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 ?T2 vols. cl. 
 
 1879 
 
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 &^«f'
 
 FRINCB DISMAKCK IN HIS STl^DV. 
 
 From a Photograph. 
 
 Frontispiece.
 
 lB E R L I N 
 
 UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE, 
 
 ir^ INSTITUTIONS, INHABITANTS, INDUSTRY, MONUMENTS, 
 MUSEUMS, SOCIAL LIFE, MANNERS, 
 
 AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 liY 
 
 HENRY VIZETELLY, 
 
 Author of 
 
 THZ STORV OF THE DIAMOND NECKLACE, TOLD IN DETAIL FOK THE FIRST TIME," &(J. 
 
 *' Why are they proud? Because five milliard francs 
 The richer than from wars of former years ? 
 Why are they proud ? Again we ask aloud. 
 Why in the name of patience are they prcud? " 
 
 Keats' s " Isalella" I>araj>hrased. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH 
 UPWARDS OF 400 ENGRAVINGS FROM DESIGNS BV GERMAN ARTISTS. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 TINSLEY BROTHERS, CATHERINE STREET, STRAND. 
 
 1879. 
 
 O n
 
 "The City of Intelligence, the Athens of the Spree ! "—The Berlinese. 
 
 " The Sand-box of Germany ! " — T/te VieKiiese. 
 
 " No, I could not trust myself to this Prussia, this bigoted, gaitered hero, so boastful and 
 gluttonous, with his corporal's cane, which he steeps in holy water before striking with it. I was 
 sovereignly displeased with this nature — a combination of philosophy, Christianity, and militarism — 
 this mixture of white beer, mendacity, and Brandenburg sand. I found especially repugnant this 
 hypocritical Prussia, with its appearance of holiness, this Tartitffe among nations 
 
 " Whilst all the others were boasting of how proudly the Prussian eagle soared towards the sun, 
 I prudently kept my eyes fixed upon his claws." — Hei.nkich Heine.
 
 TO 
 
 HENRY SUTHERLAND EDWARDS, 
 
 IN CORDIAL RECOGNITION OF 
 
 THIRTY YEARS OF UNBROKEN FRIENDSHIP, 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. 
 
 H. V.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages are the result of several prolonged visits 
 
 paid to Berlin, the first of which took place in the autumn of 
 
 the year 1872, at the important epoch of the meeting of the 
 
 three Emperors, no doubt, to arrange their respective lines 
 
 of action whenever the struggle, already felt to be inevitable, 
 
 between Russia and Turkey should survene. 
 
 The aim the writer has had in view has been to convey 
 
 an accurate idea — in small matters as well as great — of a city 
 
 out of the regular highway of continental travel, and which, 
 
 as the capital of the new German Empire, is destined to 
 
 increase in interest to the other nations of Europe as well as 
 
 to exercise a greatly extended influence over the rest of the 
 
 Fatherland. There is an old proverb which says, '* Who has 
 
 not seen Cologne has never seen Germany," but to-day the 
 
 proverb has lost its significance, as it is no longer the city of the 
 
 shrines of the Magi, and the eleven thousand martyred virgins, 
 
 but the whilom capital of the little Mark of Brandenburg and 
 
 the present chief city of the powerful German Empire which 
 
 it is necessary a stranger should see. Of the great Germanic 
 
 body, Berlin is to-day at once the head and the heart, for 
 
 in all that relates to the new Empire, it is Berlin that thinks, 
 
 conceives, frames, organizes, and commands. 
 
 H. V. 
 London, August, 1879.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 rA(;E 
 EN ROUTE I 
 
 II. 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN 12 
 
 III. 
 ANCIENT BERLIN: NATURAL SELECTION AND NAME 2^ 
 
 IV. 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN 32 
 
 V. 
 
 MODERN BERLIN : CONFORMATION AND CHARACTER 6l 
 
 VI. 
 THE BERLINESE — IN SOCIETY 79 
 
 VII. 
 THE BERLINESE — AT HOME 121 
 
 VIII. 
 '* BERLIN WFRD WELTSTADT " , 164 
 
 IX. 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN 177 
 
 X. 
 
 THE THIERGARTEN ^95
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 XI. 
 
 HAGS 
 
 BERLIN EN f£tE. THE MEETING OF THE EMPERORS 2l8 
 
 XII. 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MANUiUVRES.— FLIGHT OF THE EAGLES .... 238 
 
 XIII. 
 WILHELM I., KoNIG AND KAISER 248 
 
 XIV. 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN 262 
 
 XV. 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON 13ISMARC1C 273 
 
 XVI. 
 PRUSSIAN GENERALS — MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON' 302 
 
 XVII. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.— HOW RECRUITED AND OFFICERED 315 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BERLIN BARRACK LIFE, DRILL, AND DISCIPLINE . 336 
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.— ORGANIZATIOV, PAY, UNIFORMS, AND RATIONS . . 350 
 
 XX. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.— INFANTRY AND CAVALRY 35^ 
 
 XXI. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY AND TRAIN. — THE ANNUAL 
 
 MANCEUVRES 37' 
 
 XXII. 
 
 WAR SCHOOLS— THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF , . . . 386 
 
 APPENDIX 4'3
 
 NORTH GERMAN ENERGY. 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 I 
 
 cy^ 
 
 EN ROUTE. 
 
 ADDLE of gold on a scurvy steed — 
 the quaint past century simile cha- 
 racterizing the gapital of the Mark 
 of Brandenburg in the midst of a 
 barren sandy plain — recurred to 
 one's mind while deliberating where 
 r to spend an autumn holiday, and 
 
 coupled with the then approach- 
 ing meeting there of a triad of 
 Emperors, turned the scale in 
 favour of Berlin. 
 
 At this epoch, with the German 
 r't^^lT troops still in France, and French- 
 'T^ men brooding bitterly over their 
 uncomfortable reminiscences, the 
 mere repetition at the ticket place of the Paris Gare de I'Est 
 of the words ''A Berlin" sufficed to attract scores of angry 
 
 B 
 
 /
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 eyes upon one. Rather more than two years previously one 
 had heard the too-familiar formula shouted for the first time 
 by a mercenary Paris mob. " A Berlin ! " — What scenes those 
 simple words recall ! A population worked into a paroxysm 
 of excitement, verging on to madness, by the yells of disguised 
 police spies ; two battles and two defeats ; the midnight flight 
 of a sovereign, protected by a faithful escort, from Metz ; 
 followed by a greater battle and another reverse, more dis- 
 astrous than all the rest, resulting in the sending of the 
 mock C?esar into captivity and the overturning of his throne. 
 Then ensued a period during which a people — deprived of 
 its armies, its generals, its engines of war, its means of com- 
 munication, of everything indeed that constitutes the strength 
 of a state, save patriotism — struggled hopelessly to retrieve its 
 losses. At last came the end, and France, whose power had 
 made the nations tremble, found herself humbled to the dust. 
 
 Long resident in the soi-disant capital of civilisation, and 
 a witness of its subjugation by the " barbaric hordes of the 
 modern Attila," as the angry Parisians used to style the 
 flaxen-haired, chubby-faced German youth, who for five months 
 held them in thrall, and when all was over bivouacked so 
 peaceably around the monumental Arc de I'Etoile, inscribed 
 over with long lists of assumed German defeats, without so 
 much as obliterating the name of a single apocryphal one — 
 long resident in Paris, I had determined upon a short sojourn in 
 the capital of this new united Germany, which had " issued from 
 the brain of Count Bismarck, sword in hand, as Minerva came 
 of old from the brain of Jupiter" — a capital whose destiny the 
 Prussians fondly dream is to depose Paris from its continental 
 supremacy, and whose inhabitants complacently describe it as 
 the City of Intelligence, the Athens of the Spree. 
 
 Bradshaw times the distance between Paris and Berlin at thirty 
 hours, but it was my ill-luck to be several days on the road from 
 the common accident of one's luggage going astray, leading one 
 to the discovery that La Rochefoucauld might have given a 
 wider apjilication to his famous apothegm, the amount of amuse- 
 ment which my fellow-travellers, in common with the railway 
 officials and hotel waiters, derived from my mishap, proving 
 that the misfortunes of perfect strangers, quite as much as 
 those of intimate friends, tend greatly to the gratification of 
 the rest of mankind. 
 
 Day after day was I doomed to remain in odoriferous Cologne, 
 with the lions of which one had long since been acquainted, 
 from its marvellous modern mediaeval cathedral, with its gimcrack 
 shrine of the Magi and its bones of the pseudo i i,ooo virgins, to 
 the house on the Sternengasse, where Rubens was born, and 
 Marie de Medicis — whose apotheosis by the ambassador-artist 
 forms a gallery of itself in the Louvre — died in exile and in misery.
 
 EX ROUTE. 
 
 After spending five days in Cologne and fifty francs in telegrams, 
 attending the arrival of all the trains, scrutinizing every article 
 of luggage from the railway vans, and envying the fortunate 
 possessor of even a 
 
 
 AT THE FRONTIER. 
 
 solitary sac-de-nuit, 
 my baggage at last 
 turned up — one port- 
 manteau with its lock 
 forced and the other 
 slit with a sharp knife 
 to allow of the in- 
 troduction of a fe- 
 lonious finger and 
 thumb, and the filch- 
 ing of sundry arti- 
 cles of various decrees 
 of value from a pair 
 of patent leather boots 
 to a cake of old brown 
 Windsor. 
 
 Distance certainly 
 lent enchantment to 
 the view which I obtained of Cologne as the train rolled over the 
 huge iron railway bridge across the Rhine on its way to Dusseldorf 
 — the birthplace, as one remembered, of the poet Heine and the 
 painter Cornelius — and swept through the Rhine " black 
 country," past embranchments with long trains of coal-trucks, 
 -Steaming away to furnace and factory, past Oberhausen and 
 Essen, where the gigantic iron and steel foundries of Jacobi and 
 Krupp are incessantly at work, their forests of tall chimneys 
 belching forth huge clouds of smoke, which hang in dusky 
 canopies over the pair of prosperous and begrimed Westphalian 
 towns. At Essen, which is simply a section of the immense 
 workman's city, covering the entire coal basin from Dusseldorf 
 to Dortmund, and numbering its 5000 inhabitants per square 
 mile, in whichever direction the eyes are turned one invariably 
 sees heavy locomotives constantly coming and going, and huge 
 black hillocks of coal heaped up all around, with endless phantom 
 chimneys rising like lofty antique obelisks out of the surround- 
 ing gloom. To the left is an agglomeration of Babylonian 
 buildings, surmounted by imposing towers and surrounded by 
 a wall high and well nigh solid as a rampart.^ This is the 
 gloomy abode of the true Iron King, Herr Krupp, " the master 
 
 ^ "Herr Krupp," observes M. Victor Tissot, "is so afraid lest his secret 
 should be surprised that he surrounds his states with a veritable Great Wall 
 of China on which this inscription is incessantly repeated in three languages — 
 ^The public are informed that in asking to view the establishment they 
 expose themselves to a refusal.' " 
 
 n 2
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 gunner of the age, who has sent more heroes to Hades than any 
 artillerist of his time." " Prussia's victories," remarks a contem- 
 plative Frenchman," have been shaped by Herr Krupp; and his 
 Cyclops have done more for German unity than Bismarck himselL 
 The military supremacy of the empire is at Essen even more 
 than at Merlin." 
 
 Less than half a century ago the father of Herr Krupp began 
 business here with a couple of workmen ; five years ago — since 
 which date it has been largely extended — the establishment 
 covered 510 acres of ground, more than one-fourth of which was 
 roofed in, and was connected with three separate lines of railway 
 by branches nearly twenty miles in length, which, with all their 
 rolling stock, were the exclusive property of the firm. There 
 were upwards of 400 furnaces, 250 steam-engines, some of lOOO 
 horse-power, fifty-one steam-hammers, the odd one, weighing fifty 
 tons and costing i^ 100,000 to manufacture, and which sounds 
 like a cannon when at work, being prudently kept employed 
 day and night so as not to lose for a single moment the interest 
 of the capital sunk on it, besides forges, lathes and planing, 
 cutting, shaping, boring, and grinding machines innumei'able. 
 Over 10,000 hands were employed at the works, which, with the 
 plant and stock, v^'ere valued at upwards of a couple of millions 
 sterling. 
 
 Since this period (1871) the value and productive power of 
 the works have been enormously augmented. In 1874 the 
 number of hands was increased to 16,000, while 65,000 tons of 
 steel are produced annually at the establishment. Great stress 
 is laid on the choice of the raw material — which Herr Krupp 
 transports from his own mines in Spain on board his own ships, — 
 and on the projjer blending of the composite metal. The 
 steel produced is very pure, close, fine-grained, and free from 
 flaws, and its power of resistance is greater than that of Bessemer 
 steel. Last year, with large orders in course of execution for 
 Turkey, Egypt, Russia, China, and Spain, Herr Krupp was 
 nevertheless able to deliver a hundred cannons a week to the 
 different German artillery depots. His last achievement is a 
 cannon of fourteen and a half inches bore, carrying a shot 
 weighing 330 lbs. capable of piercing a plate of solid iron from 
 twenty to twenty-four inches thick. The Krupp workmen 
 ordinarily receive from one and a half to two thalers per day. 
 Wages were lowered at the commencement of the year, but the 
 men participate in the profits of the establishment. An assurance 
 fund pays the doctor and provides medicine in cases of sickness^ 
 besides relieving the widow in the event of death. After sixteen 
 years' service the workman receives an annually increasing allow- 
 ance from the pension fund, and after twenty years he becomes 
 entitled to a retiring pension for the rest of his life. Attached 
 to the establishment are several schools and a hospital founded
 
 EN ROIITE. 
 
 by Herr Krupp, who once laboured at Essen himself working 
 beside his father in the little forge still preserved near the chief 
 entrance to show what industry and energy will lead to. 
 
 Less than an hour after leaving Essen one passes Dortmund, 
 in the heart of the Westphalian coal and iron district, where the 
 famous Vehmgericht — that powerful secret tribunal which bound 
 its members by fearful oaths blindly to execute its decrees, and 
 for a couple of centuries exercised sway throughout the Empire 
 — had its origin, and where the last of the ancient linden trees 
 of the Konigshof, under which the Emperor Sigismund himself 
 was affiliated to the grim fraternity, may still be seen. 
 
 Whilst the train stopped for a few minutes at Gutersloh, 
 where there was the usual ravenous rash at the refreshments. 
 
 one seized the opportunity of tasting the sacchariferous brown 
 bread of the district, the renowned Westphalian pumpernickel, 
 which traces its whimsical name, as the learned in nomenclatures 
 pretend, to the " boji pour NickcV of some French trooper, who 
 detested the over-rated delicacy, but thought it good enough 
 for his horse. Here, as elsewhere along the line, one could not 
 help being struck by the military tone which characterises the 
 Prussian railway service. Almost all the staff have been soldiers, 
 and engine-drivers and guards invariably make a point of saluting 
 the station-master whenever the train enters or leaves the station. 
 It is perhaps these marks of respect received from their subordi- 
 nates which render the higher railway officials so brusque and 
 peremptory towards the travelling public. Apropos of this an 
 amusing story is told. It appears that, as a train was about 
 starting from Berlin, an individual rushed along the line of 
 carriafjes, shoutincr, " Herr Miiller ! Herr Miiller! " when a tra- 
 veller inconsiderately thrust his head out of the window, and, to 
 his intense surprise, received a smart slap in the face. Highly
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 indignant he jumped out and sought the station-master, who, 
 after hstening to his complaint, simply inquired his name. 
 *' Schultze," was the reply. " In that case," rejoined the station- 
 master, " the matter does not concern you at all ; the gentleman, 
 inquires for Herr Miiller, and you, Schultze, very unnecessarily 
 put out your head. Take )'our seat again instantly, or \-ou'll 
 be left behind ;" and with that he signalled for the train to^ 
 start. 
 
 Hemmed in by trees, under which a few lean kine are solemnly 
 ruminating, one sleepy-looking Westphalian village, with tall tiled 
 roofs and low church spire, is passed after another, the peasants 
 mostly abroad in the neighbouring fields gathering in the final 
 
 harvests. As the train rushes swiftly by, at one cottage-door 
 we catch sight of a plump young Gretchen sedately knitting, while 
 the kittens gambol with her rolling ball of scarlet worsted ; then of 
 some aged grandsire, embarrassed at having to divide his atten- 
 tion between little Peterkin squatting at his feet and the faithful 
 Tray frisking by his side ; and finally of a plump, fair-haired 
 matron, in red petticoat and black head-dress, who spins and 
 sings while some future conscript of the new Empire, in the 
 shape of a merry, chubby-cheeked baby, rolls half-naked in the 
 dust at her side. We now traverse miles of singularly uninteresting 
 country, "generating hard-handed, broad-backed, stubborn carles, 
 whose whole lives are spent in struggling hard to vanquish the 
 natural infertility of the soil. Enormous plains, of barren aspect, 
 stretch away to the horizon, northwards and southwards ; every 
 here and there a row of melancholy trees breaks the monotony 
 of the landscape ; but other element of the picturesque there is 
 none."
 
 EN ROUTE. 
 
 Here one first encounters that peculiar breed of black and 
 white cattle, which is met with all the country through almost 
 up to Berlin, although one looks in vain for the fatted swine 
 yielding the famed Westphalian hams. The train, on crossing 
 the Weser, enters a hilly district, terminating in a narrow defile 
 known as the Porta Westphalica, on emerging from which we 
 find ourselves at Minden. The historic battle-field lies north of 
 the town and westward of the famous " wood-crowned height," 
 whereon, according to the poet, the venturesome Eliza stood, 
 " o'er Minden's plain, spectatress of the fight " at which an 
 English general, Lord George Sackville, showed the white 
 feather, and some regiments of English infantry accomplished 
 what the French commander believed to be impossible — " a 
 single line breaking through three lines of cavalry, ranked in 
 order of battle, and tumbling them to ruin." 
 
 One broke the journey at Hanover to glance at Herrenhausen, 
 described by Thackeray as scarcely changed since the unlucky 
 day when the obese Electress Sophia fell down there in a fit, in 
 the avenue her own hands had planted, and went the wsy of all 
 flesh only a few weeks before the death of Queen Anne paved 
 the way for the accession of the Brunswick Stuarts to the British 
 throne. " I made it my business," observes Thackeray, " to visit 
 that ugly cradle in which our Georges were nursed. The old 
 town of Hanover must look still pretty much as in the time 
 when George Louis left it. The gardens and pavilions of 
 Herrenhausen are scarce changed since the day when the stout 
 
 old Electress Sophia fell down in her last walk there You 
 
 may see at Herrenhausen the very rustic theatre in which the 
 Platens danced and performed masques and sang before the 
 Elector and his sons. There are the very same fauns and dryads 
 of stone still glimmering through the branches — still grinning 
 and piping their ditties of no tone, as in the days when painted 
 nymphs hung garlands round them, appeared under their leafy 
 arcades with gilt crooks guiding rams with gilt horns, descended 
 from machines in the guise of Diana or Mmerva, and delivered 
 immense allegorical compliments to the princes returned home 
 from the campaign. ' 
 
 We found the cradle of the Georges slightly different from 
 what it was when Thackeray was there. The Palace of the 
 deposed blind King was falling into decay, and the neglected 
 gardens were subsiding into a wilderness. We threaded their 
 grass-grown rectangular walks, shut in on both sides by lofty 
 walls of clipped foliage, crossed the neglected tapis vert, with 
 its troop of mildewed clumsy high Dutch goddesses sculptured 
 in emulation of the graceful marble nymphs of Versailles, past 
 the careless-ordered geometrical parterres to the mouldy-looking 
 stone basin surrounded by roses, laurels, orange trees and 
 cypresses, symbolical, it seems to us, of the love-making, fight-
 
 8 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ing, marrying and d\ing of the race of Hanoverian Guelphs. 
 It is here that we found the petty spiral water-works which 
 George the First used to point out to his guests as something 
 uncommonly fine, and which when set to play for our delectation 
 roused up the plump and laz)' gold fish from the bottom of the 
 slimy turgid pool. An old gardener, smoking a long German 
 pipe, who showed us over the grounds, drew particular attention 
 to the orange and cypress trees of which he appeared to take 
 especial care. Havmg heard that Hanover was by no means 
 reconciled to its absorption by the Hohenzollerns, "'Das ist 
 Praissen ! " said I to try the old fellow, pointing at the same 
 time to the ground. " Das ist nicJu Pniisscn" answered he, 
 stamping his foot violently upon the gravel walk sadly in want of 
 weeding — " das ist Han nova' ! " 
 
 The city of Hanover is a dull beautified quiet place and the 
 province generally presents all the outward appearances of a 
 sleepy sort of prosperity. Its fertile fields, and wooded hills, and 
 endless sweeps of rolling ground remind one very much of 
 England, and certain parts more especially of the weald of 
 Kent. One mis.ses, it is true, the stately homes of the large 
 landowners and the big thatched barns of the thriving farmers, 
 still all the homesteads have a comfortable well-to-do air, and 
 the invariable tidiness of the peasantry about the heels, shows 
 them to be better off in the matter of shoe leather, not only than 
 the majority of their brethren in Germany, but likewise in France. 
 
 At Brunswick, the city of the fiery Guelphs who resisted the 
 Emperors of Germany for a couple of centuries, the Altstadt 
 Rathhaus, a graceful late 13th century Gothic .structure un- 
 equalled throughout Germany, is worth coming all the way to 
 see. In front of the pillars supporting its rich arcades of per- 
 forated stone work, stand characteristic life-size statues of 
 Guelphic princes, all in their habits as they lived. The still 
 flickering grand-duchy of Brunswick hardly impressed one so 
 favourably as the recently snuffed-out kingdom of Hanover, 
 nevertheless as regards fertility it appeared to be largely in 
 advance of Prussian Saxony, which the railway enters just as we 
 catch sight of the mountain chain of the Harz, dominated 
 by the witch-haunted Brocken, the traditional scene of the 
 Walpurgis saturnalia. 
 
 Little more than two hours' ride from Brunswick brought us 
 to Magdeburg on the Elbe, a fortified town of the first class, 
 which during the Thirty Years' War, after standing a two years' 
 siege was taken by storm by the Imperialist general Tilly and 
 burnt to the ground, thirty thousand of its inhabitants, accord- 
 ing to the Protestant version, being put to the sword or perishing 
 in the flames. " Since the destruction of Jerusalem and Troy," 
 wrote the sanguinary commander of this wholesale butchery, 
 " there has never been seen such a famous victory."
 
 Kx\ k(jl'tl:. 
 
 In the citadel of Magdebur-^, constructed on an island in the 
 Elbe, Baron Trenck, the audacious lover of the beautiful and 
 witty Princess Amelia, youngest sister of Friedrich the Great, 
 and the " malevolent fairy" of the family, was confined for nine 
 dreary years, heavily chained to his dungeon walls. Trenck, 
 a handsome subaltern in his majesty's guards, and aide-de-camp 
 to the King, had attracted the princess's regards at some ball, 
 and the result was one of those amorous intrigues such as 
 German princesses of the epoch v/ere prone to indulge in, 
 although Carlyle, in the fulness of his hero worship, cavalierly 
 classes it among the myths. Hints and warnings on the part of 
 Friedrich having failed to put a stop to the perilous intercourse, 
 some breach of military discipline furnished him with an excuse 
 for placing Trenck under arrest, and packing him off to the 
 fortress of Glatz. " Guard well this knave," wrote he to the 
 commandant ; but to no avail, for Trenck succeeded in escaping 
 to Vienna, and an inquiry which followed, elicited that the 
 Princess had been supplying him liberall}' with funds. After 
 some years, spent in one or another northern capital he fell into 
 Friedrich's clutches at Dantzig, when he was transferred to 
 Berlin, and afterwards to Magdeburg, where his dungeon in the 
 Sternschanze forms one of the sights of the place. Lafayette 
 was at one time a prisoner at Magdeburg, while Carnot, the great 
 military administrator of the revolutionary epoch, died there in 
 banishment, — 
 
 "And borrowed from his enemies 
 Six foot of ground to lie upon." 
 
 On leaving Magdeburg, the railway crosses a broad sandy 
 plain stretching for miles on either side of the line, with sand 
 hills bounding the view. Dispersed over this barren spot were 
 one or two windmills, while here and there clusters of trees stood 
 likes oases in the midst of a desert. Then suddenly, by an 
 unaccountable freak of ilature, the parched soil was succeeded 
 by a strip of marsh land where long rank grass grew to the very 
 edge of the line. Then the sandy soil again presented itself 
 covered with short scorched grass varied at intervals by a fiield 
 of stubble and an occasional flock of geese, or dotted by clusters 
 of pine trees as if only they were sufficiently hardy to grow in 
 this arid waste. 
 
 Altogether nothing can be sadder and more desolate-looking 
 than this Mark of Brandenburg, through which the little river 
 Spree winds its way with such inimitable resignation. Well 
 may Berlin wits pretend that their ancestors would never have 
 settled in so forbidding a territory had there not been a deplorable 
 lack of good maps some thousands of years ago. Between Mag- 
 deburg and Berlin we pa.ss no towns but merely some miserable 
 cottages grouped here and there around a neglected steeple ; the
 
 lO 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 country, flat and uniform, is broken only by sand-banks and 
 stunted pines with knotted roots, and casual pools of greenish 
 water at which cows, lean as those of Pharaoh's dream, are 
 drinking.^ Little windmills perched on piles of stones rise up 
 here and there, agitating their sails as moths do their wings, 
 but not a human being and scarcely a bird meets the eye. 
 Occasionally a few poppies impart a touch of colour to the 
 dreary landscape, rendered all the more melancholy-looking by 
 the lowering grey autumnal sky. Well might the Brandenburg 
 poet sing : — 
 
 " Oh, wliat a bare and dreary land ! 
 No hill, no vale, only dry sand, 
 No roses, not an oak !" 
 
 After another sandy waste, inducing the belief that we are 
 approaching a seaport town, several beautiful lakes, with fleets of 
 
 ])unts and flocks of swans and wild fowl in the distance, burst 
 suddenly upon our view. Next we pass a forest of pines, then 
 another strip of sand and a few villages, and we are at Potsdam, 
 watered by the Havel and rendered highly picturesque by 
 extensive plantations which thread alike the valleys and cross 
 the surrounding hills ; also by vast and beautiful gardens and 
 elaborate architectural embellishments, for Potsdam counts 
 almost half a score of palaces. Some involuntary exclamations 
 of surprise at the pleasing transformation the scenery had under- 
 gone aroused our weary fellow-travellers, most of whom sensibly 
 enough had taken refugeln slumber while the train was traversing 
 the seemingly interminable dreary waste, and heads were at once 
 eagerly thrust out of windov/ to obtain a glimpse of Potsdam 
 and its attractions. In another half hour the train stopped at a 
 small wooden station to which no name was affixed. As every- 
 
 l, ' Voyat^e aux Fays des MiUi^irds, par M. Victor Tissot.
 
 EN ROUTE. 
 
 II 
 
 body appeared to be quitting the carriages, I hailed a porter and 
 demanded if it were Berlin. He seemed as much astonished as 
 one of his fellows at Cannon Street would be on being asked 
 how far it was from London, and it was not until he had 
 thoroughly satisfied himself he was not being joked with that he 
 replied, " Ja, Ja." This was in 1S72, before the vast and hand- 
 some station near the Potsdamer Thor, where we alighted on the 
 occasion of subsequent visits to Berlin, was com.pleted. 
 
 
 1 -■" 
 
 A IJhhL/N '.lAC.MAN.
 
 
 II. 
 
 FIRST IMPRKSSIONS OF BERLIN. 
 
