MY MEMOIRS 
 
 s< O
 
 MY MEMOIRS 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRI STEPHAN DE BLOWITZ 
 
 THIRD IMPRESSION 
 
 LONDON 
 EDWARD ARNOLD 
 
 1903 
 
 [Ali rights reserved^
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The pages which follow are published by the 
 formal desire of their author. Many a time in the 
 course of his life he remarked that it was very 
 unjust that the journalist, unlike other writers, left 
 nothing behind him as a lasting testimony of his 
 efforts, his work, and his success. A short time 
 before his death he insisted that his Memoirs 
 should be placed before the public. It is in defer- 
 ence to this command, and at his special bidding, 
 that his adopted son and his family publish the 
 present volume. 
 
 Some of the pages appeared in print during the 
 lifetime of their author. The chapters entitled 
 ' How I became a Journalist,' ' Alphonso XII. pro- 
 claimed King of Spain,' ' The French Scare of 
 1875,' and ' The Berlin Congress,' were given in 
 part by Harper s Monthly Magazine. Almost the 
 whole of the remaining chapters is entirely new to 
 the English public. M. de Blowitz, who during 
 his lifetime — as he himself says in his Memoirs — 
 never kept a diary and seldom took notes, dictated 
 them before he died.
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 Nothing has been added, nothing remains unre- 
 counted ; the Memoirs are published just as they 
 were set down in writing. And, such as they are, 
 they retrace the principal episodes of contempo- 
 rary history in which a journalist enacted a part, 
 and the principal events, romantic or amusing, 
 which happened to him in the course of his long 
 career.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTKB PACE 
 
 I, EARLY YOUTH - - ... 1 
 
 II. HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST - - - 24 
 
 III. A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY - - - - 5() 
 
 IV. ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING OF SPAIN - 73 
 V. THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 - - - 100 
 
 VI. THE BERLIN CONGRESS - - - - 12S 
 
 VIL WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME - - - - 1.56 
 
 VIII. GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK - - - - 167 
 
 IX. ALVA ------- 174 
 
 X. THE REVENGE OF VENUS - - - - 217 
 
 XI. A LIFE STRUGGLE - - - - - 237 
 
 XII. WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT - - 261 
 
 XIIL MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN - - - 269 
 
 XIV. EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES - - - 301 
 
 XV. SAN REMO - - - - - - 311 
 
 XVI. HOW BISMARCK RETIRED - - - - 326 
 
 XVII. DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM - - - 343 
 
 INDEX . . - - . 35(3
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PORTRAIT OF M. DE BLOWITZ - - - Frontispiece 
 
 A SOUVENIR OF THE BERLIN CONGRESS - - To face p. liO
 
 (\ 
 
 MY MEMOIRS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY YOUTH 
 
 My origin, infancy, and youth have been narrated 
 so often that no one will, I hope, find fault with me 
 if, in my turn, I myself give an account of them. 
 Since they have appeared sufficiently interesting for 
 others to relate, I also have acquired the right to do 
 so without being taxed with presumption. In any 
 case, I venture to say that, instead of the fantastic 
 tales which have appeared, nothing but ' information 
 derived from an absolutely authorized source ' will 
 be found in the following pages. In writing these 
 lines, which will not appear until after I am in the 
 grave, I have but one ambition : that of telling the 
 truth, the whole truth ; and I have but one desire : 
 that of preventing persons from disfiguring, for 
 their own pleasure or passion, events with which I 
 have been closely connected. 
 
 On the 28th of December, 1825, at the Chateau 
 of Blow sky, in the region of Pilsna, in Bohemia, 
 
 1
 
 2 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 there was Ijorii a child with a big head and a feeble 
 body. The doctors Avho had been summoned to 
 his bedside shook their heads in silence, and declared 
 that ' he had a weak heart and was ill-formed,' and 
 consequently he would not live. The child's mother 
 thereupon decided that the j^roper thing to do was 
 to have him baptized without delay. And so on 
 the 29th of December, while the snow was falling 
 heavily and a strong wind was carrying away the 
 music of a peal of bells, he was conveyed to the 
 little chapel of the little village of Blowsky, and 
 there the Rev. Father Wasck, arch-priest of the 
 parish, administered to him the holy Sacrament of 
 Baptism. At the same time, on the old register of 
 the church, which contained the names of all his 
 ancestors, from Seigneur Kaspar de Blowitz of 
 Palatine, who founded the village school, to Seigneur 
 Marc Opper de Blowitz, who owned the ancient 
 chateau, he entered the new-born child under the 
 names of Henri Georges Stephan Adolphe, and 
 promised to say a Mass in order that God might 
 allow him to live, 
 
 I should not be telling the truth were I to say 
 that I recall all these facts, for however good my 
 memory may be, it is not capable of that. But 
 they have been affirmed to me so often by my 
 mother, repeated by the venerable arch-priest, and 
 denied by the doctor, that finally I am absolutely 
 persuaded that they are true. The parish register 
 may, however, be taken as evidence ; it leaves no 
 doubt as to my having been born a Catholic, baptized
 
 EARLY YOUTH 3 
 
 twenty-four hours after my birth, and that I did 
 not have time to become a Jew. I regret it, more- 
 over — for Israel ! 
 
 Of my early childhood I remember but little ; 
 the few incidents that I am able to recall do not 
 appear to me worthy of being made public. 
 
 I will say, however, one thing : When I was six 
 years of age, but little was wanting — that little 
 beins; a brido;e over a stream — for me never to 
 have been correspondent of The Times. This is 
 what happened : 
 
 One summer's evening there was nobody at home 
 in the paternal chateau. My father was away hunt- 
 ing in the environs with some ot his lordly friends 
 and my mother was absent. I was playing in the 
 park, when, at a turn of the road, an old worn-out 
 gipsy cart appeared on the scene. It was drawn by 
 an emaciated horse and driven by a squalid old 
 woman in tatters. A pale and wretched-looking 
 man followed. In the vehicle were some raggedly- 
 garbed children, among them being a little girl with 
 a beautifully dressed Polichinelle. The fact is, the 
 doll-Punch was altogether too beautifully dressed. 
 
 What took place ? Did the man take me by the 
 hand ? Did the woman speak to me ? I have 
 forgotten ; but what I have not forgotten is the 
 attractive Polichinelle and its bright black eyes. 
 Ten minutes afterwards I was being rolled along in 
 the gipsy cart. I had been kidnapped ! It seemed 
 to me as if new life had suddenly been infused into 
 the emaciated horse, whose pace was quickened, 
 
 1—2
 
 4 MEIVIOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and the tired-looking man pushed the cart so as 
 to proceed faster. 
 
 ' If you are a good l3oy,' said the woman, ' we 
 will let you play the drum and hlow a trumpet all 
 the time.' And, in order to give me an advance 
 taste of these future pleasures, they brought out 
 from the back of the vehicle an old box, which, 
 being unpacked, was found to contain, higgledy- 
 piggledy, costumes, drums, wigs, horns — all things 
 that I had greatly admired at the recent village 
 fete. 
 
 ' Have you got a locket on j^ou ?' was a question 
 asked me by the young girl with the beautiful black 
 eyes. 
 
 I answered by showing her a small gold locket 
 hanging from a chain round my neck, which my 
 mother had given me. 
 
 ' All right,' she said, somewhat sadly, ' be sure and 
 keep it, and always tell everybody that your mother 
 placed it there. I have one also, look, and I keep 
 it ; but my mother has never come to claim me yet.' 
 
 Our ride in the cart continued without a halt for 
 five or six hours, and we must have covered quite 
 a considerable distance, when suddenly, far away in 
 the silence of the forest, we heard shouts and the 
 sounds of the hunting-horn. 
 
 ' They are looking for us,' said the woman. 
 
 The man uttered an oath and whipped the horse. 
 The little girl with the black eyes grasped my hand, 
 and in a very low voice said to me : 
 
 ' It is better it should be thus ; it is preferable
 
 EARLY YOUTH 5 
 
 that tliey should find you ; you don't know what is 
 in store for you if you remain with us.' 
 
 I was very much amused, and I looked about 
 and listened. Evidently at the chateau mv absence 
 had been remarked, and thev were lookino; for me. 
 
 A terrible race ensued. The horse seemed 
 suddenly endowed with fresh vigour, as if he were 
 conscious of the chase that was in progress, and as 
 if he were accustomed to adventures of the kind. 
 The old gipsy-cart jolted noisily over the stones with 
 which the road was strewn. In the distance the 
 sounds of the horn were distinguishable, first a long 
 way off, then nearer, and then far away again. Will 
 they overtake us ? Will they not overtake us ? 
 
 Until now we had been driving along one solitary 
 road, which ran abruptly into a glade and two roads 
 appeared. AVhich were we going to take ? The 
 one on the right, or the one on the left ? The man, 
 who had not ceased swearing, hesitated. And here 
 I firmly believe my fate was sealed. If he had taken 
 the road on the right, I do not know where I should 
 have been at this hour. 
 
 But he followed the one on the left, which led us 
 down a little hill towards a river. After another 
 mile the stream appeared, but there was no bridge 
 across it. The road went no farther. As we 
 reached this spot the horns were blowing louder 
 than ever. The clamour of a number of men on 
 horseback could be heard plainer and plainer. 
 There could no longer be any doubt ; they were in 
 pursuit and about to catcli us up. The spare man
 
 6 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and the raijs-ed woman and the wretched children 
 certainly understood what was going on, for they 
 quickly abandoned horse, cart, boxes, and all their 
 possessions and threw themselves into the water ; 
 they swam across, and two minutes later could be 
 seen running away at full speed on the other side of 
 the river. 
 
 I remained alone in the gipsy-cart, alone with 
 Polichinelle. A few minutes later my father — for 
 he was among the men on horseback — found us 
 lying down quietly in the rear of the cart. I had 
 been found. I was taken back home. I do not know 
 whether they said anything to Polichinelle, but I do 
 know that they said something to me ! And I also 
 know very well that if the gipsy who had kidnapped 
 me had gone along the road on the right, which dis- 
 appeared in the mountain mazes, I should never 
 have been found. 
 
 Que diahle ! What should I have been doing 
 now ? 
 
 W ^ ^ W 
 
 The above episode is the only one of any impor- 
 tance. All the remainder is monotonous. I never 
 went to school, much less to any University. My 
 young days were spent entirely in the large ancestral 
 chateau in the shade of the wild forest. I read and 
 worked but little ; I walked a great deal. My 
 memory, which all my lifetime has been my power- 
 ful and precious auxiliary, was formed almost 
 entirely alone. It was innate and natural ; it 
 required no training.
 
 EARLY YOUTH 7 
 
 In my father's room there used to be an enormous 
 stick with a gold knob, which I always admired and 
 envied. Every time I saw it I used to ask for it, 
 and every time I asked for it I used to long to have 
 it and keep it. 
 
 One day my father said to me : 
 
 ' Listen ; I will give you this stick if to-morrow 
 you recite to me by heart the legend of " Kosros 
 the Wise." ' 
 
 That was a way of getting rid of me, for the 
 Hungarian legend of ' Kosros the Wise ' is quite as 
 long as Shakespeare's Hamlet^ and Sir Henry Irving 
 will tell you that twenty-four hours constitute a 
 very short time in which to learn Hamlet. 
 
 Nevertheless, the following day I went to my 
 father's room, and without a mistake or hesitation 
 I recited to him all the wonderful legend, from 
 the day when the daughter of Kosros chose for a 
 husband Pryemilas, a mere labourer, until the day 
 when his sister Wlasta, at the head of an army of 
 Amazons, won, with the aid of the Czechs, the Battle 
 of the White Mountain. 
 
 The stick with the gold knob became my 
 property. I did not keep it ; but, thank Heaven, I 
 kept my memory. 
 
 At the age of fifteen, after a somewhat rudimen- 
 tary education, that, nevertheless, included various 
 poetic legends, which I learnt whenever I had a 
 longing for some of the parental belongings, my 
 father decided that I should travel. He supplied 
 me with money, and gave me as a companion a
 
 8 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 tutor who had taken his degree oi: Doctor of 
 Philosophy. 
 
 I started out one morning on foot, and was soon 
 lost in tlie distance en route for unknown parts. 
 
 I think I must have travelled through the whole 
 of the immense Empire of Austria. It was not 
 at that time wdiat civilization has made it at the 
 present day. In the distant or frontier provinces 
 superstition and fanaticism reigned supreme. 
 During my long peregrinations I had striking 
 examples of hotli, and they have left on my mind 
 an indelible impression. 
 
 Not very far from my native village was a quiet 
 little country town called Grunberg. Any travellers 
 who might nowadays venture to explore this little 
 out-of-the-world nook of Bohemia would notice, 
 close by a peaceful pool, an old church, an odd 
 mixture of all styles of architecture. It is a very 
 poor, modest little church, but it possesses a life-size 
 statue of St. John in massive silver. Curiously 
 enough, this statue has only one arm, and one would 
 be inclined to protest against this wilful mutila- 
 tion if it were not connected with a strange incident 
 of which I was a witness. 
 
 The day after I had left my father's chateau I 
 arrived at Grunberg, and found the whole town 
 in the wildest state of excitement. Tlie statue of 
 St. John had been stolen the week before, and the 
 whole country round had been doing everything 
 possible to find it. The Bishop of Klattau had 
 ordered processions in all the neighbouring districts,
 
 EARLY YOUTH 9 
 
 and every day the priest of St. John's, an old man, 
 but upright and of commanding appearance, be- 
 sought his parishioners to tell what they knew of 
 the theft. 
 
 I have already spoken of a small pool which is 
 near the church. Tliis pool was surrounded by 
 a bank which was very steep on the side near the 
 water, and at the top of which was a narrow path. 
 The procession was about to take place just as I 
 arrived, and, in order to reach the other side 
 of the pool, it had to walk for about two hundred 
 yards along this narrow path at the top of the 
 bank. 
 
 At the head of the procession was the old priest, 
 praying as he walked along, and carrying a second 
 relic, which was almost as much venerated as the 
 statue. This relic was a silver cross. 
 
 Halfway along the path — I can see the whole 
 scene distinctly — the priest stumbled against the 
 roots of a newly-planted tree, and, before he had time 
 to think of saving it, the cross fell from his hands, 
 glided slowly down the bank, and disappeared in 
 the muddy waters of the pool. 
 
 All the people, following the example of the 
 unfortunate priest, fell on their knees, their eyes 
 fixed on the spot in the v/ater Avhere the cross had 
 disappeared. 
 
 The dam was at once opened so that the water 
 should not carry the sacred relic away, and everj^- 
 one waited for several hours. At the end of that 
 time, to the delight of all, just as the last water was
 
 10 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 disappearing through the clam, the cross was seen, 
 and by the side of the cross the statue — the famous 
 silver statue of St. John. 
 
 A cry of joy rang through the air, the cross and 
 the statue were taken up, and it was then that 
 the disappearance of the left arm was discovered. 
 The thieves, whilst waiting for an opportunity of 
 conveying the statue to a safe ^^lace, had broken off 
 this arm, which has never been found. 
 
 The people, singing psalms and hymns of thanks- 
 giving as they went along, repaired to the church in 
 order to replace the venerated statue on the pedestal 
 which for the last week had been deprived of its 
 sacred burden. Just as the last individual was 
 entering the church, a part of the archway over the 
 door gave way, fell straight on the shoulder of a 
 peasant, and cut off his left arm. A chopper could 
 not have done it more cleanly. 
 
 The crowd immediately surrounded the wretched 
 man, yelling : ' He's the thief ! he's the thief ! St. 
 John has punished him by cutting off his arm !' 
 
 There was a terrible rush from all sides. The 
 people attacked the peasant, and in a moment his 
 clothes were all in shreds. They were about to drag 
 him along and hurl him into the pool forthwith, 
 without having asked him a question, or without 
 even hesitatins; as to whether or not he were the 
 real author of the theft, when the old priest 
 interfered. 
 
 ' I alone have the right to command here,' he 
 said ; ' do not touch that man !'
 
 EARLY YOUTH 11 
 
 The crowd fell back a little, and the priest 
 continued : 
 
 ' You are in my church,' he said, addressing him- 
 self to the peasant, 'and this is an inviolable and 
 sacred place. No one has a right to touch you 
 here. Stay inside the church, and do not leave it, 
 for, once outside, you belong to human justice.' 
 
 And the mutilated peasant remained there. He 
 was in the church all day and all night, and he was 
 still there the following day when I left Grunberg. 
 
 Five years later, when my journey through 
 Europe was accomplished, as I passed through 
 Grunberg on my way to my native village, I saw at 
 the door of St. John's Church an old man who had 
 lost his left arm. He was on his knees at the 
 threshold of the sanctuary, which he had never 
 dared to leave lest he should be torn to pieces by 
 the people. 
 
 One evening, after a long journey, I reached, 
 with my travelling companion, the Croatian frontier. 
 A dreary-looking rough road stretched as far as the 
 eye could see along the mountainside, and poles 
 were placed on the roadside at intervals, just as in 
 France the telegraph-poles are seen forming a 
 straisrht line alons; the banks of a road. 
 
 At the top of these poles human heads had been 
 fixed, and I shuddered with horror on discovering 
 that as far as one could see there were these poles 
 and these heads. There had been a revolt the week 
 before, and the Governor of the district, who had 
 proved victorious, had decided to make an example.
 
 12 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and to inspire the population with wholesome 
 fear. 
 
 This Governor I can see distinctly now. I was 
 dining that evening with my tutor in a wretched 
 little inn, on the very borders of the frontier, when 
 he came back from his expedition. He was a sort 
 of Bashi-Bazouk, with a hooked nose, long, fair 
 moustache, and a face with a hard expression. He 
 had three escorts, the commanders of each of which 
 appeared to hate each other. 
 
 I could not resist asking him, later on, when he 
 was sitting next me at tal)le, why he had three 
 escorts. 
 
 ' The first one,' he answered, ' keeps watch on the 
 second, and the third prevents the other two from 
 coming to any understanding with each other.' 
 
 This will give an idea of the social position of the 
 Governor of Croatia in the first half of the last 
 century. 
 
 After supper, while the Governor was smoking a 
 long pipe and the officers of the escort were playing 
 at dice, we heard outside, issuing from the darkness, 
 a dismal cry, followed by shouts, disputes, and 
 fighting. The officers left their dice, and the 
 Governor instinctively put his hand to his belt, 
 from which his sword was hanging. 
 
 Upon inquiry, we found it was nothing of im- 
 portance — merely a woman, a kind of fortune-teller, 
 who was going along the road when the Bashi- 
 Bazouks of the escort had set upon her. The 
 Governor ordered them to bring her in, so that she
 
 EARLY YOUTH 13 
 
 could tell our fortunes. We each of us showed her 
 our hand, and she proceeded to foretell the future. 
 
 I remember the scene with the most astonishing 
 distinctness. In the smoky room, with its low 
 ceiling, near to the fire, which was nearly out, the 
 poor creature was intent on the lines of our palms, 
 and in a slow, monotonous voice she told us her 
 rigmarole. 
 
 When she came to mine, though, she suddenly 
 became more animated, and her dull eyes lighted up 
 a little. 
 
 ' Oh !' she exclaimed, ' I've never seen a hand 
 like yours. There is a fine fate in store for you !' 
 
 ' What is it ?' I asked. 
 
 ' You'll sit down with Kings, and have Princes at 
 your table.' 
 
 She did not tell me any more, but that was quite 
 enough, and all night long I dreamt of nothing but 
 conquests and kingdoms. I tried to imagine all the 
 situations which would allow me to sit down with 
 Sovereigns, but I never thought of the only one 
 which could ever enable the prophecy to come true. 
 ***** 
 
 This journey was to last five years, and five years 
 it lasted. I went through Germany, Russia, Austria, 
 Italy, and Switzerland. The most tragic part of it 
 was the return home. 
 
 I was just twenty years of age, and as I ap- 
 proached my native village all the memories of 
 my childhood crowded to my mind. 
 
 One learns a great many things in a five years'
 
 14. MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 journey through the world, and one forgets much 
 also, very quickly. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, 
 flanked by the mountain, the Chateau of Blowsky 
 came in sight ; and I do not know how it was, but as 
 soon as I saw its old, cracked faqade, so gloomy 
 and dismal-looking, as soon as I glanced at its dark, 
 mysterious tower, a sort of presentiment took 
 possession of me. 
 
 I hurried on, and soon reached the park. It 
 seemed to me that everything looked neglected 
 and rather deserted. The grass was long and the 
 meadows appeared to be untended. I pushed the 
 door open, and a cry rang through the house. It 
 was my mother. 
 
 ' Where is father ?' I asked anxiously. 
 
 ' Here he is,' she replied, and, seated by the fire 
 in the large dining-room, I saw him, but he was so 
 changed that I scarcely recognised him. 
 
 When the first excitement of my arrival was over, 
 he began to question me. 
 
 ' Didn't you see anyone before you reached the 
 house ?' he asked. 
 
 ' No one,' I replied. 
 
 ' And you don't know all that has happened here 
 since you left ?' 
 
 ' I know nothing,' I answered. 
 
 My father's voice trembled slightly as he told me. 
 It was a very ordinary every-day story. The 
 fortune of the whole family was lost. A notary, 
 with whom the greater part of our money had been 
 left, had risked it in speculations which had turned
 
 EARLY YOUTH 15 
 
 out badly, and, to sum up the matter briefly, we 
 were ruined. 
 
 ' You'll have to work for your living,' said my 
 father in conclusion. 
 
 I do not know why, but the thought of the gipsy- 
 woman whom I had seen at the Croatian frontier 
 suddenly crossed my mind, and I remembered her 
 prediction. I did not appear at all discouraged ; on 
 the contrary, I smiled as I answered my father. 
 
 ' All right,' I said, ' don't you worry yourself 
 about me ; I shall be able to earn my living.' 
 
 ' What do you think of doing ?' he asked. 
 
 ' I shall start to-morrow for France, and; from 
 there go to America. A year ago, when I was in 
 Genoa, I made the acquaintance of one of the 
 leading business men of Ohio. He offered me a 
 situation in a big agricultural concern out there. I 
 refused, but I shall go to him now, and I am certain 
 he will give me employment.' 
 
 ' That is right,' said my father. ' I see that you 
 have plenty of determination.' 
 
 The evening, however, was very sad, and that 
 night was the last I spent in my father's house. 
 Life was before me, full of chances and unexpected 
 things. I did not fear anything, but bravely decided 
 to venture forth. 
 
 The farewell moment was even more sad than 
 the evening had been. My mother was in tears, 
 and my father, who was very pale, stood on the 
 terrace until I was out of sight. 
 
 ' Good-bye,' I said, and my last words were :
 
 16 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' Perhaps you will never see me again, but I hope 
 you will hear something about me.' And I plunged 
 into the unknown — into life. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 A few weeks later I arrived at Angers, in France, 
 on the banks of the Loire, on my way to Havre, 
 where I intended to take the boat for America. 
 
 I travelled in what the French call a ' diligence,' 
 which was merely a horrible carriage, badly built, 
 poorly appointed, and with wretched horses. If 
 modern civilization had done nothing but give us 
 railways instead of the dilie;ence, it would deserve 
 the gratitude of all human beings — I mean, of 
 course, of all human beings who travel. 
 
 My particular diligence went along that wonder- 
 ful and admirable road which everyone who has 
 visited France knows so well, and which skirts the 
 banks of the Loire. It started from Tours, passed 
 through Angers, and was to go on to Nantes. From 
 Nantes I intended travelling by water to Havre, 
 where I hoped to embark for the United States. 
 
 As we entered the chief street of Angers, some- 
 thing occurred which was destined to influence my 
 whole career. This was the second incident which 
 decided my fate in life. The first was the road 
 which the gipsies who had kidnapped me took to 
 cross the river. This second incident happened in 
 driving over the paving- stones of Angers, when the 
 diligence gave such jolts that the stem of my pipe 
 broke between my teeth. 
 
 The first thing I did on getting off the conveyance
 
 EARLY YOUTH 17 
 
 was, of course, to rush to a shoj) for a new stem. 
 I had scarcely finished this most prosaic transac- 
 tion when, on leaving the shop, I knocked up 
 against a tall, slight man, with hair just turning 
 grey, who happened to be coming in. I apologized, 
 but the gentleman, after gazing at me intently, 
 suddenly exclaimed : 
 
 ' Why, upon my word, I think I recognise 
 you. . . . Are you not young Blowitz ?' 
 
 ' Certainly.' 
 
 ' Don't you remember me ?' 
 
 ' Not at all.' 
 
 ' I saw you, five or six years ago, at your father's 
 chateau. I am Count Kolowrath, an old friend of 
 your family.' 
 
 I remembered now having seen the Count in days 
 gone by, and I recognised him. We talked together 
 a few minutes, and I narrated to him the sad events 
 that had taken place at our home in Bohemia. He 
 took the greatest interest in my story, and insisted 
 on my letting the diligence continue its journey 
 without me, and delaying my departure for a day. 
 He was only passing through Angers, and lived in 
 Paris, where he was very intimate with all the 
 political men of the day. 
 
 The result of our meeting was that I did not 
 start for America the next day, nor yet the day 
 after, nor even the week after, but I went with him 
 to Paris. 
 
 Serious events were then taking place there. A 
 Republic — the Republic of 1848 — had succeeded 
 
 2
 
 18 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 the Monarchy of King Louis Philippe. I was too 
 much interested in all that was going on, too much 
 taken up by this political fever, by this overthrow- 
 ing of a Government, and by this destruction of 
 old-established institutions, to think of going to 
 America. I remained in Paris and observed what 
 was happening around me. 
 
 I must now make a confession to my readers. 
 Nature, cities, and countries have never had much 
 attraction for me. The stone fa(;ades of houses, 
 picture-galleries, the sculpture of public buildings 
 and monuments, the clever arrangement of gardens 
 — all these things have very rarely seized my atten- 
 tion. That which appeals to me, and which I am 
 always searching for, is the soul which is concealed 
 behind the silent immobility of things ; it is life and 
 movement which interest me. I have spent hours 
 contemplating a crowd, studying its agitation, taking 
 note of its continual motion. And what life, what 
 movement, what a crowd, were there before me in 
 this Paris, which is the brain of one of the leading 
 countries of the world, and towards which came 
 ebbing all the passions, all the anger, all the 
 aspirations, of a whole race and of a whole 
 nation ! 
 
 Count Kolowrath did not abandon me, but intro- 
 duced me to some of the influential French persons 
 with whom he was on friendly terms. Among 
 the number were M. Thiers and M. de Falloux, 
 the latter of whom was destined to have such an 
 admirable career as a statesman, and who was the
 
 EARLY YOUTH 19 
 
 veritable organizer o£ Public Instruction in France. 
 M. de Falloux was very curious about men and 
 things in foreign lands ; he always talked willingly 
 with me, and he invited me to private literary 
 gatherings, at which lectures were given on the 
 most varied subjects. One day I received from 
 M. de Falloux an invitation card on which were 
 
 the following words : ' M. [a name which I 
 
 have forgotten] will speak on Literature in Ger- 
 many and Provence.' I went to this soiree, and on 
 arriving I found M. de Falloux, usually so calm 
 and so reserved, in a great state of excitement and 
 nervousness. 
 
 I inquired what was the matter. 
 
 M. de Falloux told me that his lecturer had not 
 yet arrived, and that he feared he would not now 
 come. 
 
 ' I am very much annoyed,' he said, ' as several of 
 my guests have been looking forward to hearing 
 him discuss this question, and I fear they will be 
 disappointed.' 
 
 An idea flashed through my mind. 
 
 ' Why not get someone immediately to take the 
 lecturer's place ?' I suggested. 
 
 'That would not be very easy,' replied M. de 
 Falloux. 
 
 ' Will you let me try ?' I asked. ' I know very little 
 about Provence — or, to speak frankly, I don't know 
 anything at all — but I am very well up in German 
 literature, and I will do my utmost not to bore your 
 guests.' 
 
 2—2
 
 20 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 M. de Falloux smiled. He was very much 
 amused. 
 
 ' Agreed,' he said, ' and I am very much obliged.' 
 
 Five minutes later, with plenty of assurance, I 
 was discussing German literature and its connection 
 with the literature of Provence. I compared, quoted, 
 and analyzed examples. I was witty, evidently, for 
 my audience laughed a great deal, and I was even 
 eloquent, for I was applauded. 
 
 When I had finished, a lady approached me, and 
 in the most affected way said : 
 
 ' Oh, monsieur, there are, perhaps, several things 
 to find fault with in what you say about German 
 literature ; but all that you told us about the 
 literature of Provence was perfect, absolutely per- 
 fect. . . . (3ne can see how thoroughly you know 
 that country!' 
 
 M. de Falloux, who was standing near, burst out 
 laughing, and then, shaking hands, thanked me 
 heartily, and, drawing me aside, said : 
 
 ' What an admirable lecturer on foreign literature 
 you would make !' 
 
 ' If ever you become Minister,' I answered, ' I'll 
 take you at your word and ask you for a pro- 
 fessorship.' 
 
 ' Agreed,' he said ; ' yours shall be the first appoint- 
 ment I make.' 
 
 And it happened as he had said, for M. de Falloux, 
 on becoming Minister of Public Instruction, ap- 
 pointed the young man who had been seen having 
 his pipe mended in one of the shops of Angers to a
 
 EARLY YOUTH 21 
 
 professorship of foreign languages and literature in 
 that very city. 
 
 I was not destined to stay very long in Angers, 
 though, nor in the University. In 1856 I was 
 appointed to the chair of Foreign Literature at 
 Marseilles. It was there that I met the lady who 
 became my wife, and who, as the companion of my 
 life for thirty-five years, was with me always 
 through good and through evil days. She was 
 French, and her father, M. Arnaud d'Agnel, had 
 been a Paymaster in the navy ; her uncle, on her 
 father's side, had been a Brigadier. Her mother 
 belonged to an old aristocratic family of the Var, 
 and her maternal uncle was connected with the 
 Bourbon family. 
 
 Our marriage took place in 1858, and it was not 
 until twelve years later that I embraced the career 
 which was to be the veritable passion of my life. 
 
 Some of these twelve years were spent in com- 
 mercial affairs, for I had always had the mania of 
 believing myself very clever at mechanics. I had 
 invented a machine for combing flax at great speed. 
 I began by buying a workshop large enough to hold 
 the machine, and the next thing I did was to have 
 the said machine constructed at great expense. 
 
 When everything was ready, I gave a big fete in 
 order to celebrate the success of my invention. 
 Everyone came from miles round, and more than a 
 thousand persons were present. They all congratu- 
 lated me, drank champagne, looked at the machine, 
 and admired it.
 
 22 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 When the reception was over, the guests gone, 
 and the champagne glasses empty, I thought the 
 moment had arrived for trying the machine and 
 settino- it in motion. 
 
 As everything was ready and the steam up, I said 
 to the engineer, ' Go !' and I myself turned the tap 
 which was to set it in motion. There was im- 
 mediately a most formidable detonation. Every- 
 thing blew up in the air, the window panes were all 
 broken, and I was thrown violently down, whilst a 
 great iron bolt struck my forehead. 
 
 I was picked up for dead, and it was thanks to 
 my wife's nursing that I was able to get about 
 again three weeks later, cured of my wound and 
 still more effectually cured of my industrial inven- 
 tions. Never from that time forth have I attempted 
 to set any machinery in motion. 
 
 It is with this incident that my reminiscences 
 of early youth come to an end. It has required 
 a certain effort on my part to recall them — first, 
 because I do not care to dwell on those far-off days 
 of the past, and, secondly, because I have been 
 obliged to put myself constantly in the foreground, 
 instead of speaking about the events with which I 
 have been connected and the men with whom I 
 have come in contact. 
 
 In my next chapter I shall endeavour to retrace 
 some of these events, and describe some of these 
 men, who one and all belong to the history of the 
 nineteenth century. 
 
 But, such as they are, without order and without
 
 EARLY YOUTH 23 
 
 cohesion, the few lines I have written may at least 
 have a certain philosophical value. They will show 
 that great results may sometimes spring from very 
 slight causes, and that, in order to become a 
 journalist of note in the world, very little is often 
 all that is required — just a pipe to break at the 
 right moment on a journey.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 
 
 In 1869 the Second French Empire was beginning 
 to show signs of yielding to the numerous and 
 combined assaults of the Liberal Opposition. When 
 a throne has been seized by a bold stroke, when it 
 has been retained by repression, when the hold over 
 the country is dependent on the docile vote of the 
 unthinking masses, there can be no abandonment of 
 the absolute prerogatives the ruler has bestowed 
 on himself. The slightest concession becomes a 
 weapon in the hands of the assailant, and the auto- 
 cratic fortress only remains impregnable so long as 
 no breach can be made. 
 
 In 1869 the torrent of the Opposition had been 
 dashing for seventeen years against the foundations 
 of the Second Empire, and the attentive eye could 
 already discover some of the breaches that were 
 being made in the fortification which surrounded 
 the throne of Napoleon III. In Paris, however, the 
 central power remained under great illusions, and 
 played with the fire of Liberal Reform. In the 
 provinces, on the contrary, the representatives of 
 the Government felt that their power was diminish- 
 
 [ 24 ]
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 25 
 
 ing. They were constantly coming into collision 
 with audacious opponents, and in consequence of the 
 opposition they met they became more overbearing, 
 more tyrannical, and, for that very reason, more un- 
 popular. From this syllogistic circle there was no 
 retreat or escape except by revolution or reaction. 
 
 For many years now I had been living at 
 Marseilles. I had married, as I told my readers in 
 the preceding chapter, a lady a native of the great 
 southern French city. But at that time I was not 
 yet naturalized, and I considered it almost a duty to 
 stand aloof from the domestic politics of France. 
 Nevertheless, as my marriage inevitably brought me 
 into contact with certain persons, I was supposed by 
 everybody to belong to the Legitimist party, at the 
 time militant around me. 
 
 The elections of 1869 were close at hand. It 
 was apparent that the contest would he violent in 
 the extreme. All sides were preparing for the 
 fight. The Opposition formed a league called the 
 Liberal Union, within which there was room made 
 for the three parties — the Legitimists, the Orleanists, 
 and the Democrats. The Government did what it 
 could to strengthen its position. It re-enforced 
 its Prefects ; it decorated with the Legion of 
 Honour its chief political supporters, and dismissed 
 auxiliaries of whom it was not sure. In the great 
 centres it established newspapers which were to all 
 appearances violently Democratic, but the real pur- 
 pose of which was to sow dissension among the 
 parties forming the Liberal Union.
 
 26 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 During the day the editors or their staiF wrote 
 articles denouncing the Empire and the Royalist 
 party. At night these same journalists repaii'ed to 
 the Prefectures to receive their instructions. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs throughout France, 
 and more especially at Marseilles. In that city 
 the candidature of M. de Lesseps, in opposition 
 to M. Thiers and M. Gambetta, was very popular. 
 Gambetta and his pretensions were made the subject 
 of endless jokes and laughter on the part of the 
 pseudo-Democratic official press. M. de Lesseps' 
 candidature was represented as quite independent. 
 Therein resided his only chance of success, for if 
 there had been a suspicion that it was official, his 
 position would have been irremediably compromised. 
 
 Strange to say, I was the man who, almost 
 unwittingly, dealt the fatal blow to his chances. 
 Even at this time of my life the uncontrollable 
 desire to get at the bottom of sensational reports 
 haunted me. While it was strongly suspected at 
 Marseilles that M. de Lesseps was an official 
 candidate, and while the Government was making 
 every effort to prove the contrary, one of my 
 friends had gone to Egypt. I kept up a corre- 
 spondence with him. In writing to me he recounted, 
 with much detail, incidents which threw a strong 
 light on the whole subject. An orderly officer of 
 the Emperor had arrived in Egypt. A special train 
 was placed at his disposal by Ismail Pasha. This 
 officer lost no time in posting on to M. de Lesseps. 
 At the urgent request, and in compliance with an
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 27 
 
 almost formal order, of the Emperor, tlie con- 
 structor of the Suez Canal, who, as such, had 
 already become popular, consented to become a 
 candidate for Marseilles. 
 
 Without considering the consequences, I lost no 
 time in communicating this information to one 
 of my friends — the editor of a Legitimist news- 
 paper. 
 
 The news burst like a tempest on the public of 
 Marseilles, and swept away in its irresistible whirl 
 the candidature of M. de Lesseps. 
 
 The very next day the Socialist newspaper, in 
 obedience to orders, made an incredibly violent 
 attack on me. I was terrified at what I had done. 
 I was somewhat in the position of an elephant from 
 whose back a cannon has been discharged, and 
 which first feels the shock without knowing whence 
 it comes. I was a foreigner without protection, at 
 the mercy of a Government still feared. My friends 
 begged me to take no notice of the abominable 
 calumnies directed against me by the sham-Demo- 
 cratic newspaper, which for years afterwards was 
 the source of the abuse poured upon me. I was 
 simple-minded enough to bring an action against it 
 in the law-courts. I won my case, but by that 
 time the newspaper had ceased to appear, and the 
 editor, as a reward for his electioneering services, 
 had obtained the post of Sub-prefect in an out-of- 
 the-way district of the Basses- Alpes. 
 
 In the election M. de Lesseps had the support of 
 a wretched minority ; and it was M. Gambetta who.
 
 28 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 to the surprise of everybody, was returned by a 
 majority of two to one. 
 
 He entered tlie Corps Legislatif triumphantly. 
 The journal and its editor disappeared, but the 
 defeated Prefect survived, and it was on me that he 
 sought to avenge himself. 
 
 In a long report, which I have since been able to 
 peruse, he applied for my expulsion from France. 
 Scarcely an hour after it was written he saw my 
 wife in the street, and was not ashamed to hold out 
 to her the very hand which had just signed that 
 miseral)le denunciation. The same evening I was 
 informed of the fact, and hurried off to Paris to 
 ward off its consequences. 
 
 M. Thiers, whom I had met very often on my 
 arrival in France at the house of M. de Falloux and 
 at Count Kolowrath's, took the matter in hand, and 
 the demand for my expulsion was put aside. My 
 friends advised — nay, besought — me to leave Mar- 
 seilles, and towards the end of 1869 I followed their 
 advice, and retired to a small estate in the Drome, 
 near Valence. 
 
 Such was my first experience in journalism, and 
 it might easily have caused me to abandon the 
 career. 
 
 I lived for some months in my retreat, and to 
 pass the time I read a great deal, not only books, 
 but the newspapers of France, Germany, and 
 Northern Europe. I had nothing else to do. 
 
 When the Hohenzollern question came up, I 
 wrote regularly to M. Thiers, giving him the news
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 29 
 
 which reached me. He continued to show me great 
 good-will. I knew that, since the hurried conclu- 
 sion of peace between Prussia and Austria in 1866, 
 the Germans expected a conflict with France, and 
 were preparing for it. I knew that the Southern 
 States of Germany were under the watchful and 
 suspicious surveillance of Prussia, and I also knew 
 that, if there should be war, the result would cruelly 
 disappoint the hopes of France. I never ceased 
 writing to this effect, and bringing facts, confirming 
 my opinions, to the knowledge of M. Thiers, whose 
 own experience had led him to similar conclusions. 
 
 When the war broke out, I contemplated with 
 terror, from my retreat, the complete and fatal 
 ignorance prevalent in France, and the false feeling 
 of security which was to be so promptly and terribly 
 dispelled. 
 
 One piece of disastrous news rapidly followed 
 another — Reichshof en ; Spicheren ; the abandonment 
 of the first lines of defence ; the retreat ; the 
 admitted want of food, arms, and supplies ; the 
 telegram of MacMahon, ' I am defeated ; send 
 me supplies'; and, lastly, the astounding despatch 
 from Napoleon III. : ' We have been surprised in 
 the very act of forming. The enemy had also 
 mitrailleuses.' All this left no doubt as to the 
 future toward which France was drifting. 
 
 On the 1st of September came the disaster of 
 Sedan, immediately followed by the fall of the 
 Empire. 
 
 The Republic was proclaimed.
 
 30 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 As soon as the new regime began to work, I 
 applied for my naturalization papers. My request 
 was complied with. Some weeks later I became a 
 French citizen, and I received at the time a letter 
 from M. Adolphe Cremieux, then Minister of 
 Justice, which ran as follows : 
 
 ' Your application for naturalization in the midst 
 of our great disasters appears to me as the signal 
 of a new life for us. A country which, in the 
 midst of such catastrophes, recruits citizens like 
 you is not to be despaired of.' 
 
 As always happens, having been persecuted by 
 the Empire, I was now ranked in the dominant 
 party, and those who had stood aloof from me 
 showed a great desire to be on better terms 
 with me. 
 
 I returned to Marseilles. 
 
 I found that city in a lamentable and grotesque 
 state of anarchy. Numerous associations had been 
 hastily formed under the pretext of making the 
 Germans withdraw from France. One of the leaders 
 had proclaimed himself ' Commissary of the Govern- 
 ment.' He had recruited into a noisy and discon- 
 tented, but purely home-abiding Guard all the 
 ' foaming dregs ' of Aristophanes. From that 
 element of roughs, rowdies, and loafers he drew the 
 Pretorian group who surrounded him, and by means 
 of whom he terrorized the city. 
 
 Towards the latter days of March, 1871, the 
 situation became alarming. The Commune was
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 31 
 
 proclaimed on the 23rd, five days after its official 
 announcement in Paris. An amazing and deplor- 
 able condition of anarchy prevailed. The revolu- 
 tionary forces took possession of the Prefecture. 
 
 The enemies of order flocked in from foreign 
 countries, and terrorists from all parts of the world 
 seemed to have congregated in the town. 
 
 As I had now become a naturalized Frenchman, 
 I felt it my duty to assist my adopted country as 
 well as I could, and I oflTered my services to General 
 Espivent de la Villeboisnet, who had been entrusted 
 with the difficult task of restoring order. 
 
 The post and telegraph office had been seized by 
 the Revolutionists. They suppressed every sus- 
 pected letter ; they retained every telegram which 
 might have informed the regular Government at 
 Versailles of the frightful state of affairs prevailing 
 in the great Southern city. 
 
 I had just let a flat, in a house belonging to my 
 wife, to the Eastern Telegraph Company, which 
 had a special wire to Oran. I had a private 
 interview with the local manager of the Eastern 
 Telegraph Company, and obtained from him per- 
 mission to make a junction between his wire and 
 that of the Versailles Government. Then one 
 night, when the insurgent officials at the Marseilles 
 post-office thought they had an entire control of 
 the wires, I threw a ladder from a neighbouring 
 house, reached by the roofs the offices of the 
 Eastern Telegraph Company, and opened a secret 
 and direct communication with the outside world.
 
 32 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 The Lyons office replied to me and put me in 
 communication with Versailles. 
 
 I immediately informed the Government of the 
 doings of the Communists. 
 
 M. Thiers fully realized the danger. If the 
 Commune triumphed in Marseilles, the whole of 
 the South of France would rise against his Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Accordingly, in reply to my first telegram, 
 M. Thiers o-ave orders to the effect that General 
 Espivent de la Villeboisnet must at any price 
 restore order in the town. 
 
 Two days later, on the 5th of April, the regular 
 troops, which had been concentrated at Aubagne, 
 near Marseilles, burst into the town and recaptured 
 the Prefecture, which had become the headquarters 
 of the insurgents. 
 
 I need not enter here into the details of that 
 terrible day. Everybody did his duty, and I was, I 
 trust, no exception to the rule. Be this as it may, 
 twenty-four hours later the battle was won, and the 
 Commune of Marseilles was extin2:uished. 
 
 General Espivent and my comrades of the loyal 
 National Guard appointed me to report personally 
 to M. Thiers, at Versailles, what had taken place, 
 as, having been an eye-witness, I could narrate 
 the facts better than anyone else. Accordingly, 
 on the 6th of April I set out for Versailles. 
 
 On my arriving there and informing M. Barthe- 
 lemy Saint- Hilaire, then General Secretary of the 
 Government, of the mission entrusted to me, he
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 33 
 
 made an appointment with me at his residence for 
 the following morning. He then took me at once 
 to M. Thiers. 
 
 The President of the Kepublic was in a very 
 simply-furnished room. In one of the corners was 
 a narrow, low camp-bed, covered with brown leather. 
 The floor was littered with maps, and M. Thiers 
 was on his knees poring over a j^lan of Paris. 
 
 He looked up, and on recognising me said, 
 without rising : ' Oh yes, you have come from 
 Marseilles ; but I have no time at 23resent to hear 
 your report. You must go and see Calmon.' And 
 he became again engrossed in the map of Paris. 
 
 I therefore saw M. Calmon, Under-Secretary at 
 the Ministry of the Interior. He listened rather 
 heedlessly to what I said, for he cared much less to 
 know those who had done their duty than the men 
 who had neglected it. I therefore cut short what I 
 had intended telling, and hurriedly left him. 
 
 I was quite discouraged. I bitterly regretted 
 having vainly undertaken a long journey and 
 exposed myself to such a disappointment, and I 
 felt that my best course would be to return to 
 Marseilles. 
 
 Two days later I returned to take leave of 
 M. Thiers. He came forward and welcomed me 
 in a more friendly way. 
 
 ' My reception was not encouraging to you the 
 other da}',' he said, ' but I was then in the deepest 
 anxiety. I thought all was lost. Now I know 
 that we shall get over this trial. I feel more 
 
 3
 
 34 MEMOIllS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 master of myself than I did the other day, and I 
 am ready to hear what you have to tell me. I am 
 aware of the great services you have rendered us. 
 I have received letters from friends at Marseilles 
 which leave no doubt as to that.' 
 
 He then put a number of questions to me, and 
 I described to him the events that had taken 
 place, both in their burlesque and in their gloomy 
 aspects. He seemed to be very much interested 
 in my narrative, and when I had finished he 
 asked me : 
 
 ' Well, what are you going to do now?' 
 
 ' I have come, M. le President, to bid you fare- 
 well. I am going home to-morrow, as I have left 
 my family in the South.' 
 
 ' Do not go away,' he said briskly. ' Stay here a 
 little longer. Come again and tell me what you 
 are doing. I will soon let you know in what way 
 you can be useful to us.' 
 
 I yielded to M. Thiers' desire. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Some days later I was able to take a step 
 which had no small influence on my destiny. The 
 siege of Paris by the Versailles troops was nearing 
 its end. I had gone to Brimborion to see the 
 batteries shelling the Communists. In a casemate 
 near the batteries a young American lady was 
 looking through a loophole. We discussed the 
 events which were taking place, and in the midst 
 of our conversation, on looking again through the 
 hole, the young lady exclaimed :
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 35 
 
 ' What is this ? Look here ! Someone is wavins; 
 a white flag over the ramparts.' 
 
 I took up my glasses and saw that a white flag 
 was being waved violently, and that there was 
 a great stir among the soldiers encamped all 
 about the Seine, while large columns were marching 
 forward. 
 
 The demon of journalism took hold of me. I 
 turned to the young American lady (whom I have 
 never since met), and said to her : 
 
 'Please remain here, and be good enough to 
 notice attentively all that happens. I shall be back 
 in half an hour.' 
 
 I left the casemate and rushed to the Sevres 
 road, where I had left my cab. I said to the 
 driver : 
 
 ' To the Versailles Prefecture as fast as you 
 can.' 
 
 I had the good luck to arrive in the courtyard of 
 the Prefecture at the very moment when M. Thiers 
 was taking his daily constitutional. I ran up to 
 him, exclaiming : 
 
 ' M. le President, the troops are entering Paris.' 
 
 M. Thiers gave a sudden start. ' Where do you 
 come from ?' he asked. 
 
 ' From Brimborion. A man is waving a white 
 flag on the ramparts, and the troops are noAv 
 moving onwards.' 
 
 Ten minutes afterwards M. Thiers was leavino- 
 
 o 
 
 Versailles in a carriage, on the road to Paris. 
 Some days later he sent for me, and made me 
 
 3—2
 
 36 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 tell in detail all that had occurred. He was very 
 much amused at the stratagem I had employed to 
 keep the young American lady inside the casemate, 
 and he said : 
 
 ' It is a " latest news " department that would 
 best suit you. In a day or two I think I shall be 
 able to tell you something about your future 
 career.' 
 
 When I saw him again he told me he was think- 
 ing of giving me a consulate. 
 
 ' It will only be for a start,' he said; 'I am going 
 to send you to Riga as Consul -General, but, depend 
 upon it, you will not remain there long.' 
 
 I concluded that the affair was settled, and began 
 to study the situation of Riga. But M. Thiers had 
 reckoned without kis host. M. Meurand was then 
 at the head of the French Foreign Office. He 
 jealously guarded the consular fortress against the 
 invasion of any outsider, and when M. Thiers 
 proposed me for the post at Riga, M. Meurand did 
 not openly oppose him, but postponed the appoint- 
 ment. Later on he proposed to M. Thiers to send 
 me to Rustchuk. M. Thiers refused, and two 
 months passed by, M. Thiers insisting all the time 
 upon my being sent to Riga, and M. Meurand 
 persisting in his idea of sending me to Rustchuk. 
 I Avas quite disheartened. 
 
 A few weeks later, however, some consolation 
 was afforded me. It came about as follows : 
 
 One morning a friend of mine came in great haste 
 to my house ; he said :
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 37 
 
 * Do you know joii have been decorated for 
 liaving rendered exceptional services ?' 
 
 The Journal Officiel^ in fact, after announcing my 
 nomination, used the following words : ' Gave 
 evidence of the most disinterested devotion to the 
 cause of order . . . exposed himself to the greatest 
 danger on the 4tli of April in conveying the orders 
 tliat had heen entrusted to him.' I take this oppor- 
 tunity of reproducing the above words, for they 
 show exactly why my decoration was granted. Let 
 them be remembered by those who, when I am no 
 more, may have to defend my memory, should it 
 ever be attacked. 
 
 As soon as communications with Paris had been 
 opened, I went into the town. I made several calls, 
 but one of my principal visits was to my old and 
 dear friend, Mr. Frederick Marshall, whose eldest 
 daughter was at that time very ill. Of her let me say 
 one word. She was a girl of fifteen, of high spirits, 
 and of bright and poetic beauty, with qualities of 
 heart and soul which made her too good for this 
 commonplace world. 
 
 It was at this house I met for the first time 
 Laurence Oliphant, then the Special Correspondent 
 of The Times. Sitting? with him for hours near 
 the couch of the sick girl, I soon yielded to the 
 charm which Oliphant inspired in all who had the 
 good fortune to have any intercourse Avith him. 
 He had come to France in compliance with an order 
 from the head of the sect to which he then 
 belonged — the ' Brethren of the New Life.' He
 
 38 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Eiilfilled liis mission witli the ardent docility of 
 a well-initiated and sincere disciple, and from the 
 somewhat lofty standpoint of a man who had drunk 
 too deeply of the sweets of life not to despise them. 
 His observations were sharp and severe, but his 
 political doctrines were of unswerving rectitude, 
 and his judgments on men and things were both 
 caustic and infallible. His letters in The Times were 
 read with avidity, combining as they did accurate 
 observation with a lively style. This, at all events, 
 is what I have heard, for I never read them myself. 
 On the 21st of July — the date is a historical one 
 for me — my dear friend Mr. Frederick Marshall 
 came and told me : 
 
 ' Something has just happened which may interest 
 you. Mr. Hardman, who is the colleague of 
 Laurence Oliphant, the Special Correspondent of 
 The Times, has just left Paris, and will not return 
 for a fortnight. Oliphant is very much incon- 
 venienced He cannot be both at Versailles and 
 Paris, and he is looking out for someone who could 
 at least do a part of Hardman's work. I thought 
 the post would suit you, as you see M. Thiers daily, 
 and you complain of not having enough to do.' 
 
 ' You are right,' I replied : ' I not only like your 
 proposal, but you are doing me a real favour, for 
 in this way I can see M. Thiers without the 
 unpleasant necessity of reminding him of his 
 promises.' 
 
 Marshall lost no time in conveying my reply to 
 Oliphant, who was very much pleased. We all
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 39 
 
 three met. Then Oliphant, who had not yet 
 broached the subject to me, explained to me what 
 were the duties discharg-ed bv Hardman, and 
 requested me to begin the following day. I listened 
 attentively to what he said, but he saw that I felt 
 some difficulty which I did not venture to express. 
 
 Finally he said : ' You seem to hesitate. Did 
 you expect me to speak about the remunera- 
 tion ?' 
 
 ' Not at all,' I promptly replied. ' In this case it 
 is not a question of money, I can assure you ; it is 
 something more embarrassing. Before beginning, 
 I should like to see a copy of The Times.' 
 
 Both looked at me in amazement. 
 
 ' What !' exclaimed Oliphant, ' you do not know 
 T/ie Times f 
 
 ' Excuse me,' I replied, ' I know The Times very 
 well. I know quite well what it is. I have a friend 
 at Marseilles who concludes all his political dis- 
 cussions with the words, " There can be no question 
 about that — The Times says so." The phrase has 
 ])ecome proverbial among his friends. But I have 
 long been living in the somewhat remote Southern 
 departments, and I have never seen a copy of the 
 paper.' 
 
 Oliphant broke into loud laughter. He went out 
 of the room, and came back with a copy of The 
 Times ^ containing some twenty pages, which he 
 spread out on the floor, covering the best part of 
 the carpet with it. I was dumfounded. 
 
 ' A friend of mine,' I said, ' always told me 1
 
 40 MEMOIKS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ouglit to write in a roomy daily paper. I think that 
 size would satisfy him.' 
 
 Mr. <.)lip]iant then explained to me the mechanism 
 of the paper — the telegTams ; the leaders ; . the 
 record of Parliamentary proceedings ; the law and 
 police reports ; the money market and commercial 
 intelligence ; the foreign correspondence ; tlie 
 letters to the Editor ; the Court Circular and 
 fashionable news ; the reports of speeches out of 
 Parliament and the sermons by eminent preachers ; 
 the paragraphs ; the literary, dramatic, musical, and 
 artistic criticisms ; the column of births, deaths, 
 and marriages ; the meteorological reports and 
 storm warnings ; the sporting news, including 
 horse-races, yachting, cricket matches, etc. ; the 
 articles on geographical discoveries and on scientific 
 questions ; and the reviews of important books. 
 
 I was shown the long compact columns of adver- 
 tisements, all carefully scrutinized, classified, and 
 arranged under headings, where supply and demand 
 are brought into juxtaposition with the regularity 
 of machine work ; where no advertisement unworthy 
 of the newspaper is at anj^ price inserted, precautions 
 being taken to insure the bona fides of the adver- 
 tiser. All this explained to me the success of the 
 great English newspapers — hoAV they came into 
 possession of the vast resources at their disposal, 
 and the benefits they confer on the people for whom 
 they are at once a curb, a power, a stimulant, and a 
 glory. I was delighted to find employment, even 
 for a time, on the greatest of such journals.
 
 HOW I BECWME A JOURNALIST 41 
 
 The followino; day I went to Versailles. I found 
 M. Thiers in a very irritable state of mind. He 
 was indignant with all French political parties. He 
 accused the Royalists of perfidy, the Republicans of 
 ingratitude, and the Bonapartists of impudence. I 
 left him without daring to speak of my new occu- 
 pation, but on reflecting on what he had said I 
 drew up a note, which I sent to Mr. Oliphant. He 
 was yery much pleased with it. 
 
 ' A genuine hit,' he said. ' There is not a word 
 to alter in it. You are a born journalist.' 
 
 He then sent off my first telegram to The Times. 
 The following afternoon, as I was walking along 
 the boulevards, I bought a copy of the Liherte. In 
 the latest news I saw the telegram I had sent on 
 the previous night, under the words ' A telegram 
 from Paris to The Times says. . . .' I experienced 
 one of the stronsrest emotions I ever felt in my life. 
 The power of the telegram in its connection with 
 journalism flashed u])on me at that moment, and I 
 felt I could turn it to account. I then resolved 
 that I would remain in Paris and become a 
 journalist. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The day after the publication of my first tele- 
 gram I went to see M. Thiers, not without appre- 
 hension. He was awaiting me with impatience. 
 
 ' Tell me,' he said at once, ' how it comes about 
 that The Times^ and after it all the French papers, 
 were able to publish a conversation which I had 
 with you when none else was present.'
 
 42 MEINIOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 All hesitation was out o£ the question, so I told 
 him the truth immediately. It was a most dramatic 
 surprise. He, too, saw at once the power he Avould 
 gain, in an indirect but striking manner, hy placing 
 his ideas thus before the public mind. At the 
 same time, I think he felt relieved at being able to 
 discontinue his struo-o-le with M. Meurand, who 
 persisted in defending his position with the utmost 
 tenacity. M. Thiers was not overpleased when I 
 told him that my appointment was temporary. 
 
 •5k ^k 4k 41: 4k 
 
 •w" •St" ^r 'Jr flP 
 
 The conversation I had with him supplied me 
 with matter for a new telegram, and for a fresh and 
 no less admirable letter by Oliphant, and it was in 
 this way that we were able to carry on our joint 
 work. Some days afterwards I asked permission 
 from M. Thiers to visit with Oliphant the prisons 
 in which the Communists were confined. M. Thiers 
 gladly granted the permission. 
 
 I must explain that Mr. Hardman, carried away 
 by his feelings and without taking into considera- 
 tion the frio-litful difficulties the Government of 
 
 o 
 
 Versailles had to overcome, had, hastily and in 
 perfect good faith, given an account in bis letters 
 of these temporary and defective makeshift build- 
 ings whicli had produced a deep impression on 
 public opinion all over Europe. M. Thiers was 
 delighted to see us set right the errors which had 
 found their way into these letters. Accompanied 
 by Colonel Gaillard, who at that time assisted 
 General Appert, we went through the prisons of the
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 43 
 
 Orangerie, the Cliantiers, and the camp of Satory, 
 where the Communists were confined. 
 
 General Appert, who afterward discharged the 
 duties of Russian Ambassador in a way which 
 gained for him general esteem, was at that time 
 entrusted Avith the organization and direction of the 
 temporary prisons. He displayed in this capacity 
 all the humanity compatible with the circumstances. 
 The events had taken everybody by surprise. 
 Each day that passed between the 21st and the 
 26th of May, the incendiary fires, the massacres, 
 and the fusillades — the most horrible episode in 
 modern history — had sent swarms of prisoners to 
 Versailles. It had been impossible to do otherwise 
 than huddle them together. 
 
 When we visited the prison the Commune was 
 not over. It appeared to us hideous, grotesque, 
 and sublime. 
 
 In the prisons of the Cliantiers we beheld 
 squatting on the floor one of the most beautiful 
 young women I have ever seen. Her long 
 black tresses fell over her bare shoulders, and 
 as she had torn her dress to shreds, in order 
 not to wear the clothes of the " accursed Ver- 
 saillais," one could see her naked body through 
 the rents. She was tall and graceful, and on the 
 approach of visitors she reared her head proudly, 
 like a war-horse about to neigh. Her bright eyes 
 glistened, a blush overspread her face. She com- 
 pressed her lips, ground her teeth, and burst into a 
 shrill, defiant, vindictive laugh when slie recognised
 
 44 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 the officer of the prison who accompanied us. In 
 the last struggle of the Commune she had been fight- 
 ing at the side of her lover. She had seen him fall, 
 and, armed with a dagger, had rushed upon the Cap- 
 tain who had just taken the barricade, and furiously 
 stabl)ed him, plunging her weapon again and again 
 into her victim. Before she could be removed 
 from his body, she had cut, bitten, and torn it with 
 all the fury of a hyena. She was taken to the prison 
 covered with blood, which she had dabbled over her 
 body and clothes. She had to be bound and gagged 
 before she would allow the blood to l)e washed off. 
 
 Hideous ! 
 
 At Satory, while we Avere passing through the 
 camp, one of the prisoners, jauntily and with a 
 smile on his face, came up to Colonel Gaillard. I 
 never saw a more ridiculous caricature. He was 
 thin, bony, and narrow- shouldered. His head was 
 compressed, and his features looked as if they 
 had not been meant for the same face. He was in 
 rags, but he wore, like a Castilian beggar, soiled 
 linen — on which it would have been necessary to 
 write ' This is a shirt ' — a long, loose overcoat, and 
 a dilapidated tall hat. He was a student nicknamed 
 Pipe-en-Bois, who had discharged the duties of 
 secretary to the Delegate of Foreign Affairs. On 
 one occasion he had offered a pot of beer to Lord 
 Lyons, to pass the time while waiting in the Grand 
 Salon d'Attente at the Quai d'Orsay. The offer 
 had not been accepted, but had Ijeen acknowledged 
 with a smile. He came up to Colonel Gaillard.
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 45 
 
 ' They tell me, Colonel,' lie said, ' that we are to 
 be taken clown to be called as witnesses before the 
 court-martial. Can you inform me how long we 
 shall be kept down there ?' 
 
 ' I am sorry I cannot, as I do not know,' was the 
 Colonel's courteous reply. 
 
 ' Excuse the liberty I took,' continued Pipe- en 
 Bois, drawing together his overcoat ; ' it was only to 
 know what linen would be required.' 
 
 Grotesque ! 
 
 The Commune was also sublime. A prisoner, a 
 man, had been captured with arms in his hands, 
 imprisoned, and condemned to death. His wife 
 made heroic efforts to save him, and succeeded in 
 securing the sympathy of a man who had influence 
 in these times. Her husband was saved from 
 capital punishment, and was condemned to trans- 
 portation. Left alone and abandoned, w^ithout 
 resources, she had formed an intimacy with the man 
 who had saved her husband. After living for years 
 with this lover, to whom she was deeply attached, 
 she besought him to apply for a pardon for her 
 husband. Although he felt that he was destroy- 
 ing her happiness and his own, he did so. The 
 husband returned, full of love for the wife who 
 had saved him from execution and procured his 
 liberation. On the way home, however, he learned 
 the truth. He changed his name, disappeared, 
 and lived in hiding for many years. Then, when 
 divorce became possible in France, he wrote to 
 his wife : ' Apply for a divorce from me ; I will
 
 46 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 do all I can to secure one for you. Marry him and 
 be happy.' 
 
 Sublime ! 
 
 Oliphant wrote admirable letters on this visit, in 
 which he gave a most accurate description of what 
 he saw, and they produced a great impression. The 
 Times then asked permission to send Mr. Charles 
 Austin,* a clever and humorous writer, to the 
 fortified prisons in the South of France, as Special 
 Correspondent, and his communications to the paper 
 completely corrected the wrong impressions that 
 had prevailed with respect to the treatment of the 
 French political prisoners. 
 
 It was just at the time when my new occupation 
 had the greatest charm for me that Mr. Hardman 
 returned to his duties. It was a hard blow for me 
 to bear. 
 
 M. Thiers thought of applying on my behalf to 
 The Times. He was now accustomed to my visits. 
 I was one of the political elements which gravitated 
 around him. He was unwilling that any change 
 should be made. Oliphant, however, objected to 
 his intervention. He said it would be a sure way 
 of losing all chance of admission on the staff of 
 the paper. M. Thiers accordingly abandoned his 
 scheme. 
 
 Riga, this eternal phantom of the snowy North, 
 came once more to the front. This time M. Thiers 
 promised formally to hand me my letter of appoint- 
 
 * The late Dr. Charles Sumner Austin, Senior Fellow of 
 St. John's College, Oxford.
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURxNALIST 47 
 
 ment within eight days. Riga ! It appeared to me 
 now a place of exile. 
 
 I had drunk too deeply of the sweets of a life 
 the very struggles of which were full of delight. I 
 clung to it. I made some advances to the Paris 
 newspapers. I soon felt that, to become a French 
 journalist, talent, even if one has it, does not suffice. 
 Many other qualities are necessary, and these I did 
 not possess. Extreme suppleness, readiness in 
 understanding the public taste and in conforming to 
 it, are indispensable in a French editor. He must 
 possess, besides, the art of repelling a public 
 adversary by alarming the individual, skill to com- 
 mand influence by asserting the possession of it, a 
 natural way of using the editorial ' we ' without a 
 smile, a perfection of style which throws into the 
 shade the interest of the facts and the skill with 
 which they are grouped, a brilliancy of detail which 
 dazzles and distracts attention, something which is 
 at once aggressive, bold, and sceptical. All these 
 gifts the French newspaper man possesses instinc- 
 tively, and brings them to perfection by living in a 
 special milieu. I felt that I was destitute of all 
 these qualifications, without which no one can reach 
 an eminent position on the French press. Sadly, 
 then, I determined on the course I should take. I 
 resolved to see M. Thiers in the course of the day, 
 and to remind him of the letter of appointment he 
 had formally promised to obtain for me. 
 
