity of view. Such development can be 
 gained only by extraordinary energy and a definite object in life. 
 Onward, therefore!" 
 
 On his return from Switzerland the Prince spent the autumn 
 with his relatives at Kupferzell. Thence he visited Bettina 
 von Arnim in Frankfurt. The diary speaks of an evening spent 
 with her: "Bettina's daughters are no less amiable and clever 
 than before. If only they would give up their efforts at eccen- 
 tricity, which are quite unnecessary ! They are so amiable, so well 
 educated and sensible that they might easily avoid foolish para- 
 doxical views. I heard many sharp criticisms upon affairs in 
 Berlin, for instance, upon the extraordinary conference of poets, 
 &c. After a somewhat unfavourable criticism of the character of 
 Tieck they went on to Ruckert, who came in for their special 
 censure as being a man with whom the King could not work, an 
 eccentric unpolished creature who always used to wear an over- 
 coat and now thinks it his duty to appear in evening dress, which 
 suits him very ill. They compared Ruckert's face with a shoe 
 down at the heel, if I am not mistaken. Their somewhat 
 severe judgment of the King is inspired by their great love for him 
 and their wish that his fame should be immortal; this in their 
 opinion can only be possible if he boldly advances upon the path 
 of progress which he formerly entered, and declines to be checked 
 by the action of his Ministers, who wish to assume too much 
 power. The most characteristic and pleasant feature about 
 Bettina is that she is not merely a learned, pompous woman, but 
 a true child of nature, notwithstanding her wide intellectual 
 interests. There is no restraint in her circle; every one acts as 
 he pleases, characters are taken for what they are, and she 
 attaches herself to any one who seems for the moment to be novel 
 and interesting." 
 
 In the year 1843 the Prince was occupied by preparation for 
 his second examination and by projects for his future career. 
 He resolved after the second examination to leave the legal pro- 
 fession and to prepare for the Administrative and Diplomatic 
 Services: "I will be a Landrat* or a diplomatist, or both !" says 
 the diary. On February 18, 1843, he writes to his mother: 
 
 " . . . At the same time my liking increases for my legal work, 
 partly because I can see that I am getting on, and also because 
 such training is of the highest value to an ill-balanced mind. I 
 wish I had become convinced at an earlier date, as I am now, 
 that a civil career is in no way derogatory, but on the contrary 
 highly valuable. The unusual nature of my action has brought 
 me some prestige, and after all the nobility can only maintain a 
 position which is everywhere disputed, by showing intellectual 
 or moral pre-eminence, or at least by trying to show it. Had I 
 realised this before I should have saved many a year which has 
 been expended in mere projects. Now that I have embarked 
 
 * President of an administrative district.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 23 
 
 upon my profession all former objectors have been silenced, 
 and hitherto I have experienced no obstacles except such as were 
 raised by my own distraction and negligence. Only recently 
 my choice has been again approved by the Duke of Nassau and 
 the general in command here, both of whom agreed with me 
 upon the hopeless nature of a Prussian military career. In any 
 case I trouble very little at present about other people's opinions 
 and rejoice in my own independence, having now entirely shaken 
 off the last traces of my former tutelage. I cannot say whether 
 I shall remain in this profession when my time of training is 
 passed and the actual work begins. I should derive more benefit 
 if I could then retire peacefully into private life, live somewhere 
 or other with you and continue my studies. I am of the opinion 
 of Wilhelm von Humboldt, that man's chief object must be his 
 individual development and if possible his perfection, in order 
 that we may then influence others by our own power and thus 
 become centres of beneficial force ; but this is better done alone 
 and in peace than in the college of some great town." 
 
 The following observations in the diary probably reflect some 
 unpleasant experiences in Coblentz society: 
 
 July 30, 1843. 
 
 ... It is advisable and in fact necessary f or me to be constantly 
 upon my guard. These characters that in many respects happen 
 to harmonise with my own are, after all, nothing to me. I must 
 be careful lest I fall into some base surrender. Watchfulness and 
 prudence upon every occasion, combined with the utmost outward 
 friendliness and affability, is an object that every prince should 
 place before himself if he does not wish to be led into follies from 
 which other young men are protected by their lower position. 
 Caution, therefore ! 
 
 Great indeed is the artificiality of the age, great the corruption 
 of the present generation, and miserable the state of our society 
 when a strong man can only attain his object by spending his 
 strength and blunting his feelings in order to reduce himself to the 
 level of his environment, when he must become bad that he may 
 not hurt the feelings of the bad. 
 
 After the Prince had passed his examination on August 17, he 
 was appointed Refcrendarins* on September 9, 1843. During this 
 month he made a long tour through Switzerland to Southern France 
 and Upper Italy, starting from Lausanne with his brother Gustav, 
 who had there been continuing his studies in French. In Lyons the 
 brothers were present when the Due de Nemours arrived to hold a 
 review, and witnessed his arrival on board the steamer. "Among 
 a hundred thousand spectators," says the diary, "not a single 
 cheer was heard." From October 10 to 25 the Prince travelled 
 alone to Sardinia and returned from Genoa over the Splugen. 
 He spent November in Kupferzell and then went to Rauden by 
 * A barrister practising without emolument.
 
 24 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 way of Corvey and Berlin, remaining there until the end of the 
 year. Here he also spent the first weeks of the year 1844, and 
 came back after a stay in Berlin extending from February 8 to 
 March 25. April was spent on a tour to Vienna. 
 
 Meanwhile he had been appointed to a post under the Potsdam 
 Government on April 4, and at the instance of the Minister of 
 Justice he was retired from the legal service on April 17, "in con- 
 sequence of being transferred to the Administration," with a 
 certificate "of good qualifications and praiseworthy behaviour." 
 On May 13 the Prince arrived in Berlin to begin work under the 
 Potsdam Government. 
 
 From the Journal. 
 
 April 19, 1844. 
 
 This book has been unopened for weeks and months. Mean- 
 while many changes have taken place both about me and in 
 myself. However, throughout the movements of my life I have 
 been but confirmed in my former opinion that intellectual 
 occupation can alone make a man happy. All else is but a 
 subordinate matter, though beneficial as a relaxation. But 
 when relaxation becomes the business of life it is a toil and 
 of course ceases to be a relaxation. 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 Berlin, May 16, 1844. 
 
 I am to be introduced to the Department at Potsdam to-morrow. 
 I have an infinite objection to Potsdam and its inhabitants which 
 I do not expect to lose, as I shall employ every spare moment in 
 making excursions to Berlin. My calls have all been paid. I 
 met the Princes in the train and was received with their usual 
 cheerfulness, which was increased when I told them of my plans; 
 this information induced Prince Friedrich to observe that I 
 should probably become a Landrat; he did not know how near he 
 was to the truth. Apart from this, the Prince of Prussia ap- 
 proved my intention of working under the Government and said 
 that he was especially delighted, "as we can ask you now and 
 then to come and have a bit of dinner." 
 
 From the Journal. 
 
 May 29, 1844. 
 I have recently felt no inclination to attempt a description of 
 my feelings. The gentle stimulus of my life in the law does once 
 more arouse the capacity for writing down one's thoughts ; indeed 
 it becomes a necessity to see in writing what cannot be expressed 
 in words. This was indeed my object in resuming my career; 
 I wished once more to recover my knowledge of myself. That my
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 25 
 
 powers of introspection have not disappeared but were merely 
 dormant is a conviction which fills me with joy and atones for the 
 many disadvantages of my profession. 
 
 June 25, 1844. 
 
 The legislation of the period between 1807 and 181 1 had 
 aroused a certain spirit of Liberalism in Prussia which was to 
 culminate in a universal and remarkable display of national 
 enthusiasm during 1813 and 1814. 
 
 After the Congress of Vienna, the Governments were inclined to 
 consider the widespread spirit of Nationalism in Germany a some- 
 what dangerous tendency. Even though the legislation of 1820 
 and 1821 pointed to the speedy institution of a State Constitution 
 in Prussia, the nation was soon deprived of these prospects by the 
 establishment of a constitution based upon the provincial orders. 
 Meanwhile people were contented with the possession of an orderly 
 administration, and were ready to trust to the King's sense of 
 justice, seeing that he had passed through many joys and sorrows 
 with his people, like a father with his children, and that his in- 
 tentions were as sound a guarantee for the maintenance of 
 what was good and the suppression of what was not, as any 
 constitution upon a monarchical basis could provide. This was 
 the situation when King Friedrich Wilhelm III. died. 
 
 The speeches delivered upon the occasion of the homage 
 aroused general hopes of a free constitution, though the public 
 was inclined to see some sign of the King's ecclesiastical lean- 
 ings in the appointment of such Ministers as Eichhorn, Stolberg, 
 Thiele, and other officials. This tendency soon became more 
 obvious. It also speedily appeared that these speeches, far from 
 promising any representative constitution, implied the contrary. 
 General dissatisfaction was aroused, which began to find expression 
 at the outset of 1842. The censorship legislation, which seemed to 
 promise greater freedom of discussion, was opposed by the Arnim 
 Ministry, which aimed rather at restriction, while the High Court 
 of Appeal on questions of censorship acted upon wider principles 
 and allowed many articles to pass. To these disturbing elements 
 were added many economic evils, such as still persist, want of 
 employment in Silesia, railway company legislation which had re- 
 cently become a necessity, &c. Finally there is a general want 
 of principle and all-pervading lack of vigour, or rather of system, 
 among the supreme administrative authorities; business is 
 delayed, money is wanting, and the finances are in confusion, so 
 that the general dissatisfaction increases, though varying in 
 particular provinces. They have just been sending some excellent 
 gentlemen to sound popular feeling in the Rhine provinces, as if 
 the local authorities were not likely to be far better informed. 
 This action is discussed and criticised on the Rhine. The 
 nobility is brought into contempt by the misdeeds of indi- 
 viduals. Much else might also be mentioned, not to speak
 
 26 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 of the divorce law and the criminal law. If the popular feeling 
 be taken into consideration along with the personnel of the 
 present Ministry, it becomes obvious that no alleviation is to 
 be expected unless a complete change is made in the supreme 
 authority. We dare not shut our eyes to the fact that on the 
 slightest provocation he may have a rebellion. One movement 
 leads to another; the military are untrustworthy, and there is 
 nothing to check the stream if it bursts its banks and rushes over 
 meadow and field. All who do not now work their hardest to 
 secure a capable education are lost. A time will come when 
 birth will no longer be of importance, when high and low will 
 be forced to contend in open discussion. It is the duty of the 
 aristocracy to arm themselves, not with sword and shield, but with 
 the word of power drawn from science, that they may thus become 
 a firm, loyal, and immovable support for the throne and for 
 themselves. We are the trees upon which drowning men may 
 climb to safety from the flood. Let us see to it that our roots 
 be not rotten but firmly planted in the soil. 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 Berlin, July 15, 1844. 
 
 I have been almost every Sunday to dine at Court, and to my 
 astonishment have secured the favour of exalted personages. 
 Yesterday the King actually offered me his snuff-box, from which 
 I took a pinch with delight. 
 
 "In the middle of July," says the diary, "I travelled to Corvey 
 and felt a difference in the air immediately. Here body and mind 
 are oppressed, there they revive. Then there was the pleasant 
 meeting with Victor, Gustav, and Konstantin.* Then, until 
 October, was a peaceful and undisturbed time at Potsdam. 
 Stag-hunting, ending with a fright. In December to Rauden. 
 Joyful, tender, and ever memorable days spent with mamma, 
 Philipp Ernst, Konstantin, and Gustav. On January 8, 1845, to 
 Berlin. Interesting carnival, romanticism of Kroll, railway, 
 Court festival. Arrival of Victor. Delight at his happiness." f 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 Berlin, January 17, 1845. 
 Yesterday I received a letter from Victor with the news that 
 he would not arrive here until the 20th. At the same time he 
 confirmed the news of my election to the Landtag. \ I am then 
 going with Victor to Breslau. I do not know what use this 
 Landtag will be to me; I have had the most interesting con- 
 
 * The youngest of the brothers, born September 8, 1828. 
 t On his engagement to Princess Amalie of Fiirstenberg. 
 j The Silesian Provincial Diet.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 27 
 
 vcrsations with Ministers and others, and also with the Prince 
 of Prussia about it, and I am by no means dissatisfied. 
 My few conversations with the authorities have shown me 
 the confusion and want of intelligence prevailing in the highest 
 circles, where every popular desire, if it does not correspond with 
 the wishes of the Government, is regarded as treason. The 
 assembly might become a turning-point for me if it were not my 
 business as a novice to speak but little and to keep my principles 
 as dark as possible. 
 
 The Prince's visit to Breslau lasted from the beginning of 
 February to April 10. On April 19 was celebrated the marriage 
 of the Duke of Ratibor with Princess Amalie of Fiirstenberg in 
 Donaueschingen. The serious illness of Prince Philipp Ernst had 
 already begun. "Cheerful and yet sad wedding days," says the 
 diary. Shortly after the marriage festivities at Donaueschingen the 
 Prince grew worse and died on May 3, 1845. "This event," says 
 the diary, on May 14, " marks the beginning of a new epoch for me. 
 My natural cheerfulness and my native optimism have been 
 shattered for ever by this death, which has taken from me the one 
 closest to my heart, with whom I thought and felt in such perfect 
 harmony, and with whom I was in such entire intimacy last 
 winter. I told him what I have never entrusted to any one, as 
 he understood everything, was in every case indulgent to the 
 feelings of others, was gentle and lovable. . . ." 
 
 The outward consequence of this bereavement was a decision 
 which made the Prince master of Schillingsf iirst. In the course of 
 the summer the negotiations took place which ended in a conven- 
 tion with the Duke of Ratibor. By the terms of this agreement, 
 Prince Chlodwig renounced his claim to Corvey, while the Duke 
 of Ratibor resigned the Schillingsf iirst succession in his favour. 
 The domain of Treffurt remained in the possession of Prince 
 Chlodwig; he afterwards sold this estate and acquired instead a 
 larger property in the Province of Posen. Retirement from the 
 Prussian State Service was the next consequence. "On June 11," 
 says the diary, "I was with Arnim. My reception was very formal 
 and unusually cold. Upon my explanation he merely asked 
 whether I wished to continue work in Potsdam. When I told 
 him that this was, perhaps, the case but that I had no definite 
 object, he went so far as to admit that it was a matter of total 
 indifference to him, or even a matter of preference if I abandoned 
 my career. As I do not meet with the least encouragement, I 
 think better to give it up. For the moment I intend to leave 
 the question of my return to Potsdam open, to take leave for 
 an indefinite period and then to see what is to be done at 
 Schillingsfiirst. 
 
 The Prince spent the whole winter between 1845 and 1846 in 
 Schillingsf iirst. "A terrible winter," says the diary, "which, how- 
 ever, has had its good side. Man can bear everything if he only
 
 28 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 will. Voluntas est poleslas." The following poem belongs to 
 the lonely winter spent at Schillingsf iirst : 
 
 From the castle's rocky height, 
 Clear beneath the winter moon, 
 See the valley decked in light, 
 See the church and see the tomb! 
 
 There they laid thee in the grave; 
 Warm and loving friends we were: 
 Thou wert loyal, strong, and brave; 
 None with thee shall e'er compare. 
 
 Many a bitter tear they shed 
 Standing round that holy spot; 
 But their sorrows now are fled, 
 For, alas, they knew thee not. 
 
 But my tears shall ever flow 
 As upon that gloomy morn, 
 When I made thy grave below, 
 Broken-hearted and forlorn. 
 
 From letters to the Princess Amalie. 
 
 Schillingsfurst, March 4, 1846. 
 
 O'er the valleys and the hills 
 I would be a wanderer bold; 
 Through the cruel winter storms 
 Thunder round our castle hold. 
 
 I would be a mariner 
 Boldly sail the waters dark, 
 Though the fury of the wave 
 Bode destruction to my bark. 
 
 With the children of the South 
 Through the palm -groves I would haste, 
 And upon an Arab steed 
 Scour the desert's burning waste. 
 
 With the sword for freedom's cause 
 I would smite the enemy, 
 And the triumph of my land 
 With my dying gaze descry. 
 
 Anything were better than 
 Thus o'er musty deeds to frown, 
 Yawning, sharpening a pen, 
 Slippered, in a dressing-gown. 
 
 I have just interrupted my restless nervous letter and looked 
 out of the window. Ah, how that calms the mind. It is a wonder- 
 fully beautiful moonlight night, beneath which wide valleys and 
 mountains lie outspread. It is all quiet and peaceful and warm, 
 and the spring breezes are blowing up here upon the mountain. 
 The remembrance of the past fills my heart with silent sorrow,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 29 
 
 and from the past there rise the good thoughts and actions of our 
 life, together with the remembrance of those who have passed 
 away ; nay, they rise in person. None the less, it is a consolation 
 to think that this old home does not look out dead and desolate 
 upon the lovely night, but belongs to a kind of third-rate poet 
 who now and then looks out upon the moonlight himself. And 
 it almost seems to me that the old stone barrack itself rejoices 
 at the fact. 
 
 March 14, 1840. 
 
 ... I have now got a very good parson at Frankenheim, 
 a zealous capable man named Bischof who was here lately. Of 
 all the applicants his testimonials showed him the most capable 
 and his conversation was a pleasure to me in my loneliness. I 
 felt at home with him immediately in a philosophical discussion, 
 and that is always something in his favour. At the same time, 
 he is no rationalist, but a real Christian, and not a hypocrite 
 either; and though my knowledge of human nature sometimes 
 plays me false, I have a good eye for parsons, governesses, and 
 stewards. 
 
 I am now getting the garden into some kind of order, and 
 making plans and proposals for the building of a summer-house. 
 Beyond that I shall never bother much about laying out and 
 building. I get terribly bored with it, especially the building. 
 
 April 7, 1846. 
 
 I have read the book by Gervinus.* With much of it I am in 
 complete accord, especially the horror of dogmatism, which has 
 been greatly intensified by Gustel's treatises. His remarks also 
 upon Schleiermacher are very true. But I cannot agree with the 
 whole of his optimism, least of all with the hopes which he expresses 
 of such windbags as Ronge and Scersky. I should, indeed, be 
 delighted to see a great universal Christian Church embracing 
 all that is pure and lofty in Christianity. I think also that this 
 idea is possible, though I dissent from the opinion that eccle- 
 siastical or religious unity of this kind must precede political 
 unity. This I neither hope nor believe. Political unity must 
 precede religious unity, unless struggle for religious unity 
 produces a condition of affairs leading to an opposite result. 
 This is a somewhat confused sentence and requires development, 
 but I hope you will be able to understand it. 
 
 It is impossible for me, much as I have recently attempted 
 to deceive myself, to accommodate myself to all the dogmas, 
 and for that reason I have recognised certain passages in Gervinus 
 as the expression of my inmost thoughts. During the solitude 
 of this winter, I have been entirely honest with myself, and am 
 now striving to be equally honest with others. Lying is entirely 
 foreign to my nature, and any traces of it in me are due to the 
 
 * Die Mission der Deutschkatholiken, 1846.
 
 3 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 education of Herr Boltes,* an excellent method of its kind. "To 
 thine own self be true," is a phrase that should be written every- 
 where in letters of gold. . . . Hence I must also say that I have 
 as yet absolutely no thoughts of marriage. I am becoming 
 more and more convinced that marriage for a man is not an end 
 but a means, a means to the enobling of his character. His wife 
 should be "a shady footpath skirting the high road of life." 
 But to enjoy such happiness, a man must walk boldly upon the 
 high road of life, must have reached one goal and have another 
 before him. In our class, marriage is too often made the chief 
 end of life. One sees a prince of the empire settled in his castle, 
 getting married, hunting, signing decrees, and thinking what a 
 hero he is; yet however happy he may be in his married life, he 
 feels a certain inward dissatisfaction which he cannot explain 
 and which embitters his days; this is tne want of some definite 
 object, the incapacity for taking an active share in the higher in- 
 terests of humanity, in short, the voice of conscience which he does 
 not, cannot, or will not understand. An estate in a province like 
 Silesia, the more vigorous life of the North Germans and Prussians, 
 provides other compensations and means of stimulus to such an 
 existence, but South Germany does not. The happy ones in 
 this country, and in our class, are not the men but the women, 
 provided that they appreciate their situation. Nothing more 
 easily depresses a clever thoughtful man than the consciousness 
 that he has no object for his efforts and activities. Do not tell 
 me that I ought to be content with my present sphere. It 
 does not give me nearly enough to do, and the occupation which 
 it provides is not of the kind to raise the mind. It may be all 
 very well for later years, but it is no school for life, and I must 
 insist upon going to school. I will and I must recognise the truth 
 of Chamisso's words: "Let us work and create by means of our 
 knowledge lest we should conceive the idea of blowing our brains 
 out." 
 
 On April 18, 1846, the Prince entered the Bavarian Upper 
 House, and took part in its proceedings in Munich. His im- 
 pressions of his first experiences in the arena of Bavarian 
 politics are given in the following description from the diary: 
 
 Munich, May 9, 1846. 
 
 Nothing in political life is better or worse than the transition 
 from doubt to firm conviction. It is a bad thing, because it 
 wastes the inward life; a good thing, because it puts an end to 
 the state of doubt. I have now reached this point. Previously 
 I held to the so-called Ultramontane party, because I re- 
 garded it as safe; but this idea, which had previously made 
 me doubtful of my actions, has now disappeared. Since my 
 
 * For many years tutor to the Princes.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 31 
 
 conversation with H. J., my views have become decided. The 
 abyss towards which I was being carried by the policy of the 
 Jesuits has suddenly been revealed to me. Their intolerance, 
 their hatred of Protestantism, which is one of their leading 
 features, their idea that the Reformation and all its conse- 
 quences was a mistake, that the great philosophical, literary, 
 and other splendid moments of our history were only aberra- 
 tions of the human intellect, is an absurdity. It is treachery, 
 utterly opposed to my inmost being, and is a sign of internal 
 corruption and decay, which makes it absolutely impossible for 
 me to give the smallest help to that party, so long as I place 
 any value upon the whole of my past life and my dearest 
 convictions. I pray God for strength to deliver me from the 
 temptations of this devilish society, which works only for 
 the subjugation of human freedom, and especially of intellectual 
 freedom; I pray that I may never be led astray from the path 
 of truth, either by promises or threats. For this purpose there 
 must be an open breach with the whole clique, which it will be 
 my business to bring to pass as soon as possible. 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Munich, June 2, 1846. 
 
 I am getting more and more acclimatised to Munich, as 
 Herr Bolte says. I am already able to talk to the people in 
 a dialect composed of Hohenlohe and old Bavarian tongues, 
 and in society to produce a dainty mixture of French and German 
 phrases. Apart from this, now that the world at large is scattered, 
 I am living quietly for my own plans and for art, and am only 
 sorry that I cannot take you to see the beauties of this place. 
 
 To his Mother. 
 
 Schillingsfurst, June 20, 1846. 
 
 My plans are still undecided ; I am waiting to see whether 
 the King will appoint me President of the Central Agricultural 
 Union, and am then going to Munich to take my bearings. 
 Here I am occupied, apart from other business, with the reading 
 of agricultural works, in the hope of being able to speak upon 
 agricultural improvement with proper unction. It cannot be 
 said that the past is in any way a continuation of my Prussian 
 career, but it brings me into close association with the Crown 
 Prince, and makes me a kind of intermediary between the 
 Crown Prince and the King; in short, it would be a difficult 
 position, but a valuable experience, and perhaps would be of 
 use to my future prospects in the higher service of the State. 
 The position was offered to me without my seeking it, after 
 I had only been known a few weeks in Munich, and the honour 
 was thus too great for me to decline.
 
 32 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 On June 26, 1846, the Prince was retired from the Prussian 
 Civil Service through the Potsdam Administration, with the hope 
 "that the memories of your work here as Rejerendarius, during 
 which you devoted your energies with all zeal to the business 
 of administration, may have none but pleasing recollections 
 for your Highness." 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Schillingsfurst, July 1, 1846. 
 
 The fact that one can live in a lonely castle, round which 
 the wind howls, with no human society, occupied only with 
 books and hunting, and yet retain one's cheerfulness, must 
 surely be due to the quality of the air. It must be the 
 air also which makes me look forward with pleasure to the 
 new activities with which I am confronted. In any case, the 
 system of agriculture in vogue here is absolutely wrong, and 
 for that reason I am eagerly studying the books which bear 
 upon the subject. A new field of knowledge has opened before 
 me, a new world of discovery; I look upon men and cattle 
 with different eyes, respect people and efforts which I formerly 
 despised, and find the old phrase more and more true that all 
 philosophy and abstraction is only valuable when founded 
 upon a concrete basis of the widest and deepest positive know- 
 ledge. From this point of view, and considering that man, 
 who is idle by nature, must have some outward impulse to 
 occupation if he is not to perish, and that a man is only half 
 a man unless he can really do something (in contrast to the 
 woman, who must be something) — from this point of view, I 
 say, and from many others, the occupation to which I look 
 forward seems highly pleasing and desirable. If the decision 
 should turn out in my favour, and it is not yet certain, I shall 
 regard it as a happy piece of fortune * How I should like 
 to sit with you for an evening in mamma's room! You will 
 rejoice at the courage and energy with which I mean to 
 carve out my career. I also wanted to relieve dear mamma's 
 anxiety a little, by telling her there is nothing dangerous in 
 Gustav's plan of going to Italy for the winter. There are, and 
 always must be, two kinds of men: those who serve them- 
 selves and the world by independent thought in science and 
 politics, and those who hold to what is given and work for the 
 positive beliefs, of which the Catholic Church is the culminating 
 point. Every one can choose the one or the other, but, having 
 chosen, one must abide by it. Gustav's stay in Rome will not, 
 therefore, turn him into a Jesuit, but will make him a clear- 
 headed, resolute Catholic priest, like Diepenbrock and Schwarzen- 
 berg, who were also in Rome. Whatever one does must be 
 done thoroughly ; our age of contradiction and warfare demands 
 
 * The Prince did not obtain the post which he had in view.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 33 
 
 it every one shall express his convictions and take a side. 
 Not that every one is called to action, but each must help to 
 build up his party, so that all may be ready when in the good 
 providence of God the hour of reckoning or of union strikes. 
 
 With the sense of inward purity and manly resolution 
 expressed in this letter, the conviction arose in the Prince's 
 mind that the time, which seemed so remote on April 7, had now 
 come for the consummation of his life by marriage. The following 
 letters show that he no longer rejected the friendly offices of 
 various people who sought to help him to this happiness. 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Frankfurt, August 8, 1846. 
 
 Herr von Verno told me in Cologne that the Wittgensteins were 
 coming to Schwalbach. Uncle Constantine's friend, Herr Miihlens, 
 from Frankfurt, knows the family very well. From his account 
 they are all very distinguished people, and Herr Miihlens himself 
 is a most honourable, fascinating, and accomplished man of the 
 world. La pcrsonne principale is said to be a marvel of charm 
 and simplicity, pious, good, &c. &c. Should I not be a fool to 
 let this opportunity of seeing her escape? Notwithstanding 
 her seventeen years the lady is very independent, and will not be 
 an easy prize. There is no difficulty about an introduction to the 
 family. Fran von Lazareff and Princess Fanny Biron, who are 
 on very friendly terms with the Wittgensteins, were in Ostend. 
 I won both their hearts by my flattering attentions, moonlight 
 walks, boating expeditions, and songs, so that they invited me 
 warmly to call on them in Schwalbach, where they are to stay 
 for a week with the Wittgensteins. Without exactly speaking of 
 the plan I had had in view, I observed that they cherished the 
 same wish, and as they are extremely tactful and nice, as well as 
 somewhat fond of matchmaking, I can calmly approach the situa- 
 tion others have prepared for me. The web of intrigue which I 
 have spun for this object only, with the people who have been 
 drawn in without knowing anything about it, is truly Jesuitical, 
 and I plume myself greatly upon it. As regards the main point, 
 however, you may be sure I shall act in all honour, and shall not 
 forget Gelzer's Tenth Address.* I am fully persuaded of the 
 serious nature of the step that may ensue on this journey, and 
 will allow no external circumstances to persuade me to adopt a lie 
 for the partner of my life. I have enough courage, and am calm 
 and sure enough of myself, to manage the affair with prudence. 
 
 Bingen, October 5, 1846. 
 
 . . . Each day makes me feel more and more what in- 
 describable happiness has quite undeservedly fallen to my lot. 
 
 * Gelzer, Die Religion im Leben. Reden an Gebildete. Tenth Address : 
 "Marriage, Moral and Religious." 
 vol. 1 — D
 
 34 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Each day brings greater intimacy, not in the ordinary way, but 
 in the subtle sympathetic communion in which the eyes express 
 mutual satisfaction, that even here, even in this, each soul is in 
 unison with the other. And this is the more remarkable, since, as 
 vou know, I am not fond of serious conversations in French . . . 
 amazing too, seeing that she is barely seventeen and a half. You 
 can imagine that time passes under these conditions as if I were 
 in Paradise. The fact of there having been no definite explana- 
 tion as yet, lends a peculiar charm to the whole affair. 
 
 Bingen, October 30, 1846. 
 
 As soon as external matters had been settled, the internal 
 aspects and considerations presented themselves during my 
 journey. The sacred nature of marriage became clear, the neces- 
 sity for mutual and unbounded love, unlimited confidence, and 
 other similar reflections welled up, and disturbed me greatly. 
 For I had to recognise two things. In the first place, whatever 
 my own inclination, I was by no means clear about her feeling; 
 then again, the journey to Bingen was tantamount to a proposal, 
 and it would be very difficult to draw back after that. These 
 scruples and reflections sent the blood to my heart, and produced 
 the unpleasant sensations that are experienced by the most 
 frivolous as well as the serious-minded, on the verge of taking a 
 step that will affect the whole future life. It was therefore "a 
 rather pale-looking young man" (sic) who stepped ashore, and 
 made his way to the Hotel Victoria. No one would be at home 
 till 4.30. So I had time to get calm. At the appointed hour I 
 betook myself to the salon. The Princess came in first, with 
 another beautiful, tall lady behind her. All the bogies I had 
 conjured up disappeared, I only saw a cordial, expressive coun- 
 tenance beaming on me like a ray of gentle sunshine, before 
 which all my doubts and scruples melted away like ice. From 
 that moment all embarrassment vanished. We conversed at table 
 with the exclusive absorption that springs from satisfaction in 
 meeting again after a not too long separation, the satisfaction and 
 joy in which so much hope and promise are involved. 
 
 Munich, November 16, 1846. 
 
 ... I am staying here a little longer, till about December 
 3, and shall then return to Schillingsfurst. I have had other 
 dear, beautiful letters, and see more and more what a world of 
 trust and confidence has opened for me, giving me an escape into 
 a sure haven from all the problems and fatalities of life. . . . 
 
 Munich, November 21, 1846. 
 
 . . . Once married I shall devote myself with fresh courage 
 and energy to my daily task, which may be dangerous, but will 
 always be honourable. It is a splendid cause to work whole- 
 heartedly for the entire country. And what a help and comfort
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 35 
 
 to be supported in all one's labours by a kind and sympathetic 
 wife ! . . . I cannot thank God enough for that. I have 
 such confidence in her character as I have rarely felt in any 
 human being. In regard to Marie, a sense of stability and con- 
 stancy in ideas and feelings comes over me such as I have never 
 before conceived possible. 
 
 The Royalties were very gracious to me. I have also made 
 acquaintance with the Duke of Leuchtenberg and the Crown 
 Prince of Sweden. Deux jeunes gens fort aimables. 
 
 Frankfurt, December 30, 1846. 
 
 I have been here three days, and even if it were possible to 
 tell you all that I am feeling, I should want time and peace, and 
 colossal talents. From the instant when, waiting by the fire of 
 the salon in the evening, I saw Marie hastening towards me, glad 
 and radiant, while our joy prevented either of us from saying a 
 word (fortunately we were alone together) — ever since I have been 
 seeing her and talking to her every day, while our intercourse 
 never palls — since I have found her once more lovely, noble, 
 candid, all it is possible to be, I love her no more with a quiet 
 admiration of her good qualities, no longer, one might say, as her 
 intended, but I am . . . e'est une expression un peu triviale . . . 
 enamoured, restless, feverish. And yet we have to act a comedy 
 a little longer, as the announcement cannot be made for a few 
 days. 
 
 On February 16, 1847, at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, the Prince 
 was married to the Princess Marie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein- 
 Berleburg. The young couple went first to Corvey, whence 
 the Prince writes to Princess Amalie: 
 
 "I have no feeling other than a joyous sense of spring, when 
 one lies under a leafy tree on a gently sloping hillside, watching 
 the clouds course over the blue Heavens. Beyond, above the 
 Ziegenberg, one grey snow-cloud may chase another, I reck 
 little of them, for I am happy and entirely content. My heart 
 is filled with gratitude to God, who in His goodness guides the 
 steps of men to blessings and happiness. 
 
 "Our life here is the most limpid, beautiful, and rational that 
 could fall to the lot of any mortal. On rising between eight and 
 nine I usually go for a ride, and return when Marie is ready. 
 Then we breakfast together in the yellow room, rejoicing every 
 day at the good coffee, or some new sort of cake the cook bakes 
 to surprise us. We sit and talk till eleven, when I go to my room 
 for business, while Marie reads, plays the piano, or occupies herself 
 in some other way. About two, when I have finished, we go out a 
 little in the Avenue if it is fine enough, to meet the post, and read 
 our letters on the spot. After two we dine, again in the yellow 
 room, and then drive in the pony-carriage to Godelheim, Brenk- 
 hausen, or to the Chausse*e-Haus on the Weser. Sometimes we
 
 36 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 both ride, Marie in a fine brown habit and black hat, on Fuchs, 
 who ambles along like any Spa donkey. On returning I usually 
 find Dedie* in my room, to give me his reports and any other 
 news. In the evening we read all kinds of books or make music 
 till tea-time. . . . And all this happiness is increased by the 
 knowledge that we are not living simply in this idyllic life, but 
 can push on the great Wheel of Time, after as well as before — 
 better, indeed, than before, since there is no burden of care to drag 
 us down into the squalor and boredom of the mediatised. . . ." 
 
 Their stay in Corvey lasted till April 29. The Prince and his 
 bride then went via Berlin to Silesia. On June 29, 1847, tne Y 
 made their entry into Schillingsfurst. 
 
 * Kammerrat Dedie, one of the Prince's functionaries at Corvey.
 
 THE REVOLUTION AND THE 
 EMBASSY 
 
 1848-1850
 
 THE REVOLUTION AND THE EMBASSY 
 
 1848-1850 
 
 The Prince was busy during November and December 1847 
 with a memoir "On the Political Condition of Germany, its 
 Danger and Means of Defence," of which we have the rough 
 draft and some amplifications. He explains the discontent that 
 was generally diffused among all circles in Germany, by a con- 
 sideration of the situation in Austria, Prussia, and the smaller 
 States. The following extract treats of Prussia: 
 
 "Since the House of Hohenzollern first stepped forward as 
 Electoral Princes and Sovereigns, they have been marked 
 out as the defenders of Protestantism in Germany. So long as 
 Prussia protected Protestantism in its widest sense as the free 
 development of the human mind within lawful bounds, and held 
 fast as the watchword of her policy the truth that a Govern- 
 ment should anticipate and meet the Spirit of the Age, so long 
 was Prussia at the head of the German nation, respected and 
 feared by her enemies. But when the Prussian Government 
 renounced her calling, she sank into that labyrinth of inconse- 
 quence which brings a State to the verge of ruin. Prussia lay in 
 that abyss in 1806. Nothing but the political genius of Stein 
 and his friends, who were like-minded and inspired with himself, 
 could have saved the country from the mire of unexampled 
 squalor. The laws passed at that time gave the people back their 
 faith in, and love for, their Fatherland, and therewith the strength 
 to free themselves from a foreign domination. This, however, was 
 only the prelude to the further development of the nation. The 
 reactionary tendencies of the Government from 181 7 to 1840 could 
 not prevent those laws from bearing an abundant harvest. The 
 municipal regulations of 1808, the agrarian laws, the increasingly 
 democratic tendencies of the Government (despite all suppression 
 of local activity), religious toleration, which afforded free 
 spiritual development under the philosophic ministry of Altenstein, 
 and, lastlv, the ineffaceable impression which is stamped by an 
 epoch of inspiration upon the old and new generations alike — all 
 these combined to produce a free-thinking, if not yet free-speaking, 
 
 39
 
 4 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 nation — a nation that deliberately set before it the aim of par- 
 ticipating in the management of the State. At the outset of the 
 reign of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. this nation believed itself justified, 
 out of the mouth of its Sovereign, in hoping for the fulfilment of 
 its desires, which had been silent, though not asleep, since 1817. 
 But the Government pursued another path from that expected 
 by the people. . . . 
 
 "The ecclesiastical policy of Friedrich Wilhelm III. is well 
 known. That it was not based upon unrestricted ecclesiastical 
 and religious liberty appears more particularly from his measures 
 in regard to the Catholic Church, and the in part compulsory 
 introduction of the Union, the suppression and persecution of the 
 so-called Old Lutherans. But when we ask why these measures 
 excited rather a partial than a general agitation, why these events 
 passed by without further consequences, we can only explain it 
 by saying that Friedrich Wilhelm's system of Government was 
 after all, despite its despotism and its aggressiveness, a Protes- 
 tant system, that these very despotic measures and encroach- 
 ments originated in the Liberalism of the Government, and hence 
 were less disquieting to the conscience. This policy might be 
 branded with the old sign-manual of Prussian supremacy, educa- 
 tion by means of the cudgel, but it was none the less, and more 
 than is commonly admitted, too much in harmony with the 
 spirit of the nation to arouse more than merely momentary dis- 
 content. Free investigation, the inborn, rational philosophy 
 of the Prussians, remained unattainted. 
 
 "The Eichhorn Ministry . . . who can deny it? . . . rests 
 upon an anti-Prussian soil and foundations. His system of 
 orthodox Protestantism is known, and cannot be demonstrated." 
 
 On the danger of the universal discontent the Prince writes: 
 "The real peril lies, not in the parties of the Communists, 
 Socialists, and Radicals, who have existed in every State and in all 
 ages; not in the secret machinations of the Jesuit Fathers and 
 their friends, who represent the stunting of the minds of the people 
 as the only salvation, the sole anchor of safety — but in the fact 
 that the discontent, of which each party makes such skilful use, 
 is so universal and so well founded. Just as a man, reaching 
 full self-consciousness after years of careful training and youthful 
 adventures, reaches the heights of free self-determination and 
 forceful action, and enters next upon a phase in which he rejects 
 any hand that seeks to guide him and will tread only in the path 
 which seems right in his own eyes, so in the history of every nation 
 there is an epoch in which it comes to full self-consciousness, 
 and claims liberty to determine its own destiny. At such an 
 epoch the intentions of the wisest Governments are misinterpreted, 
 the most zealous fulfilment of duty by a fostering administration 
 is held inadequate, wherever these Governments and administra- 
 tions fail to recognise that the nation has attained its majority,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 41 
 
 and continue along the old path, from habit, or from a mis- 
 apprehension of the interests involved. 
 
 " We in Germany have reached this stage. The nation demands 
 a share in public administration, now as never before. The 
 Governments, however, reject this movement. In it they see, or 
 wish to see, only the propaganda of a radical clique, and are 
 filled with misgivings. One reason for discontent is univer- 
 sally diffused in Germany ; every thinking German is deeply and 
 painfully aware of it. This is the impotence of Germany among 
 other States. Let no one say that Austria and Prussia as great 
 Powers represent the might of Germany in her foreign relations. 
 On the one hand Austria asserts herself far too little because she 
 is lacking in internal strength; on the other, Prussia, to speak 
 plainly, is only admitted on sufferance among the great Powers, 
 and will not even hold this position much longer if the movement 
 in internal politics continues as it has begun. In last resort, 
 however, there are only Austria and Prussia, while the rest of 
 Germany for ever plays a minor part as a mere camp-follower. 
 No one will deny that it is hard on a thinking, energetic man to be 
 unable to say abroad : 'I am a German' — not to be able to pride 
 himself that the German flag is flying from his vessel, to have no 
 German Consul in cases of emergency, but to have to explain, 'I 
 am a Hessian, a Darmstadter, a Buckeburger; my Fatherland 
 was once a great and powerful country, now it is shattered into 
 eight-and-thirty splinters.' And when we study the map and see 
 how the Baltic, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean break upon 
 our shores, and how no German flag commands the customary 
 salute from the haughty French and English, surely the hue of 
 shame alone will survive from the red, black, and yellow ribbon, 
 and mount into our cheeks? And must not all the whining talk 
 about German unity and the German nation remain woefully 
 ludicrous, until the words cease to be an empty sound, a phan- 
 tasmagoria of our complacent optimism, until we have the reality 
 of a great, united Germany? The industry so largely fostered 
 by the Zollverein no longer suffices for our commerce in its 
 present extended conditions, our rich trade seeks extraneous 
 markets and connections over sea. The outcry at the deficiencies 
 of the German fleet, and the question of the unity of Germany — 
 a real, politically efficacious unity — will be handled with fresh 
 vigour by the now emancipated Press. 
 
 "It is a mistake to try to dam the Revolution by liberal 
 reforms in individual States without reforming Germany as a 
 whole. The Free Press is a necessity ; progress is a condition of 
 the existence of States. But if we are to emancipate the Press, 
 it behoves us to know, and to make clear to ourselves, what, as 
 said and reiterated by its means, is penetrating to the mind of 
 the citizen, and bearing fruit. We have to ask ourselves, is this 
 the fruit we desire? If we advance, let us do so with our eyes 
 open, and let us open our eyes wide. Before we let an entire
 
 42 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 people move in a given path, we must see where this path 
 leads. It is a lamentable illusion with many well-meaning 
 statesmen to regard progress under the existing conditions of 
 Germany as something quite innocuous. Progress leads to 
 Revolution. A hard saying, but a true one ! . . ." 
 
 The following note shows the trend of the whole memoir: 
 "An argument can be formulated from the essay in question, 
 to show that the whole of the present cry for Progress will lead 
 to Revolution if the matter is not handled by the right end. So 
 long as this, which is a reversal of the conditions of the German 
 Bund, is not apprehended by the Governments in a serious 
 and self-sacrificing spirit, the whole system of progress and 
 concessions tends to revolution. So long, accordingly, as I fail 
 to discover this attitude of mind, I am an ultra-Conservative, 
 since I therein find more assurance for the safety of the Father- 
 land. I will not co-operate in a revolution, and if the revolu- 
 tion is to break over Germany after the pattern of 1789, and 
 the aristocracy perish, at least I shall not have to say, I have 
 landed myself in this plight by my own want of common sense." 
 
 On March 3, 1848, the Prince writes to Princess Amalie 
 from Schillingsfurst : "And so we are no longer on the verge 
 of great events, but plunged in the midst of them.* We must 
 now be prepared for everything. Once the first moment of 
 agitation has passed, I shall calmly await the future, and shall 
 not remain passive." 
 
 On March 31 he says in a letter from Munich: "If I have 
 not written before, it was from no lack of will, but from sheer 
 impossibility. I am launched full sail on the sea of political 
 activity, and have to divide my whole time between conferences 
 and writing. I am busy now preparing for our Sittings, 
 which are suspended for eight days. I am a member of three 
 Commissions all at once, thanks to the determination of my 
 colleagues to put me forward." 
 
 On April 3: "The political outlook is gloomy to our very 
 gates, but all is serene within. Once the first unpleasant moment 
 of awakening from the sleep of civilisation is passed, once we 
 have rubbed our eyes, and discovered that all the things we have 
 read about — death, murder, plague, hunger, poverty, and 
 the like — may in sooth be coming very near us, when once we 
 have overcome this first panic, without swooning like the worthy 
 Grand Duke of Weimar, further developments will be easy to 
 endure. The inward light of the mind burns clear and bright, and 
 none can extinguish it. It is only of late years that I have become 
 attentive to the external things of life, and it will be easy to 
 forego them again. For the nimbus of our princely station 
 will be first to go, nor have I any great hope for the dignity of 
 
 * After the revolutionary Popular Assemblies convened in several 
 of the South-German States, and permitted by the Governments.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 43 
 
 the Peers. Whether things will move quietly, whether we shall 
 attain the goal of the political unification of Germany without 
 an interregnum of anarchy and horrible bloodshed, seems to 
 me very dubious." 
 
 The apprehension of stirring events expressed in these words 
 betrays itself also in the following note of April 7, upon the 
 proceedings of the Preliminary Parliament at Frankfurt: 
 
 "The Assembly in Frankfurt has passed a resolution that a 
 Constituent National Assembly must be convened in Frankfurt 
 within the next four weeks. 
 
 "If the German Governments set their hand to this they 
 are lost. The Constituent National Asssembly will deliberate on 
 the reorganisation of Germany. It will decide whether Germany 
 is to be a Republic or a Constitutional Monarchy, whether the 
 individual Governments shall continue to exist or not. 
 
 "In the most favourable conditions, the Monarchs will thus 
 receive their crowns and their authorisation to continue reigning 
 from the hands of the people, with graceful thanks. In less 
 favourable cases they will be invited by the Constituent Parlia- 
 ment to make way for the Agents of the Provisional Government. 
 The existence of the German Governments is therefore respited 
 till May 1. But who, in the next place, guarantees the result of 
 the elections? Who will control these elections so that the results 
 are Conservative? And supposing they are Conservative, if the 
 German Governments do receive permission to remain in office, 
 would their future existence be anything more than vegetating, 
 than a further respite, until the moment when it shall seem 
 advisable to some new Assembly to deprive them of this pre- 
 carious existence? 
 
 "This is the point to which the wisdom of our rulers has 
 brought us ! To this — that every right is questioned that has 
 been established for centuries. What little the German Govern- 
 ments have so far preserved of power and authority will under 
 the most favourable conditions become an absurdity on May 1. 
 But the downfall of the power and authority of the Govern- 
 ments, of the legitimate existence on a constitutional basis of the 
 States, must involve the irrevocable abolition of the rights of the 
 individual, of personal freedom and property ! 
 
 "Now, is this state of dissolution, which we regard as inevitable, 
 the outcome of the will of the German people; is it not rather 
 the revolutionary minority that is plunging us consciously or 
 unconsciously into this abyss? In truth, and I say it with 
 a shudder, the slumber in which the German Nation has been 
 cradled for thirty years by its rulers is hardly yet out of its 
 eyes. The German Nation will wake up indeed when the destroy- 
 ing waves of anarchy roll over its head. Then it will marvel that 
 a small but active handful of Republicans and Communists have 
 succeeded in ruining Germany. Then it will itself pronounce 
 the terrible words, 'Too late!'
 
 44 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 "But is it yet too late? A German, who still has faith in 
 the energv and goodwill of the Governments, must answer 
 'No!' 
 
 "There is still time for the Governments to summon, not a 
 Constituent Assembly, but a Parliament. They still have time 
 to convene a Chamber of Princes and to appoint a Head of the 
 League. The freely elected Deputies will form a People's 
 Parliament on the widest basis in conjunction with the Diet. 
 An Assembly thus constituted would establish legislation, in- 
 stead of subverting it. It is only thus, and along these lines, 
 and not by looking on in silent terror that the Governments 
 can save themselves, that Germany can become free and united, 
 that anarchy can be averted." 
 
 On April 12, 1848, the Prince writes to his sister: "They 
 give me an appalling amount to do. To-night at six, I have to 
 report on a thing of which I have only just heard — the Electoral 
 Law of the Frankfurt Assembly." 
 
 On April 13 the plenary sitting of the Upper House 
 opened. At the beginning of his address the Prince remarked : 
 "With regard to the law in general, I may say that we hail it 
 gladly. It is the first significant, one might say the first tangible, 
 step that the German people has taken towards the fulfilment of 
 its dearest wish. Deep in the heart of every German lives an 
 inspiring belief in a unified, free and powerful German Fatherland. 
 This belief has issued in action, the wish of the people has 
 become a pressing demand. A constitutional path has been 
 prepared and smoothed for it by the draft of this Bill. The 
 popular Assembly of the Representatives of the People will save 
 us from the anarchy which still hovers ominously over the 
 Fatherland. Popular representation in the Confederation will be 
 the bed in which the waves of general political excitement may 
 flow like a torrent. Great will be the contrast with the old 
 Bundestag, which certainly also was a bed, but one in which the 
 German nation has slumbered for thirty years ... in a sleep 
 from which only the furious storms of recent times could 
 awaken us." 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Munich, May 24, 1848. 
 
 I wrote to you on May 3, but only the beginning of a letter. 
 To-day I will attempt it again, because I always feel sad at heart 
 on these two days, and you above all others can sympathise with 
 me.* It does one good in the wild tumult of political life to plunge 
 back now and again into better days, and into their sorrows. It 
 gives one the same feeling to go from time to time into a church, 
 as I love more especially to do now that the beautiful Offices for 
 
 * May 24 was the birthday of Prince Philipp Ernst, May 3 the day of 
 his death.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 45 
 
 May are being sung in the twilight. For in political work, which is 
 a thing of great utility and most congenial to me, the soul consumes 
 itself, and man turns into an egoistic calculating creature. I 
 celebrated this day by an oratorical triumph of which I am very 
 proud, and of which I will tell you more when we meet. Our 
 Landtag drags on from one day to another, partly because the 
 Court wants to gain time and begins to gird itself for action or 
 reaction. 
 
 One such reactionary attempt on the part of the Court party 
 gave me the opportunity this morning of fulminating against that 
 same party, which incidentally helped on our own business.* 
 
 After the Landtag adjourned on June 5, the practical political 
 activity of the Prince came to an end, and he became a spectator for 
 the rest of the summer. On August 31 he writes of the proceedings 
 of the Frankfurt Parliament: "Of political affairs I can only tell 
 you that it seems rather a bad look-out for German Unity. The 
 time when the iron was hot and unity could have been hammered 
 out, was wasted in idiotic, futile prattle, and the separate nation- 
 alities, Prussia in particular, are now so reinforced that we are 
 farther from unification than ever ! The whole National Assembly 
 is ridiculous now. Alas for Germany !" 
 
 Wiesbaden, September 23, 1848. 
 
 The rate at which political conditions alter is shown by the 
 outbreak at Frankfurt, where little was wanting to make them 
 proclaim the Red Republic. The whole fabric of our social and 
 political conditions, especially in the South-West of Germany, 
 and wherever Christianity has been non-existent for years, is hope- 
 lessly disorganised. Witness the murders of Lichnowsky and Auers- 
 wald, of which I have not the heart to write further. It is the most 
 shocking deed in history. And yet the blindness of the Germans 
 is so great that even the most appalling crimes pass without notice, 
 and the entire nation, from sheer wanton stupidity, flings itself more 
 surely every day into the arms of barbarism and the overthrow 
 of civilisation. To me the political outlook becomes more hopeless 
 every day. It needs a sane, vigorous and pious people for the 
 resuscitation of a great free Germany, such as I believed in two 
 months ago. It is impossible to build up any political system 
 where scepticism and doubt have permeated even to the lowest 
 classes of society. Social and civil order must necessarily perish. 
 In this particular no era presents such marked analogies with our 
 own as that of the decline of the Roman Empire. Christianity 
 
 * The Prince's speech referred to the Law of Ministerial Respon- 
 sibility. The Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung reports that "Princes 
 Wallerstein, Leiningen, and Hohenlohe greeted the law as a welcome 
 step forward, but regarded it only as the transition to the realisation of really 
 constitutional principles." The Sittings of the Upper House had been public 
 since April 19.
 
 46 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 and Civilisation will need to seek another and a sounder people than 
 any European Nation. It seems as though God never permitted 
 civilisation to reach its climax, lest the poor earthworms become 
 too arrogant. 
 
 Notwithstanding these pessimistic conclusions, the Prince did 
 not withdraw from political activity. By the law of June 28, 
 1848, a "Provisory Central Executive for all general affairs of the 
 German nation" was instituted, "until such time as a Paramount 
 Executive should be definitely established." Among other func- 
 tions, it had "to provide for the international and commercial 
 representation of Germany, and to nominate Ambassadors and 
 Consuls with that object." 
 
 A circular from the Provisory Central Administration of 
 September 20 desired the separate States to recall their foreign 
 representatives, or at any rate to make known through them that 
 the political representation of Germany for all international affairs 
 lay exclusively in the hands of the Imperial* Envoys. "One 
 day," we learn from an undated pencil note of the Prince,f "a 
 University friend of Heidelberg days came to see me, and informed 
 me that the Imperial Ministry proposed to entrust me with a 
 mission. The Bavarian Deputies at the Imperial Diet had spoken 
 of my activity in the Bavarian Chamber, praising the keen interest 
 I had shown in politics. I was warned at the same time, by the 
 older and more experienced diplomats, that the new Empire was 
 not likely to last long, and they advised me not to embark on a sink- 
 ing ship. I did not believe them. I hoped that the Prusso-German 
 idea would prevail. The Ambassadors previously despatched by 
 the Empire had played but a sorry role, and I imagined in my 
 juvenile self-esteem that I should do better and represent the 
 Imperial interests more effectively. I was young, and had a 
 high-spirited wife, who was eager to travel." A letter from the 
 Minister von Schmerling, dated November 1, 1848, informed the 
 Prince officially that the Imperial Administrator had appointed 
 him "to notify his accession as Imperial Administrator at the 
 Courts of Athens, Rome, and Florence." A portfolio from Minister 
 von Schmerling of November 13 brought the Prince the Letters of 
 Notification addressed to the Pope, the King of Greece, and the 
 Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Prince was referred for his instruc- 
 tions to the documents now forwarded to him J and to verbal 
 
 * Early in 1848 the discredited German Diet convoked from all Ger- 
 many the Constituent Assembly known as the Frankfurt Parliament, 
 which appointed Archduke John of Austria as "Imperial Administrator" 
 for all Germany. The Archduke appointed an Imperial Ministry. The 
 Frankfurt Parliament continued to sit as a German Legislature; but the 
 whole system broke down within a few months. 
 
 I The note apparently dates from the last months of the Prince's life, 
 and seems to be the only trace of commencement of the work he still 
 intended to carry out. 
 
 X These were copies of instructions to the Imperial Ambassador von 
 Raumer in Paris, the Envoy Dr. Heckscher at the Sardinian and Sicilian
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 47 
 
 communications from the Under-Secretary of State von Biegeleben. 
 Among the instructions there is also a circular letter from the Cen- 
 tral Executive of November 14, regulating the status and procedure 
 of the Imperial Ambassadors so long as the separate States still had 
 their accredited representatives. 
 
 The Prince, accompanied by his wife, left Schillingsfurst in 
 November 1848, and went by Belfort, Lyons, and Avignon to Mar- 
 seilles, with the intention of embarking there for Civita Vecchia, 
 in order to discharge his mission to the Pope in the first place. Herr 
 von Schack was assigned to him as his secretary. The news of the 
 outbreak of the revolution in Rome, and of the Pope's flight, 
 communicated to the Prince at Marseilles by Roman Prelates, 
 obliged him to go in the first instance to Athens. Of these events 
 he writes on November 29, 1848, to the Imperial Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs: 
 
 "You will already have been informed by the papers of the 
 events that have occurred in Rome. I will therefore refrain from 
 giving you the details imparted to me by eye-witnesses, but I am 
 constrained to send you a brief report of the last important 
 intelligence. 
 
 " There is no possible doubt as to the flight of the Pope from 
 Rome as announced in the journals? It is confirmed by the 
 verbal accounts of two fugitive prelates of his suite. The Pope 
 took refuge with the French Ambassador, on board the 
 Tenare, and has left Italy. The direction the vessel has taken is 
 at present unknown. The Pope's return to Rome during the next 
 few weeks is out of the question. My mission to Rome is ac- 
 cordingly an impossibility for the moment, and I have decided 
 to go direct to Athens on December 1, by steam-packet, so as to 
 carry out this portion of my charge at all events in the mean- 
 time. Possibly there may be a turn for the better during this 
 interval, and the Pope may be recalled by the wishes of the Faith- 
 ful, or perhaps order will be restored by the French troops that 
 start from here to-morrow. On the other hand, it is conceivable 
 that the proclamation of a Republic will be the result of this 
 revolution. It is obvious that such an event would materially 
 affect policy as regards the question of the Italian war, and the new 
 Republican Government might under such conditions manifest 
 tendencies that would be subversive of the principles of the Central 
 Administration. For while the Central Administration of Germany 
 must wish well to the independence and national vigour of Italy, 
 and would in no way desire to interfere in the internal affairs 
 of the Italian States, still the formation of new and Radical 
 Governments in Italy would introduce principles into Italian 
 politics which would hardly tend to a peaceful solution of the 
 
 Courts, and the Imperial Commissioners Welcker and Colonel Mosle in 
 Vienna and Olmutz, in respect of the position of the Central Administra- 
 tion with regard to commercial relations between Austria and Sardinia, and 
 with regard to Italian affairs.
 
 48 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Trans-Italian problem on the lines so far firmly insisted on by 
 Germany. 
 
 It is, therefore, essential that I should know whether, in the 
 event of the proclamation, of a Republic, my mission to Rome 
 comes to an end, whether I am to expect a special mission to the 
 Holy Father, in the event of his definite removal from Rome and 
 the Papal States for a protracted period, and lastly, what further 
 instructions will be given me from the Imperial Ministry in respect 
 of my attitude towards the Radical Governments in Italy. 
 
 I, therefore, beg your Excellency to forward me the necessary 
 instructions to Athens, addressed to the Prussian Embassy. 
 
 On December i the travellers went by the Telemaque to 
 Naples, where they lay one day, and then proceeded by the 
 Scamandre through the Straits of Messina to Malta, where they 
 waited another day. They had a stormy passage round Cape 
 Matapan, and only reached the Piraeus on December n, and 
 took up their abode in the Hotel d'Angleterre at Athens. 
 
 To the Imperial Minister for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Athens, December 17, 1848. 
 
 Unexpected hindrances detained us on the way from Mar- 
 seilles to the Piraeus, so I only arrived here on the nth. Next 
 morning I presented my credentials in due form to the Minister 
 Kolokotroni, was invited to an interview, and after explaining my 
 views received his promise to help me as much as possible. 
 
 The formal audience took place on the following day, the 13th 
 of this month. His Majesty the King received me in the Throne 
 Room, standing not far from the throne, in the presence of the 
 Minister Kolokotroni, the Marshal of the Court and two Aides-de- 
 camp. The King listened attentively to my address, which 
 corresponded with the text of the document which I was to 
 deliver, and replied to it in another speech, in which he pro- 
 fessed his sympathy with the Central Administration, touched 
 on the international relations between Greece and Germany, and 
 expressed his friendly feelings for his Imperial Highness the 
 Archducal Administrator. After that the conversation pro- 
 ceeded on informal lines, and the King's interested questions 
 about German affairs gave me the opportunity of making pretty 
 general representations. 
 
 I was invited to dinner on the next day, which was an extraor- 
 dinary compliment, according to the etiquette of this Court. On 
 this occasion the King, who treated me with marked distinction, 
 repeatedly betrayed his keen interest in the new organisation of 
 Germany. 
 
 The Minister promises that the audience with his Majesty 
 shall appear in the newspaper that is the official organ. I am 
 now awaiting the news of the Pope's return to Rome, and the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 49 
 
 directions from the Imperial Ministry which I requested in my first 
 report of November 29, in order then to re-embark for Italy. 
 
 The Germans who reside here presented themselves in corpore, 
 and expressed their delight in the unificatory movement in 
 Germany, as well as in the arrival of an Imperial Ambassador, 
 to which I replied with words of recognition and encouragement. 
 
 The reception of the Germans at Athens here alluded to took 
 place on December 14. The Prince said in his reply to their 
 welcome : 
 
 "You have reason to rejoice over the new development of 
 Germany. For the glorious result of this acquired unity of Ger- 
 many is that we are no longer a forgotten people, a geographical 
 expression; but that they all know — Americans, Russians, Turks, 
 and Greeks — that they know us for a mighty German nation, that 
 has one will and the power to impose it. Gentlemen, I can tell 
 you this about German Unity. It has many enemies who grudge 
 us our achievement, but it is so firmly implanted in the breast of 
 every honest citizen, that no man on earth will succeed in wrench- 
 ing it from us. To me this is a profoundly affecting moment, in 
 which for the first time I confront my German fellow country- 
 men as the Ambassador of the German nation. I owe this 
 emotion to your kindly visit, and offer you my cordial thanks." 
 
 On the evening of the 17th there was a Court dinner, and on 
 the 18th the Prince and Princess rode with the King and Queen. 
 On the 19th, both attended a diplomatic dinner at the house of the 
 Austrian Ambassador von Prokesch. On December 20 they were 
 feted by the Germans. The Princess writes of this in her diary : 
 
 "At 8.30 a deputation came with a carriage to fetch us. The 
 hall was decorated with German flags. There was a concert, and 
 at the end of the first part they gave us Rhine wine, and made a 
 speech to Chlodwig, to which he replied. A music-master pre- 
 sented me with a polka which he had dedicated to me. We were 
 back by 10.30." 
 
 The Prince's speech was about the German nation. "To the 
 German people," he said, "in this glass of German wine! 
 To the German people with its youthful dreams and manly acts ! 
 With its warm inspirations and profound thoughts ! To the 
 German people in all quarters of the world ! And to you above 
 all, Germans of Athens ! May each day make you prouder of 
 speaking German, and of being Germans. Hurrah for the 
 German nation !" 
 
 To the Imperial Minister for Foreign Affairs.* 
 
 Athens, December 23, 1848. 
 
 The great affability with which the King received me gave 
 me repeated opportunities last week of discussing political matters 
 
 * Schmerling had resigned his office on December 17. His successor 
 was Heinrich von Gagern. 
 
 Vol.. I —
 
 50 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 with his Majesty. German affairs and the new organisation by 
 means of the Central Executive were, of course, our principal 
 topic. I found his Majesty full of generous sympathy for the 
 developing unity of Germany, and if he manifested a prejudice 
 here and there in a particularist sense on single points, I hastened 
 to remove it by expounding the true views of the Central Admin- 
 istration. The receptive manner in which the King listened to 
 my explanations, the many expressions of lively interest in the 
 Central Executive that fell from his own lips as well as from the 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, all leave no room for doubt that the 
 object of my mission is accomplished, and that we have succeeded 
 in paving the way to international intercourse between the Central 
 Administration and Greece. 
 
 Having thus fulfilled my mission here, I will at once proceed 
 to Rome to fulfil my charge to the Pope, if he be not still, as the 
 latest accounts say, a fugitive at Gaeta. Since, however under 
 these circumstances the Head of the Church and the Temporal 
 Government of the Papal States are two separate Powers, and I 
 do not hold myself to be charged either with a merely personal 
 mission to the Pope or with any mission whatever to a Government 
 apart from him, the present moment does not seem to be exactly 
 propitious for my entry into Rome. I therefore think it will be 
 best to await the moment, which cannot now be very far distant, 
 when this difference will be settled, and the Pope returned. My 
 first decision was to spend this interval at Athens. But as, after 
 the brilliant reception accorded me here, I should fear to weary 
 the Greek Court by too long a stay, I have accepted the kind offer 
 of the British Ambassador, Sir Edward Lyons, who has put an 
 English gunboat at my disposal, to make an excursion to the 
 various Greek islands and the adjacent shores of the Mediter- 
 ranean. I shall set out on this expedition on the 25th. I beg 
 that any communications from the Imperial Ministry may be 
 addressed as before to the Prussian Embassy in Athens, so that 
 they may reach me promptly according to my directions. 
 
 On December 24 the Prince and his wife spent Christmas Eve 
 in the house of the Prussian Envoy Werther. On the 25th the 
 Princess had a farewell audience with the Queen. The evening 
 was spent with Prokesch, and on the evening of the 26th they 
 left Athens. The weather was bad ; so bad that the vessel was 
 obliged to run for the harbour of Milos. On the 28th the Prince 
 notes in his diary: "Still in the Bay of Milos. Continuous rain 
 and wind. A comfortable open fire burns in our salon; we 
 have plenty of books. The storm howls just as it does at home, 
 and calls up happy memories of the past, and a longing 
 for home. There is, after all, something cordial and attractive 
 about our German Fatherland, despite its snows and storms, 
 and political imbroglios. One might, indeed, well be put out of 
 conceit with it by the latter."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 51 
 
 Mein Herz, bewegt von innerlichem Streite, 
 Erfuhr so bald in diesem kurzen Leben, 
 Wie leicht es ist, die Heimat zu aufgeben, 
 Und doch wie schwer, zu finden eine zweite.* 
 
 December 29. 
 
 The wind fell a little. But the weather was still too bad for 
 us to leave the harbour. The bay in which we are lying must be 
 very beautiful in summer. Before us, is a deserted village on a 
 hill, spreading to right and left. Behind us, there are fairly high 
 mountains which enclose the bay like a lake. But the sea is 
 rough for all that. Gulls hover round the ship with their melan- 
 choly cry. The whole scene reminds one more of Achenbach's 
 sea-pictures of Norway than of the islands of the Archipelago. 
 With reading, writing, and whist the time passes pleasantly 
 enough. 
 
 On December 30 the journey was resumed in spite of the sea still 
 being very rough. Towards morning on the 31st, they were in 
 sight of Rhodes. "Unfortunately we did not stop, but passed be- 
 tween Rhodes and Scarpanto; the sea is not disagreeable." The 
 spot at which the Prince entered on the New Year is indicated by a 
 still extant entry of the captain: "The position of her Majesty's 
 steam vessel Volcano at the commencement of the year 1849 : 
 latitude 35 ° 4' north, longitude 29 21' east of Greenwich, distant 
 324 miles from Jaffa." On January 2, 1849, the snow-covered 
 Lebanon lay before the travellers, Mount Carmel just opposite 
 them. It was impossible, owing to the rough sea, to land in 
 Jaffa ; the ship had to run for Haifa in the Bay of St. Jean d' Acre. 
 From that point, the Prince and Princess made a riding tour in 
 the Holy Land. On the 3rd they climbed Carmel, on the evening 
 of the 4th they were in Nazareth, on the 8th in Jerusalem, on the 
 9th in Bethlehem, on the 12th in Ramleh, on the 13th in Jaffa, 
 on the 15th back at Carmel, where a storm prevented their 
 departure. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Mount Carmel, January 16, 1849. 
 
 I am more and more convinced of the need for a speedy 
 central organisation of Germany. England and Russia are 
 extending themselves here as much as possible. The East 
 knows nothing of Germany. We must have a German Catholic 
 Consul in Jerusalem. Influence in the East would give (1) more 
 power to Germany, (2) increase of German commerce and per- 
 haps of colonisation. In order to establish this influence, we 
 
 * "My heart, torn with inward conflict, too soon discovered in this 
 brief existence how easily one may give up one's home ; how hard, alas ! 
 it is to find another."
 
 52 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 must make use of the religious element of the Catholic clergy. 
 More attention must be paid to this. 
 
 January 18. 
 
 The matter of colonisation by German emigrants has often 
 been discussed with great vigour in recent years. Projects of 
 all kinds crop up and collapse again. None of them will lead to 
 any profitable result if not supported by the Central Administra- 
 tion itself, and by a Perpetual Commission controlled by the 
 Foreign Ministry. Above all, German diplomacy must take it 
 up. All emigration, all colonisation, all deporting of men to 
 foreign lands even with abundant subsidies is in last resort 
 nothing but a convenient kind of traffic in souls, unless com- 
 prehensive treaties are concluded between the several Govern- 
 ments. If this is effected, if the Central Executive enters into 
 diplomatic relations with foreign Governments, there is no reason 
 that we should not turn from the distant, already thickly popu- 
 lated and not particularly fertile North of America, and come 
 back to the East. There are three islands in the Mediterranean 
 that have already belonged to European States, and were con- 
 quered by the Ottoman Power at the time of its predominance. 
 I mean Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete. Why should we not, in 
 view of the immeasurable weakness of the Turkish Government, 
 endeavour to win these islands back again, and populate them 
 with German immigrants? Cyprus seems to me especially well 
 adapted. The shifty, evil, Turkish Government is hastening the 
 depopulation of this island year by year. The immigrants would 
 find very few inhabitants. The island is one of the most fertile 
 of the Mediterranean; all kinds of fruits ripen there naturally. 
 The mines of copper and other minerals would give a rich yield. 
 Germany could have no more valuable possession than this 
 island. All this must of course be taken in hand in as friendly 
 a spirit as possible, as, for instance, by purchase from the Turkish 
 Government. In the first place, however, a secret agent should 
 be sent immediately to investigate the geological, topographical, 
 and all other features of the island. If the result of these investi- 
 gations is satisfactory, and shows it to be worth while to annex 
 the island, Constantinople must then be approached as quickly 
 and tactfully as possible. The task of the Central Administra- 
 tion in Germany appears to me, in regard to the Eastern question, 
 to be, not de se joindre aux intrigues absurdes dont s'amusent les 
 diplomates a Constantinople, but to bring about some sort of solu- 
 tion of the problem. From the present state of the question 
 Germany gains nothing and is only losing time. But if the whole 
 affair comes to a crisis, and if Germany is unified, strong and armed, 
 she will be able to secure Cyprus, and more besides, in the universal 
 partition. Above all, however, may God send reason and a single 
 mind to the patriotic babblers, and to the Governments of 
 Germany ; above all, we must rid ourselves of the pitiful jealousies 
 of parliamentary life, if we hope to impose ourselves upon the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 53 
 
 world with the old German vigour and robustness. But when 
 will this come about? If, however, by peaceful negotiations 
 with the Turkish Government, or the explosion of the Eastern 
 question, we acquire Rhodes or Cyprus, or whatever else, we shall 
 thereby obtain a splendid outlet for thousands of the proletariat, 
 we shall gain a sea-board and a mercantile navy, marines and 
 sailors. Nor must Syria and Asia Minor be forgotten. We must 
 do all we can to check the Russians and English there, to which 
 end it is essential to send out no Protestant bishops and mission- 
 aries, but to make it a station for the Catholic world in the East. 
 German Consulates, filled by efficient men, are among the most 
 pressing tasks of the Imperial Executive. At the same time, 
 better no Consul than a bad one ! A Consul in the East must 
 be a Catholic, good at Oriental languages, and experienced in 
 commercial affairs, while the Consul-General for our purposes 
 must be a competent diplomatist. Up to now, nothing good is 
 known in the East of Austria; of Prussia, only that it patronises 
 the Protestant bishop and promotes the conversion of the Jews 
 at Jerusalem ; of Germany, absolutely nothing ! It is a most 
 humiliating experience to travel in the East as a German. More 
 than ever do I deplore the weakness with which the first days 
 of the revolution were frittered away, without producing any- 
 thing thorough-going and complete at the moment when all the 
 separate Governments were helpless. Yet why murmur ! Let 
 us endeavour to save what may yet be saved ! 
 
 On the 19th the ship was able to leave Haifa, and lay off 
 Alexandria on January 21, 1849. They were in quarantine till 
 the 29th. On the 30th the Prince and Princess were allowed to 
 land. They reached Cairo on the 31st, and made a journey to 
 Upper Egypt between then and February 15. From the 16th 
 to the 19th the travellers made a further stay in Cairo, left on 
 February 20 for Alexandria, and occupied the next five days in 
 going to Malta. After a quarantine of several days they landed 
 at Naples on March 6, and reached Molo di Gaeta on the 9th. 
 The Prince found the following letter from the Imperial Minister, 
 Heinrich von Gagern, in Naples: 
 
 Frankfurt, January 3, 1849. 
 
 Your valuable report of the 17th has reached me, and the 
 Administrator has heard from me with much pleasure and satis- 
 faction of the very cordial reception your Highness met with in 
 Athens. . . . Since, for the moment, the Imperial Ministry sees 
 no justification for the prolongation of your stay in Athens, I 
 am to request you will present yourself to his Holiness the 
 Pope, as soon as possible, either at Gaeta or wherever he is 
 to be found, to present the Administrator's notification. The 
 indefinite, and perhaps ephemeral character of the Provisional 
 Government is the reason for this order from the Ministry, and
 
 54 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 to judge from the manner in which the residence of his Holiness 
 in Gaeta appears to be organised, I have little doubt that the 
 Pope will receive Ambassadors there. From the Papal Court, 
 your Highness will next proceed to Florence. I look forward 
 with much interest to your despatches. 
 
 January 23, 1849. 
 
 Your Highness will have duly received the despatch of 
 January 6, in which I requested you to deliver the Letters of 
 Notification of November 12 to his Holiness, at his present 
 headquarters. In the meantime I have also had your welcome 
 report of December 3 from Athens, and quite approve of your 
 journey. As the time of your proposed absence from Athens 
 has now elapsed, and I doubt whether the present despatch 
 would have reached you there, you will find it at Gaeta, for- 
 warded from the Royal Prussian Embassy in Naples, to which 
 it is going to-day. Enclosed are: 
 
 (1) Copy of a letter addressed by the Holy Father from Gaeta 
 on the 4th inst. to the Administrator. 
 
 (2) The answer of the Administrator, along with 
 
 (3) An open copy, and 
 
 (4) The translation of the same ; 
 
 these two last as a preliminary communication to the Papal 
 Chancellory of Foreign Affairs. I beg you to hand the answer 
 of the Administrator to his Holiness, which can be done 
 directly you have presented the Letters of Notification. 
 
 Of these despatches the Prince reports on March 10, 1849: 
 "... I arrived here yesterday, and betook myself this morn- 
 ing to Cardinal Antonelli, who, as Prosegretario di Stato, under- 
 takes the business of Minister of Foreign Affairs. I handed him 
 the letter from the Ministry to the Cardinal State Secretary, 
 along with the copy and translation of the Letter of Notifica- 
 tion of November 12, and the answer of H.I.H. the Imperial 
 Administrator to the letter from the Holy Father of December 4, 
 and begged the Cardinal to procure me an audience with 
 his Holiness. Cardinal Antonelli expressed his willingness 
 to introduce me forthwith, and, after announcing my visit, 
 conducted me to the Holy Father, who resides in the same house. 
 All etiquette and ceremonial have been very much cut down in 
 Gaeta, under the circumstances, so that this audience will be held 
 fully adequate, the more so as the other newly accredited Envoys, 
 and even the Belgian Ambassador, have been presented in the 
 same way to the Holy Father. 
 
 "As soon as I entered, his Holiness welcomed me cordially, 
 and after the necessary ceremonial, bade me be seated opposite 
 to him and declare my mission. I handed him the Letter of 
 Notification, and then the letter from the Administrator of 
 January 23, coupling with the latter an assurance of the pro-
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 55 
 
 found distress which H.I.H. felt at the recent events in Rome. 
 This feeling I expressed, for my own part, in the name of the 
 whole of Germany. His Holiness received these words very 
 kindly, adding that the firm coherence of the European Govern- 
 ments was all the more necessary inasmuch as this was a war of 
 barbarism against religion and social order. I then told him of 
 the struggle for unification in Germany, which had for its object 
 the establishment of civil and moral order, when the Holy Father 
 warmly expressed his sympathy with the unification of Germany, 
 described the relation between Austria and Prussia as the nodo 
 gordiano che vuol essere sciolto, and added that he would pray 
 for the happy consummation of German affairs. The Holy 
 Father then spoke of matters more personal to myself with his 
 own peculiar charm, and the audience came to an end. All 
 this, as is now customary in the Papal Court in the absence 
 of a proper organ, will be published in the Neapolitan Official 
 Gazette. As the Imperial Ministry will already be aware, the 
 Grand Duke of Tuscany is here too, but has so far received 
 no Envoys. If, however, a French Ambassador intends to wait 
 on the Grand Duke here, as is rumoured, I shall regard this as a 
 precedent, and deliver my letters. I will enter on the political 
 situation in my next report, only stating now that I shall 
 associate myself with the efforts of the other diplomatists here, 
 to restore the Pope to his independent position in his own 
 States. 
 
 Report of March 24, 1849. 
 
 The Prosegretario di Stato of his Holiness the Pope has, at 
 my request, communicated to me the documents referring, 
 on the one hand, to the position of the Holy Father in regard 
 to the usurping Government in Rome; on the other, to the 
 relations of his Holiness with the European Governments, 
 and the intervention which he desires. The present state of 
 the question of intervention is this: on the Pope's request 
 for intervention, the four Powers appealed to* declared them- 
 selves ready to intervene; the Governments of Spain and 
 Naples had previously agreed; the replies from Austria and 
 France arrived a few days ago. France, as Cardinal Antonelli 
 to-day informs me, has already massed troops ready to embark 
 for the coast of Italy. In order to discuss the mode of 
 intervention, and the fitting time for it, there is shortly to be 
 a conference between the Plenipotentiaries of France, Austria, 
 Naples, and Spain, in Gaeta. Even granting a decision to be 
 imminent, there is no disguising that the peculiar attitude 
 of the French Government towards the National Assembly 
 and its relation to Austria might give rise to difficulties of 
 
 * Austria, France, Spain, and Naples.
 
 56 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 all kinds within the conference. The Cardinal State Secretary 
 is by no means unaware of this, but believes that he will 
 be able to interpose in a conciliatory manner, trusting chiefly 
 to the fact that he has treated the whole question as much as 
 possible from the religious standpoint, reserving the political 
 side of the question till intervention is over. 
 
 No communication has been made to myself, or to the rest 
 of the diplomatic body. I shall, therefore, only attempt to 
 follow the course of the negotiations, and shall have the honour 
 to report further to you at a later date. 
 
 Report from Naples, April n, 1849. 
 
 Since there appeared to be no justification for prolonging 
 my stay in Gaeta, I took leave of the Holy Father two days 
 ago, and was dismissed with the utmost cordiality. I was 
 unable to give the Imperial Administrator's letter to the Grand 
 Duke of Tuscany. For although it seems probable that the 
 Grand Duke will in the immediate future appoint a Foreign 
 Minister and receive Ambassadors, I could not await this 
 event, in view of the probably brief duration of the Pro- 
 visional Government in Germany. I communicated this to the 
 Grand Duke, and was privately received by him. As I am 
 sailing for Germany in one of the next packets, I shall shortly 
 have the honour of communicating my reports to you by word 
 of mouth. 
 
 In a letter dated Naples, April 4, 1849, the Prince writes to 
 Princess Amalie: "My residence at Gaeta in the near neigh- 
 bourhood of the noble and excellent Pope was a beautiful 
 experience, to be reckoned among the most impressive days of 
 my life." 
 
 While still in Gaeta the Prince had received the news that 
 King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. had declined the Imperial Crown. 
 "Therewith," he remarks in his note, "the fate of the 
 Frankfurt Empire was sealed. I took leave of the Pope, and 
 of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to whom I was unable to 
 deliver my papers, as he had no Foreign Minister. He said : 
 ' Greetings to my cousin in Frankfurt ! ' We went to Naples, 
 remained there during the month of May, and returned via Paris 
 to Frankfurt." 
 
 After the Prince had been received in audience by the Arch- 
 ducal Administrator, and had conversed for an hour, he was 
 offered a place in the Gravell Ministry, which had taken 
 command in the National Assembly on May 17. He declined, 
 on the ground that "he had no desire to take part in a 
 Ministry whose only duty was to give the Empire a decent 
 burial." The Prince looked hard at the Archduke, and nothing 
 more was said about it.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 57 
 
 The close of his Imperial mission marked the close of the 
 Prince's active share in politics for the time being. He was again 
 for all practical purposes reduced to the role of spectator. The 
 impression which the gradual collapse of the national hopes 
 and the disgraceful termination of the movement made on 
 him appears in the letters to his sister and his speeches in the 
 Upper House. 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Munich, November 18, 1849. 
 
 . . . My brothers and sisters and I are bound together by a 
 rare bond of spiritual affinity, which is practically unknown to 
 other folk. I have met with it in few families. Such a spirit 
 is rare in the society of the great world. Generally speaking, 
 and here in particular, the great world in its heart of hearts 
 is very small. Good if you like, kindly, less evil than is com- 
 monly made out by country parsons — but there is little enough 
 behind. It is a rare thing to meet with the noble minds which 
 this city must contain as well as any other. In such surround- 
 ings I am becoming all unconsciously a democrat ; exactly as in 
 the Chamber, where I am driven to the Left by the party of 
 narrow-minded aristocrats, who are so without any justification. 
 For instance, at the last sitting I had to protect the German 
 National Assembly against the stupid attacks of a certain 
 elderly gentleman. We had an interesting sitting on the German 
 question, and I spoke tolerably well before a crowded audience. 
 I was gratified at my own coolness and self-possession. It 
 is a fortunate thing in these days to have attained the art of 
 speaking clearly and without embarrassment before a large 
 audience. My very tame discourse was, however, considered too 
 anti-Ministerial, and I shall get into disgrace with the Court. 
 Kein Verniinjtiger kann zergliedern, was den Menschen wohl 
 gejdllt. 
 
 The sitting alluded to in this letter took place on November 12, 
 and was concerned with the attitude of the Bavarian Government 
 to the German question, for which the Chamber gave "grateful 
 thanks" to the Ministry. This "grateful thanks" referred, as 
 the proceedings show, to the disavowal both of the Frankfurt 
 Assembly and of the League of the Three Kings. Prince 
 Hohenlohe did not abstain from voting, but spoke as follows 
 with regard to the League: "Had the question been brought 
 before this House while still undecided, had this House been 
 asked whether it consented to the establishment of this league, 
 I admit that I should have advised that consent should be 
 given. I start from the principle that a strong Central Execu- 
 tive is a necessity, and from this standpoint I should have 
 taken leave to doubt whether the impulse towards National 
 Unity could have been fulfilled in any other way than in
 
 58 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 that laid down on broad lines by the League of the Three 
 Kings. 
 
 "The German States are collectively constitutional and 
 monarchical; no autocratic form of Central Administration is 
 therefore conceivable. A Parliament in co-ordination with this 
 Central Executive is a generally acknowledged necessity. But in 
 my opinion this collaboration of an Executive with a Parliament 
 is a very dangerous matter. A Directory of Plenipotentiaries 
 — for Directors must always be fully empowered — a Collective 
 Body, in fact, any one of these many-headed organisations of 
 the Central Authority will always act according to instructions. 
 But when you are dealing with a Parliament it is indispensable 
 to act quickly, decidedly, and vigorously. It appears to me 
 that such vigour, speed, and decision in execution would not be 
 compatible with acting upon instructions. This was our ex- 
 perience before, when the Confederation still existed in its earlier 
 form, and I do not believe that, hitherto at least, the problem 
 has been solved. But to-day I say no more on all these points. 
 The question of the League of the Three Kings is for the 
 moment closed. It has at any rate passed into a stage in 
 which further advocacy is futile. The Bavarian people, through 
 its Representatives, has declared against the League of the 
 Three Kings. His Majesty's Government has rejected the League 
 of the Three Kings, supported by the majority of the Bavarian 
 nation. My personal and opposite views (which I felt it right 
 to bring forward briefly) must therefore be set aside. It is 
 not my duty to blame the Government for doing what the 
 majority of the people wills. In a question which affects the 
 rights of a whole nation, and the independence of a State, the 
 personal, subjective convictions of the individual must be sub- 
 ordinated. Yet I know of no other expedient by which the Govern- 
 ment could have brought the wishes of the people into harmony 
 with the principle of the unification of all Germany. It is 
 difficult, almost impossible, to fulfil the wish for national unity, 
 and at the same time preserve the entire independence of each 
 several State. If unification has gone by the board in the year 
 1848, it is not so much on account of the separate dynastic 
 interests as of the enmities of the various German races. That 
 is a sad truth, nevertheless it is necessary to avow the truth 
 as often as may be. Under such conditions I acknowledge 
 that the Government could not have acted otherwise than 
 it did." 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Munich, December 22, 1849. 
 
 . . . We are just now reading bits of Humboldt's Letters to a 
 Friend. In these I find my own thoughts at every turn. 
 Latterly, however, I have had very little time for reading
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 59 
 
 aloud. My days have been entirely absorbed in the proceedings 
 of the Chamber. I was much praised for a successful impromptu 
 speech a few days ago. This evenement was the topic of con- 
 versation that day. Since the subject is not of universal interest, 
 you will not find it in the Augsburger Zeilung. I myself am 
 indifferent to these successes. I am glad that I am making 
 some progress in this way, because it is very annoying in stirring 
 times to be embarrassed intreating a subject by a bad style. But 
 I take no pleasure in these things. 
 
 The proceedings of the Chamber, to which these observa- 
 tions refer, related to the prosecution of the revolutionaries in the 
 Palatinate. During the sitting of December 18, Count Arco- 
 Valley termed himself a "drag on the chariot wheels of the Re- 
 public," in contrast with "some young hereditary legislators." It 
 was his reply to this attack that the Prince calls an "impromptu." 
 On the question of the amnesty he says, in a note made at the 
 time: "I believe that all who took part in the criminal 
 attempts of last spring fall into two categories: 
 
 "(1) Demagogues proper, or professional Radicals. 
 
 " (2) Revolutionaries from transitory motives. 
 
 "We know that a party, a widespread sect, exists which has 
 fallen out with the present moral and civil order and is strug- 
 gling after another. The study of philosophy, of Hegelianism 
 in particular, has brought the leaders of this party to the 
 conclusion that Christianity is a lie, the Christian State accord- 
 ingly founded on error. They seek to express this truth, as 
 they perceive it, in Religion and the State. What positive con- 
 tributions they bring us, I have failed after the most strenuous 
 endeavours to make out. Wherever they have been constrained 
 to practical action the theory that floated before them has in 
 the event collapsed, owing to its purely negative character. 
 Mazzini in Italy, Pierre Leroux in France, Karl Vogt — I 
 mention only the most prominent names in the party — all have 
 so far shown themselves potent in negation only. Grant- 
 ing, however, that this party could introduce a new religious 
 and social structure, they could do so only after the total de- 
 struction of the existing order. And here they encounter the 
 resistance of all reasonable men. It is clear that only barbarism 
 can result from such a destruction of our present civilisation. 
 It is our duty, therefore, to oppose the efforts of the Radical 
 party with great firmness. The Radical party is too clever 
 to put out its hand in a reconciliation that can do it no good. 
 It wants war. It follows that a policy of pardon, or clemency, 
 would be weakness. 
 
 "This party, however, has few supporters in the Palatinate. 
 Its leaders have nearly all made good their escape. We have 
 principally to deal with the second class, those who are 
 revolutionaries, from transitory causes, the politically disaffected,
 
 60 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 whose movements will calm down like the waves of the sea once 
 the storm is over. When in years gone by the country was 
 filled with enthusiasm for the unity of Germany, men of noble 
 character set themselves at the head of the movement, and 
 said to the people: 'Have patience, we will create a United 
 Germany by constitutional means.' The National Assembly 
 was convened, the people calmed down — and waited. It waited 
 patiently for a whole year. In that year the revolution waned, the 
 Governments waxed stronger. Nay, the enthusiasm for Ger- 
 man unity cooled in many breasts. Many even of those who 
 sat at Frankfurt did not wish to carry through their task. 
 When the Constitution was passed with toil and travail, in- 
 spiration and excitement stirred again, as in 1848, in many 
 breasts. But times had changed. What had been tolerated 
 the year before, because no one could prevent it, was now a 
 crime. This, however, was incomprehensible to the agitating 
 section of the people. They could not know that what had 
 brought many an agitator to high honour in March 1848 was 
 treason now. They did not know their age. It is hard, in- 
 deed, to read the political stars aright, to forecast correctly what 
 will succeed or fail. This section of the people could not know 
 that the Government was now directed by strong men, able to 
 stem the tide of revolution, strong enough to enforce respect 
 for the laws. These excited spirits could not tell that the 
 time had gone by in which men heard the voice of the populace 
 in every cat-call — • and trembled. That the people did not know 
 all this, that they acted on faith in a revolution which no longer 
 existed, was the cardinal error committed by most of those who 
 are indicted and compromised." 
 
 The Prince's attitude on the disappearance of the last hopes 
 of patriotism, as connected with the League of the Three Kings, 
 found expression in a scathing article in the Frankfurter 
 Journal (No. 71) criticising the King of Wiirtemberg's Speech 
 from the Throne. "Through the whole speech," he says, "runs 
 an unwholesome strain, telling of the dangers that threaten 
 us from without, if the people of Wurtemberg and of Germany 
 at large do not follow the paternal admonition of their Sovereigns, 
 and cease to pursue the phantom idea of German unity. We 
 are told expressly that the realisation of the Federal State is 
 impossible 'without infringement of the solemn treaty on which 
 our position and independence in Europe, as well as the political 
 equilibrium of Europe itself, depend.' We hear of the dangers 
 to which the League of May 26 must lead, within, as well as 
 without. It is clear, then, to the august speaker that foreign 
 Powers might menace our independence, that an interference of 
 foreign Powers in our internal affairs is impending. We have 
 come to this point, that in a German kingdom political shame 
 is utterly laid aside, and the eyes of all Europe may see that
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 61 
 
 we no longer venture to propose a Constitution corresponding 
 to our needs, but that the casting-vote is to lie with the Powers 
 who have guaranteed the contract ! Things have come to such 
 a pass that this confession is, and can be, fearlessly made to 
 a Democratic Assembly ! Truly, it had been better to be 
 silent about 'ancient privilege' in the speech from the Throne, 
 if an ancient honour is to be so utterly disowned." 
 
 Shortly before the catastrophe of Olmiitz the Prince writes to 
 Princess Amalie : 
 
 Sayn, November 16, 1850. 
 
 ". . . Yesterday I had tea with the Princess of Prussia. 
 She was very depressed by the latest political events ; * she is 
 so distressed and pained by the deplorable proceedings in Berlin 
 that it is grievous to see her. I might compare her to Niobe. 
 The comparison is the more justified in that, in the wreck of 
 Prussia, she mourns the wrecked future of her excellent and 
 promising son." 
 
 * Resignation of Radowitz on November 2 after the "Preliminary 
 Meeting" in Warsaw of October 28, in which the Constitution of the 
 Union was given up.
 
 1850-1866
 
 1850-1866 
 
 Between 1850 and 1866 we have no material in his own words 
 for a coherent account of the Prince's life and work. He did 
 not keep a continuous diary during that time, while his letters 
 to Princess Amalie, in which his inner life had expressed itself 
 before his happy marriage, naturally assumed another character 
 after that event, and were confined to the facts and affairs of 
 everyday life. This period again is wanting in the unity given to 
 his years of development by the growth of his personality. His 
 character was now practically formed, and he was only awaiting 
 his opportunity for political action. The times, however, were 
 not favourable. The national idealism of 1848 had expired in the 
 wastes of reaction, and the former head of an Imperial Mission 
 had no prospect of advancement or office from the Bavarian 
 Government. Bavaria in the fifties gave no scope for the activi- 
 ties of a politician, Conservative by training and social standing, 
 yet filled with strong patriotism. It is psychologically interesting 
 to see how his craving for political activity gradually induced the 
 Prince to that compromise with circumstances in which lay his only 
 chance of a political career; how he endeavoured to make his 
 peace with the Bavarian Government, and how, by the influence 
 of all these external conditions, his own political views gradually 
 became modified, and brought him nearer to Bavarian Particu- 
 larism. He was a supporter of the Triad idea not from conviction, 
 but from a feeling that, in view of the apparent hopelessness of 
 the Little German programme, and the obvious impossibility of 
 a Great German policy, the concentration of the national forces 
 of the South German and Middle German States into a Third 
 Germany was preferable to total disintegration and the impotence 
 of powerful German Peoples. This Bavarian and Particularist 
 tendency is the more remarkable, since it reappears in the sub- 
 sequent policy of the Prince when he was at the head of the 
 Bavarian Government, and because this very concession to 
 Particularism was the underlying principle of the national policy 
 which the Premier of Bavaria was to carry out. Only a statesman 
 the correctness of whose Bavarian was beyond question could 
 
 VOL. 1 — f 65
 
 66 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 have won the confidence of King Ludwig II., and could have 
 inspired that Prince's attitude to the German nation in the great 
 and critical questions of its political destiny. 
 
 PARIS AND RUSSIA, 1850-1866 
 
 In December 1850 the Prince went with his wife to Paris for 
 several months. From there he wrote to the Princess Amalie on 
 December 15 : 
 
 "We are spending the first week in settling down and visiting 
 the different theatres, as this will be impossible later when 
 we have evening engagements. The theatres are interesting 
 and instructive as regards the language. Madame Rachel and 
 Madeleine Brohan at the Comedie-Francaise are both remarkable, 
 the latter particularly for her beauty, while the former is beyond 
 all criticism, and one entirely forgets her Jewish appearance. A 
 melodrama called Palliasse, an excellent thing by Lemaitre, is 
 to be given at the Gaite. The new opera, L'Enfant Prodigue, 
 by Auber, is the universal topic of conversation. The story 
 is taken from the Bible, and the scene laid in Egypt and Pales- 
 tine. A more offensive production than this opera one cannot 
 imagine. It concludes with a scene in Heaven itself, with 
 angels playing on harps ! The scenery is magnificent, the music 
 miserable, and one has to listen for five mortal hours to this 
 hysterical outburst. Once ! but never again. I saw Madame 
 Sontag in the Barber of Seville; a curious experience, after see- 
 ing her the last time in her own drawing-room in Berlin.* 
 Our entree into society took place at Madame Narischkine's. 
 She made it her special business to introduce us as soon as 
 possible, and did it with the greatest kindness and tact. We 
 met many old acquaintances from Athens and Naples in her 
 salon, so her task was considerably lightened. Next day I was 
 presented to the President by the Bavarian Ambassador. The 
 rank and file remain in the large drawing- rooms, and persons 
 of quality are received in the President's small apartments, 
 where I was taken by Wendland. We met the Household in the 
 first room, and at the door of the second a little man in the 
 Bavarian Light Horse uniform, and wearing the grand cordon of 
 the Legion of Honour. This was "le Prince.'" I was introduced 
 to him, and he talked with me of Bavaria. "J'y ai passe ma 
 jeunesse a Augsbourg, et fen conserve toujour s un tres bon 
 souvenir. "f He spoke of a certain Prince Hohenlohe, whom he 
 
 * Henriette Sontag (1803-1854) had lived in Berlin as the Countess 
 Rossi from 1843-1849. 
 
 t Napoleon, from 1816, had lived for many years at Augsburg, with 
 his mother Queen Hortense, and attended the St. Anna Gymnasium there.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 67 
 
 had known at Munich. I was next introduced to Princess Mathildc, 
 a stout handsome lady in diamonds. Presently the whole com- 
 pany made a move and defiled into the ballroom, the crowd 
 forming a lane through which we had to walk. In the room I 
 was presented to Lord and Lady Normanby. Lord Normanby 
 is a tall, curly-headed specimen of an Englishman, with a 
 perpetual smile and quantities of Orders; Lady Normanby 
 stout and phlegmatic, wearing diamonds. Count Hatzfeldt, the 
 Prussian Ambassador, whose acquaintance I also made, is a 
 Rhenish landed proprietor, dans toute la force du terme; his 
 wife, a lively, intelligent Frenchwoman. The Austrian Am- 
 bassador Hiibner is a combination of Liszt and Karl von 
 Koschentin,* adroit and clever like all Austrian diplomats. 
 There were a great many Russians, who are very charming to us ; 
 for the rest, extremely polished and uninteresting. 
 
 Yesterday evening we were at the Duchess of Maille's, an 
 amiable lady with a grey moustache. We had a pleasant recep- 
 tion in the small exclusive salon, where we knew nobody; but 
 the guests only stay for about half an hour at these small soirees, 
 and we went on to Princess Lieven's. This was a most interesting 
 experience for me, as we met so many remarkable and celebrated 
 people. Guizot, as you can see at once, has a striking personality, 
 He is the only man I have seen so far in this Parisian society who 
 does not appear to be thinking of something else all the time one 
 talks to him. It is really a difficult thing, and denotes great strength 
 of mind, to keep one's head in the chatter and bewilderment of a 
 Paris drawing-room. Mole f is a capable man, but very absent- 
 minded. Berreyer,J who also was present, but whom I did not 
 speak to, looks like a country clergyman. Amongst the ladies I 
 saw, I should single out Madame Kalergi for her beauty, Princess 
 Grassalkowitch for vigorous old age, Madame Gudin for her 
 stout figure and ingenuous conversation. I saw no young 
 girls, except a few at the President's ball. Everything here is 
 very pre-revolutionary (vormdrzlich). My coachman invariably 
 answers, "Oui, Monseigneur." Orders are continually worn, 
 over everything, and all day long. Life is pleasant and easy, 
 and the soirees, of which there are several every evening, are 
 short and informal. 
 
 February 4, 185 1. 
 
 I am going to a very interesting lecture by Michel Chevalier 
 on Political Economy, with Marie, Princess Menchikoff, and 
 Frau von Seebach. The College de France is, unfortunately, so 
 far off that I can only attend the remainder of the course 
 
 * Prince Karl zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1820-1890) of Koschentin. 
 
 t Count Louis Mathieu Mole, Conservative Minister under Louis 
 Philippe. 
 
 X The celebrated orator, Ney's and Napoleon's advocate after the 
 Boulogne enterprise.
 
 68 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 (as well as a mad cours de philosophie by Michelet) now and 
 again. On Thursday and Friday at half-past seven, at the 
 Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, Blanqui * speaks on Industrial 
 Economy. They are most interesting and remarkable lectures, 
 but, owing to dinner engagements, I am scarcely ever able to 
 attend. It is extraordinary, however, to notice the various 
 elements which make up the audience: ladies and gentlemen in 
 the reserved seats, and crowds of working men in their blue 
 blouses in the amphitheatre. It all has a calming and quieting 
 effect on me : I am the poorer of some illusions, but richer in 
 thought. Marie feels more and more every day the real worth 
 of our quiet life at Schillingsfurst, and has taken a step nearer to 
 real peace of mind; and all these experiences make the quiet of 
 our home dearer to us, thus bringing before us our duties in 
 the future and opening up the glimpse of a quiet but useful life. 
 
 The last observation refers to an arrangement of the Prince 
 with his father-in-law, the Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein, whereby 
 the Prince was to take over the management of a large estate in 
 Russia, the property which the Princess and her brother had 
 inherited from their mother, born Princess Stephanie Radziwill, 
 who died July 26, 1832. The removal to Russia was fixed for 
 the autumn of 185 1. 
 
 To Princess Amalie. 
 
 Schillingsfurst, July 24, 185 1. 
 
 I have a great desire to go to London, though I do not know 
 how I can fit it in with all other my other plans of travel. It may 
 not be possible, and I must renounce, with great regret, the idea 
 of seeing the Crystal Palace and the great Exhibition. I am 
 highly pleased that this enterprise has thrown such a striking 
 light on the merits of Prince Albert which have so long been un- 
 acknowledged. It is another proof how wrong one is to accept 
 so-called public opinion and the judgment of the populace on 
 persons of exalted rank. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 Rauden, October 4, 1851. 
 
 . . . The longer I am away from Schillingsfurst, the firmer 
 grows my conviction that I shall not get back there, and the 
 thought of Russia, and all it means, weighs so heavily with me 
 that the little affairs of Schillingsfurst do not count. I hardly 
 know why I am able to leave Schillingsfurst so easily and how 
 I can give up that beautiful, pleasant life without grieving. The 
 older I grow, the further recedes the ideal life. Man must 
 create, and work, and reasonable beings feel that in their work 
 
 * Political Economist, the elder brother of the Communist.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 69 
 
 lies the source of happiness, and therefore I am thirsting for 
 work, because, whatever we do, we arc always striving to be 
 happy. On that account the life of a South German squire has 
 grown distasteful to me, because it is saturated with idleness. 
 And the possession of Schillingsfurst has not been in harmony 
 with my nature or temperament, and in fine I thank God that 
 He has forcibly taken me from it and has placed me in a new way 
 of life, unknown, perhaps difficult and tedious, but suited to my 
 character. Forgive me for talking so much of my own thoughts 
 and affairs, but it is such a comfort to me, and I hope to you, to 
 show you that I hope to do my duty, and not to go through life 
 frivolously. 
 
 To Princess Elise.* 
 
 Werki, October 25/13, 185 1. 
 
 We have been here for two days, and I cannot say that either 
 country or people have made an unpleasant impression on me. If 
 I were ten years younger, and full of hope in life and the realisa- 
 tion of one's ideals, it would be most melancholy work to travel 
 through this depopulated gloomy country, of which one knows 
 not whether its greatness is in the past or in the future. I can 
 see in it neither the one nor the other. The country can never 
 have been any different in the past, and it will never have any 
 future. One must just take it as it is. The majestic solitude of 
 the Lithuanian woods, and the cornfields stretching out of sight 
 into the distance, have, however, a peace and charm of their own. 
 Werki itself recalls Lubowitz or Fiirstenberg. It is like the 
 Oderthal, or the Weserthal, only without the villages and with 
 more woods and open country. The situation of the castle is 
 beautiful, and the castle itself and the park quite English. We 
 can make ourselves quite happy here. I went to-day to see 
 the Governor-General at Wilna; a very agreeable man. We 
 shall stay here for a couple of days and then go further north, 
 and hope to be in Petersburg at the end of the month. We 
 are to stay there at the Bariatinsky house — in which a wing 
 has been rented for us. 
 
 The Prince and his family spent the winter of 1851-52 in Peters- 
 burg, and in the spring of 1852 went back to Werki. Their 
 residence in Russia lasted till the summer of 1853. Unfortunately, 
 there are no written records extant of the Prince's life at this time. 
 Letters from the Princess Elise, who lived during the summer of 
 1852 with her brother, give a picture of the home life at Werki. 
 A few extracts from these letters, which the Princess has kindly 
 allowed to be published, may be inserted here. 
 
 * The Prince's youngest sister, bom January 6, 1831, married in 1868 
 to Prince zu Salm-Horstmar.
 
 70 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Werki, June 26, 1852. 
 
 The castle stands high, and there is a pretty view of the 
 River Wilia, as it winds through the valley below. I can only 
 see a tiny bit of it from my room, as it is on the ground floor, 
 and the maples which grow all over the mountain hide the view 
 from me. Bushes grow thickly in front of my window, and 
 between these and the trees, which grow on the slopes of the 
 mountain, is a lawn, surrounded by a gravel path. From the 
 drawing-room window above, one can see over the trees to a 
 little lake, lying at the foot of the mountain, entirely surrounded 
 by foliage. To the left of the river are houses covered with 
 creepers, which belong to Werki. The finest thing here is the 
 terrasse. In the garden, at the foot of the mountain, a room 
 has been built, with an iron balcony. Under a large lime-tree 
 are chairs and benches, and one has a beautiful view of the 
 river. A white Greek church can be seen on its bank, and on 
 the hills behind the wood Wilna lies very prettily. It looks very 
 near — in fact it is only half-an-hour's drive. The road leads 
 straight from the river between fir-trees to the mountain. The 
 whole horizon is bounded by the dark wood. Morning is the 
 most beautiful time on the terrasse. The sky and air are as 
 clear as in September. I have not seen any peasants, as 
 none live here. The houses are all inhabited by artisans who 
 are all well-to-do. Beggars with petitions sometimes come into 
 the garden; they are generally from distant places, and bow 
 themselves almost to the ground. 
 
 June 28. 
 
 I am sitting in a summer-house near the terrasse: it is a 
 circular room with glass doors all round. On the side where I 
 sit I can see only pine-trees, and hear the wind rustling in the 
 wood and the ravens croaking. There are so many here. Except 
 at Schillingsfiirst, I have never seen any place where there are 
 so many beautiful walks as here; every day after lunch Marie 
 shows me a new one. To-day we drove some way over a wooded 
 hill. Then we alighted and followed a green, sunny path between 
 the immense pine-trees. Every moment you came on a white 
 chapel, thickly surrounded by trees. Not far off is the Calvary 
 Hill, where the Catholic church is built. We climbed up to 
 it before we came away. From there we could see the white 
 castle with its tower peeping out from the thick, dark wood 
 like a fairy palace; round it, nothing but wood. Wildness and 
 loveliness are united here. If the dark woods make one sad, 
 the blue clear water of the river refreshes, and the pure air 
 braces one. The air to-day felt like the sea, but the house is 
 gloomy, close, the passages dark and close, the rooms high, but 
 most of them narrow. The whole house is cramped, with no 
 side wings. A tower stands at one end, and at the other a winter 
 garden, full of beautiful palms and all kinds of plants. Both
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 71 
 
 Chlodwig's room and Marie's bedroom open on to turret stair- 
 cases. In the former we always drink tea in the evening. At 
 two o'clock I read to Marie — just now Say's Political Economy — 
 and at four o'clock we dine in the high, bright-lit Rittersaal. 
 
 July 22. 
 
 At night, when I have put out the light after I have been 
 with Chlodwig, I often feel very happy that I can be his com- 
 panion and proud that he shares his thoughts with me — and 
 my heart is full of love for him. 
 
 July 24. 
 
 This evening we have been reading Liebig's Letters on 
 Chemistry, at least the doctor reads to us and explains to us 
 the properties of oxygen, carbon, &c. Chlodwig sketches mean- 
 while, and Marie and I work. I stayed with Chlodwig for a 
 quarter of an hour after the reading. This hour and my solitary 
 morning hours in the garden are the happiest in the day. 
 
 September 5. 
 
 Chlodwig has been away since the 2nd on a visit to another 
 property, where he will get some shooting. He will return in a 
 fortnight. 
 
 October 8. 
 
 Chlodwig came back again on the 4th, but, unfortunately, he 
 only shot one elk. He looks very well, however, after his time 
 in the woods. Since his return, life in the house is quite different. 
 The days are much fuller. I always admire Chlodwig when he 
 takes Elizabeth * on his knee, and draws for her. It is a beautiful 
 picture to see their faces, his full of tenderness bending over her 
 curly head, while she strokes his cheek with her little hand. 
 After she had gone to bed Chlodwig began to read aloud to 
 us Ihr nahtenchweider, Schmanheude Gestalten. A whole world 
 burst upon me in that book. After tea, the doctor came again 
 to read to us. He has been explaining the structure of the eye 
 to us, illustrated from a bull's-eye. The end of the day brought 
 a talk with Chlodwig, which would have been comforting if I 
 had not noticed that he was troubled about something. That 
 always makes me unhappy. One morning I was teaching Eliza- 
 beth her alphabet; she is always so inattentive, but I try not 
 to be impatient, and go over the same letter thirty times, as if 
 I were singing a melody. It was successful, for she suddenly 
 began to take it in. Chlodwig looked at us a moment kindly 
 before going to his business, and said, "That is a good system." 
 It was quite enough to make me happy and contented for the 
 day. 
 
 * His eldest daughter, born November 30, 1847.
 
 72 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Memorandum to the Prince. 
 
 July 3, 1853. 
 
 The present activity in physical science, brought about by 
 an advance in knowledge undreamed of by former generations, 
 has revealed to the student the entire impossibility of a union 
 between faith and knowledge. So, the school of natural science 
 declares war on transcendentalism, and banishes the transcen- 
 dental to the sphere of belief. 
 
 Thus, we find ourselves in a dangerous position. 
 
 It is well known already that educated men are either devoid 
 of faith or accept the church and follow her ordinances without 
 real conviction, as a matter of form. But are not the two things 
 identical? Is not that form of belief which follows the rules of 
 the Church without inner conviction of their truth merely phara- 
 saical? I know, of course, that many thoughtful men, and men 
 of real feeling, subscribe to this form of religion. But will such 
 conventional homage to the Church endure? Will not the effects 
 of this knowledge without faith spread to those classes of society 
 which can have no interest in subordinating themselves to the 
 Church and her dogmas, to the discipline and mortification 
 which she imposes? Will not a total collapse be the end, or 
 rather has it not even now begun to spread among the lower 
 classes? Most people are still living in the pleasant illusions of 
 transcendentalism, and the discoveries of natural science, made by 
 the modern school, at present only affect scientific circles. But 
 will this last? And if this result comes about, we must face the 
 bankruptcy of faith, a catastrophe which must infallibly lead to 
 the collapse of the whole structure of modern civilisation. For 
 all that it would be childish to regret the discoveries of natural 
 science. They are for a wise and useful end, because they 
 have their place in the development of mankind. One thing 
 is needful. We must not close our eyes to facts. We must 
 not weep over humanity, nor laugh; we must strive to under- 
 stand. 
 
 The following undated note appears to belong to about the 
 same period: "At the present time we see the conviction grow- 
 ing more and more that knowledge and faith must be completely 
 separated. In consequence of the spread of this conviction, 
 Protestantism, so far as it has attempted a reconciliation be- 
 tween Science and Dogma, has lost ground. The educated man, 
 who feels the necessity of church and religion, drifts without 
 conviction to the Catholic Church because it meets the demands 
 his reason makes for a coherent dogma. So the doubting part 
 of mankind will get nearer and nearer to Catholicism. But will 
 the establishment of something that will endure follow this? 
 Will men be satisfied with a form of dogma which they accept 
 from necessity, but without inward conviction, simply because
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHK 73 
 
 they yearn for a definite form of faith? I do not believe it; 
 but I believe that mankind will create for itself a form of faith 
 adapted to it, and become religious again." 
 
 In the year 1853, owing to a difference of opinion with 
 his father-in-law, the Prince resigned the management of the 
 Lithuanian estates. The family returned to Schillingsfurst and 
 took up their residence there for the next few years. The life 
 at Schillingsfurst was interrupted by wintering in Munich for 
 parliamentary business, and frequent long journeys. The Prince's 
 work in the Upper House, and the observations which his travels 
 enabled him to make on European politics are recorded in the 
 following notes. 
 
 II 
 
 ROME, 1856-57 
 
 The Prince's family, during the winter of 1856-57, lived in 
 Rome, where his brother, Prince Gustav of Hohenlohe, w T as at 
 that time Papal Chamberlain. A few extracts here follow from 
 the Prince's diary during his residence in Rome, which give 
 interesting information on the conditions and personalities of 
 Roman society. 
 
 Rome, December 2, 1856. 
 
 I am growing to understand better the separation that exists 
 between the Jesuits and their followers, and their opponents 
 among the clergy. In the severance of the clergy from lay 
 society, in their renunciation of all that makes life pleasant for 
 ordinary men, in their independence of the existing institutions 
 on which our present social hierarchy is framed, the former 
 see the salvation and future welfare of the Church, while the 
 other party claim to take man as they find him, make allowance 
 for the existing class differences, and count, not on the de- 
 struction of existing social conditions, but on their continuance. 
 The Jesuits, on the one hand, are preparing for the collapse of 
 society. On the other their opponents don't believe in it, but 
 intend to uphold social order and to identify themselves 
 with it. 
 
 December 12. 
 
 This afternoon we took various walks through the town; in 
 the evening several priests came to see us — first the good Abbe 
 de Geslin; then clever and energetic Pere Etienne Djunkowsky, 
 Prefect of the North, who talked to us of his experiences in Lap- 
 land. He too is at war with the Jesuits. I hear more every 
 day of fresh intrigues amongst this Order, and am beginning to 
 lose the good opinion I had of their efficiency.
 
 74 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 December 17. 
 
 I went later to see Theiner,* who talked to me of his work 
 at the archives, which he found in the greatest disorder. He 
 had arranged everything with German exactitude, and intends 
 to make himself very useful to the Holy See. Up till now, all 
 the archive keepers had only made use of their office as a stepping- 
 stone for their own advancement, to nunciatures, &c, and had 
 left the archives to take care of themselves. . . . 
 
 December 18. 
 
 At eleven o'clock a Te Deum was sung for the King of Naplesf 
 to return thanks for his happy escape. We were invited by the 
 Neapolitan Charge d'Affaires. We arrived rather late and went 
 to the diplomatic gallery, which was erected near the high altar. 
 The whole Corps diplomatique was there, including several ladies. 
 Close by was a tribune for the Roman princes, in the centre a 
 small, high one for Queen Christina of Spain. The high altar 
 was splendidly lighted with immensely long candles, and the 
 whole ceremony, with the assisting Dominicans in white, was 
 most impressive. The music left much to be desired. 
 
 Rome, January 27, 1857. 
 
 This afternoon I went to see Gustav in the Vatican. I found 
 a Franciscan with him, Father Petrus, a Dane. In the middle of 
 our talk the Pope was announced ; I fled to the inner room, the 
 monk into the chapel, and Gustav went to meet the Holy Father, 
 who came in with Stella and Merode and established himself in 
 the salon. I soon heard my name mentioned, and the Pope asked 
 that I should come in, so I appeared, stood near him, and assisted 
 at a lively conversation on different subjects. We talked of the 
 ceremony at San Pasquale, then of chapter-houses and canonesses, 
 of Neufchatel, China, Persia, &c. The Pope inspected the whole 
 of Gustav's apartments with much interest, and spoke also to the 
 Franciscan, who made his appearance, and was very bright and 
 sympathetic. 
 
 February i, 185 1. 
 
 This morning at half-past seven Mass was said in the Chapel 
 of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Peter's, at which the Pope ad- 
 ministered communion. We made haste, to be there in time. 
 It was a clear, bright morning, and the rising sun shone magnifi- 
 cently on the pillared church. The Pope said Mass in a remark- 
 ably strong voice. Then he administered communion to some 
 ladies, and a few men came also. I did not present myself, 
 because I hope to make my communion in the Pope's private 
 chapel, which will be far better than in this crowd. 
 
 *Augustin Theiner (1804-1874) was appointed as Prefect of the 
 Vatican archives in 1855 through Prince Hohenlohe's influence. (See) 
 Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. xxxvii. p. 674. 
 
 t Ferdinand II., on whose life an attempt was made on December n.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 75 
 
 February 8. 
 
 To-day at eleven o'clock I went to the Gesu Church to hear 
 an Italian sermon. The preacher was a Jesuit, very clear and 
 choice in expression. He had set himself the task of refuting 
 the opinion that it lowers the dignity of a man to submit his reason 
 to the Church. 
 
 March 7. 
 
 We did not come here merely as sightseers, but principally to 
 make a position for ourselves and Gustav in society, and so to be 
 of some use to him and, in general, to those who have been 
 mediatised ; so the first few days, which were spent in apparently 
 frivolous amusement, had for us a deeper significance. To-day 
 we have been busy with preparations for a soiree we are giving. 
 It was only an experiment on our part, and for that reason we 
 invited none of the really important Roman people, but rather 
 the more fashionable part of society, who know each other 
 well, in order to have an amusing evening to serve as a kind of 
 bait for future occasions. It was a great success, and, as we 
 had the Duchessa Zagarolo, the Marchesa Calabrini, some 
 Russian ladies, and a good many men, there was much brilliant 
 conversation which has given our salon a cachet and has estab- 
 lished our position in society. They did not leave till one 
 o'clock, which is a proof of the success of the evening. 
 
 March 8. 
 
 At half-past four we went to the Church of St. Ignatius, where 
 a so-called Jesuit mission is established. On a raised dais sat 
 two Jesuits, carrying on an argument. One of them represented 
 Ignorance, and the other Learning, and they were disputing on 
 ethical topics. Their subject for dispute to-day was the habit 
 of swearing. While the dotto explained the sin of imprecazioni, 
 the ignorante on his part saw nothing very terrible in it. The 
 public cheered the latter, who played his part most naturally. 
 No doubt this kind of discourse makes an impression on people 
 in this part of the world. 
 
 March 16. 
 
 A dinner-party. King Max was detained, and only came as 
 the other guests were leaving. After he had gone I hastily got 
 into my uniform, and went with Marie to two ricev emeriti. Car- 
 dinal Geissel of Cologne and Cardinal Haulik of Agram, who 
 have come to be invested with their hats, held their receptions or 
 ricevementi. Geissel received in Cardinal Reifach's apartments in 
 the Palazzo Santa Croce, Haulik in the Palazzo di Venezia. The 
 most brilliant ricevemento was Cardinal Haulik's. The whole 
 palace was ablaze with light. Two bands played waltzes, &c, 
 before it in turn, a crowd of foreigners and natives in uniform 
 filled the staircase, and the salons were filled to overflowing.
 