 WITH the platform crowded with lugc^a^e and merchandize, 
 and densely packed with strugglinfj passengers, it was 
 hopeless in the prevailing confusion to attempt at securing the 
 services of any one of the small staff of porters which the Mag- 
 deburger and Potsdamer Eisenbahn appeared to have in its 
 employ. Consequently I and the friend by whom I was accom- 
 panied decided upon driving at once to some hotel and sending 
 subsequently for our luggage. Descending the flight of wooden 
 steps leading from the railway platform to the open space in 
 front of the station, where a file of shabb}'-looking vehicles — 
 average specimens of the Berlin droschken — were drawn up, 
 and running our eyes rapidly along the line, we hailed the most 
 respectable-looking ; but the unconcerned individual lolling on 
 the bo.x with a cheap cigar between his teeth — the Berlin cabby 
 never smokes pipes — responded to our signal with complete dis- 
 dain. Imagining the "kutschcr" of the new Empire, like the
 
 FIRST IMI'KESSIONS OF UKKLIX. 
 
 rest of the natives of tlic fatherland, to be unduly elevated on 
 the national stilts, and perhaps more indolent and less civil than 
 his coiifi-rrcs in other parts of Europe, we opened the door of the 
 vehicle and threw in our "wraps," a proceeding against which 
 the driver protested and gesticulated, flinging his arms about 
 like a semaphore, and winding up by rolling himself off his box, 
 only, however, to declare that he could not take us. Fancying 
 he might have a weakness for picking his fares we simply rejoined 
 by directing him to drive to the Hotel de Rome, but to no 
 purpose. On trying to secure another vehicle we met with 
 refusal after refusal, and as the crowd of droschken was rapidly 
 diminishing we appealed to one 
 of two tall policemen, in spiked 
 helmets and with dangling cut- 
 lasses. He referred us to an aged 
 military-looking individual who 
 from his towering stature might 
 have been a direct descendant 
 from one of Friedrich Wilhelm 
 the First's gigantic guards, and 
 on whose brass badge the word 
 !l^ro[c&fcnbc[tcIhm(3 could with a 
 proper amount of patience be 
 read. From him we received 
 a metal ticket stamped with a 
 number, with directions to secure 
 the droschke with a corresponding 
 number, the driver of which on 
 the production of this talisman 
 made no difficulty in accepting us 
 as his fare. Subsequently one 
 learnt that these so-called drosch- 
 kenbestellung are attached to all the Berlin railway stations, 
 where vehicles — abundant enough within the city — are usually 
 lacking whenever a crowded train chances to arrive, leading to 
 an energetic struggle to secure one of these little tablets the 
 possession of which alone confers the privilege of being driven 
 home in a decrepit Berlin droschke. 
 
 The next instant we were rumbling in the direction of Unter 
 den Linden, at once the Boulevards, Rue de Rivoli and Champs 
 Elysees of Berlin, where are found broad open squares and mili- 
 tary monuments, the royal palaces and principal public buildings, 
 the higher class hotels and the most attractive shops, the 
 dearest restaurants and the more frequented conditoreien, for at 
 this epoch cafes such as exist in Paris and Vienna were unknown 
 in the Prussian capital. The vehicle we had secured was drawn by 
 a miserable-looking horse, old, ill-cared for, lame of his near fore- 
 leg, and blind of his off eye, while the driver, who by means of
 
 14 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 horse cloths and some bits of board had arranged his seat into a 
 kind of easy chair, was a pecuharly ill-fa\-ourcd specimen of 
 humanity. Putting his physiological defects however aside, one 
 may remark that his livery of Prussian blue, in common with 
 all the visible portions of his linen and his face and hands, was 
 so begrimed with accumulated dirt as to approximate to rusty 
 iron grey, and that the only thing which gave him an air of 
 respectability was the big bright brass escutcheon in front of his 
 hat, to the polishing of which he had devoted an amount of 
 time which might have been more advantageously bestowed on 
 other portions of his toilet. 
 
 Slowly as our decrepit vehicle rumbled along we were soon 
 crossing the turbid waters of the Landwehr canal, crowded with 
 barges laden with bricks and fuel, while its banks were lined with 
 stately-looking houses standing back in small but pleasantgardens. 
 The day being remarkably warm that empyreumatic odour for 
 which Berlin is notorious was speedily recognisable. In the height 
 of summer you are scarcely v^ithin the city, have barely had time 
 
 to catch a glimpse 
 of its spacious tho- 
 roughfares, border- 
 ed by lofty and 
 often elegant-look- 
 ing edifices, before 
 " the rankest com- 
 pound of villainous 
 smell that ever 
 offended nostril " 
 arises on all sides 
 and persistently 
 tracks your steps. 
 Proceed in which- 
 ever direction you 
 will, from theThier- 
 garten to Fried- 
 richshain, or from 
 Monbijou palace 
 to the Belle Alli- 
 ance-platz, along 
 the frequented Lin- 
 den Avenue, or the 
 shunned Konigs- 
 mauer, before the 
 palace of the Em- 
 peror or the Ar- 
 beitshaus of the poor, in the most elegant as in the most repul- 
 sive quarters, of the city, it accompanies you everywhere. At 
 certain times it is more offensive than at others, according as
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN. 
 
 15 
 
 the fetid filth is in sluggish motion or stagnant at the bottom 
 of the open and inefficiently flushed drains, still the poisonous 
 gases are for ever mingling with the atmosphere and infecting 
 the city with their unwholesome fumes. 
 
 Passing along the spacious streets and the pleasant green leafy 
 avenue skirting the Thiergarten — the Hyde Park of Berlin — to 
 the Linden promenade you discover the sewers to be superficial 
 instead of subterranean, the roads being bordered on either side 
 by open drains, a couple of feet deep by a foot and a half broad, 
 at the bottom of which a thick layer of mire is festering in the 
 sun or flowing languidly towards the river Spree, a mere glance 
 at whose waters makes one shudder when one thinks that all the 
 coffee one will sip and the soup one will swallow will be made 
 with this repulsive fluid. In the more populous quarters, or 
 where the streets intersect each other, or the foot-paths are 
 extremely narrow, or the houses chance to be inhabited by 
 people with an ordinary keen sense of smell, these gutters have 
 been partially covered in with stout planks, removable at will, 
 and more or less rotten with age. They are also frequently 
 bridged over in face of the principal portcs-cocJicres to admit of 
 vehicles crossing in security, but with these exceptions the several 
 hundred miles of Berlin drains are completely exposed, and Berlin 
 mud larks and baby "bangel"^ find no end of amusement in 
 stirring up the liquid impurity, in constructing dams to arrest its 
 progress, and in swimming fleets of tiny boats with paper sails 
 upon its oleaginous surface. 
 
 In broad day-light sleepy droschke drivers, in turning the street 
 corners too sharply, occasionally topple the hind wheel of their 
 vehicles down these gullies' abrupt banks, dragging the forewheel 
 and sometimes the 
 horse after it, the 
 driver ordinarily 
 getting unseated 
 and his fare being 
 possibly precipi- 
 tated on to the 
 pavement. It is no 
 rare thing too for 
 strangers not hav- 
 ing the fear of these 
 
 yawnmg trenches 
 
 continually before 
 
 their eyes to slip 
 
 suddenly into them 
 
 while crossing the road at night, and to be conducted home with 
 
 possibly a dislocated ankle. Middle-class Berlincrs moreover after 
 
 ROVAL GUARD-HOUSE. 
 
 ^ The Berlin bangel is equivalent to the London ro igli.
 
 i6 
 
 BEKl.lN UNDER THE XEW EMPIRE. 
 
 makiiiL; a nic^ht of it roll into these drains in the earl}' hours 
 of the morning, and working men, whom a too liberal imbibition 
 of '' weissbier mit kiimmel " has rendered unsteady, regularly 
 tumble into them on their way home and wallow there until day- 
 break, unless compassionately assisted out by some night watch- 
 man going his rounds. The late King, whose olfactory 
 organs never became completely reconciled to the over pungent 
 odours of his capital, had the happy thought of planting the 
 borders of these drains with lines of acacias, the delicious scent 
 from which, when in bloom, sensibly moderates the mephitic 
 exhalations. Sanitary enthusiasts, with the view of arousing 
 the authorities to remedy the existing evil, are for ever pro- 
 phesying the outbreak of some epidemic such as depopulated 
 the cities of the middle ages ; but, as is commonly the case, their 
 well-meant warnings fall unheeded on deaf official ears. 
 
 Beyond the pestiferous odours, which during the warm season 
 
 of the year render 
 a residence in the 
 Prussian capital 
 the reverse of at- 
 tractive to individ- 
 uals with delicate- 
 ly strung olfactory 
 nerves, strangers 
 meet with another 
 
 though less serious 
 inconvenience in 
 the clouds of sand 
 which in dry wea- 
 ther, at the slightest 
 puff of wind, rise 
 into the air and 
 envelope every- 
 thing they encoun- 
 ter in their pro- 
 gress. The Berlin 
 streets are rarely 
 watered, because 
 the companies de- 
 mand such an ex- 
 orbitant sum that 
 the newspapers 
 pretend the city 
 might be sprinkled with eau de Cologne for the money — which 
 could it only be accomplished would certainly have the effect of 
 moderating its existing noisome odours. Whenever a water-cart 
 makes its apparition all the juvenile bangel of the neighbourhood 
 ^re gambolling in the wake of it. 
 
 On gusty days these clouds of
 
 s 
 
 ot 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 (A 
 
 Q 
 
 X 
 < 
 
 I 

 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN. 
 
 17 
 
 sand sail swiftly down the long streets penetrating into the houses 
 through all the apertures, obliging the double windows to be kept 
 closed, and blinding and stifling everyone who faces them. 
 Occasionally a pillar of sand will rise at the Halle Thor on the 
 southern side of Berlin and whirl down Friedrichs-strasse smother- 
 ing all it comes in contact with, receiving compensating reinforce- 
 ments on the road, and passing leisurely out an hour afterwards 
 on the opposite side of the city, merely however to give place to 
 a second one already capering at its heels. The Berlin sand 
 inflames the eyes and irritates the skin like so much pounded 
 glass, or as Mr. Sala categorically put it, " powders your clothes, 
 gets down your throat, cracks your lips, excoriates your mucous 
 membrane, bakes your tongue, irritates your tonsils, and 
 insinuates itself into your eyes, ears, and nostrils." 
 
 Unquestionably one of the first things that strikes a stranger 
 in Berlin is the large number of people wearing spectacles. A 
 considerable proportion of the men encountered in the streets 
 wear glasses of one kind or another, and many women and chil- 
 dren even have recourse to them. These affections of the eyes 
 are possibly attributable to Berlin being situated in the midst 
 of an immense sandy plain, and to the irritation to the organs 
 of vision consequent upon the sand being continually in motion. 
 
 Berlin enjoys the reputation of being a handsome city. It 
 counts a perfect host of outdoor statues and monuments, about 
 half-a-score of palaces, numerous striking public buildings, many 
 elegant modern private residences, and vast barracks in the 
 style of stately feudal castles, while even its gas works, which 
 elsewhere are ordinarily such hideous obiects, assume the form 
 
 C
 
 i8 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 DRAGOON BARRACKS NEAR THE HALLE GATE. 
 
 of grand gothic round towers. Its churches, however, both 
 
 Catholicand Pro- 
 testant are not 
 merely insignifi- 
 cant but fre- 
 quently hideous, 
 and both extern- 
 ally and intern- 
 ally are but in- 
 differently cared 
 for. Berlin is 
 perhaps the most 
 mathematically 
 arranged capital 
 in all Europe. 
 Thestraightness, 
 length, breadth, 
 and rectangular arrangement of its streets, excepting the tortuous 
 thoroughfares in the older portions of the city, are proverbial. 
 These spacious thoroughfares form grand strategetical arteries 
 designed for the free passage of columns of horse, foot, and 
 artillery, and the manoeuvering of brigaded masses of men. 
 In traversing Friedrichs-strasse, several miles long in a direct 
 line, and with the drawback common to nearly all the Berlin 
 streets, of being execrably paved, one is reminded of Sydney 
 Smith's jocular lament that there was an end to everything in 
 this world excepting Upper Wimpole street, which compared to 
 Friedrichs-strasse is brevity itself. 
 
 Some few Berlin thoroughfares are macadamized, but the 
 great majority are paved, not, however, after the fashion of 
 Oxford Street or the Strand, or even the Paris faubourgs, but 
 with that peculiar pointed kind of stone in favour in the old 
 continental towns. Indeed, so execrable are the Berlin pavements 
 that a special shoe has been invented for the horses, while so ill 
 kept are the macadamized roads that formerly the authorities 
 used to be constantly having their attention directed by the 
 newspapers to particular streets where men and cattle sank 
 ankle deep in the mire. Provided, however, the tax-gatherer 
 could only manage to pick his way through the mud to collect 
 the city rates remonstrances were of no avail. In certain 
 streets there are no footpaths, and even where these conveniences 
 do border the roadways, instead of broad pavements of flag- 
 stones or asphalte, there is at most a single row of flags, just 
 sufficiently wide for one pedestrian to walk on, the space on 
 either side being either left unpaved or else studded with small 
 pointed stones of the kidney potato and more angular types — 
 in other words, just the kind of stones which one is always ready 
 to fling into the garden of one's neighbour. It must be confessed
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN. 19 
 
 however that occasionally they are considerately disposed points 
 downwards. As the extent of the repairs to the roads and 
 footways of Berlin is dependent on the amount realised from the 
 dog-tax, in the old days the stones used to be economically 
 turned and returned every few years, like a miser's coat, by the 
 thrifty municipality. Formerly a few yards of pavement would 
 be widened in one street, next time another street would enjoy 
 this advantage, improvement proceeding so slowly that a Berlin 
 newspaper calculated it would take several hundred years at the 
 then rate of progression to provide the entire city with respectable 
 foot-pavements. Since the influx of the French milliards the 
 advance has been more rapid, and asphalte has been partially 
 laid down in the Linden and other important thoroughfares. 
 Spite of this, the peculiar conformation of most of the existing 
 stones necessitates heavy double-soled boots being worn in all 
 seasons by those accustomed to the asphalte of the Paris 
 boulevards or the flags of Pall-Mail, unless they are content to 
 traverse Berlin in a sluggish droschke. 
 
 It is perhaps to the execrably paved roads and the equaly 
 abominable footways that one should attribute the extraordinary 
 development of female feet in this part of Europe, a physio- 
 logical phenomena which we commend to the attention of our 
 neighbours outre Mancke, who, intent as they are on discovering 
 alike motes and beams in the eyes of their detested rivals, are 
 likely to make the most of it. The French, while rendering 
 ample homage to British female beauty, have always contended 
 that every Englishwoman, no matter how flaxen her hair, how 
 blue her eyes, or how transparent and roseate her complexion, 
 has large feet. They have written it in their newspapers, 
 illustrated it in their comic journals, and declaimed it upon the 
 stage, and it was with feelings akin to satisfaction that one 
 observed this remarkable development of the pedal extremities 
 which characterises the Berlin belles. 
 
 In the Prussian capital, scaffoldings and buildings in course 
 of construction constantly arrest the eye. In the outskirts of 
 Berlin new quarters are still being laid out, new streets planned, 
 new houses rising up everywhere. Until quite recently even in 
 the heart of the city so many new structures were in course of 
 erection that one was led to imagine the capital of the new 
 Empire had been handed over to some Prussian Haussmann 
 to expend a handsome share of the French milliards in its 
 extension and improvement. The newer thoroughfares undoubt- 
 edly have the merit of presenting some architectural novelties 
 in the variety of design which the different edifices, usually in 
 the Renaissance 5tyle, exhibit, and which, while avoiding the 
 tedious sameness and utter want of taste displayed in our 
 Tyburnian terraces, are in no degree incongruous with one 
 another, A principal characteristic of Berlin domestic architec- 
 
 C 2
 
 20 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ture of the present day is the elegant overhanging bay windows, 
 which, springing from the first floor, extend to the uppermost 
 storey, breaking up the formal Unc of the long faqades at 
 frequent intervals, as well as ornamenting the principal street 
 corners. And yet ninety-nine of every hundred of these houses 
 are merely of stucco. The Berlinese, when enlarging their city, 
 were ambitious of something grandiose, but found stone too. 
 costly, so they put up with the imitation. Select any one of 
 the more pretentious modern Berlin houses, and your first 
 
 impression will be 
 that it is a stately 
 stone mansion. The 
 gateways and win- 
 dows are surmount- 
 ed and surrounded 
 with rich carvings ; 
 sculptured cornices 
 and friezes run 
 round the upper 
 part of the edifice, 
 and in all proba- 
 bility a group of 
 statuary rises above 
 its summit. Acloser 
 inspection reveals 
 the stucco to be 
 already peeling off 
 the older walls, 
 the supposed stone 
 carvings to be mere 
 plaster of Paris, and 
 the groups, Roman 
 cement ; while in- 
 side these edifices 
 there will be any 
 amount of sham 
 marble and coun- 
 terfeit mosaic, with 
 even imitation car- 
 peting painted up 
 the flights of stairs. 
 One cannot re- 
 main long in Berlin without being impressed by the abundance 
 of its out-door statues of a bellicose type. Effigies of military 
 or mythological heroes embellish the Linden and the Lust-garten, 
 surmount most of the palaces and public buildings, crown the 
 Brandenburg-gate, grace the entrance to the old Schloss and 
 adorn its courts, scale the steps of the Museum, flank the classic 
 
 MILITAKV MONUMENT IN THE INVALIDEN PARK.
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN. 
 
 21 
 
 guard-house and the opera, face the king's theatre, Hne the more 
 important bridges, crowd most of the open spaces, and guard the 
 sites of the more ancient city gates, while figures of saints receive 
 you beneath the portico of the Cathedral and survey Berlin from 
 several of its church steeples. In the same way busts of the 
 Emperor, the Prince Imperial and Bismarck decorate all the 
 theatres, tanz-siile, bier-hallen, and restaurants. A perfect forest of 
 flag-staffs dominates the Berlin edifices and the Prussian spread- 
 eagle soars in all directions. You encounter it perched on the top 
 of marble and metal columns, hovering over palaces and public 
 buildings, fixed above the doors of postal and police offices, 
 and 
 its 
 spiked 
 
 distending 
 
 wmgs 
 
 on the 
 helmets 
 of soldiers and 
 policemen, and 
 the hats of the 
 post-van drivers. 
 If one's ears 
 are assailed with 
 less drumming 
 and trumpeting 
 in Imperial Ber- 
 lin than used to 
 be the rule in 
 Imperial Paris, 
 there is certainly 
 as much, if not 
 more, marching 
 
 of troops and dragging of cannon through the principal thorough- 
 fares, as manoeuvres in which infantry, cavalry, and artillery alike 
 take part, are performed early every morning in some open sandy 
 space outside the city. Officers in droschken or on foot throng 
 the Linden throughout the day, requiring sentinels to be con- 
 stantly on the alert that they may not neglect to salute them ; 
 and under the lime-tree avenues helmetted aides-de-camp and 
 smart-looking orderlies are trotting to and fro from morn till 
 night. The military element so far preponderates that at many 
 restaurants more officers than civilians are encountered. They 
 crowd the opera, throng most places of public resort, sweep the 
 pavement of the Linden, the flags of which resound with 
 
 " — their sabres' cursed clank ; 
 Their spurs are jinghng everywhere ! " 
 
 If at Berlin the martial propensity of the nation is constantly 
 present, its system of universal education is not the less so, for 
 although the gown timidly gives place to the sword, schoolmaster 
 and drill-sergeant as a rule go hand in hand. In the morning,
 
 22 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 from seven until nine the streets are positively thronged with 
 children of both sexes and all ages and conditions, their satchels on 
 their backs or their rolls of music and such-like matters in their 
 
 hands, not creeping 
 
 ^ 14- 1 . ' ' '^' 
 
 VICTUrtLlEN IH^NDLUMC 
 W.PiJSECKE. 
 
 like snails unwill 
 ingly, but hurrying 
 cheerfully to school. 
 One thing sur- 
 prises a foreigner. 
 In the majority of 
 Berlin streets he 
 finds all the cellars 
 either inhabited by 
 the poorer classes 
 or else converted 
 into convivial cav- 
 erns such as bier- 
 locale and the like, 
 or occupied by the 
 smaller tradespeo- 
 ple, notably milk- 
 men, buttermen, 
 bakers, grocers, pork-butchers, and shoemakers, and even 
 crockery and furniture dealers. In the suburbs moreover you 
 have often to dive down into a cellar to get your hair cut, or 
 provide yourself with a pair of gloves. Apropos of the Berlin 
 grocers, petroleum would appear to be their leading article, if one 
 may judge by the size of the letters in which the name of the 
 combustible is in- 
 scribed on their shops, 
 and the continual re- 
 currence of which 
 would certainly make 
 a Par's communard's 
 mouth water if he 
 only dared trust 
 himself inside Berlin. 
 W^ith reference to the 
 subterranean pork- 
 butchers a joke is 
 current to the effect 
 that late one nigflit 
 some newly-arrived 
 foreigner of over 
 
 lively imagination on hearing subdued guttural sounds proceeding 
 from these profound depths instantly concluded murder was being 
 committed, and excitedly appealed to a passing watchman to 
 hasten to the rescue. " Calm yourself, vicin herr," replied the
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN. 
 
 23 
 
 * VV^/Y." 
 
 guardian of the night, whose practical ear detected the origin of 
 the shrieks which had so alarmed the stranger ; " it's only the 
 fieischer killing a pig ready for the morning." 
 
 Although Berlin possesses no precise equivalent to the London 
 public-house or the Paris viarcJiand de vins, still every fourth 
 house in the more populous districts either dispenses some 
 kind of intoxicating liquor, is a bier-local, a wein-stube, a rum- 
 fabrik, or a distillation establishment, or else sells tobacco and 
 cigars. Inscriptions such as "Bier und friihstiicks local," "AUe 
 sorten biere und brantwein," " Tabak and cigarren fabrik," and 
 "Distillation," meet the eye at every turn. The duty on all kinds of 
 tobacco being exceedingly trifling, cigars of a certain quality 
 may be purchased six for a penny, consequently pipes are rarely 
 smoked even by the 
 very poorest class. At 
 night-time the number 
 of red lamps seen in all 
 quarters of the Pru.ssian 
 capital is something 
 remarkable, and the 
 stranger curious as to 
 their object soon dis- 
 covers that the red 
 light which in Paris 
 indicates 'bacco, at 
 Berlin signalizes beer. 
 If beer is abundant 
 here, beef and mutton 
 scarcely are so, for it 
 is only the early comers 
 at the popular restaur- 
 ants who have the smal- 
 lest chance of securing 
 them. Things, however, 
 have improved of late, 
 for formerly one might 
 
 have scoured Berlin through without discovering so much as a 
 .single sheep or a solitary side of beef in any one of its butchers' 
 shops. The Berlin flcischcr of the old school have a fancy for 
 decorating their establishments with trailing ivy in pots, though 
 what the connection can be between the ivy green and butcher's 
 meat one is at a loss to divine. Fine fruit is remarkably rare and 
 correspondingly dear at Berlin ; flowers, however, are plentiful 
 enough, and florists' shops thrice as common in the Prussian as m 
 the French capital, the inhabitants of which have, as we all know, a 
 mania for bouquets. From the moment a Parisienne is engaged to 
 be married, \\&x fiance is bound to present her with a floral tribute 
 daily until the wedding takes place. No sooner, however, is this
 
 24 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 accomplished than the husband hastens to carry his floral offerings 
 elsewhere. The arrangement of the lierlin bouquets is formal 
 but tasteful, flowers of one kind and colour being disposed in 
 circles or other strictly mathematical figures after a fashion that 
 seems peculiar to Germany. 
 
 The greater business activity developed at Berlin since the war 
 with France, has changed the aspect of its street traffic, which is 
 no longer limited mainly to droschken, omnibuses, beer drays, 
 primitive country waggons having one horse between the shafts, 
 and another yoked by its side, and diminutive carts drawn by 
 dogs. It is true that even to day huge piled up vans and 
 
 ponderous waggons of the London 
 type are never by any chance seen, 
 still the numerous heavily laden rail- 
 way trucks encountered in the mer- 
 cantile quarters of the city show the 
 immense impetus which Berlin trade 
 has of late received. Beer drays of 
 remarkable length adapted to being 
 horsed at either end, owing to the 
 impossibility of their turning, and 
 carrying nearly half a hundred casks 
 are familiar objects in Berlin thorough- 
 fares, as are also carts laden with ice 
 for cooling the national beverage. As 
 the post conveys not merely letters, 
 but bulky packages and heavy cases 
 as well, and is in fact a kind of Pick- 
 ford and Parcels Delivery Company, 
 post-oflice vans are exceedingly 
 numerous in the Berlin streets, where 
 dog-carts for transporting milk, fish, 
 and vegetables may be counted by 
 thousands. Private carriages, on the 
 other hand, are a perfect novelty even 
 in the most fashionable Berlin thoroughfares. 
 
 After the recent war the Berlinese in a disdainful way affected to 
 discard everything French, and the newspapers to keep them from 
 backsliding, periodically opened campaigns against Gallicisms 
 in ideas or language. Certain patriotic restaurateurs, whose 
 establishments of a higher grade than ordinary are commonly 
 resorted to by strangers, abandoned the practice of print- 
 ing their mentis in the cosmopolitan language of France, 
 much to the embarrassment of the general run of foreigners 
 who failed to recognise Hors cTmivrcs \\\ Q.?orfJTfn, Legumes in 
 ©cmiiff, Entries in 3.1{ittr(ciTcn, Roti in i^nitfii and Dessert in 
 9?arf)tiU(). Spite of these puerile attempts at the suppression of 
 French phrases, Paris fashion still exercises sway over the 
 
 LOTTERY TICKET OFFICE.
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BERLIN. 
 
 25 
 
 women of Berlin ; French inscriptions too surmount many of the 
 shops, Parisian notiveauth being always prominently ticketed ; 
 bad French wines with pretentious labels have moreover usurped 
 the place of native vintages, photographs of French actresses 
 and Bois de Boulogne anonynias are as common in the print- 
 sellers as French novels are in the booksellers' windows, 
 French dancers likewise star it in the ballets, and French pikes 
 a grand spectacle run their hundreds of nights at the popular 
 theatres. 
 
 At Berlin, where huge posting bills are unknown, no enterpris- 
 ing Prussian Willing has utilised either the dead-walls, hoardings, 
 omnibuses, railway carriages, or stations for advertising purposes. 
 
 Announcements 
 
 of all kinds are 
 restricted to the 
 newspapers, or 
 to the dumpy 
 Litfass columns 
 dotted over the 
 central avenue of 
 the Linden and 
 scattered about a 
 few other prin- 
 cipal thorough- 
 fares, and which 
 though they are 
 placarded almost 
 exclusively with 
 programmes of 
 the theatres, and 
 other places of 
 amusement, will 
 commonly attract 
 a ragged group 
 around them, in 
 the early part of 
 the day. Publi- 
 city is given to 
 
 lotteries, the curse of the new Empire, chiefly by placards 
 exhibited in the shop windows, where thousands of tickets are 
 exposed for sale, and invariably at a premium, such is the mania 
 for speculation among the Berlinese. 
 
 Berlin with all its misery has nothing approaching to our 
 London rookeries, the poor are huddled densely together, as in 
 other large cities, but out of sight and generally under-ground. 
 The prim street fronts of thousands of houses also conceal no 
 end of wretchedness within the court at the rear, thus accounting 
 for the absence of any such dreadful squalor as is visible
 
 26 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 in our own metropolis. Berlin moreover is free from the plague 
 of street cries, beggars, German bands, Italian pifferari, conjurors, 
 and acrobats. Street stalls and hawkers' barrows are equally 
 prohibited. The few organ-grinders only venture to ply their 
 calling by stealth, in the more retired neighbourhoods. Even 
 Punch and Judy appear not to be tolerated in the capital of the new 
 Empire, where moreover all the dogs are scientifically muzzled 
 not merely during the hot weather but throughout the year, and, 
 strange to say, the droschken-kutscher as a rule is neither 
 extortionate nor uncivil.
 