 Breakfast was just over, when suddenly Oliphant 
 made his appearance. He had a telegram in his hand.
 
 48 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' Hardman,' he said, ' was called back the day 
 l)e£ore yesterday. He will not return to Paris. I 
 telegraphed yesterday to Tlie Times ^ and I have this 
 moment received a reply. A proposal is made to 
 give 3^011 a permanent apjjointment. If you accept, 
 you will remain in tlie meantime with me ; and the 
 other matters can easily be arranged.' 
 
 My satisfaction was so apparent that I had no 
 need to reply. I set out for Versailles, where I 
 announced to M. Thiers that Mr. Hardman had 
 again left, and that I was once more to take his 
 place. He told me my appointment to Kiga was 
 read}^, and that he would delay its announce- 
 ment till he heard from me again, for I did not 
 inform him that I was permanently engaged by 
 The Times. 
 
 I must confess that for a long time I concealed 
 the fact from him, and that frequently, by asking 
 for my appointment to Riga, I overcame the 
 difficulties that arose between him and me. When 
 he became aware of the truth, he, in turn, said 
 nothing of it to me, but I felt that ' Riga ' was 
 of no more use. Fortunately, at this time I had 
 multiplied my sources of information. The inter- 
 course between M. Thiers and me was at times less 
 cordial, for I had to give news which embarrassed 
 him, instead of the one-sided information which he 
 communicated to me to help his policy. 
 
 Here is an instance : 
 
 One evening M. Thiers, who had by this time 
 taken up his abode at the Elysee, had a private
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 49 
 
 reception. M. Timachief, the Russian Minister, 
 was for a short time in earnest conversation with 
 him. The President was evidently annoyed. I went 
 to another part of the room not to overhear what was 
 said. As I was leaving, M. Thiers said to me : 
 
 ' The Russian Minister congratulated me yesterday 
 morning on the discipline I have introduced into the 
 Republican party. He said the European monarchic 
 Governments were much impressed by it.' 
 
 I did not for a moment call in question the 
 accuracy of the statement, but it was in no respect 
 consistent with the attitude of the two speakers I 
 had seen in conversation. I accordingly resolved to 
 wait a little before writing on the subject. As it 
 happened, on making my way out of the Palace I 
 
 overtook Count , the Prefect of one of the 
 
 chief French departments, who had stopped at the 
 gate and was busy writing notes in the light of 
 the gas-lamp. I went up to him. I said : 
 
 ' My dear Prefect, the detectives will take us into 
 custody. They will think you are making plans of 
 the Palace to carry out some plot.' 
 
 ' Their imagination will bring them no reward,' 
 he said. ' I was simply taking a note of some 
 remarks made by M. Thiers, whom I found very 
 indignant, and on what I consider very good grounds, 
 too. It appears that M. Timachief, the Russian 
 Minister, used strong language in speaking to him 
 this evening about the revolutionary speech made 
 at Romans by Gambetta, which, he said, would spread 
 alarm in the European monarchies.' 
 
 4
 
 50 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 After a moment's reflection, he added : ' I think 
 it would be a service to everybody if you were to 
 mention the fact.' 
 
 I remained with him for a few minutes, talking 
 of general subjects ; but on leaving I lost no time 
 in writing that M. Timachief, after having con- 
 gratulated M. Thiers on the discipline he had intro- 
 duced into the Republican party, had on the follow- 
 ing night — that on which I wrote — protested strongly 
 against the disquieting attitude it had assumed. 
 
 I am going, for the benefit of younger journalists, 
 to give a hint which a good many of them whom I 
 know would do well to bear in mind. When a man 
 gives a correspondent an important piece of news, 
 the latter should continue to remain with him for 
 some time, but change the conversation, and not 
 leave him until it has turned to something quite 
 insignificant. If the correspondent take his de- 
 parture abruptly, a flash of caution will burst upon 
 his informant. He will reflect rapidly, and will 
 beg the journalist not to repeat what he has said till 
 he sees him again. The information would be lost, 
 and the correspondent would suflfer annoyance that 
 might have been avoided if he had heard nothing. 
 A newspajier has no use for confidential communi- 
 cations it cannot transmit to its readers. 
 
 Taking this view, I published my double informa- 
 tion. An explosion followed. The Conservatives 
 were delighted, and set M. Thiers at defiance ; Prince 
 Orloff" was irritated ; M. Thiers was very much ex- 
 asperated, and he went so far as to say to me :
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 51 
 
 ' I never spoke of that to anyone. You should 
 have communicated with me before repeating what 
 had been only partially told you.' 
 
 He thouo-ht I had overheard his conversation 
 with M. Timachief . 
 
 I was indignant. I gave way to one of those fits 
 of nervous excitement which at times will master 
 us. And in a loud voice I replied, ' The ruler of a 
 State commits a great imprudence when he receives 
 a journalist who can repeat aloud what is told him 
 in a whisper,' and I burst out of the room furiously. 
 
 Three weeks afterwards I met M. Thiers in the 
 Galerie des Tombeaux. He came up to me smiling. 
 ' You are certainly a good journalist,' he said, ' but 
 your nerves are so highly strung that I shall never 
 think of making you an Ambassador.' Then he 
 asked me to call on him, as he had an interesting 
 piece of news to give me. Peace was restored 
 between us. 
 
 This is a sufficient illustration of the difficulty a 
 newspaper correspondent has in both serving his 
 friends and telling the truth. It is prudent for him 
 to accept no favour which can give those who bestow 
 it a right or claim to control him. 
 
 A short time after I had officially entered on my 
 duties as a Times correspondent, Mr. Oliphant took 
 a holiday, and, with the approval of the pa])er, 
 entrusted me with the non-telegraphic correspon- 
 dence. I was delighted to see my first letter copied 
 into the newspapers of every country. I had the 
 same satisfaction in 1872, when I gave an account 
 
 4—2
 
 52 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 of my interview at Antwerp with the Comte de 
 Chambord. 
 
 Not long afterwards a lucky accident secured for 
 me the approbation and good-will of Mr. John 
 Delane, who for thirty- two years was Editor of The 
 Times^ and who, I need scarcely say, was the most 
 competent judge of the merits of a journalist, and 
 the honour and glory of the profession. 
 
 In the year referred to, Mr. Delane came to Paris, 
 and I then saw him for the first time. I accom- 
 panied him to Versailles, and we were present at 
 a sitting of the Chamber which was entirel}^ taken 
 up by an admirable speech by M. Thiers, delivered 
 amidst the greatest excitement. We returned 
 together to Paris, and the same night Mr. Delane 
 left for London. It was toward the end of April, 
 and I went with him to the rail way -station. At 
 tiiat same time there was no proper arrangement 
 for the publication in Paris of the debates at Ver- 
 sailles. The summary appeared very late, and the 
 report of the proceedings given by the Soir could 
 not be had in Paris in time to be made use of by us. 
 
 ' What a pity,' said Mr. Delane, on leaving me, 
 ' that things are so badly organized ! If we could 
 have given that speech from one end to the other 
 in to-morrow's paper, what a glorious thing it would 
 have been !' 
 
 When he had left, a wild idea came into my head. 
 Following an old habit which I still retain, I sat 
 down and shut my eyes. I then strove to call up 
 the image of the Assembly, with M. Thiers in the
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 53 
 
 rostrum, and as I had listened very attentive!}' to 
 what he had said, it seemed as if I could hear him 
 speaking and that I could write down his speech. 
 
 I went at once to the telegraph-office in the Rue 
 de Grenelle. I obtained writing materials in an 
 empty room. There I put into operation my 
 mnemonic process. Alternately I shut my eyes to 
 see and hear M. Thiers, and then opened them to 
 write out the speech for the wire. I was able to 
 recall and report all his speech, which was, of 
 course, instantaneously transmitted to London. 
 When Mr. Delane, next morning, opened The Twies 
 in England, he found in it two columns and a half 
 reporting the speech he had heard on the previous 
 afternoon at Versailles. 
 
 The direct wire which The Times obtained two 
 years afterwards — in May, 1874 — and which has 
 now been so generally imitated, was the result of 
 the effort I made on this occasion to outstrip the 
 Paris journalists in reporting their own news. 
 
 Mr. Oliphant had come to Europe from America 
 in compliance with orders he had received from the 
 founder of a sect whom he spoke of as ' the prophet 
 Harris.' He had for years led a troubled life in 
 London. His countrymen had been both amused 
 and scandalized by the publication of a satirical 
 sheet, the Owl. 
 
 He was beginning to reflect on the vanity of a 
 life leading to nothing great or noble, when he 
 made the acquaintance of Mr. Harris, who was 
 looking out in Europe for converts and recruits to
 
 54 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 join a colony they had founded in the United States. 
 His doctrine soon took a firm hold of the imagina- 
 tion of Oliphant, who recognised ' the prophet ' as 
 one whom it was his duty to serve and obey. In 
 proof of this, he sul)mitted to the hardest and 
 meanest work. Thus, as a labourer, he drove carts 
 filled with manure for the new colony — the 
 ' Brethren of the New Life.' 
 
 Harris sent Oliphant back to Europe on the out- 
 break of the Franco- German War, and it was then 
 he entered the employment of TJie Times ^ at first 
 as a Special War Correspondent, and afterward as 
 chief Paris representative of the paper. He had 
 married a charming wife, whom he easily converted 
 to the new faith, she, in fact, accepting her 
 husband's teaching with the docility of a loving 
 heart, blind to the errors of the apostle. From the 
 commencement of our official intercourse I had 
 taken special care to make known to my colleague 
 my religious opinions, in order to avert any contro- 
 versy or misunderstanding between us. 
 
 The first time he began to explain his doctrines, I 
 interrupted him. 
 
 ' Excuse me,' I said, ' I think we ought to settle 
 once for all this question of proselytism, which 
 might cause diiFerences between us. I cannot 
 accept the views of your prophet, which are based 
 on pride. He has proved to you that you are 
 greater than other men because you have submitted 
 to drive a dust-cart. I prefer the word of Christ, 
 who tau2:ht us not to consider ourselves greater or
 
 HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 55 
 
 better than other men, because we are dust ourselves. 
 Humanity oscillates between atheism, which rejects 
 reason, and reason, which bows to faith. Those who 
 would substitute gravitation for the law of God, 
 those who would explain the everlasting harmony 
 of the world by successive aggregations arising out 
 of chaos in fulfilment of an unconscious and sub- 
 lime order, claim a greater effort from me than 
 those who ask me to believe in one God and in the 
 doctrine of the Trinity. When I have admitted 
 that God created the world, I have expressed a 
 belief, certainly, which makes revealed religions 
 appear infinitely less miraculous, and a thousand- 
 fold more acceptable, than the theory of sponta- 
 neous creation and automatic development. That 
 from the midst of the people of God, trodden under 
 the hoof of the pagan conqueror in the corrupt 
 Gr^co-Roman world, there should have arisen a 
 prophet who, instead of hatred and revolution, 
 preached charity, forgiveness, brotherly love, and 
 goodwill toward all men, was itself a greater 
 miracle than any of those attributed to Christ during 
 His sojourn on earth. Unless you can teach me a 
 religion which inculcates precepts more sublime than 
 those of the Divine philosopher of Nazareth, which 
 your prophet does not do, leave me my faith without 
 seeking to trouble it. You may make an unhappy 
 man, but you will not make a disciple.' 
 
 Oliphant did not reply. He was perhaps pleased 
 I had spoken with so much sincerity, and the 
 subject was never again referred to.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 
 
 On the 31st of July, 1872, the Comte de Keratry, 
 who was then Prefect of the department of Bouches- 
 dii-Rhone, came to Versailles. His object was to 
 induce M. Thiers to bring to the notice of the 
 National Assembly the serious difference which 
 existed between himself and the Mayor of Marseilles. 
 M. Thiers received him most kindly, listened to 
 what he had to say, and, by way of reply, invited 
 him to luncheon. At table he was most attentive 
 to his guest, paying him all the honours due to his 
 position as head official of one of the largest 
 prefectures of France. He had ofiered him the 
 seat to the right of Mme. Thiers, facing himself. 
 This strict observance of etiquette was at the same 
 time a clever piece of strategy, for M. Thiers had 
 given M. de Keratry the only place at ta]3le from 
 which it was impossible for him to discuss with 
 his host the question about which he had come. 
 M. de Keratry understood this, and immediately 
 after luncheon, as M. Thiers appeared to be greatly 
 ])ressed for time, he took leave of him, and we left 
 the house together. ' He was afraid,' said M. de 
 
 L 56]
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 57 
 
 Keratry, ' that I should compel him to delay the 
 prorogation of the National Assembly.' 
 
 That was quite true. M. Thiers was leaving the 
 following day for Trouville, where he was to spend 
 a few weeks. The National Assembly was to 
 cease work that very afternoon and take its vaca- 
 tion. The idea of this visit to Trouville delighted 
 M. Thiers, and he was as excited as a child about 
 it — for, owing to his chubljy appearance, short 
 and stout as he was, his exhibitions of joy or anger 
 were apt to appear child-like. 
 
 He had taken the Cordier Chalet at Trouville. 
 Everything was arranged, all preparations had been 
 completed, and part of the Presidential household 
 was already installed in the chalet, expecting to 
 receive its master at any moment. The train in 
 which M. Thiers was to travel was waiting in the 
 Versailles station, and was ready to start. The 
 various places where the Presidential train was to 
 stop had been advised of the hour and of the length 
 of time the train would remain there. All the 
 preliminaries, in fact, which are necessary for an 
 official and, one might almost say, a triumphal 
 journey had been arranged, and M. Thiers was in a 
 state of joyful impatience which made the idea of 
 any delay in his departure unbearable. 
 
 Comte de Keratry gained nothing by his journey. 
 The National Assembly broke up, and M. Thiers 
 was free to start. 
 
 The departure was fixed for the 1st of August at 
 an early hour in the morning.
 
 58 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 At Versailles, the silence which had followed the 
 departure of the National Assembly was broken by 
 unusual animation. A somewhat large group had 
 gathered in front of the gates of the Prefecture, 
 where open carriages awaited the Chief of the 
 State, whilst his civil and military household, in full 
 uniform, were in the courtyard. The sun was 
 radiant — less radiant, though, than M. Thiers himself 
 when, dressed in black, with his frock-coat buttoned, 
 tight-fitting gloves, and a gray hat, he came down 
 into the courtyard, accompanied by Mme. Thiers 
 and Mdlle. Dosne. 
 
 Colonel Lambert, Captain Fayet, and Lieutenant 
 de Salignac-Fenelon, drawn up in a line, gave the 
 military salute, with a smile on their lips. They, 
 with M. Leroux and M. Andrieux, Chief Secretaries, 
 and their assistants, walking bareheaded, formed the 
 retinue which was to accompany the President to 
 Trouville. 
 
 The little crowd gave a few confused shouts 
 when the carriages, at a slow, measured pace, 
 passed through the gates in the direction of the 
 station. 
 
 As they went along, people raised their hats 
 respectfully. The travellers formed a line, the 
 Democrats remaining bare-headed, and the Reaction- 
 ists keeping their hats on and holding their heads 
 up in a defiant way. The station was decorated, 
 and a railway-inspector preceded M. Thiers to the 
 carriage reserved for him, and remained at his 
 orders until he arrived at his destination. It was
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 59 
 
 the departure of a Sovereign, without his State 
 dress, travelling incognito. 
 
 The train left by a branch line joining the main 
 — I do not remember where — and on the platform of 
 the first station at which it stopped we saw a stout 
 man appear, with a red face, wearing the tricoloured 
 sash. He placed himself in front of M. Thiers 
 with several other men round him, all of whom had 
 very red faces. He then took out a paper and 
 proceeded to read, but his slow, monotonous voice 
 did not reach our ears. 
 
 M. Thiers, who had turned his back on us, bowed 
 several times, raised his hat slightly, and then, with 
 quick, graceful gestures, replied in his clear, refined 
 voice, and everyone applauded. There were a 
 few shouts heard, which were taken up by the 
 crowd that had gathered outside the station along- 
 side the railings of the platform. M. Thiers con- 
 tinued talking for a few minutes. He made 
 inquiries about the needs and wishes of the little 
 town, but he stopped the Mayor in his enumeration, 
 and took his leave just as the poor man, with his 
 arm in the air, was continuing the list of all the 
 wants and requirements of this particular part of 
 the country. We could see nothing of M. Thiers 
 but his back, but he must have been delighted, for 
 positively his very back was laughing heartily. The 
 President, leaving the Mayor rather surprised at the 
 unexpected way in which the interview ended, went 
 back to his compartment, and we set off' once more 
 on our journey. At Trouville the station was very
 
 r;0 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 nicely decorated. The carriages were waiting for 
 M. Thiers in the courtyard; there was a rather 
 large crowd, which included the Mayor and the 
 Municipal Council. The Mayor was a man well 
 known to M. Thiers and to all of us, and his little 
 speech sounded very well. 
 
 The President and his suite drove through the 
 town, which had been decorated here and there, to 
 the Cordier Chalet. He was greeted cordially by 
 the population, whilst, from the top of the Honfleur 
 road, behind the Hotel des Roches-Noires, could be 
 heard the firing of a cannon. It was merely by 
 chance, and was rather ironical, as it had not been 
 intended in honour of the President's arrival. This 
 incident afforded members of the Opposition who 
 happened to be promenading on the famous planks 
 an excellent subject for endless jokes. 
 
 ***** 
 
 M. Thiers was soon installed, without much 
 ceremony, in the Cordier Chalet. But on the day 
 following his arrival it was evident that Trouville 
 was the residence of someone of note, and that it 
 had become a centre of importance. The trains 
 brought visitors, whose appearance attracted atten- 
 tion. A whole troop of individuals who had favours 
 to ask swooped down on the beach. Men, who were 
 either imperious or ruined and desperate, came to 
 beg for themselves, for their cousins, their friends, 
 or their sons, prefectures, su])-prefectures, con- 
 sulates or tax-coUectorships, or other Government 
 appointments of all kinds and of all classes.
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 61 
 
 Women, outrageously made up, pushed forward 
 into the front row as the old President passed by, 
 and when once there, with their enticing looks, 
 they endeavoured to bombard Math their eyes the 
 dispenser of the favours they hoped to obtain. 
 
 They were all of them convinced that M. Thiers 
 could do everything he wished, and that a smile 
 from him meant — for them, at least — 6,000 francs 
 a year. 
 
 It seemed as though the hour for sharing the 
 spoils had come. The Empire in its fall had left 
 behind the widows of the Budget and the orphans 
 of the Civil List. The eighteen years of this reign 
 had sharpened the teeth of those who had only seen 
 the feast at a distance ; and all — those of yesterday 
 and those of to-day — were asking for their share of 
 the taxpayers' flesh. 
 
 Besides these ordinary starving creatures who 
 ' walked the planks,' as the saying was at Trou- 
 viUe at the time, there were also certain persons in 
 a higher position who were more interesting and 
 better qualified to get situations. Then there were 
 Ambassadors, Members of the Assembly, Ministers 
 of yesterday and of to-morrow, financiers both sound 
 and unsound, exotic visitors, women merely elegant 
 or titled, who wanted to see the celebrities of the 
 day and be able to tell, de visu, anything that would 
 be of interest at their receptions or at their dinner- 
 parties, foreign statesmen who suddenly felt the 
 need of visiting the seaside resorts of Normandy — a 
 crowd that came from all parts, a pack of human
 
 62 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 cards wliicli chance, or political or social strategy, 
 mixed together, flocked round M. Thiers. The salon 
 of the Cordier Chalet more often than not contained 
 the rarest mixture of people, and as, finally, everyone 
 felt at liberty to speak freely, nothing was more 
 lively, more piquant, and more suggestive, than 
 these soirees of the Trouville Court, during which 
 the President was sometimes dozing peacefully in 
 his arm-chair in the midst of the gentle hum of 
 voices murmuring around him. 
 
 ***** 
 The firing or testing of the Reffye cannon on the 
 top of the Honfleur road was at the time one of the 
 pastimes of this seaside resort. A rough enclosure 
 had been erected on the plateau, and soldiers were 
 stationed there. A few cannon without any horses, 
 but with men and ammunition, had been placed there. 
 The French flag waved from the top of a pole. 
 A few artillerymen mounted guard most solemnly, 
 and a crowd of curious and well-dressed people were 
 always loitering there. 
 
 M. Thiers nearly every day after luncheon 
 went u]) to the plateau attended by his military 
 suite. The soldiers shouldered arms. The artillery 
 officers grouped themselves round him, by the side 
 of the three officers of his household. A few 
 foreign military attaches walked up the hill, and 
 were present at the experiments. In the distance, 
 on the moving water, an old l)lack barge, pierced 
 with holes like a battle flag, tossing and rocking 
 about, served as a target. M. Thiers, with his gray
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 63 
 
 hat piislietl slightly back, his big field-glass up to 
 his eyes, his frock-coat buttoned, and sometimes 
 affecting the traditional pose o£ Napoleon, watched 
 the projectiles fly through the air, saw when they 
 struck, and waved his hat enthusiastically when a 
 straight shot shook the barge, made it dance about, 
 and hollowed out a gaping hole in its already per- 
 forated hulk. 
 
 The crowd applauded. M. Thiers raised his 
 hat again, congratulated the artillerymen who had 
 laid the gun and those who had fired it, and then 
 rejoined Mme. Thiers and Mdlle. Dosne, and, 
 followed by an imposing procession, continued his 
 daily promenade along the sandy road. From the 
 balcony where I was I could see him lifting his gray 
 hat incessantly, whilst as he passed the men all took 
 off their hats, and the vieille gai^de^ in brilliant 
 colours, stood aside or bowed like a cornfield 
 ravaged by the hail and interspersed with daisies, 
 cornflowers, and poppies. 
 
 *M. .if, ^t, ^ 
 
 <£• ^ ^r If 
 
 My stay at Trouville had already extended beyond 
 the time which had been allotted me. M. Thiers 
 seemed annoyed whenever I spoke of returning to 
 Paris, and I began to wonder how I should manage 
 to escape, when, on the 13th of August, in the 
 afternoon, I was told that the President, whom I 
 had seen in the morning, had just started for Paris. 
 One of his secretaries informed me that he had been 
 recalled suddenly to preside at a Council which was 
 to meet the following day, and after which he would
 
 64 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 return to Trouville. The following day, although I 
 had no Council whatever at which to preside, I took 
 the same route as the President and returned to 
 Paris. 
 
 It was with a great sense of comfort and relief 
 that I entered my own home once more, closing the 
 doors to all that went on in the outside world, and 
 giving orders that neither letters nor newspapers 
 should be brought to me. For the last twenty-five 
 years this has been my method of obtaining absolute 
 rest. On the 15th, however, in the evening, in spite 
 of my strict orders, the outside world did succeed in 
 penetrating into my house in the form of an official 
 despatch. ' Come back as soon as possible. You 
 are impatiently awaited.' The despatch, on yellow 
 paper, was signed by one of M. Thiers' secretaries. 
 That was the end of my short rest. 
 
 I was very sorry. I took the first train the next 
 day, and I had a compartment to myself. I did not 
 open a newspaper, and went straight from the 
 station to the Cordier Chalet. 
 
 From the very first moment of my arrival I was 
 struck by the unusual attitude of things. x\t the 
 gateway quite a number of soldiers and policemen 
 had been stationed. On entering, everyone was 
 examined with visible distrust, and, although I was 
 well known, I had to undergo a sort of progressive 
 inspection before crossing the first threshold. From 
 the gates to the chalet the most extraordinary 
 precautions appeared to have been taken. There 
 were patrols, or men who seemed to be acting as
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 65 
 
 such, walking along the paths, and through the 
 leaves of the summer arbours I could see the 
 disciples of ' Saint Detective,' dressed like well-to-do 
 citizens of the suburbs of Paris, promenading about 
 warily and watching over the welfare of the State. 
 The man-servant on duty introduced me without even 
 announcing me. I was expected. M. Thiers was 
 alone in the large drawing-room, the principal door 
 of which, leading on to a flight of stone steps, was 
 open to the sunshine. He got up quickly and shook 
 hands with me. 
 
 ' Well, what do you think of it ?' he asked. 
 ' To what are you referring, M. le President ?' 
 I answered. 
 
 'To what am I referring? Have you been to 
 sleep, then, for the last twenty-four hours ?' 
 
 The reproach was well deserved, for I had been 
 asleep for the last forty- eight hours. I could only 
 bow in silence. 
 
 ' AVell, now,' continued M. Thiers, laughing, ' you 
 are a well-informed correspondent ! Is it possible 
 that you have not heard about the conspiracy of 
 which I came very near being the victim yesterday 
 afternoon ?' 
 
 ' No, really I have not,' I answered. ' I was 
 taking my holiday, and as my work consists in 
 knowing everything, my holiday consists in not 
 knowing anything.' 
 
 ' Oh, well,' continued M. Thiers, in his low, hiss- 
 ing voice, 'yesterday, being the 15th of August, the 
 Emperor's birthday, a band of conspirators in a 
 
 5
 
 66 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Russian boat approached the shore, and as their 
 cannon fired they shouted, " Long live the 
 Emperor !" just at the time when I am accustomed 
 to rest on the terrace of the Roches-Noires. They 
 went towards the Hotel des Roches-Noires, in front 
 of which some harmless-looking little boats were 
 tacking about near the shore, whilst the big boat 
 had gone back to the open sea and was also tack- 
 ing. The plan was to get hold of me and carry me 
 off to the ship. You see at once the consequences. 
 The Assembly is having; its vacation. There is, no 
 doubt, a watchword agreed upon, and accomplices 
 were waiting from one end of France to the other 
 for the news that I was captured. They would then 
 have JDrought about a general rising ; the Emperor 
 would have landed on a certain point of the coast, 
 and they would have endeavoured to restore the 
 Empire. I have not yet the list of all the con- 
 spirators, but I know the two principal ones. First 
 and foremost is M. Gunsbourg, the owner of the 
 Russian boat — oh, as for him, he can make his 
 mind easy . . . OrlofF came at once and declared 
 that he would have Gunsbourg recalled and his boat 
 burned. The other is M. Bertrand de Valon, son of 
 the Comtesse de Valon, whom I saw only a few 
 days ago. I promised her that I would do some- 
 thing for her son, not knowing that he was a 
 Bonapartist. I shall send them both to the Assize 
 Court, where they will have to answer the charge of 
 armed conspiracy.' 
 
 I was simply dumfounded on hearing this story.
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 67 
 
 How could I have had the bad luck not to know 
 anything about so serious a matter ? How was it 
 that I, after accompanying M. Thiers to Trouville, 
 and for a fortnight keeping my readers well 
 informed with regard to his doings and movements 
 — how was it that I, who, to use an expression 
 which he had so good-naturedly applied to me, had 
 constituted myself his ' affectionate historiographer ' 
 — how could I have alloAved such an event to happen 
 without even mentioning it ? By the expression of 
 my face M. Thiers could read my thoughts. He 
 looked at me over his spectacles and came close up 
 to me, as he was accustomed to do when he wanted 
 to penetrate anyone's inner reflections. 
 
 ' We'll make up for all this,' he said. ' I'm 
 delighted that you have not yet said anything 
 about it. You have not, as they say, taken up 
 your position yet.' 
 
 He then gave me the details, and begged me to 
 read the letter to him which I was to send to my 
 paper that same night. It was the first time he had 
 ever asked me such a thing, and when I left him I 
 was somewhat vexed at his request. I made no 
 promise about the matter. On entering the Roches- 
 Noires I found M. Gunsbourg very much abashed. 
 Everyone knew that I had just returned, and that I 
 had seen M. Thiers. Trouville is too small a place 
 for that not to be known. Everyone was aware that 
 I had gone direct to the Cordier Chalet, and that I 
 had just come from there after a conversation of 
 an hour and a half, and about twenty persons, 
 
 5—2
 
 68 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 among whom was M. Gunsboiirg, gathered around 
 me. 
 
 At Trouville the popidation had learned of 
 M. Thiers' anger, and was eager to hear what 
 terrible decisions the indignant old man had taken. 
 I refused to reply to any question ; I sent for 
 M. Gunsbourg to come to the rooms on the ground- 
 floor which had been reserved for me. 
 
 Never shall I forget the look of consternation on 
 the young man's face when I questioned him about 
 the plot in which he had taken so active a part. 
 Recovering at last from his surjmse, and under- 
 standing that M. Thiers was mistaken, and that 
 people had deceived him or that he had wanted to 
 be deceived, with an accent of truth which could not 
 be doubted, and taking the whole town as witness, 
 he told me the story of what had really taken 
 place. 
 
 He had come to Trouville in his yacht, and was 
 sailing round the coasts of the English Channel. 
 On the morning of the 15th of August he had 
 started with some of his friends, among whom was 
 M. Bertrand de Valon, with the idea of having a 
 sail and lunching out at sea. They had a good 
 meal and drank copiously, and on approaching the 
 shore they remembered, in spite of the effect of 
 the champagne, that the 15th of August was the 
 Emperor's birthday, and in the midst of the noise 
 of corks flying out of the bottles, and the firing 
 of the saluting gun loaded with powder, to which 
 one of them had set a light, they all began in
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 69 
 
 their liveliness and. folly to shout ' Long live the 
 Emperor !' 
 
 The crowd understood the incident, and roared 
 with laughter at them. The police had endeavoured 
 to capture them, but the crowd, very naturally, had 
 taken their part. There had been a great com- 
 motion, and the conspirators, sobered down and 
 rather ashamed o£ themselves, had disappeared, 
 w^hilst an action had been commenced against the 
 owner of the yacht and against M. Bertrand de 
 Valon, who had remained with him. M. Gunsbourg, 
 in the name of his comrades, begged me to explain 
 to M. Thiers how the affair had come about, to 
 express to him the regret that these young madcaps 
 now felt, and to add that they were themselves 
 prepared to apologize to him. 
 
 As soon as M. Gunsbourg had gone, I sent for 
 the Paris evening papers of the 15th and the 
 morning papers of the 16tli, which I had not read 
 ({ill the above had taken place on the 16th), and I 
 proceeded to read them. They varied in tone, in 
 style, and in the version they gave, according to the 
 political opinion of the paper or the temperament 
 of the reporter. By reading all these stories, and 
 comparing all the information I obtained else- 
 where, it was quite clear to me that the event 
 had been exaggerated beyond measure, and that, if 
 the young men implicated were far from being 
 quite innocent, they were also far from being 
 really guilty. 
 
 *****
 
 70 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Towards the end of dinner tliat evening M. Thiers 
 asked me quietly if my letter were written. I 
 replied that, as it would have been too late for the 
 post that day, I had postponed it for the next 
 morning; that there would be no time lost, as I was 
 not going to give the items of news, but was going 
 to explain and comment on the event, and I asked 
 him to discuss the subject again with me. 
 
 But as soon as I endeavoured to attenuate 
 the nature and the significance of the incident, 
 M. Thiers o-rew anorrv and looked at me distrust- 
 fully. He was still furious, or he pretended to 
 be so. 
 
 As a matter of fact, people abroad understood 
 what had happened, and the Comtesse de Yalon 
 summed up the general opinion in a letter she 
 wrote to me a few days later. 
 
 ' These young men,' she said, ' had lunched rather 
 too festively out at sea, and, like so many big 
 children, they had played at the landing of the 
 Emperor — seven of them ! It was more like a 
 charade than anything else. That is my explana- 
 tion of their freak, and that is how it has been 
 understood abroad. M. Thiers has too much com- 
 mon-sense, and is too wise, to give to this piece of 
 child's play more importance than it deserves. No 
 doubt certain zealous officials thought they were 
 serving or flattering M. Thiers by magnifying the 
 incident, and at the same time they were able to 
 take the credit of having saved him from danger.' 
 
 I wrote my letter, which was a scathing one. An
 
 A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 71 
 
 attorney for the Kepublic, entrusted with the case, 
 would have sio:ned it with both hands. I read it to 
 M. Thiers, who was delighted with it. He even 
 asked me to soften down a few sentences. As it was 
 then the 17th and the news was growing stale, he 
 called my attention to the fact that the letter would 
 reach London on the 18th, and that, on account 
 of Sunday, it would only be published on the 20th. 
 I replied that it would go that night by wire, and 
 that very night the telegraph transmitted the 
 orio-inal messao;e to the office. 
 
 Is there any need for me to add that the letter 
 was never intended to appear, and that it never did 
 appear ? My paper had been informed on the 
 morning of the 17th of what had happened, of what 
 was then happening, and of what would happen. 
 But, thanks to the letter which I had read to him, 
 M. Thiers was greatly appeased with regard to the 
 conspirators. He even allowed me to say that my 
 statement of the case had been harsher than the 
 gravity of the event Avarranted. 
 
 An inquiry was instituted. It was dragged on 
 for a long time, being extraordinarily modified in 
 some respects. M. Thiers himself now came over 
 to my opinion, and thought that my letter had 
 perhaps gone too far. For several days he asked 
 for The Times. His secretaries, whom I had 
 warned, invented various pretexts for explaining 
 the absence of the paper, which was never to be 
 found — it was always being mislaid. After three 
 or four days M. Thiers appeared to have forgotten
 
 72 INIEMOIRS OF :M. UE BLOWITZ 
 
 about it, hut at the end o£ the week, when I was 
 going away one evening, he said to me with a sly 
 look : 
 
 ' Did you pay for that wire ?' 
 
 ' No, M. le President,' I answered ; ' my paper 
 paid for it.' 
 
 M. Thiers came nearer, and looked at me over 
 his spectacles. 
 
 ' Did you know that it would not a])pear ?' 
 
 ' The paper was free to publish it, M. le 
 President.' 
 
 'Ah well, that was money very wisely thrown 
 away — I don't regret it.' And then, after a minute, 
 he added : ' They, no doubt, thought as I did, that 
 your letter was too severe ' 
 
 ^ ^ ^ w w 
 
 A fortnight later the conspirators were summoned 
 to appear before the Court at Pont-l'Eveque. They 
 were each sentenced to pay a fine of sixteen francs 
 for disturbance of the peace. But M, Thiers had 
 received letters, messages, and telegrams from all 
 parts of the world, and he was delighted. He knew 
 that, in order to be truly a cousin of Kings, it is 
 necessary to inspire the people who are fortunate 
 enough to be living under your reign with the 
 violent desire of ridding themselves at any price of 
 your presence.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KLNG OF SPAIN 
 
 It was only in October, 1872, if I remem])er rightly 
 — for his letter bears no date — that Laurence 
 Oliphant informed me that he had just heard from 
 Mr. Mowbray Morris, then Manager of The Times ^ 
 whose duty it was to appoint the correspondents 
 of the paper and their assistants, to the effect 
 that I was to remain definitely under his orders, 
 Mr. Charles Austin continuing to be attached to the 
 Paris office as second correspondent. 
 
 Soon after Oliphant proposed that I should take 
 up my abode with his mother and himself in a 
 small house with court and oarden in the Rue du 
 Centre, now the Rue Lamenais, wliicli they occupied. 
 Oliphant and his mother lived on the first-floor ; 
 my wife, my adopted daughter, and I occupied the 
 second-floor. The upper storeys, as well as the 
 dining-room on the ground-floor, were common to 
 us both ; we took our meals together, my wife 
 having charge of all the domestic arrangements. 
 The anxieties and practical difficulties attendant 
 upon the management of a double household of this 
 sort were beyond the power of Mrs. Oliphant. 
 
 [ 73]
 
 74 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Like so many Eiiglisli ladies avIio have spent much 
 time in the colonies, she had always been in the 
 hal)it of shifting the responsibility of domestic and 
 household worries upon others and upon her 
 servants. 
 
 We met every day at meals, at noon and at seven 
 o'clock. In the morning I went to Versailles, which 
 was then the centre of political information. At 
 the luncheon-hour I was ])ack in Paris, when we 
 discussed the information that I had gathered, con- 
 sidering it from the point of view of its value for 
 our correspondence. In the evening I sent, over the 
 signature of Oliphant, who had relieved me of the 
 duty of communicating them to him in advance, all 
 those items of news which would have grown stale 
 if consigned to the tardy post, and which, owing to 
 the lateness of their reaching me, I was unable to 
 communicate to my chief. 
 
 Oliphant, as I have said before, had come to 
 Europe and France by order of Mr. Harris, who 
 still continued to be a prophet, or, rather, his 
 prophet. Harris had not told him why he was 
 to come to Europe ; he had merely told him to 
 come. Was it that the prophet did not himself 
 know ? 
 
 In any case, as long as Oliphant had to describe 
 to the readers of The Timea the agitated life of 
 camps, with the fever of revolutions and the 
 thousand crises that attended the painful situation 
 of France during the war and the Revolution, he 
 proved himself to be a marvellous correspondent;
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 75 
 
 but when the country, apparently exhausted, crushed 
 and scorched under fire and war, attempted with 
 extraordinary elasticity to raise itself from the 
 ruins and walk again with head erect among the 
 nations, Laurence Oliphant felt himself, as it were, 
 humiliated at having to do the work of a peaceful 
 and faithful historian which was now incumbent 
 upon him. 
 
 His connection with Tlie Times^ therefore, became 
 now more and more irksome, and it was only by a 
 strong effort that he succeeded in fulfilling his daily 
 task. 
 
 His attitude towards the Thiers Government was 
 an indication of his state of mind at this time. 
 He always refused to go to Versailles to see 
 M. Thiers, and when he did see him he was irritated 
 and almost haughty, and treated the opinions and 
 theories of M. Thiers with a kind of ironical and 
 supercilious indulgence very much like disdain. He 
 refused the offer of the Legion of Honour almost 
 rudely, as though the Red Rosette were intended 
 as a badge of servitude. His young wife, whose 
 aspirations wxre more elevated than his, perhaps, 
 and more romantic, could not be satisfied by this 
 daily task, a little too exactingly regular, so that 
 she was not likely to induce him to love it any the 
 more. He threw the bridle upon my neck, approved 
 in advance of all my communications, and received 
 them rather with the pleasure of a reader than with 
 the attention of a correspondent called upon to 
 make them public. These tendencies were often
 
 76 IMEMOIllS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 prejudicial to the best exercise of liis abilities, and 
 clearly j^resaged the end. 
 
 I was not surprised, therefore, Avlien, in the year 
 1873, he announced to me one da}^ that, as a 
 result of some rather sharp correspondence between 
 Mr. Macdonald, then Manager of TJie Times ^ and 
 himself, he had just sent in his resignation as 
 Special Correspondent of that paper in France. 
 
 Some days later he introduced me to his successor. 
 It was Mr. Frederic Hardman, whom I had suc- 
 ceeded at the start, and whose place I had taken 
 afterwards. It did not take lono- for me to under- 
 stand, and undoubtedly Mr. Hardman understood 
 also, that we should have many difficulties in our 
 intercourse. 
 
 Mr. Frederic Hardman was a veteran among 
 Times Correspondents. His position, his great 
 loyalty, the uprightness of his character, his 
 devotion to the cause of the paper, and his fine 
 talent and great experience, had won for him the 
 friendship of his chiefs and of all connected with 
 The Times. He had lived for a long period in 
 Spain, and he had very accurate notions in regard 
 to that country and its political parties, then so 
 eagerly wrangling among themselves. He had lived 
 in Rome and in Germany as well ; he knew many 
 statesmen in all countries, and he was on the best 
 of terms with men of the old regime in France. 
 
 But the new political system and the men who 
 were at this moment governing France were un- 
 known to him. He did not see that defeat had
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 77 
 
 produced in everyone a nervous condition, a kind of 
 chronic distrust, something bitter in the feelings 
 towards foreigners and everything foreign. 
 
 His first attempts to seek information and to put 
 together some elements of work were not a success, 
 and he generally summed up the result with a 
 ' There is nothing new.' He had, besides, the 
 American method. He took down the words tliat 
 were said to him in a note-book which he held in 
 his hand — a method which in France is infallible 
 for learning absolutely nothing ; for, as M. Duclcrc 
 said, ' This method of cross-examination puts you 
 immediately on the defensive, and shuts your mouth 
 while it opens your eyes.' 
 
 After some days' trial he explained to me that he 
 was anxious to arrano;e our work as I had done 
 before with Oliphant ; that I was to go in search 
 of information, and that he would make my results 
 the subject of correspondence. He left me also 
 the department of the preparation of urgent news 
 necessitating short despatches. 
 
 This plan worked well for some time. Unfortu- 
 nately, the situation was false. He was my chief, 
 but he was unknown to the majority of Frenchmen, 
 and whenever we found ourselves together in the 
 same salon, in spite of all precautions that I took, 
 the positions, in the eyes of a third person, seemed 
 inverted. Some incidents, unfortunate, but inevi- 
 table, complicated matters. Once he went to the 
 Elysee, handing his card to the usher, in order to 
 speak to Vicomte d'Harcourt, the President's secre-
 
 78 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 tary. The iislier replied that M. d'Harcourt could 
 not be seen. 
 
 'Tell liim that it is the Correspondent of TJte 
 Times who wishes to see him.' 
 
 The usher looked at him rudely : ' Pardon me,' 
 he said, ' but the Correspondent of Tlte Times has 
 just left the secretary.' 
 
 On another occasion one of his friends. Lord X., 
 left a visiting card at the Hotel Chatham, to be sent 
 to the Correspondent of The Times. It was taken 
 to my house. As it constantly happens for one to 
 receive cards from unknown persons, I thought 
 that this card was meant for me, and I returned 
 the visit. 
 
 The crisis after these incidents became acute. I 
 had arranged, at Mr. Macdonald's order, the special 
 wire to Tlie Tunes ^ Avhich was the first then estab- 
 lished, and which was used for the first time on the 
 4th of May, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Hardman, without any experience of that 
 kind of work, was obliged to adapt himself to this 
 most exacting method of improvising upon the most 
 recent events that were in progress as one wrote 
 an account of them. Letters logically conceived 
 throughout had to be written while the telegTaph 
 waited, without opportunity for revision. This had 
 a baneful effect ; the strain afifected the health, 
 temper, and nervous system of Mr. Hardman, and 
 made collaboration with him impossible. Four times 
 did pressing telegraphic recalls to Paris interrupt 
 my holidays, and finally, when I was summoned
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 79 
 
 tliitlier a fiftli time, after an absence of only 
 three clays, I returned obediently, but resolved 
 to send in my resignation, which now seemed 
 inevitable. 
 
 I had neither the wish nor the power to act other- 
 wise, and so once more I was on the point, notwith- 
 standing that I had reached an advanced time of 
 life, of abandoning a career for which I had so 
 sincere an enthusiasm, and to which I had dreamed 
 of devoting the remainder of my existence. But 
 on reachino; Paris I learned that Mr. Hardman was 
 seriously ill. 
 
 He was then living across the river in the Rue 
 Solferino. It was his habit, after the nervous 
 excitement of his work, to return on foot to his 
 house, always at a late hour of the night — some- 
 times, indeed, in the early morning — thus courting 
 the illness which was destined to carry him off. It 
 was pleurisy, contracted during his walk on coming 
 out from his work in a state of perspiration into the 
 icy air, which finally, after a few days of resistance, 
 proved fatal. In every sense of the words he was 
 upright and devoted to his duty, and he died from 
 having heroically undertaken something beyond his 
 strength. It was neither our characters, nor our 
 sympathies, nor our wills that made our intercourse 
 so difficult — nay, I may say, all but impossible — 
 but it was the falsity of the position in which we 
 happened to be placed. None of my friends who 
 knew me well were surprised to see me weeping 
 sincerely at the premature death of this excellent
 
 80 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 man. The Times devoted to him an eloquent 
 article full of kind sentiment, which, notwith- 
 standing its notes of eulogy, scarcely did him 
 justice, and then — all was over. 
 
 There is nothing in the world more melancholy 
 than the sudden silence that falls round the tomb 
 of those painstaking, steady workers who follow 
 with unwearying conscientiousness up to the very 
 end the furrow of their daily task without arousing 
 hatred, without provoking jealousy, and who leave 
 at the last the memory of a talent to which every- 
 one pays equal homage. In the journalistic career 
 posthumous enthusiasm is never noisy. Even 
 beyond the tomb the fame of the dead is an 
 offence, and the very haters seem to prefer to 
 hold their peace, lest in attempting to gain satis- 
 faction they revive the memory of the combatants 
 who have disappeared. 
 
 Nothing is more melancholy than the startling 
 rapidity with which these turbulent existences, 
 linked to a merely ephemeral want, enter into 
 the dark oblivion of the tomb. The most dis- 
 tinguished among them scarcely survive, and future 
 generations know them not, because even living 
 generations have passed them by in silence. The 
 Royer Collards, the Benjamin Constants, the Thiers, 
 have survived in the memory of men, not because 
 they were journalists, but in spite of it. Armand 
 Carrel is not yet forgotten, because he was killed 
 in a duel with Girardin ; and the latter, who was a 
 man of business as well as a journalist, lives because
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 81 
 
 he was the promoter of postal reform rather than 
 because for forty years he had been the most active 
 of journalists. Laurence Oliphant's life was written 
 because he lived an existence full of agitation 
 because he was nearly assassinated in Japan, 
 because he published books of satire and philosophy, 
 because his ever-inquiring mind pursued, beyond 
 the barriers of reality, the solution of j^i'oblems 
 that constantly escaped his insight and his power, 
 and because in the solitude of Haifa, scaling in 
 his turn Mount Carmel, he sought to preach 
 from its heights a new law which he believed to 
 be true. 
 
 But no one has dreamed, or dreams, so far as 
 I know, of writing the life of that admirable 
 journalist, John Delane, the Editor of The Times. 
 For thirty- two years he was the Moltke of a vener- 
 ated chief, sacrificing to the triumph of the common 
 work his right of remonstrance. Under the reign 
 of Mr. John Walter, the third of the dynasty which 
 gave to England the uncontested power of The 
 Ti?nes, John Delane for thirty-two years, without 
 even leaving behind him memoirs which could recall 
 his success, led his troops to continual victories. 
 He began his fruitful career almost at the 
 accession of Queen Victoria. He was Editor of 
 The Times at the age at which Pitt became Prime 
 Minister. At different epochs, and in the midst of 
 dissimilar generations, these two — the one before 
 the admiring gaze of the entire world, the other in 
 the distant silence of the editorial room ; the one 
 
 6
 
 82 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 amid the acclamations of the crowd, the other 
 with only the approval of his conscience — worked 
 with equally precocious qualities, and displayed 
 equal genius in the accomplishment of their 
 varied tasks and in the steady realization of their 
 designs. 
 
 During John Delane's career the following events 
 took place : the Revolution of 1848, the coup cVetat 
 of the 2nd of December, the proclamation of the 
 Second Empire, the Crimean War, the Italian War, 
 the Mexican Expedition, that against Schleswig- 
 Holstein, and the war of 1866, the war of 1870, the 
 Commune, the proclamation of the German Empire, 
 the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in Austria- 
 Hungary, the Russo-Hungarian campaign, the con- 
 ception and the opening of the Suez Canal, the 
 Nihilist plots, the great reforms that mark the 
 internal policy of the reign of Queen Victoria, and 
 a thousand others, which for the moment I forget. 
 Always and everywhere the dominant voice of his 
 journal sounded far above the clamour of the com- 
 batants, and everywhere and always he lent to those 
 to whom he gave his support a real power, while 
 he weakened incontestably those against whom he 
 fought. Yet, when he died, not a single voice in 
 the world among his bitterest o^Dponents was raised 
 in disparagement of his conscientiousness, his 
 justice, and his honour. For thirty-two years he 
 allowed nothing to prevent his going to his room 
 at The Times office at half -past ten in the evening 
 and leaving it at half -past four. He gave his entire
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 83 
 
 life to this silent work by niglit, subordinating to 
 it everything save independence of judgment, and 
 having as his only recompense the one single 
 ambition to be true. During these thirty-two years 
 he made and unmade Imndreds of reputations 
 which the world, by involuntary homage rendered 
 to the infallibility of his judgment, has left in the 
 place to which he assigned them. It has forgotten 
 one thing, however — to reserve for John Delane a 
 corner in its memory. It has forgotten that its 
 duty was not to allow him to be so promptly sub- 
 merged by events. 
 
 --It is almost with a feeling of bitterness that I 
 have recalled, in the inadequate and unworthy 
 lines that precede, the great career of this toiler 
 unknown among the crowd, and yet so worthy to 
 figure among those who are placed in the front 
 ranks of their times. 
 
 On the morning of the death of Mr. Hardman I 
 received a very touching letter from Mr. Macdonald, 
 who had loved him so much. He invited me to 
 continue till furtlier orders the duties of Paris 
 Correspondent of the paper, with the valuable 
 collaboration of Mr. J. C, Alger, who very long 
 occupied, with recognised ability, the same post. 
 We set ourselves bravely to our task. They were 
 difficult months that followed. My provisional 
 position prevented my having the absolute authority 
 that was necessary for my work. Furthermore, 
 there was a question as to continuing the telegraphic 
 correspondence, which was still an experiment, the 
 
 6—2
 
 84 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 success of wliicli was watched everywhere with 
 jealous anxiety. 
 
 The Times remained for some time the only pa])er 
 in the world possessing a private wire, and it was 
 necessary to justify this fact to its readers as well 
 as to itself. We accomplished this result, however, 
 for to-day the important papers without a special 
 wire are the exception. 
 
 It was in the month of October that Mr. Hard- 
 man died. As soon as his death was known, on 
 every side men from all countries and from all 
 ranks, of the most varied talents, origin, or 
 position, applied for the post of Paris representa- 
 tive of Tlie Times, At every moment the papers 
 announced the appointment of one or the other, but 
 never, I must say, was I mentioned for the post. 
 The Times itself reserved to me a very curious 
 surprise. Mr. John Delane was still the Editor- 
 in-chief. He knew me personally, but it was 
 his rule never to write directly to correspondents, 
 but only officially as the head of the staff. I had 
 never had any direct personal correspondence with 
 him. 
 
 While I was thus filling the vacant post in the 
 interim, I wrote one day a letter entitled ' De Pro- 
 fundis,' predicting the approaching fall of the De 
 Cissey Cabinet. The letter appeared, with comment 
 in a leading article, but the next day came a telegram 
 from Mr. Delane asking who was the author of it. 
 A similar thing happened four or five times, and I 
 learned — which was, indeed, the inevitable conse-
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 85 
 
 quence of anonymity — that the Editor of the paper 
 himself did not quite know what to think of my 
 ability as a writer and a journalist. 
 
 Three months rolled by in this way. During 
 those months a hundred rumours were bruited 
 about, and not a word had been exchanged between 
 the journal and myself in regard to my present or 
 future situation. All that I knew was that, whoso- 
 ever might be the head appointed over me, I could 
 do nothing but withdraw. My experience with 
 Mr. Hardman had enlightened me, and the position 
 that 1 occupied after his death made a similar 
 prospect still more intolerable. However, 1 did 
 nothing to put an end to this state of things. I 
 understood that the paper, in presence of the most 
 tempting offers, knowing the difficulties that would 
 attend my appointment, and realizing the necessity 
 of conducting itself according to a certain etiquette, 
 as one might say, on account of its unique position 
 in the world's Press, would take a long time to 
 consider. However great my annoyance might be, 
 I was prepared to bow before its decision. 
 
 This decision came at the end of the year 1874. 
 The service had not suffered. The special wire was 
 proving its value more and more. The Paris 
 correspondence, sustained by the combined efforts 
 of my colleague and myself, had succeeded in 
 gaining the approval of our chiefs. There appeared 
 to be no reason why the situation, in itself pro- 
 visional and precarious, should not be prolonged 
 for some time still. But the 31st of December,
 
 86 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 1874, ushered in an event which put a sudden end 
 to the delay of my chiefs. 
 
 The evening of that day I had gone to bed very 
 late. The day was icy cold ; snow covered all 
 Paris, ^yearied out and sufFerino; from a slisrht 
 fever, I had remained in l)ed, and was on the point 
 of sending for Mr. Alger to inform him of my 
 condition and discuss with him what food we 
 could supply to that Minotaur called the private 
 wire, when the evening papers were brought to me. 
 The Liberie^ whose proprietors were then on excel- 
 lent terms with the Spanish dynasty, announced hy 
 telegraph, and with some words of comment, that a 
 pronunciamiento^ set on foot by Martinez Campos, 
 had taken place in S23ain, and that the Prince of the 
 Asturias, then in Paris, had been proclaimed King 
 under the title of Alphonso XII. 
 It was a veritable thunder-clap. 
 Half an hour later I was at the Spanish Embassy, 
 which at the time was under M. Abarzuzza. He 
 received me very ironically after I had waited for 
 more than an hour — a thing not unnatural, however, 
 as some three hundred people were pressing into his 
 waiting-rooms. I hadj remained below in order to 
 watch those who entered;ordeparted by the only door 
 admitting to the Embassy, and to see if the Ambas- 
 sador received many telegrams from abroad. When 
 a revolution breaks out in a country, as long as the 
 Government remains master of the situation, its 
 representatives are siu-e to receive ample informa- 
 tion. For there is nothing more agreeable than
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 87 
 
 preparing bulletins o£ victory. But as soon as the 
 situation changes, it is the Ambassadors who send 
 the eager telegrams, which, however, so often do 
 not reach their destination, and to which, even when 
 they do, there is frequently no reply. On this 
 occasion I saw messengers continually hurrying out 
 with half- concealed despatches in their hands, to be 
 sent by telegraph, but during all the time that I 
 waited I did not see a single telegraphic message 
 entering the Embassy. 
 
 When finally I was conducted to the Ambassador, 
 in spite of the irony with which he treated the 
 telegram in the papers, I had almost made up my 
 mind as to its truth. He told me that it was merely 
 an abortive revolution ; that a few soldiers, speedily 
 silenced, had cried out ' Viva el Rey !' but that at 
 that moment — it was then half -past six — the ex- 
 citement had been suppressed, order had been 
 re- established in Madrid, the Government having 
 taken energetic measures, and he authorized me to 
 telegraph to my paper that the attempt to restore 
 the Monarchy had been easily suppressed by the 
 Government. 
 
 In such a case, as in many others, when it is 
 a question of serving his Government or serving 
 himself, an Ambassador will never hesitate to throw 
 a journalist quite overboard, and to sacrifice him 
 body and soul, and, if he can, his reputation and 
 his honour, to further his own designs. I left the 
 Ambassador convinced that the pronunciamiento of 
 Martinez Campos had succeeded, and I resolved not
 
 88 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 to repeat the story he had told me, or, at least, to 
 send it with pointed comments. I did not dare to 
 give a positive form to my conviction by sending 
 an absolutely contrary telegram, for I had no posi- 
 tive proof of the truth of that of which I was 
 persuaded, and I could not discover any justifying 
 facts. I returned discouraged enough, for the time 
 at my disposal was short and the fever had not yet 
 left me. But I ordered a carriao^e to be in readi- 
 ness, and with weariness and disappointment betook 
 myself to my chamber in a state almost of madness 
 because I could see no means of ffainino; better 
 information. 
 
 Queen Isabella, to be sure, with the Prince of 
 the Asturias, occupied the Hotel Basilew^ski, only a 
 few doors from my house, but I knew neither the 
 Queen nor her son, nor any member of their 
 entourage, and it was not probable — indeed, it was 
 scarcely possible — that in the circumstances and at 
 such a moment I should be received. MoreoA er, in 
 returning I had instinctively passed by the Avenue 
 Kleber, in front of the Hotel Basilewski (the Palais 
 de Castille), as if to see whether the walls of this 
 house could not tell me something. I saw an 
 enormous crowd in front of the gates, which were 
 all closed, and some policemen, who had been sent 
 in haste, were with the greatest difficulty holding the 
 throng in check. I imagined that all the reporters 
 of the Paris papers and all the correspondents of 
 foreign papers were mingled in this crowd trampling 
 down the snow. I considered it useless to increase
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 89 
 
 the number, yet I was more and more in desjDair at 
 my helplessness. 
 
 On the morning of the 31st of December it was 
 useless to try to find any members of the Govern- 
 ment in Paris, and, as the official seat was at 
 Versailles, there seemed no issue out of my diffi- 
 culties. 
 
 Suddenly a remembrance liashed across my 
 brain. 
 
 Some time previously I had met at the Spanish 
 Embassy, then at Versailles, Comte de Banuelos, a 
 senator of Spain, who had spoken in warm terms 
 of the Queen and her son, who was well acquainted 
 with England, and who was a careful reader of 
 The Times. He had been quite charming to me. 
 I had called upon him, and had been introduced to 
 the most delightful of families, consisting of a very 
 gracious and affable mother and two charming girls. 
 His private residence, 21^ Rue de Lisbonne, was 
 near at hand. 
 
 It was nine o'clock. 
 
 I rushed down to my carriage and gave the 
 address to the coachman. Two minutes after I 
 arrived at the Banuelos mansion. As I entered the 
 hall the Comte, one of the finest-looking men of his 
 time, in full dress, followed by his two daughters, 
 also in evening dress, was descending the stairs to 
 enter the salon on the ground-floor. 
 
 I was extremely embarrassed. I had come by 
 instinct, at a venture, without plan or forethought, 
 and without knowing exactly why.
 
 90 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 On seeing these preparations, indicating that the 
 Comte was abont to go to a ball, I understood 
 that I could expect no help from him, for at the 
 moment the idea came to me that the only way of 
 penetrating into the Palais de Castille was to go 
 with him. 
 
 I asked him if he had any details. He replied 
 that he had learned the news that very moment, 
 that he had previous reasons for thinking it 
 true, and that, as he was going to a ball 
 at the Duchesse de MalakofTs with his two 
 daughters, he intended to congratulate the future 
 King on the following day. I had not advanced 
 very far ; the two daughters, who were ready and 
 impatient to go, came to ask for their father. 
 
 During this conversation I had become convinced 
 that Comte de Banuelos alone could open to me the 
 doors of the Palais de Castille, and that there, and 
 there only, could I hope to obtain any information. 
 But at my first suggestion in this direction the two 
 charming girls were in consternation. Politics did 
 not much interest them. The vouno; Prince of the 
 Asturias, whom they greatly liked, had been pro- 
 claimed King, but the rest mattered little, and their 
 dance- cards were filled with engagements, and their 
 partners were waiting. They were likely to pain 
 many and disappoint others, and to be unkind to the 
 beautiful and good lady their hostess, who counted 
 upon them. All this drove me to despair. Without 
 insisting, I kissed the young ladies, but my face 
 betrayed the bitter disappointment I felt as I slowly
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 91 
 
 rose to take leave. My disappointment was so 
 obvious that the two girls were moved, and simul- 
 taneously, without understanding why I was so 
 much troubled, they consented to let their father go. 
 
 It was then for me to refuse. I reproached 
 myself with great selfishness for having troul^led 
 two girls, without even letting them know why 
 they were called upon to sacrifice themselves so 
 completely for me, and I prepared to take my 
 departure. 
 
 At that moment the door of the salon opened, and 
 the Comtesse de Banuelos, her face as sympathetic 
 as ever, especially radiant — for the idea of pleasing 
 others was to her a very great pleasure — now 
 appeared in full dress. No sooner had she learned 
 the difficulty than she immediately solved the entire 
 situation ; she went up to her room, and came down 
 ready to take her daughters to the Duchesse de 
 Malakofifs, where she promised to await her 
 husband's arrival to relieve her of her charge. 
 There, as always, the soft hand of a woman removed 
 the obstacles that lay in the pathway of my life. 
 With her intervention all difficulties disappeared. 
 We put the ladies into their carriage, and the Comte 
 and I betook ourselves to mine, ordering the coach- 
 man to drive to the Palais de Castille. 
 
 The crowd there was as great as ever, and 
 the greatest precautions had been taken against 
 intruders. Since nine that night nobody had been 
 allowed to enter. A commissary of police, with a 
 sufficiently strong force of policemen under his
 
 92 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 orders, was guarding the great gateways opening 
 on the courtyard. Our carriage was stopped even 
 before we had penetrated the crowd. 
 
 Comte de Banuelos put out his head, summoned a 
 policeman, and begged him to send for the com- 
 missary. The Comte explained who he was, and 
 informed him that he was going to salute the King. 
 The commissary excused himself with great polite- 
 ness, but said that he could not allow us to pass. 
 Comte de Banuelos then gave him his card, and 
 begged him to send it by one of his men to Comte 
 ]\Iorphy, Governor of the Prince of the Asturias, 
 henceforth King of Spain. The commissary of 
 police glanced at the card, bowed on reading the name 
 that it bore, and granted the request. Ten minutes 
 later a strong cordon of police made a passage in the 
 crowd for our carriage, and men protected us and 
 defended the gate, in order to prevent a sudden rush 
 within the courtyard. I was seated in the dark 
 corner of the carriage, and as we were driven 
 through the great doorway the gates were closed 
 quickly behind us. A journalist who happened to 
 be there, however, recognised my driver. 
 
 I heard him crying, ' It is Blowitz's carriage !' 
 and I also caught the sound of other cries and shouts 
 of objection as we ascended the stone steps leading 
 to the vestibule of the palace. 
 
 There was great commotion everywhere. All the 
 intimate friends of the royal palace had been ordered 
 thither, and they went and came, joyous salutations 
 resounding throughout the house in a fashion that
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 93 
 
 seriously compromised the etiquette of the Spanish 
 Court. Here one felt that, beyond all doubt, the 
 proiiunciamiento had indeed succeeded, and that 
 Alphonso XII. had certainly been proclaimed and 
 recognised King of Spain. 
 
 Comte Morphy came to meet us. After the intro- 
 ductions were over, he said to Comte de Banuelos: 
 ' The King will see you with great pleasure ; and as 
 for you, monsieur, come in here, I beg you, into the 
 King's study, where he has been till just now. I 
 will tell the King that you are here. I will explain 
 the object of your visit, and will return to tell you 
 what he authorizes me to say to you.' 
 
 All who have had the good fortune to know 
 Comte Morphy will understand that I had reason to 
 congratulate myself on my introduction to one of 
 the most amiable, accomplished, and refined gentle- 
 men. Every time my good star has since brought 
 me into his presence — in Madrid during the first 
 marriage of the King, and in Paris during the painful 
 incidents of the return from Germany — I have 
 recognised in him the same man, as kind, as sympa- 
 thetic and amiable to others, as he was at our first 
 meeting, and, indeed, at the very first moment of 
 that meeting. 
 
 While Comte de Banuelos, accompanied by Comte 
 Morphy, ascended to the next floor, where the King- 
 was, I entered the ' study ' of the Prince of the 
 Asturias, a room to the left on the ground-floor, in 
 that part of the house devoted to Comte Morphy. 
 The walls were covered with geographical maps,
 
 94 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and photographs of Sovereigns and Princes and 
 Princesses of reigning houses, all bearing gracious 
 dedications. On one table was a chart of both 
 hemispheres, and on another, covered with books and 
 papers, lay a volume of Tacitus, bearing, in whose 
 handwriting I did not know, annotations in Spanish. 
 While I was excitedly engaged in noting the pages 
 of the book thus lying open under my eyes, eager 
 to know what the Prince of the Asturias had last 
 read, the door opened and someone entered. I 
 thought it was Comte Morphy. 
 
 * You see, M. le Comte,' I said, ' I am trying to 
 find the passage. . . .' 
 
 I looked up. It was the young King himself, 
 who, with a smile on his lips and a beaming eye, 
 stretched out a slightly feverish hand. 
 
 He was dressed with irreproachable taste, and 
 wore his evening dress, with its narrow silk lappel, 
 with youthful and easy grace, while a gardenia 
 adorned his buttonhole. 
 
 In spite of his extreme youth, his face was 
 serious, his bearing energetic, and a slight line 
 already seamed a broad and intelligent brow, siu*- 
 mounted by fine dark hair arranged with great care. 
 
 ' May your Majesty pardon me,' I said, ' I thought 
 it was Comte Morphy.' 
 
 The King made a slight movement, his cheeks 
 coloured rapidly, and his mouth, a little melancholy 
 even at this moment, and shaded by a fine youthful 
 moustache, began to smile frankly. 
 
 ' Excuse me,' he said, ' for this little movement
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 95 
 
 of surprise ; but, although I believe I may consider 
 myself King of Spain, you are the first stranger 
 who has yet greeted me with this title, and I could 
 not repress the slight movement, which I perceive 
 did not escape you.' 
 
 Then, with his back against the fireplace, and 
 with an easy and charming simplicity, he told me 
 himself all the details of the movement which had 
 just taken place. He recalled the proclamation of 
 Martinez Campos, the attitude of the troops, the 
 proclamation of the Governor of Madrid, the feeling 
 of the populace there and in the provinces, as indi- 
 cated to him by telegrams. He then spoke of the 
 proclamation which he would himself address to tlie 
 Spanish people, and he outlined to me the entire 
 plan of the Constitution which he had conceived 
 and was on the point of elaborating. 
 