 76 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Countess Colloredo did the honours for the Austrian Cardinal, 
 and all the Roman ladies came in their most gorgeous diamonds. 
 After a long wait we found our carriage and left to go to Salviati, 
 where we found all our friends sat assembled. 
 
 Sunday, March 22. 
 
 At half-past four I went to San Agostino, where I expected 
 to hear a sermon. As I entered I was surprised to hear the 
 murmur of voices talking. But as I approached the mystery- 
 was explained. The church was full of groups of children; 
 boys with priests who sat and catechised them, little girls being 
 instructed by well-dressed girls of the bourgeois class, and older 
 girls in charge of an aged priest. They were all very earnest 
 and serious, rapt attention on the part of the pupils, while the 
 fervour of the teachers was most edifying. Elder people sat 
 near and listened. This instruction, which is given in many 
 churches on Sundays, is a delightful sign of the religious life of 
 the people, which should not be judged by certain scenes which 
 may be witnessed in St. Peters, and is more practised here than 
 in many other countries. When I left the church and walked 
 further, chance took me to the Church of San Luigi de' Francesi, 
 where I heard a sermon by Pere Chevreaux, very able and full 
 of feeling, on the difference between religion and philosophy. 
 The sermon was so interesting that I stayed to the end. It 
 was still raining, so I strayed into another church, San 
 Apollinare, which was empty; then to the Piazza Capranica, 
 to the Church of the Orfanelli. Here were many people 
 waiting for the sermon. On a little platform was a red silk 
 arm-chair and a table, and after some time a priest came, 
 sat down in the chair, and began a sermon — or rather, a lesson 
 on confession, which is heard all the week at five o'clock. The 
 priest spoke clearly and simply, in a remarkably pleasant 
 manner. I would willingly have stayed to the end, but as it 
 was nearly half-past five I had to come away. 
 
 March 24. 
 
 After dinner I went to the Vatican, to keep Gustav company 
 in the Anticarrier a. It gives me fresh pleasure every time I 
 go up the old Vatican staircase in the growing darkness, past 
 the Swiss Guards in the great court of the Loggie. It is all so 
 quiet and solemn, in the warm spring air, with the starry sky 
 above and the high columns and galleries. The anteroom was 
 as usual hushed and empty. Here we talked while the Pope 
 gave an audience in the neighbouring room. 
 
 March 29. 
 
 As I had heard that there was to be a good preacher at the 
 Church of Santa Lucia del Gonfalone, I went there at ten o'clock. 
 After the Gospel (during Mass) a priest sat down in an arm-chair,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 77 
 
 before the altar, and began in a simple, clear, and logical way to 
 speak on confession. He was so impressive that I was only sorry 
 there were so few people to hear him. There were barely twenty 
 or thirty in the congregation. I have seldom heard anything so 
 perfect. It was one of those discourses which makes an irre- 
 sistibly pleasant appeal to the heart of every hearer. Not one 
 learned word, no rhetoric, no fine phrases. It was a fresh 
 proof of the Roman Church's tender care for souls. 
 
 I had arranged with Gustav that I should go to see him at 
 Frascati, where he went yesterday. As the carriage was closed, 
 and the day beautifully fine, I sat on the box by the coachman 
 and drove to Frascati through the Campagna which looked 
 lovely in the morning light. At the Hotel de Londres I heard 
 that Gustav had gone the night before to the Camaldolites. 
 I breakfasted at once and ordered a horse, to follow him 
 there. It is barely three-quarters of an hour from here, 
 by scattered farmhouses and gardens. At every step the 
 landscape seems to widen out. Rome soon appears in the 
 distance, beyond is the sea, to the right the mountains in ail 
 their morning freshness, below is the green hill of Tivoli. I soon 
 reached the heights, and before me was the convent of the Camal- 
 dolites. A porter in a white habit came to meet me, and con- 
 ducted me to the Prior, where I found Gustav and another of 
 the monks. Only the Prior and this monk speak and show them- 
 selves; the other monks live like hermits in their little houses, 
 and assemble only at midnight in the choir to sing. We sat by a 
 fire in the large room, as it was pretty cold. The warmth of the 
 fire attracted a scorpion, which glided to my feet, but the Prior 
 seized it with a pair of tongs and threw it into the flames. After 
 a little conversation thev offered to show me the church and the 
 convent, which offer I accepted with pleasure. The church is not 
 particularly interesting. The monastery consists of rows of tiny 
 houses, where each monk lives alone. He has a room containing 
 a bed and other furniture, and a tiny study and chapel adjoin- 
 ing. They also showed me where Gustav stays when he comes 
 for any length of time : a pretty little house, with a charming 
 garden and a view of Rome, the sea, and the Campagna. 
 
 After I had seen everything, and had been loaded with 
 roses by Father Lorenzo, Gustav and I rode back to Frascati, 
 stopping on the way to see the Villa Falconieri, which belongs to 
 the Cardinal, last of the Falconieri, and where one sees an 
 interesting collection of family portraits painted al jresco. At 
 Frascati we got into Gustav's carriage and drove round by Marino, 
 where we saw the cathedral to Castel Gondolfo. Here we climbed 
 up to the garden, and walked through the shady paths to the 
 Papal villa. The interior is exceedingly comfortable for a 
 Papal palace. I was much interested in a picture by a Neapoli- 
 tan painter of the fall the Holy Father had at Sant' Agnese, 
 where all the misfortunes of the Popes are painted. I also
 
 7 8 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 saw Gustav's room, with its beautiful view of the sea. From 
 here we went down to Albano, lunched at the "Post," and rode 
 afterwards through Ariccia to Genzano, where we strolled in the 
 beautiful Cesarini Park. Then we rode back to Albano. It was 
 then half -past five, and we had to make haste to get home. The 
 Vatican coachman took us back in less than tw6 hours. As we 
 passed the Coliseum the moon was so bright that we were obliged 
 to stop and go in. It was wonderfully calm and restful, and the 
 ruin solemn and impressive. 
 
 Palm Sunday, April 5, 1857. 
 
 At nine o'clock we went to St. Peter's, to attend the solemn 
 High Mass. There was an immense crowd of people, but the 
 church is so vast that the twenty or thirty thousand persons 
 who were there did not nearly fill it. For the first time we took 
 possession of our tribune, the one which has been erected for 
 mediatised princes near that reserved for reigning Sovereigns. 
 We were quite close to the Pope and could see the ceremonies, 
 especially the distribution of palms, very comfortably. In the 
 Royal tribune were the King of Bavaria, Queen Christina of 
 Spain, the Crown Prince and Princess of Wtirtemberg, and 
 Prince Karl of Prussia. They were all attended by brilliant 
 suites. As the question of precedence was not decided, I had to 
 forego the right of receiving a palm from the Holy Father's hands. 
 The Mass lasted till half-past one. 
 
 I was summoned at half-past eleven to an audience of the 
 Holy Father, and made my appearance punctually. The ante- 
 rooms were full of people waiting for the Pope, in view of his 
 impending departure. Some deputations were received first, 
 then Cardinal Roberti, and I came next in order. The Pope 
 was as before exceedingly friendly and kind. As I saw that he 
 waited for me to speak, I began at once saying that I had come 
 to ask him for his blessing before he went away, to thank him for 
 his goodness, and to recommend Gustav specially to him. He 
 answered very kindly, spoke of Gustav's illness, and remarked 
 that "he hadn't my constitution." Then he spoke of the audience 
 which he had given Marie and Princess Leoville * ; of other things 
 also, and then dismissed me. I kissed his hand, and he remained 
 standing until I got to the door. He was particularly cheerful 
 and kind in his manner. 
 
 May 4. 
 
 As the Pope had decided to leave to-day for Loretto, I went 
 at six o'clock in the morning to see Gustav, whom I found on 
 the point of going to the Holy Father. We had, therefore, only 
 a moment together, and then separated. I went home, and 
 called for Marie to go to St. Peter's. There we found the Pope 
 already saying Mass at the High Altar. We stayed to hear it, 
 
 * The second wife of the Princess's father, nee Bariatinsky.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 79 
 
 and also the other Mass which the Pope stays to hear after 
 saying his own, and then saw Gustav for a moment in the church, 
 while the Pope breakfasted in a room close by, which has an 
 entrance to the church under the monument of the Pope Alexander 
 VIII. We then hurried to the church door, to see him as he 
 went out. Many soldiers were drawn up in the Piazza. Among 
 them we saw the Pope's travelling-carriage and the post-horses 
 standing ready. Shortly after 8.30 the Pope left the Basilica 
 with his suite. As he passed near, and Paur told him that we 
 were there, he kindly came up to us and gave us his blessing. 
 We went down the steps with the suite and saw r him into his 
 carriage. Cardinal Antonelli kissed his hand to him. He gave 
 his blessing to the crowd from his carriage and then drove away 
 through the Porta Angelica. Gustav rode in the second carriage. 
 
 The diary has the following notes on the Roman society of 
 that period : 
 
 "In speaking of Roman society, one has to divide it into 
 three distinct groups: Roman society proper — i.e., the Roman 
 aristocracy — the Diplomatic Corps, and the foreigners. Roman 
 aristocratic society is one of the best in the world. The good 
 breeding which is a peculiar and inborn characteristic of the 
 Roman people, this fine feeling for good form natural to all the 
 higher classes, is specially developed in the aristocracy and gives 
 to society a polish of manners and behaviour which makes a 
 most agreeable impression on all persons of taste. There is a 
 certain stiffness which strikes one at first, but disappears on 
 further acquaintance, and there remains in intimate relations 
 an impression of exquisite reserve and courtesy. There is not 
 much education among the higher classes. The men, with few 
 exceptions, are very ignorant. The women are more cultivated 
 though their education is very imperfect. The men do not go 
 to public schools, or try in any way to acquire knowledge. When 
 a young man has got beyond the elementary stages and knows 
 a little French his education is at an end, and he is turned out 
 into the world very carefully dressed. A few go on to study at 
 the Universities. They have no prospect of making a career 
 for themselves, so they have no incentive to complete their 
 education. They drive about the streets and the Pincio, and 
 flutter from one party to another; they serve their time in the 
 Guardia nobile if their rank entitles them; they marry as early 
 as possible if they have any prospect of an independent position, 
 and enjoy life. For the most part they are harmless creatures, 
 the more accomplished in all the ways of their world as that 
 world is the end and aim of their existence, careful as all 
 Romans are to avoid the difficulties and dangers of life, and 
 much astonished if they hear that there are people who have 
 ample means and yet give themselves up 'to drudge and slave 
 and die in their travail.'
 
 80 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 "The women have mostly a French education, but a few of 
 the younger ones an original Italian cultivation, with some 
 acquaintance with their own authors, and an interest in their 
 own country and its history. Their knowledge comes little to 
 the surface, however, as they fear above all things to be called 
 Blue-stockings. 
 
 "Their morals arc, on the whole, good. At least one doesn't 
 see much wrong in society. Flirtation, so called, is tabooed. 
 One may guess that certain relations exist between men and 
 women one meets in society, but there is very little to be seen. 
 I am only speaking now of the highest classes, i.e., the Roman 
 princes; of what goes on in the mezzo ceto (middle-class society) 
 I cannot say. The nobles of the second rank, who are admitted 
 into this patrician society and are on sufferance there are not 
 of much account, and all kinds of scandalous gossip is current 
 about them. 
 
 "Family life amongst the Roman aristocracy is still quite 
 patriarchal. They all meet together for prayers, morning and 
 evening, in the best families. Marriages are not made from 
 inclination, but are arranged by agreement between the heads 
 of the two families, et les jeunes gens ne s'en trouvent pas plus mal. 
 Extravagance in a young girl in the best families is impossible. 
 When a marriage is arranged all the details of daily life are set 
 down in the contract, so that the young couple have their exist- 
 ence mapped out for them, and not only the amount of the 
 dowry is known, but also the amount of their expenditure, how 
 often they may go to the theatre, how much travelling they can 
 afford, how many servants, horses, and carriages they can 
 keep, &c. &c. This is necessary as marriages are contracted 
 very early, and husbands and wives are mostly of the same age, 
 and equally inexperienced. 
 
 "Nor are these peculiarities confined to the aristocracy. 
 With some modifications the same customs are found among 
 the lower classes also, and these last think it perfectly correct 
 that the same habits should prevail amongst the aristocracy, 
 only on a different scale. The Roman aristocracy, with all 
 their faults, have a greater regard and respect for the lower 
 classes than we have in Germany, and are more in touch with 
 them. The envy of the higher classes and the democratic 
 revolutionary spirit which with us extends through all society 
 exists here only amongst the heads of the revolutionary societies, 
 and not in the hearts of the people."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 81 
 
 III 
 
 THE YEAR 1859 
 
 Early in the year 1859 the Prince went to Berlin to make 
 himself personally acquainted with the trend of the new Prussian 
 policy and with its leading spirits. The following notes give 
 some of his impressions : 
 
 Political Notes made in Berlin, 1859. 
 
 Formation of a Ministry. Prince von Hohenzollern is con- 
 sidered to be able to supply just what the Prince of Prussia fails 
 in, i.e., a capacity for business and strength of character. This 
 will counterbalance the influence of Herr von Auerswald, whom 
 people regard as untrustworthy, deceitful, and too liberal in his 
 views. He is in debt, is lazy, and not respected in private life. 
 Herr von Patow is a good man of business, who understands his 
 work, and has gained the confidence of the Conservative party. 
 Bethmann-Hollweg is in opposition to the Extreme Orthodox 
 party, without being a Nationalist. Herr von Bonin has not 
 the confidence of the Army, which regards him as too Liberal. 
 Herr von Voigts-Reetz has been appointed to the Ministry of 
 War, to pacify the Army. The indolence of the Ministers is a 
 great hindrance to the necessary reorganisation of the Army. 
 Flottwell is too old, and must soon resign. Arnim Boitzenburg 
 will only come in on the understanding that Auerswald resigns. 
 The Prince Regent is opposed to this, as Auerswald is his friend. 
 Schlenitz has gained the confidence of the Diplomatic Corps. 
 
 Berlin, February 17, 1859. 
 
 The Prussian Cabinet wishes to keep the peace, as it has no 
 desire to begin a national war, which would end (and end indeed 
 happily) in arranging terms for a national peace — that is, that 
 through a- war the nation in co-operating would have a right to 
 a hope whose realisation they regard as very inconvenient. 
 They are taking the greatest possible trouble to weld together 
 the concert of Europe, which has gone to pieces, but they have 
 the following obstacles to overcome : 
 
 (1) The untrust worthiness of Napoleon III. 
 
 (2) The political incapacity, incivility, and falsity of the 
 Austrian Cabinet. 
 
 (3) The displeasure of John Bull, who sees his trade is being 
 injured by the chicanery at Paris, and is not disinclined, even 
 if it costs money, to make a clean sweep of the whole uncom- 
 fortable business. 
 
 VOL. I — G
 
 82 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 (4) The hatred between Austria and Russia, who might 
 avenge herself for the attitude of Austria at the time of the war 
 in the East with a little blood-letting in Italy. 
 
 Thus it appears that for the moment war can be avoided, 
 that most probably it will be postponed for a time, but that 
 it will, in all probability, come sooner or later. The Duke of 
 Coburg is here and is working for reconciliation; he is an active 
 man, and in any case will be useful. 
 
 February 26, 1859. 
 
 Prussia is now in a particularly favourable position. Her home 
 policy has won over public opinion in Prussia and all Germany. 
 Austria is in a dangerous position, as the middle-sized and 
 the small German States look to Prussia as their natural leader 
 in the hour of need. This fact is very well known here. Prince 
 Hohenzollern troubles himself very little about the small States, 
 but takes his own way quietly. The warlike tone of speakers 
 in the South German Chambers is disapproved of here. 
 
 March 8. 
 
 Meanwhile Austria has succeeded in disposing public opinion 
 in the South German countries towards war. Prussia, on the 
 other hand, has somewhat isolated herself by presuming on her 
 strength. A rapprochement with France and Russia had been 
 making itself felt. This was made the most of by the Prussian 
 party, which is hostile to Austria, and it forced the Government 
 into the dangerous position of a possible alliance with France. 
 The news of peace has saved Prussia from this danger. The 
 Austrian circular of February 22 is regarded as a threat, and there 
 is ill-feeling about it. Owing to the peace, Prussia is in a position 
 to climb down again, and public opinion, which began to turn 
 against her in these last days, will calm down. For the rest it 
 appears that people still see traces everywhere of "a longing for 
 the hegemony of Germany." An inclination to a "Gothic" 
 policy does in fact exist, and may not impossibly manifest itself 
 more clearly in the near future. The position of the middle- 
 sized and small States will be very difficult. 
 
 March 14. 
 
 A really Little German policy, such as was attempted in the 
 year 1849, does not appear at the present moment to be aimed at 
 here at least. All things are narrowed down to mistrust of Austria 
 and small jealous quarrels. No positive policy would be carried 
 out. The Ministry contains no statesmen. This was obvious 
 during the debates in the Upper House. The expression of a 
 large section of public opinion in Prussia may be found in a 
 pamphlet called Prussia and the Italian Question* Thoughtful 
 
 * By Constantine Rossler.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 83 
 
 men grieve over the irritability of this Prussian vanity, and that 
 on the Austrian side they do not go to work more cautiously, 
 when it is a question of drawing up despatches relating to German 
 affairs, and it is much to be wished that in this connection some 
 good advice might be given from Bavaria. 
 
 March 22. 
 The rumour of a European war is spreading. The Ministry 
 is not stable. It wants a strong Minister of the Interior, and an 
 orator, also another Minister of Commerce is very necessary. 
 
 March 27. 
 
 I was surprised to see myself mentioned in an article in the 
 Allgemeine Zeitung, as a Bavarian Minister of the new era, the 
 chief of the Ministry of the future. Whether the King of Bavaria 
 will take this view I do not know. . . . 
 
 March 3. 
 
 . . . Further news from Munich gives me some hope that the 
 Ministerial cup will pass me by. 
 
 Notes on a visit to England in June, 1859. 
 
 The occasion of this visit was a request from my aunt, Princess 
 Feodora von Hohenlohe-Langenburg, that I should accompany 
 her. She was sent for on account of the illness of her mother, 
 the widowed Duchess of Kent.* As the Prince von Langenburg 
 was ill, and her sons were engaged with their military duties, the 
 Princess was naturally anxious to find another relative to act as 
 travelling companion, and her request gave me an opportunity 
 of seeing England at this period. I hastened, therefore, to comply 
 with my aunt's request, arranged by letter to meet her at Mayence, 
 on June 21, and set off. Marie accompanied me, as she wished 
 to visit her parents at Sayn. I met my aunt at Mayence. From 
 Coblentz I travelled alone with her down the Rhine, arrived at 
 Cologne at six o'clock, visited the Cathedral, and went the same 
 evening to Aachen, where we stayed the night; the next morning 
 being Corpus Christi, I went first to church, and then we started 
 for Ostend, where we arrived at six in the evening. At the rail- 
 way station we were received by Captain Smithead, who com- 
 manded the boat which had been sent over for us; an elderly, 
 striking-looking sailor with white whiskers, and a majestic bearing. 
 He proposed to my aunt not to sail until early the next morning, 
 to which she consented very willingly as she was glad to have a 
 
 * The Duke of Kent, a younger brother of William IV., had married 
 the Princess Victoria of Sachen-Saalfeld-Coburg. She had been first 
 married to the Prince von Leiningen. Her daughter by her first marriage 
 was Princess Feodora, who had married on February 18, 1828, Prince 
 Emst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the brother of Prince Chlodwig's 
 mother. She was thus Queen Victoria's half-sister.
 
 84 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 chance of getting a rest. I spent the evening in a walk to 
 the harbour and the various promenades of Ostend, which 
 were well known to me, but now still and deserted, met a few 
 acquaintances and went to bed. 
 
 On June 23 we went on board at seven o'clock in the morning. 
 The boat was a new and very fast steamboat, the Frederick 
 William. It was a clear cool day, the sea almost calm, and after 
 four hours and twenty minutes we found ourselves close to the 
 white cliffs of the English coast, passed a large three-masted 
 American ship which was slowly beating down the Channel, and 
 soon steamed into Dover Harbour. 
 
 Here a large crowd had assembled on the quay, attracted by 
 the military detachment, who were there in honour of my aunt. 
 As soon as the boat touched the quay, the harbour-master, an 
 officer of marines, and the general with his aide-de-camp in full- 
 dress, came on board to pay their respects to my aunt. After a 
 short preparation and change of dress we left the boat, my aunt 
 on the general's arm, I behind with the others, and walked to 
 the station through the crowd and the lane formed by the troops 
 of the Line and the Militia which were drawn up on the quay. 
 Another detachment of soldiers was here ; close to the train stood 
 a company of the famous 32nd Infantry Regiment, celebrated 
 for its deeds at Lucknow. The men bore few traces of their 
 Indian campaign. But the officers, on the other hand, were 
 much bronzed by the Indian sun. As the train left the company 
 presented arms, and the band played "God save the Queen." 
 The train bore us rapidly away towards London, through the green 
 country, past cosy villages and country houses. As we drew 
 near, we caught a glimpse of the imposing Crystal Palace at 
 Sydenham, and soon we entered the smoky atmosphere of the 
 town. A Royal carriage was waiting at the station to take us 
 to Buckingham Palace, where we were met at the great doorway 
 by Colonel Biddulph, the Queen's Master of the Household. The 
 hall we now entered is, like the whole Palace, in modern style, 
 ornamented with Corinthian columns, and the floor covered with 
 thick carpets. The staff who received us consisted of the so- 
 called Pages, Gentlemen-in-waiting in blue coats and black silk 
 stockings. As we mounted the steps, the Queen came to meet 
 my aunt, and greeted her in the most friendly way. We went 
 with her into a small room adjoining, where a few words were 
 exchanged, I received my share of the friendly greetings, and 
 then my aunt followed the Queen to her rooms. I took my 
 leave, to go to the hotel in which it had been arranged that I was 
 to stay, as there was no room for me in the Palace. The Royal 
 carriage took me to the Brunswick Hotel, Jermyn Street, rather a 
 dingy place, but on account of its proximity fairly convenient. 
 I found a suite of several rooms ready for me, took possession of 
 them, and then went out for a walk. I had not time to see any- 
 thing seriously, and besides was rather tired after my journey, so
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 85 
 
 I turned my steps towards Hyde Park, where, as it happened, 
 the fashionable parade was at its height. No people is so much 
 the slave of its manners and customs as the English, and this sheep- 
 like imitation of each other is seen at its best in Hyde Park. 
 Every one who has the means to do so drives, rides, or walks 
 there, and moves mechanically up and down in the comparatively 
 small space for a couple of hours. Here is seen what is called 
 fashion in carriages, horses, and dress. What is worn and dis- 
 played here is the fashion, and spreads rapidly all over England. 
 This summer, for instance, violet is the correct colour for men and 
 women in neckties, gloves, &c. &c. It has an extraordinary 
 vogue — and all the shops are full of violet and lilac silk. 
 
 There was no lack of beautiful horses, although the hour 
 (five o'clock in the afternoon) is not the time for the fashionable 
 world to ride. This takes place at twelve in the morning, and 
 in the afternoon people drive or walk. I could not stay very 
 long as the crowd, the heat, and the endless coming and going 
 made me quite giddy. 
 
 When I returned it was time to put on my Court dress — black 
 coat, knee-breeches, and silk stockings — and go to dinner at 
 eight o'clock at Buckingham Palace. Although I did not get 
 there till eight, I found I was much too early, and had time to 
 look round the apartments where the Royal Family assemble. 
 It was the same room in which the Queen had received us in the 
 morning; there was a crimson and gold carpet, and Empire 
 furniture upholstered with the same colours; a marble mantel- 
 piece, and a large table in the centre of the room. Two windows 
 looked on to the garden; a well-kept little park with wonderful 
 trees and green lawns, and looking most fresh and peaceful in 
 the setting sun. While I was enjoying the prospect, Prince 
 Ernst Leiningen came in, whom I had not seen for ten years. 
 He is in the British Navy, and wore a great many medals, which 
 he had from the Crimean War. After him sidled in King Leopold 
 of Belgium, with his foxy old face, and with him his second son, 
 the Count of Flanders, a tall, fair, dull youth. Prince Albert 
 came in soon afterwards, and greeted me in his usual friendly way. 
 He had been that morning to the Handel Festival at the Crystal 
 Palace, and talked enthusiastically of the performance by four 
 thousand musicians before an audience of twenty-five thousand. 
 As we were talking the Queen entered, accompanied by her 
 daughter, Princess Alice, and my aunt, and we all, the Queen 
 leading with King Leopold, moved into the large reception- 
 room. On the way we were joined by the Queen's ladies; among 
 them the Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress of the Robes (if I am 
 not mistaken), and the Duchess of Atholl, Lady-in-waiting. In 
 the large room were the invited guests, and we went in to dinner. 
 The Duchess of Atholl, who sat next Prince Albert, fell to me. 
 On my other side was a lady of the Court, I think her name was 
 Miss Bulteel. Both of them were quite talkative, though I
 
 86 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 remember nothing very distinctly of the conversation, which, 
 being in English, was, on my part, carried on with some difficulty, 
 except that through the opportunity of a remark on the condi- 
 tion of things in Russia, the Duchess of Atholl spoke with much 
 interest of a black and brown beetle, which was found in Russian 
 houses, but whether it was interest in ethnographical or in 
 entomological knowledge that led her to choose this topic, I could 
 not judge. During dinner I noticed Prince Paul Esterhazy,* who 
 had just arrived from Vienna. He' sat near the Queen, and talked 
 to her in a loud voice. He was telling of his stay in Russia, 
 and I observed that the Queen was much amused with his recital. 
 After the Queen had left the table with her ladies, I saw him 
 talking eagerly to King Leopold, and I could hear that they were 
 speaking of the latest phase of the policy of the Austrian Govern 
 ment. The King listened to him for the most part very attentively. 
 I then went to sit near Prince Albert, and the conversation 
 turned, as was natural, on the Austro-French War. He spoke of 
 the Emperor of Austria and his policy unfavourably, and main- 
 tained that the Archduke Ferdinand Max had arrived at no better 
 results in Italy, because he had been always hindered and dis- 
 tracted from Vienna, whatever he tried to do. I then said that 
 all this was new to me. "Generally," he said to me, "one cannot 
 augur favourably of a man who has been educated by the Jesuits, 
 as they recognise only the evil side of their fellow men, think that 
 human nature is incapable of noble thoughts and feelings, and 
 always presume the most sinister motives. These men, and the 
 policy inspired by them, are the cause of the present troubles." 1 
 answered that although I had no particular leanings towards the 
 Jesuits, I must yet observe that the present disturbances were 
 for the most part the fault of the revolutionary secret societies 
 and that it was unfortunately a sign of the decadence of human 
 society that its ablest members were under the influence of these 
 organisations. Prince Albert disputed this. Secret societies, 
 he said, only existed when misgovernment called them into being. 
 They made reform impossible, and would do away altogether 
 with popular freedom. I maintained that that seemed very 
 unlikely to me. In the South American Republics there were as 
 many secret societies as in Italy. Amongst the people of the 
 Latin races the party which had no share in the Government 
 would always form in the Government a secret society. As to 
 the theory then advanced by the Prince that the welfare of man- 
 kind was founded on Christianity in the philosophical sense 
 (Bunsen), I replied that it might be conceded as a possibility in 
 the German nation, but the Latin races were emerging from 
 dogma only to plunge into atheism, and this would end in the 
 dissolution of social order. We talked on these subjects until the 
 
 * Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy (1786-1866), who from 1815 to 1842 
 was Austrian Ambassador in London. In 1856 he had been sent on a 
 special Embassy to Moscow for the coronation.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 87 
 
 Gentleman-in-waiting came to say that the Queen was waiting 
 for us. The Prince rose, making a quotation from one of St. 
 Paul's Epistles. In his whole attitude of mind there is some- 
 thing distinctly doctrinaire, and I thought how unfortunate it 
 was for the Prince that he should come straight from a German 
 University to his present position, after a course of superficial 
 study, without having had the corners rubbed off by contact with 
 the practical world.* After dinner the Court assembled in the 
 large saloon, a long, splendidly decorated hall, adorned with 
 columns. The Queen talked to the company. She spoke in a 
 very sympathetic, unaffected, and natural way to me (quite 
 unlike the apathetic chatter of Continental Sovereigns) and 
 inquired after all my family, showing her kindness of heart, of 
 which I had heard so much. After she had held her circle, the 
 Queen went into the neighbouring drawing-room, where she sat 
 on a sofa, surrounded by her ladies and a few men. Some music 
 was given in an adjoining room. At about eleven o'clock she 
 rose, which was the signal for a general departure. 
 
 On Saturday, June 25, I called on the Austrian Minister, 
 Count Apponyi, who told me the news of the Austrian defeat at 
 the Mincio,f which he had just heard by telegram from Paris. 
 He seemed much disheartened, and spoke with great bitterness of 
 the Prussian policy, which Austria had to thank for this disaster. 
 If Austria were now compelled to sign a dishonourable peace, 
 Napoleon would turn against Prussia and Germany, and then 
 Austria would be no longer in a position to help. 
 
 On this day there was a levee, i.e., a great Court presentation. 
 I went to the neighbourhood of St. James's Palace to see the 
 equipages as they passed, amongst them, those of the Lord Mayor 
 of London and his suite were distinguished by their peculiar 
 magnificence. I spent the rest of the day in shopping. As 
 the Queen was not giving a dinner-party, I was not invited to 
 the Palace, and dined with Apponyi, where I also spent the even- 
 ing, going back to my hotel at twelve o'clock. As it was Saturday 
 evening, all the provision shops in the smaller streets were open, 
 so that people could buy their food for the Sunday. I saw many 
 drunken people in the streets. 
 
 On Sunday, June 26, I went at half-past nine to the church at 
 Farm Street, where I had been before — a remarkably neat and 
 homely church. At one o'clock I went to Waterloo Station, on 
 my way to Windsor. At the station were countless holiday people 
 going out of town for the day. I reached Windsor at half-past 
 two, went to Frogmore to visit Aunt Feodora and the Duchess of 
 Kent, whom I found convalescent, and then walked back to the 
 station by the terrace of the Castle, catching the six o'clock train 
 to London, where I arrived at seven. 
 
 * Cj. the corresponding opinions of Prince Albert in Duke Ernst's 
 work, Aus meinem Leben, vol. i. p. 129. 
 t The Battle of Solferino, June 24.
 
 88 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 At eight o'clock I again dined at Court, where I met the 
 Prince of Wales, who had just returned from his Continental 
 travels. He talked to me a great deal about Rome, and his 
 sea-trip to Gibraltar on Victor's ship. He is a very well-bred 
 young man, rather in awe of his father. It is a pity he is not 
 taller for his age. 
 
 I took Lady Herbert in to dinner. She is the wife of the 
 present Secretary for War, but I could only exchange a few 
 words with her, as Princess Alice, the Queen's second daughter, 
 sat on my other hand and had much to tell me. She is very 
 well informed for her age, is quick and lively, and her face, in 
 spite of her long nose (which she herself regards as a calamity), 
 is very pretty. After dinner there was again a circle and the 
 Queen talked to me for a long time on the latest political affairs, 
 and spoke of her fear that only half measures would be taken 
 in Berlin — a fear that I entirely shared with her. 
 
 Amongst the invited guests was Lord Aberdeen, now old and 
 very frail; also a man with a thick beard, who I was told was 
 the Duke of Newcastle; Lord Carlisle, the Lord-Lieutenant of 
 Ireland, an affected creature, with the manners of an old ballet- 
 master; and last, Lord Herbert of Lea, a very vivacious man 
 who gesticulated a great deal. As we separated, I took leave 
 of the Queen, as I intended to take my departure the next evening. 
 Prince Albert asked me to come and see him again the next day. 
 
 On Monday, the 27th, I had some business to do, and took 
 the opportunity of visiting the Tower and Lincoln's Inn, the 
 large building where the court of Chancery and other civil courts 
 are held. I went into one of the courts, and thought the proce- 
 dure before the judges, in their quaint wigs, was conducted in a 
 most pleasant and agreeable way. It was a pity I had no one 
 with me who could point out the different persons and their 
 functions to me. 
 
 At half-past three I went to the Palace to take leave of Prince 
 Albert. He was, as usual, in ordinary morning dress, without 
 uniform or Orders. I was taken into his library, where I saw 
 a Vienna-made glass bookcase filled with German books, copper- 
 work, &c. He showed me a map of the seat of war, expressed 
 disapproval of the Austrian plan of invasion, and maintained 
 that if they had made up their minds to an invasion they should 
 have adopted a triangular formation, advancing the apex, and 
 gradually opening out the sides. He then began to speak of the 
 whole Austrian policy, and said that the ultimatum to Sardinia 
 had been sent at the instigation of Griinne and Windischgratz, 
 without the knowledge of Count Buol. This seemed to me very 
 doubtful. Then he inveighed against the democratic disorganisa- 
 tion of the Minister Bach, in which I readily agreed. Finally, 
 he said that Austria believed when the war began that Germany 
 would be forced to strike in as well a revolution had been 
 fomented by Austria in Munich. Then he mentioned the rumour
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 89 
 
 that Napoleon wanted to make peace proposals direct to the 
 Emperor of Austria, and concluded by bidding me farewell and 
 wishing all success to the struggle in Germany. He did not 
 seem to believe, however, that it would come to that. The 
 Prince of Wales then came to say that the Queen was waiting 
 in her carriage, and they both hurried away. I strolled through 
 Regent's Park and back to Piccadilly, did some business, saw 
 Apponyi, with whom I dined, and went with him and Count 
 Chotek to the Olympic Theatre, where some amusing pieces were 
 very well played. When we left the theatre it was raining very 
 heavily, which obliged us to take a cab home. On Thursday 
 morning, the 18th, I went to see an old acquaintance whom I 
 had not met for nineteen years — Mr. Cauvin. He was pleased 
 to refresh his youthful memories of Gottingen and Corvey. As 
 he is a literary man, and understands public opinion in England, 
 I asked him about the English Government, the state of feeling, 
 &c. I asked him particularly whether people feared Napoleon 
 would turn against England if he beat Austria and Germany. 
 He replied that the previous winter England was against Napoleon, 
 but that the feeling towards him had now changed, for two 
 reasons: first, on account of the enthusiasm of Englishmen 
 for the Emperor's so-called liberation of Italy, which enraptured 
 the British Philistine; and secondly, because of the approbation 
 which always follows success. Besides, English people believed 
 they were strong enough and rich enough to meet Napoleon if 
 he should take it into his head to invade them. "We have," 
 he said, "no system in our politics; we live from hand to mouth." 
 Cauvin went with me for a stroll, and left me at five o'clock, when 
 I dined. Afterwards I went straight to the station, and arrived at 
 Dover at eleven, when the steamboat left immediately for Ostend. 
 
 A Royal Dialogue* 
 
 The King. My dear Prince, I think you wished to speak with 
 me alone ? 
 
 /. I must thank your Majesty most humbly for having 
 consented to receive me alone. The more so as I have no special 
 petition to present. I only wished to have an opportunity of 
 offering my humble services to your Majesty. I have long 
 wished for the opportunity of giving your Majesty practical 
 assurance of my sincere attachment. After the death of Count 
 Lerchenfeldf the thought occurred to me whether it would be 
 possible to enter your Majesty's service. If your Majesty were 
 graciously pleased to employ me, I am conscious that so far 
 
 *The transcript of this conversation with King Maximilian II. was 
 made for the Princess. Hence the notes here and there in French. 
 
 f Count Max Joseph of Lerchenfeld, Bavarian Minister at Vienna, 
 who died November 3, 1859. The conversation also took place in 
 November 1859.
 
 9 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 as means and position are concerned, I should be in a position 
 worthily to represent the Bavarian name, and uphold the Bavarian 
 flag with energy and determination. 
 
 The King. These sentiments give me much pleasure. I am 
 all the more pleased, as at one time I had doubts about it. (Ce 
 rfetait pas tout a fait cela, c'etait plus poll, mais le fond ttait le 
 mime.) However, we have all been young once upon a time, 
 and experience changes us a great deal. Forgive me for speaking 
 so frankly. 
 
 /. Your Majesty is no doubt speaking of my Imperial Mission. 
 As regards that, may I be allowed to say that the Archduke 
 Johann made choice of me on that occasion with the special 
 object that a Bavarian should take part in the diplomacy of 
 the Central Government. This was the chief reason for my 
 nomination, and the Archduke also wished me to visit Munich 
 in order to intimate this personally to your Majesty. I was 
 prevented by circumstances from doing so. I also believed, 
 when I accepted this Mission, the Central Authority would be 
 acknowledged by all the Governments. When it was dissolved 
 I at once retired from public life. 
 
 The King. Yes, yes (very graciously). Those times were 
 different. Now the case is altered, though Bavaria is still the 
 third German Power. And I do not wish to be taken in tow 
 by either Austria or Prussia. 
 
 /. That prospect has gone by; it is an exploded idea. A 
 Central Government in that sense is now impracticable. Your 
 Majesty may rely on the unanimous feeling of the Bavarian 
 people which has once for all declared itself against a Prussian 
 hegemony. 
 
 The King. Very true. So much so that early this year I 
 gave offence, as it was believed I had shown the merest shadow 
 of an inclination towards Prussia. It was not the case. I am 
 interested in science, and may perhaps appoint a few Prussian 
 professors. But for all that, I know how to preserve the inde- 
 pendence of my country. As I said, I am much pleased with 
 the sentiments you have expressed. 
 
 (let je craignais quHl ne se contcnldt de ces phrases, et 
 je repris:) 
 
 I. When I ventured to come here with this request to your 
 Majesty, I had also a personal reason. If your Majesty will 
 allow me, I will speak frankly. {The King nodded kindly.) The 
 immediate impulse and personal suggestion came from a letter 
 from my mother-in-law, which alludes to the desire of the Prince 
 and Princess of Prussia that I should return to the Prussian 
 service. (Ici je lui raconte la conversation de maman avec la 
 Princesse de Prusse. Je parte de Hatzfeldt et de Louis.) I am 
 expecting a proposal from Berlin which will place me in a diffi- 
 culty. If I could give as a reason for refusal a wish from your 
 Majesty that I should enter your Royal service, my difficulty
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 91 
 
 would be at an end. And it would carry out my mother-in-law's 
 wishes equally well. 
 
 The King. Then you think that this arrangement would be 
 agreeable to the Princess also? 
 
 /. Yes. For, even if her son were in the Prussian Diplomatic 
 Service he could be employed at the place where I had the honour 
 to represent your Majesty, and, in that way, the desired object 
 would be attained, for I could keep an eye on him there. 
 
 The King. Ah, I see. Well, I will think the matter over, and 
 I am very glad that you have spoken to me of your views. (Here 
 followed inquiries after mamma, toi, &c, &c.) 
 
 (As I went out.) I will give what you have said mature 
 consideration. (Reverence et depart.) 
 
 The Prince to Princess Elise on the same subject. 
 
 Scklllingsfurst, January 14, i860. 
 
 Our plans are uncertain still. The King is perplexed. He 
 may send for me, but I do not know how he can arrange it, as 
 such a crowd of applicants of established reputation are forth- 
 coming for diplomatic appointments. I should regret if another 
 chance of permanent employment and position in life were to 
 pass me by. The older one grows, the more necessary becomes 
 a calling in life. What the years take from us must be made up 
 by the discharge of our duties. I am not made to spend my life 
 in merely fulfilling the duties of my social position, though I 
 recognise in these duties something more serious and important 
 than men generally see in them. I even think that I am not 
 equal to the task, and that personal obstacles stand in the way 
 which I am unable to overcome. The aristocratic life is either 
 a good one to lead, one which is worthy of respect and will 
 find acknowledgement, or it ends in frittering away one's 
 energies in trivialities like the distribution of gold snuff-boxes and 
 Christmas presents. Any number of people are better at that 
 sort of thing than I. 
 
 IV 
 RUSSIA AND VIENNA, 1860-1861 
 
 In September i860 the Prince started on a journey to 
 the Wittgenstein estates in Russia, and arrived at Werki on 
 September 20. The following is from the diary of the journey. 
 
 " On the 22nd we were invited by the Governor-General 
 Racimoff to dinner, at his pretty little house at Swievinic on 
 the Wilia. We were invited for four o'clock, but came so late 
 that dinner was not till half-past five. The Governor-General
 
 92 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 is a little man, with bushy eyebrows and stiff moustache. He 
 gives himself military airs, and is an insignificant, well-meaning 
 person. His wife was once a beauty, and still shows some traces 
 of it. She has very charming, expressive eyes, and is the life 
 and soul of the house. The dinner was bad, and the service 
 inefficient. According to Russian ideas, a Prince who has no 
 official post has no rank, so when dinner was announced the two 
 Civil Governors pounced upon the ladies of the house before me, 
 and I followed with our host and Peter. 1 I sat near the Governor- 
 General, who talked the most absurd nonsense about high politics 
 all through dinner. I had on my left hand a young girl who 
 talked to her neighbour (another girl) in several languages. I 
 didn't see why I should interrupt them. After dinner we went 
 into the park which surrounds the house, and saw two fine bison 
 which were kept there. While the rest of the company stayed 
 timidly under the trees, Peter and I went close up to the animals 
 with the keeper, and had a fine sight of these curious creatures 
 three paces off. They were quietly eating the meat which was 
 scattered on the ground and which is their chief food, and took 
 very little notice of us. Now and then they have been known 
 to make small attacks on people. The park looked very beautiful 
 under the rising moon and the twilight. The quiet river flowed 
 in front of us, beyond were the dark pine woods, and quite a 
 little waterfall trickled into the river. We soon took our leave, 
 as it was seven o'clock, got into our carriage, and drove back 
 to Werki, where we amused ourselves by making astronomical 
 observations through a telescope till Pastor Lipinsky came, 
 with whom I had a long talk on the latest movement in the 
 German Protestant Church. He knew considerably less about 
 the subject than I did, and I felt quite brilliant. Even my 
 encyclopaedic knowledge, however, was soon exhausted. After 
 that everybody grew sleepy. 
 
 September 25, i860. 
 
 I am writing in a tent, which gives a pleasant shade, while 
 the sun is very hot outside. The door is open ; I can see the 
 wood in front of me and hear the oaks and the pines rustling. 
 
 On the 23rd we drove from Werki in a half-open carriage, 
 changed horses at Wilna and several other stations, and came 
 through a hideously dreary country to Lubez at half-past eight 
 in the evening. Only towards the end of the journey did the 
 aspect of the country become less repellent ; the first part of 
 the way lay through sand and pines. Lubez is part of the Witt- 
 genstein property, and lies near the Niemen. The castle was 
 once of grand proportions and fortified, but it has all been 
 destroyed by fire except two towers. 
 
 On the 24th a shooting-party was arranged. We saw some 
 
 * Prince Peter of Sayn -Wittgenstein (1831-1887), the Princess's brother.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 93 
 
 partridges, moor-hens, and snipe, but not till almost nightfall. 
 The day was clear and warm, and the wide, open country and 
 green banks of the Niemen looked enchanting under the setting 
 sun. We set out in the carriage at half-past eight for the hunting 
 camp. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the wide desolate 
 country, with its low undergrowth from which wreaths of mist 
 were slowly rising, was most charming. After half an hour's 
 drive we came to the Niemen, crossed a bridge of boats, and 
 arrived at a village. Here we found that the large carriage 
 could go no further, and a one-horse peasant's cart was waiting 
 for us. We climbed in and drove into the woods. Soon, how- 
 ever, even the cart could go no further, and we proceeded on 
 foot and soon reached Koslowabor, a lonely farmstead near which 
 they had pitched the tent and where the flickering firelight was 
 most welcome. We made our preparations for the next day, 
 loaded our guns, prepared our cartridges, and went to sleep. It 
 was the first time I had slept in a tent. Outside the huntsmen 
 talked over the fire, and the wind rustled among the trees. The 
 murmur of talking gradually ceased, and we soon fell into a 
 pleasant sleep, which was disturbed at half-past three by the cry, 
 'Time to get up!" We were soon ready. With guns on our 
 shoulders and long sticks in our hands, we went through the 
 wood. Two huntsmen accompanied us. They wore grey coats, 
 white linen breeches, and sandals. They are the best men for 
 this kind of work that I know. We first tried to entice an elk 
 into the swamp. One of the strajniks blew on a horn of birch- 
 bark a cry exactly resembling the stag's. A stag answered, not 
 far from us, but kept out of sight. We tried the same thing in 
 other places, but without result. We were rewarded, however, 
 by the walk through the wood; the swamp, which is more than 
 two miles square, is full of alders, birches, and other deciduous 
 trees. The undergrowth was so thick and so beset with reeds 
 and all kinds of matted growths that it was almost impossible 
 to get through. It is a perfect example of a virgin forest. In 
 the deepest places bushes and trees lay in the water, and we 
 had to climb painfully over them. Sometimes a convenient tree 
 served as a bridge, but in most places nothing of the sort was 
 to be found, and there was nothing for it but to wade through 
 the mud and brackish water. It was one continual splashing 
 and jumping from one piece of firm ground to another, a constant 
 winding about through thick-set bushes. We proceeded like this 
 for five hours - - blowing constantly on the horn. At last we gave it 
 up, and at half-past nine returned to the tent, where the men who 
 had stayed behind had a good breakfast waiting for us. We 
 dressed either in the tents or outside, and now all has sunk to rest. 
 In the evening, after a meal in the open air, we retired to our 
 drawing-room, in other words, we lay down on a great heap of 
 straw beside a huge fire and gazed up at the stars.
 
 94 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Monday, October i. 
 
 After dinner to Count Chreptowitsch in Sciorsz. He had 
 fresh newspapers and told us of Lamoriciere's defeat.* His 
 reception-rooms are large and in the Louis XVI. style. I was 
 struck by a portrait of his grandfather, the Polish Chancellor, 
 remarkable both for its conception and the man's interesting 
 face. Our rooms are furnished in English style. The frogs that 
 hopped about the hall fortunately did not come inside. 
 
 On October 13, the Emperor came to Wilna, and on Sunday, 
 the 14th, the grand parade was held. Eight cavalry regiments 
 and a few infantry regiments were on the great parade-ground. 
 There was also some artillery. I found myself by chance close 
 to the Prince Karl von Preussen Regiment just as the 
 commander saluted his troops. Soon afterwards arrived the 
 Emperor with a brilliant staff and rode down the lines amid 
 thundering hurrahs. Then came the march past. When it was 
 all over I drove back to Werki, where, in the meantime, the Princes 
 Karl and Albrecht of Prussia and Friedrich of Hesse had an- 
 nounced their intended visit. They appeared not long after with 
 their aides-de-camp, looked at everything, breakfasted in the large 
 salon and then drove back to Wilna. Prince Albrecht 's aide-de- 
 camp had a note-book in which he wrote down everything his 
 Prince had seen — • stuffed birds, pictures, &c. — so that his Prince 
 may remember it all later on ! 
 
 In the evening there was a ball at the Governor's; a crowd 
 of uniforms, elegant toilettes and civilians in evening-dress. 
 Among old friends I found Leon Radziwill, Graf Alexander 
 Adlerberg, and several Prussian officers. On the Emperor's 
 arrival I happened to be standing beside an old Countess Choiseul 
 to whom his Majesty spoke first, and thus I was fortunate enough 
 to receive an early greeting and a few kindly words from him 
 which brought down the envy of all the "Reussen" present upon 
 me. The grey-haired lady in question wore a kind of fillet or 
 bracelet across her forehead with a garnet ornament at either 
 end, a cluster of strung pearls hung from each ear, and a coiffure 
 of tulle covered the back of her head. She was interesting to 
 me owing to a story which does her credit. When Napoleon 
 was in Wilna she alone of all the ladies wore the monogram of 
 the Empress Marie. 
 
 "Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela?" Napoleon asked her. — "C'est 
 le chiffre de S. M. Vlmperatrice Marie." — "C'est Men de le porter 
 en face de VennemiV Napoleon is said to have answered. 
 
 On the 15th, some military practice was gone through on the 
 exercising-ground near Wilna. The infantry exercise was 
 finished by the time I arrived; the cavalry only was still on 
 the ground : two regiments of hussars, two of uhlans, and two of 
 dragoons — together about six thousand horse. They began by 
 
 * The defeat of the Papal troops at Castelsidardo on September 18.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 95 
 
 each riding past at the gallop, shooting pistols and waving lances, 
 and then came manoeuvres. It was extremely funny when a 
 battery advanced towards the spectators, unlimbered and fired, 
 whereupon the public, consisting of Jews, fell in a heap with 
 screams of "Murder!" A great change of front of all the regi- 
 ments was carried out with great precision. The military 
 men present considered that this cavalry corps manoeuvred 
 admirably. I afterwards drove with Peter to the town, where we 
 entered our names in the visitors' books of the foreign princes. 
 
 At two o'clock was the ceremonious opening of a tunnel by the 
 Emperor. The persons invited, among whom were many ladies, 
 assembled at the railway station, where a temporary wooden 
 structure in the Moorish style had been erected to receive the 
 guests. The Emperor, his suite, and a number of ladies seated 
 themselves in an open, richly decorated railway-car. I went 
 with Peter, Leon Radziwill, and two generals in another. 
 Arrived at our destination we got out and followed the Emperor 
 on foot through the tunnel, which was brightly illuminated with 
 cressets. The clergy accompanied the Emperor to the middle of 
 the tunnel, where he placed a stone in position, on which the 
 Grand Duke of Weimar very gracefully struck a blow or two. 
 After that we went at the double to the other end of the tunnel 
 and back again. It was not exactly comfortable in there, as 
 we were bare-headed and water dropped frequently from above. 
 The return journey was made by rail. The workmen posted 
 everywhere along the route greeted the Emperor with accla- 
 mations. At Wilna the hurrahs of the Jews were most peculiar, 
 sounding exactly like the bleating of sheep. It is not surprising 
 that despite their demonstrations of loyalty they should be con- 
 siderably cuffed and knocked about by the police, for a more 
 impudent lot than these Polish Jews I have never seen, thrusting 
 themselves in everywhere like wild beasts, even where they have 
 no business whatever. 
 
 Political Notes in Vienna, January 1861.* 
 
 The present situation in Austria is one of watchful expectancy. 
 That the Diploma of October 20 f satisfied nobody is patent. It 
 deals out rights without imposing obligations, and weakens the 
 Government without winning over public opinion. Hence the 
 prevailing dissatisfaction and suspicion. 
 
 The split in Ministry between Rechberg and Schmerling is 
 typical of the whole situation. While the party to which Rech- 
 berg belongs goes only de trcs mauvaise grace with the stream of 
 
 * Prince Hohenlohe's youngest brother, Prince Konstantine, had 
 married, in 1859, the Princess Marie zu Sayn -Wittgenstein. After that, 
 Prince Hohenlohe and his wife invariably spent some time each winter in 
 Vienna. 
 
 t A statute promising special regulations for the separate Crown Lands.
 
 9 6 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 liberal opinion, Schmerling's party hopes, now that these liberal 
 measures are once granted, to force on a constitutional develop- 
 ment of the whole State system. When I visited Schmerling he 
 began at once by saying it would, no doubt, have been easier 
 to take one of the existing constitutions, say, the Belgian or 
 Bavarian, and model an Austrian one on that, but, having regard 
 to the peculiar circumstances of the Austrian Empire, more radical 
 measures would have to be adopted. The Hungarian question 
 was not the only obstacle. As to this, he expressed himself to 
 the effect that a revolution would occur, but that they would be 
 able to deal with it; that the Old-Hungarian party had never 
 found favour in Hungary; that the constitutional party of Deak 
 was, and would be still more swamped by anarchy. He spoke 
 with the utmost scorn of the attitude of the Germans in Hungary. 
 To my question how the Cabinet proposed to deal with the many 
 different nationalities to be represented, and whether it would 
 not entail very great difficulties, he answered hurriedly that his 
 entrance into the Cabinet had materially changed all that. Besides, 
 by degrees they would arrive at being one undivided representa- 
 tive State. The affairs of the various Protestant communities 
 would be set in order in the next few days. The Concordat 
 itself he would not meddle with, as this was best left to the 
 Reichsrath. By bettering the position of the Protestants 
 he hoped to improve relations with England. It appears to 
 me that Schmerling reckons upon the representative system to 
 rid him of such colleagues as are inconvenient to him. Of the 
 danger and impolicy underlying these manipulations, which 
 always open the door to extortion, he is probably well 
 aware; yet his position towards the Court, the reactionary 
 members of the nobility and the Concordat party make any 
 other way impossible to him. Through fear of the word 
 "Constitution" both Emperor and Government have gradually 
 let more be extorted from them than the more liberal constitu- 
 tion could ever grant, and the people do not even say thank you. 
 They hope to gain time, and then, when things are smoothed down, 
 to reintroduce absolutism with a firmer hand than ever. In this 
 underhand dealing lies the real danger. Preachers of religious 
 absolutism, stiff-necked aristocratic club-men, courtiers devoid 
 of all political understanding — these are the Emperor's real 
 counsellors. At the moment they are all lying low, but the 
 time is not far hence when either they will be crushed under the 
 revolution or rise triumphant on the wave of general reaction. 
 
 January 21, 1861. 
 
 To-day, at Fries's, I found Prince Jablonowski. After dinner 
 the Imperial manifesto to the Hungarians.* In connection with 
 this I remarked that it seemed to me strange to speak of 
 
 * Of January 16, directed against the revolutionary agitation in 
 Hungary.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 97 
 
 Hungarian nationality as opposed to German, seeing that the 
 Hungarians are mainly Germans. Not one of all those who wear 
 the Hungarian national costume speak anything but Austrian- 
 German. Moreover, I took that opportunity of pointing out to the 
 company the danger of their " historico-political Individualism." 
 Jablonowski said he did not recognise any Austrian Empire, 
 merely an Austrian Emperor. Had he been in a position to do 
 so he would have advised the Emperor to give the Reichsrath 
 only an advisory function and the provincial assemblies the 
 decisive voice in the Government. Fries declared that the 
 Austrian Monarchy was so peculiarly constituted as to demand 
 quite particular institutions. To which I observed that with 
 their methods of construction the Monarchy w r ould fall to pieces ; 
 I was before all things a German, and I would advise the 
 energetic maintenance of the unity of the Empire even with the 
 aid of the democratic element. Democracy would soon settle 
 the question of the various nationalities. Whereupon violent 
 protest and indignation. 
 
 It was interesting to hear the opinions of the Austrian aristo- 
 cratic party. They cling to the Diploma of October 20, and 
 imagine that that will save the Monarchy. A hopeless mistake 
 which the Government itself is aware of, as the manifesto of to- 
 day clearly proves. Nevertheless, as the luckless Diploma has 
 been issued, and every national passion thereby let loose, it will 
 be hard work to set things straight again. 
 
 The nationalities who have benefited by the Diploma will not 
 hear of an Imperial parliament by general election. I fancy, how- 
 ever, that the Czechs might be easily won over. For the moment 
 the Hungarians would have to be left out of the reckoning, and 
 the Poles would probably give in too. It seems to me that it is 
 not the people of the various non-German countries, but rather 
 the aristocracy (some from ambition, some from narrow-minded- 
 ness) and the doctrinaires among the professors w r ho hold fast to 
 their autonomy and the Diploma. 
 
 I believe that Schmerling is of my opinion and will calmly go 
 his own way. 
 
 January 22, 1861. 
 
 To-day I was present at the State banquet given in honour 
 of General Werder, who had brought the notification of the 
 accession of King Wilhelm I. to the throne. The Empress being 
 absent, there were no ladies there. All the notabilities of the 
 Court were present — Prince Liechtenstein, the High Steward, with 
 his white moustache just like an old tom-cat; then the High 
 Marshal of the Court, Count Kuefstein, an ex-diplomat, who had 
 much to tell me of the Vienna Congress as I sat next to him ; 
 Count Lanckoronski, High Chamberlain ; Adjutant-General Count 
 Crenneville, a most estimable, pleasant man with Napoleonic 
 features. Besides these there were Count Griinne, the War 
 
 VOL. 1 — H
 
 98 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Minister Count Degenfeld, Count Rechberg, Lieutenant-Field- 
 marshal Count Henrikstein, the staff of the Prussian Embassy 
 and Prussian officers attached to General Werder's suite. 
 
 After dinner the Emperor held a circle. He conversed with 
 me for some time on affairs in Naples, praised the courage of the 
 Queen,* to whom it was chiefly due that the King had been able 
 to hold out so long,f and expressed his deep indignation at the 
 behaviour of the Neapolitan officers by whom the Queen had been 
 betrayed last summer. Considering how naturally and pleasantly 
 the Emperor speaks, I could not help regretting that he makes so 
 little use of this gift for the benefit of his subjects. He finds it 
 impossible to court popularity by adopting a more condescending 
 manner, which would mean so much to an unsophisticated 
 people like the Austrians. 
 
 This evening, the 30th, the Town ball took place. The Court 
 made its appearance just as we came in. It was received in dead 
 silence. One noticed an intentional indifference on the part of 
 the public and a kind of annoyance. The Emperor stayed a 
 long time, but remained in the gallery talking to the Burgo- 
 master, instead of moving about the room and speaking to the 
 townspeople as King Ludwig and King Max do to their great 
 advantage. 
 
 February 4. 
 
 To-day Count Rechberg resigned the Presidency of the 
 Cabinet and Archduke Rainer undertook the post. Rechberg 
 remains Minister for Foreign Affairs. Nobody knows exactly 
 what to say to it. For an Archduke to be Cabinet President is 
 rather peculiar. It seems to me that it is their way of trying 
 to make Rechberg's resignation look more decent — d'avoir 
 cede le pas a un archiduc. Schmerling will be the soul of the 
 administration, the Archduke will lend his name to it. 
 
 Old Count Hartig, with whom I had a long conversation at 
 Bray's, told me much that was interesting. He declares they 
 have let themselves be taken in by the Hungarians in giving 
 them the Diploma of October 20. He agrees with me in thinking 
 the Diploma absurd, and considers that only by giving more 
 security and stability to the laws can a better state of things be 
 brought about. This, he thinks, will be the case now, and sets 
 great hopes on the expected alterations in administrative affairs. 
 
 * Sister of the Empress of Austria. 
 
 ■\ Till the capitulation of Gaeta, January 14.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 99 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE CHAMBER OF THE 
 REICHSRATH, 1861 
 
 Emancipation 0} the Jews. 
 
 In April 1861 the Prince laid before the Reichsrath a report on 
 a Bill sent up by the Lower Chamber for the removal of certain 
 restrictions on the liberty of the Jews as regards change of domicile 
 and trading. In recommending the adoption of this measure the 
 Prince had to encounter the objection raised in the Upper House 
 that with the increasing equality of rights granted to the Jews, 
 Bavaria would cease to be a specifically Christian State and would 
 become a State "based nakedly on law." "In order to judge 
 this contention fairly," says the report of April 25, 1861, "we 
 must be quite clear as to what we mean when we speak of 'a 
 Christian State' and 'a State based on mere law.' 
 
 "According to the conception which was current all over 
 Europe in the Middle Ages, the State was subordinate to 
 the Church, a subordination which men sought to explain and 
 justify by declaring the Church to be the founder of the State. 
 Religion and politics, Church and State, were thus continually 
 intermingled. The State was the servant of the Church. Not 
 to be a member of the Catholic Church was to have no existence as 
 a recognised member of the State, and who so stood in opposition 
 to the teaching or constitution of the Church was regarded, eo 
 ipso, as an enemy of the State. This was pre-eminently the case 
 with the Jews, who, less because they were aliens in Europe than 
 because they were enemies of Christendom and of the Christian 
 State, were regarded as creatures absolutely outside the law. 
 
 "They might count themselves fortunate if, in the Roman 
 Empire of the German Nation, they secured forbearance and 
 protection in return for a heavy tax, first from the Emperor 
 as 'Imperial chattels,' and later from various petty Sovereigns 
 to whom the right to protect the Jews (Judenshutzrecht) was 
 delegated as a privilege. Even the Reformation did little 
 to alter this conception of the Christian State. It no doubt 
 dissolved the old relations between the Catholic Church 
 and the State, but the State remained none the less 'Christian,' 
 if by that we understand the maintenance of an exclusive creed, 
 even in matters of jurisdiction against the unrecognised sects 
 of religion. 
 
 " Not till the middle of the eighteenth century did a fresh concep- 
 tion of the relations between Church and State, and consequently 
 of the whole nature of the latter, begin to gain ground. Church 
 and State gradually came to be recognised as two different, 
 separate and independent organisms, each with its own peculiar
 
 ioo MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 mission to perform. Thus the ideas of religious liberty and of the 
 State based on law went hand in hand. With the triumph 
 of the former the conception of the 'Christian state,' which had 
 hitherto been workable enough, became untenable. The State 
 could no longer remain doctrinally exclusive and intolerant. 
 It must of necessity become Christian in another sense, that is to 
 say, just and tolerant towards every class of its subjects. It 
 must, in fact, become the State based on law, or, as is much better, 
 the State based on justice. 
 
 "True, an opinion and an apprehension has been expressed that 
 the modern State has ceased or would soon cease to be Christian ; 
 and reference has been made to the observation which is fre- 
 quently heard that 'the State is of its nature atheistic, and 
 cannot be otherwise.' I fail to share either the opinion or the 
 apprehension. A sounder theory has long since recognised and 
 rectified this misleading idea, and it is understood that it was 
 founded on a hasty fallacious judgment which has overlooked 
 the fact that it is founded on an impossible presupposition. 
 The modern State can only be Christian if it has ceased 
 to be the doctrinal and Feudal State of the Middle Ages. "It 
 can only claim to be Christian because all the relations of citizen 
 and family life are permeated with the spirit of Christianity; 
 because our social, political, and judicial institutions are built upon 
 a Christian foundation; because our whole modern system of 
 morals is Christian; and, finally, because the moral code, to give 
 full effect to which is the constant endeavour of the State founded 
 on law, is identical with the Christian code. There can be no 
 question, therefore, as to whether the Christian State will or 
 will not continue to exist; it does exist and will exist so long as 
 Christianity is the creed of the great majority of its members. 
 
 "The modern State, however, has long since repudiated the 
 idea, so irreconcilable with a truly Christian point of view, that any 
 person or persons can be outside the law, and has extended the 
 conception of citizenship on which our present-day political 
 life is chiefly founded so as to embrace all classes of its subjects. 
 It must be admitted by every one that the State has done this 
 without any compromise of its Christian character. If there was 
 no impediment in the Christian character of the State of our 
 days to the grant of the rights of citizenship to non-Christians, 
 still less can the grant of these privileges to the Jews be met with 
 any reasonable opposition. No modern State, without being 
 false to the whole trend of its historical evolution, can refuse to 
 give legal and political equality to Jew and Christian alike." 
 
 The Question of the Hessian Constitution, May 1861. 
 
 The Hessian Minister Hassenpflug had in the autumn of 
 1 85 1 obtained of the then newly restored Federal Diet for 
 the overthrow of the Hessian Constitution of January 5,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 101 
 
 1 83 1. After the inchoate resistance of Prussia at Olmiitz had 
 broken down, the Diet resolved, on March 27, 1852, to 
 suppress the Hessian Constitution of '31 as being incon- 
 sistent with the provisions of the final Act of the Congress 
 of Vienna. A draft of a new Constitution drawn up by the 
 Hessian Government in concert with the Federal Commissioners 
 was to be immediately promulgated as a law, together with the 
 electoral regulations thereto appertaining. It was then to 
 be presented "for ratification" to the State, which was to be 
 created on the basis of these regulations. The promulgation 
 of the new Constitution took place on April 13, 1852. But in 
 spite of the reckless use of all the powers of coercion which 
 these laws gave the Government, they were unsuccessful in 
 persuading the Chambers elected on the prescribed franchise 
 to agree to ratify it, and this anarchic situation in Hesse lasted 
 for another decade. On July 15, 1858, the Hessian Government 
 proposed in the Diet that it should overlook the necessity for 
 ratification by the State of Hesse, and should guarantee 
 the prescribed Constitution of 1852. On July 26, 1859, a Com- 
 mittee of the Diet reported in favour of the Hessian suggestion, 
 and proposed that the Diet should require Hesse to accept and 
 ratify the draft Constitution of 1852. Thus there came to be 
 discussed the question (almost unheeded amid the general 
 depression of 1852), how far the right which the confederation 
 claimed by its resolution of March 27 of that year was a danger 
 to all German Constitutions. From this point of view the 
 Hessian question acquired a new meaning, which its lively dis- 
 cussion in the Press soon brought within the sphere of action 
 of Governments and Parliaments. In November 1859 the 
 Prussian Government entered the lists on behalf of the violated 
 rights of Hesse, and demanded the restoration of the Constitu- 
 tion of 1 83 1, with the exception of those of its provisions 
 which were contrary to Federal law; but the majority of 
 the Diet, following the lead of Austria, remained faithful to 
 the reactionary principles of 1852. In his Speech from the 
 Throne of January 12, i860, the Prince Regent reiterated 
 with great decision his conviction that a return to the Con- 
 stitution of 183 1 was the only way to restore law and order in 
 Hesse. On March 17, i860, the Prussian Government expressed 
 the same conviction in an exposition of their previously 
 recorded dissent from the decision of the Diet. Meanwhile 
 the Diet decided to follow the recommendation of their committee. 
 Von der Pfordten, the Bavarian representative in the Diet, 
 took part in this decision. Prussia protested against it, 
 and washed her hands of the consequences. The Prussian 
 Chamber of Deputies, on April 20, expressed its approval of 
 the protest by a large majority. 
 
 In Bavaria the Hessian question was dealt with in the Chamber 
 of Deputies in March 1861. On the motion of Dr. Volk
 
 102 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the House resolved "to enter a solemn protest against 
 the Federal resolution of March 27, 1852, and the principles 
 which underlie it, and which are contrary to the law of the 
 Bavarian Constitution"; and it was decided to petition the 
 King to direct his Ministers "to assist as far as in them lay 
 in restoration of a properly ordered Constitutional Government 
 in Hesse." 
 
 The first of these resolutions was referred to the Upper 
 House for information, the second for discussion. The Reporter, 
 Reichsrath von Bayer, contested the competence of the Bavarian 
 Legislature to concern itself with the matter, because such 
 competence could only be established "if documentary warrant 
 for it could be found in the Constitution," and because, according 
 to the general principles of German constitutional law, the 
 decision of questions of external politics belonged only to the 
 supreme head of the State. Against + his Prince Hohenlohe 
 moved : 
 
 "(1) That a solemn protest be entered against the Federal 
 resolution of March 27, 1852, and its underlying principles and 
 motives. 
 
 "(2) That the Government be requested to use its influence 
 in a suitable manner, as far as possible, for the restoration of 
 a properly ordered Constitutional Government in Hesse." 
 
 At the sitting of the House of May 4, 1861, he sup- 
 ported this motion in the following speech : 
 
 "The reasons which have led the representatives of the people 
 to pass their resolution on the Hessian question in the Lower 
 House are known to you. I will not fatigue you with a recital 
 of details of the constitutional imbroglio in Hesse. . . . The fact 
 we have now to deal with is the intervention which took place 
 in Hesse in 1850. I am far from reproaching his Majesty's 
 Government with that. Intervention in Hesse was a link in 
 the chain of the policy to which the Bavarian Government was 
 forced owing to the events of the years 1848 and 1849 — a 
 policy which was justified by the refusal of the German peoples 
 to sacrifice their particularism, their independence as individuals, 
 in the struggle for unity in 1848. 
 
 "The consequence of their refusal was the collapse of that 
 struggle, and the Bavarian Government was forced to fall 
 back on the Diet. Intervention was the keystone of the 
 policy to which it was forced, partly at least, by the decision 
 of the people. The result of intervention was the celebrated 
 report of the Federal Commissioners, and the resolution of March 
 27, 1852, which was founded on it. Tins resolution suppressed 
 the Hessian Constitution of 1831, and required the Elector to 
 grant a new Constitution, and lay it before his State. 
 
 "This Constitution was promulgated, but has not yet met 
 with the State's acceptance. It is quite natural that on the 
 one hand the Hessian people hold fast to their Constitution,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 103 
 
 and refuse to recognise the law as laid down in the Federal 
 resolution of 1852, and that on the other hand, the Elector 
 founds himself on the warranty which was given to him by the 
 authority of that resolution. That is the essence of the so-called 
 Hessian question. 
 
 "I do not need to weary you with an exposition of the legal 
 question. On that point you are already sufficiently well in- 
 formed. I shall therefore only refer to Article 56 of the Act of the 
 Vienna Convention, which is particularly relevant to the matter 
 in hand. It is there stated that: 
 
 '"A Parliamentary Constitution duly fulfilling its functions 
 can only be altered by constitutional means.' 
 
 "This Article was circumvented by the resolution of 1852. 
 The Diet thought itself warranted in this course by the in- 
 terpretation of the word 'constitutional,' which makes it 
 apply not to the Federal, but to the local legislature. I need 
 not controvert this interpretation at length. It is unwarrant- 
 able, and may well be abandoned in the near future by the 
 Diet itself. But, as we are confronted with a Federal resolution 
 which takes no heed of Article 56 of the Vienna Convention, it 
 is inferred that doubt is thereby thrown on the position of the 
 Collective Constitutions of the several States of Germany. I 
 share this view, and, moreover, I think there is reason for speaking 
 out against this danger. That is the motive which led me to 
 propose my motion, which consists of two parts, the protest and 
 the petition to his Majesty the King. The Government has, 
 indeed, in the Lower House, questioned the right of the 
 Chambers to make a resolution of the Diet the subject of dis- 
 cussion and decision. It is objected, on the other hand, that 
 the matter is quite outside the competence of the Chambers, and 
 my honourable friend the Reporter has just renewed the argu- 
 ment that they are incompetent to deal with it. This would be 
 all very well if the resolution had no reference whatever to the 
 Bavarian Constitution. But that is not the case. On the contrary, 
 his Majesty's Government collaborated in the composition of 
 this resolution. Furthermore, they have accepted the principles 
 which underlie it, and could not escape the consequences even 
 if they would. For the Federal resolution is a binding law, I 
 do not say for the several States, but for their Governments, 
 who by the Federal Constitution are obliged as far as in them 
 lies to give effect to such a resolution. 
 
 "Now suppose a majority of the Federal Assembly went 
 back on this resolution, or passed another based on similar 
 principles, no German Government would be in a position to 
 evade the finding of this majority, and in view of this precedent 
 which you seek to establish, the Bavarian Government would 
 be unable to oppose such a resolution, even if it referred to the 
 Bavarian Constitution. No doubt you say that is an impossible 
 situation, for our circumstances here are very different from
 
 104 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the circumstances in Hesse which provoked the resolution 
 of 1852. I fully share the hope which has been expressed that we 
 may never find ourselves in a similar situation; but here we 
 have not to do with hopes or beliefs, but with legal questions 
 and legal principles, and in such a matter we cannot be too 
 positive. If there is any risk or danger to the Bavarian Constitu- 
 tion arising from the resolution, it must follow that the Chambers 
 are competent to make the resolution the subject of discussion, 
 and the question arises what means must be used to meet such 
 danger. Like the honourable Reporter, I refer to sec. 25, c. vii., 
 of the Constitution. In this paragraph is given the form 
 of oath in which the States swear to maintain the Constitution. 
 In this oath it is not merely provided that nothing shall be done 
 contrary to the Constitution, but also there is laid down the duty 
 and the right to see to it that the Constitution is univer- 
 sally respected. In the case of a positive breach of the Con- 
 stitution the course of the States is clear. They are to have 
 recourse to complaint and impeachment. 
 
 "There is no question of so serious a breach of the Constitution 
 in this case. We have to deal only with a slight infraction 
 of it, for as such must be regarded the risk to which the Con- 
 stitution is exposed, and, therefore, in any case a protest and a 
 petition to the Crown are warranted. 
 
 "It has been asserted that this motion is untimely, and that 
 there is no need to record a protest. ... I fully share the 
 confidence which is felt in the sincerity of the Government's 
 intentions, and those of Ministers opposite never to do anything 
 unconstitutional. I have, however, tried to show that in this 
 case everything does not turn on the will of the Government. I go 
 further. I believe that the will of the Government is not sufficient, 
 and that it must be supported by a protest from both sides 
 of the House. Besides, reliance on the good intentions of the 
 Government will only be confirmed if positive documents are 
 available to prove that they dissociate themselves from the 
 resolution, and the principles on which it rests. 
 
 "But what sort of explanation has his Majesty's Minister 
 given us? 
 
 "I have read his speech in the Chamber of Representatives, 
 and I have found that in principle he fully admits the right 
 of the Federation to pass the resolution of 1852 in the form 
 and manner in which it actually was passed. His Excellency 
 observes : 
 
 "'I believe, gentlemen, you will have been convinced from 
 this account that nothing arbitrary has been done, but that the 
 Diet, taking its stand on the Federal Constitution, found itself 
 warranted in doing what it did.' 
 
 "You will hear the same explanation again in a little while 
 from the Ministerial table. You will hear that the Ministry 
 adopts the standpoint of the Federal Government in this
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 105 
 
 question, and is committed to uphold their action as fully 
 warranted. 
 
 "I therefore consider that a protest is necessary. But I go 
 further and propose a petition to the Crown. 
 
 "The honourable Reporter has directed the whole weight 
 of his argument against this petition, has attacked it as in- 
 admissible, and has specially endeavoured to found his view 
 on the contention that this petition has no connection with 
 the Bavarian Constitution, and is therefore quite outside the 
 proper sphere of action of this House. . . . 
 
 "As to this, I have already shown that the maintenance of 
 the Constitution belongs to the functions of the Chambers. 
 If, then, it has been proved that there is a connection between 
 the Federal resolution and its motives and the interests of our 
 Constitution ; if fears for our Constitution arise therefrom, then, 
 by sec. 19, c. vii., of that Constitution, the Chambers have the 
 privilege of bringing the wishes they may form and the pro- 
 posals they may adopt to the notice of the Crown. . . . 
 
 "It has been said that this is no time to bring forward such 
 a motion, as the Federation is no longer in a position to pass a 
 resolution on this subject. I will only now refer to the resolu- 
 tion of i860, which contains a requisition to the Hessian Govern- 
 ment to proceed immediately with the establishment of their 
 Constitution, and to forward a report to the Diet. In any case, 
 then, the matter will again come under Federal discussion, and 
 his Majesty's Government will have another opportunity of 
 expressing their views to the Confederation. They will then 
 be able to reinforce these views by the expressed opinion of 
 the Chambers. 
 
 "I must now hasten to conclude, and will only beg leave 
 to make an observation on the political aspect of the question. 
 
 "It is true that the Hessian question will be used as a means 
 to political agitation and commotion. It will be used to awake 
 distrust of the Government by the people. This is the ugly side 
 of the Hessian question, but this cannot be placed in the scale 
 against the importance of deciding the legal issue before us. . . . 
 
 "At a time when, as a speaker in the Chamber of Representa- 
 tives says, revolution has inscribed the words fait accompli 
 on her banner, it is necessary that the Conservative forces in 
 political life should inscribe the word Law on their banner, and 
 should hold that banner high. I urge upon you, my lords, to show 
 that you are a truly Conservative assembly, by maintaining 
 the law's independence of all political considerations, and I 
 therefore ask you to vote for my motion." 
 
 On a division the Prince's motion was thrown out by 29 
 against 8 votes. With him voted Count von Giech, Count 
 Fugger-Hoheneck, Count zu Pappenheim, President von Harless, 
 Freiherr von Franckenstein, Count von Holstein, and Herr von 
 Heintz.
 
 106 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 As is well known, the Constitutional question in Hesse was 
 settled in 1862, in accordance with the claim of right advocated 
 by Prince Hohenlohe. On March 8, 1862, Austria and Prussia 
 brought forward a joint motion in the Diet to require the 
 Hessian Government to take the necessary steps to put in force 
 again the Constitution of 183 1, which had been suppressed 
 in 1852, subject to changes being constitutionally carried which 
 were required to bring it into harmony with Federal law. On 
 May 24 the Diet adopted the Austro-Prussian proposal. 
 On the 26th came the fall of the reactionary Ministry at Cassel, 
 and on June 22, 1862, the Hessian Constitution of 1831 was 
 re-established. 
 
 In the beginning of 1861 the Prince, in a correspondence 
 with his brother, had raised the question whether he was entitled 
 to a seat in the Prussian Upper House as owner of the domain 
 of Treffurt, and so invested with a fief of the younger branch 
 of the Ratibor-Corvey family by an entail confirmed by Friedrich 
 Wilhelm IV. It appears from a letter from the Duke of Ratibor, 
 dated April 14, 1861, that the King had expressed his readiness 
 to receive an immediate application from the Prince as to his 
 entry into the Upper House, as "he would regard him as a 
 valuable acquisition for Crown and country in these difficult 
 
 times." 
 
 After the Hessian debate in the Chamber the Prince replied 
 to this communication in the following terms : 
 
 Munich, May 14, 186 1. 
 
 With reference to the subject above mentioned, I will tell 
 you frankly that I find myself in a curious difficulty. Of course 
 I want to be admitted to the Upper House. But I know the 
 circumstances and the opinions that prevail here too well not 
 to foresee that any step directly taken by me in that direction 
 will be taken very ill. I have made deadly enemies of the 
 Bavarian Particularists, of the Court, even of the King, by my 
 speech on the Hessian question. Now, if these gentlemen 
 hear that I have been named a member of the Upper House 
 "at my special desire," they will draw the conclusion that I 
 intend to give up my position here entirely, that, therefore, 
 I wish to give up being a Bavarian, and that I don't want to 
 have anything more to do with them. This, however, is not so. 
 I think, on the contrary, that the two positions are perfectly 
 compatible. The following reproach will also be cast in my 
 teeth. They will say, "Oh, yes, now we understand why Prince 
 Hohenlohe took such a strong line on the Hessian question. 
 We always said that it was and they alone the National League 
 party who brought the Hessian question on the tapis in Bavaria. 
 Clearly Prince Hohenlohe belongs to this party, as he has solicited 
 a seat in the Prussian Upper House, and he will sell Bavaria 
 to Prussia," and so on, in the same silly style.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 107 
 
 If, then, the King were graciously pleased, without my 
 applying, to name me a member of the House on the ground 
 that I am the beneficiary of the entail confirmed by his Majesty, 
 King Friedrich Wilhelm IV., I should be most grateful, and 
 I could represent it here as being a perfectly natural consequence 
 of my owning land in Prussia. To make an application would 
 be very difficult for me at this moment. 
 
 VI 
 
 JOURNEYS TO BADEN, SILESIA AND BERLIN, 
 
 PARIS AND KARLSRUHE, AND TO THE 
 
 FRANKFURT CONGRESS OF PRINCES 
 
 1861-1863 
 
 Baden-Baden, July 17, 1861. 
 
 "The news of the attempt * on the life of the King of Prussia 
 brought me to Baden to pay my respects to his Majesty. I met 
 several high personages on the way bound on the same errand, 
 some as emissaries of their Sovereigns, others on their own 
 account, as, for instance, Count Adlerberg. 
 
 "All Baden was full of indignation at the deed and of joy at 
 the King's marvellous escape. They say the pistol was fired point- 
 blank at him. There is a pretty severe contusion, but the King goes 
 out although his neck is still somewhat stiff, as I noticed when he 
 spoke to me to-day on the promenade. 
 
 "On my arrival yesterday I called on the equerries on duty and 
 heard from them the details of the attempt, which are of course in 
 all the papers. A remarkable congratulatory address was sent 
 to the King's Aide-de-camp from Tharandt. It ran somewhat as 
 follows : ' The Prussian students in Tharandt * drink with 
 rejoicing patriotism to the happy escape of the King, and 
 perdition to the assassin.' 
 
 "I called to-day on von Roggenbach, the Minister for Baden. 
 We soon got on to the subject of German politics. He expressed 
 himself to the following effect : There were no grounds whatever 
 for identifying him with the National Union or reproaching him 
 with trying to force Prussia into a Unionist policy. He con- 
 sidered the National Union not only useless, but positively harm- 
 ful; it represented the irregular troops in the campaign. The 
 really important thing was that Prussia should know definitely 
 what she wanted. If they felt they had not the courage to put 
 themselves at the head of Germany they had better "leave the 
 cart in the stable." As, however, even the timid people must 
 
 * By the student Becker on July 14, 1861. 
 f Reiben einen patriotischen Salamander.
 
 108 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 admit that something would have to be done to meet the de- 
 mand for greater unity — as it was in the interests of various 
 ruling houses to abandon the defence of positions which had 
 become untenable — it was necessary to have a clear view of one's 
 aim. In his opinion Prussia should pursue neither a policy of 
 annexation nor of union. The former was self-evident. By the 
 latter he meant a policy which sought to apply concentration to 
 spheres where it was unnecessary, impracticable, and, as regards 
 the maintenance of the separate States, dangerous, as, for instance, 
 the adoption of a universal legislature or the like. Above all, he 
 considered it imperative that the separate German States should 
 relinquish what, as a matter of fact, they do not possess, namely, 
 the defence of Germany and the representation of Germany in 
 other countries. Austria must go her own way, and would do so 
 as soon as she dropped her present policy of propaganda and 
 turned to the policy of securing her legitimate interests. She 
 would then see that she must lighten herself of her ballast of 
 German policy; and Austrian influence once removed from the 
 Middle German States, they would be much more likely to con- 
 form to Prussian political ideas. 
 
 In the course of conversation we touched upon the position of 
 the German upper classes. Roggenbach said he rejoiced to see 
 how many of the landed nobility had abandoned the pitiable 
 role of being dragged at the chariot wheels of the particularist 
 Junker policy. This they must do in self-preservation. Their 
 order spread all over Germany ; their politics therefore should be 
 German too. They were the class on which a German Constitu- 
 tion might found itself and so forth. In much of all this 
 Roggenbach was of course "suiting his company," but there is 
 a kernel of truth in what he said. He advised a general union 
 of German landed proprietors. I told him of the experiments 
 on these lines of the attendant difficulties. 
 
 The King received me with his wonted kindness, thanked 
 me for my sympathy and for having come so soon. I apologised 
 for having added even one more to the number of audiences. He 
 was still unwell and fatigued and sat in an arm-chair, I opposite 
 at the writing-table. He spoke first of Berlin, of the Upper 
 House, of the Reichsrath in Munich, &c. Presently he said: 
 "You remember when I saw you here last year how all the 
 German States were on good terms with Prussia;* they had 
 confidence in me. That is all changed now, there is much distrust 
 and dissension of every kind. We then touched on the Hessian 
 question, which he handled with thorough knowledge. Here 
 Austria and Bavaria were the most difficult to deal with. He did 
 not deny that the change of government in Prussia since the over- 
 throw of the Hessian Constitution had made it easier for him to 
 turn back than for Austria, where there had been no change either 
 of Sovereign or Ministers. However, there was now no other way 
 * The Congress at Baden in June i860.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 109 
 
 but to turn back. Finally he thanked me once more and I took 
 my leave. 
 
 Memorandum 0] the year 1862. 
 
 Among German statesmen and politicians there are many 
 who declare the dissatisfaction which has recently seized upon 
 the people to be wholly groundless. In their opinion the political 
 condition of Germany, though it no doubt leaves much to be 
 desired, is, on the whole, satisfactory, and only deliberate ill-will 
 could blind any one to the advantages offered by the existing 
 federal constitution. These gentlemen compare the Germany 
 of to-day with Germany as rearranged by the Imperial Commis- 
 sion of 1803,* and consider the federative organisation of the 
 German Confederation as it emerged from the laborious negotia- 
 tions of the Congress of Vienna infinitely preferable to the dis- 
 organisation of the old Empire. In this they are no doubt right, 
 for the worst defects of our present military organisation are 
 perfection compared with the old system of district contingents, 
 &c, in the days of the German Empire. The most regrettable 
 resolutions of the Diet of the Confederation are miracles of wisdom 
 compared to the deliberations of the Diet of Regensberg and our 
 present division of States looks imposing when placed side by 
 side with the patchwork map of the German Empire at the time 
 of the Peace of Luneville. 
 
 If, nevertheless, the commendable points of our Federal Con- 
 stitution are not appreciated, and the desire for its reform finds 
 determined expression on all sides, the reason will be found to lie 
 mainly in one cause — among many — which has perhaps not 
 received sufficient attention. It is a well-known fact that in 
 no part of Germany does the idea of German unity enjoy greater 
 popularity than in the South-Western States. 
 
 While Austria and Prussia treat the question of an improve- 
 ment in the Federal Constitution either as an unimportant detail 
 or use it as means of increasing their influence in Germany, or for 
 their own aggrandisement, in South-Western Germany it is 
 regarded as a matter of life and death and is the unceasing object 
 of anxious thought to politicians and eager excitement to the 
 masses. 
 
 No one in his senses will attribute this movement to revo- 
 lutionary agitators. Movements of this kind cannot be artificially 
 produced, their roots lie deep. We believe that the true cause 
 lies in the fact — more or less consciously recognised — that the 
 greater portion of the German nation has no voice in deter- 
 
 * The Reichsdeputationshauptschliiss of February 25, 1803, embodied 
 the decisions arrived at by a commission appointed by the Reichstag of 
 the old Empire. It provided {inter alia) for the secularisation of all the 
 ecclesiastical principalities, &c, mediatised most of the Imperial free 
 cities, and effected a considerable rearrangement of the territories of the 
 smaller states.
 
 no MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 mining its destinies, these destinies in relation to the out- 
 side world being settled by Austria and Prussia alone, to the 
 exclusion of the other sixteen millions of Germans. This sense of 
 exclusion weighs more heavily and is more bitter because South- 
 West Germany is the true source of the race, where the strain 
 is purest, whereas in Austria and Prussia the Teutonic element is 
 largely mingled with the Slav. Here, too, in the South West, 
 lies the cradle of our greatest ruling Houses; from this part 
 of Germany more particularly came the men who have exercised 
 the greatest influence over the intellectual development of the 
 nation; even to the present day the most prominent statesmen 
 in Austria and Prussia were of South German origin. This bitter- 
 ness is naturally intensified the more the people of these parts 
 become conscious of their intellectual and material superiority, and 
 yet find their political activity restricted to more or less local 
 interests. 
 
 It is incontestable that, for the political education and 
 invigoration of a people, they must have a share in these human 
 interests which are called high politics. It is certain that in 
 petty and narrow circumstances the individual citizen's horizon 
 is restricted, and his energy, soundness of judgment and strength 
 of character collapse and give place to a bourgeois sentimental- 
 ity and an unwholesome spirit of cosmopolitanism. It cannot 
 therefore be denied that the cry for German unity which now 
 goes up from the German States of the middle and lesser ranks, 
 is even as the struggle of a sick man to obtain the longed-for 
 remedy which he knows will cure his disease, and which alone 
 can save his life. 
 
 There are social philosophers who will say in reply, the Germans 
 are a Kulturvolk, whose mission is rather to guide the intellec- 
 tual development and solve the great questions of humanity 
 than to descend into the arena of political strife. We can only 
 hope that those who find comfort in this thought are endowed 
 with the resignation of the Jews, for the Jews, too, were a 
 Kulturvolk. But we refuse to believe that the German nation 
 has sunk so low as to find consolation for its political impo- 
 tence in an empty name. 
 
 Journey to Silesia and Berlin in the Winter of 1862. 
 
 In undertaking this journey I had two objects in view: to 
 discuss the question of the sale of Treffurt in Rauden; further 
 to consult with Victor about entering the Upper House, after which 
 I meant to go to Berlin and settle the matter. In connection 
 with which plan others were to be fitted in. 
 
 I arrived at Rauden on December 31; started off at once in 
 bitter weather on a boar hunt, but shot nothing. 
 
 The next day we had a great New Year's dinner, at which
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE in 
 
 Justizrat Engelmann and Wicsc were present, with whom I 
 discussed the Treffurt business. 
 
 After I had had a few days shooting in Rauden, Karl* came 
 over from Koschentin, and I had some interesting conversations 
 with him on the present political situation in Prussia. 
 
 He admits, like all other sensible people in Prussia, that there 
 is nothing for the Government but either to put itself boldly at the 
 head of the movement or to adopt a more conservative attitude. 
 Mere impartial good-nature all round will simply set both the 
 Upper House and the Democrats against the Government, as the 
 event of the elections has demonstrated. The democratic result 
 of these was due to three causes : 
 
 (i) Both country and townspeople are afraid of the burdens 
 attendant on the new military organisation, and believe that the 
 Democrats alone have the necessary pluck to stand up against 
 the King's wishes in that matter. 
 
 (2) The Ministry forbade the provincial officials to exercise 
 any influence on the elections, which consequently fell into 
 the hands of the Democratic District Councillors. 
 
 (3) The Kreuzzeitung party would sooner see red Democrats 
 than Liberal-Conservatives in office, so that their part in the 
 elections was a doubtful one. 
 
 In Oppeln I met the State Councillor Rudlofff and went 
 on with him to Breslau. His opinions agreed pretty much 
 with what I have just set down. I spent the day with him 
 in Breslau, learnt much from him on the present situation, spoke 
 of my plan regarding the Herrenhaus, and was advised to consult 
 Privy Councillor von Obstfelder in Berlin. Victor and Prince 
 Karl Lichnowsky joined me in the evening at the station, and I 
 arrived in Berlin on the morning of the 14th. Here the necessary 
 calls were made, I dined at the "Maison doree" and finished the 
 evening at the Casino. On two evenings I drank tea with the 
 Queen. On the first occasion I sat at the Queen's table between 
 Frau von LazarefF and Hugo, J on the second between the Queen 
 and Frau von LazarefT. There was an Ordensjest on Sunday the 
 19th. We assembled at 11.30 in the new chapel of the Palace, 
 which is almost too sumptuous for a Protestant church. There 
 was a seething mass of Orders of every description. To the right 
 of the. altar were jauteuils for the Royal Family, opposite, on 
 the left, the seats of the Knights of the Black Eagle. The 
 rest of the Knights took their places according to the precedence 
 of their Order. The Royal Family appeared at 12.30, the ladies 
 wearing trains. Then began the service according to the Protes- 
 tant Liturgy; the choir was excellent. The sermon, which was 
 in good taste, purposeful and very well delivered, was preached 
 by a Wurtemberger named Hofmann. He described candour, 
 
 * Prince Karl zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1820-1890). 
 
 t Whom the Prince knew as a barrister in Coblentz. 
 
 X Prince Hugo of Hohenlohe-Oehringen, Duke of Ujest (1816-1897).
 
 ii2 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 steadfastness and devotion to Christ as the three qualities which 
 should adorn the true Knight. After the service came a grand 
 dinner of five hundred covers. I sat between two Court ladies, 
 Countess Brandenburg and Countess Schwerin. On the other 
 side of the latter sat Field-Marshal Wrangel, who grew ex- 
 tremely merry and noisy towards the end, as did the somewhat 
 mixed company in the other rooms. It was all over by half- 
 past four. 
 
 Berlin, January 18, 1862. 
 
 At half-past two to-day I had audience with the Crown Prince. 
 After a little conversation on general subjects he began about our 
 family affairs, the entailed estates of Ratibor and Corvey, and 
 about Treffurt too. At his request I explained it all to him and 
 laid stress upon the fact that I thought of acquiring more property 
 in Prussia. To this he replied that he was the more pleased to 
 hear it as he had learnt with regret that I had renounced my 
 intention of entering the Prussian Upper House. I then told 
 him that I had consulted my brother last year as to the advisa- 
 bility of my doing so, and had received a favourable answer, but 
 that at that time and during the session of the Bavarian Par- 
 liament I had not ventured to make an application in the 
 matter. In consequence of this delay the report had got 
 about that I had abandoned my previous intention. This was 
 not the case at all. On the contrary, I was now in a position 
 to take the necessary steps at any moment, as I considered 
 the work in the Prussian Upper House entirely compatible 
 with my duties in Bavaria, where we sat only once every three 
 years. As to the political side of the question, that presented 
 no difficulties to me — I was already decried in Munich as a 
 Prussian, and should, therefore, be neither better nor worse off 
 in Bavaria than before. I then proceeded to give him a detailed 
 account of my political history, beginning with a complete descrip- 
 tion of the Imperial Mission, going on to my political position in 
 Bavaria, laid stress on my vote in 1849 and wound up by 
 characterising my position at that time as a "Little German." 
 The Prince listened with great attention, and then openly admitted 
 his own "Little German" leanings; expressed his satisfac- 
 tion at Herr von Roggenbach's work, and agreed with me entirely 
 when I observed that considering the prevailing state of feeling 
 in South Germany, and the extremely subtle and secret plans 
 of the Emperor Napoleon, we could not proceed too carefully. 
 Finally, I begged the Crown Prince to tell the King that I had by 
 no means given up my intentions with regard to entering the 
 Upper House, and was ready at any moment, if it pleased his 
 Majesty, to take the necessary steps.* 
 
 * The Prince gave up all idea of entering the Prussian Herrenhaus, 
 however, in consequence of the struggle over the Constitution. On 
 December 12, 1862, he wrote to the Duke of Ratibor: "It would seem
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 113 
 
 Berlin, January 21, 1862. 
 
 This evening again I took tea with the Queen and had a long 
 conversation with her on literature and literary people. She 
 holds very sensible views on the intercourse with savants and the 
 dangers attendant thereon. The King, as usual, came in rather 
 later, was very cheerful and conversational, but sat so far away 
 that I did not get a word with him till just before the end of the 
 soiree. 
 
 January 24. 
 
 This morning the Queen sent me word I was to come to her at 
 half-past three, "in morning-dress." As I knew that, for all their 
 Anglomania, the frock-coat is not yet recognised at Court as 
 morning-dress, I put on a dress-coat, but permitted myself a black 
 tie. The Queen was out driving, but had deputed Countess 
 Haacke to keep me company till her return. 
 
 At four o'clock the Queen arrived, dismissed the Countess, and 
 seating herself just as she was in bonnet and cloak at a table in the 
 window, motioned me to a seat at the other end of the table. 
 
 She said she was anxious to ask me a few questions which 
 I was to answer quite frankly, regardless of who or what she was, 
 simply as an old friend. Formerly the Prince of Hohenzollern 
 had kept her in touch with politics, but his health had made 
 his retirement absolutely necessary. She did not interfere at 
 all in political matters, she only saw the Ministers when they 
 came to tea, and therefore could not gain any information 
 from them. She confessed to me frankly that she was greatly 
 depressed. She had never imagined that ruling was so difficult, 
 or that the circumstances of her new position would present them- 
 selves to her in so wretched a light after so short a time. The 
 King was irritable and disspirited, the outlook was very gloomy, 
 the people with whom one came in contact, the party leaders, 
 seemed to her so unpleasant, so far from being gentlemen in the 
 English sense of the word. They all seemed up in arms against one 
 another, so that she was thoroughly anxious, especially as she 
 heard from all sides that the situation was critical. 
 
 "The King and I," she continued, "are old people; we can 
 hardly hope to do more than work for the future. But I wish I 
 could look forward to a happier state of things for our son." 
 
 She then turned to foreign politics. Here the question of 
 German unity played the chief part. They bore a grudge against 
 her personally on that account and cast aspersions on her. She 
 advocated neither a policy of immobility nor of conquest; she 
 stood fair between the two parties ; she would have every German 
 ruler retain his rights, without, on the other hand, closing her ears 
 to the urgent desires and needs of the times. 
 
 to me nothing less than indelicate to apply to his Majesty for a seat in the 
 Herrenhaus when I was almost sure, sooner or later, that my opinions 
 would clash with those held by the Sovereign. 
 
 vol. 1 — 1
 
 ii 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 When she had finished I rapidly debated in my own mind 
 what her real aim might be. I could not quite see what she wanted, 
 but I thought it best to give her my views quite openly. I began, 
 therefore, by saying that I had always agreed with the old saying * 
 which Dahlmann took for the motto of his policy: "We should 
 neither weep nor laugh at human things, but endeavour to com- 
 prehend them." Therefore I could not regard the present 
 situation in Prussia so seriously. I begged her not to forget that 
 by the legislation of the last forty years Prussia had become 
 democratic through and through, and that this democratisation 
 dated from a period which the Prussian people regarded with 
 pride and glory. I pointed to the Ordensjest as being a typically 
 Prussian but nevertheless a democratic ceremony. Though this 
 spirit had been repressed during the reign of King Friedrich 
 Wilhelm IV., that was, after all, only repression, not destruction ; 
 with the new reign and the hopes engendered by it the old demo- 
 cratic spirit had revived in full force. This was one reason for 
 the Democratic elections ; another was that the peasants and the 
 rest of the tax-payers had thought that the Democrats, being less 
 timid, would be more likely to cut down the Budget than the 
 Ministerialists. To dissolve the Chamber, however, because of 
 these elections, I should consider a great mistake. Circumstances 
 might occur during the course of the session to make such a step 
 necessary, but upon that I could not hazard an opinion. 
 
 I also pointed out to the Queen that Constitutional Govern- 
 ment in Prussia was barely ten years old ; that many a move- 
 ment which was looked upon as a political catastrophe was merely 
 a symptom of that process of development which we in the 
 South German States had passed through much earlier. The 
 conflict between modern constitutionalism and the feudalism of the 
 mediaeval State was naturally much fiercer in Prussia than 
 elsewhere. This was a struggle which England had still before 
 her, and which the majority of the Continental States had already 
 fought out. 
 
 It was, of course, to be regretted that in our political life 
 we had not "gentlemen" to deal with, but it was a term for 
 which, in this connection, we had no equivalent. 
 
 As to foreign policy, I quite approved of her views. It was 
 more necessary than ever to play a waiting game. The German 
 question would be near its solution if revolutionary principles 
 gained the upper hand in Europe, but further from it if the 
 principle of "historic tradition" were given another trial. Just 
 recently the latter event seemed to have come to pass. At such 
 a moment, if the situation shows the faintest sign of becoming 
 more stable, no German Prince dreams of renouncing a single 
 right which is profitable to his officials. The number of Legations, 
 for instance, will not be reduced. The whole question, I con- 
 tinued, presented infinite difficulties, and at the moment I saw 
 
 * Of Spinoza.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 115 
 
 no possibility of coming to any satisfactory conclusion. We 
 conversed some time on this subject, on the indignation aroused 
 by Bernstorff's note,* deplored the hostile attitude of the Allge- 
 meine Zeitung, and so forth. 
 
 Finally her Majesty said she was anxious to speak to me 
 about my own position. "Leonille f has often told me she wished 
 you would take some post in Prussia. That is my wish, too. 
 We need you." Here followed some flattering remarks. " I 
 think the only way is for you to enter the Upper House. Would 
 it not be possible? Could you combine it with your duties in 
 Bavaria? For those you must not give up. We have so few 
 links with South Germany that this one would be of the utmost 
 value." So that was her real object in this interview, to play 
 the mediator between Prussian schemes and South Germany ! 
 
 I explained that I had already made inquiries as to the feasi- 
 bility of my entering the Upper House, that I had only deferred, 
 and not abandoned, the idea last year, and that I had every in- 
 tention of taking it up again, although there were sure to be 
 difficulties. 
 
 After a few more remarks on personal matters she rose, still 
 talking fast as she went towards the door, turned at the door, 
 gave me her hand, which I touched respectfully with my lips, 
 and disappeared. 
 
 PARIS — THE WINTER OF 1862 
 
 Extract from a letter to Princess Elise. 
 
 Paris, February 22, 1862. 
 
 ... I must confess that I am not enjoying myself particularly 
 here. Amusement has no meaning for me except as a rest from 
 work. But when a man of my age has no work he is bored. 
 My interests are not here, but at home. What I see here only 
 fills me with vexation. For here is a great nation with a national 
 centre, vast, world-wide interests, plans and thoughts, while at 
 home there is nothing but dissension, the splitting up of national 
 energy, projects, and thought, and Germany fails to occupy 
 the position which ought to be hers in times such as these. They 
 class us here with the Poles — a nation that has had its day, 
 
 * Prussia had replied to von Beust, the Saxon Minister's scheme of 
 reform, in which he proposed that Austria and Prussia should alternate 
 in the Presidency of the Confederation, by a note of December 20, 1861, 
 declaring that the formation of a Federal State within the Confederation was 
 not only feasible, but that it was the only feasible plan. Against this 
 Austria and the Middle German States protested in identical notes, 
 February 2, 1862. 
 
 f Princess Hohenlohe's step-mother, Princess Leonille of Sayn- 
 Wittgenstein, an intimate friend of the Empress Augusta.
 
 u6 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 by whose dissensions they can profit and whose remains they 
 are already preparing to devour. All this detracts from the 
 pleasure of my stay. I am too much of a politician to be 
 able to help seeing everything from that point of view. 
 
 Paris, February 23. 
 
 The sermon I heard to-day in the Church of St. Clothilde 
 interested me in many respects. 
 
 I went with Princess Wittgenstein, and we arrived at two 
 o'clock, although the sermon was not to begin till a quarter-past 
 three. 
 
 The church is in beautiful Gothic style, and was only com- 
 pleted in 1857. The stained glass is middling. The organ has 
 a very beautiful tone, but the music during vespers is too pastoral 
 in style, a sort of Swiss air with variations. The preacher, Father 
 Felix, a Jesuit, a little man, perhaps thirty, perhaps forty years 
 of age. He spoke very distinctly, now and then a trifle theatrically, 
 but on the whole extremely well. 
 
 The object of the sermon was to solicit contributions to 
 a Carmelite monastery to be founded at Meaux. He answered 
 the question as to the need of monasteries in general and of the 
 Carmelites in particular by pointing to the egoism of the times which 
 was apparent everywhere, and was the ruining of the home as well as 
 of the State. " U egoisme dans I'Etat," he said, "c'est la tyrannie 
 en haut, le seruilisme en bas, la depravation partout." This egoism, 
 the radical evil of our day, manifested itself in three ways, as 
 avarice, sensuality, and arrogance, and these the Carmelites 
 sought to combat by taking the vows of poverty, chastity, and 
 obedience. It was a well-thought-out and well-delivered sermon. 
 
 February 24. 
 This evening we were at Galiera's, where we found most of the 
 Faubourg St. Germain assembled. Thiers was there and Monta- 
 lembert, and the former Minister, Count Duchatel. The Due 
 de Valencay, who had just returned from Berlin, talked of the 
 prevailing tone there. An aged M. de Pontois regretted 
 the disunion in Germany. Canofari, ex-Ambassador of the 
 King of Naples, goes about with a face of gloom. He is a shrewd 
 diplomatist, but will wait in vain, I fear, for the restoration of the 
 kingdom of Naples. There is much talk of the scenes which have 
 taken place in the Senate, and of Prince Napoleon's speech.* 
 I am convinced that this speech was not made without, the 
 Emperor's approval, although yesterday both the Due de Tacher 
 and the Due de Bassano assured everybody that the Emperor 
 had no such views. On the contrary, the Emperor, feeling that 
 
 * At the debate on the Address in the Senate on February 22, Prince 
 Napoleon had made a very violent speech against the legitimist Count 
 Laroche Jacquelin.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 117 
 
 the occupation of Rome has damaged him with the democratic 
 party, has seized this opportunity to throw dust in their eyes 
 by making them a concession through his cousin. 
 
 Paris, March 9. 
 
 The German question is at present occupying all statesmen, 
 not only of Germany but of all Europe. And very naturally. 
 Every question of the present day which is seized upon and 
 exploited by the party of revolution must absorb the attention of 
 all thinking men, to a greater or less extent in proportion as 
 the grievances and discontent underlying such "questions" are 
 well founded. What we call "questions" nowadays are wide- 
 spread movements, oscillations of the whole human race, enigmas 
 which have to be solved. The German question did not spring 
 fully armed from the heads of the demagogues ; it arose out of 
 the nature of things, and its spirit permeates every party in 
 Germany. For a whole people whose separate component States 
 are united by the tie of a common language and literature, who are 
 moved by common interests, and who in consequence of increasing 
 travelling facilities come daily into closer connection with one 
 another, will not endure indefinitely a state of disintegration 
 which degrades them to the position of being the plaything of 
 foreign intrigues and the scorn of foreign nations. 
 
 Herein lies the great danger, and this is the reason why even 
 the most peaceable and conservative people in Germany have been 
 driven to declare: "We must have union, and since we cannot 
 achieve it by lawful methods, then it must be by revolution." 
 
 Thus demagogy enlists decent people on its side and swells to 
 a power which no Government can control. The question is : 
 Can the revolution, which, though not immediate, is unavoidable, 
 be obviated by prompt measures of reform ? 
 
 The proposals hitherto made by the various Governments for 
 reforming the Confederation are utterly impracticable. Herr 
 von Beust's * scheme was merely a move to checkmate Prussia. 
 Perfectly aware that Prussia would not accept it, the Middle 
 German States made this cheap offer which they will never have 
 an opportunity of carrying out. 
 
 The word Pan-German has two meanings. Either it means 
 "one great German Republic," in which the German-Austrian 
 States would be included, or it is an empty phrase coined to work 
 against Prussia and lull the good citizen to sleep. The Pan- 
 German Federative State may be all very well in theory; in 
 practice it is out of the question. It premises the renunciation 
 by the rulers of certain sovereign rights which only the revolution 
 will force them to give up. But if it came to that, if the revo- 
 lution were such a power as to be able to force the German rulers 
 to obey her behests, she would certainly not be satisfied with a 
 Federative State. 
 
 * See note, p. 115.
 
 n8 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 A practical Pan-German programme has never existed and 
 never will exist. 
 
 The antagonism between Prussia and Austria may be deplored, 
 but cannot be argued away. It is just as impossible that Prussia 
 should be under Austria as Austria under Prussia. The monarchs 
 and diplomatists can do nothing either for or against it. The 
 people themselves will not have it so. All this talk of the revival 
 of a German Empire under the House of Hapsburg is mere 
 visionary nonsense. 
 
 But if we do not want a Pan-German Republic, if we see that 
 a continuance of the present state of affairs must lead to revo- 
 lution, we must think of some plan which is not outside the bounds 
 of possibility. The logical result is that we come back to Herr 
 von Radowitz's idea : a Federal State under Prussia and an 
 alliance with Austria. 
 
 This plan miscarried because in 1849 people were not yet 
 convinced that any other plan was impossible. Thirteen 
 years have passed since then, and the idea has gained ground 
 every day. But the idea of a Federal State also came to grief 
 through the opposition of the Catholic party in Germany, to 
 whom the prospect of putting themselves under a Protestant 
 Emperor was most distasteful. There, I think, the Catholic 
 party is wrong. By clinging to the Pan-German programme it 
 only hinders reform without getting any nearer to the realisation 
 of its desires. It works for stagnation and therefore revolution, 
 whereas under a Prussian sovereign it would lose nothing, but 
 would gain greater freedom for the Church. The position of 
 the Catholics in Prussia as compared to their position elsewhere 
 in Germany is a proof of this. 
 
 It lies with this party now to decide whether the reform of the 
 German Confederation shall be accomplished by peaceful methods 
 or by revolution. If it takes up the idea of a National Assembly 
 the various Governments will be obliged to yield. A conser- 
 vative element will thereby be introduced into the movement 
 which will be a guarantee for its remaining purely a movement 
 of reform. 
 
 A word from Montalembert to this effect would be of incal- 
 culable importance and find instantaneous response. 
 
 March 10. 
 
 I laboured away at Montalembert to-day on the foregoing 
 subject. He brought forward two arguments against it : 
 
 (1) He complains of Prussian intolerance towards the Catho- 
 lics, particularly in the matter of the Universities. He says that 
 Friedrich Wilhelm III.'s hostile policy had set the Catholics 
 against Prussia. Besides that, par suite d'un prejuge et de tradi- 
 tions, the Catholics in Germany were attached to the House 
 of Austria, and were consequently against Prussia. 
 
 (2) He considers Herr von Radowitz's idea impracticable,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 119 
 
 because Austria was made for a Federal State, and would be 
 unable to force her conflicting racial dependencies into any con- 
 tinued unity. 
 
 I vindicated Herr von Schmerling's ideas, and did my best 
 to disprove his first contention. In the middle of it we were 
 
 interrupted. 
 
 Karlsruhe, September 26, 1862. 
 
 While in Karlsruhe I managed to have several conversations 
 with Roggenbach, partly about my private affairs, partly on 
 questions of general political interest. At a supper at his house 
 the Prussian question came up and was discussed by him and me 
 and the two Holsteins. The present state of affairs, said Prince W. 
 Holstein, was owing to the power and the influence still exercised 
 by the Kruezzeilung party, not only in the Upper House, but 
 towards the Crown and society in general. Everything was 
 suffering under the pressure. There was a good deal of talk 
 about details, the arrangements of administrative districts, &c, 
 which Prince Fr. Holstein considered important. But Roggen- 
 bach urged that the one thing needful was that the aristocracy, 
 or a part of it, should put itself at the head of the movement 
 so far as its claims were legitimate, and that they should leaven 
 the Liberal party with a Conservative element, instead of seeking 
 to import Liberalism into the various Conservative groups. The 
 rest would follow. 
 
 With regard to the German question, Roggenbach observed 
 that it could not be fully discussed till some great European 
 question, such as the Eastern, should give a handle for forcing 
 the Powers into making concessions to Germany. She could 
 not constitute herself de but en blanc into a united State without 
 taking the European balance of power into consideration and 
 instantly calling a coalition against her into being. This would, 
 however, be avoided if the Powers were divided on some 
 other European question, and an opportunity was thus afforded 
 to throw the concession regarding the German and Holstein 
 questions into the balance as a makeweight to the alliance. 
 
 At the Court ball Prince W. Holstein and Roggenbach re- 
 turned to the Prussian question, and Roggenbach emphasised 
 the fact that, above all things, it was necessary to form a party 
 in the Upper House, who were capable of administration and who 
 could take the initiative and gain the respect of the country, so 
 that, should a crisis occur, they would stand out as men of whom 
 a Government might be formed. 
 
 In my last conference with Roggenbach, when we were alone, 
 we first discussed Austria's position in Germany. Austria's 
 business, he said, was to reduce her sphere of influence within 
 definite limits and to settle her attitude to Germany, thus fixing 
 her position in accordance with what was possible. Her present 
 aim was to destroy Prussia and make herself sovereign of Mid- 
 Europe. This was a task, however, quite beyond her power to
 
 120 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 carry out. Europe would never suffer the destruction of Protes- 
 tant Prussia, and Austria's supremacy in Germany was absolutely 
 conditional on that destruction. If, therefore, the object of these 
 enthusiasts in Austria was unattainable, the whole matter became 
 a fruitless agitation, with possibly dire consequences to Austria. 
 The moment the Pan- German programme ceased to be negative 
 it became a radical one. He quite agreed with me that to have 
 a Parliament without a strong central government was to play 
 into the hands of the revolution. 
 
 As regards my own position, he said at the close of the inter- 
 view: "When the present Crown Prince came to the throne, 
 they would have to look about for a man whose position, 
 education, and views fitted him for the post of Premier. He 
 knew no one so suitable as myself, and the way was being prepared. 
 As Minister for Foreign Affairs in such a case he should propose 
 Usedom. (I fancy, however, he was reaHy thinking of himself, 
 for Usedom is quite unsuited to the post.) 
 
 His programme seems to smack somewhat of Cavour. 
 He wants to put Prussia at the head of Germany, at Austria's 
 expense. If Austria goes under, the Austro-German provinces 
 will fall naturally to Germany. That is the fin mot of the Little 
 German programme. Once "Little Germany" is constituted, 
 Austria is to be the German Venetia. That is why Herr 
 Metz of Darmstadt let the cat out of the bag when he spoke of the 
 Austrians as our "whipping boys." This was premature, but 
 we shall hear of it again. 
 
 Roggenbach thinks that all these assemblies in Frankfurt, 
 Weimar, and so on will come to nothing. To my objection that 
 they knew nothing of me, supposing I ever came to be Prussian 
 Premier, he answered very naively: "If you serve a dish, you 
 supply the sauce to it. The Press will see to that." 
 
 Journey to Frankfurt to the Congress o) German Princes. 
 
 Friday, August 14, left Munich at six in the morning for 
 Frankfurt via Ulm and Stuttgart. 
 
 At one of the numerous changes I was joined by Count Wald- 
 stein, a member of the Austrian Upper House, who was also on 
 his way to the Congress at Frankfurt. He told me much that 
 was interesting about affairs in Bohemia, and appeared to belong 
 to the Unionist party. His opinions on the German-Czech 
 aristocratic party were most sensible. The decorations were in 
 progress at the stations all along the route. The heat was beyond 
 words. We arrived at Frankfurt in a boiling condition. I se- 
 cured a modest room at the Hotel de Russie, and hastened to 
 change my clothes and go down to dinner. There, to my very 
 agreeable surprise, I found Mulhens, and we spent the evening
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 121 
 
 together, going after dinner, first to Madame Metzler, then for a 
 moment to the theatre, where we saw the last act of The Merchant 
 0} Venice. 
 
 I have heard nothing as yet about the Congress; everybody 
 is too busy decorating their houses, arranging the procession and 
 suitable quarters for the exalted personages who are expected. 
 
 August 15. 
 
 At ten o'clock to the Duke of Coburg. I found him delighted 
 that the idea suggested by the Emperor had been carried out. 
 He thinks the Emperor should at once lay a fresh Constitution 
 for the Confederation before the German Princes. Prussia would 
 then withdraw from the Confederation, but in a fortnight's time 
 would be only too glad to enter it again. The King of Bavaria, 
 he said, was furious, the other monarchs quite nonplussed ; 
 indeed it was altogether a very comical situation that these 
 gentlemen, who had just forbidden the German flag in their 
 dominions, should find themselves compelled to sit fuming under 
 the magnificent black, red, and gold flag flying over their several 
 residences here in Frankfurt. 
 
 I next called on Pfordten.* He was very friendly, but 
 seemed . to take a gloomy view of the whole situation. He 
 thought it peculiar that no communication had been made 
 beforehand. That his friendship for Austria and antipathy 
 against Prussia should have brought this upon him caused him 
 a very disagreeable impression. He was evidently disconcerted 
 and out of humour with Austria. I was not at all sorry to see 
 him in this dilemma, which I had long ago predicted for 
 these Bavarian gentlemen. I am curious about the King; they 
 say he has suddenly developed extraordinary sympathy for 
 Prussia. 
 
 At five o'clock in the afternoon I went with the Miilhens and 
 Prince Bernhard Solms, with whom I had dined, to the Beifuss 
 house, from the balcony of which we were to watch the Emperor's 
 entry into the town. 
 
 At six came the Emperor in an open caliche seated for two 
 people. As they had expected he would arrive with eight 
 horses and a great suite, of course nobody recognised him, and 
 there was not one hurrah as he drove past. Only Frau von 
 Bethmann, on our balcony, threw down a bouquet or two, but, 
 fortunately for the Emperor, they missed the carriage. 
 
 In the evening we strolled about the streets, and at nine 
 o'clock I drove to Madame Metzler's, where I stayed till eleven. 
 The King of Hanover arrived just as I got home. 
 
 To-day, the 16th, great crowds in the streets, the Sovereigns 
 visiting one another, the public staring and criticising. 
 
 * Freiherr von der Pfordten represented Bavaria in the Diet of the 
 Confederation from 1859 to 1864.
 
 122 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 The situation would seem to be as follows: Austria will 
 bring forward a delegation scheme, the details of which are not 
 known. The Duke of Coburg and Herr von Herstorf are 
 supposed to have originated the idea. 
 
 The King of Bavaria and the Grand Duke of Baden are against 
 it, Wiirtemberg will accept it, of Hanover I know nothing. The 
 Austrians have the best of it in any case. If nothing comes 
 of it they can always say we were ready to do anything, but the 
 German Sovereigns would not agree. If discontent and revolu- 
 tion follow they will retire into the security of their united king- 
 dom and fish in troubled waters. Should the Sovereigns agree, 
 however, then Austria will gain what she has long hankered 
 after: the supremacy over a dominion of seventy million souls. 
 Regarded thus the coup is extremely adroit, but whether in the 
 interests of Germany is another question. 
 
 Afternoon. 
 