 EAKLY SETll.ERS IN THE MARK 
 
 III. 
 
 ANCIENT BERLIN : NATURAL SELECTION AND NAME. 
 
 The Mark of Brandenburg — at the time when German swords 
 and German sagacity sought to wrest it from the heathenish 
 Wends who had emigrated here from the east — presented a 
 series of dreary flats partly covered with shifting sand and heath 
 and partly with forests, which, excepting some oaks and a few 
 other deciduous trees, were exclusively composed of the 
 indigenous pine. The underwood formed dense thickets through 
 which the axe only made a way with difficulty. Solitary gigantic 
 blocks of granite carried thither in ages long past by the waves 
 of the sea, lay scattered over the vast expanse, and were the sole 
 stone to be found there. Broader than ever the rivers traversed 
 the land, expanding for long stretches into lakes, or confined by 
 extensive swamps, almost bottomless and hidden beneath a 
 layer of turf and marsh plants. This configuration of the soil 
 offered the greatest difficulties alike to military operations and 
 commercial intercourse, confining them, as in a greater degree in 
 mountainous countries, to a small number of passes of which the 
 most important crossed the Spree at the very point where the 
 oldest existing parts of Berlin are situated. On the right bank 
 where the ancient mill-dam crosses the river, there was a pointed
 
 28 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 tongue of land which narrowed the bed of the stream ; on the 
 other bank was a low hill, surrounded by a narrow arm of the 
 Spree, and thus turned into an island. Between Kopnick and 
 bpandaUj two well-known ancient Wendish settlements, this was 
 the only point at which the passage was not prevented by lake, 
 marsh, and thicket. It is therefore probable that partly with a 
 view to the protection of this important passage and partly 
 through the traffic created by it, settlements existed here at a 
 very early period. 
 
 The most ancient part of Berlin, occupying the high ground 
 between two arms of the Spree, was a favourable point for a 
 settlement of fishers. Certain slight eminences on the banks of 
 the river in front of it admitted of the inhabitants building watch 
 towers, and erecting defensive works ; the locality, moreover, 
 furnished capital sites for water-mills, while the narrowness of 
 the stream at this point facilitated the construction of bridges 
 and the establishment of ferries. The situation, comparable in 
 a measure to the Paris Cite, was therefore altogether an excellent 
 one for an important fisher community, and although Berlin is 
 first mentioned in history towards the beginning of the twelfth 
 century, it is probable that its origin dates from the earliest 
 peopling of the surrounding country. 
 
 Still the little fishing hamlet would not have been in the least 
 degree better off than a score of other localities of North 
 Germany had it been merely a simple ferry easy to defend ; 
 — had it possessed no other natural advantages it would never 
 have filled an important historical role. But Berlin is situated 
 almost in the exact centre of the region circumscribed by the 
 Elbe and the Oder, and of the lakes and rivers connected with 
 those two great watercourses : and thus it has become the 
 natural entrepot of the various commodities produced within this 
 extensive area. It is true that neither the Spree nor the Havel 
 are imposing streams, still they have the requisite advantages of 
 being both deep and navigable. 
 
 At the close of the thirteenth century, Berlin — at that time a 
 Republic and the rallying-point of a veritable federation — had 
 already become the principal town of the Mark of Brandenburg, 
 and here most of the popular assemblies were held. Raised in the 
 middle of the fifteenth century to the dignity of a capital, it 
 increased little by little its circle of action, and profited by the 
 geographical advantages of a vaster region. It then became 
 evident that not only was Berlin the great commercial station 
 between the Oder and the Elbe, between Magdeburg and 
 Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, but that it was also the centre of gravity 
 between the basins of these two rivers — and that the commercial 
 movement of the two regions could there be best centralized. 
 According to the ingenious comparison of J. G. Kohl, Berlin 
 has disposed its system between the Elbe and the Oder in much
 
 ANCIENT BERLIN. 29 
 
 k 
 
 the same fashion as a spider would spin its web between two 
 trees. From the great market of the Upper Oder to the most 
 important city of the Upper Elbe, — that is to say, from Breslau to 
 Hamburg- — the natural route is by Berlin, as is also that leading 
 from Leipzig to Stettin. Further, Berlin is situated precisely 
 midway between both of these routes, and is also equidistant 
 from the Rhine and the Vistula, from the Dutch and the Russian 
 frontiers. Moreover, by a remarkable coincidence, the commercial 
 line from the Oder to the Elbe is precisely that valley which 
 geologists recognize as having been in prehistoric times the 
 great fluvial bed of Northern Germany. Formerly, the Oder on 
 reaching the spot where Frankfurt now exists did not suddenly 
 turn to the right and throw itself into the Baltic, but continued 
 its course towards the north-west, and uniting with the Elbe, 
 became a tributary of the North Sea. The immense river, 
 upwards of 600 miles in length, passed precisely by the spot 
 where Berlin rises to-day — towards the centre of the ancient 
 valley. The Spree, bordered by marshes, flows still in the bed 
 of the powerful watercourse, "a dwarf that has slid into a 
 giant's armour." The isthmus separating it from the actual 
 course of the Oder is very narrow and the old connection could 
 be easily re-established by a canal. 
 
 Favourably situated with regard to the rivers of North 
 Germany and their basins, Berlin is equally well located in 
 reference to the seas which wash the northern shores of the new 
 Empire. While belonging by the direction of the Elbe course 
 to that region of Germany which is bathed by the North Sea, 
 it should be borne in mind that Berlin communicates equally 
 freely with Hamburg, the great Elbe port, as with Stettin, the 
 most important emporium of the mouth of the Oder, and that 
 it commands at once both coasts. Better than any other city it 
 can influence and survey the commercial operations which are 
 carried on between the ports of Embden and Cuxhaven, and 
 from Kiel to Konigsberg and Memel. To employ a military 
 comparison, the city may be likened to a general occupying a 
 commanding position behind his army and directing its manceu- 
 vres. West, east, south — in all parts of the immense plain, 
 stretching from the mouths of the Ems to the waters of the 
 Niemen, the cities of Germany occupy commercially — as well 
 as politically and militarily — the same subordinate position in 
 regard to the central city which watches over and governs them. 
 Through its network of converging canals and railways, Berlin 
 increases daily its power of attraction, the recent conquests of 
 Prussia largely precipitating the movement of this immense 
 suction pump in the plains of Brandenburg.^ 
 
 A crowd of immigrants of all kinds, workers and idlers, rich 
 
 Die Ceog7'aphische Lage der Hauptstaedte Eitrcpa's, von J. G. Kohl.
 
 30 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 and poor, men of wealth and pleasure, seekers of adventures 
 and of fortune, rush towards Berlin with a kind of frenzy. 
 The progress of the city in population, wealth, and industry, 
 has been far more rapid than even that of Prussia in political 
 importance, and Berlin, already peopled with nearly a million 
 inhabitants, promises to become like London a province covered 
 with houses. 
 
 It will be seen from the foregoing that favourable local 
 conditions had everything to do with the founding of Berlin, 
 and that like conditions materially promoted its subsequent 
 development and eventually transformed the chief city of the 
 Mark of Brandenburg into the metropolis of Prussia, and 
 finally into the capital of the new German Empire. 
 
 The origin of the name, Berlin, has given rise to endless 
 surmises, occasionally ingenious but more frequently puerile. 
 For instance, from the simple supposition that the sandy forest 
 glades in which the first Berliner set foot produced berries, it 
 has been deduced that the word Berlin comes from Beer lein, 
 signifying a small berry. A wilder conjecture proceeded from 
 the brain of a classic philologist, who, by reason of the calling 
 of the original settlers — who it is necessary to assume were 
 familiar with Greek because the Greeks happened to come to 
 the distant Pomeranian coast in search of amber — derives Berlin 
 from barys linos (heavy net). With no more reason the city is 
 supposed to have been originally called Barlein, meaning " little 
 bear," not however after the four-footed brute, but from Albrecht 
 der Bar, or the Illustrious, who is said, on no kind of authority, 
 to have founded the city in the year 1 140, the truth being that 
 Berlin had existed long before his day as a Wendish village. 
 An astrological topographer of the i6th century was undecided 
 as to whether the word was derived from the above-named 
 Margrave or from the constellation of the Little Bear, under 
 which he asserted Berlin was situate. Another conjecture 
 assumed ber and wehr to be identical, and derived the name 
 from the latter word, which signifies "dyke." Others assert 
 that Berlin simply means "ford," and that the city obtained 
 its name, like P>ankfurt, from a shallow in the river. Numerous 
 attempts have been made to trace the word Berlin to a Sclavonic 
 source, improbable as the theory is that the capital of the 
 German Empire should have been founded by Sclaves. 
 
 One of the boldest of these philological flights derives the word 
 from /r/, meaning "near," and //;/, a "hill," for where, we may 
 ask, is the hill in the neighbourhood of Berlin to be found .-' 
 Even a still more ludicrous suggestion is the combination of 
 ero, "feather," with ItJiati, "to moult," to produce the word 
 Berlin, on the assumption, as has been humorously suggested, 
 that the original site of the city was a goose-common. Other 
 conjectural combinations are bor, " forest," either with rola,
 
 ANCIENT BERLIN, 31 
 
 "field," or with glina, "clay." A more ingenious supposition 
 connects the word Berlin with the Sclavonic brljina, applicable 
 to slow water with a muddy bottom, which would no doubt 
 have admirably described the locality in prehistoric times. 
 The honour of conferring a name on the city is not merely 
 claimed for the Sclaves but for the Celts as well, although it has 
 never been pretended that so much as a single Celtic tribe ever 
 settled in the Mark of Brandenburg. In the Celtic language 
 Berlin has been derived both from biorlinn, a ferry, and from 
 hairlinn, a dam, as well as from compounds of ber, a curve, and 
 lin, a river, ox paiir, a willow, and lliiyn, a wood. 
 
 Unquestionably the most uncomplimentary derivation is that 
 suggested from the Czech word berla, signifying " crutch," while 
 the most flattering etymology is that of the Jesuit Bisselius, who 
 maintained that Berlin evidently signified a pearl, and ought 
 therefore to be spelt Berlin. The latest suggestions on the 
 subject come from Dr. Otto Beyersdorf, who has requir-ed an 
 entire pamphlet ^ to arrive at the conclusion that the city on the 
 Spree was simply called Berlin because it was Berla's place, just 
 as Stettin was Stetta's place, Czernin, Czerna's place, &c., and 
 he thinks the name may have been originally that of some 
 national Sclavonic saint, to whom other localities likewise owe 
 their name. He cites as instances public squares both at 
 Nordheim and Frankfurt-on-the-Oder named Berlin ; two other 
 squares in Halle called respectively the great and little Berlin, 
 two lakes at Wittstock similarly named, several villages in 
 Mecklenburg and Holstein called Berlin or Barlin ; and a town 
 near Frankfurt-on-the-Oder bearing the graceful name of 
 Berlinchen. It has, however, been pointed out that the Wends 
 have a prior claim to have given the name to the town which 
 everyone admits them to have founded, and that one need go no 
 further than their language to find the word " Berlin," which 
 simply means an open space. 
 
 1 " Der Ortsname Berlin aus dem Slavischen erkldrt."
 
 A ROBBER KNIGHT EQUIPPING FOR A RAID. 
 
 IV. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 
 
 ST. NI':HOLAS CHURCH. 
 
 THE first Berlin houses 
 are supposed to have 
 sprung up in the Molken- 
 markt, the common market- 
 place of the city, at the 
 earliest period of which any 
 records exist. Adjacent 
 stands the gloomy grey 
 church of St. Nicholas, ad- 
 mitted to be the most an- 
 cient ecclesiastical edifice in 
 the capital, Berlin, a town of 
 fishers, sailors, and traders, 
 havingplaced itself under the 
 patronage of St. Nicholas 
 the tutelary saint of seafar- 
 ing men. By the commence- 
 ment of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, when this church was 
 built, the twin towns of Ber- 
 lin and Koln had both risen 
 to some importance, and
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 
 
 33 
 
 subsequently chose a common municipal council to administer 
 their joint affairs. 
 
 Among other privileges then 
 conceded to them by the Mar- 
 graves of Brandenburg, was the 
 right of using a joint seal, on 
 which was displayed the red 
 eagle of Brandenburg on a 
 silver field. Ere long, however, 
 the Berlin burghers decided on 
 having a coat of arms to them- 
 selves, and, speaking escutch- 
 eons being the fashion in those 
 days, a bear was introduced 
 into the Berlin shield, either 
 because it was supposed that 
 the name Berlin came from the 
 bear, or in reference to Albrecht 
 the Bear, the bold conqueror 
 and founder of the Margravite 
 
 of Brandenburg, who, sweeping away the heathenish Wends, 
 peopled it with colonists from Holland whom an inroad of the 
 sea had rendered homeless. 
 
 In the year 1320 the ducal line of 
 Albrecht the Bear having died out, Duke 
 Rudolf of Saxony received the homage 
 of the Berlin citizens, to whom, however, 
 the new ruler soon became obnoxious, 
 and some disturbances ensuing, two of 
 his adherents lost their lives. Shortly 
 afterwards Nicholas Cyriax, prior of 
 Bernau, a partisan of the unpopular duke, 
 and a constant dangler in his train, came 
 to Berlin, and ventured in the Marienkirche on some demand 
 in his behalf, which the citizens were indisposed to grant. Loud 
 murmurs having arisen, the irascible prior hurled forth his angry 
 anathemas, when the people closed in upon him with fury, and 
 his death at the church door was the result The brutal burg- 
 hers, not content with slaying their victim, kindled a fire 
 and burnt his body on the spot. So incensed was the 
 Bishop of Brandenburg at this savage outrage, that, after 
 peremptorily ordering the Berlin churches and chapels to 
 be closed, and all religious rites to be suspended, he proceeded 
 to excommunicate the citizens eu masse, and it was not until 
 two-and-twenty years afterwards that the repentant burghers 
 prevailed upon the Pope to remove the interdict. For many 
 years subsequently a light was kept perpetually burning 
 before a stone cross, which, by way of atonement for their
 
 34 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 offence, the citizens had been compelled to erect upon the fatal 
 spot. 
 
 Rudolf dying after a brief rule, Kaiser Ludwig transferred the 
 Brandenburg Margravitc to his son. named after himself, and at 
 that time a mere stripling, but who in subsequent years fought 
 beside our own Edward III. at the siege of Cambray. A year 
 or two after his return home from the wars he found his right 
 to the Mark — where he was exceedingly unpopular — disputed 
 by the ghost of some former Margrave named Waldemar, who 
 was believed to have been comfortably interred at least a quarter 
 of a century before. To-day however, it was pretended that he 
 had simply been absent all this while in the Holy Land, but had 
 now returned, and placed himself at the head of an army to 
 assert his rights. Kaiser Karl IV., son of the blind King of 
 Bohemia, who was slain at Crecy, and whose famous plume and 
 motto were assumed by the Black Prince, had in the meanwhile 
 succeeded Ludwig as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, 
 and, to spite the Bavarian party, proceeded to take the pretended 
 Waldemar under his patronage. The citizens of Berlin, with 
 whom the original Waldemar had been very popular, affected to 
 regard the new comer as their true prince, and warmly espoused 
 his cause ; but soon a rumour arose that it was Margrave 
 Waldemar's former servant, some miller's boy, whom the 
 Emperor was taking through the country with the object of 
 wresting the Brandenburg Mark from the house of Bavaria. The 
 King of Denmark, brother-in-law of the reigning Margrave, flew 
 to the assistance of his relative, and laid siege to Berlin, which 
 was promptly recalled to its allegiance by the levy of a large 
 war contribution. Spite, however, of this pecuniary mishap, 
 Berlin still continued opulent, and so addicted were its citizens 
 to habits of extravagance that it was found requisite to repress 
 them by sumptuary laws. It was at this epoch that a singular 
 fraternity of priests and laymen, known as the Guild of Mercy, 
 was instituted at Berlin. Its ostensible objects were the relief 
 of poor ecclesiastics and the succouring of travellers in distress 
 in foreign countries ; but it gradually secured extensive privi- 
 leges, and attained to considerable power and importance. 
 
 The towns of Berlin and Koln owed their development exclu- 
 sively to the energy and commercial activity of their citizens. 
 The reigning prince for the time being came to exact suit and 
 service from the burghers on his accession, but was rarely 
 popular enough to keep his court among them. Friedrich I., of 
 the house of Hohenzollern, had been thrust upon the states of 
 the Mark, throughout which great lawlessness prevailed, by 
 Kaiser Sigismund, the same who gave Huss a safe conduct to 
 the Council of Constance, and then suffered him to be seized 
 and burnt for heresy, and who first of all pawned, and, as he 
 could not redeem it, afterwards sold the Brandenburg Mark to
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 
 
 35 
 
 his protege, Kurfiirst Friedrich. The latter received the fealty 
 of the states at Berhn amid considerable opposition, before 
 which, resolute as he was, he had to bend, retiring from the 
 
 ELECTOR FRIEDRICH I. AND HIS ELECTRESS. 
 
 (From pai7itings in ttie church of Radolzburg.) 
 
 Hohe-haus, now known as the Lager-haus, where he had taken 
 up his residence, to the Kaiser's castle at Tangermunde, and 
 from time to time occupying himself in repressing the anarchy 
 to which, at this epoch, when power was the only measure of 
 right, the Mark was unhappily a prey. 
 
 The second Hohenzollern, likewise a Friedrich, profited by 
 some dispute betweeen the united councils of Berlin and Koln 
 and the burghers, to make his appearance before the city at the 
 head of 600 horsemen ; and after compelling the inhabitants to 
 surrender up the keys of the different gates, summarily divested 
 them of various ancient rights and privileges. To effectually 
 subdue future opposition he commenced building a castle within 
 Koln itself, a proceeding which the irritated burghers resented 
 by open rebellion. Peace, however was speedily brought about, 
 after the last modern fashion, by arbitration ; and everything 
 being made pleasant, the Elector rode into the city with a great 
 display of pomp. In 145 1 he took up his residence at the new 
 castle, which had strong walls and high towers for defence or 
 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 aggression if need were — one of these towers, the great Wendel- 
 stein (Winding-stone) being constructed with a winding ascent, 
 without steps, to allow of the transit of heavy ordnance. 
 
 Under the warlike Elector Albrecht Achilles, whose rule 
 commenced in 1471, the twin towns rose considerably in 
 importance, numbers of strangers being attracted to them by 
 the knightly games and tournaments which were continually 
 being held on the banks of the Spree. This importance was 
 permanently maintained by the Electors making Koln their 
 fixed place of residence. The last organized bands of robbers 
 are said to have disappeared from the Mark on the apparition 
 of the first Hohenzollern ; still there were plenty of high-born 
 gentlemen, like Eberard of Wlirtcmberg, of the blasphemous 
 device, " Friend of God, Enemy of all," who continued to live 
 
 ROBBER KNIGHTS. 
 
 from the saddle, and the Elector Johann Cicero — so called from 
 his latinity and his eloquence — pounded no end of baronial 
 robber towers about their owners' cars. Half a century of 
 energetic rule had produced vast changes for the better, yet 
 travelling merchants might still have prayed, as of old, — 
 
 " From Kockeritze and Liideritze, 
 From Krocher, Kracht, and Itzenplitze 
 Good Lord deliver us !" 
 
 The successor of Johann Cicero, Joachim I. — elder brother of 
 the Cardinal Albrecht of Mainz, notorious as having set on foot 
 the sale of those unlucky indulgences which provoked the 
 Reformation — was himself a stout Catholic, whose wife fled 
 the country in terror on his discovering that she had secretly 
 received the sacrament at the hands of a Protestant priest. It 
 was he who stole off to the Kreuzberg, a little hill in the environs
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERIJN. 
 
 37 
 
 I 
 
 of Berlin, the more quietly to contemplate the destruction of the 
 world, which had been foretold by the astrologer Carion. The 
 event not coming off as predicted, Elector and astronomer 
 satisfactorily accounted for the omission by an error in their 
 calculations. Under Joachim the law of " might makes right " 
 was all but suppressed so far as Christians were concerned, but 
 it was different with the unfortunate Jews, thirty-eight of whom 
 were burnt at the stake, while the rest were driven out of the 
 Mark of Brandenburg. 
 
 A predatory act committed at this epoch by some marauding 
 Saxon noble kindled a little war between a defiant Berlin 
 citizen and the Elector of Saxony. Hans Kolhase, a dealer in 
 horses, whose connections extended into Lovver Germany, had 
 a couple of his finest animals seized by the noble freebooter. 
 His complaints to the Elector of Saxony securing no redress, 
 he sent the latter a challenge, following it up by an inroad into 
 Saxon territory with a troop of horse. This brought about a 
 compact, which was, however, broken by the Saxons, and the 
 irate horsedealer proceeded to levy war in earnest, and even 
 burnt the little town of Zahna, near Jijterbogk, in the church of 
 which, a few years afterwards, the Dominican Tetzel publicly 
 sold those indulgences which aroused the indignation of Luther, 
 then a professor in the neighbouring University of Wittenberg. 
 The Elector Joachim came forward as mediator in the quarrel, but 
 all in vain. Dr. Martin Luther next intervened on behalf of his 
 patron, the Elector of Saxony, 
 
 and wrote an admonitory let- 
 ter to the daring horsedealer, 
 which is said to have so power- 
 fully affected him that he rode 
 over to Wittenberg and visited 
 Luther by night. The latter 
 summoned all the leading theo- 
 logians of the town, and, under 
 the heavy battery of dialectics 
 which they opened upon him, 
 the Berlin horsedealernaturally 
 gave way, and, promising to 
 keep the peace, rode back over 
 the Saxon border. A short 
 time afterwards hostilities were 
 rekindled, and Kolhase seized a 
 number of silver bars on their 
 way from the Mannsfield mines 
 to the Imperial mint, and flung 
 them into the river from the 
 bridge at Potsdam, which still 
 retains the name of Kolhasen 
 
 BUTTRESS OF THE OLD BERLIN JUSTICE-HALL. 
 
 bridge. This piece of audacity
 
 3S 
 
 ];i:klix under thk xkw empire 
 
 could not be overlooked, and the Berlin executioner, a useful 
 if not respected member of society in those turbulent times, had 
 orders to arrest the citizen Kolhase. Knowing, however, the 
 desperate character of the man, he prudently enticed him to 
 Berlin where he suddenly seized on him and one of his com- 
 rades. 
 
 At the trial which followed Kolhase defended himself with 
 much natural eloquence, but to no avail. His judges ruled that 
 the Kaiser's uncoined ingots must be respected, and Kolhase 
 was condemned to be broken on the wheel. An offer to com- 
 mute the sentence to decapitation was declined by him because 
 his comrade was excluded from the benefit of it. " Brothers in 
 life," exclaimed the gallant horsedealer, " in death we will be 
 cleft together." 
 
 MEN-AT-ARMS. 
 
 Joachim II., who was fond of displays of splendour and the 
 holding of festivals, celebrated the christening of his daughter 
 by a grand tournament in the tilt-yard of the Schloss, at which 
 knights with a multiplicity of quarterings emblazoned on their 
 
 
 HKKALDS. 
 
 shields contended in the lists. The Elector was not averse to 
 fighting in earnest, having had some practice that way against 
 the Turks, and to arouse a like combative spirit in his subjects 
 he set the citizens of Berlin and Spandau to make mock war 
 upon each other. The battle known as the club-war of Spandau 
 began with an engagement on the river Havel, under the walls 
 of the fortress. Both fleets fought with becoming valour, but the
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 
 
 39 
 
 KNIGHTS. 
 
 Berlinese conquered and commenced bombarding the citadel, 
 whereupon the women of Spandau, thinking the fighting had 
 commenced in earnest, rushed out and implored the Elector 
 to release their besieged husbands, and on his refusal became so 
 irate that Joachim found himself in a critical position. Eventu- 
 ally the Spandauers cleverly enticed their adversaries into an 
 ambush, and gave them a sound drubbing, which brought the 
 battle to a satisfactory close, so far as the victors were concerned. 
 Berlin at this epoch was Catholic, and miracle plays used to be 
 periodically performed by the city scholars in the Town-hall, but 
 the Elector, whose mother had been previously zealous in the 
 Protestant cause, openly embraced the reformed faith, and 
 Buchholzer, a pupil of Luther's, preached in the Cathedral as 
 the first Protestant prior of Berlin. Subsequently, on November 
 2nd, 1539, after the reformed service had been inaugurated in 
 the church of St. Nicholas, the town council and many of
 
 40 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the principal citizens received 
 Lutheran form. 
 
 THK KLOS IKli-KrKi, HE. 
 
 the sacrament according to the 
 
 Joachim II. pa- 
 tronised the fine 
 arts just as certain 
 of his predecessors 
 had fostered sci- 
 ence. He imported 
 aspecial court paint- 
 er from Milan, who 
 painted the admir- 
 able portraits of him- 
 self and wife, which 
 are preserved at 
 the Berlin Schloss; 
 provided occupa- 
 tion for sculptors 
 and goldsmiths ; 
 and gave a marked 
 impetus to the ar- 
 chitectural embel- 
 lishment of the 
 castle of the Elector 
 a lordly pleasure- 
 
 razed the fortified 
 
 its site " built himself 
 
 capital. In 1540 he 
 Friedrich II., and on 
 
 house, wherein at ease to live for aye," 
 decorating it inside with historical panels 
 by Lucas Cranach, and gracing the court 
 with life-size statues of the various German 
 Electors. Under Joachim Berlin witnessed 
 the introduction of the Renaissance style, 
 which simply heralded in the reign of 
 stucco. True, for some time to come stone 
 was employed as heretofore for the more 
 important buildings, but gradually bricks, 
 disguised under compo, usurped its place. 
 
 Johann Georg was a sober, steady-going 
 ruler, who set his face equally against 
 feasts, festivals, luxury in apparel, and 
 strong liquor in excess, which latter he 
 sought to wean his subjects from by tax- 
 ing it heavily. He moreover busied him- 
 self with the completion of the statute- 
 book, commenced by his father, and in 
 furthering education ; united the two 
 schools of jSt. Nicholas and St. Mary 
 into one large national establishment, 
 installing it in an ancient Franciscan monastery, of which the 
 existing Klosterkirche at one time formed part. During 
 
 CORtlEL IN THE KLOSTER- 
 KIKCHE.
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 4I 
 
 the reign of Johann Sigismund, who declared in favour of 
 Calvinism, violent disputes arose between the contending 
 Lutheran and Calvinist factions, which naturally interfered 
 with the even flow of Berlin life. The fact is the Hohenzollerns 
 of this epoch were somewhat shifty in matters of faith, con- 
 veniently maintaining, — 
 
 " That which is, or why 'tis so, 
 
 Few can conjecture, none can know." 
 
 On the breaking out of the Thirty Years' War, GeorgWilhelm. 
 son of Johann Sigismund, would willingly have declared for the 
 Catholic party had not motives of prudence restrained him ; his 
 lemaining neutral, however, did not prevent the Mark from being 
 overrun with foreign hordes. It was at this exciting epoch that 
 Berlin witnessed the appearance of its first newspaper. As the 
 war proceeded it had to put up with the demolition of all the 
 houses along the city walls, and subsequently with the burning 
 of a considerable portion of its suburbs, on the approach of 
 Gustavus Adolphus, who professed to occupy the Mark as a 
 matter of strategy, and ended by pretty well devastating it. 
 When Berlin was really threatened the shifty Elector, not daring 
 to offer resistance limited himself to running hither and thither 
 with his grey-bearded counsellors, exclaiming, " What is to be 
 done.' they have got cannon !"^ this dreaded artillery possibly 
 being the identical two leathern cannon known to have belonged 
 to Gustavus Adolphus and still preserved in the Berlin armoury. 
 