 ' I have been utterly surprised at the event,' he 
 said, ' although I was expecting it. I was afraid it 
 might be too long delayed, but my friend Martinez 
 Campos wished to make me a present on this ap- 
 propriate day of the year ; and,' he added, laughing, 
 ' he could not have chosen a finer one. I went out 
 immediately after breakfast to take advantage of 
 a moment's simshine, and when I returned I saw 
 people running towards the palace. The great gate- 
 way was open, with everybody awaiting me on the 
 steps. The Queen was at the top of the stairs, and 
 coming down to throw herself into my arms, while 
 the others cried, " Vive le Roi !" Then I under- 
 stood, and I had all the difficulty in the world to
 
 96 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 keep from bursting into tears, for I understand very 
 well that my poor Spain has need of a long rest in 
 order to rise from her ruins, and I do not know 
 whether my strength is sufficient.' 
 
 After some minutes of silence he took my hand 
 as a sign of farewell, and added gaily : ' Between 
 ourselves, my intention is to avoid all fu.ture pro- 
 nunciamientos^ and for that purpose I shall see the 
 army immediately on my return, and see it often, 
 in order to teach it that it has only one head, who 
 commands it and its commanders as well, and that 
 that head is the King.' 
 
 Comte Morphy then came to me, while the young 
 King ascended to his apartments on the lirst-floor. 
 I thanked him from the bottom of my heart for my 
 good fortune, to which he had so powerfully con- 
 tributed, for the King had said to me in our conver- 
 sation : ' My friends Comte de Banuelos and Comte 
 Morphy ])oth begged me to see you myself. They 
 probably thought that you had never seen a King 
 so soon after his accession, and that what I told 
 you myself would have more authenticity than what 
 I might say through them. You see, I am not yet 
 at that epoch in my reign at which they no longer 
 dare to counsel me.' 
 
 And I experience great pleasure now, after many 
 years, in expressing to those whom Alphonso XII. 
 called his two friends the feeling of profound and 
 affectionate gratitude which I have ever since this 
 event entertained for them. 
 
 Both, happily — while Alphonso XII. reposes in
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 97 
 
 the royal vault o£ Spain, while the widow who 
 survives him watches with the wisdom o£ a Maria 
 Theresa over the childish brow which bears the 
 heavy burden of the crown o£ Spain, still live 
 and can accept the expression of my enduring 
 gratitude. 
 
 But I admit I did not prolong my conversation 
 with Comte Morpliy, who w^as himself, in spite of 
 the late hour, wearied by many calls upon him. 
 Messages followed one another without cessation, 
 and during the few moments that I remained with 
 him several packages of telegrams were brought in. 
 
 It was half -past eleven. Comte de Banuelos had 
 gone, I know not how, leaving my carriage at my 
 disposal. I ordered my driver to go at a rapid trot, 
 but the snow and slipperiness made this impossible, 
 and he had to take the greatest precaution in order 
 to avoid an accident. It was almost one o'clock 
 when I reached the office of The Tiines. Every 
 moment was precious. I sent off two columns of 
 matter, giving the principal items and my interview 
 with the King, but it was too late to send the details 
 that I have just given. 
 
 The following day I remained in bed in a state of 
 intense fever, quite unable to write, and the day 
 after that it was too late to return to the details of 
 that evening. I could therefore only give them in 
 these pages of my journalistic life, as connected 
 with the political events of the time. 
 
 But although I could not publish everything, what 
 appeared in The Times on the following morning 
 
 7
 
 98 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 was absolutely unknown to anybody. The corre- 
 spondence from Madrid was only a repetition o£ 
 the telegrams in other papers, and it was my story, 
 given by The Times^ which the telegraphic agencies 
 sent throughout the world. 
 
 Four years later, when, at his marriage with 
 Princess Mercedes, I saw Alphonso XII. again in 
 Madrid, he recalled this conversation, and observed 
 to me with pride that the programme he had traced 
 on the day of his accession he had succeeded iu 
 realizing. He told me also that M. Canovas del 
 Castillo had been in power long enough, and inti- 
 mated to me that he was going to advise him in 
 retire in order to make way for a more Liberal 
 Cabinet. 
 
 He also appeared very proud of having won, after 
 a great struggle, the hand of his much-loved wife. 
 She was there at his side, the fleeting image of a 
 happiness very rarely met with in the high j)laces 
 of human power. He had won her, indeed, in spite 
 of everything ; and it was, as I believe I have 
 already related elsewhere, on a farmer's grain-cart, 
 which had been lent to them when weariness pre- 
 vented them from returning to La Granja on foot, 
 that the young King, while the farmer's mule was 
 proceeding at his will, declared his love to his 
 cousin and swore to marry her. A few months 
 later this spring - time happiness was extinguished 
 in mourning, and Queen Mercedes preceded the 
 young monarch to the royal tomb. 
 
 On the 3rd of January, for the first time since I
 
 ALPHONSO XII. KING OF SPAIN 99 
 
 had been under his orders, Mr. John Delane wrote 
 to me direct, and congratulated me upon what he 
 called my really masterly stroke. Mr. Delane 
 usually corresponded only with the chiefs of the 
 service, which is sufficiently explained by the fact 
 of his enormous correspondence as Editor of 
 The Times. On receiving this letter, so full of 
 enthusiasm on the success obtained on the 31st of 
 the previous month, I understood that this last 
 effort, more than all others put together, had 
 triumphed over all the obstacles in the way of 
 my appointment as The Times representative in 
 Paris. I awaited with confidence this appoint- 
 ment, which was officially announced on the 1st of 
 February, 1875. 
 
 7—2
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 
 
 My desire in this chapter is to narrate in all 
 simplicity the story of a historical episode in which 
 I played a certain part — an episode that has been 
 travestied by almost everybody who has written 
 about it, and that has often been spoken of in 
 ignorance. Yet it is one which deserves to be 
 placed in its true light before posterity. 
 
 In 1875 the Due Decazes was Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, and one of the most conspicuous figures in 
 the French political world. From the early days 
 of his appointment as Minister he had become 
 famous as a clever diplomatist. He had taken 
 possession of the post just after the fall of Thiers, 
 succeeding the Comte de Remusat, a man whose 
 diplomatic despatches are still regarded as models 
 of their kind. But it must be admitted that the 
 difficidties which lay in the path of the Due Decazes 
 were infinitely greater than those against which 
 Comte de Remusat had to contend. 
 
 As long as Thiers remained in power, Europe 
 was convinced that France would never dream of 
 
 abandoning the Republican form of government. 
 
 [ 100]
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 101 
 
 Europe was aware that the home problem in France, 
 in her struggle in defence of the Republican idea 
 against all the furious hostility of the former 
 parties, was of itself so difficult as to be an earnest 
 of peace. But the accession of the Conservatives, 
 and, in particular, of the Orleanist party, aroused 
 abroad a great deal of anxiety. It was feared that 
 this party might try to overturn the Republic and 
 establish the Monarchy, and that the peace of 
 Europe might thereby be troubled. Indeed, the 
 new Government seemed at a very early date to be 
 giving some show of reason for this dread. The 
 French Bishops, in the very year of the change, 
 and the Bishop of Nancy in particular, published 
 certain pastoral letters which aroused indigna- 
 tion and the anxiety — perhaps only feigned — of 
 Germany. The two monarchical houses, the 
 Legitimists and the Orleanists, united their forces 
 to a common end ; a delicate situation was created 
 with Italy ; the policy of England was opposed ; 
 Spanish susceptibilities were irritated by foreign 
 suspicion to the eiFect that the new Government 
 favoured the Carlists ; and then, little by little, as 
 if in the natural course of things, France found 
 herself hedged about by a circle of suspicious and 
 distrustful neighbours. 
 
 This general feeling among European statesmen 
 was not lessened by the elevation to the Presidency 
 of Marshal MacMahon. It was believed that military 
 reorganization would henceforth be the chief pre- 
 occupation of France ; and when the National Assem-
 
 102 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 bly patriotically voted the creation of the Fourth 
 Battalion, this vote, which had almost been forced 
 upon Parliament, was the expression of wide- spread 
 national anxiety, which Germany did not fail to note. 
 
 Therein resides the true origin of the diplomatic 
 incident of May, 1875. 
 
 As soon as the creation of this Fourth Battalion 
 was decided on, the military party in Germany 
 betrayed much agitation, of which Count Moltke — 
 the personification, after the Emperor, of German 
 military power — was the first to give the signal. 
 From the very start the Emperor William I. had 
 shown that he was resolved to be the sole master in 
 military matters, but he left Prince Bismarck almost 
 absolute freedom in all questions not pertaining to 
 the army. It was in this way, indeed, that he 
 succeeded in soothing the suspicious and irascible 
 nature of his Chancellor. Even at the present day 
 it is impossible to say what were the secret aspira- 
 tions of the Chancellor after the Treaty of Frankf ort,^ 
 which had sealed the triumph of Germany over 
 France. He had certainly regarded himself from 
 the outset as the sole founder of the new German 
 Empire. His constant utterances after his fall 
 prove how deep-rooted was this conviction. 
 
 From the start he was clearly discontented. For 
 a long time he had nursed the all but impossible 
 dream of expelling Austria from Germany, and of 
 including as parts of a single Empire of which he 
 saw the vision the Southern States, the kingdom of 
 Saxony, and all the independent States scattered over
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 103 
 
 German territory. This end he had constantly pur- 
 sued amidst the greatest obstacles, and this ambitious 
 scheme he had succeeded in accomplishing solely 
 by his persevering genius. When at the close of 
 the war, after the treaty was signed, M. Pouyer- 
 Quertier said to him, ' There's no reason why you 
 should complain — you have been made a Prince,' the 
 Chancellor replied, showing him a parchment roll : 
 ' You think, then, I have no reason to complain ? 
 Certainly I have become a Prince ; as for my prin- 
 cipality, here it is.' 
 
 This secret discontent, this disenchantment of a 
 man who thought himself the founder of the Empire, 
 was instinctively understood by the Emperor. And 
 it was as a sop to his overleaping ambition that he 
 made Prince Bismarck the real Sovereign of Ger- 
 many, reserving for himself only the absolute control 
 of the army. 
 
 Prince Bismarck and Count Moltke were never 
 rivals, for each kept to his respective field, although 
 the former, by his Sovereign's pleasure, always wore 
 the uniform with characteristic regularity. 
 
 When, therefore, the creation of the Fourth 
 Battalion was decided on, and when Count Moltke, 
 who was ever most vigilant, saw how the active 
 army of France was being strengthened, he com- 
 municated his fears, not to Prince Bismarck, but to 
 the Emperor William himself. And Prince Bis- 
 marck was well aware that it was of no use his 
 intervening in any way, either to hasten or retard, 
 or even to stop, the scheme conceived by Count
 
 104 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Moltke, knowiug full well beforehand that all inter- 
 vention in this question would be trespassing on 
 forbidden ground. 
 
 Prince Bismarck not only always energetically 
 protested against his being the author of an aggres- 
 sive scheme formulated in 1875 against France, 
 but constantly maintained that no such idea had 
 occurred to anyone in Germany, and that it existed 
 onl}' in the malevolent minds of the French. The 
 latter, however, claimed that these plans had nearly 
 been successful, and were thwarted only by Russian 
 intervention. 
 
 The result of this accusation was calculated to 
 prejudice the German nation in the eyes of pos- 
 terity. It threw upon Kussia the entire honourable 
 responsibility of checkmating this design, and, on 
 the other hand, Prince Bismarck's attitude towards 
 the French, whom he treated as calumniators, had 
 the result of detracting from the renown of France, 
 while it placed Russia in the light of a pretentious 
 Don Quixote. 
 
 It is to correct so many erroneous statements, to 
 apportion to each in all fairness his responsibilities 
 and his successes — it is, in a word, to throw light 
 upon a historical event until now left in vague 
 obscurity — that I write these pages. 
 
 All the European Foreign Offices were secretly 
 informed at the beginning of 1875 of the ex- 
 cited state of feeling in Germany caused by the 
 creation by the French Chamber of the Fourth 
 Battalion.
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 105 
 
 Prince Bismarck's intentions remained, however, 
 a mystery. 
 
 It was well known that the Emperor would brook 
 from him no intervention so far as military affairs 
 were concerned ; and the German army corps and 
 the German military party looked at matters only 
 from the military j^oint of view. Prince Bismarck, 
 who at the time was evidently of opinion that dis- 
 cretion was the better part of valour, assumed an 
 attitude of alert observation, gathered from every 
 quarter of Europe all possible impressions, and 
 bided his time. 
 
 Thus the various European Foreign Offices 
 became aware of the state of mind of the German 
 military party, while they were entirely ignorant 
 of the Chancellor's intentions. On the whole, the 
 general impression was that Prince Bismarck's 
 decisions would in one way or another triumph, and 
 that, notwithstanding the precision of the resolutions 
 formed by the militar}^ pai'ty, the matter would still 
 be left vague and uncertain, and never develop 
 into anything. This very vagueness, though, was 
 ominous, and the air of mystery which in European 
 diplomatic circles surrounded the crisis which had 
 been secretly concocted in the German capital was 
 a quite natural result. 
 
 I myself was indirectly informed by various 
 people of the actual state of affairs. I was asked to 
 watch what was going on between Germany and 
 France. I was the constant recipient of letters 
 from all over Europe asking if it was true that
 
 106 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 France was becoming so strong as to be a legitimate 
 menace in Berlin, and if the Fourth Battalion was a 
 dangerous addition to the French army. And I saw 
 that these inquiries usually emanated from persons 
 who were the mouthpieces of others. All this 
 was further evidence of the general preoccupation 
 that existed in all European countries. 
 
 About this epoch I met M. Clasczko, the keen- 
 sighted author of Les Deux Clianceliers. He had 
 just returned from a trip through Europe. He had 
 been received everywhere as he deserved to be, for 
 he was a man to be trusted, and he had been struck 
 by the widespread anxiety that was noticeable 
 among European statesmen. He came to see me, 
 and we had a long and absolutely frank conversa- 
 tion. Our conclusion was that the situation 
 demanded my keenest attention, and we parted with 
 an agreement to keep each other mutually informed 
 of all that came to our notice. 
 
 On the 14tli of April, 1875, I met the Due 
 Decazes at a soiree at the house of the Prefect of 
 Police, M. Leon Renault. The Due was standing 
 near the door, a little apart from the company, as if 
 preferring to be alone. As I went by him I bowed. 
 He stopped me, and said : 
 
 ' You seem in a great hurry.' 
 
 ' No,' I replied ; ' but you appear to have some- 
 thing on your mind, and I did not wish to be 
 indiscreet.' 
 
 ' You are paying me a very poor compliment,' he 
 retorted ; ' for, if I really have something on my
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 107 
 
 mind, I ought not to show it, and if I have not it is 
 a great mistake to appear to have. But confess 
 that you said this for a purpose ; you wanted 
 to let me know that you think I really ought to be 
 anxious.' 
 
 ' No, M. le Due,' I said ; ' I was not so subtle as 
 that. The truth is that, thinking you were worried, 
 I discovered that your face betrayed it. 
 
 ' We cannot talk here,' said the Due ; ' come to 
 see me to-morrow evening, and we will have a long 
 talk. In my rooms no one will interrupt us.' 
 
 On the following evening at nine I was at the 
 house of the Due Decazes. I knew how much he 
 hated being forced to talk or having information 
 wrung from him. As this process had always 
 seemed to me childish and commonplace, I was 
 tempted less than ever to apply it in his case. I 
 therefore produced and read aloud, in a clear voice, 
 the letters that I had received about the German 
 military party, the notes I had taken on the subject 
 from conversations with foreign diplomatists, and 
 even with members of the Paris Diplomatic Corps, 
 and in particular the very characteristic words of 
 M. Clasczko. 
 
 After listening for some time, the Due said : 
 
 ' I really have not anything to tell you. You 
 know all that has come to my knowledge, and my 
 information so strongly corroborates yours that 
 there is only one conclusion to be drawn, namely, 
 that every Foreign Office in Europe is preoccupied 
 with our relations with Germany. I must add, how-
 
 108 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ever, to wbat you have said, merely this : Hohenlohe 
 came here and tried to turn the conversation upon 
 our armaments and the anxiety which they are 
 causing in Germany. I tried to turn the subject, as 
 it is too risky to discuss. But I know Hohenlohe 
 well, and I know his orders. He will come back, 
 and if I continue to avoid the topic and refuse all 
 explanations, he will arrange to bring about a coup 
 d'etat of some kind or other. He will succeed in 
 obtaining leave of absence, and he will manage to 
 leave Paris in such a w^ay as to compromise the 
 situation, for his presence here is a gage of peace. 
 What troubles me is that the Germans still surround 
 their plans with so much mystery that the world 
 continues to be ignorant of them, and that these 
 plans may come to maturity at any moment, when 
 it will be too late to do anything. 
 
 ' The Emperor of Russia thinks of going to Berlin 
 at the beginning of May, and everything that is 
 possible will Idc done to keep the matter dark. The 
 Emperor will, of course, be told about these plans, 
 but he will pretend that he does not know about 
 them, and refuse to believe them ; and he will not 
 venture to allude to them so long as they are not 
 mentioned to him. How, indeed, can a Sovereign 
 allow another Sovereign, a friendly one, to suppose 
 that he regards the latter capable of such an act 
 of aggression against a vanquished and disarmed 
 people — an aggression which, in the present circum- 
 stances, would be little short of barbarous ? So 
 that all possible secrecy will be kept in Berlin
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 109 
 
 during the Emperor's stay, and if the matter should 
 come to tlie surface at all, it will be after he has gone. 
 
 ' For this reason I think that there is only one 
 way to prevent the Emperor of Russia from being 
 compelled, while in Berlin, to hold his peace. I will 
 tell you how. Some authoritative journal known 
 throughout the world should expose the entire 
 situation, and this journal, I need hardly tell you, 
 should be The Times. 
 
 ' No French journal could possibly do it, for the 
 Germans would have the right to regard it as a 
 provocation, and no one would believe the statement 
 abroad. To adopt such a course would, therefore, be 
 a very great mistake. Nor could such an exposure 
 be made in an Italian journal ; those friendly to us 
 have no authority. In Austria no important paper 
 would care or dare to do it. And the Russian Press 
 is obviously out of the question, as its intervention, 
 even were the censors to allow it, would put the 
 Emperor of Russia in a false position at Berlin. The 
 Times is the only paper in the world which can 
 possibly publish such information with any telling 
 and authoritative effect. And that is what I ask 
 you to do.' 
 
 ' I am perfectly ready, as far as I am concerned,' 
 I said, ' to undertake this work, but you will under- 
 stand that the subject is too important for me to be 
 able to guarantee publication without previously 
 informing The Times and obtaining its assent. I 
 shall write to-morrow to Mr. John Delane, and act 
 according to his orders.'
 
 110 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 I did so. I placed the exact situation before 
 Mr. Delaiie, and asked explicitly for permission to 
 write a letter publicly denouncing the plan of 
 aggression against France conceived by the German 
 military party. 
 
 Mr. John Delane replied that my communication 
 had greatly interested, and even moved, him ; but he 
 said that such an insinuation against a civilized 
 nation could not be risked by a paper like The 
 Times unless it were backed up in the most positive 
 and official manner, so that, if called to account, 
 absolute and crushing proof could be adduced in 
 reply. I showed his letter to the Due Decazes, and 
 it caused him much disappointment, although he 
 agreed with me that Mr. John Delane could scarcely 
 act differently. He began to walk up and down the 
 room in great agitation, continually repeating : 
 
 ' Time presses. We must act, or it will be too 
 late. I persist in my idea — The Times is the only 
 paper which can do what I ask, and if it does not 
 do it all may be lost.' Then, turning to me sud- 
 denly, he said : ' What Mr. Delane wants, then, is 
 information so authoritative that he may be sure he 
 is acting on the best faith in the world ?' 
 
 ' Certainly,' I replied, ' that is Mr. Delane's 
 idea.' 
 
 ' Very well,' he said ; ' come back and see me 
 this evening.' 
 
 On returning in the evening I found him in one 
 of the small first-floor rooms, where he was always 
 to be seen when alone.
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 111 
 
 ' Do you think/ he asked, ' that Mr. Delane would 
 publish your letter if you assured him on your word 
 of honour that you referred to an absolutely authentic 
 document ?' 
 
 ' I am sure of it,' I replied ; ' the day when my 
 word of honour is not enough for Mr. Delane he 
 will no longer find me under his orders.' 
 
 ' Then,' said the Due Decazes, ' I am going to do 
 something that is absolutely unusual. I am going 
 to communicate to you an official and confidential 
 document ; but in so acting I am convinced that I 
 am acting in my country's interest and in that of 
 Europe. I must ask you, though, to swear to me 
 that in my lifetime you will not say that I have 
 shown you this document, unless you are compelled 
 for the honour of your paper to do so. Not that I 
 fear to confess to all the world what I am going to 
 do, but because I know the passions that exist all 
 about us. If the misfortune that I fear should 
 occur, I should be blamed for not having warded 
 it off ; and if I succeed in preventing it, it will be 
 said to have existed only in my imagination. For 
 this reason I ask you to keep your own counsel as 
 to our interview — at least, as long as I am in this 
 world. If you survive me I authorize you to speak, 
 for by that time I hope the hour of justice will 
 have arrived for me, and my act will be seen to be 
 that of an ardent patriot anxious only to defend his 
 country against a fresh calamity.' 
 
 With these words the Due took out of a drawer 
 in a small desk that stood at the right of the chimney-
 
 112 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 piece a rather large paper note-book and handed it 
 to me. 
 
 The book contained a despatch from the Vicomte 
 de Gontaiit-Biron, French Ambassador in Berlin. 
 In this despatch the Vicomte de Gontaut-Biron, who 
 was always most highly respected by all those who 
 knew him, had given the Due Decazes a detailed 
 account of his interview with M. de Kadowitz, whom 
 he had met at a ball. 
 
 M. de Radowitz, having turned the theme of con- 
 versation to the famous Fourth Battalion and the 
 French armaments, which were arousing the anxiety 
 of the German Government, revealed to him the 
 plans conceived against France by the German 
 military party. M. de Radowitz stated that Count 
 Moltke had great influence over the Emperor, and 
 had proved to him the necessity of an immediate 
 war with France. The German armies were to 
 invade France, crush instantly all opposition, press 
 on to Paris, invest the capital, and take up a position 
 on the plateau of Avron, whence they could overlook 
 Paris, and if need be destroy it. This done, Ger- 
 many would dictate a treaty reducing France to 
 absolute subjection for many years. It would 
 insist on a permanently reduced army, impose a 
 war indemnity of 10,000,000,000 (ten milliards) of 
 francs, payable in twenty annuities without any 
 clause allowing payment to be made in advance, 
 with annual interest at five per cent., and keep garri- 
 sons in the principal towns of France until the whole 
 sum should be paid. The Vicomte de Gontaut-
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 113 
 
 Biron had scarcely been able to maintain his sang- 
 froid during this revelation. He pretended to M. de 
 R,adowitz that he did not believe it, and he had thus 
 forced him to confirm his words in the most abso- 
 lute fashion. He left M. de Kadowitz in the greatest 
 excitement, for he felt sure that the latter had 
 spoken by order, although he could not conceive 
 who had commanded it, or why. He believed that 
 the idea was to frighten France, and to force that 
 country into some overtures of explanation which 
 would reassure Germany ; but he left no stone 
 unturned to investigate the matter and corroborate 
 this information. The result of his inquiries was 
 that he had become certain that the scheme had 
 been concocted only by the military party, and that 
 Prince Bismarck, so far as his responsibility went, 
 was an absolute stranger to the plan. 
 
 As may be easily imagined, I was profoundly 
 impressed by the reading of this document. In 
 tones betraying my emotion, I returned the note- 
 book, and, thanking the Due, said : 
 
 ' I will write the letter, and I swear to you to do 
 all that is in my power to obtain its publication.' 
 
 On going home, without a moment's delay, I wrote 
 a letter revealing the entire plan of the German 
 military party, as told by M. de Gontaut-Biron 
 from the information given by M. de Radowitz. 
 And, on receiving this letter, Mr. John Delane, 
 frightened at its contents, took measures himself 
 to discover what was true and what was false in the 
 .terrible scheme thus circumstantially revealed.
 
 114 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Some days went by without the letter appearing. 
 I began to be apprehensive, when suddenly, on the 
 4th of May, 1875, it was published under the title 
 ' The French Scare.' 
 
 The effect was instantaneous and universal. The 
 Emperor Alexander II. no longer had any excuse, 
 during his approaching visit to Berlin, not to know 
 all about the matter ; and, indeed, in the midst of 
 the excitement aroused by my letter, the German 
 Chancellor himself had nothing left to do but to 
 bring before the Kussian Emperor the question of 
 this bellicose scheme imputed to Germany, and to 
 wash his hands of it. 
 
 The German Emperor, too, on meeting M. de 
 Gontaut-Biron, said to him : ' They are trying to 
 embroil matters between us, but, fortunately, they 
 have not succeeded.' 
 
 Prince GortschakofF lost no time in addressing 
 to the Russian representatives a circular beginning 
 ' Peace is henceforth assured.' Lord Derby, on his 
 part, assured Englishmen of the same fact. 
 
 But the French Press, mistaking altogether the 
 motives which had dictated The Times letter, and 
 quite without reflection, heaped upon its author the 
 most incredible insults. The German Press, seeing 
 what had been the effect of it, echoed the attacks 
 of the French newspapers, until the latter, finally 
 detecting the real motive that had inspired the 
 letter, ceased their diatribes. Six weeks later, as 
 I was entering the Comtesse de Valon's salon with a 
 friend, a Frenchman who was there asked my friend
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 115 
 
 how much Prince Bismarck had paid me for ' pub- 
 lishing the Scare letter.' 
 
 This is sufficient to show to what degree of blind- 
 ness my act of loyalty had driven the French Press 
 — an act made possible by the courageous and en- 
 lightened support of my chief. 
 
 I confess that the following letter from Mr. John 
 Delane made up for all these attacks and insults : 
 
 ^May 18. 
 ' My dear M. de Blowitz, 
 
 ' I did not need your very interesting letter of the 
 
 14th inst. to appreciate the entire success of that starthng 
 
 public letter by which you alarmed Europe to a sense of its 
 
 imminent danger. It has been of the greatest public service, 
 
 and, as I sincerely believe, has done even much to spare the 
 
 world the horrors of another war. No greater honour than 
 
 to have aided in averting war is within the reach of the 
 
 journalist. 
 
 ' As to the French and German Press, I hope you have 
 
 philosophy enough to bear their attacks with contemptuous 
 
 equanimity.' 
 
 On the IZtli of December, 1878, I was dining at 
 the Cafe Voisin. General Leflo entered, and sat 
 down at a table in a corner close by. As I had 
 finished my dinner, I joined him. General Leflo 
 had been French Ambassador in St. Petersburg 
 during the period of the incidents called by The 
 Ti?7ies ' The French Scare.' He, better than any- 
 one, was able to give me details of the incident in 
 which I had been myself so closely associated. 
 The following is a faithful account of what he said 
 to me: 
 
 'I was in Paris when the incident of 1875 first 
 
 8—2
 
 116 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 began to arouse the attention of European states- 
 men. I called on the Due Decazes and took the 
 liberty of telling him that, to my mind, his fears in 
 reference to an attack by Germany upon France 
 were greatly exaggerated. The Due replied that 
 he had in his possession certain trustworthy docu- 
 ments which appeared to him to justify all his fears. 
 As a result of this conversation I was to return as 
 soon as possible to St. Petersburg. But before my 
 departure I wished to call on Prince Orloff, then 
 Russian Ambassador in Paris, to let him know that 
 I was going back to Kussia. 
 
 ' " I have just mentioned your name in a telegram 
 to Prince GortschakofF," said Prince OrlofF to me. 
 " I am quite of your opinion that the fears of the 
 Due Decazes are chimerical, and I do not believe 
 that anyone now thinks of attacking France." 
 
 ' From Prince Orloff I went to the Elysee to see 
 the Marshal, for I wished to tell him as well as the 
 Due Decazes of the encouraging impression left 
 upon me by Prince OrlofTs words. The Marshal 
 was out, so I proceeded to the house of the Due 
 Decazes. He, too, was away from home. Return- 
 ing to the Elysee, I found an Aide-de-Camp of the 
 President, whom I entrusted with a message for the 
 latter to the efEect that, as I did not wish to leave 
 Paris for my post without seeing him, I would call 
 again on the morrow, postponing my journey for 
 a day. The same evening I received from the 
 Marshal a note, fixing an appointment for nine 
 o'clock on the following morning. I went there
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 117 
 
 at the hour named. In all frankness I told him 
 what I myself thought, adding that my opinion had 
 been corroborated by other men of standing ; and 
 I protested against the views held not only by him, 
 but by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Due 
 Decazes, as well as by some other French statesmen. 
 
 ' " You seem to take the whole matter very easily," 
 said the Marshal ; and, with a key attached to his 
 watch-chain, he opened a drawer and took out a 
 packet of papers. 
 
 ' These papers were official documents of all kinds, 
 including some military reports to the Government 
 and to the President. They came from all the 
 French military attaches in Europe, and testified 
 to the recent activity of Germany in provisioning 
 troops, in purchasing horses, and in storing up 
 fresh ammunition. It was stated that all these 
 horses and this ammunition had been transferred 
 to the neighbourhood of the French frontier. They 
 contained the fullest and most astounding details 
 as to the process of mobilization which had been 
 secretly going on in Germany for some time. 
 
 ' It took me more than an hour to look through 
 these documents with care, and I made a brief 
 summary of them, which I submitted to the 
 Marshal, and which I wished to take with me to 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 ' The following morning I set out. It was a 
 tiresome journey, especially for a man of my age. 
 I had seen Prince Orloflf before leaving, and, with 
 the consent of the Marshal and the Due Decazes,
 
 118 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 had told him what I had just learned, and how I had 
 begun to share their fears. He entrusted me with 
 a long despatch for Prince GortschakofF, the exact 
 contents of which were not known to me. On 
 arriving in St. Petersburg I was so exhausted by my 
 journey that, in sending to Prince Gortschakoff the 
 despatch, I excused myself for not calling upon him 
 immediately, and said that I should go to see him 
 within forty-eight hours. 
 
 ' But on the morrow, before I was up — on account 
 of my fatigue I had remained in bed longer than 
 usual — my man-servant came to tell me that Prince 
 GortschakofF was in the salon. I dressed in haste, 
 and went down to see him. 
 
 ' " I came to inquire about your health," he said, 
 " and to talk over Prince OrlofTs despatch. I am 
 rather of his opinion, that your fears are a little 
 exaggerated. It is true enough that they are angry 
 in Berlin at the energy you are displaying in 
 repairing your disasters, and at the remarkable 
 result you have already obtained in the short space 
 of four years, while other nations would have spent 
 the time in thinking matters over. But anger such 
 as this does not mean that they think of attacking 
 you, and I really believe that you insult the national 
 honour of our time by imagining that they entertain 
 in Germany any such intention." 
 
 ' I made no reply. This was clearly the part that 
 Prince GortschakofF might be exj^ected to play. 
 He knew that it was not bv addino- fuel to the fire 
 of our anxiety that the situation could be made less
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 119 
 
 serious, or that minds could be calmed. Instead 
 of discussing the matter with him, I asked to be 
 inamediately presented to the Emperor. The Prince 
 promised to arrange the matter that very day. 
 
 ' The Emperor had the very correct rule, I well 
 knew, of always replying on the following day to 
 any request for an audience made by a member of 
 the Diplomatic Corps. When three days went by 
 without an answer, I began to be greatly troubled. 
 I took his silence as evidence of the slight regard 
 for French anxiety at the moment, and my distress 
 increased with my irritation. 
 
 ' It was in this state of mind that I met Prince 
 GortschakofF again ; I confessed to him how anxious 
 I felt, and I told him how much I feared a failure 
 in my mission of interesting the Tsar in my 
 country. 
 
 ' My words evidently had their effect, for on that 
 very evening I was told that the Emperor would 
 receive me on the following day. I was there at the 
 appointed hour. The Emperor, although amiable, 
 was a little cool in his manner. Even before I had 
 begun to speak of my mission, he said to me, as 
 if echoing Prince GortschakofTs words : " I know 
 what brings you here, but I hope that your fears are 
 exaggerated. People in Berlin are certainly startled 
 at your extraordinary activity, but that doesn't 
 mean that they are thinking of attacking you." 
 
 ' This language frightened me. The Tsar had 
 spoken in a tone of such evident firmness that it 
 seemed as though nothing could change his opinion.
 
 120 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 I felt that it was the expression o£ an irrevocable 
 foregone conclusion in favour of Germany, and that 
 any words of mine would be taken only as a 
 calumny against that country's honour. But I 
 could not hesitate. I placed before him all the 
 communications shown to me by Marshal Mac- 
 Mahon, the reports of the military attaches and 
 foreign Ministers, and, without comment, I merely 
 begged him to look them through. He did so 
 with some attention, and his face betrayed his 
 emotion. 
 
 ' I then began to speak. I admitted to him that 
 France was weak, it was true, but just then in such 
 a state of mind that so perfidious, so barbarous an 
 attack by Germany would drive her to exaspera- 
 tion ; that, if the worst should really happen, it 
 would be a war to the death, without quarter, and 
 chat all Europe would be dragged into this struggle 
 of extermination. I was so deeply affected by the 
 sense of the enormous responsibility that weighed 
 upon me that I burst into tears. 
 
 ' The Emperor rose quickly ; he came up to me, 
 and drawing himself up to his full height, with one 
 hand he took mine, and placing the other, with a 
 dignified and friendly gesture, upon my shoulder, 
 said, in a voice of restrained emotion : 
 
 ' " Be calm. You shall not be attacked. I 
 promise you to prevent any such scheme. Europe 
 will never see such a spectacle !" 
 
 ' My joy at these words was profound. A man so 
 omnipotent as Alexander II., a man so alive to the
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 121 
 
 sense of sovereign responsibility, could not possibly 
 have used this language without being sincere. In 
 circumstances like these the word of a Sovereign 
 was more sacred, more inviolable, than any treaty. 
 His promise, " Europe will never see such a 
 spectacle," was an encouragement in which I could 
 have absolute confidence. I left the royal presence 
 relieved of an enormous weight. Hurrying home, 
 I sent to the Due Decazes a despatch in cipher, 
 warning him to have it read in his presence by his 
 most confidential clerks, and I so wrote it that, if 
 deciphered in portions by several persons, there 
 could be no possible danger of its sense being 
 indiscreetly detected. 
 
 ' The reply of the Due Decazes came very speedily. 
 It was full of the greatest admiration for and 
 gratitude towards Alexander II. It said that France, 
 under the shelter, as it were, of this Imperial utter- 
 ance, might await the future in all confidence, and 
 bear her face to the storm without fear. But in a 
 private portion the Duke added : " It must not be 
 forgotten that the war now being secretly planned 
 in Berlin in so much mystery and silence might 
 at any time burst forth suddenly, and as the 
 Tsar has solemnly affirmed that this shall not 
 happen. His Majesty may feel called upon to draw 
 his own sword to keep the promise of his inviolable 
 word. His Majesty, in the enthusiastic expression 
 of his generous soul, has perhaps not thought of 
 such a contingency ; but we should be disloyal and 
 ungrateful to His Majesty if, while using the
 
 122 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 greatest prudence, we did not make this possibility 
 quite clear." 
 
 ' This telegram worried me considerably ; I won- 
 dered if the Due Decazes was not carrying a little 
 too far his feelings of loyalty and gratitude to the 
 Tsar, and I also wondered if, in communicating 
 this excessive scruple, I might not upset all that 
 I had done, and expose France again to isolation. 
 Looking through the despatch again, I marked 
 with a red pencil the confidential passages, in 
 order to leave them out when I read it to Prince 
 GortschakofF. 
 
 ' Simultaneously with this despatch, I received a 
 copy of a conversation between the Vicomte de 
 Gontaut-Biron and M. de Radowitz, and a circum- 
 stantial account of a Ministerial Council held in 
 Berlin in the Emperor William's presence, when 
 Count Moltke had spoken as follows : 
 
 ' " It is not peace that we have made, but only a 
 truce. To-day, France is without an army and 
 without money. In spite of her all but inexhaus- 
 tible prosperity, she could not possibly raise the 
 sums necessary to organize a resistance worthy of 
 the name. She would certainly try to fight — and 
 fortunately, too, for us — for we would not think of 
 attacking a nation unable to do its best to resist us. 
 But now, whatever the resistance, our success is 
 certain. A new war is only a question of time, and 
 if we postpone it for eighteen months, France, with 
 the marvellous resources which she has at her dis- 
 posal, will have so far recovered from her disasters
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 123 
 
 as to be able to set against us an army equal to our 
 own. Her frontiers will have been re- established, 
 and in eighteen months she will have as strong 
 an artillery as we have to-day. It is a matter o£ 
 whether we wish to sacrifice or not 100,000 men, 
 for that is what will be inevitable if we put matters 
 off. From every point of view — military, j^olitical, 
 philosophic, and even Christian — an immediate war 
 is a necessity." 
 
 ' Taking the diplomatic paper which contained 
 these words, the military reports, and the despatch 
 of the Due Decazes, I called unexpectedly upon 
 Prince GortschakofF. I found him lying on a 
 sofa, laid up with an injured foot. Seeing him in 
 this state, I was about to withdraw, but the Prince 
 insisted that I should stay. I began to read to him 
 the despatch from the Due Decazes, of course 
 leaving out the marked passages. But the room 
 was not well lighted, and I stumbled at a certain 
 place. The Prince noticed that I was not reading 
 it all, and, interrupting me, said : 
 
 ' " My dear General, you really believe that Ger- 
 many is planning to attack your country because 
 you are now unable to defend yourself successfully, 
 and you think, therefore, that this must at any cost 
 be prevented, lest a great blot should stain the 
 history of this country. So be it, but in these cir- 
 cumstances all hesitation is a crime, and reticence 
 would be bad policy. I know my master. I know 
 how he is touched by confidence placed in him, if 
 only it be absolute and without reserve. He did
 
 124 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLO^VITZ 
 
 not speak as he did lightly, for he has since repeated 
 his words to me. Give me, then, the whole of your 
 document, and I will send it to him this very moment, 
 without even looking at it myself." 
 
 ' I hesitated no longer, hut handed the paper to 
 him just as it was. The Prince wrote a note there 
 in my presence. He put the manuscript with the 
 note into an envelope, and, calling an Aide-de- Camp, 
 sent the package to the Emperor. 
 
 ' I confess that, on leaving Prince GortschakofF, 
 I was in what may be called a " state of mind." 
 The Emperor was to leave for Berlin witliin four 
 days. I could not ask for another audience. Prince 
 Gortschakoff was laid up at home, and it was not 
 even certain that he would he able to accompany 
 the Tsar. How, then, could I learn the effect pro- 
 duced upon him by the despatch from the Due 
 Decazes, with its dangerous passages ? I was myself 
 ill on the following day, having been over-excited 
 by the events which had taken place, and I was 
 obliged to remain in bed. My secretary l^rought 
 me the news that the Emperor was to go that very 
 evening to a soiree at the Princess YousoupofF's. 
 I sent for my doctor, and after much persuasion 
 induced him to let me get up and go to this party. 
 I arrived after the entertainment had begun, ])ut I 
 was scarcely inside the great gallery when I saw 
 the Emperor entering it at the opposite end. I 
 noticed that he was looking at me. Then he made 
 a slight sign of recognition, and came slowly towards 
 me between the hedge, so to speak, of guests that
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 125 
 
 was formed on either side. As he advanced I felt 
 myself turning pale. But when he had come up, 
 he stretched out both hands, and, as everybody had 
 discreetly gone a short distance away, said : 
 
 ' " I have been greatly touched by your con- 
 fidence. Do not regret it. You may be sure that 
 all that is humanly possible I shall do. You will 
 not be attacked unawares. I swear it." 
 
 ' Two days afterwards I was present among the 
 staff officers near the Emperor during a review. 
 At its close, and as I passed before the Emperor to 
 take leave of him, he stopped me with a sign, and 
 said : " Adieu, General ; or, rather, au revoir. Ras- 
 surez votre gouvernement." Then, with a kindly 
 smile, he recalled the confidential passages in the 
 despatch from the Due Decazes, saying : " Tell the 
 Due Decazes he may be tranquil. There will be no 
 surprise." 
 
 ' There,' concluded General Leflo, turning to me, 
 ' now you have the complete and detailed account 
 of my personal action in the affair of 1875. The 
 rest took place in Berlin, for on the morrow the 
 Emperor left St. Petersburg, and I did not see him 
 again.' 
 
 If the preceding narrative has been read with 
 attention, the conclusion will appear obvious. As 
 has been seen, it was M. de Radowitz who revealed 
 to M. de Gontaut-Biron the plan of the military party 
 in all its details. Such an indiscretion as this on 
 the part of a German diplomatist, unless it was
 
 lae MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 committed bj order, would have drawn down upon 
 him the severest punishment. But who could pos- 
 sibly have ordered this indiscretion ? Certainly 
 not Count Moltke, who was pursuing his plan of 
 attack with his characteristic tenacity. It was 
 Prince Bismarck — and the fact does him the greatest 
 honour — who ordered M. de Radowitz to let M. de 
 Gontaut-Biron know what was going on in Germany. 
 Prince Bismarck knew that the Emperor William I. 
 had been much influenced by Count Moltke's per- 
 tinacity. He knew that on the military ground 
 there was no chance of his intervention. But he 
 saw, not only that the rights of nations and national 
 honour forbade the execution of this scheme as an 
 ineradicable blot on the pages of history, but also 
 that politically — from the point of view, that is, of 
 the attitude of England and Russia — such an enter- 
 prise might turn out to be most disastrous for Ger- 
 many. Austria, moreover, had not forgotten the 
 defeat of 1866, and there was the danger that she 
 might join Russia and England to prevent such an 
 attack on France. Prince Bismarck, therefore, 
 thought that the best way to cut short a project 
 of which he was himself no longer the master was 
 to reveal it to official Europe and let the force of 
 public opinion take its dissuasive course. 
 
 It has been said that this action on his part was 
 traitorous towards the German military party. But 
 that is absurd. There was a consideration in Prince 
 Bismarck's mind above and beyond this. It was the 
 historic honour of the German nation, and the
 
 THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 127 
 
 danger to which, in spite of French weakness, his 
 country might be exposed. Moreover, all who 
 remarked that during the Berlin Congress M. de 
 Radowitz, as secretary, was seated for an entire 
 month directly in front of Prince Bismarck, that the 
 Prince treated him always with the utmost kindness, 
 and that until Prince Bismarck's fall he was the 
 recipient of constant favours from the Chancellor, 
 perceived clearly enough in these marks of special 
 honour the evidence of M. de Radowitz's great 
 rule during the crisis of 1875. There can be no 
 doubt that the latter acted by special order, and 
 that this historic episode occurred as I have related 
 it. The hostile projects of Count Moltke remained 
 unfulfilled only because of Prince Bismarck's failure 
 to co-operate. He undermined them by bold but 
 indirect tactics, which were quite in keeping with 
 his well-known audacity.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 
 
 The publication in The Times of the Treaty of 
 Berlin at the very hour that it was being signed in 
 Berlin was, according to universal opinion, the 
 greatest journalistic feat on record; and that 
 publication, due to me, is the subject of the chapter 
 I am writing. I say this plainly because I feel no 
 pride about it. To have published an important 
 document before anybody else does not make you 
 a great writer, or even a* great journalist, and I 
 would rather have written The Battle of Dorking 
 than have published all the secret documents in the 
 ^^'orld. Any journalist by profession might have 
 done what I did if he had said, 'I will do it,' and 
 had thought over the ways of accomplishing liis 
 scheme. It was a feat in which neither talent nor 
 science stood for anything. 
 
 The story I am about to tell must not, therefore, 
 be ascribed to vanity, but should merely be con- 
 sidered as the fulfilment of a duty to my journalistic 
 profession, to which I am devoted. Peojile ought 
 to know by what efforts of imagination and per- 
 severance one sometimes succeeds in keeping them 
 
 [ 128]
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 129 
 
 posted up, especially as the reader who runs his eye 
 over a document set forth in the columns of a news- 
 paper is apt to fancy that it had simply to be asked 
 for or bought. Now, if documents had merely to 
 be bought, nothing would be easier than to procure 
 them. Rich papers would purchase them, while the 
 others, as is customary, would reprint them gratis 
 without informing their readers from what source 
 they were derived. But this is not enough. To 
 be able to pay for a document is not sufficient, for 
 in the majority of cases bought documents are 
 spurious ; men who possess genuine ones refuse 
 to sell them. I will therefore relate the history 
 of the acquisition of a document which necessi- 
 tated not only the spending of money, but long 
 preliminary labour, the warding off of failure, and 
 the throwing off the scent of those who sought to 
 discover the origin of the communication. I give 
 the story because it ought not to die with me, 
 and because it belongs to the history of modern 
 journalism. 
 
 In October, 1877, on my calling one morning on 
 the Due Decazes, Minister of Foreign AfEairs, in the 
 large office he occupied on the first-floor of the 
 Quai d'Orsay, he said to me : 
 
 ' There will soon ])e a Congress for the settlement 
 of the Eastern Question. I shall be the representa- 
 tive of France. I shall then have been Member 
 of Parliament, Ambassador, Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, and Plenipotentiary representing France at 
 an International Diplomatic Congress. People will 
 
 9
 
 130 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 no longer be able to twit me with not having 
 worthily upheld the name I bear, and with not 
 having endeavoured, at least, to give fresh lustre 
 to it.' 
 
 Then, after a few minutes' silence, he added : 
 
 ' You ought to go to the Congress — it will be 
 very interesting ; and I wall do all I can, consis- 
 tently with my duty, to facilitate your task.' 
 
 ' You forget, M. le Due,' I said, ' that rather 
 more than two years ago there appeared in The 
 Times a letter entitled " The French Scare," de- 
 nouncing the warlike projects of the German 
 military party. The author of that letter could 
 not go to Berlin, where the Congress will be 
 held, without incurring the risk of much that is 
 disagreeable.' 
 
 ' I am sure nothing will be done to remind you 
 of that, and I still think that if you are told to go 
 you should willingly do so.' 
 
 By a rather curious coincidence, I had received a 
 call that very afternoon from a young foreigner, 
 whom a friend warmly recommended to me. This 
 young man had a pleasing, intelligent countenance, 
 and impressed me very favourably. He told me 
 he had left his country because his brother had 
 been induced to gamble, had lost all that both of 
 them possessed, had victimized people, and had 
 gone away leaving his debts ; that he himself, 
 though clear of it all, had been forced to emigrate 
 to escape the shame of constantly hearing abused 
 the name of his brother, whom he, nevertheless,
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 131 
 
 dearly loved. What he now wanted was to earn a 
 small sum which would enable him to go to the 
 colonies to try and make a fortune, and to retrieve 
 his name by paying his brother's debts. 
 
 The story was quite true. This honest young 
 man interested me very much. I felt that he was 
 ready to make the greatest efforts to attain his 
 object, and I promised to see what I could do for 
 him. 
 
 I made several applications in his favour, but 
 without success. This was all the more strange, as 
 the young man had an excellent bearing, was very 
 intelligent, spoke several languages, wrote them 
 fairly well, and would have made the most valuable 
 secretary imaginable. 
 
 He called on me several times, and I became 
 more and more interested in him. One morning 
 when he arrived I had just had a letter informing 
 me that there was an idea of sending me to the 
 Berlin Congress, the meeting of which had been 
 delayed for a time, but which was certain to take 
 place in the course of that year. It was then 
 January. Marshal MacMahon had been defeated, 
 and the Due Decazes had fallen. There was an 
 attempt to put forward the Due as Plenipotentiary, 
 M. Waddington, Minister of Foreign Affairs, being 
 too much of a novice in diplomacy to assume such 
 a post. 
 
 I knew M. Waddington well. M. Dufaure had 
 deputed me two days before the formation of his 
 Cabinet to ask him whether he would consent to 
 
 9—2
 
 132 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 take over the portfolio of the Foreign Office, and I 
 am bound to sav that, although Mme. Waddins-ton 
 had strongly endeavoured to dissuade him, he had 
 nevertheless accepted. He was very nervous at 
 first, and afraid of opening his mouth lest he should 
 commit a blunder. I knew, therefore, that there 
 was no relying on him in Berlin for helping me 
 in my task, and that for fear of compromising 
 his diplomatic fame he would maintain absolute 
 reticence. 
 
 I reflected that, in going to Berlin, I should 
 encounter the hostility of the Chancellor and most 
 of his supporters, as they resented my letter of 
 1875. The English diplomatists make it a rule to 
 communicate nothing ; the Kussians would distrust 
 the correspondent of an English journal ; Count 
 Corti, if it Avere he who represented Italy, would be 
 exposed to a violent opposition, and would not risk 
 receiving blows by making confidences ; and the 
 Austrians, hedged in by Germany and Russia, 
 would not venture to open their mouths. As for 
 the Turks, like all those marked out beforehand 
 for victims, they would be afraid of their own 
 shadow, even if they had a shadow, of which I was 
 not certain. 
 
 On reflection I felt that I was going to make a 
 grand fiasco in Berlin, and compromise a career 
 which, tolerably brilliant at the outset, had already 
 brought on me much resentment, as well as calum- 
 nies and attacks of which I have not ceased to be 
 proud. The idea was unbearable, and I felt that,
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 133 
 
 in the interest of The Times ^ as well as in my own 
 interest, it would be better for me not to go to the 
 Congress. 
 
 Just then my young friend was announced. I 
 had not seen him for a long time, and had positively 
 allowed him to slip my memory. Here I must 
 confess that I have a theory which will, perhaps, 
 be ridiculed, but which has governed my whole 
 life. I believe in the constant intervention of a 
 Supreme Power, directing not only our destiny in 
 general, but such actions of ours as influence our 
 destiny. When I see that nothing in Nature is left 
 to chance, that immutable laws govern every move- 
 ment, that the faintest spark that glimmers in the 
 firmament disappears and reappears with strict 
 pimctuality, I cannot suppose that anything to do 
 with mankind goes by chance, and that every 
 individuality composing it is not governed by a 
 definite and inflexible plan. The great men whose 
 names escape oblivion are like the planets which 
 we know by name, and which stand out from 
 among the multitude of stars without names. We 
 know their motions and destinies. We know at 
 what time the comet moving in infinite space will 
 reappear, and that the smallest stars, whose exist- 
 ence escapes us, obey the fixed law which governs 
 the universe. Under various names, in changing 
 circumstances, by successive and co-ordinate evolu- 
 tions, the great geniuses known to the world, those 
 whose names have escaped oblivion, reappear. 
 Moses is reflected in Confucius, Mohammed in
 
 134 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 John Huss ; Cyrus lives again in Caesar, and Cassar 
 in Napoleon ; Attila is repeated in Peter the Great, 
 and Frederick II. in Bismarck ; Louis le Debonnaire 
 in Philip VIL, and Catiline in Boidanger. Charle- 
 magne and Joan of Arc alone have not yet 
 reappeared, the one to revive authority and the 
 other la pudeur. Everything moves by a fixed 
 law, and man is master of his own destiny 
 only because he can acce23t or refuse, by his own 
 intervention and action, the place he should fill 
 and the path traced out for him by the general 
 decree which regulates the movements of every 
 creature. 
 
 By virtue of this theory it will be easily under- 
 stood that I have always endeavoured to divine the 
 intentions and designs of the Supreme Will which 
 directs us. I have always sought, not to thwart 
 that ubiquitous guidance, but to enter on the path 
 which it seemed to point out to me. As, at the 
 very time that the idea of going to Berlin plimged 
 me in despair, my door opened and I saw my young 
 friend enter, it struck me that he was destined to 
 assist me in the accomplishment of the task de- 
 volving on me in Berlin. 
 
 ' You are still bent on undertaking whatever 
 is honestly possible to effect your purpose ?' I 
 asked. 
 
 ' I am,' he replied. 
 
 ' Then, call on me again in a few days.' 
 
 I went to see Prince Hohenlohe, the German 
 Ambassador to the French Republic.
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 135 
 
 ' Your Highness,' I said (this title appertains to 
 him as a descendant of a mediatized family), 'I 
 shall probably be deputed to attend the Berlin 
 Congress as correspondent of my paper. I know 
 there is a lively recollection of a letter published in 
 1875 against the projects of the German military 
 party, and as your Highness has been friendly to 
 me, I have come to ask whether or not you would 
 advise me to go to Berlin, or whether I am not 
 liable to meet with a reception that would render 
 my mission very difficult, if not impossible.' 
 
 The Prince was silent a few seconds. 
 
 ' I must reflect,' he said. ' Come again in three 
 days.' 
 
 Three days meant that he would make inquiries 
 in Berlin. When I returned, he said : 
 
 ' I have reflected. You can go to Berlin. You 
 will be well received.' 
 
 Two days later my young friend called again. 
 
 ' This,' I said, ' is what I want you to do : You 
 must leave Paris in a few days. Here is a letter of 
 introduction, from a friend of mine not concerned 
 in politics, to the private secretary of a foreign 
 statesman who will certainly represent his country 
 at the Berlin Congress. You will present yourself 
 with this letter, as a young man seeking a situation 
 which is liable to improve rapidly, but to which at 
 present no salary is attached. You have some 
 weeks, perhaps months, before you. You will 
 employ them in getting an introduction to the 
 chief of the person to whom you are recommended,
 
 136 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and you will manage so that when the Congress 
 meets, if he goes, you go Avith him. I shall be 
 there. I do not ask you to divulge the smallest 
 secret to me, or to commit the slightest in- 
 discretion. You will never speak to me of things 
 about to be done. You will simply help me in 
 forestalling the information of others, and when 
 the Congress has adopted articles you will com- 
 municate them to me ; but I shall not publish them 
 till the day the Congress holds its last sitting, in 
 order not to thwart its labours. Here is the address 
 at which you will keep me posted, and when the 
 Congress is over, provided you have faithfully per- 
 formed your task, I will hand you the sum you 
 deem necessary for making your fortune in the 
 colonies.' 
 
 Four days afterwards he started. 
 
 Several weeks elapsed, and the constantly deferred 
 Congress was convened for the 13th of June, 1878. 
 I arrived in Berlin on the 11th. On the way and 
 in Berlin I had a pleasant reception, as I had been 
 assured would be the case. Everybody was affable, 
 but, as I had foreseen, nobody gave me the slightest 
 information. Some days before starting I had said 
 to a German diplomatist : 
 
 ' In Paris the fish talk ; in Berlin the parrots are 
 dumb.' 
 
 The remark had been repeated, and people seemed 
 resolved to confirm it. 
 
 Lord Odo Russell, though neither a parrot nor a 
 fish, received me with the charming manners which
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 137 
 
 made him so popular, but did not give me the 
 smallest item of information. 
 
 M. Waddino-ton was visibly embarrassed at re- 
 ceiving me. It was much the same everywhere — 
 affable greetings, pressing invitations, great courtesy, 
 but nothing, absolutely nothing, for the impatient 
 tooth of the Correspondent. 
 
 Prince Bismarck, in receiving the Plenipotentiaries, 
 had told them that indiscretions must be avoided at 
 all cost, and that the journalists who had invaded 
 Berlin must be prevented from sending their papers 
 authentic information. Outside rumours must not 
 hamper the march of the Congress ; and it was also, 
 I think, a question of keeping up the reputation for 
 muteness of the German capital. 
 
 On the 13tli of June the Congress opened. The 
 journalists assembled in Berlin walked like exiled 
 shadows in the Wilhelmstrasse, Ivine; in wait for 
 the echoes which escaped, or might escape, from 
 the Congress hall. They learned that the Chancellor 
 had made the members pledge themselves to abso- 
 lute silence on the deliberations of the Congress. 
 Hence general consternation. 
 
 On the night of the 13th I talked with my young 
 friend, the only interview I had with him during 
 my whole stay. He had succeeded splendidly. He 
 Vv'as in Berlin as a kind of diplomatic outsider, 
 receiving no salary, no lodging, nothing, indeed, but 
 deputed to co-operate in the labours imposed by 
 the Congress on one of its members. He felt 
 himself, however, closely watched. He brought
 
 138 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 me some summary information of no great impor- 
 tance, but which served me as a starting-point, and 
 enabled me, indeed, from the very next day to give 
 my correspondence a more dignified character and 
 to collect some positive facts. 
 
 The real labours of the Congress had not begun. 
 We felt that we should not meet again, and, indeed, 
 I never met him afterwards. It was settled that we 
 should on no account employ an intermediary, which 
 would have caused us constant uneasiness, and would 
 have exposed us to voluntary or involuntary impru- 
 dence. 
 
 Finally, at four in the morning, we adopted the 
 following plan — a very poor one, but it seemed 
 preferable to any other : 
 
 As I had hired a carriage by the month, 1 was 
 to let it stand waiting in the evening at some spot 
 or other. The carriage windows were to be open, 
 and he, in passing, was to throw in his communica- 
 tions, written on very thin paper, and forming a 
 tiny memorandum-book. Though not very well 
 satisfied with this plan, I could hit on no other, nor 
 he either, and we parted with this understanding. 
 
 He left the room, but returned almost imme- 
 diately, saying: 
 
 ' Excuse me — I have taken your hat for mine.' 
 
 An idea struck me. 
 
 ' Shut the door,' I said, ' and sit down ; your 
 method of communication is found.' 
 
 That method, which succeeded admirably, was 
 of childish simplicity.
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 139 
 
 I was staying at the Kaiserhof. Every day lie 
 came there for lunch and dinner. There was a 
 rack where hats were hung up. He placed his 
 communications in the lining of his hat, and we 
 exchanged hats on leaving the table. When I was 
 to dine out, I gave him notice overnight, and told 
 him at what hour, before or after dinner, I should 
 take tea. Only twice were we forced to put off the 
 communication till the following day. 
 
 Once, however, we had a scare. 
 
 One of my English colleagues, on leaving the 
 dining-room, made a mistake and took my friend's 
 hat. Without looking at each other we felt, as he 
 wrote me next day, that we turned pale. If the 
 colleague in question had kept the hat, he might 
 have discovered the third article of the treaty, 
 which had been adopted at the previous day's 
 sitting, and also a hint of the difficulties that had 
 arisen between Russia and England on the question 
 of the boundaries of Bulgaria, and very disagree- 
 able consequences for my friend might have been 
 the result. Fortunately, on reaching the door, the 
 Englishman put on the hat, which dropped over on 
 his nose. He laughingly took it off and replaced 
 it on its peg. I had risen to take the hat from 
 him, but sat down again. I breathed freely, and 
 my friend must have done the same. 
 
 This plan was pursued without a hitch until the 
 3rd of July. The brief notes which I received in 
 this way enabled me to see several members of the 
 Congress during the evening, beginning with the
 
 140 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 most communicative one and then o-oino- to others, 
 piecing things together, and thus composing a perfect 
 description of the sitting just held. 
 
 As an example of how, in such a case, informa- 
 tion might be gathered, one evening after dinner 
 I found this in the hat: 
 
 ' I have not gleaned much. Prince GortschakofF 
 has made a speech which caused a little amuse- 
 ment, ending with the words : " Russia is more 
 jealous of gathering the laurels of glory than the 
 olive of peace !" ' 
 
 With this phrase, I went to a diplomatist who 
 was an ardent admirer of the old Chancellor. 
 The conversation began with commonplaces, but 
 necessarily turned on the labours of the Congress. 
 
 ' It seems,' I said, ' that some members of the 
 Congress ridicule the speech just delivered by 
 Prince Gortschakoff, especially the phrase with 
 which he ended, " Russia," ' etc. 
 
 The diplomatist drew himself up. 
 
 ' It is very wrong to ridicule it,' said he, ' and 
 I hope you are not going to be the echo of these 
 unjust witticisms. The Russian Chancellor's speech 
 was very acute and clever, despite its apparent 
 pretentiousness. He clearly showed that ;' and 
 he proceeded to repeat some passages of the 
 speech. 
 
 I paid two other visits, and toward midnight 
 could telegraph the speech accurately enough for 
 Lord Salisbury laughingly to say to me, next even- 
 ing, at the Comte de St. Vallier's soiree:
 
 A SOUVENIR OF THE BERLIN CONGRESS. 
 
 Fan signed by the Plenipotentiaries of the Congress and 
 presented by M. de Blowitz to Mrs. Walter, sen. 
 
 Marquis of Salisbury 
 Prince Gortschakoff 
 Count Corti - 
 Lord Beaconsfield - 
 Lord Odo Eussell - 
 Prince Hohenlghe - 
 M. Waddington 
 CuMTE DE St. Vallier 
 M. Desprez - 
 Prince Bismarck 
 Count Launay 
 Count Schouvaloff - 
 Count Andrassy 
 Baron Haymerle 
 Count Karolyi 
 Karatheodory Pasha 
 Sadoullah Bey 
 Mehemet Ali Pasha 
 Herr von BiJLOw 
 P>aron d'Oubril 
 
 England. 
 
 Russia. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 England. 
 
 England. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 France. 
 
 France. 
 
 France. 
 
 Germany . 
 
 Italy. 
 
 Russia. 
 
 Austria. 
 
 Austria. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 Russia. 
 
 >-
 
 '^y/ff^^ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 A SOUVENIR OF THE BEMJN CONGKKS
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 141 
 
 ' You forgot a few commas and semicolons, but 
 with that exception the speech was given quite 
 accurately.' 
 
 This did not prevent a newspaper from declaring 
 it apocryphal, because I had said, ' Prince Gortscha- 
 koff rose,' whereas Plenipotentiaries always speak 
 seated. 
 
 I only wish to show how I had to go to work 
 to know what had taken place at the Congress. 
 
 I afterward learned that Prince Bismarck was 
 very much annoyed at the publication of the 
 speech, and that at the next sitting, seated next 
 to a diplomatist from whom he fancied I had 
 obtained it, he lifted up the tablecloth and sarcas- 
 tically said : 
 
 ' I am looking to see if Blowitz is not under- 
 neath.' 
 
 The fact is, I had done well to go there. Tongues 
 had been looser in Berlin than in Paris, and The 
 Times was able on the morning of the 22nd of 
 June to publish the agreement eflEected the previous 
 night between England and Russia on the Bulgarian 
 question. 
 
 That question had raised such difficulties that the 
 sittings of the Congress had been suspended, and 
 Lord Beaconsfield, either from adroitness or in all 
 sincerity, had engaged a special train for Monda}', 
 the 24tli, to leave Berlin. 
 
 It would have been a disastrous rupture. 
 
 The whole world was anxiously waiting. 
 
 The 22nd was a Saturday.
 
 142 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 If I had not been able to publish that morning 
 that an agreement had been effected, Saturday's 
 Stock Exchange would have had a terrible fall, and 
 many people would certainly have been ruined. 
 But the agreement was effected at midnight on 
 Friday, and was known in London at six o'clock 
 in the morning, and in the rest of Europe at eight 
 or nine. No Stock Exchange manoeuvre was prac- 
 ticable, and by this revelation I made numberless 
 enemies among those who were speculating on a 
 rupture. 
 
 When the Wolff Agency in Berlin published a 
 London telegram quoting the information, many, 
 even among the members of the Congress — for I 
 knew them — were ignorant of the agreement. It 
 was not to be communicated to them till Saturday's 
 sitting; the only thing they knew was that they 
 were convened for that day. 
 
 I had every reason, therefore, to be satisfied, and 
 things went on well till the 4th of July. 
 
 When I started for Berlin — or, rather, when 
 Prince Hohenlohe had encouraged me to go — I 
 had said to him : 
 
 ' Does your Highness think the Chancellor will 
 grant me an audience ? In the first place, I am 
 very anxious to know a statesman who is the great 
 historical figure of the second half of the nineteenth 
 century. Moreover, to go to Berlin without seeing 
 Prince Bismarck is like going to Rome without 
 seeing the Pope. It would be a mortification 
 for me.'
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 143 
 
 Prince Holienlolie, who is the most perfect 
 gentleman I have ever known, and who possesses 
 great diplomatic finesse, but does not employ it in 
 his private relations, especially when he meets any- 
 one who trusts him, replied that he could pledge 
 himself to nothing on that point. 
 