 It appears that the scheme for the new Constitution is not so 
 bad after all — a Directorate, a Council of Princes in which the 
 Free Cities will have a vote, and a House of Delegates with pretty 
 extensive powers. A deputation of the Princes will be sent to 
 request the concurrence of Prussia. The first debate is to take 
 place to-morrow. God grant that the opposition which is bound 
 to arise may not wreck the whole business. 
 
 My day was spent mostly in the streets. At every turn one 
 met ministers and diplomatists, Apponyi from London, Larisch, 
 Schrenck, and so on. I paid my respects to the Duke of Augus- 
 tenburg at the Englischer Hof. 
 
 In the evening fatigue and a stroll through the Zoological 
 Gardens. 
 
 At eleven o'clock of the same day Hermann * came to me to say 
 that he was to have an interview to-morrow with State Councillor 
 Samwer, attached to the Duke of Coburg, on the subject of the 
 position of the Free Cities in the Council of Princes. He wished 
 me to be present. 
 
 August 18. 
 
 In consequence, I went this morning to the Duke of Coburg's, 
 where I found the Duke at breakfast with Hermann, Erbach, and 
 a few gentlemen. 
 
 The new Constitution was discussed and I now heard the 
 details of the project. 
 
 A Directorate will be formed of five members, Austria to 
 have one vote, Prussia one, Bavaria one. The Assembly of 
 Princes will consist of the former Diet. 
 
 The nobles are to have a share in the Legislative vote in the 
 Council of Princes. This has already met with opposition. The 
 
 * Prince Hermann of Hohenlohe-Langenberg, the present Governor 
 of Alsace-Lorraine.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 123 
 
 question to be decided in Hermann's consultation with Samwer 
 is, therefore, whether we are to use our efforts to get into 
 the Federal Council. We thought, however, it would be 
 more to the purpose to enter the Council of Princes. There is 
 not much to be done either way, only by the latter means 
 you maintain the principle of equality of birth. This is Samwer's 
 opinion too. However, to his thinking this Constitution by no 
 means settles the question of the Federal State. The Constitu- 
 tion would not last very long, and then the question of the Federal 
 State would come up just as before. 
 
 At eleven o'clock the meeting is to take place at which the 
 Emperor will lay the project before the Sovereigns. The King of 
 Bavaria will reply, they say. The Sovereigns will then enter into 
 debate upon the question, which will last for several days. There 
 is talk of a deputation of Princes, with the King of Saxony at 
 its head, to be sent to Baden to the King of Prussia. It is not 
 thought that Prussia will retire from the Confederation, especially 
 if Hanover joins it. 
 
 On Monday, August 17, 1 determined to go to Munich, return- 
 ing on Thursday, as there must necessarily be a pause in the 
 proceedings during those days. The Assembly of Princes had 
 decided to address a letter to the King of Prussia. 
 
 After one day in Munich I returned to Frankfurt on Thursday 
 the 20th. The King of Saxony * had not yet returned. In the 
 evening I went to the Duke of Coburg's, where I found Hermann. 
 Here I noticed at once that the situation was completely changed. 
 The Duke lamented that nothing would be achieved; that his 
 brother-in-law, the Grand Duke of Baden, was agitating vigorously 
 against the scheme; that behind the Grand Duke stood the 
 Gotha party, with Hausser and Bluntschli at its head, determined 
 to oppose Austria; that the Grand Duke obstructed every- 
 thing, stirred up the Princes against Austria, and was personally 
 discourteous to the Emperor. 
 
 I went home with Hermann, who was going back to Langen- 
 burg the next morning. 
 
 Friday, August 21. 
 
 This morning to the sitting of the Diet of Deputies, which is 
 held in a fine room in the so-called Saalbau with roomy galleries. 
 The Standing Committee of the Diet proposed without further cere- 
 mony to elect the officers and to that end proposed Bennigsen, 
 Unruh, and Barth, who were accordingly at once nominated 
 Presidents. Benningsen made a kind of inaugural address in a 
 well-modulated voice, and admirably expressed. He looks young 
 and has the assured manner of a man who has moved much in 
 public life. Unruh is the typical Prussian Government official. 
 Barth was no stranger to me. The most important of the speeches 
 
 *Who had gone to Baden on August 19 as the bearer of the letter from 
 the Assembly to the King of Prussia.
 
 124 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 was that of Hausser, wherein he very clearly expounded the 
 attitude of his party as regards the Emperor's projects of re- 
 form. I saw at once from this that Austria has nothing to hope 
 for from the Liberal party in Germany, who hold fast to the su- 
 premacy of Prussia and the programme of the National Union. 
 Welcker, who has grown very old, spoke with his wonted energy 
 for a National Constitution. Schulze-Delitzsch's speech was 
 fine, but more suited to a popular meeting. Some of the other 
 speakers were absolutely below criticism, for instance, a mouthing 
 Jew called Fischer from Breslau, a Herr Becker, and one or two 
 others unknown to fame. 
 
 I was there again in the afternoon, but as I could not stay 
 after four I missed Volk's speech, which was good, I hear. At five 
 o'clock I dined at the Russicher Hof with Larisch, who is here 
 as Minister for Altenburg. He, in his good old familiar way, is 
 frankly against the Austrian Reform scheme. He holds the Reform 
 to be impossible without the absolute equality of the two Great 
 Powers, and that such equality is impossible within the Confedera- 
 tion. To have a Confederation containing Austria would simply 
 be to perpetuate the present state of things. To set Austria at 
 the head of a Federal State would mean the humiliation of Prussia 
 in which the smaller Sovereigns had no wish to lend a hand, and 
 to which the Prussian people and the Prussian Army would never 
 submit. This is the opinion of Oldenburg, Baden, Meiningen, 
 Altenburg, and others. Darmstadt and Nassau side with Austria, 
 as does Saxony most probably, because the shrewd Herr von 
 Beust thinks nothing will come of it anyhow. Bavaria withholds 
 her opinion as yet; Wiirtemberg too is undecided. As the 
 Liberal masses are not satisfied with the Reform projects, the 
 Sovereigns say to themselves, Why should we surrender our 
 independence if even our own Liberals are not going to thank us ? 
 For Austria, of course, they will not stir a step for all their ostenta- 
 tious display of sympathy. Prussia's absence from the Congress is 
 a splendid excuse for their doing nothing. And now the German 
 Diet of Deputies is supporting them ! If these professors under- 
 stood their own interests they would have got their Parliament 
 even if it were made up only of delegates; they would at least 
 have had something to take hold of and could have rearranged 
 things later as circumstances permitted. Instead of which they 
 foolishly cling to the idea of a National Constitution, which no 
 human being will ever give them, and so finally will get nothing 
 at all. Once more I have thoroughly convinced myself that the 
 German people are not ripe for a United Germany. If they ever 
 will be God alone knows. 
 
 At Roggenbach's I found a number of diplomats of the Prus- 
 sian persuasion putting their heads together. This is the head- 
 quarters of those who oppose the scheme because they do not 
 want Austria in Germany. They want to remain pure unadul- 
 terated German — no concessions to Austria. Here Liberalism
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 125 
 
 is mixed with a due care for the maintenance of the individual 
 sovereignties and for their personal ambitions; and great stress 
 will be laid on the principle that Prussia must not be out-voted. 
 All these gentlemen are favourable to Prussia, but they are joined 
 in secret by many who were hitherto on the side of Austria, and 
 still are so openly. They are ostensibly displeased at the conduct 
 of Austria's enemies, but in their hearts are thankful to be able to 
 draw their heads out of the halter of the Austrian Confederation 
 Reform. 
 
 To-day, the 22nd, at one o'clock in the morning, Austria sent 
 round a proposal in which the Princes are asked definitely to 
 accept in the conference to-day the chief points in their favour, 
 and leave the details to be discussed by the Ministers. Great 
 consternation among the smaller opponents. Even the Duke of 
 Coburg thinks this is going too far and that the petty Sovereigns 
 should not submit to it. Great driving about of the Ministers in 
 the early morning. The conference takes place at eleven o'clock. 
 It appears, however, that Austria has lost the game. In my opinion 
 they quite deceived themselves in Vienna as to the feeling among 
 the petty Sovereigns. They imagined they had them safely bagged 
 and that Prussia was to be annihilated by a coup d'etat. This 
 has missed fire because the German sovereigns at once formed 
 front against Austria when they saw she meant to crush one 
 or other of them. Had Austria known her ground better she 
 would not have carried out this manoeuvre, or else she should 
 have adopted a more revolutionary programme and won over 
 democracy by a Democratic Constitution. 
 
 August 22. 
 
 Austria withdrew the proposal she sent round in the night, 
 at the instance, it appears, of the King of Saxony. The con- 
 ference then took place with much stormy discussion, I am told. 
 Down to Article 6 they were agreed, except as to Article 3 — 
 the Directorate — which was set aside for further debate this 
 afternoon. The petty Princes are unwilling to put themselves 
 unconditionally under this Directorate of Five; they wish that 
 it should represent the united sovereignty of the German Con- 
 federated State, but not the supremacy of one ruler over another. 
 They .therefore wish to provide that the Directory must lay a 
 sort of account of its stewardship before the Council of Princes. 
 The Kings are not satisfied with a Directory of Five — Saxony 
 proposes six, of whom Austria and Prussia are to choose two, 
 Bavaria one, Saxony, Wurtemberg, and Hanover two, and the 
 rest of the Princes one. 
 
 This is to be put to the vote to-morrow in the Emperor's 
 presence. This one point settled, the rest will not take very 
 long, so that Wednesday will probably see the end of it all. 
 
 In the evening there was a ball at Baron Bethmann's. I met 
 a number of people I knew — Herr von Vincke (Gisbert), who now
 
 126 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 lives here, Sternberg, Dumreicher, Zacharia from Gottingen, and 
 others. The Grand Duke of Baden drew me aside to give me his 
 views. The Grand Duke of Weimar invited me to Weimar in the 
 autumn. I spoke besides to the Duke and the Hereditary 
 Prince of Meiningen, to Rechberg, Crenneville, Schrenck, and 
 many others. The news that the Bavarian Chamber has declared 
 for the draft Constitution made a great sensation. 
 
 Herr von Kerstorft remarked that it was high time the 
 Sovereigns cleared out of Frankfurt, "they were beginning to bore 
 people." 
 
 Prince and Princess Metternich were also present at the ball, 
 the latter in a somewhat conspicuous toilette and very much 
 rouged. 
 
 I drove to the races this afternoon with Lerchenfeld and 
 Hompesch. On the Royal stand were the Emperor, the Elector 
 of Hesse, the Duke of Meiningen, and a few more. 
 
 After the races to the Grand Duke of Baden. He gave me 
 details of the conference, and said that those Sovereigns who 
 raised any objections to the Reform Act were terrorised by 
 Austria and the majority. He had ventured to point out that 
 the discussion could not be carried on without some show of 
 business order, but no one took any notice. They went on talk- 
 ing, and at last the Emperor said: "We will try putting the 
 separate paragraphs to the vote," and this "trial" proceeding 
 was forthwith employed for good. Immediately after the reading 
 of the first Article on the purpose of the Confederation, the 
 Emperor had asked if any one had anything to say against it. 
 No one spoke, so he, the Grand Duke, observed that this Article 
 covered the most important constitutional questions, but as 
 none of those present expressed any opinion on the subject, he 
 concluded that they had no wish to discuss it. At this, general 
 murmuring; he was asked if he had anything better to suggest, 
 and so forth. Altogether any opinion differing in the least from 
 the Austrian was put down by terrorism and intrigue. The 
 Grand Duke seems persuaded that they are trying to crush 
 Prussia, and that it is his special mission to prevent this. In 
 the evening at Madame Metzler's I found Prince Metternich, 
 Rechberg, the Hereditary Prince of Meiningen, a few diplomats, 
 and a great many of the elegant ladies of Frankfurt. I soon 
 took myself off again. 
 
 August 24. 
 
 In the afternoon, before my departure, I looked in for a mo- 
 ment on the Duke, who had just come from the conference and 
 was very pleased at the result (six members in the Directorate). 
 He has hopes of the matter being accomplished. 
 
 At four I left for Sayn, convinced that nothing could be done 
 in the interests of the nobles, and worn out by the irritation of 
 only hearing half of what was going on and yet being pestered
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 127 
 
 for my opinion by people who were thoroughly acquainted with 
 all that happened, and more convinced than ever of the wisdom 
 of minding one's own business. 
 
 VII 
 
 SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN 
 
 Munich, February 18, 1864. 
 
 Yesterday I called on Bodenstedt. I had learned that he 
 wanted me to join the Schleswig-Holstein League, and that this 
 was a means of my becoming a Minister which he and the Liberal 
 party in Bavaria consider necessary. Bodenstedt regretted 
 that I had not come sooner; I could have been of use then in the 
 league; now it was almost too late. He complained of Schrenck 
 and his inaction, believes that the King would act quite differently 
 if he had another Minister, and told me that Schrenck had already 
 broached the Schleswig-Holstein subject to the King, and had 
 said that Germany looked to the King in the matter, &c. 
 
 To-day, then, I went to Schrenck.* He began by saying 
 he had heard I was going to join their league. On my denying 
 this, he lectured me, saying that on so sacred a matter one had 
 no right to conceal one's true opinions, and so forth and so on. 
 I replied that I had never concealed my political opinions when 
 there was call to express them; besides, everybody in Bavaria 
 knew what my opinions were. The following consideration, 
 however, rendered my entry into the league impossible. It was 
 my belief that the Schleswig-Holstein associations would shortly 
 find themselves compelled to choose between two paths: either 
 to abandon lawful tactics or, yielding to superior force, retire into 
 private life, and neither of these alternatives were to my taste. 
 If I once joined an association, I would accept all the logical con- 
 sequences arising out of that step. It was not my way to look 
 back when I had once set my hand to the plough. But as, 
 given certain circumstances, I saw revolution ahead as the 
 inevitable consequence of these associations, I preferred not to 
 have any part in them. 
 
 To Schrenck's plea that the league was composed of most 
 responsible men — he instanced Ringeis — I returned that I must 
 maintain, with all due modesty, that if I entered the league 
 it would give it a political colouring. In the course of the 
 conversation I explained my programme, showed him that for 
 Bavaria it was a matter of life and death, and that for the main- 
 tenance of her independence a Parliament of Mid-German 
 States must be called together and a definite policy set up. 
 
 * Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Commerce, 1850-1864.
 
 128 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Munich, March 12, 1864. 
 
 Meanwhile various events have occurred. The death of the 
 King* will make no difference for the present in the policy of 
 the Schleswig-Holstein question. Schrenck will remain in office. 
 
 The matter stands thus: Hanover proposed, or tried to 
 propose, that Denmark should be called upon by the Confedera- 
 tion to put a stop to the seizing of German vessels. (Austria is 
 against it, consequently the proposal will never be made.) In 
 the event of refusal, the Confederation is to declare war on 
 Denmark. The paramount Powers, however, will not recognize 
 the Confederation. 
 
 In the same way, Darmstadt is said to have required that the 
 troops of the Confederation should be employed against Denmark. 
 This, too, is refused by Austria and Prussia. The assistance of 
 separate German States will be accepted, but not that of the 
 Confederation. The paramount Powers want to keep the affair 
 in their own hands. 
 
 The proposal of a debate on the question of the succession is 
 to be delayed as long as possible. The German paramount 
 Powers will not hear of convening the Holstein Deputies. They 
 insist on a free hand. Herr von Bismarck, it appears, has taken 
 Austria in tow. 
 
 Archduke Albrecht's mission is partly of general interest, 
 partly for the opening up of friendlier relations. But special 
 propositions were made, too; in particular as regards the treat- 
 ment of proposals made by the Confederation, on which subject 
 the Austrian Government is at variance with the Confederation. 
 The Bavarian Government, especially the late King Max, held 
 their ground, however. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe was among the most decided followers of 
 Duke Frederick. With twelve other members of the Bavarian 
 Upper House, he addressed the following letter, dated May 12, 
 1864, to Herr von Beust, the representative of the German 
 Confederation at the London Conference: 
 
 "Your Excellency already possesses many written evidences 
 of the prevailing feeling in Germany as regards the German- 
 Danish conflict In addressing to your Excellency yet another 
 letter on the subject, the undersigned members of the Upper 
 Chamber of the Legislature of the Kingdom of Bavaria 
 are acting not only in full agreement with the stand- 
 point always maintained by their own Government, but in 
 the consoling assurance that your Excellency shares their 
 convictions, and that you have ever laid your decisive word in 
 the balance for right and justice. By ancient chartered right 
 the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein can claim indivisible union 
 under a Duke of their own. At the death of Friedrich VII. , 
 
 * King Maximilian II. of Bavaria, died March 10, 1864.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 129 
 
 King of Denmark, Duke of Schlcswig-Holstein, the indubitable 
 right to the ducal throne of Schleswig and Holstein devolved 
 upon Duke Friedrich VIII. of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg- 
 Augustcnburg. By the undisputed and indisputable principles 
 of private and general law, no one — therefore not even the 
 Great Powers of Europe — is warranted in adopting measures 
 inimical to the clearly proved rights of third parties — in this case 
 Duke Friedrich VIII., the Representatives of the Duchies, and, 
 in so far as Holstein is concerned, the German Confederation. 
 As such unwarrantable proceedings would react disastrously 
 and irremediably on the interests, and deeply violate the 
 sense of justice of the German nation, we confidently hope 
 that your Excellency, as the authorised representative of 
 the German Confederation at the London Conference, will use 
 your utmost endeavours to bring about a solution to this 
 difficulty which shall satisfy the just claims of the legitimate 
 successor, of the people of Schleswig-Holstein, and of the German 
 Confederation. 
 
 "As the Landtag is not sitting at present, and the 
 people are without representation in the Confederation, it rests 
 with individual members to voice the general anxiety of the 
 nation and openly express their conscientious convictions in this 
 question, which so profoundly affects the honour of Germany. 
 At the same time, may we beg your Excellency to accept this 
 expression of the firm confidence with which we are inspired by 
 the knowledge that the honour and interests of Germany are in 
 your Excellency's hands?" 
 
 To which Herr von Beust replied: 
 
 London, May 20, 1864. 
 
 Your Highness did me the honour to send me a communica- 
 tion, signed by several members of the Upper House of the 
 Legislature of the Kingdom of Bavaria, containing a renewed 
 and weighty expression of the prevailing sentiment in Germany 
 touching the justice of the German-Danish conflict. I beg to 
 offer my respectful thanks to your Highness for this communica- 
 tion, which I value all the more highly in that it affords me an- 
 other and most encouraging proof of the fact that the political 
 significance for the future of Germany of the mission which 
 brings me here is recognised and appreciated to the full by the 
 Conservative sections of the nation. 
 
 I can say with a clear conscience that, in so far as my 
 efforts are concerned, the flattering confidence expressed in the 
 letter is not misplaced, and I look forward to justifying it by 
 the success of my endeavours.* I have every hope that a 
 
 *At the sitting of the London Conference, May 17, the Prussian 
 Representative read the German declaration claiming for the Duchies 
 complete political independence. Although this by no means excluded 
 the Danish King from the succession, it was immediately rejected by 
 
 vol. 1 — K
 
 i 3 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 solution of the question will be reached which will satisfy 
 respectively the sense of justice and the political interests of 
 the German nation and the wishes of the people of the 
 Duchies. 
 
 Notes of a journey from Aussee by way of 
 Wildalpen to Munich. 
 
 October 2-10, 1864. 
 
 ... In Linz I bought a Presse, and saw from it that Schrenck 
 had resigned. 
 
 Arrived at Munich at ten o'clock. 
 
 The next morning I attended to some commissions and then 
 went to the Ludwigstrasse, where I met Venninger, who con- 
 gratulated me on my nomination to the Premiership. He said 
 I had been alluded to as President at the sitting of the Bank 
 Committee. Soon afterwards I met Handelsgerichtsrat Voldem- 
 dorff*, with whom I went for a walk. He, too, spoke of the 
 change of Ministry, and said that in Franconia they all counted 
 on me and put their faith in my party. We discussed what 
 course the Foreign Minister in Bavaria should adopt just 
 now, and both agreed that the most important thing at present 
 was to acquire influence over the young King, and for the rest 
 to be discreet in the endeavour to put Bavaria at the head of the 
 Mid-German States, to keep a firmer hand on Home government, 
 no reaction, and in foreign affairs caution and independence. 
 
 Oettingen complains of the difficulties a member of the Upper 
 House has to encounter. Harless told me the King had declared 
 he would make no member of the Upper House a Minister. 
 
 The latest news names Hompesch as Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs. When I found him at dinner at the Vier Jahreszeiten, 
 he was not agreeably surprised to see me. This confirms my 
 opinion that he has hopes. I saw the King at the theatre. He 
 looks well. I could not help thinking, however, that he is 
 beginning to take on his father's distrustful expression. 
 
 My opponents are the Court, the lower nobility, the Ultra- 
 montanes, and the Austrians. The intelligent middle classes 
 are for me, and so are the Democrats. It looks, however, as if 
 Prussian and Austrian influences were at work to bring about 
 a reaction in Bavaria. They do not want me, at any rate, and 
 with this conviction I calmly took my departure. 
 
 Denmark, thereby putting the personal union with Denmark out of the ques- 
 tion for good and all, and ensuring the continuance of the war with the object 
 of completely detaching the Duchies from Denmark. Beust had declared 
 at the sitting of the conference, in the name of the German Confederation, 
 "que la majorite de la Diete ne consentirait pas a une solution qui, meme 
 sous la forme d'un arrangement conditionnel ou eventuel, retablirait Punion 
 entre les Duches et le Danemarc.'" — Count Beust, Aus drei Vierteljahr- 
 hunderten, vol. i. p. 383.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 131 
 
 From a letter to Princess Elise. 
 
 Aussee, October 29, 1864. 
 
 . . . The Presse has a savage article against me from 
 Munich. It accuses me of always appearing in Munich just 
 before a change of Ministry, and speaks contemptuously of this 
 unjustifiable pretension. It also throws my youth in niy teeth ! 
 I confess that the article rather annoyed me. But it is quite 
 wholesome to be abused sometimes. 
 
 From a letter to Herr von Muhlens in Baden. 
 
 Schillingsfurst, November 23, 1864. 
 
 I have not been made Minister, in spite of the general report. 
 The Bavarian Dynasty will not have a mediatised noble as 
 Minister. 
 
 This must be a family policy. Well, I cannot say I am sorry. 
 Better never see the Cabinet than pass through it only to be 
 shelved. . . . 
 
 To King Ludwig. 
 
 Munich, April 3, 1865'. 
 
 Your Majesty has graciously commanded me to acquaint 
 you with the matter which led me to request an audience. I 
 hasten to comply, and herewith lay at your Majesty's feet the 
 petition which it was my intention to prefer verbally. 
 
 From the beginning of your Majesty's reign I have had 
 continuous proof of your Majesty's gracious approval, which 
 fills me with pride and the deepest gratitude. The sincere and 
 heartfelt loyalty which I bear towards your Majesty inspires 
 me with the earnest desire never to forfeit this gracious con- 
 sideration, nor, above all things, your Majesty's respect. 
 
 With the opening of Parliament, however, I am seized with 
 the apprehension that your Majesty may receive reports of 
 my activity in the Chamber, and of the motives inspiring me 
 which might present me in a false light. 
 
 Accustomed, in the debates in Parliament, to act strictly in 
 accordance with my conscience and the obligations of my Oath, 
 I cannot blind myself to the possibility of circumstances arising 
 in which I shall be at variance with the Government. Your 
 Majesty is too high-minded not to appreciate independence 
 of opinion in the country's representatives, among whom the 
 members of the Upper House may be reckoned. On that score 
 I know I have nothing to fear. But I do fear misrepresentation 
 as regards my motives. 
 
 Consequently, should your Majesty ever happen to consider 
 my words or action in the State Council of sufficient importance 
 to claim your Majesty's attention, and to require explanation,
 
 i 3 2 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 I should be profoundly grateful if your Majesty would be 
 graciously pleased to demand such explanation direct from 
 me, or through your Majesty's Cabinet. 
 
 This was the request which I was anxious to prefer in all 
 submission verbally, but which I herewith venture to lay before 
 your Majesty in writing. 
 
 Two letters to Queen Victoria of England on social 
 and political conditions in Germany, 1864, 1865. 
 
 In the April of 1864 the Prince received a letter from his 
 aunt, Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, in which 
 she mentioned a wish expressed by her sister, Queen Victoria. 
 
 The Queen complained that since the death of the Prince 
 Consort, her connection with Germany had been, to a certain ex- 
 tent, severed ; and that there was no one to whom she could speak 
 her mind openly, or from whom she could receive an unbiassed 
 account of things. She had confidence in Prince Hohenlohe 
 as an old friend of Prince Albert, and wished him to keep her 
 au courant with the social and political conditions in Germany. 
 Owing to the suspicion with which all German influence in 
 England was watched, these communications were to be sent 
 to the Queen through the medium of Princess Feodora. In 
 particular, the Prince was to explain the Schleswig-Holstein 
 affair, and its significance for Germany, as this was not under- 
 stood in England. In accordance with Queen Victoria's wish, 
 therefore, the Prince sent in the two following communications 
 under date May 4, 1864, and April 15, 1865, a political con- 
 fession of faith immediately preceding the outbreak of the 
 great movement in which the Prince himself was called to play 
 a leading part. 
 
 Munich, May 4, 1864. 
 
 Your Most Gracious Majesty did me the honour to charge me 
 to report from time to time on the social and political conditions 
 in Germany. I venture herewith to satisfy your Majesty's 
 wishes. 
 
 As regards the social conditions, these have at all times in 
 Germany been so intimately connected with religion that it is 
 as well to examine the religious movement in Germany first. 
 
 It is a remarkable phenomenon that the opposition between 
 Orthodoxy and Unorthodoxy is becoming rapidly more 
 accentuated. The religious tendency in Western Germany, 
 the representatives of which in some countries hold the reins 
 of Church government, starts from the idea that the Reforma- 
 tion stopped half way, that it adopted too many elements of
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 133 
 
 the Roman Church, and thereby barred the door to progress; 
 that the time has now come to remodel Christianity in ac- 
 cordance with the spirit of modern thought, and the really 
 existing faith and religious needs of a community no longer 
 orthodox in the old sense of the word. In contrast to this broad 
 "Protestant" movement the orthodox Lutheran party closes its 
 ranks more firmly than ever. This party disputes the necessity 
 for progress or the development of the Protestant creed in 
 accordance with the spirit of the times. It stands fast by the 
 Bible and Luther, and one section would even be willing to return 
 to the bosom of the Roman Church if she only would, or could, 
 make them a few concessions — notably in the matter of justifica- 
 tion by Faith. This being out of the question, they content 
 themselves with increased strictness in their own doctrinal 
 sphere, modify their Liturgy to resemble that of the Roman 
 Church, and adopt as much of the ritual and organisation of 
 that Church as is in any degree possible. The institutions 
 of the Deaconesses, the Brothers (Briiderschaji) in Berlin and 
 Hamburg, the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, &c, are so 
 many proofs of these tendencies. 
 
 Beyond these Christian parties stands the great School 
 of Materialism and Nihilism represented by the leaders of 
 Materialistic Philosophy and Natural Science. The teachers of 
 this party are often men of wide knowledge and honest inten- 
 tions, but who have come in the course of their studies to deny 
 the existence of anything they cannot put under the microscope. 
 Were these theories confined to their originators the danger 
 would not be so great; but education is so widespread in 
 Germany, the people take so lively an interest in all the pro- 
 fessors bring forward, Science has become, if I may so express it, 
 so democratic, that such theories cannot fail to have a serious in- 
 fluence on our social life. Tme, we have no proletariat comparable 
 in extent to that in England, Belgium, or France; the industrial 
 population is mostly gathered together in a few districts, and 
 the greater portion of Germany, especially Bavaria, has chiefly 
 a population of quiet agriculturists. But with the advance 
 of industry the industrial population will increase, and the 
 deeper it has been imbued with this superficial, false, and sub- 
 versive education the more pernicious will be its influence on 
 the social and political conditions of the country. 
 
 As regards the political situation, all other considerations 
 are swallowed up in the Schleswig-Holstein question. That 
 this question should have acquired importance is to be 
 explained, first, from the fact that the German is by nature 
 a lawyer, and that legal questions always arouse the keenest 
 interest — so much so that in some parts of Germany litigation 
 is the farmer's one amusement in his spare time. Apart from 
 this, however, ever)' one in Germany is conscious of the 
 profound significance the Schleswig-Holstein question must
 
 i 3 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 have for our internal policy. Every one knows that with that 
 question the German question too will be decided. At the 
 beginning it looked as though the Mid-German States, the real 
 root of the nation, were to rise to greater political prominence 
 by means of the Schleswig-Holstein affair. And therein lies 
 the reason why this question has aroused greater excitement 
 in the German territories outside Prussia and Austria. 
 
 Examining attentively the movements which have agitated 
 Germany during the last fifty years, we find that their true 
 origin lies in the discontent of the population of the middle 
 and petty States, a population of nearly nineteen million souls, 
 at seeing themselves excluded from participation in the affairs 
 of Europe — in the position of grown men who are not permitted 
 to have a voice in their own business. In time this becomes 
 insupportable. You may say that the material condition of 
 these States is very satisfactory, and that it would be folly to 
 bring about a state of affairs which would certainly entail greater 
 material sacrifices than the existing one. But this ambition, 
 or rather, this craving for due honour and repute, is a sign 
 of the vitality of the German people, who put honour and 
 repute above mere material comfort. It was to throw off this 
 oppression that they fought in 1848 for German unity. This 
 movement began in South-West Germany. It proved abortive, 
 because neither Austria nor Prussia would bow to an ideal 
 overlord ship. 
 
 One party then attempted to bring about the Prussian 
 hegemony, but that, too, was frustrated by the refusal of the 
 King of Prussia. 
 
 The aspiration remained, however, because it was firmly 
 rooted in fact. Then came the Schleswig-Holstein affair, which, 
 had they been able to combine, would have afforded the middle 
 and petty States an opportunity of winning for themselves 
 a recognised political position in Europe. The people thought 
 that the hour was come, and importuned their Govern- 
 ments. The Governments, disunited and incapable, let the 
 happy moment go by. The German Paramount Powers took 
 the matter in hand, and so vanished the political hopes which 
 the people of South Germany had built upon the Schleswig- 
 Holstein affair. Not so, however, their interest in the matter. 
 Public opinion turned once more to Prussia, for men cherished 
 the hope that, after her military successes, she would not let 
 the rights of the Duchies be trampled under foot. 
 
 Since 1848 the German people have made progress in their 
 political education; in particular, they have learnt to wait. 
 They have learned that in political matters it is inexpedient 
 to run your head against a wall. It is, however, inevitable 
 in the prevailing state of public sentiment that a solution to 
 the Schleswig-Holstein question offensive to the people's sense of 
 justice would have the gravest consequences for Germany, and
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 135 
 
 more especially for the very existence of the middle and petty 
 States. Not that an immediate revolutionary movement would 
 break out — the mass of the people is too peaceable, too phlegmatic 
 for that — but contempt would arise for the Governments, who 
 would be severely blamed because they did not seize the right 
 moment, and a deep, growing irritation which must in the end 
 undermine the existence of the dynasties of those States. 
 
 This the statesmen of the respective countries recognise 
 to the full, which explains how conservative men like Beust 
 and Pfordten are on the side of the Progressive party in this 
 question. 
 
 If I am not much mistaken they have come to the same 
 conclusion in Prussia. For the same movement that would 
 crush the middle and petty States must sooner or later have fatal 
 consequences for Prussia. For Prussia is essentially a German 
 kingdom, and her Government must — whether they like it 
 or not — go with the stream of public opinion, whereas Austria, 
 predominantly a Slav nation, takes little account of the 
 opinion of her German subjects, nor has she any need to. 
 The Schleswig-Holstein affair is, therefore, to the people, a 
 question of rights, a question of power to the Governments, 
 and a question of existence to the Confederation, that is, to 
 the middle and petty States. 
 
 I must apologise to your Majesty for dwelling at such length 
 on a subject on which doubtless your Majesty is better informed 
 than I. My reports can contain no really recent political news, 
 seeing that I am not in touch with the central points of European 
 politics. They are only meant to serve as an expression of 
 the political opinion of the educated classes in Germany, and as 
 such I beg your Majesty's indulgent criticism of it. 
 
 Munich, April 15, 1865. 
 
 Your Majesty will graciously pardon me for having delayed 
 thus long in following up my communication of last May with 
 a second. My sojourn in the Austrian Alps, and consequent 
 remoteness from the political arena last summer, made it difficult 
 for me to offer an opinion on the state of political affairs in 
 Germany. Since my return I have made several attempts 
 to repair this neglect, but found myself each time slipping into 
 the odious style of our journalists, and could not make up my 
 mind to lay it before your Majesty. 
 
 I must, however, pluck up courage now — though at the 
 risk of creating an unfavourable impression — to send your 
 Majesty another instalment of my political observations. They 
 are, after all, chiefly the outcome of what I have read in the 
 newspapers and reviews, and, therefore, I must beg your Majesty's 
 kind indulgence for them. 
 
 The question which was agitating the whole of Germany 
 last spring has now been relegated to the background. Schleswig-
 
 136 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Holstein is still much written about and discussed, but the 
 interest of the general public has waned. This is a proof of 
 the justice of my former assertion that the ardent interest in 
 the fate of the Duchies last year was less for the Schleswig- 
 Holstein than the German question, which promised to find 
 a solution in this conflict. Now that the affair has simply 
 become a question of power and influence between Prussia 
 and Austria, the agitation of the masses has subsided, or turned 
 in another direction. Certainly not a little of this pacification 
 is owing to the general satisfaction that the Duchies have ceased 
 to belong to Denmark, but nevertheless, a feeling of bitterness 
 and disappointment is slowly spreading through th South 
 German States at the passive role to which these States are 
 condemned in any question involving German interests. 
 
 This feeling is shared by Government and people alike; 
 it seems necessary, therefore, that the Governments should 
 look about for some means of extricating themselves from so 
 trying a situation. Bavarian statesmen see salvation in the 
 "Triad," i.e., a closer union between the middle States, and 
 their organisation into a Federal State under the overlordship 
 of Bavaria, a State which, with the addition of Austria and 
 Prussia, would form the great German Confederation. 
 
 There are, however, many insurmountable obstacles to the 
 realisation of this idea. First, the disinclination of the separate 
 rulers to renounce any part of their sovereign rights in favour 
 of the dynasty which would stand at the head of the more 
 restricted Confederation. I hardly think that either the King 
 of Saxony or the King of Wtirtemberg would care to hand 
 over any of their rights to our youthful Monarch. Nor would 
 the King of Hanover feel the slightest inclination that way. 
 
 Another stumbling-block is the opposition of the democratic 
 party to the Triad idea. The South and Mid-German Democracy 
 belongs in part to the National Union, whose aim is the organisa- 
 tion of a Federal State under the overlordship of Prussia. 
 They look upon Herr von Bismarck's Government as a 
 passing evil, after whose removal the project will certainly be 
 carried out. The rest of the Democrats are, consciously or 
 unconsciously, Republicans, and look forward to the time when 
 a Democratic storm shall empty the thrones of the Continent 
 and bring back to Germany the glorious days of a Constituent 
 Assembly. Owing to the opposition of this section of public 
 opinion which knows how to make itself decisively felt, a reform 
 of the Federal Constitution, on the lines I have indicated, is 
 very difficult. 
 
 Another obstacle to the realisation of Bavaria's idea is the 
 objection of Austria and Prussia to the Triad. In Austria they 
 want to keep the Confederation as it is, and are opposed to the 
 formation of a third group of States, because in it Protestant and 
 Catholic States would be associated, an idea most distasteful to
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 137 
 
 the Ultramontane party. It is possible that Vienna looks for- 
 ward to the complete break up of the Confederation in order to 
 round off the Austrian dominions on the German frontier with 
 some of the remnants. But I am not sufficiently initiated into 
 the secrets of Vienna Court or Government circles to be justified 
 in offering an opinion. 
 
 Prussia sees in the Triad not only a menace to the prospect 
 of a Prussian hegemony, but also a hindrance to her territorial 
 expansion in the north of Germany. So from this side too Bavaria 
 will meet with determined opposition. 
 
 I fear, therefore, that the Middle States are bound to 
 remain as they are till in some great European conflict they 
 are swallowed up in the resulting territorial changes. 
 
 To me this state of things seems grievous, not only for the 
 Principalities thus menaced, but in the interests of the German 
 paramount Powers themselves. Austria needs no additional 
 territory. A well-ordered internal Government and settled finances 
 are always more important to her and suffice to establish her 
 dominion on a permanent basis, especially if in addition she has 
 the support of her natural allies. Prussia could only carry out 
 her federal scheme under a quite exceptionally favourable 
 juncture of the European situation, and then only if Austria 
 were wiped off the map. In 1848 the political situation on the 
 Continent was favourable to the formation of the Federal State, 
 but Prussia missed her opportunity. Such an opportunity is 
 not likely to recur in a hurry. In spite of Italy, in spite of bad 
 finances, and in spite of the concordat, Austria will not dis- 
 appear from the map of Europe. The conditions therefore are 
 not yet within sight which are essential to the formation of a 
 Prusso- German Federal State. Meanwhile, however, the present 
 state of affairs in the German Confederation may well lead to 
 such a disastrous commotion as will shake even Vienna and 
 Berlin. 
 
 For this reason I think it would be in the best interests of both 
 Austria and Prussia if they would not only withdraw their opposi- 
 tion to the formation of a third group of States but use their 
 influence towards its formal recognition. The antipathy of the 
 several German rulers would then retreat into the background 
 and the support or opposition of the Democratic party lose its 
 importance. I believe that by thus removing the chief cause 
 of disquiet and complaint the paramount German Powers could 
 secure peace to Germany and the rest of Europe for long years to 
 come. 
 
 I see no other solution of the problem. Nothing will be 
 achieved so long as they fail to pay due attention to certain 
 undeniable things. Chief among these is the individual char- 
 acter of the various German races and the tenacity with which 
 each clings to its peculiar characteristics. Social and political 
 uniformity is not so difficult in France or Italy, where the national
 
 138 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 character shows greater uniformity and fewer idiosyncrasies in 
 its component parts. But in Germany the races are as distinct 
 to-day as they were in the time of Charlemagne; the Wiirtem- 
 berger is as much an Alemann or a Suabian, the Bavarian as 
 unmistakably a Bojar as ever; you recognise the vivacious 
 Frank in Central Germany, the reserved and hard-working Saxon 
 in the population of Westphalia and Hanover. Thus, what is 
 generally known as particularism has its root deep in the national 
 character and is not to be torn up and thrown aside by theories. 
 
 Where, as in Prussia and Austria, the influence of the Slav 
 element has asserted itself, and even, in a way, predominates, 
 legislative union, and uniformity has been easily attained. In the 
 South and West of Germany, the parts untouched by the Slav 
 element, the separation has continued as the unavoidable result 
 of race characteristics. It will be hard enough to induce these 
 Principalities to enter into anything approaching a practical 
 federation, but certainly easier than trying to fuse them into one 
 State like Prussia or Austria. In political matters it is best to set 
 one's mind only on what is possible, painful as it may be to 
 renounce one's cherished theories. 
 
 I sum up, in conclusion, the subjects that are at present 
 occupying the attention of all classes in Germany. The prin- 
 cipal points are as follows : 
 
 (i) The Papal Encyclical,* which, on the whole, has not 
 created a good impression among the German Catholics. 
 
 (2) The question as to which will gain the victory in the 
 struggle between Government and people in Prussia. 
 
 (3) The solution of the Schleswig-Holstein question — so 
 closely connected with the foregoing — whether the Duchies will 
 come under Duke Friedrich's independent rule or become a 
 province of Prussia. 
 
 (4) The American Civil War which profoundly affects the 
 material interests of South Germany. It is not only our cotton- 
 spinners that are suffering. It is a question of life and death 
 with them. The capitalists who have put their money in 
 American stock are anxiously watching the progress of the war, 
 and long for the conclusion of peace and the triumph of the 
 Northern States. Besides, the sympathies of the Democratic 
 population of South Germany are naturally with the North 
 American States. 
 
 Finally, as regards Bavaria, I must not omit to observe that 
 we have the most amiable and engaging Sovereign I have ever 
 beheld. His is a noble and poetic nature, and his manner is so 
 particularly attractive because one feels that his courtesy is 
 the natural expression of a truly kind heart. He has plenty of 
 brains and character to boot. I trust that the tasks he has 
 before him may not be beyond his strength. 
 
 * The Encyclical Quanta Cura of December 8, 1864, with the 
 "Syllabus."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 139 
 
 The foregoing notes by the Prince on his journeys and his 
 political impressions give no idea of the busy and happy family life 
 at Schillingsfurst which was unfolding itself in the quiet years 
 between 1853 and 1866. On November 30, 1847, the first daughter, 
 Elizabeth, was born to the princely pair, and on July 6, 1851, the 
 Princess Stephanie. On June 5, 1853, came the son and heir, the 
 present head of the family Prince Philipp Ernst. A son, Albert, 
 born October 14, 1857, fell a victim to diphtheria in the spring 
 of 1866. Finally, on August 6, 1862, the twin Princes, Moritz 
 and Alexander, were born. 
 
 In 1858 the Prince acquired the house in the Brienner Strasse 
 in Munich, which he occupied with his family during the par- 
 liamentary sessions. In 1865 he bought a farmhouse at Alt- 
 Aussee in Styria, which he remodelled as a villa. Here the family 
 invariably spent part of the summer. The parents were assisted 
 in the education of the children by Princess Elise, the youngest 
 sister of Prince Hohenlohe, who made her home with her brother 
 till her marriage in 1868 with the Prince of Salm-Horstmar. From 
 her letters which the editor has been kindly permitted to see, 
 a few short extracts are reproduced in this book which illustrate 
 the life and spirit of the household. The Princess Amalie, the 
 Prince's favourite sister, married in 1857 the Court painter, 
 Richard Lauchert, against the will of the family. The resulting 
 estrangement lasted but a few years. Princess Salm writes 
 on the subject: "Later on my sister was reconciled to all my 
 brothers and passed many a happy hour again with my brother 
 Chlodwig. My brothers came to see that the man for whom 
 she had given up all was entirely wwthy of her. He was not 
 only a talented artist but an admirable and wholly trustworthy 
 character. Unfortunately he died in 1868, when they had 
 only been married eleven and a half years." 
 
 On the relations of the Prince to his brothers and sisters the 
 Princess writes: "We all turned to him when in the slightest 
 doubt or difficulty. His keen judgment and reassuring calm, and 
 the brotherly love which was evident in all his counsels, gave them 
 great weight. Our mother's tender goodness came out again in 
 Amalie and Chlodwig. He had drawn up documents about each 
 of us, so that he could take up the thread of our affairs at any 
 moment. At Schillingsfurst one used to go to his little study 
 and sit down in a small arm-chair beside him at the writing-table, 
 and he would look up from his work and instantly give his whole 
 attention to whatever you had to say. Words cannot describe 
 it; I can still feel his penetrating gaze." 
 
 Again, in 1852, the Princess writes: "I can never cease to 
 admire Chlodwig, and how calm, unselfish, and patient he is in 
 all his actions. Let them say what they will about masculine 
 energy, firmness, and proper self-assertion — that is all very 
 well in its way ; but a delicate noble mind is an infinitely 
 higher thing. Better to have that alone, without those
 
 i 4 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 qualities, than the other way round. To-day he was speaking 
 again of sacred things. I cannot describe the extraordinary 
 impression it makes on me, how it moves me to hear him 
 pronounce the name of Christ ; it seems to come from the 
 depths of his heart." 
 
 The Princess thus describes the position of Schillingsfurst: 
 "It was charming in the summer with the wide views, the solemn 
 silence up on the heights, the sunshine streaming through the 
 spacious rooms and the glorious sunsets. We much appreciated 
 the near neighbourhood of Langenburg, where Prince Ernst 
 (my mother's brother, and father of the present Statthalter), a 
 man of the old courtly school, was then living with his 
 beautiful and cultivated wife. For other neighbours of our 
 standing there were none, so that Schillingsfurst might really be 
 called a lonely spot. For my dear sister-in-law, who was not 
 accustomed to that kind of life, it was in some respects hard, 
 especially as the dryness of the air, the absence of a river, and 
 the keen wind which nearly always blew at Schillingsfurst, seemed 
 not to agree with her. This necessitated frequent changes to 
 Schwalbach and Schlangenbad or to the sea. They also went 
 frequently to Rauden, near Ratibor, to England, and, in later 
 years, also to Vienna. This constant moving about was not 
 really to my brother's taste, but it was his way to make the best 
 of everything. He made copious and interesting notes of all he 
 saw, had many instructive conversations with people he met, 
 and ever put his own desires in the background. 
 
 "Afterwards, in the winter evenings at Schillingsfurst, my 
 brother would illustrate his travels by drawings in a great scrap- 
 book. The youngest child would be seated on his knee, the others 
 standing round looking on with awe and delight as they watched 
 their own portraits in every possible situation, and the portraits of 
 their parents, relations, and servants growing under their father's 
 hand. In this way many books were filled containing a whole 
 family history. 
 
 " My brother was very fond of sport and was an excellent 
 shot, but all with due moderation. Once in his later years in the 
 Chancellor's Palace he said to me : 'I cannot bear to look at antlers 
 now; sport has become a perfect idolatry.' " 
 
 The following observations from the pen of the Prince's sister- 
 in-law, Princess Konstantine of Hohenlohe, touching the social 
 rather than the domestic life of the Prince, may serve to amplify 
 what we have learned from Princess Elise : 
 
 "The character of my brother-in-law, Chlodwig," she writes, 
 "always seemed to me to bridge the gulf between two periods. 
 His mind, though deep rooted in the feudal traditions of his caste, 
 had yet a lively and intuitive sympathy for all the liberal views 
 which have only come to the fore in our modern days. To his 
 benignant philosophy it was given to smooth rough edges, to
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 141 
 
 mediate between conflicting forces. Whether the conflicting 
 elements in his own breast did not bring him frequent suffering 
 none can say ; he veiled it in impenetrable silence. His imper- 
 turbable calm seemed to me simply the peace after a hard-won 
 victory over self. 
 
 "He devoted himself with fatherly care to his youngest brother, 
 Konstantine, who was hardly more than a boy at the death of 
 their beloved mother. He and his wife arranged our marriage 
 and Marie was delighted to have a cousin in the intimate family 
 circle. She always treated me with special kindness, and they 
 both came every year to visit us newly married young people. 
 The social life of Vienna, at that time so exclusive, courtly, and 
 brilliant, had an irresistible attraction for my sister-in-law. It 
 did not appeal so much to her husband, but, as he was always 
 loath to spoil any one's pleasure, he took part with cheerful resig- 
 nation in all the pomp and the festivities where the beauty and 
 the splendid jewels of his adored Princess created a great sensa- 
 tion. He would often accompany me to a lecture which interested 
 me while our respective frivolous better halves went off to an 
 Offenbach operette. A change came over these pleasant and 
 innocent associations in the years between 1866 and 1870 for 
 Chlodwig's well-known political views and his proclamation against 
 the Vatican Council gave great offence in Vienna. This very much 
 upset my husband, who highly disapproved of his brother's action 
 in the matter. Yet the Chlodwigs came to see us as before. They 
 had no thought of missing their innocent share in the accustomed 
 festivities and he pretended not to notice the coolness of his re- 
 ception or, at most, merely smiled if some one rudely failed to 
 return his greeting. His dignified and reserved attitude made any 
 direct attack impossible, so that it never came to painful scenes. 
 Our Emperor was always well inclined towards him, a feeling 
 which in later years, when he was Governor of Alsace and Impe- 
 rial Chancellor, increased to warm attachment. The Emperor 
 expressed his regret at being unable to invest the three Hohenlohe 
 brothers simultaneously with the Golden Fleece. Besides my 
 husband, the eldest brother, Ratibor, had received the Fleece for 
 his constant and active services to the interests of Austria at Berlin. 
 Immediately on the death of the Duke of Ratibor, Chlodwig was 
 honoured by receiving the Golden Fleece, the most exclusive of 
 Orders. 
 
 "We had many a delightful time together in the Austrian 
 Alps where my husband had rented one of the finest chamois 
 shootings in the country. My sister-in-law threw herself 
 passionately into this noble sport. Her husband fulfilled his 
 duties as a hunter most correctly, but with far less enthusiasm. He 
 took Latin classics with him when out stalking, filling my boys, who 
 were still at the Gymnasium in those days, with amazement. I 
 remember being out with him once in his last years. We had a long 
 wait, and to pass the time he recited from memory and without
 
 142 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 one stumble whole poems of great beauty. In our fine enthusiasm 
 of course he missed the chamois which were being driven to him. 
 At the last moment, as we were on the point of going home, 
 his whole attention was taken up by a field-mouse which, terrified 
 by all the racket and shooting, had sought refuge and protection 
 with him. This delayed us considerably, especially as even then 
 he walked very slowly, and my husband, alarmed for our safety, 
 had sent some of the huntsmen back to look for us. The inextin- 
 guishable laughter of the company when we explained that we 
 had been delayed by a mouse while out chamois driving made 
 not the smallest impression on Chlodwig's imperturbable calm." 
 
 VIII 
 
 THE YEAR 1866 
 
 Memorandum by the Prince. 
 
 Munich, March 21, 1866. 
 
 As to the approaching or contemplated demonstration,* it is 
 in the highest degree necessary to be clear as to ends and means, 
 to ask oneself whether the object is attainable and whether the 
 means at hand promise a successful result. 
 
 The end must be: by organising a union to urge the 
 Government to take up a more decisive attitude, to intervene 
 actively in the present crisis, and at the same time secure for 
 itself the alliance of the nation, or at least of the South-Western 
 portion of it, by publishing the scheme for convening a German 
 Parliament. 
 
 The active intervention of the Government must be assisted 
 so as to bring about the union of the secondary States. 
 
 Here it may be asked : Is this portion of the programme yet 
 within reach? With regard to the dynasties and the Govern- 
 ments representing them, we can only count on the assent of 
 Saxony; Wiirtemberg is doubtful, Baden hostile, the small 
 duchies and all North Germany on Prussia's side. All these 
 States would only follow the lead of Bavaria if they were forced 
 into it by a popular agitation. 
 
 Even in its own country the idea of a German Parliament 
 would at present be regarded with distrust. The situation is at 
 present this, that a simple, artless suggestion to convene a German 
 Parliament would be received with jeers. It must consequently 
 be chiefly and emphatically the Parliament of the middle States, 
 the so-called Triad Parliament. 
 
 * Nothing more precise about the projected "demonstration" can be 
 ascertained. The reason is given in the following letter of Prince 
 Karl of Bavaria.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 143 
 
 But even here, is acquiescence to be counted on ? The Ultra- 
 montane party will have nothing to do with it, the Progressive 
 party, in so far as they are National Unionists, do not swerve 
 from the Prussian headship, and is content to wait. The 
 Democratic-Progressive or people's party is with us so weak 
 that it may be disregarded. There thus remains only the Liberal 
 Greater Germany group. This is at the present moment without 
 influence; at least its influence is too trifling for it to carry the 
 Bavarian people along with it by drawing up a programme. 
 
 In Wurtemberg the parties are grouped in a similar manner. 
 Baden is partly Ultramontane, partly National Unionist. The 
 North is altogether for the National Union. Thus, outside Bavaria, 
 no enthusiasm for the Triad Parliament is to be awakened. 
 
 The active interference of the Government must further 
 consist in quitting its neutral position and entering upon a 
 definite alliance with Austria. 
 
 This object will also be reached without our co-operation. 
 Either Austria approaches the Confederation, transfers the 
 occupation of Holstein to the troops or commissioners of the 
 Confederation, which Prussia will not suffer, and then there 
 would be war with Prussia and the alliance with Austria follows 
 of itself: 
 
 Or Austria goes off on her own path alone without reference 
 to the Confederation, which is improbable. Then comes the 
 immediate question, Yes or No? brooking not a moment's 
 delay, which the two paramount German Powers will put to the 
 secondary States. Bavaria's only course, whether she likes it 
 or not, will then be to join Austria. 
 
 The setting up of the parliamentary idea for the German 
 secondary States might lead to unexpected results, which, in 
 Bavaria's interests, are little to be desired. Who is to guarantee 
 that if the parliamentary idea were to be suddenly mentioned 
 and gained support, Prussia would not thereupon proceed to 
 propose, directly and officially, reform of the German Confedera- 
 tion, of which she has already given semi-official intimation? 
 Then we should all at once be relegated to the Union of 1849. 
 
 Should I, however, be deceived on all these points, should 
 it indeed be judicious and useful to proceed to the formation of 
 a union in the proposed manner, yet there is an important point 
 to take into consideration. Political demonstrations should not 
 emanate from novi homines, nor from those who do not possess, or 
 who have ceased to possess the entire confidence of the people. 
 At any rate, those who belong to these two categories should 
 not attempt a demonstration single-handed. Demonstrations 
 can only prove successful when led by men whom the people 
 (whether rightly or wrongly) look upon as the men worthy of 
 their trust. If these be the leaders, we can join ourselves to 
 them; if, however, we act alone, we shall be scoffed at as 
 prying aristocrats, and render ourselves impossible for ever. I
 
 144 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 reckon amongst the trustworthy men who might originate the 
 demonstration, amongst others the following persons : Potzl, 
 Schlor, Hegnenberg, Lerchenfeld, Stenglein, and, above all, 
 Marquard Barth. 
 
 The demonstration will be useless from the beginning if it 
 does not have the effect of kindling enthusiasm. These volunteer 
 political acts are only justifiable when they are the manifestation 
 of the inspired thought of all hearts, when, the moment they 
 take place, every one must exclaim: "That is the very thing!" 
 Only let there be no blow struck at empty air, especially when 
 the air is storm-laden. 
 
 Therefore, I will conclude in the words of the First Epistle to 
 the Corinthians, chap. ix. v. 26: "I therefore so run, not as un- 
 certainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air." 
 
 Prince Karl 0} Bavaria to the Prince. 
 
 Munich, March 23, 1866. 
 
 Your Highness, — I send your remarks of the 21st inst, 
 which I intended to bring back to-day myself, with best thanks. 
 
 Bavaria's programme, which proposes to support Austria 
 •if she returns to the point of view of the German Confederation, 
 will be approved by all parties. An association formed to act in 
 this sense is superfluous. An assembly which demands the 
 immediate convocation of a Parliament for Germany collectively, 
 or for the secondary States, is impracticable and therefore 
 absurd. I had no such thought. 
 
 The Parliament should temporarily make its appearance only 
 under the condition of meeting the demand for reforms in the 
 German Confederation. Bavaria would have to establish a 
 connection between these and her adhesion to Austria. 
 
 It seems to me that a more favourable opportunity than 
 the present for arriving, without a revolution, at a reform of the 
 German Confederation will not soon return, and I should even 
 to-day (at all events in the event of increasing complications) 
 consider as practicable the convocation of the Landtag to take 
 active measures in this direction and to aim at the unification 
 of all Liberals of the Greater Germany group. It is possible, 
 however, that you may be right, and that for this the time has 
 not yet come, v 
 
 Besides, I suspect Pfordten of carrying on at the same time 
 in deep secrecy a policy of a Rhine Confederation. How 
 then? 
 
 These are the observations to which I intended to call the 
 attention of your Highness. In the meantime I will not forget 
 the counsel of prudence, for which I reiterate my most sincere 
 thanks, and remain, 
 
 Your Highness's devoted servant, 
 
 Karl.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 145 
 
 Journal* 
 
 Munich, April 11, 1866. 
 
 Dined to-day with the King. In the Winter Garden after 
 dinner the King began discussing politics with me, and expressed 
 his apprehension regarding Prussia's proposal to set up a Parlia- 
 ment. I said the Parliamentary scheme would always turn up from 
 time to time; now was the moment of all others for Bavaria to 
 come forward. The Democratic party would not follow Bismarck 
 unconditionally, as they would a Liberal Prussian Ministry. 
 Prussia's only aim just now was supremacy in North Germany. 
 Here the King broke in: "Just now, yes, but presently she will 
 want more." I questioned this, and added that I believed Bavaria 
 could come to terms now with Prussia, and that Prussia would 
 offer no objection if we tried to make a better position for our- 
 selves in South Germany. He then spoke of Bismarck's influence 
 over the King, which he declared to be unlimited. The Queen 
 and the Crown Prince were against Bismarck. Leaving me, 
 the King had a talk with Maurer,f who corroborated my opinions 
 and told me afterwards he had particularly urged the King not to 
 be afraid and to seize this favourable opportunity. 
 
 Munich, May 31, 1866. 
 
 Arrived last night. The debate on the address took place 
 yesterday morning. Arco- Valley, whom I met at the station, told 
 me that Zu Rhein moved, and in a long speech urged, the adop- 
 tion, in the address, of a more rigorous tone against Prussia, 
 whereas Wilhelm Lowenstein advocated a moderation in her 
 favour. However, the Chamber accepted Harless's address as 
 sufficiently firm and dignified. I suspect that Stauffenberg 
 fixed the meeting immediately before my arrival, if not purposely, 
 at least not without inward satisfaction. He wanted to deprive 
 me of the opportunity of making a political confession of faith. 
 On the other hand it may only have been to enable him to get 
 away to-day on another week's holiday. 
 
 Feeling here is against Prussia; even the sympathy which 
 prevailed in the Army has vanished, I am told. I walked up and 
 down the Dultplatz yesterday for a long time with Bodenstedt, 
 who is keen on the general arming of the people — outside the 
 Standing Army of course. This was the special rallying-cry of the 
 democracy, and if the people did not mind the attendant expense 
 and discomfort, why not let them do it and be happy. Revolution 
 would certainly not come of it. 
 
 The King's journey to Switzerland | has done him much 
 
 * Here begins the regular continuous record which the Prince calls 
 his diary. 
 
 t State Councillor von Maurer (1790-1872), a member of the Upper 
 House. 
 
 % The purpose of the journey to Switzerland, where the King visited 
 the scene of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, was misconstrued by the public, who 
 believed that the King went there in order to meet Richard Wagner. 
 
 vol. 1 — L
 
 146 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 harm with Munich people. They are said to have shouted abuse 
 at him in the open street, and when he drove to church on the 
 opening day of the Diet there was no hurrahing, they scarcely 
 even saluted him. This, they say, is his reason for transferring 
 the Chief of Police, Pfeufer,* to Augsburg (as if the police 
 could cause the bad feeling !) and nominating Fritz Luxburg f 
 Chief of Police, in his place. The latter is wretched about it 
 and cannot make up his mind to accept. 
 
 Pfordten declares constantly that he is sick of the whole 
 business, but stays on nevertheless and will probably go to the 
 conferences as Plenipotentiary to the Confederation. I do not 
 see how this will work with the Landtag, as there will then be no 
 Minister to bring forward the Government business. 
 
 They tell me the King has refused to open the session personally, 
 so old King Ludwig and Prince Karl drove over to Berg and 
 lessoned him. The closing sentence of the address of the Council 
 is also a lesson : 
 
 "When the devotion of a Monarch to the duties of govern- 
 ment — doubly heavy at the present time — is supported by the 
 confidence of his people, and the confidence of the people in its 
 turn increased and strengthened by that devotion, both ruler and 
 people may look without dismay even into a dark future. United 
 by this bond of mutual trust, we may hope, with your Majesty, 
 that should we be called upon, in spite of all our efforts for peace, 
 to defend the right by force of arms, the valour of our troops ard 
 the fervent patriotism of the people will, with God's help, gain 
 the victory." 
 
 Munich, June i, 1866. 
 
 Prince Reuss % fears that the anti-Prussian demonstrations 
 in the Bavarian Chamber will finally result in setting the Prussian 
 people against the South German States and so hasten the war. 
 He declares that Prussia is being more and more driven to take 
 the defensive, and that Austria, by an artificial working up of the 
 war enthusiasm, is being forced into war. The scheme of reform 
 of the Confederation which he imparted to me touches but few 
 points, ignores the question of a central authority, and will satisfy 
 no one. I told him so to-day, and pointed out to him that by 
 calling in a Parliament without at the same time organising a 
 central authority Bismarck was simply encouraging the revolution. 
 That is, perhaps, his intention. In my opinion the only practical 
 plan would be a Council of Ministers associated with a certain 
 number of picked men from the Chambers, who should then 
 deliberate together and decide upon a draft of a Federal Con- 
 stitution and draw up an electoral law at the same time. This 
 is the only practical way of going about it. 
 
 * Afterwards Minister of the Interior. 
 
 t Count Luxburg, Prefect of Strassburg in 1871, and afterwards 
 President of the Government in Wurzburg. 
 % Prussian Minister in Munich.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 147 
 
 Munich, June 3, 1866. 
 
 There was another brush with the police last night in the 
 Sterngarten. The Landwehr fired on the brawlers and one 
 man was killed and two wounded. I heard the shots, but 
 thought it was fireworks in one of the beer-gardens. There can 
 be no doubt that these disorderly scenes are got up by paid agents. 
 This afternoon it began again at the Lowenbrau. Who is at the 
 bottom of it all is not quite clear. The Liberals say it is the 
 Ultramontanes who are trying to get up a revolution and drive 
 the young King out; others say it is done by Bismarck's agents 
 so that Bavaria may be obliged to withdraw some of her troops 
 from the frontier to quell the disturbances. 
 
 The conferences seem to be meeting with difficulties. Degen- 
 feld* whom I met to-day, says that Austria was making con- 
 ditions that must inevitably wreck the whole conference. It is 
 evident that the more one hears of there being little or no desire 
 for war in Prussia, the more is Austria set upon having it. I 
 no longer doubt that there will be war. Napoleon will then join 
 with Italv and Prussia, and if the South- Western States make 
 too much fuss they will be occupied by France and Prussia 
 together. We are not sufficiently organised to be able to offer 
 much resistance. 
 
 Pfeufer's dismissal was the outcome of a very outspoken 
 report he sent to the King on the notoriously bad feeling in the 
 capital. Without further explanation he was deprived of his 
 office and made Director of Administration at Augsburg. Instead 
 of entering a protest against this Sultanic encroachment on the 
 part of the Cabinet, the Minister of the Interior, like the thorough 
 old bureaucratic sleepy-head he is, let it pass without a word. 
 So long as the King is encouraged in his caprices by the sycophancy 
 of the Court and the Government officials, so long will he continue 
 to regard himself as a demi-god who can do what he pleases and 
 for whose pleasure the rest of the world — at any rate Bavaria — 
 was created. 
 
 June 4. 
 
 Somebody told me yesterday that Blome f was the head of 
 the war party in Austria, and was all the more anxious to bring 
 it on because he considered this the most favourable moment 
 for re-establishing the temporal power of the Pope on its old 
 scale. If the Jesuits, who have even Bismarck under their 
 thumb, consider war necessary to their interests, no power on 
 earth can save us from it. Since I heard that I have not the 
 slightest doubt that in a fortnight's time it will have broken out. 
 
 Munich, June 5. 
 
 Austria refuses to send a representative to the Congress or the 
 conferences. From this everybody concludes that the war will 
 * Minister for Wiirtemberg. f The Austrian Minister in Munich.
 
 148 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 break out at once, particularly if it is true that Prussia declared 
 in Vienna she would regard the calling together of the Estates in 
 Holstein as a casus belli. Consequently there is general conster- 
 nation in Munich. On the other hand, Konneritz * says Bismarck 
 is in a horrible position. He sees now that he has gone too far, that 
 his unpopularity is increasing, the military organisation inadequate, 
 and the Landwehr wanting in the proper warlike spirit. The 
 Household troops could not be spared from Berlin, as the feeling 
 there was too uncertain, and as a result of all this there were 
 rumours of the King's abdication. Whether this is only a highly 
 coloured Saxon version I cannot say. 
 
 As regards the Schleswig-Holstein affair, they say a scheme 
 is being discussed according to which Duke Friedrich is to re- 
 nounce the ducal crown in favour of his son, and a Regency to be 
 appointed. Prussia would then be more likely to give way. 
 
 If a change of throne and government were really to occur 
 in Prussia, the party of the National Union and their Prussian 
 views would grow stronger in Bavaria and the position of the 
 Bavarian Government much more difficult. 
 
 Munich, June 7, 1866. 
 
 The longer I stay here, the clearer does the situation in Bavaria 
 become to me. Things must unfold themselves slowly before 
 me if I am to gain a right view, and that entails many wearisome 
 visits and evenings at the Club. 
 
 Yesterday Berchtold f was with me for a long time and told 
 me of the conversations between the Deputies at the committee 
 on the address. Pfordten stated his policy frankly and 
 received the approval of all parties. They all said they had 
 nothing whatever against him, but much against his incompetent 
 colleagues. Bavaria stands firmly by the Confederation, and in 
 this Pfordten is supported by all parties. The Left votes grudg- 
 ingly with them, but can bring forward no other programme. The 
 Triad is not excluded ; the way is being prepared for that too. 
 Berchtold said there was a rumour that I had come to an under- 
 standing with the Advanced Liberals, Barth and Volk, that they 
 were going to draw the King over to their side, have Wagner re- 
 called and put me up for the Premiership. I am quite innocent 
 of any claims to this honour, for with the exception of Herr 
 Umbscheiden % whom I often meet in the street as he lives near 
 me, I have never even spoken to a member of the Left. As 
 Pfordten is now more firmly established than ever there can be 
 no question of any such combination, which would be very 
 distasteful to me. 
 
 * Saxon Ambassador in Munich. 
 
 f A parliamentarian of advanced views. 
 
 j A judicial officer, formerly Member of the Frankfurt Parliament.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 149 
 
 June 9. 
 
 To-day brought the debate on the address in the Chamber of 
 Deputies to a close after lasting two days. Pfordten's Ministry 
 met with little opposition on the whole. As far as I could hear 
 no voice was raised in favour of direct alliance with Austria. The 
 instability and vagueness of the whole situation made the Deputies 
 very guarded in their speech. Altogether there was much talk 
 with very little in it, as nobody would show his hand. 
 
 The chairman, Professor Edel of Wiirzburg, said pretty much 
 what one reads in the Allgemeine Zeitung. He was appallingly 
 dull. A Deputy of the Palatinate said they ought to side neither 
 with Austria nor with Prussia, nor yet remain neutral, but should 
 place the Army at the disposal of the German Parliament; to 
 which Pfordten replied, would he be good enough to tell them 
 first where the German Parliament might be. 
 
 Pfordten spoke with his customary lucidity, and entirely from 
 the standpoint of the rights of the Confederation. That will 
 not do him much good if the Confederation is broken up by the 
 war between the two paramount Powers. There seems at present 
 to be a decided feeling in favour of a closer union between smaller 
 States, the formation of the so-called Triad. Whether this plan 
 could ever be actually carried through still seems to me very 
 doubtful. 
 
 The debates on the question of supply will begin at the end of 
 the week in the Lower House, and then come on to us in the 
 week of June 17 to 28. I shall probably have an opportunity 
 then of speaking against the State paper currency. 
 
 War now seems inevitable. I have every reason to suppose 
 that Napoleon has an understanding with Prussia and that events 
 will take the course I have already pointed out. 
 
 Munich, June 16, 1866. 
 
 One startling piece of news comes on the heels of another in 
 these days. First Prussia's secession from the Confederation 
 because of the mobilisation of the Federal forces, and now the 
 news of the entry of the Prussians into Saxony, of King Johann's 
 departure for Prague, and the retreat of the Saxon troops across 
 the Bohemian frontier. Prussia has sent an ultimatum to Hanover 
 and also to the Electorate of Hesse — to disarm or she will send 
 an army of occupation. And so the scheme for the partition of 
 Germany is well-nigh complete. We, for our part, allow our- 
 selves to be hustled, now by Prussia, now by Austria, and have 
 no definite plans of any kind. 
 
 The Bavarian Army is in a most unsatisfactory state. Prince 
 Karl is too old to be Commander-in-Chief. The officers have not 
 sufficient confidence in their own powers. I hardly think we 
 shall win many laurels for all the hearty good will of the men 
 and the Bavarian's inborn love of a fight. 
 
 On Monday the debate on the thirty-one millions which
 
 i 5 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 are needed for military purposes will take place in the Chamber 
 of Deputies. I am curious to hear the speeches on paper money. 
 Brater and Kolb are of my opinion, and against. 
 
 The King sees no one now. He is staying with Taxis * and 
 the groom Volk on the Roseninsel, and lets off fireworks. Even 
 the Members of the Upper House, who were to deliver the ad- 
 dress to him, were not received — a case unprecedented in the 
 constitutional life of Bavaria. Not to receive addresses of loy- 
 alty, and from the faithful Senate, that is a bitter pill for the 
 august Chamber! The Munich people themselves are again 
 making quite justifiable comments. Other people do not trouble 
 their heads about the King's childish tricks, since he lets the 
 Ministers and the Chambers govern without interfering. His 
 behaviour is, however, imprudent, since it tends to make him 
 unpopular. At one o'clock I was with Reuss, who is expecting his 
 recall. Louis f will take his place. He must, in fact, unless 
 he is anxious to ruin his position in Prussia altogether. 
 
 The public at large are watching the whole crisis with a kind 
 indifference, an objective interest. That present conditions 
 cannot continue, every one can see. Why go to war to main- 
 tain them? Konneritz thinks that in spite of all Bavaria 
 will take no active part. To-night, so Stauffenberg tells me, an 
 uproar among the Jews is announced. I don't believe it though. 
 
 Munich, June 19, 1866. 
 
 On account of the proposal to mobilise the Army Corps 
 of the Confederation, Prussia has announced her withdrawal, 
 and has attacked Saxony, Hanover, and Hesse. The Bavarian 
 Government, which up to now has taken up an indecisive 
 attitude of ostensible impartiality, and flattered itself it could 
 keep it up, has suddenly, to its astonishment, been waked out 
 of its dream and compelled to range itself on the Austrian side. 
 The Prussian Minister has been informed that diplomatic rela- 
 tions are broken off, and Reuss left with Louis at six o'clock 
 this evening. I bade him farewell at the station; the French, 
 the Russian, and the Italian Legations were there, besides 
 Quadt, Deroy, and I. 
 
 Reuss left with a heavy heart, as undoubtedly he will not re- 
 turn here. Alvensleben is staying some time longer, to put every- 
 thing straight. 
 
 The most various rumours are afloat. One day they say 
 that the Prussians are at Hof, and the other day the Austrians 
 had taken Gorlitz by storm, an Archduke killed, &c. Then 
 some one declares that he has read a telegram from some one 
 in the neighbourhood of Frankfurt, who has heard heavy firing 
 in that neighbourhood. 
 
 * Orderly Officer Prince Paul Taxis. 
 
 f Prince Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, brother of the Princess, then 
 in the Prussian Legation at Munich.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 151 
 
 Our Army is not in particularly good condition, and the Aus- 
 trians do well to send further reinforcements to Southern Germany. 
 Austrians are expected there shortly. 
 
 I am afraid that now the war will be very long and very san- 
 guinary. People will only grow accustomed to war by degrees, 
 but the habit of it will come, and when once Germans get to logger- 
 heads, they can't stop. 
 
 The Rhine Palatinate has sent a deputation here to complain 
 that they are being delivered over to the mercy of the French. 
 The Emperor Napoleon is already setting inquiries about as 
 to whether the population would care to become French. The 
 characterless people there, who have never clung to any Sovereign, 
 any more than to Germany, will readily allow themselves to be 
 made French. This makes the patriots furious, and they are send- 
 ing deputations to implore protection. But where are we to get an 
 army from to keep the French troops off ? Our troops have enough 
 to do to keep off the Prussians ; there are none left for the Palat- 
 inate. 
 
 To-day there was a long sitting of the Upper House, before 
 which I had brought a motion on the disadvantages of paper 
 money. The House and the Ministry, however, were not agreed 
 on the point, so I withdrew it, my intention being only to bring 
 the question under discussion. 
 
 I met Pfordten at the Club to-night. He was lamenting over 
 the war, which will result in the dismemberment of Germany; 
 he said over and over again: "This is the end of Germany." 
 I almost believe it myself now. Prussia will become a great 
 and compact State in North Germany; we, in the South, will 
 go on vegetating under French or Austrian protection, until 
 our hour strikes, and half of us falls to France, and the other 
 half to Austria. 
 
 Baron Guttenberg came late into the Club, and related that 
 the Prussians have shown themselves in the neighbourhood of 
 Hof. Taxis* thereupon is said to have rapidly collected his 
 troops against them, whereupon they withdrew across the 
 frontier again without fighting. This is said to be authentic. 
 Leidenhayn says they are arguing in his club about the war. 
 "What quarrel have we with the Prussians, then, that we should 
 go to war for Augustenburg?" the habitues there say. "If 
 Max were alive now," he added, "things would not have come to 
 this." 
 
 Munich, June 21, 1866. 
 
 To-day we had our last sitting on a law touching the exten- 
 sion of the Bank's right to issue notes. At the end of the 
 sitting Pfordten gave a valedictory address, in which he em- 
 phasised that the Bavarian Government had done their best 
 to avoid a war, &c. At one o'clock I had a meal with a 
 
 * General Prince Taxis was father-in-law to Freiherr von Guttenberg.
 
 1 52 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 number of Senators and Gustav Castell * at the Bayrischer Hof. 
 Gustav Castell had been at Bamberg to make arrangements 
 for the reception of the General Staff in the palace there, 
 and got back here again yesterday evening. Prince Karl 
 left here at noon yesterday for Bamberg with the whole of his 
 Headquarters Staff. Von der Tann is Quarter-master General. 
 A huge number of officers, &c, travelled in the suite; likewise 
 an Austrian General, Huyn. Prince Luitpold is going with the 
 General Staff too. The King goes there to-morrow, so they 
 say, but will only remain a short time. There is talk here 
 to-day again of battles. They say that in Saxony or Bohemia 
 there has been a cavalry engagement, and that a big battle 
 has taken place near Oppeln. However, nothing is known 
 for certain. The prevailing temper here is not enthusiastic. 
 People are convinced of the necessity of the war, but regret 
 it, and are loath to go to the front. Munich is deserted; 
 the people stand at the booksellers' windows, stare at the maps, 
 and repeat the rumours they have heard to each other. 
 
 Dusemann has just been here, and told me that the Neue 
 Bayrische Kurier is enlarging upon the fact that I accompanied 
 Reuss to the station. As if they could find any sympathy for 
 Prussia in that. I could not let Louis leave without going to 
 see him off. At eleven o'clock last night I was at the 
 station to see the Austrian troops go through. But they were 
 only coaches with a convoy of Italian-speaking soldiers. A 
 crowd of onlookers were sauntering about. As a matter 
 of fact, every one is on the go all the time to be ready to 
 be off to the station and watch the troop trains. I own that 
 the sight makes me sad, since it is a case of war in Germany, and 
 between Germans. 
 
 They are considering here whether they ought not to 
 send their valuables to Switzerland. Still, I have heard sensible 
 people again, who regard such attempts at flight as absurd. 
 
 Munich, June 26, 1866. 
 
 On my arrival back from Baden last night, I learnt that 
 the Duke of Augustenburg was here. I went to see him this 
 afternoon. He invited me to dine with him, and I met Samwer, 
 a Dr. Lorenzen, and a Major Schmidt. After dinner we both 
 drove to Schack, and then in the English Garden. He told 
 me the whole history of his political life since 1863. He is 
 extraordinarily calm and confident, and has no doubts as to 
 the success of his cause. It was news to me that the King 
 of Prussia and Bismarck were entirely in agreement with him 
 until Bismarck's journey to Biarritz.f After his return, Bismarck 
 
 * Count Gustav Castell-Castell, at that time Captain of Artillery and 
 Aide-de-camp to the King. 
 
 t The allusion is doubtless to Bismarck's visit to Biarritz in October 
 1864.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 153 
 
 tried every possible subterfuge and evasion, and then brought 
 the whole affair to its present point. He, the Duke, was ready 
 to make every possible concession. But Bismarck wanted 
 annexation. The treaty with Italy * was concluded before the 
 Castein Convention, and Bismarck has been preparing for war 
 for two years, and taking measures accordingly. That time 
 the matter failed on account of the opposition of the King, who 
 "would not take the leap." It was for that reason alone that 
 the Gastein Convention was concluded. The Duke says that the 
 whole tale about the German reforms and the Parliament, 
 &c, is a mere imposture. Bismarck only wants to round 
 off Prussia. What of Prussia he will have to give up after the 
 war is quite immaterial to him, so long as he secures more square 
 miles through compensation in other directions. He wants 
 Hanover, Schleswig-Holstein, and Hesse, perhaps Saxony as 
 well. The Duke hopes that Austria and the other German 
 States will ultimately be victorious. Of the Duke of Coburg 
 he says that he is one of the men who always want to have a 
 part to play, and cannot wait until the turn of the wheel has 
 again brought things round to a point where they can get 
 their chance again. He himself knows how to wait. That one 
 must say for him. He produces an exceedingly good impression 
 upon one with his calmness, his dignity, and his conscientious 
 bearing. He is waiting here now for the King, but does not 
 know yet to whom he is going to turn next. 
 
 For the rest, things are quiet here. Munich is like a dead city. 
 The news of the victory of the Austrians f in Italy has caused 
 delight. 
 
 Thtjrnau, June 28. 
 
 I have been here since yesterday. From Munich to Nurem- 
 berg there was no sign of war. At Nuremberg things began to 
 show signs of military activity. There • was a battery of 
 the 3rd Artillery Regiment at Bamberg. I met Captain von 
 Massenbach, and gave him my Allgemeine Zeitung, whereat 
 he was much delighted. The soldiers behaved like rough village 
 louts on a Sunday; they brawled and hooted abominably. The 
 keeper of the station restaurant poured out his grief over the 
 sad times to me. Where the elegantly garbed Kissingen visitors 
 used to dine, the soldiers are now blustering about. On the way 
 to Lichtenfels I met trains full of cuirassiers. At Lichtenfels 
 there were sentries on duty. All is empty about here. Who 
 knows whether the Prussians may not arrive before I leave? 
 Still, the battle they have lost in Bohemia, | which we read of 
 in the papers to-day, will doubtless make them somewhat more 
 cautious. 
 
 * On the negotiations with Italy in the summer of 1865, see Sybel, Be- 
 grundung des Deutschen Reichs, vol. iv. p. 129 of the popular edition, 
 t The battle of Custozza, June 24. 
 X The engagement at Trautenau on June 27.
 
 154 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Munich, July 3, 1866. 
 
 The latest news from the theatre of war in Bohemia 
 has aroused a feeling here which does not say much for the 
 strength of character of the populace. Now all at once 
 people are beginning to discover that it would have been better 
 to remain neutral; the Prussian needle-guns are irresistible, 
 &c. In addition to this, our Army, which might very well 
 have liberated the Hanoverians, has lost weeks without any 
 earthly reason, or at any rate without any known reason. At the 
 Bavarian headquarters they heard the guns at Langensalza, and 
 never stirred. If the war is really being directed from Munich, 
 if the General Staff is under the control of an ex-professor,* 
 and all orders are received via the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 it is impossible to carry on any war. The indignation of the 
 Bavarian officers is said to be great. The result of all this is that 
 the weak people are losing courage, and the others are railing 
 worse than ever. That the present military system of the 
 Confederation has not proved efficient, and that the present con- 
 stitution of the Confederation has outlived its day, is gradually 
 becoming clear to everybody. At seven o'clock last evening I 
 started home from the Bayrischer Hof, where I had dined at the 
 table d'hote with the Duke of Augustenburg's gentlemen (the 
 Duke is at Langenburg for a few days). However, u was an hour 
 and a half before I reached home, for in the Ludwigstrasse I met 
 Tauffkirchen, f Deroy, and Gustav Castell, with whom were 
 some others. So we stood and talked over the political situation 
 for an hour. In the Briennerstrasse I met with Countess Lerchen- 
 feld and six old ladies, who clustered round me, and likewise 
 began a political discussion. Then I went with the ladies to the 
 office of the Bayrische Zeitung to get the special edition, from 
 which, however, there was nothing new to be gleaned. 
 People are beginning to realise here that we are much to blame 
 for our conduct. 
 
 Pfordten's delay during this winter bearing its evil fruit. It 
 looks to me as if we should fall between two stools. Perhaps 
 the Bavarian Army Corps will now begin to act with some energy. 
 Frau von der Tann declares it will. It is to be hoped so, but 
 it would have been better, while the impression of the first 
 successful engagements in Bohemia and the news from Italy 
 were still fresh, to advance to the relief of the Hanoverians. The 
 favourable opportunity has now been allowed to slip, and I cannot 
 blame the Ostedeutsche Post for inveighing against Bavaria. 
 
 The King is at Berg again. The Bayrische Zeitung an- 
 nounces that for the purpose of communication with the Ministry 
 the telegraph is being installed between Berg and Munich, and 
 Privy Councillor Pfistermeister, to facilitate rapid communica- 
 
 * Von der Pfordten had been a professor at Wiirzburg and Leipzig, 
 t Count Tauffkirchen, then Stadtrichter (Sheriff) of Munich.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 155 
 
 tion between the King and his Ministers, will remain here at 
 
 Munich ! 
 
 Munich, July 5, 1866. 
 
 The news from Bohemia is producing a very dispiriting effect 
 here. Moreover, the Bavarian Army, owing to the sheer 
 incompetence of its leaders, has not come to the rescue of the 
 Hanoverians. The Bayrische Zeitung excuses this by saying that 
 at headquarters "they did not know where the Hanoverians were." 
 Is anything more ridiculous conceivable? In our War Ministry 
 things are proceeding on the old bureaucratic, red-tape lines. Self- 
 satisfaction and dilatoriness everywhere. Von Lutz, the Minister 
 of War, so far as I can judge from the sittings of the Upper 
 House in committee, is a man of very small intellectual ability. 
 A man like this, who, in addition to the rest, recently banged his 
 head against the door in getting off his horse and thereby made 
 himself more incapable than he was before, is now at the head of 
 the Bavarian Army Administration ! Prince Karl is a nervous old 
 gentleman ; the officers on the General Staff are some of them no 
 better than the Minister. I am watching the progress of the war 
 with alarm. At any rate it is a good thing that our Bavarian 
 soldiers are quite extraordinarily pugnacious, especially when they 
 are well fed. It is possible that the soldiers will make up for the 
 deficiencies of their leaders. 
 
 Here, where even in quiet times we have no other recreation 
 than argument and discussion, there is no end to the railing and 
 the putting right of other people. The news of the battle 
 between Koniggratz and Josefstadt the day before yesterday has 
 made a tremendous sensation. 
 
 Some one who is not without influence took it into his head 
 to propose me as Kultusminister (Minister for Public Worship and 
 Instruction). He consulted me about it first. I said, "No, thank 
 you," though, for in the first place I do not wish to be a Minister 
 at all; in the next place, not with these colleagues; and in the 
 third place, not Minister of Public Instruction. I should never be 
 safe from intrigues of ever}' sort. Moreover, the Minister of 
 Public Instruction has the Musical Academies under him, and 
 I should have the pleasure of coming into conflict with Richard 
 Wagner, &c. I should be sold and betrayed on all hands. 
 
 6 P.M. 
 
 Dined with Pfordten and several diplomatists. Pfordten 
 told me that a proposal for an armistice has been sent from 
 Paris to Vienna. So peace is in prospect. It would thus seem 
 that we should continue the war with Prussia alone, which I 
 think is madness. Pfordten had a dispute with Konneritz at 
 table d'hote. The former declared that he preferred Bismarck 
 to the Prussian Liberal party, who cared just as little for justice. 
 Rosty * was of opinion that Austria will continue the war with 
 * Secretary to the Austrian Embassy.
 
 156 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Prussia after she has given up Italy. There is general delight 
 that the Bavarians have at any rate fought. The Prussians are 
 at Briickenau and at Neustadt-on-Saale. We have no news of 
 Prince Alexander of Hesse's 8th Army Corps, and so the Prussian 
 troops have penetrated between the 7th and 8th Army Corps. 
 Now the armistice will bring this campaign to an end too. 
 
 Munich, July 7, 1866. 
 
 I had business at Ansbach yesterday, so started from here at six 
 o'clock. At the station I was met by the editor of the Neueste 
 Nachrichten, who showed me a telegram: " Napoleon imposes 
 the condition that Prussia is to evacuate Bohemia, or he will 
 invade the Rhine Province." I have heard no more about this 
 condition since. At Ansbach I heard that the Frankfurt Bourse 
 is revelling in anticipations of peace, and that the rate had risen 
 tremendously. At Ansbach every one was anxious to pack. They 
 were all terrified of the Prussians. The cowardice of humanity is 
 no greater than I would have believed. What more particularly 
 angers me is that the authorities too seem to have lost their heads. 
 This illustrates how demoralising our bureaucracy is. We 
 have no men anywhere, only scribbling old women. Because a 
 few hundred cuirassiers and Uhlans lost their heads, fled from 
 a cavalry engagement at Fulda and arrived breathless at Wtirz- 
 burg, the whole of Lower Franconia lost heart. I hear a good 
 many instances of the incapacity of our military administration. 
 President zu Rhein telegraphed to Munich that orders must in any 
 case be issued that Wiirzburg was not to be defended if the 
 Prussians came ! Meanwhile the Prussians had withdrawn 
 again over the Bavarian frontier. 
 
 The engagement fought by the Bavarians near Diedorf and 
 Rossdorf* was very respectable. General Zoller defended him- 
 self well. They even made prisoners and lost none. Here they 
 keep on talking nonsense. For instance, they say that the 
 Emperor of Austria has passed through, on his way to Prince 
 Karl's headquarters, and from there will go to St. Petersburg! 
 Then he is to go to Paris, or to Strassburg, and so on. 
 
 I am beginning to believe that peace is still a long way off. 
 If it be true that Napoleon is imposing too harsh conditions on 
 Prussia, for instance, the reinstatement of the banished German 
 Princes, withdrawal from Bohemia during the continuance of the 
 armistice, &c. (I say "harsh" from the Prussian point of view), then 
 the King of Prussia will absolutely refuse them, and Napoleon will 
 march on the Rhine Province. Then we shall have a European 
 war. We shall see before long. There is much to support this 
 view. It would probably suit Napoleon very well if Prussia did not 
 accept the present conditions of peace, it would give him a 
 splendid opportunity of occupying the Rhine Province. In that 
 case, however, Germany might possibly turn against France. The 
 
 * Battle of Hunfeld, July 4.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 157 
 
 confusion of German political affairs would reach its zenith. I 
 hope that I am wrong, but such a development would be by no 
 means impossible. For the present, we need not despair of the 
 armistice. But what will come afterwards is anything but clear. 
 That things will be as quickly settled as in the year fifty-nine 
 seems to me improbable. According to the latest news the panic 
 of the Wiirzburgers was absolutely baseless, as no dispersed 
 cavalry arrived there at all. 
 
 Munich, July 13, 1866. 
 
 The last few days there has been great excitement here over 
 the engagements in and about Kissingen.* The public have 
 given vent to their excitement in abuse, as is usually the way with 
 ordinary peopLe. I had an opportunity to-day of dining with an 
 officer (Diirig), who was General Zoller's orderly officer, and 
 brought his body here. Diirig has taken part in every engage- 
 ment and told us a great deal. The soldiers have fought very 
 well everywhere. The head administration of the General Staff 
 and of the Commissariat Department leaves much to be desired. 
 He said that at Kissingen the visitors were walking about the 
 streets on the very morning of the battle, until the first shell 
 fell in the streets, and then they crept into the cellars, where 
 many a one doubtless perished. Zoller was killed by a shell, 
 which killed Durig's horse as well. Both fell at the same time. 
 Diirig picked Zoller up, but he was mortally wounded. The frag- 
 ment of shell had torn away his right side in the region of the 
 liver. Diirig brought the body out of the fight, and then by great 
 good fortune got it through the Prussian fighting lines to Schwein- 
 furt, where they arrived just as the Prussians were expected 
 from the same quarter. 
 
 Diirig went back to Bamberg to-day. There are the most con- 
 tradictory rumours concerning the armistice. Some say that it 
 is concluded ; others, that the negotiations have come to nothing. 
 All the same I think that peace is desired on all sides and the 
 Prussians have only dragged out the negotiations in order to 
 gain time and territory. If the armistice does not become an 
 accomplished fact we shall be in the unfortunate position of 
 being obliged to fight with France against Prussia, a political 
 situation which I regard as discreditable. The time cannot 
 be far' off when German consciousness will react against this 
 and will condemn those who entered upon such an alliance. 
 And yet we cannot be expected to fight against Austria and 
 France at the same time. There are positions, like that in 
 which Bavaria found herself in the year 1805, when one is forced 
 into an un-German alliance without the possibility of an escape. 
 General Zoller's funeral yesterday was very imposing. I 
 joined the procession and went with the Minister for War, behind 
 Prince Adalbert. The funeral oration was insignificant. The 
 
 * On July 10.
 
 158 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 parson made use of the singularly inappropriate expression that 
 "the deceased had fallen a victim to his patriotism." At the 
 outside, that might be said of a man who had been murdered, 
 not of any one who had fallen on the field of honour. 
 
 The Deputies for the town of Munich have paid a visit to 
 Pfordten, to demand an alteration in the Ministry, as far as 
 Pfordten's colleagues are concerned. 
 
 I regard the present catastrophe with the utmost calm. It was 
 unavoidable, for the opposition between Austria and Prussia had 
 to come to a point and be settled ; and it was better now than ten 
 years later. It is salutary, too, because it will do away with 
 many rotten institutions in Germany and in particular will 
 demonstrate clearly and ad hominem to the small and medium- 
 sized States their pitiable unimportance. That this will be 
 unfortunate for the dynasties, I admit, but it will be fortunate 
 for the people. 
 
 The King did not receive Diirig (although at Holnstein's* 
 suggestion he made him a present of a horse). But a " high war 
 lord" who refuses to receive an officer returned from the battle- 
 field ! Is it not enough to make people rail ? 
 
 Mtnsncif, August 13, 1866. 
 
 On my arrival at Munich on the evening of the 12th, I went 
 to the Club, where I found Gustav Castell and Tauffkirchen. The 
 latter informed me that Bavaria would be compelled to make 
 cessions of territory. They talk of the cession of a portion of the 
 Palatinate to France and a portion of Under Franconia to Darm- 
 stadt. Whether Bayreuth is to be given up to the Duke of 
 Coburg is not yet decided. The war expenses that Bavaria will 
 have to pay are said to amount to thirty million gulden. 
 
 The Duke of Augustenburg is here again, on his return from 
 a visit to his brother Christian in Switzerland. 
 
 I was at a public meeting last night. I stood it, despite 
 a temperature of 77 degrees Fahr. and a stifling atmosphere, 
 reeking of beer and perspiration, until eleven o'clock. Kolb spoke 
 against joining Prussia; Volk for it. The opinion of the meet- 
 ing was divided. There was only unanimity in the applause when 
 the bravery of the Army was praised, when the administration of 
 the Army was condemned, and when von der Pfordten was abused. 
 The most striking thing about the meeting was the excitement 
 revealed in the faces of the audience. I could not find room in the 
 hall and spent the evening on a beer-stillage in the buffet, from 
 which I could see and hear without being seen, which to me was 
 of special importance. 
 
 Everything, in high politics, now depends on the decision 
 
 of the King of Prussia. Bismarck wishes to give way to the 
 
 Emperor Napoleon and give him Saarbrucken, Luxembourg, and 
 
 part of the Bavarian Palatinate; the King is obstinately opposed 
 
 * Master of the Horse (Oberst-Stallmeister), Count von Holnstein.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 159 
 
 to this. If the King does not give way there will be war between 
 Prussia and France. Then we shall have to side with Austria 
 and Prussia against France. Whether this decision is very 
 patriotically German I will not determine, whether it will meet 
 with the approval of the people I doubt ; but it seems to me 
 that that is what will happen. 
 
 Patriotism and popular feeling are not much considered just 
 at present. If they are anxious to avoid this contingency, they 
 must come to some understanding with Prussia, and there does not 
 seem to be much inclination for that either in Berlin or in Munich. 
 
 The dispossessed German Sovereigns are intriguing at all the 
 Courts of Europe for foreign intervention. Official and unofficial 
 agents are running themselves off their legs. The German people are 
 making speeches and railing, and in the meantime the events with 
 which they will suddenly be faced are preparing without their 
 intervention and then they will have to hold their peace and 
 pay. It has always been the same, and it will be for some time 
 longer. 
 
 Munich, August 18, 1866. 
 
 I went yesterday to see the new Minister for War,* to return 
 his call. He is an elegant officer, and you can see at once that 
 he is a man of large fortune, independent position, and good 
 breeding. In contrast to his predecessor, Lutz, who looked wry 
 and unwholesome, he produces a fresh, agreeable impression 
 upon one; and yet they declare that this Minister for War 
 has not the capacity to reorganise the Army. What is lack- 
 ing in the Bavarian Army is thorough technical knowledge and 
 the necessary educational establishments. They have been 
 preaching this for thirty years to Prince Karl, so old M. assures 
 me, but he considers the present training quite sufficient. 
 
 With regard to the peace negotiations in Berlin, they say, 
 amongst other things, the following: Von der Pfordten told 
 Bismarck that he did not understand why such hard conditions 
 of peace were imposed on Bavaria, when Saxony, Wiirtemberg, 
 and Hesse were being so favourably treated. In reply, Bismarck 
 said: "What do you expect? Austria is interceding for Saxony, 
 Russia is interceding for Wiirtemberg and Darmstadt — no one is 
 interceding for you!" A bitter criticism of von der Pfordten's 
 policy. 
 
 Here they were anxious to get into the good graces of the 
 Emperor Napoleon, and they sent Perglas to Paris. But he 
 was not even received by Napoleon, and his mission fell through. 
 If I were malicious, this would delight me. 
 
 Yesterday there was a report about that Bavaria had con- 
 cluded an alliance with Prussia and placed a hundred thousand 
 men at her disposal, in return for which Prussia withdrew all her 
 demands for cession of territory and pecuniary indemnity. On 
 
 * Freiherr von Pranckh.
 
 160 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 inquiry, however, it turned out that the rumour was an invention. 
 The King is busy devising scenery for the opera William Tell 
 and is having costumes made for himself, dressed in which 
 he parades his room. Meanwhile it is a question whether his 
 kingdom is to lose thirty thousand inhabitants of Franconia 
 and seven hundred thousand of the Palatinate. 
 
 The Duke of Nassau is here. He wears blue spectacles and 
 looks like an owl. Why he wears uniform I do not know; 
 perhaps the Prussians have taken away his civilian clothes. I 
 think it comprehensible, and from the purely human standpoint 
 quite excusable, for these banished, or as they now say "dis- 
 possessed," monarchs to appeal to foreign Powers for help against 
 Prussia's "oppression." From the German point of view, how- 
 ever, there is no justification for it, and in the interests of Germany 
 it is to be hoped that their intrigues will prove unsuccessful. 
 
 My presence is still viewed with the greatest suspicion. If 
 Privy Councillor Aretin were a real basilisk, he would have 
 annihilated me with his glances long ago. I can read similar 
 suspicious thoughts in the faces of many others. Prince Ludwig 
 is not yet out of danger. They have not yet found the bullet. 
 
 Bavaria will probably pay twenty million gulden and be 
 obliged to cede a small portion of Lower Franconia and a portion 
 of Upper Franconia, Hof, &c. That is the latest news. 
 
 During the discussion over the drafting of the Bill touching the 
 war indemnity to be paid to Prussia, the Chamber of Deputies ex- 
 pressed the wish : " That his Majesty the King would be graciously 
 pleased to use his influence in such a direction that, by means of a 
 closer union with Prussia, the path be entered upon which, at the 
 present time, is the only one that can lead to the wished-for 
 goal of a United Germany, co-operating with a freely elected 
 parliament constituted with the powers demanded for the 
 effectual guarding of national interests and the repulse of possible 
 attacks from abroad." The Reporter of the Senate (Chamber 
 of Senators), Freiherr von Thungen, could not recommend 
 the adoption, of the motion, but proposed something to the 
 following effect: "We desire that his Majesty the King, in 
 the event of an attack by a foreign Power on German terri- 
 tory, will endeavour, with all the forces of the nation and 
 of the Army to repulse the attack." Prince Hohenlohe, on 
 the contrary, at the sitting of the Upper House on August 31, 
 1866, spoke in favour of the motion. "It seems to me," he 
 said, "that this motion is of extreme importance. It brings 
 us at once into the German question and testifies to a 
 change of opinion in the whole country of such a sweeping char- 
 acter as I have never encountered in the course of my political 
 life. When, seventeen years ago, in the sitting of November 12, 
 1849, 1 spoke on the reorganisation of Germany in the sense of the 
 proposals of Prussia at the time, and advocated a closer associa-
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 161 
 
 tion with Prussia, I did so and was obliged to do so, expressly 
 recognising that I was at variance with the opinion of the Bava- 
 rian people. I bowed then to the opinion of the majority. Since 
 then numerous projects in a greater German spirit have cropped 
 up and disappeared again. I have never regarded them as 
 practicable. To-day we see ourselves confronted by a motion 
 passed by a great majority in the Chamber of Deputies, which 
 anxiously recommends the reorganisation of Germany in close 
 union with Prussia. You will think it consistent on my part, 
 my lords, if I support this motion and recommend its adoption. 
 But if you ask, in your astonishment, how it is possible that 
 such a reversal of opinion could have come about among the 
 Bavarian people, the answer is not hard to find. 
 
 "After Austria withdrew from the German Confederation, after 
 the dispersal of the German Confederation, we were face to face 
 with the question: 'What is to become of Bavaria?' Three 
 ways lay open before us, the founding of a South-West German 
 Confederation, the isolation of Bavaria, and a falling back on 
 Prussia. That the founding of a South-West German Confedera- 
 tion was ever within the domain of practical politics, I suppose 
 no one has ever seriously maintained. At any rate, no real 
 supporter of this parochial idea of Germany has come in my way. 
 To place Bavaria as an independent State in the centre of the 
 great European Powers seems to me equally impossible. No one 
 will maintain that such a position can be maintained by any 
 State of five million inhabitants, without the support of a greater 
 Power. Consequently there is only left to us to consider whether 
 we will lean on France, as in the time of the Rhine Confedera- 
 tion, or Prussia. 
 
 "I must now, to the honour of my country, declare that not 
 even during the worst days of our recent history has there come 
 forward one advocate of a French alliance, with the excep- 
 tion, perhaps, of a Munich local paper, which has defended the 
 suggestion. Union with Prussia, therefore, remains the only 
 course. But now the question arises as to whether the time has yet 
 arrived for endeavouring to bring this alliance about. There is 
 an objection that could be raised, and has been, though not in this 
 august Chamber, i.e., that it is unworthy of Bavaria to stretch out 
 her hand to her victorious enemy so soon. I confess that I have 
 never been able to understand this objection. We have con- 
 cluded Peace with Prussia; but peace means reconciliation, and 
 excludes every thought of bitterness or revenge. It is the pre- 
 rogative of civilised nations to regard war as a political neces- 
 sity, in contrast to the negro races of Central Africa, who wage 
 war for lust of booty and of blood, and finally slaughter and 
 devour their captives. 
 
 "Among civilised people, animosity ceases when the political 
 conditions which have produced it disappear. Much more 
 should this be the case with peoples of one and the same race 
 
 vol.. I — M
 
 162 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 who are dependent on one another. Another objection here 
 raised was that we should first wait to examine the Constitution 
 of the North German Confederation before deciding in favour 
 of entry or against it. But I will ask you to remember, my 
 lords, that this delay may be very dangerous to Bavaria. Who 
 can guarantee that the present peace of Europe will remain 
 undisturbed? Should an event occur to shatter this peace, 
 Bavaria would be left completely isolated and forsaken. The 
 disadvantage of having no champion, no friend, and no allies 
 has been experienced to the full by the Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs in Berlin. I think it would be more advisable to secure a 
 position in the North German Confederation at the present 
 moment, when the details are by no means settled or the 
 organisation complete, and when it is still possible to secure 
 favourable conditions for the independence of Bavaria and its 
 dynasty, than afterwards to knock at the door of a house, if I 
 may use a metaphor previously employed by our respected 
 Second President, the construction of which is complete, which 
 has, so to speak, taken its final form, and the doors of which 
 can be closed against us. If we apply tnen, we shall either be 
 excluded or obliged to agree to conditions which might mean 
 the destruction of our dynasty, and of our racial character. It 
 has also been urged that Prussia does not wish for our alliance; 
 I think I know the feeling in Prussia, and I feel bound to say that 
 this objection to an alliance with South Germany exists only in 
 one party, the so-called Kreuzzeitung party, which regards con- 
 stitutional life in South Germany as an abomination. The 
 majority of the Prussian people do not share this aversion, which 
 is entertained least of all by the Government. The fact that the 
 Prussian Government has made no proposals inviting us to enter 
 the Federation, or to make an alliance, is perfectly natural in view 
 of the position of Prussia with respect to France. This, however, 
 is no reason why the South German States and their repre- 
 sentatives should withhold their opinion. I mean to say that 
 even if Prussia is obliged to consider the attitude of France, the 
 German nation is big enough to say what it wishes, what it 
 considers advisable, justifiable, and politic for its own welfare, 
 without reference to the wishes and hopes which may exist beyond 
 the Rhine. I am also of the opinion that the supposed animosity 
 of France to Germany is merely an artificial creation of under- 
 hand party intrigues. The French nation is too generous, too 
 self-reliant, and too noble to feel any apprehension at the 
 organisation of a united Germany. 
 
 "I admit that the formulation of the proposal leaves something 
 to be desired. But if alliance with Prussia is necessary, and if it 
 is necessary now, it is our duty to express this as the proposal 
 before us does, though imperfectly. I do not regard the 
 proposal as an attempt to mediatise Bavaria, but as merely 
 expressing the desire of the country to abandon to some extent
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 163 
 
 its present isolation. It can thus only be a basis for further 
 negotiations. I therefore recommend its acceptance in the 
 interests of our Fatherland, in the interests of Bavaria and of 
 the preservation of Germany." 
 
 The proposal of the Chamber of Deputies was rejected by the 
 Upper House. Besides Prince Hohenlohe, its only supporters 
 were Count von Fugger-Babenhausen, Count von Pappenheim, 
 and the Prince of Oettingen-Wallerstein. 
 
 At the same session, the Upper House discussed the further 
 proposal sent up from the Chamber of Deputies: 
 
 "That his Majesty the King may be pleased to guarantee to 
 the Bavarian people the proffered further development of their 
 domestic institutions, in particular the reform of Army organisa- 
 tion, the reorganisation of the educational system on the basis of 
 absence of tests, and the assurance of full freedom of con- 
 science, and that his Majesty may be pleased to direct the 
 immediate proposition of draft measures of social legislation in 
 this sense." 
 
 The Upper House agreed to this proposal in the sitting of 
 August 31, 1866. Those who voted against it were Archbishops 
 von Scherr and von Deinlein, Bishop von Dinkel, Count von 
 Seinsheim, and Freiherren, Karl and Karl Maria von Aretin. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, September 1, 1866. 
 
 The Landtag summoned to discuss the conclusion of peace is 
 now at an end. The introduction of the peace proposal gave me 
 ho opportunity to make a speech, and I thought I should have 
 got through without being disturbed, but during the discussion 
 of a financial measure, the Chamber of Deputies almost unani- 
 mously adopted a proposal requesting the Government to ask for 
 a close union with Prussia and the German Parliament. This 
 question was therefore also submitted to us, and it was impossible 
 for me to keep silence. Every one knows my opinions and expected 
 that I should make a speech on this proposal. This I did at yester- 
 day's sitting. There is not the least doubt that public opinion 
 in Bavaria in all classes and districts is in favour of a union with 
 Prussia. This, of course, is not the opinion of the Court and the 
 Ministers. They regard the proposal as an attempt to mediatise 
 Bavaria, and therefore oppose it, as also does the Ultramontane 
 party, which, however, is rapidly losing ground. But the 
 opponents of Prussia have no counter proposals to make. No 
 one has proposed a union with Austria, not even the Ultramontane 
 party; no one dares to propose union with France or the revival 
 of the Rhine Confederation. Not a single voice is raised on 
 behalf of the South-Western Confederation. And yet nobody 
 believes that Bavaria can remain isolated. None the less my 
 speech must have given great offence to the Court party and the
 
 164 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Ultramontanes and my prospects of office are greatly diminished 
 in consequence. I have, however, a reputation as a friend of 
 Prussia, which is further justified by my political past, so that 
 the only course open was for me to abide by this view and to 
 urge it publicly, the more so as I have the whole Chamber of 
 Deputies behind me. In the Upper House, the opposition 
 against me was very weak. Pfordten had received a somewhat 
 violent telegram from Bismarck concerning the murder of a 
 Prussian officer by a Bavarian soldier, * but he begged the House 
 not to oppose Prussia too violently on that account. Thus, I 
 found little real opposition in the Chamber, and the Prussian 
 tendency of my speech was quite agreeable to Pfordten. There 
 is no doubt that I shall be scarified in the Ultramontane Press, 
 that is, in the Volksbote, and in the Neue Bayrische Kurier. 
 
 In ultra-Bavarian circles there is a hope that something 
 may be secured by delay and inaction. They still believe that 
 it will be possible to retain the independence of Bavaria; they 
 hope, like the Micawber family in Dauid Copper field, "that 
 something will turn up!" Meanwhile time is passing and 
 Bavaria is slowly tottering to its fall. If they could resolve upon 
 decisive negotiations with Prussia, they would even now be able 
 to secure very tolerable terms for the King and the country. 
 This, however, they will not do, and will be an easy prey for some 
 one in the first great European crisis. I have, at any rate, said 
 what I think. 
 
 Munich, October n, 1866. 
 
 My journey to Munich came at a very interesting moment 
 and was exceedingly useful, as it allowed me to observe all the 
 bearings of the situation. Immediately upon my arrival I sent 
 for Dr. Schanzenbach f to examine Philipp Ernst's knee. After 
 ordering the necessary plasters he proceeded to talk politics. I 
 saw that he must have some special news, for there was an atmos- 
 phere of statesmanlike importance about him which I had not 
 previously observed in him. The riddle was speedily solved 
 when he told me that for the last fortnight he had met the King 
 almost every evening at the house of Paul Taxis. His judgment 
 of the King was very favourable, and it becomes more and more 
 obvious that the neglect and the mistakes of which the King 
 has been accused are really due to the Cabinet. My instincts 
 were not deceived ; it is true that Pfistermeister and Lutz % 
 purposely kept the King in isolation in order that they might 
 pursue their protection policy undisturbed in conjunction with 
 
 * A Bavarian soldier had shot a Prussian officer from a railway carriage 
 window. 
 
 t A distinguished physician with a large practice in the best society. 
 
 X Pfistermeister was Ministerial Councillor and head of the Civil 
 Cabinet: Lutz was a Councillor of the Court of Appeal and afterwards 
 Minister; he then held a Cabinet appointment.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 165 
 
 Pfordten and Bomhard. In consequence the King knew nothing 
 of the military memorial service. It was Pfistermeister who 
 induced the King not to attend the funeral of General Zoller, not 
 to visit the hospitals, &c. It appears that Schanzenbach has 
 helped to open the King's eyes. The King then consulted the 
 ex-Minister Neumayr, * and resolved to make some changes in 
 the Cabinet and to summon Neumayr, Tauffkirchen, and 
 Feilitzsch. Negotiations are still in progress; it is said that 
 Neumayr is to be Cabinet Minister or Minister of the Royal 
 Household, while the two others are to have posts as Cabinet 
 Councillors. Pfordten will then have to retire. The King 
 wishes me to take Pfordten's place, and said so. Hence the 
 newspaper articles. The Ultramontane party, and probably also 
 Neumayr, are now working in the opposite direction, for the 
 latter cannot forget an attack I made on him in the House. 
 Public opinion is no less favourable to me than before. My 
 speech has greatly helped my case, as the great majority 
 consider an understanding with Prussia necessary, so long as the 
 North German Federation is not firmly organised, and to these 
 views I first gave expression without reserve. The unmeaning 
 policy of Pfordten is generally condemned. The very day after 
 my arrival I was again surprised by an article in the Neueste 
 Nachrichten, in which it was definitely asserted that I had been 
 chosen to replace Pfordten. The worthy citizens of Munich 
 who all read the Neueste Nachrichten over their coffee naturally 
 accepted this news as official. Some said they had seen me 
 making a State visit to the King, others that the King had 
 come to me to ask me to take the Ministry, others asserted 
 I had declined because I had formerly been passed over, and 
 so on. 
 
 The truth seems to be that the King has not abandoned his 
 plan, but that intrigues are being made against it from all sides. 
 Vecchioni,f whom I saw this afternoon, says it is very likely that 
 the former Cabinet Councillors will be reinstated, and that all 
 will remain as it was. The Augsburger Postzeitung prophesies 
 misfortune upon my appointment to the Ministry. The local 
 newspapers regard my appointment as the beginning of a golden 
 age, while the Augsburger Allgemeine pointedly ignores me. 
 
 In any case these intrigues will continue for some months 
 longer. The Provisional Cabinet will continue until December 1, 
 so von der Tann tells me. But if Pfistermeister is definitely 
 deposed, it will be impossible for Pfordten and Bomhard to remain. 
 
 My appointment depends upon the alternatives that Neumayr 
 may consider it to his interest to increase his popularity by in- 
 cluding me in a new Ministry, or may be afraid that my presence 
 will do him harm. In the latter event, no doubt, the worthy 
 
 * Max von Neumayr, formerly Minister at Stuttgart and Minister of 
 the Interior. 
 
 t The editor of the Miinchner Neueste Nachrichten.
 
 166 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Bray,* or some other nonentity from the Bavarian Diplomatic 
 Service would be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Munich, November 3, 1866. 
 
 On October 25 I received a letter from Holnstein f under 
 date October 18, inviting me to Munich to discuss my entry to 
 the Ministry, and the day after a second letter with a circular 
 from the Minister Pfordten, and a request from the King to give 
 an opinion upon it. I therefore set to work immediately and 
 was ready a few days afterwards. On the 31st I came to Munich. 
 The first person I saw was Tauffkirchen ; I showed him the cir- 
 cular and my opinion, with which he entirely agreed, though 
 upon his advice I made some modification of the concluding 
 clauses. 
 
 On November 1, Holnstein arrived. He began by offering 
 me, in the name of the King, the Ministry of Domestic and 
 Foreign Affairs, and the post of Prime Minister, and also 
 held out to me the prospect of the post of Chief Royal Chamber- 
 lain. Un honneur que je goute fort mediocrement. I expressed 
 my approval, and suggested some changes among the other 
 Ministers. We agreed that Bomhard must retire, but that the 
 other Ministers could remain. The conclusion of the matter was, 
 however, deferred until Holnstein should have spoken with 
 Neumayr, and this he was to do on the 2nd. In the mean- 
 while I proceeded to make inquiries, and discovered that at the 
 moment there was no sufficient reason for a change of Ministers, 
 and that I could not calculate upon a specially favourable recep- 
 tion by public opinion. My entry to the Ministry would be 
 generally approved, but there is no great anxiety for my appoint- 
 ment. Parties were not yet organised, and the anti-Prussian 
 feeling is not yet sufficiently pacified. At the same time I cannot 
 conceal from myself that the King's desire to have me as Minister 
 in accordance with the communications of Holnstein proceeds 
 from his passion for Wagner.^ The King remembers that I 
 formerly characterised the removal of Wagner as an unnecessary 
 measure, and hopes that I will be able to secure his return. I 
 have no desire to form a Wagner Ministry, though I also consider 
 that Wagner's return later would be by no means a misfortune. 
 This fact, and the consideration that after the beginning of the 
 Landtag, or perhaps immediately before, my position would be 
 stronger than it now is, seeing that at this moment the Ministry- 
 seems to be due to a Court intrigue, confirmed my satisfaction 
 
 * Count Bray-Steinburg, then Minister in Vienna, and Foreign Minister 
 in 1870. 
 
 t Count Holnstein, Master of the Horse. 
 
 J In a letter of January 17, 1867, published in the Milnchner Neuesle 
 Nachrichten (No. 574) of December 8, 1904, Richard Wagner claims the 
 honour of having first advised King Ludwig to confide in Prince Hohenlohe 
 and to ask for his advice.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 167 
 
 when Holnstein came the next day and said that Neumayr was 
 decidedly against me. As, however, Neumayr is already distasteful 
 to the King, and will not long maintain his position, he will not 
 trouble me for long. Meanwhile Holnstein will attempt to retain 
 the King's favour and to represent my interests. At the same 
 time I hear from another quarter, namely, from Donniges* and 
 Umbscheiden, that the Chamber would be on my side if I were to 
 form a Ministry immediately before a meeting of the Landtag, 
 but that if the present Ministry continues until the opening of 
 the Landtag, a change would be more difficult. I have therefore 
 written to Tauffkirchen giving him a free hand to act in this direc- 
 tion if he thinks it necessary. I have been able to stop the intrigues 
 of Neumayr through the influence of Donniges and Umbscheiden 
 and have thus prepared the ground for my own operations. 
 Thus, if the King should insist upon his idea that I should form a 
 Ministry before the meeting of the Landtag, I have made arrange- 
 ments for my recall by telegraph, and in the meantime the Press 
 will be worked in my favour. 
 
 I am leaving here this evening and shall try and get through 
 my business as quickly as possible, that I may return at the 
 proper time, or may be at least within range of a telegram, which 
 could be sent to me to Viktor at Rauden. 
 
 The projects here proposed are so stupid and so dangerous 
 to the country that in all humility I regard my entrance to the 
 Ministry as a necessity. I am on the trace of a plot for making 
 Neumayr Prime Minister and Bray Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 Je Vai ebruite and have, perhaps, nipped the matter in the bud. 
 
 In the above-mentioned circular of the Minister von der 
 Pfordten, issued on November 5, 1866, the following passage 
 occurred, regarding the future position of Bavaria with respect 
 to North Germany: 
 
 "Entrance into the North German Confederation can in no case 
 be regarded as an object of Bavarian policy. Since the year 
 1848 Bavaria has consistently pursued the principle of agreeing 
 with every reform of the German Confederation by which Austria 
 and Prussia have been equally affected, but of refusing a constitu- 
 tional union with either of these great Powers alone. This is both 
 in the interests of Bavaria and in those of Germany as a whole, as 
 such a measure would imply both the mediatisation of Bavaria and 
 the disruption of Germany. In accordance with this principle, the 
 Bavarian Government refused the Imperial Constitution of 1849, 
 and declined to enter the so-called 'Three Kings' League' 
 with the Erfurt Parliament. Similarlv, after the failure of the 
 Congress of Princes in the year 1863, Bavaria declined to reor- 
 ganise the Confederation apart from Prussia. Similarly again, 
 
 *Von Donniges (1814-1872) had been recalled from his post as Bava- 
 rian Agent in Switzerland, and was then living as a private individual in 
 Munich.
 
 168 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Bavaria is now forced to decline entry to the North Ger- 
 man Confederation." 
 
 The opinion of the Prince which is alluded to above deals 
 with this point and observes: 
 
 "As the policy of the Bavarian Government upon the German 
 question has been of an essentially negative nature since 1849, 
 so also his Excellency's policy now aims at maintaining 
 Bavarian independence by a policy of negation. 
 
 "In my opinion, however, recent events have made the position 
 of Bavaria so dangerous that it is impossible to see any adequate 
 guarantee for the independence of the Throne and country as 
 forthcoming from a waiting policy. The preponderance of Prussia 
 in Germany has been an accomplished fact since the secession of 
 Austria from the Confederation and the extension of Prussia. 
 This extended Prussia now rules the German North, stands at the 
 head of thirty millions of inhabitants, and can dispose of an Army 
 of nearly eight hundred thousand men. An alliance of friendship 
 between Bavaria and the German North is the alliance of a stronger 
 with a weaker power, and will be respected by Prussia just so 
 long as it is to her interest. 
 