 It was under such disheartening circumstances as these that, 
 in 1640, Friedrich Wilhelm, the Great Elector, came into posses- 
 sion of his inheritance. " A prince without territory, an Elector 
 without power, and an ally without an army," he not only 
 succeeded in ridding his country of the last Swede, but laid 
 the foundations of Prussia's future greatnes.s. An able and 
 intrepid warrior, an adroit diplomatist, and a grand adminis- 
 trator, he succeeded in repairing the disasters of preceding years. 
 Having faith in the axiom that "care and industry will 
 accomplish everything," he opened negotiations in one direction, 
 concluded alliances in another, made war and peace by turns, 
 and always to his own aggrandizement, until he managed to get 
 himself recognized as an independent ruler instead of a mere fief, 
 and to play a role in Europe which grew more important from 
 year to year. From the commencement of his reign he took 
 the keenest interest in the progress of the capital, encouraged 
 all who were in the service of the State, and the wealthier 
 burghers to build new quarters of the city, one result being the 
 Friedrichwerder-stadt erected on lands of his own, of which he 
 made concessions with the object of promoting building enterprise. 
 He improved the Schloss, enlarged its pleasure-grounds, and 
 
 ' Carlyle's Frederick the Great.
 
 42 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 completed the fortifications. The twin churches in the Gensdar- 
 men-markt and the finer old houses — residences of the statesmen 
 of the period — still existing in the city belong to this epoch, 
 whence the systematic development of Berlin architecture takes 
 its rise. In the year 1675 the erection of the Dorotheen-stadt 
 was commmenced on some farm lands belonging to the Elector's 
 second wife, Dorothea, at whose instigation the renowned Unter 
 den Linden was planted. Other districts were projected or 
 extended, and all these various additions to the city were 
 protected by moats and ramparts. The principal streets too 
 were paved and lighted, and generally as much attention was 
 bestowed on the internal arrangements of the city as upon its 
 enlargement. 
 
 At the peace of Mlinster and Osnabriick the bells had rung in 
 thanksgiving throughout the Mark, still Brandenburg suffered for 
 years to come from the effects of those disastrous times. The 
 Elector, however, did his best to bring about a return to prosperity, 
 and had roads made, canals dug, and marshes drained, besides 
 establishing colonies of foreigners in the midst of the sandy 
 wastes surrounding Berlin, which in due time were forced into 
 fertility. When Louis XIV. revoked the Edict of Nantes the 
 Great Elector replied by the Edict of Potsdam offering to the 
 French emigrants a second country. Five-and-twenty thousand 
 men alone profited by the invitation ; the Elector's representatives 
 abroad had received orders to smooth down the difficulties of 
 their journey, and whatever property they brought with them 
 was admitted free of duty. Lands abandoned during the war 
 were given up to the agriculturists and temporarily exempted 
 from taxation, while the operatives had rights of citizenship con- 
 ferred upon them and were at once admitted to the different trade 
 guilds. Many among them took up a position in the highest 
 ranks of commerce and industry. Credit institutions were 
 established to provide for the first wants of the immigrants, who 
 were moreover allowed their own courts of justice, consistories, 
 and synods. Finally all affairs referring to them were conducted 
 in their own language, and even so recently as the present 
 century there were seven churches in Berlin, the services at which 
 were conducted exclusively in French. 
 
 The Great Elector further created the elements of a navy, 
 developed commerce, and established manufactures. After the 
 peace of Westphalia had been signed, the Berlinese again resorted 
 to their amusements of target and poppinjay shooting at Whit- 
 suntide and during August ; the Christmas fair was also duly 
 celebrated in the Koln fish-market, and the avidity with which 
 the burgher class betook itself to tea and tobacco indicated the 
 return of national prosperity. The French refugees introduced 
 the habit of snuff-taking, and carrying out their universal mission, 
 substituted French fashions in dress, an innovation which led to
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 43 
 
 the suppression both of the rich Spanish court costume and the 
 picturesque attire of the old German burgher. 
 
 By the end of the reign of the Great Elector, Berlin had grown 
 to twice the size it was at the commencement, and its population 
 had increased to nearly three fold. His states were augmented 
 in almost an equal degree ; their half a million of inhabitants 
 had become a million and a half; his little army of three thou- 
 sand men had expanded into one of twenty-four thousand, while 
 his revenue of half a million had swollen to two and a half millions 
 of crowns, beside which he left six hundred thousand crowns in 
 his treasury. At his splendid funeral no less than forty am- 
 bassadors were present, an evident proof of the regard in which 
 this able ruler was held at foreign courts. 
 
 The Elector Friedrich III. afterwards King Friedrich I. was 
 deficient in all his father's greater qualities but followed in his 
 footsteps so far as the embellishment of Berlin was concerned. 
 With the aid of able architects whom he had the judgment to 
 select he remodelled and enlarged the Schloss and imparted to it 
 much of its present external grandeur. He moreover erected 
 the arsenal and other public buildings, raised the fine equestrian 
 statue to the Great Elector on the KurfUrsten-briicke and 
 commenced the Friedrichs-stadt on a regular plan ; while the 
 Electress promoted the building of the earliest houses in the 
 Spandauer and Stralauer suburbs. Friedrich HI. gave to the 
 different districts, into which the city was divided, a single 
 government and council. At the instigation of the handsome and 
 intellectual Electress Sophia, pictured by Carlyle as something 
 between an earthly queenandadivineEgeriawhose inquiring mind 
 was always v/anting to know the wherefore of the why, he founded 
 the Berlin Academ.y of Sciences after the plan of Leibnitz, and 
 named the great philosopher its perpetual president. The 
 Elector's main failing was his excessive complacency towards the 
 Emperor of Germany whose interests he served and whose 
 quarrels he espoused in order to secure the one object of his 
 heart's desire, the coveted title of King, which the Kaiser at last 
 consented to his assuming. Setting out from Berlin in great 
 state with a train of nearly two thousand carriages, which — 
 although no less than thirty thousand post-horses had been 
 provided for them — were as many as twelve days proceeding to 
 Konigsburg, he placed with his own hand the coveted royal 
 crown on the top of his flowing periwig and then crowned his 
 charming Electress. His coronation accomplished he was ac- 
 claimed by his delighted subjects as a self-made king, and 
 Berlin never before witnessed such a spectacle as was presented 
 on his return. The royal pair, attended by the guilds and 
 corporations of Berlin and Koln in the gayest of liveries, rode 
 under triumphal arches through the city, all the church bells 
 ringing out merry peals and hundreds of cannon thundering
 
 44 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 forth salutes from the city walls and even from the shipping in 
 the Spree. 
 
 Carlyle describes the first King of Prussia, whom an unlucky 
 jerk in infancy had rendered hump-backed, as struggling all his 
 days, regardless of expense, to render his existence magnificent, 
 if not beautiful. He took for his model the court of Louis XIV. 
 
 SCHLUTEk S STATUE OF THE GREAT ELECTOR. 
 
 then the most brilliant in Europe, wore a grand Spanish wig like 
 Le Roi Soleil, surrounded himself with a troop of chamberlains 
 and maintained a little army of cooks. Beyond perpetual cere- 
 monies and solemnities, attended with more or less splendour, 
 and the continual ministering to his own effulgent existence, the
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 45 
 
 expensive King indulged in profuse plans of all kinds that cost 
 the state immense sums, to raise which he even taxed wigs, shoes, 
 and cats. At his death no sooner was his funeral over than his 
 son and successor leapt into the saddle and commanded the 
 troops drawn upon the Schloss-platz to fire three salvoes from 
 their guns ; from which it was foreseen that a . perfectly new 
 order of things was about to be inaugurated.^ 
 
 The austere, eccentric, and parsimonious Friedrich Wilhelm I. 
 had none of his father's expensive elegant tastes and extravagant 
 love of splendour and display. With one stroke of the pen he 
 abolished all court offices, swept the palace clear of a regiment of 
 chamberlains and lackeys, reduced the pension list to less than 
 one fourth, and even pared down the salaries of the few attend- 
 ants he retained in his service. Government and house-keeping 
 were carried on by him on like economical principles. This 
 hero of the Carlylean Olympiad " regulated the daily outlay for 
 his table to half a thaler, higgled with his Queen over the market 
 price of eggs, and forbade his cooks under pain of death to pilfer 
 the dishes on the pretence of tasting them." Under him French re- 
 finement and luxury came to an end and a purely Dutch simplicity 
 set in. To render everything of French extraction unpopular at 
 Berlin, the King had anti-Gallic pieces performed at the theatre 
 and his jailors dressed up in the latest Paris fashions. All great 
 architectural works were suspended. The new King's heart was 
 in his army, and gigantic and well-drilled soldiers were his hobby. 
 To secure the former, seven feet and upwards in height, his agents 
 scoured Europe, kidnapping those who were proof against 
 persuasion. It is not surprising, therefore, that his recruiting ser- 
 geants occasionally got hanged. The premium offered by him 
 for tall men proved sufficient to tempt the governor of Augs- 
 burg to arrest all travellers of the requisite height who ventured 
 through the town on foot and to sell them to his agents. Friedrich 
 Wilhelm likewise bought his guards regularly of the Countess 
 Wiirben, mistress of the Duke of Wiirtemberg, and the same to 
 whom on her demanding to be included in the prayers of the 
 Church, the cutting reply was made, " Madame, we pray daily — O 
 Lord ! deliver us from evil." On one occasion he bartered 
 four Japanese vases with Augustus II. of Saxony — the begetter 
 of three hundred and fifty-four children and bender of horse- 
 shoes with his bare hand — for four regiments of dragoons, which 
 came to be known as the regiments of porcelain. At another 
 time he made a present of a useless yacht which his father had 
 had built, to Peter the Great, who had paid him a visit at Berlin, 
 and who sent him in return a hundred and fifty Muscovite sons 
 of Anak. Every autumn the Czar transmitted another hundred 
 of these giants to Berlin, and the Prussian King acknowledged 
 
 ^ Berlin von Robert Springer.
 
 46 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the gift by forwarding to St. Petersburg smiths, mill-wrights, 
 engineers, and drill sergeants. The drilling of his troops was 
 due to Dessau — rough, passionate, and a drunkard, but beloved 
 by the soldiers — the " inventor alike of the iron ramrod, of the 
 equal step, and indeed of modern militarj^ tactics ; out of whose 
 rough head " remarks Carlyle " proceeded the essential of all 
 that the innumerable drill sergeants in various languages daily 
 repeat and enforce, and who drilled the Prussian infantry to be 
 the wonder of the world." Further, so perfect was the discipline 
 which existed that, as Carlyle emphatically puts it, " from big 
 guns and waggon-horses, down to gun-flints and gaiter straps, 
 nothing was wanting or out of its place at any time in Friedrich 
 Wilhelm's army."^ So excessively jealous was the King of his 
 hobby being interfered with that, on one of his giants being 
 sentenced by the Berlin Criminal Court to be hanged for house- 
 breaking, he sent for the judges and replied to their explanations 
 and excuses by a shower of blows from his flexible ratan, " crack- 
 ing the crown of one, battering the nose of another, and knocking 
 out a few teeth from a third." 
 
 The provident King turned the palace Lustgarten into an 
 exercising ground for his guards, and put a sudden stop to the 
 internal decorations of the Schloss which had been commenced by 
 his predecessor. Nothing but what was absolutely indispensable 
 was finished. A completed suite of apartments on the third floor 
 were made to serve for the state receptions of the court. The 
 grand banqueting hall simply had a coat of whitewash given to it 
 and remained thus for years, whence arose the name of the Weisse 
 Saal which to this day it retains. Though the King was a great 
 stickler for uniformity, and insisted on all new houses being of the 
 same size and height, yet he could surrender his predilection for 
 architectural symmetry when his own convenience was concerned. 
 In the portion of the palace which he inhabited, looking into the 
 Lustgarten, he had several of the windows made larger in order 
 to admit more light and air, thereby marring the regularity of 
 the facade. In the same way, for the sake of readier communi- 
 cation, he had common wooden galleries constructed, leading 
 through one of the gates of the garden and the palace entrance 
 under the grand triumphal arch. 
 
 Friedrich Wilhelm was not on good terms with the Berlinese, 
 v/ho were averse to maintaining the large garrison he wished to 
 install within the capital. For this reason he patronised I'otsdam, 
 which he greatly extended and improved, still he contributed 
 materially to the enlargement of Berlin by the interest which he 
 took in the building of the Friedrichs-stadt, the houses of which 
 stood lonesomely here and there when he entered on his task. The 
 immi<rrant Bohemians rendered considerable assistance towards 
 
 'b' 
 
 Carlyle's Frederick the GreaU
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 47 
 
 the work, but their co-operation was far from sufficient, and the 
 King had recourse to extraordinary measures. He appointed a 
 regular agent charged with compelling people to build. Not 
 only were those holding official positions and individuals of 
 known means obliged to erect their own houses, but even persons 
 of moderate incomes, who had to borrow at exorbitant rates of 
 interest the capital they lacked. Whenever this agent was seen 
 to turn down a street people scampered out of his way for fear 
 of being called upon to build a house they had no need of By 
 having recourse to these arbitrary measures the King succeeded 
 by the end of his reign in getting nearly all the waste spaces within 
 the city walls built upon, but at the trifling inconvenience of 
 impoverishing most of the occupants of the new houses. 
 
 The Dutch style of architecture was Friedrich Wilhelm's 
 admiration. He liked the homely plainness and warmth of 
 colour of the Dutch brick houses, on the primitive Noah's ark 
 model. Moreover the old connection with Dutch life which in 
 the days of the Great Elector had acted as a counterpoise to 
 French taste and policy was revived by him. With the death of 
 Louis XIV. the time was gone by when wigs covered every head, 
 and the full-bottomed perruque with its pompous fulness and 
 puffed-up majesty lorded it in a majestic and ceremonious 
 manner. Fatigued with long years of solemn restraint, the French 
 fashionable world, which was aped by half Europe, hastened 
 to rush into careless enjoyment, coupling it with the wildest 
 extravagance, the most reckless levity. Inexhaustible caprice 
 drove it from one whim to another, whilst it laughed at every 
 law and followed no prescript but pleasure, a condition of things of 
 which the wanton rococo, German philosophers ingeniously con- 
 tend, was the symbol, just as the reaction against all this sensual- 
 ism and frivolity was typified by the homely pig-tail, the real 
 father of which according to them was Friedrich Wilhelm I. ^ 
 This appurtenance to the head made its first appearance in 
 military circles in days when the uniform followed the fashions, and 
 the perruque was regularly worn by the officers, while financial 
 considerations interposed an insuperable obstacle to its adoption 
 by the rank and file. 
 
 The latter therefore, by way of substitute, wore their hair as 
 long as possible, and, in order that it might not trouble them 
 when on duty, tied it together behind. From this simple begin- 
 ning sprang the braided and be-plastered pig-tail, which hung 
 stifT and uniform down every military neck, being artificially 
 supplied whenever nature had not been sufficiently bountiful. 
 From the soldiers the fashion passed in due course to the civilians, 
 on whom it set the distinctive bo7irgcois seal, and whose pedantic 
 prudence and homely narrow-mindedness acted as a counterpoise 
 
 ^ Geschichte des moderne7i Geschmacks.
 
 48 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 to the escapades of the wanton rococo. The historical signifi- 
 cance of Friedrich Wilhchii I. lies in those rigid military and 
 simple citizenlike elements which opposed German staidness and 
 discipline to French frivolity and fickleness, and set far more 
 store by exactness than by elegance.^ 
 
 Friedrich Wilhclm steadily developed the resources of the 
 kingdom, drained bogs, founded colonies, established manufactures, 
 made his own uniforms out of home wove cloth and resolutely 
 set himself against idleness in any form. The old Berlin apple- 
 women even were required to knit while sitting at their stalls, and 
 many an idle street-lounger on whom the King unexpectedly 
 came received a smart whack over his shoulders from his majesty's 
 favourite ratan. In the words of Carlyle, " he drilled the Prussian 
 nation into habits of thrift, industry, veracity, and punctuality." 
 He made education compulsory, and nothing redounds more to 
 his credit than his noble behaviour towards the persecuted Pro- 
 testants of Salzburg, whom, after furnishing with means to 
 emigrate, he received in person at the gates of Berlin and finally 
 settled in various parts of his dominions at a considerable out- 
 lay. 
 
 The King's famous smoking club, which formed as it were his 
 privy council, and his harsh treatment of his eldest son on account 
 of the latter's French proclivities, are matters of history. Not 
 only did he savagely cane him, when a youth of nineteen, with his 
 own hand, but ordered his accomplice in some meditated escape 
 to be executed before his eyes, banished all his friends and asso- 
 ciates, dismissed his unoffending tutor, and directed some perfectly 
 innocent female acquaintance — a respectable Potsdam precentor's 
 daughter — to be whipped by the beadle. Further he brutally 
 attacked his daughter Wilhelmina on account of her affection 
 for her brother, and shut her up a prisoner on short rations in 
 the Berlin Schloss for months, and when all Berlin was scandalized 
 at these outrageous proceedings, he threatened that such tongues 
 as dared speak of them should be cut out. Under his arbitrary 
 and economical rule Prussia prospered if Berlin did not aggrandize 
 itself, and at his death the army numbered from seventy to a 
 hundred thousand men, and there were no less than nine millions 
 of crowns in the State treasury. 
 
 Friedrich the Great, by the force of his genius and the aid of 
 his sword, not only elevated Prussia to a high position among the 
 nations of PLurope and gave her a history, but materially raised 
 the standard of national intelligence. The Prussians of this epoch, 
 according to Voltaire, had made up for a superfluity of conso- 
 nants by a paucity of ideas. At the moment of his accession 
 he inaugurated several important social reforms, abolished, for 
 instance, the use of torture in criminal cases, accorded freedom 
 
 ^ Die Baugeschichte Berlins.
 
 DEVELOPMExXT OF BERLIN. 
 
 49 
 
 DOMESTIC TYRANNY OF FRIEDKICH WILHELM I. 
 
 to the press, and proclaimed that all religions would be tolerated. 
 With him "every subject's duty was to the King, but every 
 subject's soul was his own," yet he obliged every Jew to -buy 
 300 thalers' worth of porcelain from the royal factory. He gave 
 new life to the Academy of Sciences, and set the destitute poor 
 of Berlin to spin. Subsequently he reformed the law, which 
 sadly needed it, and busied himself with canal and road making, 
 bog draining, and colonizing of waste lands. With none of the 
 miserly habits of his father, he enforced the axiom that economy 
 of itself is a great revenue ; he kept nobody in his pay that was not 
 useful to him and capable of doing his work well. While at war 
 with and vanquishing half Europe and engaged in important 
 diplomatic negotiations, he still found leisure to attend to the 
 material interests of Berlin, which is indebted to him for many 
 important edifices. The Thiergarten, too, was much improved 
 by his orders, and the Bank, the Invaliden Haus, and the Royal 
 
 E
 
 so BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMTIRE. 
 
 Porcelain Manufactory were founded under his auspices. With 
 his French tastes one can understand his reviving the rococo 
 style of architecture, of which the Royal Library, built in accord- 
 ance with his instructions, furnishes a perfect example. Other 
 architectural works commanded by him were the palace in which 
 the University is now installed, the original Opera-house, which 
 he had constructed with the view of raising the popular standard 
 of taste, and a theatre for the performance of French plays. At 
 both of these estabhshments, in the management of which he 
 directly interfered, he would only allow approved companies to 
 give representations, and for a long time Italian and French 
 performances had preference at Berlin — until, in fact, the 
 German drama and style of acting had undergone considerable 
 refinement. Not merely did Friedrich attract actors and 
 singers to the capital but architects, painters, sculptors, and 
 men of learning. 
 
 Regarding the Germans as an intellectually inferior race, he 
 filled the Academy of Sciences mainly with foreigners, offering 
 the perpetual presidency of it to Maupertuis, who had verified 
 the Newtonian theory of the oblate form of the earth. He pressed 
 Voltaire to come and reside with him at Berlin, and when the 
 latter at length consented, appointed him one of his chamberlains 
 as an excuse for conferring a pension on him. Their intercourse, 
 however, did not long continue on an amiable footing. Voltaire 
 entangled himself with a Berlin Jew in some scandalous financial 
 dealings, characterized by Friedrich to his face as " a most 
 villainous affair which had caused a frightful scandal all over 
 Berlin," while to his sister the King directly accused Voltaire of 
 " picking Jews' pockets." Voltaire moreover being of the opinion 
 that whenever two Frenchmen were found together at a foreign 
 court it was necessary one of them should perish, became engaged 
 in a dispute with Friedrich's perpetual president of the Academy 
 of Sciences, which culminated in the publication of the famous 
 diatribe of Dr. Akakia, characterized as " the wittiest and most 
 pitiless of purely personal satires in the world." ^ 
 
 The King privately enjoyed the satire, but to save appearances 
 in his relations with Maupertuis he violated the liberty of the 
 press in this particular instance, and had the pamphlet burnt by 
 the Berlin hangman, Voltaire looking on at the proceedings from 
 a neighbouring window. The relations between Friedrich and 
 Voltaire were not improved by the sarcastic observations they 
 mutually indulged in behind each other's backs. We have all 
 heard of Voltaire's speech in reference to the polishing the King 
 required him to give to his French verses, namely, that " he sent 
 him his dirty linen to wash." With Friedrich, he said, "my 
 friend," meant "my slave." "I will make you happy," meant 
 
 ' '!Mr. John Morley in the Fortnightly Review.
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 5 1 
 
 " I will endure you as long as I have need of you." Friedrich, 
 on the other hand, spoke of Voltaire as an ape who deserved to 
 be flogged for his tricks, and as a man worse than many who had 
 been broken on the wheel. The time had evidently arrived 
 when, as Friedrich coarsely expressed it, the orange being sucked 
 dry, the skin might be thrown away, and after some little 
 coquetting on the subject Voltaire eventually left Berlin, where, 
 as he afterwards used to complain, " he had taken with him a 
 score of teeth but only carried six away, a pair of eyes, and had 
 lost the sight of one, no erysipelas, and yet he had contracted 
 one which he was never likely to get rid of" 
 
 Berlin escaped many of the horrors but not the inconveniences 
 of the Seven Years' War. In the autumn of 1757, the Austrian 
 general, Haddick, appeared before the city with 4,000 men and 
 4 cannons, and by a dexterous dash got in at the Silesian Gate 
 and occupied the suburb, terrifying the commandant of Berlin 
 to that extent that he hastily marched out on the other side 
 with the royal family and their effects. The Berlinese, left to 
 themselves to make the best bargain they could, were glad to 
 get off by the payment of a ransom of ;^27,ooo and a couple of 
 dozen pairs of gloves for the grand Maria Theresa. Three years 
 later, in the autumn again, Berlin was menaced by the Russians 
 under Todleben, a Pole, who had offered his sword to Friedrich 
 before entering the service of Russia, and an ancestor of the 
 Sebastopol Todleben. The surrender of the city and a ransom 
 of four millions of thalers were demanded and refused, and 
 after a parting malediction, in the form of a shower of grenades 
 and red-hot balls, the Russians retired to Kopnick. A few 
 days afterwards the Austrian general Lacy arrived in the environs 
 of Berlin at the head of a large force, whereupon negotiations 
 were resumed with Todleben, and Berlin capitulated, at the same 
 time engaging through its wealthiest citizen to pay a ransom of 
 a million and a half of thalers and about ;f 30,000 additional by 
 way of head money to the troops. Lacy, indignant at being thus 
 balked of his prey, installed himself in the Friedrichs-stadt, giving 
 his Croats and other wild hordes full license to plunder. He 
 talked moreover of destroying the Lagerhaus where the soldiers' 
 uniforms were made, and decided upon blowing up the Armoury, 
 but the spare gunpowder designed for the purpose exploded 
 beforehand, blowing up the party told off for the work, and so 
 saving the edifice. After a three days' sojourn, on the news that 
 Friedrich was coming, the occupying armies hastily took their 
 departure to the great joy of the citizens — 
 
 " The foe retreats ! each cries to each he meets, 
 The foe retreats ! each in his turn repeats. 
 Gods ! how the guns did roar, and how the joy-bells rung ! " 
 
 Before the troops left, however, a couple of unfortunate 
 
 E 2
 
 52 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 newspaper editors, who had formerly been a httle free with their 
 comments upon their imperial majesties, were compelled to run 
 the gauntlet after the Russian fashion. Still, thanks to the 
 intercession of the merchant who had given bills for the city's 
 ransom, their punishment was little more than nominal, a few 
 switches only being given "by way of asserting the principle." The 
 Berlinese, grateful for the consideration the Russian commandant 
 had shown them, offered him a money present, which he declined, 
 gracefully remarking that to have been commandant for three 
 days in the Great Friedrich's capital was more than a reward 
 for him. 
 
 The Seven Years' War concluded.. Friedrich set to work to 
 repair the wreck that had resulted from it. He caused towns 
 and villages to be rebuilt, gave 60,000 artillery and baggage 
 horses for plough teams, allotted grain for food and seed from 
 the State granaries, relieved those provinces which had suffered 
 most from all taxation for certain periods, and obliged the rich 
 Catholic abbeys to establish manufactures. 
 
 Friedrich might repair in some degree the material damage 
 done by the war, still he could not fill up the gap of half a 
 million which it had made in the sufficiently scanty population 
 of his dominions. How Berlin was affected, in one sense, by this, 
 may be seen from some statistics of the period found among the 
 papers of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, the Prussian field- 
 marshal who commanded the coalition armies that invaded 
 France in 1792, and who in his old age was shot in both eyes at 
 Jena — spitefully termed by his enemies fortune's revenge, because 
 he never would see when his eyes were perfect. The Berlin 
 population showed a great preponderance of females over males, 
 there being in the year 1762, 54,000 of the fair, as opposed to 
 44,000 of the sterner sex, or a difference of 22^ per cent.; which 
 in eight years fell to 15, and in another twenty years to less than 
 10 per cent. At this latter date the artisan class, which to-day 
 amounts to more than one-half of the entire population, formed no 
 more than a twelfth, their number being only 10,000, of whom 
 upwards of one-fifth were engaged in cotton spinning, and about 
 one-sixth in the manufacture of silk and velvet. In the same way 
 the poor receiving relief amounted to 4^ per cent, against 15 per 
 cent, in 1870. Wages averaged is. per day, but beef was only 
 2^d. per lb. and pork 2c/., while beer sold for id. a quart and the 
 staff of life was under |c/. per Ib.^ All of which shows that spite 
 of the distress following in the train of one of the most devas- 
 tating wars Prussia ever suffered from, the condition of the Berlin 
 poorer classes was even superior to what it is now after one of 
 the most pnjfitable victories, regarded from a money point of 
 view, of modern times. 
 
 • atiiiUisches Jahrbuch^ 1871.
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 53 
 
 To replenish his exchequer and increase his regular resources 
 Friedrich had recourse to excise duties after the French model, 
 when Prussia, and more particularly Berlin, was overrun with 
 officials charged with their collection, one class of whom, nick- 
 named cellar rats, were privileged to search all houses for 
 contraband. Their inquisitorial proceedings rendered the King 
 very unpopular with the Berlinese, who caricatured him as a 
 miser grinding coffee with one hand and picking up the falling 
 berries with the other. Seeing a crowd collected around this 
 caricature, which had been posted at an inconvenient height, he 
 told one of his grooms to hang it lower that his faithful subjects 
 might not dislocate their necks by overstretching them. 
 
 Throughout Friedrich's long reign there was but little so-called 
 court life at Berlin. In the early years of his rule, when he was 
 more given to enjoyment and pleasure, there was a grand 
 carousal on the Schloss-platz, which was lighted -up at night 
 with 40,000 lamps. Four jousting parties in masquerade costume, 
 representing Romans, Persians, Carthaginians, and Greeks con- 
 tended for the prizes distributed by the hands of beauty in the 
 person of the King's sister, the Princess Amelia. At the close 
 of the second Silesian war Berlin celebrated Friedrich's return 
 with a round of fetes in which, however, he himself took no part. 
 