 ' All I can promise you,' he said, ' is that I will 
 do my utmost to assist you in obtaining an audience, 
 but I do not answer in any way for the success of 
 a step which I shall take but once. I could not ask 
 for it a second time.' 
 
 The 1st of July arrived. Prince Bismarck had 
 replied in the negative to the request for an audience 
 which had been addressed to him in my name by 
 Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 ' He had received,' he said, ' hundreds of applica- 
 tions for an audience. Everybody was in Berlin, 
 and all the leading personages had asked to see 
 him. He could not receive me without receiving 
 the others, especially the journalists. The German 
 journalists, whom he had always refused to receive, 
 would never forgive him if he granted me an inter- 
 view.' 
 
 I abandoned the hope of seeing him, and felt very 
 much vexed, for by strange ill-luck I had not even 
 caught sight of him. 
 
 But on the afternoon of the 1st of July, on 
 entering the hotel, Prince Hohenlohe's card was 
 handed to me. He had called at the hotel, and 
 had written on the card that he wished to see 
 me as soon as possible. He added that he would
 
 144 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 be at the English Embassy reception that 
 evening. 
 
 I went to the Embassy, and the Prince arrived 
 about eleven o'clock. My surprise was great indeed 
 when he informed me that Prince Bismarck asked 
 me to dine with him next day at half -past six in 
 morning dress. 
 
 On the 2nd, accordingly, at a quarter-past six, 
 Prince Hohenlohe, as had been arranged, called for 
 me at the hotel. I was waiting at the door for him, 
 and we went together to the Chancellor's. 
 
 I remained there until eleven at night. 
 
 I will tell you in the next chapter all about that 
 memorable interview of five hours' duration. 
 
 It was one of the very rare ones I have had in my 
 life which did not disappoint me, and which even 
 surpassed my expectation. 
 
 All that I will mention here is that on the follow- 
 ing day, the 3rd of July, everyone in Berlin knew 
 that I had dined with the Chancellor, and, as was 
 natural, the attitude of the diplomatists towards me 
 suddenly changed. They made a great deal of me, 
 and made overtures to me. I had no further need 
 to ask for information, as the information I required 
 came to me. 
 
 This was all the more pleasant as I was not able, 
 from this time forth, to obtain what I needed from 
 the source which had served me so well at the 
 commencement . 
 
 ]\Iy friend, who had until then been exceedingly 
 prudent, on learning that I had seen the Chancellor
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 145 
 
 in so special a way, assumed airs, and, without 
 betraying me in any way, provoked distrust. From 
 that time he was kept at a distance, and from the 
 4th of July his hat contained nothing but rueful 
 confessions of his imprudence and bitter regrets 
 at being unable to serve me. I did my utmost to 
 console him, and though I did not see him again, I 
 learned that he had left Europe and has since 
 succeeded admirably in his enterprises. Still, I lost 
 all chance of having the treaty, though information 
 on the Congress reached me thenceforth, as I have 
 said, without difficulty. 
 
 On the 5th of July, a week before the Congress 
 closed, I was reading in the hall of the Kaiserhof a 
 private letter which had just arrived, and which 
 contained the following passage : 
 
 ' I have watched with delight your campaign in 
 Berlin. You would be crowning that campaign if 
 you were the first to publish the treaty, and I need 
 not tell you with what joy I should see you realize 
 what would be the greatest feat of modern 
 journalism.' 
 
 At that moment, a diplomatist who had always 
 been friendly to me walked through the hall of the 
 hotel. I must have looked downcast, for he came 
 up to me with alacrity, and said : ' Have you been 
 getting bad news ?' 
 
 With the instinctive idea of which I have already 
 spoken, and according to which a man's destiny 
 depends on the sagacity with which he seizes the 
 indications given by fate, instead of replying, I 
 
 10
 
 146 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 showed him the letter. He perused it attentively, 
 and then said, turning to me : ' So you are abso- 
 lutely hent on forestalling the publication of the 
 treaty ?' 
 
 ' If I were asked to choose between all the orders 
 and decorations in the world and the treaty, I should 
 select the latter.' 
 
 ' And how are you going to get it ?' 
 
 ' I have just had an assurance that Prince 
 Bismarck is highly satisfied with what I wrote on 
 our conversation, and he thinks I have rendered a 
 service to peace. I am going to ask him to reward 
 me by communicating the treaty to me.' 
 
 My friend reflected a minute, then exclaimed : 
 ' No, do not ask him till you have seen me again. 
 Walk out to-morrow between one and two in the 
 Wilhelmstrasse, and I will see you.' 
 
 Next day, on my going into the street, he came up 
 to me, and hurriedly said : ' Come for the treaty the 
 day before the end of the Congress, and I promise 
 that you shall have it.' 
 
 I could scarcely restrain my delight. Now that 
 I was certain of getting the treaty, I had a twofold 
 anxiety. 
 
 In the first place, the Congress was to terminate 
 on the 13th. The Chancellor had positively said so. 
 It was a Saturday. I should have the treaty on the 
 12th, and it was necessary at all costs for it to appear 
 on the 13th, for the English papers are not published 
 on Sundays, and Monday would have 1)een too late. 
 Secondly, it was not enough to have the treaty : I
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 147 
 
 must be the only one to have it. The German 
 papers were angry with the Chancellor for not 
 receiving their representatives. I reflected that, 
 probably, in order to pacify them, he would give 
 them the treaty, which would thus appear at Berlin 
 on Saturday, and I should be beaten. I was in 
 despair. How was I to prevent Prince Bismarck 
 from doing what he chose ? How could I tele- 
 graph the treaty ? It was impossible in Germany 
 or Austria, and as for Paris, it would be too late, 
 for, getting it only on Friday, I could not be in 
 Paris in time for it to be published on Saturday in 
 London. 
 
 Finally I came to two decisions : I felt that 
 Brussels was the only place from which to tele- 
 graph. 
 
 I called on Baron Nothomb, the Belgian Minister 
 in Berlin. I told him that there was an idea of 
 organizing a nightly telegraphic service between 
 Brussels and London. I then asked him to give me 
 a letter for M. Yinchent, the Director-General in 
 Brussels, urging him to telegraph immediately a 
 long message which I might have to forward to 
 London, to prove the speed with which Brussels and 
 London could communicate. He readily gave me 
 the letter. 
 
 This reassured me as to telegraphic transmission. 
 There remained the question of preventing anybody 
 else having the treaty. 
 
 After long and elaborate reflection, I hit upon a 
 plan which appeared both simple and rational. I 
 
 10—2
 
 148 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 asked Prince Hohenlolie and the Comte de St. Vallier 
 to ask Prince Bismarck to give me the treaty, and I 
 reasoned thus : The Prince says I have rendered 
 service to peace. I ask him to reward me by giving 
 me the treaty. If he gives it, all will be well ; he 
 is not a man to do things by halves. As it is to 
 reward me, he will not give it to anybody else. As 
 he alone can give it to the German Press, if I 
 get it, I can wait till the end of the Congress, send 
 it on Sunday, and have it published on Monday 
 morning. If he refuses me, I am certain he will 
 refuse others. In either case I shall not be fore- 
 stalled. 
 
 Prince Hohenlolie and the Comte de St. Vallier 
 were good enough to listen to my request. 
 
 On the evening of the 11th of July, Prince 
 Hohenlohe informed me that next morning he 
 would communicate to me the Chancellor's answer. 
 At half-past nine I went for the treaty promised 
 me by the diplomatist, my friend, as above related. 
 It was given me with the exception of the last two 
 articles, which were not to be adopted till the pen- 
 ultimate sitting, and the preamble, entrusted to 
 M. Desprez, had not yet been drawn up. 
 
 With the treaty in my hand, I returned to the 
 Kaiserhof to await Prince Hohenlohe's answer. It 
 arrived at ten, and was as follows : 
 
 ' I much regret being unable to give you a 
 favourable reply, but, considering the ill-humour of 
 the German Press, the Chancellor is afraid of irritat- 
 ing it too much by giving you the treaty.'
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 149 
 
 Thereupon I pretended to be very angry. I 
 ordered my luggage to be packed, I asked for my 
 hotel bill, I engaged a compartment in the 12.30 
 train, and announced that I was leaving without 
 waiting for the last sitting the next day. One of my 
 fellow-correspondents, the most talkative of them 
 all, asked the reason of my sudden departure. I 
 confided to him that I was enraged — that Prince 
 Bismarck, in spite of the service rendered by me, 
 as he himself had described it, to peace, had just 
 refused to give me the treaty. I showed him Prince 
 Hohenlohe's letter, and I said that I considered this 
 shameful, and that I would not stop an hour 
 longer in a city w^iere I was treated in such a 
 fashion. 
 
 My colleague departed to repeat my words, and 
 all my brethren, sharing my indignation, came to 
 condole with me. My colleague, Mr. Mackenzie 
 Wallace,* who had been very devoted to me 
 throughout the Congress, was apprised by my 
 secretary that I was leaving, and that, in the 
 interest of the paper, I begged him to start with 
 me. I stated that I was going to take leave of the 
 Comte de St. Vallier. 
 
 I ordered my luggage to be sent to the station, 
 where I was to meet Mr. Wallace and my secretary 
 in the compartment reserved for me. 
 
 The Comte de St. Vallier, then French Ambassador 
 in Berlin, and one of the three chief Plenipotentiaries 
 at the Congress, was a typical French nobleman. 
 
 * Now Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, K.C.I.E., K.C.V.O.
 
 150 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Amiable, elegant, attentive, listening readily, having 
 a natural polish which allowed him to be very 
 gracious without risk of seeming familiar, he had 
 received me with a warmth which touched me. As 
 he suffered from indigestion, he had to diet him- 
 self strictly. He lived on milk, and presided with 
 perfect grace over grand banquets at which he 
 could touch nothing. His receptions were one of 
 the charms of the Congress, and no higher compli- 
 ment can be paid to them than by saying that in- 
 vitations to attend them w^ere most eagerly sought 
 after. 
 
 As he had never ventured to give me informa- 
 tion, he had with all the more alacrity undertaken 
 with Prince Hohenlohe to submit my request, the 
 failure of which had just been intimated to me. 
 
 I called on him at eleven, having asked him to 
 receive me because I was leaving. He advanced 
 with his usual grace, saying : 
 
 ' I am vexed, believe me, at the failure of our 
 request, but it is useless to dwell upon it. I regret 
 that you take the thing so very much to heart. 
 Remain two days longer. The Congress will be 
 over to-morrow, and the day after, as simple Am- 
 bassador, I could give you retrospective details 
 which would be interesting.' 
 
 I thanked him, but said I adhered to my plan of 
 departure. 
 
 ' Pleasant journey, then. What can I do for 
 you ?' 
 
 'A great deal, M. le Comte. Give me the text
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 151 
 
 of the preamble, which M. Desprez must have drawn 
 up, and which must be in your hands.' 
 
 ' The preamble, indeed, has just been given to 
 me, but what good can that be to you ? You do 
 not want to pretend to know the treaty by publish- 
 ing the preamble ?' 
 
 ' Give me your word of honour, M. le Comte, 
 to keep my secret for forty-eight hours, and I 
 will explain what use I am going to make of the 
 preamble.' 
 
 ' If it is not contrary to my duty, I promise.' 
 
 I unfastened my coat and showed him the treaty. 
 He turned slightly pale on seeing it. 
 
 ' I regret,' he said, ' that you have told me the 
 secret, for if the Chancellor asks w^iether I knew 
 all about this I shall be forced to confess. In 
 spite of this, though, nothing could have amused 
 me more than this way of seeing our rebuff re- 
 trieved ;' and he laughed heartily. ' As to the 
 preamble,' he continued, ' I cannot let you copy it 
 or give you the text, for I have no other. But sit 
 down. I will read it slowly and aloud. Now is 
 the time to justify your reputation for a wonderful 
 memory ;' and, taking up the manuscript, he read 
 it slowly and very distinctly, 
 
 I thanked him and took leave. 
 
 I reached the station a few minutes before the 
 train started. Mr. Mackenzie Wallace was already 
 seated in our compartment. My secretary was 
 waiting on the platform. He told me some of my 
 colleagues were there to bid me farewell.
 
 152 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' And to see if I really start,' I remarked. 
 
 I assumed a gloomier and sterner air than ever, 
 which enabled me to keep silence — for I was afraid 
 of forgetting the preamble if my attention were 
 diverted bv conversation. 
 
 At length I was able to enter our compartment 
 and to salute politely the persons who had come to 
 take leave of me. 
 
 The train started. 
 
 It had not been difficult to see that in the crowd 
 collected on the platform there were people deputed 
 to watch me, and I even perceived that one of them, 
 whom I had noticed during my stay in Berlin, was 
 in the adjoining compartment. 
 
 Mr. Wallace, who had taken a really fraternal 
 interest in my Congress labours, and had often 
 devotedly facilitated them, was visibly annoyed at 
 my rebuff, and my secretary had an air of conster- 
 nation which delighted me ; for the sincerity of 
 his disappointment must have been obvious to 
 everyone. 
 
 When we had passed the outskirts of Berlin, I 
 said to my secretary, ' Take pen and ink ; I am 
 going to dictate something.' I then dictated the 
 preamble. 
 
 When he had written this, I pulled out the treaty. 
 There was a perfect outburst of joy, the sweetest 
 recompense which my efforts could receive ; for I 
 saw that two honest hearts affectionately and un- 
 reservedly sympathized with a success achieved 
 with such difficulty.
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 153 
 
 ' Now, we are not going to read the treaty,' I said 
 to Mr. Wallace. ' Here are needles and thread ; 
 open your coat : we will sew the treaty and preamble 
 in, so that you will not have to trouble about their 
 safety, and we will append Baron Nothomb's letter 
 to M. Yinchent.' 
 
 When this was done, I said to Mr. Wallace : 
 ' We are evidently being watched, I more particu- 
 larly. At the first large station you will leave this 
 compartment and go into one some way ofif on the 
 left, for on the right I believe there is someone 
 watching us. I shall pretend not to know you ; and 
 you must do the same with me. At Cologne you 
 will take the Brussels train, and you will arrive at 
 five in the morning. You will go straight to the 
 telegraph-oflfice. If, as I expect, they refuse to 
 transmit the treaty without higher orders, you must 
 wake up M. Yinchent, present Baron Nothomb's 
 letter, and ask him for the order of trans- 
 mission.' 
 
 Things happened just as I had foreseen. Mac- 
 kenzie Wallace went into another compartment, 
 and we did not approach each other ; but at the 
 stations where we alighted I laughed heartily, for 
 though the treaty was firmly sewn to the lining 
 of his coat, I saw him from time to time put his 
 hand to his heart, as if to assure himself of its 
 safety. 
 
 When, on reaching Brussels, he ofifered the tele- 
 gram for the clerk to count the words, the latter 
 exclaimed :
 
 154 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' Why, it is the Treaty o£ Berlin ; I cannot under- 
 take to send it.' 
 
 Wallace thereupon asked to see M. Vinchent. He 
 was in bed. Wallace showed Baron Nothomb's 
 letter and insisted on seeing him. The letter was 
 taken to the Director's house. He was aroused, and 
 a quarter of an hour later he wrote at the foot of 
 the letter the order for transmission. 
 
 At the very hour, on the 13th of July, when the 
 treaty of 1878 was signed in Berlin, a London tele- 
 gram announced that The Times had published the 
 preamble and sixty-four articles, with an English 
 translation appended. 
 
 ' How could it have obtained the preamble yester- 
 day morning, seeing that it was not drawn up ?' 
 asked Prince Bismarck of the Comte de St. Vallier. 
 ' Was it not you, Comte, who gave it ?' 
 
 M. de St. Vallier had now no reason for keeping 
 the secret any longer, and he was bound to reply 
 without hesitation. He therefore frankly related 
 what had happened. 
 
 ' And what did he say when you told him ?' I 
 asked M. de St. Vallier. 
 
 ' Excuse me,' replied the Comte, smiling, ' but he 
 did not tell me to repeat it to you.' 
 
 In Berlin the news of the publication of the treaty 
 caused a great sensation. Many persons imme- 
 diately set to work to discover from whom I ob- 
 tained the treaty, I will relate in another part of 
 my memoirs how, five years afterwards, the Chan- 
 cellor tried to make me reveal the secret. Mean-
 
 THE BERLIN CONGRESS 155 
 
 while, the account I have just given is an authentic 
 narrative of how the treaty fell into my hands. 
 Nothing more will ever be known, and if I have 
 written thus much, it is in order that the public 
 may know by what efforts, sacrifices, and difficulties, 
 and at the cost of what anxiety, one sometimes 
 succeeds in satisfying its thirst for knowing and 
 forestalling events.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 
 
 I CANNOT truthfully say that I was quite calm and 
 composed on the evening of the 2nd of July, 1878, 
 when at half -past six, accompanied by Prince Hohen- 
 lohe, I mounted the pink and white flagged staircase 
 leading to the private apartment occupied by Prince 
 Bismarck in Wilhelmstrasse. 
 
 For a month past, ever since the European 
 diplomatists had assembled round that table at 
 the Congress of Berlin, I had been wishing for 
 and trying to obtain an interview with the extra- 
 ordinary man before whose authority everyone 
 bowed, and who was master of the events of the 
 day. And now at the last moment I felt a sort 
 of pang as I wondered whether I was going to be 
 cruelly disappointed, and whether all my illusions 
 were about to be destroyed at one blow. 
 
 The door of the drawing-room into which Prince 
 Hohenlohe and I had been shown opened, and the 
 Chancellor appeared. 
 
 He was much taller than I had imagined. I had 
 never seen him — except at Madame Tussaud's in 
 London, where there is only a small figure of him — 
 
 [ 156 ]
 
 WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 157 
 
 and when I saw this giant in uniform enter the 
 room I was quite taken aback. There was some- 
 thing still more extraordinary about his head. His 
 ears were large, wide open to the hundreds of 
 rumours which came to them from the four corners 
 of the universe. His cliin made a strong founda- 
 tion for the big jaws, which would certainly never 
 loose anything they held until it was in shreds ; 
 whilst his eyes, well set, with their projecting eyelids 
 and well-exposed eyebrows, had a far-away look in 
 them, as though they were gazing out beyond the 
 visible horizon. 
 
 The Princess came into the room with the Chan- 
 cellor. She sat down on a sofa, whilst he sank into 
 an enormous armchair near me. 
 
 I had asked Prince Hohenlohe whether I ought 
 to speak in French or German, and he had replied 
 that I must wait for the Prince's first words. These 
 first words were in German. 
 
 On hearing my reply, the Princess asked inquisi- 
 tively : 
 
 ' Do you speak English as well as you do German ?' 
 
 The Prince interrupted her with a laugh and 
 turned to me. 
 
 ' I must tell you,' he said, ' that my wife has a 
 theory that only thin people can talk English well. 
 According to this, neither you nor I will make our 
 mark in that lano;uao;e.' 
 
 A few moments later we were seated at table in 
 the dining-room. The Prince appeared to be in an 
 excellent humour that evenin»-.
 
 158 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' I saw you yesterday,' he said to me, ' on foot in 
 Unter den Linden, You were going into a bazaar. 
 What in the world can a man who comes from 
 Paris want to buy in our bazaars ?' 
 
 ' Your Excellency would be very much more 
 surprised to hear what I was in search of,' I 
 replied. 
 
 ' Wliat was it ?' 
 
 'A clock ! I must ask you to excuse my men- 
 tioning it, but I cannot imagine what has become 
 of all those that were brought from France, for 
 there is not a single one in my hotel !' 
 
 The Chancellor laughed heartily at this joke, 
 which was perhaps rather risque^ and then he imme- 
 diately began to discuss a more serious subject. 
 He asked me what were the latest impressions of 
 the public on the work of the Congress. 
 
 ' The Roumanians are not very well pleased,' I 
 replied ; ' they reckoned on receiving money, which 
 they appear to require badly.' 
 
 ' Oh ! well,' said the Prince, with a certain amount 
 of vivacity, ' they are not the only ones who need 
 money ; everyone is in the same condition, and 
 everyone is economizing. France is the only 
 country which does not hesitate to spend millions 
 on its slightest caprices !' 
 
 ' Yes,' I answered ; ' and yet it is a curious 
 phenomenon, when one takes into consideration 
 the temperament of the French, to see that these 
 people, who appear to be so thoughtless and so 
 turbulent, should be the most economical people in
 
 WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 159 
 
 the world, and that in their country saving is 
 organized in such a way that it has become a 
 national theory.' 
 
 ' Oh,' interrupted Prince Bismarck, turning to- 
 wards me, ' that is only surprising to those who are 
 in the habit of judging that country by Paris. 
 But there is France and France — the French of 
 Paris and the French of the provinces. The 
 former are immensely vain and amusing, agree- 
 able, wasteful, always ready to knock down the 
 lamp -posts, have revolutions, and declare war. 
 They have nothing to do with economy. The 
 whole world takes money to them, and they 
 squander it. But at the side of Paris is the 
 other France, the real France, that of the pro- 
 vinces and of the rural districts — the French 
 who work and labour, who are steady and who 
 economize, and who pay for all the giddy 
 actions, all the follies, of the others. When the 
 former bring about a revolution, it is the latter 
 who suffer ; when the former declare war, it is 
 the latter who fight. And yet the French of the 
 provinces love their native soil, and their greatest 
 sacrifice is to tear themselves away from it in 
 order to perform their military service. When 
 I was in France I was very much interested in 
 the common soldiers, and I often chatted with 
 them. They all of them had one great desire, and 
 that was to finish their military service and return 
 to their fields. If one only listened to the French 
 peasant, there would never be any war, and yet
 
 160 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 when he does fight he fights well. When he is 
 beaten he is very much cast down, and when he is 
 victorious he is delighted, there can be no doubt 
 about it ; but, conqueror or conquered, the one 
 thing he sees clearly is that victory or defeat will 
 bring the battle to a close, and he will then be able 
 to return home.' 
 
 The conversation then reverted to the Congress. 
 The Prince remarked, rather severely : 
 
 ' The Peace of San Stefano was one of the most 
 thoughtless actions of modern history. IgnatiefF 
 made a blunder which no true statesman would 
 ever have committed. He took everything that 
 he could get. When an enemy is vanquished, and 
 one has one's foot on his neck, he can be made 
 to give whatever one wants ; but one must think 
 of the consequences of the victory as well as the 
 consequences of the defeat. We should not be 
 where we now are if in 1866 I had acted like 
 IgnatiefF — if I had taken territory from Austria. 
 At that time everyone was against me. I had said 
 when we started : "If we should be victorious, I 
 shall not annex any Austrian territory, for we must 
 not remain enemies for ever. In ten or twelve 
 years' time we must be able to come to an under- 
 standing with her." When we were victorious, 
 everyone wanted me to take territory from her. 
 I held my own, though, and since then I have 
 often had cause to congratulate myself that I 
 did so.' 
 
 At these words I could not help looking the
 
 WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 161 
 
 Prince in the face, and he at once read in my 
 eyes the question that was on my lips, for, without 
 flinching, he said : 
 
 ' I know what you mean ; you are thinking about 
 the last war. But in 1871 I acted in the same way. 
 At that time France was in our hands. Paris was 
 conquered, the Commune was brewing, everything 
 was disorganized, and, if I had acted like Ignatieff, 
 I should have demanded Picardy and Champagne. 
 Now, this never occurred to anyone, and when I was 
 urged to take Belfort and Metz, I refused, saying : 
 " No ; Belfort is in the hands of the French ; it 
 must remain theirs." And even with regard to 
 Metz, on seeing the despair of poor M. Thiers, 
 I hesitated. But, as you know, at the conclusion 
 of a campaign such as that was, one has to take 
 into consideration the military element, and I was 
 obliged to listen to Moltke, who kept repeating 
 to me at every hour of the day : " Metz in our 
 hands or in the hands of the French means a 
 difference of a hundred thousand men, more or 
 less, in the army." I could not impose upon my 
 country the burden of putting a hundred thousand 
 more men into active service at a given moment.' 
 
 Then, as all this recalled M. Thiers to his mind, 
 the Chancellor continued : 
 
 ' Ah, the French were not just to poor Thiers. 
 And yet he was a true patriot, and the most strik- 
 ing figure I have hitherto come across in contem- 
 porary France. I felt a sort of pity for the poor 
 old man who had travelled through Europe, in the 
 
 11
 
 162 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 midst of a hard winter, to beg for help which it was 
 impossible to obtain, and who kept crossing and 
 recrossing our lines around Paris, fired on by our 
 posts in spite of the strict orders they had received.' 
 
 The Chancellor stroked his forehead as though 
 trying to recall something, and then continued : 
 
 ' I remember,' he said, ' an incident that I shall 
 never forget. We were discussing a question about 
 which we could not come to an understanding. 
 M. Thiers held his own in the most spirited manner 
 possible. M. Jules Favre was pathetic, gesticulat- 
 ing in the most tragic way, but, nevertheless, no 
 progress was made with our business. All at once 
 I began to talk German. M. Thiers looked at me 
 in amazement. 
 
 ' " You know we do not understand German," he 
 said. 
 
 ' " Certainly," I replied in French, " when I am 
 discussing matters with people with whom I believe 
 I can finally come to an understanding, I speak 
 their langviage, but when I see that it is useless to 
 argue with them I talk my own language. You had 
 better send for an interpreter." 
 
 ' To tell the truth, I was in a hurry to conclude 
 matters. For the last week I had been in boiling 
 oil. Every night I expected to be roused by a 
 despatch containing some request from England, 
 Kussia, Austria, or Italy, in favour of France. I 
 know, of course, that I should have ignored it, but it 
 would, all the same, have been an indirect interven- 
 tion in the quarrel between France and Germany.
 
 WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 163 
 
 I wanted to avoid this at all costs ; that is why, in 
 spite o£ my admiration for the patriotic persistence 
 o£ M. Thiers, I had been so brusque in replying in 
 German. The effect of these tactics was very odd. 
 M. Jules Favre threw up his long arms as though 
 appealing to Heaven, and then, with his hair stand- 
 ing on end and his face hidden in his hands, he 
 rushed like a huge bat to a corner of the room, 
 turning his face to the wall as though he did not wish 
 to see the humiliation inflicted upon the represen- 
 tatives of France. M. Thiers looked over his 
 spectacles with a scandalized expression, and then 
 trotted off quickly, in a petulant way, to a table at 
 the other end of the room, and I heard his pen 
 scratching away nervously on the paper. After 
 some time he walked towards me. His small eyes 
 were flashing behind his spectacles, his mouth was 
 contracted with anger, and, in an abrupt manner, 
 he held out the paper to me, saying dryly and in a 
 somewhat hard voice : 
 
 ' " Is that what you want ?" 
 
 ' I looked at what he had written. It was admir- 
 ably drawn up, and it was very nearly what I had 
 stipulated. I then spoke French again, and the 
 negotiations were concluded in that language. 
 Thiers, you know, always seemed to me like a big 
 child ; but when he was driven to extremities one 
 could perceive how courageous and intelligent he 
 was. He was the very deuce !' 
 
 All this was told by Bismarck in the simplest and 
 most natural way, without any posing or seeking for 
 
 11—2
 
 164 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 effect. He spoke just as he thought, with a certain 
 familiarity, and perhaps even a certain triviality of 
 language, but without preparing any effects. He 
 was smoking an enormous pipe, sending out thick 
 puffs, and between two stories he would gaze out 
 silently beyond the gardens of Wilhelmstrasse at 
 the setting sun. The Congress and its work was 
 what interested and preoccupied him most. He 
 referred to it continually, and brought every other 
 subject to bear on it. It seemed as though he had 
 endless things to say about it. 
 
 ' At the Congress,' he told me, ' there is simply 
 nothing left to desire. M. Waddington, who repre- 
 sents France, is absolutely devoted to his country. 
 He is a modest, straightforward man who is fond 
 of work and wishes to understand things thoroughly. 
 I have never seen a more laborious Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs. Everyone likes him, and he must 
 have rendered great services to his Government. 
 
 ' Now, one may not be a Republican, but one must 
 admit that there is nothing possible for France at 
 the present day but a Republic. If the various 
 Pretenders could come to some agreement, I should 
 not, perhaps, speak in the same way. But if one of 
 them should get into power, he would have all the 
 rest of France against him ; that would mean civil 
 war immediately, and civil war in France is like 
 having the plague at one's door. 
 
 ' I admire ShuvalofE at the Congress. He has to 
 hold his own against everyone. They are all after 
 him ; he is like a stag under pursuit that shows its
 
 WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 165 
 
 horns when too hard pressed. Neither Gortschakoff 
 nor d'Oubril is of any great assistance to him, 
 yet he is most polite, ever a gentleman, never 
 makino; anv mistake, and alwavs commencino; with 
 a polite formula, such as, " Prince, may I he allowed 
 to say a word in reply ?" etc. He is certainly a 
 typical diplomatist. Shuvaloff and Beaconsfield are 
 the two principal figures of this Congress, and I 
 am perfectly charmed to have the opportunity of 
 observing them. 
 
 ' Beaconsfield has the most extraordinary presence 
 of mind. He is accommodating and energetic, and 
 never allows himself to he disturbed by anything. 
 He defends his cause admirably, and last Friday, 
 when the negotiations were broken off, he was 
 ready to lead his country courageously to war. It 
 was then that I intervened. He and Shuvaloff have 
 both done their duty, and they have both saved 
 their country from war. Personally, my only merit 
 is that of having brought them together at a moment 
 when it was no longer possible for them to approach 
 each other again. 
 
 ' Two years ago, when I saw Beaconsfield for the 
 first time, I said to him, " Why are you opposed to 
 Russia ? You might come to an understanding with 
 her. It would be to the interest of both countries. 
 Why do you not take Egypt ? France would not bear 
 you any ill-will on that account for very long. 
 Besides, you could give her a compensation — Tunis 
 or Syria, for instance — and then Europe would at 
 last be free from this question of Turkey, which is
 
 166 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 constantly bringing her within an ace of a fresh 
 war." Beaconsfield did not reply, but I saw that 
 my words had not fallen on a deaf ear.' 
 
 The Prince stopped, and there was a long silence. 
 It was getting late, and a neighbouring clock struck 
 eleven, slowly and deliberately. Prince Hohenlohe 
 rose, as a signal for om- departure, and I did like- 
 wise. Prince Bismarck laid his pipe down on a 
 small table, specially destined for that purpose, and, 
 turning to me, held out his large hand. 
 
 ' Adieu !' he said in a rough, and at the same 
 time melancholy, way. 'You generally reside in 
 Paris, so I do not think we shall see each other 
 again for some time. But I am very glad to have 
 made your acquaintance, and I think you will be on 
 my side as long as you are convinced that I wish 
 for peace.' 
 
 Just as I was going out of the room, the Chan- 
 cellor asked me if I would not have another cigar. 
 I accepted the cigar, and was once more moving 
 tow^ards the door, when he stopped me and insisted 
 on lighting it for me himself, and he held the match 
 for about a minute. My cigar was lighted at last, 
 and I went away. The interview — an interview 
 which had lasted five hours — was at an end.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 
 
 During the historical conversation — the principal 
 points of which I have faithfully retraced in the 
 preceding chapter — Bismarck touched upon many 
 subjects, just as they occurred to him. He spoke 
 of diplomacy and of war, of the Congress and of 
 Eiu-ope, of French statesmen, and even of French 
 literature, and one name was frequently mentioned 
 by the Chancellor — that of Gambetta. 
 
 The celebrated tribune was then at the very 
 height of his glory. His loud voice frequently 
 crossed the frontiers, and its echo could be heard in 
 foreign countries. He possessed that formidable 
 and much- envied privilege of appearing to incarnate 
 in himself a whole country, a whole democracy. In 
 the French Republic he played the part of Dictator. 
 
 ' Gambetta,' said Prince Bismarck to me, after a 
 pause, ' is a man I should like to see before I die. 
 In spite of all that one hears to the contrary, he is 
 a really remarkable character. He soars above his 
 compatriots. I am told that he is fascinating — and 
 yet fascinating men are never supposed to be good 
 
 statesmen.' 
 
 [ 167]
 
 168 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' M. Thiers told me once,' I remarked, laughing, 
 ' that your Highness was fascinating — and yet you 
 liave the reputation of being a great statesman !' 
 
 ' I have not that reputation ... in Germany,' 
 replied the Chancellor, and then, going back to his 
 first idea, he said : ' Yes, I certainly should not like 
 to die until I have seen Gambetta.' 
 
 His insistence on this j^oint struck me. Prince 
 Hohenlohe, who was then Ambassador in Paris, and 
 Baron Holstein, Attache to the Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs in Berlin, and the Chancellor's confidant, 
 accompanied me on my way back to the Kaiserhof . 
 As we passed in front of the gardens of the Radzi- 
 will Palace, I said to them : 
 
 ' I cannot think it was only by chance that Prince 
 Bismarck mentioned twice his wish to see Gambetta. 
 He knows that I am acquainted with him, and that 
 I may see him on my return to Paris. He did not 
 tell me not to repeat what he said, and he praised 
 Gambetta in such a way that it appeared as if he 
 were entrusting me with a graceful message. I do 
 not know the Prince as well as you do, but it seems 
 to me that we ought to arrange an interview. I 
 might prepare the way, and you, Prince, might take 
 part in the negotiations.' 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe, according to his custom when 
 an idea interested him, looked down on the ground, 
 and then, after a moment's silence, smiled at me 
 approvingly. 
 
 As for Baron Holstein, he merely remarked : 
 
 ' Let me have forty-eight hours for reflection,
 
 GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 169 
 
 and then I will give you an answer with a thorough 
 knowledo;e of the matter.' 
 
 Whenever he had any important decision to take, 
 Baron Holstein always asked for forty- eight hours' 
 reflection. He employed them in discovering the 
 opinion and desires of his master, so that his reply 
 was in reality Bismarck's. Two days later, as if 
 by accident, he passed by the Kaiserhof . I was at 
 the door talking, and we strolled along together. 
 
 ' Well,' I said, laughing, ' are you in a position to 
 answer me yet ?' 
 
 ' Yes,' he replied. 
 
 He admitted that the Chancellor had persisted in 
 talkino^ about Gambetta in order to see whether I 
 would undertake to open negotiations for bringing 
 about an interview between the two statesmen. He 
 even added that the interview might easily take 
 place at Kissingeu, where the Chancellor was pro- 
 longing his sojourn. 
 
 ' You will understand,' he continued in a solemn 
 tone, ' that this interview is a serious matter, and 
 that all the possible consequences must be well 
 weighed before any arrangements are concluded. 
 The Chancellor has the firm conviction, and that 
 conviction has grown stronger since he has spoken 
 with you, that M. Gambetta is destined before long 
 to become a great power in France, and that power 
 will be of a most decisive character. The Chan- 
 cellor desires peace, and he would like to meet the 
 man on whom may depend, in the near future, the 
 rupture or the maintenance of peace. He hopes
 
 170 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 by this interview to acquire some knowledge of the 
 private ideas of M. Gambetta, no matter how skil- 
 fully the latter may endeavour to conceal them. 
 That, of course, is neither your business nor mine. 
 Everything that takes place between these two men 
 must have a most conciliatory character ; the inter- 
 view must not appear like a passage of arms. The 
 past must be the past. These men have fought 
 against one another, each one for his own country. 
 All that has happened belongs now to the past. The 
 present undertaking is in view of the future. If 
 this interview should take place, everything must 
 be averted which might alter the character of it 
 or interfere with the object in view. No overture 
 must be made which might lead to a refusal on the 
 part of one of these personages, or to a rebuff for 
 the other. There must be no question, as you 
 will readily understand, of any compromise, of 
 any retrocession, of any modification of existing 
 treaties. In brief, there must be no question of 
 Alsace-Lorraine. 
 
 ' It must be clearly understood that neither Prince 
 Bismarck, nor the Emperor, nor any other person, 
 could allow the conversation to turn upon this sub- 
 ject. The German nation would not accept any 
 discussion, even an academic one, on the accom- 
 plished facts which caused German blood to be shed 
 and which strewed France with the corpses of Ger- 
 man soldiers. An interview between these two 
 men, animated by pacific intentions and impressed 
 by the duties which are incumbent on them, may
 
 GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 171 
 
 bring about a salutary result, if they do not seek 
 for the personal satisfaction of triumphing over 
 each other.' 
 
 The conversation continued for some little time, 
 and then we separated. 
 
 •li' .itt ,SU Jb -^ 
 
 •«■ •It* •A* TP TT 
 
 On my return to Paris towards the month of 
 August, 1878, I wrote to M. Gambetta, asking him 
 for an interview ; and this interview, the only one he 
 ever granted to a journalist, took place forty-eight 
 hours later. M. Gambetta received me in the 
 editor's office of his newspaper, La Republiqice 
 Franqaise, a large room which looked on to a flight 
 of stone steps, opposite the beginning of the Rue de 
 la Chaussee d'Antin. He greeted me very cordially, 
 and was extremely agreeable, for he was anxious to 
 find out exactly what had taken place in Berlin. 
 
 I proved to him, easily enough, how prejudicial 
 was the policy of his paper, which, for causes it 
 would take too long to enumerate here, had shown 
 itself violently hostile to the French Plenipotentiaries 
 who were representing their country at a great 
 international Congress, the first held since the ter- 
 rible Franco- Prussian War. I was fortunate enough 
 to see him come round to my opinion. 
 
 When I had finished this part of my conversation, 
 I introduced the second part — the interview with 
 the Chancellor. 
 
 M. Gambetta, I must confess, was much pleased. 
 
 He also had a certain fascination about him, which 
 one would never imagine on seeing him in ordinary
 
 172 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 every-day life, and he now proved to be quite 
 irresistible. He appeared to be delighted at the 
 prospect o£ an interview, and declared that the 
 results he anticipated from it would be beneficial 
 and fruitful to all parties. 
 
 I listened to him with infinite pleasure. His 
 words were brimmino; over with the most ardent 
 patriotism, which inspired me with a veritable 
 admiration for him, and he did not conceal the 
 satisfaction he felt at the idea of being able at least 
 to meet the man on whom depended, perhaps, the 
 future j^eace of the whole of Europe. Finally, 
 turning to me, he asked : 
 
 ' But how, in the event of this interview, do you 
 suppose I should be able to approach the great 
 question which preoccupies us, and about which we 
 are at variance ?' 
 
 I had foreseen this dread point, and I answered : 
 
 ' This first interview, I think, is only to have 
 a preliminary character. As far as I understand, 
 there must be nothing said, on this initial occasion, 
 about the lost provinces. All that must be reserved 
 for later interviews, so that a denial may be given 
 to those who declare — with a view to stirring up 
 public opinion — that the question of Alsace-Lorraine 
 has been discussed.' 
 
 'That,' he said promptly, 'is absolutely impos- 
 sible. I cannot approach the German Chancellor 
 without speaking to him of Alsace-Lorraine. If I 
 were to be silent on that subject, it would spoil our 
 whole conversation, and he would feel, too plainly,
 
 GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 173 
 
 that he had a man before him who did not say what 
 he thought and who did not think what he said !' 
 
 'Well,' I replied, 'instead of talking to him of 
 Alsace-Lorraine, you might speak of Alsace and of 
 Lorraine, and in that way lessen the problem by 
 dividing it.' 
 
 ' Oh,' said M. Gambetta, ' I don't fancy that would 
 alter much !' 
 
 He thought the matter over for a minute in 
 silence, and then, like a man who has made up his 
 mind, he rose and held out his hand to me. 
 
 ' I should consider it my duty and an honour,' 
 he said, somewhat ceremoniously, ' to be able to 
 approach the Chancellor, and to endeavour, with 
 him, to solve the problem of European peace and 
 happiness. But in order to attain that end, when we 
 approach each other, we must have in view the 
 tranquillity of humanity, and not personal success ; 
 that is why I must be able to speak to him, not 
 of Alsace and of Lorraine, but of Alsace-Lorraine.' 
 
 The following day I called on Prince Hoheu- 
 lohe, to whom I repeated the conversation, and 
 resigned my office as negotiator. 
 
 There was never again any question of an inter- 
 view between Prince Bismarck and M. Gambetta.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 ALVA 
 
 General de Galliffet once announced that for 
 the last forty years he had been taking daily notes, 
 and he thereupon began the publication in two 
 Parisian papers of fragments of these notes. These 
 fragments, by an odd coincidence, contained every 
 now and then blunders in dates which did not 
 escape the attention of his readers. 
 
 I desire to say to readers of these Memoirs that I 
 have never in my life taken many notes as to the 
 events in which I have been mixed up, and that, 
 consequently, nothing would be more natural than 
 that I should from time to time make certain errors 
 of dates like General de GallifEet. But I attach no 
 importance to a possibility of this sort, my chief 
 concern being with the accuracy of the facts which 
 I relate. 
 
 I nevertheless remember, as if it were yesterday, 
 that on the 5th of September, 1878, under the 
 arcades of the Rue de Rivoli, I met my dear old 
 friend, Hector Pessard, coming out of one of the 
 big hotels that abound in that street. M. Hector 
 Pessard was then the manager and editor-in-chief 
 
 [174]
 
 ALVA 175 
 
 of the National. When he took the paper over, it 
 was on the point of disappearing altogether, but he 
 rapidly made it one of the most important organs of 
 the moment in Paris. The National belonged, in 
 truth, to that class of Parisian newspapers which 
 bud, bloom, and die. During my long experience 
 as a journalist, which has lasted nearly one-third of 
 a century, I have seen born, grow up, and perish, 
 so many newspapers that, as I look back upon them, 
 my memory resembles those old Norman churches, 
 surrounded by a cemetery, into which one enters 
 without knowing exactly whether the ceremony one 
 goes to witness is to be a baptism, a marriage, or a 
 funeral. 
 
 ' Ah,' said M. Hector Pessard to me, ' I am 
 delighted to meet you, for my intention was to go 
 and see you. You are only just back from the 
 Berlin Congress ; you are sailing on the top of the 
 wave ; your name is constantly under the public 
 eye ; it is well known that the Prime Minister, 
 M. Dufaure, has had a long conversation with you 
 on what took place at the Berlin Congress. You 
 are what is called " the man of the hour," and 
 you will not be surprised, therefore, if I ask you to 
 come with me and call on Mme. Marsa Chamil, who 
 lives in this hotel ; I have promised her that you 
 shall go to see her.' 
 
 ' But in the first place,' I replied, ' I am, as you 
 say, for the time being, very much occupied ; and, 
 secondly, who is Mme. Marsa Chamil, whose name 
 I now hear for the first time ?'
 
 176 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' Mon Dieii !' exclaimed Hector Pessard, ' I will 
 be frank. I don't know much more about lier than 
 you. It is, in a certain measure, in order to find 
 out that we all — Henri de Pene and his wife, Francis 
 Magnard, Henri Fouquier, and the rest — would like 
 you to see her ; for we suppose that, with your 
 knowledge of all that is going on behind the scenes 
 in European society, you will assist us in decipher- 
 ing the very interesting enigma which she appears 
 to be. We generally call her " the Duchess," and 
 she accepts the name with a smile, because every- 
 thing belonging to her in this hotel — the table linen, 
 the china, the glass and the silver — is marked with 
 a ducal crown, and indicates great wealth and 
 elegance.' 
 
 ' And what sort of a woman is this Duchess ?' 
 ' She is under forty, charming, a tall, graceful 
 brunette, although perhaps not a descendant of 
 any very ancient family, speaks several languages 
 correctly, knows the upper circles in most Conti- 
 nental countries, spends a great deal of money, has 
 a very smart team and respectful, well - trained 
 servants, entertains freely and with taste and 
 refinement, pays her bills regvdarly and promptly, 
 has the most fashionable dressmakers, goes out 
 little, talks of men and things with much know- 
 ledge and insight, but rarely of herself, and never 
 speaks ill of others. Finally, she has with her 
 a young lady named Alva, of whom one gets only 
 rare and furtive glimpses — a girl of eighteen, abso- 
 lutely well-bred, whom the Duchess calls "my
 
 ALVA 177 
 
 child" — a fact which entitles one to suppose that 
 she is her daughter.' 
 
 ' Really,' I replied, ' you arouse my curiosity 
 keenly ; hut I am hound to tell you that I am 
 curious only hy profession, caring little to know 
 what I cannot repeat puhlicly. But what you have 
 just said renders it impossible for me to refuse to 
 make the visit you propose, so, if you will allow 
 me, as soon as I am a little more at liberty, I will 
 send you word, and we will go together to call 
 upon the Duchess.' 
 
 Were I to relate all the traps which hatred, 
 jealousy, or mere spite, have laid for me for more 
 than thirty years, all the columns of a newspaper 
 would not suffice. I will mention, therefore, only 
 a single one, in order to give my readers an idea of 
 the methods employed to catch me off my guard 
 and to involve me in irremediable complications. 
 
 When the second Dreyfus trial broke out, I 
 beheld one day entering my house a man still 
 young, who seemed to be quite out of breath and 
 whose appearance was that of a person in trouble. 
 He related that he was a married man and a father, 
 that he held a confidential position at the War 
 Office, that he had just met with heavy losses at 
 the gaming-table, and that, in exchange for a sum 
 that would help him to save his reputation, he 
 w^ould supply me with military documents of the 
 highest importance. I discovered later on that 
 this man had been sent to me by powerful enemies, 
 
 12
 
 178 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 solely in order to trv to implicate me in that 
 wretched affair. 
 
 I sav this in order to exphiin the precautions 
 which I took in the matter that I am now narrating, 
 and why, a few days after ni}' meeting with 
 M. Hector Pessard, I called on the manager of the 
 hotel where the Duchess was staying — a man who 
 was under some obligations to me, and who always 
 showed much deference towards me — with the 
 view of obtaining more detailed information about 
 the Duchess than M. Hector Pessard had imparted 
 to me. 
 
 The manager of the hotel placed himself imme- 
 diately at my service. 
 
 ' The Duchess,' said he, ' has been residing here 
 for the past eleven months. There is evidently a 
 little mystery about her, but I should not be telling 
 the truth if I did not add that, apart from this 
 instinctive and justifiable feeling that one has, there 
 is nothino; to be said ao-ainst her, and her entire 
 bearing and attitude give rise to no criticism. Five 
 or six days before her arrival one of the leading 
 employes of a well-known bank came to choose the 
 suite of rooms she now occupies. He selected an 
 apartment on the third-floor, so that the visitors 
 should not be troubled by the noise of the street. 
 Their suite looks out on the Tuileries gardens, 
 and is composed of a drawing-room, dining-room, 
 two bedrooms for herself and her daughter, a 
 " study," and three small rooms for her butler and 
 her two lady's-maids, who live on the same floor.
 
 ALVA 179 
 
 On the 1st of the month, the huiler, who appears 
 to be a highly respectable old servant, takes a 
 cheque to the bank I have mentioned, and with the 
 utmost regularity the Duchess, on his return, settles 
 her bills here. She has never kept us waiting a 
 single day. Her valet, who acts as a general man- 
 servant, lives at the stables outside the hotel. The 
 Duchess rarely goes out ; she receives only highly 
 honourable visitors — more men than women, it is 
 true — but men who, for the most part, are well 
 known here as well as elsewhere. She shops a 
 great deal, almost always in the same establish- 
 ments. Her dressmakers are well known, and she 
 habitually pays for all that is brought to her 
 immediately. Owing to her long stay here, and 
 the regularity of her orders and payments, she is 
 regarded as an important customer, and has more 
 than once had to ask for her bills before they were 
 presented. I calculate, without having been guilty 
 of any misplaced curiosity, that this lady must have 
 more than 200,000 francs a year to spend, and all I 
 hope is that she will remain here as long as possible, 
 for, I repeat, neither the prosperity nor respecta- 
 bility of the hotel has to regret her presence.' 
 
 The next day I wrote to M. Pessard to tell him 
 that I was at his disposal for any date he would 
 like to fix, and on the 14th of September, at four 
 in the afternoon, I went with my friend to call on 
 Mme. Marsa Chamil, who had invited us to tea. 
 
 The portrait of the Duchess had been well drawn 
 for me by M. Pessard. As I entered, she rose from 
 
 12—2
 
 180 MEMOIRS OF M. 1)E BLOWITZ 
 
 the arm-chair in wUicli she was sitting, and greeted 
 me very amiably, without offering me her liand. 
 After begging me to take a chair, she began in 
 the most natural way in the world to talk of the 
 events of the day, of the crisis of the 16th of May, 
 1877, the solution of which she had witnessed almost 
 immediately on her arrival in Paris, and of the fall 
 of M. Jules Simon, for whom she had a letter of 
 introduction which she had refrained from present- 
 ing on learning that, since his defeat, he had no 
 inclination to receive strangers. She then talked 
 of the statesmen whom I had seen at the Berlin 
 Congress — of Count Andrassy, who was so charac- 
 teristically the type of the Magyar race, nervous, 
 breezy, and hale, as if his ruddiness had been caught 
 under the sun of his native forests ; of Count von 
 Haymerle, so refined and elegant, subtle and active, 
 but for whom people predicted a brief career, because 
 his incessant activity was like a tongue of fire that 
 devoured his constitution ; of Karatheodori, the 
 melancholy representative of a decadent Power, 
 who had haunted the diplomatic salons of Berlin 
 like a silent and furtive shade, remaining timidly 
 in the background, for he was somewhat bashful 
 and the interests he upheld were most confused and 
 precarious. She then spoke to me of Prince Bismarck, 
 whom she had certainly met, for, quite naturally, in 
 repeating a conversation which she had had, she 
 imitated, in a respectful but amusing way, his habit 
 of stopping suddenly and without embarrassment in 
 the midst of a ])hrase, and of remaining quite silent
 
 ALVA 181 
 
 until he had found the exact word which he wanted. 
 She spoke to me finally — but with great discretion, 
 without flattery and without exaggeration — of the 
 role that I had played in Berlin and of certain 
 episodes of my sojourn there, which would almost 
 have led me to believe that she had seen me in 
 Berlin if I had not been aware that she had not 
 absented herself from Paris for a whole year. 
 
 I was during this visit struck by the intellectual 
 superiority of this woman, who during our conver- 
 sation had made use of several languages, which 
 she seemed to know perfectly and which she spoke 
 with an accent that belonged to none of them, 
 without my being able exactly to discover to what 
 nationality it was due. I saw perfectly well that 
 this first visit woidd not be the last, for from the 
 outset I felt for the Duchess, whom I had just seen 
 for the first time, a really sympathetic curiosity ; 
 and I made a firm resolve, without any vulgar or 
 hidden motive, to try to penetrate into her intimacy 
 and to get at the meaning of the very real mystery 
 which, so to speak, floated in the ambient air attend- 
 ing her. 
 
 There had been on this occasion, l)esides M. Pessard 
 and myself, three or four persons with whom she 
 knew that I was acquainted, and to whom, there- 
 fore, she did not feel obliged to introduce me ; but, 
 among two or three others, she introduced to me 
 a young man, of easy and elegant manners and of 
 real distinction, as the Prince Karageorgewitch, and, 
 as the question of the future Prince of Bulgaria was
 
 182 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 then being discussed, she added a few words which 
 appeared to indicate that this young man was re- 
 garded by some persons as among the candidates 
 for that dignity. In brief, I took leave of the 
 Duchess with the feelins; that mv visit had been 
 one of the most interesting which I had made for 
 some time past. From that day I went to see her 
 almost regularly for more or less long calls two or 
 three times a week. I was more and more impressed 
 by her superior intelligence, her good breeding, and 
 the accuracy of her opinions and reflections ; and 
 while noting that, in spite of my constant attention, 
 I had not succeeded in piercing the somewhat im- 
 penetrable veil enveloping her, I remained convinced 
 that I was dealing neither with an adventuress nor 
 with a woman capable of a dishonest act, and my 
 sympathy for her grew apace without my ignorance 
 in regard to her being a whit diminished. 
 
 One evening in December it was a little late 
 when I made my call, and I found her alone. She 
 said to me : 
 
 ' Let me introduce you to my dear child, Alva, 
 whom you do not yet know, and, in order that 
 you may become better acquainted with her, you 
 will, if possible, share our dinner, for we are 
 dining alone to-night.' 
 
 At mv movement of assent she rans; and told 
 Hugot, the butler, to ask Mademoiselle to come to 
 her in the drawing-room. The introduction was 
 brief, for Alva seemed to have been informed fairly 
 accurately as to the person now introduced to her,
 
 ALVA 183 
 
 and, contrary to the custom of the Ducliess, she 
 immediately extended her hand in a cordial and 
 almost familiar wa}^ Alva was a great beauty, 
 elegantly slender, of harmonious proportions, with 
 hands and feet of perfect distinction, and she was 
 dressed with refined and irreproachable simplicity. 
 She had a delicate little head, a rather brilliant 
 complexion, a superb forehead, hair of the purest 
 and most wavy gold, and eyes of that greenish blue 
 which characterizes the women of the North, and 
 which, under eyebrows finely arched and beneath 
 long brown lashes, seem readily to change their 
 colour, and, according to the impressions they reflect, 
 become more azure-hued and more profound. 
 
 Alva bade me welcome, and, as it was late, I asked 
 to be allowed to return home in order to dress. At 
 dinner the girl expressed herself in perfectly pure 
 French without the slightest accent. She, too, knew 
 English, German, Spanish, and a little Russian. She 
 had the inexperience of her age, for she was not yet 
 eighteen, but she showed an exact and penetrating 
 intelligence and a judgment both Arm and indulgent. 
 During dinner the Duchess told me that she had 
 that day been informed that the young man whom 
 I had seen at her house, and whom she had called 
 Prince Karageorgewitch, was accustomed to call 
 himself by that name, Init he in no way belonged, 
 as he claimed, to the princely family of Servian 
 pretenders. I took this opportunity to tell her that 
 she ought to be extremely circumspect, in the 
 situation in which she was, as to the choice of her
 
 184 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 habitual guests, and that, without wishing to mention 
 any names, there were among them certain persons 
 who gave rather an unfavourable impression, and 
 this influenced peo])le in their judgment in regard 
 to her. She thanked me warmly, and, with that 
 energy which always distinguished her, told me on 
 my next visit that she had closed her door to some 
 of her usual visitors, whose names she mentioned. 
 This proved to me that she had very accurately 
 judged the persons whom she was bound to exclude 
 from her society. 
 
 In these pages I intend to relate an event which 
 deserves to figure in my personal reminiscences, but 
 I do not wish, by giving details not directly bearing 
 upon this story, to lengthen needlessly the tale 
 which I am now narrating. vSo I shall not speak 
 of the visits which ensued, nor of the incidents that 
 occurred during the three or four months following 
 upon the first dinner of the Duchess at which I was 
 present. What I can say, and what I feel bound to 
 say, is that my attachment to these two women 
 increased as I began to know them better, and it 
 rapidly developed into veritable friendship. Each 
 of them, in her own way, was calculated to captivate 
 — the one by the remarkable maturity of her 
 superior and cultivated intelligence, her upright 
 conduct, her native penetration and rare knowledge 
 of men and things, of Avhich for the most part she 
 made no display, but which became evident when- 
 ever she took pains to analyze her thoughts ; the 
 other, Alva, by her youthful radiance, her eloquence
 
 ALVA 185 
 
 and simplicity, her gentle and fascinating melan- 
 choly, and by the intellectual precocity that was so 
 noticeable whenever — which rarely happened — she 
 chanced to take part in the conversation. 
 
 About the end of April, 1879, however, it seemed 
 to me that a significant change was taking place in 
 the existence of these two women. The mother 
 was more nervous and irritable, more reserved than 
 heretofore. The quivering of her nostrils and the 
 way in which she knit her brows betrayed now and 
 then her excitement ; her lips, previously so apt to 
 smile, had strange twitchings, and she gave her 
 orders more sharply and imperiously than was her 
 wont. The girl on such occasions gave her mother 
 an anxious and melancholy look, and more than 
 once I noticed that her lashes were wet with a 
 quickly suppressed tear. The change disturbed 
 me, but such was the attitude of these two women 
 that I should have thought it indiscreet to display 
 the slightest anxiety. This state of things con- 
 tinued, and even became more accentuated. It was, 
 to be sure, purely a moral impression I had, for, 
 apart from what I have noted, there had been no 
 alteration in the style in which the Duchess lived. 
 She received at the same hours exactlv in the same 
 manner as before ; she went out as usual, did her 
 shopping and errands as before, and the hotel ser- 
 vants, when she came down into the courtyard to 
 enter her brougham or her open carriage, bowed 
 with the same respect as they had always shown as 
 she passed. I was much perplexed by all this, and
 
 186 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 such was now my friendship for these two ladies 
 that I could not help feeling real anxiety. I suffered 
 from being kept in the dark with regard to their 
 troubles. This situation, which was so painful to 
 me, continued until nearly the middle of June, and 
 as I thought that my visits sometimes caused painful 
 embarrassment, I began to go less frequently, and, 
 in spite of the real privation that I felt, I now 
 remained at times almost a week without calling 
 on the Duchess. 
 
 Towards the middle of June, during one of the 
 rare visits which I then made them, I tried by 
 cordial phrases to extenuate my indiscretion in 
 coming to see them, when the Uuchess suddenly 
 seemed to want to enter upon a conversation of a 
 confidential character. She exclaimed : 
 
 ' I must tell you ' 
 
 Just then her eyes fell upon Alva. I cannot say 
 what she read upon the girl's face, but she stopped 
 short, and, as she appeared to have grown somewhat 
 nervous, I got up hastily and took leave of her. 
 As I crossed the hotel court the manager appeared 
 in the doorwav of his office, as thouo;h he wanted 
 to speak to me. I went to meet him, and he asked 
 me into his room. He shut the door, and said : 
 
 ' You must excuse me, sir, for what I am going 
 to tell you, but a few months ago, before you knew 
 the Duchess, you asked for accurate information in 
 regard to her, which I gave you ; since then you 
 have become, in the eyes of the Duchess and her 
 daughter, the real " friend of the house." I feel
 
 ALVA 187 
 
 bound, then, to tell you — for it seems to me to be 
 a duty — that during the last two months certain 
 things have been going on here which will perhaps 
 seem to you, as they do to me, disquieting. Since 
 the 1st of May this lady has neither asked for nor 
 settled her hotel bill, which amounts to-day to 
 about eighteen thousand francs. She has made 
 many purchases, and, contrary to her custom, has 
 not paid for them immediately, but has even sent 
 back some of the bills, asking for a delay ; and, if 
 I am not mistaken, the Duchess, during the two 
 and a half months in which this change has been 
 taking place, must have become indebted to the 
 extent of more than fifty thousand francs, for, as 
 often happens in cases of the kind, she has bought 
 some new things in order to defer paying for those 
 for which she already owes. I must even add that 
 for some time now I have seen hovering about the 
 hotel persons who appear to be spying on her ; that 
 I have received the visit of an official who came to 
 make a detailed inquiry as to the Duchess and her 
 daughter ; and that this lady's servants appear 
 worried. It seemed to me that I ought to inforna 
 you of all this, lest you should be surprised by 
 some event which might annoy you.' 
 
 It will readily be understood that I was impressed 
 and disturbed by this communication. I passed a 
 bad night, and the next morning wrote to the 
 Duchess, asking her to receive me at three o'clock. 
 
 At that hour I arrived at her house. I was 
 ushered in and found her alone. With a great deal
 
 188 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 of precaution and considerable apprehension, I ex- 
 plained to her that I felt it my duty to repeat to her 
 what the manager of the hotel had said to me. She 
 listened to me in silence. Two l)ig tears ran down 
 her cheeks. 
 
 ' What the manager of the hotel has told you,' 
 she said, after a pause, ' is true. For three months 
 now I have been completely without funds. I 
 thought, and still think, that I shall get my money 
 back. I did not wish to change my way of living 
 — in the first place, out of pride, which you will 
 understand ; in the second place, not to alarm Alva. 
 The time has come, though, to tell you what you 
 do not yet know, and what on more than one occa- 
 sion I have intended to tell you, without, however, 
 daring to do so. Among all the persons I have 
 known, you are the one who has shown me the most 
 serious, the most sincere, and the most disinterested 
 sympathy ; and you are the one in whom Alva and 
 I feel the most confidence and for whom we cherish 
 the greatest friendship. I am going, therefore, to 
 tell you everything, and you can then judge whether 
 you should respond to the appeal which I am going 
 to make to you. 
 
 'Alva, whom I call my child, is not my daughter. 
 She belongs to a royal house, she is the daughter of 
 a Princess, and the explanation of the ducal crown 
 visible on everything belonging to us here is that 
 most of these objects come from her mother, and 
 that Alva in reality, if not by right, can claim the 
 crown. She was born when her mother was only
 
 ALVA 189 
 
 eighteen years old. Alva is remarkably like lier 
 mother, who was very beautiful. Her father was 
 a Captain in an Austrian regiment garrisoned in the 
 Germanic Confederation. I was her maid of honour. 
 When I heard of the affair, her suffering attached 
 me to her more than ever, and after having been 
 her confidante I became her accomplice. We wept 
 long over the situation together. Finally, an idea 
 came to me which simplified the whole matter, and 
 I felt that I had found a way of saving her — I will 
 even say, of saving us : for, if the truth became 
 kno^Ti, I was in as much danger as she was, and 
 perhaps even more. Without telling her my plan, 
 I went to one of the Court physicians, for whom I 
 entertained the greatest admiration. Unhesitatingly, 
 and after he had promised to keep my disclosure a 
 secret, I told him all I knew. 
 
 ' Dr. Alven, as we will call him — for it was under 
 that name that he took later on all the necessary 
 steps — Dr. Alven listened in silence, and, when I 
 had finished, said : 
 
 ' " Tell Madame that she must not appear to-night 
 at dinner ; that she must go to bed and complain of 
 violent headaches and of great difficulty in breathing. 
 Then to-morrow morning early let her send for me 
 to visit her. Do not worry ; I hope that I shall 
 find a way to save you both." 
 
 ' Dr. Alven ordered her to take a draught. The 
 consequence of this medicine was that the face of 
 the unfortunate Princess became violently red, and 
 a heavy fever ensued. Our rescuer submitted her
 
 190 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 to this treatment for two weeks. He directed 
 me to stay with her, because she wanted to be 
 nursed only by me. Two weeks later — the Court 
 having meanwhile been greatly alarmed, and, with 
 the exaggeration habitual in such cases, having 
 announced her death — on the sixteenth day, at 
 Dr. Alven's request and by order of the Sovereign, 
 there was a consultation of physicians. The father 
 of the Princess was present, and the doctors adopted 
 Dr. Alven's suggestion, declaring that the only way 
 of saving her was, first, to send her away to the 
 South of France, and then, accompanied by a young 
 doctor recommended by Alven, to let her travel 
 in Algeria, Cairo, the Canary and the Balearic 
 Islands. 
 
 ' Dr. Alven declared that he would give the Prin- 
 cess certain medicines which, in spite of her weak 
 condition, would enable her to start, adding, in 
 order that the illness should not give rise to any 
 alarming rumours, that she must leave without any 
 sort of ostentation and travel incognito. 
 
 ' Dr. Alven's plans were adopted, and three days 
 later, in the evening, we set out in the most favour- 
 able circumstances possible, accompanied by Hugot, 
 the butler, who is still with me, by the young 
 doctor, who left us a little later, and by the two 
 lady's-maids who are still in our service. 
 
 ' We left immediately for one of the estates 
 belonging to the Princess beyond the frontier, a 
 domain which came to her direct from one of her 
 aunts. It had not been long at her disposal, as she
 
 ALVA 191 
 
 had only a short time attained her majority, and on 
 that occasion her father had reduced by half the 
 personal appanage which she enjoyed. 
 
 ' On reaching our destination, the Princess sent 
 for the Governor of the district and the official who 
 dealt with all matters pertaining to the attestation 
 of contracts. In their presence the Princess had 
 a deed drawn up, in which she authorized her 
 steward, assisted by the Governor of the district, 
 to make a transfer, upon an order signed by her, 
 of her entire property, and to convert the sum thus 
 obtained into paper, consols, Government annuities, 
 municipal bonds, and railway shares, according to 
 Dr. Alven's indications. All this property, when 
 realized, was, by the Princess's orders, to be en- 
 trusted by the Governor of the district and the 
 steward, acting conjointly, to the person indicated 
 by the Princess in the two orders which she pro- 
 posed to send them. 
 
 ' I will not needlessly lengthen this story. We 
 made all the peregrinations that had been planned 
 for us, until finally the Princess was conducted into 
 a Hungarian convent, the Superior of which was 
 a sister of Dr. Alven. The Princess and I were 
 installed with our servants and the doctor in a 
 cottage at a remote corner of the convent park, 
 where there was a private entrance, and where we 
 lived well removed from curious eyes, even from 
 those of the nuns. As the convent was the seat of 
 the head of the Order, and sent out nuns on missions 
 in all directions, whenever one of them left she was
 
 192 MEMOIRS OF M. 1)E BLOWITZ 
 
 ordered, ou reaching lier destination, to post letters 
 to the Court, so that it shoukl appear as though we 
 were still travelling. 
 