 "Experience shows that a constitutional alliance can offer 
 permanent guarantees, and such an alliance is, therefore, on a 
 different footing. The German Confederation, notwithstanding 
 its defects, lasted for fifty years, and this permanence was derived 
 from its character as a constitutional alliance. Though Prussia 
 worked for decades to secure its dissolution, the disruption of 
 the federation was only caused by a conjunction of extraordinary 
 circumstances. Hitherto, Bavaria has never existed without the 
 protection of some such constitutional federation, for the German 
 Imperial Confederation and the Rhine Confederation might both 
 be considered as of this character. 
 
 "Now, however, the experiment of independence is to be 
 tried at a moment at which the existence of secondary States is 
 endangered apart from other facts, by the general tendency to 
 the formation of large States, and by the precarious nature of 
 European peace. 
 
 "If Bavaria was a State either able or likely to be self-sufficient 
 the danger would be less. But could Bavaria be politically 
 self-sufficient supposing that her frontiers were menaced? 
 Would she, if thrown upon her own resources, be able to defend 
 even the Palatinate against France? 
 
 "Bavaria is just as unable to stand alone in the organisa- 
 tion of her economic resources. If the Zollverein were confined 
 to North Germany, and the South were excluded from member- 
 ship, it would still extend over an area of thirty million inhabitants. 
 The industries of Bavaria could never bear the strain that would 
 arise. If the North German Confederation agreed to form 
 a common organisation of means of communication, of railways,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 169 
 
 posts, and telegraphs, of coinage, weights, and measures, if a 
 uniform civil and penal legislation were there secured, and if 
 Bavaria were excluded from all these advantages, a force of attrac- 
 tion would be exerted upon the South German population, the 
 consequences of which would be only too speedily obvious. 
 
 "Reference has recently been made with some confidence to 
 Belgium and Switzerland in order to prove the possibility that 
 Bavaria could exist as an isolated State. But it is forgotten that 
 Switzerland and Belgium either have definite geographical 
 boundaries or a definite national character which can flourish 
 in this isolation, while they are also supported by many external 
 circumstances which are wanting in the case of Bavaria; of these 
 the most important is the fact that they are not likely to be 
 absorbed into any larger unity by the force of national 
 sympathy. 
 
 "This leads me to speak of the greatest danger which threatens 
 Bavarian independence. We cannot shut our eyes to the fact 
 that the Bavarian nation is penetrated by the impulse to unity 
 which has seized all the German races. This 'impulse to unity 
 which has been existent for decades,' as the circular describes 
 it, has been fostered and cherished by constant expressions of 
 sympathy from the German Government. Further expression 
 was given to this tendency by the motion proposed in the Chamber 
 of Deputies on August 30. 
 
 "Such a catastrophe as the death of the French Emperor would 
 bring the revolutionary elements to the front, and in such a case 
 the tendency of the German population to unification would 
 assume dimensions which cannot be foreseen. Even now this atti- 
 tude is steadily becoming more prevalent in Southern Germany. 
 At the present moment it is still possible to rely upon the 
 particularism of the South German population in order to 
 secure a certain measure of special independence. At the present 
 moment the antagonism of the South Germans to Prussia and 
 their loyalty to the native dynasties is strong enough, based 
 upon these tendencies, to secure favourable conditions on the 
 conclusion of a new Federal Convention. This is, however, but a 
 transitory frame of mind and should, therefore, be utilised at 
 once, and particularly when the question of a new German 
 Constitution is under discussion. 
 
 " If it is generally recognised that the dissolution of the German 
 Confederation threatens the existence of the secondary States, and 
 if it is the duty of a Minister of his Majesty the King to confront 
 these dangers, and to secure the rights and independence of his 
 Monarch, that course must be followed which will lead most 
 surely to this end and will protect the Crown for the longest 
 possible time against aggression at home or abroad. The circular 
 states, with entire justice, 'that the secondary States exist not 
 so much through their own power as in virtue of their historical 
 and contractual rights.' This is the very reason why the duty
 
 170 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 of self-preservation demands the earliest possible return to this 
 basis of contractual right." 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, December 12, 1866. 
 
 Yesterday I returned early from Vienna and immediately 
 wrote to Tauffkirchen to ask him to call upon me. He appeared 
 at one o'clock and informed me that he had not spoken to Holn- 
 stein, but had inferred from the assertions of Schanzenbach that 
 the influence of Neumayr was stronger than ever, and that he 
 had succeeded in convincing Holnstein that the Chamber was 
 against me. Neumayr had probably told King Ludwig and Prince 
 Karl he would undertake to keep me out of the Ministry, 
 and had thus soothed the apprehensions which these dignitaries 
 had entertained of his entrance into the Cabinet. It thus appears 
 as if my proposed entrance to the Ministry would not be secured. 
 But in any case, says Tauffkirchen, the Chamber will decide 
 in favour of my programme and my position will thereby be 
 improved. In the evening I met Tauffkirchen, who had been 
 summoned to Holnstein; he promised to call upon me at eight 
 o'clock. This he did, and it then appeared that the situation 
 had materially changed. After the arrival of the King in the 
 night of the 10th and nth, Pfordten had handed in his resigna- 
 tion; Neumayr is ill in bed, and the King is asking for Holn- 
 stein's advice. Tauffkirchen has therefore advised him to induce 
 the King to accept Pfordten's resignation, to allow the Privy 
 Councillor Daxenberger to lead the Ministry until the Chamber 
 has assembled and expressed its opinion, and to postpone the 
 formation of the new Ministry until then. This programme 
 is in entire agreement with my former proposals. In any case, 
 the Chamber will express an opinion in accordance with my 
 views and then my appointment is certain, and my position 
 excellent. 
 
 This morning Tauffkirchen called upon me, and said that this 
 had been done. The King is going to Hohenschwangau and is 
 taking Lutz with him. Lutz is not against me and will be won 
 over by the prospect of obtaining the Ministry of Justice. Thus 
 I am certain that no intrigues will be begun against me in the 
 meantime. Neumayr will be overthrown, and assessor Riedel 
 will come in as a simple Cabinet Secretary or Councillor. 
 
 December 17. 
 
 On the evening of Friday the 14th, Holnstein came to me and 
 informed me of the King's desire that I should confer with Schlor,* 
 whom the King desires to keep in the Ministry. "I was to come 
 
 * Schlor, Director of the East Railways and an influential Deputy, had 
 been made the first Bavarian Minister of Commerce. He then represented 
 the constituency of Am berg.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HONENLOHE 171 
 
 to an understanding with him," as Neumayr had told the King 
 that all the Ministers would resign if I entered the Ministry. 
 Tauffkirchen called upon me the next morning and brought the 
 letter from Lutz, the Councillor of the Court of Appeal, containing 
 this commission for me ; he also brought my criticism of Pfordten's 
 circular in order that I might have both documents at hand 
 during my conversation with Schlor. I found Senior at the 
 Ministry and gave him the papers with the necessary observa- 
 tions. The result of the conversation was that we are agreed 
 upon the main points, though Schlor regards the attempt to secure 
 a Federal Convention with Prussia as neither necessary nor desir- 
 able at this moment. I promised him to draw up a programme 
 and to submit it to his notice. I immediately hastened to com- 
 municate this result to the King through Holnstein. In the 
 evening I drew up my programme, discussed it on Sunday with 
 Donniges, and then gave it to Tauffkirchen, who considered that 
 it was not sufficiently definite and drew up a new programme 
 which he brought to me on Monday. This I was the more 
 easily able to accept, as I had heard in the meantime from Reuss 
 that in view of the approaching debates of the North German 
 Parliament, the North was not disposed to open negotiations with 
 South Germany out of consideration for France. At the conclu- 
 sion of our discussion I asked Tauffkirchen whether he would 
 allow me to tell Schlor that he had drawn up the programme, 
 and also inquired whether he would be eventually prepared to 
 take over the Ministry of the Interior. He replied in the affirma- 
 tive to both questions, and requested that if possible he might 
 also be publicly announced as the author of the programme, 
 supposing that my proposal to him were to take effect. To this 
 I agreed, as I have every respect for his motive, which is to gain 
 ground in public opinion by this means. 
 
 On the evening of the same day I gave the programme to 
 Schlor. On the next day (Tuesday) he brought it back and 
 declared himself agreed. Tauffkirchen was there. Some altera- 
 tions were arranged, and then I sent it to Holnstein. In the 
 meanwhile I had heard that the appointment of Tauffkirchen 
 as Minister would arouse much public misgiving, and I therefore 
 composed my letter to Holnstein so as to make it appear that I 
 proposed no Ministerial changes with the possible exception of 
 the Minister of Justice, for which post I proposed President 
 Neumayr. Now it is the 20th and I am waiting for the King's 
 answer. 
 
 The "programme" mentioned in the above note runs as 
 follows : 
 
 * Ludwig von Neumayr, President of the Court of Appeal, brother of 
 the former Minister, a lawyer of high reputation, member of the Landtag for 
 the constituency of Munich.
 
 172 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 (i) The object of Bavarian policy, which, though remote, 
 must steadily be kept in view, seems to us to be the maintenance 
 of Germany, the union of all or at least of the greater number of 
 the German nationalities in a Federal State, protected abroad by 
 a strong central Power, and at home by a Parliamentary Con- 
 stitution, preserving at the same time the integrity of the State 
 and Crown of Bavaria. 
 
 Direct and immediate attempts to realise this object we regard 
 as, for the moment, premature. Austria has retired from the 
 Confederation and is turning for security at this moment to its non- 
 German elements. The formation of a South German Federal 
 State under the leadership of this united Austria we regard 
 neither as desirable nor as practicable. Prussia is occupied 
 with the formation of a Federal Alliance having the character of 
 a unified State among the smaller States of the German North, 
 and is not at the moment ready to admit the South German States 
 to this alliance; nor do we regard the unconditional entry of 
 Bavaria into the North German Federation as the best means of 
 securing unity. We should consider such attempts to secure 
 incorporation in the Prussian State as absolutely incompatible 
 with the duties of the Royal advisers of Bavaria. 
 
 Further, we should regard an attempt to open negotiations 
 for a union producing any other form of Federal State with 
 Prussia as a hopeless undertaking at this moment, when North 
 Germany herself does not feel the necessity for such a union. 
 It is, therefore, for the present abandoned. 
 
 A South-West German Federation with a Parliamentary Con- 
 stitution might possibly be secured between the States of Bavaria, 
 Wurtemberg, Baden, and those parts of Hesse which are not 
 united with North Germany, provided that there was a real desire 
 for such union in the population of the above-mentioned States. 
 This, however, is not the case; an attempt would only serve to 
 emphasise and increase existing disruption and is therefore to 
 be deprecated. 
 
 Thus far it is clear that on the question of an organic reunion 
 of all the German States, Bavaria is at present, unfortunately, 
 in our opinion, reduced to adopt a waiting policy. 
 
 (2) These considerations do not, however, entirely define the 
 present task of Bavarian policy. 
 
 Bavaria as a secondary State cannot exist without an alliance 
 with some first-class European Power. Some such support is 
 especially necessary at a moment when the Constitution of the 
 German Confederation has been shattered and the possibility of 
 serious conflicts in Europe cannot be disputed. That first-class 
 State which Bavaria should join, and of which Bavaria should 
 declare herself the ally in case of war, is, in our firm opinion, 
 Prussia.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 173 
 
 It cannot be Austria, the organisation of which offers no 
 guarantee that we should ever attain our object ; it cannot be 
 France, for France would only agree to such an alliance in the 
 hope of rounding off her frontier line, while the revival of an 
 alliance stigmatised by history would arouse great misgiving. 
 
 An alliance with Prussia would enable us, not indeed, to secure 
 the maintenance of peace in Europe, but to turn the scale in 
 favour of its preservation. 
 
 It cannot, however, be a mere alliance; the relative position 
 of the Powers at this moment will oblige Bavaria, in return for a 
 definite guarantee of the suzerainty of her King, to place herself 
 under the command of Prussia in the event of war, for which 
 reason the organisation of our forces must be considered with 
 reference to this possibility. We think that we may at once 
 proceed to prepare the way for such an alliance. 
 
 Though we feel bound to state that Bavaria would stand by 
 Prussia, if she were to be attacked, it is none the less self-evident 
 that together with this alliance friendly relations must as far 
 as possible be maintained with the other Powers and especially 
 with the Empire of Austria. 
 
 (3) With reference to the German secondary States of the 
 South-West Group, our policy, in accordance with what we have 
 said, will aim at securing for them a similar alliance with Prussia 
 and with ourselves. 
 
 II 
 
 (1) In view of the objects of Bavarian policy on the national 
 question, it is the task of the Bavarian Government to aim at 
 securing a common and uniform system of legislation and com- 
 munication for all the German States. 
 
 (2) The discussion and achievement of social legislation and of 
 a common regulation of religious procedure is to be conducted 
 upon these principles and to be accelerated as much as possible. 
 
 (3) Military organisation is to be on the principle of the 
 obligation of universal service while avoiding those abuses which 
 have given rise to reasonable complaints of the Prussian system. 
 
 Legislative regulation of all exceptional resolutions permis- 
 sible in time of war seems advisable. 
 
 The investigation and punishment of ordinary crimes and 
 misdemeanours committed by soldiers in time of peace is to be left 
 to the civil courts, though infringements of the law by officers 
 are to be regarded as crimes against military honour and on that 
 account to be subject as previously to military jurisdiction. 
 
 (4) The association of capital to improve and to support decay- 
 ing commercial or agricultural credit is imperatively urged. In 
 the department of the State finances the strictest order is to be 
 secured and the Customs system is to be simplified. Efforts are 
 to be made gradually to remove the dangers affecting the credit
 
 174 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 of the State, which arise from the State's guarantee of bank 
 business and of the issue of State bank-notes. 
 
 (5) The strict subordination of all administrative classes to the 
 law will gradually inspire the nation with respect for the law. 
 The simplification and the consequent strengthening of the 
 administrative organisation is desirable, together with a uniform 
 administration of the guardians of the public peace. These 
 measures will meet the reasonable demands of the nation 
 respecting public order and security. Actual defects in the 
 laws in this direction, if such exist, are to be removed by 
 modifications duly proposed. 
 
 (6) Complete independence of the judicature and the adminis- 
 tration of justice is to be preserved, while control of the judicial 
 officers is to be maintained by a disciplinary law. The discipline 
 of solicitors and attorneys is to be secured by Chambers, to be 
 elected by those concerned. 
 
 (7) Peace between the various religious bodies and in particular 
 peace with the authorities of the Catholic Church is to be secured 
 so far as compatible with conscientious observance of the existing 
 laws. Any sacrifices may be made to meet the demands of the 
 time for public education. 
 
 (8) The right of the Landtag to demand the submission of 
 legislative proposals from the Government is recognised. 
 
 (9) A Bill will be proposed for the extension of the Upper 
 House. 
 
 (10) In conclusion it seems necessary to revise the competence 
 of the Ministerial Council and thus to facilitate the formation and 
 maintenance of a uniform Ministry for the protection of the 
 Crown and the Constitution. 
 
 Contemporary note by the Prince. 
 
 There are some further points to be considered on taking 
 office. 
 
 The formation of a uniform Ministry is desirable to secure the 
 co-operation of the collective Ministers guided by one spirit and 
 by similar principles. Proposals upon this head, the scheme of a 
 joint Ministry of this nature and for the Ministerial Presidents, will 
 form the material of a subsequent proposal. The President of 
 the Cabinet might be a Minister without a portfolio ; this would 
 secure the advantage that the direct adviser of the Crown would 
 be responsible to the Chambers. A Minister without a portfolio 
 is, however, unknown to the Constitution, and the creation 
 of this office would require the consent of the Chambers to an 
 alteration in the Constitution; I therefore consider that it would 
 be advisable to abandon this for the moment and let the matter 
 rest with the proposed appointment of Herr von Neumayr. 
 
 As regards individual Ministers, Herr von Pechmann may 
 be left in possession of his office. He is a straightforward and
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 175 
 
 highly respected man, who has an opportunity of securing the 
 confidence of the country by the proposal of his social measures. 
 There is also nothing to be said against Herr von Pfretzschner 
 and Herr von Schlor. 
 
 The Minister Gresser is perhaps lacking in energy, but this 
 defect may be compensated by the co-operation of the whole 
 Ministry upon important questions affecting ecclesiastical affairs. 
 
 The Minister Bomhard is best replaced by Herr von Neumayr. 
 
 Count Tauffkirchen regards the moment as inopportune for his 
 entry to the Ministry in view of the bureaucratic prejudices, and 
 would prefer an appointment as Ministerial adviser in the Ministry 
 of Foreign Affairs. The Imperial Councillorships thus vacant 
 would be best filled by the appointment of men who possess the 
 confidence of the country, are inspired by sentiments of loyalty 
 and have practical experience of constitutional work or economic 
 administration. I nominate Count Hegnenberg-Dux, Dingier for 
 the Palatinate, Neuffer or Fikentscher for Regensburg. 
 
 From the Journal. 
 
 Munich, December 22, 1866. 
 
 Yesterday evening at eleven o'clock Holnstein came to me 
 and said that the King had arrived but was still wavering, as there 
 was much opposition to me on the part of the Royal Family and 
 especially King Ludwig. He says I am regarded as a traitor who 
 would deliver up Bavaria to Prussia, &c. The matter is further 
 delayed by uncertainty respecting Neumayr, whose resignation is 
 practically certain. While we were still talking a messenger came 
 from the King, bringing Neumayr's resignation to Holnstein.* 
 Thus another obstacle is removed. Holnstein then wrote 
 another note to Lutz, requesting an interview with him to-day 
 upon the matter. 
 
 The interview with Lutz has taken place. All the several 
 points of the programme were discussed, and he asked for further 
 information upon those respecting the Interior. He wished to 
 know whether by the expression "strict subordination to the 
 law, &c." I intended to make the executive further dependent 
 upon the judicature, to restrict the executive, and to do this by 
 proposing Bills. He had no objection to offer to the adminis- 
 trative Court of Justice. Upon the questions concerning the 
 independence of the judicature and the administration of justice, 
 he asked whether any positive changes were proposed, which I 
 denied, and confined myself to explaining that if a programme 
 were to be published, it must include every branch of the 
 administration and that this point could not therefore be 
 omitted. 
 
 * After his dismissal from the post of Minister of the Interior, in 
 November 1865, Neumayr had been out of office. The "offer of resigna- 
 tion" must therefore mean a request not to be called to office on the occasion 
 of the approaching changes in the Ministry.
 
 176 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 As regards the maintenance of peace between the religious 
 bodies, he asked whether I was inclined to make concessions to 
 the Church and to make changes or improvements in its favour, 
 to which I gave a general denial. I said that I considered an 
 understanding with the Church highly desirable, especially upon 
 the relationship of the Concordat to the Constitution. He con- 
 sidered the legal regulation of the Ministerial Council dangerous, 
 and especially any further proposals of a law of responsibility 
 to the Chambers, considering that our object might be secured 
 without this measure. 
 
 Eventually we agreed that I should abandon any immediate 
 alteration in the Ministry in order that individual Ministers 
 might have an opportunity of justifying themselves against any 
 attacks of the Chambers. He wished that even the Minister 
 of Justice should remain. It was impossible, he considered, to 
 do business with the King before Christmas. I might there- 
 fore leave to-day but ought to be back on the evening of the 27th 
 to be at the King's disposal on the 28th. 
 
 On the evening of the 27th I returned to Munich and informed 
 the new Ministerial Councillor von Lutz, who is the head of the 
 King's Privy Council, of my return. He called upon me on the 
 morning of the 28th and informed me that the King proposed to 
 appoint me Minister of the Royal Household and of Foreign 
 Affairs in place of Pfordten. He said that my appointment 
 as Premier had also been discussed, and that he must there- 
 fore ask whether definite assurances had been given through 
 Count Holnstein. I replied that this had certainly been the 
 case, but that I set little store by the title of Premier, as 
 this title presupposed a Ministerial solidarity and a completely 
 representative character in myself which was and would remain 
 out of the question. I should therefore prefer to content myself 
 with the Presidency of the Ministerial Council. We then had a 
 long discussion upon precedence and considered the pros and 
 cons of the question, whether I should reserve precedence for 
 myself or not. I eventually resolved not to make precedence 
 a condition of my entry. 
 
 We then turned to consider the remaining points of the pro- 
 gramme. As regards the relations with the ecclesiastical powers, 
 he advised that this point should be omitted ; it might seem that 
 we were ready to make concessions to the Ultramontane party, 
 and this would immediately raise a storm. Upon other points the 
 King requested me to formulate the main features of my political 
 views in a special document, to state whether I was ready to 
 submit every despatch to a Minister or to a foreign Govern- 
 ment to the King's consideration, as Pfordten had done. I 
 hastened to explain that I should be quite ready to guarantee 
 this, as it could only be agreeable to me to be certain of the King's 
 concurrence in every measure proposed. As regards diplomatic 
 appointments he explained that the King would always be ready
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 177 
 
 to agree to my proposals, but he pointed out to me that the 
 Ministers were in close connection with the nobility, and that 
 ever)' Minister recalled would make a large addition to the number 
 to my enemies (to this I am accustomed). 
 
 After describing Neumayr's aims he explained his views on 
 the question of the Cabinet and its relation to the Ministry. He 
 considers it desirable that the King should take an active part 
 in the business; he does not wish the King to be nothing more 
 than a machine for signing his name, in the hands of his respon- 
 sible Ministers, and wishes to guarantee this position for the King. 
 In general he promised to act with me loyally and openly. He 
 strongly advised that Donniges should not be employed in the 
 Ministry; he could only be useful in Switzerland, but not at any 
 Court. He could not be employed in Florence on account of the 
 bad impression that would be made in Rome, and his boorishness, 
 &c, made him impossible at other Courts. On this point I could 
 convince myself by the perusal of his despatches. 
 
 The conversation turned upon the appointments to the seats 
 in the Upper House; I suggested Hegnenberg, whose appoint- 
 ment I desired. To this he could only object that in his opinion 
 a popular man or a high legal authority should be appointed. 
 He said that Hegnenberg's time was over. I replied that though 
 a man might be past work in the Chamber of Deputies, he might 
 yet be very useful in the Upper House and for that reason 
 I should consider the appointment of Hegnenberg as valuable 
 in itself and likely to make a good impression. He thought 
 President Neumayr would be a better choice. He, however, 
 cannot be spared from the Lower Chamber. Finally, I must 
 mention the fact that I referred to the quarrel which had broken 
 out a few years before in the two Chambers concerning the right 
 of making propositions. I pointed out that my opinion was un- 
 changed, and Lutz agreed that this point should be mentioned 
 in the memorial intended for the King. He thought there was no 
 need for me to mention Wagner, as he would not return in any 
 case before spring. 
 
 After the discussion I went to Tauffkirchen, who saw a pitfall 
 in the request of Lutz for the abbreviation of the programme. 
 He said that there was a rumour in the town that I was unfaithful 
 to my principles, and that it would be therefore advisable to 
 keep strictly to the document I had already issued, as otherwise it 
 might be said that I had issued another programme. 
 
 This I did, and then wrote the memorandum of December 29 for 
 the King,* with a supplement in which I declared my readiness to 
 submit the "decrees" to the King. Both documents were given 
 to the Cabinet Secretary on the morning of the 29th. 
 
 In the afternoon I called upon the Minister of the Interior, f 
 to whom I explained the situation. He showed some embarrass- 
 
 * The abstract of this document has not been preserved. 
 ■j" Freiherr von Pechmann. 
 vol. 1 — N
 
 178 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 ment at first, and I could see that he had some feeling against me. 
 I detailed to him the points of my programme. He informed 
 me of his measures with reference to the Press and went on to 
 observe that I should undoubtedly become President of the 
 Ministerial Council, which would cause a difficulty, for the Presi- 
 dent hitherto had always defended the Ministry as a whole 
 against the attacks in the Chambers, and that this would now be 
 impossible in the case of the Bills proposed. I gave him no 
 answer, as I did not wish to inform him that I had asked the King 
 for my appointment as President of the Ministerial Council. 
 
 The Minister Gresser* received me with a somewhat appre- 
 hensive and embarrassed manner. He listened attentively to my 
 communications, and explained to me the principles upon which he 
 proposed to conduct the Ministry of Public Worship ; these were 
 the utmost possible independence for the Church, wherever 
 ecclesiastical matters were concerned, th^; improvement of edu- 
 cation, the removal of school inspections from the exclusive pos- 
 session of the clergy, &c. 
 
 About seven o'clock I went to Pfretzschner,* whom I found 
 in his office, and informed him of the object of my visit. He told 
 me he had already learned my programme from Schlor. He 
 admitted that he was especially anxious to know that my pro- 
 gramme emphasised independence of Bavaria. He was opposed 
 to entry into the North German Confederation and was very re- 
 served upon the question of the South German Confederation. He 
 agreed to the principles of alliance with Prussia and subordination 
 to Prussian leadership in the event of war after the provision of 
 certain guarantees. But he wished to see the freedom of Bavaria 
 secured and also to conclude alliances elsewhere. He then 
 referred to my speech and admitted that it had given occasion to 
 different interpretations, and that it had aroused a certain appre- 
 hension. The Bavarian party cannot believe that the Forward 
 party is in earnest with its assertions that the independence of 
 Bavaria shall not be infringed. 
 
 He then turned to the question of the solidarity of the Ministers, 
 saying that they had always adhered to Pfordten and had had 
 one heart and one mind. If a change of Ministry implied a 
 change of policy he would be forced to ask himself whether he 
 could remain in office. I referred him to the wording of my pro- 
 gramme and told him that Schlor and Lutz were already agreed 
 upon it. He hinted that a new programme might be drawn up, but 
 I told him that I had already submitted my principles to the King, 
 so that the composition of a new document was impossible, and 
 people were in any case reproaching me with changing my pro- 
 gramme every day. 
 
 To-day, Sunday the 30th, Dr. Lang called upon me in the 
 morning and gave me some interesting information concerning 
 the constitution of the Press bureau; I informed him of my 
 * Minister of Public Worship. t Minister of Finance.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 179 
 
 programme in a few words. He will make use of the information 
 for his autograph correspondence. Marquardsen then arrived 
 from Erlangen; I also informed him of my principles; he re- 
 plied that he was in entire agreement, and thought it likely that 
 his friends would assent. Then came Schanzenbach, who talked 
 politics in his somewhat poetical fashion and spoke of Tauffkirchen 
 as the most suitable Minister of the Interior. Tauffkirchen 
 came to me in the evening in the hope of sending me off with 
 several fleas in my ear. He began by saying that doubts had 
 reappeared in the Cabinet, that people seemed disinclined to 
 follow me and to expect that I should enable the King to 
 postpone the constitution of the Ministry until after the 
 Landtag. He then referred to the dangers which threatened 
 me should I enter this Ministry, saying that I should wear 
 myself out and that I had better take Volderndorff into the 
 Ministry, since his own appointment as Ministerial Councillor 
 would be regarded as evidence of my weakness, seeing that his 
 share in my programme was already known. I did not believe 
 in the dangers which he thought would arise before me in conse- 
 quence of my entry into the existing Ministry, as public opinion 
 of the Ministry is very diverse and the agitation against it 
 is chiefly the work of Tauffkirchen; this agitation has been 
 going on all summer, and ended in the fall of von der 
 Pfordten. However, I regarded the matter as sufficiently im- 
 portant for a conversation with Lutz and called on him at ten 
 o'clock in the evening. He said there was no question of any 
 hesitancy on the part of the King with respect to myself. The 
 delay in drawing up the documents was due merely to formal 
 reasons ; he had spoken once more to the Ministers and had secured 
 their assent to the programme; only Pfretzschner had proposed 
 a common discussion, but he had been speedily crushed and every- 
 thing was now in order. In the morning I should be asked to 
 wait upon the King, and if I now retired I should place the King 
 in the greatest embarrassment and expose myself to the reproach 
 or suspicion that I had been intimidated by the Landtag at the 
 last moment. I hastened to inform him that I had no intention 
 of retiring, but that I had merely thought it advisable to hold 
 myself ready in case the King hesitated to begin the definite 
 formation of the Ministry. We therefore agreed to let the whole 
 matter rest, and he promised me not to discuss it further even with 
 the King. 
 
 On the following day, December 31, Lutz came to me at 
 half-past twelve and told me that the King wished to see me at 
 one o'clock. I had barely time to get into a dress-coat and white 
 tie and to drive to the Palace in a cab, as no carriage was avail- 
 able. 
 
 The equerry conducted me to the King's room, the ordinary 
 living-room. Here I found the King in a black dress-coat with an 
 Order. He received me very kindly, sat down on the sofa and
 
 180 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 invited me to take an arm-chair. I thanked him for the con- 
 fidence he had placed in me. He then said he understood that 
 I had not wished to be Premier. I replied that I had declined, for 
 the reason that this post did not exist here, but that I should be 
 very grateful if I could secure the Presidency to the Ministerial 
 Council. He discussed the Ministers and said it would be better 
 if I became Premier, "as then I could keep the other 
 Ministers in better order," complained of the Ministers, spoke 
 unfavourably of Pfretzschner, who was unstable, very favourably 
 of Schlor, and fairly well 
 
 Then he chanced to remember a conversation we had had on 
 April 7, when I had advised him to adhere more closely to Prussia. 
 After that we went on to speak of the war, of Prince Alexander 
 of Hesse, of various other topics. He asked me about my cor- 
 respondence with Queen Victoria, about the Prince of Wales, 
 about Prince Albert, &c. There was also some talk of the Press. 
 I said that, since things were discussed in the taverns, it made 
 little difference whether the spoken word were also published in 
 the petty newspapers. This led us to the question of beer- 
 drinking, to the climate of Munich, to the life of the people in 
 Munich, and much besides. I recommended to him Hegnenberg 
 for the Upper House, spoke also of its extension and then said 
 that as yet I should not come in Ministerial uniform. He thought 
 it was quite unnecessary. I replied that I should regard myself 
 as a functionary as soon as I had taken over the official duties, 
 and also that I renounced my rank. This he would not permit, 
 assuring me that he would cause the necessary orders to be 
 given to the Chamberlain's office. I accepted this with thanks. 
 He then said he hoped to have a longer talk with me later, and 
 allowed me to take my leave. 
 
 I have since heard that he was greatly pleased with our 
 interesting conversation. I must add, too, that another matter 
 he alluded to was his grandfather and his uncle being opposed 
 to me, but he told me that he had not allowed himself to be 
 shaken. I expressed my admiration for his firmness of character. 
 I also explained to him why his father was so distrustful of me. 
 
 The Prince's appointment as Minister of the Royal House 
 and of Foreign Affairs and President of the Council of Ministers 
 took place on December 31, 1866.
 
 THE BAVARIAN MINISTRY 
 
 1867-1870
 
 PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 AT THE TIME OF THE BAVARIAN MINISTRY
 
 THE BAVARIAN MINISTRY 
 
 1867-1870 
 
 Memorandum 0} January 4, 1867. 
 
 Results oj the discussion in to-day's Cabinet. 
 
 After I had explained the reasons which prompted me to move 
 that the Bill* should not yet be debated, but should first be 
 referred to the Governments of Wiirtemberg, Hesse, and Baden, 
 with the request that they would intimate whether they were in 
 favour of arranging joint conferences of the Ministers of Foreign 
 Affairs and of War, to discuss the question whether a common, 
 homogeneous scheme of Army reorganisation should be intro- 
 duced in these States, the objection was made by the Minister 
 of War that he wished to bring the debate on the Bill to an end as 
 soon as possible. This, however, could not be done during the 
 present session unless the debate were proceeded with immediately 
 in the Council of Ministers, the Council of State and the Chamber. 
 He must be ready by 1868, and if he could not begin in the spring, 
 he could not be ready by that time. Schlor said it would be 
 no use, the Wiirtembergers had another idea. Meanwhile, he 
 admitted that we might try the experiment. Finally, the Council 
 agreed in the opinion that the discussion of the Bill should be 
 begun in the Council of Ministers. In the meantime I could 
 address the necessary inquiries to the Governments concerned. 
 
 The negotiations with the South German Governments were 
 opened by a despatch to the Bavarian Legations of January 9, 
 and led to an agreement with Wiirtemberg of January 18, 
 according to which Freiherr von Varnbuler was to invite the 
 four southern States to a conference at Stuttgart on February 3. 
 An agreement fixed the objects, with respect to which joint 
 action was to be aimed at, and by a "secret convention" Bavaria 
 and Wiirtemberg agreed not to let themselves be deterred by 
 any opposition from Baden or Hesse at the conference, but 
 mutually to introduce the regulations as to which unanimity 
 might not be attained. In regard to the South German fortresses 
 
 * On the reorganisation of the Army. 
 183
 
 i8 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 this secret convention provided that Baden should be induced 
 to keep up Rastatt, while Bavaria and Wurtemberg would 
 maintain and govern Ulm and Neu-Ulm as a joint place of arms. 
 
 Conformably to the agreement the invitations to Stuttgart 
 were issued by the Government of Wurtemberg. 
 
 Meanwhile, the debates of the Chamber of Deputies on the 
 Address to the King gave the Prince his first opportunity of a 
 public declaration of the aims of his German policy. 
 
 Speech in the Chamber of Deputies on January 19, 1867. 
 
 Gentlemen, — The motion before you furnishes me with the 
 opportunity I desired of defining the position which the Govern- 
 ment intends to take up on the German question. 
 
 I shall endeavour to do this as plainly as possible. 
 
 Since the dissolution of the German Confederation and with 
 the secession of Austria from Germany, the position of the Central 
 German States has been completely changed and has become 
 undeniably more perilous. 
 
 I shall forbear to throw a retrospective glance upon the 
 Bavarian policy of the last few years or to inquire whether 
 Bavaria was offered the means and opportunity of obviating this 
 dangerous turn of affairs. 
 
 Practical politics are directed to the facts of the present; 
 the past can be left to the judgment of history. 
 
 Gentlemen, I have, on several occasions, had the opportunity 
 of expressing myself upon the subject of the relations of Bavaria 
 with Germany, and I have always done so with the greatest frank- 
 ness. To-day I define once more the goal of Bavarian policy to 
 be the maintenance of Germany, the union of all the German 
 peoples, and, in so far as this may not be possible, of the 
 greater number of them, in one Confederation, protected from 
 without by a powerful Central Government, and within by a 
 Parliamentary Constitution, with concomitant preservation of 
 the integrity of the Bavarian State and Crown. 
 
 If now, gentlemen, I acknowledge this Confederation as the 
 goal of Bavarian politics, still I must not shut my eyes to the 
 perception that such a goal is not to be attained immediately. 
 
 At the conclusion of the Treaty of Prague, Prussia was required 
 in the formation of a closer confederation to confine herself to 
 the north of the line of the Main, and, by signing the treaty of 
 peace, she has acknowledged this limitation as binding. You may 
 regret these facts, but you cannot contest the consequences that 
 are attached to them. 
 
 It follows from this that Prussia is obliged to repel any 
 attempt on the part of the South German States to enter into the 
 North German Confederation. 
 
 It further follows that this Government cannot attempt to
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 185 
 
 enter into negotiations for the union of Bavaria with the North 
 German Confederation. 
 
 I must, moreover, declare just as frankly that the development 
 of North German federal relations, in its present form, shows such 
 a marked tendency towards the creation of a single State, that I 
 should not consider it consistent with the dignity of the country 
 or the duties of the Government to seek for unconditional in- 
 clusion in this North German Confederation. I, at least, would 
 not give my vote for such unconditional inclusion, nor would I 
 undertake the responsibility for it. 
 
 I do not believe, either, that the formation of the North German 
 Confederation would be delayed by any consideration for South 
 Germany. Nor would its promoters be at all likely at the present 
 moment to modify the character of the North German Confedera- 
 tion in order to favour the entry of the South German States. 
 
 We must not shut our eyes to the fact that the progress of 
 Germany on the road to unity is but a slow one. 
 
 But if I now recognise the difficulties that stand in the way 
 of the organic reunion of the German race, I am, nevertheless, 
 firmly resolved to oppose every step that might hinder the 
 attainment of the goal I have pointed out. 
 
 Gentlemen, the Government will not form a South-West German 
 Confederation under the protection of a non-German Power. 
 Such an alliance in the second half of the nineteenth century is 
 simply an impossibility. Nor would it suit the position of Bavaria 
 anv better to enter a constitutional league of South German States 
 under the leadership of Austria. If I apprehend aright the course 
 of development of internal affairs in Austria, it appears to me 
 that the German element is falling more and more into the back- 
 ground and that the Government is seeking support among the 
 non- German elements of the Monarchy. 
 
 A constitutional league with an Austria so placed seems neither 
 desirable nor feasible. 
 
 On the other hand, I should rejoice to see the Austrian 
 Monarchy emerge strengthened and invigorated from the internal 
 struggles in which it is involved, so that it might fulfil its civilising 
 mission as the Power of the eastern frontier. I shall strive to effect 
 the maintenance and promotion of friendly relations between 
 Bavaria and Austria. 
 
 Gentlemen, another reason why the Government will not lend 
 a hand in the formation of a compact South-West German 
 Confederate State is that an agreement between the Governments 
 and peoples on this matter is certainly unattainable, and that 
 such a Federal State would further widen the breach between 
 South and North Germany. 
 
 But although I have declared that the Government contem- 
 plated no step that would remove us from the aim of a common 
 German policy, I must not confine myself to this negative stand- 
 point. This would be to proclaim a policy of isolation. As a
 
 186 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 state of the second-class Bavaria cannot exist without an alliance 
 with one of the European Great Powers. We need such support 
 especially at the present moment, when the constitution of the 
 German Confederation has been torn up and the possibility of 
 European conflicts cannot be denied. But the Great Power to 
 which Bavaria must attach herself, and whose ally she must openly 
 declare herself to be in case of a foreign war, is Prussia. 
 
 This alliance, to secure which is one of the tasks of the Bavarian 
 Government, involves as a result that Bavaria, in return for a defi- 
 nite guarantee of the sovereignty of her King, will place herself 
 under the leadership of Prussia in the event of a war with a foreign 
 Power. It involves also the obligation that the Bavarian Army 
 shall be organised in such a way as to render possible its participa- 
 tion in such a war. This alliance will gain in value if it has for its 
 effect not only to increase the military power of Bavaria, but at the 
 same time to determine the other States of South-West Germany to 
 undertake a correspondingly powerful military organisation. The 
 Government is exerting itself to bring about this agreement and 
 thereby to further the drawing together of South and North 
 Germany, preserving, however, at the same time our independence, 
 as far as in us lies, from any desires of annexation, from whatever 
 quarter they may come. 
 
 Permit me now, gentlemen, to conclude by once more summing 
 up in a few words the task of Bavarian policy. It is to prepare the 
 way for a constitutional league with the other States of Germany, 
 so soon and so far as this is possible, while preserving the 
 sovereign rights of Bavaria and the independence of the country. 
 Meanwhile we shall await the attainment of this goal, the creation 
 of a Power that shall command respect, not through the organisa- 
 tion of the Army alone, but also through the improvement of our 
 internal conditions on liberal lines, through the raising of our 
 self-respect and confidence in our own national existence. 
 
 If we are successful in this task, then our alliance will be sought. 
 We shall not be obliged to look anxiously about for shelter, and 
 we shall be able to obtain a solution of the important question 
 of the reorganisation of the Zollverein, worthy of the dignity and 
 interests of the country. 
 
 Extract from a letter of Freiherr von Roggenbach 
 to the Prince. 
 
 Neuwied, January 24, 1867. 
 
 . . . Whoever has had to deal, as I have, for six long years 
 with the political and moral confusion which Herren von Beust and 
 von der Pfordten have brought about in the poor heads of our 
 South German countrymen by their State papers, their agents, and 
 their organs in the Press, and whoever is not blind to the 
 dangers which this Babel of tongues is preparing for the continu- 
 ance and future of our people and for the development of the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 187 
 
 German State, must welcome your utterance with the most sincere 
 and heartfelt joy. It tells me that so considerable a State as 
 Bavaria and so important an element in the European system as 
 South Germany has at last returned to the influence of an intelli- 
 gent and honourable, single-minded and cautious leadership, and 
 that the dark powers are now swept away, which for years have 
 been trying to fan a flame which they hoped would consume 
 Prussia and the healthy development of German civilisation, but 
 which has now finally devoured themselves and their evil devices. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, January 25, 1867. 
 
 Reuss * read to me a despatch from Bismarck, which ex- 
 pressed the satisfaction of the Prussian Government with my 
 declaration in the Chamber. To this, Bismarck appends some 
 remarks on Army organisation and finance, which Reuss is to 
 submit to me, in order to have them technically answered. 
 
 In respect to the German question, the despatch said that 
 the South Germans were deceiving themselves, if they thought 
 Prussia desired confederation with the South on the same basis 
 as in the North. There they were forced into a closer union from 
 regard for their own safety. As far as the South was concerned, 
 Prussia would be content if she had a guarantee that the South 
 would not lean upon foreign Powers, and if the mutual pro- 
 tection and care of material interests were assured, Prussia 
 would go as far as Bavaria desired in the fusion of the South 
 with the North. If the South was not willing to limit its autonomy 
 in the same way as the North, then she w r as prepared to enter 
 into negotiations on a broader basis. 
 
 Upon the question of how I conceived the constitution, and, in 
 particular, the limitation of autonomy, I reserved myself for 
 further pronouncement. He declared himself ready to ask his 
 Government whether I might read its despatch to the King, 
 which I considered to be necessary. 
 
 On February 3 the Stuttgart Conferences were opened under 
 the presidentship of Freiherr von Varnbuler. Besides the four 
 Ministers for Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of War and several 
 Commissioners took part in the proceedings. 
 
 In the opening discussion Minister von Freydorf of Baden, 
 said he desired that clear expression should be given to the desire 
 for the unification of Germany which had doubtless been the main 
 inspiration of the proposed joint measures and which, in the 
 opinion of the Government of Baden, urgently demanded a frank 
 adherence to the Prussian military constitution. He, therefore, 
 proposed a resolution in the following terms : 
 
 "The assembled representatives of the four South German 
 
 * Prince Reuss, at that time Prussian Minister at Munich.
 
 188 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Governments recognise it as a national necessity to regulate the 
 military forces of their countries according to the principles 
 of the Prussian military constitution, so that in case of war 
 they may be available as component parts of a German 
 Army." 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe in reply said that the motion of Baden 
 might easily lead to misconception, especially as the proposed 
 wording did not exactly correspond to the actual state of Ger- 
 many's political relations. The rest of the debates were 
 chiefly concerned with the question how far adherence to the 
 Prussian military system should be carried. After consultations 
 between the War Ministers a final protocol was agreed upon, which 
 had the approval of all the members of the conference. The 
 Minister of Baden then added the following declaration to the 
 protocol, with reference to his repeated utterances in the course 
 of the verbal proceedings on the position which his Government 
 considered itself obliged to take up on the question of the adjust- 
 ment of German constitutional relations, especially with regard 
 to the North German Confederation about to be formed : 
 
 "The Government of the Grand Duchy of Baden is of the 
 opinion that the stipulations here drawn up do not stand in the 
 way of possible military agreements on the part of the Grand 
 Duchy with the Kingdom of Prussia, or with the North 
 German States, and reserves to itself, according to circumstances, 
 the right of making such agreements." 
 
 The Hessian Minister, von Dalwigk, thereupon announced 
 " that he, too, considering the peculiar position which the Hessian 
 Government would have to occupy in the presence of a North 
 German Confederation, would feel obliged to accompany the assent 
 of his Government to the resolutions by a reservation, in the same 
 terms as that made by the Government of the Grand Duchy 
 of Baden." 
 
 The final protocol,* signed on February 5, begins with the 
 declaration that the assembled delegates recognise it as a national 
 necessity to increase and organise the military forces of their 
 countries, so that they may be capable of joint action that shall 
 command respect. They agree, therefore, to an increase of their 
 military forces as far as possible, and to a system modelled on 
 the principles of that of Prussia. As such principles the follow- 
 ing are laid down : universal compulsory service, the three years' 
 term, the division of compulsory service into service in the Stand- 
 ing Army, liability for the Reserve, and liability for the 
 Landwehr. The objects are a homogeneous organisation, to fit 
 the army for joint action, similar tactical units, the greatest possi- 
 ble agreement in regulations, arms, and ammunition, common 
 manoeuvres and uniform training of officers. "With regard to 
 the fortresses of Ulm and Rastatt," concludes the protocol, " a 
 decision will be deferred until the conclusion of the negotia- 
 * Printed in Aegidi and Klauhold, Das Staatsarchiv, vol. xii. No. 2733.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 189 
 
 tions for liquidation, which arc to be expedited as far as 
 possible." * 
 
 Immediately after the Stuttgart Conference, on February 6, 
 1867, the Prince had an interview at Muhlacker with the Grand 
 Duke Friedrich of Baden. He wrote to the Grand Duke: 
 
 Munich, February 19, 1867. 
 
 Your Royal Highness gave me permission to address you 
 directly by letter, if it seemed necessary to make any further 
 communication on the political questions we discussed at 
 Muhlacker. At the present moment, when the North German 
 Reichstag is about to open, it appears urgently necessary 
 for the South German Governments to come to an understand- 
 ing upon the position they are to take up with reference to the 
 resolutions of the North German Parliament. It may be fore- 
 seen that on the conclusion of the deliberations, if these lead to a 
 satisfactory result, the question will be put to us, in what 
 way we wish to regulate our relations to the North German Con- 
 federation. 
 
 In this connection the following points might be raised : 
 
 (1) The Maintenance of the sovereignty of the individual 
 
 State. 
 
 (2) The Strengthening of Germany in order to repel dan- 
 
 ger from without. 
 
 (3) The Satisfaction of the people's national aspirations. 
 
 (4) The Facilities of access to German Austria. 
 
 I believe it would be advisable for the South German States 
 of Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, Baden, and (as far as possible) Hesse 
 to act in unison on the following basis : 
 
 (1) We make an offer to Prussia and the North German Con- 
 federation to enter into an indissoluble league. 
 
 (2) Prussia to have the presidency and the chief command in 
 war. 
 
 (3) The four States to enter the Federal Council, Bavaria with 
 six votes, Wiirtemberg with four, Baden with three, and Hesse 
 with two. The Federal Council, thus extended, to conduct the 
 affairs of the league and to settle disputes among its members. 
 
 * Article VII. of the Peace of Prague stipulated that a commission 
 should assemble at Frankfort-on-the-Main to which all claims against the 
 late German Confederation should be presented for settlement. Austria 
 and Prussia wished to be represented on this commission. All the other 
 States of the former Confederation had the same privilege. Article VIII. 
 gave Austria the right to remove from the fortresses of the late Confedera- 
 tion the Imperial property and the Austrian share of the movable federal 
 property, or otherwise to dispose of it. This "Commission of Liquidation" 
 met in the autumn of 1866, and by the summer of 1867 had carried 
 its work so far that Austria and Holland, the latter for Luxembourg and 
 Limburg, had had their claims paid off in money. The claims of the 
 other States had also been fixed by the auditors. It was resolved, how- 
 ever, not to proceed to an actual division, but rather to adjourn the final settle- 
 ment of the question.
 
 i 9 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 (4) To be established by treaty: rights of citizenship 
 and naturalisation for the whole of Germany; the German 
 Zollverein; identical weights, measures, and coinage; the laws 
 of banking; similar legal procedure; similar arrangements in 
 the matter of railways, telegraphs, posts, and shipping. 
 
 (5) The common arrangements provided for under (4) will be 
 regulated on the initiative of the Federal Council, and, so far as 
 legislation may be required, they shall be dealt with on the lines 
 of the laws relating to exchange and commerce. The legislature 
 will be: in the North the Reichstag of the North German Con- 
 federation ; in the South, the Chambers of the four States. Regard- 
 ing the military constitution, Prussia recognises the conclusions 
 of the Stuttgart Conference. 
 
 (6) The South contributes a share, to be fixed by agreement, 
 towards the Navy of the Confederation, and towards the repre- 
 sentation of its commercial interests by the Consular Service. 
 
 (7) The share of the cost and of the garrisoning of the for- 
 tresses and harbours of the League will likewise be regulated in 
 principle by agreement and fixed by the Bundesrath. 
 
 (8) A condition of the compact is the simultaneous con- 
 clusion of an alliance of the whole of Germany with Austria, by 
 which the integrity of German territory shall be mutually 
 guaranteed, while, ,by a modification of the Peace of Prague, 
 the German Confederation shall be recognised by Austria. 
 
 I lay the more stress on the last point, since, with the influence 
 of Austria making itself more and more felt here, a favourable 
 disposition and assent to the conclusion of a confederate agree- 
 ment with Prussia is only to be gained if, at the same time, 
 in the alliance, compensation can be offered to Austria for the 
 diminution of her influence in South Germany through the crea- 
 tion of a confederation of the Southern States with the North. 
 In permitting myself to lay this sketch before your Royal High- 
 ness, I beg you for an expression of opinion on it and an intima- 
 tion whether your Royal Highness desires a detailed exposition. 
 I should be particularly grateful for the favour of an early answer, 
 for the reason that I am expecting to receive overtures from 
 Stuttgart in the next few days, to which I will not reply before 
 I know the views of your Royal Highness. 
 
 In conclusion, I beg to observe that the document ratifying 
 the results of the Stuttgart Conference is now before his Majesty 
 the King, and will be sent off shortly. I venture to recommend 
 that the exchange of ratifications may graciously be made as soon 
 as possible after the arrival of our document in Karlsruhe, since 
 the publication of the results of the Conference appears to me 
 desirable in the interests of all. 
 
 On the reception given in Berlin to the Prince's first public 
 declarations, Prince Reuss, hitherto Prussian Minister at Munich, 
 wrote to him :
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 191 
 
 Berlin, February 20, 1867. 
 
 I arrived here yesterday morning and saw Count Bismarck 
 at once, and had much to tell him about Munich and about you. 
 I need not tell you that he entertains the best wishes for the success 
 of your Ministry, and will do everything in his power to support 
 you. I mentioned to him your wish with regard to an eventual 
 avowal of the existence of the secret agreement.* Count Bis- 
 marck realised that it would be agreeable to you and also to the 
 Government of Wurtemberg, and advantageous to your position 
 in the country, if you could avow the secret treaty. He has no 
 objection to this being done, and would only wait until the 
 uproar in the French Chamber has quieted down a little. 
 Perhaps, therefore, until after the interpellations on the Emperor's 
 foreign policy. f Then he thinks it would be well to prepare the 
 way for it by means of apparent indiscretions in the newspapers; 
 he would, however, be glad to know your views, in case you should 
 wish the publication made in another way. J He directed me 
 to write to you and to tell you at the same time that, whenever 
 you might find it necessary to address him directly upon this or 
 any other matter, he would be quite ready to open a direct private 
 correspondence. He has complete confidence in Werthem,§ 
 but thinks that, before the latter should be admitted to similar 
 confidence where you are concerned, it would, perhaps, be more 
 agreeable to you to communicate through him (Bismarck). 
 Montgelas 1 1 he described as a good man of business and an honour- 
 able man, but thought that that was the limit of his qualifications, 
 and that it was not easy to enter upon more intimate affairs with 
 him. 
 
 In the same spirit the Duke of Ratibor wrote to the Prince : 
 
 Berlin, March 3, 1867. 
 
 This evening I was at a ball at Puttbus's, and there had an 
 opportunity of speaking to Bismarck. He began to talk about 
 you of his own accord, as he stood at the buffet, and drank 
 a glass of champagne to your health, and to the success of your 
 endeavours. I told him you had written to me, and he under- 
 stands perfectly well that you have to go carefully to work down 
 there. Here, he said, nothing more would be asked of Bavaria 
 than she was willing to give, if one could not get a thaler one 
 
 * The offensive and defensive alliance concluded simultaneously with 
 the treaty of peace. 
 
 f The debate in the French Chamber on foreign policy took place on 
 March 14-18. 
 
 X The publication of the offensive and defensive alliance followed 
 on March 19, 1867, immediately after the first debate in the North German 
 Reichstag, which concerned Luxembourg. — Sybel, Begriindung des Deutschen 
 Reichs, vol. vi. p. 58. 
 
 § Prussian Minister at Munich. 
 
 || Bavarian Minister in Berlin.
 
 192 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 would take a groschcn. There would be no compulsion at all. 
 The material interests of South Germany — this for the benefit of 
 your adversaries down there — rendered a treaty with the North 
 German Confederation necessary; without that even the Zoll- 
 verein would be endangered, and thereby the whole prosperity 
 of those countries would be at stake. This cannot be repeated 
 too often to the people of the South. He recommends prudence 
 and no precipitation. He takes the greatest interest in all that 
 happens at Munich. 
 
 The Queen expressed herself yesterday in the same sense and 
 sends you many greetings. Field-marshal Wrangel also asked 
 me to congratulate you on the results you have achieved hitherto, 
 he has the best hopes for the future and sends his kind regards. 
 Herr von Vincke, too, spoke to me about you, and was pleased 
 with the way things were going. You see that all parties here are 
 for you. Bismarck also coasiders the leadership of Bavaria 
 among the South German States as a matter of course, and has 
 rejected every proposal from Wtirtemberg and Baden, which was 
 not made in conjunction with Bavaria. 
 
 Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Karlsruhe, March 4, 1867. 
 
 Accept my best thanks for your two letters of February 19 and 
 20, from which I gathered with great satisfaction that our con- 
 versation at Miihlacker would be the beginning of a confidential 
 intercourse, the value of which I fully appreciate. 
 
 We discussed the movement for a closer union of the South 
 with the North of Germany, and in this connection we have 
 already spoken of the different stages of development through 
 which we think the work of union will be accomplished. 
 
 I have consequently welcomed your proposals with sincere 
 thanks, as a highly valuable attempt to give effect to these aspira- 
 tions, and I shall now try, after a thorough examination of the 
 question, to give you my views on it in brief. 
 
 Speaking generally, I am quite ready to enter into further 
 negotiations upon your proposals, but should be very glad to re- 
 ceive from you more detailed information, in order to learn more 
 closely the extent and significance of certain points. 
 
 The four fundamental ideas of your proposals I take to be 
 the expression of the difficulties and prejudices to be overcome 
 in the South German States. I recognise therein the points 
 which you are obliged to treat with circumspection, in order to 
 bring about a state of transition which may prepare the way for 
 a more intimate union with the North. On the other hand, I do 
 not fail to appreciate the difficulty of so combining these four 
 principles that they may be made acceptable to the steadily con- 
 solidating North German Confederation.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 193 
 
 The first of the eight points in which you discern the founda- 
 tion for concerted action of the South German States de- 
 fines the relation to North Germany as an indissoluble 
 league, and, in fact, as a broader league in contradistinction to 
 the closer league of North Germany. This idea is sufficient to 
 make all the other points appear more or less subordinate, in 
 so far as they depend upon a union* with Prussia. I shall, there- 
 fore, not stop to-day to enter into details, but will only recom- 
 mend two questions to your kind consideration. 
 
 The class of legislation for which it is indispensable to obtain 
 complete uniformity throughout Germany is to be found chiefly 
 in the domain of material interests. Here, no doubt, the question 
 of the Zollverein will furnish the most convenient means of solv- 
 ing the difficulty which at present consists in the want of an assem- 
 bly of all the German States in a common Reichstag. Con- 
 fidential communications from Berlin tell us that the admission of 
 delegates from the South German Governments to the Federal 
 Council, and of South German Deputies to the North German 
 Reichstag for tariff matters, and therewith the transformation of 
 the latter body into a Tariff Parliament, may be expected as a 
 possibly imminent first step towards a closer union of North and 
 South. Once a beginning were made in this way, it would, 
 doubtless, soon be extended so as to cover other spheres. All the 
 difficult questions of legislation would thus find their solution in a 
 natural and practical way, and it might indeed be good policy 
 to prepare the way for these solutions by a proposal directed to 
 that end. 
 
 The prospect of the participation of the South German Gov- 
 ernments and popular representatives in the corresponding organs 
 of the North German Confederation, and in particular the pros- 
 pect of the formation of a Tariff Parliament, would, I presume, 
 cause a modification in the fourth clause of your proposals, since 
 what you proposed should be settled by treaties could now be 
 obtained in part by means of legislation. 
 
 Supposing, however, that a treaty of alliance is to be concluded 
 between the several South German States and the North German 
 Confederation, which shall follow the lines of the former German 
 Act of Confederacy, I ask myself whether it were not more advisable 
 to keep as closely as possible to this old treaty of confederacy, and 
 thereafter, to endeavour to bring to maturity the germs in it 
 which are capable of development. Little as was the good 
 this old institution was able to accomplish in the course of its 
 long existence, since it provided no remedy for the rivalry of two 
 Great Powers in the same league, yet the basis seems now to be 
 furnished upon which the most important constituent parts of 
 the old federal constitution may be founded. This basis is the 
 Peace of Prague, the end of the protracted dualism, so injurious 
 to Germany. 
 
 Article IV. of the Peace of Prague gives a prospect of a national 
 
 VOL. I O
 
 i 9 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 union of the South German States with the North German Con- 
 federation. Austria recognises by anticipation this broader league 
 in its new form. 
 
 This is the second point which I would specially deal with, 
 viz., No. 8 of your proposals. 
 
 Having regard to the steadily growing Austrian influence in 
 Munich, you consider it imperative, in order to gain the assent of 
 Bavaria to the conclusion of a treaty of confederacy with Prussia, 
 that Austria should be offered an alliance with Germany as com- 
 pensation for the diminution of her influence in South Germany, 
 owing to the formation of a league between the South and the 
 North. 
 
 I can easily imagine how difficult it must be for you to deal 
 with the Austrian sympathies in certain high quarters and to repre- 
 sent in opposition to them the new spirit created by the Peace of 
 Prague. I will also willingly admit that certain prejudices can 
 only be combated by being treated with the greatest possible for- 
 bearance. Hence, I am quite prepared also to discuss further 
 with you this most important point of your proposals, although 
 I could not favour such a condition of the conclusion of a treaty 
 with Prussia. I should like, however, to prove to you in every 
 way that it is my earnest desire to support you, so far as I can, in 
 your splendid but difficult task. 
 
 My reasons against the proposal for such an alliance of the 
 whole of Germany with Austria under the circumstances specified 
 are of various kinds. 
 
 In the first place, it seems to me necessary to know whether 
 Prussia is disposed to accept such a condition, lest through her 
 refusal the desired understanding should be prevented. I cannot 
 believe that Prussia would be disposed to modify the Peace of 
 Prague in one of its most important points, and thereby to bring 
 about a European question which this very treaty is intended to 
 obviate, since it recognises a national union of South and North 
 Germany as a matter of internal politics. 
 
 I do not consider a guarantee of Austria's German territory 
 to be advisable, so long as the development of that Empire is 
 hindered by a struggle of the most pernicious kind, which is 
 always accompanied by the danger of disturbing Germany 
 in her own internal development or involving her in external 
 embarrassments. 
 
 It might therefore be preferable to await the consolidation of 
 the Austrian Empire before Germany undertakes an obligation 
 the fulfilment of which might be perhaps scarcely practicable. 
 
 Finally, I venture to express a doubt whether it can be in the 
 interests of Bavaria to appear in the face of Prussia as the 
 champion of Austrian interests, before Austria herself has intimated 
 such a wish. 
 
 In these circumstances might it not be more proper to offer 
 a prospect of the regulation of the relations of United Germany
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 195 
 
 to Austria in the Treaty of Confederacy, as is done in 
 the draft Constitution of the North German Confederation with 
 respect to the South German States ? 
 
 This form is far more acceptable for all parties, and it should 
 answer sufficiently the interests which you seek to consider. 
 
 I certainly consider the elaboration of all such proposals to be 
 desirable, so as to be prepared for the time when the constitutional 
 labours of the North German Confederation shall have reached 
 their conclusion. Inasmuch, however, as the position of affairs 
 has considerably altered since our conversation at Muhlacker, 
 owing to decisive utterances in Paris and Berlin which have shed 
 quite a new light on many questions, it appears to me desirable 
 that in view of this position of affairs we should for the present 
 adopt a waiting attitude. 
 
 The proceedings of the Reichstag in Berlin and the whole de- 
 velopment of the North German Confederation must before long 
 afford us a definite basis for the form and substance of the union 
 we desire. It will then be easy for us to secure this basis and 
 make it more effective. 
 
 Meanwhile I believe you will agree with me when I describe 
 the federal relation with Prussia, which is at present aimed at, as 
 a state of transition, which will eventually lead to the whole Ger- 
 man territory being covered by one constitution. I shall receive 
 your further communications with the greatest interest and with 
 sincere gratitude. 
 
 On receipt of this letter the Prince sent the Ministerial Councillor 
 Count Tauffkirchen to Karlsruhe, to explain further the views of 
 the Bavarian Government to the Grand Duke. After the return 
 of Count Tauffkirchen he wrote to the Grand Duke: 
 
 Munich, March 14, 1867. 
 
 I beg to express to your Royal Highness my most dutiful 
 thanks for your gracious letter of the 4th inst. as well as for the 
 gracious reception which your Royal Highness was pleased to 
 grant Count Tauffkirchen. 
 
 Your Royal Highness's letter and the report of Count Tauff- 
 kirchen have given me a new proof of the kind favour with which 
 your Roval Highness honours me, and they afford me at the same 
 time evidence of such a general agreement of views that my hope 
 of a profitable co-operation of the South- West German States in 
 the German question has received new life. 
 
 Before, however, I touch more nearly upon the questions dis- 
 cussed, I beg your Royal Highness to permit me to preface 
 my remarks by the assurance that the observations made in my 
 letter of February 19, about paving the way for friendly relations 
 with Austria, were in no way due to influence of the Court of 
 Vienna or of the Austrian party existing here, but were the 
 expression of my own firm conviction, according to which an
 
 196 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 alliance between Germany and Austria appears to be the fittest 
 means of obviating European complications and preserving peace, 
 which is no less urgently needed by the South- West German States 
 than by Austria. 
 
 If I now sum up the result up to the present of our exchange 
 of ideas, then I think I may define my standpoint, which indeed 
 till now has been only a strictly personal view, in the following 
 terms : 
 
 The time is close at hand when, hastening the conclusion of 
 the North German Confederation, the Prussian Government, in 
 accordance with Article LXXI.* of the draft Constitution, will de- 
 mand the regulation by treaty of its relations to South Germany. 
 It is urgently to be desired that at such a juncture an agreement 
 of the South- West German States upon the attitude they shall 
 take up in this question may have been attained as far as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 This agreement can be prepared without delay, if the basis 
 on which it rests is independent of the modifications, which the 
 deliberations of Parliament may introduce into the draft of the 
 North German Constitution. 
 
 The basis of constitutional law upon which alone we can move 
 freely and correctly and be exempt from all limitations, is Article 
 IV. of the Peace of Prague. This permits the formation of a 
 League of German States (Staatenbund) with the exclusion of 
 Austria, on the plan of the German Act of Confederacy of June 
 8, 1815, with the modifications rendered necessary by the altered 
 conditions of the time, while at present the admissibility of a closer 
 union with the North, taking the form of a Federal State, and 
 especially of a joint legislative body, seems doubtful according 
 to the final words of the Article in question. 
 
 With the double purpose (1) of removing these doubts and 
 thereby being in a position to give voice to the legitimate aspira- 
 tions of the nation, and (2) of obviating the danger of a disturb- 
 ance of the peace of central Europe, it would be well to prepare 
 the way at the same time for an alliance with Austria, and to do 
 this in a manner similar to that adopted in Article LXXI. of the 
 draft Constitution of the North German Confederation with refer- 
 ence to the regulation of relations with South Germany. 
 
 Not until after the conclusion of such an alliance shall we 
 be able to proceed to the consolidation of the German Constitution 
 with a central Government and Parliament. 
 
 ♦Article LXXI. of the draft read as follows: "The relations of the 
 Confederation to the South German States shall be regulated immediately 
 after the establishment of the Constitution of the North German Confederation 
 by means of special agreements, such agreements to be laid before the 
 Reichstag for approval." On the motion of Lasker and Miquel the following 
 clause was added to the Article by resolution of the Reichstag of April 10: 
 "The admission of the South German States, or of one of them, into the 
 Confederation shall be effected by means of Federal legislation on the pro- 
 posal of the Presidency of the Confederation."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 197 
 
 In this connection I think I may formulate my ideas in the fol- 
 lowing four propositions : 
 
 (1) Bavaria, Wiirtembcrg, Baden, and South Hesse associate 
 themselves in a joint proposal to the North German Confedera- 
 tion for the establishment of a League of States on the pattern of 
 the former German Confederation, with the exclusion of Austria. 
 
 (2) The Act of Confederacy of June 8, 181 5, is to form the 
 basis of the deliberations upon this joint proposal, and is only to 
 be so far modified as may be rendered necessary by the altered 
 situation due to the secession of Austria, the transference of the 
 Presidency to Prussia and the preservation of the Zollverein. 
 
 (3) To this new Treaty of Confederacy there is to be added an 
 Article preparing the way for an alliance with Austria, in terms 
 similar to those of Article LXXI. of the Constitution of the North 
 German Confederation. 
 
 (4) The development of this constitutional fabric into 
 a Federal State with a Parliamentary constitution is to be re- 
 served. 
 
 I shall not undertake to-day to formulate the modifications 
 which appear to me necessary in the Act of Confederacy, as I am 
 awaiting the proposals which the Minister of State, Herr Mathy, 
 was kind enough to promise Count Tauffkirchen, and which I look 
 forward to with lively interest. 
 
 With reference to the way in which the four States are to com- 
 bine for this joint application to the North German Confederation, 
 I will to-day only say this, that the calling together of a South 
 German Parliament to this end does not seem to me desirable, 
 on the contrary, the more privately the work of combination can 
 be carried on, the better prospect there will be of its being ex- 
 empt from disturbing influences. 
 
 Your Royal Highness touched upon the question with Count 
 Tauffkirchen whether an attempt should not be made to ascertain 
 the views of Count Bismarck on the subject of an Alliance with 
 Austria. The present condition of the Eastern question obviously 
 imposes upon him the greatest reserve in this connection, and per- 
 haps on this account it would be preferable to keep the whole of 
 the plan which I have just formulated a complete secret for the 
 present, and at least until Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Baden have 
 arrived at an agreement on its main points. 
 
 The Grand Duke thanked the Prince for this letter by return, 
 on March 16. As he was on the point of leaving for Berlin, he post- 
 poned the continuation of the essential negotiations until his return 
 from this journey. While in Berlin he wished, without com- 
 municating the Prince's project to Count Bismarck, to endeavour 
 to ascertain the latter's views on the development of rela- 
 tions with South Germany. "As however," the Grand Duke 
 continued, "I do not wish too long a time to elapse without 
 informing you of my opinion of your last letter, I shall afford you
 
 198 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 a verbal opportunity of learning my views. Dr. Gelzer, Coun- 
 cillor of State, has undertaken to visit Munich, where he will prob- 
 ably arrive on Tuesday the 19th. He is an old, intimate, and 
 well-tried friend of mine. The implicit confidence which I have 
 in him on this account allows me to extend the same confidence to 
 the most various affairs of life, and hence he has been exactly 
 informed of your proposals and letters as well as of my views. 
 It would give me much pleasure if you would have the kindness 
 to put the same confidence in Herr Gelzer, and to give him an 
 opportunity to state my views as well as his own. I therefore 
 recommend him most particularly to your kindness." Gel- 
 zer's name had been known to the Prince from his youth 
 when his religious writings were especially esteemed by the Prince's 
 mother.* The choice of this man for verbal negotiations 
 on the German question was therefore peculiarly welcome to 
 the Prince, and on Gelzer's arrival at Munich on March 21 con- 
 versations took place between him and the Prince which led to 
 a complete understanding. At the same time the Wurtemberg 
 Minister, Freiherr von Varnbuler, was also present in Munich for 
 a similar purpose. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 March 12, 1867. 
 
 Wagner having called on me the day before yesterday, but 
 having subsequently excused himself on account of illness, I wrote 
 to him to-day, asking him to come to me this evening. He came 
 at half-past six. At first he was somewhat embarrassed, spoke of 
 indifferent things and excused himself, saying that he really had 
 no right to come to me at all. I put him in a more comfortable 
 frame of mind by saying that we had two points in common, we 
 were both hated by the same party and we were united in equal 
 veneration for the King. Thereupon he became more communi- 
 cative, spoke about the way in which the King had been treated and 
 so tormented that he had twice written to him that he would 
 abdicate ; and told me, amid protestations of not wishing to take 
 credit to himself, that it was he who had recommended me to the 
 King as Minister. Then he came to the task of Bavaria as a Ger- 
 man State, whose population united the versatility of Franconia with 
 the imagination of Swabia and the native strength of Bavaria ; said 
 that the King was just the man to rule this German State and to 
 realise the ideal of the German spirit (Deutschtum) ; went on to 
 speak of his artistic aims, of his experiences in this country, of 
 his plans for the establishment of a school of art, of the obstacles 
 that had been put in his way, and came finally to the Cabinet. 
 Among other things he spoke of the necessity of my remaining in 
 the Ministry. To which I replied that this did not depend upon 
 myself; that I could not guarantee that attempts would not be 
 
 *See p. 33.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 199 
 
 made to undermine the King's confidence in me, and that I was the 
 less sure of retaining this, since the King, following the tradition 
 of the Royal House, did not treat with me direct, but only through 
 the Cabinet. He then said that this could not continue so; where- 
 upon I drew his attention to the danger of engaging in a conflict 
 with the Cabinet, a danger of which he must be well aware. 
 He mentioned my political programme, into a few details of 
 which I entered. 
 
 Finally he expressed the hope that the King would never lose 
 confidence in me. 
 
 At the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies of March 16, 1867, 
 the motion of the Deputies Dr. Edel and Dr. Volk for the estab- 
 lishment of a supreme administrative tribunal (Verwaltungs- 
 gerichtshoj) had been under discussion. The motion corresponded 
 to a resolution of the Chamber of June 27, 1865, for which reason, 
 after a lengthy speech in its support by Dr. Edel, no one else rose 
 to speak. The President therefore closed the discussion while 
 reserving to the Reporter and the representative of the Govern- 
 ment the right of making final remarks by the Reporter and 
 the Government Advocate. Thereupon Minister von Bomhard 
 rose and declared the question to be not yet so mature that the 
 Government ought not to demand time to take it into further 
 consideration. The President observed, after this speech, 
 that he regarded the utterance of the Minister of Justice as a 
 reopening of the discussion, and assumed that Herr von Bomhard 
 had spoken as a Deputy, since his remarks were scarcely recon- 
 cilable with the former attitude of the Ministry. In the 
 now reopened discussion Dr. Volk proceeded to deliver a sharp 
 attack, reminding the Chamber of the fact that as long ago as 
 June 27, 1865, the Minister of the Interior had declared that the 
 question of an administrative tribunal had been carefully gone into, 
 and that he was firmly convinced of the necessity of its estab- 
 lishment. "It is no light matter," he said, "for the political life 
 of a State at the present time, if it can be said of it with a shadow of 
 justification that it is without a helm ; and that is what is now said 
 of the Bavarian State." 
 
 Journal. 
 
 March 17, 1867. 
 
 On Sunday, March 17, 1867, I returned at half-past eleven 
 at night from Ansbach. I found a letter from Schlor, in which 
 he informed me that the day before there had been a scene in 
 the Chamber of Deputies, which decided him to ask me to fix a 
 Ministerial Council for Monday the 18th. Bomhard, it appeared, 
 had risen quite unnecessarily at the sitting of Saturday and spoken 
 in a way that made public property of the fact that a difference 
 of opinion existed among the Ministry on the question of the
 
 200 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 administrative tribunal. After I had been present at a committee 
 of the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministers assembled at my house at 
 one o'clock. Here Bomhard the Minister of Justice was re- 
 proached for his error, and given clearly to understand that he 
 must resign. He granted that he had gone rather too far in his 
 speech, but would not admit that this should involve his dismissal. 
 He would not retire, but would lay the matter before the King 
 and leave the decision to the King. Whereupon he went away. 
 The rest of us, with the exception of Pranckh, remained to- 
 gether and discussed what we should do, and then agreed that 
 Schlor should draw up a memorial to the King by the next day. 
 
 On Monday evening Varnbiiler, Schlor, and Tauffkirchen 
 dined with me, and after dinner we had a long talk about the 
 relations of South Germany to the North German Confederation. 
 
 The next morning Varnbiiler and I discussed the German 
 question, and at noon the Ministers, with the exception of Bom- 
 hard, met again at my house. We all thought Schlor's memorial 
 too abrupt, and Gresser was commissioned to draw up 
 a more polite one. In order that the King should not 
 hear Bomhard's version only, and perhaps be talked over to his 
 side, I proposed that they should authorise me to go on the fol- 
 lowing day to the King and give him a provisional verbal account 
 of the state of affairs. I also wrote to Lutz, to get him to ask 
 the King to receive me instead of Pfretzschner, who was 
 obliged to be at the sitting of the Upper House, as I had a very 
 urgent matter to lay before him in the name of the Council of 
 Ministers. At half-past eleven at night I received an answer 
 that the King, before granting me an audience, wished to know 
 the object of my visit. The next morning I replied that I had 
 been commissioned to inform the King verbally of the views of 
 the Cabinet, and that, if the King desired me to present a memorial 
 in writing, I must first call the Council together in order to draw 
 up a collective note. 
 
 To this missive an immediate reply was sent, that the King 
 would receive the Prince the same day at half- past twelve. 
 
 On April 30 the resignation of the Minister of Justice, von 
 Bomhard, took place. A Bill providing for the establishment of 
 an administrative tribunal was laid before the Chamber of Depu- 
 ties on November 27, 1867. 
 
 Report to the King respecting the relations 0} Bavaria 
 
 zvith the other German Confederate States. 
 
 Munich, March 20, 1867. 
 
 In order to proceed with any prospect of success with the 
 negotiations respecting the position occupied by Bavaria with 
 regard to the other German States, such as were announced by 
 Prussia, as being in preparation with Wurtemberg, Baden, and
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 201 
 
 Hesse, and as undoubtedly to be extended to Austria, as well 
 as to enable him in all things to perform his duty in the present 
 exceedingly difficult situation, Your Majesty's obedient servant 
 requires above all to be thoroughly assured that his opinions 
 regarding the means of accomplishing the end in view fully 
 coincide with those of his Royal master. He needs your 
 Majesty's confidence, and that in such a degree that not 
 only this country but the Governments before mentioned shall 
 not doubt for a moment the existence of this unanimity and of 
 this confidence. Your Majesty will not fail to appre- 
 ciate that, unless this conviction is firmly established and 
 general, any attempt at a salutary solution of the question before 
 us would be doomed to failure from the outset. In justification 
 of this view, the undersigned ventures to remind your 
 Majesty that during the last few weeks rumours which 
 have been current have been sufficient to bring to a standstill 
 the negotiations opened with the Grand Duke of Baden and 
 with the Minister von Varnbuler of Wurtemberg, and to 
 strengthen the party in Karlsruhe which is working for admis- 
 sion into the North German Confederation. 
 
 The undersigned feels that these considerations impose upon 
 him the duty of submitting to your Majesty with all frankness, 
 and as precisely as possible, the position he feels bound to take 
 up with regard to the impending negotiations. 
 
 Only in the event of your Majesty being pleased to sanction 
 this position in its main lines, will the undersigned be able to 
 accomplish the task graciously imposed upon him, and the more 
 clearly and unquestionably your Majesty may be pleased to ac- 
 knowledge this unanimity, the more hopefully will he be able to 
 proceed with the work. 
 
 The danger which threatens the Kingdom through the con- 
 tinuance of the present state of affairs is a double one : 
 
 (1) Any European complication, however favourably it 
 might result for one or other of the Great Powers, might prove 
 the greatest danger to the existence and independence of Bavaria, 
 should Germany be involved in it. 
 
 (2) The aspiration of the German people to realise their 
 national ideal, even against the will of their Governments, may 
 lead to internal struggles which would threaten the dynasty. 
 
 It must therefore be the task of the Government : 
 
 (1) To conclude alliances, by which the danger of European 
 complications would be averted. 
 
 (2) To strive for the formation of a national union of Germany, 
 which would satisfy the legitimate demands of the nation, without 
 infringing the sovereign rights of your Majesty or the integrity 
 of Bavaria. 
 
 The less it can be disputed that at the present moment Bavaria 
 is still in a position to hinder the accomplishment of any 
 of these designs, the more certain does it appear that
 
 202 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the word of Bavaria may have a great influence on their attain- 
 ment. 
 
 This possibility, however, depends upon circumstances of a 
 transient nature, and the opportunity now offered may be a brief 
 one. 
 
 On the occurrence of a European complication, or the outbreak 
 of a powerful national movement in South Germany, this oppor- 
 tunity would be irretrievably lost. From these considerations 
 your Majesty's obedient servant, the undersigned, believes 
 it his duty to oppose the idea that it would be in the 
 interests of the Kingdom to wait until Austria is able to resume 
 her former position in Germany. I neither consider such a change 
 in the relations of Austria to be probable in the present form 
 of the Austrian Monarchy, nor do I believe the re-entry of Aus- 
 tria into the German League to be possible, in view of 
 the uncompromising opposition of Prussia, nor indeed, according 
 to information I have received from Vienna, is it within the inten- 
 tions of the Austrian Government. 
 
 In any case the attempt would lead to a European war, which 
 would undoubtedly jeopardise the existence of Bavaria. 
 
 But, apart from such danger of war, should Bavaria continue 
 to occupy an expectant and completely isolated position, Prussia 
 would not fail to take advantage of this isolation in the treatment 
 of pending material questions, which would greatly endanger 
 the welfare of the country and indirectly the maintenance of 
 internal law and order. 
 
 The undersigned therefore believes it his duty to advise most 
 strongly the entry into the negotiations proposed by Prussia re- 
 specting the relations of the South German States to the North 
 German Confederation, and the arrival at a previous under- 
 standing, as far as possible, upon joint or, at any rate, similar 
 action on the part of the South-West German States in this ques- 
 tion. It is becoming daily more obvious that Prussia is not 
 disposed to wait long before taking the question in hand, and 
 in this connection the undersigned would draw attention to 
 the speech of the King of Prussia of February 24, and the speech 
 of Count Bismarck of March 11, 1867* which make it appear 
 
 * King Wilhelm, in his Speech from the Throne on February 24 (at the 
 opening of the first Reichstag of the North German Confederation), said, 
 with regard to South Germany: "The regulation of the national relations of 
 the North German Confederation to our fellow countrymen south of 
 the Main has been left open by the treaty of peace of last year as a matter 
 for agreement. For the attainment of this mutual understanding our hand 
 will be held out frankly and willingly to the countries of South 
 Germany, as soon as the North German Confederation shall have made 
 sufficient progress in the establishment of its Constitution to be in a position 
 to conclude treaties. The maintenance of the Zollverein, the joint adminis- 
 tration of domestic affairs, and the measures to be taken in common for the 
 security of German territory, will furnish the fundamental conditions of 
 the understanding which, it may be anticipated, will be the object of the 
 endeavours of both parties." Count Bismarck, speaking on March 11,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 203 
 
 the more impossible to postpone the opening of negotiations 
 with the South-West German States for a concurrent treatment 
 of the question. 
 
 As to the course to be pursued in this work of coming to an 
 argument, the undersigned deems it unquestionably right to pro- 
 pose to your Majesty that which is in accordance with current 
 treaties, and is therefore the correct course and will not endanger 
 peace, which seeks its points of departure in the most recent events, 
 is therefore wisely conservative, and which is more calculated 
 than any other to preserve the position of Bavaria and the rights 
 of your Majesty. 
 
 The basis is afforded by the Treaty of Prague of August 23, 
 1866, which provides by Article IV. : 
 
 (1) That German)'' is to be newly constituted without the 
 participation and with the exclusion of Austria. 
 
 (2) That the South-West German States shall be free to ar- 
 range a national union with the North of Germany; but that, 
 nevertheless, 
 
 (3) In contradistinction to the States of the North German 
 Confederation, an international independent existence shall be 
 preserved to the South-West German States. 
 
 This last requirement is fulfilled by the formation of a League 
 of States, while a Federal State, which is distinguished from the 
 former especially by possessing a joint legislative body (a federal 
 parliament), would overstep the limits laid down. 
 
 The most recent precedent with which a connection is to be 
 made is the German Confederation, from w r hich Austria has se- 
 ceded, but which, even if formally dissolved, can nevertheless not 
 be considered as completely abolished so far as concerns the actual 
 connection of the German States among themselves. The German 
 Act of Confederacy of June 8, 181 5, would therefore afford a 
 fitting foundation. 
 
 A reconstitution of the German Confederation, with the exclu- 
 sion of the Austrian States, upon the foundation of the Act of 
 Confederacy, and with only those modifications therein which are 
 obviously brought about by the altered circumstances, that is 
 the basis, according to the conviction of your obedient servant, 
 upon which an agreement of the South-West German States is to 
 be attained and negotiations opened with the North. 
 
 Under the name of the German Confederation a league of 
 States would hereby be created, which might undoubtedly serve 
 as a transition to a closer federal union, but which could not for 
 the time being be described as a constitutional confederation in 
 the proper sense of the words. 
 
 said of South Germany: "As regards the important question of power, 
 I consider the union of North Germany and South Germany, in the face 
 of all questions where the North German Confederation is attacked, to be 
 in all points assured. It is assured by the needs of the South and by the duty 
 of the North to stand by her."
 
 204 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 The members of this Confederation of States would be : The 
 North-German Confederation, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, Baden, and 
 Southern Hesse. 
 
 Prussia, as chief Power of the North German Confederation, 
 would have the Presidency. 
 
 An equitable division of the voting powers would have to be 
 considered as far as possible. 
 
 For the regulation of military relations, the separate treaty 
 of August 22, 1866, and the Stuttgart resolutions would furnish the 
 standard. 
 
 Article XIX. of the Act of Confederacy would have to be modi- 
 fied in such a way as to secure the existence of the Zollverein. 
 
 The centre of legislation would lie in the Chambers of the 
 separate States, and for the North German Confederation in its 
 Federal Council and Parliament. 
 
 The admission of South German Deputies into this Parliament 
 should be declined. 
 
 In all other points the independence of the separate States 
 would remain undisturbed. 
 
 As surely as a unification of Germany can be prepared on these 
 lines, which in the given case also allows the possibility of the 
 German provinces of Austria being included later, so surely will 
 such a form not permanently satisfy the legitimate desires of the 
 German nation as to its share in collective legislation and the 
 powerful protection of German interests abroad. 
 
 In the opinion of the undersigned, the means of avoiding Euro- 
 pean complications during the natural and irresistible progress 
 of this work for the unification of Germany, and of preserving 
 the integrity of the separate States, and especially of Bavaria, 
 is to be sought by preparing the way for an alliance of this German 
 League with Austria, which would secure to both the possibility 
 of peaceful reconstruction and development. 
 
 It should therefore be provided in the new Act of the German 
 Confederation, in complete analogy with Article LXXI. of the draft 
 Constitution of the North German Confederation, that an alliance 
 of this confederation with Austria is to be prepared as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 Your obedient servant has hitherto only been able with the 
 utmost caution to make indirect inquiries as to the reception of this 
 idea of his. Nevertheless, even these inquiries give the prospect 
 that neither in Vienna nor in Berlin would such proposals be un- 
 favourably received. 
 
 At Karlsruhe they seem inclined to consent to the plan, nor does 
 your obedient servant doubt that the Government of Wiirtemberg 
 will agree to it. 
 
 The undersigned now most respectfully begs your Majesty 
 to authorise him to open negotiations on this basis at Stuttgart, 
 Karlsruhe, and Darmstadt, and to look for opportunities at Ber- 
 lin and Vienna.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHEXLOHE 205 
 
 Whatever may be the outcome of the negotiations, this much is 
 certain and should be well considered, that by the mere fact of their 
 being opened the position of Bavaria in regard to Prussia will be 
 materially improved, in connection with the following rather 
 burning questions, which are pending, viz. : 
 
 (a) The liquidation of the property of the Confederation. 
 
 (b) The abolition of the salt monopoly. 
 
 (c) The renewal of the Zollverein.* 
 
 After the reading of the present report, your Majesty's Council 
 of Ministers, with the exception of the Minister von Bomhard 
 who was not present, have declared themselves to be in agreement 
 with its details and proposals. 
 
 Marginal Minute 0} the King on the preceding Report: 
 
 The authorisation herein requested is granted. 
 
 Ludwig. 
 Munich, March 30, 1867. 
 
 Memorandum 0} the Prince. 
 
 Conversation with Ministerial Councillor Lutz, 
 March 29, 1867. 
 
 Lutz was quite pale with inward excitement when I called on 
 him. He knew that it was a question of his whole future. I 
 began by telling him that as yet I had had no opportunity 
 of conferring with a candidate for the Ministry of Justice. That 
 I had other plans, as he had already heard from TaufTkirchen. 
 These plans could not, however, be carried out without a complete 
 retirement of the Ministry. It was a question of himself. But 
 it was difficult, if not impossible, for me at present to propose 
 any change in the Ministry, since I was not at variance with the 
 other Ministers, and entertained real esteem for Gresser and 
 Pechmann in particular. It might, however, appear desirable 
 and necessary for the next few months to have a Ministry to which 
 the world, and especially our neighbours, would look with respect, 
 in that case it was needful to have sensible men in the Ministry, so 
 I had thought of him. I then explained to him how it was im- 
 possible that he alone should enter the Ministry in place of Bom- 
 hard, and said that the difficulty lay simply in the fact that, 
 
 * By Article VII. of the Treaty of Peace of August 22, 1866, Prussia 
 had agreed to the provisional continuance of the Zollverein, but had reserved 
 to herself the power of giving six months' notice, and, after indirect taxes 
 as well as Customs Duties had been declared a federal matter by the Con- 
 stitution of the North German Confederation, had immediately demanded 
 a corresponding amendment of the Zollverein legislation. Accordingly 
 the Bavarian salt monopoly had to come to an end, and on May 9, 1867, 
 an agreement was concluded respecting it.
 
 206 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 if the Ministry of Justice were now filled, there would be no place 
 for him later on. 
 
 He replied, saying how thankfully he recognised the confidence 
 which I placed in him, but he believed he would meet with oppo- 
 sition on the part of the King. He told me that once before he 
 had been proposed for the Ministry of Public Worship in Koch's 
 time, and that this had fallen through owing to the King's oppo- 
 sition. Nor could he come forward of his own accord. 
 
 I replied that at present I could not commence any intrigue 
 against my colleagues, as there was no pretext for it, but that 
 such pretexts might occur later. Even without a pretext it might 
 appear urgent to introduce new blood into the Ministry. 
 In view of this it was desirable that he should hold himself avail- 
 able, and postpone taking the Ministry of Justice for a few 
 months. 
 
 In reply to his question whether it were possible to drag 
 along with Bomhard, I assured him that it would make us too 
 ridiculous. 
 
 Finally we agreed that he should tell the King I had thought 
 of Steyrer,* but had not yet spoken to him, and considered it desir- 
 able that the matter should remain in suspense and the Minis- 
 try be carried on as it was, after Bomhard had received his 
 dismissal. 
 
 For the rest, he wished to tell me frankly that influences were 
 at work which inclined the King more favourably to Bomhard. 
 Consequently, he no longer had the King in hand in this matter 
 and could not answer for anything. 
 
 Report to the King respecting negotiations with the 
 North German Conjederation. 
 
 Munich, March 31, 1867. 
 
 Your Majesty has been pleased by Royal sign-manual of the 
 30th inst. to authorise your most obedient servant to open ne- 
 gotiations in Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Darmstadt, in order to 
 bring about an imderstanding between the South-West 
 German States with a view to joint, or at least concurrent, action 
 in the coming negotiations with Prussia and the North-German 
 Confederation. 
 
 Meanwhile the endeavours of Wurtemberg and Baden to range 
 themselves in harmony with your Majesty's Government on this 
 question have found actual expression. 
 
 Freiherr von Varnbiiler, Minister of State in Wurtemberg, 
 and Dr. Gelzer, Councillor of State of the Grand Duchy of Baden, 
 the latter at the special request of the Grand Duke of Baden, 
 were lately in Munich for a preliminary discussion with your 
 most obedient servant of the bases of an agreement. 
 
 The results of the discussion with Freiherr von Varnbiiler 
 * Then Ministerial Councillor in the Ministry of Justice.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 207 
 
 are stated in the accompanying sketch,* which fully agrees with 
 the proposals of the 20th inst., approved by your Majesty, which 
 are again attached in original, and on that account, although 
 it has no official character, it affords a firm hope that Wiirtemberg 
 will entirely accede to the plan draw up by the undersigned. 
 
 Councillor Gelzer also declared himself, on behalf of the Grand 
 Duke of Baden, in complete agreement with the main features 
 laid before him of the attitude to be observed in the negotiations 
 with North Germany. 
 
 The prospects of Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and Baden coming to 
 an agreement on the proposed lines are therefore good. On the 
 other hand, events are proceeding with a rapidity that exceeds all 
 anticipation. The North German Parliament — of this there 
 can hardly be any doubt — will by next month have brought its 
 task to an end. 
 
 The idea of an alliance between the contemplated Confederation 
 of German States and Austria seems, from official declarations 
 in Berlin and Vienna, to offer every prospect of success, and perhaps 
 it is only a question of the first step. At the same time, the ques- 
 tion of Luxembourg is becoming more and more serious for Ger- 
 many, and urgently calls for union. 
 
 The undersigned considers it his imperative duty most 
 respectfully to draw your Majesty's attention to these circum- 
 stances and to the dangers which delay must threaten to the position 
 of Bavaria in this question, at the same time most humbly praying 
 that your Majesty may be pleased to sanction the conclusion of 
 the agreement discussed with Freiherr von Varnbuler, and the 
 opening of corresponding negotiations with the other South- West 
 German States. 
 
 Minute by the King in the margin of the preceding report. 
 
 I approve the request here made, with the addition that, when 
 the agreement is concluded, the refusal, formulated under 
 Clause II., of the South German States to enter the North 
 German Confederation, is to be expressed in a still more 
 decisive manner, and most strictly adhered to in the sequel, and 
 that the recognition, comprised under Clause IV. (6), of the 
 necessity of a parliament f seems to me to be not unobjectionable, 
 and even superfluous, and that I should, therefore, prefer to see it 
 avoided. 
 
 * This "sketch" has not been preserved. Its contents may be inferred 
 from the report of March 20 and from the resulting agreement of May 6, 
 1867. 
 
 f According to this provision, "with respect to the further growth of 
 federal legislation, the right of national representation in the league 
 is to be recognised. For the time being the legislation of the league was 
 to be dependent on the approval of the Chambers of Estates in the South 
 and of the North German Parliament in the North.
 
 208 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Clause IV. (8) I interpret, and therefore approve, in the sense 
 that the regulation by treaty * will take place immediately upon 
 the regulation of general relations, and before the new Treaties 
 of Confederacy come into force. 
 
 Ludwig. 
 
 Munich, April n, 1867. 
 
 At this juncture the progress of negotiations was interrupted 
 by the international complication brought about by the French 
 designs for the acquisition of Luxembourg. 
 
 On the afternoon of April 1, 1867, Herr von Werthern received 
 the following telegram from Count Bismarck : 
 
 "Information is urgently desired from your Excellency as to 
 what impression the alleged sale of Luxembourg to France makes 
 upon the Bavarian Cabinet, and what disposition we might count 
 upon in Bavaria in case we came to a complication with France 
 about it." 
 
 Bismarck. 
 
 An undated memorandum of the Prince records the contents 
 of this telegram, and continues : 
 
 "Werthern replied: 'Public opinion expects that Prussia will 
 protect the rights of Germany in Luxembourg. Cabinet (i.e., 
 Ministry) takes this feeling into account, while it judges at the 
 same time the circumstances impartially.' To-day I have given 
 Werthern a hint not to lay too much stress on the constancy of 
 public opinion in Bavaria in his written reports to Bismarck, and 
 to tell him there was much party spirit in it, and the mood might 
 change at any moment." 
 
 On April 2 the following despatch was sent to the Bavarian 
 Minister in Berlin, Count von Montgelas : 
 
 "Yesterday evening Baron Werthern expressed to me Count 
 Bismarck's desire to know the views of the King's Government on 
 the Luxembourg affair. I hastened to obtain the decision of his 
 Majesty the King, my most gracious master, and now in what fol- 
 lows accede to that desire : 
 
 "Count Bismarck will recognise the difficulty of making a 
 binding pronouncement upon a matter, of which I have at present 
 no official cognisance, and in which I have to rely upon newspaper 
 reports and the telegraphic account received here last night of Count 
 Bismarck's declaration in the Reichstag. f 
 
 "As far as it is possible in the circumstances to form an opinion, 
 the King's Government entirely shares the point of view indicated 
 by Count Bismarck, to which it would only add that, in view of 
 the treaties of April 19, 1839, and July 27, 1839, it considers any 
 alienation of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, without the 
 
 * Of relations with Austria. 
 
 t April 1, on Bennigsen's interpellation.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 209 
 
 free consent of the Wallram line of the House of Nassau, 
 as legitimate successors, to be inadmissible. In any case, the 
 Bavarian Government is confident that Count Bismarck has 
 neglected, and will neglect, nothing which may serve to 
 protect by peaceful means the rights of Germany in this 
 matter. 
 
 "Should events take a more serious turn, which God forbid, 
 then the King's Government will expect to receive confidential 
 information from Count Bismarck without delay. 
 
 " You will be good enough to communicate the contents of this 
 despatch to his Excellency Count von Bismarck." 
 
 In a telegram to Werthern of April 2, Count Bismarck expressed 
 a wish to learn, through the mediation of Bavaria, what attitude he 
 might expect Austria to take up in the event of a war with France. 
 After an inquiry had been sent by telegram in cipher to the Ba- 
 varian Minister in Vienna, the Prince addressed the following 
 letter to the Minister on the same day : 
 
 "By cipher telegram of to-day's date I have requested your Ex- 
 cellency to endeavour to obtain reliable information regarding the 
 disposition of the Imperial Government in the event of the Lux- 
 embourg question leading to war. 
 
 " It is true that the latest utterances of the Prussian Government 
 give rise to no direct or definite apprehension, but they are, never- 
 theless, calculated to challenge a serious examination of the ques- 
 tion, what position the King's Government is to take up. The 
 King's Government has to keep in view, besides the urgent 
 necessity and desire for the preservation of peace, the obliga- 
 tions incumbent on it towards the whole of Germany and Prus- 
 sia in particular, and, taking this into consideration, it has 
 replied to an inquiry of Count Bismarck by the despatch of which 
 a copy is enclosed. 
 
 "If the value of friendly relations between Bavaria and the rest 
 of Germany and Austria was already insisted upon in my 
 circular of February 24, 1867, the importance of a declaration on 
 the part of the Imperial Government w r hich would give expres- 
 sion to such friendly relations becomes so prominent in view of 
 the recent complications that the question of the maintenance of 
 peace may be said to depend chiefly upon the position which the 
 Imperial Government decides to take up in the matter. 
 
 "How valuable the maintenance of peace is for Austria at the 
 present moment, how dangerous even an armed neutrality would 
 be to the development of the contemplated changes in the con- 
 stitutional life of Austria, will certainly be admitted by Herr 
 von Beust. By an attitude favourable to German interests it is 
 scarcely to be doubted that the Austrian Government would not 
 only avoid this danger, but would form a connection with 
 Germany corresponding to the interests and desires of all 
 parties. In any case, it is of the highest importance to 
 
 VOL. 1 — P
 
 210 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the Bavarian Government to be informed of the decision of Austria 
 in this respect. 
 
 "By command of his Majesty the King, my most gracious mas- 
 ter, I commission you to address, as soon as possible, confidential 
 inquiries in this sense to Herr von Beust, and authorise you to 
 make known to him the contents of this despatch. Your Excellency 
 will inform me with all possible haste of his answer, and of all 
 matters affecting this question." 
 
 On April 3 a Ministerial Council was held, at which the Prince 
 assured himself of the unanimous approval of his colleagues of the 
 steps hitherto taken by him. On the same day Count Bismarck 
 telegraphed to Herr von Werthern : 
 
 "Tell Prince Hohenlohe the following quite confidentially. 
 Diplomatic communications from France assert that the Luxem- 
 bourg transaction is concluded. The Emperor can no longer with- 
 draw, although I have told Benedetti that in the present state of 
 public opinion we could not and would not give way. On the 
 other hand, Count Perponcher reports from The Hague that a con- 
 clusion has not been reached, and that he hopes to hinder it. In 
 the present position of things in Germany we must, in my judg- 
 ment, be prepared to risk a war, however poor an object Luxem- 
 bourg may be in itself. The attitude of the nation in the matter, 
 its honour being at stake, must decide. In any case, we should both, 
 to the best of our power, make the most of the favourable influence 
 which this incident will have upon the consolidation of the 
 national cause, and at the same time not allow ourselves 
 to be taken by surprise should war occur at any moment. 
 The British Government seems secretly disposed to view the pros- 
 pect of a war not quite without pleasure, hoping that France will 
 be worsted, ready, perhaps, to lend its aid, as soon as fortune 
 favours us." 
 
 Herr von Werthern sent this telegram to the Prince, who was 
 at the moment dining at the Royal table. 
 
 Memorandum by the Prince "on the statement to his 
 Majesty the King, April 4, at 11 a.m." 
 
 At to-day's audience I made a statement to the King on the 
 position of the Luxembourg affair. I asked what answer should 
 be given to Count Bismarck's despatch of yesterday, and was 
 authorised to declare that in case of war Bavaria would stand by 
 the side of Prussia in conformity with the secret treaty, but that 
 South German conditions made it appear urgently desirable that 
 Bismarck should await the result of the inquiries in Vienna before 
 proceeding to extreme measures. 
 
 On April 5 it was laid down, in a note to Herr von Werthern, 
 "that, in case the Luxembourg affair should lead to an armed
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 211 
 
 conflict with France, the Bavarian Government regards it as 
 established by the treaties already concluded that it shall 
 stand by the side of Prussia and the other German States." 
 
 Julius Frobel* was next sent to Vienna on April 3, to hasten 
 the negotiations opened with Austria on April 2. He returned 
 to Munich on the morning of April 7, and reported — 
 according to a memoir of Count Tauffkirchen — he had spoken 
 with Beust on the evening of April 4. Beust had said that he 
 was in no way involved with France. The nature of the situation 
 pointed to benevolent neutrality. Austria could at that time have 
 no motive for intervening in the affair even though Prussia were 
 prepared to reciprocate, for instance, in regard to the Eastern 
 question, by a guarantee against the occupation of Bulgaria by 
 Russia. There was proof, however, that Prussia was opposing 
 the endeavours of the Government in the country. This must 
 in any case cease. Above all, Prussia must herself come for- 
 ward. Bavaria had lost through her treaties the independence 
 necessary for the role of mediator. Besides this, Frobel had 
 brought the following advices: Beust had to be extremely cir- 
 cumspect. The party of the higher aristocracy were inimical to 
 him. If victorious they would bring in a Metternich Ministry 
 with an absolute regime and a French alliance. Beust's success 
 at the Landtag in Prague t might have a decisive effect upon 
 his position. Heinrich von Gagern was now committed to the 
 Bavarian programme. Frobel supposed that Napoleon would 
 prefer a congress to a war. J 
 
 Count Tauffkirchen observed that so far from the indepen- 
 dence of Bavaria being impaired by the treaty, it assured to the 
 King of Bavaria the right of declaring war, and in that 
 event pledged Prussia to assist. If Austria had an interest in 
 preserving the independence of Bavaria and South Germany, 
 and in the non-extension of the North German Confederation, this 
 could in no way be better secured than by accepting mediation. 
 
 Memorandum by the Prince, April 8, 1867. 
 
 Audience of the King to-day. I read to him Bismarck's 
 despatch informing us of the peaceful turn taken by the Luxem- 
 
 * Frobel, who had been in the service of the Austrian Government 
 from 1862 to 1866, and was at this time working at Stuttgart for the 
 Government of Wiirtemberg, had already been sent by the Prince to Vienna 
 on February 26 to find out what position Freiherr von Beust would 
 adopt towards the Prince's German programme. — Frobel, Ein Lebenslau}, 
 vol. ii. p. 469. 
 
 t After the dissolution of the Bohemian Landtag, the elections, which 
 had taken place between March 22 and 29, had given a large majority to 
 the German Constitutional party. Beust himself had been elected by the 
 Chamber of Commerce of Reichenberg. — Beust, Aus drei Viertel- 
 jahrhunderten, vol. ii. p. in. 
 
 % Count Tauffkirchen's notes agree entirely with Frobel's own report. 
 — Ein Lebenslau /, vol. ii. p. 77.
 
 212 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 bourg affair. He then touched on various other subjects. Later 
 spoke of the Ministry. He asked which of the Ministers I re- 
 garded as specially able. I mentioned Schlor. He then spoke 
 of Pranckh and Orff; I recommended the latter, he spoke for 
 Pranckh. Finally he seemed to give in. Then he turned to 
 Gresser, said he was not equal to his post, and wished that the 
 Ministers would fall foul of him as well as of Bomhard, so as to 
 get rid of him. I said this was impossible, but that he could easily 
 be accommodated with a Government presidency somewhere, which 
 was what he was fitted for. 
 
 Despatch to the Bavarian Legation in Berlin. 
 
 Munich, April 9, 1867. 
 
 In the report of the 6th, received here the 8th inst, stress is 
 laid on the fact that Count Bismarck would like a definite state- 
 ment by the Bavarian Government as to the attitude it 
 would adopt in the event of war with France. I considered this 
 question already settled by my cipher telegram of the 6th inst., 
 and by similar explanations to Herr von Werthern; I 
 have not, however, omitted to obtain from H.M. the King further 
 commands, by which I am now empowered to state that, if war 
 should break out between the King of Prussia and the Emperor 
 of the French over the Luxembourg question, the Bava- 
 rian Government would deem that the case provided in 
 the treaty signed at Berlin, August 22, 1866, had arisen, and 
 accordingly would be prepared to act in the sense of that treaty. 
 I must add, however, a reiterated assurance that his Majesty's 
 Government, far from pressing for war, is prepared to 
 co-operate in every suitable way towards the maintenance 
 of an honourable peace, and, indeed, to exhaust all suitable 
 means to that end. 
 
 This despatch is marked with the King's concurrence, dated 
 April 9. 
 
 The Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden 
 to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Karlsruhe, April 9, 1867. 
 
 On the day of my return from Berlin I received a visit from 
 State Councillor Gelzer, who came to give me a verbal account of 
 his journey to Munich. All that he told me as to the reception 
 which you accorded him, and about the exchange of ideas which 
 he had with you in regard to the weightier questions of the moment, 
 could not but confirm in a high degree the impressions I brought 
 back at the time from the conference at Muhlacker. 
 
 Councillor Gelzer assured you in my name that the chief object 
 of his visit was to establish confidential relations between 
 you and me in addition to the ordinary business channels of
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 213 
 
 communication, which seems to me highly desirable for the happy 
 solution of national problems. Councillor Gelzer told me repeat- 
 edly with grateful satisfaction with what good will the confidence 
 with which he approached you was reciprocated, and I look upon 
 this basis of confidence as of the highest value in all our present 
 and future intercourse. 
 
 As to the agreement which was drawn up at your desire during 
 Councillor Gelzer's stay at Munich, and communicated to me 
 as a foundation for future negotiations with Berlin, you know, 
 both from my verbal and written statements, and from the recent 
 communications of Councillor Gelzer, how from the bottom of my 
 heart I regard the present questions and aims. It was with my 
 fullest concurrence that Gelzer, in his conversations both with you 
 and with Count von Tauffkirchen, laid stress upon these three 
 points : 
 
 (1) That the union of North and South Germany in one 
 single federated State — whether by the inclusion of the Southern 
 States in the North German Confederation, or by the further 
 development of the Zollverein — has always appeared to me 
 the most desirable of ends, for the attainment of which I would 
 shrink from no personal sacrifice. That so long as this end remains 
 unattainable, however, I consider myself bound not to hold aloof 
 from any attempt that might bring us at least some steps nearer 
 to it. 
 
 (2) That for this reason I have already declared myself pre- 
 pared, and I now renew that declaration, to meet with full con- 
 fidence proposals emanating from yourself for an understanding 
 regarding our common negotiations with the North German 
 Confederation, because I attach the greatest value to a straight- 
 forward co-operation with you, so long as I am able to remain 
 faithful to my own convictions ; in short, I consider it a patriotic 
 duty to support your position and your influence in Bavaria as 
 far as in me lies. 
 
 (3) That I can fully appreciate your ruling desire to work 
 in the best possible way for the preservation of European peace, 
 and to prevent Germany from being split into two hostile camps, 
 and that in this connection I understand your proposals regard- 
 ing Austria as formulated in No. VI. of the agreement drawn 
 up by you. 
 
 I thought it necessary once more to emphasise these three points 
 in order to set before you the animating motives of my position 
 and opinion with regard to your endeavours. I am anxious that 
 you should be perfectly clear as to my intentions and con- 
 victions. 
 
 Another question, however, is this : how would the agreement 
 be regarded at present in Berlin? During my stay there two 
 points seemed to me very significant in this connection. 
 
 First, I do not believe that an open ear or a complete under- 
 standing can be expected there for any other interest whatsoever,
 
 214 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 until the Constitution of the North German Confederation is 
 assured. 
 
 Next, I was able while there to satisfy myself that immediately 
 after the adoption of the Constitution of the North German 
 Confederation, the discussion of a revision of the Zollverein (which 
 is only to be expected) would take precedence of all other nego- 
 tiations. I think myself the more obliged to draw your 
 attention to this, because in Berlin Count Bismarck did not 
 disguise from me what an unfavourable impression had been 
 made there by a memorandum on the Zollverein question which 
 had just been received from Munich.* 
 
 I am very grateful to you for your latest kind communication 
 regarding the sanction which you obtained from the King to take 
 the first steps in the matters herein mentioned. 
 
 With you I wish from my heart that the Luxembourg affair 
 may not further disturb the development of German relations. 
 But at all events this question may become a touchstone for the 
 true worth of the German nation, and in this case unity and strength 
 may grow out of it. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, April 10, 1867. 
 
 The question of the cession of the Grand Duchy of Luxem- 
 bourg to France has in a few days brought the peril of war between 
 France and Prussia alarmingly near. It is beyond doubt that 
 Bavaria would not be able to avoid participation in such a war, 
 considering the wording of the treaty of alliance of August 22, 
 1866, and the feeling in the country. It is the more imperative 
 to seize every available opportunity to avert the danger of war, 
 or at any rate to diminish it, by an alliance calculated to strengthen 
 us. 
 
 From this point of view, Count Bismarck's invitation to 
 join in obtaining information as to Austria's inclinations towards 
 concluding an alliance with Prussia and Bavaria is also accept- 
 able. 
 
 The preliminary official steps in this direction undertaken 
 by Count Bray have led to the somewhat cold reply which your 
 Majesty will find in the enclosed despatch of the 7th inst. Mean- 
 while, Baron Beust has spoken on the subject to a private per- 
 son, who, commissioned by your most obedient servant, the 
 undersigned, has been to Vienna to discover the Minister's views. 
 It appears from this that Austria would not be absolutely disin- 
 clined to adopt an actively friendly attitude towards Prussia. 
 Negotiations would rather deal with the strengthening of the 
 promises and guarantees, particularly on the Eastern question, 
 which Prussia and Germany in general would offer the Austrian 
 
 * Memorial from the Bavarian Ministerial Councillor Weber.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 215 
 
 Government. If the undersigned could succeed in effecting a 
 reconciliation of the interests of Prussia and Austria in this matter, 
 the position of Bavaria in her negotiations with Prussia would 
 be substantially strengthened thereby. For this reason the 
 undersigned considers it important not to neglect any expedient 
 which might conduce to this end. I have already personally 
 represented to your Majesty that one such expedient (which 
 even if unproductive of a definite result, might yet indirectly 
 serve to smooth down many obstacles) would be afforded by the 
 sending of a confidential agent to Berlin and Vienna. The duties 
 to be associated with this mission are given in the enclosed draft 
 instructions which are humbly submitted for your gracious ap- 
 proval. 
 
 I have respectfully suggested that the person entrusted with 
 this important and difficult mission should be Count Tauffkirchen, 
 Ministerial Councillor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. . . . 
 It would relieve the mind of your most obedient servant, if before 
 coming to any definite decision your Majesty would receive Count 
 Tauffkirchen, and be pleased to determine whether the under- 
 taking of the proposed mission by the Count would correspond 
 with your Majesty's intentions. 
 
 The draft of an instruction enclosed with the report indicates 
 as the business of Count Tauffkirchen' s mission to the Courts of 
 Berlin and Vienna: 
 
 (1) To mitigate and, as far as possible, to remove, all 
 obstacles standing in the way of an alliance between Prussia and 
 Austria. 
 
 (2) To bring to a conclusion such an alliance either in general, 
 or in particular with regard to the Luxembourg question, and to 
 enter into the same on the part of Bavaria, subject to the assent 
 of his Majesty the King. 
 
 (3) To aim at obtaining thereby from Prussia favourable con- 
 ditions for the opening of the proposed negotiations concerning 
 the position of Bavaria and of the other South-West German 
 States towards the North German Confederation, and to conclude 
 an agreement thereupon subject to the approval of his Majesty 
 the King. 
 
 With the King's consent Count Tauffkirchen departed on his 
 journey. From Berlin he wrote to the Prince on April 14: 
 
 "Bismarck has overwhelmed me with attentions in a quite 
 remarkable manner. He seems to need Austria very particularly. 
 So much the better, if we succeed in finding access there. . . . 
 The King of Prussia spoke of your Highness with the fullest con- 
 fidence and appreciation, and charged me with many greetings for 
 you. . . ." 
 
 The Count's mission to Vienna was unsuccessful. After a 
 conversation with Count von Beust on the morning of April 18, 
 he wrote to the Prince on April 19 : "I consider it quite beyond
 
 2i 6 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 doubt that the only advice to give the King is to recall 
 me." * 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe to the Bavarian Legation in Berlin. 
 
 Munich, April 23, 1867. 
 
 Some days ago Baron Werthern read to me a despatch from 
 Count Bismarck, in which the Royal Prussian Government wishes 
 to know whether the Royal Bavarian Government is prepared 
 of its own free resolve to share with Prussia the responsibility 
 which protection of Luxembourg's independence may have either 
 directly or indirectly. The despatch further insists that the 
 German Governments must make it clear to themselves which is 
 to their interest : whether to bear the consequences that may arise 
 from the refusal of the concession to France — and in this event 
 it is questionable whether Bavaria be suitably equipped — or 
 whether to decline these consequences, in which case the Gov- 
 ernments concerned must make clear whether they are resolved 
 publicly to defend their declining of war and their consequent assent 
 to a policy of peace. 
 
 Since the Royal Government has already declared, in the de- 
 spatch of April 9, 1867, its readiness to stand side by side with the 
 Prussian Government throughout the development of the Luxem- 
 bourg question, in honourable fulfilment of the special treaty of 
 August 22, 1866, it follows that her resolution holds good, even 
 independently of the phases, as yet unknown to her at that time, 
 of the policy regarding this question pursued by the Royal Prussian 
 Government. In this case, however, responsibility for the 
 possible outbreak of war should all the less be laid to her 
 charge, as co-operation in the decisions in question was not pos- 
 sible to her. 
 
 On the other hand, of their own free determination — therefore 
 apart from the Treaty of Alliance — the Bavarian Government 
 consider it right not to shrink from a war necessary for the preser- 
 vation of Germany's honour and of her position in Europe, but 
 otherwise to leave no means untried which may conduce to the 
 maintenance of a peace that is consistent with this honour and 
 dignified position. They must desire the maintenance of such peace 
 the more earnestly in proportion to the greatness and imminence 
 of the injury that war with France would bring to South Ger- 
 many, and the difficulty which the military powers of South- West 
 Germany would find in offering an effective resistance to an attack 
 by the French Army. 
 
 The Royal Government find a further reason for their earnest 
 desire to preserve peace in the attitude of the Imperial and Royal 
 Austrian Cabinet, which, according to the latest news received 
 
 * This conversation is repeated in Beust's despatch of April 19 to 
 Count Wimpffen in Berlin, printed by Beust, Aus drei Vierteljahrhunderten, 
 vol. ii. p. 119.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 217 
 
 from Vienna, is resolved to confine itself to a watchful neutrality. 
 Accordingly, though it cannot be doubted that such a peaceful 
 policy corresponds most nearly to the interests of Bavaria, yet 
 the Royal Government has no hesitation in declaring that it is 
 prepared even publicly to defend this policy and its consequences. 
 This they can only do, however, if they are made acquainted with 
 the measure of the concessions which are to be made to France, 
 for the purpose of preserving peace. The Royal Government 
 must, therefore, reserve its answer to this portion of the question 
 asked until such time as it shall have received fuller explanations 
 regarding the state of the negotiations between the Powers con- 
 cerned, and regarding the conditions of the settlement of the differ- 
 ence arising between Prussia and France. 
 
 So far as the Royal Government, through the communications 
 of Baron Beust, is acquainted with the content of the Austrian 
 proposals for mediation,* it does not hesitate to declare now 
 that these form an acceptable basis for negotiation, and only 
 wish to add that France should, at the same time, recognise the 
 new relations prevailing in Germany. 
 
 The question as to the condition of the Bavarian Army will 
 be answered in the most unreserved manner by Major-General 
 and Quartermaster-General Count von Bothmer, who has gone 
 to Berlin to-day for that purpose. 
 
 I beg your Highness to read this despatch to Count von Bis- 
 marck, and to be good enough to ask him for information as to 
 the present state of negotiations. 
 
 The negotiations meanwhile set on foot with Wtirtemberg 
 concerning the adjustment of relations with North Germany, 
 led to an understanding which was expressed in the following 
 "Ministerial declaration" of May 6-16, 1867: 
 
 "The undersigned, impressed by the high value of common 
 action on the part of the States of South- West Germany, par- 
 ticularly Bavaria and Wiirtemberg, in the pending negotiations 
 with the North German Confederation, agreeably to Article LXXI. 
 of the draft Constitution, have, with the gracious consent of their 
 Sovereigns, come to an agreement upon the following points: 
 
 "I. Bavaria and Wiirtemberg are prepared, at the instance of 
 Prussia, to enter into negotiations with North Germany, as to the 
 conclusion of the National Confederation contemplated for in 
 Article IV. of the Peace of Prague. 
 
 "II. Entrance into a common confederation by the extension 
 of the Constitution of the North-German Confederation to the 
 Southern States cannot be accepted as a basis for these negotiations ; 
 rather is the conclusion of a more comprehensive confederation 
 with the North German Confederation to be aimed at. 
 
 "III. For the constitution of this more comprehensive Con- 
 federation, the principles of the Act of Confederation of June 8, 
 * As to Austria's proposals, see Sybel, vol. vi. p. 92.
 
 2i8 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 1815, with the alterations necessitated by the secession of 
 Austria, and by the demands of the time, are to be taken as the 
 point of departure. 
 
 "IV. The Bavarian Government stipulates for the preparation 
 of a draft, the outlines of which shall be laid down as follows : 
 
 "(1) The Confederation consists of the North German Con- 
 federation, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, Baden, and South Hesse. 
 
 "(2) The purpose of the Confederation is to safeguard the 
 national solidarity, to preserve the integrity of the Confedera- 
 tion's dominions, and to further the well-being of their inhabitants. 
 All members of the Confederation have, as such, equal rights; 
 they are mutually pledged to hold the Act of Confederation in- 
 violable. 
 
 "(3) The business of the Confederation shall be conducted by 
 a Federal Council under the presidency of Prussia, on which votes 
 shall count in the following proportion : 
 
 Prussia 17 
 Bavaria 6 
 
 and the other Sovereign Princes and free towns of the Confedera- 
 tion as provided in Article VI. of the Act of Confederation of June 8, 
 1815. 
 