 The carnival season gave rise to occasional entertainments, 
 court banquets and balls, masquerades, fancy fairs, and sledge 
 parties, productive of some little spasmodic gaiety, but that was 
 all. Friedrich's behaviour towards his wife was altogether 
 inexplicable. It is not to be excused by her subsequent soured 
 temper when she is accused of having said " really dreadful 
 things," for what woman in her station could patiently endure 
 the long years of isolation and neglect which fell to her lot .-• After 
 the first few years of their marriage the pair lived entirely apart, the 
 King dining with the Queen at rare intervals, and bowing to her 
 at the commencement and end of the meal, but scarcely ever 
 speaking a word. On one occasion when he was known to have 
 inquired of her respecting her health all Berlin was in a flutter 
 of excitement at such an unusual condescension. This was the 
 last time he was known to have spoken to her. He acted 
 very differently with regard to his mother, whom he visited daily 
 when at Berlin, no matter how busy he might be, and always 
 uncovered himself whenever he spoke to her. 
 
 Old age found Friedrich childless and almost friendless, living 
 solitarily at Sans Souci ; he would mournfully say, " The finest 
 day of life is the day on which one quits it." He only visited 
 Berlin for the reviews and at Christmas during the Carnival, when 
 he usually stayed a month, and on these occasions used to drive 
 through the streets in right regal pomp. 
 
 " Ahead went eight runners with their staves, plumed caps, and runner 
 aprons in two rows. As these runners were never used for anything except
 
 54 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 this show, the office was a kind of post for invahds of the Life Guard ; a 
 consequence of which was that the King always had to go at a slow pace. 
 His courses, however, were no other than from the Schloss to the Opera 
 twice a week, and during his whole residence one or two times to Prince 
 Henri and the Princess Amelia. After this the runners rested again for a 
 year. Behind them came the royal carriage with a team of eight ; eight 
 windows round it ; the horses with old-fashioned harness and plumes on 
 their heads. Coachman and outriders all in the then royal livery — blue ; the 
 collar, cuffs, pockets, and all scams trimmed with a stripe of red cloth 
 and this bound on both sides with small gold cord, the general effect of 
 which was very good. In the four boots of the coach stood four pages, red 
 with gold, with silk stockings, feather hats (crown all covered with feathers), 
 but not having plumes ; the valet's boot behind empty ; and to the rear of it, 
 down below where one mounts to the valet's boot stood the groom." ^ 
 
 111 or well, to the very last he was always seen on horseback 
 at the reviews, and it was after one of these, when paying a visit 
 to his sister, that he made what may be called his last public 
 appearance in Berlin. Of this interesting incident a vivid picture 
 has been preserved : — 
 
 "The King came riding on a big white horse in an old three-cornered 
 regimental hat, old and dusty plain blue uniform with red cuffs, red collar, 
 and gold shoulder-bands, yellow waistcoat covered with snuff, black velvet 
 breeches, and unpolished boots. Behind him were a guard of Generals, then 
 the Adjutants, and finally the grooms of the party. The whole ' Rondeel,' 
 now Belle Alliance-platz and the Wilhelms-strasse, were crammed full of 
 people ; all windows crowded, all heads bare ; everywhere the deepest 
 silence, and on all countenances an expression of reverence and confidence 
 as towards the steersman of our destinies. The King rode quite alone in 
 front, and saluted people continually, taking off his hat ; in doing which he 
 observed a very marked gradation, according as the on-lookers bowing to him 
 from the windows seemed to deserve. At one time he lifted the hat a very 
 little ; at another he took it from his head and held it an instant beside the 
 same ; at another he sunk it as far as the elbow. But these motions lasted 
 continually; and no sooner had he put on his hat than he saw other people, 
 and again took it off. From the Halle Gate to the Koch-strasse he certainly 
 took off his hat two hundred times. 
 
 ''Through this reverent silence there sounded only the tramping of the 
 horses and the shouting of the Ijerlin street boys, who went jumping before 
 him, capering with joy, and flung up their hats into the air, or skipped along 
 close to him wiping the dust from his boots. , . . Arrived at the Princess 
 Amelia's Palace, the crowd grew still denser, for they expected him there ; 
 the forecourt was jammed full ; yet in the middle, without the presence of 
 any police, there was open space left for him and his attendants. He turned 
 into the court ; the gate-leaves went back ; and the aged lame Princess, 
 leaning on two ladies, came hitching down the flat steps to meet him, So 
 soon as he perceived her he put his horse to the gallop, pulled up, sprang 
 rapidly down, took off his hat (which he now, however, held quite low at the 
 full length of his arm), embraced her, gave her his arm, and again led her up 
 the steps. The gate-leaves went to, all had vanished, and the multitude still 
 stood, with bared heads in silence, all eyes turned to the spot where he had 
 disappeared ; and so it lasted a while till each gathered himself and peacefully 
 went his way. 
 
 " And yet there had nothing happened I No pomp, no fireworks, no 
 cannon-shot, no drumming and fifing, no music, no event that had occurred ! 
 
 * Nachlass der General von der Marwitz, quoted by Carlyle.
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 
 
 55 
 
 
 r^ -.-■--• "^\ • -M -"■"*■- --Ti..,-. • •^i''.-: v.^»-•?.^--■ 
 
 -^^^«•''-•^^^"■•:- . 
 
 vj^ 
 
 LAST PUBLIC AITEAKANCE OF FRIEDRICH THE GREAT AT BERLIN. 
 
 No ! nothing but an old man of j},, ill-dressed, all dusty, was returning from 
 his day's work. But everybody knew that this old man was toiling also for him ; 
 that he had set his whole life on that labour, and for five-and-forty years had 
 not given it the slip one day ! Everyone saw, moreover, the fruits of this 
 old man's labour, near and far and everywhere around ; and to look on the 
 old man himself awakened reverence, admiration, pride, confidence — in short 
 all the nobler feelings of man."^ 
 
 Friedrich Wilhelm II. nephew of Friedrich the Great, and 
 nicknamed " the fat," turned the tide of Prussia's prosperity, 
 although he contributed largely to the material improvement of 
 Berlin during the exciting times in which he reigned. It was he 
 who conferred on the capital one of its most striking architec- 
 tural features— the imposing Brandenburger Thor; who besides 
 erecting the Herkules-briicke, the characteristic if not elegant 
 
 Nacklass der General von der Marwitz, quoted by Carlyle.
 
 56 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 colonnade near the KonifTs-briickc, and several statues in the 
 VVilhelms-platz, founded the noble hospital of La Charite. Berlin 
 moreover during his reign received a certain intellectual impetus 
 though not through any influence of the King's, for he was alike 
 bigoted, credulous, and dissolute, continually entangling himself in 
 some fresh love adventure and being at the same time ruled by 
 incompetent ministers. Mirabeau,then resident at Berlin, summed 
 up the condition of Prussia at this epoch in these laconic terms : 
 "A decreased revenue, an increased expenditure, geniusneglected, 
 and fools at the helm." It was under such conditions as these 
 that a complete reaction — prompted by Lessing, who laid the 
 foundation of German criticism — set in against the French lan- 
 guage and literature, and that Berlin literature first asserted itself 
 in a distinctive manner. Art, moreover, received new impulses — 
 the Academy raised itself to a high position, the German stage 
 developed into a national institution, German opera was elevated 
 by Weber, and theadmirablc Berlin singing academy was founded. 
 In these days the Berlin archers' festival and the Stralauer fish- 
 ing procession — which last continued until quite recently the one 
 popular Berlin fete — received a new development, and flower 
 shows, harvest gatherings, rustic games and other amusements 
 came into fashion, when Berlin manners on the whole grew far 
 less restrained, and by force of royal example, even dissolute. 
 
 Under Friedrich Wilhelm III. on the disastrous issue of the 
 battle of Jena, Berlin was occupied by the French, and on 
 October 27, 1806, Napoleon made his triumphal entry into the 
 Prussian capital, where to his great embarrassment he was 
 received with loud demonstrations of delight. Prussian noble- 
 men, mingling with the crowd, urged the people to give heartier 
 hurrahs and to continue shouting, " Vive C Enipereiir ! " or, said 
 they, " we arc all lost." Their conduct was less patriotic though 
 not quite so ridiculous as that of the P'rench dancers and hair- 
 dressers who thirty years later ran beside the carriage of the 
 ex-king Charles X. at Berlin, crying at the top of their voices, 
 " Vii'e le Roi ! " During the PVench occupation of Berlin the 
 Prince of Iscnberg raised in the very heart of the city a regi- 
 ment of Prussian deserters for the service of P' ranee, and obsequious 
 learned professors gave lectures at the Academy flattering the 
 conqueror at the expense of the great Friedrich. So astounded 
 was Napoleon at his reception that he declared he knew not 
 whether to rejoice or feel ashamed. Under any circumstances his 
 demeanour was not that of a dignified conqueror, for he stormed 
 and scolded to such an extent in the court-yard of the Schloss, 
 that the then Berlin president of police declared he had never 
 seen such an angry man in all his life. However pleased at the 
 moment the people might have pretended to be with the French 
 occupation, they soon had reason to modify their ideas, for the 
 troops under Soult behaved scarcely better at Berlin than the
 
 ^<1 
 
 M 
 
 1/1 ^ 
 
 (/I s 
 
 ^ -ft 
 
 s ^ 
 
 E
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 57 
 
 Austrians had done nearly half a century previously. The 
 occupation, moreover, brought general distress in its train which 
 was but slightly mitigated by the benevolent plans of a few 
 philanthropists. No sooner was the treaty of Tilsit signed than 
 the King was wise enough to entrust the direction of affairs to 
 the Baron Stein, one of the most enlightened, resolute, and de- 
 voted of statesmen, who abolished serfdom, curtailed the privileges 
 of the nobility, gave to all classes of Prussians equal rights, and 
 to use his own words made " the free burgher the firm pillar of 
 the throne." This was merely the prelude to that reorganization 
 of the Prussian army which in the course of a few years con- 
 verted every citizen into a soldier. Meanwhile Berlin improved 
 greatly in size and in appearance. An entirely new district was 
 erected and named the Friedrich-Wilhelms-stadt after the King 
 to whom the grand aisenible of the Museum, the Cathedral, the 
 Lustgarten as now laid out, and the Schloss-briicke is due. Of 
 the various institutions founded by him, the most important is 
 the University, but science, art, and industry, were alike fostered 
 under his long rule. On the recommendation of Alexander von 
 Humboldt the Observatory was established, and among the public 
 buildings erected were the Mint, the Academy of Architecture, 
 the Institute of Industry, the Schauspiel-haus, or royal theatre, 
 the palace of the reigning King, and the classic guard-house on 
 the Linden, The national monument on the Kreuzberg also 
 belongs to this epoch, and the King moreover sowed Berlin 
 broadcast with statues, not merely in palaces, museums, churches, 
 and theatres, but along the Schloss-briicke, the Linden, the Lust- 
 garten and the Wilhelms-platz. His last public act w^as to lay 
 the corner-stone of the imposing monument to Friedrich the 
 Great on the Linden, an event which was followed a few days 
 afterwards by his death. 
 
 This monument was finished by his successor, one of whose 
 first proceedings was the appropriation of a million of thalers to 
 the completion of the Schloss Chapel with its imposing dome, the 
 new Museum with its gorgeous Treppen-haus,the Opera which had 
 been gutted by fire, with its splendid sallc, and the model prison 
 called the Zellengefangniss. The Belle Alliance-platz was also 
 laid out, and had a fountain and a figure of victory erected there. 
 Friedrich Wilhelm IV. has been aptly described as a compound 
 of the soldier, the mystic, medieeval bigot, and the dilettante. 
 The revolutionary tide of 1848, sweeping over Germany from the 
 Rhine to the Oder and from the Danube to the Baltic, surprised 
 him in the midst of certain .nesthetic constitutional reforms 
 which he was contemplating, and extorted from him some 
 political concessions of the vaguest character. These falling 
 short of the popular aspirations excited open air meetings both 
 by day and night w^ere held in all the public places of Berlin, 
 giving rise to continual collisions between the populace and the
 
 58 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMl'IRK. 
 
 military. Fearing however, to push resistance too far, the King 
 consented to the assembhng of a legislative body, accorded com- 
 plete liberty to the press, and dismissed his more unpopular 
 advisers. With the view of reassuring the crowd of people 
 permanently assembled on the Schloss-platz, he opened one of 
 the palace windows to address them ; but at this moment, either 
 through surprise or by some mistake, or a culpable design, there 
 was a discharge of musketry, and cavalry proceeded to sweep 
 the streets. The people at once rushed to arms, raised innumer- 
 able barricades, and struggled so successfully against some twenty 
 thousand of the best Prussian troops provided with artillery, that 
 the Government determined not to prolong the contest, and 
 withdrew the militar}' from the city. The present Emperor, who 
 was thought to have instigated this conflict, left the kingdom, 
 but the King remained at his post and thereby saved his crown. 
 A couple of months afterwards he opened the Constituent 
 Assembly in person, but its labours were sorely troubled by 
 popular agitations on the one hand, and by the menacing attitude 
 of the military and the court party on the other. For many 
 months, too, there were continual riots at Berlin, and eventually 
 the King resolved to have recourse to force not merely against 
 the rioters but against the Assembly which he found too radically 
 disposed. He commenced by proroguing it ; nevertheless it 
 decided to meet, but only to find the hall occupied by troops. 
 It protested, but carried its resistance no further, and even 
 exhorted the populace and the burgher guard to observe moder- 
 ation. Eventually the struggle was brought to a close by the 
 promulgation of a constitutional act decreeing a representative 
 government. 
 
 The Frankfurt parliament offered the Imperial crown of 
 Germany to the Prussian King, but he declined it. He could 
 not, he said, accept a couronne des paves like that of Louis 
 Philippe. A revolutionary meeting had no right to give away a 
 crown — had no crown to give. Even if all the other Princes of 
 Germany were to assent to such a proceeding that would not 
 make it honest, or be to him acceptable. The Princes and 
 Electors of the German Empire alone could give away the 
 Imperial crown — such were Friedrich Wilhelm's objections to the 
 preferred honour. 
 
 One effect of the Revolution was to imbue the modern Berlin 
 burgher with altogether a more independent spirit. His 
 proverbial narrow-mindedness had already given way upon the 
 connection of Berlin with the rest of Europe by railway. This 
 step had accomplished far more for the city than the raising of 
 palaces, the founding of museums, or the erecting of monuments. 
 The Prussian capital had made important progress in every 
 branch of industry, art, and science, still only a limited inter- 
 course existed between it and the rest of Europe, in consequence
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF BERLIN. 
 
 59 
 
 of which it was thrown as it were upon itself for the development 
 of its internal life, and had altogether more of a provincial 
 character about it than the ways and tone of thought common 
 to a great city. The aristocracy all clustered round the throne, 
 the higher officials hanging on to them, and being linked at the 
 same time to the military order, while the subordinate officials 
 mingled with the artists and savants, leaving the bold burgher 
 entirely isolated, with no other interests beyond those of trade, 
 and with corresponding narrow prejudices. The working classes, 
 much less numerous in proportion than at present, were likewise 
 a distinct and characteristic class by themselves, and it was not 
 until railways were introduced and intercourse on a large scale 
 was opened up with foreign countries, that the heretofore 
 colourless and monotonous life of Berlin entered upon a new 
 phase to receive fresh development from the political agitation 
 of 1848. 
 
 The Revolution impressed the Berlin middle class, already in 
 possession of increased means, with a decided sense of their own 
 importance. They came openly into the arena, strengthened 
 their political position by acquiring real property, secured such 
 manors as were offered for sale, and thrust out the impoverished 
 nobility, erected manufactories, bought up the best houses, and 
 had still finer ones built for themselves, as if desirous of parading 
 their wealth. The advent of free trade had extended their 
 commercial transactions with foreign countries and given them 
 fresh conceptions, enlarged ideas, increased taste, and a higher 
 degree of cultivation. At the head of this movement marched 
 the contemned Hebrew race who have found their true vocation 
 at Berlin, where they form to-day the aristocracy of finance. 
 
 BEKl.IN JEWS.
 
 6o BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Exceptincr certain cities of North America no other metropolis 
 in modern times has progressed in anything hkc the same 
 proportion as Berhn. At the outbreak of the great Revolution 
 Paris boasted of 800,000 inhabitants ; at the same period Berlin had 
 about 120,000, and a century earlier the great Elector had died in 
 a city of 20,000 souls. The increase of the population under 
 his three immediate successors, and particularly in the time of 
 the first two, was considerable and very promising for the future. 
 Yet who in the cightccenth century could have realized the Berlin 
 of the nineteenth .'' It will be seen from the subjoined table that 
 in the first sixteen years the population augmented upwards of 
 one-third, and that during the ensuing quarter of a century the 
 increase had been more than three times that of the preceding, 
 in other words the population had almost doubled itself Within 
 the next ten years, namely, up to 185 1, it augmented 30 per 
 cent., and increased in the same ratio during the ten years suc- 
 ceeding. The next decade, however, shows the unexampled 
 increase of no less than 57 per cent. Berlin will no doubt make 
 still more remarkable progress in the next decennium. It cannot 
 be otherwise with the capital of the new German Empire. 
 While simply the principal city of Prussia, its extraordinary 
 advance in population and wealth signally refuted the prophecies 
 of the prejudiced who prated about its unfavourable natural 
 position. To-day as the political metropolis of the restored 
 German Empire, and the grand centre of German trade and 
 industry, it may be confidently anticipated that Berlin will 
 progress even still more rapidly than when it was only the capital 
 of the Prussian state and the German Zollverein. In population 
 it is already inferior only to London, Paris, and Stamboul, 
 v/hilc in political importance, commercial activity, and financial 
 enterprise it ranks at present as second only to our own 
 marvellous metropolis. 
 
 TABLE SHOWING THE INCREASE IN THE P0PUL.\TI0N OF BERLIN DURING 
 
 A COUPLE OF CENTURIES. 
 
 1688 20,000 
 
 1721 53.355 
 
 1770 106,606 
 
 1816 181,052 
 
 '841 3' 1,491 
 
 1851 404,437 
 
 1.861 5-4.945 
 
 1870 763,670 
 
 1871 826,341 
 
 1873 909.580 
 
 1875 964,755 
 
 Note. — The garrison is excluded in llie above figures.
 
 THE SCHLOSS. 
 
 V. 
 
 MODERN BERLIN : CONFORMATION AND CHARACTER. 
 
 BERLIN, like other large cities, is the result of the welding 
 together of a number of independent districts which have 
 sprung up from time to time around a common centre. In this 
 respect it presents, on a smaller scale, some kind of analogy to 
 London, composed as the latter is, besides the City proper and 
 Westminster, of Southwark and a score of once outlying suburbs. 
 In the heart of the network of broad, rectangular, and radiating 
 thoroughfares from three to five miles across, and which, spread 
 over a flat sandy plain watered by a narrow and tortuous stream 
 and various subsidiary canals, make up the capital of the new 
 German Empire, are a couple of irregularly-shaped islands 
 formed by two loops of the Spree, diverted to a certain extent in 
 bygone times for the defence of the city. Of these islands the 
 north-eastern or largest is the original Berlin, while the south- 
 western and narrower one, where the original Wendish settlers 
 first raised their rude huts, is the ancient Koln. 
 
 From the Brandenburg Gate, the grand entrance to the city, 
 the smaller island is reached across the wide statue-lined Schloss- 
 briicke, spanning one of these artificial arms of the Spree, at the 
 opposite extremity of Unter den Linden, the far-famed broad 
 thoroughfare which bisects the western portion of Berlin. On 
 this island stands the Schloss, stretching almost across the 
 narrow strip of land to the Spree itself, with its imposing 
 northern front facing the spacious Lustgarten, which the Elector
 
 62 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Johann Gcorg transformed from a neglected swamp into a culti- 
 vated parterre. Bordering the Lustgarten on its remaining sides 
 are the Cathedral and the Museum, together with the Schloss- 
 briicke and the loop of the river across which this bridge is 
 thrown. 
 
 A thoroughfare which runs between the Schloss and this loop 
 of the Spree conducts to the broad Schloss-platz, in olden times 
 the scene of many a gay revel, many a gorgeous tournament. 
 South of it arc numerous busy streets and a few tortuous ones, 
 with the Marstiille or royal stables, a quaint edifice of the 
 Renaissance period, ornamented with curious wood carvings on 
 its picturesque facade — notably a spirited colossal group of 
 Phoebus guiding the chariot of the sun — and having all its lower 
 windows caged in with elaborate antique ironwork in true 
 mediaeval fashion. This, with the former civic hall and a modern 
 gothic church, complete the list of public edifices on the island 
 once known as Alt Koln. 
 
 Communication is established between Alt Koln and ancient 
 Berlin by means of the Muhlendamm and of three bridges 
 across the Spree, hereabouts considerably less than 200 feet 
 wide at its broadest part. The most northern of these bridges 
 is the Friedrichs-briicke, situate to the right of the Museum, and 
 the longest bridge of which Berlin can boast : the next, adjacent 
 to the Cathedral, is known as the Kavalier-briicke ; while the third 
 and principal one, which leads from the Schloss-platz to Konigs- 
 strasse — the busiest of all the Berlin thoroughfares — is the Lange, 
 or Kurfiirsten-brucke, which its surroundings render one of the 
 most interesting in the city. On its southern side, with chained 
 slaves crouching around the pedestal, towers a colossal statue of 
 the Great Elector, the masterpiece of the great sculptor Schluter, 
 and one of the few fine equestrian statues, ancient and modern, 
 in the world. The Great Elector, dignified even under his 
 flowing perruque, contemplates Berlin majestically ; surveys the 
 adjacent Schloss — its round tower and mossy freestone walls 
 washed by the waters of the Spree — and holds, as it were, a 
 silent review of the restless crowds passing and repassing at his 
 feet. Rising out of the water beyond the Schloss are the 
 unfini.shed arches of the Berlin Campo-Santo, or regal burial- 
 vault, planned by Friedrich Wilhclm IV., and intended to have 
 inclosed the Cathedral, but the completion of which has now 
 been abandoned for upwards of twenty years. In the opposite 
 direction the view is shut in by the royal mills, a modern 
 castellated edifice, extending right across the Spree, here dammed 
 and crowded with fishing weirs and floating reservoirs of fish, 
 while antiquated buildings of various degrees of picturesqueness 
 rise along its banks. 
 
 Konigs-strasse, which bisects old Berlin, and constitutes, in fact, 
 the commercial heart of the city, is the single street in the
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 63 
 
 THE ROYAL MILLS. 
 
 Prussian capital where one gets jostled by a crowd. From day- 
 light until dusk the pulse of Berlin life here beats quickest, the 
 tide of business continually ebbing and flowing from and to the 
 neighbouring chief post-office. Large and little traders are alike 
 attracted to this densely-thronged spot. Here, too, the Jewish 
 element — no longer restrained, as of old, within particular limits, 
 and to-day so insolently dominant at Berlin — exercises a con- 
 tinually increasing influence, more especially at the neighbouring 
 Borse, which rises up some little distance to the north, adjacent 
 to Friedrichs-briicke, and facing the Spree. In an exactly 
 opposite direction, and likewise abutting on the Spree, are the 
 city prison and the head-quarters of the Berlin police, altogether 
 a very different establishment to that in Scotland-yard — a 
 Briareus-like institution, in fact, whose hundred arms stretch in 
 all directions, and whose hundred heads are supposed to provide 
 for every exigency of civic life. 
 
 The Berlin Polizei-Prasidium looks on to the Molken-markt, 
 one of the most ancient quarters of the capital. Here, where 
 the Post-strasse joins the Miihlendamm, stands an historic house, 
 once the residence of Friedrich the Great's court jeweller, the 
 notorious Vertel Heine Ephraim, who was here accustomed to 
 give magnificent entertainments to the court. This man largely 
 enriched himself by cheating the State under a contract which 
 he had secured for stamping the national coinage. The eight 
 pillars supporting the balcony of the house formed a portion of 
 Count Briihl's palace, destroyed during the Seven Years' War, 
 and were a present in after-years to Ephraim from the King, 
 who, when Crown Prince, was in the habit of visiting the wealthy 
 Jew banker, and sarcastically remarking, with reference to the 
 splendour and completeness of his establishment, that nothing was 
 wanting but a gallows on which to hang the rascally owner.
 
 64 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The houses in the older portion of the Konigs-strasse being 
 somewhat antiquated and the reverse of uniform, the street, 
 invariably full of movement at all hours of the day, has some 
 little touch of the picturesque about it — a rare enough attribute 
 of the Prussian capital. The semi-palatial edifice in which the 
 
 post-office is located 
 
 was evidently designed 
 in past times for some 
 totally different pur- 
 pose. The neighbour- 
 ing monumental Rath- 
 haus, in the reddest 
 of red bricks, with its 
 towering belfry and 
 terra-cotta friezes, is 
 the most important 
 modern structure of 
 which Berlin can boast. 
 Adjacent is the Stadt- 
 gericht, or city court 
 of justice, while a 
 hundred yards distant 
 stands the historic La- 
 ger-haus, a large and 
 singularly unpreten- 
 tious-looking ancient edifice, in which the first Hohenzollern was 
 content to receive the allegiance of the discontented Berlin burghers, 
 and where certain ministerial records are now kept and jury cases 
 tried. Rather further eastward is the once-handsome, but now 
 
 THE CHIEF POST-OFFICE. 
 
 NEW KOLN.
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 65 
 
 sadly deteriorated, Konigs-colonnaden, with its crumbling columns 
 and dilapidated statues, leading to the Konigs-briicke. In old 
 Berlin, moreover, are the archaic Nicolai, Marien, and Kloster 
 churches, with the Cadetten-haus in the rear of the latter ; and 
 here, too, are the oldest and most tortuous streets — notably the 
 notorious Konigsmauer — and the few ancient houses still existing 
 in the city. 
 
 The island on which the original Berlin grew and flourished is 
 far larger than the one on which its rival Koln was established. 
 The latter town early realized the necessity for expansion, and 
 first crossed the water on 
 its southern side, where 
 Neu Koln sprung up, and 
 afterwards on the west, 
 where the Friedrichs- 
 werder-stadt gradually 
 developed itself No less 
 than five bridges, of which 
 the principal is the Schloss- 
 briicke, connect these dis- 
 tricts with Alt Koln. 
 Their more important 
 edifices are the Arsenal 
 and the Palace of the Prince 
 Imperial, the Royal Bank, the Mint, with its long sculptured frieze, 
 representing the procuring of the ore and the process of commg ; 
 also the head Telegraph-office, the Building Academy, and the 
 
 THE MINT. 
 
 THK BUIIDING ACADEMY. 
 
 F
 
 66 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 THE SING AKADEMIE. 
 
 Werder Church, a plain modern brick building, which, because it has 
 
 two towers and is in the Gothic style, the Berlincse.ahvays emulous 
 
 of Paris, style their 
 "klcine Notre Dame." 
 These, the four oldest 
 quarters of Berlin, 
 have in their plan 
 much of the character 
 of a mediaeval pro- 
 vincial town, the 
 direction of all the 
 streets being entirely 
 regulated by the 
 Spree, parallel with 
 which and towards 
 which they invariably 
 run. 
 