 ' When the young doctor left us to return to the 
 Court, he announced that the Princess, now com- 
 pletely recovered, was coming home. The child, 
 a girl, was inscribed on the convent registers simply 
 under the name of Alva, the Princess herself having 
 chosen the name out of gratitude to Dr. Alven. 
 The Superior found a nurse for her, and a few 
 months later nurse and child were introduced into 
 the convent, the latter passing for a daughter of a 
 niece of the Superior. 
 
 ' My dear and unfortunate mistress wept l^itterly 
 when she was told that she must live separated 
 from her child. I did my best to console her, 
 promising that she should see her shortly, and 
 that, with Alven's aid, we would return before long 
 to the convent. 
 
 ' Two months later, early in 1862, we returned 
 to the Court. No one there had the slightest sus- 
 picion of what had occurred. The young doctor 
 had said nothing on account of his professional 
 duty. The devotion of the three servants amounted 
 to heroism, and Dr. Alven avoided any step that 
 could have given rise to a suspicion of there being 
 anything special between him and us. 
 
 ' Eleven years elapsed. The Princess had found 
 it impossible to undertake the journey she longed 
 to make. Alva had been separated from her nurse, 
 and she continued to be educated at the convent in
 
 ALVA 193 
 
 the most perfect manner possible. She was beloved 
 there, all the nuns doing their best to contribute to 
 her intellectual and physical development. 
 
 ' Great political changes had taken place mean- 
 while. Austria had come forth from the Germanic 
 Confederation. The war of 1870-1871 had alto- 
 gether modified the confederated sovereignties of 
 Germany. The Princess, who possessed a fairly 
 important appanage, and also, as I have said, estates 
 abroad which she had inherited from one of her 
 aunts, was more eager than ever to realize her 
 property, which, transformed into paper, would 
 have a value of more than five millions of francs. 
 She was bent on leaving her country and taking 
 refuge with Alva in a foreign land, whence it would 
 be impossible to compel her to return. 
 
 ' Alas ! just then a terrible misfortune befell us. 
 Our presence in the convent, which we had fancied 
 absolutely unknown to anyone, had been witnessed 
 by the gardener, the park-keeper, who never came 
 into the convent, but who lived in a small house at 
 the further extremity of the grounds — a house which, 
 like our own, possessed an independent entrance. 
 His attention had been drawn to what went on in 
 our cottage. He had played the spy, and discovered 
 everything save our identity. 
 
 ' Unfortunately, one of the nuns, who had been 
 sent out of the convent on a mission, and had imper- 
 fectly understood her instructions as regards posting 
 one of the Princess's letters, entrusted it to the 
 gardener, whom she met as she was leaving. He, 
 
 13
 
 194 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 suspecting that there was some relation between 
 this letter and the mystery o£ the cottage, did not 
 hesitate for an instant to read it. The address, the 
 signature, and the contents of it, gave him the key 
 to the whole myster3\ This man, I cannot say 
 why, had just been brutally deprived of his place, 
 and without the slightest hesitation he resolved to 
 take his revenge by revealing to the Princess's 
 father the mystery that he had discovered. 
 
 ' The latter's indis^nation was terrible. He had 
 an attack, and his life was in danger. At 11 p.m. 
 Dr. Alven was sent for, and he took all the necessary 
 measures in order to prevent the father in his wrath 
 from revealing the secret, for the doctor had just 
 become aware of the frightful danger with which 
 we were menaced. 
 
 ' Without a minute's delay, he went to see the 
 Princess, awoke Hugot, and ordered the maids to 
 awaken the Princess and myself. 
 
 ' We immediately prepared to receive the doctor. 
 He communicated to us the terrible news. He 
 informed us that the Sovereign's exasperation was 
 directed against me, and said that, accomjjanied by 
 Hugot and by the two maids, for whom he dreaded 
 a terrible punishment, I must flee without losing 
 a moment. On leaving, he informed us that an 
 hour later his landau, with two of his best horses, 
 would await us at a side-door, and that we should 
 be driven across the frontier, which was only nine 
 miles away. 
 
 ' Hu^ot and the two maids, who were cool and
 
 ALVA 195 
 
 collected through all this, had quickly prepared, 
 in several bags, everything of which I stood in 
 immediate need, and I, on my part, collected all 
 my jewels and all the silver that the Princess and 
 I possessed. 
 
 ' It was 4 a.m. when we started, and it was hardly 
 five o'clock when we had crossed the frontier. As 
 was to be anticipated, the first action taken against 
 the Princess would be the kidnapping of Alva with- 
 out a minute's delay, and armed with a letter from 
 Alven I set out for the convent, where I imme- 
 diately saw the Superior. Two hours later Alva — 
 to whom some years before I had paid a visit of 
 several days on the pretext of visiting, during a 
 holiday, an estate of mine on the Danube — was 
 entrusted to my care. 
 
 ' Alva, who, save the nuns, had never seen any- 
 one but myself, and who knew all the tenderness 
 I felt for her — Alva vaguely, so to speak, believed 
 that I was her mother. She flung herself effusively 
 into my arms, and was glad to go with me. 
 
 ' We settled down, with Hugot and the two maids, 
 on my estate. It was in an independent country, 
 and I knew we were quite safe. I devoted myself 
 to Alva's education, having at my disposal more 
 than adequate resources sent to me by the steward 
 from the abundant revenues of the Princess's lands, 
 and we lived there for some years pending the 
 events which were to brins- to us the solution of 
 the painful situation in which we found ourselves. 
 
 ' Meanwhile terrible scenes were being enacted at 
 
 13—2
 
 196 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 the Court. The reigning Prince, on being apprised 
 of what he called the disgrace of his house, was 
 in such a paroxysm of wrath that he himself, so 
 deprived was he of all common- sense, did not dare 
 to face his daughter, the Princess. 
 
 ' The miserable informer, the gardener, imme- 
 diately after having told his tale in the presence 
 of the Prince, had been imprisoned. He was now 
 sent for and obliged to sign a declaration which 
 might involve a death- sentence for him. An im- 
 portant sum of money was given to him, he was 
 taken to Bremen under good escort, and sent off to 
 one of the American States, with orders never, 
 under pain of death, either to reveal a word of 
 what he knew or to return to Europe. Moreover, 
 several months ago Alven informed me that news 
 had been received of his death. 
 
 ' Immediately after his departure the Prince, who 
 had been informed of the exact whereabouts of Alva, 
 had sent three men, on whose loyalty and decision 
 he could rely, to kidnap her. As you know, they 
 arrived too late. But the unfortunate Princess was 
 the object of the most monstrous persecution. All 
 her attendants had been changed. Her two maids 
 were two gaolers, who never allowed her out of 
 their sight, and who passed their time in torturing 
 her. Her health suffered greatly. Partial paralysis 
 set in. At her request, Alven was sent for. The 
 doctor asked to be left alone with her, and his 
 request was granted. He did not conceal from her 
 that she was nearing her end. She displayed real
 
 ALVA 197 
 
 heroism. Her onlj sorrow was not seeing her 
 child. She made all the necessary arrangements, 
 and entrusted to her doctor a copy of the document 
 which she had had drawn up for the sale of her 
 property, and the order to convert it into securities, 
 which in the event of her death were to be given 
 to me. At a second visit of the doctor, who 
 declared to her that she could never undertake 
 another journey, she wrote to me with his aid that, 
 when her landed property had been converted and 
 the securities entrusted to me, she begged me to go 
 with Alva to London, taking the securities with me, 
 to deposit them in one of the large English banks 
 which she named, and to use the revenue for the 
 common benefit of Alva and myself, until God 
 should allow her to join us. 
 
 ' The question of the sale and transfer of her 
 property took some time, for there was great need 
 of discretion, and it was only towards the middle 
 of 1875 that the steward and the Governor of the 
 district brought me the product of the sale in two 
 immense boxes, accompanied with a duplicate list 
 of the contents. 
 
 ' The total amounted to a little more than £200,000, 
 which gave an annual income of £9,000, or about 
 £750 a month. 
 
 ' We left my estate several days later, and I went 
 quietly away with my dear Alva to London under 
 an assumed name. I deposited the securities in my 
 name at the bank indicated, and, whilst awaiting 
 the time when the Princess could travel and join
 
 198 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 us, we devoted our days, and even a certain portion 
 of our income, to completing and perfecting the 
 education of Alva, to Avhom thus far I had avoided 
 revealing her origin. 
 
 ' Alas ! Alva could not long endure the English 
 climate, and just when, with her consent, I was 
 planning to go to spend the winter in Cairo or 
 Algiers, the painful news reached us of the death 
 of my dear and beloved Princess. 
 
 ' My grief was such that I could not help sharing 
 it with Alva, and revealing to the girl her origin as 
 well as her mother's death. Alva was in profound 
 despair, and as I perceived that her health was 
 suffering thereby, I resolutely left London, and we 
 visited in succession Cairo, the Canary Islands, 
 Palermo, and Algeria. 
 
 ' Alva had quite recovered her health and the 
 splendour of her youthful beauty, and, as we both 
 needed rest and a fixed abode, at her wish we came 
 on to Paris, where we have now been residing for 
 twenty months. 
 
 ' I am doing my best to make the narrative short, 
 but I am bound to explain everything, since I must 
 finally appeal to your friendship, which, although 
 not of very long standing, is nevertheless one in 
 which I have the most complete confidence. 
 
 ' I have now reached the epoch of our sojourn in 
 Paris. I knew we had been hunted for ; but, as we 
 often changed our name and residence, and as we 
 were quite independent, as we never made any 
 debts, and, in a word, did nothing that could attract
 
 ALVA 199 
 
 special attention, it was really almost impossible to 
 discover us. Moreover, ever since the death of the 
 Princess I had been aware that, sooner or later, 
 there would be attacks against me, for I knew the 
 harshness and avarice of those who had survived 
 my unhappy friend. For some time past I had 
 been worried by the complexity of the requirements 
 necessary for receiving my income, all the securities 
 being in England. I mentioned these annoyances 
 to one of the employes of the bank, who was acting 
 as my agent, and who, I may say in parenthesis, is 
 at the present time behaving himself abominably 
 towards me. 
 
 ' " Madame," replied this employe, "nothing could 
 be easier to remedy. We receive every day 
 quantities of securities from London, under policies 
 of insurance. You have only to direct your London 
 banker to give to one of our London agents, in 
 exchange for our receipt, the papers deposited with 
 him, and we will receive them, merely charging 
 you for the insurance policy and the carriage. We 
 will place at your disposal one of our safes, with a 
 receipt to that effect." 
 
 'Unfortunately, I accepted this proposal, and this 
 is what has been done. Hugot, on the first of every 
 month, used to go with my receipt to the bank, 
 where the cashier, who was thoroughly trustworthy, 
 regularly detached the coupons from my securities 
 in honouring my monthly receipt. 
 
 ' A few months ago, one of the detectives sent to 
 discover our whereabouts found out our address.
 
 200 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 He had met Hugot, whom he recognised, in the 
 street, and followed him to our hotel, where, quite 
 quietly, he took rooms in order to watch us. He 
 kept his eye esjjecially on Hugot, and finally dis- 
 covered the bank where our money was deposited. 
 And thus it came to pass, when, about three months 
 ago, Hugot went to the bank with my receipt, the 
 cashier informed him that he could not honour it, 
 regular opposition having been notified on behalf 
 of a foreign Court by one of the great Embassies. 
 
 'Hugot returned in utter consternation. You can 
 imagine the effect of this news upon me. I rushed 
 oflf to the bank. I asked if I could not be given a 
 sum quite outside and apart from my revenue, but 
 this was refused. Such was the nature of the 
 opposition that it had aroused suspicions against me 
 at the bank. I returned home in despair. The 
 manager of the hotel, to whom, without giving any 
 details, I communicated the fact of my momentary 
 embarrassment, behaved admirably, and requested 
 me to make no change in my manner of living. 
 
 ' I immediately wrote to Alven, with w^hom I can 
 correspond without any danger, but he was away 
 from home, and I had to w^ait until his return for a 
 reply. 
 
 'A^niien he got back, he sent me a legal adviser 
 whom I could trust. We went too:ether to consult 
 one of the most eminent members of the French 
 Bar. He asked me to show him the titles s^uarantee- 
 ing my right to the property. I possessed nothing 
 but the London banker's receipt and that of the
 
 ALVA 201 
 
 Paris banker. He declared that these two receipts 
 appeared to him insufficient to secure the cancelling 
 of the opposition, but that in any case I could bring 
 a legal action. The result, however, owing to the 
 lack of further documents, appeared to him doubt- 
 ful. I refused to bring an action, dreading sensation 
 and scandal, newspaper articles and reporters, the 
 whole horror of a situation which was sure to end 
 disastrously. 
 
 ' The lawyer then went back to Alven, who 
 began to consider what should be done. Such is my 
 present situation, and it is your own communication 
 to me which has led me to reveal to you these facts. 
 I have long wanted to mention them to you, but 
 now that you have heard my story you can under- 
 stand why I have hesitated, fearing to place myself 
 in a painful light if I had done so earlier. If I do 
 so now, it is because you yourself have afforded 
 me the occasion by taking, so to speak, the first 
 step. And now, if you will come to see me 
 to-morrow, and if you are disposed to champion my 
 cause, as I think you are, I will tell you the service 
 which I have to ask of you.' 
 
 When I returned on the morrow she had indeed 
 reflected. 
 
 ' I know,' she said, ' that M. Waddington, the 
 Prime Minister, is a great friend of yours, and it is 
 said that you have rendered him many services, for 
 which he is grateful. We must learn from him how 
 this opposition has been obtained, for our enemies, 
 you understand, have fewer rights to put forward
 
 202 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 than I, as, after all, I am in possession of my fortune, 
 and the opposition in question is — in spite of, or 
 because of, its validity — an absolutely arbitrary act. 
 I want you to go and see M. Waddington, to explain 
 the situation to him, and to ask him to find out how 
 and on what grounds the opposition has been taken, 
 and then to use his authority to protect me against 
 the injustice of which I am the victim.' 
 
 What Marsa had said was perfectly true. M. 
 Waddington cherished a real feeling of gratitude 
 toward me. On the 12th of November, 1877, at the 
 fall of the Cabinet of the 16th of May, M. Dufaure 
 was about to form his Ministr}^ in which M. Wadding- 
 ton was to take the portfolio of Education, and the 
 Comte de St. Vallier that of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 At the request of some friends I went to see 
 M. Dufaure, who always showed to me the greatest 
 good-will, and proved to him that he ought to give 
 the portfolio of Education to M. Bardoux, his former 
 colleague at the Ministry of Justice, that M. de 
 St. Vallier, for whom Prince Bismarck professed 
 particular sympathy, ought to be sent to Berlin, and 
 that, for peremptory reasons, he ought to give the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs to M. Waddington. To 
 this M. Dufaure agreed, and on the spot he confided 
 to me the mission of seeing M. Waddington, and, 
 in his name, of offering him the Ministry of Foreign 
 Affairs, instead of that of Education. I went on 
 immediately, in spite of the late hour, to the Rue 
 Dumont d'Urville, to M. Waddington's house, to 
 fulfil the mission entrusted to me.
 
 ALVA 203 
 
 M. Waddington, after some hesitation, and not- 
 withstanding Mme. Waddington's energetic ojDposi- 
 tion, acce^^ted the offer, and became Minister o£ 
 Foreign Affairs in the Duf aiire Cabinet. It was thus 
 that he took part, as first Plenipotentiary, in the 
 Berlin Congress, where throughout the sessions, 
 from the beginning to the end, I was fortunate 
 enough to render him daily services, and constantly 
 defended him by word and pen against the attacks 
 of the French newspapers. 
 
 After the Congress I explained and upheld his 
 acts to his chief, M. Dufaure, the Prime Minister, 
 and finally, in a long talk with M, Gambetta — a 
 summary of which, in the form of an interview, 
 appeared in The Times ^ and was, by M. Gambetta' s 
 orders, reproduced in the Republique Franqaise — I 
 brought about between the two a rapprochement, as 
 a consequence of which M. Gambetta abandoned 
 his hostilitv toward M. Waddino;ton 
 
 The latter, moreover, never ceased to show his 
 affection for me, and when Marsa proposed that I 
 should see him, I readily consented, sure in advance 
 that I should succeed, and delighted at the thought 
 of making her happy. 
 
 As I was crossing the courtyard of the hotel, 
 I perceived the manager looking at me from his 
 oflBce door. I went up to him and told him that 
 what he had said the night before was true, but 
 that the embarrassments of the Duchess were 
 temporary, and that I begged him to make no 
 change in his manner towards her, and even to
 
 204 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 speak to the shopkeepers, in order to induce them 
 to continue to extend their confidence to the 
 Duchess : ' for.' I added, ' I guarantee that neither 
 you nor anyone will lose a penny.' The manager 
 was delighted, and promised to do what I asked. I 
 felt no anxiety in standing surety for Marsa after 
 what she had said, and, convinced as I was that 
 I should succeed almost immediately in arranging 
 matters, this detail seemed quite natural. 
 
 I went off to the Quai d'Orsay to see M. Wadding- 
 ton. He received me with his customary warmth. 
 I asked him if he had time to listen to me. He 
 rang for the messenger, gave orders so that he 
 should not be disturbed imtil he called, and, opening 
 the door that lead into the bureau of his Chef de 
 Cabinet^ gave similar orders there. He listened to 
 me attentively, insisting that I should omit no detail, 
 and now and then showing that my story touched 
 him. When I had finished, he said : 
 
 ' I thank you for telling me this, although I am 
 reallv troubled about it ; but mv knowledo:e of the 
 affair was very slight. I had heard of it, but had 
 attached little importance to the matter. I am 
 going to examine it carefully and without delay. 
 If you will come back at 2.30 to-morrow, I hope to 
 be able to give you every satisfaction.' 
 
 I rushed off to Marsa to report the good news. 
 She was delighted, and said to me : 
 
 ' I have only just received a letter from Alven, 
 of which I will speak to you to-morrow when all is 
 over, although I may tell you that he says that.
 
 ALVA 205 
 
 even if I do not succeed in averting the perfidious 
 attack of which I am the object, I must not despair.' 
 
 ' I hope,' I replied, ' that the day after to-morrow 
 I shall bring you a definite solution, and that you 
 will have no need of appealing to Dr. Alven. . . .' 
 
 Alas ! I did not bring her on that date a definite 
 solution. I found M. Waddington nervous and 
 anxious — almost irritated. He had immediately 
 investigated the matter. 
 
 ' I have made the necessary inquiry,' he said ; 
 ' although I regret it, I am bound to tell you 
 frankly that I cannot possibly agree to what you 
 ask of me. We are face to face with the direct 
 intervention of a powerful Ambassador, acting 
 under the orders of his Government. The opposi- 
 tion to the payment is perfectly regular, and we 
 are on the point of receiving proofs of its validity, 
 and of the rights of seizure which are demanded. 
 I beg you to excuse me for what I am going to say, 
 but your two protegees are described as adven- 
 turesses and accused of embezzlement, while the 
 story of the daughter of a royal Princess is treated 
 as a ridiculous fable. She is said to be merely the 
 illegitimate child of the woman called the Duchess, 
 and the latter is accused of having taken advantage 
 of the insanity of the Princess, whose maid of 
 honour she was, to steal from her the estate 
 settled on her. In order to satisfy you, I should 
 have first to talk the matter over with the President 
 of the Republic, and then bring it before the 
 Cabinet Council. But I am sure I should have
 
 206 MEMOIRS OF M. DE RLOWITZ 
 
 M. G-revy against me as well as the Cabinet — that 
 is to say, I should have to resign, which would in 
 no way advance matters, for, after all, I may 
 perhaps be able to be of service to you.' 
 
 I got up hastily. M. Waddington reproached 
 me for my abrupt movement, and, as I saw that 
 he deeply regretted the whole affair, the idea of 
 Dr. Alven's letter came to me, so, quite by chance, 
 and in order to gain time, I said to M. Waddington 
 that I had promised to stand surety for Marsa, that 
 I was personally much embarrassed, and, since he 
 was to be shown the proofs of the legality of the 
 opposition, I begged him to grant me a little time. 
 
 ' Since the proof is to be given you,' I said, ' you 
 may at all events, in some way or other, find a way 
 of postponing the seizure for several months, par- 
 ticularly as I shall be greatly inconvenienced now 
 that I am surety for these ladies.' 
 
 M. Waddington was really troubled. ' I think,' 
 he said, ' that you have the truth on your side. 
 Your story must be true, for you were the first to 
 show me how to verify it. But I can do nothing 
 against the state of things which would appear like 
 assuming an insulting attitude against the honoured 
 representative of a great Power. Yet, in order to 
 prove to you my complete good faith, I promise 
 that the authorization for the seizure shall not be 
 granted before the loth of August. That, I fear, 
 is all I can do for you.' 
 
 Evidently, if Marsa did not faint on my telling 
 her this, it was because she still had faith in Alven,
 
 ALVA 207 
 
 and because she saw me, too, in such despair that 
 she had recourse to all her energy. She said to me : 
 ' Alven is at present at Samaden, in the Engadine, 
 in charge o£ a distinguished patient whom he cannot 
 leave for a single day. He keeps me informed of 
 what is going on. They are trying to collect the 
 documents to prove that the Princess was insane 
 before she sold her lands and before giving me the 
 securities. Alven has interfered heroically in this 
 infamous plot. Other doctors have come to his 
 rescue. He does not know whether he will succeed 
 in thwarting this scheme, but in any case it will 
 take some time for things to come to a crisis. 
 Alven begs me to go to him with Alva, whom he 
 longs to see. He does not know, my poor dear 
 friend! that I am myself a prisoner, and that, in 
 spite of your intervention with my creditors, my 
 departure would look like flight, that I should 
 receive a legal summons, and that we should be 
 ruined. Yet Alven declares that he must know 
 al3Solutely all the details of what has occurred, and 
 this can be only viva voce. Moreover, I must be 
 prompt, for he is about to leave Samaden with his 
 patient, probably for Cairo.' 
 
 'And what are you going to do ?' I asked. 
 
 She blushed, then grew pale. After a few 
 moments of hesitation, she finally said : 
 
 ' I am going to appeal to the greatest devotion, 
 the greatest self-sacrifice, the greatest sentiment of 
 honour, of which a man can give proof to two 
 women whom he does not know. Will you accom-
 
 208 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 pany Alva with one of my maids to Samaclen ? I 
 know that, in confiding her to your honour, I am 
 not wanting in my duty toward her. But I do 
 not wish it to be known that Alven has met her — 
 first, because they would take vengeance on him, 
 and, secondly, because, if proved, this meeting 
 would destroy the intervention against the declara- 
 tion of madness, and everything would be lost.' 
 
 ' But when shall we start ?' I asked. 
 
 She grasped my hand and kissed it, covering it 
 with tears. 
 
 ' Your kindness consoles me for all my woes. 
 You will leave on the 14th ; Hugot, who will 
 precede you, will await you at Lucerne, where you 
 will arrive on the morning of the 15th. Go to the 
 Hotel National, where he will be introduced to you 
 by the hotel people and offer his services as courier. 
 He knows quite well what to do, and is well ac- 
 quainted with the country. He will conduct you to 
 Samaden, and even further, as a tourist travelling 
 by post-chaise. At Samaden you will go to the 
 hotel where Alven is stopping. Alva towards 
 11 p.m. will feel unwell, and Hugot, in seeking a 
 doctor, will naturally appeal to Alven, who will 
 have returned half an hour earlier. Alva will 
 remain ill two days, during which time she will be 
 taken care of by her maid ; and you three — Alva, 
 you, and Alven — will thus have ample time to 
 talk without arousing suspicion, and to do what 
 Alven tells you or directs me to do.' 
 
 She interrupted her explanations, and paused for
 
 ALVA 209 
 
 some time. Then resolutely, as if summoning all 
 her courage, she said : 
 
 ' Alas ! this is not all ; but at present I dare not 
 part with the little money that remains, and ' 
 
 I interru])ted her : 
 
 ' Do not let us lose precious moments in futile 
 words. I shall be delighted to take this trip, and I 
 am sure that Alva's presence will make it more 
 charming. I will advance the money. If you 
 recover your property, you will give me back 
 Alva's half of the expenses. If not, I shall 
 endeavour to bear the loss !' 
 
 On the morning of the 15th of July we arrived 
 at Lucerne at the Hotel National. We waited for 
 Hugot. Towards noon the manager of the hotel, 
 then the famous M. Ritz, came to see me, and 
 informed me that a courier who had just left a 
 family which he had accompanied to Lucerne 
 offered me his services. It was Hugot. 
 
 I wished to start immediately, but Alva was 
 fatigued and wanted to rest until the morrow. 
 Moreover — and this was a very feminine trait — in 
 spite of all I could say, and although we were thus 
 losing a day, she refused to continue our journey 
 without having made the ascent of the Rigi. I had 
 to yield. Hugot was to leave on the morrow for 
 Fluellen, at the end of the Lake of the Four 
 Cantons, with our luggage, and we and the maid 
 were to stop at Vitznau, lunch on the Kigi, take the 
 afternoon boat, and meet Hugot at Fluellen. 
 
 We found him there with the hotel carriage, and 
 
 14
 
 i210 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 he told lis he had engaged a four-horse team, such 
 as is habitually employed for this route, to drive 
 over the St. Gothard, by Anderniatt and Chiasso, to 
 Lugano, where we should cross the lake, to con- 
 tinue on the opposite shore our journey to 
 Samaden. We started on the following morning, 
 and an incident on the route depressed us by the 
 lugubrious presentiments which it inspired, but 
 which, happily, were not realized. 
 
 Two years before, I had gone from the Rigi- 
 Carlbad, where I was staying, to Goschenen to visit 
 the works in the St. Gothard Tunnel. I had been 
 received most hospitably there by M. Fabre, the 
 contractor of the tunnel, and he had shown nie the 
 work that had already been accomplished. When, 
 two years later, I passed with Alva by Goschenen, 
 in front of the very hotel where I had been received, 
 I was asked to stop my carriage, and 1 saw issuing 
 from the tunnel an immense procession of men in 
 dark clothes, following a coffin which passed before 
 us. They were workmen of the tunnel accompany- 
 ing to his last resting-place the body of M. Fabre. 
 I was much impressed by the sombre coincidence, 
 and arrived with a heavy heart at Andermatt, 
 whence, without further incident, we proceeded to 
 Samaden. 
 
 There we remained two days. Alven was 
 informed of all the necessary details. He was 
 delighted to see Alva, and he parted from her in 
 despair. Hugot's conduct had been admirable. 
 Not the slightest suspicion had arisen in regard to
 
 ALVA 211 
 
 us. When I went away Alven gave nie a large and 
 heavy letter in a double envelope, saying : 
 
 ' Take great care of it ; it is perhaps salvation 
 itself. I have rendered to the omnipotent j)erson 
 to whom it is addressed the greatest service a man 
 can render to another man. I saved from certain 
 death a human being he adored. He has always 
 said that there was nothing he would refuse me. It 
 is the first time I have ever appealed to him, and if, 
 on returnino; to Paris, the situation has not vet 
 improved, tear open the first envelope, and carry the 
 letter, without even showing it to Marsa, to the 
 address on the second envelope.' 
 
 Alva returned to her hotel, accompanied by Hugot 
 and her maid, and on the morrow, Marsa having 
 informed me that there had been no change, I tore 
 open the first envelope, and saw that the second was 
 addressed, with the word ' Confidential,' to ' Prince 
 Orloff, Ambassador of H.M. the Emperor of All 
 the Russias in Paris.' 
 
 When, in the address of the second envelope, I 
 saw Prince Orloff's name, I was delighted, for I 
 knew that his intervention would be a powerful one, 
 and that my relations with the Prince would permit 
 me to make the most of it. I hastened to see him. 
 Without offering any explanations I handed to him 
 Alven's voluminous missive. When he had opened 
 it and looked at the signature, he said to me with a 
 voice full of emotion : 
 
 ' Ah, you come from a man who is as dear to me 
 as anyone in this world outside of my family ; but 
 
 14—2
 
 212 MEiAIOIRS OF M. 1)E BLOWITZ 
 
 I see that the letter is very long. I should like to 
 read it carefidly, whatever may be its contents, and 
 we will talk about it to-morrow, if you will come 
 back then.' 
 
 I returned on the following day, and found him 
 in a somewhat excited state. 
 
 ' I will do all that is possible for a man to do,' 
 said he, ' all that is not contrary to my absolute 
 duty, all, and I am ready to talk with you.' 
 
 The conversation was a long one, and more than 
 once he exclaimed : 
 
 ' What ! this girl whom you call Alva is the 
 daughter of that adorable, that ever-memorable 
 Princess who was the great star of my youth, and 
 whose mystery I have never been able to fathom ! 
 I will do everything, but what can I do ?' 
 
 ' You must go and see M. Waddington,' I replied, 
 ' to destroy the effect of the abominable calumnies 
 that have been told him ; to show him the infamy 
 of the whole spoliation in which they want to make 
 him their accomplice ; and, if he refuses to listen 
 to you, declare to him that you will ask for your 
 passports.' 
 
 ' Yes,' said he, ' I will do all except the last part, 
 for if I declare that, in the event of refusal, I shall 
 ask for my passports, it would be a threat to which 
 he could not yield without compromising the dignity 
 of his country. I shall confine myself, therefore, 
 to the first part of the programme, and we shall see 
 what happens.' 
 
 This he did, and as a consequence M. Waddington
 
 ALVA 213 
 
 told him that he would submit the case to a still 
 closer examination, and inform him as to the result. 
 
 We waited two days, but nothing happened. I 
 returned to see Prince Orloflf. 
 
 ' I think I know,' said I, ' what is taking place. 
 They find themselves between the pressing inter- 
 vention of two powerful Ambassadors. They are 
 going to try to drag the aflfair along, and they will 
 tell the Ambassador, our opponent, to hasten to 
 present, without further delay, the promised proof. 
 But we, on our side, have no time to lose. Every 
 day is precious, and we ought to push the matter 
 forward, or all is lost.' 
 
 ' What, then, do you advise ?' asked the Prince. 
 
 ' I will tell you,' I said. ' Your Excellency, I am 
 well aware, cannot directly threaten to hand in your 
 passports, but I can go and see M. Waddington and 
 tell him that, if he refuses to carry out the act of 
 justice which you demand, you are bound to con- 
 sider it as a personal insult, and will then feel it 
 your duty to demand your passports.' 
 
 ' But he will think you are merely making use of 
 an argument,' was the reply, ' and will pay no heed 
 to it.' 
 
 ' No,' said I, ' if you will do what I ask, I will tell 
 him, if he expresses any doubt, that, to prove to 
 him the accuracy of my words, you will go and see 
 him at 4.45 — that is to say, a quarter of an hour 
 before what is termed the " signature time," when 
 visitors are not allowed to remain any longer — and 
 that you will merely say to him, in giving him your
 
 214 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 hand, without another word : "I come to say that 
 I have authorized M. de Blowitz to speak to you as 
 he has done, and I hope that on my next visit I 
 sliall have to thank you." Then you will shake his 
 hand cordially and take your leave.' 
 
 ' So he it,' he answered, ' only let me know if he 
 expects me.' 
 
 When I had explained to M. Waddington the 
 motive of my visit, he exclaimed, excitedly and 
 almost angrily: 
 
 ' But it is a raison d'etat that you are creating 
 thus. You are placing two great Ambassadors in 
 opposition to each other. Yet we cannot forget 
 Prince Orloff's attitude in 1875, when the German 
 military party threatened us with a second invasion. 
 I am awaiting Prince Orloff's visit, and if he comes 
 I promise you that I will carry the whole business 
 before the President of the Republic and call his 
 special attention to it.' 
 
 Prince OrlofF's visit took place, and three days 
 later M. Waddington sent for me. 
 
 ' The President, the Minister of Justice and I 
 have had two conversations during the last three 
 days, and this is our decision. We cannot offend 
 the Embassy that is your opponent, and I have 
 declared that the situation itself cannot go on as it 
 is. We shall wait six days longer, and if within that 
 period the incontestable justification has not reached 
 us, the Minister of Justice will order the abandon- 
 ment of the opposition. Moreover, the present 
 situation is unprecedented. Neither the lady who
 
 ALVA 215 
 
 possesses the fortune nor those who formulate oppo- 
 sition can justify, or probably will ever be able to 
 prove, a right to this property ; and if this should 
 go on, we should be obliged to hand over these 
 securities to the Caisse des Depots et Consignations, 
 and this would probably be the end of them. We 
 should thus bequeath to the State endless difficulties 
 for the future, which it is our duty to try and avoid. 
 Your protegee, however, has, for her part, the right 
 of possession, and it is out of respect for this right 
 that we are acting. Tell her to hold herself in 
 readiness, for I do not think, from the replies I have 
 received, that this justification can arrive in time. 
 On the 31st, at noon, if the period elapses without 
 the arrival of the proofs, come and see me, and I 
 will tell you what has occurred.' 
 
 At the appointed hour I was with M. Waddington. 
 He informed me that orders had just been given, 
 and that at 3.30 the opposition would be abandoned, 
 but that as, notwithstanding, the proof might arrive 
 at any moment, he urged us to lose no time. 
 
 Marsa and Alva were wild with joy. It was not 
 only their fortune, but their honour, their liberty, 
 their life, that were at stake. Two enormous boxes 
 had been prepared in advance to contain the papers. 
 At 3.30 Marsa, Alva, and Hugot went to the bank, 
 whither I had refused to accompany them, and 
 where, without any obstacle being thrown in their 
 way, the cashier delivered over the papers. The 
 boxes in which they were placed were nailed down 
 immediately. As there had been no time to detach
 
 ^16 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 the coupons, the hank itself bought and paid for, 
 cash down, certain securities amounting to £8,000, 
 which Marsa took, and that very evening Hugot, 
 accompanied by two policemen in plain clothes, 
 left for London, where he deposited the money in 
 the old bank. 
 
 As M. Waddington had urged me to induce these 
 ladies to leave Paris as soon as possible, Marsa 
 spent the next three days in settling to the last 
 centime all her Paris bills, and on the 5th of the 
 month following, at 11 a.m., after having packed all 
 their belongings, they left for England. 
 
 I went with them as far as Calais, and only left 
 the boat and returned to the quay when the whistle 
 blew, announcing the departure of the steamer for 
 England.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 
 
 It all happened at the beginning of the winter of 
 1881. Mr. Beckman, the Paris correspondent of the 
 Berlin National Zeitung, who was then living in the 
 Rue de Chateaiidun, invited me to dinner at his 
 house. An amiable, active, boisterous but kindly 
 person, Mr. Beckman occupied at the time, and, 
 in fact, maintained until the end of his life, a 
 position in Paris that was not altogether an easy 
 one. Before the war of 1870 he had enjoyed most 
 familiar and sympathetic relations with Frenchmen. 
 He wrote in the Temps, one of the papers most 
 dreaded by the Empire. The numerous contributors 
 to that journal, all of whom were advancing with 
 firm and sonorous step along the path of Liberalism, 
 were all friends of Beckman. In its editorial rooms 
 he had no enemy. All the writers of the Temps, 
 who were waging unceasingly a courteous but 
 energetic battle against the Empire, used to listen 
 deferentially to him, and, in truth, to open their 
 hearts to him. 
 
 Suddenly war broke out, and Beckman left Paris. 
 
 One can easily understand that it was impossible 
 [217]
 
 218 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 for liim to remain in Paris, but it was thought that 
 he would withdraw into some neutral country. It 
 appears that he did not do this, and when, after 
 peace was concluded, he returned to France and 
 resumed his duties as correspondent, at the same 
 time accepting the position of Keader of French 
 Newspapers at the German Embassy, French houses 
 closed their doors to him, and he never succeeded in 
 getting them open again. As, however, there was 
 no necessity for me to take part in this quarrel, and 
 as Beckman was a kindly and serviceable colleague, 
 a mutual friend arranged for us to meet, and a short 
 time afterwards Beckman invited me to dinner, 
 calling upon me himself in order to insist on my 
 presence. 
 
 On the day appointed I arrived at his house. 
 The drawing-room filled rapidly with guests, almost 
 all of whom were conspicuous members of the 
 foreign colonies in Paris. It was past the time 
 fixed for dinner, and Beckman had chosen for the 
 ladies their various partners. I was rather surprised 
 to find that I had evidently been forgotten, when my 
 host came up to me and said : ' We are waiting for 
 a lady who is by no means the least charming 
 of my guests — Princess Kralta — and you are to take 
 her in to dinner.' 
 
 A few moments later the door opened ; there was 
 a flutter of surprise, and I beheld a lady whose 
 exquisite elegance, complete ease, and, in a word, 
 whose beauty, attracted general attention. She 
 smiled in the most charming way, and in a melodious
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 219 
 
 voice apologized for her late arrival. Beckman led 
 me up to her, and introduced me as her partner. 
 Soon afterwards the dining-room doors were thrown 
 open, and we all went in to dinner. 
 
 When the noise occasioned by the seating of a 
 score of guests had somewhat subsided, the boister- 
 ous voice of our Amphitryon rang out joyously : 
 
 ' Ladies and gentlemen, let everyone who is not 
 content with his or her neighbour put up a hand.' 
 
 Gravely the lady to the right of Beckman raised 
 hers, and the burst of laughter that ensued was the 
 prelude to an extremely gay and lively dinner. 
 
 The Princess Kralta turned quickly to me. Her 
 large blue eyes, which lighted up one of the most 
 fascinating faces I have ever seen, were levelled at 
 me coquettishly. She gave a little toss to the silky 
 curls of her light chestnut hair as she said, with a 
 smile which revealed the brilliancy of her small 
 teeth : 
 
 ' I don't know whether you are inclined to put 
 your hand up, but I shall certainly do nothing of 
 the kind, for I am charmed with my neighbour, and 
 this confession will not make you too vain when I 
 have told you why. I will not conceal from you 
 that I am just back from Berlin, and that the Prince 
 [Prince Bismarck], on bidding me good-bye, said to 
 me : " If you go to Paris, look up M. de Blowitz. 
 There has been a violent discussion in the papers 
 between him and me. I allowed the Press to attack 
 him violently. It was on the subject of a speech 
 about GortschakofF which he attributed to me during
 
 220 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 the Berlin Congress. I fancy he somewhat em- 
 bellished this speech, but it is quite true that I did 
 deliver it substantially as he gave it ; this is why 
 I accused him indirectly of mixing up truth and 
 fiction. However, I bear him no grudge ; he exer- 
 cises his profession as well as he can, and that is far 
 above the ordinary ; so that, if you have an oppor- 
 tunity, try to meet him. He knows Paris well, and 
 he is an excellent guide." ' 
 
 The Princess added : ' I feel I need not hide this 
 circumstance from you, and it will allow us to 
 dispense with long preliminaries. As a proof of the 
 unceremonious way in which I make friends, I will 
 tell vou this: althouo-h it is now some time since 
 the Congress met, the curiosity of the Prince is still 
 very keen as to how you obtained possession, in 
 advance, of the Treaty of Berlin. He cannot under- 
 stand it. He considers it natural that you should 
 have tried to get it, and he assured me that the fact 
 rather amused him than otherwise. He nevertheless 
 feels convinced that, in one way or another, he will 
 eventually get at the truth. His chief grievance is 
 that you, by a combination which was very simple, 
 should have prevented him from communicating 
 the treaty first to the German Press. He wished to 
 do this as a gracious return for the patriotic 
 hospitality with which that Press received the 
 members of the Congress in the capital of the new 
 German Empire. And I — I tell you frankly, 
 because I am eager to win your confidence, and 
 perhaps, later, 3'our friendship — I told him that I
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 221 
 
 would try to obtain the secret from you, since lie 
 appears to be so keen on knowing it. I added 
 that it could not be one of those secrets which resist 
 for ever the firm will of a woman ready to prove 
 herself worthy of the confidence she solicits.' 
 
 I laughed, and said that it really was a charming 
 way of making an acquaintance, when so fascinating 
 a woman let me know plainly at what price her 
 friendship could be won. And it can easily be 
 imagined how, after these preliminaries, the dinner 
 was continued — a dinner the remembrance of which 
 remains in my mind still vivid now, after twenty 
 years have flown. 
 
 I have not the slightest recollection as to who 
 the other guests were, nor as to the conversation 
 that went on. But what I do recall vividly is the 
 musical voice of my neighbour, and her anecdotes 
 about her life in Berlin, which had been one long- 
 fete. She had access there to the most select 
 circles. As I was obliged to leave immediately 
 after dinner in order to work, I avoided the smoking- 
 room, and bade good-bye to my radiant neighbour, 
 who said to me : ' I sincerely hope that you will 
 come to see me, not so much on my " day," but 
 any time you like.' 
 
 After such a beginning the reader will understand 
 that our acquaintance was not to end there. 
 
 Five or six days later I called on the Princess at 
 her very attractive home, not far from the Arc de 
 Triomphe. She received me with a certain grace 
 that had a touch of familiarity, showing that she
 
 222 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 liad pleasant recollections of her visitor. Some 
 time afterwards, as I had not yet met her husband, 
 she wrote to invite me to dinner, adding that she 
 should be charmed at this opportunity of bringing 
 us together. 
 
 When I entered her drawing-room on the evening 
 of this dinner, I was struck by the somewhat hetero- 
 geneous aspect of the company. Not only were 
 there various nationalities represented, but there 
 Avas as well a curious mingling of really great 
 names of vanished French regimes and of eminent 
 personalities of the existing one. With these there 
 was a discreet infusion of Germans, for the dinner 
 was a sort of birthday banquet, although I did not 
 know it at the time, and the initiated had filled the 
 house with a profusion of fragrant flowers, the 
 warm colours of which, under the brilliant light 
 which played over the elegant toilettes and glistened 
 from the precious stones, formed for the hostess 
 a sumptuous and radiant frame. 
 
 The Princess introduced me to her husband in 
 the most correct way, but with a studied negligence, 
 as if the introduction were merely an incident of 
 secondary importance. 
 
 After dinner she asked me which was my wife's 
 ' day,' and begged me to say that she intended to 
 call. During the entire evening she was much 
 absorbed by her duties as hostess, but she said to 
 me as I took my leav<e : 
 
 ' I know that you never stay late, but I hope to 
 see you one of these days to resume our conversa-
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 223 
 
 tion, for I warn you that I still cling to my idea of 
 wresting your secret from you, and I desire this all 
 the more as it is in order to give pleasure to a certain 
 person you know.' 
 
 When I called upon her after this dinner, we 
 conversed in a lighter vein, and I left the Princess 
 without her being able to touch on what she called 
 ' the great problem of her coquetry.' 
 
 She came to see my wife, and I returned her 
 politeness by inviting her and her husband to a 
 dinner-party at my house. I inaugurated on this 
 occasion a fashion which pleased her, and which 
 shortly afterwards was widely imitated in Parisian 
 society. I had arranged two orchestras which played 
 very softly, alternately, in two small rooms at either 
 end of the table, so that the conversation continued 
 with a double musical accompaniment which filled 
 the room without interfering with the conversation. 
 The Princess, charmed with this idea, lost no time 
 in adopting it. Before long she invited us to dinner, 
 but I went alone, as my wife, who was often ill, 
 was oblio-ed to decline at the last moment. I was 
 not surprised, on sitting down, to hear stringed 
 instruments filling the air with harmony, while in 
 the gallery at some little distance a Spanish orchestra 
 played in swift succession the characteristic dances 
 and the Arab songs which the Gitanas sing in the 
 streets of Granada. 
 
 This dinner had a character of its own, and was 
 unlike any given in other Parisian houses. There 
 were not many ladies present, only a few of the
 
 224 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 most intimate friends of the liostess, but, on account 
 of my position, the men interested me greatly. The 
 entire German Embassy was there, with its great 
 and ilkistrious chief, Prince Hohenlohe, at the head. 
 The Berlin Congress had considerably tempered the 
 relations between France and Germany. Prince 
 Bismarck had been most attentive and deferential 
 to the representatives of France. He insisted at the 
 Congress on settling the question of the Roumanian 
 Jews, and also that of Greece, which M. Waddington 
 had so much at heart. He lost no opportunity of 
 supporting the views of the French Plenipotentiary, 
 whom he consulted openly ; he showed particular 
 attention to the Comte de St. Yallier, and he arranged 
 that the writing of the protocols should be entrusted 
 to the exceptionally capable pen of M. Desprez, a 
 Chief Secretary at the French Foreign Office and 
 third French Plenipotentiary at the Berlin Congress. 
 Prince Hohenlohe himself was looked upon as an 
 ambassador of peace and conciliation. All his 
 endeavours and the efforts of those under him were 
 directed to smoothing over the relations between 
 France and her former conqueror, and his capable 
 associates, among whom was the young secretary. 
 Count von Biilow, now Imperial Chancellor, seconded 
 him in the most intelligent manner. 
 
 On finding myself in the Princess Kralta's draw- 
 ing-room in the midst of this company, I understood 
 that it was thanks to the intelligence and good- will 
 of Prince Bismarck that such elements as these had 
 been brought together in a Paris salon, and I must
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 225 
 
 own that I experienced a certain amount of appre- 
 hension, for I felt tliat all here were of one mind, 
 and I gathered that the hostess was acting under 
 the individual and collective influence of these 
 incomparable strategists, with w^iom she delighted 
 in surrounding herself. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ■w * 
 
 It was towards the beginning of the summer 
 season of 1881. The Princess was preparing for 
 her round of watering-places. My own holiday 
 was approaching, and I resolved after this particular 
 evening to keep away for a time from this woman, 
 whose actions I dreaded. I saw quite well that she 
 had not given up her idea of discovering the secret 
 she was bent on obtaining from me. I felt that the 
 whole official world assembled in that room were 
 taking an amused delight in seconding her efforts, 
 and I, on my side, was determined not to succumb 
 in the strange battle in which we were engaged. 
 After that evening I met the Princess only once 
 again before my departure, and during the autumn 
 season I heard that she was ill and could not see 
 anyone. 
 
 The year 1882 was for me an extraordinarily 
 absorbing one. Now and then, in some French 
 or foreign salon, I met the Princess, who had 
 recovered from her illness. Her chestnut hair 
 had turned golden, and the change had so trans- 
 formed her that she seemed to me like a woman 
 with a fresh and new charm. 
 
 The chances of renewing our acquaintance became 
 
 15
 
 226 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 more and more remote, and I had almost forgotten 
 her, when, towards the middle of 1883, I received 
 a pressing invitation to luncheon at her new mansion 
 in the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. 
 
 To my great surprise, and contrary to her custom, 
 she had no other guest but her mother, an Oriental 
 flower now somewhat faded, whose languishing eyes 
 gave the keynote to her daughter's beauty. During 
 luncheon the Princess, who had acquired additional 
 grace, and whose experience of the world, of men 
 and things, seemed to have increased since I had 
 last seen her, displayed such a wealth of memory, 
 such keen observation, and such resources in the way 
 of anecdotal chatter, that I was perfectly charmed, 
 and the time passed only too quickly. 
 
 ' I shall write to you to-morrow,' she said when I 
 left, ' to ask you to come again, when I will tell you 
 something of my most recent history. I am sure it 
 will hold its own among any of the contemporary 
 mysteries which you may know.' 
 
 Her mother, at these words, looked up hastily. 
 
 ' But, Christine,' she said, ' you promised me to say 
 nothing about that.' 
 
 ' In the first place,' retorted the Princess, some- 
 what vivaciously, ' when I told you about it you 
 made no such objection ; and, secondly, I mean to 
 tell it to him just to prove what an exception I make 
 in his case.' 
 
 The next morning I received a single line : ' Come 
 to see me the day after to-morrow at four o'clock.' 
 
 ^ :^ V H* 7
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 227 
 
 On the day and at the hour indicated I went to 
 the house in the Avenue du Bois. The butler, who 
 was waiting in the ante-chamber, had, I believe, 
 received his orders. He ushered me into the second 
 drawing-room, where the Princess was wont to 
 receive her unofficial visitors. Although it was still 
 some time before nightfall, the shutters of both 
 drawing-rooms were closed. The side-brackets in 
 the large salon were lighted, and shed only a vague 
 radiance across the lofty and spacious room. The 
 smaller salon was more brilliantly illuminated l)y an 
 immense candelabrum standing on an elegant table 
 in front of a sofa, the back of which, a fine piece of 
 carving, was placed against a mirror which reached 
 to the ceiling. The butler asked me to take a seat, 
 and added that the Princess would be with me 
 immediately. In the deep silence that reigned I 
 heard that particular sound which is made by the 
 soft step of a woman advancing over a heavy 
 carpet, amidst the vague rustle of her silken robes. 
 It was the Princess, and I saw her cross the 
 bright passage lighted by the brackets of the outer 
 salon, then partially disappear in the semi- obscurity 
 of the large room, and emerge again, like a rapid 
 vision, at the entrance of the smaller salon. I was 
 impressed by the imperiousness of all her movements 
 and of her person, and I had literally almost forgotten 
 her promise to tell me her adventure, when she 
 invited me to take a seat near her on the sofa, 
 between the high candlesticks and the immense 
 mirror in which the light was reflected. 
 
 15—2
 
 228 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' And now,' she said, ' let nie tell yovi the story of 
 which I spoke to you three days ago. It will prove 
 to you that I regard you henceforth as a friend to 
 whom one may confide one's most intimate thoughts 
 without any risk. I have, I think, just rendered an 
 immense service to the peace of the world, and 
 have not feared to expose myself to great danger 
 in order to show the man who asked this service of 
 me how devoted I was to him. Some weeks ago I 
 chanced to he at a watering-place where the great 
 German Emperor was staying. One morning he 
 sent for me. When I arrived he rose hastily, came 
 towards me, and, stooping until his face was almost 
 on a level with mine, he said : " I have a great 
 service to ask of you for myself, for my country, 
 and for Europe. For some time the letters, 
 telegrams, and reports of the Prince have troubled 
 me. They betray the anxiety and irritation of a 
 man in a very nervous state. He complains of 
 everybody. He has grudges against Belgium, 
 Switzerland, Holland, France, England, and Kussia. 
 He speaks bitterly of all these countries, and 
 appears to suspect them of hostility towards us. 
 He accuses them of creating difficulties, and, with 
 the exception of Austria- Hungary and Italy, fancies 
 that the rest of Europe is ready to pick a quarrel 
 with us. I am really afraid that one of these fine 
 days he may draw down upon us from some of 
 these countries a reply which might ])lace us in 
 the alternative of imposing our will on them or of 
 submitting to theirs. In my opinion, he is suffering
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 229 
 
 from one of those attacks of nervous boredom to 
 which he is subject, and which, when they occur, 
 really make him alarming. He inust have some 
 kind of diversion as soon as possible ; he is alone on 
 his great estate, spending his time in thinking over 
 things, and he has with him a certain number of 
 subordinates who always agree with him, and who 
 to flatter him by approving all he says and by 
 encouraging his exaggerations. I asked you to 
 come here, not to order you, but to beg you 
 earnestly to do something which will restore to me 
 the repose I need, and which the Prince's attitude 
 demands." 
 
 ' " Sire," I replied, " I am ready to do whatever 
 your Majesty asks, and that unhesitatingly." 
 
 ' " I thank you," he said, " and I shall always be 
 deeply grateful to you. . . . Return home, then, 
 without saying you have seen me ; within half an 
 hour I shall send for 3^our husband, and bid him go 
 to Berlin with a message from me, and wait there 
 for the reply. He will start this afternoon by the 
 first train. Directly afterwards you will prepare as 
 small a quantity of luggage as possible for spending 
 a week away from home. You will have that 
 luggage taken to the station, where a man, who will 
 have received orders, will arrange for its ultimate 
 delivery without being registered. This same 
 person will meet you at a neighbouring station, to 
 which you and your maid will be cU-iven, and he will 
 place you in a reserved compartment. You will go 
 to the Prince, and on the eve of your return you will
 
 230 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 send off a telegram. You will then come back here, 
 and in the evenino; vour husband will return from 
 his mission. Go, and accept my thanks." 
 
 ' Everything occurred exactly as arranged by the 
 Emperor. The Prince, whom I had informed of my 
 arrival a few hours beforehand, received me rather 
 impolitely. His first words were : " Was it the 
 Emperor who sent you ?" 
 
 ' " No," I replied ; " I have come to see how a 
 man like you, whose will dominates that of Europe, 
 will receive a giddy little person who ventures to 
 invade the lion's solitude." 
 
 ' He burst out laughing, gave orders for me to 
 be shown to my apartments, and, when my five 
 trunks arrived, said to me gaily : " I hope, from 
 your luggage, that it is not merely a short visit you 
 are going to pay me." 
 
 ' " Oh," I replied, " with all the frills and fur- 
 belows I require, five trunks are not enough for a 
 long visit." Thereupon, gay as a child, he insisted 
 upon being present at the unpacking, and was 
 immensely amused to see the dresses and things 
 I had hastily flung into the trunks taken out and 
 put in their places. 
 
 ' When I left he conducted me to my landau, and 
 said : "I have been delighted to forget the affairs 
 of the world for a time, and I shall put off dealing 
 with those affairs as long as possible." 
 
 ' I went back to my watering-place. My hus- 
 band returned on the same evening. Our absence 
 had aroused very little curiosity, and on the morrow,
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 231 
 
 before going away, I paid the Emperor a farewell 
 visit. 
 
 ' The great monarch received me with extreme 
 joy. He saw that everything had calmed down, 
 that peace seemed established, and that, in all 
 probability, the year 1883 would pass off without 
 incident. He was amused at the thought of the 
 stratagem he had employed, and the success that 
 had attended it.' 
 
 During this narrative I felt deeply moved. I sat 
 there in the presence of a beautiful and intelligent 
 woman who had just accomplished a most extra- 
 ordinary mission, considering the immense power 
 of those whose intermediary she had been. And 
 to think that this great Emperor had concocted his 
 scheme merely to calm the mind of a Chancellor to 
 whom he dared not openly dictate his will, but 
 whom a few years later a single gesture of the 
 grandson was to reduce to utter impotence ! 
 
 While the Princess was speaking, I said to myself : 
 ' I see what is about to take place. I have received 
 proof of her devoted affection. She is only just 
 back, as it were, from her visit to the Prince, to 
 whom she has promised that she will solve a 
 mystery which has irritated him long enough. She 
 has stopped at nothing in order to have the right 
 to ask about my secret, and T, for my part, can 
 scarcely refuse her, since she has confided to me 
 her secret, the divulging of which might be fatal 
 to her. True, she made me swear not to mention 
 it during the Emperor's lifetime, and not before
 
 232 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOAVITZ 
 
 the Prince retired from office. But even in this, 
 too, she showed great confidence, for she believes 
 in my promise, so that, as in reality there is no 
 great danger in letting the Prince know how I got 
 hold of the document, and as, probably, he will be 
 quite content if only his curiosity be satisfied, there 
 is no serious reason for keeping my secret.' I accord- 
 ingly awaited her request, quite prepared to grant it. 
 
 She turned to me, and said : ' Now, I know you 
 well enough to be convinced that you will accede 
 to my request, which you have hitherto always 
 refused to do. I need not employ stratagem, and 
 it would be futile in the case of a man like vou. 
 Quite simply, and without any circumlocution, I 
 now beg you to prove to me that I can count on 
 you as an absolute friend. Tell me how it occurred, 
 and how you were able to accomplish a feat until 
 then unique — the publication of a treaty of a 
 Congress at the very moment of its signature ?' 
 
 To her great surprise, I was silent. 
 
 For some moments, since the close of her narra- 
 tive, one of the candles of the candelabrum on the 
 table in front of the sofa had begun to flicker. I 
 was astonished at this, as the doors and windows 
 were all closed. On looking round I was unable to 
 guess from what quarter the current of air came 
 which caused the flame to flicker. I moved and 
 placed myself just in front of the candelabrum, 
 and I then felt, coming from the direction of the 
 mirror, an unmistakable draught Avhich fanned my 
 cheek.
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 233 
 
 I perceived at once that I was the victim of 
 treachery, which is what I hate above all else in 
 the world. I closely scrutinized the mirror, and 
 saw that a slight gap, which had been made only 
 during the last few instants, separated tlie two 
 halves of the glass, and I understood that behind 
 it there was a witness ready to take down what I 
 might say. Rising suddenly, and in a voice which 
 I vainly strove to render calm, I said, pointing first 
 at the flickerino; flame and then at the cloven 
 mirror, just as the Princess was putting out her 
 hand to remove the candlestick : 
 
 ' Madame, it is unnecessary. You see that I 
 have understood.' 
 
 She saw that distinctly, and, turning away her 
 head, she touched an electric button. The door 
 opened, a servant appeared, and, without looking 
 at me, she stretched out her hand and indicated me 
 the way to the door. 
 
 This story, Avhich is already rather long, had an 
 epilogue and a conclusion, which are not tragic, but 
 which possess a certain irony. I met the Princess 
 again in society. Her mother and sister, on the 
 morrow of this interview, intervened. They ex- 
 plained that she had been obliged to act as she 
 did because she had attached so much impor- 
 tance to her success that it was absolutely indis- 
 pensable to have an authoritative witness in order 
 to prove that it was from me she obtained the 
 information as to the treat}' . 
 
 When I met the Princess afterwards, we were no
 
 234 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 longer on such friendly terms as before, but our 
 intercourse was quite pleasant after the temporary 
 rupture. 
 
 Two years later I could not help noticing that 
 her manner had changed as well as her language 
 and surroundings. She went in for even more 
 luxury. It seemed to me disproportionate to 
 her means. But as I was then a comparative 
 stranger to her I did not trouble myself about the 
 matter. 
 
 One Sunday I received a note from her, asking 
 me to call at six o'clock. I went, and she then told 
 me, with tears of despair in her eyes, that her 
 sister and she had allowed themselves to be induced 
 to speculate enormously in Suez Canal stock, that 
 they had sold large quantities, that these shares 
 were going up, and that if this rise continued for 
 many days longer they would be ruined. ' And 
 yet,' she said, ' it is a purely fictitious rise. These 
 shares are not worth three-quarters of their quoted 
 price, and it would be an act of justice to enlighten 
 public opinion on the point. The friend who 
 unfortunately, and quite straightforwardly, led us 
 into this frightful speculation has sent me a report 
 which I have here. I beg you to read it ; you will, 
 I am sure, be struck by its conclusions, and you 
 would assist us by publishing the information it 
 contains.' 
 
 I was extremely embarrassed. ' I am utterly 
 ignorant about such matters,' I said ; ' but since 
 you say that this report contains truths which
 
 THE REVENGE OF VENUS 235 
 
 ought to be known, I will read it, and send it to 
 competent persons who will see what ought to be 
 done with it.' 
 
 As I had invited some people to dinner at my 
 house, I took the report, put it in my overcoat 
 pocket, and returned home at once. I hung up my 
 overcoat in the hall and dressed hastily. My guests 
 arrived and we sat down to table. Of course, I had 
 not had time to look at the report. While I was at 
 dinner a telegram was handed to me, and I asked to 
 be allowed to read it. It was signed by Baron Sar- 
 torius, a well-known banker and speculator. The 
 telegram was as follows : 
 
 * Monsieur, 
 
 ' I am sure you will have laughed on finding, in the 
 report handed you this afternoon, a letter from me to the 
 Princess ; but I know you are a man who understands things, 
 and I count on your not being offended.' 
 
 Immediately after dinner I went to get the report, 
 which was still in my overcoat pocket, and I dis- 
 covered with it the following letter from the 
 Baron : 
 
 ' Chere Madame la Princesse, 
 
 ' Enclosed is the report I mentioned to you. Some- 
 times these great journalists are delighted to have their work 
 done for them, and to show that they are capable on all sub- 
 jects. If you succeed in getting this report published, it will 
 be an immense affair, and I promise you that those sapphires 
 and diamonds which attract you so often to the Rue de la 
 Paix shall be yours."
 
 236 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 The following day I received the following type- 
 written and unsigned lines : 
 
 ' I have again been defeated. Really, I am most unskilful 
 when I undertake a struggle with you. But it does not 
 matter. I do not despair. I shall finally have my revenge/ 
 
 A year later I was present at a costume ball given 
 by the famous bimetallist, Henri Cernuschi, in his 
 beautiful house in the Pare Monceau. The ball was 
 a magnificent one. Towards one in the morning, 
 as I crossed a drawing-room, I found myself face 
 to face with the Princess. She wore the splendid 
 costume of an odalisque. On her forehead, round 
 her neck and arms, and on her breast, gleamed with 
 incomparable lustre a superb setting of sapphires 
 and diamonds. Behind her walked Baron Sartorius 
 and Baron Hoftenhausen, two great financial powers. 
 
 ' Mon Dieu, Princesse !' I said to her, ' how radiant 
 you are, and what magnificent jewellery !' 
 
 The two Barons bowed with a very satisfied air, 
 as if the compliment had been for them. The 
 Princess, turning to me with a haughty smile, said 
 in a slightly ironical voice : 
 
 ' You see now, I finish by having my revenge.' 
 
 ' Yes, madame,' I replied, ' I see you have ; but it 
 is neither the revenge of the diplomatist nor of the 
 financier : it is the revenge of Venus !'
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 
 
 In February, 1882 (for it was during the years 
 immediately following the Congress of Berlin that 
 the most mysterious incident in my career took 
 place), I was living in the Avenue Marceau : it 
 was once called the Avenue Josephine, after the 
 Empress, but with the advent of the Republic a 
 change was effected in its name — and sex. One 
 morning, while I was at work in my study, my 
 servant announced that a lady, with a letter of intro- 
 duction from the Manager of TJie Times ^ wished to 
 speak to me. 
 
 The Manager of The Times was then Mr. John 
 Macdonald, a Scotchman, who was a rigid Pro- 
 testant and exceedingly simple in his habits. It 
 was by no means easy for the numerous persons 
 who naturally besieged a man in his position to gain 
 access to him, and during the seven years he had 
 been Manager of The Times, as successor to 
 Mr. Mowbray Morris, he had only sent me one 
 letter of introduction, presenting Mr. George Buckle, 
 who was on the staff of the paper, and who after- 
 wards became Editor. I realized instantly, there- 
 fore, and especially on learning that my visitor was 
 
 [ 237 ]
 
 538 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 a lady, that, either because of her own nierits or 
 because of those of her friends, she must be a person 
 of importance — not a mere nobody — whom I was 
 bound to receive with consideration. I gave in- 
 structions for her to be ushered into the drawing- 
 room, as my writing-room was somewhat encum- 
 bered, and I went in to see her. 
 
 On entering the room I found her seated in a 
 corner, holding in her hand an envelope bearing the 
 stamp of Tlie Times. She rose and handed it to me. 
 Mr. Macdonald's letter was closed, for even in these 
 details English and French customs diiFer. In 
 France letters of introduction are left unsealed. 
 French politeness requires that the person introduced 
 should know in advance the terms in which he is 
 presented. In England, where mere formalities 
 have less importance than the real thing, a letter of 
 introduction is closed, so that the writer may be 
 free to say only what he wishes. 
 
 Mr. Macdonald's letter introduced to me Mme. 
 Georgine Elou. He informed me that he did not 
 give me her family name as she desired to keep it 
 secret. He earnestly insisted that I should do all 
 in my power to satisfy the ' bearer of these lines,' 
 her cause being most interesting, and one to the 
 success of which he would be most happy to con- 
 tribute. He added that the lady herself would give 
 me, verbally, all the information I might desire, and 
 that in obliging her I should be rendering a service 
 to persons dear to my Manager and defending a 
 cause worthy of my intervention.
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 239 
 
 After reading the letter, I turned towards my 
 visitor, and asked her by what name I should address 
 her. She replied that I must call her Mme. Elou, 
 and added that she had something confidential to 
 ask of me. I begged her, accordingly, to come into 
 my study, and she rose to follow me. I was then 
 able to examine her at my ease, and I was struck 
 by the strangeness of her appearance. Very tall, 
 dressed in a dark gray robe of very thin material, 
 with her mantle folded under her left arm, her figure 
 seemed to be extremely elegant. She had the supple 
 and slender grace and the refined vigour of a 
 huntress of the forest or the mountain. Her well- 
 gloved hands looked unmistakably aristocratic. Her 
 long neck was graceful though strong, and her 
 beautiful head well poised. Her hair was dark and 
 wavy, with a fine lustre as the sun shone upon it 
 through the window of the room. She had strong, 
 intelligent, dark-blue eyes, which seemed darker 
 than they really were under the shadow of her long 
 lashes. Her nose was faultless, and her mouth, 
 though rather large, was richly coloured when she 
 smiled, and displayed dazzling white, but somewhat 
 big, teeth. Her cheeks, which were pale, but warm 
 and full, were slightly elongated towards a chin the 
 girlish and artistic outline of which, in spite of its 
 strength, gave to this strange physiognomy an ex- 
 pression of infinite sweetness, softening and pacify- 
 ing, as it were, this wilful, proud, imperious, but 
 saddened feminine face. 
 