 "(4) Articles III. and IV. of the draft Constitution of the 
 North-German Confederation will be recognised as a basis for 
 negotiations relative to the settlement of the common concerns 
 of the Confederation. 
 
 "(5) In order to obviate later difficulties in framing the laws 
 of the Confederation, and having regard to experience gained under 
 the ruling of the earlier Act of Confederation, the regulation of 
 each single one of these common concerns shall, as a funda- 
 mental law of the Confederation, follow the lines of the agreement 
 as far as possible. 
 
 " (6) In considering the framing of these laws, the qualification 
 for national representation in the Confederation is to be acknow- 
 ledged ; while, however, and for so long as the relations of the 
 Parliament of a more comprehensive confederation to the Parlia- 
 ment of the North German Confederation present insuperable 
 difficulties, the framing of laws for the more comprehensive con- 
 federation shall be dependent on the consent of the Diets in the 
 South, and in the North on that of the North German Parliament. 
 The Federal Council prepares the Federal law. 
 
 " (7) In the North, executive power is vested in the presidency 
 of the North German Confederation, in the South in the individual 
 Sovereigns. 
 
 " (8) With the double purpose of removing the difficulties 
 which may arise in the national development of the extended 
 Confederation from the concluding words of Article IV. of the 
 Peace of Prague, and to provide a guarantee for the maintenance 
 of European peace, the provision laid down in Article LXXI. of the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 219 
 
 draft Constitution of the North German Confederation should be 
 added, viz. that a way should be paved for an alliance of the Con- 
 federation with Austria, if that is not attained simultaneously 
 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Confederation.* 
 
 "V. With regard to the military relations of the Southern 
 States, particularly of Bavaria and Wurtemberg to the North, 
 arrangements have been made by the treaty of alliance that has 
 been concluded, and by the South German States among them- 
 selves, in accordance with the Stuttgart resolutions of February 5, 
 1867. 
 
 "VI. The actual negotiations shall, according to the Prussian 
 Government's previous suggestion, be undertaken in the form of 
 conferences of the several Ministers in Berlin. 
 
 "VII. Preliminary declarations on this question by Bavaria 
 and Wurtemberg shall, so far as practicable, be sent to Prussia 
 only after previous agreement, but in any case shall immediately 
 be communicated to each other, and a direct correspondence 
 between the undersigned shall be established as the form for these 
 communications. 
 
 "VIII. Bavaria undertakes to obtain, if possible, the adhesion 
 of Baden and Hesse to this draft agreement, and offers Wurtem- 
 berg her good offices in this particular." 
 
 By a communication dated May 6, from the Bavarian Ministry 
 of State, Baden and Hesse were invited to join this union. 
 
 Simultaneously the project was confidentially communicated to 
 the Austrian Government. 
 
 The union of Bavaria and Wurtemberg was thoroughly exam- 
 ined by the Ministry of Baden. The Minister for Foreign Affairs 
 von Freydorf made the following remarks upon it : 
 
 " (1) From Nos. I., II., and IV., everything must be eliminated 
 that hinders the entry of the South German States into the North 
 German Confederation. 
 
 "(2) No. V. is to be understood as not excluding a further 
 union in military matters of the South German States with Prussia, 
 or with the North German Confederation. (Baden was at that 
 time carrying on negotiations with Prussia regarding a military 
 convention.) 
 
 "(3) No. IV. (5) is 'quite impossible,' if the Confederation 
 is to be -realised within measurable time. 
 
 " (4) No. IV. (3) and (6) are equally impossible, hence a legis- 
 lative enactment, by means of the addition to the North German 
 Confederation of a number of South German delegates, is requisite." 
 
 Count Bismarck, to whom these proposals of reform were 
 communicated with the consent of Bavaria and Wurtemberg 
 on May 14, 1867, observed concerning them to von Turkheim, 
 the Minister of Baden at Berlin, that he would not agree to a 
 confederation on the lines of the protocol of May 6, but did not 
 * For the after-wording of this clause, see note p. 228.
 
 220 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 wish to say this definitely and publicly. As to the modifications 
 proposed by Baden, he reserved his declaration until Bavaria 
 and Wiirtemberg should have agreed to them. For the present, 
 he would only say this much with certainty, that Prussia, in the 
 first place, desired a further confederation with the South, and 
 indeed, looked upon this as the basis of the renewal of the Zoll- 
 verein; but that for this confederation, as also for the Zollver- 
 ein, there must be found a form of simple agreement upon 
 ordinary business, not merely upon such as was to be foreseen 
 far ahead. Without this indispensable premise, he would rather 
 renounce both confederation and Zollverein with the South or 
 with the States who were fundamentally in opposition. According 
 to Count Bismarck's desire, it would be in this sense that Baden 
 should prosecute the negotiations. In a like sense Bismarck 
 wrote to the Prussian Minister at Karlsruhe on May 1 7 : 
 
 "The basis of the Ministerial declaration of May 6 cannot be 
 accepted by us. Common legislation (No. IV. (4)) we look upon 
 as a benefit, not so much for us, the North German Confederation, 
 as for the South German States. With regard to the Customs 
 especially, it is impossible for us to bind ourselves to a condition 
 which as a general ruling demands, in addition to a decision of 
 the Reichstag, the consent of eight South German Chambers, 
 and would practically give a veto to any single one of the latter. 
 The only mode of common Customs legislation which we can accept 
 is by means of an enlargement of the Federal Diet and the Reichs- 
 tag for that purpose, through the participation of delegates from 
 South Germany." 
 
 Meanwhile the Government of Baden had forwarded to Munich 
 their proposed alterations in the protocol of May 6, and, since 
 these were partially accepted by Prince Hohenlohe, the 
 agreement so modified seemed to afford a possible foundation for 
 common negotiations between the South German States and the 
 North German Confederation. By a decision of the Grand 
 Duke, May 27, 1867, the Ministry was, therefore, empowered 
 " to enter into negotiations in common with the three other Gov- 
 ernments regarding the foundation of a more comprehensive 
 Confederation of the South German States with the North German 
 Confederation, on the basis of the Ministerial declaration of 
 May 6-16, with the modifications proposed in Prince Hohenlohe's 
 note of the 22nd inst." 
 
 But the course of these negotiations was interrupted by the 
 Prussian Government's own initiative in the question of the Zoll- 
 verein. At the end of May the Prussian Ambassador, Baron 
 Werthern, informed Prince Hohenlohe that Count Bismarck was 
 thinking of arranging a conference of Ministers in Berlin, in order 
 to deliberate about the reconstruction of the Zollverein, and the 
 questions relative thereto. The Prince supposed that the adhe- 
 sion of the South German States to the North German Confedera- 
 tion might also come under discussion, and hence he wished to
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 221 
 
 conclude the understanding with the rest of the South German 
 States before the Berlin Conference. He therefore informed 
 Baron Werthern that the postponement of the conference until 
 the end of June would be desirable. At the same time the Bava- 
 rian Minister in Stuttgart reported that Varnbuler wished to 
 meet the Prince for a consultation as to the impending confer- 
 ence. In consequence the Prince went to Nordlingen on May 30, 
 1867, for a conversation with Barnbuler. He was accompanied 
 by the Ministerial Count Tauffkirchen. 
 
 Note by Count Tauffkirchen. 
 
 Munich, May 30, 1867. 
 
 Upon the invitation which will be found among the official 
 papers, the Minister of State, Prince Hohenlohe, went to-day 
 with the Ministerial Councillor, Count Tauffkirchen by an early 
 train to Nordlingen, where Freiherr von Varnbuler was already 
 present. 
 
 The following conversation then took place between the three 
 persons named in the station-master's sitting-room. 
 
 Baron Varnbuler read aloud his despatch to Count Degenfeld 
 of the 29th, and handed it to the Prince for further reference. 
 
 He added the comment that the mission of Count Tauffkirchen 
 had called forth a very profound feeling of dissent in Paris. The 
 French Minister in Stuttgart, to whom he had truthfully 
 declared that he had neither any share in this mission, nor any 
 knowledge of it, had made use of the words: "If it comes to 
 war and France is victorious, Bavaria will have to pay dearly, 
 very dearly, for this step." Baron Wachter's reports from Paris 
 entirely agree with this. Baron Beust, also, had expressed him- 
 self in an unfavourable and unfriendly manner concerning the 
 plan of Bavaria and Wtirtemberg to Baron Thumb, who, according 
 to instructions, had maintained the greatest reserve as to the 
 question of the reconstitution of Germany. Varnbuler read 
 aloud a portion of one of Thumb's recent despatches, according 
 to which --so at least Varnbuler read — Beust had said to him 
 that he did not intend to throw a sop to the Ultramontanes in 
 Bavaria. The word "alliance" will be now imported into the 
 conflict between Prussia and France, and will give the greatest 
 offence in Paris. It would, therefore, be very advisable to sub- 
 stitute another mode of expression, and he must, on Wiirtemberg's 
 behalf, the more strongly insist upon this change, as even during 
 the consultations such an aggressive underlying meaning to the 
 expression had not in reality been very remote. 
 
 Varnbuler continued : According to the latest reports from 
 Berlin, there did not at present exist there any intention of 
 entering into a National Union with the South, even in order 
 to avoid an exceptionally threatening war with France. Varn- 
 buler read aloud portions of a report from the Minister
 
 222 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Baron Spitzemberg, dated May 24, 1867, according to which 
 Count Bismarck had declared to him that he proposed confining 
 himself for the present to a regulation of tariff affairs, and would 
 not go further unless one of the Southern States expressly 
 desired it. He did not desire even a special military convention. 
 An energetic and consistent carrying out of the Stuttgart resolu- 
 tions would suffice for him. Spitzemberg thereupon put it 
 to him whether it would not be advisable, for the abridgment 
 of the conferences on the tariff arranged for after Easter, to 
 allow a preliminary settlement of the main lines by a con- 
 ference of Ministers. Bismarck took up this idea very willingly. 
 He thought the invitation to the conferences should be conveyed 
 to the Ministers for Foreign Affairs without a previously fixed 
 programme, and that in the invitation the agenda should only 
 include the Zollverein and subjects in direct connection with 
 that, such as the patent laws and the condition of trade. The 
 Ministers of the larger States of the North German Confederation 
 were to be invited. He feared that people in Munich would be 
 distrustful, and would want Varnbiiler to sound Prince Hohenlohe. 
 He, Varnbiiler, had gladly accepted the idea — though with express 
 limitation of the conference to tariff affairs — because he deemed 
 that a favourable occasion for such negotiations was afforded by 
 the present endeavour to spare the susceptibilities of France 
 and to draw in Austria. He had, however, left to Bismarck 
 the sending of the invitation to Munich. He had deemed this 
 verbal explanation necessary, since he had learned from Munich 
 that Prince Hohenlohe had been dilatory in answering, and 
 that there was an intention to repeat the invitation — indeed, 
 such a second invitation had reached him at eleven o'clock last 
 night, the 29th, through Baron Rosenberg, and presumably 
 the same message had been received simultaneously by Baron 
 Werther. 
 
 In respect to the attitude which the Wurtemberg Govern- 
 ment would take up towards the question itself, he added that 
 they would abide by the draft of May 6, 1867, and settle the 
 matter as far as possible by a treaty. 
 
 The Tariff Convention would have to decide: 
 
 (1) The sphere of the tariff's application. 
 
 (2) The sources of revenue. 
 
 (3) The mode of distribution. 
 
 The Customs, the rape tax, the salt tax, and, in any case, the 
 tobacco duty, were to be recognised as the sources of revenue; 
 taxes on drinks, on the other hand, were to be excepted. New 
 taxes should only be introduced by common consent. 
 
 Equality of distribution must be insisted upon. Whether 
 the treatv should be for a fixed time, and whether terminable 
 with or without notice, he left undecided as yet. 
 
 As for the rest, the final decision is to be left to an assembly 
 chosen by popular election.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 223 
 
 The views contained in Weber's memorial had made a bad 
 impression in Berlin, and if they were upheld by Bavaria, would 
 have as a consequence her exclusion from the Zollverein. He 
 himself, moreover, could not concur in them. As Bismarck 
 had given notice of his intention to hold these conferences of 
 Ministers before his departure for Paris (on June 5), a speedy 
 decision was necessary. Varnbuler gave up the idea of grouping 
 together the corresponding propositions of the Zollverein treaty, 
 and of the Constitution of the North German Confederation. 
 
 He finally remarked, in regard to the military conditions, 
 that the Wiirtemberg Government would be prepared for a 
 perpetually operative system of military service, was ready to 
 enter into the contemplated union with Bavaria, and would 
 attach great importance to this, as making it possible to oppose 
 a fait accompli to any later pretensions of Prussia. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe expressed his thanks to Baron Varnbuler 
 for these communications, and considered them so urgent that 
 he resolved to take the mail train just going back to Munich, 
 in order to be able to report the same day to his Majesty 
 concerning both the subjects touched upon in his conversation. 
 
 In conclusion Baron Varnbuler emphasised his wish for 
 concurrent action by Bavaria and Wiirtemberg, and suggested 
 how important it would be for Bavaria at the present moment 
 to be represented in Berlin by some person who might be in a 
 position to give certain information as to the frequent fluctua- 
 tions of opinion there. 
 
 By 3.35 p.m. Prince Hohenlohe and Count Tauffkirchen 
 were back in Munich, and after the former had learned from 
 Baron Werthern that a further invitation to the conference of 
 Ministers had not yet reached him, he sent the attached 
 minute to Berg that same evening.* 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, May 30, 1867. 
 
 Upon a telegraphic invitation from Freiherr von Varnbuler, 
 your most obedient servant, the undersigned, betook himself 
 to Nordlingen early this morning for a confidential interview. 
 
 The occasion of this was a telegraphic invitation from the 
 Prussian Government, already received by Herr von Varnbuler 
 (but already announced to and hourly expected by your 
 most obedient servant), to participate in the conference of 
 Ministers for Foreign Affairs which is to be opened in Berlin 
 during the next few days. This conference of Ministers is to be 
 the introduction to the tariff conference, and is to limit itself to 
 the question of the reconstitution of the Zollverein. Accord- 
 ing to Varnbiiler's statements, not only does the Wiirtemberg 
 Government attach the greatest value to a general acceptance 
 
 * The following report.
 
 224 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE. 
 
 of this invitation, but Freiherr von Beust also has declared himself 
 in unconditional agreement with the aims of this conference. 
 
 Your most obedient servant considers he should the more 
 strongly advise an acceptance of the invitation, because accord- 
 ing to Article VII. of the Peace of Berlin, August 22, 1866, 
 there is no justification for declining; moreover, the announce- 
 ment of the Zollverein is to be apprehended; and finally, 
 because the present moment, at which moderation is imposed 
 upon Prussia owing to her strained relations with France, seems 
 highly favourable for such negotiations. 
 
 As to the instructions of your obedient servant on this occa- 
 sion, further proposals shall follow. 
 
 Freiherr von Varnbiiler also delivered to your most obedient 
 servant, the undersigned, the enclosed note, in which the inter- 
 change Ministerial declarations in the sense of that of the 6th 
 inst., approved by your Majesty, is made dependent on an 
 alteration in the framing of Article IV. (8), which, as calcu- 
 lated to remove the objection raised by Austria against the 
 word "alliance" in your Majesty's previous note of the 15th 
 of last month, is therefore to be regarded as a decided and most 
 welcome improvement. 
 
 The undersigned sets the greatest looks upon a speedy in- 
 terchange of these Ministerial declarations as of the greatest 
 importance, and therefore humbly submits this proposal: 
 
 That your Majesty should consent to the immediate despatch 
 of telegrams : 
 
 (1) Consenting to a participation in the conferences of 
 Ministers, on condition that these be confined to the business 
 of the Zollverein. 
 
 (2) Agreeing to the modification of the Ministerial declaration 
 of May 6, proposed by Freiherr von Varnbiiler. 
 
 Marginal Rescript by the King. 
 
 Both these proposals approved. 
 
 LUDWIG. 
 
 Schloss Berg, May 30, 1867. 
 
 Declaration under the King's sign manual, May 30, 1867. 
 
 In assenting to the negotiations undertaken between Bavaria 
 and Wurtemberg, as well as to the documents addressed to 
 Karlsruhe and Darmstadt, I have started from the supposition 
 repeatedly put forward by you, that the introduction of negotia- 
 tions between South Germany and Prussia as to a reconstitu- 
 tion of the Confederation is not to be urged, and will in no case 
 be urged by Bavaria; that, however, it seems to me that caution 
 is now doubly necessary, as it concerns not merely the preserva-
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 225 
 
 tion of Bavaria's independence, but also the safeguarding of 
 European peace in view of the excited feeling in France and in 
 Austria against Prussia, on account of the former's existing 
 and determined interpretation, no matter whether justified or 
 not justified, of the Peace of Prague. 
 
 Ludwig. 
 
 Letter from the Prince to the Bavarian Legation in Vienna. 
 
 Munich, May 30, 1867. 
 
 The following strictly confidential communication as to the 
 grounds upon which his Majesty's Government seeks to effect a 
 union of the South German States in regard to their national 
 relations with the rest of Germany, has been called forth by 
 a verbal declaration of Freihcrr von Beust which his Majesty's 
 Legation reported on May 12, 1867, and by a more explicit 
 note from the Imperial Cabinet of the 15th of last month, read 
 aloud to me by Count Trauttmansdorf. The frank expression 
 of the latter makes an equally frank reply the duty of his 
 Majesty's Government. 
 
 Neither the Bavarian nor any other of the South German 
 Governments has entered into a compact which in any way 
 limits their right to settle their national relations to the rest of 
 Germany according to their own free judgment. The Nikolsburg 
 preliminary treaty of July 26, 1866, to the second Article of which 
 the Treaty of Peace concluded between Prussia and Bavaria 
 on August 22, 1866, refers in Article V., does not contain such 
 a limitation, see in particular the clause* subjoined to Article 
 IV. of the Peace of Prague of August 23, 1866. It contains no 
 obligation, but only the expression of the right of the South- 
 West German States to form a union among themselves. Though 
 the Royal Bavarian Government found themselves isolated 
 during the peace negotiations, owing to circumstances not 
 unknown to the Imperial Government, and were by this led 
 
 * Article III. of the Peace of Berlin (between Prussia and Bavaria) 
 dated August 22, 1866: "His Majesty the King of Bavaria recognises 
 the terms of the preliminary treaty concluded between Prussia and 
 Austria at Nikolsburg on July 26, 1866, and for his part concurs in the 
 same, so far as the future of Germany is concerned." Article IV. of the 
 Peace of Prague, dated August 23, 1866: "His Majesty the Emperor 
 of Austria recognises the dissolution of the German Confederation 
 hitherto existing, and gives his assent to a new constitution of Germany 
 without the participation of the Austrian Imperial State. His Majesty 
 likewise promises to recognise the lesser confederation which his Majesty 
 the King of Prussia is about to establish north of the line of the 
 Main, and declares himself agreeable that the German States south of 
 this line shall mutually enter upon a union, whose national relation with the 
 North German Confederation shall not prejudice a closer agreement between 
 the two, and which shall have an international independent existence.'''' The 
 addition of the last eight words distinguishes the Peace of Prague from the 
 otherwise similarly worded Article II. of the Nikolsburg preliminary 
 treaty. 
 
 vol. 1 — Q
 
 226 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 to conclude a treaty of alliance with Prussia on August 22, 
 yet they certainly did not violate the treaties by this, nor, in par- 
 ticular, the Peace of Prague of August 23, in which they 
 had no share. 
 
 As to the question whether these treaties are incompatible 
 with the pledges undertaken by Prussia at Prague, the Royal 
 Government do not at the moment consider themselves obliged to 
 express an opinion, but must, however, take measures to prevent 
 this silence being understood as consent. On the other hand, 
 the Bavarian Government fully recognise their moral obligation 
 to hold fast themselves, in their future treaties with Prussia, to 
 the standpoint taken up by this Power in consequence of the 
 Peace of Prague, and the full responsibility they would incur 
 if European complications were to ensue in consequence of 
 their participation in any deviation from this treaty. They 
 are convinced that they have pursued this course consistently 
 and not unsuccessfully in their relations with the other German 
 States; they believe that these states also have remained true 
 to the proposals of May 6, and they must oppose with decision 
 the supposition that in this proposal any deviation from the Peace 
 of Prague is to be found. 
 
 There cannot be any doubt that by the previous formation 
 of a federation of South German States, the reconstitution of 
 Germany according to the terms of the Peace of Prague — 
 therefore without Austria — has been facilitated. The reason 
 why such a federation has not been consummated has hitherto 
 lain in the purely negative attitude taken up by the Governments 
 of Wurtemberg, Baden, and Hesse, and in the lack of any 
 sympathy with this idea among the people — circumstances 
 which would have made any such attempt hopeless from the 
 beginning. The Bavarian Government have, therefore, been 
 obliged to confine themselves hitherto to the partial union 
 which found expression in the resolutions of the Stuttgart 
 Conference. 
 
 As to the point soon to be considered, that though the 
 North German Confederation has been concluded, no union 
 of the South German States exists, I meet with two extreme 
 views. 
 
 According to the one, the presupposed case under which 
 Prussia would have assumed a qualified obligation has not 
 occurred ; therefore Prussia has now an unlimited discretion 
 to enter into treaties with the South German States as she 
 pleases. 
 
 According to the other, the formation of a union of South 
 German States is the preliminary condition, without which 
 any national rapprochement of the South German States, or 
 of any one of their number, with the North German Confedera- 
 tion, would constitute a breach of the Peace of Prague. 
 
 I cannot acknowledge either of these conceptions to be just.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 227 
 
 Article IV. of the Peace of Prague contains two main points : 
 
 (1) The recognition of the right of the German States to 
 form a National Confederation in place of the former German 
 Confederation, with Austria excluded. 
 
 (2) The limitation of this right by the obligation of Prussia 
 to allow an independent international existence to the States south 
 of the Main included in the Confederation. 
 
 The objection attaching to the international independent 
 existence of single States within a National Confederation is 
 dissipated by a consideration of the earlier law of Confederation, 
 especially Article II. of the Act of Confederation of July 8, 1815,* 
 which recognises the independence of the separate States 
 which are subject to the decisions of the Federal Assembly. 
 A union of the South German States with North Germany, on 
 the basis upon which the earlier Act of Confederation rested, 
 is therefore not contrary to the Peace of Prague. The Bavarian 
 Government believe they might strive for such a union, even 
 without the previous formation of a Federation of South-West 
 German States, without thereby incurring the responsibility 
 involved in a deviation from the principles of the Peace of 
 Prague. 
 
 Though the Royal Government, therefore, would deem 
 themselves perfectly justified, even without the previous consent 
 of the other Governments, in pursuing the path they have 
 taken, yet the advice of the Imperial Government to adopt a 
 merely waiting attitude lays them under the obligation of 
 once more deliberately examining the question of opportunity, 
 of actually existing national political considerations. Bavaria, 
 which has certainly not been separated from Germany by the 
 events of the past year, has the national task and duty of 
 knitting anew the severed national ties as speedily as possible. 
 In this feeling of duty the Government is in accord with by far 
 the greater majority of the people. 
 
 Bavaria has no intention of taking the initiative in this 
 direction, as is clear from the wording of Article I. in the draft 
 of May 6, 1867, but thinks she should leave this to the North 
 German Confederation. 
 
 If, however, the tender of such negotiations were made by 
 Prussia, the Royal Government would not be in a position to 
 defend in their own country a refusal to enter into these negotia- 
 tions. But, granted they could succeed in forcibly repressing 
 this national impulse, they would certainly lack power to in- 
 duce the other South-West German States to maintain a like 
 passivity. Wiirtemberg, Baden, and Hesse will negotiate with 
 the North German Confederation. Bavaria has the choice of 
 taking up an influential position with regard to these negotia- 
 tions, and of hindering, as far as possible, any overstepping of 
 
 * Volkerrechtlicher Verein der deutschen souveranen Fiirsten und jreien 
 Stadte, B. A. 1, 2.
 
 228 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the limit set by the treaties, or of renouncing all influence upon 
 this reorganisation, without thereby escaping the dangers that 
 may possibly arise from it. 
 
 The material interests of Bavaria and of the rest of Germany 
 are so closely intermingled that Bavaria could only allow this 
 bond to be severed in case of utmost necessity, and always 
 with danger to her own existence as a State. The Royal Govern- 
 ment, therefore, will not, and cannot exclude themselves from 
 negotiations with the North German Confederation as to the 
 reconstitution of Germany. 
 
 The Royal Government, which has manifested plainly enough 
 the wish and the effort for a nearer approach of Austria to 
 Germany, will during these negotiations endeavour to ward 
 off all stipulations which, according to their views explained 
 above, are contrary to the Peace of Prague, and all proposals 
 likely to hinder any later peaceful rapprochement with Austria. 
 I think that the Imperial Government will scarcely be able 
 to ignore the weight of these arguments, or the danger which 
 would lie in the exclusion of Bavaria from Germany in any 
 peaceful adjustment of German relations, and in particular in 
 the adjustment of relations with Austria, reinvigorated by her 
 constitutional development. I therefore hope that the Imperial 
 Government, if not consenting, will not obstruct or hinder the 
 action of the Bavarian Government in this matter, and will refrain 
 from stepping in the way to prevent the Bavarian Government 
 from attaining their end. 
 
 In order, moreover, to remove any misconstruction of the 
 word "alliance" in Article IV. (8) of the draft, the Governments 
 of Bavaria and Wurtemberg have agreed to a different mode 
 of expression in this place, so as to avoid the word. 
 
 His Majesty's Envoy is commissioned to acquaint Baron 
 von Beust confidentially with the contents of this despatch, 
 and expressly to request him to consider the same as exclusively 
 intended for the Imperial Government, and not designed for 
 further communication. 
 
 In accordance with the preceding transactions the form 
 of Article IV. (8) of the Ministerial declaration of May 6 was 
 thus altered: 
 
 "There should be added to the Treaty of Confederation 
 a provision copied from Article LXXI. of the draft of the Constitu- 
 tion of the North-German Confederation, that an understanding 
 with Austria answering to the community of nationality is to 
 be aimed at, in so far as this is not attainable simultaneously 
 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Confederation." 
 
 In this form the treaty of May 31, 1867, was consummated, 
 and simultaneously with it the following "Special Conven- 
 tion" as to Wiirtemberg's and Bavaria's common action in the 
 negotiations with the North German Confederation : 
 
 "I. In the event of the unanimity requisite for the alteration
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 229 
 
 of the law of confederation not being attainable, it shall be 
 insisted upon that for a change in a provision of the Treaty of 
 Confederation a majority of three-fourths shall be necessary, 
 assuming that the proportion of votes provided for in Article 
 IV. (3) of the Ministerial declaration is adopted. 
 
 "II. It shall be insisted upon that the share of each mem- 
 ber of the Confederation in the Federal right to declare war, the 
 representation of the interests of the Zollverein by a Consulate- 
 General, and the contributions (proportionate to their standing) 
 to the German Navy by the individual States belonging to the 
 Confederation, shall be settled by treaty. 
 
 "III. The Bavarian Government will also confer with Prince 
 Lichtenstein as to the attitude which he thinks of adopting on 
 this question." 
 
 Note by the Prince regarding the Conference of Ministers 
 in Berlin June 3, 1867. 
 
 Having left Munich yesterday at twenty minutes past five, 
 I arrived in Berlin at twelve o'clock to-day. Count Montgelas 
 received me at the station, and accompanied me to the Hotel 
 de Rome, where I found awaiting me an invitation to a Ministerial 
 Conference to be held at two o'clock. Baron Varnbiiler came 
 beforehand and gave me a general sketch of the position of the 
 affair, and of the proposals of the Prussian Government. At 
 two o'clock I drove with Ministerial Councillor Weber to Count 
 Bismarck's. There we found the Ministers von Varnbiiler, 
 Dalwigk, and Freydorf, as well as the Privy Councillors 
 Delbruck and Philippsborn, and von Nordeck, Councillor of 
 the Legation, who had come with Freydorf. 
 
 Bismarck opened the proceedings with a short speech, setting 
 forth the Government's standpoint. I then began the dis- 
 cussion, remarked that I had come in order to announce the 
 willingness of the Bavarian Government to take part in 
 negotiations concerning the reconstruction of the Zollverein, 
 although I had had no knowledge whatever of the programme 
 and plan of the subject of negotiations. I must, however, 
 observe that the standpoint of the Prussian Government, as 
 expressed in the protocol, did not at all coincide with the views 
 of the Bavarian Government. The entry of our deputies into 
 the North German Parliament was an arrangement which could 
 not count on any support from us. Hereupon Baron Varnbiiler 
 asked, How then did the Prussian Government think the 
 legislative organ should be composed? To which Bismarck 
 answered that the distribution of votes on the Council of the 
 Federal Council for tariff purposes would be analogous to that 
 on the old Diet. The legislative organ would be a body 
 analogous to the North German Reichstag, elected by direct 
 suffrage, one Deputy to each 100,000 inhabitants. Its com-
 
 2 3 o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 petence would be decided by the treaties. He said that if 
 we entertained the idea of giving our adhesion to the Tariff 
 Parliament, Prussia proposed that we and South Germany should 
 form our own tariff area, which would place us on as good a 
 footing as possible with the North German Confederation and 
 the North German Zollverein. Prussia, however, will not 
 relinquish the project. The dissolution of the Zollverein will 
 be the consequence of non-acceptance. So far as the election 
 of Deputies was concerned, Bismarck would advise direct 
 suffrage; but he left that to us, and recommended the con- 
 vening of the Diets. 
 
 I then proceeded to say that we had had quite a different 
 conception of a Tariff Parliament. We had had in mind an 
 assembly to which the North German Parliament and the South 
 German Chambers would make over certain rights, which should 
 concern itself with matters relating to the tariff and to trade, 
 but which should not be admitted into the North German Par- 
 liament. After Varnbiiler and Freydorf had declared themselves 
 in favour of the Prussian proposals, and Dalwigk had observed 
 that for him, too, nothing remained but to consent, Bismarck 
 put forward once more the advantages which a Zollverein Parlia- 
 ment would have over the present arrangement. 
 
 I admitted that merely with regard to tariff affairs such advan- 
 tages were not to be ignored, yet that I must draw attention to 
 the political side of the question. The sending of delegates to 
 the North German Parliament for Zollverein business would 
 lead us by degrees into the North German Confederation. But 
 it was against our wish to allow ourselves to be drawn into this 
 indirectly and by degrees. If we were to enter it, we should 
 prefer to do so of our own accord. I therefore once more 
 proposed to call together a special assembly, to which the North 
 German Parliament should make over certain functions connected 
 with the Zollverein, just as in this respect also the South German 
 States would resign certain functions in its favour. 
 
 Bismarck declared himself to be decidedly against this. It 
 might mean a dissolution of the North German Confederation. 
 Dear to him as was the Zollverein, he could not sacrifice the 
 North German Confederation to it. Von der Heydt concurred 
 in this. Bismarck then proceeded to say that those who 
 wished to make mutual arrangements must partially renounce 
 their independence. He acknowledged my frankness and would 
 declare here what he would not say publicly, that Prussia will 
 not incommode the South German States. The Prussian Govern- 
 ment did not particularly desire our entrance into the North 
 German Confederation; they would even be greatly embarrassed 
 by the entry of eighty South German Deputies into the Reichstag. 
 Varnbiiler suggested that the assembly might perhaps be called 
 "The Assembly of Tariff Delegates," and Dalwigk referred to the 
 English Constitution. The Reichstag might resolve itself into
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 231 
 
 committee, after the English fashion, &c. Since no further reso- 
 lution was taken on this point, Bismarck now produced the draft 
 of a convention and read it aloud to us. 
 
 Discussion upon this continued till 8.30 p.m., and the protocol 
 was drafted which on the following day was agreed to by Wiirtem- 
 berg and Baden, while I made a separate declaration. 
 
 There is no room for doubt that Prussia would rather abandon 
 the Zollverein than allow the idea of a Parliament to fall to the 
 ground. What his Majesty should decide it is difficult to 
 advise. On the side of acceptance there is the circumstance 
 that if we have the Zollverein it would put an end to further 
 discussions over the constitution of a federation, and conse- 
 quently also to the dangers arising out of the dissolution of the 
 Zollverein. If the King wishes to attempt the dissolution of 
 the Zollverein with another Ministry, I am ready and willing to 
 retire. 
 
 While the preliminary treaty of June 4 was at once signed by 
 Baden and Wurtemberg, and by Hesse on June 7, Prince Hohen- 
 lohe declared that for the present he could only look upon this 
 draft as a Prussian proposal, and must reserve the declaration of 
 the Bavarian Government concerning it. In Munich, Article 
 VII. of the treaty appeared incompatible with the preservation of 
 the independence of Bavaria as a State. According to this Article, 
 powers of general legislation as to Customs and indirect taxes 
 should be exercised by the Federal Council of the Zollverein as 
 the general organ of the Governments, and by a Parliament 
 as the general representative of the people. "The agreement of 
 the resolutions passed by a majority in both Assemblies," said the 
 treaty, "is necessary and adequate for the establishment of federal 
 law." Bavaria opposed the arrangement of common legislation 
 in tariff affairs binding the several States, which seemed to indi- 
 cate a mediatisation of the separate States, and wished the 
 development of the ordinary business affairs of the Zollverein 
 to proceed upon the lines of the treaty. 
 
 In order to press this point of view, Count Tauffkirchen, 
 already appointed Minister at St. Petersburg, was sent once 
 more to Berlin on June 14. On the main issue he had no 
 success, but he gained two points: that Bavaria should count 
 for six instead of four votes in the Federal Tariff Council and 
 that representatives of the frontier States should be admitted 
 to the negotiations with Austria and Switzerland. The name of 
 "Tariff Parliament" was also agreed upon for the Legislative 
 Assembly. With a protocol containing these provisions, the 
 treaty of July 4 was completed. The signing of the definitive 
 Zollverein treaty by the representatives of all the Powers took 
 place in Berlin on July 8.
 
 232 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, July 18, 1867. 
 
 After the Council of Ministers to-day I went to Lutz, in order 
 to tell him that there was no getting on any longer with the 
 vacancy in the Ministry of Justice, and that I had decided to 
 propose him. He was pleased at this, but advised the postpone- 
 ment of the matter till the King's return from Paris * 
 
 I think he was afraid he might have to make the journey to 
 Paris. He then complained about the Minister of the Interior, 
 and assured me there was no getting on with him any longer. 
 The Deputies made fun of him, and the affair with the Burgo- 
 master of Nuremberg would bring the King down upon him. A 
 Herr von Wachter was Burgomaster there. Pechmann had pro- 
 posed him to the King as Regierungsdirektor . The King 
 said he did not wish this, for then a Radical would be elected 
 in Nuremberg and difficulties would arise regarding the ratifi- 
 cation. Pechmann insisted and asserted that a Conservative 
 would in any case be elected, and then the King gave in. Now 
 it appears that the people of Nuremberg want to elect a very 
 progressively minded Herr von Stromer and that Pechmann's 
 assertions were made in the air. We both agreed in an unfavour- 
 able criticism of Pechmann, and Lutz declared that Pfeufer looked 
 forward to being made Minister of the Interior. In this way I 
 shall attain my end. In conclusion I asked him how things stood 
 with my proposal regarding Hegnenberg-Dux, and received the 
 welcome intelligence that the King had nothing to urge against 
 it; so I hope to get Count Hegnenberg as Minister in Berlin. 
 I will also make a fair copy of the proposal as to the transfer of 
 the Ministry of Justice to Lutz, and give it to the King as soon as 
 he comes back from Paris. 
 
 The Prince's "programme" which had obtained the assent 
 of the King and of the Ministers remaining in office, also included 
 as an object to be aimed at "a single authority for the combined 
 services which ensure the maintenance of public safety." 
 
 To a query of the Prime Minister concerning the position 
 of the work of preparation for this reform, the Minister of the 
 Interior, Freiherr von Pechmann, replied on July n, 1867, that 
 "very cogent considerations and difficulties stood in the way of 
 the much-discussed transformation of the Corps of Gendarmerie 
 into a civil institution at present or in the immediate future," 
 and that in particular the certainty had arisen "that in the 
 event of this transformation being effected the total expenses for 
 the Gendarmerie (at present 1,500,000 gulden) would be not 
 inconsiderably increased, and the periodical recruiting of men 
 to the ranks would be very greatly endangered." The Minister 
 
 * King Ludwig left for Paris on July 20, and returned on the 29th.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 233 
 
 had thereupon decided in favour of a system according to which 
 the Gendarmerie should remain a military institution, officers and 
 men belonging to the military class and subject to military dis- 
 cipline and justice. With respect, however, to the civil duties 
 assigned to them they should be brought into "immediate rela- 
 tions with the police authorities." Administrative control of the 
 Gendarmerie should be transferred from the Ministry of War to 
 the Ministry of the Interior, in whose budget the total expense 
 for the Gendarmerie should be included. In this regulation of 
 the Gendarmerie the Minister appealed to the example of Prussia 
 and to experience obtained there and in other States. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe formulated his objections to this plan in the 
 following letter written with his own hand to the Minister of 
 the Interior: 
 
 Munich, July 21, 1867. 
 
 The undersigned has received his Excellency's esteemed note 
 of the nth inst., and has the honour to express his most grateful 
 thanks for it. He regrets, however, not to be able to express 
 agreement with the proposed measure. The entire re-organisa- 
 tion of the Gendarmerie is an absolute necessity, if the work of 
 thorough internal reform which has been taken in hand is to be 
 carried out with success; it is therefore an essential feature of 
 the general policy of the Government, and for this reason the 
 undersigned also considers (whilst he leaves untouched the settle- 
 ment of details and the form of the arrangement, as being of course 
 the proper province of the Minister of the Interior) that he is 
 specially interested in the decision of the fundamental principle 
 to be followed in this reform, and therefore ventures to examine 
 the question more closely. 
 
 The esteemed note of the nth inst. makes plain that his 
 Excellency the Minister of the Interior, Freiherr von Pechmann, 
 also considers that the transformation of the Gendarmerie into a 
 civil institution is the right thing to do. The undersigned not only 
 shares this view, but he is entirely convinced that the Government 
 cannot enter upon the impending discussion of the budget with 
 any other measure, that any attempt to retain the Gendarmerie 
 as a portion of the military establishment would make the whole 
 reform useless, and would besides be a perfectly futile attempt, 
 certain to bring upon the Government a crushing defeat in 
 the Chamber as well as in the estimation of the public. That 
 the abolition of this close connection with the military — and in 
 particular the dismissal of the military officers — would meet 
 with great difficulties, the undersigned has never concealed from 
 himself, but it is just this latter point with which the reform of the 
 institution must above all begin ; for this it is which chiefly hin- 
 ders the Gendarmerie from responding to justifiable claims. It 
 is such an utter anomaly to place the men appointed for police ser- 
 vice and for carrying out the orders of the Administration under
 
 234 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the command of superiors who are quite strange to the busi- 
 ness, have no knowledge at all of police matters, do not possess 
 the least experience of the service for the maintenance of public 
 safety, and are not subject to the administrative authorities, that 
 only the weightiest reasons should provide a motive for such a con- 
 tradictory arrangement. 
 
 Such reasons the undersigned cannot at present discern. 
 
 Why the disappearance of the very costly apparatus of the 
 commanders of a Corps of Gendarmerie, and of an additional 
 number of Staff Officers, should increase the expenses of the 
 Gendarmerie is not easy to see. But even if the cost of the Gen- 
 darmerie by its organisation as a civil institution were to mount 
 up to double as much, the Chamber would much prefer to pay 
 three millions for a properly reorganised Gendarmerie than only 
 half a million for the present institution. That, however, the 
 present recruiting of the Gendarmerie does not provide the best 
 material; that so many young inexperienced soldiers, who have 
 joined the ranks more for the enjoyment of the life than for the sake 
 of the service, are not the right stuff to make protectors of life and 
 property: as to this there is but one voice throughout the whole 
 country. Besides, if the recruiting for the Gendarmerie has 
 hitherto been so difficult, then according to experience it is just 
 from the disinclination of serviceable men to place themselves 
 under the command of military officers and to be worried with 
 drilling and other military exercises and extra duties that are per- 
 fectly unnecessary to the sendee Police. 
 
 After the intended reform the military organisation of the 
 Gendarmerie would be reduced to the retention of military dis- 
 cipline, subordination to military law, and the filling up of the 
 officers' posts with officers of the line; and though even in this 
 particular a concession would be made to a principle which the 
 undersigned upholds, by the prospect of advancement for capable 
 brigadiers. Military discipline can of course be retained with- 
 out the Gendarmerie belonging to the military establishment ; 
 I need only refer here to the Customs officials on the frontiers. 
 It is the less easy to support the maintenance of martial law, be- 
 cause in future its application will be reduced to a minimum 
 even in the Army. The only question that remains is whether the 
 officers should belong to the police or to the military establish- 
 ment. This question, however, is settled by the inevitable conces- 
 sion that "whenever the officers of Gendarmerie are commanded 
 to assist in civil duties, either by an order of the Minister of the 
 Interior or by that of a district government, they must punctually 
 comply with such orders received." To insist on a man's obedi- 
 ence to some one who is not set in authority over him appears, 
 however, to be contrary to reason, and therefore perfectly im- 
 practicable. Whether the War Office can have any interest in 
 possessing a corps which can be attached to the Army neither in 
 peace nor in time of war, and which, besides, "may not be subject
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 235 
 
 to any other military instructions than those of its own superiors," 
 and therefore forms a State within the State, may fairly be doubted ; 
 and it may finally be suggested that the affair should be decided 
 by the inclusion of the costs of the Gendarmerie in the budget of 
 the Minister of the Interior; for to place a military institution 
 on the Civil Service Estimates cannot be thought of, and is at all 
 events not practicable. 
 
 The undersigned earnestly begs your Excellency to take this 
 question once more into consideration. Information as to the 
 attitude of the members of the Landtag will convince your Ex- 
 cellency that a plan like that contemplated has not even the 
 smallest prospect of success, and moreover the undersigned would 
 greatly regret if this proposal were brought forward in the Council 
 of Ministers and he were obliged to offer a determined opposition 
 to it. . . . 
 
 Journal. 
 
 July 24, 1867. 
 
 After the departure of the King I was at first occupied with 
 the question of North Schleswig. France has informed Berlin that 
 Prussia's claim to a guarantee for the Germans * cannot be con- 
 sidered well founded. Thile is uneasy about this. Denmark's 
 answer to Prussia on this subject sounds evasive, yet does not 
 preclude an understanding. It would be wise for Prussia not to 
 push this thing to extremities. I have said this to Werthern, 
 and have drawn his attention to the fact that Prussia would re- 
 main very much isolated. I have also spoken about this matter 
 to Lesourd, the Secretary to the French Legation, and have ad- 
 vised caution. 
 
 Meanwhile the Sultan's journey through Bavaria has been 
 taking place and gave me much to do. Inquiries in London and 
 Paris led to the result that the Sultan will stay at Nuremberg 
 on the night of the 25th. I immediately proposed to the King 
 that he should order a Prince of the Royal Family to receive the 
 Sultan, and despatch me also. To this he assented. I now 
 telegraphed to Ferad Pasha at Aachen, informed him of this, and 
 offered a supper. The answer came that the Sultan could not 
 accept the invitation to supper as he could not fix the hour of his 
 arrival, but that he would be glad to see the Prince. From Count 
 Piickler at Coblentz came the list of forty Turks belonging to the 
 Court who had to be invited to the supper. So everything was 
 made ready for the journey, and all the world was set in motion 
 to arrange things suitably at Nuremberg. 
 
 * On June 18, Prussia, by a Note of her Minister in Copenhagen, 
 had declared "the necessary guarantees for the protection of the Germans" 
 and the taking over of a portion of the debt of the Duchies to be the pre- 
 suppositions of the provision made in the Peace of Prague (Article V.) for 
 the return of the northern districts of Schleswig to Denmark. This 
 led to France's intervention.
 
 236 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 July 25. 
 
 Preparations having got thus far I made my way early this 
 morning to the railway station, my pockets full of telegrams to 
 the Head of the Administration, the commandant of the town, 
 &c, which I submitted to Prince Adalbert for his approval (he was 
 punctual at the railway station), and then despatched. At six 
 o'clock I got into the saloon carriage with the Prince. We got on 
 quite well together. The Prince is very pleasant and was exceed- 
 ingly charming. His political views show much discretion. 
 
 At Gunzenhausen I wanted a cup of coffee; on the way to 
 the restaurant, however, I met the Ranger of the district, Geiger ; 
 he is half blind and was going to Nuremberg on account of his 
 eyes, and as I could not get him away from the spot I was obliged 
 to get into the train again hungry. Here I found the Prince 
 before a heap of twelve sausages with much bread and a lot of 
 beer. He ate all the twelve sausages ! It made me quite faint 
 to see him. By twelve o'clock we were in Nuremberg. We 
 had begged off the official reception. So no one was there except 
 the railway staff in uniform. The Prince invited me to sit in 
 the carriage with him. The people greeted us with cheers in a 
 very friendly way. The Prince was much pleased with this mani- 
 festation. 
 
 At one o'clock we had dinner, at which the generals were pres- 
 ent. After dinner there was a siesta, as the Prince calls it. At 
 four o'clock we went over the Castle. As, however, the Prince 
 buried himself too deply in the torture-chambers, underground 
 passages, &c, I lost myself with Moy,* and went for a walk through 
 the town, which was unusually lively. All Franconia had come 
 by train. When we came back to our lodgings on the 
 Burg we received the intelligence that the Sultan would arrive 
 at ten o'clock. 
 
 Accordingly our drive from the Burg was arranged for nine 
 o'clock. Moy and Count Kreith went in advance. I drove 
 after them with the Prince in a State carriage. 
 
 The streets were crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder. 
 We waited in the Royal saloon. Punctually at ten o'clock came 
 the signal that the train was approaching. It soon pulled in, 
 amid the breathless excitement of the crowd. The band struck 
 up. It was a long time before the train could draw up at the 
 right spot to allow of the Sultan's alighting upon the carpet in front 
 of the Prince. Meanwhile the public had climbed on to the roof 
 of the carriages in order to see him alight, to the great annoyance 
 of the Turkish Minister to Berlin, who had got out first and was 
 very much displeased at this cool behaviour of the Nurem- 
 bergers. 
 
 At last the carriage door could be opened. The Sultan, a 
 little man with a black beard and kindly black eyes, got out. The 
 Prince ushered him into the waiting-room, and there made him a 
 * Von Moy, Master of the Ceremonies.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 237 
 
 ceremonious speech in French, which Ferad Pasha translated. 
 During the Prince's speech the Sultan scratched his beard and 
 looked very much bored. As soon as Ferad had translated the 
 speech to him he answered very softly, on which the Prince again 
 said a few polite words. The Prince then presented us to the 
 Sultan; when he mentioned my name the Sultan stretched out 
 his hand to me, but I was standing so far away that it was only 
 after an apparently shy hesitation that I could reach his hand. 
 After the introductions were at an end the Sultan got into his 
 carriage; at first he wanted Ferad to come with him, but the 
 Prince insisted very nicely that he must have the honour of driving 
 with him ; and as Ferad was obliged to keep near at hand I at once 
 invited him to get into the next carriage, which had room for two. 
 I sat beside him, and left Count Zech to look after the Imperial 
 Princes (who had been left sitting in a carriage somewhere and 
 wanted to drive away). Ferad Pasha now declared, however, 
 that the premier chambellan must go with us too, so we stuffed 
 him in between us. We arrived safely at last at the Bayrischer 
 Hof through the frightful crush. The people behaved fairly 
 well, only howled now and then and peered into the carriages 
 with the greatest curiosity, and were naturally disappointed when 
 they saw my Bavarian uniform instead of the expected turban. 
 
 In the hotel the Prince went with the Sultan into a special apart- 
 ment. I was likewise invited to join them. The Sultan sat on a 
 sofa, crossed one leg over the other and conversed with us with 
 the help of Ferad Pasha. Soon after this the Prince said : 
 "I think we must go now," upon which the party broke up. 
 
 July 26. 
 
 The Sultan yesterday decided to stay in Nuremberg till noon 
 to-day. We could therefore sleep our sleep out, which was the more 
 desirable as supper with Prince Adalbert lasted till one o'clock. 
 
 This morning early came the news that King Otto* is to 
 receive extreme unction to-night. That again will make a great 
 deal to do. 
 
 At eleven o'clock I drove down with Moy. We first visited 
 Ferad Pasha. Then when the Prince came I went down to 
 accompany him on his farewell visit to the Sultan. The Sultan 
 sat on a sofa with the Prince. A door on to the balcony was open, 
 so that the neighbours and even some of the people in the street 
 could see the interview. The Prince invited the Sultan to step 
 on to the balcony for a minute and show himself to the people. 
 There were a few cheers, but more in jest than from any particular 
 enthusiasm for the Sultan, which one could hardly expect from 
 Nurembergers. 
 
 Conversation was again conducted through Ferad Pasha. 
 
 * Of Greece, who resided in Bamberg.
 
 238 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 The Sultan has a blase and sceptical, but friendly, appearance, 
 and a great idea of his own importance. He makes quite 
 the impression of a Polish landowner. His tarboosh is different 
 from those I saw in the East. Apparently the fashion has 
 changed. The present red caps are shaped like little flower- 
 pots turned upside down and are very ugly. He wore a black 
 frock-coat like a Protestant parson; so did the little ten-year-old 
 Prince. At the station, whither we repaired after the visit, the 
 little boy was fetched and sat in front of Prince Adalbert with a 
 very grave air. 
 
 Here the conversation dragged on for a considerable time. 
 At last the announcement came that everything was ready. The 
 Prince accompanied the Sultan to the carriage, and there took 
 his leave. The Sultan shook hands with me also, got in, and 
 after some delay the train departed. On the way from the station 
 to the train I again drove with Ferad Pasha. I asked him about 
 his political impressions. He thought people in general were 
 very peaceably inclined. The Schleswig question alone gave 
 him some anxiety. The King of Prussia, however, had expressed 
 himself in a very peaceful manner. 
 
 In his Eastern fashion he spoke very flatteringly to me, said he 
 had been very glad to have made the acquaintance of un des 
 hommes les plus distingues de V Allemagne ; whereupon I fired 
 off the reply at his head that I had earnestly desired de faire 
 la connaissance de Vhomme d'etat qui depuis bien des annees avail 
 pu conduire la politique de Vempire Ottoman avec tant de talent 
 et de succes. 
 
 Prince Adalbert finally commissioned me to draw up a tele- 
 gram for him informing the King of the result of our mission and 
 the r enter ciments sinceres of the Sultan. 
 
 Then at one o'clock dinner, and at 4.20 our departure for 
 Munich, with which this interesting episode concluded. 
 
 No better news of King Otto. 
 
 On the return journey to Nordlingen I received a telegram 
 stating that King Otto had died at 6.15 p.m. 
 
 Munich, August 5, 1687. 
 Yesterday I was commanded to go to the King at Berg at 
 twelve o'clock. In the train I found the Minister from Reuss, 
 Herr von Schmertzing, who had an audience for the same hour. 
 At Starnberg we found an open carriage, which took us 
 to Berg. Herr von Schmertzing was very much surprised 
 at the countrified appearance of the Royal establishment. 
 The whole arrangement of the Court is almost bourgeois. The 
 passages are always swarming with scullery-maids and women 
 carrying all sorts of household utensils. Sauer* met us on the 
 steps. While the Minister from Reuss was with the King I went 
 to Ministerial Councillor Lutz to ask him about the Ministry. 
 * Von Sauer, the Aide-de-camp.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 239 
 
 The resignation of Pechmann appears to have fallen into the back- 
 ground. As for the Minister of Justice, he showed me a long list of 
 all the possible candidates whom he had discussed with the King. 
 The chief candidates are Neumayr, Steyrer, SeulTert, and Metz. 
 Neumayr and Metz are unacceptable to me, because they belong to 
 the coterie of wire-pullers. Steyrer is dull. Seuffert also is not 
 suitable. The delegates who were mentioned here, like Hohcnadel, 
 Streit, Stenglein, &c, are all impossible persons; I remain con- 
 vinced that Lutz is the only one who suits me. He is an 
 able, energetic man. In his political views he agrees entirely 
 with me, and I should find him a support in the Council of 
 Ministers. I therefore told Lutz that I should propose him to 
 the King. 
 
 Soon after this I was summoned to the audience. The King 
 was very gracious. He informed me at once that the Queen 
 of Greece had measles, therefore I need not go to Bamberg. 
 Then we began to speak about the Greek question,* whereupon I 
 informed him of Tauffkirchen's proposal, according to which the 
 affair should be discussed in St. Petersburg; in this he concurred. 
 He attaches no value to the whole business and wants to let it 
 drop. 
 
 I now told him that Napoleon is coming to Salzburg on ac- 
 count of the Mexican catastrophe, read him a letter from Donniges 
 which speaks about the German sympathies of the Emperor 
 Napoleon, and then touched upon Hegnenberg, to whose ap- 
 pointment to Berlin the King agrees,f upon Holnstein's journey 
 to Dessau, and other matters. Finally I produced my proposal 
 regarding the Ministry of Justice, suggesting Lutz's name. I 
 asked whether I might give him this directly, as it would not be 
 suitable to let Lutz himself give it to him. He consented to this, 
 but said he could not dispense with Lutz. To which I replied 
 that I had written out the proposal as an acquit de conscience, 
 and could leave it with him. When I was taking my leave he 
 spoke again about Paris, told me how the Emperor had w r arned 
 him not to engage himself too deeply with Prussia, and then dis- 
 missed me with greetings to my wife, to whom he sent a bou- 
 quet. I then went downstairs again, breakfasted with Herr 
 von Schmertzing and Sauer, and then travelled back to 
 Munich. 
 
 The talk also turned upon Paumgarten. The King thought 
 Paumgarten should be appointed Minister in London, whilst 
 I mentioned Count Hompesch, who also seems to stand high in 
 favour. It would not be displeasing to him to send Donniges 
 to Italy, but I told him that I would examine into this more 
 closely. 
 
 * Financial claims by King Ludwig I. on the Greek Government from 
 the time of the Bavarian dynasty. 
 
 t Count Hegnenberg-Dux declined the post at Berlin, whereupon Freiherr 
 von Perglas, till then in Paris, was appointed to Berlin.
 
 240 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, August 4, 1867. 
 
 If your most obedient servant, the undersigned, may venture to 
 touch upon a question which lies outside the sphere of his official 
 duties, he hopes your Majesty will excuse this step with the gra- 
 cious reflection that your obedient servant, as President of the 
 Council of Ministers, is obliged to set before your Majesty such 
 obstacles as may impede the profitable action of the Council of 
 Ministers. Among such obstacles must be reckoned the continued 
 vacancy of the Ministry of Justice, though he very well knows 
 that insuperable difficulties prevented an earlier appointment of 
 a new Minister. 
 
 Now, however, the consultation over the new civil proceed- 
 ings is nearing its end in the legislative committee of the Chamber 
 of Deputies. Before the final arrangement is made the responsible 
 chief of the Department of Justice should examine into this once 
 more, in order fully to protect the interests of the Government; 
 apart from this, too, the Minister of Justice cannot be absent from 
 the negotiations in committee of the Upper House. The draft- 
 ing of the budget cannot be postponed any longer, and cannot 
 possibly be carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Justice by any 
 one else so suitably as by the man who has to defend it in the 
 Chamber. Finally, however unimportant the matter may be 
 itself, a speedy decision is necessitated by the impending Congress 
 of Jurists; for very scathing criticism of Bavaria will certainly be 
 provoked, if when the time comes for the assembly the Depart- 
 ment of Justice still lacks a presiding chief. 
 
 All these reasons have induced your Majesty's most faithful 
 subject to seek a suitable person whom he could propose to 
 your Majesty for nomination to the vacant office. Undeniably 
 the selection is extremely difficult. For although it is above 
 all requisite that the future Minister of Justice should be a thor- 
 ough lawyer and man of business — recognised as such not only 
 by those colleagues who are in close contact with him, but by wider 
 circles as well — yet the undersigned is of opinion that these quali- 
 ties alone would not suffice. 
 
 Bavarian law and judicial administration are themselves 
 in need of complete and radical reform. Only a really energetic 
 man, who knows how to be strict without being tyrannical, will 
 be equal to this difficult task, and, moreover, only a man whose 
 official life has not blinded him to the faults and shortcomings 
 of his profession, who understands the needs of the present day 
 with regard to a popular administration of justice, free from the 
 ancient routine of tradition. , 
 
 However, it is the opinion of your Majesty's most faithful 
 servant, that all this would not suffice if the Minister of Justice 
 were not at the same time a person who would deal 
 with the country's representatives on a basis of confidence,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 241 
 
 and one who might hope to count on their support in carrying 
 the inevitable financial and disciplinary measures through the 
 Chamber. 
 
 Finally, the general political situation undoubtedly requires 
 that the man who enters the Ministry should be in accord with 
 the other Ministers, and therefore on this ground alone it would 
 be inadvisable to select a person from any party representing 
 extreme views in one direction or another. 
 
 Should your Majesty's most faithful servant now sum up 
 what, according to his deepest conviction, is required of the 
 future Minister of Justice, and should he pass in review 
 all the higher legal officials who could possibly be taken into 
 consideration, he would feel constrained — after mature reflec- 
 tion — to designate Ministerial Councillor Lutz as the most eligible 
 candidate. As your Majesty has known him for years, 
 the undersigned can afford to be brief, and need, indeed, no 
 more than cursorily allude to the fact that he would be a 
 Minister who would have the preservation of Bavaria's inde- 
 pendence much at heart, as also that he possesses the requisite 
 energy and strength of will to carry out the prescribed legal 
 reforms. As regards his special qualifications in the practice 
 of law, Herr von Lutz has won a high reputation, not only in 
 Bavaria but throughout the German legal world, by his 
 prominent share in the deliberations concerning the German 
 code of commercial law, and your Majesty's most faithful 
 subject furthermore feels it incumbent on him to observe that 
 Councillor von Lutz is inaccessible to the spirit of coterie and 
 personal intrigue occasionally discernible in the higher official 
 circles of the law, so that in this matter also he would be 
 the very man to take stringent measures. Your Majesty's most 
 faithful subject does not ignore the fact that the proposal to 
 withdraw so loyal and reliable a worker from your Majesty's 
 immediate service is in no slight degree exacting, yet neverthe- 
 less, the conviction that the interests of your Majesty impera- 
 tively require the post to be filled by a thoroughly competent man, 
 renders it the duty of your Majesty's most faithful subject, 
 the undersigned, to put forward this most humble proposal. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, August 23, 1867. 
 
 After the Emperor Napoleon's wish to see me at the station* 
 had been communicated to me yesterday by the French Minister, 
 and furthermore, after receiving the King's command last 
 evening to convey his greetings to the Emperor and Empress, 
 I repaired to the station at a quarter to twelve in the forenoon 
 to await the train. 
 
 * On the return journey from Salzburg, where the meeting with the 
 Emperor of Austria had taken place, lasting from August 18-23. On 
 A-.'.gust 17 King Ludwig had received the Emperor at Augsburg. 
 
 vol. 1 — R
 
 242 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 It arrived punctually. General Fleury immediately inquired 
 if I was there, and as soon as the door was unlocked I was invited 
 by the Emperor to get in. After greetings had been exchanged, 
 and he had expressed his gratitude to his Majesty the King 
 for the reception accorded him in Bavaria, the Emperor re- 
 marked that he still took a keen interest in Bavaria, having 
 spent his youth there. I took the opportunity of reminding 
 him that he had already expressed this sentiment many years 
 before in Paris, when I had had the honour of being presented 
 to him. 
 
 He then took me apart to the window of the compartment, 
 and opened the political conversation with these words: " Vous 
 trouvez beaucoup de difficultes ?" I replied that the position of 
 the secondary States was certainly a difficult one. "The Press 
 must also be taken into account," the Emperor continued. To 
 which I replied : " La presse chez nous est encore ires pen civilisee." 
 
 He answered, laughing: "Oui, chez nous aussi elle n'est 
 pas tres civilisee." 
 
 Then he continued seriously that he hoped peace would be 
 preserved. He was always in favour of peace; mankind 
 required peace, and the idea of the expansion and strengthen- 
 ing of one country being a menace to a neighbouring State 
 est passee de mode. Certainly much depended on Prussia. 
 Public opinion was easily exasperated in France, and the 
 question was whether Prussia wished to expand still further 
 the North German Confederation. I then recalled to him, that 
 Bismarck had himself declared that he did not want us. "Out, 
 M. de Bismarck," replied the Emperor, "w'a aussi parte avec 
 beaucoup de moderation, mais" he added with a smile, "U 
 pretend que ce sont les etats du midi qui le forcent a alter plus 
 loin." I replied that this pressure emanated from one party, 
 and that as regards admission to the North German Federation 
 there was, generally speaking, indifference. 
 
 Hereupon, gazing at me half interrogatively he said : 
 "Je regrette que vous rfayez pu former la confederation 
 des etats du midi de I'Allemagne. Mais c'etait impossible?" 
 Without entering more minutely into the question, I referred 
 to the material interests which unite us with North Germany, 
 and remarked that the reason of this aversion to a South German 
 Federation lay partly in the dread that these material interests 
 might be injured thereby. He then reiterated assurances of 
 peace, and I seized the opportunity of remarking that a union 
 of Austria, Prussia, and the rest of Germany, and an alliance 
 of this Confederation with France, was certainly the best means 
 of preserving peace and protecting civilisation; which the 
 Emperor seemed to receive favourably, for he said: "Oui, la 
 civilisation est Men menacee." He spoke further of the dangers 
 of the social movement, and then terminated the conversation. 
 
 Thereupon the Empress appeared, and talked to me about
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 243 
 
 my brother* and my sister-in-law in Salzburg, about my family, 
 &c., and thence arose a more extended conversation concerning 
 the leave of absence allowed to Ministers, until the Emperor 
 came with the reminder that it was time to start. He regretted 
 being unable to converse longer with me, commissioned me to 
 express his thanks to the King, and hereupon I got out. There 
 had also been in the carriage the French Minister and his wife 
 and Herr von Radowitz,f who enjoys the special favour of the 
 Imperial Court. 
 
 The Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden to Prince Hohenlohe 
 
 Karlsruhe, August 29, 1867. 
 
 Such a long period has elapsed since you were good enough 
 to write to me, that I almost hesitate to refer again to the 
 subjects then touched upon. Yet thanks can never come 
 too late, and I therefore still hope that you will be kind enough 
 to accept mine to-day, belated as they are. An entire change 
 of circumstances has, however, meanwhile come about, and 
 the Luxembourg question which then disturbed us has already 
 given way to others. 
 
 It seems to me that the state of affairs in South-West Germany 
 has undergone improvement by the renewal and revision of 
 the Zollverein. We have, at least, forged firmer ties with 
 North Germany, and hence can, in a political sense, develop 
 still better relations. This prospect appears to me to have 
 given an undeniable impulse to the Salzburg meeting. The 
 prevention of an alliance between South- West and North Germany 
 is the subject of constant anxiety in Paris, as I have personally 
 assured myself. 
 
 The attitude of the South German Governments will be of 
 decisive importance in the further development of Franco- 
 Austrian plans. We shall perhaps soon be in a position to 
 reply to preliminary questions, and therefore the tasks with 
 which we both began our first business intercourse again come 
 before us. 
 
 Having regard to these possible future tasks, it seemed to 
 me important to direct your attention to a circumstance whose 
 advantages I regard as so conspicuous that I will not delay 
 affording you the possibility of utilising it. 
 
 When the King of Wiirtemberg went to Paris, I met him 
 en route, and he then spoke to me of his wish to meet the King 
 of Prussia, should the latter come to our country as usual late 
 in the summer. As the King of Wiirtemberg generally 
 resides in Friedrichshafen until the end of September, I offered 
 
 *The Austrian Comptroller of the Household, Prince Konstantin zu 
 Hohenlohe. 
 
 t Councillor of Legation to the Prussian Mission.
 
 244 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 to bring about the meeting in question, should the King of 
 Prussia realise his intention of spending Queen Augusta's birth- 
 day at Schloss Mainau. I promised at once to acquaint the 
 King of Wurtemberg, should the plans of their Prussian 
 Majesties remain unchanged. At present it is very probable 
 that these intentions will be realised, as the King of Prussia is 
 expected in Baden-Baden very soon. 
 
 It is needless to say how gratifying it would be if the King 
 of Bavaria could make up his mind to seize this opportunity of 
 likewise paying a visit to the King of Prussia on the Lake 
 of Constance. On the other hand, I will not delay in sub- 
 mitting this question for your earnest consideration, and thereby 
 give you the assurance that I should consider myself fortunate 
 in affording the King the requisite opportunity at Castle Mainau. 
 The distance from Hohenschwangau and Lindau is not great, 
 and from Lindau the King could pay a visit to Castle Mainau 
 and back in one day. I need not say that should the King be 
 pleased to stay longer with us it would be a great pleasure. 
 
 Therefore I place my good offices, as also my hospitality, 
 at your King's disposal, and should be glad if you, too, would 
 participate. Meanwhile I think I must leave it to you alone 
 whether to utilise my ideas or no. You would greatly oblige 
 me if you would give me an early hint concerning the possible 
 acceptance of my proposal, so that I might put myself betimes 
 in communication with the King of Prussia. The Queen of 
 Prussia's birthday is on September 30, and both their Majesties 
 go to Hohenzollern first. 
 
 I trust you will not misunderstand my intention, and will 
 remain convinced of the extreme esteem of 
 Your affectionate friend, 
 
 Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Aussee, September 1, 1867. 
 
 Your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, 
 with his humble duty, has the honour to report that he has 
 received a communication from the Grand Duke of Baden, in 
 which he proposes a meeting between your Majesty and the 
 Kings of Prussia and of Wurtemberg. 
 
 Your Majesty's most obedient servant considers himself 
 bound to lay this letter before your Majesty, as best able to 
 judge in how far a proposal of the kind accords with your Royal 
 interests. 
 
 If it is permitted to the undersigned to express an opinion, 
 he permits himself to remark with the greatest respect that the 
 meeting with the King of Prussia and the visit to the Island 
 of Mainau, in the company of the King of Wurtemberg, offer 
 many advantages. Apart from the object of maintaining the 
 friendly relations of your Majesty with the Court of Prussia,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 245 
 
 the presence of your Majesty at the meeting of the South 
 German Monarchs would prevent the inception of biassed 
 schemes, which are in opposition to the intentions and the 
 interest of your Majesty. 
 
 While submitting everything to the wise judgment of your 
 Majesty, your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, 
 begs for your Majesty's august commands as to the answer 
 which he is to send to the Grand Duke's letter. 
 
 The Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Karlsruhe, September 5, 1867. 
 
 From your kind reply of September I received to-day, I 
 gather with gratitude that you gladly entertain my proposal. 
 So I hasten to let you know that a letter received to-day from 
 the King of Prussia informs me that he would be much 
 pleased if his Majesty the King of Bavaria would pay him 
 a visit during his sojourn with us. The King, too, considers 
 Mainau a suitable spot for this meeting. He will in all 
 likelihood visit Baden soon after the opening of the Reichstag, 
 stay there a few days, and then come to Mainau. The days 
 have not yet been fixed, but are sure to be arranged soon, and 
 then I will at once let you know. 
 
 But now I still have a question : Do you think it right, and 
 in furtherance of the event, that I should myself write to the 
 King of Bavaria and invite him to Mainau? I would in this 
 case say to the King that as the King of Wurtemberg wished 
 to come in order to visit the King of Prussia, it appeared to 
 me a duty to afford him the opportunity of taking a similar 
 step in a pleasant way, &c. I should be grateful if you would 
 communicate to me your opinion thereon. 
 
 Ministerial Councillor von Lutz to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Hohenschwangau, September 10, 1867. 
 
 The day following your communication of the beginning 
 of this month came your Highness's communication to his 
 Majesty the King, as well as the annexed letter from the 
 Grand Duke of Baden. I need scarcely write to your Serene 
 Highness in detail concerning the reception of the matter at 
 the critical point. That I was prepared for the need of 
 much eloquence if the invitation to Mainau was to be accepted, 
 your Serene Highness can easily imagine. And indeed I have 
 not neglected to bring forward all the reasons in favour of a 
 journey to Mainau, more especially the motive which your 
 Serene Highness was kind enough to suggest to me, furnished 
 by the zeal of Herr von Varnbuler — but up to the present in 
 vain. Until to-day the considerations for and against were
 
 246 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 being weighed daily; the reasons against the journey were, 
 however, brought out by his Majesty with such insistence, 
 and so much importance was attached to them that I finally 
 received orders to-day to communicate to your Highness his 
 Majesty's decision to refuse the invitation to Mainau with 
 thanks. His Majesty has, at the same time, commanded me 
 to add the following: according to his Majesty, it is undoubtedly 
 to be inferred from the date of the invitation and the motives 
 of the Grand Duke that the meeting at Mainau was intended 
 as a political demonstration against the meeting at Salzburg, 
 and this probably implies that the South German Princes desired 
 to proclaim loudly to the whole world their dislike of a Franco- 
 Austrian alliance, or of any French or Austrian interference 
 in German affairs, whilst, on the other hand, they wished to 
 attest their adherence to Prussia, as well as to the endeavours 
 to unite South Germany with North Germany, and this in 
 spite of the danger of France or Austria taking it amiss. The 
 sense in which this declaration of defiance was interpreted 
 by the Grand Duke is sufficiently explained by the Speech from 
 the Throne in Baden.* Now, far from being disposed to seek 
 a Franco-Austrian alliance, Bavaria will, on the contrary, 
 staunchly and faithfully abide by the alliance already concluded; 
 nevertheless, his Majesty is unable to take the Grand Duke's 
 point of view, since the Salzburg meeting does not seem to 
 offer sufficient ground for a declaration of defiance against 
 the other Powers, would furthermore tend to unite Bavaria 
 more closely to Prussia than is necessary, and only encourage 
 the latter in further encroachments. In Berlin itself the affair 
 appears to be viewed more calmly now than at first, as is apparent 
 from the moderate language of the official Press. Moreover, 
 further propositions might easily be made at Mainau, a refusal 
 to which might indeed produce more unpleasant results than 
 the avoidance of an opportunity for their advancement. 
 
 I may add that his Majesty would have no objection, in 
 fact that it would be pleasing to his Majesty, if your Serene 
 Highness would go to Mainau, possibly taking Councillor von 
 Volderndorf with you. If your Serene Highness asks me how 
 this is to be interpreted, I can but point to the conclusion of 
 your letter, where it says: "If his Majesty were to despatch 
 me alone, it would not serve the purpose." All endeavours 
 to interpret this passage in the sense that your designs would 
 not be furthered by associating Volderndorf with yourself 
 have failed to gain the point. I re-enclose the Grand Duke's 
 letter, having retained a copy in case of need. If your Serene 
 
 * In his Speech from the Throne of September 5 the Grand Duke said : 
 "The . . . treaties of peace have . . . placed Prussia at the head of the 
 North German Federation, and have left the Southern States free 
 to enter into a national union with this Federation. It is my firm deter- 
 mination to strive unceasingly towards the consummation of this union."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHEXLOHE 247 
 
 Highness would once more recur to the matter in a report, a 
 different result might possibly be achieved. This, however, is 
 merely my private opinion. 
 
 As regards the Minister of Justice, I hope to be able to report 
 definitely during the next few days.* 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Aussee, September 13, 1867. 
 
 In a letter from your Majesty's private secretary, your 
 Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, has received 
 commands to refuse with thanks the meeting with the Kings of 
 Prussia and Wiirtemberg contrived by the Grand Duke of Baden. 
 
 Your Majesty's most faithful subject will at once carry out 
 this command, and at the same time ventures respectfully to 
 report that according to a telegram received yesterday from 
 titular Privy Councillor Daxemberger, the King of Wiirtemberg 
 has refused the joint meeting with the King of Prussia, but 
 has, on the other hand, reserved to himself to visit the King of 
 Prussia alone at Mainau. Hereby the supposition on which the 
 most respectful proposal of the 1st inst. was based falls to the 
 ground, and supplies a suitable reason for refusing. 
 
 Meantime, after the receipt yesterday by the undersigned 
 of a communication from the Grand Duke (concerning your 
 Majesty's most faithful subject's provisional intimation that he 
 would make a report to your Majesty), in which the Grand Duke 
 writes: "I hasten to acquaint you that a letter from the King of 
 Prussia informs me to-day that it would give him great pleasure 
 if his Majesty the King of Bavaria would visit him during his 
 stay with us." The undersigned humbly submits to your 
 Majesty's august judgment, whether your Majesty would think 
 fit to pay a visit from that to be paid by the King of Prussia, 
 at a different time to the King of Wiirtemberg; it would in 
 this case only entail an act of courtesy without any political sig- 
 nificance. How far this would bear the character of a return 
 for the visit paid to your Majesty by the King of Prussia, your 
 Majesty's most faithful subject is incapable of judging, by 
 reason of his ignorance of previous events, and, moreover, he 
 considers that he should refrain from further criticism of a 
 matter which now tends to assume the character of a question 
 of etiquette. 
 
 To the Grand Duke of Baden. 
 
 Aussee, September 13, 1867. 
 
 Your Royal Highness's gracious communication of the 5th 
 inst. Avas received by me simultaneously with his Majesty the 
 
 * The appointment of Councillor Lutz as Minister of Justice took place 
 on September 16, simultaneously with the appointment of Commissioner of 
 Police Lipowsky as Private Secretary to the King.
 
 248 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 King's reply to my report as to the meeting with his Majesty the 
 King of Prussia. His Majesty commands me to thank your 
 Royal Highness heartily for the kind proposal to arrange a 
 meeting with the Kings of Prussia and Wiirtemberg. Now, how- 
 ever, that news has been received of his Majesty the King of 
 Wurtemberg's refusal, and of his determination to pay a separate 
 visit to his Majesty the King of Prussia, his Majesty considers that 
 he also is not in a position to accept your Royal Highness's kind 
 invitation. 
 
 I have now conveyed the contents of your Royal Highness's 
 last communication to his Majesty the King, and begged his 
 Majesty to come to a conclusion concerning a possible separate 
 visit. 
 
 As regards your Royal Highness's question, I can indeed 
 scarcely anticipate your Royal Highness's decision, yet consider- 
 ing the turn which the matter of the meeting of the Monarchs 
 has now taken, I think it best respectfully to advise your Royal 
 Highness not to send an invitation to my most gracious master 
 his Majesty the King. If it is possible to determine the King 
 to visit his Majesty the King of Prussia and your Royal Highness, 
 I will take the necessary steps. If later on I consider an invita- 
 tion from your Royal Highness advisable, I presume I may ven- 
 ture to recur to the matter. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, September 19, 1867. 
 
 From your Majesty's private secretary's communication, 
 your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, learns 
 that your Majesty intends to return the King of Prussia's visit 
 at a suitable date in Berlin, and not at Mainau. That your 
 Majesty's most obedient servant should venture to recur to the 
 subject is due to the feeling of responsibility which his position 
 imposes on him, and which renders it his duty to safeguard 
 your Majesty's interests to the best of his ability. 
 
 He therefore ventures respectfully to submit the following 
 considerations : 
 
 Great dissatisfaction would be aroused by the omission 
 of this visit (which would be a return visit from your Majesty 
 according to the deduction that the undersigned believes must be 
 drawn from Councillor Lutz's communication), for the Grand 
 Duke of Baden and the King of Prussia have reckoned positively 
 on your Majesty's visit, as is obvious from the Grand Duke's 
 letter; and the Grand Duke's communication enclosed in this 
 report appears to be written in the same tenor. 
 
 Herewith the question acquires political significance, and 
 your Majesty's most faithful subject dares not conceal from 
 your Majesty his fear that, in view of the position which 
 Prussia now occupies in Germany, and of the means which
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 249 
 
 arc at the disposal of the Prussian Government, this dissatisfac- 
 tion on the part of the Prussian Monarch might be fraught 
 with the most serious consequences for your Majesty, and also 
 for Bavaria. 
 
 Occasions and circumstances may arise when your Majesty 
 may stand in need of the friendly sentiments of the King 
 of Prussia, and these occasions may arise so soon that a delay 
 in re-establishing friendly relations seems very much to be 
 deprecated. 
 
 The undersigned cannot, therefore, refrain from advising 
 your Majesty as respectfully as urgently in your Majesty's 
 own august interest, to pay a visit to Mainau. 
 
 Should your Majesty decide otherwise, your most faithful 
 subject believes that he has acted up to his duty in making 
 this dutiful representation, and can refuse responsibility for all 
 consequences which the omission of the suggested visit will 
 bring about. 
 
 The Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Karlsruhe, September 23, 1867. 
 
 Accept my best thanks for your kind letter of the 13th inst., 
 from which I was glad to gather that you have not yet quite 
 given up hopes of inducing the King of Bavaria to pay a separate 
 visit to his august uncle. I much regret that my proposal for a 
 simultaneous meeting between the three Monarchs caused ex- 
 pressions of hesitancy to reach Munich from Stuttgart, and that 
 this prevented your King carrying out an arrangement which 
 would be so unobjectionable, considering the near relationship 
 of the King of Prussia. 
 
 In support of your efforts, I therefore permit myself to 
 communicate the following information concerning the plans of 
 their Majesties of Prussia. 
 
 On September 27 the King arrives at Schloss Mainau, and 
 remains until October 2, on which day he will start on his journey 
 to Hohenzollern. On October 1 the King will be with us and 
 receive the visit of the King of Wurtembcrg, and it is probable 
 that during the next few days they will return this visit at Fried - 
 richshafen, on their way to Hohenzollern. 
 
 So the possibility still remains of your King paying the 
 King of Prussia a separate visit at Mainau or in Hohenzollern, 
 or may be in Sigmaringen. The stay in this Principality will 
 certainly occupy three days, and my uncle, the Prince of Hohen- 
 zollern, will, of course, be delighted to have your King as his guest. 
 For this, too, I undertake to make any necessary arrangements. 
 
 I trust that in this communication you will only recognise 
 the intention of being as useful as possible to you in the execution 
 of your difficult office.
 
 250 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe to the Grand Duke of Baden. 
 
 Munich, September 30, 1867. 
 
 I have not been able until now to answer your Royal Highness's 
 most gracious communication of the 23rd inst, as the decision 
 of the King, my most gracious master, had not come in, and 
 I had not quite given up hope that the journey to Mainau might 
 yet take place. Meanwhile, it has been decided in the negative, 
 and I can only beg your Royal Highness to allow me to 
 curtail the expression of my regret, and to dispense me from 
 entering into details concerning the reasons of the decision. 
 
 The final result of the Prince's efforts was that King Ludwig 
 decided to meet the King of Prussia in Bavarian territory on his 
 return journey, which took him from Sigmaringen to Nuremberg. 
 The meeting took place between four and six o'clock in the 
 afternoon of October 6, 1867, in the Augsburg railway station. 
 
 On September 28 the Chambers met. Their first task was 
 the consideration of the new Zollverein agreement. 
 
 Speech 0} the Prince in the Chamber of Deputies, 
 October 8, 1867. 
 
 Gentlemen, — The proposals which you have just accepted 
 are certainly the most important which have been submitted 
 for your discussion during the session of the present Chamber. 
 Their great political importance seem to justify me in taking 
 occasion to say a few words about the foreign policy of the 
 Government, and especially about our position as regards the 
 German question. 
 
 On the last occasion on which I had opportunity of 
 addressing you on this question, you received me in this 
 honourable House with such a high measure of flattering con- 
 fidence that I should fear its loss if I were not now ready, after 
 the lapse of nearly a year, to give you an unreserved account 
 of the action of the Government in a matter which touches 
 the national feeling of the German people as profoundly as it 
 trenches upon its material interests. 
 
 I shall try to prove to you and also to the country 
 that the Government has not lost sight of these aims, 
 which I then indicated as those of Bavarian policy, that it 
 has ceaselessly striven to attain them; also that it has not 
 given up hopes of success, and therewith hope for the future 
 of Germany and Bavaria. I know that these efforts have been 
 declared insufficient by some, that the course has been regarded 
 as set, the goal easy to reach, and that the admission of South
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 251 
 
 Germany to the North German Federation is regarded as the 
 simplest solution of the German question. 
 
 Gentlemen, if even at the time when only the rough draft 
 of the North German Federal Constitution was known, the 
 Government held it to be incompatible with its duty to try 
 to bring about unconditional admission to the North German 
 Federation, admission, that is, without previous alteration of 
 the Federal Constitution, so much the more does it now maintain 
 that attitude, when this constitution is definitive, and no alteration 
 is contemplated. 
 
 Reasons of home and foreign policy have caused Prussia 
 to include the North German States under a form of constitu- 
 tion to which one cannot deny the merit of paving the way 
 for the political unity of North Germany, but which precisely 
 on this account may more and more differ in its evolution from 
 the character of a Federal Constitution in the exact definition 
 of the term. 
 
 I have certainly acknowledged that no federal conditions 
 can suffice for national requirements unless the individual 
 contracting parties make the required sacrifices for the fur- 
 therance of the common weal; but the amount of the sacrifice 
 which admission to the North German Federation would demand 
 from South German States does not correspond to the degree 
 of independence which these States are justified in desiring, 
 and are, so far as I can see, in overwhelming majority determined 
 upon maintaining. 
 
 The free constitutional evolution of South Germany, as it has 
 shaped itself during fifty years, affords the South German people 
 the right and the power of thus deciding. 
 
 The question how far the Nikolsburg preliminaries and the 
 Peace of Prague would supply just ground for trying to extend 
 the North German Federal Constitution to the whole of Germany 
 may, therefore, be properly passed over here. However, 
 these treaties have been concluded with due consideration 
 for actual relations between the Powers, and their importance 
 cannot be ignored by any one called upon to take the facts in 
 question into account, and who is bound to avoid everything 
 which might lead the destiny of our Fatherland into unforeseen 
 courses. 
 
 Besides, the Prussian Government has itself explained that 
 it demands union with the South, by no means on a similar 
 basis to that upon which union with the North German States 
 reposes. It only demands an unequivocal statement by the 
 combined nations which would both afford the certainty that 
 the Southern States had not yielded to hostile tendencies against 
 North Germany, and that the well-being of the collective material 
 interests of the German people would be guaranteed by joint 
 systematic arrangements. 
 
 Consequently, when reasons of foreign policy as well as a
 
 252 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 consideration for the preservation of the independence of the 
 country made the union of Bavaria with the German North 
 appear impossible on the basis of the North German Federal 
 Constitution, those holding office under Government had to 
 seek other means of effecting this union. For the Government 
 could and would not shirk the task, which was defined by me 
 on January 23 in these words : 
 
 "By a unification in conformity with treaties, to render 
 possible a German coalition on a basis compatible with the 
 integrity of State and Crown." 
 
 Here three different courses were conceivable. 
 
 First, the formation of two Federal States, a South German 
 to correspond to the North German, with joint means for 
 certain specified objects. 
 
 Secondly, an international federation of all separate German 
 States, analogous to the former German Federal Constitution. 
 
 Thirdly, an international union of the South German States 
 with the North German Confederation. 
 
 Against the attempt at a constitutional association of an 
 independent South German Federal State with the North German, 
 the aversion of those States with whom Bavaria had to found 
 this South German Federal State bore witness. Ranged against 
 it were the clumsiness of an organisation which would have con- 
 tained the germ of discontent, and finally the danger of further 
 widening the breach between North and South Germany. 
 
 The international union of all German States on the basis 
 of a treaty according to international law had become im- 
 possible owing to the dissolution of the former German Con- 
 federation, and owing to the North German Federal State 
 which had just been called into life. It could not be expected 
 that Prussia would renounce the North German Federal Con- 
 stitution, the fruit of her victories. 
 
 So nothing remained for the Government but to labour 
 towards the reunion of Germany, while acknowledging existing 
 facts. 
 
 These facts were before them: the retirement of Austria 
 from the Confederation, that close corporation the North German 
 Federal State, and the abandonment of the South German 
 States to their own resources. 
 
 Therefore the way to an international union of the latter 
 with the North German Federation was clearly indicated. 
 
 The provisos for the attainment of a satisfactory issue in 
 this direction were perceived by the Government to lie in the 
 common agreement of the South German States regarding the 
 necessary steps to be taken, and the concessions to be made 
 in order to create a practical, efficient alliance with the North. 
 In view of this, as soon as I had taken over the management 
 of affairs the Government began diplomatic negotiations, 
 which referred primarily to common action concerning the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 253 
 
 measures rendered necessary by a loyal fulfilment of the alliance 
 with Prussia for defence and offence. 
 
 You are aware that on this account a meeting of the South 
 German Ministers took place at Stuttgart, and that a series of 
 important arrangements were there agreed upon with regard to 
 military organisation, and I hope that the military conferences, 
 then fixed for the month of October, and consequently soon about 
 to assemble here, will still further develop the steady organisation 
 of the South German armed forces. 
 
 No sooner was this result achieved, than political negotia- 
 tions also were begun. I need scarcely state that these negotia- 
 tions were accompanied by great difficulties — difficulties which 
 were augmented not a little by the critical state of the Luxem- 
 bourg question. 
 
 It would lead us too far to set forth in detail the course and 
 phases of these transactions; briefly to characterise the general 
 result, these have led to a provisional understanding of the basis 
 on which to confer with the North German Confederation. 
 
 Concurrently the idea of an alliance of this Federal State 
 with Austria has always been kept in view as a necessary comple- 
 ment to the national aspirations. 
 
 Gentlemen, far be it from me to ignore recent events, or to 
 identify myself with vain efforts to undo the past. Now, as ever, 
 I am of opinion that a Constitutional Confederacy of South Ger- 
 man States under the leadership of Austria is impossible. Yet 
 on that point I do not hesitate to declare that neither Austria 
 nor France has made any suggestions or proposals in this 
 direction. But the less need there now is to fear an irre- 
 mediable separation of Germany into a North and a South 
 Germany, the more stringent is the obligation laid upon us 
 not to exclude Austria, the natural ally of Prussia, and of 
 the whole of South Germany, from following that path which 
 alone can guarantee the peace of Europe upon the firmest 
 foundations. 
 
 These considerations cannot fail to influence those general 
 outlines to which the Government deemed it necessary to adhere 
 in a conjoint constitution. These general outlines may be com- 
 prehensively defined thus: the subjects contained in Articles III. 
 and IV. of the original rough draft for the Federal Constitution — 
 and therefore presenting no inconsiderable sphere of legislation and 
 administration — were declared to be of common interest and 
 to be treated as federal matters, whilst as to the rest, the union 
 was to bear the character of a confederation under Prussian 
 presidency. 
 
 Whilst these negotiations were proceeding, the Government 
 received an invitation to take part in the Berlin Tariff Conference. 
 The Government was the less able to absent itself as it was pledged 
 thereto by the decisions of the Berlin Treaties of Peace, and also 
 by its solicitude for the country's material welfare.
 
 254 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 The treaty resulting from this conference is now submitted 
 for your consideration. 
 
 You will readily perceive that the conditions on which Prussia 
 made the maintenance of the Zollverein contingent could not but 
 influence the further development of the work which had been 
 begun. The Government had necessarily to wait for the new or- 
 ganisation of the Zollverein to come into force with its resultant 
 consequences, ere it was possible to judge of the form in which 
 the proposed confederacy could be carried into effect side by 
 side with it. 
 
 Therefore the Government cannot regard its task as com- 
 pleted. Now, as ever, it will persist in that policy which alone it 
 recognises as the right one. In union with its South German 
 confederates, and with due regard to existing treaties, it will en- 
 deavour to establish the national alliance with North Germany 
 on the basis already gained. 
 
 The Government is, however, conscious of the responsibilities 
 imposed upon it by the duty of maintaining Bavaria's administra- 
 tive independence, and by the critical situation of Europe. Con- 
 sequently the course to be pursued by the Government is clear. 
 I will endeavour to indicate this course as simply and clearly as 
 possible. 
 
 We do not desire the admission of Bavaria into the North Ger- 
 man Confederation, we wish for no constitutional alliance of the 
 South German States under the leadership of Austria; we want 
 no South-West German Confederation, entirely isolated, or pos- 
 sibly even protected by a non-German Power. As little do we 
 wish to pursue a policy suitable for a great Power, neither do 
 we believe that the final end of Bavarian policy is to be sought in 
 the role of mediator. 
 
 This is what we do not desire. 
 
 What, on the other hand, we do desire, and what we shall 
 henceforth aim at, is the national alliance of the South German 
 States with the North German Confederation, and thereby the 
 unification of the now divided Germany in the form of a con- 
 federation. This is identical with the concessions of the Nikols- 
 burg preliminaries and the Peace of Prague. 
 
 Gentlemen, I do not say union of Bavaria with the North 
 German Confederation, I say the union of the South German 
 States. And I am desirous that there should be absolute clearness 
 on this point. As matters stand at present, it is my conviction 
 that it would be neither politically sound nor expedient, nor even 
 — let no illusions be harboured — feasible by peaceable means 
 for separate States south of the Main to enter into closer union 
 with North Germany. 
 
 The national tie, which has yet to be forged between us and 
 the North German Confederation, must embrace the entire South. 
 Only in this form is it either permissible or at the present time even 
 practicable.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 255 
 
 Herewith, gentlemen, I have expounded the fundamental 
 principles on which I have hitherto conducted the foreign policy 
 of Bavaria, and have indicated the goal which the Government is 
 striving towards. 
 
 During the discussion of the proposals laid before you to-day 
 you will have an opportunity of declaring whether or not the 
 course adopted by the Government is in conformity with the views 
 of the country. 
 
 Whatever judgment you may, however, pronounce on my 
 political labours, you will at any rate agree with me that there 
 must be no severance of the tie which guarantees the vital interests 
 of Germany, and without which the idea of a national alliance 
 of any kind whatsoever cannot be entertained. 
 
 The Prince's speech was well received in Berlin. The Minis- 
 terial P rovinzial-Korrespondenz discerned a sincere national as- 
 piration in the Prince's declaration, and hoped that the Bavarian 
 Premier's policy would produce important results in the further 
 development of the German question. Prussia would attach 
 less importance to the names under which national relations were 
 fostered than to actual unifying association in the discharge of 
 practical tasks and the furtherance of the nation's welfare. The 
 semi-official Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung praised the anti- 
 dualistic tenor of the Prince's speech, remarking, with regard to the 
 refusal to enter the North German Confederation, that Prussia 
 would make no efforts to alter this resolve. As regards the state- 
 ment concerning the formation of a Federal State consisting of the 
 North German and the South German States, as well as concerning 
 the Alliance with Austria, further explanations must be awaited. 
 Respecting the declaration that this confederacy should embrace 
 the whole South, and that no separate State should enter into a 
 closer union with the North German Confederation, it insisted that 
 on this point each separate South German State must be free to 
 form its own decision. In the Chamber of Deputies the Govern- 
 ment proposals met with no material opposition. The draft of 
 a Bill concerning the election of Deputies to the Tariff Parliament 
 accorded the franchise to all "who paid a direct tax to the State." 
 Against this limitation of universal suffrage a motion was brought 
 forward by Deputies Kolb and von Stauffenberg that "every 
 self-supporting member of the Bavarian State" should be an 
 elector. The motion was rejected by the Chamber. On October 
 22 the proposal was accepted in the Chamber of Deputies by 117 
 votes against 17. 
 
 Affairs took a different turn in the Upper House. In Com- 
 mittee the Government proposals had been rejected by 9 votes 
 to 1. On October 26 the discussion in plenary sitting took place, 
 and the issue was beyond question adverse. This consideration 
 induced the Prince to accord a favourable reception to Prince 
 Lowenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg's amendment, which at any
 
 256 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 rate promised to avert the danger of an immediate and definitive 
 rejection. The amendment ran: "Whereas this House will 
 always be prepared to make sacrifices for the continuance of the 
 Zollverein and, in consideration of the great benefits which it 
 confers on the country, so long as these sacrifices are confined to 
 the sphere of material interests, though not if the independence 
 of Bavaria is endangered — this House resolves only to accord 
 its consent to the convention submitted on the express condition 
 that the right of acceptance or rejection in all questions con- 
 cerning the Customs and internal taxation previously conferred 
 on the State of Bavaria by the Zollverein treaties should also be 
 mentioned in the new treaties." 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe stated that as a private member he had no 
 hesitation in voting for this amendment, but that as a represen- 
 tative of the Government he did not feel in a position to pro- 
 nounce on its consequences. The Government, however, would 
 consider itself bound to express its special approval if the proposed 
 resolution were passed. Thereupon the Lowenstein resolu- 
 tion was passed by 47 votes to 3. The same evening the 
 Prince started for Berlin with Freiherr von Thiingen, Reporter 
 to the Upper House, once more loyally to uphold the Bavarian 
 liberum veto. 
 
 The following are notes by the Prince on the journey to Ber- 
 lin: 
 
 Notes on the journey to Berlin, October 27, 1867. 
 
 Left Munich in consequence of the resolution of the Chamber 
 of Senators, to try whether further concessions are to be obtained 
 in respect of Prussia's veto, and to give Herr von Thiingen the 
 opportunity of convincing himself of the position of affairs in 
 Berlin. On the 27th we — Thiingen, Weber, and I — arrived in 
 Berlin. Perglas * was at the station, and told me that Bismarck 
 would receive us at two o'clock. 
 
 At two o'clock to Bismarck's. I introduced Thiingen, explain- 
 ing the object of our journey. 
 
 Thiingen then took up the conversation, justified the point of 
 view of the Chamber of Deputies by a statement, and expressed 
 the wish that the assent of the Deputies might be rendered feasible 
 by Prussia's amicable attitude, thereby hinting that the alliance 
 with Prussia would be the firmer for not being brought about by 
 compulsion. 
 
 In a lengthy explanation Bismarck developed the point of view 
 of the Prussian Government, protested his German proclivities, 
 referred to the negotiations of the Treaty of Peace, in which he 
 had opposed the interests of Bavaria to the dissentient trend of 
 opinion, but declared that Prussia was deterred by consid- 
 eration for federal colleagues from granting further concessions 
 to Bavaria. 
 
 * The newly appointed Bavarian Minister in Berlin.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 257 
 
 Then Thungen proposed granting, if not to the Governments, 
 then to the majority of the non-Prussian parliamentary delegates 
 the right of veto. 
 
 Against this Bismarck intimated that the North German Con- 
 stitution would be thereby endangered. He then gave assurances 
 that the Prussian Government had no wish to exercise any kind 
 of pressure upon South German States. 
 
 To Thiingen's wish to extend the term of ratification until new 
 elections had taken place in Bavaria, Bismarck thought he could 
 not accede either; but declared that even if we were prevented 
 from being punctual to the term of ratification, the identical 
 conditions offered in June should hold good. He spoke openly 
 and not like a horse-dealer. 
 
 Then we retired, after Bismarck had invited us to dinner at five. 
 When we arrived we found Delbriick and Keudel, with several 
 members of the family. Delbriick confirmed what Bismarck had 
 said, regretted if I should have to leave the Ministry ; but declared 
 that no concessions could be made. 
 
 Herr von Keudel was perfectly acquainted with the state of 
 feeling in Bavaria. 
 
 I again asked Bismarck whether he had brought any pressure 
 to bear upon the Wurtemberg Government in respect of the 
 fortress of Ulm, which he categorically denied. On the contrary 7 , 
 it would be very acceptable to Prussia if Bavaria obtained more 
 influence in Ulm. Should Wurtemberg request a contribution 
 from Prussia for the upkeep of Ulm, this would be granted, and no 
 rights would be claimed during peace; but they would then 
 merely have to request that Ludwigshafen, which was the most 
 important spot strategically, should be fortified as a counterpoise. 
 Rastatt was of little account, and was only of importance to Ba- 
 den. Ludwigshafen and Germersheim would be the actually 
 important fortresses in a war against France. 
 
 We had nothing to fear from Austria. Austria had no alliance 
 with France, for then alliance with Russia would be contemplated, 
 and England too could not look on quietly if France were to 
 blockade the Baltic Ports. 
 
 Relations with Austria would gradually improve. An alliance 
 between Austria, South German States, and Prussia he designated 
 as le couronnement de Vceuvre. 
 
 Next day, the 28th, audience with the King. He requested 
 us to speak. Baron Thungen expounded his views and those 
 of the Upper House. The King replied in great detail, but very 
 decidedly, that he could not agree to any modification of the 
 treaty which would necessitate an alteration in the Federal Con- 
 stitution. If we did not think we could join, we ought to retire. 
 But he did not believe that the majority of the country were on the 
 side of the Senators. 
 
 He then spoke at length upon Prussian policv in general. Prus- 
 sia had been forced into the recent annexations against her will. 
 
 vnv. I — s
 
 258 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 For fifty years there had been peace in the land, and it had never 
 occurred either to his father, to his brother, or to himself to take 
 what belonged to their neighbours, until he had been forced to 
 do so by the events of 1866. He had shown moderation to 
 Bavaria. 
 
 The Bavarian representatives quitted Berlin on the evening 
 of the 28th, and returned to Munich on the evening of the 29th 
 October. This journey convinced Freiherr von Thiingen that the 
 desired veto was unattainable by Bavaria. On the morning of 
 the 30th the Prince made a communication to the committee of 
 the Chamber of Deputies concerning the result of the journey. 
 Thereupon this committee decided not to adopt the modification of 
 the treaty voted by the Upper House. This proposal was accepted 
 without discussion the same afternoon by a plenary sitting of 
 the Chamber of Deputies; as also a proposal of the committee 
 expressing confident expectation that Prussia, as presiding Power, 
 would not exercise the right of veto conceded to it, according to 
 Section XII. of the treaty, in a manner prejudicial to Bavaria's 
 domestic interests. To this proposal Prince Hohenlohe had 
 declared that the Government had no objection to the form in 
 which the wish was submitted by the committee, since Prussia 
 had declared that she merely wanted to make use of the power 
 of opposition in respect of a desired alteration in the legislation 
 or rules of administration should, according to Prussia's well- 
 considered conviction, the prosperity or the receipts of the Zoll- 
 verein be thereby endangered. 
 
 On the evening of October 30 the combined committees of 
 both Chambers deliberated. On October 31, the last day before 
 the expiration of the term of ratification fixed by treaty, the plenary 
 sitting of the Upper House took place at eleven o'clock. In 
 committee this House had previously decided upon acceptance 
 of the treaties by 8 votes to 1. At the public sitting, Herr von 
 Thiingen had expressed himself in the same sense. The accept- 
 ance ensued by 35 votes to 13. The same evening the ratification 
 of the treaty was communicated to Berlin. 
 
 Conversation with Baron Beust.* 
 
 November 6, 1867. 
 
 Baron Beust began by disclosing what he had heard in Paris 
 and London, remarking that the Emperor Napoleon was still 
 taken up with the idea of a congress for the adjustment of the 
 Roman question, and also that it was necessary to support the 
 Emperor in this. There was no question of a congress of Catholic 
 Powers, but of all the Powers having Catholic subjects. He was 
 under the impression that we had already received an invitation, 
 
 * This was the Prince's first meeting with Beust. — See Beust, Aus drei 
 Vierteljahrhunderten, vol. ii. p. 138.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 259 
 
 which I denied. It would, it is true, involve the question of 
 necessary funds for the Pope's maintenance, possibly obligatory 
 Peter's pence. However, he let that drop, and then recurred 
 to the German question. 
 
 He said that he had had an extended conversation with 
 Goltz in Paris, and that he had called the attention of the latter 
 to the necessity of settling the German question in such a manner 
 as to deprive the French of an excuse for war. There was a 
 general impression that Prussia desired to incorporate the whole 
 of Germany with itself, and it was imperative that the French 
 should be disabused of this idea by a South German Con- 
 federation of Union. The form was immaterial. Goltz had 
 agreed, and had named this condition of affairs, this project, a 
 " provisional consummation." Beust acknowledged that such 
 an arrangement could only be achieved with the consent of 
 Prussia, since Baden would only consent on the order of Prussia. 
 Varnbuler* had expressed his agreement with this, but had nev- 
 ertheless protested against a South German Parliament. Beust 
 seemed to attach little importance to this. He was of opinion 
 that the international union of the South with the North already 
 existed through the defensive and offensive alliances and Zollverein 
 treaty, and that now it was merely a matter of the South German 
 States forming the union contemplated by the Peace of Prague. 
 He repeatedly advised consideration of the matter, which I 
 promised. In answer to my question as to what he imagined 
 would be Austria's attitude, he replied that Austria would keep 
 aloof, thinking thereby to further matters. He maintained that 
 peace could only be preserved by the formation of a South Ger- 
 man Confederation of this kind. If, therefore, we took steps at 
 Berlin, he would support us. Roughly speaking, it is the idea 
 of a Rhine Confederation under a Prussian protectorate cropping 
 up again. He also made the characteristic assertion that the 
 revolutionary party in Rome being now discomfited,! the Govern- 
 ments of Europe were again in possession of greater power, and 
 that in Germany also the opportunity ought to be seized to subdue 
 the revolutionary element. 
 
 Beust 's and the Emperor Napoleon's idea would probably 
 find its realisation in a union of South German States in military 
 and diplomatic matters. 
 
 To my inquiry whether this end might not be obtained by 
 simply waiting, he eagerly remarked that war would not thereby 
 be avoided. 
 
 It seems that the fixed resolve prevails, if we do not willingly 
 acquiesce in the idea, of forcing us to do so at the first opportunity. 
 
 * Beust had a discussion with Varnbuler on November 6 in the train 
 between Bietigheim and Stuttgart. According to the report of the 
 Minister of Baden in Stuttgart, Beust had said that every symptom of 
 independent vitality in the South German States would operate in the 
 direction of peace. 
 
 t By the defeat of Garibaldi at Mentana on November 3.
 
 2 6o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 In any case, information should be obtained in Berlin and Stuttgart, 
 what Bismarck's opinion is, and what Varnbiiler has promised. 
 
 Bavaria can, after all, acquiesce in a union of the kind if no 
 actual Federal State is to be constituted therefrom. Whether 
 Wurtemberg and Baden will give up their Ministers and be 
 inclined to hand over the representation of their interests to 
 South German Federal Ministers remains to be seen. Military 
 unification has likewise made no great progress up till now, and 
 justifies no great hopes. 
 
 Report to the King on the position of the South German States. 
 
 Munich, November 23, 1867. 
 
 Your Majesty, through your Majesty's secretary, instructed 
 your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, to supply 
 information concerning the actual condition of the South German 
 States, and the measure of success attained by your Majesty's 
 most faithful subject in respect of the aim in view, namely, 
 a confederation embracing the aforesaid States. As to this 
 the undersigned begs, with his humble duty, to report as follows : 
 
 As your Majesty is aware from reports previously furnished, 
 the negotiations with the South German States begun in March 
 of this year had the object of forming a common basis for the 
 negotiations connected with the North German Confederation. 
 
 The result was the Ministerial declaration arranged between 
 May 16 and 31 of this year between Bavaria and Wurtemberg, 
 according to which certain subjects of a more general nature 
 are in future to be submitted to the deliberation of a further 
 confederation, to be concluded between North Germany and the 
 South German States. 
 
 Yet since the negotiations as to the renewal of the Zollverein 
 had meanwhile taken place, your Majesty's most faithful subject 
 thought it best to omit further steps for the present, and to 
 await the coming into force of the new Zollverein and its conse- 
 quences before entering upon further negotiations concerning 
 an alliance with the North German Confederation. 
 
 Thus, the undersigned also omitted to bring the projected 
 Ministerial declaration between Bavaria and Baden to a con- 
 clusion, and, with your Majesty's permission, sent a despatch 
 on August 5 in last year to your Majesty's Minister at Karlsruhe, 
 in which was expressed the wish of your Majesty's Government 
 to allow negotiations to drop meanwhile. 
 
 From Minister von Varnbuler's despatch, read to your 
 Majesty's most faithful subject by the Minister for Wurtemberg, 
 it appears that the Wurtemberg Government likewise intends to 
 desist from further steps which had as object an alliance with 
 North Germany.* 
 
 * On December 11, 1867, during the discussion of the Foreign Budget in 
 the Second Chamber, Freiherr von Varnbiiler said it was the distinct
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 261 
 
 The condition of this negotiation may therefore for the 
 present be regarded as satisfactory. Yet the undersigned cannot 
 conceal from himself that the interests of Bavaria are not fur- 
 thered by this purely negative attitude; the circumstances as 
 they stand at present are so immature, the current of public 
 opinion so powerful, that if the Government loses control of the 
 initiative other elements might call forth independent events 
 which would threaten the autonomy of Bavaria. The circum- 
 stances of the dismemberment of Germany, as it stands at present, 
 appear so unbearable to the majority of the population that it 
 will be always endeavouring to effect an alteration; and, if a 
 feasible form of union is not suggested, it may be foreseen that 
 the idea of joining the North German Confederation uncon- 
 ditionally will gain more and more adherents. Especially is 
 this the case with Baden and Hesse, whose attitude always 
 remains doubtful, and renders passive expectation w 7 ell-nigh 
 impossible. 
 
 But a new element has cropped up lately in this difficult 
 political question. Your Majesty's most faithful subject has 
 received intimations that a procrastinating attitude of the South 
 German States causes anxiety to the Governments both of Austria 
 and of France, and that in these countries the stipulations of the 
 Peace of Prague will only be regarded as fulfilled when the 
 contemplated union of the South German States is within the 
 range of practical politics. 
 
 Although it does not seem advisable to the undersigned to 
 knit the South German States into a Federal State analogous 
 to the North German Confederation, an undertaking which 
 would meet with direct opposition from Wurtemberg, and 
 especially from Baden; yet he believes that the moment should 
 now have come w r hen these States might consider an alliance from 
 which might at least follow concerted military organisation and 
 concerted deliberation concerning an identical political attitude. 
 
 But whether a more extended political alliance — a South 
 German Federal Union — can be herefrom moulded, will primarily 
 depend on the attitude of the Prussian Government, without 
 whose consent neither Baden nor Hesse, scarcely even Wiirtem- 
 berg, will acquiesce in an idea of the kind. 
 
 Therefore it is the more necessary to be assured of Prussia's 
 favourable acceptance of a course of action in the sense indicated 
 above; further, to procure more particular information concern- 
 ing the ideas of the Austrian and French Governments; and, 
 finally, to be able to count on Wiirtemberg's general co-operation 
 — all of which were merely hinted at in a recent conversation 
 between your Majesty's most faithful subject and Baron Beust. 
 
 opinion of the Government that there was no cause to exceed these limits 
 after having concluded the two treaties with Prussia and thereby fulfilled 
 its national duty. As early as November 7 the Wurtemberg Charge 
 d'Affaires had imparted a note from Freiherr von Varnbuler to von 
 Freydorf, the Baden Minister, the contents of which were to the same effect.
 
 262 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 All these steps can, however, only be taken in the strictest 
 confidence and with the utmost caution and discretion; they 
 should only be considered as informative, and in no way contem- 
 plate obligations binding on Bavaria. 
 
 In so far as your Majesty agrees and decides to confer au- 
 thority for these preparatory measures of information, the under- 
 signed will take it in hand and dutifully report progress and 
 make further suggestions. 
 
 Rescript by the King in the margin of the above report. 
 
 I am much concerned about the independence of my Crown 
 and the autonomy of the country. It was for this reason that I 
 asked you for a statement on the political situation. Your account 
 somewhat reassures me, as I gather that you will succeed in avert- 
 ing pressing dangers by forming a South German coalition. I 
 am glad to express my thanks, and my recognition of your efforts, 
 and I agree to the steps which you propose. As this matter has 
 my constant attention, your reports are very acceptable. 
 
 LUDWIG. 
 
 Hohenschwangau, November 26, 1867. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe to Freiherr von Varnbuler 
 at Stuttgart. 
 
 Munich, November 30, 1867. 
 
 Your Excellency shared the view that the subject treated in 
 the Ministerial statement of May 16-31 of this year should lie 
 dormant for the present. It had as object to effect an under- 
 standing between the Governments of Wiirtemberg and Bavaria 
 as to paving the way for the national alliance, contemplated 
 in the Peace of Prague, between the South and the North. 
 As far as I am concerned, I have not abandoned the view that 
 the idea of such an alliance should be given up, for then, as now, 
 I considered it a pressing necessity that it should be striven 
 for on a basis guaranteeing the independence of the Southern 
 States, in order to avoid the danger of being drawn against our 
 will into the North German Federation Constitution, by the 
 increasing centripetal force in our national life. But I thought 
 it necessary to come to some conclusion in the first place as to 
 the Zollverein business, and I suppose I may conclude that in 
 this, too, your Excellency shares my opinion. 
 
 But now the question of what is to be done comes inevitably 
 nearer, and I think I am not wrong if I anticipate that the agi- 
 tation will no longer remain passive if the Governments of the 
 Southern States restrict themselves to purely negative action. 
 
 Besides, I have proofs that a merely negative policy would 
 be regarded as unsuitable in other ways. Doubtless it is also 
 known to your Excellency that, in circles whose importance
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 263 
 
 cannot be over-estimated, the opinion obtains that the conclusion 
 of the treaties of alliance and the Zollverein treaty would only 
 correspond to the intentions of the Peace of Prague if (accord- 
 ing to this opinion) the union of the South German States 
 amongst themselves, stipulated in Article IV., and upon which 
 the national union of the South with the North was made con- 
 tingent, should come into force. One may agree to this or not ; 
 we in the South cannot, I think, ignore this view, the less so as 
 I have received intimations that even an attempt in this direction 
 — the commencement of negotiations — would affect these circles 
 very favourably. 
 
 Now that his Majesty the King has empowered me to take 
 the necessary steps, I am above all things anxious to leam your 
 Excellency's opinion on the matter, in view of the esteem in 
 which I have always held your Excellency's great gifts of 
 statesmanship and of my earnest desire to act in concert with 
 Wurtemberg in the German question. Meantime, as an 
 unpretentious private piece of work* I have endeavoured to 
 formulate the subject under consideration and venture, quite 
 confidentially, to enclose this sketch for your Excellency's informa- 
 tion. It would be of the greatest value to me to have your 
 opinion of it in general, and also on individual points. If 
 certain details, such, for instance, as the inclusion of a Prussian 
 plenipotentiary in the Military Commission, seem to go too far,! 
 they are based on the idea that without the assent and practical 
 assistance of Prussia a union of the South German States in 
 any form would be impossible, and that therefore, in order to 
 gain Prussia's approval, it is absolutely necessary to make 
 provisions in her favour. 
 
 I have not yet touched upon the question as to the manner 
 in which the work of the legislative factors is to make itself felt 
 in these matters of joint interest. 
 
 I repeat, however, that I am placing this sketch before you 
 solely as a friend and not as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and 
 that I do not wish to take further steps without first hearing your 
 Excellency's opinion. 
 
 Draft 
 
 In consideration of Article IV. of the Peace of Prague, which 
 presupposes a union of the German States south of the Main as 
 a condition of a national union with North Germany, their 
 Majesties and Royal Highnesses the Kings of Bavaria and Wur- 
 temberg and the Grand Dukes of Baden and Hesse, the latter 
 on behalf ■ of those portions of his Grand Duchy lying south 
 of the Main, are agreed as follows : 
 
 * The following draft was the work of Councillor Freiherr on Vol- 
 derndorff. Concerning the latter's close business and personal relations 
 with the Prince, see his posthumous, and unfortunately uncompleted, 
 publication: Vam Reichskanzler Fursten von Hohenlohe, Munich, 1902. 
 
 t Article VI. paragraph 2, of the following draft.
 
 264 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Section I 
 
 Article I. - The Kingdoms of Bavaria and Wurtemberg, the 
 Grand Duchy of Baden, and the southern division of the Grand 
 Duchy of Hesse shall unite in a coalition of States, and shall hence- 
 forth bear the name ''United States of South Germany." 
 
 Article II. — The joint concerns of this coalition shall be ad- 
 justed by the Executive of the Union, which shall consist of 
 representatives of each of the United States. 
 
 The seat of the Executive of the Union shall be at the place 
 for the time being appointed. 
 
 Article III. — In the Executive of the Union Bavaria shall 
 have six, Wurtemberg four, Baden three, and Hesse two votes. 
 
 Likewise the seat of the Executive shall be transferred annually 
 in such a manner that in the course of fifteen years it shall be 
 twice at Darmstadt, thrice at Karlsruhe, four times at Stuttgart, 
 and six times at Munich. 
 
 The State which is the seat of the Executive of the Union 
 for the time being shall hold the presidency. 
 
 Article IV. — The States of the Union shall undertake to 
 lay all disputes with members of the Union, as well as with for- 
 eign States, before the Executive of the Union. 
 
 In case an amicable settlement is not to be reached the dispute 
 shall be referred to a court of arbitration, concerning the con- 
 vocation, composition, and procedure of which detailed regu- 
 lations shall forthwith be made. 
 
 Disputes with non-Union States shall be treated as matters 
 of joint interest if the Executive of the Union considers that the 
 State of the Union is in the right. 
 
 Article V. — The Army of the United States of South Germany 
 shall be a common one, subject to the existing special agreements 
 in regard to Hesse. 
 
 Uniform organisation and uniform institutions shall be 
 introduced into the Army so far as is necessary or useful for 
 action in the field. 
 
 In time of peace each Army Corps to be under the sole command 
 of the head of the respective States by whom alone it is to be 
 sworn in ; the corps only to be used within the borders of the 
 respective countries, subject, however, to regulations for the 
 garrisoning of federal fortresses. 
 
 Article VI. — For the maintenance of the uniformity of the 
 Army institutions, and for the elaboration and control of the 
 measures dealing therewith, there shall be at the seat of the 
 Executive for the time being a Military Commission, in which 
 each State of the Union (except Hesse) shall be represented and 
 possess one vote respectively. 
 
 The power shall be reserved of making further arrange- 
 ments for the representation of Prussia on this commission by a 
 plenipotentiary with a deliberative voice in the proceedings.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHEXLOHE 265 
 
 Article VII. — For the training of South German officers a 
 joint Military Academy shall be established at Munich, a joint 
 Riding School at Stuttgart, and a joint Academy of Engineers 
 and School of Gunnery at Karlsruhe. Joint manoeuvres of the 
 Army Corps of the three above-named States shall take place 
 annually, and the supreme command shall be held by the State 
 which is the seat of the Executive for the time being. 
 
 Article VIII. — Ulm, Rastalt, and Germersheim shall be de- 
 clared fortn-.-scs of the United States of South Germany. Their 
 supreme control and administration shall be vested in the Mili- 
 tary Commission. In other respects the general principles of 
 the federal regulations hold good for their garrisoning, command, 
 and maintenance. 
 
 The Military Commission will at once subject these regula- 
 tions to the necessary revision, and at the same time draw up 
 a complete scheme of defence for the territory of the United States 
 of South Germany, to be put into execution as soon as possible 
 and at the common cost. 
 
 Article IX. — Representation abroad shall be allowed to any 
 State of the Union where the latter considers it necessary. But 
 any State of the Union which maintains a Legation at a for- 
 eign Court shall be bound to take over the protection of subjects 
 of other States of the Union that have no representative there 
 equally with that of its own. Where none of the United States 
 of South Germany is diplomatically represented, the Prussian 
 Minister's protection shall be obtained for subjects of the domain 
 of the South German Union. 
 
 Article X. — With regard to the Consulates, efforts shall be 
 made to secure the appointment of joint South German Consuls. 
 In places beyond the seas, and elsewhere where it may be deemed 
 advisable, the protection of the North German Consuls shall be 
 obtained for the subjects of the United States. 
 
 Article XL — Throughout the United States of South Germany 
 there shall be common civil rights, to the effect that as regards 
 domicile, the carrying on of industries, manufactures, and com- 
 merce, admission to public offices, taxation, and the enjoyment 
 of all other civil rights, and finally with regard to the protection 
 of the law and prosecution, the subject of a State of the Union 
 shall be dealt with as a native. Those regulations which concern 
 the relief of the poor and their admission to local unions are not 
 affected hereby. Likewise, for the present, existing treaties be- 
 tween the separate States of the Union dealing with the reception 
 of exiles and the care of sick and the burial of deceased subjects 
 shall remain in force. 
 