 The next addition 
 to the city was the 
 Dorotheen-stadt, to 
 the north-west of the 
 
 Friedrichswerder district, and comprising the famous Unter den 
 
 Linden and the palatial edifices which border it, including alike 
 
 the Opera-house, the 
 
 Royal Library, the 
 
 Palace of the Emperor, 
 
 the University, the 
 
 Academy of Arts 
 
 and Sciences, the 
 
 Royal Guard-house, 
 
 and the Sing Akade- 
 
 mie in its rear. The 
 
 Dorotheen Church, 
 
 founded by the Elec- 
 
 tress Dorothea, is re- 
 markable for a fine 
 
 marble monument by 
 
 thescul[)tor Schadow 
 
 to Graf von der l\Lirk, 
 
 a natural son of 
 
 FricdrichWilhelmll., 
 
 who died in early 
 
 youth. In accordance 
 
 with the conventional 
 
 sentiment, a drawn 
 
 sword has been in- 
 troduced as though 
 
 just fallen from the dying grasp of this child of nine. The fore- 
 
 THE MONUMKN r Oi- t;i(AF VON DER MARK.
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 going and subsequent additions to Berlin on its western side were 
 not the necessary extensions of the life and traffic of the existing 
 quarters ; indeed, all their essential features were traced on paper 
 beforehand, with due mathematical regularity, but without suffi- 
 cient regard to their connection with the older districts. With 
 all its pretensions it is easy to perceive that Berlin is a city 
 made up of shreds and patches, like the Prussian monarchy 
 itself, which has been augmented by alliances, purchases, 
 arbitrary seizures, and more often still by a fortunate sabre- 
 stroke, until with something of the precision of destiny the Hohen- 
 zollern motto, " From rock to sea " has realized itself to the full. 
 M. Victor Tissot sardonically observes, "There is something 
 of the pirate in the Prussian. His country being too poor to 
 support him he is driven to take from others. War is for him a 
 business." Old Berlin is huddled away into the background of the 
 brand new splendour of the modern city, where the stuccoed 
 buildings have risen at the word of command, and been con- 
 structed with a tactical eye to effect. Ancient as Berlin claims 
 to be, one seeks there in vain for monuments which serve as an 
 expression of the grandeur of the past — for old feudal castles 
 or an antique Gothic cathedral — for palaces founded in the days 
 of the knights, or hotels of the epoch of the mediaeval guilds, 
 or for streets, or even houses, that recall the middle ages. Such 
 casual memorials as there might have been found little respect 
 in a city where the claims of the day are invariably too imperative 
 to allow of even the smallest sacrifices to sentiment. 
 
 Berlin proper now began to extend itself by spreading on the 
 north-east across the artificial loop of the Spree, termed the 
 Konigs-graben, and forming the suburb known as the Konigs- 
 
 tol'h;^ 
 
 |'':J^;^Tf|-^ 
 
 stadt — the region of poor lodgings, small shops, market-carts, 
 and old-fashioned innyards, where country waggons are wont 
 t-j put up. This suburb is connected with the Alt-stadt — as 
 the combined ancient Berlin and Koln are now styled — by 
 the Konigs-briicke, lined with some dilapidated statues, and 
 
 F 2
 
 68 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ALEXANDER-PLATZ. 
 
 connecting the main thoroughfare which intersects old BerHn 
 with Alcxander-platz, one of the great open-air markets of the 
 city : here the disreputable old workhouse is situated, and 
 radiating from it east, north, and south are the quarters where 
 most of the misery of the capital is found. This thoroughfare 
 extends to the so-called Konigs Thor, through which, after his 
 coronation, the first King of Prussia made his triumphal entry 
 into Berlin. The gateway is, however, purely an imaginary one. 
 A strangerto the Prussian capital is naturally impressed by the 
 imposing Brandenburger Thor, crowned by its colossal chariot of 
 victory, and when he subsequently learns that Berlin opens its 
 gates to all the points of the compass, and possesses no less 
 than seventeen so-called " Thoren," besides a couple of water- 
 gates, he conjures up visions of stately architectural structures, 
 or picturesque antiquated edifices, dotted at intervals around the 
 city, instead of which he finds neither gateways nor the slightest 
 sign to indicate even a suppositious barrier, unless indeed it be 
 the octroi bureau, common to all continental towns, extensive 
 or diminutive. 
 
 Outside the city boundaries, and lying between the former 
 Konigs and Landsbcrg Gates, is the Friedrichs-hain, an unin- 
 closcd and ill-carcd-for plantation, flanked by cemeteries and 
 dreary-looking bccr-gardens, and the trees of which require a 
 generation or two for their due development. So infested is this
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 69 
 
 spot after dark with ruffians of various types, that it is scarcely- 
 possible for a respectable person to cross it with a sound skin. 
 The modern predatory Berliner, like the outlaw of old, has a 
 confirmed partiality for the greenwood, for which reason some 
 considerable plantations outside the Silesian and other gates — 
 that the terribly naked environs of Berlin could ill afford to 
 spare — were felled several years ago by order of the authorities. 
 The Berlin corporation have always entertained the conventional 
 municipal disregard for the picturesque ; and during the revolu- 
 tionary period of 1848, when employment had to be found for 
 starving thousands, instead of utilizing them in repairing roads, 
 on which any amount of labour might have been advantageously 
 expended, the municipality set them to level almost the only 
 hills — insignificant ones enough — of which the environs of Berlin 
 could boast. Whether the Windmiihlen-berg beyond the neigh- 
 bouring Prenzlau Gate shared the common fate one cannot say ; 
 but at present the only indication of it is a mere gradual rise in 
 the ground. It is in the Friedrichs-hain, on the highest point of 
 which a colossal bust of Friedrich the Great has been set up, 
 that the 300 soldiers and citizens, victims of the Berlin street 
 fights during the year 1848, found a common grave. 
 
 The Spandau quarter was the result of the extension of Berlin 
 on its northern side. This district has within it the shabby 
 little Monbijou Palace, bordering the Spree and surrounded by 
 
 SCHLOSS MONBIJOU. 
 
 a neglected garden, the vast Victoria Theatre, and several 
 barracks and hospitals. Monbijou had the honour of housing 
 Peter the Great during his visit to Berlin ; still the Queen's 
 petty garden-palace could scarcely have accommodated all the 
 "travelling tagraggery " of the Muscovite court, including 400 
 so-called ladies of the Czarina's suite and the babies which the
 
 •JO BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Czar — as they repeated one after another — " ma fait ihomiair 
 de vie faired The little brown Czarina was decked out in a robe 
 a compound of " silver and <Treasy dirt," with an embroidered 
 double eagle with diamond plumes spread over the bodice, and 
 the facings covered with orders, holy relics, and portraits of saints, 
 which jingled whenever she moved. At a grand supper given 
 in his honour at the Schloss, the Czar, who was subject to 
 St. Vitus's dance, appears to have flung his knife about so 
 menacingly that poor Queen Sophie, who sat beside him, was 
 terrified completely out of her wits.^ 
 
 The densely-populated Spandau quarter is one of the great 
 working-class centres of Berlin, with which it is connected by 
 three bridges. One of these, the picturesque but diminutive 
 Herkules-briicke, is ornamented with crouching sphinxes sup- 
 porting lamps, and colossal figures of Hercules throttling the 
 Nemean lion and battling with the Centaur; another, the 
 Spandaucr-briicke, likewise boasts of some dilapidated groups of 
 sculpture. The district communicates with the poetically-named 
 Rosenthal (rose valley) and Oranienburg suburbs by four sup- 
 positious gates, of which one — the Schonhauser Thor — leads to 
 a complete colony of breweries and beer-gardens, which, in 
 conjunction with numerous modern houses, have sprung up 
 contiguous to a Jewish burial-ground. The neighbouring 
 Rosenthal gate conducts neither to roses nor valley, but to a 
 poor-looking populous suburb, formerly known as the Voigtland 
 district, and deriving its name from a colony of masons and 
 carpenters from Saxony and the Voigtland, who settled here 
 during the reign of Friedrich the Great, on land allotted to them 
 by the King. Hereabouts are the popular National and Vor- 
 stadtische theatres, and various other suburban places of amuse- 
 ment. Beyond the last-erected houses skirting the main road 
 lies a broad naked plain mathematically marked out in building 
 plots, and having the recently-constructed cattle-market and 
 the newly-planted Humboldts-hain in front of it, with the 
 Northern railway station in its rear. The road continues through 
 a suburban village, where pretentious-looking modern buildings, 
 five storeys high, rise up side by side of antiquated little toy- 
 houses, of the Noah's-ark style of architecture, and eventually 
 conducts to a sandy place of recreation surrounded by trees and 
 encompassed by neglected bath-houses — relics of a past century 
 — and wcll-frcqucnted beer-gardens. This is the Gesund-brunnen, 
 or fountain of health, whose invigorating waters are more extolled 
 by the l^erlinese than profited by. 
 
 The suppositious Hamburger Thor leads to the Stettin railway 
 station at the outskirts of a district where several years since 
 some so-called family-houses — in which the largest number of 
 
 ^ Carlyle's Frederick the Great.
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 71 
 
 poor people were packed in the smallest possible compass — 
 were erected under royal patronage. Outside the Oranienburger 
 Thor, at the extremity of the Spandau district, we are in a town 
 of tall chimneys, emitting volumes of smoke, and where the rattle of 
 machinery mingles with the screech of steam-whistles from day- 
 light until dusk. This is the establishment of Borsig, the famous 
 Berlin engineer, who employs thousands of hands, and recently 
 turned out his two thousandth locomotive, and who has moreover 
 extensive forges in the neighbouring Moabit suburb. Many cem- 
 eteries are scattered over the whole of the foregoing districts, 
 which belong exclusively to the poorer quarters of the capital. 
 
 These northern suburbs owe their existence entirely to the 
 fertile nature of the outlying country ; even to-day most of the 
 
 market-supply of Berlin reaches it through the Oranienburg, 
 Schonhaus, Prenzlau, Konigs, and Landsberg Gates. The com- 
 munication long since existing between ancient Berlin and the 
 towns indicated by the foregoing names, as well as Spandau, 
 led to houses springing up just outside the city walls along these 
 various lines of road, and explains the focussing of so large a 
 number of streets at the Alexander-platz, where, as already 
 remarked, one of the principal markets in Berlin is held. 
 
 The Friedrichs-stadt, immediately south of Unter den Linden, 
 was the result of the extension of the city in a south-westerly 
 direction, as theLouisen-stadtwas of its expansion on the southern 
 side. The Friedrichs-stadt, with its numerous transversal streets, 
 invariably of considerable width, and at times proportionately 
 long, is the most formally-arranged quarter of Berlin. Its 
 principal feature is the open space known as the Gensd'armen- 
 markt, considered by the Berlinese the handsomest the capi- 
 tal can boast of. Here stands the Royal theatre, surmounted 
 and encompassed by statues, and flanked in singular taste by a 
 couple of churches, designed after those on the Piazza del Popolo 
 at Rome. These ornate edifices, with their porticos approached 
 by wide flights of steps and crowned by statues, and their towers 
 decorated with columns, cupolas, and additional statues, ofler 
 a very decided contrast to the ugly simplicity of the Berlin
 
 72 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ST. HEDWIG CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 cathedral. Another ecclesiastical edifice in this neighbourhood 
 is the still more hideous-looking Roman Catholic Church of 
 St. Hedwig — compared by Carlyle to " a huge wash-bowl set 
 
 bottom uppermost on 
 the top of a narrowish 
 tub," and thrust dis- 
 creetly into the back- 
 ground behind the im- 
 posing Opera-house. 
 The remaining public 
 buildings in theFried- 
 richs-stadt arethe Up- 
 per and Lower Houses 
 of the Prussian Par- 
 liament, with the tem- 
 porary edifice which 
 serves for the meet- 
 ings of the Reichstag 
 until such time as the 
 grand hall, in which 
 this last-named body 
 is eventually to de- 
 liberate, is ready for 
 its reception, and the 
 Ministry of War, with Its two large portals guarded by statues of 
 a cuirassier, a guardsman, an artilleryman, and a hussar, the 
 popular uhlan making default. All these edifices are in the 
 Leipziger-strasse, which runs from the Potsdam Gate through 
 the Donhofs-platz, and is one of the finest thoroughfares in 
 l^erlin. The longest is the busy, active, and, after dusk, dis- 
 reputable, Friedrichs-strassc, which intersects the Prussian capital 
 from one end to the other in a straight line, forming the direct 
 continuation of a roadway which, entering the city on the north 
 at the Oranienburg Gate, crosses the Spree and the Linden, next 
 runs through the entire Friedrichs-stadt to the Belle Alliance- 
 platz, then to the Halle Gate beyond, whence it continues 
 through the sand, straight and arrowy as a Roman road, to some 
 unknown region in the south, far away beyond Tempelhof 
 
 Another noted street in this district is Wilhelms-strasse, where 
 fortune or intellect, and oftentimes both, are said to be represented 
 in well-nigh every house. It extends from Unter den Linden to 
 the Belle Alliance-platz, a circular space, ornamented with a 
 fountain and a statue of Victory. In the environs beyond the 
 neighbouring Halle Gate, barrack.s, beer-gardens, factories, gas- 
 works, rifle-ranges, and cemeteries, are indiscriminately mingled. 
 Here, too, is the recently-erected monument, in the form of a 
 mourning lion, to the memory of the men of the Garde Schutzen 
 battalion who fell in the struggle at Le Bourget, near Paris ;
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 73 
 
 while crowning the more distant Kreuzberg, Berlin's solitary 
 suburban eminence, is the ornate Gothic monument commemo- 
 rative of the war of 1813-15. Beyond lies the sandy plain of 
 Tempelhof, where all the grand military reviews take place. 
 The northern end of VVilhelms-strasse is a succession of mansions, 
 palaces, and 
 ministries, 
 and its most 
 striking mo- 
 dern edifice 
 is in the fa- 
 vourite style 
 o(thQ renais- 
 sance. Co- 
 lour enters 
 largely into 
 the whole of 
 the external 
 decoration 
 of thisbuild- 
 ing, and a 
 broad frieze 
 of brilliant 
 frescoes runs 
 along the 
 upper por- 
 tion of the 
 
 CHURCH AT TEMPELHOF. 
 
 fagade. The 
 variouscom- 
 
 positions are admirably executed, although somewhat enigma- 
 tical in character. Twin infants being suckled by a sphinx forni 
 the subject of the first design ; next we have some children 
 merrily dancing to the tune of a pastoral pipe ; then a party of 
 students singing and carousing ; and afterwards Cupid astride 
 of a stag, with a huntsman prostrate at the feet of some coy 
 woodland beauty. A family scene, with the father caressing his 
 little ones, comes next, and is followed by a monk busy with 
 some building plans, and an aged gentleman lost in admiration 
 of the art treasures which are being exhibited to him. The final 
 subject is a death-bed scene, with a nurse supporting the dying 
 man's head, while Fame, too long delayed, advances with a 
 laurel wreath to crown his lifeless brows. Seeking to read this 
 riddle, we inquired to whom the house belonged. " To a Berlin 
 Jew who has made a large fortune on the Stock Exchange," was 
 the reply we received, whereupon we gave the riddle up. 
 
 Among the half-dozen so-called palaces in the Wilhelms-strasse 
 the most interesting is the former residence of the Princess 
 Amelia, sister of Friedrich the Great, and the most imposing
 
 74 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 that of Prince Karl, situated at the corner of the Wilhelms-platz — 
 an open space disposed in parterres, and set out with statues of 
 
 
 PALACE OF THE PRINCESS AMELIA. 
 
 famous Prussian generals, including the old Dessauer, "the 
 inventor of modern military tactics ;" Field-Marshal Keith, shot 
 through the heart at Hochkirch ; Schwerin, killed at the battle 
 of Prague ; Winterfeld, " the most shining figure in the Prussian 
 
 WILHKLMS-PLATZ. 
 
 army except its chief;" Zieten, "the Ajax of the Prussians;" 
 and Seydlitz, their Achilles. It is at the corner of the Wilhelms
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 75 
 
 and Zieten-platze that the so-called Kaiserhof — a monster hotel 
 in the renaissance style, with gilded balconies and corner towers 
 — has been recently erected ; yet by far the most interesting 
 edifice hereabouts is a neglected, not to say shabby and 
 almost gloomy-looking house, sadly in want of a fresh coat of 
 paint, and from which the stucco is rapidly peeling off. This is 
 No y6, and its occupant is the Realm Chancellor, Fiirst von 
 Bismarck, whose palatial-looking official residence is next door ; 
 his neighbour on the other side, before the great financial crash 
 came, having been the famous mushroom financier. Dr. Strous- 
 berg, who had built himself a lordly mansion in the most aristo- 
 cratic thoroughfare of the city. 
 
 The Friedrichs-stadt is bounded on its south-eastern side by 
 the Linden-strasse, in which the Observatory, the Kammer- 
 gericht, or High Court of Appeal, and the head Berlin fire-office, 
 a model, as well as most important institution, are situated ; 
 while on its western side the Anhalt and Potsdam Gates lead to 
 the handsome and aristocratic Potsdam suburb, the Anhalt and 
 Magdeburg railway station, and the Berlin Botanical Gardens. 
 Inside the Potsdam Gate is the Admiralty, and between the 
 Anhalt and Halle Gates a military railway station on a vast 
 scale is in progress, from which an entire division will be able to 
 be moved simultaneously, the rolling stock sufficing to convey 
 the whole of the mobile army in covered carriages; horses, 
 artillery, and materiel only being transported in open trucks and 
 vans. The handsome Brandenburg Gate conducts directly to the 
 Thiergarten, a densely-planted park, intersected with shady drives 
 and walks, bordered on the north by the Spree and on the south 
 by handsome villas and gardens, extending due west for a couple 
 of miles to the Zoological Gardens and Charlottenburg, and 
 _ forming the one extensive open space which this capital of nearly 
 a million souls has preserved unbuilt upon — the single oasis in 
 the surrounding sandy steppe. To the right of the Branden- 
 burg Gate, and contiguous to the General StafifOffice and Kroll's 
 Theatre and Gardens, rises the new Column of Victory, erected 
 to commemorate the triple defeats of the Danes, the Austrians, 
 and the French. 
 
 The Stralau quarter, on the eastern side of the city, is con- 
 nected with old Berlin by a single bridge, and with the environs 
 by a couple of so-called gates, the Frankfurt and the Stralau. 
 In this busy district wool and silk-weavers, dyers, and other 
 factory operatives, are crowded in lodgings more or less insalu- 
 brious ; here poverty is prevalent and children superabundant, 
 for precisely as procreation engenders poverty, so poverty seems 
 to give an impetus to procreation. In the principal streets are 
 the merchants' and agents' counting-houses, and along the banks 
 of the Spree, among the castellated towers of the waterworks, 
 rise the tall chimneys of the factories ; near at hand is the
 
 'j6 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Frankfurt-on-Odcr,and more remote the Eastern railway stations. 
 The river, which is here at its broadest, is crowded with the lonfj, 
 large-prowed Spree and Oder barges, called " zillen," laden with 
 provisions, fuel, and building materials, while, flanking the 
 Jannowitz bridge, is the single paltry little pier, whence river- 
 steamers proceeding up stream start for favourite summer 
 resorts, and thirst-inducing, river-side beer-gardens. In this 
 quarter the large Wallner Theatre and Friedrich-Wilhelm Hospital 
 are situated. 
 
 Two other districts make up the composite city ; one the 
 Luisen-stadt, which forms its south-eastern portion, just as the 
 other, the Friedrich-Wilhelms-stadt, forms its north-western. 
 The Luisen-stadt, certain quarters of which are exclusively 
 occupied by the working-classes, is an uninteresting district, and, 
 with the exception of some huge barracks and other military 
 establishments, the Bethanien Hospital, and the distant Gorlitz 
 railway station, it is altogether devoid of buildings of a public 
 character. Its streets, however, are broad, and more or less 
 mathematically arranged, while certain of its lofty, modern-built 
 houses exhibit considerable taste in their construction. The 
 part that abuts on the Spree, which hereabouts widens consider- 
 ably, is composed principally of factories, warehouses, barracks, 
 and military magazines. 
 
 The Friedrich-Wilhelms-stadt is the quarter patronized by 
 married officers, on account of its contiguity to the neighbouring 
 barracks ; by students, mainly of medicine and veterinary surgery, 
 and by second-rate actors. Each of these classes has the institu- 
 tion which most nearly concerns it close at hand. In one street 
 is the Guards' barracks, and other extensive barracks are situated 
 just beyond the city limits, while close by is the Friedrich- 
 Wilhelms-stadtisches Theatre, and a few hundred yards off are 
 the Charite Hospital and the Veterinary School, both standing in 
 fine grounds. Medical students congregate hereabouts, and at 
 the neighbouring restaurants the conversation invariably turns 
 on /^j/-;//(7;7r;//i- and such like delicate topics. In their former 
 fondness for Parisian comparisons, the Berlinese christened this 
 district the Berlin Ouartier Latin. The Friedrich-Wilhelms- 
 stadt is intersected by the broad Luisen-strasse, which takes its 
 name from the beautiful Queen Louise, and starts from the 
 Marschall-briicke — so called after the famous Bliicher — to termi- 
 nate at the Neue Thor. Facing the cemeteries, immediately 
 outside this phantom Thor, is the Royal Iron Foundry, and 
 beyond are the extensive barracks and drill-ground of the 
 Fusiliers of the Guard — irreverently nicknamed the cockchafers 
 by the Berlinese — while adjacent to the gate is the Invaliden-haus 
 for old .soldiers, looking on to a small park, in the centre of 
 which rises a Corinthian column, surmounted by a colo.ssal eagle, 
 with outspread wings, in memory of the soldiers who fell in the
 
 MODERN BERLIN. 
 
 77 
 
 THE INVALIDEN-HAUS. 
 
 revolutionary struggle of 1848-9. Westward is the canal, con- 
 ducting to the Humboldt basin, the Hamburg and Lchrte rail- 
 way stations, the Zellengefangniss, or model prison, the vast 
 Uhlan barracks and exercising ground, and beyond the busy 
 Moabit suburb. 
 
 Perhaps the 
 most striking fea- 
 ture in the out- 
 ward aspect of 
 Berlin is the cji- 
 semblc of palaces, 
 public buildings, 
 and statues, plea- 
 santly varied by 
 trees and trim- 
 kept parterres, 
 which rises up 
 both to the east 
 and Avest of the 
 Schloss-briicke at 
 the further ex- 
 tremity of Unter 
 den Linden, of 
 itself a sufficiently attractive, although scarcely an impres- 
 sive, thoroughfare. Berlin, viewed in comparison with London 
 or with Paris, has nothing imposing about it. Its long 
 broad streets commonly lack both life and character. No 
 surging crowds throng the footways, no extended files of vehicles 
 intercept the cross traffic, bewilder one by their multiplicity, or 
 deafen one with their heavy rumbling noise. And until quite 
 recently the best Berlin shops would bear no kind of com- 
 parison with the far handsomer establishments in the English 
 and French capitals. 
 
 Berlin, moreover, does not impress one as essentially a large 
 commercial city, although its importance in this respect is 
 increasing daily ; neither is its manufacturing element, excepting 
 in particular localities, strikingly conspicuous. Estimated, too, 
 as a port, it can only lay claim to insignificant rank. The Spree 
 at its broadest simply resembles a Dutch canal ; its banks offer 
 none of the activity encountered on those of the Thames, while 
 the houses bordering them sink into insignificance beside the 
 palatial edifices which line the quays of the Seine. 
 
 In the domain of literature and science Berlin has its 
 equals, as in art it has its superiors, in other Qerman cities. 
 On the other hand political excitement centres itself in 
 the capital of the new German Empire ; the fever of specu- 
 lation, too, is there at its highest ; rapidly augmenting 
 wealth is counterbalanced by almost daily increasing misery,
 
 78 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 and ^\\ft proletariat arc more brutal and menacing than in any- 
 other chief city of Europe. In the poorer quarters of Berhn 
 five-storeyed houses, densely crowded even to their cellars, 
 succeed each other like so many stone walls, with no open space, 
 no square, no groups of trees, to break the wearisome monotony 
 In these quarters investigations have been made yielding the 
 most startling results. Of a thousand children scarcely one- 
 third had seen an actual meadow or a corn-field ; only a few 
 privileged ones had seen the evening glow and sunset, while a 
 butterfly was with them the greatest curiosity. All was in the 
 reading-book it was true ; the printed pages told them of these 
 tilings, but the originals in their lively colours had never come 
 witliin the range of these unfortunate children's eyes. With 
 military pomp and circumstance they were familiar enough, for, 
 excepting in the presence of imposing fortifications, the martial 
 element manifests itself at Berlin in every way — in the statues of 
 generals and triumphal columns, crowned with Victories with 
 flashing swords and outspread wings, rising in all the open spaces 
 — in the vast barracks found in all quarters of the city and in the 
 whole of the environs — in extensive exercising-grounds and the 
 incessant drilling of recruits — in the parading of troops and 
 artillery continually through the streets — in the multitude of 
 uniforms found mingled among the civil population, and in the 
 martial music which constantly arrests the ear. 
 
 I'KLSSIA.N MILITAKV BAND.
 
 VI. 
 
 THE BERLINESE — IN SOCIETY. 
 
 THE Berlinese are neither remarkable for the amiabihty of 
 their demeanour nor the sociaHty of their disposition. 
 Outwardly, save in exceptional instances, they are rarely of a 
 cheerful countenance, and with them appearances are certainly 
 not deceptive. The stranger who expects to find under this 
 atrabilious temperament the flow of soul and redundance of 
 human kindness which the Germans generally are credited with, 
 will certainly be disappointed. Even if he does succeed in 
 cracking the nut, a very shrivelled kernel is all that will reward 
 his labour. The haughty morgue of the epauletted wearers of 
 the Imperial blue, the heartless greed of the speculative 
 financier of the Strousberg type, the stolid selfishness of the 
 trading classes, and the dastardly ruffianism of the bangel are 
 glaring facts which subvert all preconceived ideas in favour of 
 the moral superiority claimed for the inhabitants of the capital 
 of the new German Empire. 
 
 Although Berlin now makes parade of a semblance of luxury, 
 and seeks to rival wealthier capitals with its brilliant entertain- 
 ments, the majority of the Berlinese live isolated existences 
 amongst themselves. The same spirit of order which in military 
 and administrative affairs leaves nothing unprovided for, seems 
 with them to enter into the ordinary relations of life, and to assist 
 materially in keeping up class distinctions. The square pegs are 
 fitted very tightly indeed into the square holes, while the round 
 ones would never dream of breaking loose from their circular 
 receptacles. Berlin society recalls a well-ordered kitchen garden,
 
 8o 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 seen under a wintry aspect. The sea-kale isolated in its earthen 
 pots, enshrouded by the accumulated refuse of ages, fairly 
 represents the wealthier aristocracy, the ^nowy earthed-up celery, 
 cut off by deep trenches from its neighbours, figures the stiff 
 immaculateness of the army, the hard knobbly and individually 
 insignificant Brussels sprouts, each clinging round a central stem, 
 offer a fair representation of the bureaucracy, the mushroom bed 
 at a forcing temperature is suggestive of the new financial element, 
 and the crisp, crude, and corrugated Savoy cabbage gives a 
 fair idea of the more prosperous burgher, whilst the root crops 
 hidden out of sight and in all probability rotten from frost-bite, 
 are no bad type of the lower " social couches." 
 