 I was deeply impressed by her rare beauty, by
 
 240 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 the majesty of her l)earing, and by an aristocratic 
 refinement which gave her a sort of royal air, so 
 that it was not without embarrassment that I be- 
 sought her to tell me what had induced her to wish 
 to see me. She took a seat, and in a voice 
 sonorous, tender, and exceedingly flexible, but 
 easily warming with passion, and even becoming 
 now and then somewhat hoarse and rough, she 
 said : 
 
 ' Ever since I have been able to think for myself 
 and to reflect upon my own feelings and emotions, 
 I have l^een a prey to the strongest contradictions. 
 I am twenty-three years old, and for ten years my 
 mind and soul have been troubled and tormented 
 by ceaseless struggles. I have abandoned myself 
 to the most ardent religious faith, given myself up 
 to untiring charity, I have dreamed of being a saint 
 among saints, and have traversed this world, my 
 eyes ever turned towards heaven, yet never have 
 I been able to find real peace of mind. I cannot 
 tell you now how far I have gone, nor what means 
 I have adopted, in order to secure that peace of 
 soul for which I am ever longing, and which for 
 ever escapes me. I have remained virtuous ; I 
 have obeyed my conscience and imposed silence 
 upon my heart. I have accepted all the severities 
 which have been ordered by my spiritual advisers, 
 and I have wept bitterly in my efl*orts to chase 
 away the sorrows which are undermining me. I 
 fancied I had found refuge, but I had to abandon 
 it, and I have been once more plunged into the
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 241 
 
 whirlpool of life, where I remain incapable of 
 discovering the path which I ought to follow. 
 
 ' In all this world there is but one being whose 
 will could calm me, the sight of whom could have 
 an effect upon me, whose words could bend my 
 will — it is the Pope. I want him to hear me, to 
 listen to me. He is the shepherd of our souls — for 
 I am a Catholic and a Roman Catholic. He is the 
 Will that directs, the Force that binds, the Reason 
 that guides, the Voice that speaks, and what I ask 
 you — for I know you can do it — is to persuade him 
 to receive me, to hear me, to heal me. 
 
 ' I have long been seeking to attain this end. I 
 have made inquiries and taken advice, and, finally, 
 those interested in me, influential persons who are 
 able to realize their desires, asked Mr. Macdonald 
 to give me a letter to you, a letter as urgent as 
 possible, begging you in my name to put me on the 
 road to the Vatican, and to open the doors behind 
 which Leo XIII. listens patiently to those who need 
 the infallible consolations which he holds in reserve 
 for suffering souls seeking the path of salvation and 
 peace. I cannot tell you any more at present, but 
 I beg you to do all that you can so that the Holy 
 Father may, in his bountiful indulgence, grant me 
 the favour I implore of him. 
 
 ' I am leaving for Rome to-morrow. I do not 
 ask you to give me a letter of introduction, as 
 that might be confounded, in spite of you, with 
 thousands of such letters addressed to the Holy 
 Father. 
 
 16
 
 242 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' What I do ask is, that you will use your influ- 
 ence in obtaining for me, not so much the audience, 
 but the kind greeting which I need. From Monday 
 next I will go every day to the post-office in Rome 
 for the letter in w^hich you will announce to me 
 either the failure or success of your efforts — the 
 letter in which you w ill either tell me that I must 
 renounce my hopes or point out the course I must 
 take in order to realize them.' 
 
 Without waitino- for an answer she handed me a 
 
 o 
 
 sheet of paper, on which was written : ' Georgine 
 Elou, Poste Restante, Rome.' She then bowed, 
 and, with her figure proud and erect and her head 
 sli2:htlv bent, bes-an to move in the direction of the 
 door. 
 
 I stopped her almost imperiously, for I felt 
 that, in quitting me thus, in leaving without 
 waiting for my reply, she was giving me a sort 
 of order. 
 
 ' Do not hurry away, madame,' I said, ' for I see 
 
 absolutely no means at present of attaining the end 
 
 which you have in view. I do not say that, if you 
 
 go to Rome, you will find no way of being received 
 
 by the Pope, who has a prodigious faculty for 
 
 displaying almost superhuman force ; but, as far as 
 
 I am concerned, I cannot give you anything but a 
 
 letter of introduction, and, however pressing it may 
 
 be, it would no doubt meet the usual fate of all 
 
 such letters, and be, I fear, a great disappointment 
 
 to you. I am going to Rome, though, in a few 
 
 weeks' time. Here is the address of a friend of
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 243 
 
 mine in the Eternal Citv. You mi^ht call there 
 
 and ask if I am expected, and if you have not 
 
 already succeeded in your enterprise when I arrive, 
 
 call to see me, and I will consider what can be 
 
 done. For the present, madame, I can only bid 
 
 you godspeed.' 
 
 She remained for a moment perfectly still, a prey, 
 
 as was evident, to bitter disappointment. As usual, 
 
 my influence had been exaggerated. She had fancied 
 
 that a letter from me would suffice to banish all 
 
 difficulties. She thought also, perhaps, that it was 
 
 merely my own will which stood in the way of the 
 
 immediate realization of her desire. She gazed at 
 
 me with sad eyes, her nostrils dilating, and her 
 
 imperious lips ready to express what she thought. 
 
 But as she gazed, she no doubt read on my face an 
 
 expression of real sincerity, and even of regret for 
 
 my own impotence. Instantly her face softened. 
 
 The look of anger disappeared like a mask lifted 
 
 by an invisible hand. Her extremely mobile features 
 
 expressed painful regret, her eyes dropped with a 
 
 touching expression of repentance and gratitude, 
 
 and, with a melancholy smile, she said : 
 
 ' I thank you very much — very much indeed. I 
 
 beg your pardon for the unjust thought which you 
 
 saw I had. I shall go to Rome, and I will do all I 
 
 can. If I succeed, I shall not trouble you during 
 
 your visit to the Eternal City. If I do not succeed, 
 
 however, I shall take advantage of your offer, and 
 
 ask you to receive me.' 
 
 Whereupon, with queenly grace, she bowed again 
 
 16—2
 
 24'i MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 without offering her hand, and I escorted her to the 
 hall door. 
 
 ***** 
 
 A few days later I called on Mo:r. de Rende, who 
 was then at the Nunciature in Paris in the Avenue 
 Bosquet. My visit to Rome had been planned some 
 time before, but I did not care to go thither without 
 being sure of the audience upon which I had set my 
 heart. I knew that I should see King Humbert 
 and the principal members of his Government ; but 
 t did not want this to prevent my obtaining from 
 Leo XIII. the kindly reception to which I aspired. 
 
 Mgr. de Rende had for some time been occupied 
 with this problem, displaying on my behalf a zeal 
 quite as great as the sympathy which he always 
 showed me. He was convinced, too, that in pre- 
 paring my visit to the Vatican he would be serving 
 the cause w^hich he was defending. Mgr. de Rende 
 had succeeded Mgr. Czaski, who had honoured me 
 with his friendship, and he had learnt from his 
 predecessor that I had certain claims to his own 
 good-will. Mgr. de Rende, wiio had only held this 
 office a very short time, had hitherto followed the 
 policy of the former Nuncio — that is to say, instead 
 of being a partisan of reactionary ideas in France, 
 he had become the exponent to the French Govern- 
 ment of Leo XIII. 's liberal policy. 
 
 He informed me that he had every reason to 
 believe he would be able to settle the question of 
 my journey to Rome in a w^ay agreeable to me, 
 and he announced that, in all probability, he would
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 9A5 
 
 have a favourable reply to give me before the end 
 of INIarch, so that I might prepare to leave Paris 
 towards the end of the month. In that case I 
 should arrive in Rome in the early days of April. 
 
 On the 7th of March he sent for me, and gave 
 me a letter for Cardinal Jacobini, with whom he 
 had arranged matters, and who was quite prepared 
 to receive me. 
 
 A few days later I left Paris with a friend, who 
 consented to be my secretary, and I reached Rome 
 on the 4th of April, 1882. 
 
 I put up at a hotel in the Corso, where rooms had 
 been reserved for me, and the following day I was 
 informed that Kino;- Humbert would receive me on 
 the 8tli of April. On the 6th, after I had delivered 
 Mgr. de Rende's letter, Cardinal Jacobini informed 
 me that the Holy Father would receive me on the 
 10th of April at noon, in his private oratory. On 
 that same day, the 6th, my servant told me that the 
 lady I had received some weeks before in Paris was 
 in the small waiting-room leading out of my salon, 
 and that she wished to see me. 
 
 Mme. Elou was accordingly shown in. She was 
 dressed in black, and her face was very sad. She 
 had scarcely taken a seat when she burst into 
 tears. She told me tliat all she had done had proved 
 vain, that the persons to whom she had appealed 
 had asked her to state precisely the object of the 
 audience which she desired, and that when she 
 demurred to this they had, one and all, refused to 
 do anything for her. She had then appealed to
 
 246 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOVVITZ 
 
 Sir Augustus Paget, but lie had informed her that 
 he was accredited to the Quirinal, and could in no 
 way serve her at the Vatican. Thereupon she had 
 come to me, and she now begged me to intervene 
 and to procure for her a favourable reply, which I 
 alone was in a position to obtain. 
 
 She had written to Cardinal Jacobini, and her 
 letter, which was somewhat obscure, had remained 
 unanswered. She had not ventured to write to the 
 Pope himself, lest the letter should be seen by 
 Cardinal Jacobini, as she feared his relentless 
 opposition to her request. 
 
 I promised her I would do what I could, and 
 bade her come to see me on the 11th of April — that 
 is to say, the day after my audience with the Pope. 
 
 On the 8th of April I had an interview with King 
 Humbert, which lasted the lifetime of two big 
 cigars. 
 
 On the lOtli, at noon, I found myself in the ante- 
 room, waiting to be introduced into the presence of 
 the Holy Father. With a graciousness which quite 
 touched me, he caused me to be informed that he had 
 granted an audience to a foreign lady, whom he was 
 to receive after me ; but, as he did not wish my 
 interview to be hurried, he had decided to let the 
 lady pass before me, so that we should have no 
 interruption. 
 
 Twenty minutes later I entered Leo XHI.'s 
 private oratory. I had not inquired as to the 
 ceremonial to follow. It was only when I perceived 
 the Holy Father that I began to wonder what I
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 247 
 
 ought to do. The Pope, however, did not leave me 
 time to hesitate. With the most touching affability, 
 as soon as I advanced towards him he rose, and as 
 he took a step forward he held out his hand to me« 
 I bent over it with respectful emotion. 
 
 Leo XIII. appeared to me most impressive. His 
 tall, slight, elegant figure, clothed entirely in white, 
 stood out with natural majesty against the simple 
 and solemn framework of his oratory, in which a 
 rather ornate altar was the most conspicuous ol)ject. 
 
 He took an armchair which stood in front of the 
 altar, and made a sign to me to occupy another one 
 near him. As soon as the Holy Father was seated, 
 I sat down and the conversation began. The Pope 
 spoke sometimes in French, sometimes in Italian, 
 but always rapidly and in a sonorous voice. He 
 often remained motionless, but at certain moments 
 he would half rise from his chair, in an impetuous 
 way, when he felt anything deeply — and all this 
 added to the impression he made on me. 
 
 In the robe of white woollen material which 
 clothed him like a shroud, he seemed like a voluntary 
 captive who had sacrificed the incomparable joy of 
 liberty for the sake of defending the rights com- 
 mitted to his care. 
 
 During the long hour I spent with him, I 
 noticed that his clear, melancholy eyes were 
 presently fixed with painful intensity on the city 
 of Rome, on the high hills that surround it, on 
 the Quirinal, which faces the Vatican, on that 
 splendid landscape which he could only partially
 
 248 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BI.OWITZ 
 
 see through the bars which he had voluntarily 
 forged to his prison. 
 
 I regret that I may not write all that the Holy 
 Father said to me, but a solemn promise which I 
 made has sealed my lij^s for ever with regard to this 
 interview. But, without breaking my word, I think 
 I may say that towards the end of the conversation, 
 recalling my promise to Mme. Elou, I submitted 
 the ardent prayer of my protegee to the Universal 
 Father of Catholics. 
 
 I had scarcely broached the subject when he 
 interrupted me : ' Yes,' he said, ' I know, without 
 possessing definite details, the case of the person of 
 whom you speak. One of my Bishops in Great 
 Britain has spoken of her to me. I did not expect 
 that you would mention her, but, since you have 
 done so, introduce her to the Cardinal, and tell him 
 from me to arrange w'ith her the day when I can 
 receive her, and to submit this arrangement for my 
 approval.' 
 
 I thanked His Holiness warmly as I left him, 
 after receiving his final benediction. 
 
 On the following day Mme. Elou came to see me. 
 This time she offered me her delicate, aristocratic 
 hand, which was hot and feverish. She then threw 
 herself at my feet. 
 
 ' If it be a refusal which you bring me, prepare my 
 reason to receive the blow. If it be the realization 
 of my hopes, my blessing is yours in advance, for 
 the good you will do me. During the last few 
 days I have been troubled with insomnia or frightful
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 249 
 
 dreams. Every mortal enemy o£ the peace of 
 human beings seems to have laid siege to my soul, 
 and to have inflicted upon it tortures for which there 
 is no name.' 
 
 ' The Pope will receive you,' I said in a re- 
 assuring tone. 
 
 I thought for an instant that she was going to 
 faint. Then, with a cry of joy which I shall never 
 forget, she clasped her hands and l)urst into tears, 
 exclaiming : 
 
 ' Blessed be God, my Saviour, and my angel who 
 protects me !' 
 
 She was as one transfigured. A supernatural 
 calm then took possession of her, and there was 
 something divine about her beauty, from which a 
 certain grandeur and solemnity emanated, changing 
 the very atmosphere of the commonplace hotel 
 drawing-room. 
 
 Two days later I conducted her into the presence 
 of Cardinal Jacohini. We went up that straight 
 interminable staircase which leads to the top floor, 
 on which is the Cardinal's study. The Under- 
 Secretary of State had received the Holy Father's 
 orders. He listened to Mme. Elou with paternal 
 kindness, mingled with a sort of tender, indulgent 
 pity. He arranged with her the day when she was to 
 be received by the Pope, and was about to continue 
 the conversation, when the door of his study was 
 suddenly pushed open, and I beheld in the ray of 
 penetrating sunlight a priest of imposing aspect 
 dressed in ecclesiastical robes cut out of some
 
 250 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 heavy. silky material, the stiff' folds of which fell 
 in long, impressive lines. The new-comer had dark 
 hair and a powerful forehead, which sheltered deep, 
 sombre-looking eyes, almost hard in expression, but 
 which seemed to light up his whole face. It was a 
 sudden and unexpected vision of incontestable 
 beauty. 
 
 The Cardinal rose with eager deference, intro- 
 duced me, and gave the name of Cardinal Ledo- 
 chowski. Mme. Elou fell on her knees, almost in 
 front of the Cardinal, whose pastoral ring she kissed 
 timidly, and we then went out together. She en- 
 larged on the impression made upon her by Cardinal 
 Ledochowski, and it seemed to me that her sym- 
 pathies and admiration were much more directed 
 towards the dignified priest than towards the 
 amiable Cardinal Jacobini, who had been so gracious 
 and kind, and whose sympathetic but unimposing 
 manner in no way corresponded to the ecclesiastical 
 ideal of Mme. Elou's imagination. 
 
 She had, however, attained her end. Her joy 
 was immense, almost overwhelming. She was to 
 be received by the Holy Father within a few days. 
 She entered St. Peter's to pray. My own mission 
 was accomplished, and I bade her good-bye, as I 
 was leaving Rome for Naples. 
 
 I never expected to see her again. 
 
 A few w^eeks after my return to Paris, when 
 the memory of Mme. Elou was beginning to fade 
 out of my mind, I received the following letter 
 from her :
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 251 
 
 'I have had the great joy of being received by the Holy 
 Father, and the mere sight of him sufficed to give me such 
 peace of mind and such cahn as I had not known for a long 
 time. I explained to His Holiness the cause of my suffering, 
 about which he appeared to have some idea. After what 
 has taken place, I feel obliged to tell you the object of 
 my journey, the nature of my struggle, my hopes, and my 
 disappointments. You had the delicacy never to ask me 
 what my object was, and why I wished to go to Rome; and 
 it is of my own free will that I tell you now, for you must 
 be informed in order to help me. Ever since my childhood 
 I have been troubled with strange contradictions. I will not 
 prolong my story by telling you about my early years. When 
 I arrived at the age of discretion a struggle began in my 
 soul between the highest good and the greatest evil; and I 
 have been obliged to combat, with the same ardour, the 
 invasion of evil when I was doing what was right and the 
 empire of good when I felt drawn into sin. When I was 
 twenty, in order to escape from this battle, I entered a 
 convent, where the rigid discipline is a constant protection 
 against human temptations. I remained there two years, and 
 was about to take definite vows, when an act of startling 
 revolt caused the Superior to send me away from the convent. 
 I was in such despair that later on she took me back, but 
 once again, just as I was to take the vows, my spirit of 
 insubordination induced another outburst, which frightened 
 the entire Order, and I was once more expelled. Ever since 
 then my soul has constantly been tempted. I am haunted 
 by ideas of the greatest crimes, and I perceive clearly that 
 my salvation or my destruction depends upon a final effort 
 which will restore me to God or condemn me to hell. Hence 
 my visit to the Holy Father. I came to ask him to insist 
 upon the Superiors of my Order making a final effort to wrest 
 my soul definitely from the haunting powers which torture 
 and besiege it. The Holy Father had pity on me. He said 
 that he would do what he could. He has done so, and I 
 have just been informed that he expressed to the Superiors 
 his ardent desire to see me enter the convent again. The
 
 252 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 reply was that I had ah'eady made two attempts, and that it 
 was utterly futile and impossible to allow me a third. And 
 the Holy Father thereupon sent me word that his authority 
 does not exceed the expression of a wish, and that he has 
 neither the power, the right, nor the will to command. I am 
 told that there are exceptions to this rule, and that if a 
 British Ambassador were to ask the Holy Father to do this 
 for him as a personal favour he would not be refused. Now, 
 as you have shown me so much kindness, I venture to ask you 
 to obtain the intercession of the British Ambassador in Paris, 
 who is a friend of yours. Have mercy on me ! Take pity 
 on my soul, which otherwise is irremediably lost.' 
 
 This letter both affected me deeply and annoyed 
 me. I had obtained for Mme. Elou all that was 
 humanly possible, and I began to look upon her as 
 having a soul beyond all cure, haunted by visions 
 to which she dared not confess. After long reHec- 
 tion I replied as follows : 
 
 * Madame, 
 
 ' I am very grateful to the Holy Father for the kind- 
 ness he has shown you, and the signal favour manifested in 
 taking into account your painful situation and intervening 
 for you with your Superiors. But I cannot possibly join you 
 in insisting further with him, and the energetic — I will even 
 add, almost indomitable — persistency which you employ in 
 striving by main force to open sacred doors that have been 
 closed to you proves to me that your Superiors and the Pope, 
 better informed as to your character, know you more 
 thoroughly than you know yourself, and that the refusal 
 opposed to your perseverance is the just and logical con- 
 sequence of your Superiors' ac([uaintance with you. En- 
 deavour to master yourself in the world, outside convent walls. 
 Make your novitiate all alone there, proving that you deserve 
 other treatment, and that you have within yourself the energy 
 and spirit of submission requisite for that life.'
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 253 
 
 A single line was the reply to this letter : 
 ' My soul is irremediably lost."" 
 
 •T> rf> ^p ^ V 
 
 In the summer of 1881 I paid a visit to an old 
 friend who was living at Petites Dalles, on the 
 Normandy coast. I was struck by the picturesque- 
 ness of this little port, when seen from the coast of 
 St. Martin. It is one of those poetical landscapes 
 wliich one sees on the Riviera, along the Corniche 
 between Nice and San Remo. My friend, to whom 
 I expressed my admiration of the view, said to me : 
 
 ' Why do you not build here a temporary refuge, 
 where you may find repose amidst the ceaseless 
 agitations of your existence ?' 
 
 We were walking at the time in the single street 
 of the village which leads from the valley to the 
 beach. I looked up at the cliff on my left, and 
 said to my friend : 
 
 ' If I can buy that little plateau there, on the 
 edge of the cliff, with the clump of beeches behind 
 it, I will do so, and build a house there for my 
 old age.' 
 
 My friend was delighted at the idea, and, as I was 
 leaving that very evening, he promised to investigate 
 the matter for me. Forty- eight hours had not 
 elapsed after my return to Paris, when I heard from 
 him that the owner accepted my price and that the 
 bargain was concluded. 
 
 In 1883 my little chalet, called by the peasants 
 ' Les Lampottes,' because of the two small towers
 
 254 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 in the fa(;ade, was finished. I had only to settle 
 down there ! But between the two little towers, or 
 lampottes^ there was a large empty space under the 
 sharp angle of the roof. I ought to say that this 
 fa(;ade has a great reputation among architects, and 
 that not a season goes by without some of them 
 visiting it, as they consider it the true Norman 
 type. But I repeat that the angle between the 
 lampottes and the summit of the roof was then 
 empty, and this formed a gap which I was most 
 anxious to see filled up. One afternoon, at Rouen, 
 in the courtyard of a dealer in antiquities, I was 
 struck by the artistic beauty of a statue of the 
 Virgin with the Child Jesus in her arms. The 
 statue had been carved out of one immense half 
 of the bole of an oak. I took the measurements 
 of it, and, as I had in my pocket the plan of my 
 country house, I noticed that this statue, including 
 its pedestal, would exactly fit into the empty space 
 of my Norman fa(5ade. The next day I asked the 
 antiquary to sell it to me. 
 
 ' Oh,' said he, ' this is a statue of which I am very 
 fond, for its harmony rests the eye, but I will gladly 
 sell it to you. I bought it at the demolition of a 
 nunnery, which was pulled down on the plea of 
 public utility, but ever since I have had it it has 
 taken away my peace of mind. It always seems to 
 me that all kinds of faint sounds are buzzing about 
 it at night. Besides, I cannot succeed in keeping it 
 recumbent, and when upright it annoys me. A 
 dozen times I have laid it on the ground, but the
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 255 
 
 next day I have found it upright, without being 
 able to explain how or why ; and my wife, frightened 
 by this phenomenon, begs me to get rid of it.' 
 
 ' Very well,' I said with a smile, ' as I want to 
 place her upright against a wall, she won't wish to 
 change her position.' 
 
 I had the Virgin conveyed in a hay- cart from 
 Rouen, and a week later the fisher peasants of 
 Petites Dalles, in their playful way, had baptized 
 my little chateau ' Notre Dame des Lampottes.' 
 
 In 1887, about the beginning of August, as I was 
 seated on the terrace of the chalet, in the silence 
 of the countryside, Avhich was only broken by the 
 regular motion of the sea under the clifF, a peasant 
 from the village approached, and, lifting his hat, 
 said to me : 
 
 ' There is a lady at the foot of the path who begs 
 you to come down and see her, for she is here only 
 for a short time, and cannot come up.' 
 
 I immediately put on my hat, and taking a stick 
 I descended to the road, where my unknown visitor 
 was waiting for me. As I approached the open 
 carriage drawn up under the ample shadow of a huge 
 tree, I uttered a cry of surprise. It was Mme. Elou. 
 Her face was pale and worn, but her eyes burned 
 with a feverish light. She wore an extremely elegant 
 travelling dress and an immense hat adorned with 
 brilliant black ostrich feathers. On seeing me she 
 uttered a sort of suppressed hoarse cry, but her 
 gestures were those of joy, while she explained her 
 delight at having found me again. I ch-ew near.
 
 256 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' How is it you are here ?' I asked, ' and why did 
 you not come up to my door ?' 
 
 ' I am here because I was told to come to you,' 
 she replied. ' I did not go to the house because 
 I perceived from a distance, on your facade, a statue 
 which at the nunnery was known as the " rigid 
 Virgin." I have so often knelt before her, bowing 
 my head to the very dust at her feet, that I do 
 not care to enter a house over which she seems 
 to watch.' 
 
 ' Oh, I entreat you,' I said, ' come up to the 
 chalet ! We will take the other path, if the sight 
 of the " rigid Virgin " impresses you so deeply. 
 You might stay several days here, and the quiet of 
 my home will bring you peace.' 
 
 ' Never, never ! She has made me suffer too 
 much. She has been too inflexible. She hates me. 
 I will not sleep under the same roof with her.' 
 
 I was filled with an immense pity. I felt that 
 I was in the presence of a being utterly possessed 
 by an incurable ill. The poor woman's reason had 
 given way, and she was haunted by visions and 
 fancies which baffled all logic and will-power. 
 
 ' But why did you come up here ?' I asked. 
 
 ' Because I was directed to go to Eletot with you, 
 so that you might be witness of the meeting which 
 is to take place there. I beseech you to get into the 
 carriage with me and to take me there, for I do not 
 know the road.' 
 
 It is an hour's drive from Les Petites Dalles to 
 Eletot. The road passes by Sassetot, leaving on
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 257 
 
 one side Les Grandes Dalles, the shady villas of 
 which one sees right along the coast. The village 
 of Saint-Pierre-en-Port is passed, and from thence, 
 by a road which is to-day an exquisite avenue 
 shaded by great trees, where the air is balmy and 
 delicious, one reaches Eletot. On the way Mme. 
 Elou told me of her despair on receiving my letter, 
 because she knew that she would never succeed in 
 inducing the Superior to grant her a new trial. 
 She told me of the nights she had tried to spend in 
 prayer in search of what she called her peace of 
 mind, of the futility of her efforts to escape the 
 visions that haunted her vigils and her sleep. She 
 declared that during the night she received orders 
 which she had tried to resist ; but which she finally 
 obeyed, for she no longer had any hope of escaping 
 from them by entering a convent. She assured me 
 that she was at present carrying out the latest order 
 she had received, that she had just returned from 
 Scotland, where she had left the last refuge in 
 which she had thought to recover her peace of soul, 
 that she was bound to go to Eletot, and that she had 
 been equally obliged to beg me to accompany her 
 thither. 
 
 ' Do you remember,' she said, 'that when we went 
 to see Cardinal Jacobini a man of imposing appear- 
 ance entered ? It was Ledochowski, and it is he 
 who has done me the greatest harm which I have 
 ever experienced in all my life. He appeared to me 
 first as an archangel who would heal all my wounds. 
 I have seen him since and told him all my tortures, 
 
 17
 
 258 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 entreating him to be my confessor. My admiration 
 for him appeared to irritate him ; he refused to 
 become my spiritual adviser, and one day, when I 
 insisted that he should protect me against myself, 
 he rose suddenly, extending his hand, and showed 
 me the door, exclaiming : " Away, away, accursed 
 woman ! for when you cross my threshold you fill 
 my soul with the terror of everlasting punishment." 
 I quitted him, and since then I have felt that I was 
 abandoned by Heaven, and destined to irremediable 
 destruction.' 
 
 We reached Eletot, a little village not far from 
 the sea, separated from the waters of the Channel 
 by a great plain behind the little Roman church of 
 the style so often seen along the coast. We left the 
 carriage at the entrance of the village. I had very 
 rarely been there, and had never stopped in the place, 
 but Mme. Elou seemed to know it perfectly well. 
 She took the path behind the church which leads to 
 the plain by the sea. She crossed the cornfields 
 at the edge of the plain. For a few moments 
 she gazed at the steeple of Saint-Pierre-en- Port, 
 which emerged, on the right, from the verdure 
 of the hills. She shook her head, and turning, 
 wliile she gazed upon the sea, with her arms 
 stretched out, exclaimed : 
 
 ' Yes, I know where I am ; this is the spot. It is 
 here I am to find him of whom I am in search, and 
 who is in search of me. Ah yes, it is here I am going 
 to him ! Thank you — thank you !' she exclaimed. 
 ' You have guided me to him, and it means rest !'
 
 A LIFE STRUGGLE 259 
 
 Then, with her arms outstretched and her figure 
 magnified, as it were, by a superhuman effort she 
 dashed forward across the plain. At the edge of 
 the steep clifif high over the sea the plain breaks ofE 
 abruptly, and thus it is that this marvellous expanse 
 of water has never ]3een utilized, and that the point 
 where this plain and the sea meet appears to be 
 haunted by a spirit of solitude and aridity. 
 
 Mme. Elou had rushed with extraordinary speed 
 towards the east side of the plain, where stakes and 
 wire fencing have been fixed to prevent people from 
 falling into the sea, for when the tide rises the 
 waters bathe the base of the cliflf. Before I had re- 
 covered from my surprise Mme. Elou was some 
 200 yards ahead of me. So rapidly had she run that 
 the breeze had detached one after another from her 
 hat-brim the great black ostrich feathers, and, as she 
 bounded on with outstretched arms, her skirts floated 
 about her like wings, while the feathers of her hat, 
 borne up by the wind, emphasized strangely the 
 madness of her flight. I tried hard to overtake her, 
 but it was all in vain. I had not gained upon her 
 half the distance, when I saw that she had reached 
 the edge of the clifl. For a moment she stopped, 
 looked all about her, uttered a terrible cry of anger 
 and despair, and, as quick as a flash, sprang over 
 the wire paling which protects the passers-by from 
 falling into the sea. 
 
 Breathless, I reached the spot and gazed all 
 around. I passed beyond the circle protected by 
 the wire hedge and watched the waves that rose and 
 
 17—2
 
 260 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 fell gently under my feet. I could see nothing what- 
 ever of Mme. Elou. The surface of the sea wore 
 its habitual aspect. Merely the ostrich feathers, 
 borne up on the wind, flitted across the great ex- 
 panse, as if drawn outward and downward to the sea. 
 Two men strolling along by the wire fence came 
 up to me. 
 
 ' Are you looking for something ?' they asked. 
 
 ' Yes,' I replied. ' It seems to me that on the 
 edge of the clifF, outside the wire fence, I saw a 
 person with outstretched arms. Did you notice 
 anything ?' 
 
 The two men looked at one another. 
 
 ' We have seen nothing,' they replied, ' yet we 
 have been near all the time.' 
 
 We all three gazed at the sea. The two men 
 went their way. I lingered on for a long time on 
 the edge of the cliff. I called out, but no voice 
 answered mine, and my search was all in vain. 
 And never since — in spite of my investigations and of 
 my despairing researches — never since, either dead 
 or alive, have I been able to discover the slightest 
 trace that was capable of explaining to me either 
 the enigma of her life or the mystery of her death.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 
 
 It is a strange fact, but it has often been observed, 
 that the most serious events owe their origin to 
 very small causes. But it is far more strange — 
 and the story, I believe, has never yet been told — 
 that the Egyptian Question, which for twenty years 
 has been affecting the pleasant relations between 
 England and France, which at a certain moment 
 brought them within a hair's breadth of war, and 
 which for a long time yet will loom in the interna- 
 tional horizon like some evil phantom of discord, 
 was occasioned by an incident of the smallest im- 
 portance. If France did not go with England to 
 Egypt, it was merely on account of a certain port- 
 folio. The following is the history of the affair: 
 
 The 4th of November, 1881, the day on which 
 the Gambetta Cabinet was formed in Paris, fell on 
 a Monday. 
 
 On Satiu*day, the 2nd of November, I went to see 
 M. de Freycinet, to ask him whether there was any 
 truth in the report that he had refused to enter into 
 M. Gambetta's combination and become a member 
 of his Cabinet. 
 
 [261 ]
 
 262 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' People say,' I told him, ' that you have refused 
 to enter into this combination because you wished 
 to lessen tlie importance of it in the eyes of tlie 
 public, and because your refusal to associate your- 
 self with it would, you thought, prevent it from 
 becoming " the Great Ministry," as everyone was 
 prepared beforehand to style the Gambetta Cabinet.' 
 
 ' That is absolutely inaccurate,' replied M. de 
 Freycinet. ' I did not refuse to enter into the com- 
 bination ; it is just the reverse, for I accepted, a 
 long time ago, the offer M. Gambetta made me. 
 What I did refuse was to accept the portfolio which 
 M. Gambetta had just tendered me under very 
 singular circumstances, which I will explain to you. 
 There^had been, an understanding for a long time 
 past between M. Gambetta and myself, that, when 
 he should be called upon to form a Cabinet — and 
 there seemed every likelihood of that coming to 
 pass — I should in that Cabinet be appointed Minister 
 of War. I had said to him : "I want that appoint- 
 ment because it is, I may say, absolutely necessary 
 to me. My adversaries have so often accused me 
 of having, by my presumption and incompetence, 
 organized the defeat in the second part of the war 
 of 1870 that, in defence of my honour and of my 
 patriotism, it is indispensable that I should be able 
 to prove that I am capable of directing the War 
 Office. I must therefore ask you, when forming 
 your Cabinet, to give me this appointment, as the 
 manner in which I fill it will afford me an oppor- 
 tunity of refuting all the slanderous accusations of
 
 WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 263 
 
 which I have been the victim, and of rehabilitating 
 myself in the eyes of the world." 
 
 ' M. Gambetta understood my persistency, ap- 
 proved of my reasons, and promised to satisfy my 
 demands on this point. 
 
 ' It was just then that I heard of the mission 
 entrusted to M. Gambetta to form his Ministry, and 
 I held myself in readiness to join it as Minister of 
 War. But yesterday evening (Friday), at six o'clock, 
 M. Gambetta entered my house like a whirlwind. 
 He explained to me that he was in a desperate 
 hurry, that he was on his round to see all his 
 colleagues, and had come to tell me that I should 
 join his Cabinet as — Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 Without giving me time to answer, without even 
 telling me the names of my future colleagues in 
 the Ministry, he left me and continued his visits. 
 
 ' As soon as he had gone, I decided not to accept 
 the change of office which he had proposed. I 
 understood that at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 I should be merely his clerk, and that he himself 
 would be the real Minister. I knew very well that 
 I should simply have to do as he dictated, that if 
 things went satisfactorily he would have all the 
 credit, and that I should be blamed for all the 
 mistakes. 
 
 ' Besides, it had been agreed that I should take 
 the War portfolio. He knew why I wanted it. 
 He understood my reasons and had approved of 
 them, so, in view of all this, I wrote to him this 
 morning simply telling him that I regretted not
 
 264 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 being able to join bis combination. This is all I 
 bave to say on the subject.' 
 
 I quite understood the reasons which M. de 
 Freycinet;;gave me, and, as it was Saturday and I 
 had no telegram to send to my paper that day, I 
 decided to hold over what I had been told until the 
 following day, intending then to see how much of 
 the information it would be wise to remember. 
 
 Later on the same day I went to a grand soiree 
 given by Mme. Adam at her apartments in the 
 Boulevard Poissonniere. There the main topic of 
 conversation was the formation of the Gambetta 
 Cabinet. 
 
 In the course of the evenino- I came across one 
 of Gambetta' s intimate friends. He told me that 
 he had seen the future Prime Minister in the after- 
 noon, and that he was very much annoyed with 
 M. de Freycinet. He complained bitterly of the 
 latter's defection, and it was evident that he con- 
 sidered the refusal as nothino- more nor less than 
 treachery. 
 
 I exjilained to my interlocutor the reasons M. de 
 Freycinet had given me a few hours previously. I 
 told him that those reasons perfectly justified the 
 attitude of M. de Freycinet in my eyes, that they 
 would justify him in the opinion of the public, 
 and that I was convinced everyone would blame 
 M. Gambetta. 
 
 His friend, quite annoyed, assured me that he 
 was absolutely convinced that M. Gambetta had no 
 idea of the motives which had dictated M. de Frey-
 
 WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 265 
 
 cinet's conduct, and when I said that it would be a 
 great pity if these two men were to be hostile to 
 each other, and that at all costs this hostility should 
 be prevented from breaking out, he replied that he 
 was going to see M. Gambetta that very evening, 
 that he would report to him what I had said, and 
 the next morning, at eleven, he would come and 
 tell me what M. Gambetta had replied and what 
 could be done to prevent the rupture which seemed 
 to both of us so undesirable. But at two o'clock in 
 the morning there was a knock at my door, and a 
 letter was brought to me to the following effect : 
 
 ' I have not been able to see Gambetta himself, 
 but I learn on good authority that he is to go at 
 nine this morning (Sunday) to see M. Grevy at the 
 Elysee, to communicate the result of his negotia- 
 tions, and he will probably inform the President 
 that, on account of M. de Freycinet's refusal, he 
 himself will take over the portfolio of Foreign 
 Affairs. Therefore, after nine o'clock it will be 
 too late to make any communication to M. Gam- 
 betta ; if M. de Freycinet would like to have an 
 explanation with him which might modify his 
 plans, it must take place before 8.30.' 
 
 I rose at five o'clock, took a cab opposite my 
 house, and drove to M. de Freycinet's. It was 
 about six when I arrived there. M. de Freycinet 
 was in bed. A candle was burning on a little table 
 by his side, and he was working by that light. He 
 listened to me attentively, thanked me very much, 
 and told me that at 7.30 he would be at M. Gam-
 
 266 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 betta's. He was as good as his word. M. Gambetta, 
 who was then living in the Rue St. Didier, was at 
 his window smoking a cigar, when he saw M. de 
 Freycinet arrive. 
 
 At the outset the interview was far from agree- 
 able. M. Gambetta reproached M. de Freycinet 
 with not wishing to compromise himself in the 
 former's Cabinet, so that he might keep free in 
 order to succeed him. M. de Freycinet protested 
 energetically, and declared positively that, no 
 matter what might happen, he would never suc- 
 ceed him. M. Gambetta was appeased, and when 
 M. de Freycinet had explained the cause of his 
 refusal, Gambetta, who was broad - minded and 
 frank, admitted that his own conduct had not been 
 entirely blameless, so that the interview which had 
 begun so unfavourably ended in the most cordial 
 manner. 
 
 The next day, the 14th of November, the Journal 
 Officiel contained the announcement of the forma- 
 tion of Gambetta's Cabinet, and the Ministry settled 
 down to work without delay. From the time he 
 came into power Gambetta found himself exposed 
 to an underhand opposition, to unforeseen resis- 
 tance, to inconceivable manoeuvres, and to implac- 
 able hostility. M. de Freycinet, in spite of his 
 explanation with the new Premier, had not forgiven 
 him for not appointing him Minister of War. 
 
 The consequence was that, a few weeks later, the 
 Gambetta Cabinet was defeated on the question of 
 the scrutin de liste at elections.
 
 WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 267 
 
 This scrutin de liste had been haunting Gambetta 
 for ten years. 
 
 In July, 1871, when I paid M. Thiers my first 
 visit in the name of The Times^ he said to me : 
 
 ' Gambetta and Faidherbe have conceived the 
 idea of being voted for by universal suffrage, as 
 they have their names at the top of the scrutin de 
 liste.' 
 
 This was my first despatch to The Times ; it was 
 reproduced as a special telegram, and with it I 
 inaugurated my entrance on the staff of that paper. 
 
 On the 26th of January, 1882, whilst M. Gam- 
 betta was delivering one of his finest speeches in 
 defence of the scrutin de liste^ I was walking in the 
 Salle des Pas Perdus with M. Joseph Eeinach. The 
 great speaker was more eloquent than ever, and we 
 could hear plainly the applause that greeted his 
 oratory. He was pleading the cause of the scrutin 
 de liste^ and as, in spite of the applause, I expressed 
 my fear lest M. Gambetta's Cabinet should be over- 
 thrown on account of this speech, M. Joseph Reinach 
 said : 
 
 ' They cannot overthrow him ; there is nobody 
 to succeed him.' 
 
 ' What about M. de Freycinet ?' I asked. 
 
 'M. de Freycinet!' replied M. Joseph Reinach 
 promptly. ' You know that he has made a formal 
 promise not to succeed Gambetta.' 
 
 Nevertheless, an hour later Gambetta was de- 
 feated, and M. de Freycinet, who was immediately 
 asked to call at the Elysee, agreed, in spite of his 
 promise, to succeed Gambetta.
 
 268 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' I shall never forget it,' declared Gambetta when 
 he was told the name of the Prime Minister who 
 was to take his place. 
 
 And for six months Gambetta, who considered 
 M, de Freycinet's acceptance an act of treachery, 
 made desperate onslaughts on his Cabinet on every 
 question. 
 
 Now, on the 29th of July, 1882, a very serious 
 matter was discussed — namely, whether France 
 shoidd or should not go with England to Egypt. 
 M. de Freycinet had adopted an uncertain attitude, 
 but on the whole seemed inclined to co-operate 
 with England. Gambetta then rose, and opposed 
 M, de Freycinet's projects with an eloquence that 
 was both aggressive and triumphant, and, with the 
 assistance of M. Clemenceau, overthrew the Cabinet 
 that very evening. Gambetta and his party were 
 avenged. 
 
 A year later, when in Rome, I was talking to 
 Cardinal Jacobini. 
 
 ' Do explain to me,' he said suddenly, ' why 
 France refused to accompany England to Egypt.' 
 
 I told the Cardinal the story of the portfolio 
 which I have just related here, and I proved to 
 him that, if M. de Freycinet had been offered the 
 post of Minister of War instead of that of Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs, France would have been with 
 England in Egypt. 
 
 A smile, such as one only sees on the lips of 
 a Koman Cardinal, hovered over his mouth, and he 
 murmured in Italian : 
 
 ' Small causes, great effects !'
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 
 
 When I left Paris, in 1883, for Constantinople, on 
 the inaugural train of the Orient Express, Essad 
 Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador in Paris, gave me 
 two letters of introduction — one for Said Pasha, the 
 Grand Vizier, the other for Munir Bey, the Master 
 of Ceremonies. 
 
 I had not hidden from Essad Pasha my desire to 
 avail myself of this visit to Constantinople for 
 approaching the Sultan, and, although the letters of 
 introduction he gave me were, according to diplo- 
 matic custom, sealed up, I am sure they mentioned 
 my wish and suggested that I should be helped to 
 carry it out. 
 
 On my arrival in Constantinople, a good friend of 
 mine who lives in that city called upon me. He 
 knew everybody and everything there, and I told 
 him that I had come with some friends who were 
 leaving in four days, that I wanted first to see 
 Constantinople with them, and that I intended 
 waiting until they had gone before making use of 
 my letters of introduction, as I was staying a week 
 longer than they were. My friend advised me to 
 
 [ 269]
 
 270 MEjMOIRS of M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 deliver the letters at once, and he undertook to see 
 that they reached their destination. 
 
 Two days later, on Thursday, we were told that 
 it was the eve of the Kurbam-Bairam, and that the 
 fetes would commence on Friday and last until 
 Mondav eveninsf. 
 
 This was a great disappointment to me. I under- 
 stood that I should not be able to meet any 
 members of the official world until after the fetes 
 on the following Tuesday. As I was to leave on the 
 Saturday following, this only left me four days to 
 settle the complicated question of an audience with 
 the Sultan. During the three days I had been in 
 Constantinople I had seen a great many people, with 
 whom I had conversed on a great number of topics, 
 and I had begun to understand that this was no 
 easy matter. The Sultan had never granted a 
 private audience to anyone in my position, and the 
 persons on whom I was relvina^ for askino- the 
 Sultan to receive me would be more likely to 
 prevent my obtaining an interview than otherwise. 
 
 Missak EfFendi, the First Secretary of the Otto- 
 man Embassy in Paris, a delightful man, a clever 
 diplomatist, always pleasant and amiable, as well as 
 a good linguist and an excellent official, had travelled 
 with us. He told me that I ought not to leave 
 Constantinople without seeing the Sultan, and he 
 had mentioned the matter to Said Pasha and to 
 Munir Bey. With his usual courtesy, he had told 
 Munir Bey not to forget to remind the Sultan who 
 I was, and in what capacity I was there, so that he
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 271 
 
 might weigh his words and not lose sight of the 
 fact that what he said to me would not escape 
 publicity. To anyone who knows Constantinople 
 and the Palace it will be very evident that, after 
 this recommendation, of which I knew nothing until 
 just before my departure, there was no chance 
 whatever of attaining the end I had in view through 
 official influence. Neither Munir Bey, Said Pasha, 
 nor any of those whose responsibility is publicly 
 acknowled2:ed, would have cared to risk the conse- 
 quences of an audience granted me by the Sultan. 
 Abdul Hamid is too attentive and too enlightened 
 not to take into account the Press, and particularly 
 the independent Press of Europe, and not to keep 
 himself well posted about the various correspon- 
 dences published in Europe. Now, as it happened, 
 some of the correspondents of certain newspapers 
 in Constantinople, by their free and independent 
 criticism of Turkey and of the Ministers, and of 
 the deeds of the Sultan himself, had roused the 
 susceptibilities of His Majesty, who still had a 
 lively remembrance of some of these articles. 
 
 Who would be responsible if, in my turn, I should 
 add to the Sultan's bitter impressions, and who 
 could ask these high officials, whom a glance from 
 their lord and master could annihilate, to accept the 
 consequences of such an interview, and to bear the 
 responsibility of having brought it about and of 
 having asked the Sovereign to grant it ? 
 
 As my brief sojourn furnished timorous officials 
 with a justification of their fears, it was quite
 
 272 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 probable, and ahnost certain, that I should not see 
 the Chief of Believers before leaving his capital. 
 A fresh circumstance added to the complication of 
 the question. 
 
 The Friday after the Bairam I went to Therapia 
 to call on Lord DufFerin. 
 
 When I told him that I had left two letters of 
 introduction from Essad Pasha, the English diplo- 
 matist was of my opinion, that the time was too 
 limited for me to be able to count on an audience. 
 
 He assured me that Mr. Forster had obtained an 
 audience, but that it had been postponed twice, and 
 that, as he could not remain any longer, he had 
 left without waiting for the day appointed the third 
 time. 
 
 I thought, naturally, that if so important a 
 personage as Mr. Forster had been kept waiting 
 like this, I might as well give up all idea of 
 succeeding. I asked Lord DufFerin, nevertheless, 
 if he would not be kind enough to second me in my 
 attempt. With his usual perspicacity and know- 
 ledge of all that concerns Oriental men and things, 
 he saw immediately that we should have to avoid 
 taking any direct, official step in the matter, as this 
 would only create a fresh obstacle. He told me 
 that he would write a private letter to Munir Bey, 
 merely informing him that I was among the 
 passengers of the Orient Express, and suggesting 
 that perhaps His Majesty might like to be informed 
 of the fact. He did this that same day. I happened 
 to know, too, that Munir Bey was always pleased
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 273 
 
 to receive information of this kind through an 
 Ambassador, because in this way he was obliged 
 to convey it to his chief, without incurring the 
 responsibility of having taken the initiative. The 
 Sultan was therefore informed, on Saturday, that I 
 was in Constantinople, and, when communicating to 
 him the note from Lord Dufferin, those who pre- 
 sented it added that, having now discharged their 
 duty, they had only to await the decision of the 
 Sovereio'n. Under these conditions, durino; the two 
 next days a profound silence was maintained with 
 regard to me. The amusing side of the affair was, 
 that two parties were formed round the Sultan on 
 my account, in spite of the unimportance of my 
 personality. Some had proceeded officially, almost 
 compulsorily, and when once their official request 
 had been made they had remained quiet, rather glad, 
 on the whole, of the silence which was maintained 
 with regard to me. Others, on the contrary, anxious 
 that I should see the Sultan, and, in their enthusiasm 
 for him, convinced that this interview could only 
 leave an excellent impression on my mind, were 
 most impatient as the hours slipped by and the hour 
 of my departure approached. They could do nothing 
 to break this silence themselves, nor to get it broken 
 by others, prevented, as they were, by the note sent 
 by an Ambassador and by the official intervention 
 of those Avhose functions authorized them to inter- 
 cede. 
 
 Things went on in this way until Tuesday 
 evening. 
 
 18
 
 274 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 In three days' time I was to leave Constantinople. 
 On Tuesday evening I received from Said Pasha 
 the following letter : 
 
 'Sir, 
 
 ' I had the pleasure of receiving the letter from His 
 Excellency Essad Pasha which you were kind enough to 
 forward to me, and also the letter in which you ask for an 
 interview. I regret that, on account of my numerous occupa- 
 tions, I could not reply earlier. I will let you know the day 
 and hour when I shall be able to see you. Accept the assur- 
 ance of my perfect consideration. 
 
 ' Said.' 
 
 As I was to leave on Saturday, this letter was 
 equivalent to a refusal, and I heard the very next 
 day that, on account of Abdul Hamid's silence 
 about the communication made by Lord DufFerin 
 in his note. Said Pasha deemed it prudent not to 
 receive me — which fact was very evident from his 
 letter. 
 
 Thereupon I hastened the preparations for my 
 departure, and that very evening went to keep an 
 appointment which had been arranged for me with 
 the Sheik Abul Huda-el-Rifai, the Grand Caziasker 
 of Anatolia, in order to complete, at any rate, my 
 interviews with the men of note of the capital. 
 
 My conversation with this eminent man lasted 
 until very late into the night, and I have heard since 
 that the next morning he wrote to inform the 
 Sultan about it. 
 
 The following day one of my friends came to 
 tell me that he had just received the visit of a 
 person who frequented the Palace, who had told him
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 275 
 
 that everyone there wanted me to see the Sultan, 
 but that no one dared introduce the subject, for 
 fear an official demand for an audience should exist, 
 as that would prevent any other steps being taken. 
 
 I understood then the tact and finesse with which 
 Lord Dufferin had acted, and I was able to declare 
 that no official demand for an audience existed. 
 
 My friend appeared to be delighted. 
 
 That same day I had a visit from Waiss Bey, the 
 Turkish Consul-General in Venice, a very distin- 
 guished Orientalist, thoroughly devoted to the 
 Sultan and connected with the Palace. He is an 
 active, intelligent man, very anxious to show 
 Turkey, of which he is an ardent defender, in its 
 best light. 
 
 He appeared to know what was going on. We 
 talked for a long time, and I heard later on that, on 
 leaving me, he wrote a long letter, which the Sultan 
 would see, in which he pleaded warmly in favour of 
 the audience. All these movements, all these appli- 
 cations, and, one might even say, all these struggles, 
 were going on without my suspecting them in the 
 least. As my visit was to come to an end in a 
 couple of days, I considered my cause lost. In 
 spite of this, the next day (Thursday) I heard that 
 Philippe EfFendi, the editor of the Vakhit, the 
 special journal of the Sultan, a man who is very 
 devoted to His Majesty, and who is broad-minded 
 and a protege of Osman Bey, the First Chamberlain, 
 had said that I ou2:ht not to be allowed to leave 
 without seeing the Sovereign. I knew, too, that 
 
 18—2
 
 276 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Rescliid Bey, the Sultan's Chief Secretary, a very 
 highly educated young man, in whom his master 
 has every confidence and who looks at things in 
 an unprejudiced way, was among those who were 
 inclined towards the audience. Mr. Guarracino, too, 
 an Englishman, who had been in Constantinople 
 almost all his life and who used to be a member 
 of the English Consulate, a very active and intelli- 
 gent man, who was liked by the Mussulmans and 
 a great favourite everywhere, was particularly 
 interested in the success of my enterprise. As 
 I have said, all this agitation was going on around 
 me, and the greatest precautions were taken so that 
 I should not hear anything of it ; yet I understood 
 that all these people had not abandoned the cause, 
 and had not given up all hope of conquering the 
 resistance opposed to them. I felt that I was breath- 
 ing in an atmosphere which, even for Constanti- 
 nople, was full of exceptional mystery. The Turks, 
 who usually converse in a low voice, spoke still 
 lower in my presence, and uttered Turkish mono- 
 syllables, almost in a whisper, as they glanced at 
 me. I went about like an actor in a conspiracy on 
 the stage, knowing that, w^hatever happened, whether 
 I met with failure or success, the result would not 
 be fatal to anyone. 
 
 On Thursday, in the afternoon, Waiss Bey came 
 to tell me that it would be well for me to go the 
 next day (Friday) to the Selamlik which would take 
 place at the Medjidieh Mosque, near Dolma Bagchi. 
 
 ' But,' I said, ' I went to the Bairam last Friday,
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 277 
 
 and I saw the ceremony and the Sultan ; there will 
 be nothins; fresh to see to-morrow.' 
 
 ' No matter ; it is better to go ; there is no 
 telling. It sometimes happens that the Sultan 
 notices foreigners and asks to see them. Besides, 
 you will see him again, and the ceremony is 
 interesting.' 
 
 ' Very well, I will go,' I said. ' At what time 
 must I be there ?' 
 
 ' At mid- day.' 
 
 Pie had just gone away, when I received a message 
 to the effect that Khair-eddin Pasha would receive 
 me the following day at Nichanne Tache at half- 
 past nine in the morning. Soon after one of my 
 friends called to tell me that Said Pasha would see 
 me at Nichanne Tache at six o'clock — Turkish time. 
 
 ' What time will that be ?' I asked. 
 
 My friend began to calculate, and then replied : 
 ' Half -past eleven.' 
 
 I reflected that if I went at half -"past nine to see 
 Khair-eddin, and at half -past eleven to the Said's, I 
 should never be at the Selamlik at noon. But, as 
 Said Pasha had given me Turkish time, it was quite 
 allowable for me to make a mistake of an hour in 
 my calculations, and so arrive at half-past ten to 
 see him. If he received me then, I should have 
 time to go to the Selamlik ; and if he did not 
 receive me, I could apologize and leave a few lines 
 for him, explaining that it was impossible for me to 
 wait. 
 
 In the evening I went to a dinner given in my
 
 278 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 honour at the Cluh. I asked Mr. Guarracino 
 whether a seat at table had been purposely left 
 vacant, and he told me that Philippe EiFendi was 
 to have been there ; ' but,' he added, lowering his 
 voice, ' he must have gone to the Palace to see 
 whether there is anything fresh.' 
 
 I finished the evening at the house of Mr. Smythe, 
 a very pleasant sort of man, a director of the Otto- 
 man Bank, where I was able to admire some 
 charming specimens of the English colony, and I 
 afterwards returned, at rather a late hour, to the 
 Hotel d'Angleterre. Early next morning Waiss 
 Bey and Mr. Guarracino came to tell me that they 
 would wait for me, between half-past eleven and 
 twelve, on the Dolma Bagchi road to take me to 
 the guard-house which faces the Medjidieh Mosque, 
 where I should be quite near to the Sultan as he 
 passed. I went to Khair-eddin's at half -past nine, 
 and left him at half -past ten to go to Said Pasha's, 
 which is just oj^posite. 
 
 I had done well to go an hour earlier, for Said 
 Pasha received me at once. 
 
 When I took leave of him, although the hands of 
 my watch pointed to a quarter to twelve, I feared 
 that I should miss the Selamlik. 
 
 I had scarcely left the house, when I met 
 Mr. Guarracino, who had brought a horse, and who 
 had come at full speed to tell me that it was late. 
 We found Waiss Bey stamping about impatiently, 
 and we went along at full gallop towards Dolma 
 Bagchi, when we were told that the Selamlik was
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 279 
 
 to take place at Becliik Tache, and not at the 
 Medjidieli Mosque. There everyone was waiting in 
 a state of uncertainty, for it was expected that the 
 ceremony woukl have taken place at the Medjidieli 
 Mosque, and, although the troops were drawn up, 
 the officers present, and instructions had been given 
 to the softas, yet at the last moment a counter-order 
 might arrive, and the Sultan, with that persistent 
 care of his not to appear in a locality that has been 
 indicated beforehand, might change the meeting- 
 place. In cases of this kind, nothing can give an 
 idea of the rapidity with which this official change 
 of quarters is effected. The troops, the officials of 
 the procession, the horses and carriages, and the 
 assembled crowd, disappear in the twinkling of an 
 eye and go quickly to the mosque indicated, with- 
 out any surprise or displeasure, as though it were 
 the most natural thing ; the guard-house looks just 
 as usual, and five minutes later a stranger passing 
 by would never imagine that only a few minutes 
 before a crowd had been waiting there, that soldiers 
 had been drawn up in line, that rows of carriages, 
 with the horses unharnessed, had been on the spot, 
 amidst all the ceremonials of an absolute Govern- 
 ment whose Chief deigns to be saluted once a week. 
 But when we saw that sand was being thrown on 
 the grovmd where the Sultan was to pass, we under- 
 stood that it was certainly here that the ceremony 
 would take place. Turkish finances are not in a 
 state which allows of sand being wasted. 
 
 A few minutes later an Aide-de-Camp on horse-
 
 280 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 back galloped up, announcing that His Majesty was 
 about to leave the Palace and come to the Mosque 
 of Bechik Taclie. 
 
 I was then advised to mount on the highest of 
 the steps leading to the guard-house, so that I 
 might be above the crowd and see the Sultan. 
 
 My companions, however, looked greatly dis- 
 tressed. At Bechik Tache the mosque is some 
 distance from the guard-house. It is beyond the 
 little triangular spot, just opposite the door, through 
 which the Sultan enters. I was in the midst of all 
 the foreigners who had rushed to see the ceremony, 
 and even if I should manage to see the Sultan, how 
 could I have the slightest chance of being seen by 
 him ? If, just then, I had suggested to my two 
 companions that we should go away, they would 
 have been delighted, so convinced were they that 
 we were merely wasting our time and that I should 
 simply witness the failure of their plans. As these 
 thoughts were crossing my mind, a tall, strongly- 
 built man, dressed in a grey suit of European cut 
 and holding a soft hat in his hand, crossed the square 
 which the troops were guarding. He had a full 
 face, a dark complexion, and a black, stiff mous- 
 tache. He was quite out of breath as he approached 
 us, and he murmured a few words to the officer in 
 command of the guard-house, and then made a sign 
 to us to follow him. 
 
 ' It's Philippe EfFendi,' said Mr. Guarracino ; ' he 
 has an irade for us to have good places.' 
 
 We went through the guard-house, turned down
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 281 
 
 a small corridor to the ri2:lit. and came into a 
 drawing-room which was very clean and furnished 
 with armchairs and a wide sofa occupying the 
 whole length of the two windows, which looked 
 on to the square and on to the mosque. Evidently 
 this word ' irade ' was of the same derivation as 
 ' irradiation.' From the moment it had been pro- 
 nounced in my favour, I felt that luminous emana- 
 tions were irradiating around me. As w^e entered, 
 the officers, with their gold lace, who were sitting, 
 rose, looked at me with respectful curiosity, and 
 invited me to take a seat on the sofa. As soon as this 
 was done, a soldier brought me coffee, and another 
 one cigarettes ; I had become the Sultan's guest. 
 
 Suddenly a great noise was heard in the street. 
 The Sultan was approaching. Philippe Effendi said 
 a few words to Mr. Guarracino, who opened the 
 lower part of one of the windows, told me to get 
 up on the sofa, and then invited me to sit down 
 on the white marble of the window. 
 
 Everyone drew back a little, and at the same 
 moment, in obedience to an order given outside, 
 a clear space was made in front of the window 
 on which I was seated. 
 
 I was thus completely isolated, both from the 
 outside and the interior, against the somewhat dark 
 background of the room, wdth the sun full on me, 
 showing me up in the foreground of the picture. 
 I was seated sideways, my legs hanging over the 
 sofa, my body leaning forward, and my head out 
 of the window.
 
 282 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 I understood that I was posing for the Sultan. 
 
 ' It is to be hoped,' I said, in real terror, to 
 Mr. Guarracino, ' that there is no photographer here 
 with his apparatus. My pose would certainly not 
 be to my advantage.* 
 
 .if 4t 4k 4b 4k 
 
 TT TP TP TP TT 
 
 The cheering of the troops could be heard, as 
 the Sultan appeared in a close carriage with the 
 windows up. I did not see him very well. I 
 knew he would look towards me, he could scarcely 
 do otherwise, as I had been placed in such a con- 
 spicuous position, and I bowed with all the respect 
 due to the Sovereign of the country. The carriage 
 stopped ; Abdul Hamid entered the mosque, after 
 turning round towards the crowd, and, the muezzin 
 having appeared on the gallery, we understood that 
 prayers had commenced within. 
 
 I at once left my uncomfortable seat and entered 
 the room again, but I had only been inside a few 
 minutes when Philippe EfFendi suddenly rushed out. 
 
 ' What's the matter ?' I asked Mr. Guarracino. 
 
 ' Another irade,' he answered. 
 
 ' Where ?' 
 
 ' There, the gentleman wearing a fez who is just 
 crossing the road.' 
 
 He was right, for the irade, in the red fez, was 
 talking to Philippe EfFendi. The latter soon re- 
 turned and said : 
 
 ' An order for us to be ready to go up to Yildiz 
 Kiosque after the Selamlik.' 
 
 Things were advancing very slowly, but, still, they
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 283 
 
 were advancing. My pose at the window had not 
 caused the Sultan to change his plans. 
 
 At this moment Mavroyeni Pasha, a clever and 
 witty Greek, who was private physician to the 
 Padishah, came in. 
 
 We talked together for a few minutes. 
 
 ' I am sorry you have not seen the Sultan,' he 
 said ; ' you would have acquired for yourself proof 
 of the stupid untruths that are told about hiui. 
 You would have seen for yourself how sound his 
 mind is, how just he is, and how healthy, too. 
 People say that he has all kinds of diseases, that 
 he has scrofula and is subject to fainting fits. It 
 is infamous. I have never known him ill, and I 
 am the most expensive luxury that he allows him- 
 self.' 
 
 On looking round I noticed that Philippe EfFendi 
 had disappeared. 
 
 ' Where has he gone ?' I asked Waiss Bey. 
 
 ' There's another irade on your account.' 
 
 Philippe EfFendi came back again. 
 
 ' Strict orders have been issued to take you to 
 Yildiz Kiosque. When there, a Chamberlain will 
 tell us what is to be done,' he said. 
 
 My companions were radiant. Evidently one of 
 those mysterious battles had been waged round the 
 Sultan with regard to me, one of those battles the 
 secret of which is guarded by the walls of the 
 Palace and about which conquerors and conquered 
 are equally silent. I was gradually penetrating it, 
 and if I am able to tell all the details now, it is
 
 284 INIEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 because, in the first place, I was able to observe 
 everything myself, and also because victory makes 
 the conquerors more readily inclined to be com- 
 municative. Very soon the fourth and last irade 
 arrived, and I knew from the faces of my friends 
 that victory was nearly certain. 
 
 ' An order to go to the Marshals' room and to 
 wait there.' 
 
 We were now in the stronghold, or, rather, we 
 were just about to enter. 
 
 ' But who gives these orders, one after the other ?' 
 I asked. 
 
 ' The Sultan communicates them to a Chamber- 
 lain, who transmits them to officers on duty outside.' 
 
 ' Then, the Sultan is not at prayer ?' 
 
 ' No, that is one of the thousand European errors. 
 The mosque is not a place entirely consecrated to 
 prayer. People can i^ray everywhere, since Allah 
 is everywhere. The mosque is, principally, a meet- 
 ing-place ; all things can be discussed there, and 
 they are discussed. It often happens, too, as to- 
 day ' — and they pointed to some servants who were 
 carrying trays — ' that the Sultan invites those who 
 are with him to take some refreshments. It is well 
 to remember that the Selamlik was only instituted 
 by the reigning family. Formerly the Sultan always 
 remained invisible, and he might be assassinated in 
 his palace and a successor substituted for him with- 
 out the people having any idea of it. It was there- 
 fore decided that, cost what it might, he should 
 show himself at least once a week to his people.
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 285 
 
 It once happened that a Sultan who was dangerously 
 ill was, nevertheless, carried to the Selamlik, and 
 he died on his return to the Palace.' 
 