 In time of peace every subject of the United States of South 
 Germany shall be free to discharge his military service in the 
 Regular Army, Reserve, and Landwehr in the State in which he 
 resides permanently. 
 
 Article XII. — Throughout the territory of the United South
 
 266 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 German States there shall be a common civil law and penal code, 
 and a common civil suit and criminal action. Simultaneously, 
 conformity with the legislation of the North German Federation 
 shall be aimed at as far as possible. 
 
 Article XIII. — For the maintenance of legal uniformity, joint 
 Supreme Courts shall be established immediately common legisla- 
 tion has been established. 
 
 A common Supreme Court of Commercial Judicature for 
 the United States of South Germany is even now being established 
 at Nuremberg. 
 
 Article XIV. — Further concerns of the Union are : 
 
 (i) The regulation of the system of weights and measures, 
 the coinage, and the establishment of principles in regard to issues 
 of funded and unfunded paper money. 
 
 (2) General banking regulations. 
 
 (3) Patents. 
 
 (4) The protection of literary property. 
 
 (5) The rafting and shipping industries on the waterways 
 passing through the territories of several different States, as 
 well as the condition of these waterways, and river and other 
 water dues. 
 
 (6) Regulations concerning the mutual execution of deci- 
 sions in civil matters, and the discharge of requisitions in 
 general. 
 
 (7) Measures touching the sanitary and veterinary police. 
 Article XV. — An international bond between the United South 
 
 German States and the North German Federation, in so far as it 
 does not already exist in the alliance and tariff treaties, shall be 
 brought about by a treaty by which the subjects specified in Articles 
 XIII. and XIV. shall be jointly regulated. 
 
 A second section of the draft contains provisions for the "na- 
 tional union" of the United South German States with the North 
 German Confederation. 
 
 Freiherr von Varnbiiler replied to the Prince's letter of 
 November 30, 1867, at New Year 1868, to the effect that the joint 
 execution of military arrangements was necessary; but as re- 
 garded the other points he must question whether they 
 furnished material for an organic union of South German States, 
 and whether a federal organ, without common popular repre- 
 sentation, would satisfy public opinion. But a South German 
 Parliament he did not want. 
 
 From December 4-7, 1867, conferences took place at Munich 
 between the Ministers of War of Bavaria, Wtirtemberg, and 
 Baden, for the purpose of carrying out the Stuttgart resolutions 
 of February 5. Prince Hohenlohe opened these conferences with 
 the following address : 
 
 "Before the commencement of the military conference, I per- 
 mit myself, gentlemen, to express to you, as representatives of
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 267 
 
 the Governments of the Kingdom of Wtirtemberg and the Grand 
 Duchy of Baden, the thanks of the Bavarian Government, in that 
 his Majesty the King of Wiirtemberg and his Royal Highness 
 the Grand Duke of Baden have commissioned you to take part 
 in the conference. Herewith begins a complement of the Stuttgart 
 Conferences which took place in February, and which we cannot 
 too highly value. 
 
 "Should it be, as I doubt not, the intention of all South Ger- 
 man Governments to adhere to the treaties of alliance concluded 
 with Prussia, and in eventualities that may ensue to defend 
 the integrity of German territory jointly with our allies of t he- 
 North, then the co-operation of the South German States will not 
 hinder, but further the attainment of this object. 
 
 "The mutual understanding of the South German States will 
 not estrange us from the North, but facilitate the fulfilment of 
 our alliance duties; it will allow us to foster those peculiarities 
 to the maintenance of which we in South Germany attach im- 
 portance; it will permit us to uphold that measure of indepen- 
 dence which we may retain without prejudice to the common end 
 in view ; finally, it will strengthen us, and make us valuable allies. 
 
 "In this sense I wish your deliberations, comrades, the best of 
 progress and every success." 
 
 After this welcome, the negotiations were continued by the 
 Military Commissioners alone. The final agreements were re- 
 corded in two protocols of December 7, 1867. The first of these 
 protocols sets forth, in the first instance, that the Stuttgart resolu- 
 tions have been carried out, as far as has been hitherto possible 
 for individual States, in all points and by all. For the supple- 
 mentation and explanation of former points agreed, it is 
 considered desirable, in accordance with the North German 
 Federal Military Constitution which has meanwhile been pro- 
 mulgated, to attain, as far as feasible, a war footing of 2 per cent, 
 and a peace effective of 1 per cent., and thereby in principle three 
 years' service. Further provisions concern the maintenance of an 
 experienced staff of non-commissioned officers, the peace effective 
 of cavalry, the necessity of identical drill regulations, identical 
 ranks for officers, and identical designations for non-commissioned 
 officers. The second protocol binds the three Governments to ne- 
 gotiations concerning joint manoeuvres to be arranged for the 
 coming summer or autumn, and contains the following provision 
 in respect of the fortresses : 
 
 "Regarded from a military point of view, the question of 
 the fortresses of South Germany can be satisfactorily settled only 
 in connection with the system of defence of the whole of Ger- 
 many, and therefore the Ministers of War here assembled regard 
 it as in this respect a military necessity that a body should exist 
 which — with constant regard to Germany's system of defence 
 in general — should settle details respecting individual fortified 
 places and positions.
 
 268 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 "As, however, the fulfilment of this necessity must first be 
 considered in all its aspects, its existence shall merely be stated 
 here, but a definitive decision not pronounced." 
 
 Report to the King concerning the reconstitution oj 
 
 the Upper House. 
 
 Munich, December 12, 1867. 
 
 In the programme which your Majesty's most faithful subject, 
 the undersigned, placed before your Majesty ere taking up his 
 appointment, and which received your Majesty's august approval, 
 the reform of the Upper House was mentioned as a desirable 
 measure. 
 
 In order to meet this wish, the fulfilment of which seems 
 necessary and profitable to the interests of the State, your Maj- 
 esty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, ventures to place 
 before your Majesty six bills,* by which, according to his convic- 
 tion, — without danger to the genuinely conservative bases 
 of the Constitution, - - the institution of the Upper Chamber 
 would escape constant attacks and find redress for the justifiable 
 criticisms which of late have been so frequently levelled against 
 it. 
 
 The six bills are intimately connected. The bill concerning 
 the amendment of the law of entail confers on the commoner 
 with landed property the possibility of admission to the heredi- 
 tary peerage; it thus does away with the exclusiveness of this 
 privilege, without destroying its conservative character. 
 
 On the other hand, the bill for the amendment of Section VI., 
 paragraph 3, of the Constitution summons to the Senate a number 
 of old noble families with landed property, who have hitherto, 
 obviously for no special cause, been excluded therefrom by the 
 maintenance in their family estate of the ancient, genuinely Teu- 
 tonic principle of tenure in common. Your Majesty's most 
 faithful servant is of opinion that such families as the Crails- 
 heim, Egloff stein, Seckendorff, Thiingen, Tacher, &c, should 
 not be unrepresented in the Upper Chamber of the Kingdom of 
 Bavaria. . . . 
 
 In like manner the result of the bill for the representation by 
 proxy of hereditary Senators will be to render it possible for those 
 families who are called by the Constitution to the Upper Cham- 
 ber to exercise their right f more frequently than constant and 
 almost unavoidable hindrances admit at present. 
 
 Against this increase of the hereditary element it seemed 
 advisable to claim a further extension of the Royal prerogative of 
 nomination, and this is the object of a bill which would raise the 
 
 *The six bills were the work of Freiherr von Volderndorff. See 
 his work : Votn Reichskanzler Fiirsten von Hohenlohe, p. 22. 
 
 f The bill was to authorise the representation of hereditary members 
 by a kinsman during the session.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 269 
 
 number fixed by Paragraph 4 of Section VI. of the Constitution 
 from one-third to one-half. 
 
 Finally, with special regard to the bill for the extension of 
 the Chamber of Senators, the undersigned ventures respectfully 
 to refer in general terms to the underlying motives. In attempting 
 a reform of the institution he believes that he ought to confine 
 himself to the strictly essential, and more especially that he should 
 refrain from suggesting an entire reorganisation of constitutional 
 regulations for the Upper Chamber, since such might lead to 
 lengthy debates and possibly to far-reaching proposals in the Cham- 
 ber of Deputies, whereas the bill in its actual brief wording does, 
 in fact, meet the most urgent requirements, and yet on the whole 
 leaves the basis of the Constitution of the Upper Chamber un- 
 touched. 
 
 The bill concerning the quorum of the Upper House is founded, 
 as the preamble shows, on a resolution previously moved by promi- 
 nent members of this Chamber, and will satisfy an extremely 
 urgent need. 
 
 The undersigned was of opinion that before a Cabinet delibera- 
 tion took place on the bills in question, which might be placed 
 before the Chambers as emanating from the joint Ministry, your 
 Majesty's orders should be obtained, and consequently ventures 
 to make the most respectful suggestion that your Majesty should 
 ordain the discussion of the six annexed bills by the Cabinet 
 Council. 
 
 From the preambles of the bills the following may be quoted : 
 
 (1) Amendment of the law of entail. 
 
 Some doubts may exist as to whether the law of entail, as set out 
 in the Bavarian Constitution, is intrinsically desirable, and should 
 therefore be reintroduced. Presumably, however, there is no doubt 
 that, though the law sanctions the establishment of entails, their 
 restrictions to the nobility is not in accordance either with material 
 conditions or with the views of the present day concerning equality 
 before the law. Should the Government, therefore, endeavour to 
 remove this anomaly, and, by abrogating the present prerogative 
 of noble families, grant to every one the right of tying up his prop- 
 erty for the benefit of his family in a form hitherto only possible 
 for the nobility, this can in no case be challenged as unjust or 
 inopportune. 
 
 But neither does such extension of the right of entail seem 
 unfair or unimportant, since it thus makes way for the admission 
 to the Senate of commoners with landed property; the institu- 
 tion of hereditary senatorship ceases to be a privilege of the no- 
 bility, and becomes the common property of the whole nation. 
 
 (2) Bill for the conferment of hereditary Senatorship on per- 
 sons in joint ownership of property. 
 
 The Constitution does not merely start from the principle 
 that the bond of entail should be inadmissible without the simul- 
 taneous operation of the law of primogeniture. It also refuses
 
 270 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 to invest with any political importance a family estate where no 
 preferment of the first-born takes place. It may be urged that 
 the institution of entail is the outcome of the restricted manner 
 of succession which obtains at the present time, and there is good 
 reason for the opinion that, if once the estate were allowed to be 
 tied up in favour of the family, it would be fairer and more natural 
 to grant the usufruct to all members of the same family than to 
 single out the favoured first-born. But the Government would 
 not propose an innovation so far-reaching and even hazardous, 
 thinking it better simply to allow entail, as such, to continue, 
 according to Bavarian tradition. 
 
 On the other hand, a change seems called for by the injustice 
 of ignoring the political importance of such family property 
 as rests on the ancient, truly German basis of joint usufruct by 
 all members of the family in favour of him who takes his stand 
 upon the right of primogeniture. The question of the divisibility 
 of usufruct and of administration is merely a private family matter 
 and cannot alter or lessen the importance of landed property 
 as such. 
 
 Now in the provinces of Franconia the number of properties 
 of the kind indicated is not inconsiderable, and indeed the greater 
 part of family landed property in Bavaria has remained unrep- 
 resented in the Upper House in consequence of these distinc- 
 tions. 
 
 Therefore an alteration must be considered as equitable as it 
 is desirable. 
 
 (3) Bill concerning life Senators. Among those deficiencies 
 in the constitution of the Upper House, which make themselves 
 specially felt at present, is the circumstance that there are too 
 few legal, administrative, financial, and military members; and 
 precisely for this reason the rendering of reports on such subjects 
 encounters great difficulties. 
 
 However politically correct in the Constitution is the principle 
 for the composition of the Upper House, that the King's preroga- 
 tive of nomination must stand in a certain relation to other cate- 
 gories, and little as it might be desirable to give up the character 
 of independence of the Upper Chamber, in favour of the 
 political tendency of a particular time, with its liability to rapid 
 change, by the unlimited nomination of peers, yet, on the other 
 hand, the numbers prescribed in the Constitution for the King's 
 prerogative of nomination appears to be placed too low, and still 
 more will this be the case when the Chamber is possibly strength- 
 ened by elected members. 
 
 All these reasons are in favour of undertaking the proposed 
 increase of the proportion of life Senators to hereditary Senators 
 from one-third to one-half. 
 
 (4) Bill for the reinforcement of the Chamber of Senators. 
 This Bill provides for the reinforcement of the Chamber of 
 
 Senators by twenty-nine elected members, namely :
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 271 
 
 (a) Five representatives of the Universities, the Polytechnic, 
 and the Academy. 
 
 (b) Eight representatives of commerce and industry. 
 
 (c) Eight representatives of landed property. 
 
 (d) Eight representatives of towns. 
 
 If the Government proposes, not a reconstruction, but a rein- 
 forcement of the Chamber of Senators, it is primarily because it 
 considers that in the two-Chamber system — in so far as the latter 
 is to have any actual political importance at all — the Upper 
 Chamber must by heredity and life-long nomination preserve a 
 certain stability, that it must thereby bring the conservative ele- 
 ment to special account, and will for that very reason be capable 
 of preserving the quickly shifting momentary moods of political 
 life from excess precipitation. 
 
 Further, it cannot be ignored that the landed property which 
 is now represented by the hereditary members of the Upper House 
 furnishes a legitimate element in the formation of a Cham- 
 ber of Peers, and one which is justified by the historical as well 
 as the material importance of the interests at stake. Finally, 
 that the prerogative of Royal nomination furnishes a necessary 
 means of attracting men of talent from these ranks, who could 
 be raised in no other way, into parliamentary life. It follows 
 that whatever is accomplished in the way of reform of the Upper 
 House must come about through the attraction of these ele- 
 ments, and by this means, without obliterating the character 
 of the institution, a more lively development of the impetus 
 given to political life by free discussion and opinion will be ren- 
 dered possible. 
 
 Therefore a reinforcement must take place by elected 
 members. 
 
 Naturally the number of elected Senators must stand in a 
 certain relation to the other categories, and if the Bill in question 
 will allow twenty-nine members elected by vote to be appointed, 
 this represents scarcely twice the number of those at present 
 nominated for life, and the hereditary members will not in future 
 outnumber the elected and nominated members put together. 
 With regard to the categories from which to choose, a general 
 election in local districts is barred from the first, for there would 
 exist no inherent reason for opposing to the Lower Chamber — 
 which- rests on this basis — a representation in the Upper Chamber 
 resting on an identical basis. 
 
 On the other hand, the Government believed that an amend- 
 ment of election methods, solely by restriction to the upper classes 
 of tax-payers, could not be regarded as either sufficient or desirable, 
 since thereby the Upper Chamber would rest solely on the privilege 
 of wealth, and would scarcely gain an increase of prestige in the 
 general estimation of the people. 
 
 Hence the proposed class system of election follows as a mat- 
 ter of course, and in this connection it should be the orders
 
 272 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 of society called forth by modem political life that should be 
 kept in view, and not the pre-existing classes, which have now 
 become historic. With special regard to the clergy in this matter, 
 they have hitherto been represented in the Upper House in a 
 suitable manner, and it was therefore possible to pass them over 
 in the reconstitution. 
 
 The Prince's speech in the Chamber of Deputies during 
 the discussion of the Bill for Military Organisation 
 December 13, 1867. 
 
 In yesterday's and in to-day's debate the province of foreign 
 policy has also been touched upon. I shall, however, refrain 
 from commenting in greater detail upon many a statement, many 
 a bitter remark; otherwise I should be under the necessity of 
 propounding to you once more the principles which I feel myself 
 bound to maintain in Bavarian policy, and I should fear to weary 
 you by the repetition. Furthermore, these very statements 
 are based on those fears of future approaching events to which 
 one party clings with a certain predilection. I shall therefore 
 confine myself to-day to a few general observations. You will 
 agree with me, gentlemen, that the present time imperatively 
 demands increased efforts in military matters, and the greatest 
 possible extension of our military force. We are living in a time 
 of transition. Former alliances have been destroyed, and fresh 
 ones are in course of formation ; the sufferings of Europe have 
 reached, if I may say so, an acute stage, and feverish excitement 
 points to the early approach of great disturbances. Of what nature 
 the culmination of these crises will be no man can say, yet there 
 can be no doubt that we also shall not be unaffected. 
 We shall be forced to make sacrifices, but these sacrifices 
 will pass the limits of our endurance if we are not heed- 
 ful to meet the coming danger forearmed, and armed at all points. 
 The development of Europe and Germany may continue on the 
 same lines; but Bavaria must gain the respect which is her due 
 by an adequate expansion of her inherent strength, and must, 
 as a part of the whole, take up that position which alone is worthy 
 of her. 
 
 That our present military organisation is not equal to this 
 object was expounded yesterday and to-day in eloquent terms, 
 but it is beyond doubt that a mere reform of military organisa- 
 tion is not sufficient if the old principles persist. Equally insuffi- 
 cient, finally, would be a military system copied from the Swiss. 
 Nothing, therefore, remained to the Government but to have 
 recourse to the military system which is now proposed. It is a 
 system which has success on its side, and which affords cer- 
 tainty of creating an army which is ready to fight; one, more- 
 over, which by its homogeneous system and training has 
 the advantage of being a force equal to, and capable
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 273 
 
 of, combined action with our allies. By introducing this 
 military organisation we shall inspire the Army with that 
 confidence in its own strength and its own thoroughness without 
 which military success is not to be thought of; we shall, by 
 this combined system, connect ourselves more closely and 
 intimately with the whole of Germany, and at the same time 
 we shall retain and defend that independence which Bavaria 
 can and will uphold — without detriment to the agreement 
 for offence and defence — by opposing right supported by might, 
 to any force which may threaten. Therefore I recommend you 
 to pass the Bill. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, February 19, 1868. 
 
 The result of the elections * has been to make the Ultra- 
 montane party arrogant, and it now thinks that the Government 
 also must immediately come over to its side. Secretary to the 
 Cabinet Lipowsky's thoughtless and wavering character affords 
 it the opportunity. This man, who wishes to keep in with all 
 parties and believes true statecraft to consist therein, hears much 
 and digests little, but intrigues the more. The article in the 
 Siiddeutsche Presse, against the Ultramontane party, has 
 called forth his indignation, which he has, in fact, expressed 
 to Frobel. All the same, I do not believe that the King, as he 
 maintains, gave him any pretext for this manifestation. Of 
 course the Ultramontane party is annoyed at Frobel's article, 
 because it thwarts their plans, which aim at separating the 
 Government from the Reform party, and drawing them com- 
 pletely into the Ultramontane camp. There is a rumour that 
 Schrenck is to replace Senior. 
 
 Trauttmansdorf f would like to get rid of Senior, and appoint 
 in his stead a Minister who would be wiser on the one 'hand, and 
 more Ultramontane on the other. He maintains that he wants 
 me to remain ; but at the same time wishes me to make 
 a decided deviation to the side of the Ultramontanes. Frobel 
 says that he is opposed to Beust. I do not share the opinion. 
 I think that here Beust acts with the Ultramontanes, and in Vienna 
 against them. 
 
 To-morrow Senior's election will decide the matter here. I 
 hear various conjectures. Some think he will be elected, others 
 not. In any case his removal from the Ministry would be no 
 misfortune. 
 
 Munich, February 22, 1868. 
 So Senior was elected yesterday. Had he not managed to 
 get in he would soon have had to quit the Ministry; but as 
 
 * To the Tariff Parliament, which took place on February 10. 
 f Count Trauttmansdorff, Austrian Minister. 
 vol. 1 — T
 
 274 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 things have turned out he can remain. Whether this is an 
 advantage is another question. At Trauttmansdorff's I had a 
 long conversation with Feilitzsch concerning the Press in 
 general. We were so far agreed that nothing can be done 
 without money, and as we are short of cash we cannot 
 accomplish much. 
 
 Dr. Haas has brought Volderndorff some articles which he 
 has had inserted in several papers, and which, in furtherance 
 of my interests, discuss the matter of Nuremberg Castle,* and 
 condemn Pfordten. Volderndorff did not know how to construe 
 the amiability of the Austrian Ultramontane Press agents un- 
 til I told him that Trauttmansdorff had given me to under- 
 stand that their side did not wish for the fall of the present 
 Ministry. The gentlemen consider the moment too inopportune 
 for bringing forward an understanding with Prussia. They 
 fear the impression my fall would make in Berlin, if it were 
 occasioned by the Austrian party. In Berlin the blunders of 
 the King of Hanover t have aroused a mood of exasperation 
 against Austria, which they now have no interest in increasing. 
 So it seems I shall have peace for a time. The Order of St. 
 Stephen will accentuate this mood. 
 
 In the evening Lipowsky came to me to complain of the 
 foreign Press, and to beg me, by order of the King, to take steps 
 against it. His real object, however, was to see if I would 
 tell him something about the successor to the sick Minister 
 von Pechmann. He made himself very agreeable, and seemed 
 to be waiting for a disclosure of the kind. But I kept 
 silence. In addition he spoke of the reports about the 
 King, and complained of the people in Munich and their evil 
 tongues. 
 
 To-day, Princess Maria Theresa arrived with Prince Ludwig.J 
 I received her at the station with Moy and Trauttmansdorff. 
 She looked quite brilliant in her new toilette, and was very 
 pleasant and graceful. We were presented, escorted her to 
 
 * After the conclusion of peace the King of Bavaria had offered to 
 King Wilhelm, in a letter of August 30, 1866, to become the joint owner with 
 him of "the venerable castle of his forefathers," and to inhabit it 
 during any visits he might pay to Bavaria. This offer was accepted with 
 thanks by King Wilhelm. The matter did not come to an assignment of 
 property or, in fact, to a political treaty. It was settled by a semi-official 
 manifesto of February 15, 1868. 
 
 t King George of Hanover celebrated his silver wedding on February 
 18, 1868, at Hietzing, and received a great deputation of Hanoverians; to 
 whom, in an after-dinner speech, he expressed his hopes of his restora- 
 tion to his dominions. The Hanoverian Legion, which had been formed 
 on the occasion of the Luxembourg complications, had left Switzerland for 
 France in January 1868. On February 20 Count Beust was interpel- 
 lated in the Chambers concerning the profuse supply of Austrian passports 
 for the Guelph Legionaries by the Viennese Police Department to 
 Switzerland, and concerning the after-dinner speech of King George. 
 
 J Prince Ludwig of Bavaria had married Maria Theresa, Archduchess 
 of Austria-Este-Modena, on February 20, 1868.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 275 
 
 the carriage, and then drove home. Their Royal Highnc- 
 made their State entry, of which I saw nothing. The King is 
 in bed. Few people believe that he is ill. 
 
 Munich, February 24, 1869. 
 
 Frobel has just told me that he lately received an admonitory 
 letter from Baron Gruben, the Taxis official in Ratisbon, re- 
 questing him to come to an understanding with the clerical 
 party-. Gruben, so Frobel tells me, is an agent of the Society 
 of Jesus, who is attached to Prince Taxis in order to exploit 
 his enormous fortune in the interests of the Order. In com- 
 pany with Dornberg he was Chief Agent during the Congress 
 of Princes in 1863, and on that occasion discussed a scheme 
 for a constitution with Frobel, and together with him laid it before 
 the Emperor; however, he struck out FrobePs too-democratic 
 additions, and thus the thing failed. At that time some far- 
 reaching plans were concocted at Ratisbon; the Hereditary 
 Prince was to have the Rhine-lands, and on this point negotia- 
 tions were also commenced with Napoleon. Hence the Ratisbon 
 Ultramontanes' fury with Frobel. 
 
 Pascal Duprat, the well-known Republican, was here lately 
 at Frobel's, and recounted to him his experiences in Hungary r 
 whence he came. The Hungarian Left doubts the continuance 
 of the present Liberal regime in Austria, and in view of approach- 
 ing catastrophes has already opened negotiations with the 
 Southern Slavs, with the intent of creating or preparing an 
 Empire of the Danube or a Federation of the Danube. The 
 Southern Slavs will not hear of a union with Russia, but never- 
 theless accept Russian money in order to promote their own 
 schemes therewith. 
 
 March 4. 
 
 During the last few days I have been very busy. The death 
 of Minister Pechmann and the question of a successor have been 
 my chief preoccupations. As it seemed to me that Lipowsky 
 was trying to outflank me in the nomination of a Minister, I stated 
 on Wednesday in the Cabinet Council that I detected a desire 
 to complete the Ministry without consulting me; if this were 
 actually the case I should tender my resignation. The stroke 
 told. The Ministers received a salutary fright, the King was at 
 once informed, and on Thursday evening he sent for me to discuss 
 all manner of things. He also touched upon the Ministry of the 
 Interior, asked about Hormann, whom I, however, characterised 
 as unsuitable. The Neumayr party are working for Hormann. 
 On Friday Lipowsky came to ask me my opinion direct. I told 
 him frankly that I did not want Hormann on account of his 
 relations with the Neumayr clique. We also discussed Schubert, 
 of whom he speaks in the highest terms, and Pfeufer, whom he 
 does not much advocate.
 
 276 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 On Saturday came news of the death of King Ludwig I.* 
 Hence much business, many telegrams, notifications, &c. 
 
 This has rather put the Ministerial question in the background. 
 Added to this, the King is ill again — fever, &c. 
 
 On Monday the Budget of the Minister for Foreign Affairs 
 was discussed in committee. The Reporter was only going 
 to grant me 200,000 gulden for the Legations, but I declared 
 that I could not go below 250,000 gulden, and would tender my 
 resignation if they were not accorded. Thereat great ill-humour 
 in the committee, and finally consent to my demand. 
 
 Yesterday, Tuesday, March 3, many callers at the Ministry. 
 Among them Stenglein, who wanted to know if we were going 
 to take up as passive an attitude at the next election to the 
 Chamber as we did at the time of the elections to the Tariff 
 Parliament. I replied in the negative. He said that in that 
 case there was a prospect of forming a Liberal party if we would 
 assist the members of the Chamber to election. 
 
 Munich, March 22, 1868. 
 
 This evening Lipowsky came to see me, and said his Majesty 
 had commissioned him to ask what points I wished to put before 
 him concerning the nomination to the Ministry of the Interior.! 
 His Majesty could not receive me, as his Majesty had a swelled 
 cheek. 
 
 I replied that I had partitioned his Majesty to hear me orally 
 concerning the nomination of a Minister before anything was 
 decided, that I must insist on this petition, and would commit 
 myself to nothing further. Should his Majesty not grant this 
 petition, I must still adhere to my resolution. Lipowsky pro- 
 tested that he had done his utmost to induce the King to see me 
 to-day, but without success. I said that I regretted the necessity 
 of insisting. I owed it to myself. 
 
 On March 30 the President of the Government Board, von 
 Hormann, was appointed Minister of the Interior. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, March 30, 1868. 
 
 Your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, has 
 been informed by the Prussian Ambassador that his Royal 
 Highness the Crown Prince of Prussia will go to Turin for the 
 wedding of the Crown Prince of Italy on April 20 and will pass 
 through Munich. The journey will probably take place in the 
 week following Easter. 
 
 * Died at Nice on February 29. 
 
 t In the report of March 21 the Prince had requested an audience, in 
 order verbally to set forth his views concerning a nomination to the 
 office of Minister of the Interior.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 277 
 
 As the King of Prussia and other members of the Royal Family 
 have paid several visits to your Majesty's Court, which your 
 Majesty has not yet been able to return, it is perhaps possible 
 that the considerations of etiquette prevailing between the Royal 
 Courts will not permit the Crown Prince of Prussia to visit your 
 Majesty's Court on this occasion. 
 
 Yet, as the Crown Prince is going to Italy by way of the 
 Brenner Pass, he cannot avoid Munich. 
 
 Your Majesty's most faithful subject thinks it right to bring 
 this to your Majesty's notice, as he fears that it might perhaps 
 produce a disagreeable impression on your Majesty if the Crown 
 Prince made a stay in Munich without visiting the Royal Court. 
 If this should be the case, and your Majesty should wish to 
 receive the Crown Prince's visit, the undersigned could introduce 
 the subject through Baron Perglas in Berlin, and remove the 
 impediment of etiquette which perhaps exists by referring to a 
 proposed visit by your Majesty to Berlin, whose date need not 
 be specified. 
 
 Your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, there- 
 fore respectfully ventures to beg for your Majesty's august 
 commands whether, and in what sense, he shall provide Baron 
 Perglas with instructions. 
 
 In the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies of April 6, 1868, 
 the Deputy Ruland had violently attacked the Government 
 on account of several articles in the Silddeutsche Presse. 
 
 Hereupon Prince Hohenlohe said: "I must, above all things, 
 insist that the Government has no actual Government Press. I 
 washed for no Government organ, and therefore allowed the 
 Bayrische Zeitung to cease publication. The Silddeutsche Presse 
 is not a Government organ. It receives no instructions, and 
 therefore the Government is not answerable for any statements 
 which it contains. You may possibly consider this relation as 
 surprising, but you will agree with me if I say that I have too 
 high an opinion of the Press in general to conceive a great im- 
 portant newspaper working according to precept, thinking to 
 order or according to suggestion. Such an organ would only be 
 imaginable in the restricted form of a Government Gazette, for 
 which separate sections of the Government would be responsible. 
 
 "Therefore I must consider as baseless the attacks which have 
 been made upon the Government concerning the Government 
 Press." 
 
 Report to the King concerning the South German question. 
 
 Munich, April 10, 1868. 
 
 In your Majesty's august mandate of the 5th of this month 
 your Majesty asks for the explanation of the reasons of failure of 
 the attempt at forming a South German Confederation of States.
 
 278 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Therefore your Majesty's most faithful subject, the under- 
 signed, hastens with his humble duty to report as follows : 
 
 The foundation of a South German Confederation of States, 
 which was to be accomplished according to the terms of 
 Article IV. of the Peace of Prague, had from the outset only 
 a prospect of success if the idea obtained your Majesty's 
 entire approval, and if hope was thereby afforded that your 
 Majesty would accord his most unconditional concurrence in 
 the diplomatic action proposed. 
 
 From your Majesty's august mandate of January 28* of this 
 year, your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, 
 gathered that your Majesty by no means entirely approved the 
 proposed conclusion of the treaty, and that your Majesty enter- 
 tained scruples concerning it. This had the effect of awaken- 
 ing fears in the mind of your Majesty's most faithful subject, 
 that the success of the proposed measures would be doubtful from 
 the outset. 
 
 Notwithstanding this the undersigned did not delay to place the 
 matter before the Cabinet, in accordance with your Majesty's 
 commands. In order to facilitate a careful and advantageous dis- 
 cussion, he has supplied every Minister with a copy of the draft 
 of the treaty, and put before them in writing the tenor of previous 
 negotiations, as well as the reasons which led him to make the 
 proposal. No sympathy was shown the proposal by the Cabinet. 
 During the discussions objection was raised by nearly all the 
 Ministers, and only the Minister of War expressed himself in 
 favour of a mutual understanding between the South German 
 States, at any rate in essentials. 
 
 This much has already come to light : that there does not 
 exist among the Cabinet that complete unanimity of views con- 
 cerning the desirability and advantage of the project which is 
 so imperative for carrying into effect a far-reaching plan such as 
 this. 
 
 Apart from these circumstances which oppose the plan, 
 external and internal relations have meanwhile so shaped them- 
 selves that your Majesty's most faithful subject can no longer 
 reckon upon the success of the diplomatic steps suggested to 
 your Majesty at the beginning of the year. 
 
 Your Majesty's most faithful subject, the undersigned, never 
 doubted that direct elections to the Tariff Parliament would 
 result in the way they have resulted in the greater part of Bavaria 
 and in the whole of Wiirtemberg; for there have long been 
 sufficient indications to suggest the alliance of Clericalism and 
 Democracy which has since been openly displayed. But as 
 this alliance has already led to such important external results, 
 and since there has been an assertion of Republican tendencies 
 in the agitation carried on under the cloak of Conservative 
 interests, it is obvious that a South German Confederation would 
 * This document cannot be found.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 279 
 
 not have the slightest chance of making way in South German 
 public opinion without the simultaneous grant of a combined 
 South German Parliament to oppose the North German 
 Parliament. 
 
 But, according to the opinion of your Majesty's most 
 faithful subject, with the turn which affairs have now 
 taken the concession of a South German Parliament would be 
 supremely dangerous, for the union of Ultramontanes and Re- 
 publicans would only make use of this Parliament in order to 
 destroy absolutely the authority of the South German individual 
 Governments, which their unbridled Press is already working 
 against, and striving night and day to undermine. It would only 
 tend to further their schemes, which keep in view a federally 
 constituted Republican South Germany, united to Switzerland, 
 as the final object to be attained. There are indications that 
 this scheme would not be regarded unfavourably in France, 
 since on the further side of the Rhine it is thought that a pro- 
 tectorate of such disintegrated State organisations could easily 
 be established. 
 
 As regards foreign political affairs, your Majesty knows from 
 former suggestions put forward by the undersigned that the sole 
 reason why he once more, and in so resolute a manner, took up 
 the difficult project of forming a South German Confederation was 
 that at the end of last year those constellations were ruling which 
 alone render the accomplishment of this confederacy possible. 
 These, on the one hand, are the entente cordiale between Austria 
 and France, and, on the other hand, Prussia's inclination to con- 
 tribute towards the preservation of peace by using its influence 
 with Baden and Hesse, and simultaneously bringing gentle 
 pressure to bear on Wurtemberg, with intent to induce the 
 States to fulfil the Prague stipulations. Of these two provisos 
 neither exists at the present time. A coolness has obviously 
 arisen between Austria and France; it would seem that France 
 has given up hopes of provoking Austria to a course conducive 
 to French interests, and will therefore strive to gain her ends by 
 other means. Prussia, however — which manifestly was at any 
 rate not unwilling at the time of the confidential preliminaries, 
 commenced by your Majesty's most faithful subject, the under- 
 signed, in accordance with your Majesty's authorisation of 
 November 30 last year — has since then clearly changed her mind. 
 The decided declarations against the scheme of a South German 
 Confederation made by Baden in the official Karlsruher Zeitung, 
 and the repeated announcement inspired by Prussian official 
 papers that no such South German Confederation could be en- 
 tertained, indicate that Prussia is no longer at all inclined to sup- 
 port a possible scheme.* 
 
 * From the beginning Baden would only agree to consent to the 
 project of a Southern Confederation if its establishment offered the prospect 
 of a closer union with the North German Federation. In a conversation
 
 2 8o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Under these circumstances no endeavour to carry out a 
 measure such as was at one time suggested to your Majesty would 
 have any prospect of success, and your Majesty's most 
 faithful subject is of opinion that Bavaria should not expose 
 itself to a failure of the kind. Should circumstances alter and 
 become more favourable to the establishment of a South German 
 Federation, the undersigned will not delay in taking the matter 
 in hand ; for now as ever he is of opinion that the supreme danger 
 to South Germany still lies in the unfulfilled stipulations 
 of the Peace of Prague. To this end he will carefully watch 
 the course of events and the political constellations, in order 
 that he may be in a position to take up the project again at the 
 right moment. Nevertheless, as was most respectfully observed 
 at the commencement of this report, the only hope of success 
 lies in your Majesty's and the entire Ministry's unconditional 
 consent to and implicit confidence in the scheme. 
 
 Minute by the King on the above report. 
 
 I have perused your representations and await further reports. 
 
 Ludwig. 
 
 Munich, April 15, 1868. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, April 18, 1868. 
 
 As the Crown Prince * had sent word yesterday that he wished 
 to speak to me to-day and would like me to breakfast with him I 
 betook myself to him at nine o'clock. 
 
 At the beginning he alluded cursorily to my relations with the 
 King, which I did not enter into further. We then went on to 
 speak of international politics. I took the opportunity of warn- 
 ing him that above all things Prussia should refrain from acting 
 too aggressively towards the South, pointed to the Republican- 
 Ultramontane waves in Wurtemberg, the tone in Bavaria, and, 
 above all, to France. This he seemed to perceive, then talked 
 further about Wurtemberg and tendencies there, not about Baden, 
 and was on the whole very reserved. When conversation touched 
 
 with the Minister of Baden in Berlin on December 1, 1867, Bismarck 
 considered the projected Southern Confederation as untenable in many 
 respects, but advised against immediately discountenancing it, and 
 recommended a continuance of negotiations. About the same time he 
 refused the request expressed in a private letter from the Minister 
 Mathy, asking him to announce his readiness to receive Baden into the North 
 German Federation, and only leaving the date undetermined in con- 
 sideration of the state of Europe; Bismarck at the same time advised the 
 Government of Baden "not to define too precisely a purpose which would 
 drive the most powerful South German States into antagonism." 
 
 * The Crown Prince of Prussia arrived at Munich on April 17, and took 
 up his quarters in the Palace. He stayed till the evening of the 
 18th.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 281 
 
 upon Prussian intrigues in Austria, he seemed to disapprove, and 
 in fact his conversation generally seemed to reveal a certain op- 
 position to Bismarck. 
 
 Concerning war with France, he said that the alliance of 
 South German States with Prussia naturally involved concerted 
 action with Prussia, inquired who would be Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Bavarian Forces, then touched upon the Prussian Army's 
 preparedness for war, and said it was at any rate equal to the 
 French. He also laid stress upon the courage of the Bavarian 
 Army. On the whole, he talked very peaceably, said he hated 
 war, yet that war was sometimes unavoidable, but was never to be 
 recommended as a means to an end. 
 
 He seems to regard the union of Germany under Prussian 
 leadership as self-evident; on the other hand, it appeared to me 
 that he preferred moral persuasion to force. 
 
 Berlin, April 26, 1868. 
 
 From eight o'clock until this morning at seven I spent mostly 
 in sleep, which I could do the more comfortably as I had the 
 whole carriage to myself. Nearing Leipzig, I looked out of the 
 window from time to time, and observed at the stations several 
 members of the Tariff Parliament, seeking for food, in a forlorn 
 condition. Later on the members became communicative, drank 
 bad coffee together, and ate sandwiches. 
 
 By 12.30 we were in Berlin. I was received by the whole 
 Legation, and by Privy Councillor Weber. Viktor was still at 
 Potsdam, but arrived soon after I had taken possession of my 
 abode. A very pretty sitting-room and a large bedroom on the 
 third floor. 
 
 At three o'clock came Perglas, who made various political 
 communications. He says no one knows what Bismarck will 
 do if a motion is brought forward for the enlargement of the 
 powers of the Tariff Parliament; Bismarck is an unknown 
 quantity. In the matter of the fortresses he showed me an answer 
 which Bismarck had sent, and which is friendly. I fear he has 
 committed himself rather too soon. 
 
 Varnbuler has not yet come. He is in bed, but they say he 
 is not really ill, only fears a bad reception. 
 
 I talked over the difficulty of my position with Viktor. Then 
 came Roggenbach, who declared that Bluntschli had no intention 
 of bringing forward a motion concerning the enlargement of 
 the powers of the Tariff Parliament. It all depended upon 
 whether bringing forward such a motion would aggravate my 
 position in Bavaria; in this case Bismarck would find means of 
 restraining the National Liberal party. After I had explained 
 to him the drawbacks to me of such a motion, Roggenbach wanted 
 to effect its omission, only I should have to try to influence the 
 Bavarians, which can be done by Luxburg. The only thing 
 Bluntschli proposed was to make it possible for single States
 
 282 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 to join the Tariff Parliament upon certain questions, i.e. to 
 incorporate specific matters of their own State in the tariff or- 
 ganisation. 
 
 Then he also touched upon an idea of his own : he wondered 
 whether the surplus from tariff receipts might not be spent upon 
 certain fortresses which would be converted into a species of 
 federal fortresses. The Tariff Federal Council would then have 
 to be augmented by a Military Commission. 
 
 I went to the theatre in the evening. There Count Henckel 
 von Donnersmarck came to us, and declared that the National 
 Liberals all wanted to elect me first Vice-President, and that a 
 desire was now expressed to unite with the Free Conservatives 
 over the election of a second Vice-President. The affection of 
 the National Liberals is quite gruesome to me, but the opinion is 
 gaining ground that it would be unwise to anger South German 
 antipathies by further provocations. I still hope to bring the 
 Free Conservatives to the point of declaring themselves against 
 an extension of the powers of the Tariff Parliament. There is 
 a very well-organised party spirit here, which has its advantages. 
 
 I have not yet spoken to Bismarck. To-day is the opening. 
 As Bavarian Federal Tariff Councillor Perglas has to call for 
 cheers for the King, which much preoccupies him. But it cannot 
 be avoided. 
 
 Berlin, April 28, 1868. 
 
 Yesterday service was at twelve, which I attended at the 
 Catholic Church, and at one o'clock the opening of the Tariff 
 Parliament. The assembly in the White Hall was most brilliant. 
 When we entered, the hall was still well-nigh empty, as the Prot- 
 estant service in the Castle chapel was not yet concluded. 
 Mutual greetings were exchanged. I found many acquaintances 
 of my youth, grown old; for instance, Rosshirt, whom I had not 
 seen since Heidelberg; Oheimb, the Detmold Minister, whom I 
 had not seen since Bonn. The former is an Ultramontane member 
 of the Tariff Parliament, Oheimb is Federal Councillor for Detmold. 
 The hall gradually filled with functionaries and officers, who had 
 been either invited or ordered to be present in order to fill it. 
 
 At length the sermon came to an end, and the King's proces- 
 sion descended the steps. It was all very gorgeous. The King 
 passed through the hall, only stopping when he came to me, to 
 inquire after the health of his Bavarian Majesty. Then he again 
 left the hall, and meanwhile all present ranged themselves, on the 
 left of the throne the members of the Federal Council, Bismarck 
 and Perglas in front; on the right were empty chairs for the 
 Princes, whilst we stood opposite the throne. Then the King 
 appeared with the Princes, took up his position at the throne 
 standing, covered his head and read the Speech from the Throne. 
 We were all in a state of tense expectation; on me the speech 
 had a tranquillising effect, and the general impression will prob-
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 283 
 
 ably be the same. The cheers at the entrance of the King were 
 led by Baron Frankenberg, President by seniority. At the close 
 of the Speech from the Throne this duty was performed by Perglas. 
 The formula had previously been discussed by Perglas, Delbriick, 
 and Bismarck, whether it should be "King of Prussia" or 
 "King Wilhelm." "King Wilhelm" was decided upon as it 
 was thought to show greater consideration for South German 
 susceptibilities. Perglas performed his part very well. After 
 the opening ceremony the sitting was announced for three in the 
 afternoon by the President by seniority. Previously I had an 
 audience of the King. As usual he received me very kindly. 
 He complained of the South Germans' perfectly unfounded fears. 
 It was unjust, the King said, to impute a thirst for conquest to 
 him. He then complained of the insults with which he was 
 persecuted in South Germany. I made excuses for ourselves on 
 the grounds that we could do nothing against the Press, as our 
 legislation was deficient. He replied that he was not reproaching 
 us. We then spoke of the Tariff Parliament. I emphasised the 
 importance of its behaving quietly, and not trying to exceed its 
 powers. The King agreed with me, but pointed to the elements 
 which are asserting themselves in Darmstadt and pressing for 
 admittance to the North German Federation because their 
 position was untenable. However, at the same time he admitted 
 that if Prussia were really to accede to these wishes, the French 
 would regard it as a violation of the frontier of the Main, and that 
 therefore it might bring about a war. As the King was fatigued 
 and others were still waiting, the audience lasted but a very short 
 time. 
 
 At three o'clock the sitting of the Tariff Parliament took 
 place. Hereat only the appointments to committees was effected. 
 At four I paid some calls, at six I dined at Perglas's, with Viktor, 
 Luxburg, and Berchem. At eight I had arranged to visit Bismarck. 
 As usual I found him very pleasant and complaisant. In his 
 remarks on the Tariff Parliament he was guarded. He expressed 
 the hope that all would pass off quietly. We then went on to 
 discuss the fortress question, regarding which he stated his 
 approval of the plan for the distribution of federal property, 
 and emphasised the necessity of Bavaria's occupying the pre- 
 ponderant position in the question of the administration and 
 garrisoning of Ulm, whereas Wiirtemberg was more concerned 
 with Rastatt; he also said that Prussia did not contemplate 
 injuring the South German States, more especially W T tirtemberg 
 and Baden, by calling upon them to disburse sums of money. 
 The main point was to make South Germany capable of defence. 
 An understanding should be arrived at regarding the up-keep of 
 Mayence, Rastatt, and Ulm. This would, however, be the natural 
 outcome of the deliberations on the distribution of federal pro- 
 perty. As regards war with France, it was as impossible to say 
 anything definite about it as about the kind of weather to be
 
 284 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 expected in July. However, he did not believe that there would 
 be war, as France would think twice before joining issue with 
 Germany. The French plan of campaign was to invade South 
 Germany with 50,000 men and force the States into neutrality. 
 This would certainly be a difficult moment for South Germany, 
 for though Prussia would instantly have 200,000 men at Coblentz, 
 and within a brief delay 500,000 wherewith to march on Paris, 
 still it required time. If we were prepared, and able to detain 
 the French, so much the better. 
 
 At nine o'clock I went to the Queen. She spoke at length 
 about the King of Bavaria, and expressed her sympathy with him. 
 She hoped that he would soon marry. Later on the King came, 
 then Roggenbach, Watzdorf, and Viktor. Various matters were 
 discussed, particularly the address,* which is condemned by all 
 Conservatives. Bismarck is said to be against it, but expresses 
 himself with caution. Here they are obviously anxious not to 
 offend the National Liberal party. 
 
 At the sitting of the Tariff Parliament on April 28, 1868, 
 Prince Hohenlohe was elected First Vice-President by 238 out 
 of 301 available votes (59 were for Freiherr von Thiingen). 
 He accepted the election in the following words : 
 "Permit me, gentlemen, to express to you my heart-felt thanks 
 for the honour you have done me in electing me as your First Vice- 
 President. I am, however, aware that I owe this honour, not to 
 my own merits, but to the consideration which a great portion of 
 this assembly believes to be due to the South German members. 
 Yet this conviction does not lessen, but increases my gratitude. 
 For if I may be allowed to say so, you here extend to us a friendly 
 hand, which we clasp in the confidence that South German pe- 
 culiarities and South German opinions will be treated in this 
 assembly with respect and recognition, and that we shall succeed 
 in discharging the task allotted to us by the treaty of July 8 of 
 last year in patriotic concord and devotion. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Berlin, April 29, evening. 
 
 This forenoon a sitting of committees came first. I found 
 Franckenstein, Aretin, and Eichthal, who were members of said 
 committee. Twesten was elected chairman, a few unknown per- 
 sons as secretaries. 
 
 Then the election of the President and Vice-President took 
 place. This lasted an hour or two. Simson was chosen by a 
 large majority, and I also, whereupon I returned thanks, which 
 made a good impression, as I expressed myself easily and fluently. 
 
 *The National Liberal motion of Metz and his colleagues proposed 
 the presentation by the Tariff Parliament of an address to the King of 
 Prussia.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 285 
 
 The substance, too, was praised as being full of tact. I was glad 
 to have made my debut thus. It is no easy matter to speak before 
 this assembly. A number of members were introduced to me 
 immediately afterwards. 
 
 Hugo's * election was only confirmed by the second ballot. 
 
 Then I went home to change, and at four o'clock we drove to 
 the great banquet. It was a brilliant and splendid assembly, 
 a great sight, the King and Queen very amiable. Casino and 
 theatre in the evening. 
 
 Berlin, May 8, 1868. 
 
 After arriving yesterday morning at eight o'clock in Berlin, 
 I first sent to Roggcnbach to obtain exact information as to the 
 condition of the conferences respecting the address. And 
 Roggcnbach soon came, and told me the wording of his preamble, 
 to the Order of the Day, to which I thought I could quite agree. 
 The matter was also gone through with Tauffkirchen and Lux- 
 burg, who arrived somewhat later, and it seemed that, after 
 previous party discussions, the motion on the simple Order of the 
 Day was considered to have the chief chance of being carried. 
 Anyway, the withdrawal of the von Thiingen party was decided, 
 should the simple Order of the Day not be carried, and the two 
 Wtirtemberg Ministers had also made up their minds to leave the 
 hall. I went to the sitting with the intention of voting for the 
 address on the Order of the Day.f Bennigsen spoke first as 
 prolocutor for the address. He was thoroughly calm and mode- 
 rate, and his speech made a good impression. Then Thiingen 
 spoke with conciliatory intention, but not particularly well. 
 His reference to the friendship between South and North 
 Germany being "a tender plant" was obviously unfortunate, 
 for it provoked great hilarity in the assembly. Following 
 him, Blankenburg spoke in favour of the simple Order of 
 the Day, and Bluntschli for the address. Blankenburg had 
 moved the simple Order of the Day, but accompanied by riders 
 which were very acceptable. His speech was witty, but he 
 reckoned too much on arousing the hilarity of the House. 
 Bluntschli spoke at some length, diffusely, tired the assemblage, 
 and thereby injured his cause. I now discovered that only the 
 National Liberals and the South Germans in favour of joining 
 the North German Federation were against the simple Order of 
 
 * Prince Hugo zu Hohenlohe-Oehringen, Duke of Ujest. 
 
 f The preamble to the Order of the Day of Freiherr von Roggenbach 
 was worded as follows: "Whereas the reconstitution of the Zollvenin 
 on the basis of the Tariff treaty summons the representatives of the 
 German people to combined action in legislative matters, and thereby 
 affords a pledge of a continuous development of the national institutions 
 and a peaceful fulfilment to legitimate national demands for the active 
 union of the powers of State; whereas harmonious concerted action in 
 executing the tasks of the Tariff Parliament is the chief means to further 
 this end — the Order of the Day is moved before the motion for the address."
 
 286 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the Day, and that all other parties were in favour of it, except 
 these members who, like Ujest and Roggenbach, had signed the 
 preamble to the Order of the Day. Thereby I should have found 
 myself, as Bavarian Minister, in the dubious position of voting 
 not only against Conservatives and Ultra montanes, but also 
 against the federalist groups. Thereby, notwithstanding the 
 moderate wording of the preamble to the Order of the Day, I 
 should have placed myself in the position of the party whose 
 aim it is to effect the abolition of independence of single States. 
 Such a position would have been more than equivocal, and would 
 have compromised the Bavarian Government as such. After 
 all the speakers against the address had urged adhesion to 
 the treaties, and Thiingen himself — to the horror of his party — 
 the continuous development by means of treaty, I decided to 
 vote for the simple Order of the Day, and discussed the matter 
 with Edel and a few other Bavarians, who quite approved of my 
 decision. Even Stauffenberg, who had been obliged to vote 
 against the simple Order of the Day, advised me to vote in its 
 favour. 
 
 The majority accepted the simple Order of the Day,* thereby 
 terminating a disagreeable debate of several days' duration. 
 After the sitting this result was much discussed, but the great 
 majority of those competent to judge are inclined to regard it as 
 advantageous. For even if the national question is thereby 
 adjourned, still it is in accordance with the present mood in South 
 Germany, and will tend materially to reassure people's minds, 
 which is the chief point for the time being, if the rapprochement 
 of the German races is not to be menaced. In view of 
 the French I would have preferred a different result, for they will 
 be pleased with this one. However, if irritation in France is 
 thereby allayed and peace secured, it certainly is a fortunate 
 result. 
 
 During the entire debate and the previous consultations 
 Bismarck behaved with great reserve. They say that apprehen- 
 sions of war are increasing here, especially in consequence of 
 reports from England. I shall make some diplomatic calls to-day, 
 and hope to hear something more definite. 
 
 On May 21a banquet was given by the town of Berlin at the 
 New Exchange, in honour of the South German members of the 
 Tariff Parliament. Count Bismarck made the first speech, 
 which concluded with a hearty "An revoirV to his South 
 German brethren. Thereupon Prince Hohenlohe replied: 
 
 "The enthusiasm evoked in the hearts of South Germans by 
 the words of the Federal Chancellor will prove to you that a 
 rapprochement has taken place between the South and the North, 
 which instead of being diminished has been increased by the 
 
 * By 186 votes to 150. The majority was composed of Conservatives, 
 the Progressive party, and the South German, group.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 287 
 
 labours of the Tariff Parliament. I believe you will agree with 
 me when I say that the achievements of German intellect have 
 drawn closer the ties which link together the German races. 
 To this fraternising of German intellect has been allotted a 
 mission which is far higher and more glorious than other so- 
 called civilising missions. (Enthusiastic applause.) Let us hold 
 together in this spirit, in this mission. I call for cheers for the 
 union of the German races!" 
 
 After the Prince, Volk spoke on "the Future of the German 
 State." 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Berlin, May 23, 1868. 
 
 In consequence of the number of fatiguing debates I had to 
 discontinue my jottings. And indeed little of importance has 
 occurred. The debates were interesting, but these have 
 been taken down in shorthand and printed. Apart from the 
 debates, a conversation with Varnbiiler concerning the fortress 
 question was of importance, as also some talks with Bismarck, 
 and finally a consultation which Bluntschli had asked for. 
 Varnbiiler looks upon my position here askance; the Vice- 
 Presidency of the Tariff Parliament, my good understanding 
 with Bismarck, who knows that I do not deceive him, my rela- 
 tions with the Court, &c. — all this "poisons" him, and was the 
 reason why his illness — which, however, was bona fide — was 
 prolonged more than was perhaps necessary. 
 
 At my first interview with Varnbiiler the fortress question was 
 discussed.* Varnbiiler wanted to arrive at an understanding, 
 but thought that he could easily get the better of me alone, and 
 therefore wished to negotiate with me direct. I, however, sum- 
 moned Volderndorff from Munich with the documents. At 
 the interview we agreed that it was necessary to arrive at an 
 understanding between Bavaria and Wiirtemberg before conven- 
 ing the Liquidation Commission. Yet, whether it will be effect! d 
 
 * The Federal Liquidation Commission had adjourned on July 31, 
 1867, without carrying into execution the actual settlement that Bavaria 
 had desired. The respective claims had only been determined arithmetically. 
 This legal situation obstructed the territorial States' free control of the 
 movable effects in the South German fortresses. Hence in April 1868 
 the Bavarian Government had prompted negotiations with the object of 
 " distributing, by definite apportionment, the movable effects of the some- 
 time federal fortresses, which up to the present was actually common prop- 
 erty." According to the wishes of the Bavarian Government, members 
 be called upon to deliberate on the formation of a standing South German 
 Military Commission, and upon uniform fortress regulations. In affairs, 
 concerning the fortress of Ulm, it was a matter of the utmost urgency 
 that there should be an understanding between Bavaria and Wiirtemberg, 
 since from its geographical position it could fulfil its purpose only as a homo- 
 geneously administered fortified position.
 
 288 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 is an open question, and therefore I did not assent to Vambuler's 
 wish; instead of giving up the convening of the Liquidation 
 Commission, I formulated the protocol in such a manner that 
 the convoking of the Liquidation Commission was not contingent 
 on the consummation of an understanding between Bavaria 
 and Wurtemberg regarding Ulm. Varnbiiler also wished that 
 before the outbreak of a war with France, Prussia should give 
 assurances : 
 
 (i) That we shall take part in the peace negotiations after 
 the war. 
 
 (2) That after the war the constitutional situation shall re- 
 main as it is. 
 
 On this I remarked that Prussia would never agree. 
 Varnbiiler wanted to know if I had any objection, doubtless 
 in order to refer it all to Bismarck. Meanwhile, as I am leaving 
 to-morrow, I have let Perglas know, so as to keep an eye on 
 Varnbiiler. Bluntschli has been with me, to tell me that surely 
 something ought now to be done to further the national question ; 
 but nothing could be effected without Bismarck, and Bismarck 
 was considerate to Bavaria, and therefore much depended upon 
 us. Baden and Hesse, he continued, could not possibly 
 remain longer as they are now ; Bismarck would include them also 
 in the North German Confederation ; he did not care a bit about 
 France, but did for Bavaria. Might not something be offered to 
 us, an exceptional position, by which we would be so favoured 
 that we could then more easily venture upon an alliance. Bavaria 
 was a State of justifiable importance, which could not be treated 
 like Baden and Hesse. 
 
 To my inquiry what he understood by the favoured position 
 of Bavaria, he said that diplomacy and the Army might be left 
 to Bavaria ; to the King a post of honour, possibly a Vice-regency, 
 might be conceded. I explained to him that it was very difficult 
 to represent these concessions as sufficient. Those against enter- 
 ing the North German Confederation would not allow themselves 
 to be decided thereby. The dynasty would not, in order to avoid 
 one eventuality which was no certainty, accept something 
 positively distasteful. However, I left it to him to com- 
 municate his views to me by letter. Roggenbach, to whom I 
 spoke later, took the opposite view. He considered that nothing 
 should be done now. There was no reason for it. 
 
 Berlin, May 24, 1868. 
 During my parting visit to Bismarck conversation first turned 
 on the Tariff Parliament, on its success, on the closing Speech 
 from the Throne, which had not pleased the National Liberal 
 party, a fact emphasised by Bismarck with a certain empresse- 
 ment, and I then turned the conversation to the Army and fortress 
 question. As regards this, he repeated what he had already told 
 me, namely, that he would prefer if the discussions with the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 289 
 
 Bavarian Military Commissioner could be managed alone, 
 without another from Wurtembcrg, as a disturbance of public 
 opinion might easily be aroused by a combined discussion. As 
 for the fortress question, he obviously has a high opinion of the 
 Distribution Commission, and begged that the question might 
 not be let drop. Concerning the military importance of Ulm, 
 he did not express himself clearly; but from what he said he 
 seemed to fear that if we gave over Ulm entirely to Wurtemberg, 
 unless the fortress were previously quite dismantled, then Austria 
 would lay hands upon it when opportunity arose. How serious 
 generally is Austria's attitude to Bavaria he sought to prove- 
 by relating that at Nikolsburg they had declared themselves 
 ready to cede Austrian Silesia if the boundary of the Inn might 
 then be shifted ; in like manner, audacious politicians at Nikols- 
 burg had spoken of a cession of old Austrian Wurtemberg from 
 the Black Forest to Ulm. In any case, Bavaria's right to garrison 
 Ulm must be discussed during the distribution. It is a good 
 thing that we did not engage ourselves further to Varnbulcr, and 
 during the deliberations with the Wurtemberg Commissioners 
 it is imperative that we should not concede the smallest point, 
 since Prussia is certain to support us for fear of Austria garrisoning 
 Ulm in the future. Bismarck does not wish the Liquidation 
 Commission to be convened before the end of August, for he 
 attaches so much importance to it that he would not like to be 
 without knowledge of what is taking place there, and yet will 
 not cut short his leave at an earlier date. 
 
 I then asked whether the question of the South German 
 Confederation had not again been mooted from an Austrian 
 quarter since Count Wimpffen's disclosure of the conversation 
 between me and Beust in November. He, of course, observed that 
 I only put this question in order to know what he would say to 
 the South German Confederation, and he at once stated that he 
 himself was in reality not opposed to it; he did not share the 
 opinion that a division of Germany would bring about the per- 
 manency of the Main frontier, but he did not enter into the 
 matter further. However, he added, that if he was unable to 
 declare himself in favour of it, it was because he would thereby 
 offend public opinion and more especially the National Liberals, 
 who would see in it an attack on the union of the German races. 
 He, on the contrary', saw in it the means of effecting an under- 
 standing. To my remark that for the promotion of this project 
 a good understanding between Prussia and Austria was of im- 
 portance, he replied that Beust had always been very reserved, 
 that he had represented the Tauffkirchen mission in a false light 
 and had omitted to take advantage of it, and that in consequence 
 there had been a closer union between Russia and Prussia. He 
 did not ignore the consideration which Beust owed the French, 
 but regretted — whether sincerely or not — that a rapprochement 
 between Prussia and Austria had hitherto been impossible. As 
 
 VOL. 1 — u
 
 290 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 regards the war question, he repeated to me what he had pre- 
 viously said, that the French could only place 320,000 men in 
 the field, whereas North Germany could have 500,000 at its 
 immediate disposal. 
 
 He further repeated to me a conversation he had yesterday, 
 in which an opponent of the treaties of alliance from Wiirtemberg 
 had expressed himself to the effect that on the outbreak of war 
 with France we should all have to advance against the French. 
 He (Bismarck) had replied that it was an absolutely unjustifiable 
 assumption to suppose that Prussia would make use of the 
 treaties for wars of conquest. He did not know what Prussia 
 was to conquer; he enumerated the border lands, mentioned 
 Poland, Bohemia, Belgium, and Alsace. 
 
 At length we parted on the most friendly terms. I refrained 
 from alluding to the question of accrediting the Bavarian Minister 
 by the North German Confederation, as I thought it advisable 
 to abstain from exposing myself to an evasive answer ; moreover, 
 I preferred to mention the matter to Werther. 
 
 Speech delivered at the dinner in the Bayrischer Hof on 
 Constitution Day, May 26, 1868. 
 
 Gentlemen, — If there is a day on which we may be proud to 
 call ourselves Bavarians, if there is a festival which justifies us 
 in looking upon the past with lofty satisfaction, and upon the 
 future with joyous confidence, it is the festival which to-day 
 celebrates the union of Prince and people, that union which is the 
 basis of our freedom, our independence, and of our existence as 
 a State. That we are able to celebrate this festival in unclouded 
 gladness is due to our dynasty, and therefore it is fitting that there 
 should rise before us to-day the stately figures of those monarchs 
 who, in our own time, have held the fate of our country in their 
 hands. 
 
 Thus we see first King Maximilian L, well named the Good 
 by his people, the never-to-be-forgotten giver of the constitution: 
 that exceptional Monarch who, of his own free will, offered the 
 constitutional bond which has now for fifty years linked together 
 Crown and people in harmonious co-operation. 
 
 We see King Ludwig I., unfaltering and self-confident, 
 ascending the throne of his fathers, and in a long reign, 
 and a still longer life fraught with blessings, striving, in 
 righteousness and steadfastness, towards those goals which 
 his exalted mind singled out as right. What King Ludwig was 
 to Bavaria, what he was to the world, has lately been set forth by 
 more eloquent lips than mine; yet all eloquence must be put to 
 shame in face of his achievements, and of the tears with which 
 his people accompanied him to his last resting-place. 
 
 Recollections of King Max II. unite to form a harmonious 
 picture; his hearty enthusiasm for truth and justice, his gracious
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 291 
 
 clemency, his vigilant conscientiousness, which always enabled 
 him to find the means of maintaining peace with his people, or 
 if it was disturbed, of re-establishing it on a firm basis. 
 
 Over all this princely line hovers a guardian spirit of 
 fidelity, which repels any temptation to turn and twist the Royal 
 pledge. 
 
 Thus our most gracious Sovereign Lord, his present Majesty 
 King Ludwig II., has assumed the reins of Government under 
 the auspices of illustrious examples. 
 
 On him also a rich profusion of intellectual gifts has 
 been bestowed, richer, perhaps, than on any of his prede- 
 cessors; and we are the readier to discern a sure guarantee 
 for the future, in that the King has succeeded, during the brief 
 duration of his reign, in promoting progress in our in- 
 ternal circumstances in a manner which realises our fondest 
 hopes. And just as the King has declared to his people to-day 
 in sublime words, "that, following the example of his ancestors, 
 he too will hold aloft the banner of the constitution," so we offer 
 him to-day the expression of our gratitude, our veneration and 
 our love, the love of his people, which is the true foundation of 
 every princely throne. 
 
 Report 0} Freiherr von Perglas, the Bavarian 
 Minister at Berlin. 
 
 Berlin, May 25, 1865. 
 
 Although I have already verbally acquainted your Highness 
 with the intimation of the French Ambassador at Berlin, I do 
 not omit to set forth the matter herewith in writing. 
 
 Monsieur Benedetti came to me yesterday and lodged a formal 
 complaint against the phrasing of a passage in the speech made by 
 your Highness at the banquet at the Exchange, to wit, when 
 your Highness spoke of the "so-called civilising mission of another 
 nation." As the applause which greeted this idea and its wording, 
 and the general opinion obtaining here, both go to prove that the 
 passage refers unmistakably to France, he regretted exceedingly 
 that your Highness should have felt inclined, as Minister of Ba- 
 varia, to use the phrase publicly ; for it is being exploited by the 
 Press, and on account of the still more insulting expression "so- 
 called," has produced a very bad impression in France. He felt 
 bound to characterise your Highness's action as not courtois, in 
 view more particularly of the complete and absolute reserve dis- 
 played by the French Government and the French Ambassador at 
 Berlin on the occasion of the meeting of the Tariff Parliament, and 
 with general reference to the domestic policy of Germany; hence 
 he could not consider the attitude of your Highness as satisfactory 
 or justifiable and made no secret to myself of the fact that he had 
 drawn up his report to Paris from this point of view, the more so 
 as his impressions were shared by all with whom he had discussed 
 the subject.
 
 292 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 M. Benedetti had characterised the action as directed against 
 the Emperor personally. In this case, and in reply to his remon- 
 strances as a whole, I denied the existence of any direct intention 
 on the part of your Highness to manifest an official or ministerial 
 disregard of the feelings of France; further, I reminded the 
 Ambassador of my mission to Paris, during which your Highness 
 continually gave proof to the French Government, through myself, 
 of the value which was attached to the maintenance of close 
 and satisfactory relations with the French Government; hence 
 I could not admit that your Highness had intended offence to any 
 nation in the position of France, and least of all to the person 
 of the Emperor. 
 
 M. Benedetti requested me to transmit this communication to 
 your Highness, he retained his attitude of protest, but did not 
 change the character of the friendly and satisfactory relations 
 subsisting between him and myself. 
 
 Note of the Prince under date May 28, 1868. 
 
 The despatch of Freiherr von Perglas induced me, upon the 
 occasion of the conversation with the Marquis de Cadore, to ex- 
 press my astonishment to the latter upon the communication 
 from Benedetti transmitted through Perglas. I informed him 
 that it was a total misconception for the Ambassador in Berlin 
 to regard this as an official expression from the Bavarian 
 Minister, that I had spoken as a member of the Tariff 
 Parliament, had made no reference to the French Government, 
 and could, therefore, only express my regret if this utterance, 
 which must have been imperfectly reported, should have given 
 rise to misunderstanding. 
 
 To the Bavarian Minister in Berlin. 
 
 Berlin, May 28, 1868. 
 
 In consequence of the communication contained in your 
 report, I called yesterday upon the Marquis de Cadore, the Imperial 
 Minister accredited to this Court, and expressed my astonish- 
 ment at the fact that M. Benedetti had ventured to make a com- 
 munication of this nature to myself through your Excellency. 
 I observed that I could only assume this to be merely the pri- 
 vate opinion of M. Benedetti, a view also shared by M. de Cadore. 
 I further added that my expressions were not to be regarded as 
 the official views of the Bavarian Government, and that in speak- 
 ing to that toast, I had made no reference to the French nation, 
 and therefore regretted any misunderstanding to which my ex- 
 pressions might have given rise. This communication is intended 
 merely for the official information of your Excellency, and implies 
 no direction to you to pursue the subject any further.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 293 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, June 5, 1868. 
 
 Yesterday I was at a dinner given by the French Minister 
 to Prince Napoleon on the occasion of his passage through the 
 town.* In addition to the Prince's suite and the staff of the 
 French Legation, the guests included Count Castell, Count Moy, 
 General von der Tann, Herr von Schrenck, and the Austrian and 
 Italian Ministers. 
 
 I sat next to the Prince. During dinner he discussed various 
 points affecting the domestic administration of Bavaria, the 
 composition of the Upper House and its proceedings, the budget, 
 &c. He seemed to be very well informed, and his questions were 
 intended only to secure confirmation of what he had previously 
 been told. 
 
 After dinner the Prince took me aside in the course of the 
 evening, and began a conversation upon points of more vital 
 political importance. 
 
 He spoke of Wurtemberg, which he knows well, and said that 
 the spirit of the Wurtemberg officers had changed in a remarkable 
 degree; they were dissatisfied with their position as officers of a 
 small army, and were anxious to become part of a German 
 army. He then referred to the Zollverein, and to the dangers 
 with which the new organisation threatened the independence of 
 the individual South German States, seeing that the proposal 
 was not a convention, but a union, which would make us parts 
 of a larger whole: he mentioned the comparison with Belgium, 
 which had been already drawn in the well-known despatch of 
 Count Quadt, but concluded by saying that nothing could be 
 done. He also referred to the treaties of alliance, and contested 
 their reciprocity. He said that he had asked Bismarck whether 
 he would recognise a casus joederis supposing that Bavaria, in 
 o^der to conquer the Tyrol, should declare war upon Austria, to 
 which Bismarck had replied, " De droit, out; de fait, non." 
 
 He said that the South German Federation had previously 
 been a possibility, but was so no longer. Wurtemberg would 
 renounce her independence in favour of a Grande Allemagne, 
 but not in favour of Bavaria. If, indeed, the King of Bavaria 
 were willing to stake his all to mount horse and to drive out the 
 King of Wurtemberg and the Grand Duke of Baden, with the 
 help of the revolution, it might then be possible to found a South 
 German Kingdom which would have Austria and France for 
 its good friends and allies. He added: "Je n'ai jamais compris 
 la triade avec deux souverains et une confederation," this Triad 
 could only be founded upon a centralised monarchy ; this, however, 
 was a dangerous method and therefore required a monarch of 
 matured experience, very popular in Germany and resolved to act 
 with boldness. 
 
 * Prince Napoleon stayed in Munich from June 3 to 5 during his tour 
 in Germany. King Ludwig could not make up his mind to receive him.
 
 294 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Passing to the question of war, I ventured to remark that I 
 could not understand the general desire for war in France, as no 
 one would gain anything thereby. 
 
 He admitted this, but said that the peculiarities of the French 
 character must be considered. The Frenchman could not wait 
 like the German. What he considered desirable he attempted to 
 secure forthwith. Commercial intercourse was greatly hampered, 
 and the Frenchman thought that the disturbances would cease 
 after the war; as his immediate position was intolerable he 
 hoped that war would bring peace and quietness and an improve- 
 ment in trade. 
 
 "Quant a moi" he added, "je trouve que la guerre est un 
 immense malheur quHl faut eviter a tout prix, elle n'aura que des 
 consequences junestes, et vous serez perdus les premiers. Uunite 
 allemande sera jaite. Vous avez done tout inter et a desirer la paix." 
 
 Moreover he was convinced that Prussia did not desire war, 
 as she had nothing to gain by it; there was no reason to upset 
 the process of German development. He added, however, 
 that though he thought the independence of the South German 
 States was now menaced, yet that the danger was not immediate 
 and that the actual situation might continue unchanged for many 
 years. 
 
 Throughout the conversation he displayed a great admiration 
 for Bismarck, and a great respect for Prussian institutions. He 
 regarded the talk of Prussia's domestic difficulties as a non- 
 sensical exaggeration. He is well acquainted with the worst side 
 of the Prussian character and regards the South Germans as more 
 talented, more self-reliant, and more appreciative of the pleasures 
 of life, whereas the North German was by nature restless and 
 ever working for profit. At the same time he laid great stress 
 upon the remarkable discipline of the Prussian nation, upon the 
 military system and the administration. 
 
 Eventually he spoke of the King. He said, "Ow dit que votre 
 roi est charmant, quHl a beaucoup d 1 esprit et de talent, mais il est 
 timideV I replied that I was sorry he could not make the King's 
 acquaintance, but his Majesty had been very unwell and needed 
 change of air in the mountains ; this the Prince regarded as per- 
 fectly natural. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, June 5, 1868. 
 
 Your faithful servant ventures with his humble duty to apply 
 to your Majesty for a grant of leave from June 12 until the end of 
 the month for the purpose of recuperation in the mountains after 
 the exhausting work of the past winter and of his stay in Berlin. 
 
 At the same time he humbly requests your Majesty to con- 
 sider the possibility of previously granting him an audience 
 to receive his report by word of mouth upon his stay in Berlin, 
 especially upon his conversation with Prince Napoleon.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 295 
 
 Your Majesty's gracious permission would enable his humble 
 servant to put an end to those reports continually disseminated 
 by parties and ambitious individuals, which represent your 
 humble servant as deprived of the gracious confidence of your 
 Majesty. 
 
 Marginal Rescript 0} the King. 
 
 After 1 have received you in audience, I am ready to grant 
 the leave for which you ask in the hope that it may secure the 
 necessary recuperation of your health and powers. 
 
 Ludwig. 
 
 Schloss Berg, June 13, 1868. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Aussee, June 15, 1868. 
 
 Before leaving Munich, I wished to make a report to the King 
 upon my stay in Berlin, and also upon my conversation with Prince- 
 Napoleon, and therefore sent a request for an audience. The 
 Secretary Lipowsky replied saying that the King, "as a mark 
 of his gracious confidence," would probably receive me on the day 
 of the procession. During divine sendee I was informed that 
 the King would receive me immediately after the procession. 
 
 I found the King remarkably amiable and cheerful. He asked 
 whether the flowers which he had sent to me from Hohen- 
 schwangau arrived in good condition, at which I seized the 
 opportunity to renew my thanks. We then spoke of my stay in 
 Berlin; I told him that my final impressions were better than I 
 had dared to hope at first, that even the National Liberal party 
 recognised the constitutional claims of Bavaria, and understood 
 that Bavaria was too big to enter into a relationship with the North 
 German Confederation analogous to that of Saxony or Mecklen- 
 buig. In any case I said there was nothing to be feared from 
 Prussia for the present. The conversation then turned upon 
 the Ultramontane party, with which the King showed much 
 indignation. I explained that the party was necessary to the 
 interests of the dynasty, but was to be kept at arm's-length as the 
 Ultramontanes were anxious to unite Bavaria with Austria, and 
 were, therefore, not to be trusted. With this the King fully 
 agreed. When I observed that this party was aiming at my 
 overthrow and were already prepared with a new Ministry, he 
 said that the appointment of Ministers rested with him. He ex- 
 pressed himself as entirely satisfied with my toast on the date of the 
 Constitution Celebration, and especially referred to the eloquence 
 of my speech. He then spoke of the Ministers, and said that I must 
 exert greater authority, and that they must do what I told them 
 as I was Premier. 
 
 I replied that for this purpose I required only the King's 
 confidence, and some proof that I possessed this confidence, which 
 could best be secured if he often saw me personally, and issued his
 
 296 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 orders to the Cabinet directly through me. Passing to the visit 
 of Prince Napoleon, he said that the Emperor's ill-humour (if such 
 had been provoked by his refusal to receive the Prince) might be 
 soothed if he wrote him a polite letter. I disputed this and said, 
 "Qui s' excuse s'accuse," adding that nothing could be done now, 
 and that if the King afterwards desired to win the favour of the 
 French Court, this could best be secured by a short visit to Paris. 
 When I told him that Prince Napoleon had been very sorry not 
 to see him as he had heard so much of his Majesty, he seemed 
 to be vexed and continually reverted to the point. The con- 
 versation then turned upon the Meister singer, which was to be 
 produced on the 21st by Wagner and Frau von Biilow. In 
 conclusion I asked for a fortnight's leave. 
 
 In the evening Gustav Castell accompanied me to the theatre. 
 He said that Holnstein had told him that I now possessed the 
 King's full confidence, though my position a few weeks previously 
 had been uncertain. Holnstein had told him that Lipowsky had 
 been negotiating with Platen, who was to take my place. There 
 must be a misunderstanding here. I am more inclined to think 
 that negotiations have been opened with Windthorst — in any case 
 Lipowsky has been intriguing against me. Before my departure 
 on the next morning, I therefore commissioned Volderndorff to 
 look out for some one to take Lipowsky' s place, and at the same 
 time to discover whether negotiations upon my successor had 
 really been opened or not, in order that I might arrange for his 
 removal after my return. 
 
 The protocol of December 7, 1867,* had urged the military 
 importance of organising some body which "should systematise 
 the best points of junction between individual places and positions, 
 while steadily keeping in view the defensive system of Germany." 
 It had been originally intended to entrust this task also to the 
 commission already charged with the continuance of the negotia- 
 tions as to the regulations of the communal property of the German 
 States. On April 9, 1868, the Bavarian Government advised a 
 resumption of the work of the Liquidation Commission, which 
 had been adjourned on July 31, 1867, proposing that the South 
 German commissioners should also be requested to discuss the 
 formation of a South German Military Commission. Baden agreed 
 with this proposal on condition that the commissioners to be 
 appointed should have the unrestricted right of discussing the 
 composition and the competence of the proposed standing commis- 
 sion, the formation of which was contemplated. The negotiations 
 in Berlin between Bavaria and Wurtemberg concerning Ulm 
 ended in a convention which presupposed the South German 
 Military Commission, and the performance of the proposals 
 advanced by the protocol of December 7, 1867, thus became 
 
 * See p. 267.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 297 
 
 immediately necessary to the execution of this convention. More- 
 over Bavaria was now anxious for this commission to be formed 
 before the Liquidation Commission resumed its labours. Hence 
 it was thought desirable not to delay in meeting the wishes of the 
 Baden Government which were directed to secure the representa- 
 tion of the North German Confederation in the proposed commis- 
 sion. The Bavarian Minister at Karlsruhe therefore laid before the 
 local Ministry on July 3, 1868, a draft of "the general principles 
 of the organisation of a South German Military Commission," 
 which was to come into existence at Munich on July 15. The draft 
 provided the commission with very extensive powers. Fortress 
 authorities were "to be subordinated and pledged by oath" 
 to the commission and were "to receive all instructions directly 
 through the commission." The Baden Government regarded this 
 demand, more especially because of the shortness of the notice 
 given, as "unexpected and discourteous," and, on July 6, declined 
 the invitation. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, July 10, 1868. 
 
 Inasmuch as verbal communications made by the Minister 
 of the Grand Duke of Baden give reason to fear that the South 
 German Military Commission initiated notice by your Majesty's 
 most faithful servant, the undersigned, in conjunction with the 
 Minister of War, will cause misgivings at Karlsruhe, and whereas 
 these might perhaps be removed by a personal interview with the 
 Archduke, your most faithful servant ventures to crave your 
 Majesty's gracious permission to proceed to Baden-Baden under 
 pretext of private business, there to endeavour to allay the doubts 
 of the Grand Duke and obtain his consent to the proposals 
 in question. 
 
 At the same time the undersigned most respectfully ventures 
 to crave your Majesty's gracious permission to take this 
 opportunity to stop on the way at Stuttgart in order to arrange 
 personally with Freiherr von Varnbiiler for the ratification of 
 the Compact of Ulm. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Baden, July 14, 1868. 
 
 Early on the 13th I arrived in Stuttgart, where I found a 
 telegram from Varnbiiler, who told me to expect him back from 
 his country house at ten o'clock. However, as early as nine 
 o'clock he sent to ask if he might come to see me ; whereupon I 
 went to him. 
 
 He received me with the remark that he had just received 
 the King's ratification and had accordingly given orders to 
 draw up the protocol, and was ready to proceed at once to its 
 signature and the exchange of copies. Next he pointed out
 
 298 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 what concessions Wurtemberg had made.* By the transfer of 
 the Deputy Governorship to Bavaria — in other words, the aboli- 
 tion of the Wurtemberg Vice-Governor — he said that the second 
 city of the kingdom, in case of the Governor being incapacitated, 
 was given into the hands of Bavaria; the Director of Engineering 
 was likewise a heavy sacrifice, and it was only with great diffi- 
 culty that he had managed to arrange all this. 
 
 Besides, the matter was bound to cause him grave difficulties 
 in the Chamber — difficulties which he could only grapple with 
 successfully if we, on the other hand, met him on the question of 
 communications. On this point he had already come to an under- 
 standing with Herr von Senior, and he begged me to support Herr 
 von Senior's views. 
 
 He expressed as his wishes the abbreviation of the appointed 
 period within which the line from Heidenheim to Ulm was not 
 to be built, the question of a branch southwards from Ulm, 
 and the accelerated completion of the railway from Ansbach 
 to Crailsheim. He was desirous that these points should be 
 embodied in a State compact. I told him in reply that I had not 
 as yet discussed the subject with Settlor, who was away on leave, 
 but promised to do my utmost to meet his wishes. 
 
 As regarded the Military Commission, he was convinced of its 
 necessity. He had only to recall the points which were laid 
 down at Munich: (i) The railways, mention of which in this 
 general matter he would not admit. As military men under- 
 stood nothing of railway affairs he could not let the direction 
 of these out of his hands, but could at most allow an 
 opinion to be given upon railway construction from the 
 strategical point of view. (2) The question of the Presidency. 
 If the Commission met at Munich, then to give Bavaria the 
 Presidency into the bargain would be too much. If it sat 
 anywhere else, he had no objection to raise against the proposal. 
 He had gathered from the Prussian Minister that Baden had 
 taken umbrage at the fact that we had held the conference and 
 had signed the protocol of May 23 at Berlin, that Baden was 
 annoyed at being out- voted and that all sorts of difficulties 
 were being raised there. It would certainly not be difficult for 
 me to clear up the misunderstanding with the Archduke. 
 
 He was ready, he declared, to send some one to a conference 
 but advised the postponement of the Liquidation Commission 
 in order to gain time, for a conference of the South German 
 States, and for the organisation of the Fortress Commission 
 — as he recommended its being called. 
 
 If the Liquidation Commission were put off till September 10 
 or 20, then the preliminary conference could be held in the course 
 of August. Otherwise, on September 1 everything would be 
 still in nubibus. 
 
 * Bavaria, by the Compact of Ulm, was accorded the right of appointing 
 the Deputy-Governor and the Director of Engineering.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 299 
 
 He then spoke about the elections, which had turned out so ill, 
 because the Ultramontanes, on whose support the Government 
 had reckoned, had at the last moment made a complete volte- 
 face — and that in obedience to direct instructions from Rome! 
 
 Next he began upon Degenfeld,* whom he wishes to recall 
 as soon as he can, viz., as soon as the elections of Knights, 
 in which class Degenfeld had friends, should be over, then he 
 will send either Linden or Soden. If he should find it im- 
 possible to appoint Linden, I might help him out of the dilemma 
 by writing a letter in favour of Soden. He will keep me informed 
 as to this. 
 
 After this interview was concluded, the protocol was signed. 
 The exchange of documents will be made by Gasser, who, 
 all this time, was in bed. 
 
 At two o'clock I went to Baden. There a letter awaited me 
 from the Grand Duke's Aide-de-camp, asking me to come to see 
 the Grand Duke at eight o'clock the same evening. I found the 
 latter quite restored to health. I opened my address at once 
 with an exposition of the circumstances and an explanation 
 of the misunderstanding, pointing out that no arrangement 
 had been come to with Wiirtemberg, and that the discussion as 
 to the Military, otherwise called the Fortress, Commission had 
 only arisen out of the Ulm conferences; laid special stress 
 on the necessity of an understanding between the South German 
 States on the Fortress question; emphasised the fact that, 
 particularly in view of the fears prevailing in Baden and 
 Wiirtemberg as to some that a payment would have to 
 be made, a previous standing agreement and the formation 
 of an organ of administration would be advantageous, and 
 asked for his consent. I made it clear that any participation 
 on the part of Prussia in the Commission would not be tolerated 
 by Bavaria and Wiirtemberg, and that I feared, if no arrange- 
 ment were arrived at, that the liquidation proceedings would 
 lead to a mutual increase of ill-feeling between these States 
 and North Germany. Lastly, I insisted that the very attacks 
 which were being made upon the scheme of the South 
 German Military Commission on the part of the Ultramontane 
 Press went to prove that it would not tend to the dissolution of the 
 treaties of alliance, consequently that Baden could not be forced 
 thereby into a course of action opposed to her present policy. 
 
 The Grand Duke answered at great length. He expounded 
 his policy, which he said was by no means directed 
 towards any surrender of his sovereign rights; its basis was 
 only this, that it behoved the smaller States of Germany 
 to guard against groundless and extravagant ideas of 
 sovereignty and to foster no illusions as to their status. 
 Maintenance of the existing compacts of alliance, combined 
 with reliance on Prussia, was the mainstay of their existence. He 
 * Ambassador from Wiirtemberg at Munich.
 
 3 oo MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 had no desire to be admitted into the North German Confederation, 
 but the military organisation must, as far as possible, be put on 
 the same footing as the Prussian. The Military Commission, 
 proposed by us, constituted a power in the hands of the South 
 German States which could be directed against Prussia, if a 
 change of feeling should occur and the Ultramontane- Demo- 
 cratic elements become predominant here. He would like the 
 compact of alliance to be framed on the basis of the Peace of 
 Prague, and this could be best accomplished by a Military Com- 
 mission for Germany as a whole and a common administration 
 of all the fortresses, not merely those of South Germany. 
 This object could most readily be achieved by seizing the 
 opportunity offered by the liquidation negotiations. I answered 
 that a predominance of the Ultramontane- Democratic elements was 
 still very far off ; but, if it ever did come, such a complete reversal of 
 present conditions would accompany it that no Military Commission 
 would then be wanted, but the compacts of alliance would be 
 denounced. The commission, therefore, was no longer in question. 
 As regarded the Peace of Prague, it was precisely the union of 
 the South German States that this presupposed. Thus our pro- 
 posal was far more in accordance with the Peace of Prague than 
 the Grand Duke's own idea. Should the Grand Duke wish, in the 
 course of discussion on the Military Commission, to make pro- 
 posals relating to a union of the South German Military Com- 
 mission with the military power of the North, it was always open 
 to him to do so. We, too, desired no separation; what we de- 
 sired was combined action in case of war, but at the same time 
 no participation by a Prussian Commissioner in the deliberations 
 of the Commission. That we could not and dared not allow. 
 Our position was different from that of Baden, and we must 
 do our best to maintain it. Moreover, I looked upon this as 
 a point of honour which touched the King. He, the Grand 
 Duke, could as Sovereign pursue a national policy, and carry it 
 as far as he pleased, but I as Bavarian Minister could not advise 
 the King to renounce his independence. I therefore begged him 
 at any rate not to refuse the conference. To this the Grand 
 Duke declared himself ready to agree, and suggested that the 
 War Ministers might meet to discuss the question of the 
 Military Commission as well as the bases from which to 
 start in the negotiations as to liquidation. The postponement 
 of the term fixed for the opening of these negotiations met with 
 his approval — the more so as he attached importance to General 
 Beyer, who has not yet returned here, being consulted. 
 
 I begged permission to be allowed to discuss details with 
 Freydorf, and this he also agreed to. 
 
 July 14, evening. 
 
 Herr von Freydorf arrived this evening from Karlsruhe to see 
 me. I repeated in connection with the misunderstanding what I
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 301 
 
 had already told the Grand Duke, and urged upon him the matter 
 of the Military Commission. Herr von Freydorf was actually 
 resolved (as Riederer* assured me subsequently) to commit 
 himself to nothing. He deemed it hazardous in the interest of 
 his position with the Liberal party of the country to pledge him- 
 self to a step which the National Liberal party might count as a 
 defection on his part from his Prussian proclivities — this much 
 he frankly admitted himself. Accordingly, he insisted from 
 the first that we should keep to the original programme and dis- 
 cuss the question of the Fortress Commission during the liquida- 
 tion negotiations; then the wholesome influence of Prussian 
 opinion would exert its due weight. He was inclined to think that 
 the agreement which had been proposed in October 1866 should be 
 held to determine the present case. 
 
 To this I answered at once that times had changed, that 
 what had been possible then could not now be carried out, and 
 that, so far as Bavaria and Wurtemberg were concerned, any 
 participation on the part of Prussia in the administration of 
 South German fortresses would not be accepted. Further, he 
 had much exception to take to individual provisions of the points 
 settled between the Bavarian War Minister and Suckow, declared 
 himself unable to understand how the Commission could grant 
 money by a vote of the majority against the will of the Govern- 
 ments, repeated the objection which had already been raised by 
 Riederer, that the Commission presupposed a renunciation of 
 individual sovereign rights on the part of the South German States, 
 and generally took up the same intractable and timid attitude 
 he always adopts if a question arises of doing anything that might 
 give offence at Berlin. 
 
 I reassured him by reading the passage from Perglas's report 
 according to which the King of Prussia had expressed his approval 
 of the idea of the South German Military Commission, refuted 
 the objections relating to individual points of the proposal, and 
 assured him that we never contemplated a hostile attitude towards 
 Prussia, but were wishful to uphold, though by diplomatic means, 
 the connection between the Military Commission and the 
 Prussian War Ministry. He should not aim at the impossible, 
 but accept whatever good was to be got out of the Commission. 
 Then he came to the formal difficulties, saying the Grand Duke 
 was going away, that the War Minister had not yet arrived, that 
 they could not make up their minds yet, &c. 
 
 So, in order to arrive at some result and shake the Baden 
 Government from its negative attitude and at any rate to procure 
 its attendance at the preliminary conference, I urged that 
 he might at least agree to this much, that a preliminary con- 
 ference should be held among the South German States, 
 or rather their representatives, to determine the position to be 
 taken up at the Liquidation Commission ; and in order to render 
 * Freiherr v. Riederer, Bavarian Minister at Karlsruhe.
 
 3 o2 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 participation therein possible for Baden, I proposed the assem- 
 bling of this preliminary Conference at Munich on August 20. 
 If necessary the opening of the Liquidation Commission could 
 be postponed till about September 10. This he finally consented 
 to — the more readily when I assured him the Grand Duke had 
 given his approval. 
 
 Accordingly we agreed that, entirely apart from any previous 
 correspondence, but solely on the basis of our verbal discussion, 
 the proposal should be made on the part of Bavaria that a con- 
 ference of the members associated on the Liquidation Commission, 
 or of the War Ministers as well (or at any rate the Baden Minister 
 of War, the Grand Duke appearing to attach importance to this 
 point), should meet at Munich on August 20, at which conference 
 (1) an understanding should be arrived at as to the general prin- 
 ciples which the South German Governments will assume as a 
 starting-point in the liquidation proceedings; and (2) further, 
 on the part of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg the proposal for a per- 
 manent Fortress Commission or Military Commission should be 
 brought under discussion. It is true Freydorf maintained that 
 this could lead to no result, as no one knows yet whether the 
 liquidation negotiations will lead to any clear declaration of the 
 subjects to be referred to this commission; at the same time 
 he had no objection to raise against the conference, and will lay 
 the matter before the Grand Duke and the Council of Ministers. 
 Thus we are not called upon to wait to see what answer they give 
 us here, but may arrange at once the necessary preliminaries. 
 Meantime arrangements for the Liquidation Commission can also 
 be so far advanced as to ensure all the necessary material being 
 ready. 
 
 July 15. 
 
 This morning I saw the Prussian Minister, Count Flemming. 
 I made no scruple about informing him what I have settled with 
 Freydorf. He asked the reason why we had again abandoned 
 the original idea of seizing the opportunity of the Liquidation Com- 
 mission to hold the preliminary conference regarding the Military 
 Commission. I told him that a Military Commission arising out 
 of the Liquidation Commission, on which Prussian Commissioners 
 sit, would inevitably be regarded with distrust in South Ger- 
 many, that I considered the holding of such a commission necessary 
 in the general interest of all, and that we would not consent to 
 the participation of a Prussian commissioner or authorised agent 
 in the discussions. The proposal for a common administra- 
 tion of the erstwhile fortresses of the German Confederation, as 
 had been suggested in October 1866, was now impracticable. 
 Then I demonstrated the emptiness of the apprehensions which 
 had been expressed by Freydorf in the Prussian interest in oppo- 
 sition to the South German Military Commission, pointing out 
 the repeatedly declared wishes of the South German Govern- 
 ments to keep intact the Compacts of Alliance.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 303 
 
 Count Flemming begged me to dictate these points in precise 
 terms, that he might draw up a report to his King dealing with 
 them. To this I agreed all the more willingly, as it gave me an 
 opportunity of having the matter represented to his Majesty in 
 the manner most nearly corresponding to our intentions. 
 
 Count Flemming, to whose advice the Grand Duke attaches 
 great importance, declared himself agreeable to the assembling of 
 the conference on August 20, which suggests a hope that the Baden 
 Government will consent to be represented at the conference in 
 question. 
 
 On July 16, at an early hour I again left Baden. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, July 22, 1868. 
 
 If your Majesty's most faithful servant, the undersigned, 
 presumes to express his opinion to your Royal Highness on one of 
 those matters which are usually reserved for your own gracious 
 judgment, he may venture perhaps to count on forgiveness, if 
 your Majesty will most condescendingly take into consideration the 
 fact that there are certain decisions in connection with your Maj- 
 esty's private life which are of paramount importance as affecting 
 the interests of the State in general. 
 
 Your Majesty has entrusted the undersigned with the conduct 
 of Foreign Affairs, with the duty of safeguarding the maintenance 
 of the Monarchy and your Majesty's rights. Whatever, there- 
 fore, is capable of exerting an influence on the welfare of the State, 
 and the State's independence and power, the undersigned, your 
 Majesty's most devoted servant, is bound to make the subject of 
 his constant care and anxiety. 
 
 To this category belong emphatically the relations of your 
 Majesty with foreign Sovereigns. 
 
 Your Majesty is aware of the dubious position which the secon- 
 dary States of Germany, and Bavaria in particular, have occupied 
 since the War of 1866. By the dissolution of the Germanic 
 Confederation, Bavaria is left in a situation which demands the 
 utmost circumspection and sagacity, if the kingdom is to preserve 
 its independence in the face of disturbing elements that grow more 
 and more formidable. Albeit under existing conditions the king- 
 dom can form no alliances with foreign Powers, yet in the 
 friendly relations of your Majesty with foreign Sovereigns 
 — especially such as can make their voices heard and respected 
 in the councils of the European Powers — is to be found a guar- 
 antee which we should by no means regard too lightly. Among 
 such Powers, Russia is undoubtedly to be included. Your 
 Majesty's personal relations with the Russian Court are 
 at the present moment of the best and most friendly de- 
 scription. This your most faithful servant, the undersigned, 
 has always noted with pleasure and satisfaction in the
 
 304 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 interest of your Majesty. He cannot, therefore, fail to desire 
 that this state of affairs should be maintained undisturbed. 
 To secure this object an excellent opportunity is afforded by 
 the presence of the Imperial Family at Kissingen. Your 
 Majesty has been pleased to acknowledge as much in presence of 
 the undersigned and to express your Majesty's intention of pay- 
 ing a visit there to the Czar and Czarina. Your Majesty's 
 most faithful servant would not therefore venture to recur 
 a second time to this subject had he not reason to appre- 
 hend that your Majesty might have received advice of an 
 opposite complexion from another quarter, and the opinion has 
 been expressed that such a visit is not necessary or is without 
 political signification. 
 
 Your most faithful servant, the undersigned, believes, on the 
 contrary, that the omission of this visit would undoubtedly be 
 regarded by the Imperial Russian Court not merely as a sign of 
 indifference, but as a direct slight. Should this give rise to a 
 feeling of pique on the part of the Imperial Family, the conse- 
 quence would be that in future emergencies when your Royal 
 Highness might find desirable the support and intercession of the 
 Russian Court, your Majesty, instead of such support and inter- 
 cession, would meet with decided hostility. In the opinion there- 
 fore of the undersigned, even a brief visit to Kissingen, it may be 
 with only a small suite, perhaps on the occasion of the Czarina's 
 birthday, will be of great and far-reaching importance. To leave 
 no room for the suspicion that your most devoted servant, the 
 undersigned, shares the views of those who attribute a small degree 
 of importance to your Majesty's visit to Kissingen, he holds 
 himself bound to inform your Majesty most respectfully of his 
 opinion, and, in the consciousness of the most loyal attach- 
 ment, urgently to advise your Majesty to be graciously pleased to 
 pay a visit to the Imperial Russian Family at Kissingen. 
 
 King Ludwig betook himself to Kissingen on August 2, accom- 
 panied by Prince Otto, and remained there in close and frequent 
 intercourse with the Russian Imperial pair until August 10. 
 
 On August 13 Prince Hohenlohe went to Kissingen. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Starnberg, September 28, 1868. 
 
 In obedience to the Royal command I came to this place to 
 attend, as Minister of the Household, the marriage of the Duchess 
 Sophie with the Due d'Alencon, son of the Due de Nemours. 
 Prince Adalbert and Minister P'fretzschner were appointed to act 
 as witnesses. As the latter preferred to spend the night at Starn- 
 berg, I decided to leave yesterday afternoon at half-past two. 
 We arrived at four o'clock, took possession of our rooms at the 
 Hotel am See, and then took a walk, dined at five o'clock and
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 305 
 
 then went down again to the shore of the lake in hopes of seeing 
 something of the illuminations which were to take place nominally 
 in honour of the Czarina of Russia then staying at Berg. But it 
 was nine o'clock, and as nothing happened we preferred not to 
 wait about any longer, and soon got to bed. The fireworks and 
 illuminations would seem to have been very fine, but very little 
 could be seen here. It was Sunday, and consequently a numerous 
 and beery contingent of the general public had taken post under 
 our windows, and kept up a horrible din and shouting. At in- 
 tervals they sang "popular airs," but these almost immediately 
 degenerated into mere brutish yells. However, I soon fell asleep, 
 especially as a wholesome storm of rain dispersed the gang. This 
 morning I went to the railway station to see the Empress of Russia 
 depart. Tauffkirchen * was there too, to pay his respects to the 
 Empress. The King accompanied the Empress and travelled some 
 distance with her on the railway in the direction of Munich, but 
 I do not know how far. 
 
 At ten we drove over to Possenhofen in my carriage, which I 
 had had brought here yesterday. It was not eleven o'clock 
 yet, so we were taken first to our rooms. In mine there was a 
 villainous bad smell. Soon the time for the wedding ceremony 
 arrived, which took place in a hall of the Castle transformed into 
 a chapel. The guests assembled in the adjoining salon, where a 
 grand piano further blocked the scanty space available. Pfretz- 
 schner and I hastened to get ourselves presented to all personages 
 of rank. Besides the family of the Duke Max, Prince Adalbert 
 and Prince Karl were there. The latter bowed to me across the 
 room with a look such as one generally bestows upon a scor- 
 pion. Then Count and Countess Trani. The Hereditary Prin- 
 cess Taxis wore a mauve or violet dress trimmed with white. 
 Others present were the Comte de Paris and his brother, the 
 Due de Chartres, two young and well-built princes, but who give 
 the impression rather of Prussian than of French princes. The 
 Due de Nemours looked like a French dandy from the Cercle 
 de V Union. He wore the Order of St. Hubert, as did his son, 
 the bridegroom. The Due de Nemours recalls the portraits 
 of Henri IV., yet he has a certain look of his own that 
 makes you set him down as a pedant. The young Due 
 d'Alencon is a handsome young man of a fresh countenance. 
 The Prince de Joinville and his son, the Due de Penthievre, 
 have nothing very striking about them. The former is old-looking 
 and bent, too old-looking for his age, dignified and courtly. The 
 Due de Penthievre has a yellow, rather Jewish face, and speaks 
 with a drawl, but was very kind and friendly to me. Duke 
 August of Coburg is as tedious as ever. I was interested to 
 become acquainted with his wife, the Princess Clementine, a 
 clever, lively woman. 
 
 * Count Tauffkirchen was at that time Bavarian Minister at St 
 Petersburg. 
 
 vol. 1 — x
 
 3 o6 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 The Princess Joinville, a Brazilian Princess, is rather mummi- 
 fied, with big rolling eyes in a long, pale, wrinkled face. Then 
 there were two daughters of Nemours there too, one grown up, the 
 other a little girl. The ladies were all in ''high dresses." The 
 bride in white silk, trimmed with orange blossom, with head-dress 
 of orange blossom and a tulle veil. On the sleeves braids of 
 satin, after the pattern of the Lifeguardsmen's stripes. A lady- 
 in-waiting attached to the Nemours party wore a flame-coloured 
 silk with straw-coloured trimmings. When all were assembled, 
 we proceeded to the chapel. The bridal couple knelt before 
 the altar. Behind them, on the left, Prince Adalbert, behind 
 him we two Ministers, and then behind us the gentlemen of the 
 House of Orleans. On the other side the Due de Nemours and 
 the Duchess, likewise all the Princesses. Haneberg began the 
 ceremony with a suitable address. Nobody cried, but Duke 
 Max looked rather like it once or twice. The bride appeared 
 extremely self-possessed. Before the "affirmation" the bride- 
 groom first made a bow to his father, and the bride did the 
 same to her parents. The Duchess's "Yes" sounded very 
 much as if she meant "Yes, for my own part," or "For aught 
 I care." I don't wish to be spiteful, but it sounded like that 
 to me. After the wedding, I kissed the Duchess's hand, 
 and congratulated her. She seemed highly gratified and 
 pleased. The pause between the wedding ceremony and the 
 State dinner we spent in our room. I forgot, by-the-by, to 
 say that during the Mass a military band played an accom- 
 paniment to the religious ceremony. It began with the overture 
 to one of Verdi's operas, I don't know whether it was 
 Traviata or Trovatore. It was but a mediocre performance, the 
 sort of stuff you hear played at dinners. 
 
 The State dinner was held downstairs in two halls. In one 
 sat all Royal personages and myself along with Pfretzchner, 
 in the other the courtiers. The health of the bridal pair was 
 drunk without speechmaking. I sat between the young Princess 
 of Coburg and Duke Ludwig. The dinner was not particularly 
 long, nor was it particularly good either. On rising from table 
 there was some more standing about, and then all the company 
 separated. The Orleans Princes took their departure at once, 
 about half-past four, as did the other Princes. Only the Due 
 de Nemours stays on till the day after to-morrow with his 
 children. 
 
 We drove back to Starnberg in one of the Ducal carriages, 
 from whence we return to-day to Munich by the eight o'clock train. 
 
 At dinner the "Wedding Chorus" from Lohengrin was 
 played. It must have been singularly agreeable to the King's 
 ex-fiancee. Another odd coincidence was that the very evening 
 before, the lake and mountains were illuminated (for the Czarina), 
 and the King had to celebrate in this way his erstwhile fiancee's 
 bridal eve.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 307 
 
 The Comtc de Paris spoke to me about war and peace, 
 and maintains that popular feeling in France is opposed to 
 war. But he said it was difficult to gauge public opinion in 
 France, the Press is so wanting in independence. 
 
 He is a sensible, well-meaning man, who would make an 
 excellent Constitutional King of France. 
 
 Munich, October 1, 1868. 
 
 At to-day's reception of the diplomats appeared the Papal 
 Nuncio amongst the rest, and brought me an article in the 
 Neueste Nachriclitcn, in which the bestowal of the "Golden 
 Rose" by the Pope on the Queen of Spain, and the bestowal 
 of the Order on Bucher at Passau is criticised. The Nuncio 
 deplored this. I answered that I much regretted these extrava- 
 gancies, and that I was prepared, if he cared to entrust me with 
 the task, to take the necessary steps for criminal proceedings 
 against the paper inculpated — as I had before now done at the 
 instance of Ambassadors from foreign Powers. 
 
 Regarding Bucher, I added that I really could not conceal 
 my surprise that the Papal Government should allow a decora- 
 tion to be conferred on an individual who makes it his business 
 to pursue the Bavarian Government with common, vulgar 
 insults, an individual whose personal character is of the worst, 
 and whom I could only designate as a chenapan (a scamp). To 
 confer Orders of Merit under suchlike circumstances cannot 
 surely ameliorate the relations between friendly Governments. 
 
 The Nuncio was a good deal impressed by this somewhat 
 outspoken expression of opinion; he declared he knew nothing 
 of the circumstances, but appealed to the fact that Bucher 
 was represented at Rome as a devoted servant of the Church, 
 and hinted that the matter had been brought to the front by 
 Cardinal Reisach. I accepted this as true, but nevertheless, 
 remarked in conclusion that the Church was no gainer if its head 
 championed a common journalist as against the Bishop, on 
 whose piety and zeal nobody could cast a doubt. 
 
 The efforts of the Prince in Baden had led to the result 
 that the Baden Government took its part in the negotiations 
 concerning the formation of a South German Fortress 
 Commission. The decisive factor in bringing about this result 
 was the opinion expressed by the Prussian Government.* 
 On July 31, the Minister for Baden at Munich, Robert 
 von Mohl, announced the consent of his Government to the 
 
 * The Baden War Minister, General von Beyer, had consulted, on 
 July 19 and 20 at Berlin, with Roon, Moltke, and Thile, and on the 21st 
 and 22nd conferred with the Kino; at Ems. The latter was well pleased 
 with the report of the Prussian Minister on the Baden negotiations.
 
 3 o8 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 meeting of a commission on September 21 "for preliminary 
 consultation as to the formation of a Fortress Commission." 
 On August 24 the invitation to Munich was accepted by- 
 decision of the Grand Duke. The Baden delegates were instructed 
 to further in every way possible the union of South Germany 
 with the North German Confederation, and to oppose everything 
 which might be prejudicial to such union. As the most direct 
 means of securing this object was indicated the maintenance 
 of the common ownership of the fortress equipments. On 
 September 21 the commission assembled at Munich. Bavaria 
 was represented by Prince Hohenlohe and the War Minister, 
 von Pranckh; Wurtemberg by the War Minister, Freiherr von 
 Wagner, State Councillor, von Scheuerlen, and Colonel 
 von Suckow; Baden by the War Minister, General von Beyer, 
 and Robert von Mohl. Prussia had instructed her Minister 
 at Munich to the following effect : that Prussia claimed no 
 full and formal participation in the commission to be formed, 
 that she would be satisfied with the power to give assist- 
 ance in definite cases and under definite circumstances, and 
 that the miscarriage of the negotiations on the question of the 
 participation of Prussia was to be deprecated. After a great 
 deal of discussion at the earlier sittings, Bavaria, at the 
 sitting of September 25, made a proposal to meet the views 
 of Baden, viz. that the Prussian military delegate at the 
 sitting of the Military Commission should be kept informed 
 of all proceedings, that on subjects of importance an expression 
 of his opinion should be invited beforehand, and respected 
 so far as might be feasible, and that Prussia be invited to 
 take part in all inspections of fortresses. On September 27, 
 the Prussian Ambassador at Karlsruhe for the second time 
 expressed the view of his Government, to wit, that Prussia laid 
 no claim to participate in the Military Commission, but did 
 wish to see an agreement arrived at. After a preliminary 
 adjournment of the proceedings of the commission, on Sep- 
 tember 26 a pause was agreed to for the purpose of recording 
 the results arrived at, and the next sitting fixed for October 5. 
 At this stage the success of the work was questioned by 
 Wurtemberg. Baden had, with her consent, made the stipu- 
 lation that the Fortress Commission should only come into 
 existence after the commencement of the sittings of the 
 Liquidation Commission, and after the assent of Prussia to the 
 understanding with regard to the participation of the North 
 German Confederation. Referring to this, Wurtemberg now 
 declared that there was no point in concluding the agreement 
 before the beginning of the Liquidation Commission. Moreover, it 
 would be convenient to fix the concessions in favour of Prussia and 
 the North German Confederation before constituting the Fortress 
 Commission in negotiation with the said North German Con- 
 federation. Objection was raised to the Bavarian presidency of the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 309 
 
 Fortress Commission, on the ground that a Bavarian hegemony 
 in Southern Germany would thereby be suggested. Finally, an 
 arrangement was arrived at on the basis that the concessions 
 embodied in Article VII. of the agreement in favour of Prussia 
 were struck out, whereupon Baden included this clause in 
 the proviso, on condition of which she assented to the agreement. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, October 4, 1868. 
 
 Yesterday Herr von Baur, the Wiirtemberg Secretary of 
 Legation, came to me and brought me a despatch of his Minister, 
 of which he left a copy with me; this was so conceived as to 
 force me to the conclusion that Wiirtemberg wished to break off 
 altogether the negotiations regarding the Fortress Commission. I 
 could not make head or tail of it, as it was a direct contradiction 
 with earlier expressions of opinion on the part of Varnbiiler, and 
 communicated its contents to Volderndorff, who at once advised 
 extreme measures. Meantime I laid it quietly on one side and 
 awaited the advent of the Wiirtemberg delegate, who put 
 in an appearance to-day. In the course of the conversation 
 with him it became clear that since the sending of the despatch 
 in question another reversal of policy has occurred, and 
 Wiirtemberg now declares herself ready to agree to the con- 
 clusions of the agreement, if it is modified as regards the 
 status of Prussia in such a way that the particular determination 
 of the relation of the South German fortresses to the North 
 German Confederation remain in abeyance until the meeting 
 of the Liquidation Commission. I deplore this, because at 
 the Commission Prussia will bring pressure to bear; however 
 Scheuerlen explained that at Stuttgart no apprehension was felt 
 of such pressure, and indeed they would rather leave the first 
 move to the other side than have to make the first bid them- 
 selves. We risk little in the long run, and as this is the only 
 means of bringing about the Commission, I intend to accept the 
 modification. 
 
 Before half-past one I drove out to the reception on the occasion 
 of the October festival. I took Oettingen with me, as he had no 
 carriage. We got away about half-past one. There we found 
 the Diplomatic Corps and sundry other uniformed gentlemen in 
 the pavilion. The King came at two o'clock and was greeted 
 with cheers. First he conversed with the diplomats, and after- 
 wards with us. He made a point of talking a very long time with 
 me about the Empress (the Czarina), about political matters, 
 about the intrigues that had been directed against me, saying he 
 meant to take no kind of notice of them, and was especially 
 and particularly amiable. The circle lasted a very long while, 
 then he visited the animals, the distribution of prizes for these 
 was made, and to wind up the horrible horse-races came off — 
 a positive scandal, but one which cannot be abolished.
 
 310 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Munich, October 6, 1868. 
 
 To-day the preacher of the "Free Congregation" at Nurem- 
 berg, a regular clod, came to see me, to bring me a memorial 
 from his congregation to the Minister of Public Worship. Com- 
 plaint is made in it that while their pastor can perform all 
 other duties connected with public worship, he cannot speak at 
 the graveside, because he is not a native-born Bavarian. I 
 cannot quite see why a man must hold a certificate of Bavarian 
 birth to deliver a funeral address ! 
 
 The fellow looked a German all over, tall, hair just turning grey, 
 moustaches and a small imperial, dressed in black, monstrously 
 fat, with a fanatical look. The Germans are fanatical even in 
 unbelief ! He told me they held no dogma, their creed was to 
 propagate humanitarian ideas, virtuous living, and so on. 
 After he had explained his business to me, I asked him the 
 political tendencies of the congregation. He said a section 
 belonged to the democratic wing of the Greater Germany group, 
 the other and larger section National-Liberal. The former had 
 no connection with the Ultramontanes. Their conjunction at 
 the elections of the Tariff Parliament, he declared, was purely 
 accidental and temporary. 
 
 After him came Chief Superintendent of Works Ritgen von 
 Giessen, who spoke to me of the Germanic National Museum. 
 He told me he was at work on the history of the dwelling-house, 
 and proceeded to make some interesting historical observations 
 on the development of human habitations, which originated, 
 he said, in Central Asia and had all developed on the same lines. 
 Originally men lived in promiscuity with the cattle, then came a 
 segregation, and later again a further segregation of the several 
 branches of the family by division of the rooms. He means to 
 publish his results. 
 
 Munich, October 10, 1868. 
 
 Having at last come to an understanding with Wiirtemberg, 
 I thought the conference must now come to an early conclusion. 
 But unfortunately General Beyer failed to get from Karlsruhe 
 the authorisation to sign, and therefore resolved to return yester- 
 day evening in person to Karlsruhe, there to get instructions for 
 the Minister, who remains behind here. 
 
 Both the Wiirtemberg delegates came to see me yesterday at 
 five o'clock, and as they had been waiting all day long for a sitting, 
 they had occupied themselves in drinking by way of passing the 
 time. Councillor of State Scheuerlen was very red about the 
 gills and smelt like an old wine-cask. He invited me to dine with 
 him at Marschal's, a restaurant in the Dultplatz. I accepted, 
 and found awaiting me there Volderndorff as well as Baur, and a 
 Wiirtemberg Finance Councillor, Knapp by name. There was 
 much eating and still more drinking. Presently Scheuerlen
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 311 
 
 delivered a long speech upon me, in which he extolled my 
 "German heart" and "my gaze fixed always on high aims"; to 
 which I replied that if ever I had been praised for a conciliator)'' 
 disposition, I thought I might claim to have proved the truth of 
 such commendation to-day, as I had succeeded in making friends 
 with the Swabian quidnuncs. I finished up with a toast to the 
 noble Swabian stock and its representatives then present. At 
 eight o'clock the company dispersed in high good humour. I 
 accompanied Suckow to the play, where I took leave of General 
 Beyer. 
 
 October 11, 1868. 
 
 At noon yesterday I received the news that the Baden dele- 
 gates had got their instructions. I made instant haste to send out 
 the invitation to the conference for three o'clock. By that time 
 all was ready. Only the Minister of War, Pranckh, was missing. 
 We sent after him, but he was nowhere to be found. So I opened 
 the sitting without him, we assembled quickly, and at five o'clock 
 we were in a good state of forwardness. About six I went to the 
 Minister of War to communicate the results to him and invite 
 him to come and sign at half-past seven. I found he had just 
 got back to his office, where he had only that minute opened 
 my midday letter. From twelve o'clock till six it seems he had 
 been out walking. To cap the climax, he asked if it was really 
 necessary for him to come at half-past seven, as he had a card- 
 party at his house at eight o'clock ! However, he saw he had 
 said a silly thing in asking the question, and immediately promised 
 that he would come. I had been all day long at the Ministry, and 
 had only managed to snatch half an hour to take a snack at the 
 Quatrefous.* Thus the War Minister, though the matter con- 
 cerned him in the highest degree, gives six hours of the day to 
 going walking and the evening to his card-party, and that on 
 a day when in deed and in truth the honour of Bavaria was at 
 stake, for had we failed to reach a settlement, we should have 
 been supremely ridiculous ! 
 
 That evening the signatures were appended. I made a farewell 
 speech. I was thanked for the excellent way the proceedings had 
 been conducted, and even-body separated at nine o'clock. 
 
 The agreement "relating to the formation of a Fortress 
 Commission" of October 10, 1868, f lays down that the 
 meeting-place of the commission is to be in yearly rotation at 
 Munich, Stuttgart, and Karlsruhe, and that Bavaria is to exercise 
 the presidency provisionally for the first three years. Each 
 State may appoint several representatives, but they only exercise 
 one vote altogether. Instructions to the commission are: to su- 
 perintend the administration of the three fortresses of Ulm, Ras- 
 tatt, and Landau, their defensibility from military and technical 
 
 * A restaurant and wine-bar. 
 
 f Printed in Hirth's Annalcn des Dcutschen Reichs, 1S72, p. 1579.
 