 The aristocracy hold themselves as far aloof as possible from 
 the untitled bureaucracy, whose intrusion into administrative 
 
 offices have de- 
 
 "ll-lic-w,., .'. 
 
 prived them of 
 salaries which, al- 
 though framed on 
 a scale to make a 
 War or Foreign 
 Office clerk shud- 
 der in horrified 
 amazement, would 
 still have served 
 to regild their 
 faded ancestral 
 escutcheons. The 
 military class 
 keeps itself rigidly 
 apart from the 
 civilian clement, 
 exhibiting a pro- 
 found contempt 
 for everything be- 
 neath the grade 
 of privy councillor or first secretary, and eying such other un- 
 uniformed mortals, as it may be temporarily thrown into contact 
 with, with an air which affects to mildly marvel as to what par- 
 ticular section of the residuum the interloper can belong. Had 
 Talleyrand ventured his little joke upon the incompatibility of 
 the words " civil " and " military " to a Prussian sub-lieutenant 
 he would have at once received a proof of the correctness of 
 his theory, by being as Mr. Leland puts it, " schlogged on der 
 Kop," if indeed he escaped being cloven at once to the brisket. 
 Still when wealthy merchants and manufacturers have handsome 
 daughters, officers will often condescend to know them, will 
 fraternize with their mahogany, hob nob with them tete-d-tete, and 
 flirt with the fair.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 8i 
 
 And yet only a 
 very short time back 
 Count von Eulen- 
 berg, a captain in 
 the Uhlans of the 
 Guard, and cousin 
 to the unfortunate 
 young nobleman, who 
 was to have es- 
 poused the Fraulein 
 von Bismarck found 
 that the course of 
 true love, when the 
 lady cannot count 
 blue blood in her 
 veins, may be pre- 
 vented from running 
 smoothly even for 
 a personage of his 
 exalted position. He 
 loved well, though as 
 
 matters turned out perhaps scarcely wisely, the daughter of 
 Herr Schceffer. the owner of the journal named Der Bazar. 
 
 Betrothed to her with 
 the consent of her 
 parents, he addressed 
 to the military autho- 
 rities the request for 
 permission to marry, 
 required by the rules 
 of the service. A 
 few days afterwards 
 he received a visit 
 from two officers of 
 his regiment who pro- 
 ceeded to explain to 
 him that the tradi- 
 tions of the Guard 
 did not allow an 
 officer of that illus- 
 trious corps to offisr his 
 titled hand to a lady 
 whose grace, amia- 
 bility, wealth, ac- 
 quirements, and social attainments failed to counterbalance the 
 damning facts that her father had been the architect of his own 
 fortune, and was not possessed of the distinguishing prefix "von." 
 The answer of the indignant lover was an immediate challenge to
 
 82 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 both these interfering gentlemen, but before fighting, the requisite 
 permission to cut each others' throats had to be obtained from 
 the colonel, the Baron von Alvensloeben. The latter sent for 
 Count von Eulenberg.. and explained to him that the two officers 
 were quite in the right, having only acted as the representatives 
 of the entire corps, who would not tolerate the marriage of one 
 of their members with the daughter of an ex-bookbinder, al- 
 though that bookbinder had since acquired a large fortune and had 
 had two sons, both officers in the army, killed, the one at Sadowa, 
 and the other at Sedan. Count von Eulenberg considering 
 the statement, that Fraulein Schcefifer was not fit to marry an 
 officer, an insult to his betrothed, sent a challenge to von 
 Alvensloeben himself, who not only refused to fight, but had 
 the unfortunate lover tried by court martial, and sentenced to 
 a year and a half's imprisonment in a fortress, for having sought 
 to turn a matter of public importance as regarded the status of 
 the army, into a personal quarrel. 
 
 This same inexorable law of quarterings excludes the wealthy 
 and ostentatious representatives of finance equally with the 
 intellectual and professional elements from Berlin high society. 
 The middle classes with house rent and living at least twice as 
 dear as they were five years ago, are far too much absorbed in 
 their struggle for existence to trouble themselves much about 
 social exigencies. Indeed such intercourse as exists amongst 
 the mass of the middle class Berlinese is in the main limited 
 to the time-honoured habit, still more or less prevalent all over 
 Germany, of the women of the various families meeting in turn at 
 each others' houses on some fixed day of the week, to work, drink 
 coffee, and discuss their own and their neighbours' private affairs. 
 
 So that the various circles of society in Berlin are mostly 
 formed by the definite conditions of rank and office, and, although 
 touching, rarely intersect one another. Every council or board 
 of officials, and such boards are countless, clings together. Its 
 members and their families interchange a prescribed number of 
 visits, and issue an orthodox series of invitations, " which," as a 
 German writer on the subject is painfully constrained to admit, 
 " cost a great deal of time and money." The economic principles 
 and devotion to a rigid standard of efficiency, which are two of 
 the cardinal virtues of the Prussian bureaucracy, are exhibited even 
 in their social relations. The list of non-effectives is rigorously 
 weeded out. Thus the widow and orphans of official personages 
 are kept on the visiting li.st for a short time after the departure of 
 their natural protector to other spheres, but as there are always 
 " too many ladies already " within the circle, they are gradually 
 " dropped," unless they are rich and can return the invitations. 
 The same practice prevails in the different regiments and even 
 extends to the highest circles. Thus every house has a round 
 of obligatory visits which have to be discharged with an exactitude
 
 THE BKRLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 •^3 
 
 and punctuality unknown even to ourselves, by whom such com- 
 mercial virtues are duly esteemed. Hence any individual outside 
 the circle, who ventures on calling in the hope of being affiliated 
 by formal invitation is treated as an intruder, unless he happens 
 to be a zealous dancer or an eligible match — in which case 
 every house is open to him and the most estimable hostesses 
 return audible thanks at having won over such an ornament to 
 their entertainments. Even before the war crowned them with 
 glory and, what was still more serious, lessened their numbers, 
 gentlemen enjoyed the privilege of being sought after and 
 overwhelmed with flattery when they appeared, and the chivalry 
 of man and the bewitching bashfulness of women belong now, so 
 far as higher Berlin society is concerned, to the realms of fable. 
 Yet there are people who still believe Germany to be the home 
 of Arcadian simplicity, and that Berlin is its capital. 
 
 This redundance of the softer sex constrains even the most 
 stately damsels to play the humiliating part of wall-flowers. 
 
 tlijfC/. 
 
 c.
 
 84 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 But noblesse oblige, and as in duty bound, they are ever ready to 
 enter on the path of conquest. Arrayed in some wondrous 
 combination of flounces, frills, and furbelows, in gloss of satin 
 and glimmer of pearls, embodying the latest Paris fashions as 
 viewed through the distorted medium of a Berlin modiste, with 
 forehead fringed and tresses crimped, and wielding the omni- 
 potent fan, they hasten to the scene of action. There indeed 
 possibly to sit, Ariadne-like, in solitary state and to murmur, 
 " He Cometh not," meaning of course the eligible " he," for 
 noblesse oblige in more senses than one, and though the " high 
 and well-born " daughter of the president of some council, with a 
 polysyllabic title and half-a-dozen decorations, may condescend 
 to waltz with a fledgeling bureaucrat, her heart and hand are 
 reserved for an individual with a resounding prefix to his name, 
 and boasting a proportionate array of stars and crosses. 
 
 The narrow circles of Berlin society widen somewhat amongst 
 
 the higher aristocracy and the great financiers. The larger 
 
 landed proprietors have hitherto been but poorly represented 
 
 at Berlin, and are to be found in greater numbers in the provincial 
 
 capitals, such as Breslau, Miinster, Konigsberg, Stettin, &c., 
 
 where they hold solemn and exclusive high jinks amongst 
 
 themselves. The noble families who come up in order that 
 
 their head may occupy his bench in the Landtag or Reichstag 
 
 during the session, generally accept invitations without giving 
 
 entertainments in return, very few having houses or the requisite 
 
 conveniences for receiving guests. The numerous petty princelets 
 
 and dukelings moreover generally live in hotels, when summoned 
 
 by duty or interest to Berlin, so that the obligation of entertaining 
 
 all that is most noble amongst the " vons " devolves upon the 
 
 court, the various scions of the reigning house, the foreign 
 
 ambassadors, the ministers, and those few nobles possessed of 
 
 wealth and house-room befitting the ta.sk. As to the parties 
 
 given by the great financiers, where ostentation is the order of 
 
 the day, they lack the needful combination of refinement and 
 
 freedom affording the height of mental and material enjoyment. 
 
 The hosts, by a spirit of rivalry amongst themselves, evince 
 
 more anxiety to entertain the aristocracy of rank, than that of 
 
 intellect, and he who can assemble the greatest number of counts 
 
 excites the most envy. Each strives to rival his fellows in pompous 
 
 display, the highest resources of modern art being lavished with 
 
 profusion, if not always with taste, on the internal decorations of 
 
 the gorgeous hotels which they have built for themselves. Strous- 
 
 berg, whose family under his bankruptcy, have been receiving a 
 
 temporary allowance of twenty marks (about as many shillings) 
 
 a day to exist upon, gave fetes that were likened to pages out 
 
 of the " Arabian Nights." Borsig, whose conservatories at Moabit 
 
 cover acres of ground, used to display their floral treasures 
 
 throughout his house on gala nights in the wildest profusion.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 85 
 
 Banquets worthy of Lucullus, a lavish parade of diamonds, costly- 
 bouquets presented to the lady guests, and counts in abundance, 
 seem to be the staple features of the entertainments given in this 
 section of Berlin society. 
 
 The stilted ceremonial etiquette of the past century is to-day 
 de rigiieiir at Berlin receptions of any pretension. " When you
 
 S6 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 arrive on the festive scene," observes a lady, " it will be your 
 duty to request the hostess to introduce to you all the ladies 
 present. This she will do, presenting you to the excellencies 
 and distinguished personages first, the tour being made according 
 to the nicest gradation of etiquette, so that beginning with an 
 ambassadress you will end with a lieutenant's wife, and then in 
 turn have to receive jv;//' court, namely, the husbands of all those 
 ladies to whom you have been doing reverence. The curtseyings, 
 the obeisances, the compliments, at once embarrass, annoy, and 
 tickle you. Your stiff British backbone doesn't take kindly to 
 the prostrations ; your knees resent the genuflexions ; you scorn 
 to grovel, yet you fear to offend ; you feel ridiculous in your 
 unwonted antics, and are afraid of falling off; and yet a sense 
 of humour would make it difficult, were you more at ease, to 
 abstain from shouts of laughter at the bobbing, sliding, gliding, 
 and grimacing in which you are playing such an unwilling part."^ 
 The amalgamation of rank, wealth, and intellect to be met 
 with in the heading London drawing-rooms is undreamt of in 
 
 „ ..,,.,,,„,,,, Berlin, where all 
 
 \- /M^^Wmi the written and 
 
 unwritten laws of 
 etiquette and tra- 
 dition would for- 
 bid anything ap- 
 proaching such a 
 heterogeneous as- 
 sembly. "The lion 
 of the season " is 
 never asked outto 
 mildly roar for the 
 delectation of se- 
 lect social circles, 
 and the distin- 
 guished traveller, 
 the founder of a 
 new school of 
 thought, the latest 
 scientific dis- 
 
 coverer, the last 
 genuine poet, the 
 author or the artist 
 whose productions 
 are run after, can 
 only hope to make their existence known outside the immediate 
 circle of their friends by means of their works. Nor, whatever may 
 have been asserted to the contrary, are these works much discussed 
 
 ' German Home Life, Frasit's Magazine.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 87 
 
 in the higher Berlin society which is too absorbed in the worship 
 of rank, the adulation of ancient descent, and decided reverence 
 for the higher military element to trouble itself about encouraging 
 intellect. Men who have made their mark in science, art, and 
 literature, the luminaries of the bar, the great professors of 
 medicine, jurisprudence, and theology, savants, historians, archae- 
 ologists, philosophers, and doctors of European fame, have no 
 more place in it, than the learned Baboo or reforming African 
 potentate whom we English are socager to welcome to our hearths 
 and homes, and without such leaven how is the intellectual tone of 
 a society which with mocking satire, styles itself " polite " to be 
 raised ? It is notorious that the barrenness, excess of prudery, and 
 audacious pretensions of Berlin society forced Mendelssohn to re- 
 sign an advantageous position in the Prussian capital, and retire 
 to Leipzig, while Humboldt's ceaseless sarcasms against Berlin, 
 its court, and its inhabitants, proved that this expansive genius 
 and brilliant conversationalist found, as Voltaire had done before 
 him, his chamberlain's gold key often too heavy to bear. On 
 emigrating to Paris, he took up his residence in the Observatory, 
 where he amused his friend Arago and others at the expense of 
 Berlin, "that empty, unintellectual little city, infatuated with 
 itself," as he used scornfully to term it. 
 
 A German writer was lamenting only the other da)', that for 
 years past there had been but one house in Berlin where 
 intellect was really • , /■',!!,"V..m'\" 
 
 welcomed, namely .. ^y.r:':1immMm 
 
 the residence ofHerr 
 von Olfer, the Di- 
 rector-General of the 
 Museums. Every 
 
 Wednesday for the 
 last thirty years, Frau 
 von Olfer was to be 
 found in her saloon 
 from 8 to 11 at a 
 large round tea table 
 which, however, soon 
 grew much too small 
 for the number of 
 guests who came and 
 went. Additional tea 
 tables sprang up, 
 lighted by lofty 
 lamps, on the paper 
 shades of which some 
 artistic hand in the family had executed certain little master- 
 pieces while on the cups and plates, paintings and poetic maxims 
 bore witness to the taste and fancv of the household. To savants, 

 
 88 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 artists, authors, and poets, Herr von Olfer's saloon was always 
 open, and in virtue of his official position members of the aristo- 
 cracy and court society mingled, without restriction of etiquette, 
 with the throng ofliteraryand artisticcelebrities. Even the princes 
 of the royal family not unfrequently appeared at these gatherings. 
 Until his wife's health failed, Leopold von Ranke the historian, 
 did his best to gather around him a similar coterie, and traditions 
 of the times when a society of ladies, called the " Kaffeter," 
 made itself famous for genius and originality yet linger, although 
 as a rule " women of mind " are but little esteemed at Berlin. 
 Several members of the reigning house take a languid interest 
 in art and science, still neither aristocratic, bureaucratic, nor 
 financial circles are open to their representatives. Such a coterie 
 as used to gather, for instance, at old Holland House, might be 
 searched for in vain at Berlin, and native writers themselves 
 admit the superior cultivation of the English upper classes, and 
 the interest they feel in literature, science, and art. The pains- 
 taking mastery of details to which, rather than to intelligence 
 or culture, German superiority has been rightly ascribed by 
 Lord Derby, renders German specialists the foremost in the 
 world. But they remain secluded in their inaccessibility, the 
 lawyer occupied with his code, the doctor with his diagnosis, 
 and the professor with his lectures, and only turning aside 
 when lured by the ignis fatuns of political renown into the 
 arena of the Reichstag. " Excluded from good society by 
 the law of quarterings, and belonging to humbler spheres 
 in life than is the case with our own professional men, the 
 Berlin legal and medical man is more absorbed in his speciality, 
 less a citizen of the world, and less accessible to the influences 
 of general culture." As to the learned, studious, and cul- 
 tivated burgher, he is conspicuous at Berlin by his absence. 
 The middle class Berlinese are distinguished by their ill-manners, 
 their general coarseness of behaviour, and deficiency of taste. 
 Strongly imbued with democratic tendencies, and having received 
 an amount of instruction that places them to some extent on an 
 intellectual level with their betters, they are not only ready to 
 take liberties with one another but with their superiors. Ample 
 traces, however, yet remain in the shape of still exacted formalities 
 of the days when class distinctions were far more defined than 
 at present, and the citizen was constrained to show his deference 
 in a thousand ways towards the noble, the officer, and the govern- 
 ment servant. Heedless of whatever jars on a finer temperament 
 they meet the ill-disguised contempt which their vulgarity arouses 
 in those better born than themselves, by asserting that the latter 
 trade on their titles and assume a superiority that does not 
 belong to them. They find their recreation after the cares of 
 the day in visiting the popular theatres and imbibing beer, or in 
 political discussinns at their favourite wein-stube, or bier-local;
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 89 
 
 the popular newspaper, the Vossische Zeitiing, and a little of what 
 the Germans consider light reading, constituting their mental 
 pabulum. 
 
 These wein-stuben and bier-locale, though still largely 
 patronized by the burgher class have of late years been, in a 
 great measure, abandoned by those in a better social position. 
 Just as the upper class Parisians have foresworn the cafe for the 
 cercle, so have the wealthier Berlinese adopted that thoroughly 
 English institution, the club, though they do not take over kindly 
 to the assimilative process 
 of club life. 
 
 With the promotion of 
 Berlin to the rank of an 
 imperial city the number 
 and importance of its clubs 
 have greatly increased. 
 The Reichstag calls men 
 from all parts of Germany 
 to Berlin during the season, 
 and many of them swell 
 the membership, if not the 
 income, of these institu- 
 tions. In the same way 
 many administrative offi- 
 cials have within a year 
 or two become residents 
 of the capital. Originally 
 these clubs reflected the '^ 
 popular system of convivial re-unions, and the one which has 
 departed farthest from this Teutonic ideal is the Casino, the 
 club of the nobilit}^ the military aristocracy, and the diplo- 
 matists, and the elegant apartments of which look up and down 
 Unter den Linden. 
 
 " Its most famous feature, perhaps, is its table dhote at five '^o'clock. The 
 ambition of no young officer is satisfied till he has partaken at this daily- 
 banquet and drunk the Emperor's health in the steward's best ' Sec ' ; but 
 the cuisine would never make the reputation of the club outside of Berlin. 
 Two quite opposite tendencies struggle in the club, the national and the 
 cosmopolitan. The respectable old Conservative country gentlemen demand 
 that the Casino shall be a genuine German institution, without the corrupting 
 alloy of French cooking and English manners. The bill of fare certainly 
 speaks for the valour of this faction. In the evening, too, the German element 
 predominates, but on afternoons one may hear more or less broken French from 
 diplomatic attaches hanging over the billiard tables. At the urn, too, where 
 candidates are voted in, the ballots are not/Z/rand ivider, but/ti/^rand contre. 
 Only one feature of the Casino deserves further mention, and that is the 
 classification of members. There are three classes. The first class comprises 
 the resident members, who alone enjoy all the rights and accept all the 
 obligations of membership. The second class comprises such as, living out 
 of Berlin, are in the city often enough to desire and deserve the ad\antages 
 of the club, but who take no part in the administration, and pay reduced fees.
 
 90 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ■--',1.11,. 
 
 The third class are 
 special members, who 
 pay a monthly charge, 
 and are enrolled for 
 short periods. They 
 are not much more 
 than invited guests ; 
 and are of course for 
 the most part, persons 
 who are temporarily 
 in the city. The Ca- 
 sino has a large mem- 
 bership, and notwith- 
 standing a certain pri- 
 mitive stiffness of sys- 
 tem is an elegant and 
 successful institution. 
 " The ' Club von 
 Berlin' is the strongest 
 and best known of its 
 kind in the city, and 
 one of the oldest. Ori- 
 ginally a sort of con- 
 vivial society under the 
 name of Der Gcscllige 
 Vereiii, it transformed itself, as members and resources increased, into a club, 
 and took spacious rooms in the Jager-strasse. Additional prosperity led to 
 further change in its quarters, and it secured remarkably tine apartments in the 
 Behren-strasse, the street 
 of the American Legation 
 and the British Consulate, 
 of one wing of the Royal 
 Palace and the Royal 
 Opera. The Club von Ber- 
 lin is called also the ' Mil- 
 lionaire Club,' but as a 
 relative rather than an ab- 
 solutecharacterisation. The 
 dues, initiatory and annual, 
 would be held very light in 
 London, and do not se- 
 verely tax a moderate 
 purse here ; but they are 
 greater than in any other 
 club, and it is specially 
 patronized by rich men of 
 business. The great ban- 
 kers meet there at the 
 close of the day's exchange. 
 Here they find the even- 
 ing papers and here the 
 Borse schedules, not only 
 of Berlin, but also of Ham- 
 burg, Bremen, Frankfort, 
 and other commercial 
 centres, the papers pub- 
 lished in the special interest of stock operations, the despatches of the 
 three or four press agencies which carry on a sharp strife of inefficiency, 
 are all kept on file. The club, moreover, has a cuisine. In this respect also
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 91 
 
 it enjoys among its rivals the glory of pre-eminence ; and this alone would 
 account for the bankers, who like a fair table in Berlin as elsewhere. They 
 do not dine, but sup here. Forming in sympathetic groups at the great 
 tables, they drink much champagne, eat liberally of sallow roast goose or 
 veal cutlets fried flat in crumlDS, and are more enthusiastic, perhaps, than 
 decorous. Here they fight over again the battles of the day. With a wild 
 profusion of technical terms, a masterly manipulation of knife and fork for 
 emphasis, and now and then a clever arrangement of bread crumbs by way 
 of elucidation, they show how battles are won, and with them fortunes, at 
 the Berlin Borse. But Berlin bankers may be recognized without the aid of 
 such picturesque surroundings. The religious test is a sure one, banking and 
 brokerage in Germany being mainly in the hands of people whose proud boast 
 it is to be the descendants of Moses and the prophets. 
 
 " There is, however, another club, ' The Ressource,' which is distinctively 
 a brokers' club. The Berliner Club is rather an association of wealthy old 
 gentlemen, many of whom made their fortunes indeed in finance, but are 
 now retired from active 
 business. But the Res- 
 source is a sort of 
 petite bourse. The fur- 
 niture and upholstery 
 are rich, but gaudy and 
 repulsive, and the 
 general appearance of 
 the rooms suggests 
 ethnological and other 
 reflections. On even- 
 ings and Sundays its 
 halls resound with the 
 tumult of blasphemous 
 gamblers. There is 
 no other city in the 
 world, Vienna perhaps 
 excepted, where the 
 morals of the Stock 
 Exchange are so low. 
 where petty scandaL 
 are so frequent, and 
 where they have such 
 a baneful influence on 
 general society. The 
 Ressource Club is an 
 outgrowth from this 
 
 organization, and 
 but as now con- 
 credit and a benefit 
 
 state of things. Itmight 
 be more accurate to 
 say that it has de- 
 veloped into this character, since it is a very old 
 was originally a social reunion of the wealthier Jews ; 
 ducted it is, in the most charitable construction, a 
 to no one. 
 
 " A large income is no condition of admission to the West Club. Its quiet 
 unpretending apartments in the Koniggratzer-strasse are the resort of the 
 middle class, as it ranks here, made up of Civil Service officials, professors, 
 deputies, with a sprinkling of journalists and literary men, artists and musi- 
 cians. It was lounded for geographical as much as social reasons, or, to 
 speak with scientific accuracy, it has a geographico-social basis. It accom- 
 modates the district about the Potsdam Gate, the ' Geheimrathviertel,' as it 
 is called. The fees are low, and the appointments of the club far from sump- 
 tuous. Culinary interests are sadly neglected, for the members are men of
 
 92 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE, 
 
 family who take their frugal repasts at home. They come rather to gossip, 
 read the papers, and play chess, billiards, and whist. 
 
 " In addition to the foregoing, which are the most important clubs of a 
 general social character, there are a number of others which are at the same 
 time professional reunions. At the Industrial Building art and literature live 
 
 harmoniously together. The 
 Kiinstlcr-Vercin, or Artists' 
 Union, of Berlin, occupies a 
 fine suite of apartments in 
 the so-called Industrial Build- 
 ings in the Commandanten 
 -strasse, where a permanent 
 exhibition of its pictorial 
 products is held, and where 
 social and festive gatherings 
 take place. The society is 
 strong and thriving, and num- 
 bers among its members the 
 leading artists of the capital. 
 The Press Club enjoys the 
 use of the same rooms, and 
 owes the fact to the hos- 
 pitality of the artists. It 
 does not have a permanent 
 exhibition of its products — 
 which would indeed be wear- 
 iness to the flesh^but meets 
 at regular intervals of a week. 
 Though only about ten years old and homeless, it is well supported by the 
 fraternity. No simply professional journalists, but literary people of every sort, 
 and even men in other professions who contribute to the press, may and do 
 become members. Friedrich Spielhagen was one of the founders. Berthold 
 Auerbach is a member. Paul Lindau, who has published a short account of 
 the origin of the club, enumerates among the guests and speakers at the first 
 banquet a young lawyer who had written political articles for the journals. 
 The young lawyer was Edward Lasker, a Jew, leader of the National 
 Liberal party in Parliament, and the most influential of all the deputies. 
 It is the custom of the club to have a modest banquet at the stated meetings, 
 and this is perhaps its most characteristic feature. The feast is quite 
 humble in quality, and the etiquette is not stringent enough to prevent a 
 very easy flow of spirits ; but the bounds of the decorum so significantly fixed 
 by police law are never violated. The Berlin journalist has more respect for 
 the law than his brother of Paris, if for no other reason because he is 
 less skilful in evading it. The rising young debaters of the Press Club are 
 timid and prudent. 
 
 "One element of club lite as it is known in London, the political or 
 party element, does not exist in Berlin. The different Parliamentary 
 factions have their own meetings, often with a limited supply of meat 
 and drink ; and more recently the deputies, without regard to party, have 
 formed a sort of boarding club opposite the Chamber. The Casino, since it 
 represents the aristocracy, is of course more or less Conservative in tone. 
 The Kreuz Zcitutii;, the organ of the Junkers, holds aloof from the Press 
 Union ; but in general, politics enter but slightly into what may be called club 
 society. 
 
 '' In selecting a club the Berliner considers the annual dues quite as much 
 as the comfort of the institution and the class of companions which he is likely 
 to meet. But once within it he guards himself by what he would call in his 
 own phraseology a narrow 'particularism.' He becomes cold, formal, cir- 
 cumspect. He joins a group or clique, which in itself is not so extraordinary
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 93 
 
 as the fortitude with which he clings to that cHque and discourages other 
 acquaintances. Since 
 
 he joins a club to es- ,i,fi3S^?f!AlV;l '.'I'lVAilU!,///, 
 cape the fumes of 
 plebian tobacco, he 
 acquires a deadly hos- 
 tility to any tobacco 
 outside his own petty 
 circle. If the members 
 of clubs were chosen 
 more carefully this 
 would be intelligible if 
 not quite admirable. 
 At first sight it might 
 be supposed that the 
 large bachelor popula- 
 tion which Berlin pos- 
 sesses would be a valu- 
 able source of support 
 for the clubs ; but such 
 is not the case. With 
 the exception of the 
 Casino, whereof many 
 young secretaries of 
 legation and officers on 
 duty at the capital are 
 members — with this 
 exception married men 
 largely predominate in 
 the regular clubs. The 
 fact may not be flattering to the good housewives of Berlin, but the integrity 
 of truth shall not be sacrificed to politeness." ^ 
 
 A recognized shortcoming of the BerHnese is their want of 
 hospitaHty. " Even London," remarks a travelled native of the 
 new Kaiserstadt, " with ail its harsh exterior can compare ad- 
 vantageously with Berlin in this respect, for, however, isolated 
 the stranger may at first find himself, if he is a gentleman he will 
 certainly succeed in becoming intimate with one or more families 
 which will cause him to feel himself at home, and to quit the 
 city with regret. In Berlin most middle-class households live 
 very simply and economically, and are by no means prepared to 
 receive extra guests, who, however glad the master of the house 
 might be to entertain them, would cause an undesirable addition 
 to the restricted domestic expenditure." This is to a certain 
 extent confirmed by the testimony of an Englishman, long 
 resident at Berlin, who tells us of a fellow-countryman " who 
 has been staying there for some time, not from choice, but 
 because fate has planted him near the lime-trees for his sins, and 
 he cannot get away. He speaks German like a native, is well off, 
 well born, and of a lively sociable disposition. He came here 
 with a portfolio full of introductions, none of which procured him 
 
 Mr. Herbert Tuttle in the Gentleman's Magazine, Jan. 1875.
 
 94 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 even an invitation to dinner. He tried the theatres in succession, 
 until his spirits broke down. He walked up and down the Linden 
 until he knew by heart, and loathed, every shop-front in that sad 
 avenue. He got himself introduced into a club, where nobody 
 spoke to him, although he spent every evening there for a week ; 
 and then he collapsed. He has become gloomy, and is letting 
 his beard grow. He stops in all day reading books from an 
 English circulating library which he discovered during his street 
 wanderings, dines at Hiller's or the Europe, and passes his 
 evenings listening to Bilse's orchestra at the Concerthaus. Other 
 mournful Britons drop in upon him sometimes of an afternoon, 
 and sit beside him as if he were sick, as he is — of Berlin." 
 