 Just at this moment military orders were heard, 
 the music struck up, the horses began to paw the 
 ground, people rushed to the windows, and Abdul 
 Hamid, leaving the mosque, took his seat in a 
 victoria, mth Osman Bey at his side and two of 
 his Aides-de-Camp opposite, and started off at a 
 fast trot along the old road which leads to Yildiz 
 Kiosque. We left the guard-house ; our carriages 
 were waiting for us, and we drove to the Palace by 
 the new road, which in itself aiFords a wonderful 
 sight. It is admirably made and rises in a gentle 
 incline, cut in the side of a green slope, with trees 
 dotted about here and there. What remains of the 
 hill out of which it was carved forms a declivity, 
 sloping on both sides, one leading towards the new 
 road and the other going down towards the old 
 road. The two slopes, the whole length of our 
 drive, were covered with men, women, and children, 
 who had hurried there to see the Sultan. These 
 are the rare occasions when Turkish women and 
 children leave their homes to see anything that is 
 taking place without, and no Mussulman dare forbid 
 his family to be present. On the green grass of 
 the slopes and under the slight shade of the trees 
 the bright, harmonious colours of the feredjes, or 
 striped mantles, of two colours, red and yellow, 
 violet and white, blue and pink, showed up in great 
 brilliancy, punctuated with red by the caps of the
 
 286 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 boys, who were frolicking about in and out of the 
 groups. The women wore over their faces those veils 
 which tend to become more and more transparent, 
 and against which, for mere form's sake, there are 
 periodical irades ordering a return to thick veils ; 
 but these irades only cause a fleeting tumult which 
 scarcely lasts a day. The veil is, I believe, soon 
 destined to disappear altogether, and Turkish women, 
 conforming to the true precepts of the Koran, will 
 show their faces, which have not been seen hitherto 
 by curious travellers, and will only retain their 
 flowing draperies, which cover their entire bodies 
 in a perfectly modest manner. 
 
 As we reached the gate of Yildiz Kiosque, a 
 soldier, acting as sentry, advanced towards us. 
 Philippe Eff'endi leaned forward and murmured the 
 word ' irade.' The soldier stepped back respectfully, 
 and, by a path which starts from the gate and turns 
 to the right a hundred yards farther along, we 
 reached a low door and entered Yildiz Kiosque. 
 Philippe EfFendi left us for an instant, in order to 
 ask Osman Bey, the First Chamberlain, to have us 
 conducted to the Marshals' room. As soon as he 
 entered it, a cavedji brought us some coffee and 
 cigarettes. We were invited to sit down and asked 
 to wait. 
 
 Ten minutes later a Chamberlain appeared at the 
 door, bowed, and asked me to follow him. We 
 passed through two drawing-rooms, then along a 
 large gallery divided by a red screen, and another 
 drawing-room covered with fine matting, and the
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 287 
 
 Chamberlain, who walked in front of me, made a 
 sign for me to wait there. I thought that this 
 Chamberlain was takino; me to one of the Sultan's 
 Aides-de-Camp, who would tell me when I could 
 see his master ; for, so far, neither Philippe Effendi, 
 nor Waiss Bay, nor Mr. Guarracino — either because 
 they did not know, or because, with that stubborn 
 discretion peculiar to Oriental diplomacy, they did 
 not want to compromise themselves — none of the 
 three coidd or woidd tell me which day would be 
 fixed for my audience with the Sultan. 
 
 After a few minutes the Chamberlain who was 
 conducting me stopped in front of an open door and 
 beckoned to me to approach, and I must confess 
 that I was much surprised, on advancing, to find 
 myself face to face with Abdul Hamid, who was 
 standing up in front of me. The Sultan was wearing 
 the insignia of a Marshal of his army and the 
 uniform of his Life-guards. His trousers were blue 
 with a double band of red, and were held by straps 
 over his patent-leather boots, furnished with rowels. 
 On his straight coat he wore the military medal 
 which had been presented to him by his army ; his 
 cloak was lined with red and finished with plain 
 large buttons of reddish gold, and on his head was 
 a red fez. His large sword, in its sheath of red 
 velvet relieved with embossed gold, having attached 
 to the hilt a cord and gilded tassels, dragged 
 slightly on the ground. 
 
 Abdul Hamid advanced to meet me, and held 
 out his hand. He was wearing gloves of soft white
 
 288 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 kid, such as are adopted by European officers when 
 on service. He invited me to sit in an armchair, 
 and he sat down himself on a sofa covered with red 
 damask with large blue flowers. He leaned back 
 against a cushion, and signed to a Chamberlain who 
 was standing in a doorway. This Chamberlain was 
 Kaghib Bey, and the Sultan ordered him to take 
 the armchair near mine. 
 
 To my left, between the armchair in which I 
 was seated and the sofa where the Sultan was, there 
 was a small wooden table, gilded and with a slab 
 of malachite, upon which were placed an onyx 
 match-box, a small oval ash-tray, also of onyx, and 
 a cigarette-case of chased silver. 
 
 Raghib Bey was to serve as interpreter. The 
 presence of an interpreter certainly does prevent the 
 conversation being carried on rapidly, but this incon- 
 venience is largely compensated for by numerous 
 advantages. In the first place, when one is in the 
 presence of a personage like the Sultan, it is more 
 easy to express one's ideas to an interpreter, who 
 will transmit them, than to the personage in ques- 
 tion. Then, too, while he is replying, one can study 
 his face without being preoccupied, because one 
 does not understand what he is saying, and one 
 can also be preparing the conversation which is to 
 follow. 
 
 During my interview I noticed these three ad- 
 vantages, and, to begin with, I was able to study 
 Abdul Hamid at my ease. 
 
 He was rather above the average height, of slight
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 289 
 
 build, and almost thin ; he had a brown skin, warm 
 and dry-looking, his beard was black, well groomed, 
 and rather short and thick. His mouth was ener- 
 getic, but sad ; his nose a regular Turkish nose, 
 large, long and bony, with a slight deflection of the 
 upper part of the nostril. His eyes were black, 
 rather large, resolute, thoughtful, and penetrating, 
 but not gentle-looking ; they were set deep in the 
 orbit, and as the light fell on one side of his face, 
 leaving the other side in the shade, his eyes ap- 
 peared to be remarkably deep-sunk. His forehead 
 was wide and straight, of medium height, and 
 slightly furrowed. The black hair which was visible 
 on his temples, between the fez and the beard, was 
 short and almost close- shaven. Abdul Hamid was 
 then forty-one years of age, but he looked more, 
 particularly as he had lost an upper tooth on the 
 left side near the middle. He spoke in a louder 
 voice than his subjects ; his language was sonorous, 
 his words distinct, and his phrases lengthened out 
 and terminated without any hesitation. 
 
 I expected to have Munir Bey for interpreter, as 
 he usually acts in that capacity in such cases ; but 
 it was explained to me later that it would have been 
 imposing upon Munir Bey an extraordinary task to 
 have made him act as interpreter for an interview 
 which he had by no means facilitated. 
 
 ' I am very glad,' I said, bowing, as the Sultan 
 signed for me to open the conversation, ' not to 
 leave Turkey without being admitted to your 
 Majesty's presence, for, from all that I have seen 
 
 19
 
 290 JMEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and heard here, I believe that I am in accordance 
 witli the absolute truth in proclaiming that in your 
 Majesty is centred the great hope of this country 
 and the most certain remedy possible for all the 
 many evils from which it is sufferins;,' 
 
 ' I am very pleased to see you,' he answered, ' and 
 I thank you for having wished to judge this country 
 for yovirself, for in Europe, and even in America, 
 everyone slanders it systematically, without taking 
 the trouble to examine it closely. I am greatly 
 encouraged in my desire to remedy the evils of this 
 country by the fine qualities of its subjects and also 
 by the great resources of the land. Those who 
 maintain that Turkey is incurable .slander us 
 deliberately and as though on purpose. What is 
 required ? Improvements in our finances, in our 
 laws, and in our administration. I have already 
 been able to reform the organization of the finances 
 with regard to the Civil List. My Government has 
 not contracted any fresh loan for a very long time, 
 and I have been able to arrange for the payment of 
 the interest of the Public Debt. The floating debt 
 is not so considerable as is reported, but there must 
 be some solution arrived at about it, so that it 
 may not be an ever-increasing obstacle. People are 
 wrong in representing me as opposed to liberty. I 
 know that a country must keep up with the times, 
 but the excess of a liberty to which one is un- 
 accustomed is as dangerous as the absence of all 
 liberty. 
 
 ' A country to which one gives liberty which the
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 291 
 
 people do not know how to use is like a man to 
 whom one gives a gun the handling of which he 
 does not understand. He kills his father, mother 
 and brothers, and then finishes by killing himself. 
 We must, therefore, prepare the country for this 
 liberty, and that is what I am trying to do. I have 
 opened schools, and these are being multiplied. 
 Education, in its various developments, is the best 
 means of qualifying people for liberty. I have also 
 organized an administrative school, which has given 
 very good results. Its pupils now occupy posts in 
 our administrations ; Ragliib Bey, here present, is 
 one of them. You see that the idea of making men 
 capable of aspiring to liberty, and of knowing how 
 to use it, does not alarm me. Besides, not one of 
 our ills is incurable, and we have within us forces 
 and qualities which will facilitate a complete cure. 
 We have not many friends, but our country must 
 be a very fine one since so many envy it, and their 
 policy consists in discrediting us in order to make 
 an easy prey of us.' 
 
 After a minute's silence he asked : 
 
 ' Were you at the Berlin Congress ?' 
 
 ' Yes, your Majesty, and, if the Sultan will allow 
 me to say so, Turkey on that occasion made one 
 of her greatest mistakes. When she ought to 
 have been represented by her prominent and most 
 imposing personages, she was represented by men 
 who, no doubt, were very devoted and well-in- 
 tentioned, but who had no authority, who trembled 
 before Prince Bismarck, and upon whom he could 
 
 19—2
 
 292 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 impose silence by a mere glance. I do not know 
 why this mistake was made, but in Berlin everyone 
 remarked it, and it was generally thought that the 
 Turkish Government had sent Plenipotentiaries of 
 foreign origin so that the eventual consequences 
 of the Berlin Treaty should not fall upon the 
 Mussulmans.' 
 
 ' Yes, you are right ; I have greatly regretted 
 what you wisely call a mistake, and I still regret it. 
 I understood it when I saw that Greeks had been 
 admitted to the Congress — they had no right to be 
 there — and when I saw that, in presence of their 
 admission, my Plenipotentiaries did not protest and 
 leave the meeting. It is when nations have been 
 conquered that it is their duty not to cheapen their 
 pride. But we were in a painful situation, the 
 enemy was at our gates, and we could not reckon 
 much on the equity of Europe, for our friends 
 there were not numerous. We had very few men 
 who cared to 2:0 to Berlin to face the decisions 
 of this Congress and to give their signatures to 
 the treaty of spoliation which we foresaw. Sacri- 
 fices were imposed upon me then from which I 
 am still suffering. Do you imagine that Bulgaria 
 and Thessaly are any happier at present than they 
 were before their separation ? But no matter : 
 this explains the mistake we made ; it does not 
 excuse it.' 
 
 ' Your Majesty said that you did not count much 
 on the equity of Europe ; but neither England nor 
 France has abandoned the defence of Turkey,
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 293 
 
 and your Majesty cannot reproach them with 
 that.' 
 
 ' Yes, I have never reckoned them among my 
 enemies. We have always sought their friend- 
 ship, and, in spite of all that has been done, we 
 have never failed to recognise the necessity of it. 
 Unfortunately, of late clouds have arisen between 
 us ; but I hope that these clouds, and particularly 
 the two chief sombre points, will be dissipated by 
 a friendly understanding.' 
 
 ' Your Majesty is alluding to Egypt and to 
 Tunis ?' 
 
 'Yes ; I saw with satisfaction that quite recently 
 the English Government seemed disposed to 
 evacuate. Do you think that England will soon 
 decide to carry this into effect ?' 
 
 ' I think. Sire, that in England they are contem- 
 plating political evacuation ; but, although everyone 
 is convinced that England neither proposes annexa- 
 tion nor an indefinite occupation, one must take 
 into consideration the political situation of that 
 country. There is in England a force which it is 
 difficult to appreciate elsewhere, and which is called 
 public opinion. When England saw herself obliged 
 to go alone to Egypt, it was necessary to stimulate 
 this force in order to make it consent to a costly 
 and dangerous expedition, and at present it will 
 be necessary to allow the English Cabinet, which 
 depends on the public opinion of the country, 
 sufficient time to influence it and to make it admit 
 that the occasion has come for evacuating Egypt.
 
 294 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 But apart from these two points, Egypt and Tunis, 
 France and England can have no reservation at 
 present with regard to Turkey ; and if Turkey, like 
 all nations which are suffering, had not become 
 more distrustful than in her better days, she would 
 understand that she can from henceforth place 
 unreserved confidence in the friendship of these 
 two nations.' 
 
 ' Yes ; but in the meantime they have not 
 hesitated to violate my rights. It caused me great 
 trouble, for I value their friendship very highly, 
 and I fancy that mine is not to be despised by 
 either of them. In so many different points we 
 come into contact with each other, and a nation 
 should take this seriously into account. Then, 
 too, friendship between nations is not only mani- 
 fested by diplomatic actions ; it is shown also by 
 the equitable way in which an opinion is formed 
 of a country. My country is judged superficially, 
 and that is the reason it is calumniated. I value 
 the opinion of Europe, and I should like to see no 
 credence given to those who amuse themselves with 
 spreading satirical reports about us. Your words 
 will be heard ; so tell Europeans, and prove to them, 
 that, after observing our country in an impartial 
 manner, one forms a better opinion of it. I am 
 informed that you have seen a great many people 
 here, and, as you must be in the habit of observ- 
 ing, will you tell me whether you have drawn any 
 inferences from what you have seen ?' 
 
 ' If your Majesty will allow me to speak frankly —
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 295 
 
 and I can scarcely do otherwise, for if I did I 
 might be obliged to write to-morrow the contrary 
 of what I said to-day — my opinion is this : I believe 
 that every evil from which this country is suifering 
 could be remedied, and easily remedied. But there 
 are two difficulties : The first is, that all depends on 
 the sole will of your Majesty, and consequently 
 your Majesty would have to give up to a certain 
 degree this absolute will. The second difficulty is 
 that, if your Majesty decided to do this, those 
 whom your Majesty commands would have to 
 agree to this partial and progressive abdication. 
 Now, the curious part is that those who depend on 
 the absolute will of your Majesty will probably be 
 the first to resist a change which would prevent 
 them from screening their own faults under the 
 cover of the absolute orders of their Sovereign. 
 But if once this were obtained, if your Majesty 
 could succeed in creating an administration with the 
 capabilities and the energy necessary for carrying 
 out the reforms decided upon, it would be an 
 immense step towards the improvement of Turkey. 
 Your Majesty holds in your hand all liberty, 
 because you alone can will everything. If your 
 Majesty would open your hand little by little, 
 setting gradually free this liberty in proportion as 
 the country is capable of accepting and of using 
 it, Turkey would rapidly rise from her present 
 position. 
 
 ' The consolidation of the floating debt, the 
 suppression of the havaUs^ officials held responsible
 
 296 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 for what they do, roads opened up through the 
 countr}^, courts of justice established and public in- 
 struction always encouraged — these are the reforms 
 which would soon bear fruit ; but, as I said before, 
 your Majesty must root out that spirit of absolute 
 submission which causes every official to tolerate 
 the continuation of abuses for which he is not 
 responsible.' 
 
 ' I understand perfectly well what you have just 
 said,' answered the Sultan. ' I am glad to find that 
 you do not share the opinion of those who believe 
 that this country cannot recover. As to what you 
 say regarding myself, I am of 3^our opinion, and I 
 have quite decided to open gradually my hand. 
 The difficulty is to know just how far to go. When 
 it was seen that this country could not support a 
 Constitution, and a Parliament which did not 
 entirely represent the country, but only part of the 
 country, people came to me and began to talk about 
 responsibilities. It was another way of reorganiz- 
 ing a Constitution. I refused this. Those who 
 spoke of responsibilities only saw in this a means 
 of substituting their will for mine at the expense 
 of others, and the great mass of the country would 
 only have changed from the will of one to that 
 of another. I am now trying, as you have just 
 said, to prepare this country for the more inde- 
 pendent part it has to play, and I have already 
 modified many things, which are not noticed 
 abroad, but which are producing a good effect at 
 home.'
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 297 
 
 Then, returnino^ obstinately to his first idea, he 
 asked : 
 
 ' Do you think that the English will soon consent 
 to evacuate Egypt ?' 
 
 ' I have already had the honour of replying to 
 3^our Majesty on this subject,' I said. ' But I will 
 take the liberty o£ remarking that England is in 
 Egypt against her will. AVhen she asked your 
 Majesty to go with her to Egypt, influenced as she 
 was by that secret dread which takes possession of 
 all who are laying their hand on no matter what 
 Ottoman territory, she was absolutely sincere. It 
 was a great and terrible mistake of Turkey's to 
 refuse to accompany England, thus obliging her 
 to go alone — which meant that she would remain 
 there. History will regard with equal astonish- 
 ment this proposal of England's and Turkey's 
 refusal. The onl}^ consolation of Turkey — if, 
 indeed, that can be any consolation — is that in 
 this question France was no wiser than she was.' 
 
 I knew perfectly well that I had just attacked 
 the Sultan direct. Not only had Abdul Hamid 
 been the principal author of Turkey's refusal, but 
 he had refused to listen to the most trustworthy 
 advice, and for fear of displeasing the Mussulmans 
 — a fear which was chimerical, far-fetched, and not 
 at all justified — Abdul Hamid missed an opportunity, 
 perhaps unique, of changing the character of the 
 Egyptian occupation and of maintaining an uncon- 
 tested supremacy over the Delta of the Nile. 
 
 I therefore awaited his reply with some im-
 
 298 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 patience. I thought, or, rather, I feared, that he 
 would bring forward some of those subtle argu- 
 ments which the organs of the Ottoman Press had 
 endeavoured to circulate, in order to minimize the 
 effect of the refusal of the Porte. But Abdul 
 Hamid, I repeat and I proclaim it, is a man of 
 superior mind, who, when he is struck by sound 
 reasoning, is perhaps annoyed, but who at the same 
 time is influenced by it. As he had no good argu- 
 ments to offer, and would not stoop to poor ones, 
 he did not reply, but changed the subject. This 
 was, as anyone can see, a tacit approval of what 
 I had just said, and I learnt later on that it was 
 to be interpreted in this way. 
 
 ' When are you leaving ?' he asked. 
 
 ' To-morrow, your Majesty.' 
 
 ' So soon ! I am sorry you are not staying longer. 
 But I should like you to bear in mind that, if you 
 write to me, either about things that have happened 
 or about current topics, I will answer you. If, for 
 State reasons, I am unable to, I will tell you plainly 
 that I cannot do so. Take note, too, that if ever 
 you return to Constantinople, you must come the 
 very day of your arrival to see me. You have 
 only to say that it was my wish that you should 
 come, that it was by my order you asked to see 
 me, and I promise you that I will receive you* 
 And, as 1 am now talking to someone who under- 
 stands the gravity of the mission confided to the 
 veritable journalist, who endeavours to find out the 
 truth and to publish it, remember that I do not
 
 MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 299 
 
 wish to suppress existing liberties, but to give new 
 liberties ; that I do not Avisli to increase the financial 
 troubles of my Empire, but to remedy them ; and 
 that I do not wish to abolish justice, but to establish 
 and consolidate it. Remember that this nation, 
 which bears in itself the causes of its weakness, 
 also contains the elements of great strength, and 
 that I wish to cure the former and make use of the 
 latter.' 
 
 Abdul Hamid rose, and at this moment there was 
 an expression in his eyes which showed that he was 
 deeply moved. I quite understood that he felt 
 sincerely what he had just been saying to me, but 
 that at the same time he saw, rising up before him, 
 all the obstacles which stood between his plans and 
 their realization. He had just been pleading, as it 
 were, to a European journalist the cause of his 
 race and of his people, and a struggle was perhaps 
 going on Avithin him between the duty of the 
 Monarch and the pride of the Khalif. It did not 
 last long, however. Abdul Hamid drew himself 
 up, went a few steps with me, and then, taking my 
 hand in his, held it a few minutes while he spoke. 
 
 ' His Majesty thanks you for your visit, which 
 he will remember with pleasure,' interpreted Raghib 
 Bey, ' and he begs you to accept this as a souvenir 
 of this conversation.' 
 
 He handed me a box containing the insignia of 
 the Second Order of the Medjidieh, just as I had 
 bowed to Abdul Hamid for the second time at the 
 door of the room in which he had received me.
 
 300 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 I found my friends where I had left them. They 
 were rather surprised at my long absence. I ex- 
 plained to them what had happened, and we decided 
 to go to Osman Bey, the First Chamberlain, to 
 present my thanks, according to the custom of the 
 country. 
 
 Osman Bey, one of the most enlightened Turks, 
 who has established and endowed the largest exist- 
 ing printing-works in the Ottoman Empire, received 
 me with the affability peculiar to his countrymen 
 of the educated class, and, after offering us coffee, 
 called one of his officials, who appeared to be 
 accustomed to this duty, to fasten on the right 
 side of my coat and to place round my neck, in 
 spite of my tourist's costume, the insignia of my 
 new dignity, so that, as Osman Bey remarked, 
 according to the prescriptions, ' the will of the 
 Sultan may be accomplished.' 
 
 I then left the Yildiz Kiosque with my friends. 
 The numerous Turks whom we met saluted me 
 respectfully, without appearing astonished at my 
 accoutrements, which made me feel somewhat 
 embarrassed. 
 
 The guards of the Palace shouldered arms, and 
 as I passed through the last gateway I perceived 
 a crowd of persons staring at me. They under- 
 stood that I had just had an interview with the 
 Sultan. But I could not refrain from saying to 
 myself : ' I only hope that no caricaturist will catch 
 sight of me !'
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 
 
 There is no regime and no Government which at 
 some time or another does not make a mistake, and 
 I believe that a grave error was committed by the 
 French Republic when, in May, 1886, it decided to 
 expel from the country the Princes belonging to 
 the dynasties which had reigned over France — the 
 Comte de Paris and his son, the Due d'Orleans, on 
 the one side, and Prince Jerome Napoleon and his 
 son, Prince Victor Napoleon, on the other. I think 
 it was a mistake because, in the first place, when a 
 democratic Government inscribes on the walls of 
 its public buildings the great word ' Liberty,' its 
 desire should be that liberty should exist not only 
 for, but also against, itself ; in the second place, 
 because exile is a barbarous punishment, which 
 ought to disappear from the customs of contem- 
 porary civilization ; and lastly, because, by exiling 
 the Princes, to whom she had hitherto shown 
 hospitality, the French Republic thereby gave them 
 the right to conspire against her ; she could no 
 longer appeal to their sentiments of honour to 
 respect the order of things established ; she placed 
 
 [ 301 ]
 
 302 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 tliem in the best position that claimants to the 
 Throne could wish for — that of being able to con- 
 spire at their ease. 
 
 Without paradox, I say that, if I Avere the 
 Government, it seems to me that, for my own 
 personal tranquillity, I should allow myself the 
 luxury of having in my country a Pretender as a 
 hostage. 
 
 M^ 4b 4k 4b 4b 
 
 TT TP TP TP TV 
 
 Now, the Comte de Paris, in particular, the heir 
 to the Throne of Louis Philippe, could not be con- 
 sidered as a very dangerous Pretender. Tall and 
 strong, with a frank, placid sort of face, intelligent, 
 loyal, but not bright eyes, a firm-looking mouth 
 with a kind, but not melancholy, expression, sturdy 
 on his legs, but with a slight stoop, his shoulders 
 square but sloping — his physical appearance was, 
 on the whole, more that of a bourgeois than of a 
 candidate for the Crown. 
 
 He liked work of a prolonged and serious nature, 
 and delighted in social problems, the solution of 
 which is apt to demand a life-time. 
 
 It was with veritable enthusiasm that he penned 
 a voluminous work on the American Civil War, 
 and on the 21st of July, 1874, he wrote me a long 
 letter on that subject, from which I quote the 
 following characteristic passage: 
 
 ' I have,' he said, ' found great satisfaction, in the 
 midst of my trials during the last few years, in 
 accomplishing this work, which has been consider- 
 able, and in placing on the scene, after conscientious
 
 EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 303 
 
 researches for historical truth, actors who are most 
 of them known to me personally. I have found in 
 this an occupation during my exile, something to 
 refresh my mind at critical moments. It was not 
 for the sake of bringing back my vanished illusions, 
 nor with the idea of turnina; mv thouo-hts from the 
 ])resent to the past, that I have continued this work, 
 which I began a long time ago. What illusions 
 could I have lost ? Confidence in the future, the 
 conviction that my country will recover morally, 
 outlive in my mind all the vicissitudes it has 
 experienced. And if my thoughts turn often 
 towards America, it is in order to recall to mind 
 the crisis which I witnessed, the discouragement 
 and trouble which in those difficult times seemed 
 to have taken possession of all hearts, the gloomy 
 predictions which I heard on all sides, and to say 
 to myself that, after all, the day came when those 
 who had reasoned calmly saw their patriotic confi- 
 dence justified in a most brilliant manner.' 
 
 It seems to me that the whole of the Comte de 
 Paris was in that letter. He was waiting, without 
 eagerness or regret, for the hour that Providence 
 should decree for him to ascend the Throne. He 
 had very few illusions, and a kind of vague presenti- 
 ment that that hour would never arrive for him. 
 He was an enemy, not only of \iolent means, but 
 even of all noise and agitation. It seemed as 
 though he were destined to end his days peacefully 
 in calm and in this work. 
 
 This was the precise moment chosen by the
 
 804 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Republic to place round the forehead of this 
 ' model Pretender' the halo of exile. 
 
 ^ tP T? tP TV 
 
 As soon as I heard that the Bill for the expul- 
 sion of the French Princes had been introduced 
 into the Chamber of Deputies, I went to the 
 Chateau d'Eu, in Normandy, where the Comte de 
 Paris and all his family were then residing. 
 
 I had already had the honour of seeing the heir 
 to the Throne of Louis Philippe several times, and 
 we had kept up a rather lengthy correspondence 
 with each other. As soon as I asked for an 
 audience, he granted it willingly. He received 
 me in his library in the midst of his books 
 and of the telegrams of sympathy which were 
 pouring in upon his table from all parts of 
 France. 
 
 I assured him that I had not come for an inter- 
 view, but to express to him how grieved I was 
 personally at the thought of the terrible exile with 
 which he was threatened. 
 
 ' Oh,' he answered, ' in this circumstance, as in 
 so many others, there is no need for me to ask you to 
 keep our meeting secret. There is no necessity for 
 me to conceal the fact that I have had a conversation 
 with you. When I heard at Talavera that the Bill 
 of expulsion had been laid before the Chamber, it 
 was not of myself that I first thought, nor yet of 
 my family. I thought of my country, and I felt an 
 immense sadness come over me at the idea that, 
 after a hundred years of struggling and discord,
 
 EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 305 
 
 the era of proscription had not yet closed, and 
 that the children of France should still be seen 
 wandering about without a home in a foreign 
 land.' 
 
 ' And where do you think of going, Monseigneur,' 
 I asked, ' if, as seems probable, the Bill should pass 
 as regards you and the Due d'Orleans ?' 
 
 ' I have not yet definitely decided, but I think 
 very seriously of going to England. I receive 
 from that country so many and such inviting proofs 
 of general sympathy, and I have such touching 
 letters from persons whom I do not even know, that 
 at present it will be difficult for me to seek refuge 
 elsewhere. I cannot go to Germany ; Austria 
 would be too far away from our beloved France ; 
 and I know only too well, from a certain experience 
 which I have not yet had time to forget, that London 
 is the centre of information, so that I am very much 
 drawn towards it. 
 
 ' I thought of Switzerland, but I can go there 
 later on, for I do not intend to stay definitely in 
 any fixed place. I have no intention of buying a 
 house, or of settling down for good. Formerly, 
 when in exile, I chose a fixed residence, because 
 circumstances were then different. I was not at 
 that time the undisputed head of the House of 
 France, so that I could then w^ait, without failing in 
 any duty, for events to take place. At present it is 
 not the same thing, and I do not give up hope of 
 seeing my country again, for, even under its present 
 form, I cannot believe that this persecution wdll 
 
 20
 
 306 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 continue, and that France will not reopen her doors 
 to all her children. 
 
 ' That is why I do not wish to settle down 
 definitely. I shall go away, and we shall try to 
 imagine that we are travelling ; we shall change 
 our abode without changing our hopes.' 
 
 ' Is it true, Monseigneur, that a General said to 
 you at the reception on the loth o£ May : "Mon- 
 seigneur, you have not only soldiers, but an 
 army i 
 
 ' Such a remark was never made to me. Besides, 
 there ivere, on the occasion, only two Generals 
 present, both of whom were retired officers, and 
 neither of them had any conversation with me. 
 Neither of them uttered that phrase. A great 
 many reports were spread on that occasion, and 
 many pretexts were sought for. I was told that the 
 Premier had taken exception to my having invited 
 some Ambassadors. I could not have advised him 
 of the fact, for that would have been giving to 
 my invitations a political character they did not 
 possess. I did not invite the Diplomatic Corps ; I 
 simply invited to a family party some diplomats 
 who were my personal friends. 
 
 ' I had known Lord Lyons, for instance, for 
 twenty-five years, and had always been on friendly 
 terms with him. It would have been giving a 
 political character to my invitations if I had 
 excluded Lord Lyons because he was the 
 Ambassador of England. I have also been blamed 
 for certain newspaper articles. That merely shows
 
 EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 307 
 
 how short of arguments some people were. I 
 neither knew of, nor did I inspire, these articles, 
 otherwise I should have said to their authors, as I 
 have said to all my friends: "Do not let anyone 
 misrepresent the character of this fete. I am the 
 father of a family inviting his friends, and this little 
 reunion has not been prompted by any other idea." ' 
 ' Monseigneur,' I said, ' as it is probable that the 
 Bill will be passed by which you alone and the Due 
 d'Orleans will be exiled, and the other Princes will 
 be allowed to remain in a more or less tolerable 
 position, will these Princes follow you ?' 
 
 ' I have just communicated to my brother my 
 formal desire that he should remain, since he has a 
 right to do so. I particularly wish him to stay 
 here, where I can no longer reside ; I particularly 
 desire that he should live in the land from which I 
 am exiled. I have already told you that I do not 
 intend to take up any fixed abode. 
 
 ' I cannot expect that he should travel about with 
 me, and make his home in the places where I stay, 
 according to circumstances or according to my 
 preferences. It will be a consolation to me to feel 
 that he is here, and I know too well his affection for 
 me not to be compelled to act with authority in 
 order to insist on his staying in France. A great 
 deal has been said about the Due d'Aumale, and 
 when he learnt the way in which his defence had 
 been undertaken in order to save him from exile, he 
 was very bitter. He came at once to see me, and he 
 made no secret of his visit. 
 
 20—2
 
 308 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' It was the best, and, indeed, the only way to reply 
 to those who wished to prove that they were right in 
 insisting that he should be allowed to remain in 
 France. I will say of him what I said about the Due 
 de Chartres. I cannot compel him to go wandering 
 about. He has not, as I have, the duties of the 
 exceptional situation which this law demands o£ 
 me, for it treats me in such a distinctly exclusive 
 manner that, if I had adopted it myself, it would 
 have been imputed to me as a crime. By separating 
 me from the rest of my family, they qualify me in 
 a more ostensible way than I should ever have done, 
 and if my pride were greater than my love of my 
 country, I should now be delighted. As to the 
 other Princes, they have never troubled about 
 politics, but have remained content with serving 
 their Fatherland. It is only just, therefore, that 
 they should be held blameless of any crime, and it 
 would be strange if I were to show myself more 
 exactino; towards them than are our adversaries.' 
 
 o 
 
 ' People say, Monseigneur, that you wanted to 
 wait until you were expelled by force instead of 
 obeying a simple order.' 
 
 ' They did not know me well to say that. I can 
 only see two ways of proceeding. Three centuries 
 ago a Prince in my situation would have killed any- 
 one who had come with such an order, and would 
 have rushed off to the country with his comrades to 
 start a civil war. But that is neither in accordance 
 with my character nor with our times. I shall obey 
 the law. I owe that to my friends, and I owe it to
 
 EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 309 
 
 my adversaries. I owe it to my country, too, for 
 it is being taught to scorn the law. I shall depart 
 in obedience to the law, of which I shall be duly 
 informed.' 
 
 ' Shall you keep the day of your departure a 
 secret, Monseigneur ?' 
 
 ' No, certainly not. Unless I am obliged to act 
 differently, I shall start by daylight, and I know 
 my friends well enough to be sure that, when I take 
 leave of them, they will all act in a dignified way, 
 as becomes the friends of an exiled family dear to 
 them. I shall be glad to shake hands with those 
 who come to see me off, but when the moment 
 arrives, it is for consolation that I shall look rather 
 than for noisy satisfaction.' 
 
 I have taken care to reproduce the Comte's exact 
 words — in the first place, because they do him 
 honour, and, in the second place, because he 
 adhered to them scrupulously. 
 
 When, on the 22nd of June, 1886, at ten o'clock 
 in the evening, and in the same library where he 
 had spoken to me of his plans when in exile, the 
 Comte de Paris received the decisive telegram 
 announcing that, by a majority of thirty-seven votes, 
 the Senate had ratified the decision of the Chamber 
 of Deputies and voted his exile, he showed no 
 sign of anger or revolt. 
 
 He went down into the large salon, where all the 
 Princes of France were anxiously awaiting him, 
 and, handing the telegram to the Due d'Aumale, 
 simply remarked :
 
 310 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' The Bill is adopted in its entirety by a majority 
 of thirty-seven votes. . . . We start the day after 
 to-morrow.' 
 
 And on the second day, at two o'clock in the 
 afternoon, the piers black with people, an English 
 boat, which had hoisted at its mainmast the tri- 
 colour ed flag, sailed slowly away from the T report 
 quay. 
 
 I can still see that scene. The sun was shining 
 brilliantly, and the deck of the boat was covered 
 with flowers. On the bridge stood a man, bare- 
 headed, his handkerchief in his hand, his head bent 
 slightly sideways over his shoulder. His figure, 
 which usually had a slight stoop, was now erect, 
 making him look taller. It was the Comte de Paris 
 leaving for England, an exile. 
 
 For a long time he remained thus, standing on 
 the bridge, gazing at the sunny shores of France 
 from which he had just been torn away, and it 
 seemed as though his eyes desired to take in every 
 bend of the coast, in order to engrave it on his 
 memory for ever. Perhaps, since he had the con- 
 viction that he would never reign over this country, 
 he had also, at that solemn hour, a presentiment 
 that, in all his life, he would never again see the 
 land of France.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 SAN REMO 
 
 I DOUBT if in modern times, or perhaps even in the 
 past, a greater, or more impressive, or more afFect- 
 ingly tragic episode has ever taken place than 
 that of which the marvellous res^ion of the ' Cote 
 d'Azur,' by the shore of the eternally blue Mediter- 
 ranean, was the scene during the winter of 1887-'88. 
 
 On the frontier which separates France and Italy, 
 in the delicious little town of San Remo, among the 
 palms and the orange-trees in blossom, there, in the 
 sunlight and the fragrance which bathed the white 
 city, a man whom suffering had vanquished was 
 slowly dying. He was the son of the old Emperor 
 William I., and the son-in-law of Queen Victoria. 
 I refer to the Crown Prince Frederick William. 
 
 The whole world had its eyes fixed on this town 
 and on this man. With anxious curiosity every- 
 body was watching the frightful struggle in progress 
 there, the object of which was to prolong the life 
 of the doomed heir to a throne. Would he live 
 long enough to become Emperor ? Would he have 
 the strength to traverse the little space separating 
 him from one of the greatest thrones on earth ? 
 
 ['311 ]
 
 812 INIEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Who would be the first to die — the okl Emperor, 
 enfeebled by age, or his son, enfeebled by sickness ? 
 AVho would be King — the Crown Prince Frederick, 
 or the young man, ardent, impetuous and impatient, 
 known as Prince William ? . . . All the world 
 over, these were the questions that people were 
 asking themselves and to which they were awaiting 
 a reply. 
 
 San Remo had been, one might almost say, taken 
 by storm by reporters from every country imme- 
 diately after the arrival there of the Crown Prince. 
 Opposite his villa was a hotel, the Hotel de la 
 Mediterranee. People almost came to blows in order 
 to secure a front-room there. Certain American 
 papers had sent out young ladies as reporters, relying 
 on their sex for procuring them certain privileges. 
 These ladies, from morning to night, kept levelling 
 their photographic apparatus at the villa, the garden, 
 and more especially at the balcony on which, in the 
 afternoon, Frederick William was wont to try and 
 soothe his suffering, as he listened to the somewhat 
 distant murmur of the sea. To protect him against 
 this inquisitorial indiscretion a high wall of verdure 
 had been constructed, and on the balcony a screen 
 had been placed. But this was all so much time 
 and trouble thrown away. The reporters, men and 
 women alike, ascended to the roof of the hotel, and 
 from that vantage-point, thrusting their vision beyond 
 both screen and wall of verdure, photographed and 
 gazed and listened to their heart's content. . . . 
 Yet they obtained little enough. No one, at all
 
 SAN REMO 3ia 
 
 events, liad the slightest inkling of what was taking 
 place in the interior of the villa, whither no out- 
 sider had been allowed to penetrate. The occu- 
 pants, orderly officers, doctors, maids of honour, 
 servants, were all extremely discreet. Not the 
 slightest echo escaped by the windows ; not a 
 morsel of gossip issued by the door. Reporters 
 and journalists remained in an ignorance anything 
 but blissful, and telegraphed nothing of importance. 
 As one of them, a Frenchman, remarked : 
 
 ' So little is known as to what is going on 
 around the Crown Prince that it is impossible 
 even to exaggerate or to give play to one's 
 imagination.' 
 
 I myself, happening to be at Monte Carlo, had 
 gone over to San Remo, and had striven to penetrate 
 a little the mystery, to raise a corner of the veil, to 
 bring back a few echoes of the tragedy which was 
 evidently taking place, which I felt certain was 
 going on behind the walls of verdure. But I had 
 completely failed, and had left San Remo disap- 
 pointed, irritated, but haunted by the image of this 
 villa, picturesquely suspended in its garden of 
 verdure, but tantalizingly mute, and as enigmatic 
 as a sphinx. 
 
 tP TT ^ ^ ^ 
 
 One morning, however, in the first week of 
 March, 1888, I found among my correspondence a 
 letter with a mauve envelope. 
 
 I recall vividly, even now, its very form and 
 colour. The letter was in a large and fine feminine
 
 314 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 liandwritina:. It contained only four lines, as 
 follows : 
 
 ' If you wish to know all about the tragedy of San Remo, 
 why do you not try to find Mme. Zirio ?' 
 
 More than once, during my long and adventurous 
 existence, I have received just such mysterious and 
 anonymous suggestions. They were not always 
 written on mauve letter-paper, nor did they always 
 emanate from a feminine hand. According to my 
 humour at the time, or to the presentiment I felt, 
 or to the sensations aroused in me, I either flung 
 them into the waste-paper basket or religiously 
 heeded their contents. And when I adopted the 
 latter resolution I never had cause to reo;ret it. 
 
 I remembered (juite well the name of Mme. Zirio, 
 whom I had met once in the South of France. She 
 was a tall, handsome woman, with bright, honest 
 eyes, a delicate yet energetic mouth, and brilliant 
 black hair, in which, like the women of Catalonia, 
 she often wore a large fantastic comb. Her 
 whole bearing, thanks to her Marseilles extraction, 
 betrayed the suppleness of the Phocians and the 
 wavy motion of the Greeks. She was married to 
 an Italian, who was always ill, M. Baptiste Zirio, 
 and I was unable to make out what possible con- 
 nection there could be between her and the dying 
 heir of the German Empire. Yet I felt a presenti- 
 ment bidding me ' Go !' and I went. The same 
 evening I packed my bag and took the Mediterranean 
 Express for San Remo.
 
 SAN REMO 315 
 
 When there, I discovered without difficulty the 
 little house occupied by Mme. Zirio. I rang the 
 door-bell and was ushered in. It was only after I 
 found myself seated in this lady's drawing-room 
 that the humour of the situation struck me, and 
 that I began to wonder how I should explain my 
 position to my hostess. 
 
 I concluded that the simplest means were the 
 best, and when Mme. Zirio appeared, and we had 
 exchanged the preliminary compliments, I merely 
 showed her the mauve letter. 
 
 She blushed a little and then turned pale. 
 
 ' It is really strange,' she said ; ' I, too, received 
 a letter yesterday almost identical with this one. 
 The handwriting was very much like this, and the 
 colour of the paper was the same. Mine also con- 
 tained four lines : 
 
 ' If you receive the visit of a celebrated journalist, why not 
 tell him the truth about the tragedy of San Remo ?' 
 
 The coincidence was, to say the least, odd. I 
 hastened to add that the mysterious person who 
 had sent these two letters certainly knew what she 
 was about, for Mme. Zirio, whose name had hitherto 
 been j^i'onoi^inced by no one in the world, whose 
 very existence was unsuspected by any journalist, 
 was, in reality, the proprietor of the w^hite villa 
 occupied by the Crown Prince Frederick. It was 
 she who had supervised all the preparations, and 
 who, having only five weeks allotted her, had en- 
 gaged and trained the admirably discreet corps of
 
 316 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 attendants, from whom no one at San Remo had 
 been able to extract the slightest information. It 
 was she who had daily access to the interior of the 
 princely habitation, and who was consulted hourly, 
 by night as well as by day, as to what had to be 
 done, and it was she to whom Prince William had 
 paid a visit during his forty-eight hours' stay at 
 San Remo, and to whom, even, in token of his 
 gratitude and friendship, he had given his photo- 
 graph with a dedication. 
 
 Zirio had herself arranged the apartments. The 
 ground-floor was used as a general drawing-room 
 and dining-room. The first-floor was occupied by 
 the Crown Prince and his wife. A large bedroom, 
 with two small beds exactly alike, communicated by 
 a large dressing-room and by a small corridor with 
 the apartments of the maid of honour. Countess von 
 Briichl. 
 
 On the second-floor were the apartments of the 
 Princesses — Princess Victoria, who was engaged to 
 Prince Alexander of Battenberg, and who, display- 
 ing her hands, which were interminably long, said, 
 with a laugh, in French : ' Moi, j'ai des Hohenzol- 
 lern les mains, les pieds et les oreilles ; c'est 
 enorme !' and Princess Sophie, who, on the eve of 
 her return to Berlin, said : ' I am glad to leave, for 
 I was almost forgetting here that I am a Royal 
 Princess.' 
 
 The Crown Prince was so much delighted with 
 the house when he first entered it, that, after almost 
 joyfully taking off his cap and throwing Jiside his
 
 SAN REMO 317 
 
 long brown ulster, he exclaimed to Mme. Zirio : ' I 
 am touched by the attentive way in which every- 
 thing has been arranged for our stay here. One 
 feels that it is the eye of a woman, and the eye of a 
 woman of this lovely coast, which has watched over 
 everything for us.' . . . . 
 
 And seated there in Mme. Zirio's drawing-room, 
 only a few steps from the white villa and near the 
 blue sea, my hostess, obeying the mysterious letter 
 on the mauve paper, related to me what was called 
 ' The Tragedy of San Remo.' 
 
 ^ w y^ VF ^ 
 
 It was, indeed, a veritable tragedy, and behind 
 the peaceful walls of the sunlit house there were 
 some terrible struo-o-les and certain frio:htful rival- 
 ries. The sick man had brought with him German 
 doctors, among whom was Professor Bergmann, and 
 English doctors, the most prominent of the number 
 being Sir Morell Mackenzie; and between these 
 doctors the quarrels were almost dramatic in their 
 intensity. At the outset the Germans held their 
 peace, relatively speaking ; but later on they 
 exjDressed their opinions of Sir Morell Mackenzie 
 with a brutal want of self-control, even going so far 
 as to say that he furnished information to the 
 Press, and that on this information he speculated 
 on the Bourse. The servants and attendants were 
 all either German or English, and reflected the 
 dissensions of the doctors. Count von SeckendorfF, 
 who had taken up his abode in a dark room, into 
 which the sun never penetrated, on the ground-floor,
 
 318 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 was the inflexible partisan of the Royal Princess, 
 while Count Radolinski sided with the Germans. 
 
 Between the two parties there was not one single 
 moment o£ truce. The struggle was sombre and 
 silent, but it was visible on any and every occasion. 
 The two camps attacked and abused each other. 
 When the moment arrived to perform the operation 
 of tracheotomy, the wretched battle continued even 
 around the tube which was to prolong the agony of 
 Frederick III. The German doctors wanted a 
 German tube, the English doctors an English one. 
 Finally, under the direction of the famous American 
 doctor, Thomas Evans, a goldsmith constructed the 
 model which was adopted. 
 
 On the 9th of November, 1887, at 6.30 p.m., 
 another element of tragedy heightened the dramatic 
 character of the situation. Prince William of 
 Prussia arrived at San Remo. The local authorities, 
 his brother (Prince Henry), and the Aides-de-Camp 
 awaited him. With his characteristic impulsive- 
 ness. Prince Henry rushed forward to throw himself 
 into his brother's arms. Prince William stopped 
 him with a haughtiness that did not escape observa- 
 tion. His face was grave, and he looked sedate and 
 hierarchic. The smiles vanished from the lips of 
 the onlookers, and the veil of sadness seemed still 
 heavier. 
 
 During his visit, which lasted forty-eight hours. 
 Prince William saw very little of his father, if, 
 indeed, he saw him at all. But he had long talks 
 with the German doctors, displaying towards their
 
 SAN REMO 319 
 
 English colleagues either disdain or utter indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
 ' My mother,' he said, ' is really very short- 
 sighted in substituting English for German science. 
 Bismarck, who never makes a mistake, considers 
 German science superior to all other.' 
 
 He went with his brother and sisters on a few 
 short sea-trips, which was his way of spending the 
 afternoon, and appeared quite gay, as though he 
 had nothing whatever to worry him. 
 
 ' You see,' he said, ' it is better to have only boys, 
 for a girl gives much more trouble, and is a 
 great deal more expensive. One must have a 
 governess for her, a maid of honour, and quite a 
 complicated household. Whereas boys can be 
 dressed all alike in uniform. One piece of stuff 
 serves for them all. . . My boys are all dressed as 
 gunners, even the youngest, who is only eighteen 
 months old, and who is a corporal. On his last 
 birthday I took command of his company and 
 marched it past the Emperor William. It was the 
 last time he laughed, and he laughed till the tears 
 came trickling down his cheeks, for he saw the 
 little corporal marching past straight and upright, 
 turning his head at the word of command.' 
 
 On the day following his arrival Prince William 
 announced his departure. 
 
 ' Ah, so much the better,' said Mme. Zirio, who 
 chanced to be there. ' Then, the Crown Prince 
 is improving, and the last consultation was re- 
 assuring ?'
 
 320 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 ' Oh no,' replied Prince William ; ' on the contrary, 
 my father, as was foreseen when I left Berlin, is 
 despaired of. He is suffering, without the slightest 
 doubt, from cancer. It is a matter of only a certain 
 number of days, perhaps weeks. I am going 
 because there is no longer anything to hope for. 
 My grandfather is much weaker. The Tsar is 
 coming, and my presence in Berlin is indispens- 
 able. I think I shall still have time to return 
 here.' 
 
 There were a few moments of silence, and then 
 Mme. Zirio exclaimed, laughing : 
 
 ' Will you allow me to say, " Au revoir, future 
 Emperor " ?' 
 
 ' Willingly,' replied the Prince, and then took his 
 leave. 
 
 The following day he left San Remo for Berlin. 
 He w^as absolutely convinced that his father's case 
 was hopeless, and his conviction was strengthened 
 by the verdict of those doctors in whom alone he 
 had faith. In his opinion Morell Mackenzie was an 
 ignoramus, whose assertions were not worth discuss- 
 ing in presence of the infallible verdict of the 
 German faculty. 
 
 On the 7tli of February, 1888, just four weeks 
 before I arrived at San Remo, at 11 a.m., the Crown 
 Prince and his wife were about to go for a drive on 
 the Corniche in an open carriage. Morell Mackenzie 
 and Dr. Bramann, Dr. Bergmann's assistant, were 
 at the door of the villa. Just as the driver was 
 about to start the horses, who were growing im-
 
 SAN REMO 321 
 
 patient, a slight breeze sprang up on the coast. 
 Mackenzie, walking towards Bramann, made a sign 
 to the driver, who pulled back his team. 
 
 The Prince, with a sad look in his eyes, turned 
 his head towards the doctors. 
 
 ' This drive is imprudent,' said Mackenzie to 
 Bramann. ' The respiration is becoming difficult. 
 Two hours hence it may, perhaps, be too late, and 
 Bergmann will not be here for two days. We must 
 come to a decision.' 
 
 ' I shall never have the courage to assume the re- 
 sponsibility of this operation,' replied Dr. Bramann. 
 
 The Prince, who was watching them both, saw 
 that Bramann was growing pale. 
 
 ' At all events,' replied Mackenzie, ' before 
 allowing him to go out, we must make a fresh 
 examination.' 
 
 He made an affectionate sign to the future 
 Emperor, inviting him to get out of the carriage, and 
 the Crown Prince flung off the furs that covered his 
 knees, and, turning towards the Princess as if to 
 ask her pardon for having spoiled her drive, he 
 stepped down and entered the house. The doctors 
 then examined the throat once more. 
 
 ' I will wait an hour,' said Mackenzie. ' If there 
 is no change you must operate.' 
 
 An iron bedstead was sent for, the headrail of 
 which was broken for the convenience of the 
 doctors. The bed was placed in the middle of the 
 room, with a red cushion on the pillows. 
 
 At one o'clock there was a fresh examination. 
 
 21
 
 322 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 Mackenzie, after a rapid glance, merely turned to 
 Bramann and said : 
 
 ' Are you ready ?' 
 
 ' Yes,' replied the latter. 
 
 The Prince lay down on the little iron bed. He 
 was quite calm. 
 
 ' Is chloroform indispensable ?' he asked. 
 
 ' Yes, Prince,' replied the doctors. 
 
 The anaesthetic then began its work, and Bramann 
 took off his coat. The operation was commenced. 
 
 Two hours later it was over, and the Crown 
 Princess Frederick entered the apartment of her 
 maid of honour, the Countess von Briichl, exclaim- 
 ing with sobs : 
 
 ' Fritz has the tube in his throat.' 
 
 ^ ^ -^ ■^ 7^ 
 
 All this, I need hardly say, is history, and even 
 now, as I write these lines, I can recall vividly the 
 scene at San Remo, when Mme. Zirio related to 
 me, as the shadows fell, the whole story of this 
 tragedy, of which she herself had been so absorbed 
 a spectator. 
 
 This interview, as I have said, occurred on the 
 8th of March, 1888. As I sat there drinking in 
 every word that fell from the lips of my inter- 
 locutor, and fixing them faithfully in my memory, 
 something more intensely dramatic than all that 
 precedes took place. 
 
 The drawing-room door suddenly, burst open, 
 and a servant rushed in, completely out of 
 breath.
 
 SAN REMO 3213 
 
 ' Madame, madame,' she exclaimed, ' have you 
 heard the news ?' 
 
 ' No ; what is it ?' 
 
 ' It has just come from the Wliite Villa. The 
 old Emperor has just died in Berlin.' 
 
 A moment later we were on our way to the 
 White Villa. 
 
 I shall never forget this historical scene, one of 
 the most affecting I have ever witnessed. 
 
 In the Crown Prince's garden a pall of sorrow 
 seemed to hang like an atmosphere. Officers, 
 major-domos, sentries, and servants, were hurrying 
 hither and thither in strange confusion. The large 
 drawing-room on the ground-floor was brilliantly 
 lighted, and through the windows we could see 
 everything that was going on. 
 
 The members of the household had all assembled 
 there, and were standing in a circle. The con- 
 versation was in undertones. All seemed to feel 
 the strangeness, the really stupefying position of 
 this sudden elevation of the Prince, whose death 
 had already been discounted and deplored. 
 
 Suddenly the door opened and the ' Emperor ' 
 appeared. 
 
 He had become handsome again, as in the radiant 
 days of his youth. His beard, with a few silver 
 streaks, glowed in the brilliant light of the chan- 
 delier. Tall and well built, he dominated the 
 entire company. His blue eyes were slightly misty. 
 His delicate complexion, now heightened with a 
 little colour, seemed to show the real tranquillity 
 
 21—2
 
 324 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 which had taken possession of his soul ; and his 
 mouth, with the red lips, had now that fascinating 
 smile which characterized him. 
 
 With a firm step he walked straight to a small 
 table in the middle of the drawing-room, and wrote 
 — for the tube prevented him from speaking — a 
 few lines which he signed. An officer read out the 
 paper aloud. It was the announcement of the 
 death of the Emperor William I., and of his own 
 accession as Frederick III. 
 
 The Emperor then walked towards the Empress, 
 made a long and reverent bow, paying full homage 
 to his wife's valiant courage, and with a grave and 
 tender gesture passed round her neck the ribbon of 
 the Black Eagle. 
 
 The Empress, with tears in her eyes, threw 
 herself into the arms of Frederick III., and as they 
 embraced they gave full vent at last to their sobs, 
 which they had so long and so heroically restrained. 
 
 All present then marched past the new Emperor. 
 Dr. Morell Mackenzie, who had performed the 
 operation, stopped somewhat longer than the others. 
 Frederick III. had seized his two hands, clasping 
 them warmly. At a small table the Emperor wrote 
 for him a few words of gratitude : 
 
 ' I thank you for having made me live long 
 enough to recompense the valiant courage of my 
 wife. . . .' 
 
 After this brief scene everybody left the 
 drawing-room. The Enijjeror ascended with the 
 Empress to his apartments on the first-floor. The
 
 SAN REMO 325 
 
 lights gradually went out. Once more the White 
 Villa was plunged in shadow and silence. 
 
 tp ^r tP IP 
 
 The next day I left San Remo for Paris. I have 
 never since seen Mme. Zirio, and I cannot say 
 whether she has kept the mysterious mauve letter. 
 Nor have I any idea, even now, as to the author of 
 its strange contents. 
 
 During my journalistic career I have been aided 
 by many a chance, I have met with many extra- 
 ordinary incidents, but no chance, no incident, has 
 appeared to me more marvellous than that which 
 led me to San Remo to witness the final scenes 
 of that historical traffedv, which had aroused the 
 passionate interest of the whole world. 
 
 And I felt it my duty, in these my Memoirs, to 
 devote to this episode an entire chapter, for it will 
 show the remarkable part which the inscrutable 
 goddess called Destiny plays in the career of a 
 journalist.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 
 
 This chapter might also be entitled ' Of the 
 Difficulties experienced hy a Journalist who wishes 
 to maintain Cordial Relations with a Diplomatist.' 
 
 And I write it, not only for the sake of retracing 
 an episode of contemporary history with which 
 I was connected, but also to show the strange 
 obstacles, the unexpected contradictions, and the 
 unheard-of difficulties, that a journalist must face 
 in order to keep the public well posted on the great 
 events that are happening in the world. 
 
 In 1891 Germany was represented in Paris by an 
 Ambassador who was first Count, and then Prince, 
 Miinster. 
 
 Count Miinster was one of the most striking types 
 of a German I have ever met. He was like a 
 straight, healthy tree brought from one of the 
 German forests, and continual contact with the 
 diplomatic world had only softened very slightly 
 the roughness of his bark. He had that frigid 
 and somewhat monotonous slowness of Germans 
 who are given to reflection. He had neither that 
 feminine gracefulness so frequently found in 
 
 [ 326 ]
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 327 
 
 diplomatists nor yet that quick understanding with 
 which women are usually credited. His somewhat 
 imposing physical heaviness gave one the exact idea 
 of his moral nature, and this curious and rare 
 harmonv of the exterior with the interior was almost 
 perfect in his case. 
 
 Count Mlinster was Ambassador in Paris at a very 
 difficult period. The relations between the two 
 countries were far from being then what they have 
 since become. There was great tension between 
 Paris and Berlin — or, to speak more exactly, 
 between the French nation and the German nation. 
 There were frequent incidents springing up, either 
 on the frontier or in the very heart of the capital, 
 which rendered the task of the diplomatist and 
 the Governments of both countries extremely 
 arduous. 
 
 Rumours of war were sometimes heard in 
 the distance. In addition to this, the mission of 
 Count Mlinster was rendered all the more complex 
 by the fact that, in Germany, the most serious 
 and disquieting quarrels were beginning to take 
 place between the Emperor, William II., and his 
 formidable Chancellor, Prince Bismarck. There 
 were rumours of resignation in the air, and German 
 diplomatists abroad did not know whether the 
 orders they received from Wilhelmstrasse came 
 from the master of yesterday or the master of the 
 future. 
 
 Finallv, the resio^nation of the Chancellor was 
 announced in March, 1890, and fell like a thunder-
 
 328 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 holt. All the suhordinates of Bismarck wondered 
 whether the retirement from power of their chief 
 meant their own dismissal. 
 
 Count Miinster, on his arrival in Paris, had done 
 his utmost to be agreeable to everyone, and had 
 proved himself to be most conciliating. He had 
 invited me several times to the Embassy, and had 
 talked to me a great deal about the difficulties of 
 his mission, the complexity of his position, and the 
 unsatisfactory condition of international relations. 
 He had always welcomed me most cordially, and 
 had almost insisted upon my returning to see him, to 
 keep him posted with regard to public opinion, and 
 to give him any advice I might think useful for the 
 maintenance of peaceful relations between the two 
 countries. 
 
 One morning in June, fifteen months after the 
 resignation of Prince Bismarck, I read, Avithout 
 much surprise, in several journals a telegram from 
 Berlin to the effect that ' there was a rumour afloat 
 there of the recall of Count Miinster, German 
 Ambassador in Paris, and that he was to be super- 
 seded by another diplomatist.' 
 
 I went immediately to the Embassy, and asked 
 the Count how much truth there was in this state- 
 ment concerning him. 
 
 The Ambassador was rather nervous and irritated. 
 
 ' They are stabbing me in the back,' he said ; ' they 
 will not forgive me because, in the quarrel between 
 the Emperor and the Chancellor, I sided with my 
 Sovereign. Prince Bismarck cannot put up with
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 329 
 
 the position of being nobody, and he wants to drag 
 others down with him in his fall.' 
 
 ' Excuse me,' I interrupted, ' but I thought that, 
 on the contrary, the Chancellor had accepted his 
 withdrawal from public affairs very philosophically, 
 and that he was rather glad to be relieved of the 
 burden of power.' 
 
 ' I thought so, too,' answered Count Minister, 
 ' but I only thought so for half an hour. At the 
 end of thirty minutes my illusions had vanished, 
 and I knew what to think of his frame of mind.' 
 
 And then, before I had added a word or asked 
 another question of any kind. Count Miinster, with 
 a shade of irony in his voice, began the following 
 extraordinary story, which I now tell without 
 altering a single word : 
 
 ' On Wednesday, the 19th of March of last year 
 (1890), I arrived in Berlin. My first call was on 
 Prince Bismarck. I was quite ignorant of Avhat 
 had taken place the previous day. The Prince, 
 after the exchange of the first greetings, told me 
 that he had resi2:ned. He made the statement in a 
 calm voice, with a smile on his lips, congratulating 
 himself on being able to resume the country life of 
 which he was so fond, to revisit his forests and 
 broad plains, for which he had a great liking, and 
 to become himself once again during the few 
 remaining years he had to live. In short, he was 
 happy at the idea of its being possible for him to 
 spend the whole of his time without being harassed 
 by constant anxieties and worries. I evinced great
 
 330 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 surprise at this news, and attempted some objec- 
 tions ; but I did not maintain this line of conduct 
 lono;, for the countenance of the Prince, his lan- 
 guage and tone of voice, impressed me greatly, and, 
 I should add, filled me with admiration for him. I 
 discovered in him a wonderful philosophy, the 
 accents of a man who divests himself of his 
 honours and power with ease and manly resolution, 
 and who, with the satisfaction of having well occu- 
 pied his life and accomplished his duty, resumes 
 the path which leads him to nobly- won repose. I 
 asked myself how such a man's place could be filled, 
 and I did not understand how, in view of the atti- 
 tude he must to the last moment have maintained, 
 the young Emperor could have taken it upon him- 
 self to part with a man who, by the self-control of 
 which he was giving proof at so very critical a 
 moment, showed what eminent services he might 
 yet have rendered his master. Yes, I confess, the 
 more the Prince's attitude excited my admiration, 
 the less could I account for the Emperor's having 
 decided on overturning him, and the less could I see 
 how such a man's place was to be filled. This two- 
 fold idea haunted me while the Prince was speaking, 
 and then, as often happens in such circumstances, I 
 suddenly recalled to mind, in full detail, two scenes 
 which I had witnessed, two conversations which 
 I had heard. From that moment, while listening 
 to the Prince's monologue, I understood how the 
 Emperor could have conceived and realized the 
 idea of provoking and accepting the Chancellor's
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 331 
 
 retirement, and I foresaw the successor he would 
 give him. Then all became clear to me on the two 
 points. I knew the young Emperor's perfect venera- 
 tion for his grandfather, and I placed together this 
 respectful homage and the first scene which my 
 mind had called up. 
 
 ' A year before his death, at a tea-party which he 
 attended, the old Emperor, who had for some time 
 been conversing with a lady, raised his voice so as 
 to be heard by me and others, and uttered the 
 following words, which fixed themselves in my 
 memory : 
 
 ' " Yes, I assure you, you do not see things from 
 such a good standpoint as I do, but Bismarck has 
 become very stubborn, and it takes all my strength 
 of will to put up with him ; but when I am driven 
 to extremities, and things cannot go on further, the 
 choice of his successor will not embarrass me : my 
 mind is made up — it will be General Caprivi." 
 
 ' As the lady appeared somewhat amazed at the 
 name, the Emperor William continued : 
 
 ' " Yes, the man is not very well known, but I 
 have had him under my orders, I have often talked 
 with him, and I assure you his appointment is the 
 best possible choice if it ever becomes necessary to 
 part with Bismarck." 
 
 ' I was, therefore, almost convinced that General 
 Caprivi would arrive in office, for I was sufficiently 
 well acquainted with the Emperor William I. to 
 know that he must have used the same language to 
 his grandson, to whom he always repeated on the
 
 332 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 following day the conversations he had had, and to 
 whom he must certainly have repeated the one I 
 have just recalled. 
 
 ' As I continued to listen to, and at times to con- 
 verse with, Prince Bismarck, my surprise increasing 
 at the continued calmness with which he was 
 relating his resignation, another of the Emperor's 
 conversations flashed across my mind, and greatly 
 lessened the astonishment I had at the first moment 
 experienced, when Prince Bismarck informed me of 
 his retirement. I remembered that, some con- 
 siderable time before the Emperor William's death, 
 at a period when his health was fairly good, he 
 attended a ' punch ' given b}^ his grandson, the 
 present Emperor, to officers of all arms. Prince 
 Bismarck had shortly before appointed his son. 
 Count Herl)ert, Secretary of State, Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs. 
 
 ' The Emperor William I., speaking aloud, and 
 concealing nothing from all the officers who were 
 listening, said : 
 
 ' " It must be admitted that this young Count 
 Herbert has got on prodigiously fast under the rule 
 of his father. It is the greatest act of nepotism 
 which politics have ever recorded." 
 
 ' I took the liberty of saying to the Emperor : 
 
 ' " But how is it your Majesty has not made the 
 remark to him ? — for I see that this act of favour, of 
 such importance for public affairs, has not escaped 
 your observation." 
 
 ' " Why," said the Emperor, " I cannot at this
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 333 
 
 moment part with the Prince ; he is necessary to 
 his country, and is still necessary to me. I should 
 have readily made the remark to him, but I reflected 
 that, as he does not feel the impropriety of these 
 extraordinary promotions, he could not take the 
 remark coolly, and that, if I made it, it might have 
 more serious consequences than I intended." 
 
 ' The more I reflected on these two conversations 
 of Emperor William I., the less surprised I was 
 both at Prince Bismarck's resignation and at the 
 young Emperor's resolution, for I saw that, in 
 accepting the resignation, he had, as it were, 
 followed the indications of his grandfather's desire, 
 and had beforehand chosen the successor pointed 
 out to him. Knowing how profound was his respect 
 for the old monarch, I felt convinced that he con- 
 sidered himself screened by these recollections and 
 by that authority ; they had inspired him with the 
 energy and resolution of which he had given proof 
 in parting almost harshly with the great Chancellor. 
 ' I rose, and said to the Chancellor that, as the 
 Chamber was sitting, I was going thither. 
 
 ' The Prince replied : " Wait a moment ; I will 
 put on my uniform and accompany you." 
 