 3 i2 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 points of view, their strategical relation to each other as well as 
 to the other German fortresses and defensive positions, as also to 
 consider the construction, maintenance, and provision for military- 
 use of strategic railways and roads. The Commission is to 
 inspect the fortresses. The relation to the Governments is that of 
 an advisory board whose duty is to make suggestions. Any Gov- 
 ernment failing to respect a vote of the commission is held bound 
 to communicate its reasons to the remaining Governments. Ar- 
 ticle VII. of the Agreement lays down: "The three Governments 
 recognise the necessity of the co-ordination of the defensive 
 system of North and South Germany, and bind themselves to 
 regulate accordingly, on the occasion of the next assembling of the 
 Liquidation Commission, the main principles for the preservation 
 of this co-ordination as well as for the administration of the ma- 
 teriel heretofore held in joint ownership by the Confedera- 
 tion." Article VIII. declares that the compacts of alliance 
 concluded with Prussia are not affected prejudicially by the 
 formation of the commission. In case of war the powers of 
 the commission are suspended. Simultaneously with the 
 "agreement" three "protocols" were signed. One of these 
 protocols explains the understanding of the three Govern- 
 ments with regard to the position to be taken up in the coming 
 discussions and negotiations of the Liquidation Commission. 
 All three Governments declare any division of, the former 
 movable property of the league, whether a division of the property 
 itself or by sharing the proceeds of an auction-sale, to be in- 
 admissible. Bavaria would raise no objection, from her side, to a 
 redemption by the territorial States of the meteriel lying in the 
 several fortresses. But inasmuch as Baden and Wurtemberg 
 oppose, it has been decided not to make any proposal of the sort, 
 and when the time comes to vote against it. Baden considers the 
 most important object to be the administration of the common 
 property by a united German commission under the presidency of 
 Prussia. But as Bavaria opposes this, "Wurtemberg and Baden 
 pledge themselves to vote in the first instance neither for the 
 making of such a proposal nor for this mode of procedure." Ba- 
 varia and Wurtemberg desire the control of the materiel to be 
 in the hands of the Fortress Commission. However, as Baden 
 is unwilling to commit such far-reaching powers to the Fortress 
 Commission, the control is to be vested in the territorial Govern- 
 ments, and merely to be under the supervision of the Fortress 
 Commission. A "distinct and separate protocol" of October 10 
 lays down in the first place that both the protocol just mentioned 
 and the agreement are to be communicated to the Prussian 
 Government before the assembling of the Liquidation Commission. 
 Baden further declares that "the Fortress Commission can 
 come definitely into existence only after the completion of the 
 proceedings of the Liquidation Commission and after the ac- 
 quiescence of Prussia in the decision regarding the participation
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 313 
 
 of the North German Confederation," and that its approval of the 
 agreement is to be looked upon as given only with this proviso. 
 
 Further, the Baden Government declares with regard to Article 
 VII. of the Agreement that in the common interest of Germany 
 it is bound to try to secure the co-operation of the North German 
 League in the activity of the Fortress Commission, at any rate 
 under such a form that the commission shall communicate the 
 result of all its deliberations to the Prussian delegate attending 
 their sitting and shall take his opinion on more important ques- 
 tions; also that the North German League shall be permitted 
 to be represented by a Deputy at the periodical inspections of the 
 fortresses. 
 
 Extract from a communication to the Bavarian Minister. 
 Freiherr von Perglas, at Berlin. 
 
 Munich, November 8, 1868. 
 
 . . . The question of the relations between Prussia and 
 Austria has again been the subject of much anxious thought to 
 me. I must begin by saying that I agree with you that neither 
 to ourselves nor to Europe, that is to the cause of European peace, 
 is a mere alliance of the German greater Powers of any advantage. 
 To say nothing of the stipulations which such an alliance may 
 involve, and which might specially affect us to our prejudice, 
 alliances are always easy to dissolve and offer nobody a guarantee 
 when once the purpose is attained for which they were formed. 
 The only thing that can save us, and the only thing that can 
 ensure a lasting European peace, is a confederation of States that 
 should unite together Austria, Prussia (in other words, the North 
 German League), and Bavaria. I say Bavaria, understanding 
 thereby the South German group of States which Bavaria would 
 be called upon to represent. 
 
 In this way we should secure the formation of a great central 
 defensive Power in Europe, "without whose leave not a cannon- 
 shot would be fired." 
 
 It is self-evident in that case that Prussia would have to 
 concede the admission of Austria as a whole together with 
 Hungary, and make Austria's interests in the Lower Danube 
 her own; in short, she must rise to the occasion and adopt a 
 very sublime and imposing policy. I know perfectly well what 
 Bismarck would say to this: "I cannot give up the Russian 
 Alliance in exchange for a confederate of whom I can never be 
 sure." 
 
 But here again comes in the difference between an alliance 
 and a confederation of States, and Bismarck's doubts would 
 sink into the background if the attempt succeeded to settle the 
 inter-relations of the German States on a lasting and definite 
 footing. 
 
 Here we have a problem which I have not yet been able to
 
 3 i4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 solve, but the solution of which I look upon as a necessity, as 
 something that must be faced. 
 
 The only question is: Does Prussia prefer the inevitable war 
 with France, with all its risks, to the incorporation of South 
 Germany with the Northern League? In other words: Does 
 Prussia forego crossing the Main to secure the counter-balancing 
 advantage of the permanent consolidation of her present power? 
 If so, the question is merely one of the formulation of a draft 
 project of confederation. If, on the other hand, Prussia will not, 
 or cannot, go back on her present policy, she will not consent 
 to a step which makes that act of self-denial a sine qua non. 
 
 Still, in these matters Count Bismarck is a less trustworthy 
 guide than public opinion, and especially opinion in the camp 
 of the National Liberal party. I would therefore beg you to 
 follow attentively the utterances of these circles before you engage 
 in any conversation, no matter how general, with Bismarck or 
 other official personages. 
 
 So long as the Prussian people, and the National Liberal 
 party that leads it, is ready to stake anything and everything 
 rather than stop short on its way to the lordship "of the eagle 
 from crag to sea," * so long will Bismarck embark on nothing 
 fresh, so long is no change of policy to be counted on. 
 
 In the meantime I mean to work out the matter theoretically, 
 so as to be secured against all eventualities. Consul Schwab 
 writes that war in France is a certainty, and that it will break 
 out in January. I do not share this apprehension, but I do fear 
 that the war is inevitable — if only on the occurrence of some 
 opportunity favourable to the French — unless this establishment 
 of a defensive Power in the heart of Europe should be successfully 
 accomplished. . . . 
 
 Munich, end of November, 1868. 
 
 Yesterday was the baptism of the newly born Princess, f At 
 noon I proceeded to the Palace in my dress-coat and white tie; 
 uniform was barred, because the ceremony was to be en famille 
 on account of the Princess Alexandra. 
 
 There I found the Queen and the Royal Princes Otto, Ludwig, 
 and Leopold, the Princess Ludwig, Count and Countess Trani. 
 
 * Emanuel Geibel had about this time been deprived of the pension 
 which he drew from the Royal privy purse, as well as his honorary profes- 
 sorship at Munich, because he had greeted King Wilhelm of Prussia on the 
 occasion of a visit paid by that monarch to Lubeck with a poem which 
 concluded with the words: 
 
 And may we hope, a last fond wish, 
 
 That yet some day thine eye may note 
 O'er all this Realm, at last made one, 
 
 From crag to sea thine Eagle float. 
 
 fThe Princess Elvira, daughter of Prince Adalbert and Princess 
 Amalie, Infanta of Spain, born November 22, 1868.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 315 
 
 Both Princesses were in blue satin, trimmed with white fur. The 
 Princess Alexandra wore a lilac jacket and hat. The baptism 
 took place in the White Hall, which is before you come to Prince- 
 Adalbert's apartments; its arrangement as a chapel was in 
 excellent taste. 
 
 The Princesses stood on the left hand, the Princes on the 
 right, the Princess Alexandra with Prince Adalbert before the altar- 
 steps, which were covered with red cushions. The little Prim 
 Isabella carried the taper. She looked very pretty with her 
 red curly hair, and was evidently very proud of her office. Both 
 of the Prince's sons wore Spanish Orders in miniature — the 
 elder the Golden Fleece, the younger the order of Charles III. It 
 was shewn to me after the ceremony, when I was introduced 
 to the children. Princess Alexandra replied to all the baptismal 
 questions very fluently. Reindl, Dean of the Cathedral, 
 gave a tactful address. The names of the little Princess are 
 Elvira Alexandra Clara Cecilia Eugenie. Princess Adalbert 
 does not like the name of Elvira, very rightly deeming it too 
 theatrical, but Prince Adalbert thinks it very pretty. He said 
 to me : "The mother is a Spaniard, so it is quite the proper thing, 
 one daughter Isabella and the other Elvira." 
 
 Chocolate was served after the baptism, and after a long 
 circle, we were dismissed at two o'clock. 
 
 At four o'clock was the funeral of Councillor of State Hermann.* 
 His death is a Joss. I found him an interesting personality 
 because of his stimulating conversation. Dean Mayer gave an 
 extremely interesting address, though I could not make out why 
 he kept repeating with such particular emphasis the phrase: 
 "The Lord of Sabaoth hath willed it, who will prevent Him! " 
 Nobody thinks of doing such a thing, I presume. My idea is, it 
 was because of the fine sound that he took the Lord of Sabaoth 
 so often into his big mouth. 
 
 At six o'clock there was a Council of Ministers, which lasted till 
 eleven. Besides the question of the Catholic University, the 
 reorganisation of the Upper House was minutely discussed. 
 Schlor made a remarkable speech against its enlargement by 
 the addition of elected members. The other Ministers voted for 
 such election, but were for modifying my proposal to this 
 extent, that only two members should be taken in each district 
 from the three hundred most heavily rated householders. These 
 were to be supplemented by the representatives of the Univer- 
 sities and the Academy, as also of the Polytechnic. In this 
 shape the motion will most likely go through the Chamber. 
 Minister Hormann will now lay the proposal before the King. 
 The Senators are by way of introducing a motion of their own, 
 but it will be better if we forestall them. 
 
 By half-past eleven I was done with things at last. Anyway, 
 yesterday was one of the most fatiguing for a poor Minister. 
 * Political Economist and Statistician, died November 23, 1868.
 
 316 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Munich, December 6, 1868. 
 
 Yesterday Count Usedom came to see me on occasion of his 
 return to Florence, and utilised his visit to make me a report on 
 his proceedings at Florence during the year 1866. 
 
 He began by assuring me that as early as 1865 efforts had been 
 made from Florence to induce the Austrians to sell Venice. The 
 Envoy, a certain Landau, had, according to him, met with much 
 sympathy at Vienna — in fact, even Count Mensdorff had shown 
 himself not ill disposed; yet the affair had miscarried owing to 
 the opposition of the Emperor and the military party, who held 
 it incompatible with military honour to surrender Venice without 
 fighting. Usedom then used this to force the Italians into the 
 alliance with Prussia, so as on the other hand to give effect to 
 the Prussian plans in Germany with the assistance of Italy. 
 Govone was sent to Berlin. Lamarmora, who was of the 
 opinion that they might very well wait till the ripe fruit fell into 
 the lap of the Italians, was against it. Usedom, however, urged 
 that if Prussia went to war without Italy the result would be 
 doubtful, and that, if Austria won, Italy could not then hope 
 for the cession of Venice. This line of argument seems to have 
 carried the day. So the alliance with Italy came to pass. 
 Thus, while England and France were aiming at localising the 
 war, Prussia, it appeared, was aiming at the invasion of 
 Hungary by the Italians. Hence Bismarck's instructions 
 and the famous Note Usedom drew up on them. Then it 
 would seem he was disavowed by Bismarck, who could not endure 
 him, Usedom, and who appears not to have had the official papers 
 at Varzin from which he might have convinced himself that 
 Usedom had acted in accordance with his instructions. 
 
 On my asking what then had led Lamarmora to make the 
 Note public, Usedom replied that it was a coup monte 
 from France, to cause a split between Prussia and Italy 
 and to make him impossible at Florence. But the Frenchmen's 
 scheme had not succeeded, as the famous Note had only proved 
 Prussia's straightforward intentions to the Italians. Conse- 
 quently he had even received the most friendly communications 
 from Italians of all sorts and conditions, and Lamarmora's coup 
 had failed. He declares Italian unity to be popular through- 
 out Italy, says that nobody would wish to go back to the old 
 conditions, and that the assertions at Rome to the effect that 
 Italy will very soon fall to pieces, and so on, are lies. The French, 
 he went on to add, made a great many mistakes : they treated 
 the Italian Government as vassals, and distinguished themselves 
 by their imperiousness and insolence, and thus they made 
 enemies of the Italians. The Emperor depended upon the 
 Clerical party in France, and for that reason is driven to adopt 
 this policy towards Italy. Lamarmora was on the French side, 
 because he wanted nothing more than the preponderance of
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 317 
 
 Piedmont in Italy, the predominance of the Piedmontese party 
 in Italy, but not the merging of Piedmont in Italy; it was the 
 Kreutzzeitung party, he said, of Italy. The King of Prussia 
 had been hard put to it by the alliance with Italy, as also by the 
 war with Austria. His old legitimist proclivities had made it 
 very hard for him" to decide. But when he had once made a 
 decision, he held to it hard and fast. 
 
 On the German question, and regarding the relations of 
 Prussia to Austria, Usedom expressed himself very circum- 
 spectly. He listened very attentively to my exposition of our 
 efforts in the year 1867 towards a more comprehensive con- 
 federation of South Germany, in conjunction with the North 
 German Confederation, and seemed to agree with me in think- 
 ing that Prussia made a mistake in thwarting this plan by the 
 conclusion of the Zollverein agreements. Now he supposed 
 we must bide our time; you could not plough a field as long 
 as the ground was frozen. 
 
 His views on the North German question interested me. He 
 said we are all agreed that a slice of territory in the north must 
 be ceded, but to yield the claim to the military positions of Diippel 
 and Alsen is out of the question ; however, the King is self-willed 
 and makes difficulties. 
 
 Of Bismarck he says that he is a fanatic for peace, and is by 
 way of using all circumspection to give France and Austria no 
 pretext for war. 
 
 On my making some laudatory remarks on Hompesch, Use- 
 dom stated that in June 1866 Bismarck pressed Italy hard to 
 declare war on Bavaria. But he (Usedom) had prevented it. 
 
 Munich, December 6, 1868. 
 
 As Usedom wished for information on the question of the 
 Anglo-Indian overland mail service, I went to see him to-day and 
 gave him the particulars as laid down in the official documents. 
 This led to our having another longish conversation. He showed 
 me a letter from a Wurtemberg National-Liberal, pointing out 
 that the National-Liberal party there ran the risk of losing ground 
 hopelessly with the people if a reactionary domestic policy is 
 pursued in Prussia. I answered that the injudicious lan- 
 guage of the Minister of Justice Leonhardt,* and the pietistical 
 tendencies of Muhler particularly caused offence here — which 
 he readily admitted. He thought, however, that the King would 
 find it hard to make up his mind to dismiss these men. The 
 
 * The Minister of Justice Leonhardt had, on November 30, on dis- 
 cussion of the draft of the proposed amendments of the Prussian 
 Law of Mortgage, expressed the hope that the new law would shortly 
 become applicable to all the rest of Germany. If the law proved effi- 
 cacious, it would be adopted for the North German Confederation, and from 
 that moment to its introduction into South Germany a space of time 
 would intervene which would be counted only by months.
 
 318 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Minister of Public Worship was under the influence of his pious 
 wife, and for that reason the Ministry over which he presided 
 was nicknamed "the Adelaide Ministry." The woman was 
 a regular busybody, and put her finger in every pie. Then we 
 got to talking of the Ultramontane party, in which subject we 
 were entirely agreed in thinking that its intrigues constitute a 
 serious danger for the whole progress and development of the 
 human race, and that the generality of people make too light of 
 this risk. About Gustav and the intrigues directed against him 
 he spoke with much special knowledge. 
 
 Usedom had previously made the remark in the course of our 
 yesterday's conversation that there was no little confusion preva- 
 lent at Berlin on the precise discrimination of the powers of the 
 Prussian as conflicting with those of the North German 
 Confederation. He returned to the subject to-day. According 
 to him the North German Confederation was positively ridiculous. 
 You could not expect a Prussian to let himself be merged in the 
 North German Confederation ; in Germany you could, but that was 
 another matter altogether. When I told him there was still, as 
 always, the old idea of an Emperor of Germany to fall back upon, 
 he said yes, that was better; in that way the King of Prussia 
 might be raised higher without the other Sovereigns having to 
 be set lower. A proposition rather difficult of demonstration ! 
 A propos, as we were on Bismarck, Usedom stated, as an example 
 of how men could alter their opinions, that it was Bismarck who 
 drove Manteuffel to Olmiitz. At that time Bismarck looked 
 upon the Austrian alliance as the sole and only means of salvation, 
 and continued of that opinion till, as Envoy of the Federal Diet, 
 he convinced himself that this was impracticable. 
 
 Munich, December 21, 1868. 
 
 To-day Frobel was with me, having just returned from Berlin 
 and Vienna. He told me he had found opinion in Vienna com- 
 pletely changed. Whereas only last year everybody believed in 
 the disruption of Austria, now self-confidence was again rife, and 
 people again went so far as to demand specifically and definitely 
 that South Germany must unite with Austria to prevent Austria 
 being completely "Magyarised." No consideration need be 
 shown, such is the general opinion there, to the minor German 
 dynasties, as these had proved themselves hostile or useless. 
 This is the feeling in German parliamentary circles. Ministers 
 express themselves more circumspectly. Frobel had a conver- 
 sation of some length with Beust, in the course of which he re- 
 proached him with the attitude of the Suddeutsche Presse but 
 calmed down after a while. Beust declares he does not 
 wish to be mixed up with German affairs. But his manner 
 made it evident that he did not honestly mean what he 
 said. Speaking generally, Frobel says that opinion at Vienna
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 319 
 
 comes to this — that a peaceable solution of the German question 
 is considered impossible. 
 
 With Bismarck, Frobel had an interview lasting an hour. Bis- 
 marck said he meant to maintain a passive attitude towards South 
 Germany. The development of Germany might take another 
 thirty years, and it would do no harm. It was a great develop- 
 ment, and needed time. The Customs Parliament Bismarck 
 hopes will lead to the further development of German relations. 
 He spoke, also, of the year 1866, and thought that, even if he had 
 been able at that date to unite all South Germany and German 
 Austria with Prussia, he would not have done so, because in that 
 case too many heterogeneous elements would have been thrown 
 together, and no permanent arrangement would have resulted. 
 He had nothing to say against the South German Confederation, 
 albeit he allowed that by its means the renewed participation of 
 Austria in German affairs was rendered possible, and from this 
 difficulties might arise. As to any menace against South German 
 independence on the part of North Germany, Frobel had noticed 
 no symptoms of such a thing at Berlin. Our independence was 
 threatened, he held, from the direction of Austria. A letter 
 from a person at Vienna, who holds no political post, but is in 
 relations with Beust, which Frobel has received here, shows that 
 an understanding is projected at Vienna to our prejudice. 
 
 Munich, December 31, 1868. 
 
 The Austrian Minister, Count Ingelheim,* turned the con- 
 versation to-day at the Thursday diplomatic reception upon the 
 speech of Minister von Varnbiiler,f and observed that it made an 
 end of every hope of a Southern Confederation. I replied that I 
 
 * Successor to Count Trauttmansdorff, who on November 14 had 
 been received in farewell audience of the King. On December 12 
 Prince Hohenlohe had received his credentials. 
 
 f In the debate on the address in the Second Chamber on De- 
 cember 18 and 19, Vambuler had said: "The union of the South German 
 States which is demanded of the Government is nothing more nor less 
 than the Southern Confederation. ... It is therefore not merely an 
 understanding with the neighbouring States, but a definite political struc- 
 ture. I ask then: Is such a thing possible? . . . You will agree 
 with me that a political organisation to be at all effective must have certain 
 powers. How, pray, will you determine these for your central authority, 
 for your Parliament? Such powers cannot, at any rate, be inferior to 
 those of the South German Federal Council, and it follows that the South 
 German States must hand over to the Confederate body all those matters 
 which are enumerated in the fifteen sections of Article IV. of the Consti- 
 tution of the North German Confederation. In this connection you must 
 bear in mind that Wurtemberg and Baden must always be in a minority in 
 the Confederate bodies as against Bavaria. . . . The whole population of 
 Wurtemberg would rise en masse against such an experiment. . . . When 
 you take into consideration all the matters that must come to be dealt with 
 by the Confederation, I feel sure that you would very soon come 
 to the conclusion that, if ever we are to have such a condition of 
 things, we would rather have it in common with Germany as a whole than 
 with Bavaria.
 
 3 2o MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 had read this without any sort of surprise, because I was familiar 
 with Varnbiiler's views, and I equally well knew the tendencies 
 of the people of Wiirtemberg, whose idea was to main- 
 tain their autonomy at any cost. Without surrender of a part of 
 this independence, however, the Southern Confederation 
 was inconceivable. For this reason the scheme had little 
 prospect of success in Wiirtemberg — unless the plan were 
 adopted of forming a South German Confederation of Republics, 
 which was neither in the interest nor in accordance with the 
 plans of the South German Governments.* Ingelheim now 
 advised an understanding between the South German 
 States, with the object of their mutually pledging themselves 
 to take no further steps towards a rapprochement with Prussia. 
 Only by such means could the danger of absorption by Prussia 
 be warded off. I objected that such an understanding could only 
 have a negative object, and ought to be made deliberately and 
 after full consideration. The Peace of Prague stipulated the 
 national union of the South German States with the Northern 
 Confederation; this Ingelheim wanted to deny at first, but I 
 was able to prove it him by reading out Article IV. of the Peace 
 of Prague. 
 
 Next I showed him that Austria had herself recognised in 
 Article IV. the necessity of a new political organisation; conse- 
 quently, that this was bound to be formed, and that we could 
 not confine ourselves to a merely negative attitude without acting 
 in contravention of the Peace of Prague. The union of the South 
 German States in the form of a federation of States and its union 
 with North Germany was not unfeasible, and therefore 
 no agreement ought to be entered into which might by any possi- 
 bility bar such an object. In any case, I should like to think 
 over his advice. 
 
 The Bavarian Minister at Karlsruhe, Freiherr von 
 Riederer, had reported on January 15 that the Grand Duke 
 Friedrich of Baden had on more than one occasion expressed 
 the wish to enter into a personal exchange of ideas with King 
 Ludwig as to the political situation of Germany. To this the 
 following report of the Prince, dated January 22, 1869, refers: 
 
 "Your Majesty has been pleased by a communication from 
 your Majesty's secretary, to entrust to your most faithful ser- 
 vant, the undersigned, the duty of expressing his opinion re- 
 garding the wish referred to in the despatch of your Majesty's 
 Minister at Karlsruhe, on the part of the Grand Duke of Baden 
 to meet your Majesty. 
 
 * The Wiirtemberg Popular Party had included the Confederation of 
 the South as part of their programme. Their representative, Karl Meyer, 
 said in the debate on the address of December 18 and 19: "I believe, for 
 my part, that by establishing the Southern Confederation we shall be 
 putting no drag on the Republican development of Europe."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 321 
 
 "Your most obedient servant feels the more bound to 
 describe such a meeting as favourable to your Majesty's in- 
 terests, inasmuch as the establishment of personal and friendly 
 relations between your Majesty and the Grand Duke of Baden 
 will assist not a little in furthering the efforts of your most 
 obedient servant to restrain Baden from a one-sided policy, and 
 to lead her to assume a position more in harmony with the politics 
 of the other South German States. The great change which is 
 preparing in the opinions of the Baden population on this point 
 seems likely to promote such an alteration in the policy of the 
 country, and a meeting with your Majesty will give the Grand 
 Duke of Baden confidence and courage to come into closer touch 
 with that section of his subjects which looks upon the surrender 
 of the national independence as a calamity. Your Majesty 
 is aware that there are situations when it is not sufficient 
 for a Minister only to move. The personal activity of your 
 Majesty and your Majesty's meeting with the rest of the 
 German Monarchs may well at this present crisis exert an 
 important influence on the position of affairs in Germany, and 
 enable Bavaria to take the place which the kingdom has a right 
 to claim in virtue of its past history and its inherent strength. 
 I pray your Majesty may not let the opportunity slip without 
 taking advantage of it. 
 
 "The undersigned would regard the meeting of your Royal 
 Highness with the Archduke of Baden as an event fruitful 
 in results, and would welcome it with delight. Since the Arch- 
 duke has already paid a visit to your Majesty on the occasion 
 of your assuming the Government, no obstacle on the ground 
 of etiquette should stand in the way of a visit by your Royal 
 Highness to Karlsruhe, indeed, for this very reason it is to be 
 preferred to a meeting at some third place." 
 
 Extract from a communication to Professor Aegidi at Bonn* 
 
 Munich, February 28, 1869. 
 
 ... I will not enter in the idle discussion whether the Peace 
 of Prague and the Preliminaries of Nikolsburg leave the associa- 
 tion of South German States as the only available means of com- 
 ing into closer union with the North or not. I look at the matter 
 only from the practical point of view. 
 
 Any one who considers with attention the situation in 
 South Germany will readily recognise the fact that the danger 
 for Germany lies in the ever-growing estrangement between 
 
 * Aegidi, whom the Prince had met in the Tariff Parliament, had 
 sent the latter on February 7 a project for a South German Federation 
 of States, the contents of which were in the main limited to the matter 
 of defensive and offensive alliances, and sought to promote the question 
 of the South German organisation merely by the formation of the 
 " association" apart from any other considerations. 
 
 VOL. I — Y
 
 322 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 South and North. The tighter the bond is drawn which 
 unites together the States of the North German League, the 
 harder does it become for the native of South Germany to 
 reconcile himself to the thought of a union with the North. 
 The national antipathy of the South German races to the North 
 German is a fact not to be denied. This antipathy, coupled with 
 the dread of absorption in the Prusso-German unified State, 
 has notably increased since the year 1866, while all the enemies 
 of Prussia and Germany utilise this feeling to widen the breach 
 day by day. So the South German States drift imperceptibly 
 into a hostile attitude towards the North, and suppose any 
 one of the catastrophes desired and furthered by the opponents 
 of Prussia to occur, the risk grows imminent that Southern and 
 Northern Germany will be permanently severed. To obviate 
 this danger, it is necessary as soon as possible to have done with 
 all provisional arrangements, and to set to work seriously to 
 bring about the new organisation of Germany. 
 
 But as things are now, this new organisation cannot be 
 effected by the mere entrance of the South German States into 
 the North German League. Whoever makes this his aim and 
 object is only prolonging indefinitely the provisional condition 
 of affairs, and thereby the present precarious position. But if 
 such a provisional condition is admittedly fraught with danger, 
 we must arrive as soon as may be at some form of arrangement 
 which guarantees the South Germans the maintenance of their 
 autonomy, their individuality, their kindly, cosy national life, 
 if I may be allowed the expression, and at the same time makes 
 their union with the North possible. 
 
 Give the South Germans this guarantee, and they will gradu- 
 ally become part and parcel of the great German body politic ; 
 without it, never ! 
 
 A South German Federation of States that should be some- 
 thing more than a mere inter-State alliance, an association, 
 at the head of which would be a common confederate adminis- 
 tration — it might be without a Parliament — common regu- 
 lation of military affairs and foreign policy, common manage- 
 ment of internal communications, &c, that would possibly be 
 the form of arrangement that would offer the South German 
 States the guarantee just referred to, and at the same time af- 
 ford Germans of the South a firm standing from which they 
 could honestly and unreservedly extend the right hand of fellow- 
 ship to their brethren of the North. Nobody likes to give his 
 hand across a ditch, unless he has got a firm footing first on his 
 own bank. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe had as early as November 1868 endeavoured 
 to persuade the Baden Government to forego their proviso, that 
 the South German Fortress Commission should come into being 
 only after the conclusion of the liquidation proceedings. He
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 323 
 
 was anxious to get the Fortress Commission into active opera- 
 tion at once, and settle by diplomatic negotiations with Prussia 
 the question of equipments in the fortresses, so that a fresh as- 
 sembling of the Liquidation Commission would have become 
 superfluous. Baden refused to consent. In spite of this the 
 Bavarian Government persisted in its efforts to obtain, in anticipa- 
 tion of the meeting of the Liquidation Commission, some guaranty 
 at least that, when it did meet, the Prussian representatives should 
 not demand a common control of the materiel. 
 
 Some insight into the nature of these negotiations is afforded 
 by the following draft of a communication to the Bavarian Min- 
 ister at Berlin, which, according to a note in the MS., was sent 
 off "in a modified form." It dates from the end of February 1869. 
 
 "In reply to the inquiry I addressed on the 15th of the month 
 to Count Bismarck through your Excellency as to what regula- 
 tions Prussia would consider suitable as touching the erst- 
 while movable property of the league, and on what views 
 the Royal Prussian Government would proceed in its instruc- 
 tions to its delegates at the forthcoming Liquidation Commis- 
 sion, Count Bismarck caused a communication to be conveyed 
 to me on the 28th inst. through the instrumentality of Freiherr 
 von Werthern. This declares the willingness of the Royal 
 Prussian Government to agree to the wishes of the South 
 German Governments to allow the common ownership to con- 
 tinue in such materiel as still remains from the days of the 
 German Confederation in the Fortresses of Ulm, Rastatt, and 
 Landau, but announces at the same time that the Royal 
 Prussian Government, so long as the common ownership re- 
 mains in force, considers it cannot forego a common supervision 
 of the property. In this expression of opinion I find reasons 
 for hoping that the compulsory redemption of the erstwhile 
 property of the Confederation, a measure especially distaste- 
 ful 10 the Governments of Wiirtemberg and Baden, may 
 be avoided, while at the same time I fail to see anything 
 excessive or unacceptable from our point of view in the require- 
 ment that the maintenance of the proprietary rights of North 
 Germany shall be secured by means of mutual powers of supervi- 
 sion. Moreover, the minutes of the agreement of October 10 last, 
 which we at once laid before the Royal Prussian Government * 
 say nothing whatever about excluding North Germany entirely 
 from any co-operation ; on the contrary, its co-operation, so long 
 as the common ownership lasts, is expressly contemplated. 
 Only as to the extent of this co-operation were the views of the 
 Prussian Government so far unknown to us; and the fact that 
 it was agreed by all parties that a Fortress Commission should 
 be established, and should be charged not only with the 
 supervision, but also with the actual control of the war material 
 
 * Communicated by Prince Hohenlohe to the Prussian Minister on 
 October 14, 1868.
 
 3 2 4 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 existing in the South German fortresses, could not fail to impose 
 on the King's Government the duty of declaring at once that 
 it was not in a position to assent to any such proposal in view 
 of the minutes of agreement between the South German States 
 dated October 10, 1868, in which a Fortress Commission of this 
 nature was expressly excluded. 
 
 "That the King's Government now deems itself bound to 
 repeat this declaration is the effect of the report made by 
 Freiherr von Freyberg, Major in the Royal Army, of a conver- 
 sation which he had with Count von Bismarck, and from which 
 it appears that his Excellency indicated as desirable a mixed 
 commission, consisting of representatives from all States of the 
 South that are interested parties, and such of these belonging to 
 the Northern Confederation as are similarly situated, to be charged 
 with the reinstatement and seasonable improvement of materiel 
 in connection with fortification and artillery, and suchlike duties. 
 I think I am justified in not regarding this in the light of 
 an official proposal of the Prussian Government, but merely 
 as an observation made in the course of a conversation on 
 military matters as to what appeared desirable in the interests 
 of military efficiency. All the same, his Excellency's words 
 show to what sort of proposals discussions as to the management 
 of the former property of the league may give rise, and prove 
 the necessity of the request made to you in my despatch of the 
 15th inst. to learn the views of the Royal Prussian Government 
 before the meeting of the Liquidation Commission, so as to be 
 enabled, even at this early stage, to indicate as unacceptable 
 proposals which would be likely to prevent a successful solution 
 of the task which that body has to perform. 
 
 " I should mention in this connection that, when my despatch 
 of the 15th inst. speaks of claims being avoided that might tend 
 to loosen the tie still existing between the South German States 
 and the North German League, I was only alluding to that 
 particular tie which consists in the community of owner- 
 ship in the erstwhile material property of the league. The 
 defensive and offensive alliance existing between Bavaria 
 and Prussia, and to which Count Bismarck appears to have 
 supposed me to be referring, could not, at that time, have been 
 in my thoughts, for the very good reason that from the point 
 of view of the Royal Bavarian Government the compact of 
 alliance was purely an act of foreign policy. Another proof 
 how far from my thoughts was any notion that the regulation of 
 common claims to the fortress materiel could exert any sort of 
 influence on the compact of alliance is that in the agree- 
 ment of October 10 last, which was likewise communicated to 
 the Royal Prussian Government, it is expressly declared that 
 the terms of the compacts of alliance should be in no way affected 
 by the conclusion of an agreement as to the Fortress Commisson. 
 
 "I am very far from admitting even the possibility that any
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOIIK 325 
 
 occasion of domestic politics could disturb or endanger the agree- 
 ment which exists for the mutual safeguarding of their integrity 
 between Bavaria and Prussia. Whether the matter of the erst- 
 while property of the league is settled to the general satisfaction 
 or not, whether a common ownership between North and South 
 Germany continues in force, or Bavaria should find herself com- 
 pelled to a redemption of her share, in any case the Royal Bava- 
 rian Government will loyally maintain the defensive and offensive 
 alliance. The national community of interests created by those 
 alliances in defence of the German soil stands in our conception 
 so far above all doubt that discordant opinions on mere matters 
 of detail cannot in any way imperil this firm bond of connection. 
 
 "I am glad to learn from the communication of Freiherr 
 von Werthem that in this respect Count Bismarck shares 
 my view. Now, as regards the general principles on which the 
 regulation of the common materiel in the fortresses might be 
 based, Freiherr von Werthern's communication records the view- 
 that the Royal Prussian Government may be able to declare 
 itself in agreement with the Royal Bavarian Government on 
 this point, that the control of that materiel is not to be a control 
 shared by the North German Confederation. 
 
 "It would be more conformable to the views of the Royal 
 Government if the control of the materiel lying in South German v 
 were handed over, not to the South German Territorial Govern- 
 ments, as was agreed upon in the protocol of October 10 last, 
 but to the Fortress Commission itself. It was only to meet 
 the wishes of Baden that the Royal Government consented to 
 the protocol taking that shape. However, whatever may be the 
 final settlement of this regulation, the South German Govern- 
 ments were at one in admitting that the North German Confedera- 
 tion, as joint owner, must be allowed a share in the supervision 
 of the common materiel. It should not be difficult to find a form 
 under which this mutual inspection of the materiel stored in the 
 erstwhile fortresses of the league might be conducted. I there- 
 fore indulge the hope that the differences more or less apparent 
 in the views of the two Governments may soon be removed, 
 and would add further, that the most expedient course would 
 most certainly be to let the Fortress Commission come into be- 
 .ing immediately an understanding has been arrived at between 
 the South German States and the North German Confederation, 
 whereby the participation of the latter, provided for in Article VII. 
 of the Compact of October 10 last, in the supervision to be ex- 
 ercised over the administration of the materiel in the fortresses, 
 will be duly settled. 
 
 "Meantime, I beg your Excellency to bring this despatch 
 under the notice of Count von Bismarck. . . ." 
 
 These negotiations with Prussia led to no result. In March 
 1869 the Prussian Ambassador gave it to be understood that
 
 326 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Count Bismarck, in any case, looked forward to an early con- 
 vocation of the Liquidation Commission. On March 9 Prince 
 Hohenlohe conferred by the King's command with Varn- 
 biiler at Nordlingen, and the result of this interview was that on 
 March 10 the Liquidation Commission was convoked for April 4. 
 
 The Prince's remains unfortunately supply but little evidence 
 of his frequent intercourse with Ignaz von Dollinger, which 
 exercised such an important influence on the Prince's Church 
 policy during the period preceding the assembling of the Vati- 
 can Council. This intercourse was, of course, mainly personal, 
 and only now and again in amplification of verbal exchanges of 
 opinion were brief notes written. 
 
 On March 23, 1869, Dollinger transmits the Prince the draft 
 of the following circular letter of April 9. 
 
 The circular letter, down to the concluding sentences beginning 
 with the words "I have waited till now," was composed by Dol- 
 linger. A French translation of the letter was written by the Prince 
 with his own hand. 
 
 Circular letter to the Bavarian Ambassadors of April 9, 1869. 
 
 It may now be assumed with certainty that the General Coun- 
 cil summoned by his Holiness Pope Pius IX. * will, if no unfore- 
 seen circumstances intervene, actually meet in December. Un- 
 doubtedly it will be attended by a very large number of Bishops 
 from all parts of the world, and be more numerous than 
 any previous Council, and will, therefore, make a corre- 
 sponding claim upon the public opinion of the Catholic world 
 to be accredited, both itself and its decisions, with the high sig- 
 nificance and authority which belong to an (Ecumenical Council. 
 
 That the Council will deal with simple questions of creed, 
 with matters of pure theology, is not to be supposed, for no such 
 questions calling for settlement by a Council are at present extant. 
 The only matter of dogma which, as I learn from a trustworthy 
 source, might come up for decision at Rome by the Council, 
 and for which the Jesuits in Italy, as well as in Germany and 
 elsewhere, are agitating, is the question of the infallibility of the 
 Pope. But this goes far beyond the domain of purely religious 
 questions, and has a highly political character, because the power 
 of the Papacy over all princes and peoples, even those in schism 
 from Rome, would thereby be defined in secular affairs, and elevated 
 into an article of faith. 
 
 Now this question, highly important and pregnant with re- 
 sults as it is, is pre-eminently of a nature to draw the attention of 
 all Governments having Catholic subjects to the Council, but their 
 interest, or rather, perhaps, their anxiety, must needs be still further 
 heightened, when they see the preliminaries already in preparation, 
 
 * By the Bull dated June 29, 1868.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 327 
 
 and the composition of the committees formed at Rome to carry out 
 these. Among these committees is one in particular whose 
 sole business is to concern itself with politico-ecclesiastical 
 matters. So it is beyond a doubt the deliberate intention 
 of the Roman Curia that the Council shall lay down, at 
 any rate, some decisions on politico-ecclesiastic matters 
 or questions of a mixed nature. To this may be added that the 
 journal edited by the Roman Jesuits, the Civilta Cattolica, to 
 which Pope Pius, by a personal brief, has given the weight of a 
 semi-official organ of the Roman Curia, has quite lately 
 indicated as a duty assigned to the Council to transform 
 the damnatory judgments of the Papal Syllabus of December 8, 
 1864, into positive decisions or decrees of the Council. Now, 
 as these articles of the Syllabus are directed against several im- 
 portant axioms of State organisation as this has come to be under- 
 stood among all civilised peoples, Governments are confronted 
 with the serious question whether and in what form they would 
 have to advise cither the Bishops subject to their authority, or, at 
 a later stage, the Council itself of the perilous consequences to 
 which such a deliberate and fundamental disturbance of the rela- 
 tions of Church and State must inevitably lead. The further 
 question arises whether it does not appear advisable that 
 the Governments acting in common, perhaps through their 
 representatives at Rome, should present a warning or protest 
 against such decisions as might be taken by the Council on their 
 sole responsibility without consultation with the representatives 
 of the State power or any previous communication regarding 
 politico-ecclesiastical questions or matters of a mixed nature. 
 It seems to me absolutely necessary for the Governments interested 
 to endeavour to arrive at some mutual understanding on this very 
 serious matter. 
 
 I have waited till now to see if any move would be made on 
 one side or the other, but as nothing of the sort has happened, and 
 time presses, I find myself compelled to charge your Ex- 
 cellency to make this the subject of a conversation with the Gov- 
 ernment to which you are accredited, in order to elicit information 
 as to its ideas and views on this important question. 
 
 Concurrently with this circular a request for an expression 
 of opinion on the following questions formulated by Dollinger 
 was addressed to the Catholic Theological and the Legal Faculties 
 of the Bavarian Universities : 
 
 "(1) If the clauses of the Syllabus and the Papal infallibility 
 are elevated at the next Council to articles of faith, what changes 
 would be introduced thereby into the teaching on the relation 
 between Church and State, as hitherto treated in Germany practi- 
 cally and theoretically? 
 
 "(2) In the supposed case, would the public professors of 
 dogma and of ecclesiastical law consider themselves obliged to 
 establish as binding on the conscience of every Christian the
 
 328 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 doctrine of the divinely ordained authority of the Pope over 
 Monarchs and Governments (whether as potestas directa or in- 
 directa in temporalia) ? 
 
 "(3) Would the professors of dogma and of ecclesiastical law 
 consider themselves forthwith obliged to adopt in their instruction 
 and their writings, the doctrine that the personal and real im- 
 munities of the clergy are juris divini, and so come within the 
 range of articles of faith ? 
 
 "(4) Are there any universally recognised criteria by which 
 it may be decided with certainty if a Papal proclamation ex cathe- 
 dra, and so in accordance with the doctrine eventually to be estab- 
 lished by the Council, is infallible and binding on the conscience of 
 every Christian ? And if such criteria exist, what are they ? 
 
 "(5) How far would the desired new dogmas and their in- 
 evitable consequences exercise a revolutionary influence on the 
 instruction of the people in Church and school and on the popular 
 educational books (catechisms, &c.)?" 
 
 On October 31, 1867, the Government had brought before the 
 Chamber of Deputies the scheme of an Education Bill. The 
 scheme of this Bill, even before the discussion in the Chamber, 
 was the subject of intense agitation among the Ultramontane 
 party, because it established principally the exclusive right of 
 the State to the conduct and inspection of schools, except with re- 
 gard to religious instruction, and, in place of the pastor as sole 
 local school inspector, appointed a local board of inspection, on 
 which the congregation, the Church, the family, and the educa- 
 tional authorities were equally represented. At the same time 
 the technical control of the instruction was handed over to district 
 school inspectors. 
 
 In these measures the Ultramontane party saw the separation 
 of the schools from the Church and their secularisation. An 
 address from the Bavarian episcopate to the King was referred, 
 by a minute in the King's own hand, October 13, 1868, to the 
 Minister of Public Worship "for careful and unbiassed considera- 
 tion." The debate in the Chamber of Deputies lasted from 
 February 15 to 23, 1869, and ended in the adoption of the Bill 
 by a majority of 116 to 26 votes. Prince Hohenlohe took no part 
 in the discussion. On February 26 the scheme came before the 
 Upper Chamber, in which the Bishop von Dinkel was Reporter, 
 and the President of the Protestant Upper Synod, von Harless, 
 co-Reporter. Both of them were determined adversaries of the 
 principal motives of the scheme. A letter from Dollinger to the 
 Prince on April 15, 1869, is very significant of the political position. 
 He writes : 
 
 Your Highness will not accuse me of presumption if I take 
 the liberty of supplementing my verbal remarks of this morning 
 by a few written observations.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 329 
 
 While, as a true servant of my King, I put myself in the posi- 
 tion of the Royal Government and consider the present position 
 the division of parties and the impending elections, the following 
 considerations present themselves to me: 
 
 It is to the interest of the Government that, before the com- 
 mencement of the elections, it should promulgate a conciliatory 
 measure that would inspire confidence. Among the majority 
 of the clergy (high and low), and principally in conse- 
 quence of the Education Bill, the idea is widely spread that the 
 Government, in the attitude it has adopted up to the present 
 time, intends to damage and finally to ruin them. This view 
 is greatly strengthened by the fact that no representative of the 
 secular clergy was called in when the scheme w r as being discussed. 
 If the Government were now to announce that, in consequence of 
 the great differences of opinion which the proposed law has 
 called into existence between the three factors of the Legislative 
 Assembly, a fresh consideration of the scheme with the co- 
 operation of the parties interested seems to be advisable — 
 that is, on one hand the clergy, on the other the educational 
 body — and that the Government reserves the introduction 
 of the matured Bill before the two Chambers of the 
 new Landtag, this measure would give universal satisfaction, and 
 in particular the majority of the clergy would observe a 
 more calm and prudent attitude than, 1 fear, would other- 
 wise be the case. Only the other day I heard, from a quarter in 
 which I did not expect it, the wish expressed that the present Min- 
 istry might be replaced by another. 
 
 If the Bill should actually come under discussion in the Senate, 
 the inevitable consequences are : 
 
 (a) That all the passions will again be aroused. 
 
 (b) That the Minister, Herr von Gresser, will be caught 
 between the two Chambers, as it were between the upper and the 
 nether mill stone, since he appears to be bound by the opinions 
 that he has already expressed and the approbation that he has 
 given in the Chamber of Representatives. He will probably 
 find himself in opposition to a very great majority of the Upper 
 House without a chance of coming to an understanding. 
 
 (c) That the Government will be so unfortunate as to 
 appear embarrassed in a question of the last importance; an 
 appearance that will be avoided by making a voluntary concession 
 and the announcement of a fresh revision. 
 
 I leave everything to the judgment of your Excellency, and 
 remain, 
 
 Your Excellency's obedient servant, 
 
 DOLLINGER. 
 
 At the sitting of the Upper House on April 19, 1869, the full 
 discussion began. On that day Prince Hohenlohe delivered 
 the following speech :
 
 330 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 "I must take leave to address the House in this general dis- 
 cussion, because I consider it my duty not to be silent but 
 to express my opinion openly on a question that has awakened 
 the old opposition of parties in such a striking manner. 
 
 "There are times and questions when one cannot remain 
 neutral. Such a time is ours, and the subject of discussion is 
 one about which every man who is called on to take an active 
 part in public life is bound to give his opinion. About the 
 necessity of reform in our scholastic system, it appears that 
 opinions are not divided, whilst the views are divergent as to 
 the best ways and means of carrying the reform into effect. 
 As much as twenty years ago an eloquent member of this 
 honourable House, who is still with us, indicated to us the drastic 
 reform of our elementary school system as an indispensable neces- 
 sity. On that occasion the honourable member said: 'I hope 
 we shall finally get rid of the idea which was rather common in 
 former days, that the prosperity of a State depends upon keeping 
 the lower classes ignorant. Our enlightened Government will 
 foster the conviction that danger may arise for the State, not 
 through the education of the people, but through the opposite 
 — through lack of education ; and that the strength of the nation 
 and with that national prosperity reposes principally on the 
 intelligence of the people. Starting with this conviction, the 
 Government will not delay atoning for the sins of the past and 
 submitting our scholastic system to the most thorough revision. 
 By doing this it will remove a principal cause of the increasing 
 poverty.' 
 
 "When I say that I agree most heartily with these words, I 
 believe that I shall meet with no opposition from either side of this 
 House. This exhortation was not the only one which was addressed 
 to the Government through the Chamber. I will only remind you 
 of the common decision of both Chambers in 1866, when the 
 proposition of a School Bill on a Liberal basis was asked for.* 
 The Government acceded to these wishes, and brought in a 
 measure in accordance with the demands. Since then the dis- 
 cussion has begun, first outside the House of Representatives and 
 then in the Chambers. It is one of the advantages of consti- 
 tutional life that questions which excite public opinion are 
 thrashed out and made clear through the discussions of the 
 constitutional representatives of the people, and that as a result of 
 this tranquillity of mind is re-established. In the present question 
 this was the case, and, if I am not entirely mistaken, the original 
 antipathy to what people were pleased to call the 'Godless 
 Education Bill' has given way to a less prejudiced view. 
 The discussions of your committee also show, as far as the 
 protocol will give information, that there is no passionate excite- 
 ment among the honourable members, and the speeches of the 
 two honourable Reporters give us a calm and unprejudiced 
 
 * See p. 163
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 331 
 
 criticism of the scheme under discussion. That much-aired 
 grievance that the Church is threatened in her rights by such an 
 Education Bill as the Government projected is less heard now, at 
 any rate outside the Chamber, for whoever criticises the Bill 
 impartially will gradually arrive at the conviction that the 
 difference between the present circumstances and the proposals 
 of the Government is not so great as was originally believed. In 
 any case, the decisions of the committee and the declarations of 
 the Lord Archbishop von Scherr go far beyond the scheme of the 
 Bill and the existing conditions. These decisions are based 
 partly on the fundamental determination to claim for the Church 
 a preponderant, if not exclusive, influence on the popular schools, 
 a determination that was very clearly expressed in the Brief of bis 
 Holiness Pius IX. addressed to the Archbishop of Freiburg (July 14, 
 1864). At this point two opposite currents meet. For if the 
 Church claims the unrestricted control of popular education, 
 the State, on the other hand, cannot renounce its right to 
 direct the education and training of the people. If we 
 could indeed start from an ideal comprehension of State and 
 Church, we should be forced to the conclusion that it could only 
 be desirable for the State for the greatest possible influence on 
 popular education to be left to the Church — the dispenser of 
 salvation and consolation, the great teacher of the human race. 
 We are not, however, at an ideal standpoint, but on the ground 
 of positive constitutional right, and by this alone can we be 
 guided. This constitutional right is the expression of the idea 
 of the modern State, as it has been evolved from the political 
 life of the nation, and to this the Bavarian people will hold fast. 
 I am well aware that the term 'modern State' will be rejected 
 in certain circles, but I know no other name for the State which 
 is called upon to protect and care for our whole life as civilised 
 beings and which has not compromised the Christian faith, but has 
 advanced its interests, as the members of the higher clergy here 
 present will confirm if I refer them to the tremendous manifesta- 
 tion of Catholic sentiments which have taken place in recent times. 
 The difficulty of harmonious co-operation of both powers, Church 
 and State, lies, I venture to think, in the fact that declarations 
 have lately been made which show hostility towards the State 
 in the party at present in the ascendant in the Church. 
 
 "I would remind you of the encyclical Mirari vos of Gregory 
 XVI. , which calls the legal establishment of liberty of conscience 
 sententia erronea et absurda, a delir amentum — an erroneous and 
 absurd idea; a piece of madness. I would remind you of the 
 encyclical of December 8, 1864, which reckons religious toleration 
 among the damnable heresies. Finally, I would remind you of 
 that article in the same encyclical which refuses to allow that 
 the Pope could ever be the friend or ally of progress, Liberalism, 
 and with modern civilisation. 
 
 "When President von Harless spoke of revenants and evoked
 
 332 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 these revenants from the domain of the rationalism of a hundred 
 years ago, I leave it to your consideration whether the expressions 
 which I have quoted to you do not also belong to the category of 
 revenants, and revenants, too, of a long-past age, and whether one 
 revenant does not call up another. 
 
 "I am, however, not at all inclined to submit these mani- 
 festations to criticism. I wish to bring them to your notice 
 merely to show that the fact of a divergence between those 
 expressions and modern Liberalism not only exists, but exists 
 side by side with the Bavarian constitutional rights. I 
 have to remind you that the principle of liberty of conscience is 
 proclaimed and guaranteed as a fundamental right of the Bavarian 
 people. 
 
 "The Constitution is Liberal; it is the product of modern 
 Liberalism. It recognises expressly that 'advance towards 
 what is better,' according to well-tried experience, shall not be 
 excluded. These are the very words of the Constitution. 
 
 "This contradiction, this fundamental divergence of con- 
 ception, disturbs that harmonious co-operation of State and 
 Church which I ventured to point out before as ideal. Under 
 such circumstances, when the divergences were so pronounced, 
 nothing was left for the Government when it proposed to intro- 
 duce a School Bill but a compromise, or, as we are accustomed 
 to call it, a modus vivendi. 
 
 "This proposal has certainly the disadvantages of every 
 compromise, but, as may be seen from what I have already said, 
 a reconciliation of principles was not to be thought of. I am 
 therefore of the opinion that we must at present content ourselves 
 with adopting the scheme of the Bill in accordance with the 
 proposals of the Government. The scheme contains many 
 improvements which will benefit the congregation and the 
 teachers, and I am convinced that it will not injure the Church. 
 
 " My lords, in all times there will be found men — yes, and 
 they are the great majority — who in the battle and storm of life 
 fear to suffer shipwreck or who have already suffered it; men 
 who take refuge in the sure haven of the Church in order to find 
 there consolation, help, and redemption. Mankind needs this 
 helpful, consoling, and conciliatory Church at all times, and the 
 fifty-six school inspectors will not succeed in shattering her. 
 Whether mankind also needs a militant and condemning Church 
 the theologians must decide." 
 
 The Education Bill was not passed by the Landtag, as an 
 understanding between the two Chambers could not be arrived at. 
 
 The replies agreed on by the Powers in April and May, relative 
 to the circular of April 9, were communicated to Dollinger, who 
 transmitted to the Prince the following observations: "How 
 great the probability is that the proclamation of the Papal
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 333 
 
 infallibility will be considered seriously by the Council the 
 following will prove : 
 
 " (i) The scheme has already been actively prosecuted for a long 
 time. Rome, for about seven or eight years, when provincial 
 and diocesan Synods have been held, has emphatically urged, 
 and has also managed to secure, that the article on the Papal 
 infallibility should be adopted in the resolutions or acts of these 
 Synods. 
 
 " (2) The two German Bishops, who have hitherto published 
 their own writings about the Council, Ketteler of Mayence* and 
 Fessler of St. P6lten,f both declared themselves in favour of the 
 dogma being made afresh. Fessler has already been appointed 
 Secretary to the Council by the Pope, as though by way of 
 reward. 
 
 " (3) The fact that the Jesuits announce simultaneously in Rome 
 and in Germany in the Civilta and in the Laacher Stimmen that 
 the Council will make the new dogma, is very important, in view 
 of the power and the organisation of the Order, and its wide 
 knowledge of the world. 
 
 " (4) Those who know the Bishops in the Latin countries know 
 that the great majority of them in Italy, Spain, and even in 
 France, adhere to the theory of the infallibility. This is imparted 
 to them even in the seminaries as a fundamental article. Even the 
 North American Bishops have already allowed themselves to be 
 caught by means of a paragraph inserted in their Synod ical 
 decrees. Among the Italians, one hundred and thirty of whom 
 may be at the Council, every one will presumably vote for it. 
 Of the far-reaching import of the matter these Bishops — I mean 
 the Italian, Spanish, and a great proportion of the French — have 
 no conception. 
 
 " Consequences of the new dogma of the infallibility of the Pope : 
 
 " (a) The Syllabus of 1864 will be eo ipso an act of faith in- 
 vested with infallible authority. 
 
 " (b) The Pope is to determine by his own sovereign 
 authority the boundary lines between Church and State. In 
 subjects of various kinds the judgment of the Pope, which has 
 become infallible, is alone decisive, and no successor can ever 
 deviate from it. 
 
 " (c) Paul IV. 's Bull, which orders every heterodox Prince 
 to be deposed, &c, becomes dogma. (The Bull is called 
 Cum ex apostolatus officio.) 
 
 " (d) The same with regard to the Bull Unam sanctam. 
 
 "(e) As the Pope has declared the immunity of the clergy, 
 which is now accepted everywhere as divinely ordered (Juris 
 divini), this becomes dogma. 
 
 * Ketteler, Das allgemeine Konzil und seine Bedeutung jur unsre Zeit, 
 1869. 
 
 t Fessler, Das letzte und das ndchste allgemeine Konzil, 1869. Fessler 
 was appointed First Secretary to the Council, March 27, 1869.
 
 334 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 "(/) In consequence of this every Bishop, and even every 
 clergyman, will be entirely free from secular jurisdiction, or 
 this may be allowed as in the Austrian Concordat for a certain 
 time as a temporary need of the Pope, and the clergy and church 
 property can only be taxed by permission of the Pope, &c. 
 
 " (g) It would be the duty of Catholics to give the preference 
 to a Catholic monarch instead of to one who, although a direct 
 heir, is of another religious belief. These consequences might 
 in our days soon become very practical. 
 
 ''Even this does not exhaust the probable and sure conse- 
 quences." 
 
 The attitude of the Austrian Government was decisive as 
 regards the failure of the policy opened out by the circular tele- 
 gram of April 9. It has been thought well to place here the 
 answer of the Austrian Chancellor, which has already been pub- 
 lished several times. 
 
 Count Beust to the Austrian Minister, 
 Count Ingelheim, at Munich. 
 
 Vienna, May 15, 1869* 
 
 The Bavarian Minister, Count von Bray, has commu- 
 nicated to me a despatch which has been addressed to him 
 by his Government, in order that the question may be brought 
 up here as to the attitude to be adopted by the European Govern- 
 ments with regard to the (Ecumenical Council convoked in Rome. 
 Count Bray has left this despatch in my hands, and I forward 
 herewith to your Excellency a copy of the same for your personal 
 information. 
 
 With reference to the information that the Royal Bavarian 
 Government has received about the preparations for the im- 
 pending Church Council, and the conjectured intentions of the 
 Roman Court, it addresses to us — as doubtless to other Cabinets 
 — the question whether, for the protection of modern State 
 principles, preventive measures should not be taken into con- 
 sideration; such measures, for instance, as warnings to the 
 Bishops of the different countries or a protest at Rome; 
 and whether it does not seem to be indicated that an understand- 
 ing should be arrived at, if not jointly, at any rate as 
 far as possible identically, by means of general deliberations — 
 perhaps, even, by means of a conference of the representatives of 
 all the Governments interested. 
 
 I have given my most careful attention to these communi- 
 cations, as the great importance of their subject demands, and 
 I have considered myself obliged, before replying to the com- 
 prehensive questions set before me by Prince Hohenlohe, to 
 consult, confidentially, the Imperial and Royal Austrian Ministry 
 and the Royal Hungarian Government. 
 
 * The despatch is also printed and defended in the Memoirs of Count 
 Beust: Aus drei Vierteljahrhunderien, vol. ii. p. 278.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 335 
 
 In complete understanding with the Ministers of both divi- 
 sions of the Empire, and with the supreme authorisation of his 
 Majesty the Emperor and King, I have now the honour, through 
 the gracious medium of your Excellency, to impart the following 
 observations to the Munich Cabinet, in reply to the questions ad- 
 dressed to me. 
 
 A Government which, like the Austro-Hungarian, has elevated 
 to a leading principle the liberty of the various religious creed-, 
 within the freely constituted civic society, would not, in our opin- 
 ion, be accepting the full consequences of its principles were 
 it to oppose a system of preventive and restrictive measures 
 to a precedent which is so deeply grounded in the constitution 
 of the Catholic Church as the convocation of a General 
 Council. 
 
 As far as we know at present, none of those Powers with 
 whom the principle of the independence of the Church is most 
 completely accepted, and within whose territories it is most deeply 
 imprinted on the general conscience, have displayed any anxiety 
 about the possible decisions of the future Council, or have occu- 
 pied themselves, as yet, with the consideration of defensive 
 measures. 
 
 If it be accepted as a universal rule that the fullest freedom 
 must be left to recognised religious communities in the develop- 
 ment of their inner life, as far as these do not come into conflict 
 with the temporal standpoint, then the Imperial and Royal Gov- 
 ernment, in the present position of matters, can see no sufficient 
 motive either of right or of advantage for following up now the 
 very weighty suggestions of the Bavarian Government. 
 
 As to the course of the Council, only conjectures that are 
 more or less probable can for the moment be formulated. There 
 are no other official indications yet to hand of the programme 
 of the matters to be submitted to discussion than the general 
 notifications of the Papal Bull convoking the Council. No 
 one would wish to turn the field of purely dogmatic questions 
 into a battle-ground. But as to the interests of the State 
 Church and those matters which touch on civic rights, no less 
 than on doctrine, it is difficult at present to judge whether it 
 is an imminent danger that the divergences which have already 
 manifested themselves in this part of the question are likely to 
 be rendered more acute by the discussions and decisions of the 
 Council, and elevated into a still greater danger for the tran- 
 quillity of the States. We can neither affirm nor deny the 
 imminence of such a danger. Yet, taking everything into con- 
 sideration, it is scarcely to be supposed that the bishops of the 
 Catholic world, who for the most part have to live and work 
 in countries which possess a completely secularised code of law, 
 will not take with them to Rome an accurate acquaintance with 
 the practical necessities of our age. And if the expectation is 
 justified that, for the maintenance of peace between Church and
 
 336 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 State, there will not be wanting orators among the prelates of 
 the Council, it is perhaps not in the interests of the Governments 
 to appear to prompt these utterances and so prejudice 
 their authority. Further, it is impossible at the present juncture 
 to know what attitude the Papal Court, which, in the present 
 condition of the world, neither can nor will renew the precedents 
 of former centuries with regard to the participation of temporal 
 princes in the Council, is preparing to adopt towards the Govern- 
 ments in reference to those subjects of discussion in which the 
 decisions of the Council cannot be carried into effect unless 
 recognised by Government. But, according to our view of 
 the matter, the Governments can perfectly well await the 
 steps which have perhaps become unavoidable, of the Church 
 authorities in this direction. Should the convoked Council 
 hereafter actually proceed to intrude upon the domain of State 
 authority, or should indubitable indications of such an intention 
 be authentically established, then, in the opinion of the Imperial 
 and Royal Government, the possibility would certainly not be 
 excluded that concordantly with the defensive and dissuasive 
 action of the separate States a joint consultation of the Cabinets, 
 with a view to the united defence of the sovereign rights of the 
 State, might prove to be necessary or advantageous. On the 
 other hand, we could not agree that on the bare presumption of 
 such an intrusion on these rights a diplomatic conference should 
 be called which would perhaps give the appearance of an inten- 
 tional control and restriction of liberty of the Catholic Church, 
 and the tension would thereby be increased unnecessarily. In 
 addition to this, there would be the enormous difficulty of arriving 
 at any definite understanding on such indefinite grounds. 
 
 The view here expressed has not prevented the Imperial and 
 Royal Government from appreciating at its full value the sugges- 
 tion made by the Bavarian Cabinet for an exchange of opinion 
 on this momentous matter. We are ourselves sincerely obliged 
 to Prince Hohenlohe for the communication of his views and for 
 the opportunity thereby offered us of explaining our attitude 
 in this question, and your Excellency will be good enough to 
 express to his Highness our warmest appreciation. You are at 
 liberty to place a copy of this statement at his disposal if desired. 
 
 Von Beust. 
 
 Article written by Prince Hohenlohe jor the 
 " Augsburger Abendzeitung." 
 
 Count Beust's answer to Prince Hohenlohe's despatch on the 
 subject of the Council is such a remarkable document that 
 we cannot refrain from offering a few words of comment. 
 
 Count Beust starts, first of all, from the principle that a 
 Government which, like the Austro-Hungarian, has raised the 
 liberty of all religious creeds within a freely constituted society 
 to the level of a guiding principle, cannot oppose to the Council
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 337 
 
 any "system of preventive or restrictive measures." Whoever 
 has read Prince Hohenlohe's despatch will hear with surprise that 
 it embraces a system of preventive restrictive measures. There- 
 is no trace of such a proposal to be found in it. The Bavarian 
 Minister asks what attitude the Governments purpose to 
 adopt towards the Council, and proposes certain ways for secur- 
 ing an understanding between the Governments with the object 
 of leaving the Roman Court in no doubt as to their views. The 
 aim of the Bavarian Government, therefore, was no other 
 than to urge the Governments to consider seriously their attitude 
 towards the Council. Count Beust would certainly have 
 been justified in doubting the seasonableness and the right of 
 "restrictive measures" as he did in the consecutive paragraphs. 
 As there is no question of this, his objection is as visionary as 
 the intention attributed to the Bavarian Government of an arbi- 
 trary restrictive measure. 
 
 Count Beust further insists that only conjectures can be formed 
 as to the course that the Council will adopt ; although he must 
 certainly have been informed by his Minister that the official 
 organ of the Holy See and all influential personalities in Rome 
 have made no secret of the aims of the Council. For undoubtedly 
 the Austrian Ambassador must know as well as every one in Rome 
 that the infallibility of the Pope is to be elevated into a dogma, 
 and the intention is to transform the clauses of the Syllabus into 
 resolutions of the Council. Count Beust must know, as every one 
 in Munich knows, that the tendency of a predominant party in 
 the Church is directed to keeping the relations between Church 
 and State so strained that nothing is left for the State but sub- 
 mission or complete separation. When, notwithstanding this, 
 Count Beust will not believe what is the fact, when he expresses the 
 hope that, in case the assembled Council should propose to in- 
 trude on the lawful sphere of the State, there would still be time 
 to take defensive or admonitory steps, the Austrian statesman 
 overlooks the fact that the Council would not dare to "propose" 
 to intrude. It would at once act and overstep the bounds, and 
 there would be nothing left to the Governments but to protest. 
 When Count Beust resigns himself to the hope that the Bishops 
 would bring with them to Rome an exact knowledge of the prac- 
 tical needs of our age and that in the cause of the maintenance of 
 peace between State and Church orators would not be wanting 
 among the prelates of the Council, the Count rejoices in an envi- 
 able optimism, which stands out all the more vividly when we 
 set it against the trial which has just been concluded before the 
 Linz jury.* We believe that we arc not mistaken when we main- 
 tain that not one of the Austrian Bishops will attempt to oppose 
 
 * Bishop Rudigier of Linz was condemned by the court to twelve 
 days' imprisonment for attempting to disturb the public peace by his 
 pastoral letter of September 12, 1868, in which he criticised the new 
 constitution. He was pardoned the following day by the Emperor. 
 
 vol. 1 — z
 
 338 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the proclamation of the dogma of infallibility. In this dogma, 
 lies the future of Ultramontanism, in it lies the kernel of the 
 absolutist organisation of the hierarchy. It is the crowning of 
 the work for which the Ultramontane party has been striving for 
 years, and no Bishop will dare to move a step in opposition to 
 this aim. The hierarchy will come out of the Council stronger 
 and more powerful, and begin the battle against modern civilisation 
 with renewed strength. Whether the "freely constituted " Austria, 
 in addition to its other difficulties, needs a deepening of the rift 
 between State authority and Church authority the talented 
 statesman of the Danube may decide for himself. Deplorable 
 it must ever be that the warning voice of Prince Hohenlohe in 
 Vienna should have been unheeded. We will not try to discover 
 whether, as a Swiss paper maintains, the wish to increase the 
 difficulties of the internal situation of Bavaria is the reason why 
 the Austrian statesman did not confine himself to answering the 
 despatch, but commissioned the Austrian Legation to counteract, 
 as far as possible, the efforts of Prince Hohenlohe, particularly 
 at the German Courts. We will not try to discover whether, in 
 spite of fine-sounding phrases, the old traditional policy does not 
 even to-day, in the Vienna Chancery of State, find it to its interest 
 to go hand in hand with the Society of Jesus, so that it may employ 
 it and turn it to account as usual at a propitious time in its foreign 
 policy, either against Russia in Poland, or against Prussia in 
 Westphalia and on the Rhine, or wherever else it may be required. 
 It is sufficient for us for the present to have pointed out that 
 Count Beust's despatch is, unfortunately, concerned with appear- 
 ances, and passes over in silence the particular motives that 
 prevent the Austrian Government from adopting a definite 
 attitude towards the Council. Observant politicians will find 
 matter for reflection in this. 
 
 Bollinger's observations on the answers o) the Powers 
 submitted to him. 
 
 The Italian Minister, Signor Artom, appears to look at the 
 circumstance rather as a man of the world than as a statesman. 
 When he holds that the Governments could escape the serious 
 consequences of the resolutions of the Council by simply ignoring 
 them, he overlooks the fact that when certain clauses are pro- 
 claimed by the Council as doctrines of faith (or juris divini, to 
 employ the ecclesiastical term) the clergy communicate them 
 as such to the people, and represent them as belonging from 
 henceforth to the domain of religion and as unconditionally 
 binding on every Christian. No Government in the world can 
 prevent this, nor avert the consequences which will follow. In 
 such a fait accompli there is no possibility of change. The 
 Minister's reference to the Council of Trent, whose resolutions 
 were not adopted by some States, proceeds from an entirely
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 339 
 
 erroneous premise. The dogmatic decrees of this Council have 
 been received in all Catholic countries without the slightest op- 
 position, or rather they had no need to be accepted, they were 
 authoritative of themselves from the first. The disciplinary 
 decrees only (such, for instance, as the immunities of the clergy, 
 or the punishment of a duel and similar things) were rejected 
 by a few States, by France among the number. But now in this 
 Council new doctrines of faith, of a character calculated to arouse 
 the greatest anxiety with regard to ecclesiastical policy, will be laid 
 down. If this actually comes to pass, it would be perfectly 
 futile for the Governments to follow with the announcement, 
 "We do not accept them." They would be answered smilingly, 
 "Your peoples, instructed by their priests, believe them already 
 without consulting you." If the infallibility of the Pope, for 
 instance, is elevated into a dogma, then the celebrated Bull 
 JJnam sanctam is, eo ipso, regula fidei, an inviolable charter of 
 faith for the whole Catholic world, and therewith the complete 
 authority of the Pope over all monarchs and governments, even 
 in things temporal and in politics, is stamped, once for all, as a 
 divinely communicated dogma, which must consequently be 
 taught henceforth in the Catechism, in the confessional, and in 
 every pulpit and chair. The Roman Jesuits in the Civilta have 
 already a few days ago (in their brochure of April 3, p. 21) accepted 
 these consequences fully and with all frankness. This, therefore, 
 is the object which they are deliberately pursuing at Rome. 
 
 According to the view of Herr von Beust it is to be feared 
 that timely action on the part of the Governments might en- 
 courage the Ultramontane party rather than otherwise and 
 determine them in Rome to take decided steps on the path which 
 they have entered. 
 
 Against this it is to be remembered that the Roman Curia 
 has for centuries allowed itself to be guided in an extraordinary 
 degree by the motive of fear, and that it is accustomed to draw 
 back, or to stop at once, when it encounters an energetic opposition. 
 Much more would this be so if it had to face the combined opposi- 
 tion of several Powers. To this may be added that, according to 
 a consensus of information, a moderate or anti- Jesuitical party 
 exists in Rome and includes several cardinals. This party would 
 be encouraged and strengthened by the eventual declarations or 
 steps of the Governments, and would feel itself in a position to 
 oppose with success the hitherto absolutely preponderating influence 
 of the opposition party that is striving for the new dogma. 
 
 Circular to the Royal Legations, May 29, 1869.* 
 
 Now that the results of the last elections are to hand and the 
 composition of the future Chamber f is accurately known, we see 
 
 ♦Published in October 1869 by the JDonauzeitung, AA-Z, 17/ 10/ 1869, 
 No. 290. 
 
 t The election had taken place on May 20.
 
 34Q MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 that in the same there will be one member of the Popular party, 
 fifty-six members of the Progressive party, twenty members of 
 the Centre, therefore seventy-seven Liberals and seventy-seven 
 of the candidates put forward by the Clerical party. 
 
 This result could not come as a surprise on the Government, 
 for it is a matter of common experience in political life that in 
 times of excitement and when the strife of parties is stirred to 
 passion, extreme opinions always meet with a certain ap- 
 parent success, and those parties which would proceed with tran- 
 quillity and prudence remain for a time in the minority in the 
 strife of elections. 
 
 Considering the great excitement, especially of the Clerical 
 party, and considering the formidable weapons of agitation, 
 of which this party disposes, the triumph of this party 
 was always a possibility, and had been in fact expected 
 by many. The Government can therefore declare itself all 
 the more satisfied that, in spite of all their efforts, its adversaries 
 have not succeeded in gaining the majority in the Chamber, 
 and that even the present result could only be arrived at by the 
 fact that the anti-Liberal tendency, whose success was the real 
 object which this party had at heart, was masked by its pretended 
 anxiety for the independence of the Crown and the country, 
 and by the adroitly employed repugnance of the majority of the 
 people to subservience to a Prussian supremacy. But the 
 clearly pronounced sentiment of the majority of the people, their 
 disinclination to enter into the North German Confederation, 
 the Government can regard as an approbation of the policy that 
 it has hitherto followed ; though this approbation indeed did not 
 come within the scheme of the Opposition leaders. For it was 
 just this principle that had hitherto guided the exterior policy 
 of Bavaria, and the Ministry would have had neither cause nor 
 inclination to abandon it. On the other hand, the most extreme 
 Clerical party has not ventured to come forward with a pro- 
 gramme which would have involved the rupture of the treaties 
 of alliance, the support of a foreign Power or even an international 
 policy. The most openly declared enemies of the Ministry 
 have considered it necessary rather to emphasize the fact that 
 they too are zealous for a national confederation with our North 
 German kinsmen. Further, it has been proved that, at any 
 rate in the towns and in a great part of the country, the clerical 
 tendency has generally no foundation. 
 
 Under these circumstances the course of the present Ministry 
 is clear. So long as his Majesty the King continues to give it 
 his gracious confidence, it has no reason to resign office, and 
 far less still to adopt a different policy from that hitherto 
 pursued in domestic and foreign affairs. As regards more 
 especially legislation on domestic needs, a further advance on 
 the path of reform is certainly not for the moment practicable 
 in view of the probable instability of the majority; but this is
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 341 
 
 by no means necessary. For it will serve the best interests of 
 the country if the numerous and comprehensive new laws 
 have time to be gradually adopted in social life, if there 
 is a pause in the recent legislative activity, and if we await the 
 consolidation of our successes before proceeding to further 
 innovations. The power of the Clerical party in the Chamber is 
 not so great that the results hitherto attained can be swept away 
 again, and that a spirit of reaction against the efforts of the last 
 years should seize upon the legislative power; not to reckon the 
 fact that there are already signs that a division will immediately 
 declare itself among the seventy-seven Clerical representatives, 
 for in the party a great number of right-minded, tranquil, and 
 patriotic men are to be counted, who are in no way inclined to as- 
 sociate themselves with the purposes of the extreme party leaders. 
 
 The foreign policy of the Government has, as I have already 
 indicated above, gained the substantial approbation of the 
 country, and the Ministry therefore will, as hitherto, continue 
 to endeavour to preserve the independence of the Crown in the 
 fullest degree, without thereby losing sight of the task that the 
 peace treaties of 1866 proclaimed with regard to the future de- 
 velopment of Germany, the task of closing up again the division 
 between North and South Germany by a national bond which 
 would ensure the power and prestige of the Fatherland against 
 foreign aggression without prejudicing the equal rights of the 
 various States and their Princes. 
 
 I request you to express yourself in this sense to the Govern- 
 ment to which you are accredited, and I avail myself of this 
 opportunity, &c. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Berlin, June 3, 1869. 
 
 Left Munich yesterday evening at six o'clock. Found Arco- 
 Valley and his family at the station. Arco travelled with me, 
 and this w r as disagreeable in so far as he entered into conversa- 
 tion, which I find very uncomfortable on the railway; I very 
 soon lay back in my corner and went to sleep; at four o'clock 
 in the morning we arrived at Hof, where he woke me up to take 
 coffee. There I met a number of deputies — Franckenstein, Zu 
 Rhein, and others; and also several advanced Liberals. Arco- 
 Valley was delayed in Altenburg and had to stay behind. 
 
 In Berlin I found Viktor, Perglas, and the staff of the Legation. 
 I drove with Viktor to the hotel, dressed quickly, and then drove at 
 two o'clock to the opening of the Tariff Parliament, which took 
 place quite informally in the White Hall through Delbriick. We 
 were in evening-dress and there was a sitting afterwards at which 
 only formalities were settled. 
 
 June 4, 1869. 
 
 Yesterday at the first sitting I was greeted by many old ac- 
 quaintances; among others was Benda, so celebrated for his
 
 342 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 speech on finance at the Reichstag. He was with me twenty- 
 five years ago in the Department at Potsdam. He has changed 
 so much since that time that I should not have known him again. 
 He was then a handsome young man with black locks, and he is 
 now an old Professor with grey hair and no teeth. Others are 
 not at all changed. It is my experience that men with passionate 
 dispositions are those who become old the soonest, whilst calm 
 natures use up their outer envelope the least and are therefore 
 well preserved. 
 
 I have just come away from the sitting, at which I was again 
 elected First Vice-President. I was uncertain up to the last 
 moment whether I would shorten my reply by a few words or 
 whether I would say rather more. I showed Viktor the speech, 
 as I had written it and as I really made it, and he advised me 
 by all means to make it as it was, for it would make the best impres- 
 sion on the assembly, and it would be all the same to me in the 
 end what the Ultramontane party, with whom I was quite at feud 
 as it was, should say to it. What Viktor had prophesied came to 
 pass. My speech was received enthusiastically, and it has strength- 
 ened my position. Many people came to shake hands with me 
 afterwards. In the condition of things as they are gradually 
 evolving themselves, it is necessary always to say clearly what one 
 thinks, and never to lay one's self open to the reproach that one has 
 not the courage of one's convictions. Simson was again elected 
 President, and Hugo second Vice-President. 
 
 Speech. 
 
 By electing me for the second time to be your Vice-President 
 you confer on me an honour for which I am bound to express to 
 you my hearty thanks. This honour is so much the greater as 
 in past years I had no opportunity of giving you any proofs of 
 my capability for the office entrusted to me. As in spite of this 
 you are giving me your votes to-day, I feel that I am justified 
 in looking for the motive of your confidence in the criticism of 
 my work outside the circle of this assembly. If this be so your 
 voting for me has a deeper political significance. The vote of 
 this assembly gives me courage to persevere in the way which 
 I hold to be the right one, to persevere in endeavouring to foster 
 and strengthen the reconciliating, the understanding, and 
 harmony of the German races. 
 
 In this spirit I accept the office conferred on me, and shall 
 only ask you not to withdraw from me your kindly indulgence 
 if I should be called upon to conduct the transactions of this 
 honourable House. 
 
 Berlin, June 7, 1869. 
 
 Yesterday I was invited to Potsdam to dinner. I drove at 
 2.45 to the station, where I found Hugo and Stillfried and got into 
 the train with them. At Neuendorf (in my time it was Nowawes)
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHEXLOHE 343 
 
 \vc found the Royal carriage which took us to Babelsberg. I had 
 not been there for twenty-four years. The Castle has become 
 very beautiful and the park more beautiful still. What in my 
 time was a miserable plantation is now a beautiful English park 
 with big trees. Everything is kept magnificently. At dinner 
 there were the King, the Crown Prince and Princess, the Prince of 
 Hesse, with Princess Alice and all the others. The King was 
 as amiable as ever, he asked after the King of Bavaria and Prince 
 Otto, but did not otherwise engage in political conversation. 
 The Crown Princess spoke much more, asked when the King was 
 coming and embarked on a discussion of German politics. Princess 
 Alice reminded me of Osborne. They were all generally very 
 pleasant to me and said very nattering things about my speech. 
 I sat next to Prince George, with whom I talked a great deal 
 about Wagner. After dinner a crowd of little Princes and Prin- 
 cesses came in, who surrounded the old King and kissed his hand. 
 This looked quite pretty and patriarchal. At six o'clock I was 
 back again, and then went to Perglas, with whom I was to have 
 dined, and greeted the great people invited, who were "settling 
 down" to their cigars in the salon. In the evening I walked to 
 Kroll, where I found the South German group, Schrenck, Franck- 
 enstein, Aretin, &c, with whom I strolled home in a friendly 
 way. 
 
 This morning was the Tariff Parliament. I had induced 
 the National Liberal party to drop the question about the Bavarian 
 law as to elections to the Tariff Parliament, which had given rise to 
 disagreeable debates the previous year, which would begin again, 
 and I had promised them to make a conciliatory speech. I did 
 so; the speech was received with cheers, and we came out of 
 the whole business without discussion. Then dinner at the 
 American Minister's at six o'clock. I sat next to his wife, an 
 old American lady, very elegant, and I spoke horrible English 
 to her. She raves about Erckmann-Chatrian, and recom- 
 mends their books to all "young ladies." After we had 
 drunk the most various wines, Mr. Bancroft proposed the toast 
 of the King of Bavaria. I answered that I would report this 
 toast to the King, who had a great sympathy for the Americans, 
 and that the words of that toast had all the more value coming 
 from so distinguished a man as Mr. Bancroft. I spoke further 
 of the brotherhood of the nations, and of the hope which inspired 
 all well-minded people that the nations would attain this goal, 
 and then, with a not too happy transition, I drank to the health 
 of the man who shared this hope, namely, to Mr. Bancroft. The 
 speech was not well rounded off, but it was passable. 
 
 Berlin, June 8, 1869. 
 This morning Perglas was with me a long time, talking with 
 me about the liquidation business. While he was there, a
 
 344 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Herr Sterkow, or whatever he is called, who under the symbol 
 ( — ) writes the correspondence articles in the Allgemeine Zeitung, 
 called. A well-informed man, but a type of the journalistic light 
 horseman. Then I paid visits. First to Prince August of Wiirtem- 
 berg, who showed me his hall, richly decorated with objects of the 
 chase, then to different princes, where I inscribed my name, 
 and last to Moltke, with whom I had a long talk about the war, 
 a conversation which I shall write down separately. He is a 
 remarkable, clear-headed, decided man. At four o'clock there 
 was a great Court dinner in honour of the Khedive of Egypt. 
 We drove, Viktor and I together, in the State carriage. At 
 the Palace everybody was assembled, with the exception of the 
 King. The Khedive came somewhat before the King. He is a 
 small man with a beard, and in spite of his gold-embroidered 
 uniform and the Black Eagle, he reminded me of the proprietor 
 of a French cafe. At table I sat next to Boguslaw Radziwill 
 and Viktor. The former spoke enthusiastically of his different 
 children, who are in the ecclesiastical profession. One daughter 
 is a nun, and two sons are priests. It was touching, for he told 
 me that he was so unwilling to let his daughter, who has be- 
 come a real friend for him, go into the cloister, but that she is 
 now very happy. She is a Sister of Mercy. After dinner 
 I had a long conversation with Princess Karl, then with Princess 
 Alice, who is very cheerful and amiable, finally, with the Crown 
 Princess, for whom I have a quite special tendre, and then I had 
 myself presented to the Khedive, who was happy to be 
 able to speak with me about Egypt. He speaks very good 
 French. All the lions of Berlin were present. I met Bluntschli, 
 too, with whom I spoke of the Jesuits, the Council, and the Prot- 
 estant Diet. 
 
 But now I am quite giddy with it all, more especially as they 
 had the gruesome idea of having a military brass band playing 
 during dinner, the effect of which was simply deafening. 
 
 Conversation with General von Moltke, June 8, 1869. 
 
 During a visit I paid to General von Moltke the conversation 
 turned on the conditions in South Germany. Moltke did not 
 misconstrue what we had done, but he observed that in a 
 foreign war we might possibly adopt the policy of arriving 
 too late. We should not be armed, and should follow this policy 
 without being guilty of a breach of treaty. I answered that 
 we needed a great deal of money for the effective equipment 
 of the Army. This, however, would depend on the Chambers. 
 These were divided into Ultramontanes and Liberals. The 
 latter generally were not willing to vote supplies for the Army. 
 The former would vote more liberal supplies if they did not en- 
 tertain the fear that the war would end finally with the loss of 
 the independence of the country. If this party had the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 345 
 
 certainty that the war did not involve as a result the loss of in- 
 dependence, they would be more prepared to vote the supplies. 
 Such a security could only be offered us by a legally established 
 federation between the Southern States. Moltke answered, 
 without entering into the last point, that the apprehension was 
 entirely groundless. (This was exhaustively explained to me 
 by the General of the Artillery, Prince Hohenlohc.) 
 
 Coming to the war itself he said: France would begin no 
 war if Austria did not go with her; the French were not so 
 foolish. They knew too well that they were not up to the 
 level of Prussia if they attacked alone. But Austria was not 
 armed. If the war with France and Austria broke out, the 
 Prussians would make no mistake in their plan of campaign. They 
 would turn all their striking force on France, and the Austrians 
 might meanwhile do what they pleased, even if they marched 
 on Berlin. 
 
 As regarded Ulm, said Moltke, it was an Austrian fortress 
 and had little value. But it could not be given up. 
 
 With reference to the Liquidation Commission he only 
 mentioned that Prussia wished for nothing more than the 
 assurance that the cannons which belonged jointly to Prussia 
 should be so placed that they could not be taken away at once. 
 
 Berlin, June 10, 1869. 
 
 Yesterday there was a short sitting of the Customs Parlia- 
 ment. Goler proposed to make a nationalist speech on a clause 
 of the treaty with Japan. I explained to him the reasons against 
 this course, and he swallowed his fine speech and was silent. An 
 instance of rare self-control. 
 
 In the afternoon we travelled to Potsdam, where we were 
 invited to the theatre in "undress" uniform. We arrived at 
 six o'clock, and went on foot from the Wildpark Station to the 
 New Palace, where we were given a room till the play 
 began. However we spent the greater part of the time on the 
 terrace, although the weather was not very fine. At seven 
 o'clock the piece began. The theatre in the New Palace 
 is new and pretty. The great personages sat in front on 
 chairs. In the middle, the Crown Princess with Princess 
 Alice of Hesse. On the left the Khedive, on the right 
 the King of Prussia, then the other Princes. Behind the 
 Crown Princess sat the Princess Charlotte and the Princess 
 of Hesse, two little girls of six or seven years old, and between 
 them they had the son of the Khedive. The two girls were very 
 intimate with their playfellow with his red tarboosh and his 
 impassive Turkish face. The little Princess of Hesse arranged 
 the silken tassel on his tarboosh for him, and when the representa- 
 tion was over and she went away, she gave him a kiss, at which he 
 was very much astonished. She asked him, too, where his mamma
 
 346 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 was, but he could give her no information on this point. The 
 Crown Princess told us this afterwards. The representation con- 
 sisted of a French comedy, Les souliers de bal, and a 
 horribly stupid ballet with the very un-French title of La 
 fete du jour de naissance. Among other things a pas styrien 
 was given. Two dancers in short black bathing-drawers, pink 
 jerseys and white socks, which came just over the ankles, danced 
 with two ladies in red stockings. The customary thumb-play 
 with the braces was not wanting. To this a chorus of adven- 
 turous Styrians, in green hats and red waistcoats, sang the well- 
 known so-called jodelling song, Wenn ich nun von der Alpe week- 
 aget, &c, an out-and-out Berlin Holdrio. Viktor and I and 
 Fritz, who sat together, were very much amused at it. 
 
 After the theatre was a supper, at which I sat between General 
 Loe and Aristarchi Bey. Then came a reception, and at 
 ten o'clock we were free to take the special train back to Berlin. 
 Bismarck invited me to travel with him, and used the opportunity 
 to talk business with me. 
 
 June 12, 1869. 
 
 Yesterday Simson handed over to me the Presidency of the 
 Customs Parliament for the discussion of the New Customs 
 Bill. I brought the 166 paragraphs through in three hours. 
 Fortunately there was no dispute or unpleasantness. The 
 orators all spoke to the point, and no one made a scene. My 
 first attempt, therefore, went off well, and I am now sufficiently 
 accustomed to it to be able to preside at less tranquil sittings. 
 Simson was very unwell, and if he is not better by Monday, he 
 must be seriously ill. In that case I shall have the Presi- 
 dency for the rest of the session, but I hope not. At five o'clock 
 there was a dinner given by Scheidt, Privy Councillor of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, at the Hotel Royal. A long and noisy 
 entertainment with much wine. 
 
 In the evening to get some exercise I played skittles at the 
 Union Club till half-past twelve. 
 
 Conversation with Bismarck, June 12, 1869. 
 
 After a dinner at Bismarck's, he invited me and Varnbiiler 
 to go with him into the garden. Bismarck turned the conversa- 
 tion at once on to the Council, which appears to interest 
 him extraordinarily. He then passed to general remarks, 
 and expressed his agreement with my views. Varnbiiler, on 
 the other hand, defended his standpoint, which is, that the ex- 
 travagances contemplated at Rome are to be looked on as a nail 
 in the coffin of the Ultramontane aims. I defended the contrary 
 view that such a hope proves itself deceptive, and that the deci- 
 sions of the Council would not only damage the Catholic Church, 
 but would bring the State into danger.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 347 
 
 But after Varnbulcr had declared himself ready to 
 modify his view so far as not to dissociate himself from 
 common measures, Bismarck went on to propose that the 
 German States should take joint and secret steps at Rome 
 to deprecate too sweeping measures.* 
 
 He should consider the matter in this way, said Count Bismarck. 
 Bavaria should make the proposal in point to the German 
 Governments, then the Prussian and the other Governments 
 would notify each other accordingly, and then notes could serve 
 as credentials for the plenipotentiary whom Bavaria must 
 send to Rome in the character of a traveller of distinction. The 
 plenipotentiary in question must have no official status, but 
 must travel to Rome for his pleasure; when there, however, 
 he must leave no doubt of his quality of official plenipotentiary. 
 Who this person should be, must certainly be again considered. 
 We went through various people, but could at the moment find 
 no one, and determined that the question of the person of the envoy 
 must be still left in suspenso. 
 
 Next day Privy Councillor Abeken, Reporter for the business 
 of the Council in the Foreign Ministry, came to me, and we agreed 
 on the measures embodied in the adjoined memorandum. 
 
 Memorandum. 
 
 Berlin, June 14, 1869. 
 
 On June 13, by direction of the Minister, I called upon 
 the Royal Bavarian Minister of State and of Foreign Affairs, 
 his Highness Prince Hohenlohe, who is at present here. I 
 was to lay before him, together with other documents relative 
 to the impending (Ecumenical Council, the despatches 
 sent to the Prussian Minister at Munich on the 28th ultimo. 
 His Highness declared that he was in complete agree- 
 ment with the matter of these despatches, and he added 
 that he agreed equally with the verbal proposal of Count Bis- 
 marck relative to the nature of the step to be taken in 
 Rome, namely, that the confidential representations and 
 admonitions should be made by the medium of an envoy to 
 be sent to Rome on a confidential mission by the Bavarian Gov- 
 ernment. This envoy would be entitled to speak not only in the 
 name of Bavaria, but of all the German Governments, whose par- 
 ticipation in this measure was to be established by special docu- 
 
 * Bismarck, in his despatch of May 26, 1869, to Arnim, rejecting 
 the latter's proposal for the sending of an orator to the Council, had written 
 to the Minister: "His Majesty the King has empowered me to enter 
 into confidential negotiations with the Royal Bavarian Government, and 
 eventually with the other South German Governments, and as far as 
 possible in the name of all Germany, to bring joint pressure to bear on 
 the Curia, which will give the Curia the certainty that in the excesses it 
 seems to be contemplating it will meet with the most decided opposition 
 from the German Governments." — Friedrich, History of the Vatican Coun- 
 cil, vol. i. p. 785.
 
 348 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 ments which would, at the same time, serve the envoy as the 
 credentials of his general mission. 
 
 The Royal Bavarian Minister declared his intention of ad- 
 dressing to the Governments of Wurtemberg, Baden, and 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, without further delay, the proposal for such a 
 mission and for an understanding about the language that was 
 to be employed at Rome, and on this latter point his Highness 
 gave his assent to the principles indicated in our despatch of May 
 28. The personage to be selected for the mission he must leave 
 for the moment in suspenso. Of the ensuing communications to 
 the above-mentioned Courts, the Prince promised to send informa- 
 tion here, in order that the proposal might be seconded from the 
 side of Prussia. The question whether Saxony was to be ap- 
 proached from the side of Bavaria or of Prussia might be reserved 
 for further consideration. 
 
 In the course of the conversation his Excellency Prince Hohen- 
 lohe proved himself not averse to the idea mooted on the 
 Prussian side, that, concurrently with the action to be taken 
 at Rome, an instruction of the German Governments, and 
 this also of perfectly concordant tenor, should be addressed to 
 the bishops before their departure for the Council simul- 
 taneously with the leave of absence to be granted them 
 for the purpose. This instruction would explain the attitude 
 which the Government was adopting towards the Council, 
 and would warn them against supporting resolutions which en- 
 croached on State rights. In this matter the Royal Bavarian 
 Minister was willing to await further communications, but the 
 next steps to be taken at Rome were not to be delayed on that 
 account. 
 
 When I made my verbal report of this conversation to the 
 President of the Ministry, Count Bismarck, on the 12th, before 
 his departure, he expressed himself in full accord with that con- 
 duct of the matter that the President of the Royal Bavarian 
 Ministry intended to adopt. 
 
 Abeken. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Berlin, June 19, 1869. 
 
 In yesterday's sitting of the Customs Parliament Metz's pro- 
 posal came under discussion, the aim of which was to request 
 the Customs Federal Council to take measures to avoid the fall- 
 ing on the same days of the meetings of the various Landtags and 
 of the Customs Parliament. Now Metz is a shameless, common 
 bawler, and the tone of his proposal had long annoyed me. But 
 I thought a modification would come from some side or 
 other, and did not disturb myself about it. When, however, 
 I came to the sitting, I heard, to my astonishment, that even 
 the South German group meant to raise no objection. But 
 I knew too well that Metz would give his proposal such a signifi-
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 349 
 
 cation that it would be absolutely impossible for me to accept 
 it. As the proposal was in itself a suitable one, I made a modifi- 
 cation of it during the sitting, and showed it to Schrenck, Varn- 
 biilcr and Simson. All thought my idea in better taste. But Varn- 
 biiler, who is inspired by the greatest envy of my position 
 in the Parliament, advised me not to bring forward the modifi- 
 cation ; it was not necessary, Delbriick would say some- 
 thing, &c. This was only because he knew that I should 
 score another Parliamentary success. As I know our dear, 
 pleasant countrymen I kept silence, but I was all the more de- 
 termined to bring forward my proposal. The discussion 
 came on. The Reporter represented the proposal in a very 
 harmless light. A Hessian spoke against it, and it was proposed 
 to close the discussion at once, so that Metz alone would have 
 spoken on it. So I begged leave to speak, and explained my 
 proposal in a few words. Metz spoke next, just as I had fore- 
 seen, with an onslaught on the South German particularism, 
 in his usual insulting costermongerish tone. As I had said that 
 his proposal hurt my aesthetic and diplomatic sensibilities by its 
 form, he gave me a little knock, but praised my "national sen- 
 timent," declared himself in accord with my modification, and 
 withdrew his motion. So my motion was adopted almost unani- 
 mously. Nearly all the Ultramontanes voted with me. I have 
 thus made the ground in Munich smooth again for my return 
 without having prejudiced myself here. As regards my speech, 
 I had made the mistake of noting it down beforehand, so it was 
 bad, as I saw afterwards from the shorthand reports. Its result 
 remained, however. 
 
 After the sitting I drove in the Friederichshain, which I had 
 never seen, for it lies at the end of Konigstrasse, a beautiful English 
 park. 
 
 In the evening I went with Karl and Kraft to the Wallner- 
 theater to see Heydemann and Son. An extraordinarily 
 amusing piece. The Wallnertheater is the only one I visit. I 
 once saw the ballet Fantaska. It is the maddest thing, the most 
 abandoned nonsense that has ever been put on any stage. The 
 mounting is superb, and it is a pity that so much money has 
 been squandered on such a nonsensical piece of workmanship. 
 When you see how such things are admired, the melancholy 
 feeling creeps over you that mankind is degenerating. 
 
 Conversation with Count Bismarck. 
 
 Berlin, June 23, 1869. 
 
 The Prussian Minister spoke first of the close of Parliament 
 and its results, and of the position of parties. He expressed 
 himself as very well contented that something at least had been 
 settled. As regards the political discussions, he had called the 
 attention of the party leaders to the fact that in face of the feeling
 
 350 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 in South Germany it was quite futile to touch on questions by 
 which a South German minority would gain the victory over a 
 South German majority only by the help of the North Germans. 
 
 Diverging from that point, he approached the question 
 of the Liquidation Commission, expressed his concurrence 
 with the Munich decisions, and added that he had laid the 
 proposal before the King of Prussia to be pleased to accept these 
 agreements; he had only one desire, which had been 
 suggested to him by the Ministry of War, and was as follows: 
 that Members of the sub-Commission, Bavarians and Prussians 
 (or others as well), should travel to Landau to consult there as 
 to whether it would not be more advisable to bring the movable 
 material to Germersheim, and give up Landau altogether. He 
 asked me to moot the matter in Munich. Returning to the 
 German question, Count Bismarck entered into a long exposition 
 of the reasons why Prussia had not the least intention of pre- 
 judicing in any way the independence of Bavaria or the 
 other South German States. Baden, he said, had no value 
 for Prussia, and the advances of Baden could not be considered 
 by Prussia. Politically speaking, Baden had officers, but no 
 soldiers. There was nothing to be made of that. 
 
 Development in Germany would advance very slowly, and 
 the Prussians had still too much to do in the North German 
 Confederation to enter into the question of admitting hetero- 
 geneous elements into it, or of forming with them a confederation 
 that would only disturb the crystallizing process of the North 
 German Confederation. 
 
 At this I remarked that in the present position of Germany 
 there lay a great danger for the North as well as the South. So 
 long as peace lasted this was of no account, but, if war broke 
 out, people in South Germany would ask, why are we making 
 war? If we conquer, we shall afterwards enter the North 
 German Confederation; if we are conquered, we are lost. To 
 do away with such reflections, to bring the South to an unreserved 
 and cheerful co-operation, it was necessary to give it the guarantee 
 of independence after the war, and to bring this about by a fur- 
 ther confederation between North and South on the analogy 
 of the old German Confederation. So I asked Count Bismarck 
 if he looked on this connection, too, as one which would disturb 
 the development and improvement of the North German Con- 
 federation. He answered with warmth that he could not have 
 expressed himself clearly, that this thought was far from him; 
 that he would thankfully accept every tie which we offered 
 him. But those fears were ungrounded ; in the first place, 
 after the war, if it had carried this through with the aid of South 
 Germany, Prussia would not be so base as to impose on its con- 
 federates conditions which they could not accept ; and secondly, 
 the war would in any case be successful for Prussia, because 
 France was not up to the level of Prussia. He worked this out
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 351 
 
 in great detail by a calculation of the Prussian troops, and their 
 comparison with the French troops. Further, he pointed to 
 the alliance with Russia, refuted my objections based on an anti- 
 Prussian feeling in Russia by showing that this was only a P] 
 manoeuvre of the Hietzing intriguers, who through the medium 
 of the Grand Duke Constantine had had the same articles printed 
 simultaneously in the Moscow Times, the Observer and the 
 Sachsische Zcilung. 
 
 He did not in the least believe in the possibility of a breach 
 of the treaty on the side of the South German States. This, 
 too, would be much too dangerous for Bavaria, because, in 
 spite of her German sentiment and her good will, in case of the 
 breach of the alliance treaties a current of opinion might set 
 in which would lead to the partition of Bavaria between North 
 Germany and Austria. He would be against this, but in such 
 a case he could not prevent it. The alliance of France with 
 Italv had no value for the former; the Italians would not 
 march, even if Victor Emmanuel, who with money and 
 women could be made to do anything, were willing to make a 
 treaty with France. 
 
 He then spoke of the French diplomacy, expressed his disdain 
 of Grammont and Moustier, his appreciation of Benedetti. 
 Then he passed to reminiscences of 1866. Here he related 
 that the real reason why he had hastened to conclude the peace 
 in Nikolsburg had lain in the Hungarian question. They 
 would never have thought of letting loose the Hungarian revolu- 
 tion if France had not interfered. At the moment of the French 
 interference they had been forced to fear war with France, and 
 so he had then let loose Klapka. But now out of this arose 
 the danger of seeing this movement extend and grow, and this 
 would have led to European entanglements, and would have 
 particularly disturbed Russia. The fear of seeing the war 
 take such great dimensions, the consideration of the dangers 
 to which the Prussian Army would be exposed through cholera 
 and fever, had determined him to press resolutely for peace in 
 Nikolsburg, even with the offer of his own resignation. 
 
 "People always suppose," said he, "that I swam along 
 in triumph, but I can assure you that I have never passed a 
 more terrible time. Everybody at headquarters looked on 
 me as a traitor, and when I stood at a high window- of the 
 castle I often thought, 'Would it not be better in the end to 
 jump out?' I used often to have such scenes in the Council 
 that I sprung up, rushed out, slammed the door, threw 
 myself on my bed, and howled like a dog." 
 
 Speaking of the constitution of the Confederation, he said 
 that they could have made a treaty of confederation with the 
 King of Saxony, who was a clever, conscientious man, of German 
 sentiment. With the King of Hanover this had not been possible, 
 and so they had been obliged to annex Hanover.
 
 352 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Finally, I questioned him about my project of a more widely 
 extended confederation. He expressed himself willing to enter 
 into negotiations, but I was to treat directly with him. (I 
 remark here, I had particularly insisted that it was a question 
 only of a confederation of States as in the constitution of the 
 old Confederation, without a Parliament.) I was to write to 
 him, too, personally, and he would answer me personally. 
 Naturally such a correspondence would be preliminary, and 
 in no way binding, but that would not prevent us from con- 
 sidering the correspondence as a very serious matter, and one 
 to be handled with great caution. The result of the conversa- 
 tion is : Bismarck will have nothing to do with South Germany 
 for the moment. He does not believe in the war with France, 
 but in the case of a war he is as firmly convinced as Moltke that 
 Prussia will conquer, and he will try to crush Bavaria if she does 
 not hold to the alliance treaty. 
 
 Berlin, June 23, 1869. 
 
 Spoke with Roggenbach of the Constitution project. He says 
 that the National Liberal party and the Prussians generally 
 see in such a project only the disorganisation of the hitherto 
 existing situation. They want everything or nothing. No 
 legislative work in common, they say here, without subordina- 
 tion to the authority of the Confederation. 
 
 Baden will not consent owing to her fear of being in a 
 minority. 
 
 He advises : no Parliament, whether South German or 
 North German, a return to the former project, confederation 
 of States, joint military arrangements, analogy with the old 
 Confederation. No further concession to the South German 
 National Liberals. 
 
 Munich, July 8, 1869. 
 
 Yesterday at half-past twelve I received a telegram from 
 Lipowsky informing me that the King wished to see me 
 and Schlor at Berg between two and three. The telegram 
 ended that the carriage would call for us at our houses. At 
 first I thought that the last sentence must be a mistake, 
 but a carriage really came and took us to Berg through the 
 Fiirstenrieder Park. We arrived at three. The King received 
 me first. He gave me his hand, as he seldom does, and was 
 very amiable. I spoke to him first of my report of the 
 conversation with Bismarck and enlarged on the reasons why 
 a further threatening of Bavaria through Prussia was not now 
 to be thought of. The King is always distrustful, which is due 
 to his extremely sceptical nature. We could give up the 
 treaty of alliance at any moment, he maintains, as there is a 
 passage in it which makes this possible for us. I, of course,
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 353 
 
 disputed this ; but, on the other hand, I conceded that one can 
 give notice to withdraw from any treaty, if one finds it to 
 one's interest to do so. This, however, is not the case here. I 
 pointed out the danger which this would bring to us. It would 
 be better to conclude an alliance with Prussia on the lines of old 
 German confederation. Those Ministers certainly would be against 
 this who maintained that such an alliance would be too little for 
 the Progressives, and too much for the Ultramontanes. The 
 King answered very pertinently that that would be all the same, 
 and that too much must not be left to public opinion. He could 
 not understand what the Ministers had to do with this. "You 
 are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the others have nothing to 
 do with this." I replied that foreign policy had so much influence 
 on the position of the whole Ministry that we could not take it 
 amiss if the Ministers wanted to know what I was doing. Added 
 to this, the King expresses his surprise to the other Ministers 
 if they do not know what is going on in the Ministry of Foreign 
 Affairs, and these gentlemen are then naturally set against me. 
 It is in the King's nature to set people against each other. I can 
 only counteract this by the greatest honesty and openness. With 
 reference to the Council, I made a brief statement of the present 
 situation. The King again thought that the germ of the matter 
 was right, as he remarked that the right of the States towards the 
 Church depended on the concordat, and that this would be violated 
 by a one-sided proceeding on the part of the Church. We then 
 came to capital punishment. The King mentioned that he had 
 been much occupied about what I had told him during our 
 last conversation, namely, that I was opposed to capital punish- 
 ment. We discussed freely the well-known arguments for and 
 against.* Finally, he drew my attention to the water-colours he 
 had in his room, and then dismissed me. Schlor was then 
 summoned, and when he came back we lunched with Sauer and 
 drove to Starnberg, where we took the train to Munich and 
 reached home at 8.30. 
 
 The King was as usual very acute in his questions and 
 answers. It is a pity that his talents are lying fallow, and that he 
 confines himself more and more to the bad company of the 
 horse-breaker, Hornig. Yesterday evening he intended driving 
 to the Riss, probably to escape the arrival of the Emperor of 
 Austria. 
 
 The Commission for the distribution of the movable property 
 of the late Germanic Confederation met on April 4, 1869. The 
 last valid agreements are contained in the protocol of the ninth 
 sitting of July 6, 1869. This protocol determines:! 
 
 *The Chamber of Deputies, on March 22, 1867, had accepted a pro- 
 posal with 87 votes against 44 "that a Bill should be brought before 
 the present assembled Diet with regard to abolition of capital punishment." 
 
 t Printed in Hirth's Annalen des Deutsches Reiches, 1872, p. 1579. 
 
 vol. 1 — 2 A
 
 354 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 (i) A division of the common materiel of the former Con- 
 federacy fortresses, Mayence, Ulm, and Rastatt. Landau is not 
 at present decided upon. This materiel remains the common 
 property of the States represented in the conference, and will be 
 "administered, maintained, and supplemented in the interest of 
 the common system of German defence." 
 
 (2) The materiel in Ulm, Rastatt, and Landau will be ad- 
 ministered through the territorial Governments, and that in 
 Mayence through the North German Confederation. 
 
 (3) The cost of maintaining and supplementing this materiel 
 will be borne by the States which undertake the administration. 
 
 (4) Every year in the month of September an inspection 
 shall take place by special commissions, the composition of which 
 is fixed for the different fortresses, and in every commission, 
 Prussians, the North German Confederation, and the South German 
 Fortress Commission, together with the Territorial Government, 
 are to be represented. 
 
 (5) The extent of the inspection and the order of business 
 for the commissions is fixed. 
 
 (6) The Prussian Military Plenipotentiary must, during the 
 sitting of the South German Fortress Commission, be continually 
 informed of the details of all the transactions of the latter, as 
 regards the movable property. He is to be consulted at the 
 deliberations of the Fortress Commission regarding essential 
 changes in the substance of the fortress materiel. 
 
 (7) In such questions as concern the duration of the connec- 
 tion of the defence system between North and South Germany, 
 and on such occasions as have essential influence over the whole 
 German defence system, the South German Governments before 
 coming to a decision must hear the views of the North German 
 Confederation; as a general rule these are to be expressed by 
 Military Plenipotentiary, and if the proposals of the North German 
 Confederation are not adopted the Confederation is to be informed 
 of the reason. 
 
 To Baron Perglas, Bavarian Minister at Berlin. 
 
 Munich, July 12, 1869. 
 
 In your note of the 8th inst., which I have laid before his 
 Majesty, your Excellency has set forth your views as to the atti- 
 tude of the Prussian Government towards the Council in such 
 a way as clearly implies a criticism of the action of the Bavarian 
 Government. I believed that throughout I had informed your 
 Excellency, with the fullest frankness, as to the motives which 
 have led me to take the initiative in this matter. This criticism, 
 however, makes me see that I cannot have expressed myself 
 with sufficient clearness, since you appear to proceed on the sup- 
 position that the Bavarian Government, without consideration 
 of the Catholic population of Bavaria, and without being aware
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 355 
 
 of the support which this population gives to the might and in- 
 dependence of the Crown has thoughtlessly attacked this question 
 and thereby forfeited the sympathy of a part of the nation. If 
 it is admitted, and on this point no doubt can be entertained, 
 that the temporal Governments owe it to themselves not to let 
 the Council come upon them unawares, then it was necessary 
 for one Government to take the initiative. But it needs no 
 Machiavelian suppositions to see that the Prussian Government, 
 as a non-Catholic one, was not in the position to take the first 
 step. It would have rendered its position difficult as regarded 
 its Catholic subjects, and it would have been said that Prussia 
 had no right to interfere. The same applies to Wiirtemberg and 
 Baden. Austria had its own grounds for playing a double game. 
 
 There remained of the German Governments only Bavaria. 
 Entirely in order to avoid the conflicts which the impending 
 Council will bring with it if it adopts the announced resolutions, 
 and precisely in order not to endanger further the peace between 
 the Government and the Catholic population, the Bavarian 
 Government was compelled to consider how those extreme 
 resolutions should be counteracted. That a single Government 
 in Rome would accomplish nothing was clear. Only the 
 concerted measures of all or of several Governments could make 
 an impression there, and to introduce these measures a com- 
 munication to the Governments of other interested States was 
 necessary. 
 
 The Bavarian Government has thereby indeed forfeited the 
 sympathy of the Society of Jesus, if indeed it ever had it, but 
 it has won the approval of all good Catholics, who are not under 
 the influence of that Society, and it believes that it has in no way 
 given cause for offence. It may also hope that it has averted 
 those religious conflicts that might be so injurious to the position 
 of Bavaria and to the prosperity of the Church herself. 
 
 From a report to the King. 
 
 July 14, 1869. 
 
 . . . The concerted Governments are agreed that the fullest 
 freedom of decision must be firmly assured to the Council in 
 the religious domain, but that on the other hand, every intrusion 
 of this spiritual assembly on the domain of the State must equally 
 firmly be averted, and those resolutions of the Council of the 
 character which the undersigned foresees will bring with them 
 the gravest danger for religious peace and for the tranquillity of 
 social life. 
 
 On the other hand a difference arises as to whether steps to 
 prevent resolutions of the kind shall be taken at once or whether 
 we are to wait until resolutions of the kind are actually drawn up. 
 If the motives on which the latter alternative would be based 
 were the genuine ones, if, for instance, it were really incredible, as is
 
 356 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 advanced on the side of Austria in particulars, that the majority 
 of the bishops would let themselves be hurried into extreme 
 decisions, then certainly not much objection could be raised to 
 delay. But the fear that is entertained by your most obedient 
 servant, the undersigned, is, according to all information, a well- 
 grounded one, and he cannot banish the thought that those 
 States which pretend not to entertain that fear are not guided by 
 these motives but by others, especially by a jealousy of the ini- 
 tiative of Bavaria, and perhaps also because it appears to be in 
 the interest of some States that Bavaria should be more deeply 
 involved in strife with the Ultramontane party than others, and 
 so be hampered in her political action abroad. 
 
 Your most obedient servant therefore believes that, in spite 
 of this political diversion against his measures attempted by 
 certain States, we must proceed on the course we have entered 
 upon, but with yet greater foresight and delicacy. ... It now 
 seems desirable that by the medium of a reliable plenipoten- 
 tiary of the German States, suited for this mission by his per- 
 sonality as well as by his social position, the necessary steps 
 should be taken at Rome to gain a nearer view of the proposed 
 resolutions and to draw attention once more to the dangers which 
 would necessarily threaten religious peace and the Church her- 
 self from such resolutions of the Council as should intrude upon 
 the sphere of State rights. 
 
 Marginal rescript by the King. 
 
 The negotiations up to the present have shown the difficulty 
 of deciding the Governments to a joint preventive action in the 
 matter of the Council, but have served to awake a more vigilant 
 attention, and so partly fulfilled the end in view. To despatch 
 an agent without credentials, yet intended to speak in the name 
 of the collective German Governments, seems to me, in view 
 of their having hitherto declined joint action and of the varying 
 positions of the different Governments, not quite practicable 
 and unlikely to succeed. If, however, you consider that the 
 Constitution and the law do not arm you with a ready means 
 of defence, and that therefore your care for the full security 
 of my Royal supremacy and for the interests of the State com- 
 pels you to take the course, I will not prevent you from 
 resorting to it. In that case, however, be sure to send me a 
 report here, and be careful about the person you propose to send 
 as envoy. x 
 
 J LUDWIG. 
 
 HOHENSCHWANGAU, July 31, 1869. 
 
 To Count Bismarck. 
 
 Munich, August 5, 1869. 
 Your Excellency was good enough to discuss with Baron 
 Varnbiiler and myself the further measures to be taken in the
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 357 
 
 matter of the Council, and it was decided on that occasion, as 
 the course most likely to succeed, to send a common plenipoten- 
 tiary on a confidential mission to Rome to exercise a moderating 
 influence on the decisions which will be arrived at there. I have 
 since become convinced that this measure will not meet with the 
 adhesion of the collective German Governments, unless, simul- 
 taneously with its proposal, the personage can be named to whom 
 this equally difficult and delicate mission is to be entrusted. I 
 have not, up to the present, succeeded in finding such a per- 
 sonage. I wished no longer to withhold from your Excellency 
 the reason of my not having proceeded further in the matter 
 which we discussed ; but I hope to make you a further commu- 
 nication so soon as I have succeeded in finding a representative 
 who may be trusted to win acceptance from all parties. 
 
 Count Bismarck to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Varzin, August 11, 1869. 
 
 I am greatly obliged to your Highness for your cour- 
 teous communication of the 5th inst, which reached me via 
 Berlin after some delay. On behalf of this Government I beg 
 to assure you in advance of its agreement with the choice of 
 any person who may appear to the Government of the King of 
 Bavaria to be suitable for the end in view. It will conduce to 
 your Serene Highness's satisfaction to learn that the mutual 
 conversations of the German Governments, taking place, as they 
 did, at a suggestion which proceeded from Bavaria, have already 
 had their effect at Rome in the direction of caution and peace. 
 There is a party there which has deliberately set itself to disturb 
 the ecclesiastical and political peace of Europe with the fanatical 
 conviction that the general misery which results from a catas- 
 trophe will augment the consequence of the Church. They 
 reason from the experiences of 1848, and they found themselves 
 on the psychological fact that in this world man, when he is 
 miserable, seeks the support of the Church more eagerly than 
 when he is contented. The Pope, however, in view of the op- 
 position which is declaring itself in Germany, appears to have 
 become more cautious and less accessible to the influence of that 
 party. 
 
 We have no doubt, in the parliamentary legislature (in North 
 Germany, at any rate) a crushing weapon against unjust aggres- 
 sion on the part of the spiritual power. But of course it will 
 be better if we are not forced to use it ; and I therefore consider 
 that it will be a benefit secured no less to the spiritual than to 
 the temporal authority if, owing to the warnings and precautions 
 of which we spoke, it is possible to avert a conflict between them. 
 The Ministry of Religion has taken pains to exercise a preventive 
 but confidential influence on our bishops. . 
 
 My health slowly improves, and if I keep away as far as possible
 
 358 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 from the sittings of the Landtag I hope to be quite ready for 
 work for the North German Confederation in the beginning of 
 the year. 
 
 Accept the expression of the most distinguished consideration 
 with which I have the honour to be 
 
 Your Serene Highness's 
 
 Most obedient servant, 
 
 v. Bismarck. 
 
 Journal* 
 
 Warsaw, August 10, 1869. 
 
 I travelled yesterday via Pilchowitz to Gleiwitz to proceed 
 thence to Warsaw. We joined the Polish train at Kattowitz 
 and found the conductors were already speaking Polish. The 
 luggage was examined at Sosnowitz; but as Marshal Berg had 
 sent orders thither, we were allowed to pass through without 
 examination. The train was very full, yet we were left undis- 
 turbed. All the time I read General Leber echt von Knopf, but 
 found it rather tedious, like all satires that are too much spun 
 out. At Warsaw we were received by one of the Field-mar- 
 shal's Aides-de-camp, who conducted me in an Imperial car- 
 riage to the Hotel Victoria, taking me, moreover, through the 
 private waiting-room of the Imperial Family, which was lit up for 
 the occasion and in which the Chief of Police, a general in full 
 uniform, was presented to me. The crowd was cuffed aside for my 
 convenience, and I was stared at like a crowned head. After a 
 little supper I went to bed at eleven. To-day I went for an early 
 walk in the lovely Jardin de Saxe, and after breakfast I went to 
 pay a visit to Field-marshal Berg. He received me in a very 
 friendly way, took me into his cabinet, which is a large pillared 
 saloon, where he talked high politics to me for an hour and a 
 half. He said that the peace of Europe could only be preserved, 
 and the possibility of a disarmament brought about, if Austria, 
 Russia, and Germany as well were in agreement. This entente, 
 however, would be very hard to restore. At this point he ex- 
 plained to me the reasons why Austria and Russia had become 
 unfriendly to one another. In order to do this he went back to 
 the history of the years from 1840 to 1854. The first reason was 
 Cracow. He told me how he carried through at Berlin the 
 setting aside of the Republic of Cracow.f At that time, when 
 the agreement between him, Canitz, and Ficquelmont was signed 
 at Berlin, he suggested that there should be imposed on Austria 
 the condition that she should deliver salt from Williczka at a 
 fixed price to Russia, and that she should undertake not to fortify 
 Cracow. The Emperor Nicolas would not allow this. Shortly 
 afterwards Austria did fortify Cracow, and the Emperor Nicolas 
 was aggrieved. 
 
 * Of a journey to the Wittgenstein estates. 
 
 t Treitschke, Deutsche Geschichte, vol. v. p. 546.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 359 
 
 In the year 1849, when the Hungarian War was going badly, 
 the Emperor of Austria asked the Emperor of Russia for assist- 
 ance. Berg was on that occasion sent to Vienna in order to 
 make preparations for the war. He told me how he went to the 
 Emperor of Austria at Briinn, to Schwarzenberg at Vienna, and 
 how he went to Pressburg. Everything was arranged quickly 
 and amicably. The Emperor of Russia went to Warsaw, and 
 was there visited by the Emperor of Austria. Everything was 
 settled except who was to have the chief command. The 
 Emperor Nicolas wished Paskiewitsch to have it, for he knew 
 Paskiewitsch's ambition. However, the Emperor Francis Joseph 
 explained that he could not in honour accord this, as the war in 
 question was against his own subjects. " Phitot perir qu'agir 
 contre mon honneur!" said he, whereupon the Emperor Nicolas 
 embraced him. Then, however, Paskiewitsch showed spite and 
 malice, and did everything he could to mismanage the campaign, 
 whereby he achieved no other result than to secure a greater 
 pre-eminence for the Austrian general. 
 
 Then came the third reason for the schism during the Crimean 
 War, when Austria sent an army to Gallicia which did the greatest 
 possible damage to the Russians. Then, and for that reason, 
 hatred of Austria flared up even among the populace in Russia. 
 
 Count Berg seems to be an adherent of the old Northern 
 alliance. He wishes to see it restored, complains that Gortschakoff 
 has repelled the advances made by Beust at St. Petersburg, and 
 hopes that it may yet be possible to return to a policy which will 
 preserve the peace of Europe. Only if Russia, Austria, and 
 Prussia joined would France keep quiet, and England attach 
 herself to the three allied Powers. This afternoon he is going to 
 explain to me the policy of the Russian Government with regard 
 to the Catholic Church. 
 
 Count Berg came to me at four o'clock to continue his political 
 conversation. He told me the whole story of the Polish insur- 
 rection of 1863. The Poles would not have begun it had they 
 not had a promise of support from France and England. The 
 whole rebellion was conducted on that assumption by the leaders 
 of the movement. He then touched on the time of the Minister 
 Wielopolski, who was betrayed by his own people, and finally 
 came to the period of his own administration. The whole of the 
 police arrangements were then in the hands of Poles. He there- 
 fore took sixty officers and three thousand soldiers and used them 
 as a makeshift police for a few weeks. Three times he succeeded 
 in uprooting and bringing to justice a secret "National Govern- 
 ment," and three times a new one arose; until after the third 
 attempt the Poles gave it up. 
 
 In the inquiry which followed it appeared that the clergy were 
 seriously compromised ; and it was therefore impossible to avoid 
 getting rid of some few priests. The bishops were, generally 
 speaking, loyal. After the death of Archbishop Fialkowski of
 
 360 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Warsaw, a young priest named Felinsky, then working in St. 
 Petersburg, was made Archbishop on the recommendation of 
 the wife of Meggendorf. This man, however, as was only dis- 
 covered later, had been with Mieroslawski, had built barricades, 
 and had taken orders as the result of an unhappy love-affair ; and 
 he, too, dabbled in the revolutionary game until they packed him 
 off. 
 
 He told me that Lubienski was, to begin with, quite reasonable, 
 but later underwent a sudden change. He was in correspondence 
 with Ledochowski and Chigi, who egged him on. He died on 
 a journey of a surfeit of fruit which brought on an attack of 
 dysentery, which he tried to cure by drinking strong wine. 
 
 After he had told me this and much else, Count Berg, accom- 
 panied by Tscherkessen, took me in his landau to the Castle of 
 Lazienki, where his sister-in-law and his niece awaited us. There 
 were also there von Minkwitz, the Chief of the General Staff, and 
 another general, as well as young Count Berg, the general's 
 nephew. Dinner was served in a very fine apartment, and we 
 had coffee afterwards in a balcony from which there is a view 
 of the garden. Unfortunately it was a little chilly. In warm 
 weather the castle, surrounded by its ponds and terraced 
 gardens, must be very pleasant to live in. 
 
 To-day, August u, we left by the ten o'clock train for Biala, 
 where we arrived at three. 
 
 Biala, August 13, 1869. 
 
 To-day we set apart for a visit to the estate of Olszyn. It is 
 several miles distant from here. We left at eight o'clock. The 
 way lies through fields where they were reaping oats and through 
 the forest : all foreign owned. Half an hour from Olszyn we 
 came to the wood belonging to it, about a thousand acres, con- 
 sisting mostly of small oaks and beeches of no value in this part 
 of the world. Olszyn is a dismal place, but the soil is not bad. 
 We were received by the farmer, Herr Gerliecz, who formerly had 
 a considerable fortune and a property of his own, but has gone 
 through it all and is now a mere farmer. In the drawing-room 
 hang several pictures in oil painted by himself. Remarkable 
 among them was a Magdalen, a very decolletee damsel in a red 
 apron kneeling before a table on which lies a skull, lit from 
 within, which illumines the form of the saint. After we had 
 viewed the buildings, listened to a deputation from the peasantry, 
 and admired the fruit garden, we contemplated the family photo- 
 graphs in the drawing-room, and I conversed with Madame Ger- 
 liecz, an elegant blonde Pole, who has a great admiration for Colonel 
 Devel, the Landrath of the district. He, too, was on view. Herr 
 Gerliecz and he had had themselves photographed arm-in-arm 
 and the picture hangs in Madame Gerliecz's own room. There- 
 after we had to eat the duty dinner, and finally listen to a great
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 361 
 
 performance by madame on the pianoforte. Gerliecz observed, 
 "Ma femme, elle est artiste." It was Chopin, and she played 
 with great fluency. When we got home, about five, both the 
 young Counts Berg had arrived. They are nephews of the Mar- 
 shal, and are to shoot with us to-morrow. 
 
 August 14. 
 
 Shooting to-day. We left Biala at half-past eight, I with one 
 of the young Bergs. The others followed. The shooting-party 
 was assembled on a hill on the railway. Colonel Devel in uniform, 
 his adjutant, a major of Gendarmerie, the Commissary of Redemp- 
 tions, and various other tschinovniks. We hoped to shoot wolves, 
 the weather being good, and we thought that there would cer- 
 tainly be sport. However, we tramped the whole day without 
 result. The various Johnny Raws, who instead of haversacks had 
 slung old money-bags about them, were delighted with a sump- 
 tuous breakfast, and were invited to a great dinner in the evening 
 which lasted from eight o'clock till eleven. The walk in the 
 forest did me a lot of good. The young Counts Berg are very 
 well-bred, nice people, and I made friends with them. One of 
 them had been at Ischl to shoot chamois, but had of course been 
 unsuccessful. I proposed that he should come to us next year. 
 
 August 16. 
 
 Left at eight o'clock for Domaczew to shoot. We went as 
 far as the Bug and then forded the river to the village of Domac- 
 zew. From there to the forest the road lies through a desolate 
 waste of sand. I have rarely seen anything more melancholy, 
 as, besides, the sky was grey with heavy rainclouds which soon 
 began to empty themselves. In a village in the forest were the 
 oblawa, the beaters, about two hundred in number and attired 
 in the most picturesque costumes. The women had brown 
 dresses and curious red or white caps on their heads. The men 
 were also in brown, and had sandals of birchbark. The shoot 
 was not productive. One of the Counts Berg shot a wolf. We 
 saw nothing. The rain got heavier and heavier, and we were 
 pretty wet by the time we reached the carriage. 
 
 August 17. 
 
 Drove through the woods from Kuzawka to Januwka, where 
 nearly four hundred peasants were collected as oblawa, all in their 
 brown clothes, red scarves, and straw hats. Even the Jews had 
 been called out. There were several Jew boys to be seen with 
 long sticks to defend themselves from the wolves. Much excite- 
 ment until the oblawa got under way; then we went to our stations. 
 I got a place by a narrow glade of the forest. For a long time 
 not a sound was heard. At last the beaters started, and suddenly 
 several shots went off to right and left. I saw two wolves pass
 
 362 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 far down the glade, and was beginning to think that the whole 
 thing was over when suddenly there came a great whitish yellow 
 wolf at full gallop through the glade just abreast of me. I fired. 
 He staggered, heaved himself up again, and disappeared. I ran 
 after him, saw him again, tried to shoot again, but the gun missed 
 fire. I thought it must have been a bad shot, but he was found 
 dead a few steps behind me after the beat. Much joy and excite- 
 ment, for all the other wolves, of which there were seven, had 
 been missed. Only two deer and a few hares had been shot. 
 After another drive, during which I shot a fox, I forsook the 
 chase in order to drive to Holiszow. 
 
 August 20, 1869. 
 
 At half-past eleven we left Biala, and arrived in Warsaw at 
 half-past five. Both the young Bergs were waiting for me with 
 their uncle's carriage and took me to the hotel. After dinner 
 came Count Berg, and invited me to dine for to-morrow. He 
 brought me a whole parcel of the newspaper reports made every 
 day by his diplomatic chancellory, from which I was able to inform 
 myself about the political situation. The old Marshal has a 
 touching fondness for his nephew and adopted sons. He likes 
 talking about them, and is pleased that I am going to give them 
 the pleasure of an invitation to shoot chamois. Count Berg is 
 certainly an excellent man who fills a difficult position with great 
 tact and with as much considerateness as is possible. Every day 
 it becomes clearer to me that no peace is possible between the 
 Pole and the Russian. It is a racial antipathy. The Russian 
 is energetic, thoughtless, unfeeling, and cunning to boot. The 
 Pole is passionate, subtly sensitive, easily hurt, and without 
 endurance — "The Frenchman of the North," in fact, as he loves 
 to call himself. The oppression of one race by the other is seen in 
 everything, and their mutual hatred is thus always kindled anew. 
 You think you are in Russia when you cross the frontier at 
 Sosnowitz, and yet you are in a thoroughly anti-Russian country, 
 whose inhabitants will only remain Russian so long as they are 
 kept down by Russian soldiers, officials, and priests. At present 
 their hope is set on Austria and on a revolution which is supposed 
 to be impending in Russia. I think they are deceiving them- 
 selves. The Russian colossus lies like an alp on Poland, and 
 I doubt whether they will ever be able to shake him off for any 
 length of time. 
 
 Vienna, August 25, 1869. 
 
 After a two days' stay at Rauden I arrived at Vienna early 
 to-day. Visited Count Beust at three. He was, as always, 
 very amiable and obliging. He told me of his newspaper war 
 with Prussia,* and hoped that all was now over, though he urged 
 
 * Provoked by the despatch of Herr von Thile, dated August 4, which 
 entered a protest against certain expressions of Beust in the Delegations.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 363 
 
 that it was very hard to avoid ruffling every one's feelings. The 
 expressions in the Delegations had been misconstrued at Berlin. 
 Speaking generally of the relations between Prussia and Austria, 
 his view was — and this he had often put to Wether — that an 
 understanding would only be possible if Austria made up her 
 mind to leave Prussia a free hand in Germany. Prussia would 
 profit by this from the first, but Austria would lose the friendly 
 dispositions of France and the Franco-Russian alliance would 
 be the consequence. This would be a most serious menace to 
 Austrian interests in the East, and, in fine, Austria was not certain 
 whether, as against Russia, the Prussian alliance offered suitable 
 compensation for the friendly sentiments of France. In this 
 way one step led to another, and it was necessary to keep the 
 whole sequence in one's eye. I urged that I had touched upon 
 the various projects precisely because I wished to see Austria in 
 a permanent position within a league consisting of Austria, 
 Prussia, and South Germany. Our own interests compelled us 
 to that policy, and forbade us to desire an Austro-Prussian 
 understanding at our expense. 
 
 Beust reminded me that for that very reason he regarded the 
 South German League (without Austria) as a guarantee of peace, 
 on which I observed that the South German League found its 
 chief stumbling-block in the jealousy of Wiirtemberg, a stumbling- 
 block which could only be removed by a method which was too 
 adventurous for me to propose to the King, viz., the adoption 
 of the programme of the South German Democracy. 
 
 After discussing these and similar topics, I took my leave. I 
 must also note that there was some talk about the Council. I 
 represented to Beust that there was no room for doubt as to 
 what the plans at Rome were, and mentioned Manning, the Civilta, 
 &c. He admitted as much, but said we must have patience. He 
 hoped for a split within the ranks of the Austrian clergy, but 
 this would not come to pass unless the Government maintained 
 a completely passive attitude. In this connection he had great 
 hopes of the Bishop of Salzburg, as a Liberal. 
 
 Extract from a letter from Dollinger, dated Hemsheim, Worms. 
 September 5, 1869. 
 
 The letter deals with the answer which the Theological Faculty 
 at Munich had given to the Government. The draft opinion 
 which Dollinger had drawn up was " not materially altered 
 by my colleagues, but additions and amplifications have 
 been tacked to it which were inspired by 'policy,' i.e., the 
 attempt to offend the ecclesiastical authorities as little as possible. 
 And yet, cautious and circumspect as it may now sound, it will 
 nevertheless arouse the deepest displeasure in Rome, in Regens- 
 burg, in Wurzburg, and everywhere in the Ultramontane party. 
 I myself was surprised, indeed, that my colleagues should have
 
 364 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 decided to say so much — more perhaps than the great public 
 at large will care to read when the document is published. No 
 doubt, however, they are as strongly convinced as I am of the 
 magnitude of the evil which threatens the Church. 
 
 "It is only a few hours since the Bishop of Orleans,* who has 
 been here on a visit, left me. From what he told me, I perceive 
 that the number of Bishops who are averse from the Roman- 
 Jesuitical plans, and who intend to oppose them, is greater than 
 I dared to hope. He believes he can reckon on the votes of nearly 
 fifty French bishops, but, at the same time, thinks that a very 
 great deal will depend on the attitude of the German bishops, 
 and, indeed, that they will be called upon to decide the issue. 
 Even in Italy he assures me that several prelates are disposed 
 to join with the opponents of the infallibility theory, and the view 
 that the proclamation of this new dogma is most inopportune, 
 and that it will only increase the difficulties of the bishops, seems, 
 fortunately, to be very widespread there." 
 
 Cardinal Prince Hohenlohe to the Prince. 
 
 Rome, September 15, 1869. 
 
 . . . Perhaps the Holy Father is still deliberating, but I doubt 
 it. With all my respect for the Supreme Head of the Church, 
 my obedience will be put to a severe test. I trust that God will 
 help me. 
 
 I often ask myself, what shall I do in these storms? They 
 have isolated me as much as possible. To give but one example : 
 Reisachand Monsignor]Gassner, the Rector of the German Founda- 
 tion (Anima) here, and others keep all the Germans from visiting 
 me. The continual nagging at the Holy Father, so that he is in a 
 constant state of irritation against me — all this and much else 
 makes my position difficult. My isolation, of course, gives me 
 the advantage of having more free hours to myself. If Dollinger 
 were to come here, I would have him to live with me, or if you or 
 he knew of any trustworthy theologian (lay or clerical) whom 
 you could send to me at the time of the Council, and before 
 then if possible, I would give him board and lodging, and it 
 would be very nice for me to have such a man about me for as 
 long as possible. 
 
 The Jesuits are now reviving the great comedy in which 
 they appear before the public as divided into two parties. 
 Au fond they are one, and are governed by a central control. 
 Before the public then, there exist two parties among the Jesuits. 
 One shouts joyously for the infallibility of the Pope (as, for in- 
 stance, the Civiltd does) in order to capture Pius IX., and pro- 
 vokes all good Catholics who are not inclined to the Jesuits to 
 
 * On the meeting of Bishop Dupanloup with Dollinger and Lord Acton 
 at Hernsheim, Worms, see Friedrich, Geschichte des Vatikanischen Konzit, 
 vol. ii. p. 396.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 365 
 
 speak against infallibility, and so estrange them from the Pope, 
 who is thus compelled to choose the gentlemen of the Civiltd to 
 be his bodyguard. The other set, in which, as it appears, even 
 Father Bekr the General is numbered, and to which I used to 
 think that at bottom Dollinger, too, belonged, shake their heads 
 gravely (though only "in the strictest confidence") with the 
 air of old and experienced people who regard Pius IX. as a light- 
 headed youth. These hold the door open, either for the next 
 Pontificate, or indeed, for the Episcopate (the French Bishops, 
 for instance). And, so soon as there comes a change of wind 
 here, the Jesuits will be the first to be shocked at the Civilld — the 
 toy invented for Pius IX. They will make merry at his expense, 
 and, if possible, pack off the Civiltd fathers to Australia, whence 
 at a later date they may be permitted to return as repentant 
 sinners. We have a similar case in the last century in which the 
 Jesuits at Rome expressed detestation of the Gallica propositio, 
 while simultaneously in France the General of the Jesuits, 
 with his bons peres, subscribed and defended it. All this because 
 they hoped thus to divert the Bourbons and the Parlement and 
 the rest from the idea of uprooting the Order. 
 
 I believe that the question of the infallibility of the Pope is 
 absolutely independent of the Jesuits. However the issue may 
 be decided, it is in substance all one to them. Hereafter, as here- 
 tofore, they will pursue their false morality, their intrigues, and 
 their Godless activities at their ease. They have raised the ques- 
 tion of infallibility now as a standard, and have given it into the 
 hands of the Civiltd in order that they may use it to impress the 
 Pope. The Pope is charmed with the idea, without the least 
 notion what the old Jesuit party is saying and doing. Touched 
 by their devotion, throws himself into the arms of the Civiltd, 
 and in his blindness, embraces the whole Order as the saviour of 
 his honour in the (quite unnecessarily raised) question of his 
 infallibility. He avoids all other counsels, makes every possible 
 concession to the Jesuits — and les bons peres laugh in their sleeves. 
 What is the meaning of Dupanloup's going round everywhere 
 agitating against the infallibility of the Pope? He, too, is a 
 Jesuit if he is now behaving as if he had left them only in order 
 to compromise une masse de monde, and if possible upset them 
 in the ditch at the critical moment. The decision on infallibility, 
 for better or worse, takes us neither forward nor backward in 
 regard to the Jesuit question. But the infallibility question has 
 thrown Pius IX. so completely into the arms of the Jesuits, that 
 of all his plans and ideas against them not a trace remains. 
 The good fathers know that they can keep a firm hold on Pius IX. 
 only if he is driven into a corner and must fly to them for help. 
 Pius IX., for their purposes, must remain wholly isolated, so they 
 are also egging him on against all the Governments in order 
 that, embroiled everywhere, he may never more come upon a 
 green twig.
 
 366 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 . . . When the Council comes to pass, the matter may turn 
 out quite otherwise than we fear. But even in the event of its 
 happening otherwise, we must bestir ourselves. You are one of 
 the few who understand this. 
 
 As I said, I am a little uneasy when I see Dupanloup behaving 
 all of a sudden like a convert and going about everywhere, even 
 to the Archbishop of Cologne before the Fulda Conference. In 
 Paris, too, even in the entourage of the Archbishop, the talk is 
 that a complete change has come over Dupanloup. He says he 
 has quarrelled utterly with the Casa Borghese, and has thrown 
 himself (intellectually, of course) into the arms of the Princess 
 Rospigliosi. I only hope he will not throw his new party into the 
 ditch at the critical moment. We must hope for the best! A 
 very useful dependable person is Hefele, the newly appointed 
 Bishop of Rottenburg. Here they seem to wish to postpone 
 his consecration. 
 
 Report to the King. 
 
 Munich, September 23, 1869. 
 
 The undersigned, your Majesty's most obedient humble 
 servant and subject, has the honour to report that he to-day re- 
 ceived the visit of the Austrian Minister, Count Beust, who, on 
 his return to Vienna from Switzerland and Baden, stopped for 
 a day in Munich. 
 
 The undersigned respectfully believes that the substance of 
 his conversation with Count Beust cannot fail to interest your 
 Majesty, and with his humble duty begs to submit what follows 
 for your Majesty's information. 
 
 The visit which the Austrian Minister paid to H.M. the Queen 
 of Prussia at Baden was a mere act of courtesy. Count Beust 
 did not speak of politics with the Queen. This appears to be the 
 more probable, as the fact of the visit and of his invitation to 
 dine with the Queen was in full agreement with the object which 
 your Majesty's most obedient servant believes to have been in 
 view, viz. publicly to put on record the improved relations 
 between Austria and Prussia. From Baden, Count Beust went 
 on to Strassburg in order to pay a visit to the Pourtales family, 
 who live in that neighbourhood. There he met the Austrian 
 Ambassador, Prince Metternich. The mention of this visit led 
 naturally to the situation in France. Count Beust can, as little 
 as any one else, foresee what will happen there on the death of 
 the Emperor Napoleon. He thinks, however, and has caused 
 this to be communicated to the Emperor through Prince Metter- 
 nich, that the dynasty can only be saved by abandoning personal 
 rule and an unconditional inauguration of Constitutional govern- 
 ment. Count Beust has, therefore, advised the Emperor to use 
 all despatch in the reform of the Constitution. He has instanced 
 the case of Austria where the consequences of constitutionalism 
 have been the tranquillisation of the public mind, the revival of
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 367 
 
 trade, and an assured position in foreign relations. As regards 
 the Empress's journey* to the East, Count Beust maintains that 
 it was undertaken to keep the Empress out of sight of the French 
 people for a time, as her Ultramontane leanings have made her 
 very unpopular. 
 
 The most important visit paid by the Austrian Minister was, 
 without doubt, that to the Russian Minister, Prince Gortschakow 
 in Switzerland. He had a conference with him which lasted sev- 
 eral hours, in which the whole European situation was under dis- 
 cussion. It appears to result with fair certainty from what he told 
 me of this conversation, that the object of Beust 's journey was, 
 above all, to bring about a better understanding with the Northern 
 Powers in view of impending events in France. Count Beust ad- 
 mitted that the undersigned correctly formulated his intention in 
 the remark that it seemed necessary that the solid Powers of Europe 
 should, in the face of anticipated eventualities in France, come 
 so far to an understanding as to allow their little mutual mis- 
 understandings to rest for the time being, or, as Beust put it, 
 "to stop the pin-pricks." They would, of course, he added, 
 be very far from giving a definite form to these "good relations." 
 There is no question of an alliance, and this would be avoided in 
 order to spare the susceptibilities of France, who will always see a 
 coalition in a northern alliance. There is, however, an under- 
 standing and much is thereby gained in the interests of the peace 
 of Europe. 
 
 The fear lest an understanding between Austria and Prussia 
 might be brought about at the expense of the South German States 
 could not in this connection be left out of account. The under- 
 signed, therefore, carefully sounded Count Beust, and was relieved 
 to find that the Austrian Minister attaches the same importance 
 for the future as he has done in the past to the maintenance of the 
 status quo, for he received, with decided approval and with great 
 interest, the assurances of your Majesty's most faithful servant 
 as to the absurdity of the rumours which ascribe to Bavaria 
 the intention of entering the North German Confederation. 
 This would not have been the case had he in any respect changed 
 his views on this point. In this connection he remarked that, 
 theoretically, the situation in Germany was disquieting, but that 
 in politics things depended, in the long run, not on theories, but 
 on existing circumstances, and for South Germany these were not 
 unfavourable. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, September 28, 1869. 
 
 This morning I received a telegram directing me to hold 
 myself in readiness to be called for by a royal carriage at twelve 
 o'clock, as the King wished to speak with me at two. I did so 
 
 * To the opening of the Suez Canal.
 
 368 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 and was called for at twelve. The Minister Hormann drove along 
 with me. On the way I discussed with him the Speech from the 
 Throne, and convinced him that it could not stand in the form in 
 which it had been proposed. We drove pretty quickly through 
 the Furstenrieder Park and arrived at two. Sauer received us. 
 At the appointed hour, I was taken to the King, who shook hands 
 with me and treated me with quite remarkable kindness. He 
 hoped in this way to make me say what he wanted, which was 
 that it was unnecessary for him to open the Chambers in person. 
 This, however, I did not do, but said to him that I hated the 
 King's Speech and the Debate on the Address, but that I could 
 not conceal from him that he would be ill-spoken of if he did not 
 himself come to the opening. We talked backwards and forwards 
 about this, he always trying to get me to say that it was unneces- 
 sary, until he was at last convinced that there was no help for it. 
 He wrinkled his forehead all over, but that availed him 
 nothing, and finally he let it be known that "he would consider 
 it." Then we talked about everything you can think of, and 
 the conversation lasted more than two hours. Afterwards came 
 Hormann, who had to put up with the ill-humour into which the 
 King had worked himself owing to me. Finally, Perglas was 
 also summoned. Meanwhile, I went for a walk in the park. I 
 had said to Sauer that I would do so, and he therefore thought 
 it necessary first to ask the King. The King expressed himself 
 very contemptuously to Minister Hormann about Lipowsky. 
 It appears that Lipowsky has ruined his position by his foolish 
 chatter. When all the audiences were over, we, that is to say 
 I, Hormann, Perglas, and Sauer, had dinner in a pavilion in the 
 garden. It was now six o'clock and after the meal was over 
 we drove to Starnberg, and took the train back here. 
 
 This evening about ten o'clock, I dropped in at the club, 
 where I found only one sleepy waiter. Such is the dissipation 
 of Munich ! The Chamber of Representatives has objected to 
 several of the elections, so that nine members are not able to 
 take part in the election of the President, one member is under 
 arrest, and so can't appear, so that the House as it stands numbers 
 144 members. Of these, 72 belong to the Ultramontane and 72 
 to the Liberal party. To-morrow is the election of their President, 
 and if they don't come to an understanding, no election can take 
 place, and we shall dissolve the Chamber. I think, however, 
 that they will agree to elect Edel. It is a pity, for we should 
 have had four weeks' peace and quietness while they were choosing 
 a new Chamber. 
 
 September 29. 
 
 The presidential election in the Chamber of Representatives 
 has still produced no result. Seventy-one votes for Edel and 71 
 for Weiss. The representatives expect us to dissolve the Chamber.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 369 
 
 Bolderndorff advises that they should be allowed to go on holding 
 elections till some one gets ill. This, however, is hardly possible. 
 Great excitement everywhere. This evening I was at Weiler's 
 tragedy Drahomira. Horrible nonsense and verbiage. Professor 
 Zacharia of Gottingen came to see me in my box. 
 
 Cardinal Prince Hohenlohe to the Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Tivoli, October 3, 1869. 
 
 ... As to Professor Friedrich, let him come by all means, 
 only it would be well to keep the thing secret until he is with me. 
 In the negotiations with him it would be well to tell him not to 
 mention the chief object of his stay here. He should give some 
 other reason, such as that he wants to see Rome or the like. You 
 will understand that better than I can tell you. 
 
 As to Sigmund* I have certainly reason to suspect that he has 
 been coming nearer and nearer to the Ultramontane party, if not 
 from conviction at least from self-interest, "because he doesn't 
 wish to quarrel with these people." That being so, if he is an 
 honourable man he had better not remain an Envoy under your 
 administration. If, for example, Cardinal Antonelli says to him, 
 " Le Prince de Hohenlohe vent jaire le theologien," he could give 
 him a conclusive answer. But not only does he not do so but he 
 relates the incident to others with what amounts to official im- 
 propriety. His relations with the Corps Diplomatique are also 
 past praying for. Seeing that he used to visit me twice a week 
 and now never comes at all, and that he could have made himself 
 immensely useful here by firm and dignified action, whereas he 
 remains quite passive (and not always even that), I have reason to 
 suspect an alteration in his attitude which he may very well 
 have adopted with the main object of not damaging his career. 
 However, what we have now to consider is that it is alreadv too 
 late to send any one here in his place before the Council. Still, 
 a decent man who will do what you tell him, who, in weighty 
 matters will also keep himself in touch with the representatives 
 of like-minded Governments : a man who is safe in his views, who 
 is not an Ultramontane, who will defend you when necessary — 
 but where are you to find such a combination of qualities? I 
 wished very much that Bavaria should have a dignified and trusty 
 representative at the Council, but I fear it will be difficult to find 
 one. If Dollinger were not a persona minus grata here he would 
 be very well suited for the post. Failing that, anybody, though 
 he were not exactly a lumen mundi, who was furnished with good, 
 strong credentials, some one after the style of Professor Huber, 
 would do.f 
 
 * Bavarian Minister at Rome. 
 
 t V. Sigmund, the Bavarian Minister, was transferred to The Hague 
 the same October, and Count Tauffkirchen was appointed his successor. 
 
 vol. 1 — 2 B
 
 370 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, October 6, 1869. 
 
 On Saturday I heard that Haneberg * had been endeavour- 
 ing to bring the representatives to a milder frame of mind. I 
 therefore went to him, and he told me that he had tried, but un- 
 successfully, even though there does exist some disposition 
 on the part of the Ultramontane party to deliver themselves 
 from the terrorism of Herr Weiss, who is their ruler. Sunday 
 was day. No sitting on Monday. On Tuesday the 
 
 final scrutiny was to be held. There therefore remained to 
 me two full days for negotiation. I at once sprung all my mines. 
 Bolderndorff, Hegnenberg, Donniges, and the others put their 
 best foot foremost. There was a constant running backwards 
 and forwards. The difficulty was that my colleagues were, for 
 various reasons, intriguing against an understanding, and in 
 favour of dissolution. At last it was found possible to persuade 
 the Ultramontanes to send me a deputation on Monday at 
 eleven o'clock. It came, and conferred with me. They 
 had appointed Schiittinger, the Advocate from Bamberg, to 
 be their spokesman, and he explained that they were in a 
 majority, and wanted to elect both Presidents. I made it 
 clear to this gentleman that such a claim made an understanding 
 impossible. They should at least hold a conference with the 
 members of the Left without previously determining on a 
 candidate for the Presidency. This, however, they rejected, 
 and required that the choice of Weiss as first President should 
 remain outside the discussion. The plenipotentiaries of the 
 party of progress came to me in the evening. They explained 
 that they could only go to a conference on condition that all the 
 candidates should be discussed; on the other hand, they 
 were willing to give up their candidate (Edel). While these 
 negotiations were pending Tuesday came, and therewith again 
 a deadlock — 71 against 71. On that the Cabinet met. In spite 
 of the fact that negotiations were in progress, and Hormann 
 knew this, he proposed an immediate dissolution. I replied 
 that this would compromise me, and would be in the highest 
 degree improper. Stormy scene in Cabinet. Finally they 
 yielded. I telegraphed to the King for an adjournment, which 
 was granted. Yesterday evening came the envoy of the 
 Ultramontanes to say that the party could not consent to the 
 reconsideration of Weiss's candidature. At nine the Progres- 
 sives came and said that in these circumstances they refused 
 to consent to any conference. This was the end of the negotia- 
 tions. Dissolution was decided on, and a telegram sent to 
 the King accordingly. I fear we will gain nothing by dis- 
 solution. Yet I could no longer oppose it as, if further negotia- 
 tions had been effective, I should not have been spared the 
 reproach that I was protracting the affair, and their ill-success 
 
 * At that time Abbot of St. Boniface in Munich.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 371 
 
 (which was by no means improbable) would have been in- 
 terpreted to my disadvantage. If Ministers had been less 
 pressing it might have been possible, with peace and quietness, 
 to come to an understanding. In any case, the worse the result 
 of the elections the more people will thank me hereafter for 
 my attempt to secure agreement. A revolution of public 
 opinion, which is at present in favour of dissolution, will take 
 place. That, however, is small consolation. For the time 
 being we have six weeks of peace ! 
 
 Munich, October 26, 1869. 
 
 The arrival of the King of Wiirtemberg, which took place 
 on Saturday the 23rd, at ten o'clock at night, did not give me 
 so much bother and correspondence as usual, for on this occasion 
 the King was animated by an unusual amiability, and was 
 prepared to show every possible civility to his Royal neighbour. 
 Unfortunately, however, the King of Wiirtemberg came here 
 in the strictest incognito, so that the offers of quarters in the 
 palace, and other courtesies, were not accepted. However, 
 our King went to Augsburg to meet him, and came here with 
 the Royal party — supper being served at the station. On 
 Sunday at one o'clock I had an audience with the King of Wiirtem- 
 berg. I had caused him to be asked whether, as there was 
 no State dinner on Monday, he would ccme and dine with me, 
 but he declined. Well, when I was giving my Ministerial and 
 Official dinner on Monday he had Schlor called away to him 
 from table — an inconsiderate action which I took very ill from 
 him, as he knew the hour of my dinner-party. Much more 
 amiable was the Grand Duke of Weimar, who arrived this 
 morning. I had left my card for him with the Aide-de-camp, 
 on which he appeared at my house at seven o'clock. We talked 
 for a very long time about the present situation, about the 
 King, about the elections, about the Council, &c. Now since 
 he, especially as to the last-named subject, asked me questions 
 which required to be answered at some length, my explanations 
 were sometimes rather long, and I observed that sleep 
 was getting the better of him. As his eyes had lost the little 
 brightness they had, I thought it wise to curtail my lecture 
 immediately. Then he woke up again, and was altogether "most 
 kind" and charming. 
 
 Cabinet to-morrow, in which Hormann's circular is to be 
 discussed. I am very curious about that. 
 
 Munich, November 22, 1869. 
 
 The elections * seem to be going to turn out unfavourably 
 for the Ministry. Feilitzsch told me yesterday that in that 
 event Hormann would resign. Lutz said to Bolderndorff 
 
 * The elections took place on November 16 and 25.
 
 372 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 to-day that the whole Ministry would have to resign, for that 
 was their only course. There is no doubt, however, that Lutz 
 is conspiring with Schlor to push me, and several other Ministers, 
 out, and perhaps to become himself Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
 or at least President of the Council of Ministers. In these 
 circumstances the party appears to me to be ruined, or at least 
 very seriously entangled. 
 
 At eleven I went to Dollinger to show him Tauffkirchen's 
 instructions. We discussed the situation, and he told me he 
 had just received an autograph note from the King praising his 
 pamphlet against Infallibility, and along with it a letter from Sauer 
 which, however, he had not yet read. We read it together, 
 and it appeared that Sauer was asking his advice as to what he 
 should suggest to the King in the present difficult situation ; in par- 
 ticular, what the King should do if the Ministry were to tender 
 its resignation after the result of the elections; whether he 
 should advise the King to accept it or not. I arranged with 
 Dollinger, who happened to have several people with him at 
 the time, that he should come to me within the next few days, 
 when we would consider and talk over what advice he had better 
 give Sauer. We also decided that he should write to Sauer 
 immediately, saying that he would advise him as desired. The 
 first thing to do is to draw up a short memorandum embodying 
 various proposals to induce the King to dismiss the Ministers, 
 i.e., accept their resignation, and to entrust me with the forma- 
 tion of a new Ministry — or rather, to ask me to make suggestions 
 to him. Dollinger might tell him at the same time that, if the 
 King did not wish to do this, he had better nominate Ministers 
 at once in place of those to be dismissed. Volderndorff and I 
 are agreed as to the following: 
 
 I to be Foreign Minister as heretofore ; Pfretzschner, Finance ; 
 Pranckh, War ; Pfeufer, Interior (Hormann to go to the Palatinate) ; 
 Schubert, Education; Lutz, Justice; Hegnenberg to take Schlor's 
 place. 
 
 This would have to be communicated to Dollinger. 
 
 If, as it seems from Sauer's letter, the King does not wish to 
 accept my resignation, but prefers to retain my services in a new 
 Ministry, it would be better for him not to entrust me with the 
 formation of this new Ministry, as such an action would be con- 
 trary to the traditions of the country; he himself should imme- 
 diately replace those Ministers whose services he does not wish 
 to retain by others. By this means the machinations of ambition 
 which are usually set in motion during a Ministerial crisis would 
 be nipped in the bud, and the excitement in the country would 
 subside more quickly. 
 
 I know the Ultramontane party will expect nothing of me 
 that I cannot do. Consequently, an agreement will be possible 
 so long as no Ministers are nominated with whom I could not 
 work. I would therefore suggest that the following Ministers
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 373 
 
 should be retained : Pfretzschner, Pranckh, and Lutz ; whereas 
 the resignation of Gresser, Hormann, and Schlor should be 
 accepted. In place of Gresser, State Councillor Schubert should 
 be nominated : he would suffice for the present, and could be 
 replaced by some one else later on. Gresser could take his 
 place in the State Council. I would nominate Pfeufer in place 
 of Hormann, and would make Hormann President of the Palati- 
 nate. Finally, Schlor should be replaced by Count Hegnenberg, 
 a man whose integrity, past political career, and talent would 
 be of immense value, and whose nomination would do much 
 to allay popular unrest. I am confident that I can persuade 
 Hegnenberg to accept; it would therefore be desirable to depute 
 me to negotiate with him, unless the King prefers to nominate 
 him immediately. In that case I ought to be informed in good 
 time, so as to prevent him from refusing. The whole prospect of 
 success of the combination I have proposed depends upon his 
 nomination. 
 
 Munich, November 23, 1869. 
 
 To-day at 10.45 I went to the Chapel of the Parish Priest of 
 the Ludwigskirche, where Tauffkirchen's marriage with Ernestine 
 Pfeffel was celebrated. We assembled in the priest's drawing- 
 room. The elite of society was present. The bride wore an 
 elegant white satin gown with orange blossom, and Tauffkirchen 
 a dress-coat with the black ribbon of the Swedish Order of the 
 North Star. I was Tauffkirchen's marriage witness, and had a 
 special red velvet stool to kneel on in the chapel. When all 
 were assembled, we proceeded to the chapel. Father Weber of 
 the Frauenkirche gave the address. It was full of platitudes, 
 but gave evidence of the lively interest he took in the matter, 
 as he had been Ernestine Pfeffel's confessor for many years. 
 Behind me knelt the old Pocci woman, who gave expression either 
 to a cold in her head or to her emotions by frequent and violent 
 sneezing. After the ceremony we returned to the drawing-room, 
 where there was much kissing. Thence we drove to Pfeffel's, 
 where we drank champagne and where there was more kissing. 
 In the afternoon the newly wedded couple left for Italy. 
 
 Here there is great excitement on account of the elections. 
 Without- doubt the Ultramontane party has scored a victory. 
 As soon as the results of the elections are known, the Ministry 
 will tender its resignation. All small ambitions are stirred, the 
 vultures make ready for they scent carrion. The Ministry says : 
 "The day is waning and night is falling." I long to face the 
 enemy openly and without reserve. I cannot think of remaining 
 in office if the majority of the Chamber is against me, and I con- 
 fess that I would gladly resign. Three years in office is enough 
 for the present. 
 
 The matter will be decided to-morrow. If the majority of
 
 374 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 the Ultramontane party is definitely against me, I shall probably 
 tender my resignation, together with the whole Ministry. Then 
 we shall see what the King will do. 
 
 Cardinal Hohenlohe to the Prince. 
 
 Rome, November 26, 1869. 
 
 I wrote to you by post the other day. As you will have 
 noticed, the letter was meant to be read in the post, that is to 
 say, by the Secretary of State. Secramondo had circulated 
 all sorts of horreurs here about his successor, consequently I 
 have tried to counteract the mischief in every possible way. . . . 
 It is a pity that the Bishop of Passau is not coming. There will 
 be many a sharp tussle, and I fear the Ultramontane party will 
 have the majority. They are impudent and reckless, and though 
 at the present moment the Pope is somewhat out of humour, 
 owing to various manifestations such as Dupanloup,* North 
 American bishops, f &c, yet I think that at the crucial moment 
 the impudent party will endeavour to outshout all the others. 
 Added to all this, I am still very unwell, so that I am in a some- 
 what melancholy mood. 
 
 Dupanloup's letter is good. It is obvious that Janus and 
 other books have stuck in his gizzard. 
 
 It now appears that Haneberg will not come to the Council 
 either, although he had every right as Konsultor (a legal func- 
 tionary of the Church). Cardinal Schwarzenberg is very anxious 
 to have Dollinger here, but does not know how to manage it. 
 I advised him to send for him as his theologian, but he seemed 
 to me to be undecided. Friedrich will probably come towards 
 the end of the month. By the way, arrangements have been 
 made so that the cardinals who do not belong to the party may 
 have as little to do as possible. It was suggested that I should 
 receive the German bishops at my house once a week. Owing, 
 however, to the strained relations between the parties, I could 
 not make up my mind to do so, all the more so as I think the 
 Pope is somewhat suspicious of me, and might be sufficiently 
 deluded to go the length of forbidding the bishops to assemble 
 here. Cardinal Schwarzenberg has promised me to invite the 
 bishops to the Anima. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, November 26, 1869. 
 
 The Ministers assembled at my house to-day to hear the 
 result of the elections. I began by calling upon Hormann to 
 
 * Dupanloup's Lettre au clergS de son diocese relativement a la 
 definition de Vinjaillibilite au prochain concile, of November 11, 1869, 
 appeared in the Gazette de France. — Friedrich, Geschichte des Vatikanischen 
 Konzils, vol. ii. p. 396. 
 
 f The North American bishops, on the occasion of their passing through 
 Paris, had declared that they considered the definition of infallibility to be 
 inopportune. — Ibid. p. 378.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHEXLOHE 375 
 
 explain the result of the elections. This was soon done, 
 as the numbers were already known, and there was no doubt 
 that the Ultra montanes had eighty and the Liberals only 
 seventy-four votes. A pause ensued, and I immediately seized 
 the opportunity to explain to the assembled gentlemen that it 
 was against me that the general animosity of the Patriotic party 
 was directed. I recapitulated my former programme, empha- 
 sised the change in the feeling of the country, and asked the 
 Ministers whether they were not of the opinion that the excite- 
 ment might be allayed, and a modus vivendi be subsequently 
 established with the Chamber if I quitted the Ministry. I begged 
 them to answer me quite frankly. 
 
 Hormann immediately addressed us, declaring that he would 
 certainly take the same course, since the country's vote of non- 
 confidence was directed against him more than any one else. He 
 vindicated himself in detail, pointing out that, at the present 
 time, it is impossible for a Government not to espouse the cause 
 of one party or another. He said it was a question of defend- 
 ing the modern State against the reactionary tendencies of the 
 Ultramontanes. How, then, could a Government exist which 
 did not take sides in this struggle? 
 
 Gresser* assented to these sentiments with a dignified wave 
 of his hand. He seemed to aim at the pose of a Roman Senator, 
 and was most pathetic. 
 
 Pfretzschner, who spoke next, admitted "with the perfect 
 frankness of a colleague" that no doubt the animosity of the 
 parties had been directed against his three colleagues, and he 
 "left the question undecided" as to whether a partial modifi- 
 cation of the Ministry would not be the best solution of the diffi- 
 culty. 
 
 Schlor then spoke against the idea of a general resignation 
 of the Cabinet. He reminded us that on the occasion of the dis- 
 missal of Minister Bomhard the course of a general resignation 
 had not been adopted ; he spoke of the sad plight of the Ministry, 
 insinuating that this was due to the fact that the solidarity of the 
 Cabinet had been a mere fiction, and quoted various cases which, 
 according to him, went to prove that I had involved the whole 
 Ministry in responsibilities for actions of which the other Ministers 
 had no knowledge. He mentioned with approval the fact that 
 Pfordten had begun every Cabinet Council by communicating 
 the despatches, and noted with disapproval that nominations 
 had been made in the Diplomatic Corps without the knowledge 
 of the Ministry, and that the liquidation proceedings had been 
 concluded without the concurrence of the other Ministers. The 
 obvious intention of his speech was to lay the blame of the present 
 situation on my shoulders in order to incense the other Ministers 
 against me. I immediately refuted the various charges; I 
 
 * The Minister of Education, who had incurred the special hatred 
 of the Ultramontane party by his education law.
 
 376 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 remarked that, if Pfordten had communicated the despatches 
 in the year 1866, it was a most natural thing for him to do, 
 and then reminded that I had often tried to make foreign 
 policy a subject of discussion in the Cabinet Council, but had 
 never met with much attention; I vindicated my right of nomi- 
 nating members of the Diplomatic Corps on the ground that 
 Senior would allow no one to dispute his right to appoint railway 
 officials; I proved that the liquidation negotiations had only 
 been begun after the decision of the Cabinet; and I justified 
 myself completely. Thereupon Pranckh declared, in his usual 
 downright fashion, that any one who wished to retain the world's 
 esteem must now tender his resignation, and what the King 
 would then do was his business and not ours. 
 
 Hormann then spoke at length, and very much to the point, 
 in the same strain as before. 
 
 Lutz then spoke to the effect that he considered it most 
 hazardous to introduce a system of parliamentarianism and 
 party government, and that he would therefore have preferred 
 a partial change of Ministry, but that after Pranckh's remarks 
 he could not but acquiesce in the general resignation and would 
 not remain alone. In any case he declared against a coalition 
 Ministry, in which perhaps Weiss or some other patriot should 
 hold office, saying that he would not remain in such a Ministry. 
 
 Senior harked back to the case of Bomhard's dismissal, which 
 he had in his eye as a precedent, and concluded by suggesting 
 that I should go to Hohenschwangau and explain the position 
 of affairs to the King by word of mouth. 
 
 This I at once, and very emphatically, refused to do, as I 
 had no mind to complicate matters, but on the contrary wished 
 to have them cleared up. The King might refuse to accept my 
 resignation, and then I should be accused of having influenced 
 his Majesty's decision. 
 
 Finally, I, as President, summed up, saying that it was im- 
 possible to take the vote of the majority in this matter, and that 
 in any case I was resolved to send in my resignation to-morrow 
 at noon. I asked them to consider the matter till then. We 
 decided that Lutz was to draft a memorial to the King which 
 he should bring with him next day. 
 
 November 28, 1869. 
 
 On the 27th Lutz brought his draft to the Cabinet Council. 
 The statement did not please me, as it contained much super- 
 fluous matter. It was modified, but not sufficiently. In the 
 afternoon we signed it. In the evening Holnstein came to me 
 and told me that it was asserted that I would not resign as I 
 could not afford to do without my salary. I pacified him by 
 the assurance that I had already tendered my resignation. I 
 see more and more clearly that I cannot remain. I could only
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 377 
 
 retain office if the Ultramontane party were to declare that they 
 approved of my policy — a thing they will not do. The envy 
 and spite of my colleagues in the Upper House would acquire 
 weapons against which I should be defenceless, if they could 
 reproach me with holding office from self-interest against the 
 will and without the confidence of the country. I should soon 
 be worsted by such attacks, and then be dismissed with scorn 
 and shame, instead of as now, with honour. If I resign now I 
 shall be missed, and it will always be possible for me to take 
 office again. Moreover, I cannot remain with Senior. 
 
 Letter in which the Prince tenders his resignation. 
 
 Muntich, November 29, 1869. 
 
 When, three years ago, your Majesty did me the honour to 
 entrust me with the direction of the Ministry of the Royal House- 
 hold and of Foreign Affairs, and appointed me to the office of 
 President of the Cabinet, I began my official career with a public 
 statement in which I indicated the aims of Bavarian policy in 
 the following terms: 
 
 "To prepare the way for a federation with the other States 
 of Germany as soon as, and in so far as, this should be compatible 
 with the maintenance of Bavarian rights of sovereignty and the 
 independence of the country; until this goal should be reached, 
 to create a power which should command respect not only by 
 the organisation of the Army, but also by the development, on 
 liberal lines, of our internal administrative machinery." 
 
 Your Majesty's assent has made it possible for the Ministry, 
 under my Presidency, to carry out these principles in their essen- 
 tials during my term of office. Although the general political 
 situation of Europe has made it impossible to form a federation, 
 by means of which I am persuaded the existence of Bavaria 
 would be more firmly assured than hitherto, we have nevertheless 
 succeeded in strengthening the friendly relations between Bavaria 
 and the allied German States in such wise as to gain that support 
 without which a State in the position of Bavaria cannot exist. 
 The renewal of the Zollverein has safeguarded the economic in- 
 terests of Bavaria, and the result of the negotiations concerning 
 the federal property of the sometime Germanic Confederation, 
 has secured the necessary co-operation of German States in mili- 
 tary matters, without exacting sacrifices from Bavaria which would 
 not have been compatible with the independence of the kingdom. 
 The social legislation which has been passed affords a liberal foun- 
 dation for the development of the internal conditions of the country, 
 while in the new Army organisation will be found the germ of that 
 external force which inspires respect and which I designated at 
 that time as the essential condition for the existence of the 
 Bavarian State. But from the very beginning of my Adminis- 
 tration these principles and their consequences have been attacked
 
 378 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 by a party which at that time had but few votes in the Chamber 
 of Deputies. This party has continued from that time onward 
 to stigmatise the policy of the advisers of the Crown as disastrous 
 both for your Majesty and for the country. They have suc- 
 ceeded in infecting others with the distrust which they themselves 
 manifested. 
 
 Your Majesty has nevertheless honoured me during these 
 years to such a degree with your Royal confidence as to render 
 me deeply grateful, all the more so as I am aware what efforts 
 were made by my opponents to undermine your Majesty's con- 
 fidence in me. 
 
 Supported by this gracious kindness, I have been able 
 hitherto to disregard the attacks of my enemies. After the re- 
 sult of the recent elections, it was, however, my duty to consider 
 whether I was still in a position to devote myself successfully 
 to your Majesty's service. I was obliged to answer the question 
 in the negative. The humble representations of the Ministry, 
 dated yesterday, attempted to lay before your Majesty the reasons 
 which make it apparent that it is no longer advisable for the 
 Government to be carried on by the present Ministry. 
 
 I subscribe to the conclusions arrived at in that document, 
 and can only add that it would be against my conscience to 
 hold office in view of the fact that there is a solid majority of 
 opponents of the Government in the Chamber, and in view of 
 the opposition in the Upper House, to which I should be exposed 
 to a greater degree than formerly, because they could on every 
 occasion taunt me with the country's want of confidence. For 
 the successful fulfilment of the duties of my office, more energetic 
 action is necessary than will be possible for me under existing 
 conditions. 
 
 I venture, therefore, respectfully to beg your Majesty to place 
 the conduct of affairs, hitherto entrusted to me, in other hands, 
 at present more fitted to defend your Majesty's interests. At 
 the same time, I lay on the steps of the throne the expression 
 of my inextinguishable gratitude for the proofs of confidence 
 and gracious kindness which your Majesty has lavished upon 
 me during the last three years. 
 
 To the King. 
 
 Munich, December i, 1869. 
 
 Your Majesty has informed me, through your Secretary, 
 that you are still graciously pleased to place confidence in me, 
 and that I am therefore to continue in the conduct of affairs 
 despite the result of the elections. In view of this most gracious 
 proof of your confidence, it would not become me to emphasise 
 my conviction that I might possibly serve your Majesty and the 
 country more effectually at a later date if I now retired from 
 political activity. On the contrary, it is my duty to obey your
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 379 
 
 Royal wish, and I must forthwith consider how I may best serve 
 your Majesty while I retain my office. 
 
 In respect to this, I suppose I may consider it your Majesty's 
 wish that my task shall not be to heighten the party struggle 
 which, unfortunately, is raging only too fiercely in the country, 
 nor to endeavour by means of one-sided measures to stamp out 
 the so-called Patriotic party. I rather believe it to be your 
 Majesty's wish that an attempt should be made to unite the 
 moderate and loyal elements of this party with those of the others 
 in common efforts for the good of the country, and to heal the 
 breach among the people. Reconciliation, then, will, I believe, 
 be the end for which I must strive, and by which the policy of 
 your Majesty's Government must be guided. 
 
 This will entail no change in foreign policy. As your Majesty 
 is aware, my aim in this field has always been to reconcile the 
 conflicting interests of the great Powers of Germany, as well 
 as to reconcile the imperative demands of national thought with 
 the principle of equality of rights of all German peoples, with 
 the irrefutable rights of Bavarian independence, and the unim- 
 peachable sovereignty of your Majesty's throne. Every step 
 is known to your Majesty, and your Majesty approved of every 
 step I took when directing our foreign policy. Moreover, I do 
 not believe that the majority of the so-called patriotic party 
 desires anything different from what has been done during the 
 last years. I am convinced that they would not, any more 
 than your gracious Majesty's Ministry, wish for the rupture 
 of the treaties of alliance, of the Zollverein, of the na- 
 tional community of law, which knit together North and 
 South. Probably a loyal and unreserved exposition of the facts 
 and a clear designation of the ends in view will suffice to remove 
 the present distrust. 
 
 If, however, this should not be the case, if this distrust should 
 attach to me personally, or if the majority of the Patriotic party 
 should really have other aims and pursue an anti-national policy, 
 then indeed, with the best will in the world to obey your Majesty's 
 wishes, it would be impossible for me to continue in office. For 
 I could never consent to relinquish the programme with which 
 I undertook the duties of Foreign Minister; or to renounce the 
 endeavour to remedy the sad case in which Germany found 
 herself after the year 1866; and to try, on the foundation laid 
 by the Peace of Prague, to weld the North and South of Germany 
 into a higher federal unity. But I doubt, as I said, whether the 
 patriotic party would demand such a policv. 
 
 As regards the home policy, there is no doubt that there must be 
 a change, in so far as the Government must regain complete im- 
 partiality and must cling to it conscientiously. This impartiality 
 must, however, make itself evident, not by weakness in the face of 
 the excesses of all parties, but by the endeavour to obtain respect 
 for the law regardless of parties. For this it is above all essential
 
 380 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 that the belief in the impartiality of officials should be revived, 
 by which alone their actions can attain respect and weight. The 
 decisions of the State officials must on no account appear to be 
 dictated by party spirit. The Government and its officials must 
 act objectively, and thereby show that they are superior to the par- 
 ties. On the one hand, then, we must proceed in the direction 
 I have indicated, but on the other we must satisfy the urgent claims 
 of all parties in so far as they are justifiable. 
 
 Among these I consider universal suffrage of the first impor- 
 tance. I must therefore beg your Majesty's gracious consent to 
 make a statement on this subject in the next Speech from the 
 Throne. The second measure to be adopted in connection with 
 the above is the reform of the Upper House. Your Majesty is 
 aware that I had included this in the measures I proposed in my 
 programme, when I accepted my present office. I think it neces- 
 sary to leave this question no longer undecided; but in order to 
 meet your Majesty's wishes, I would be willing to forego the prin- 
 ciple of suffrage, and would suggest that we adopt in its stead the 
 principle of Nomination. Finally, as regards the concession of 
 the right of initiative of which the last Chamber demanded so 
 urgently, I must beg your Majesty's permission to put an end 
 to this fruitless strife between the Crown and the representatives 
 of the country. 
 
 It will no doubt be necessary to make some changes in the 
 Ministry in order to carry out these measures in the spirit in which 
 they are conceived. In particular, a man must be appointed as 
 Minister for Home Affairs who is capable of supporting this policy 
 with complete conviction and of defending it before the Chamber. 
 The Minister of State, von Hormann, by no means lacks the neces- 
 sary capabilities, nor is he wanting in devotion to your Majesty 
 or in energy ; but since he regards his resignation from the Ministry 
 as unavoidable, and since your Majesty shares his opinion, the 
 first thing to do is to appoint the two Ministers for Home Affairs.* 
 Your Majesty was pleased to ask me, through your Secretary, 
 whether it would meet with my approval to nominate State Coun- 
 cillor Schubert in place of the Minister of the Interior for Church 
 and Education, and President Lerchenfeld as Minister of the Inte- 
 rior. As far as State Councillor Schubert is concerned, I have no 
 objection to make. With respect to Freiherr von Lerchenfeld I 
 venture to advance, with all respect, the following doubts as to his 
 suitability. Freiherr von Lerchenfeld is a capable official of 
 honourable character. But in the choice of a Minister, more 
 especially when the Ministry which he is to join pursues a definite 
 policy, regard must be had not only to the man's qualities, but 
 also to his political reputation. Now Freiherr von Lerchenfeld is 
 looked upon as an Ultramontane. He may not deserve this repu- 
 tation, but as President he has certainly acted in such a manner as 
 to give grounds for this opinion, and his nomination in Hormann 's 
 * The Ministries of the Interior and of Education.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 381 
 
 place would therefore be considered as equivalent to a change of 
 policy. It would raise the hopes of the Opposition without satisfy- 
 ing them, and would at the same time completely undermine the 
 confidence of the Liberals in the Ministry. This appointment 
 would have the appearance of yielding to the Ultramontane party 
 to an extent which would by no means be justified by the Minis- 
 try's policy of reconciliation and compromise. Consequently, I 
 could not without inconsistency work together with Freiherr von 
 Lerchenfeld in a Ministry. 
 
 However, before your Majesty comes to a decision on this point, 
 and before I could, in fact, advise a modification of the Ministry 
 in order to put an end to the present crisis, I think it absolutely 
 indispensable that your Majesty should take the following steps. 
 It would be advisable for your Majesty, in accordance with the 
 traditions of the Constitution, to consult the leaders of the Oppo- 
 sition who have the majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and hear 
 their opinions and proposals. Your Majesty would thereby put 
 the Ministry on a firm foundation and render its existence possible. 
 In doing so your Majesty will in no wise impair the Crown's 
 right of an exclusive and final decision in the choice of the Ministers, 
 and will be in a position after having heard their proposals to act 
 according to your Majesty's own convictions. For your Majesty 
 is King of the whole country and of all parties, and I am convinced 
 that it will be to your Majesty's interest to hear the other side 
 of the question too. It will be a manifestation of sovereign im- 
 partiality, and I think the many loyal adherents of your Majesty 
 in the ranks of the so-called patriots are worthy of this gracious 
 favour. If I may be allowed to express my humble opinion to your 
 Majesty, I think it above all advisable for your Majesty either 
 to command to Hohenschwangau one or two of the leaders of the 
 Patriotic party such as Ministerial Councillor Weiss, State Coun- 
 cillor von Schrenck, or Freiherr von Thungen, or else your Majesty 
 should instruct your Secretary of State to inquire their opinions, 
 not only on the situation in general, but in particular on the for- 
 mation of a Ministry of their party and its programme. Should 
 these proposals not meet with your Majesty's approval, your Maj- 
 esty would only then be completely justified in considering my 
 respectful suggestions set forth above. Should this be acceptable 
 to your Majesty, I repeat the assurance of my willingness (of 
 which I have already informed your Majesty by telegram) to 
 retain my office in the Ministry according to your Majesty's de- 
 sire. Then, and then only, will the Ministry be able to meet 
 Parliament with confidence, and a swift return of this crisis be 
 averted. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Hohenschwangau, December 3, 1869. 
 
 Result of the conference at Hohenschwangau. Owing to 
 the numerous letters from all sides which have been sent to them
 
 382 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 from Munich, the King and his advisers have come to the con- 
 clusion that it will be impossible to retain Hormann and Gresser 
 in office, and that both these Ministers must be replaced. I 
 opposed this, and proposed to postpone the changes in the Min- 
 istry until after the opening of the Chamber and the first 
 debates. But the fear that this would lead to further breaches 
 and prevent the pacification of the country outweighed my argu- 
 ments, so that I did not carry my point. 
 
 The King assured me of his full confidence, and at first wished 
 to accept the resignation of the whole Ministry and entrust me 
 with the formation of a new one — or rather, commission me to 
 make suggestions on the subject. I declined this, as it is not a 
 propitious moment for such a proceeding. The formation of a 
 new Ministry would at the outside result in the removal of Hor- 
 mann and Gresser: why, then, use such high-sounding phrases 
 as "the formation of a new Ministry"? It would also be contrary 
 to usage. The King then requested me to suggest other Ministers 
 in place of Hormann and Gresser. He dropped the idea of having 
 Pracher and Lerchenfeld, to whom I emphatically objected; 
 but, on the other hand, he would not hear of Feder and Pfeufer. 
 I argued with him on the subject, and finally came to the conclu- 
 sion that after consulting with the Ministers, and after detailed 
 discussion with Hormann himself, " who would best be able to nom- 
 inate his successor," I should write to the King within the next 
 few days. 
 
 The King agrees to my laying a franchise measure before the 
 Chamber. Moreover, I am to make suggestions to Eisenhart * as 
 regards the form which the dismissal of the Ministers is to take, 
 and the form in which the memorial of the Ministers is to be 
 drawn up. 
 
 The King refused to entertain the proposal for a previous 
 conference with the Ultramontanes, for the irrefutable reason 
 that we were not dealing with a united party, and could therefore 
 not confer with party leaders, but only with private persons. 
 This the King asserted had been done to a sufficient extent bv 
 Eisenhart, and he would have nothing to do with their proposals. 
 The King assured me repeatedly of his particular confidence. 
 He was perfectly conversant with all the stories, intrigues, gossip, 
 &c. 
 
 To the King's Secretary Eisenhart. 
 
 Munich, December 5, 1869. 
 
 ... I spoke this morning at once with Lutz and Schlor; I 
 talked over the situation with the former and informed him of 
 
 * On September 21, 1869, the Ministerial Councillor Lipowsky was 
 removed from his post of Secretary to the King. Eisenhart, Councillor 
 of the Court of Appeal, took his place, and was made a Ministerial Coun- 
 cillor and Secretary to the King on January 5, 1870.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 383 
 
 his Majesty's decisions. I smoothed out the little difference 
 I have had with the latter, so that I think I shall get on with him 
 quite well now. Then I went to Hdrmann and communicated 
 his Majesty's wishes to him, and also informed Gresscr. We 
 had a Cabinet Council at one o'clock. Herr Pranckh and I re- 
 ported about our journey, and I informed all the Ministers of 
 the Cabinet that his Majesty accepted the resignation of the Min- 
 isters von Hormann and Gresser, but declined to accept the 
 resignation of the others. As regards the form, it was agreed 
 upon by the two gentlemen concerned, and by the other Ministers, 
 that it would be most suitable if you were to suggest to his Majesty 
 that he should signify his refusal of the resignation of those Min- 
 isters he wished to retain in office, and his acceptance of the 
 resignation of von Hormann and Gresser, under his Royal sign 
 manual. This might be done at the request of the whole Ministry. 
 But it might be advisable to send each of the retiring Ministers a 
 private note. I would also suggest that the two gentlemen be 
 consulted as to the possibility of their further service. The 
 administration of the two offices might be carried on by Councillors 
 of State. 
 
 As regards the appointment of new men to these offices, all 
 men of understanding whom I have consulted are of the opinion that 
 Herr von Feder is the most suitable man. I really know of no one 
 else. We have made such a concession to the Ultramontane party 
 in removing Hormann and Gresser that the further concession of 
 appointing a Minister with Ultramontane tendencies is quite 
 unnecessary. Feder is a Liberal, but has never given offence to the 
 Ultramontane party. I should prefer Count Hegnenberg, but I 
 have no doubt that he would refuse. 
 
 It would in any case be well for me to receive a telegraphic 
 reply. Then I could talk to Feder at once and the matter would 
 be settled. If it is postponed for some days the excitement 
 among the office seekers will increase. Every man who can write 
 his name believes at such times that he is fit to be a Minister, and 
 is dissatisfied if he is not nominated. 
 
 To the King. 
 
 Munich, December 5, 1869. 
 
 Your Majesty graciously requested me to make suggestions 
 to your Majesty with regard to the appointment of Ministers of 
 Education and of the Interior. As far as it was possible in this 
 short time, I have made the most searching inquiries. I have 
 consulted with experienced officials, and in particular, at your 
 Majesty's special request, with the late Minister of the Interior. 
 All are unanimously agreed that, at the present time, the most 
 suitable man for the office of Minister of the Interior is the Presi- 
 dent of the District Government of Ansbach, Herr von Feder. 
 In his favour it may be noted that he is a very cultured, experi- 
 enced, and thoroughly loyal official, that he possesses eloquence,
 
 384 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 and that his placability of character will be a guarantee that 
 he will give no offence to any one in the present difficult situation. 
 All the other State officials who by their rank would be 
 suitable to fill a Ministerial post, and whom I have discussed 
 with my colleagues, are in one way or another either not accept- 
 able to your Majesty, or useless, or impossible at the present junc- 
 ture. Under these circumstances, since your Majesty wishes to 
 put an end as soon as possible to this period of uncertainty, no 
 course is open to me but humbly to crave your Majesty's most 
 gracious permission to negotiate with President von Feder in your 
 Majesty's name. As regards the office of Minister of Public 
 Worship and Education, your Majesty has already commissioned 
 me to approach State Councillor von Schubert on the subject, 
 which I shall do to-morrow. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Munich, December 7, 1869. 
 
 Sunday Cabinet Council. Informed Hormann and Gresser 
 of his Majesty's decision to accept their resignation. Consulted 
 Schlor and Lutz in the evening. We decided to suggest President 
 Feder to the King. I reported to the King immediately. Went 
 early on Monday to Hegnenberg. He is not averse to being 
 Minister of the Interior. Wants twenty-four hours to think 
 it over. On Tuesday, the 7th, he sent me a letter from his doctor, 
 strongly dissuading him. I then telegraphed to Berg to ask 
 permission to negotiate with Feder. The King would have 
 nothing to do with Feder. I replied that I knew of no one else. 
 
 Summoned the Ministers to a Council to-morrow morning at 
 ten. Negotiated with Schubert to-day, who makes difficulties 
 and pleads that his health is too precarious. He will think the 
 matter over till to-morrow.* 
 
 Munich, December 9, 1869. 
 
 Spoke again to Hegnenberg this morning at the King's 
 request. He proved that it is impossible, as he suffers from a 
 heart affection which completely unfits him for any work. 
 
 Spoke to Marquard Barth. He is delighted to hear that I 
 am not going to form a coalition Ministry: he abhors Lerchen- 
 feld, Daxenberger, and Volderndorff. Approves of Feder and 
 Schubert. Also recommends Hohe ! Pfeufer, too, would be 
 acceptable to the Progressive party. 
 
 Went to Schubert in the afternoon. He was out, but came 
 to me later. He vacillates again, and wants further time for 
 consideration. 
 
 Telegraphed to Feder, who will come here. 
 
 Afternoon reception of diplomats; evening reception of 
 Ministers. 
 
 * According to a telegram to Eisenhart, dated December 8, he refused 
 on that day.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 385 
 
 December 10, 1869. 
 Spoke to Fcdcr at twelve. A timid bureaucrat, who has not 
 sufficient self-confidence to accept office. He went away promis- 
 ing an answer. I conferred with the Ministers, and wrote 
 to Fedcr telling him what we offer. In the evening he and Schu- 
 bert sent refusals. Wrote to Eisenhart suggesting Pfeufer 
 as an ultimum refugium. 
 
 Munich, December 15, 1869. 
 
 Decision of Cabinet Council : Convocation of the Chambers 
 necessary. Provisional appointment to the Ministry of the In- 
 terior not advisable. 
 
 Consequently, Minister of the Interior, Pfeufer or Braun 
 (direct election) ; Church and Education, Lutz. Sent report 
 to Hohenschwangau. Telegram with provisional announcement. 
 
 December 17. 
 
 Telegraphed to Eisenhart that Braun accepts. 
 
 In the Speech from the throne with which the Landtag was 
 opened on January 17, 1870, King Louis said in reference to the 
 party disputes during the elections : "The bitterness of the rivalry 
 between opposite parties has recently become very acute. Many 
 erroneous and disturbing notions have consequently been widely 
 disseminated. Confident of the patriotism and good sense of 
 you all, I indulge in the hope that the example of moderation 
 which you set to the country will materially contribute to its 
 pacification. 
 
 "I am aware that many minds are filled with anxiety that the 
 just independence of Bavaria is menaced. This fear is ground- 
 less. All the treaties which I have concluded with Prussia and 
 the North German Confederation are known to the country. 
 In conformity with the treaty of alliance, to which I have pledged 
 my royal word, I, together with my powerful ally, will be answer- 
 able for the honour of Bavaria, if our duty calls us. 
 
 "Much as I wish and hope for the restoration of a national 
 federation of the German States, I will consent only to such 
 a combination of Germany as does not jeopardise the autonomy 
 of Bavaria. 
 
 "By upholding the independence of the Crown and the country 
 I am fulfilling a duty not merely to Bavaria, but to Germany. 
 The possibility of a prosperous development of a United Germany 
 on a firm foundation of Law can only be secured if the German 
 races do not voluntarily surrender." 
 
 A committee on January 18, 1870, was elected to draw 
 up an address to the King in answer to the Royal Speech. 
 This committee included, in addition to the Officers — the 
 First President, nominated by the King, Freiherr von Stauffen- 
 berg the Second President, elected by the Chamber, Freiherr von 
 
 VOL. I — 2 C
 
 386 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Thungen; and the two Secretaries, also elected by the Chamber, 
 Reichsrat von Niethammer and Count von Lerchenfeld — three 
 members specially elected for this purpose, namely, the president 
 of the Protestant Supreme Consistory, von Harless, Freiherr von 
 Aretin and Reichsrat von Bomhard. Paragraphs 4 and 5 in the 
 draft proposed by the committee ran as follows: "Sincere loyalty 
 to your Majesty and unshaken fidelity to the country and its inde- 
 pendent development have produced among the majority of the 
 people a feeling of mistrust, to which the result of the elections 
 has given expression — a feeling accentuated by the party spirit 
 of the Ministry. 
 
 "The noble words of your Majesty are calculated to calm 
 excited feelings; but thorough confidence will not be restored 
 until your Majesty succeeds in finding as advisers of the Crown 
 men who combine good intentions with firm action and possess 
 alike the confidence of your Majesty and of the country." 
 
 After the Second President, Freiherr von Thungen, in the 
 general debate on the draft address, had supported a vote of 
 censure on the policy of Prince Hohenlohe, the latter replied: 
 "Since the Second President has yielded to my wish that I should 
 be given an opportunity of meeting the charges which are con- 
 tained in the address, I will avail myself of it. I cannot but feel 
 a certain surprise that the members of the honourable committee 
 are now for the first time filled with this distrust of His Majesty's 
 Government, although they have been for three years in opposition 
 to this same Ministry without having shown any sign of want of 
 confidence. On the contrary, the most important and most 
 momentous act of the Ministry, of which I have the honour to 
 be head — the renewal, that is, of the Zollverein — was passed 
 with the approval of the majority of the honourable House, in 
 which the majority of the members of the committee were. Two 
 years have since elapsed. During that period not a single act 
 of my official career has been subjected to any criticism whatever ; 
 and I imagine that you would not have neglected to criticise if 
 any reasons for so doing had existed. 
 
 "The Chambers separated for the last time in May last. 
 
 "What new events have occurred since to justify the censure 
 which it is now proposed to pass on the Ministers? 
 
 "The Second President says that there are no definite facts, 
 but a succession of small facts which, combined together, justify 
 the want of confidence. 
 
 "The Second President has called attention to my attitude in 
 the Tariff Parliament. An opportunity is thus afforded me of 
 throwing light on the attacks to which in this connection I have 
 been exposed in a portion of the Press. It is a question of the 
 speech which I made on the occasion of my election to the post 
 of Vice-President.* I beg my opponents to recall to their mem- 
 ory what I then said. I pointed out the fact that I owed my elec- 
 
 * See page 342.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 387 
 
 tion to that post to the confidence which the members of the 
 Tariff Parliament reposed in me, and I inferred that this con- 
 fidence was due to the work I had done outside my duties as a 
 member of that Parliament. 
 
 "I denned my work by saying that it aimed at promoting the 
 unity, reconciliation, and agreement of the German races. I can- 
 not understand how such efforts can be stigmatised as crimes by 
 the organs of the so-called patriotic party. 
 
 "However, I will now leave the small facts and proceed to the 
 real gist of the matter. 
 
 "President Freiherr von Thungen has publicly stated that the 
 censure was especially intended for me, and that the want of 
 confidence extended to my whole political attitude and views for 
 the last twenty years. 
 
 "If then, my Lords — I am addressing the honourable members 
 or the Committee — you had hitherto found no fault with the 
 Ministry, I may assume that you did so because you felt you could 
 not do so with success. 
 
 "I need not trouble to defend myself further against such 
 charges, but I owe it to myself to cast a glance on my whole politi- 
 cal career during the last three years. And I am the more induced 
 to do so from the admirable and thoughtful words of his Royal 
 Highness, Duke Karl Theodor of Bavaria.* My Lords, I will not 
 go back to events previous to 1866. I will not inquire whether 
 the fate which befell Bavaria in the year 1866 might not have 
 been avoided by a timely adoption of the proposals affecting the 
 reform of the German Federal Constitution. These proposals 
 were not adopted by the Government of that day with the prompti- 
 tude necessary to lead to satisfactory results. The Second Presi- 
 dent was perfectly right in referring me to my former action in 
 this honourable House. I did not fail to utter warnings, which 
 were, however, disregarded. Bavaria was therefore taken unpre- 
 pared by the events of the year 1866, and had to pay the penalty 
 for previous political mistakes. 
 
 "The position of Bavaria at the close of the year 1866 was 
 miserable. The bond which had hitherto united the German States 
 was snapped, the Germanic Confederation was dissolved, Austria 
 had withdrawn from all close connections with Germany, the 
 Zollverein was announced, and Bavaria, accordingly, was not only 
 menaced in her political position, but exposed to the danger of 
 seeing her economic interests damaged. The North German 
 States were partly incorporated into Prussia, partly on the point 
 of entering the closer Federation. The terms of the Peace of 
 
 * Duke Karl Theodor had emphasised "the necessity of the restora- 
 tion of a national confederation embracing the whole of Germany," and 
 had testified that the previous administration of foreign affairs had unceas- 
 ingly aimed at the twofold purpose of maintaining the independence of 
 Bavaria and of establishing a federal Constitution which should embrace 
 the whole of Germany. On these grounds he had refused to add his name 
 to the vote of censure contained in the proposed address.
 
 388 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Prague offered the South German States the consolation of being 
 able to join a union, whose national connection with the North 
 was preferred to a closer agreement between the two. 
 
 "In August 1866, I had called the attention of this honourable 
 House to the dangers which would arise from such a position of 
 affairs. I have not a word to retract from what I then said in 
 the House. I advised it to use the opportunity, while things 
 were not yet fixed, of promoting the union of the South German 
 States with North Germany, before the North German Con- 
 federation was concluded. 
 
 "I said: 'If the structure of the North German Confederation 
 is ready we shall either be excluded, or we must accept terms 
 which may prejudice the rights of the dynasty and the country. 
 The honourable House and the Government were not of my 
 opinion, and when, at the end of the year 1866, I entered the 
 Ministry, the foundations of the North German Confederation 
 were laid, and the annexations to Prussia complete.' 
 
 "I could not advise any entrance into a Confederation so 
 constituted. 
 
 " The explanations which I gave in January 1867 leave no doubt 
 as to the views of the' Government on the question of non- 
 entrance into the North German Confederation. But it would 
 have been a mistake if the aim of the Bavarian policy had con- 
 sisted in mere expectancy, and I did not wait until proposals 
 were made to me. 
 
 "I at once opened the negotiations with the South German 
 States, which are well known to you and which were intended to 
 organise the military forces of the South German States on an equal 
 basis, so that they would represent a national and formidable 
 power. This led to the Treaty of Stuttgart in February 1867. 
 
 "But my Lords, if it is incontestable that the secondary states 
 of Germany owe their existence not so much to their power as to 
 their historical and stipulated rights, it was my bounden duty to 
 find once more as soon as possible a basis of stipulated rights for 
 the position of these States. This was the reason for the negotia- 
 tions with Wiirtemberg and Baden about a constitutional scheme, 
 which aimed at the establishment of a further federation for the 
 South German States with the North German Confederation. 
 
 "In the autumn of the year 1867 I gave exhaustive information 
 on the subject, but before this treaty was concluded the Zollverein 
 was concluded on its new basis. I could not even then conceal 
 from myself that the development and reorganisation of the 
 Zollverein must be awaited before it could be determined whether 
 the constitutional scheme which lay at the root of those negotia- 
 tions contained the elements of vitality. The experiences which 
 we had within the reconstituted Zollverein showed that the con- 
 stitutional scheme in its original form had no prospect of being 
 realised.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 389 
 
 "If the charge is brought against me that I never attempted to 
 apply the most successful means for the maintenance of the 
 independence of the South German States — the establishment, that 
 is, of the South German Confederation — - it will not be difficult for 
 me to answer it. A South German Confederation is necessarily 
 made up of the South German States which are parties to it. 
 
 "You know that Baden was unfavourably disposed to a South 
 German Confederation. But even in Wurtemberg there was no 
 prospect of the foundation of a South German Confederation, 
 although a large party in Wurtemberg had included a South 
 German Confederation in its programme. The Government of 
 Wurtemberg, some time before, had repeatedly expressed in the 
 Chambers its emphatic disapproval of this measure, and you, 
 my lords, will not in any way expect me to evade the Wurtemberg 
 Government and extend my hand to that South German party. 
 
 "But even if a Southern Confederation with a South German 
 Parliament and a South German Executive is an impossibility, I 
 consider even at the present day that the true goal at which a 
 Bavarian Minister should aim is to prepare way for the closest 
 possible union of the South German States and the combined action 
 of them all in ever}' political question; and in this connection I 
 think that I may assert that I did more than any Bavarian Minis- 
 ter has ever accomplished. 
 
 "The founding of the South German Fortress Commission and 
 the conclusion of the Liquidation negotiations furnish the clearest 
 proof of my words. 
 
 "The result was the creation of the only South German institu- 
 tion which has appeared for- fifty years. I cannot judge whether 
 this institution meets with your approval. For my part, I believe 
 that in thus acting I acted not only for the interests of Bavaria, 
 but of Germany, since the execution of the treaty of alliance was 
 facilitated by this arrangement." 
 
 At the close of the general discussion the Prince said: "My 
 Lords, — I will plainly tell you what I regard as the ground of your 
 vote of censure. Your speakers have joined a party which talks, 
 indeed, of treaties of alliance, but in the bottom of its heart re- 
 proaches me with loyally carrying out the treaty with the North 
 German Confederation. Only in this way can I explain to myself 
 the vote of censure which you are formulating; and if I so explain 
 it I must accept it as an honourable testimony to my political 
 exertions." 
 
 The vote of censure and the whole address were accepted by 
 the Chamber, with some immaterial verbal alterations. Twelve 
 members voted against it, among them Duke Karl Theodor of 
 Bavaria. The other Royal Princes — namely, Prince Otto, Prince 
 Luitpold, Prince Ludwig, Prince Leopold, Prince Adalbert, and 
 Duke Ludwig of Bavaria — voted for the address.
 
 390 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 In consequence of a Royal message of February i, 1870, neither 
 the address nor the deputation elected to convey it were received. 
 The message ran as follows : 
 
 "The address of the Upper House, by marked attacks on the 
 general constitution of the present Ministry without any conceiv- 
 able foundation either in fact or law, has failed to respond to that 
 spirit of reconciliation which I expressed to the representatives of 
 the country in my Royal Speech, and consequently I am precluded 
 from accepting it. I shall not for that reason fail to restore to 
 the country that tranquillity which the predominance of party 
 feeling has disturbed. The first President of the Chamber of 
 the Reichsrath is at once to be informed of my resolution." 
 
 The debate on the address in the Chamber of Deputies began 
 on January 29, 1870. The vote of censure on Prince Hohenlohe 
 was formulated as follows in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the draft 
 address : 
 
 "Your Majesty's phrase, 'All the treaties which I have con- 
 cluded with Prussia and the North German Confederation are 
 known to the country,' offers good hope for the calming of the minds 
 of the people which have been agitated by a hard fate. No in- 
 ducement will ever tempt our nation to break a treaty. 
 
 "But we live in a time in which serious crises are impending, 
 when there can hardly be any talk of European rights. Treaties 
 with Prussia are usually capable of more than one interpretation, 
 and the possible interpretations spread anxiety among the people. 
 From these circumstances arises the involuntary wish to possess an 
 administrator of our foreign affairs who would enjoy the confidence 
 of the country." 
 
 Immediately after the beginning of the general debate the 
 Prince made the following speech : 
 
 " Gentlemen, — The proposed address desires an administrator 
 of the foreign affairs of Bavaria who would enjoy the confidence 
 of the country. That clearly means that I do not enjoy that con- 
 fidence. 
 
 "The address does not give reasons for this; it designates 
 the wish as 'involuntary,' and refers in general terms to imminent 
 crises, and to the possible interpretations of which the treaties 
 concluded with Prussia are usually capable. 
 
 "I cannot proceed into this field of subjective, involuntary 
 feelings of antipathy and sympathy. If the honourable reporter * 
 and his partisans, and with them the majority of the Committee, 
 do not consider me competent to interpret, and perhaps misinter- 
 pret, the treaties with Prussia in a way which meets the ideas of 
 his political friends, I will not dispute on the point. 
 
 "But I would wish to give some solid basis to the debate, and, 
 
 therefore, I beg permission to lay before you in brief words my 
 
 political work during my three years' tenure of office. But in 
 
 doing so I must call your attention to the principles with which I 
 
 * Edmund Jorg, editor of the Historischpolitische Blatter.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 391 
 
 entered the Ministry, and demonstrate that I remained true to 
 these principles. 
 
 "The principles, then, which I declared when His Majesty the 
 King placed me three years ago at the head of the Government 
 are those which the latest Royal Speech firmly and distinctly de- 
 clares. I do not require to defend them; the draft address agrees 
 so emphatically with these principles that nothing is left to bedesired. 
 
 "Gentlemen, the keynote of my policy may be expressed in two 
 sentences — the connection of the South German States with the 
 North, and the maintenance of the independence of Bavaria. 
 
 "If you examine the proceedings of the Bavarian Chambers 
 since the year 1848, you will hardly find a debate of general politi- 
 cal import in which the national idea did not find expression. 
 This thought of the connection of the German peoples, 
 the restoration of the national union, lost none of its importance 
 through the events of the year 1866. The very danger of the 
 position into which the Secondary States were brought by those 
 events — the destruction of the Germanic Confederation — 
 strengthened the demand that this position should be made secure. 
 Starting from the principle that the Secondary States owed their 
 position, not to their power, but to their stipulated and historical 
 rights, the Government was compelled to take into consideration the 
 necessity of restoring to them as soon as possible that basis of 
 stipulated rights. We were then the weaker party in Germany, 
 and history teaches us that the weaker party, when in an un- 
 favourable position, gains nothing by waiting, but only loses. 
 For this reason I have always endeavoured to carry out the pro- 
 visions of the Preliminary Convention of Nikolsburg, which formed 
 at the time the foundation of the German policy; and whoever 
 is called upon to administer foreign affairs in Bavaria will learn by 
 experience that the later the national union between the North and 
 the South of Germany is settled by convention the greater will be 
 the sacrifices which Bavaria will be forced to make. 
 
 The practical application of my principles which I have just 
 explained was at once apparent on the renewal of the Zollverein. 
 If we had then abandoned any economic union with the North, if 
 we consequently had taken up a separate position, which not only 
 in reference to economic interest, but also in reference to our 
 whole political position, would have become an isolated position, 
 there is no possible doubt that we should have been forced to sur- 
 render this position in a short time, and with far greater sacrifices 
 of our independence. 
 
 "Gentlemen, I am proud of having, then, brought these nego- 
 tiations to a successful conclusion, and of having been able to 
 obtain the consent of the two Chambers to the Zollverein Treaty, 
 and of having hindered that severance of the South — or, to 
 express myself more accurately, since Wiirtemberg and Baden 
 had agreed to the renewal of the Zollverein Treaty, that severance 
 of Bavaria — from the rest of Germany.
 
 392 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 "A further question to which those principles applied was the 
 uniform organisation of the German military system. 
 
 "I lament with you the burdens which are imposed upon the 
 nation for military purposes; but, gentlemen, little welcome as 
 the assertion may sound to your ears, these burdens are neces- 
 sary in order to save Bavaria from the fate of finding herself 
 defenceless in the hour of danger, and of then being forced to 
 make sacrifices in comparison with which the outlay which we 
 now require for the Army would be a mere trifle. Moreover these 
 burdens cannot be diminished, for the reason that we wish to 
 fulfil the obligations which are imposed on us by the national 
 interests of Germany. The treaties which South Germany had 
 concluded with Prussia to maintain the integrity of German terri- 
 tory were in existence when I took office, and I do not wish to 
 let this opportunity pass without meeting a charge which had 
 been made against me in the Press. I take occasion to state 
 emphatically that I never denied these treaties. If in my speech 
 of January 19, 1867, when I was still bound to keep the secret, I 
 represented the contents of those treaties to be that to which 
 Bavaria had to aspire from general political grounds, no blame 
 can possibly attach to me for so doing. The proposed address so 
 distinctly asserts that a breach of treaty is impossible in Bavaria 
 that I will not waste another word on this point. 
 
 "But, gentlemen, there are two ways of breaking a treaty — an 
 open way and an underhand way. If the treaty of alliance is not 
 to be illusory, the military strength of the South must be brought 
 to the level of that of the North, not because the text of the treaty 
 of alliance lays this obligation on us, but from an independ- 
 ent resolution, and because Bavaria owes it to her position and 
 her own worth to be a valuable ally. But because I always attached 
 especial importance to the common action of the South, in order 
 to arrange such an organisation as uniformly as possible for 
 South Germany, the Convention of Stuttgart in February, 1867, was 
 concluded, which was followed by the treaty of October 10, 1868, 
 and by the negotiations of the Liquidation Committee in this sum- 
 mer, the results of which are well known. If it appears from this 
 that the Government has done anything to secure Germany from 
 further disintegration — and its action, I may safely boast, has 
 indisputably contributed to the maintenance of the peace of 
 Europe — no one, certainly, will be in a position to find anything in 
 all these transactions which encroaches on the independence of 
 Bavaria and prejudices the rights of the Crown or the country. 
 My further efforts to bring the German question to some definite 
 solution are well known to you. I have given a full statement of 
 them on previous occasions. Whatever opinions may be held 
 on the matter, the future will teach this one lesson — that no 
 Bavarian Minister will succeed in finding any way to fulfil the 
 duty which is imposed on him by the contents of the Nikols- 
 burg Preliminaries and to harmonise national union with
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 393 
 
 the independence to which Bavaria is entitled except that which 
 I have followed. 
 
 Gentlemen, the practical politicians of this House will admit 
 that it cannot be the duty of the Government of a State placed in 
 the position of Bavaria to devote itself to the barren task of ob- 
 taining recognition for theoretical essays whose acceptance depends 
 not on the intrinsic value of the composition, but on the political 
 situation in Europe. The scheme of the so-called South German 
 Confederation falls within this theoretical category. When the 
 Nikolsburg Preliminaries laid down the point that the German 
 States lying to the south of the course of the Main should form 
 a union, &c, the thought — and, indeed, the wish — to change in 
 this way the existing temporary measure into a definitive enactment 
 was amply justified. If you consider the Southern Confederation 
 more closely — you may call it a South German National Union 
 or what you will, so long as you do not understand by it a mere 
 chimera, but a living constitutionally constructed organism — you 
 will admit that it cannot be realised unless the separate States 
 which compose it renounce some portion of their sovereign rights. 
 Both the legislative and the executive power of the in- 
 dividual States would have to be restricted in favour of the 
 collective power of the Confederation. To give but one 
 instance: Bavaria, Wtirtemberg, or Baden would not have a 
 foreign representative, but there would necessarily be a repre- 
 sentative of the South German Confederation. This would be 
 no disadvantage for Bavaria, which assumes a dominant position 
 in the South German Confederation by the number of her 
 inhabitants. But the question is whether our neighbours would 
 be willing to consent to the limitation of their autonomy in favour 
 of a Southern Confederation. This question, so far as Wtirtem- 
 berg is concerned, was answered by the speech of the Wtirtem- 
 berg Foreign Minister in the sitting of the Chamber on 
 December 19, 1868. He said: 'I ask you, gentlemen, do you 
 wish on behalf of Wtirtemberg to entrust these matters to the 
 hands of a Confederation in which you are in a dwindling 
 minority? Do you wish that Bavaria shall prescribe to you the 
 management of your railways and postal system. Do you wish 
 orders to be given you by Bavaria in these matters? Is that the 
 opinion of this honourable House? I shall never believe that, 
 and the whole Wtirtemberg nation would rise against such an 
 experiment, if it had ever to bear the consequences.' 
 
 "If it is retorted that this was only the view of the Wtirtemberg 
 Minister, I would remind you that Wtirtemberg is not an absolute 
 monarchy governed by Freiherr von Varnbtiler, but a constitu- 
 tional State in which Freiherr von Varnbtiler had then the 
 majority of the popular representation with him — and still has, 
 so far as I know. I will also quote the statement of another 
 Wtirtemberg Minister on the same subject. It is the speech of 
 Minister von Mittnacht. He said: 'A Southern Confederation
 
 394 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 such as the other side of the House would institute, a Southern 
 Confederation in which a Parliament divided against itself and torn 
 by factions would govern, would prove the most effective propa- 
 ganda for our rapid absorption into the Northern Confederation, 
 a contingency which would hardly be averted by the imaginary 
 citizen army of several millions of combatants.' 
 
 "These are the authoritative views as to the Southern Con- 
 federation in Wurtemberg, and I do not believe that a change of 
 Ministry in Wurtemberg would effect any alteration in them. 
 The Wiirtemberger will reluctantly renounce the independence and 
 autonomy of his country in favour, perhaps, of a German 
 republic, or, possibly, of a combined German monarchy, but 
 never in favour of a Southern Confederation consisting of Bavaria, 
 Wurtemberg, and Baden, such as the supporters of that scheme 
 fondly imagine. But if the Southern Confederation meets with 
 insuperable difficulties in Wurtemberg, you will admit that, in 
 Baden, impossibility stares it in the face. 
 
 "I have now stated to you the policy that I have hitherto 
 followed, and shown how I could not follow any other. I have 
 always explained that the constitution of the North German 
 Confederation is organised in a way that precludes Bavaria from 
 accepting it. I have held this standpoint in all my political 
 actions. But, gentlemen, though I admit that the national idea 
 may be entertained to a degree which is incompatible with the 
 duty of a Bavarian Minister, you will not forget that the idea of 
 the independence of Bavaria may be considered to a degree 
 incompatible with the duties which are incumbent on us all from 
 the fact that Bavaria forms a part of our great German Fatherland. 
 The boundary is here accurately fixed, and you need not expect that 
 I shall ever step over it ; I shall never ally myself with the centrifugal 
 elements which are now making themselves felt in South Germany. 
 
 " The proposed address admits that no other policy was possible 
 for Bavaria than that which has been followed by the present 
 Government. The address professes agreement with all the 
 principles which the royal speech announced — principles which we 
 have carried out for three years at the command of his Majesty 
 the King. But in this connection the address states that the views 
 of the present Foreign Minister inspire no confidence in the coun- 
 try. I do not believe that any one would ever succeed in proving 
 to me by facts that I have merited this personal want of confidence 
 in my loyalty towards the dynasty or the country. If, however, 
 this want of confidence consists in the idea that I am incapable of 
 playing a double game, that I am incapable of pretending for 
 years to entertain friendly feelings towards North Germany and of 
 changing these into hostility on a suitable occasion, then this want 
 of confidence has some basis. Of such a policy I am not capable ; 
 but I can ask that my opponents declare openly, distinctly, and 
 categorically that this is the reason why I do not possess the confi- 
 dence of the patriotic party."
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 395 
 
 Prince Hohcnlohe replied on February 4 to various remarks 
 of "patriotic" speakers with reference to the circular of April 9, 
 1869, as follows: "... I must ask you to regard my behaviour 
 with reference to the Council merely from the point of view of 
 the simple execution of my duty. When in the year 1868 I first 
 was informed that the Council was summoned, it was my neces- 
 sary duty to define the attitude which the Government would 
 have to adopt towards the Council. I consulted history on the 
 point, and discovered that at the last Council, the Council of 
 Trent, the Governments had taken part in the deliberations. 
 I refer you to the action of the Bavarian Minister, Paumgartner, 
 who, as is well known, took a prominent part in the deliberations 
 of the Council, and made himself conspicuous by proposing the 
 abolition of celibacy. It is obvious that in our day there can be 
 no question of such action. But, according to the reports which 
 I received from Rome, the question of this participation of the 
 Governments in the Council would seem by no means settled. 
 
 "The reports in the summer of 1868 all showed that Cardinal 
 Antonelli was then in doubt whether an invitation would be ac- 
 corded to the Governments to take part in the Council. We were 
 compelled, therefore, to contemplate our being invited to the 
 Council. This was therefore a distinct reason why the Govern- 
 ment was pledged to go more closely into the matter and to 
 confer with the other European Governments in order that a 
 uniform attitude towards the Council might be adopted. A 
 second reason why the Government should give its attention to 
 the Council was the subject of the impending discussion. On 
 this point semi-official communications from Rome were volun- 
 teered to us, in which the views held by a very powerful party in 
 Rome were laid down. These were the Civilta Cattolica and the 
 Laacher Blaster. The statements in those journals as to the in- 
 tentions ascribed to the Council could not but fill the Govern- 
 ment with some anxiety. This was the reason why I turned to 
 the other Governments and called attention to the dangers which 
 might proceed from such resolutions; and at the same time I 
 proposed that a general discussion should be held as to the method 
 on which such resolutions, which were calculated to separate 
 Church and State, might best be opposed. There was absolutely 
 no purpose hostile to the Church in all this. In order to 
 stand on firm ground, the theological as well as the legal faculties 
 were invited to express their opinions. These were published 
 by the Press, and snowed that the apprehensions of the Govern- 
 ment were well founded. Herr Westermayer, a deputy, has 
 asked what happened in the interval to justify the action of the 
 Government. I will not weary you with details, but will only ask 
 you, when the sitting is over, to read the Allgemeine Zeitung of 
 to-day, in which you will find the Schema de Ecclesia Christi* 
 
 * The Schema de Ecclesia, composed by the Jesuit Perrone, revived 
 the claims of the Popes to the supremacy over princes and nations 
 (Friedrich, Das Vatikanische Konzil, vol. iii. p. 542).
 
 396 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 I think that whoever carefully peruses this Schema, which is to be 
 submitted to the deliberations of the Council, will have no doubt 
 that the germ of a conflict between State and Church may well 
 exist in it." 
 
 The Prince replied to the confirmation of the vote of censure 
 by Herr Jorg on February 5 as follows : 
 
 "... The honourable member said at the beginning of the 
 debate on the address that the eyes of Europe are fixed on this 
 House. He is right, gentlemen. The decision which you will to- 
 day make will be of far-reaching importance — not because the 
 events of this Kingdom are of such great weight for the world, 
 but because the struggle which has been fought here for the 
 last week forms a part of the great struggle which is at the present 
 time convulsing the world. It is the contest between the two ideas, 
 one of which sees something permanent and profitable in the modern 
 constitutional State and in the completely free development of the ex- 
 isting conditions, while the other abhors this modem State and the 
 whole modern development, and looks for the salvation of mankind in 
 the reconstruction of the State on other foundations, in a reconstruc- 
 tion which will be completed and supported by the Church, reorgan- 
 ised in an absolutist spirit. In such a struggle it would be the 
 most useless of all efforts to try to alter firm convictions by words. 
 My judgment is not affected by the assurances of those who disavow 
 any such intentions as I have described, nor by the brilliant speech 
 of a most worthy member, who makes the reconciliation of Liberal- 
 ism with the Church his life's work, but who will certainly meet with 
 the same fate as all those have met who have made the same efforts. 
 Then, gentlemen, I cannot divest myself of the thought that some 
 part of the Opposition make common cause with the enemies of the 
 modern State only because they have succeeded in using for their 
 objects that excitement which filled men's minds through the 
 events of the year 1866. This excitement, however, depends 
 partially on the anxiety induced by the present condition of Ger- 
 many, now that the bond is snapped which held the German 
 nations together, down to the year 1866. It depends, further, 
 on the fear of the efforts of those persons who try to give definite 
 expression to the national idea without taking into account the 
 given facts and feelings of the people. 
 
 "I have honestly tried for three years to lift Bavaria out of this 
 condition of uncertainty. I have tried now, and actually before 
 the time when an announcement of the Zollverein can be made, 
 to return to a state of affairs defined by treaty. Various speakers 
 have thought that any union of the South German States with 
 the North on a treaty basis is an evil. But I cannot assume this 
 to be the conviction of the whole party. Otherwise your assur- 
 ances in the fourth clause of the draft address would not deserve 
 that degree of credence which I would gladly extend to you as due 
 to a loyal antagonist. 
 
 "You profess that you wish and demand a national union of
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 397 
 
 the German nations, and I may assume that it is not your desire to 
 banish this wish and hope into a shadowy remoteness and an 
 age in which, through unsuspected events, impossible to foresee, 
 not merely the basis of the treaties for peace in 1866 would be 
 put aside, but the whole course of the development of the 
 German States for centuries would be reversed. But if, gentle- 
 men, you do not wish to wait for this, there is only one means 
 of attaining this national union, and that is the means which the 
 Bavarian Government has attempted. It is the method of pre- 
 paring a constitutional union of the South with the North by 
 treaties — by acts, that is, of sovereigns possessing equal rights. 
 ... I must once more emphasise the fact, in answer to the asser- 
 tions of the honourable Reporter, that I never, even in August 
 1866,* pronounced in favour of admission into the North German 
 Confederation. The North German Confederation was not then 
 concluded, and the honourable gentleman would have found 
 in the course of my remarks on that occasion that I spoke in 
 favour of closer relations with the North of Germany just because 
 at that time it was not yet impossible to obtain terms which might 
 have been compatible with the independence of Bavaria. You will 
 perhaps consider such an assumption foolish ; but I must beg you 
 not to forget that I was not yet Minister, and as a private member 
 could not possess complete knowledge of all actual conditions. 
 Further I do not hold that admission into the North German 
 Confederation is merely a question of time, as the honourable 
 member, Herr Pfahler, imputes to me. I have so often and so care- 
 fully balanced the arguments — and they are not merely financial 
 arguments, as the same speaker thought, which prevent me from 
 regarding the constitution of the North German Confederation as 
 the appropriate form of a national union for us South Germans 
 — that I need say no more. But, gentlemen, it is absolutely 
 impossible to create a national league at all if no rights, no objects, 
 no legislation, if nothing, in fact, which the individual State looked 
 after for itself, is to be looked after for the future by the whole body 
 of States; and I do not consider the independence of Bavaria 
 endangered if she submits certain affairs to a common administra- 
 tion, in which administration, however — and this is the crucial 
 point — Bavaria has as many rights and can cast as decisive a vote 
 as any other State. I agree with the honourable chairman that 
 we should not entrust the superintendence of these affairs and 
 the incidental legislation to Federal officials such as stand at the 
 head of the North German Confederation, and amongst whom 
 Bavaria would have no other powers except that only some six 
 or eight votes could support her in the Federal Council 
 or accept a situation which would mean that in the 
 Reichstag, the minority of fifty Bavarian representatives would 
 be lost in the bulk of the North Germans. In my speech of Oc- 
 tober 8, 1867, I did not say, as the honourable Reporter thinks, 
 
 * See p. 161.
 
 398 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 that I was endeavouring to transfer these rights and powers to the 
 North German Parliament ; indeed, I consider the organisation 
 of the North German Confederation and the resulting method of 
 dealing with the Federal affairs not calculated to bring under her 
 influence affairs which had been planned in common. I en- 
 deavoured to obtain in these negotiations, and to define by treaty a 
 joint control of all affairs in the management of which the individual 
 South German States had been recognised as equal factors. That 
 was what the negotiations which I conducted with the South 
 German States had in view — for absolutely no negotiations had 
 taken place with the North German Confederation — with refer- 
 ence to a further federation between South and North Germany. 
 For this reason the speech I then made expressly called the league 
 at which we aimed a National Confederation. You know on 
 what rock these negotiations were wrecked. The attempt to 
 found a South German National Union, under which hypothesis 
 the resolutions of the Nikolsburg Preliminaries with respect to a 
 national alliance with the North of Germany were alone to be 
 carried out, has not hitherto been successful. There are political 
 situations in which the will of the individual — indeed, the will of 
 a State — shows itself inadequate. The difficulties which beset a 
 satisfactory reorganisation of Germany have to some extent been 
 increased by the course which the renewal of the Zollverein has 
 taken. I endeavoured then to effect a reconstruction of the 
 Zollverein on a different and more federal basis. But my pro- 
 posals remained isolated at Berlin, and if we did not wish to 
 abandon the Zollverein we were compelled to assent to its new 
 form. The way then lay open to leave the German Union and 
 to take up an isolated position both in economic and political 
 affairs. The way lay open for us to become self-absorbed. I 
 should not have been able to assent to such a policy, and I was 
 prepared, in the summer of 1867, when I came back from Berlin, 
 and before the Tariff Treaty was concluded, to resign my office. 
 I left the decision to his Majesty the King and to the 
 country. His Majesty the King and the country pronounced 
 emphatically in favour of receiving the Zollverein on the basis 
 proposed by Prussia. In this way the position of Germany as 
 regards federation was rendered appreciably more difficult, 
 and you will understand that the idea of the Southern Confed- 
 eration was not advanced thereby. 
 
 "I am pleased to take this opportunity of stating that the 
 honourable Reporter has expressed his view that no one except 
 myself would have brought about the Southern Confederation. 
 But if the honourable member, Herr Greil, understood that I did 
 not consider the Southern Confederation advisable because the 
 independence of the individual States was thereby menaced, the 
 honourable member has misunderstood me. I have only pointed 
 out the difficulties which face the construction of the Southern Con- 
 federation from the fact that it cannot be formed unless each
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 399 
 
 of the South German States renounces some part of its indepen- 
 dence, some part of its autonomy. I added that Bavaria could 
 make this sacrifice, since we were the strongest Power within the 
 Southern League, and the sacrifices thus made would be balanced 
 by the position which Bavaria would assume in the Southern 
 League. I further added that Wurtemberg and Baden had little 
 reason to make such a renunciation. 
 
 "Herr Greil wishes neither for the Federal State nor the Na- 
 tional Federation, nor even that ' we should lean against the palace 
 of the North German Confederation.' Thus the further league at 
 which I aimed was condemned, and a waiting policy was proclaimed 
 as the true Bavarian policy. It is possible that we shall be tem- 
 porarily driven to adopt that policy. But, gentlemen, there are 
 for us two kinds of waiting. The one consists in our frankly 
 accepting the given conditions, and in our not regarding them as 
 things which are once more to be destroyed, in our carefully 
 observing whether and when the moment will come at which 
 we can co-operate in the great national task while safeguarding 
 the rights and interests of our own smaller Fatherland. There 
 is another kind of waiting, which consists in impatiently 
 searching for the moment when what has been done may be 
 undone, when events may be put back and vengeance taken for 
 past sufferings. You will understand, gentlemen, that I do not 
 sympathize with this kind of waiting ; if I did I should contradict 
 my whole political past. 
 
 "I cannot conclude without meeting one more charge which 
 has been brought against me by the honourable Reporter ; that is, 
 my much-discussed speech in the Tariff Parliament. I believe 
 that the honourable Reporter has not read out the whole speech ; I 
 believe the conclusion was forgotten. The last sentence begins : 
 'The confidence reposed in me by this honourable Assembly will 
 
 give me the strength to persevere ' This opening sentence 
 
 was read by the honourable Reporter, but not the conclusion, 
 which ran : ' in the effort to work with all my strength for the 
 amity, reconciliation, and unity of the German peoples.' 
 
 "Gentlemen, I did not make this declaration at a meeting in 
 a foreign country; I made it at a meeting which was held in 
 Berlin to discuss the treaty of July 7, 1867 ; I made it in a German 
 parliament. I did not speak in the spirit of the National Liberal 
 party, but I characterised my course of action when I said I 
 should continue to work for the reconciliation, union, and amity 
 of the German peoples, and so far I could refer to my policy as 
 Bavarian Foreign Minister. Surely, gentlemen, things have come 
 to a sad pass if a man cannot speak of the reconciliation and 
 unity of German peoples without exposing himself to the re- 
 proaches of a section of his German fellow-citizens. I am con- 
 vinced that no Minister could have spoken otherwise. But I will 
 tell you how some Minister, after the heart of the honourable
 
 4 oo MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Reporter, would have been compelled to speak. He must have 
 said, or at least have thought : ' Thanks to my efforts, thanks to 
 the efforts of the Press and my party, it is not possible to speak 
 in this room of the reconciliation, amity, and unity of the German 
 peoples.' Gentlemen, I am proud that I could not speak, and 
 never have spoken, in this strain." 
 
 King Ludwig to the Prince, February 6, 1870. 
 
 I have just read with great interest the masterly and really 
 unanswerable speech which you delivered yesterday in the Second 
 Chamber, and while still under the spell of it, I feel compelled 
 to express to you my pleasure and my fullest and most cordial 
 approval. 
 
 May your emphatic and eloquent words succeed in dispersing 
 the last clouds of the distrust which has unfortunately not yet 
 been entirely banished. 
 
 May you persevere in your honourable office, supported by the 
 consciousness of my unshaken confidence, and not plunge me by 
 your resignation into the dangers of some change of system, with its 
 inevitable disastrous consequences. With my most friendly greet- 
 ings to you and the Princess, I remain, with all sympathy, 
 
 Your devoted King, 
 
 Ludwig. 
 
 The section of the address containing the vote of censure was 
 adopted on February 10 by 77 votes against 62. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe to Prince Otto of Bavaria. 
 
 Munich, February 12, 1870. 
 
 May it Please Your Royal Highness, — Sir, — Your 
 Royal Highness will graciously allow me in the following letter to 
 discuss a matter of which only your Royal Highness can give the 
 necessary explanation. 
 
 In a number of the Donauzeitung of the 9th I find the following 
 passage: "The Kolnische Volkszeitung reports: The story is told 
 of Prince Otto that he came into the Chamber prepared to vote 
 against the address, but that before the beginning of the sitting 
 another prince of the Royal House requested him to examine in an 
 adjoining room documents which were intended to prove that 
 Prince Hohenlohe, Premier, had pledged himself to Count Bismarck 
 to act in a way which entailed danger to the independence of 
 Bavaria." 
 
 Your Royal Highness will agree with me that this article con- 
 tains the gravest charges which could be brought against a Bavarian 
 Minister, and that I am bound to meet such reports. I take the 
 liberty, therefore, respectfully to beg your Royal Highness to tell me
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 401 
 
 whether any occurrence could give colour to the above report, or 
 whether the whole matter is a mere invention. 
 
 Prince Otto of Bavaria to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Munich, February 13, 1870. 
 
 Your Highness, — In answer to your letter of the 12th, I am 
 glad to be able to assure your Highness that there is no truth what- 
 ever in the statement made in that article, and I authorise your 
 Highness to make use of this declaration in case you contradict the 
 above false report. At the same time I add the expression of my 
 sincere esteem, and remain, 
 
 Your Excellency's friend, 
 
 Otto. 
 Journal. 
 
 Council of Ministers on February 13, 1870. 
 
 The Ministers met to-day at eleven o'clock to discuss the situa- 
 tion. I opened the sitting with the remark that all the members 
 would agree with me that I could not remain in office. I should 
 not, however, have wished to proceed without informing my 
 colleagues. 
 
 Pfretzschner agreed to this, and in his vote called attention 
 to the fact that the Chamber of Deputies had not passed a vote of 
 censure on the other Ministers. 
 
 Senior began by saying that he would not, in my place, remain 
 a day longer in the Ministry. As regards the other Ministers, he 
 had carefully considered the case. They should not, on their side, 
 prefer their resignation ; that was a stale method of procedure. He 
 advised on the contrary that the remaining Ministers should hand in 
 to the King concurrently with my resignation a memorandum, in 
 which they should declare their views on the state of things. 
 
 Pranckh did not consider this method correct. The position 
 of the remaining Ministers would be untenable after my with- 
 drawal. They must all simultaneously send in their resignation, 
 and wait to see whether, on a new Ministry being formed, one or 
 the other would again find a place. He supported his view by 
 pointing to the attitude of the Upper House. 
 
 Lutz says : "As regards the determination of Prince Hohenlohe, 
 I must leave it entirely to him. If the Prince wishes to remain 
 in office, I will remain with him. To hand in a resignation and 
 then remain in office is mere farce." 
 
 After a long discussion of the pros and cons there was a 
 change of opinion, and it was admitted that they could not 
 remain in without me. 
 
 Finally it was resolved once more to consider the matter in 
 all its aspects. I declared also that I could not remain in office, 
 that I was in a different position, that no Minister could remain 
 after two votes of censure, and so on. 
 
 VOL. I — 2D
 
 4 02 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe to all the Ministers 
 with exception of the War Minister 
 
 Munich, February 14, 1870. 
 
 Your Excellencies, — I have the honour to inform you re- 
 spectfully that after a conference with the War Minister, and 
 after he had abandoned the scruples which he expressed in the 
 Ministerial Council of yesterday against my isolated procedure, 
 I have resolved to hand in my resignation this very day to his 
 Majesty. I find myself forced to this step from the reason that I 
 shall be received this evening by his Majesty, and it seems to 
 me essential that his Majesty should first have before him the 
 reasons which lead me to make this doubtful request. 
 
 To King Ludwig. 
 
 The hope which your Majesty was kind enough to express to 
 me in your Majesty's letter of the 6th instant, that it would be 
 possible to remove the existing mistrust of me, has unfortunately 
 not been realised. The party which after the result of the elections 
 composes the majority in the Chamber of Representatives is not, 
 in spite of every exertion, to be persuaded that this mistrust is 
 unfounded. The constitutional representatives of the country 
 have spoken against me in their majority, and I am faced by 
 two resolutions of the two Chambers of the Landtag which an- 
 nounce the fixed purpose of making it impossible for me to carry 
 on the administration. This mistrust may depend on previously 
 conceived erroneous ideas or on outside influences; the fact re- 
 mains that both the bodies with which the Government has to dis- 
 cuss the welfare of the country have assumed a hostile attitude 
 towards me. I am most deeply grateful to your Majesty for the 
 steadfastness with which your Majesty has been gracious enough 
 to support me hitherto. But this very gratitude and true devo- 
 tion to your Majesty impose on me the duty of reflecting whether 
 I can venture to make any further claim on the support of your 
 Majesty without exposing your Majesty to the gravest dangers. 
 The monarchs of Bavaria, so long as the Bavarian Constitution 
 has existed, have never swerved from the constitutional path. 
 Even after the stormy events of the year 1848, when dictatorships 
 or coups d'etat had to be resorted to in almost all the States of 
 Europe for the restoration of law and order, Bavaria did not allow 
 herself to be forced into this path. The sincere confidence which 
 the Bavarian people reposes in the dynasty is at the base of this 
 fact, together with the innate national loyalty. I cannot advise 
 your Majesty to take another road, which might lessen the confi- 
 dence of the people in your Majesty, and might lead your Majesty 
 possibly, if not necessarily, to violent measures.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 403 
 
 Your Majesty would thus be faced by the greater danger 
 since at no very distant period great revolutions are probable in 
 France, and perhaps in other European States. If such a period 
 coincided with a disturbance in the realm, which would be fostered 
 by the circumstance that the constitutional rights had been op- 
 posed, the movement would no longer be directed against the 
 Ministry, but against your Majesty's person. Your Majesty 
 ought not to be exposed to such a contingency. I venture to 
 give the respectful advice that your Majesty may be pleased to 
 keep an ever vigilant control of the resources of the Constitution 
 so that it may always be possible to pacify the country in one 
 way or another. Bearing this in mind, and actuated wholly by 
 the interest of your Majesty, I venture to proffer the humble re- 
 quest to be relieved of the office which your Majesty conferred on 
 me. I am prepared to carry on the business of the Ministry until 
 your Majesty has succeeded in finding a suitable successor. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Munich, February 14, 1870. 
 
 I sent in my resignation to the King at three o'clock. At 6.30 
 I went to the palace. The King received me most cordially. He 
 regretted the position of affairs, and that it had come to this, 
 but he seemed to understand quite well that I could not have 
 acted otherwise. He had been thoroughly posted as to the dis- 
 cussions in the Chamber of Deputies, quoted passages from my 
 speech, and expressed his indignation at the "Patriots." He 
 thought it was a weak move to give way, and contested my view. 
 I tried to prove to him that I was acting only in his interests, since 
 I did not place him in a position where he must either give way 
 or effect a coup d'elat. I said he was quite within his rights in 
 expressing his dissatisfaction to the Upper House, but that the 
 resolution of the elected representatives of the country signified 
 something else, and the continuance in office of a Minister to whom 
 the Chamber showed such hostility might lead to evil consequences. 
 He protested that he wished to act constitutionally, but recurred 
 to the point that my resignation was a weak surrender. He asked 
 me whom he should send for, and I named Bray. He will not hear 
 of Ultramontane Ministers, and especially not of Thiingen. There 
 was much discussion about constitutionalism, absolute monarchy, 
 &c. He asked me, finally, whether I would not temporarily con- 
 duct the business, and I assented. On my way home I met Hor- 
 man, who assured me that I had acted quite rightly, and that for 
 the time being there could be no idea of any reconciliation between 
 the Patriotic party and myself. 
 
 Munich, February 17, 1870. 
 
 Werthern was commissioned by Count Bismarck to tell me 
 the following: Up to the last moment it had seemed to him de-
 
 404 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 
 sirable that I should retire. He thought that I should only waste 
 my time in petty disputes, and should then be unable to co-operate 
 in great affairs. 
 
 But since the King had come forward so decisively, there was 
 no need of the experiment which would follow my resignation to 
 convince the King that he could not rule with an Ultramontane 
 party. The King was convinced of that. Though, said Werthern, 
 he did not know to what extent and in what measures the King 
 would support me, that only rested with me. The field was open ; 
 I had only to begin. Bismarck mentioned, as means of fighting, 
 the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies and a creation of peers. 
 
 Werthern further communicated to me a long expose of the 
 Hospice dell' Anima in Rome. According to a brief of 1859, which 
 has been issued in consequence of an enquiry, Austria retained 
 the protectorate of that institution. Prussia finds this quite un- 
 warrantable "after Koniggratz and Prague," and wishes to dispute 
 this Austrian protectorate. He asks whether I have any knowledge 
 of the matter, how I regard it, and whether Bavaria is disposed 
 to join the measures which Prussia proposes to take in the com- 
 mon interests of Germany. I answered that affairs of the Anima 
 were not unknown to me, but that I considered the matter serious, 
 since Austria and the Jesuits would both be injured, and that I 
 must first consult Tauffkirchen, &c, before expressing myself 
 further. 
 
 Extract from a letter of Dollinger to the Prince. 
 
 Munich, February 21, 1870. 
 
 The situation becomes more and more grave and threaten- 
 ing. The Donauzeitung has just announced that, together with 
 Ketteler and Melchers, our Lord Archbishop wishes to go over to 
 the Infallibilists. It is very possible that he is under the influence 
 of his secretary, Kagerer, whose views are well known. 
 
 The saving remedy would be common action on the part of 
 the Powers, France first and foremost, Austria, Bavaria. But I 
 fear there is no prospect of this. 
 
 As regards the Schema de Ecclesia, the initiative taken by your 
 Highness in the summer seems completely justified. 
 
 A few months ago I should not have considered any such events 
 as possible. 
 
 King Ludwig to Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 Munich, March 7, 1870. 
 
 My Dear Prince, — You have repeatedly petitioned me to 
 relieve you of your duties as Minister of the Royal House and of 
 Foreign Affairs. After a careful investigation of the circumstances, 
 I have assented to your request to-day in consequence of the per- 
 sonal motives you have adduced. In making this explanation to.
 
 MEMOIRS OF PRINCE HOHENLOHE 405 
 
 you I feel myself bound to express to you from the bottom of my 
 heart my appreciation of the self-sacrificing devotion and unfailing 
 loyalty which have marked your tenure of office. To give tan- 
 gible expression to this appreciation I have included you, my dear 
 Prince, in the roll of the Capitularies of my knightly order of 
 St. Hubertus. 
 
 In the renewed assurance of my good wishes, 
 
 I remain ever 
 
 Your devoted King, 
 
 Ludwig.
 
 CORRESPONDENCE OF WILLIAM PITT 
 
 When Secretary of State, with Colonial Governors and Military 
 and Naval Commissioners in America 
 
 EDITED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF 
 THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA 
 
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 Two Volumes Cloth Octavo $6.00 net per set 
 
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 The five years of the elder Pitt's first administration, from 1756-1761, form 
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 historical documents of great value to the student of English and American 
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 Kimball, in pursuance of a recommendation made by the Committee on 
 Historic Research of the Colonial Dames of America. 
 
 BISMARCK 
 
 Some Secret Pages of his History 
 
 Being a Diary kept by DR. MORITZ BUSCH during twenty-five years' official 
 and private intercourse with the great Chancellor 
 
 With Portraits 
 
 Two Volumes Cloth 8vo $10.00 net 
 
 " Whether the great German Chancellor left memoirs is uncertain ; he 
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