 ' He left the room. A few minutes afterwards 
 I heard the Prince and the Princess talking in a 
 very animated way and in a loud tone. Their 
 conversation lasted a quarter of an hour, at the end 
 of Avhich time the Prince re-entered the room, 
 without having changed his attire. He held a large 
 letter open in his hand. He had turned pale, and
 
 334 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 had an irritated expression. He came up to me, 
 and said : 
 
 ' " I cannot accompany you ; I have this moment 
 received a letter from that young man in which he 
 informs me that he confers on me the title of Duke 
 of Lauenburg ; this plainly indicates that my resig- 
 nation is definitive and my disgrace complete. I 
 cannot accept this mocking retirement. He will 
 soon see that a Bismarck is not dismissed in this 
 style." 
 
 ' He then began walking up and down the room 
 in great wrath, uttering threats, accusing everybody, 
 inveighing against his adversaries and the intriguers 
 who had worked in opposition to him. I saw, in 
 short, a man who was loudly protesting against his 
 fall, and whom the conversation with the Princess 
 had evidently worked up — for at all times she and 
 his son had incited him to violent resolutions. It 
 was they who encouraged him in all the precipitate 
 or extreme acts with which he had been reproached. 
 
 ' I then understood that, when he had received 
 me and had talked with such philosophic calmness 
 and dignity of his resignation, he did not believe it 
 was final, but, notwithstanding all that had passed, 
 was persuaded that the Emperor would ask him to 
 resume his post, and not to consider his resignation 
 as definitive. I confess that I was then struck by 
 surprise and sadness. I took leave of a man who, 
 in the space of a single visit, had so strangely altered 
 in my eyes.' 
 
 * * # * *
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 335 
 
 So spoke Count Mlinster. He added to his extra- 
 ordinary story a detail which was decidedly piquant. 
 On going away, after his interview with the Chan- 
 cellor, he asked, before leaving the house, whether 
 it would not be possible for him to pay his respects 
 to Princess Bismarck. But an Aide-de-Camp of the 
 Emperor, who was just passing by, and who recog- 
 nised him, said : 
 
 ' Oh no, Excellency ! I do not think it would be 
 a favourable moment for you to see the Princess. 
 To give you an instance of the state of mind she is 
 now in, a little while ago I took her a portrait of the 
 Emperor, which had been sent by His Majesty to 
 Prince Bismarck as a souvenir. On seeing it, the 
 Princess exclaimed : " Let it be taken to Friedrichs- 
 ruhe and placed in the stable ! . . ." ' 
 
 As he finished. Count Miinster turned to me and 
 said : 
 
 ' You see why I have reason to believe that 
 Prince Bismarck is not reconciled to his fall. I have 
 also reason to believe that he does not forgive me 
 for not having followed him, and the report of my 
 recall, spread abroad by his friends, is more the 
 expression of a desire than of a reality.' 
 
 Thereupon, after talking about several other 
 matters, I left Count Miinster and went away. 
 
 In the evening I telegraphed an account of this 
 memorable interview to The Times. The next day 
 it appeared in the columns of that paper. The day 
 following it was reproduced by the Press of the 
 whole world, for it had been transmitted by telegraph
 
 336 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 to the furthest extremities of the globe. It gave 
 rise everywhere to the most varied comments ; 
 some were ironical, others indignant, still others 
 amusing. One English paper, which republished it 
 in extenso^ added the following line : 
 
 ' M. de Blowitz has again been guilty of grave 
 indiscretion.' 
 
 Here, by way of parenthesis, I should like to say 
 a few words on a subject which I have deeply at 
 heart. In the course of my long career the phrase 
 I have just quoted has been printed about me at 
 various times. I have more than once been accused 
 of indiscretion, and more than once the epithet 
 ' indiscreet ' has been applied to my name. 
 
 I will begin by saying that none of those persons 
 who have reproached me in this way could ever 
 quote one example, one single example, to show that, 
 when I gave my word of honour to be silent, or 
 when I promised not to repeat anything, I have ever 
 broken my word or promise. I defy anyone to 
 prove that I have ever committed an act of treachery. 
 To quote but one instance : When Pope Leo XIII. , 
 after a conversation of more than an hour, in the 
 course of which he had made certain statements 
 that would have caused a great stir in the world, 
 asked me, through Cardinal Jacobini, to give my 
 word of honour not to repeat what had been said, I 
 gave it ; and not only did I never repeat a word of 
 the pontifical statements, but I even destroyed the 
 notes I had taken, and endeavoured to forget what 
 had been said.
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 337 
 
 But if it is called an indiscretion to repeat things 
 that have been said to a journalist by persons 
 who have not taken the precaution to demand 
 secrecy ; if it be an indiscretion to try to find out 
 what is going on and to tell what one knows, to 
 inform the public of all that one discovers by 
 chance, why, certainly, then I flatter myself that I 
 have been indiscreet ; I boast of it, and it is an 
 extra reason for my being proud. I consider that a 
 journalist is, first of all, the servant of his paper 
 and of the public. I consider that he ought to keep 
 nothing hidden from them ; I consider that all he 
 knows, all hel earns, all he sees, all he hears, and 
 all that he feels, belongs to his paper ; that there 
 is only one single law in the world which should 
 prevent him from speaking, which should close his 
 lips — the law of honour ! 
 
 How often have people — sometimes people in very 
 high positions — come to me and said : ' I am going 
 to tell you something extremely interesting, but it is 
 on the understanding that what I tell you is for you 
 alone, and you must not say a word about it in your 
 paper ' ! 
 
 I have always answered them : 
 
 ' Then don't tell me your story ; keep it to your- 
 self. ... I am not inquisitive for my own sake — 
 only for the sake of my paper. I do not care to 
 know what happens if the public is not to know it. 
 I am a journalist, and not a confessor. . . .' 
 
 And it has always seemed to me extremely 
 grotesque for people to imagine that a man who is 
 
 22
 
 338 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 a journalist, who spends all his time, uses all his 
 efforts, his brain, his energy, to know about things, 
 who goes to see Ministers, receives Ambassadors at 
 his table, who rushes to the other end of the world 
 to interview Sovereigns, should do all that for the 
 solitary pleasure of being well posted, of knowing 
 for himself, just for his own private self, what is 
 happening, so that he may store it up in his 
 own memory and never let it be known. 
 
 No, I have always told things when no imperative 
 obligation prevented my doing so ; I have always 
 told my paper and my readers all that I knew, 
 because they had a right to know it. And I main- 
 tain that journalists who are silent when they could 
 speak fail in their duty to the paper which they are 
 supposed to serve, and in their duty to the public 
 for whom they are supposed to be working. 
 
 This said, I return to my story. 
 
 When Count Miinster, who had not asked for 
 secrecy, saw in TJie Times of the 30th of June, 
 1891, the account of Prince Bismarck's resignation 
 which he had related to me, he did not at first show 
 any signs of displeasure or surprise. He did not 
 offer the slightest protest. 
 
 His displeasure only began three or four days 
 later, when he received some cuttings from German 
 papers criticising his statements in disagreeable 
 terms. His displeasure was transformed into serious 
 annoyance when the cuttings were followed by 
 letters from friends of Prince Bismarck, written in 
 the most angry and threatening terms.
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 
 
 The Ambassador then, and not till then, weighed 
 the importance of the words he had uttered, and 
 was anxious about the consequences to himself 
 that those words might entail. Accordingly, eight 
 or ten days after their publication in The Times^ 
 Count Mlinster sent me a secretary from his 
 Embassy, who spoke to me as follows : 
 
 ' The Ambassador,' he said, ' regrets that, in the 
 account which you published, and which was very 
 exact, you should have introduced the name of 
 Princess Bismarck. He fears that the comments 
 raised by this incident may cause him serious un- 
 pleasantness. He therefore wishes me to inform you 
 that, in order to diminish the effect produced, he 
 will ask the Wolff Telegraph Agency to declare 
 that there was a certain amount of imagination 
 in the story published. He sincerely hopes that 
 you will not take this amiss, and that 3^ou will 
 only attribute this rectification to the imperative 
 necessity of circumstances.' 
 
 I merely replied : 
 
 ' Tell Count Minister that, if the publication of his 
 conversation is really likely to cause any annoyance 
 to him, I shall take no exception to the slight reserve 
 he wishes to make, and will not even protest in 
 any way.' 
 
 Thereupon Count Miinster's messenger thanked 
 nie heartily, and the next day the Wolff Telegraph 
 Agency communicated an official note to all the 
 papers, stating, in the name of the German 
 Ambassador in Paris, that there was a certain 
 
 22—2
 
 340 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 amount o£ imagination in the account published in 
 The Times about the resignation of Prince Bismarck. 
 In accordance with my promise I made no reply. 
 
 But, strangely enough, this official note, instead 
 of calming the papers devoted to Bismarck, appeared 
 to have exasperated them still more. They declared 
 that this rectification was equal to an avowal ; they 
 denounced the German Ambassador in Paris in the 
 most violent terms ; they demanded that he should 
 take back his words ; they coupled wath his name 
 epithets which were almost abusive ; in a word, they 
 opened wide the flood-gates of their anger and 
 indignation. 
 
 This fearful deluge caused Count Miinster to lose 
 all his composure, and, without consulting me this 
 time, a month after my article had appeared in The 
 Times^ he published a fresh denial in the following 
 terms : 
 
 ' We are authorized by Count Miinster, who is at 
 present at his country seat at Derneburg, near 
 Hanover, to deny the authenticity of the account of 
 an interview with him published a few weeks ago 
 in a newspaper. The article appeared without his 
 knowledge, and he repudiates all responsibility for 
 the statements contained in it.' 
 
 And as the storm, far from calming down, con- 
 tinued to rage, on the 2nd of August — I say the 
 2nd of August — absolutely wild with terror (that 
 is his only excuse). Count Miinster went so far as 
 to write to Count Herbert Bismarck a letter 
 beginning as follows :
 
 HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 341 
 
 ' I beg you to tell the Prince that I am quite 
 beside myself on account of the inventions of this 
 . . . Blowitz, and to express to him my regret at 
 the wrong use which has been made of my name.' 
 
 The dots in this phrase represent an epithet, 
 probably abusive, which the Hamhurger Nachrichten 
 thought better to suppress. 
 
 * ^ « ^ * 
 
 I will stop here, and will not qualify the action 
 of a man, bearing a well-known and respected name, 
 who, after having acknowledged the accuracy of a 
 statement made by him, after having asked permis- 
 sion, for private reasons, to add some attenuation, 
 after publicly declaring that there was * some 
 imagination ' in what had been published, leaving it 
 vinderstood that there was much that was true, and 
 after asking for a promise that no reply should be 
 made to his statement, could forget himself to such 
 an extent as to write a letter of the kind. 
 
 I was, however, more than avenged, for public 
 opinion, which finally gave judgment on the matter, 
 did not doubt for a single instant who told the truth 
 — the diplomatist who spoke or the journalist who 
 was silent. 
 
 For more than six months after, the organs of 
 Prince Bismarck continued their attacks against 
 Count Miinster, thus proving the value they attached 
 to his denials, and the ex-Chancellor himself said, 
 'I shall never forget it,' clearly showing towards 
 w^hich side his opinion leaned. 
 
 I particularly wished to write this chapter in order
 
 342 MEIMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 to show the treatment to which a correspondent 
 exposes himself when he wants to tell the public all 
 he knows, and also to show how almost impossible 
 it is for those two complex beings — the diplomatist 
 and the journalist — to have any intercourse with 
 each other. In order for them to agree, the former 
 must keep silent about what he knows, and the 
 latter must talk about what he knows nothing. As 
 soon as the one ceases to keep his counsel, and the 
 other tries to be informed about that of which he 
 talks, what happened to me will happen again. 
 
 May this serve as a lesson to diplomatists, and 
 also to journalists !
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 
 
 And now, as I have dwelt briefly on that delicate 
 and complex question of the relations between 
 journalism and diplomacy, I do not see why I should 
 not narrate, in a final chapter, some of the numerous 
 anecdotes on the same subject which are now present 
 in my memory, and why, before the last pages of the 
 book are reached, I should not give some proofs of 
 the ingratitude and treachery which represent, to the 
 journalist who does his duty, the cost price of any 
 success he may obtain. 
 
 During my long career, it has happened to me 
 only once that a public man, a statesman, has testi- 
 fied with any warmth his surprised gratitude at an 
 act of personal discretion on my part, done at the 
 expense of immediate journalistic success, when he 
 himself had, so to speak, furnished me with the 
 very element of this success. 
 
 One evening in November, 1875, I happened to 
 be at the Quai d'Orsay house of the Due Decazes, 
 who was then French Minister of Foreign Afl^airs. 
 We were in the billiard-room. The Due was in high 
 spirits. He was playing at billiards with a friend of 
 the Duchesse, who was playing so well that she 
 
 [ 343 ]
 
 344 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLO\VITZ 
 
 seemed likely to win. Suddenly the door opened. 
 A Cabinet attache entered and handed to the Due 
 a small bundle of telegrams. Opening the packet, 
 the Due began to read one of the telegrams. Sud- 
 denly he became red, then pale, and wiped his 
 temples, moist with sweat. Then, as if maddened, 
 with an irresistible movement he took the billiard- 
 cue which he had put down, struck it on the rim of 
 the table, broke it across his knee, and threw the 
 bits into the fire. The persons present, as may be 
 imagined, were in a great state of mind. Suddenly 
 approaching me, his teeth set with anger, he said : 
 * Do you know what I have just heard ? Derby 
 has just bought 200,000 Suez shares from Ismail, 
 while every pos.sible effort has been made to conceal 
 from us, not only the negotiations, but even Ismail's 
 intention of selling them. It is an infamy ! It is 
 England putting her hand on the Isthmus of Suez, 
 and my personal failure has in no way retarded the 
 act. I authorize you to say what you have just 
 seen. I even beg you to say it, and to add that 
 Lord Derby will have to pay for it.' And he added, 
 half talking to himself : ' Yes, I swear that he shall 
 pay for it.' He then quickly left the room, and I, 
 too, went out. On the Avay I went over the scene 
 in my mind, as I have here described it from my 
 notes of the time. I saw instantly what an im- 
 pression the story would make when told in my 
 telegram and reproduced throughout the world, to 
 the glory of the journal in which it appeared. 
 
 But when I took up my pen to write it out, other
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 345 
 
 thoughts invaded my mind. I saw the two Ministers 
 of Foreign Affairs of England and France pitted 
 against each other, the malignity of certain diploma- 
 tists poisoning the wound, and I understood that, 
 after all, I could not tell the story, even though I 
 added that I was authorized to do so, for the mere 
 publication would have all the aspect of a veritable 
 provocation. I saw that it would only furnish arms 
 to the foes of the Due Decazes, whom so many 
 people desired to overturn, and that this revelation 
 of Lord Derby's cleverness would be gratuitously 
 interpreted as in itself an aggression. I dropped 
 the pen and left the office, announcing that I would 
 not return that night. On the morrow, at eleven 
 o'clock, I was told that there was a messenger from 
 the Due Decazes. Immediately after luncheon I 
 went to the Quai d'Orsay. The Due Decazes had 
 just come down to his work, and I was immediately 
 introduced into his cabinet. He handed a telegram 
 to me. In a tone almost harsh, he asked : ' Why 
 didn't you publish the scene that you witnessed 
 yesterday, as I asked you to do ?' I explained to 
 him my reasons for keeping silent. He got up, 
 seized both my hands, looked at me with profound 
 emotion, and said : ' You understand that I have 
 just said what I did as a joke. You have acted as 
 a friend of the Minister — as a friend of peace ; and 
 never shall I forget what you have done for me — 
 for us : for you have sacrificed a journalistic success 
 to your sense of duty. Believe me, the latter is the 
 better memory.'
 
 346 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 The Due Decazes remained two years longer in 
 power, when he was carried away by the electoral 
 storm which burst in the false coup d'etat of the 
 16th of May, 1877. If he ever referred to the 
 purchase of the Suez Canal shares to Lord Derby, 
 the matter has remained a diplomatic secret ; the 
 public has known nothing of it, and the spirit of 
 France was not troubled. To-day Loid Derby and 
 the Due Decazes are no more. The shares have 
 remained in the peaceful possession of Great Britain, 
 and Lord Derby coidd feel at his death that he had 
 been the author of one of the most clever and 
 paying acts of patriotism possible, for, besides the 
 immense hold which this act has given to England 
 on the affairs of the Suez Canal, she gets from this 
 possession to-day the enormous sum of £17,000,000 
 sterling. 
 
 I must add that on two other occasions I saw the 
 Due Decazes the victim of almost the same anger, 
 and on both occasions he recalled to me the incident 
 of which I have just spoken, and the gratitude which 
 he felt in reference to it. I happened once to be 
 with him at Vichy, when the sons of Ismail were 
 stopping there, in the charge of an Egyptian Colonel 
 and a tutor whose name escapes me. One day these 
 Princes gave a dinner. They invited the Due 
 Decazes and me as well. The Due sat at the right 
 of Ismail's eldest boy, and I was on the second son's 
 left. The dinner, entirely in the European fashion, 
 was served by a single maitre d hotel. The soup 
 had been passed before we sat down to table. The
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 347 
 
 maitre dlwtel first served the eldest of the Princes, 
 then the second, then the others (I believe there 
 were four), and it was only then that he served the 
 Due Decazes, who appeared to be somewhat sur- 
 prised. But he undoubtedly thought it only a single 
 oversight, and, as he was forbidden fish, he refused 
 the course. But the same thing occurred through- 
 out the dinner. The younger Princes were mere 
 children, with good appetites, accustomed to be 
 humoured, like Princes brought up by tutors who 
 trembled before them, and they turned the food in 
 the dishes over and over to get the best portions, so 
 that by the time the dishes reached the Due Decazes 
 they presented anything but an appetising appear- 
 ance. The Due had become a little pale. He had 
 omitted the second course, as I have said. The 
 following course he had refused so as to make his 
 thought apparent, hoping that that would suffice to 
 call attention to the mistake that was being com- 
 mitted. He was the French Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs ; Vichy was French soil ; and it was, so to 
 speak, France whom these young foreign Princes 
 had invited to their table. All honour was due to 
 France. The dishes ought certainly to have been 
 first handed to the Due, and only if he refused to 
 help himself before the eldest Prince should they 
 have reached him second. But matters went on 
 quite differently. During the entire dinner — and it 
 was a long one — the dishes were offered in succession 
 to all the Princes, and came back pillaged to the 
 Due Decazes, who refused them.
 
 848 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 I saw his anger rising to his face as the dinner 
 went on. I feared an explosion. But the diploma- 
 tist restrained himself, and the gentleman in him 
 found a smile to respond to the Prince every time 
 that the latter addressed him, which, however, was 
 not often. When the dinner was over, the Due 
 called to him the officer whose duty it was to attend 
 to these matters, and said to him quietly, but in a 
 tone of muffled wrath : ' You are not very well up 
 in the arrangement of official dinners, sir. I will 
 see that vou o-et better instructions.' And while 
 the officer became livid at these words, the Due 
 turned his back on him, and, coming up to me, 
 said : ' This time, too, I beg you not to say anything 
 about this ridiculous business ; it will be quickly 
 set right.' And, indeed, the result was, I believe, 
 that the unfortunate officer soon lost his situation. 
 
 The other time when I saw the Due Decazes 
 angry, and when he silently recalled my discretion 
 in reference to the Suez Canal shares, was as 
 follows : 
 
 France had sent a vessel, the Orenoque^ to Civita 
 Vecchia, where it anchored and remained for some 
 years as a sort of defiance to the conquered unity of 
 Ital}^ The idea was that, if it were necessary, the 
 Pope might find there a refuge in Italian waters as 
 a safe stage in getting away to foreign soil. This 
 ship, anchored there in constant protest against the 
 occupation of Rome by the Italians, became an 
 object of irritation in Italian eyes. 
 
 The Chevalier de Nigra, then Italian Ambassador
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 349 
 
 in Paris, often spoke to me of what he picturesquely 
 called ' une faute cl'orthographe obstinee ' which 
 France was committing in her relations with Italy. 
 ' But why,' said I to him one day — ' why don't you 
 speak to the Due Decazes ?' ' That's impossible,' 
 replied the Chevalier de Nigra. ' If once I mention 
 the matter to him, we shall have to go on to the 
 very end. In a matter of this sort there is no half- 
 way point, for when a nation has said, " I beg you 
 to withdraw this ship," it must soon add, " I wish 
 you to withdraw it." But you, when you see the 
 Due, explain to him what I have just been saying, 
 that he may understand why, notwithstanding the 
 irritation this matter of the Orenoque causes, 1 
 cannot speak of it to him." 
 
 And, indeed, as a result of this conversation I saw 
 the Due Decazes. ' We certainly should have this 
 matter out between us,' said he to me ; ' but it must 
 be quite clear that the conversation is to be purely 
 a friendly one, quite unofficial, that no written trace 
 shall remain of it, and that all that is said shall 
 be said from me to him and from him to me.' 
 
 The conversation took place. I afterwards learned 
 that it finished with these words, uttered by the 
 Chevalier de Nigra : ' You will force us to seek the 
 friendship of those who treat us less cavalierly.' 
 I had the bad luck to drop in at the Quai d'Orsay 
 just at the moment when the Chevalier de Nigra 
 was going out. The conversation with the latter had 
 exasperated the Due Decazes, and when I entered 
 his ' study ' he was in a paroxysm of anger. I saw
 
 350 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 it as soon as I entered, but it was too late, and in 
 my embarrassment, not quite knowing what to say, 
 I limited myself to these words, which were quite 
 contrary to my habit : ' Eh bien, M. le Due, qu'y 
 a-t-il de nouveau ?' The Due, who was only look- 
 ing for an excuse to burst out, roughly replied : 
 ' Really, mon cher, it isn't my business to do your 
 correspondence.' I got angry in my turn ; I stopped 
 sviddenly, and replied : ' True, sir ; but it's a very 
 good thing for my readers that it is not your busi- 
 ness.' The Due remained a moment uncertain, but 
 as I started towards the door he burst into a laugh, 
 and, getting up, came to me and said : * Come, give 
 me your hand and make peace. You know well 
 enough that I promised never to get annoyed with 
 you.' And, indeed, amid all the vicissitudes of 
 time and things, I had the honour of keeping his 
 friendship to the end. 
 
 On another occasion, and, so to speak, in spite of 
 myself, I mentioned a diplomatist from whom I had 
 a communication. This diplomatist, w^ho still occu- 
 pies a highly important post, wrote to me in 1876 
 as follows, thanking me for an invitation to dinner, 
 addressed to him on the intervention of a common 
 friend : ' I have now for a long time desired to 
 make the acquaintance of a man whose reputation 
 is based on a journalistic work beyond and above 
 all criticism,' etc. We were soon on the best of 
 terms, and I know few persons whose gift of lively, 
 piquant, anecdotal talk was so fine as his. One 
 day, while passing through Paris, he fell ill at a
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 351 
 
 hotel. I went to see him, and, showing me a copy 
 of a confidential despatch addressed to his Govern- 
 ment, he said : ' Sac-a-la-papier ' (this was his way 
 of saying Sac-a-papier), 'read that; it would be 
 amusing to publish.' I was naturally of his opinion, 
 and he ended by giving it to me, urging me to cut 
 out anything which appeared to me compromising. 
 I went through this work of expurgation most 
 conscientiously. The telegram appeared in a 
 remote corner in the outer sheet of the paper. It 
 did not make the stir I had expected, and, indeed, it 
 was very little spoken of. But the Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs to whom it was addressed noticed 
 its publication, and spoke of it to my friendly in- 
 formant, who forthwith wrote me a violent letter, 
 as if I had abused his confidence, quite forgetting 
 that it was he himself who had entrusted the 
 despatch to me for publication. 
 
 I have never seen this remarkable and charming 
 man since, and the loss of his friendship is the price 
 I had to pay for having involuntarily stripped him, 
 as regards his chief, of that useful anonymity 
 behind which alone a trained diplomatist manages 
 to preserve the sweetness of his manners and the 
 charming smile of his lips. 
 
 Need I recall, for the edification of any journalist 
 who reads me, that, in his relations with diplomacy, 
 he must always remember that the true diplomatist 
 necessarily knows nothing of gratitude, that he 
 regards the journalist as an auxiliary, sometimes 
 useful, and always dangerous, and that he will never
 
 352 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 hesitate to throw him overboard when it suits his 
 ideas of his duty to do so ? In this connection I 
 recall a striking and decisive illustration. 
 
 It was in 1874, at the moment when the Arnim 
 trial was going on in Germany. Baron Holstein, 
 who had played so curious a role in connection with 
 Count Arnim, was Second Secretary of the German 
 Embassy in Paris. His intervention in this 
 terrible question between Arnim and Bismarck 
 was not liked, and was badly judged here. French 
 public opinion looked askance at what was con- 
 sidered the interference of Germany in the interior 
 politics of the country, and Baron Holstein was 
 violently attacked for the part he played in this 
 matter. The Journal des Dehats^ which enjoyed 
 then a real powxr and influence, was particularly 
 noticeable in its campaign against Baron Holstein, 
 and its attitude was such that, if persisted in. Baron 
 Holstein's stay at Paris must necessarily have become 
 impossible. It was at this time that I received a 
 visit from M. Kodolphe Lindau, who was also at 
 the German Embassy, and who brought to me a 
 document justifying Baron Holstein. By very con- 
 vincing arguments he showed me that I ought to 
 undertake his defence against the Journal des 
 Debats. In the then state of French public opinion 
 this was a heavy task ; but I undertook it conscien- 
 tiously as a duty, and I had the satisfaction — always 
 so rare, however — of seeing this paper lay down 
 its arms before my arguments. This took place 
 towards the end of December, 1874, and on the
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 353 
 
 30th of that month Baron Holstein wrote to me 
 that, if he had not been kept at home by an attack 
 of influenza, he would have hastened to come in 
 person to thank me. A week later, on the 8th of 
 January, 1875, indeed, he did come, and thanked me 
 warmly. I had made, he said, by my courageous 
 intervention, his stay in Paris possible. We talked 
 for some time of his personal situation. I told him 
 that I was myself just then in a critical place, not 
 certainly knowing whether or not I should succeed 
 Mr. Hardman as chief Correspondent of The 
 Times^ and that I had, of course, many competitors 
 to whom I could oppose only my devotion and my 
 work. Some days after — that is, on the 16th of 
 January — a friendly hand sent me a letter of Baron 
 Holstein, sixteen octavo pages in length, bearing the 
 superscription, ' Kaiserlich Deutsche Bothschaft in 
 Frankreich,' and entirely written and signed by the 
 Baron's hand. It was addressed to one of the most 
 intimate friends of Mr. John Delane, Editor of TJie 
 Times, and denounced me as quite under the thumb 
 of the Due Decazes, and as willingly ignoring and 
 concealing from my readers an Orleanist plot which 
 was preparing a coup cTetat In this letter T/w 
 Times was urged to send to Paris some clever and 
 impartial person to keep the paper in touch with 
 what was here going on underneath, as well as on 
 the surface. 
 
 This letter, I repeat, reached me on the 16th of 
 January, a week after Baron Holstein's visit of 
 gratitude, and it had been sent on the 12th. I need
 
 354 MEMOIRS OF M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 not say that I have carefully preserved this curious 
 and instructive document now for almost eighteen 
 years, and if I divulge it to-day, it is because it is so 
 appropriate in these pages, showing, as it does, with 
 what stoicism a diplomatist bent upon his duty rids 
 himself of a weight of gratitude when he thinks 
 that he ought to do so in the interests of a higher 
 cause. 
 
 My memoirs are now at an end. 
 
 The life of a journalist is so ephemeral, what he 
 accomplishes is so swiftly swept away, what he 
 writes is so promptly wiped out by oblivion, that I 
 have taken the liberty, in the preceding pages, of 
 retracing, as they return to my mind, some of the 
 historical events in which I happened to play a 
 part. 
 
 I have written this book without any other after- 
 thought than to survive, for a few months, Time — 
 that rolls by and carries all away. I have not 
 narrated everything that I have seen or learnt during 
 my long and adventurous existence, because I con- 
 sider that I have the right to unfold only secrets 
 that are mine, and because I do not wish to follow 
 the example of some men, who, when they speak 
 from the tomb, attack, destroy . . . and only give 
 their victims an opportunity to reply by digging 
 their nails into the planks of their coffin. 
 
 All that I have written is the expression of truth. 
 I have considered it my duty to present, in their real
 
 DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 355 
 
 simplicity, events with which I have been closely 
 connected, and which others, in their narratives, 
 have amplified, less in order to tell the truth than 
 to disguise it at my expense. 
 
 I have never sought applause nor feared criti- 
 cism. I know that the fatigued reader stops on the 
 way. I need not, therefore, ask those who have 
 followed me to the end to refrain from reproaching 
 me too severely for the time they have spent in the 
 company of so poor a personality as myself. 
 
 23—2
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abarzuzza, M., 86, 87 
 
 Abdul Hamid II., Sultan of 
 
 Turkey, 282, 285, 287-299 
 Agnel, Mdlle. d' (afterwards Mme. 
 
 de Blowitz), 21 
 Alexander II., Emperor of Russia, 
 
 108, 109, 114, 119, 120, 124, 
 
 125 
 Alger, J. C, 83 
 Alphonso XII., King of Spain, 86, 
 
 94-98 
 Alva, Mdlle., 176, 182, 184-201, 
 
 205-215 
 Alven, Dr., 189-200, 204, 210, 211 
 Andrassy, Count, 180 
 Appert, General, 43 
 Austin, Charles Sumner, 46 and 
 
 note, 73 
 
 Banuelos, Comte de, 89 
 
 Comtesse de, 91 
 
 Beaconsfield, Earl of, 141, 165 
 Beckman, Mr., 217, 218 
 Bergmann, Professor, 317 
 Bismarck, Prince, 102-105, 126, 
 127, 137, 141, 143, 154, 156-168, 
 202, 219, 220, 230 
 Bismarck, Princess, 157 
 Blowitz, Henri-Georges-Stephan- 
 Adolphe : birth, 2 ; attempt to 
 kidnap, 3-6 ; a feat of memory, 
 7 ; starts on his travels, 8 ; his 
 fortune told by a gipsy, 13 ; 
 returns home after five years, 
 13-15 ; leaves home next day, 
 16 ; breaks his pipe at Angers 
 and meets Count Kolowrath, 
 16, 17 ; in Paris, 18; meets 
 M. Thiers and M. de Falloux, 
 18, 19 ; gives a lecture on 
 German literature, 19, 20 ; 
 
 appointed Professor of Foreign 
 Languages and Literature at 
 Angers, 20; Professor of 
 Foreign Literature at Mar- 
 seilles, 21 ; marriage. 21 ; in- 
 vents a flax-combing machine, 
 21, 22 ; causes defeat of M. de 
 Lesseps at Marseilles, 26, 27 ; 
 retires to the Drome, 28 ; corre- 
 sponds with M. Thiers on the 
 prospects of war with Germany, 
 28, 29 ; is naturalized a French 
 subject, 30 ; returns to Mar- 
 seilles, 30 ; organizes private 
 wire which leads to defeat of 
 Commune, 31, 32; with M. 
 Thiers at Versailles, 31-34; 
 decorated for exceptional ser- 
 vices, 37 ; meets Laurence Oli- 
 phaut, 37 ; iirst telegram to The 
 Times, 41, 267 ; visits prisons 
 with Oliphant, 43-45 ; definitely 
 enters service of The Times, 48 ; 
 telegraphs M. Thiers' speech 
 from memory, 52, 53 ; accom- 
 panies M. Thiers to Trouville, 
 58 ; lives with OUphant, 73, 74 ; 
 establishes private wire to The 
 Times, 78 ; appointed Paris 
 correspondeiit of The Times, 99 ; 
 attends Berlin Congress, 136- 
 154 ; visit to Constantinople, 
 289-299 
 Blowitz, his interviews with 
 
 Abdul Hamid II., 287-299 
 Alphonso XII., 94-96, 98 
 Bismarck, Prince, 156-168 
 Decazes, Due, 106 - 109, 
 111-113, 129, 130, ?43- 
 350 
 Dufferui, Marquis of, 272 
 
 [ 356 J
 
 INDEX 
 
 357 
 
 Blowitz, his interviews with 
 
 Freycinet, M. de, 261-265 
 Gambetta, M., 171-173 
 Hohenlohe, Prince, 135, 
 
 142, 148, 148, 168 
 Holstein, Baron, 168, 171 
 Humbert, King, 246 
 Leflo, General, 115-125 
 Leo XIII., 246-248 
 Miinster, Count, 328-335 
 Orlofif, Prince, 211-214 
 Paris, Comte de, 304-309 
 Rende, Mgr. de, 244, 245 
 St, Vallier, Comte de, 148, 
 
 150-152 
 Thiers, M., 33-36, 41, 48- 
 
 51, 65-67, 70-72, 267 
 Waddington, M., 204-206, 
 
 214, 215 
 Bramann, Dr., 320-322 
 Buckle, G. E., 237 
 
 Calmon, M., 33 
 
 Chamil, Mme. Marsa, 175-216 
 
 Clasczko, M., 106 
 
 Corti, Count, 132 
 
 Cremieux, M. Adolphe, 30 
 
 Decazes, Due, 100, 106, 107, 110, 
 111, 116, 121, 129-131, 343, 350 
 
 Delane, John, 52, 53, 81-84, 99, 
 110, 113, 115 
 
 Derby, Earl of, 114, 344-346 
 
 Desprez, M., 224 
 
 Dufaure, M., 132, 202, 203 
 
 Dufferm, Marquis of, 272, 275 
 
 Elou, Mme. Georgine, 238-260 
 Espivent de la Villeboisnet, 
 
 General, 31, 32 
 Essad Pasha, 269 
 
 FaUoux, M. de, 19-21 
 Frederick William, Crown Prince 
 of Prussia, 311, 316-325 
 
 Crown Princess, 322 
 
 Freycinet, M. de, 261-268 
 
 Gaillard, Colonel, 42, 44 
 Gambetta, M., 26-28, 167, 171-173, 
 
 203, 261-268 
 Gontaut-Biron, Vicomte de, 112- 
 
 114 
 Gortschakoff, Prince, 114, 118, 
 
 119, 123, 140 
 
 Guarracino, M., 276, 278, 280-282, 
 
 287 
 Gunsbourg, M., 66-69 
 
 Hardman, Frederic, 38, 42, 46, 48, 
 
 76-80 
 Harris, Mr., 53, 54, 74 
 Haymerle, Count de, 180 
 Henry of Prussia, Prince, 318 
 Hoftenhausen, Baron, 236 
 Hohenlohe, Prince, 108, 135, 143, 
 
 144, 148, 156, 166, 168, 224 
 Holstein, Baron, 168-171, 352, 
 
 353 
 Humbert, King of Italy, 246 
 
 Jacobini, Cardinal, 245, 249, 250, 
 288 
 
 Karatheodori Pasha, 180 
 Keratry, Comte de, 56. 57 
 Kolowrath, Count, 17 
 Kralta, Princess, 218-236 
 
 Ledochowski, Cardinal, 250, 257, 
 
 258 
 Leflo, General, 115-125 
 Leo XIII., Pope, 241. 244, 247, 248 
 
 Lesseps, M. de, 26-28 
 Lyons, Lord, 44 
 
 Macdonald, J. C, 76, 78, 237, 
 
 238 
 Mackenzie, Sir Morell, 317, 320, 
 
 321, 324 
 MacMahon, Marshal, 101, 117, 
 
 131 
 Marshall, Frederick, 37, 38 
 Mavroyeni Pasha, 283 
 Meurand, M., 36, 42 
 Missak Effendi, 270 
 Moltke, Count von, 102, 103, 112, 
 
 122, 161 
 Morphy, Comte, 92, 93, 96 
 Morris, Mowbray, 73 
 Munster, Count, 326-335, 338-341 
 
 Nigra, Chevalier de, 349 
 Nothomb, Baron, 147 
 
 Oliphant, Laurence, 37-42, 48, 51, 
 
 53-55, 73-76, 81 
 Orloff, Prince, 66, 116, 211-214 
 Osman Bey, 300 
 Oubril, Baron d', 165
 
 358 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Paris, Comte de. 302-310 
 Pessard, M, Hector, 174-177 
 Philippe Effendi, 275, 281-283, 
 
 286 
 Pouyer-Quertier, M., 103 
 
 Eadowitz, M. de, 112, 125-127 
 Eaghib, Bey, 288 
 Eeinach, M. Joseph, 267 
 Eemusat, Comte de, 100 
 Eende, Mgr. de, 244, 245 
 Eussell, Lord Odo, 137 
 
 Said Pasha, 274 
 
 Saint - Hilaire, M. Barthelemy, 
 
 32 
 St. Vallier, Comte de, 148, 150, 
 
 151, 154, 202 
 Salisbury, Marquis of, 141 
 Sartorius, Baron, 235, 236 
 Shuvaloff, Count, 164, 165 
 
 Thiers, M., 19, 28, 29, 32, 36, 41, 
 42, 46, 48-51, 56-72, 161-163, 
 267 
 
 Timachief, M., 49-51 
 
 Valon, M. Bertrand de, 66, 68, 69 
 Comtesse de, 66, 70, 114 
 
 Waddington, M., 132, 137, 164, 
 201-206, 213-215 
 
 Waiss Bey, 275, 276, 278 
 
 Wallace, Donald Mackenzie, 149 
 and note, 152-154 
 
 Walter, John, 81 
 
 William I., German Emperor, 
 102, 103, 114, 228-231, 323 
 
 William of Prussia, Prince, after- 
 wards William III., German 
 Emperor, 318-320 
 
 Zirio, Mme., 314-317 
 
 THE END 
 
 BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD
 
 Telegrams : 37 Bedford Street, 
 
 • Scholarly, London.' Strand, London. 
 
 October^ 1903. 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's 
 
 New and Popular Books. 
 
 MY MEMOIRS. 
 
 By HENRI STEPHAN DE BLOWITZ. 
 Edited by STEPHAN LAUZANNE DE BLOWITZ. 
 
 Second Impression. Demy Zvo. With Portrait, x^s. nett. 
 
 Contrary to the general belief, the late M. de Blowitz, who was for 
 nearly thirty years the Paris Correspondent of The Times., had been 
 engaged for some time before his death in putting into shape for 
 publication some of the more remarkable incidents of his career. 
 These characteristic chapters of autobiography, which have been 
 arranged for the press by M. de Blowitz's adopted son, the Editor of 
 Le Matin, reveal some of the methods by which the best-known of modern 
 Correspondents achieved his greatest journalistic triumphs. M. de 
 Blowitz describes in his own inimitable manner his early youth ; how 
 he became a journalist ; his interview with Alphonso XII., when the 
 latter was proclaimed King of Spain ; how he averted the German 
 invasion of France in 1875 ; the part he played at the Berlin Congress, 
 when he secured the publication of the Treaty in The Times on the very 
 morning that it was signed ; the subsequent attempt made, through the 
 agency of a woman, to discover how he did it ; what the Sultan told 
 him during his visit to Constantinople ; and the circumstances of Prince 
 Bismarck's retirement. On these and many other topics which have 
 been the source of world-wide curiosity, M. de Blowitz takes the reader 
 into his confidence. He was the only man who could have written 
 such memoirs — or who would have written them as he has done. 
 
 LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD, 37 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND.
 
 FURTHER RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 A DIPLOMATIST. 
 
 By the Right Hon. Sir HORACE RUMBOLD, Bart.,G.C.B.,G.C.M.G. 
 Demy Zvo. \^s. nett. 
 
 Sir Horace Rumbold begins the Second Series of his Recollections 
 in the year 1873, at the point to which he brought his readers in the 
 volumes already published. He begins by describing his stay in Chile, 
 where he filled the position of Minister, and had the handling of the 
 well-known Tacna affair ; it required all a diplomatist's skill to prevent 
 this curious episode from developing into a serious crisis between Great 
 Britain and Chile. Returning home in 1876, Sir Horace enjoyed a 
 period of leisure that enabled him to meet in society all the most 
 famous men and women of the day ; about this time he began to keep 
 a diary, ' of almost Pepysian fulness,' to the no small advantage of the 
 readers of his ' Recollections.' Later on we follow him to appointments 
 in Greece and Sweden, retaining, wherever he found himself, that 
 cosmopolitan interest in his surroundings that has made his earlier book 
 such charming reading. 
 
 Sir Horace has not had time to prepare more than one volume for 
 this autumn, but he hopes in due course to complete his 'Recollections,' 
 and bring them down to the date of his retirement from the Diplomatic 
 Service. 
 
 ODDS AND ENDS. 
 
 By FRANCIS PIGOU, D.D., Dean of Bristol, 
 
 Author of 'Phases of My Life,' etc. 
 
 Demy ^vo. 16s. 
 
 This is another instalment of Dean Pigou's apparently inexhaustible 
 fund of anecdote and reminiscence. Readers of his ' Phases of my 
 Life ' will be prepared to enjoy the feast of good stories set before them 
 in this new volume. Whether the subject be Boyhood and Schoolboy 
 Life, or Sunday Schools, or Preaching, or Parochial Missions, or 
 Cathedrals, or The Relation of Disease to Crime, or Club-life, or Odd 
 People I have met, and Odd Sayings and Doings, they will rely on 
 finding abundance of good wit, good humour, and good sense; and 
 they will not be disappointed. 
 
 1
 
 THE DIARY OF SIR JOHN MOORE. 
 
 Edited by Major-General Sir J. F. MAURICE, K.C.B. 
 
 Two vols. Demy 2>vo. With Portrait and Maps. 305. nett. 
 
 This Diary covers the whole of Sir John Moore's military career from 
 the time when he first saw service in Corsica in 1793 ^^ within a fort- 
 night of his death at Corunna in 1809. It seems to have been written 
 with the minute care and perspicacity that characterized all Moore's 
 work, and has been printed with scarcely the change of a word from 
 the original. It not only contains a vivid record of military events 
 during a momentous period, but gives free expression to the writer's 
 views on his contemporaries, civil and military, on the policy pursued 
 by Ministers, and the means adopted to face the gravest danger that has 
 ever threatened the existence of Great Britain as an independent Power. 
 
 But the Diary is, above all, interesting from the light it throws upon 
 the character of Sir John Moore himself; no one can read unmoved the 
 unconscious testimony to his own virtues of this great man's private 
 reflections, intended for no eye but his own. In modesty, in devotion 
 to duty, in integrity, in military skill, he stands out in striking contrast 
 to most of his contemporaries. 
 
 The Diary has been edited by General Sir Frederick Maurice, K.C.B., 
 with appropriate introductions to Moore's various campaigns in Corsica, 
 the West Indies, Flanders, Egypt, Sweden, Sicily, and the Peninsula ; 
 while the abortive French invasion of Ireland provides not the least 
 interesting chapter in a valuable book. 
 
 The portrait of Sir John Moore is reproduced from the picture by Sir 
 Thomas Lawrence in the National Portrait Gallery, 
 
 THE PROBLEM OF THE ARMY. 
 
 By L. S. AMERY, 
 
 Editor of '"The Times" History of the War in South Africa.' 
 
 Crown Svo. ^s. 
 
 This is a reprint of the striking articles originally published in T/ie 
 Times. It is believed that many will be glad to possess in a permanent 
 form this important contribution to the literature of the subject, con- 
 sisting as it does of a serious inquiry by one of the leading writers 
 of the day into the military needs of the Empire and the means of 
 satisfying them. The book is rendered additionally interesting by the 
 incorporation of extracts from the evidence given before the War Com- 
 mission, which justifies the author's argument in the most remarkable 
 manner.
 
 THIRTY SEASONS IN SCANDINAVIA. 
 
 By E. B. KENNEDY. 
 Demy %vo. With nnmerous Illustrations. \os. 6d. ?iett. 
 
 'No one has properly seen Norway,' says Mr. Kennedy, 'until he 
 has been up and sojourned on the roof of that grand country ;' and 
 surely Mr. Kennedy has a right to speak, for he has spent thirty seasons 
 in exploring every part, not only of its ' roof,' but of its fjords, lakes, rivers, 
 and islands, and knows perhaps as much as any living man of Scandinavia 
 from the sporting point of view. In this record of his adventures he 
 writes of every kind of sport with delightful freshness and appreciation. 
 He is a true sportsman, and as one reads one realizes the secret of his 
 keen enjoyment of his life ; for he understands men and loves animals, 
 and has that observant sympathy with Nature in all its forms which 
 many men who live in the open air either lack or are unable to express 
 in words. His pages teem with anecdotes of fishing, shooting, hunting, 
 and ski-ing, and contain incidentally many valuable hints on camping 
 and cooking. There is also much interesting information about the 
 people, their manners and customs ; nor are the lemmings, beavers, and 
 ponies forgotten. 
 
 The book, which is illustrated with some remarkable photographs, 
 cannot fail to delight all lovers of the rod and gun. 
 
 FRATRIBUS. 
 
 Sermons ipreacbeD mainly in IKIlincbcster College Cbapel. 
 
 By JOHN TRANT BRAMSTON, M.A. 
 
 Crown Zvo. ^s. nett. 
 
 Mr. Bramston has found, from an experience as a Winchester College 
 house-master extending over thirty-four years, that the preacher most 
 likely to influence a school congregation is not the professor or the 
 lecturer, or even the schoolmaster, but the man who will speak to the 
 boys as brothers, and endeavour to look at the problems of school-life 
 from their own point of view. Among the twenty-seven sermons in this 
 volume are included some specially addressed to the younger boys at 
 the outset of their career. It is believed that schoolmasters and parents 
 alike will find the collection a valuable one.
 
 ROUND KANGCHENJUNGA. 
 
 By DOUGLAS W. FRESHFIELD, F.R.G.S., 
 
 Lately President of the Alpine Club. 
 
 Royal Zvo. With Maps and fiiimeroits Illustrations. \%s. neit. 
 
 The magnificent range of Kangchenjunga is perhaps, in one sense, 
 the best-known portion of the Himalaya Mountains, inasmuch as it 
 is visible from the popular hill-station of Darjiling ; but till quite 
 recently it was almost unexplored and very inadequately mapped. The 
 complete circuit of the great mountain had never been made, and its 
 possibihty was uncertain, till it was demonstrated by Mr. Freshfield's 
 remarkable journey. 
 
 The map which was the first-fruit of that journey is in itself an 
 invaluable addition to our geographical knowledge, but the volume 
 which describes it has a far wider range of interest. Its results have 
 been dealt with by Professor Garwood, but the book will appeal first 
 and foremost to mountaineers and lovers of adventurous travel. The 
 country traversed has also its own crop of frontier questions and poli- 
 tical and racial problems, and these, too, are dealt with by Mr. Freshfield 
 with his usual clearness, while his descriptive powers have found 
 abundant scope in what is, perhaps, the most superb scenery in the 
 world. In connection with the numerous photographs which adorn his 
 narrative, it is enough to mention the name of Signor Vittorio Sella. 
 
 MEMORIES OF THE MONTHS. 
 
 Third Series. 
 
 By the Right Hon. Sir HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart, M.P. 
 
 Large crown Zvo. With Photogravure Illustrations. 75. dd. 
 
 It is now three years since the Second Series of ' Memories of the 
 Months ' appeared, and it is hoped that the pubhc will welcome this 
 fresh instalment, which, while dealing with Sport and Natural History 
 on the same general lines as its predecessors, is, of course, entirely 
 different from anything that has hitherto been published in the 
 ' Memories.' Sir Herbert is, indeed, continually adding to his stock 
 of Memories by fresh experiences, so that his books afford a valuable 
 index to the condition of angling and deer-stalking at the time of 
 writing \ while it is rare to find a sportsman who has so keen an interest 
 in all matters of Natural History, Forestry, etc. 
 
 This volume is uniform in style and binding with the First and 
 Second Series.
 
 THREE ROLLING STONES IN JAPAN. 
 
 By GILBERT WATSON. 
 
 Demy Svo. With numerous Illustrations. 12s. 6d. nett. 
 
 Japan is proverbially a young man's paradise, and when three young 
 men wander through the country with the fixed intention of enjoying 
 themselves, one expects to hear a glowing account of their proceedings. 
 But it is not often that the story combines literary charm with its other 
 merits. The adventures of these ' Rolling Stones ' are not only 
 interesting — that they could hardly fail to be — but are described with 
 quite exceptional skill. 
 
 Mr. AVatson gives a picture of Japan and its people which fills one 
 with a great longing. Possessing an artist's appreciation of the beautiful 
 as well as a keen sense of humour, he sketches his scenery and characters 
 with a light and sympathetic touch. The heroine Karakamoko, a rick 
 shaw-man's daughter, who accompanies the party as interpreter and 
 guide, is a most fascinating creature, with whom the reader will 
 inevitably fall in love. 
 
 The book is copiously illustrated with photographs. 
 
 AUSTRALIND. 
 
 a fflacratlve of ManDerings in Mestern Bustralia anJ) tbc 
 ihzXm Bast. 
 
 By HENRY TAUNTON. 
 
 Oiie volume Zvo. \os. 6d. nett. 
 
 There are few of the wilder aspects of life in Australia of which 
 Mr. Taunton does not possess an intimate first-hand knowledge, and a 
 remarkable knack of vivid writing has enabled him to turn his varied 
 material to excellent account. Whether he is lying in wait for wild 
 cattle, riding after wild horses, or striving gallantly to sit a buck-jumper, 
 the reader hears and sees and struggles with him. Equally graphic are 
 his sketches of Australian types and of the aborigines, and his chapters 
 on pearl-fishing give an interesting picture of this curious industry.
 
 IMPERIAL FISCAL REFORM. 
 
 By Sir VINCENT H. P. CAILLARD. 
 
 Crown Zvo, 3^. dd. nett. 
 
 Sir Vincent Caillard has long been meditating a comprehensive work 
 on Imperial Trade and Finance. But in view of the general inquiry 
 into the fiscal policy of the Empire suggested by Mr. Chamberlain last 
 May, he has postponed for a time the completion of this work, thinking 
 that he would render greater service to those who wish to take part in 
 the inquiry by showing them in less voluminous form the figures and 
 arguments which have led him to his well-known economic conclusions. 
 
 The present book is especially remarkable for the care taken to 
 eliminate the effect on trade of the South African War, and to keep in 
 view the conditions prevailing in normal circumstances. A large portion 
 of the earlier chapters have already appeared in a more condensed shape 
 in the pages of the National Review^ but the concluding chapters are 
 entirely fresh matter, and have been written with the express purpose of 
 discussing the scheme for the preferential treatment of the colonies, as 
 understood up to the present time. Sir Vincent Caillard directs the 
 attention of all who desire earnestly to search for the truth to two 
 propositions : (i) That preferential treatment of the colonies must only 
 be looked upon as a step towards Free Trade within the Empire ; and 
 (2) that it is a very great error to draw hard-and-fast conclusions from 
 the present conditions of the world without any regard to the future. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. 
 
 21 ©uiDe to ipereonal Culture. 
 By PHILIP GIBBS. 
 
 Crotvn Svo. 35. 6d. 
 
 This book is a revised and much enlarged edition of the volume of 
 Essays on self-education, by Mr. Gibbs, already so favourably received 
 by the public to whom the name of ' Self-Help ' is familiar as that of 
 an attractive writer in weekly newspapers. It contains a series of 
 articles on the various elements which contribute to the true culture of 
 the mind, short sketches of Great ^Vriters and studies on Great Sub- 
 jects, together with many valuable suggestions for serious inquiry 
 into ' the things which matter ' and upon which every thoughtful man or 
 woman should have an opinion.
 
 PAT M'CARTY, FARMER OF 
 ANTRIM: HIS RHYMES. 
 
 By J. STEVENSON. 
 Crown Zvo, ds. nett. 
 
 A good deal has been written lately about the coming poet of Ireland. 
 Without going so far as to claim that role for Pat M'Carty, we are 
 confident that he will be welcomed as afi Irish poet, whose native notes 
 are thoroughly racy of the soil. A poet must make his own way with 
 his readers ; but we can at least promise this to those who will give Pat 
 a trial — that, whether they like him or not, they will find him something 
 entirely unexpected. 
 
 LADY ANNE'S WALK. 
 
 By ELEANOR ALEXANDER. 
 Large crown Svo. With Fhotogravure Ilhistraiiofis. "js. 6d. 
 
 To Miss Alexander, residing in the historic palace of Armagh, with 
 her father the Archbishop, and deeply sensitive to the religio loci, it was 
 a natural and pretty fancy to find its embodiment in Lady Anne, who 
 lived there in her day with a former Primate, her brother, and to weave 
 about her memory pleasant pictures of an age and a generation that 
 have passed away. But she draws her inspirations from other sources, 
 too — from legend and old-world history, and from the present as well as 
 from the past — the beauties of the venerable precincts as they are to-day, 
 and the humours of its inhabitants and visitants. The result is a 
 charming pot-pourri, which should appeal to all who are susceptible to 
 the charm and romance of Ireland. 
 
 THE SAD END OF ERICA'S 
 BLACKAMOOR 
 
 By F. CLAUDE KEMPSON. 
 Super royal \to. 3^. 6^. 
 
 This is a dehghtful children's picture-book, full of amusing fancy and 
 clever black-and-white drawing. The ' story ' is written in capitals by 
 hand, and reproduced in facsimile.
 
 NEW NOVELS. 
 
 Crown %vo. 6s. each. 
 
 THE BERYL STONES. 
 
 By Mrs. ALFRED SIDGWICK. 
 
 Author of ' Cvnthia's Way,' 'The Thousand Eugenias,' etc. 
 
 THE RIVER OF VENGEANCE. 
 
 By PHILIP LAURENCE OLIPHANT. 
 
 Author of ' The Little Red Fish.' 
 
 GOD^S SCHOLARS. 
 
 By CHARLES FIELDING MARSH. 
 
 THE NEBULY COAT. 
 
 By J. MEADE FALKNER. 
 
 Author of 'Moonfleet.' 
 
 THE LONGSHOREMEN. 
 
 By GEORGE BARTRAM. 
 
 THE KEY OF PARADISE. 
 
 By SIDNEY PICKERING. 
 
 Author of 'Verity.' 
 
 MR. PAGERS WILD OATS. 
 
 By CHARLES EDDY. 
 
 Author of 'Winifred and the Stockbroker' and 'The Taint of the City.' 
 
 THE BOY, SOME HORSES, AND A GIRL. A 
 
 Tale of an Irish Trip. 
 
 By DOROTHEA CONYERS. 
 
 NEW EDITIONS. 
 
 THE LIFE OF FATHER DOLLING. By the Rev. 
 
 C. E. Osborne, Vicar of Seghill, Northumberland. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 TALKS WITH MR. GLADSTONE. By the Hon. 
 
 L. A. Tollemache. Large crown 8vo. With a Portrait of Mr. Gladstone. 6s. 
 
 A MEMOIR OF ANNE J. CLOUGH, Principal of 
 
 Newnham College, Cambridge. By her Niece, Blanche A. Clough. 
 Crown 8vo. With Portrait. 6s.
 
 TO 
 
 ESSEX HOUSE PRESS PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold has much pleasure in caUing attention to the 
 fact that almost without exception these interesting books have all been 
 bought up and become out of print before publication, while one or two 
 that have found their way into the sale-rooms have commanded a high 
 premium. 
 
 These books are printed by the Guild of Handicraft, at Essex 
 House, on the hand presses used by the late Mr. William Morris at 
 the Kelmscott Press. Members of Mr. Morris's staff are also re- 
 tained at the Essex House Press, and it is the hope of the Guild of 
 Handicraft by this means to continue in some measure the tradition of 
 good printing and fine workmanship which William Morris revived. 
 
 Subscribers to the complete series of Essex House Publications are 
 given priority for any new book issued, and the number of subscribers 
 is constantly increasing. Intending subscribers and persons who desire 
 to receive announcements of the forthcoming publications are recom- 
 mended to enter their names as soon as possible. 
 
 ORDERS MAY NOW BE GIVEN FOR THE FOLLOWING : 
 
 Wordsworth's 'Ode on the Intimations of Immortality.' 
 
 With frontispiece drawn by Walter Crane. Vellum Series. 150 copies. 
 £2 2s. nett. 
 
 Heine's * Selected Song's.' Edited by Edmond Holmes. This book 
 will contain a frontispiece by Reginald Savage, and will be uniform in size 
 with the ' Endeavour.' It will be printed in the original German. The edition 
 will consist of 250 paper copies bound in boards at i guinea, and 12 vellum 
 copies at 2 guineas each. 
 
 The Guild of Handicraft Song-Book. With cuts and music in 
 
 four-page sheets at is. a sheet, to be issued in sets of ten at a time, or bound 
 up subsequently by arrangement. 
 
 Cicero's 'De Amicitia' in Latin and English (John Harrington's 
 
 translation, Elizabethan). 
 COPIES MAY YET BE OBTAINED OF THE FOLLOWING : 
 
 The *Parentalia' of Sir Christopher Wren. The Life and 
 
 Account of the Works of the Great Architect by his Son. Containing a series 
 of illustrations of the remaining City Churches. £t, 13s. 6d. nett. 
 
 Benvenuto Cellini's Treatises on Metal Work and Sculpture. 
 
 By C. R. ASHBEE. 600 copies. A few still left. 35s. nett. 
 
 Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Edited from the earlier editions 
 by Janet E. Ashbee, with a frontispiece by Reginald Savage. Vellum 
 cover. 750 copies. 30s. nett.
 
 II 
 American Sheaves and English Seed Corn. By C. R. Ashbee. 
 
 300 copies. 30s. nett. 
 
 The Doings of Death. Folio Volume of Large Woodcuts. By 
 
 William Strang. 140 copies. £(> 6s. 
 
 The Old Palace of Bromley-by-Bow. By Ernest Godman. 350 
 
 copies, of which 200 are for the use of the Committee for the Survey of the 
 Memorials of Greater London, leaving 150 for sale. 21s. nett. 
 
 The Masque of the Edwards of England. By C. R. Ashbee. 
 
 With a series of pictured pageants by Edith Harwood. Limited to 3CX5 
 copies at ^3 3s. There are also 20 copies on vellum, coloured in water-colours 
 by the artist, at ^12 12s. 
 
 KING EDWARD THE SEVENTH'S 
 PRAYER-BOOK. 
 
 This will be a sumptuous edition of the Book of Common Prayer, 
 which, by gracious permission of His Majesty, will be entitled ' King 
 Edward the Seventh's Prayer-Book.' 
 
 The new Prayer-Book will be hand printed at the Essex House Press, 
 and, whilst conforming to the Authorized Version, will rank, as a piece 
 of typography, with the Great Prayer-Book of Edward VI. It is to be 
 in new type designed by Mr. C. R. Ashbee, with about one hundred 
 and fifty woodcuts, and is to be printed in red and black on Batchelor 
 hand-made paper. There will also probably be a special binding of 
 green vellum with a gold block design and clasps. 
 
 Exceptional circumstances connected with the Book of Common 
 Prayer render it essential that this work, in order to be of historic value, 
 shall be issued with the imprint of the King's printers ; the Prayer-Book 
 will therefore be published by his Majesty's printers, Messrs. Eyre and 
 Spottiswoode, acting under the Royal Letters Patent, who will superintend 
 the work of the Essex House Press. 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold, publisher to the Essex House Press, is now 
 entering subscriptions for the work, and as the few available copies are 
 being rapidly taken up, those who desire to possess this important work 
 are recommended to apply as soon as possible. 
 
 The edition will be strictly limited to a total of four hundred copies 
 for England and America, at a price of Twelve Guineas (;^i2 12s.) nett. 
 There will also be five copies for England on vellum at Forty Pounds 
 (^40) nett, all of which are already sold.
 
 12 
 
 THE NATIONAL REVIEW. 
 
 Edited by L. J. MAXSE. 
 Price 2S. dd. net. 
 
 This important Review now occupies the foremost place among the 
 monthly periodicals of the United Kingdom. Its circulation has shown a 
 steady and continuous increase, and is at present more than double what 
 it was five years ago. It has, moreover, established for itself a unique 
 position from the tone of public - spirited independence in which it 
 approaches the political and social questions of the day. The influence 
 of the NaTionai, Review, and the respect in which it is held, may be 
 gauged from the attention given every month by the Press, both English 
 and foreign, to the articles appearing in the current number, as well as from 
 the list of contributors, some of whose names are given below. 
 
 The National, Review pays special attention to Foreign Politics, and 
 each number contains a series of Editorial Notes, summing up in a masterly 
 fashion the more important ' Episodes of the Month ' both at home and 
 abroad. Another special feature is the prominence given to the affairs of 
 the United States. Literature and Finance are also ably handled, and 
 articles in a lighter vein are to be found in every number. 
 
 Some of tbe Contributors to tbe * National IRevicw.' 
 
 The Archbishop of Armagh. 
 
 H. O. Arnold-Forster, M.P. 
 
 Lord Alverstone. 
 
 Right Hon. H. H. Asquith, K.C, 
 
 M.P. 
 Lord Avebury. 
 
 Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, M.P. 
 Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, Bart. 
 Right Hon. St. John Brodrick, M.P. 
 Sir Vincent Caillard. 
 Right Hon. J- Chamberlain, M.P. 
 Arthur Chamberlain. 
 E. T. Cook. 
 
 Lord Curzon of Kedleston. 
 Professor A. V. Dicey, K.C. 
 Right Hon. Sir Mountstuart 
 
 Grant-Duff. 
 
 Sir Edward Grey, Bart., M.P. 
 
 Col. Lonsdale Hale, R.E. 
 
 Right Hon. Lord George Hamilton, 
 
 M.P. 
 Benjamin Kidd. 
 Rudyard Kipling. 
 Sidney J. Low. 
 Captain A. T. Mahan. 
 J. A. Fuller Maitland. 
 "W. H. Mallock. 
 George Meredith. 
 Dr. Max Nordau. 
 H.M. King Oscar II. 
 Right Hon. Sir Horace Rumbold, 
 
 Bart., G.C.B., G.C.M.G. 
 The Marquis of Salisbury, K.G. 
 Sir Leslie Stephen, K.C.B. 
 
 THE TIMES ATLAS. 
 
 This well-known and magnificent work, which is generally considered 
 the finest reference Atlas that has ever been produced, is issued in the 
 following Editions : 
 
 Handsome cloth binding . . . 27s. 6d. nett. 
 
 Half nnorocco, gilt edges . . 35s. nett. 
 
 Fully bound Edition de Luxe 55s. nett.
 
 13 
 
 Published in the Spring of 1903. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF A TOWN BOY AT WEST- 
 
 MINSTER, 1849-1855. By Captain F. Markham, late Rifle Brigade. 
 Demy 8vo, With Illustrations. los. 6d. nett. 
 
 NATURE'S LAWS AND THE MAKING OF 
 
 PICTURES. By W. L. Wyllie, A.R.A. With over eighty illustrations from 
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 WITH MACDONALD IN UGANDA. By Major 
 
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 THE TALE OF A TOUR IN MACEDONIA. By 
 
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 14s. nett. 
 
 JOURNALS OF FIELD-MARSHAL COUNT VON 
 
 BLUMENTHAL, for 1866 and 1870-71. Edited by Count Albrecht von 
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 With Portraits and Maps. 12s. 6d. nett. 
 
 THE MINOR MORALIST. By Mrs. Hugh Bell. 
 
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 THE DEAN OF ST. PATRICK'S : A Play in Four Acts. 
 
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 THE ABSURD REPENTANCE. By St. John Lucas. 
 
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 THE LITTLE RED FISH. By Philip Laurence 
 
 Oliphant. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 THE TAINT OF THE CITY. By Charles Eddy, 
 
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 THE TEMPLARS. By E. H. Lacon Watson. 
 
 Crown Svo. 6s.
 
 14 
 
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 THE ENEMIES OF ENGLAND. By the Hon. George Peel. 
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 IMPERIUM ET LIBERTAS. By Bernard Holland. Demy 8vo., 
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 TURKEY IN EUROPE. By Odysseus. With Maps, i vol., demy Svc, 
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 STYLE. By Walter Raleigh, Professor of English Literature in the 
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 MILTON. By WALTER Raleigh. Crown 8vo., cloth, 6s. 
 
 WORDSWORTH. By Walter Raleigh. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. 
 
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 THE CHANCES OF DEATH, and other Studies in Evolution. By Karl 
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 THE PRINCIPLES OF LANDED ESTATE MANAGEMENT. By 
 
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 15 
 
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 PHASES OF MY LIFE. By the Very Rev. Francis Pigou, Dean of 
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 i6 
 
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