 Just as Berlin receptions strike the foreigner as singularly 
 stiff affairs, so do Berlin dinners, when he chances to be invited 
 to them, seem to him intolerably long, correspondingly dull, 
 and boisterous into the bargain. He finds his place at table in- 
 dicated by a little picture card, inscribed with his name, placed on 
 his wine glass, and speedily discovers that to eat awkwardly and 
 to talk loudly are the universal rule at these entertainments. 
 Everybody indeed seems to be endeavouring to drown his 
 neighbour's voice, and by the time the dessert is served, talking 
 has become shouting and it is necessary to holloa if you wish 
 to make yourself heard. For this reason Berlin dinner parties 
 are the noisest of entertainments. Singing and music are far 
 from the rule at evening receptions. Still when you are called 
 upon to listen to them they are invariably good. 
 
 One forgives the Berlinese their habitual inhospitality when 
 one learns that in the entire city there are only 3000 families 
 possessed of incomes exceeding ;^I50 per annum, and that 
 more than half the total number of Berlin households have to 
 make both ends meet on as little as ^45 a year.^ The Prus- 
 sian people are admitted to be the most thrifty in the world. 
 " Everybody," we are told, " has been saving in this hard- 
 breasted, iron-backed land ever since it has been a kingdom. 
 Two centuries of thrift that has been all but avarice — inconceiv- 
 able privations and sacrifices, suffered and effected in every 
 class of life — a national gloominess and misanthropy, superin- 
 duced by the self-denial of a dozen generations — to what have 
 all these disagreeables brought Prussian nobles, cits, and peasant 
 proprietors .' Men in the highest positions — privy councillors, 
 staff-officers, professors, noblemen of small means — deny them- 
 
 ' The Zoelwischc Zcituihr (January 1874) gives the following particulars of 
 the incomes of the population of Berlin : — 52 per cent., 104,000 families have 
 only an income of ^45 ; 30 per cent., 60,000 families betvven ^45 and ^60 ; 
 5 per cent., 10,000 families, j^75 ; \h per cent., yo,ooo families, £oii \os. ; 
 3 per cent., 6,000 families, £\io ; 2 per cent., 4,000 families, ^135 ; 2 per 
 cent., 4,000 families, ^^150 ! and 10 percent., 3,000 families, over^i5oper 
 annum.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 95 
 
 selves and their families all luxuries and pleasures, and many 
 necessaries in order to put by a certain portion of their slender 
 incomes yearly. 
 
 " The Berlinese, as a rule, are brought up to look upon life 
 as one arduous, never-ending struggle, and have to work so hard 
 from their eighth year upwards in order to make sure of bare 
 necessaries, that they acquire a sort of relish for hardships, and 
 cannot enjoy any pleasure unless it be saddled with an obstacle. 
 Their roses must be well girt with thorns, or they will not care 
 for plucking them. They address themselves to the tackling 
 of troubles and the endurance of inconveniences with a stern 
 alacrity that would be in the highest degree praiseworthy were 
 it not far more the result of narrow training than of a noble 
 temper of mind, or of an instinctive bias to the heroical view 
 of life-conduct. This striving, wresting impulse of theirs, however, 
 animating more or less directly every one of their actions, leads 
 them to the achievement of wonderful and often admirable 
 results. To qualify themselves for posts that with us are 
 occupied by men of humble birth and rudimentary education, 
 men of the higher middle classes in Prussia go through a course 
 of education that would fit them for an M.A. degree in any of 
 our universities. About twelve years of hard study, and astandard 
 of intellectual culture that would class him in the "honours" 
 list at our Alma Mater, qualify a young Prussian with official 
 aspirations for — let us say— a sortership in the Post-office, or a 
 copying clerkship in a State Department, with a salary of ^40 
 per annum and the prospect of attaining, after forty years or so 
 of steady toil and irreproachable conduct, an income of i^200 
 glorified by an honorific title." 
 
 Under such conditions of existence it is not to be wondered at 
 that the Berliner has a very faint idea of comfort, both in private 
 and public life. His stereotyped response to all suggested reforms 
 and improvements used invariably to be, " that may be well 
 enough in other capitals but not here," and until quite recently 
 old fashioned ways and provincialism maintained their venerated 
 hereditary prestige. The ostentation manifested by any class in 
 Berlin is principally shown by the Hebrew millionaires of the 
 Borse. Only a limited number amongst the wealthiest and 
 noblest members of the Court circle keep their own equipages. 
 Handsome chargers and blood hacks are common enough, but 
 well matched pairs of thorough-bred, high stepping, satin-skinned 
 carriage horses are remarkably scarce at Berlin. For the Prussian 
 aristocracy, unprovided, as already explained, save in a few 
 exceptional instances, with town houses, and accustomed to 
 gladden the capital with their presence for only two or three 
 months of the year during the session of the Reichstag and the 
 season of Court festivities, are in the habit of hiring their horses, 
 carriage, and coachman en bloc. For a couple of hundred thalers
 
 96 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 a month, they can secure a serviceable carriage and pair, with a 
 Jehu in unobtrusive livery, combined with the privilege of 
 painting pro ievi. their ancestral escutcheon on the panels. 
 
 Of course the national thrift has much to do with this, although 
 the national poverty which extends to the nobility is the primary 
 cause. Prussia has little or no great landed aristocracy, a 
 circumstance much regretted by Fricdrich Wilhelm IV., who 
 openly envied Great Britain her territorial House of Lords. 
 The law of primogeniture, so essential to the prosperity of an 
 aristocracy, is nowhere in force throughout Germany. As all 
 the sons of a count are born counts and all his daughters 
 countesses, the result is a remarkably numerous nobility, richer 
 in titles than in worldly goods, equally ill paid in the few court 
 or diplomatic appointments open to its members as in the army, 
 and endeavouring to make up by a stern uncompromising 
 hauteur for the real grandeur in which it is deficient. Far from 
 displaying the least amiability towards the hapless tribe of 
 plebians on whom it looks down, it seeks to make itself felt and 
 feared, and as an influential political party, that of Junkerdom, 
 has striven hard to check all moral and material progress. 
 
 The golden key fails to unlock Berlin aristocratic society, 
 whilst poverty is no insuperable obstacle to admittance within 
 the charmed circle, if accompanied by the indispensable qualifi- 
 cation of " Hoffahigkeit " or court-worthiness, to secure which it 
 is absolutely necessary to be noble by birth, to hold a commission 
 in the army or navy, to be a dignitary of the church, or to have 
 attained a certain grade in the Government service. In the latter 
 instances your own eligibility conduces in no degree to render 
 your wife and family equally eligible to the highly-prized distinc- 
 tion which is more rigidly guarded at the Prussian Court than 
 at any other court in Europe, To become court-worthy is the 
 life-aim of many reputable people who pass their existences in 
 attempting to break through the barrier separating these North 
 German Brahmins from the rest of humanity, however well to do, 
 highly educated and eminently respectable that residium may 
 be. This accounts for the insane rage for titles of one kind or 
 another that prevails throughout Germany, and explains why 
 " every Jew banker, every successful speculator, every rising 
 employe is ready to fawn, fight, cringe, or clamour for the much- 
 coveted distinction of hereditary rank." 
 
 The class of creators— " griinder " as the individuals are 
 called who flooded Berlin with speculative and too frequently 
 dishonest enterprizes — appears to have been the most fortunate in 
 this direction, for no less than four of their number succeeded in 
 getting ennobled, while others would have secured the like honour 
 had they not been precipitated from their high positions, owing 
 to the crash, which unluckily for them came a little too soon. 
 Among these ennobled "creators" HerrvonCarstenn-Lichterfelde
 
 THE EERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 97 
 
 occupies a prominent place. After engaging in some fortunate 
 building speculations at Hamburg and its neighbourhood, he 
 settled in the year 1866 at Lichterfelde, near Berlin. He was a 
 man of sagacity and combination, and early foresaw that the 
 then capital of the North German Confederation must grow and 
 extend. He began therefore to establish so-called colonies 
 around Berlin, and went in for parcelling out and dealing in 
 building sites on a large scale. By this means he made millions, 
 and these millions led to a new aspiration. He had been asso- 
 ciated with Generals and Barons in his " creations," and 
 intercourse with the aristocracy is sufficiently alluring. He had 
 laid the Government under obligations to him by building the 
 new Cadet-houses at Lichterfelde, so he was scarcely likely to 
 fail. One night he went to bed plain Herr Carstenn, and rose 
 the next morning Von Carstenn-Lichterfelde. Of old creators 
 were deified like Hercules, Cecrops, Theseus, and Cadmus, now 
 they are ennobled like Bleichroder, Hausemann, Krause, and 
 Carstenn. Other " creators " who failed to achieve this honour 
 made a virtue of necessity and boldly purchased a noble father. 
 They sought and found some poor but sufficiently liberal- 
 minded nobleman willing to adopt them and give them his name 
 in return for a fair annual income paid invariably in advance. 
 
 Even this spurious nobility finds itself admired, if not respected, 
 by Berlin society. Of course the old aristocracy, in whose eyes 
 such proceedings only serve to enhance the value of their own 
 ancestral honours, affect to look down on these " fresh-baked " 
 pretenders, as they term them, with contempt, whilst those below 
 them in the social scale, satirize them in a way which they would 
 be the first to deprecate were they themselves but shifted a few 
 
 steps higher. With coronets and quarterings everywhere objects 
 of idolatry and esteemed far beyond the cardinal virtues, it is 
 scarcely surprising that the well-to-do Berliner should hanker 
 after the privilege of a prefix to his name, and that this should 
 
 H
 
 98 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 be to him even more an object of ambition than the red ribbon 
 of the Legion of Honour to the decoration-seeking Parisian. 
 In the capital of the new Empire, any one coveting consideration 
 finds it necessary that he should have some kind of handle to 
 his name, and hence the numerous ridiculous official appellations. 
 To call himself simply Schultze or Miiller is deliberately to 
 efface himself, unless indeed he chances to rejoice in the prefix 
 " Von," which will serve as an " open sesame " to all middle class 
 society, and cause the lady of the house to present him to her 
 guests with a certain amount of officiousness, and to lay marked 
 stress upon the preposition that dignifies his plebeian patronymic. 
 When the Berlin "Jeames," who in the all important requisites 
 of calves, whiskers, and languid dignity of bearing is immeasur- 
 ably below his London prototype, assumes a fresh livery, usually 
 
 of oiitr^ cut and dis- 
 cordant hues, his first 
 step is to ask of his 
 master and mistress 
 how he shall entitle 
 them ( Wie wo lien 
 Sie dass ich Sie titii- 
 lire ?). It is only in 
 rare instances that he 
 is told that he need not 
 " tituliren " them at all, 
 and that it will be suffi- 
 cient to address his 
 master as IViirdiger 
 Herr! (Worthy Sir!) 
 and his mistress as 
 Gnddige Fran (Gra- 
 cious Madam !). Even 
 a shopman or domes- 
 tic entering the ser- 
 vice of a grocer, who 
 during the whole 
 course of his career 
 has by some chance or other once supplied the royal palace 
 with a pound of coffee, will be compelled to address his master 
 on every occasion as Herr Hojlicfet'ant — Purve}'or to the Court. 
 These honorary distinctions are scattered about with such 
 reckless profusion that one is quite prepared to find an ample 
 variety of them. Those of Rath or Councillor, Professor and 
 Doctor suffice to satisfy the ambition of some few thousands. 
 There are Rathe for instance of almost everything — Stadtrath^ 
 Banrath, Schulrath, Sanitdtsrath, and Comnierzienrath (Town, 
 Building, School, Sanitary and Commercial Councillors). One has 
 even heard a humble attachi of the Berlin opera-house saluted 
 as Herr Theaterintendanturrath, or Mr. Councillor of the
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 99 
 
 Administration of the Theatre. All the middle class Bcrlinese at 
 the close of their commercial or administrative careers endeavour 
 to acquire one of these titles, which once secured, the fortunate 
 possessor becomes Herr Rathgeber on all occasions, at social 
 gatherings equally as at the Council board. It being a rule of 
 German etiquette to accord the wife her husband's title in the 
 feminine gender, it often happens that at the most modest gather- 
 ings one finds oneself surrounded by a crowd of dignitaries of both 
 sexes, bearing titles as lengthy as they are inharmonious. " If 
 you would avoid offence, you must train your mind and torture 
 your tongue to acquire the habit of saying, ' Thank you, Mrs. 
 Privy-Councilloress ; ' 'At your command, Mrs. Over-police 
 Directoress ; ' 'After you, Mrs. Riding- Foresteress ; ' ' No doubt, 
 Mrs. Consulting-Architectress ; ' ' With pleasure, Mrs. Inspec- 
 toress of Sewers ; ' ' As you say, Mrs. Veritable (wirklichc) Privy- 
 Councilloress,' or Commercial-Councilloress, or Doctoress, or 
 Assessoress. In society a married lady is always addressed 
 with the prefix of gnddige, or gnddigste Fran ; gracious or most 
 gracious lady. If she have a title, it is not customary to use the 
 family names in speaking to her ; Frait Grdfiii, or Fran Barofiin, 
 being deemed sufficient. Many persons use Meine Gnddigste, my 
 Most Gracious, without further designation. Amongst female 
 friends the formula is somewhat less ceremonious, Hebe Grdfin, or 
 Generalinn, or Geheimerdthm, being sufficient. Young ladies are 
 not addressed as Miss so-and-so, but, by gentlemen invariably, 
 as Mein gnddiges Frdnleiny^ 
 
 Councillors of the higher grades are entitled to most elaborate 
 honorary designations, such as Seiner HochivoJilgeboren dem 
 KdniglichenOber-Landes-Gericht-Rath,Herr (Thehighly well- 
 born Royal Superior State Justice Councillor, Mr. )and letters 
 
 to them require to commence Hochwohlgeborefier Herr I (Highly 
 well-born Sir) Hochgeehrter Herr (Highly honoured Sir). It will 
 be sufficient to address the lower class of councillors as Seiner 
 Wohlgeboren dem Herrn Medizinal Rath Dr. ScJinltz (to the 
 well-born gentleman Medical Councillor Dr. S.). Doctors, ad- 
 vocates, professors, schoolmasters, landowners, commercial 
 people {Kanflente) always expect to be styled WoJilgeboren. 
 
 The Rathe of the superior grades are also Gehcime Rathe 
 or Privy-Councillors, besides which there is a veritable host of 
 secretaries, accountants, and registrars with from 300 to — at the 
 utmost — 1000 thalers salary per annum, and who are every one 
 of them more or less " privy." One has, for instance, the GeJieime 
 Expedirende Secretair nnd Registrator, who abounds in the minis- 
 tries and most insignificant administrations. Should you have 
 occasion to write to one of these individuals, you must be very care- 
 ful not to omit even a syllableof his title, for if you did he would 
 very likely not condescend to answer you. A petty functionary 
 
 ^ " German Home Life " in Frazer's Magazine, 
 
 H 2
 
 lOO BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 of this class with £46 a year has perhaps managed to get hold 
 of some insignificant foreign ribbon, and will require his letters 
 to be addressed to him as follows : — Dem schr geehrtcn Konig- 
 lichen GcJieime Registrator Hochtvohlgcborejier Ritter. (To the very- 
 Honourable Royal Privy Registrar, Highly well-born Knight.) 
 
 The author of " German Home Life," pertinently remarks that 
 " the exactions in this direction are almost sufficient to frighten 
 a simple-minded person out of society. Have you given the 
 right man the right title .-' Is he a GeheimeratJi, or a wirklicher 
 Geheimerath ? Was that prince who affably condescended to 
 address you a Royal, or a Transparent, or a Serene Highness .? 
 You have just addressed a lady (who has no right to the title) 
 as Excellcnz, and made her your implacable enemy for life. You 
 have occasion to write to a Roman Catholic clergyman, and you 
 for ever offend him by addressing him as Ew. HocheJirwurden, 
 which is a Protestant title, instead of Ew. Hochiviirden, the correct 
 Catholic style. How are you to know that privy councillors and 
 presidents exact the predicate Hochwohlgebore7i (High-well-born), 
 which belongs of right to the nobility (2nd class), and how can 
 you guess that a Count must be addressed as High-born, or even 
 under some circumstances, Erlaucht (Illustrious), a Baron as 
 High-well-born ; and that the common herd exact Well-born as 
 well as their own patronymic on the letters you address to them .-•" 
 
 In writing to the Emperor it is requisite to address him as 
 Most Serene and August Emperor and King, most Gracious King 
 and Lord ! " In the newspapers he is invariably styled the 
 All-Highest {Der Alierhdchstc),vih\c\\ sounds parlously like an 
 infringement of Divine privilege. His actions and movements 
 are described, plurally as regards himself, in infinite false con- 
 cords and outrages upon grammar, as, for instance, ' His Majesty, 
 our All-Highest King and Lord have deigned to nominate,' &c. ; 
 or, ' His Majesty are returned to Berlin ; All-Highest the same 
 ones {AllerhocJistdiesclbeti) rejoice tliemselvcs in possession of a 
 blooming health.'" With regard to a minister of state he has to 
 be addressed as His Excellency the Royal actual {Wirklichen, 
 i.e. at present in office) Privy State and Justice Minister, 
 
 Herrn . The Rector of the University is addressed more 
 
 concisely but none the less pompously as His magnificence, 
 while the burgomaster who is also a magnificence is styled 
 Highly well-born, Highly honoured Mr. Burgomaster. The 
 president of the Berlin Court of Appeal is entitled Highly well- 
 e.steemed, Mr. Chief President, while letters to him commence, 
 Highly well-born Sir. " What we term public offices, boards, &c., 
 and all other impersonalities, such as magistrates' courts, legal 
 tribunals, corporations, consistories, et hoc genus omne, must be 
 approached in writing with elaborate forms, and clothed with the 
 title of 'Praiseworthy' or 'Highly Pfai.seworthy,' according to 
 the degree conventionally accorded to them." We have already
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 101 
 
 remarked that women take the titles of their husbands in the femi- 
 nine form, the result of which is such superscriptions as, Her Ex- 
 cellency Madame the actual Privy State Ministress, General 
 
 Postmistress Frau . The letter would have to commence 
 
 Highly well-born Madame, Gracious Madame Ministress. 
 Precisely in the same way one says, Madame the Mistress of the 
 Concerts, Madame the Doctoress, Madame the Lieutenantess 
 Madame the Drum-Majoress — and one has even seen a card 
 upon which was inscribed KomglicJic Kanimerfdgerin, Royal 
 Sweeperess of the Apartments ! 
 
 " The Prussian Government," wrote Varnhagan von Ense a 
 quarter of a century ago, " is a confrc^ric of bureaucrats, who unite 
 to the talent of scribbling, that of obedience and that of hypo- 
 crisy." There may be a certain amount of truth in these assertions, 
 but they are certainly not calculated to convey a fair impression 
 of the w^orth and value of that admirably organized body to 
 which Prussia owes so much of her physical well-being and 
 political status. The bureaucracy has not only done wonders 
 as regards internal administration, but has helped in the organi- 
 zation of the army which has so distinguished itself abroad, and 
 may one day be found of more value than that army in staving 
 off the evils and terrors of a revolution. Such a thoroughly 
 organized body of officials as that under the control of the 
 government is marvellously efficient in guiding the impulses and 
 controlling the pas- -- 
 sions of the people. 
 And yet the individual 
 Berlinese bureaucrat is 
 too often as disagree- 
 able as only the 
 compound of a Ber- 
 liner and a bureau- 
 crat can be. He is 
 wretchedly paid, he 
 has been driven almost 
 to his wits' end by 
 the rise in rents and 
 provisions, and yet he 
 does a great deal of 
 work and does it well. 
 But he regards himself 
 as a member of the 
 government, a pillar of 
 the state, shudders at 
 the thought of what 
 would be the conse- 
 quence if the country were to be deprived of his .'services, 
 and adds a coating of official hauteur to his native cantan-
 
 102 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 kerousness in his dealing with the outer world. No whiskered 
 club lounger who is forced by the exigencies of fate and the 
 necessity of at least appearing to do something for his salary, 
 to dawdle away six hours per diem in a comfortably fur- 
 nished room, in Downing Street ; no Lord of the Treasury's 
 private secretary standing gracefully at the corner of the smoking 
 room mantel-piece with a surrounding circle listening with 
 breathless attention to the words that fall from his lips, ever more 
 thoroughly identified himself with the government he served than 
 the humblest Vice-Deputy Sub- Assistant Temporary Inspector 
 or Supernumerary Clerk in a Berlin Public Office. And when he 
 emerges into such society as he keeps, he is ever careful to " lay 
 the finger of silence upon the lip of discretion," so far as the 
 secrets of his prison house are concerned. He affects to be over- 
 burdened with state secrets, though it is needless to remark none 
 ever come into his possession, and when the conversation takes 
 a political turn sits with his lips as tightly closed as the shells of 
 an oyster, save when he raises his beer-mug to them, and confines 
 himself to a Lord Burleigh-like shake of the head which is 
 construed to imply that like the monkeys of Indian fable he 
 could say a great deal if he chose. 
 
 The bureaucrat, of whatever degree, is usually a family man 
 of a very domesticated character, and is in the habit of rearing 
 large families of daughters, who, however, do not often develop 
 into the spoiled beauties of society. The pecuniary circumstances 
 of their father, the unwritten laws of German etiquette, and their 
 tastes and bringing up, forbid it. They are certain to be well 
 informed, thoroughly educated, to know more languages than 
 their sisters in France and England, and to play and waltz with 
 scientific precision, but they are too quiet for coquetry, and too 
 serious for flirtation. They may have even extended their 
 studies through the most thorny paths of philosophy, but above 
 all they shine in housewifery duties, the manipulation of the 
 knitting-needle, the presidency of the coffee-table, and the super- 
 intendence of the kitchen and the store-room, being functions 
 in which they unquestionably excel. 
 
 The Hebrew element forms a very marked feature of Berlin 
 society, which is constrained to recognize the decided mental 
 and practical influence which the Jews, spite of their relatively 
 small number, exercise to-day in the capital of the new Empire. 
 It was very different so recently as a score or so of years ago, 
 when no Berlin Jew was allowed even to marry without the 
 special permission of the King. Friedrich the Great turned 
 this regulation to account at tlie time he purchased the Berhn 
 porcelain manufactory from the banker, Gotzkowski, and was in 
 a strait with respect to customers for his stock. It was his rule 
 to sanction these unions only on the condition that the future 
 couple purchased so much china at the manufactory, and he
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 103 
 
 
 himself used to specify 
 the quantity necessary 
 to be taken by aspirants 
 to connubial bliss on 
 the margin of the peti- 
 tions addressed to him. 
 The Berlin Jews 
 thrust themselves pro- 
 minently forward some 
 few years back, when, 
 with characteristic fore- 
 sight, and by asso- 
 ciating their capital, 
 they commenced buy- 
 ing up land in and 
 contiguous to the city, 
 securing possession of 
 all the vacant tracts, 
 and parcelling them 
 out for building pur- 
 poses. Besides being 
 foremost, as in most 
 other German cities, in 
 general trade, whether as retail shopkeepers or merchants on 
 an extensive scale, the realms of the haute finance acknowledge 
 
 ^— ___^;;, = — ™ — r--^» their exclusive sway; 
 
 ft^Vf ''^-'^)^'^^'^, the most valuable 
 ^i^ALL'jt..^..^--.i-l2^^L^A-' freeholds, the state- 
 t^-^'-- ' I best mansions, and 
 "^ the finest equipages, 
 _^ belong to them, 
 "^ whilst certain of 
 --' their body affect a 
 - ; taste for and patron- 
 '"J^ age of the arts. The 
 one Berlin newspaper 
 '^ which is entirely free 
 from their influence 
 IS the Neue Prens- 
 ^_ siscJie Kreuz Zeitung, 
 ,^ most of the others 
 \t} being wholly or in 
 part owned by Jew^s, 
 who moreover con- 
 stitute the bulk of 
 the journalists and 
 reporters. The ma- 
 jority of the young
 
 I04 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 
 doctors and many law- 
 yers are also Jews ; 
 and if at the Royal 
 theatres the actors 
 have up to the present 
 time been chiefly Chris- 
 tians, the same cannot 
 besaidof the audiences. 
 At Berlin the only 
 things of which the 
 Gentiles have been left 
 in undisputed posses- 
 sion are the churches, 
 on which, however, it 
 has been bitterly said 
 they set but little store, 
 and even these have 
 been thrown into the 
 shade by the magnifi- 
 cent new synagogue, 
 the dome of which 
 towers above the sea 
 of Berlin houses. In 
 politics, thanks to the 
 Parliamentary regime, 
 they play an important part. The prejudice with which they 
 are regarded by the nobility and those Conservatives who are 
 deeply imbued with the traditions of the middle ages, the 
 coldness displayed towards them by the pious King, and the 
 religious formularies which interfere with their aspiring to certain 
 positions connected with the Government, have thrown them 
 into the ranks of the National Liberal party, to which not only 
 their wealth but also their education render them valuable 
 allies. They are constantly endeavouring to give their sons and 
 daughters a superior education to that aimed at by Catholics and 
 Protestants, thereby leading them to sympathize as much as 
 possible with general culture. The importance attached by them 
 to instruction, especially in science, art, and the higher branches 
 of learning, is shown by statistics, proving that upwards of one- 
 half of the Jewish boys and two-thirds of the girls receive a 
 liberal education, while with regard to children of other religions, 
 not more than a fifth of the boys, and less than a sixth of 
 the girls, enjoy this advantage. One result of this is shown in 
 the influence attained and wielded by the leader of the National 
 Liberal party, and the ablest debater in the Reichstag, the 
 Jewish lawyer, lulward Laskcr. 
 
 In stature the Berlin Jew is usually short, or at the most of 
 average height, and his physiognomy and figure are alike ex-
 
 THE HEBKEW ELEMENT AT 1 HE BERLIN ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. Pogt 10$. I.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 105 
 
 I 
 
 pressed by sharp lines. 
 The head is generally 
 oblong, the visage oval, 
 the under lip large and 
 sensual, whilethe upper ,„,„ ,„, 
 one, the nose, and the j.^t''!'' :' •; 
 eyebrows, especially 
 when laughing, give 
 to the features much 
 the same kind of ex- 
 pression as is observ- 
 able in the mask of 
 Pan. It is the eyes 
 which mark the great 
 difference between the 
 Germanic and Semitic 
 races. The German's 
 glance is generally 
 contemplative or pas- 
 sive ; he looks for the 
 pleasure of looking ; takes an interest in what he is observing ; 
 whereas the Jew has a scrutative eye, ever on the move, like 
 a man who measures and estimates everything he looks at, and 
 only feels interested in his own affairs. As a rule, too, he is 
 
 always over- dressed. 
 Not daring to launch 
 out in those countries 
 where they are still re- 
 garded as pariahs, the 
 Jews affect to be ele- 
 gants in the lands of 
 their emancipation. 
 At the Berlin Zoolo- 
 gical Gardens on the 
 days consecrated by 
 fashion to the after- 
 noon promenade, they 
 contend for pre-emi- 
 nence even with the 
 aristocratic military 
 element. Several 
 
 among them have 
 succeeded in getting 
 themselves ennobled, 
 while the wealth of 
 others is gradually securing them admission into some of the best 
 circles, where, if their sons show to small advantage, their 
 daughters enter into successful rivalry with the handsomest and
 
 I06 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 most accomplished of their own sex of a different faith. A Berh"n 
 Jewess is equally an fait with a Parisian one in dressing her hair 
 and arranging her jupe a la dcrnicre mode. Now and then 
 she is pretty, but more frequently cultivated and spiritiielle ; and 
 when she feels sure of her ground, and knows that she is 
 in the majority — as, for instance, at the Berlin Zoo — will show 
 herself as provoking and engaging as her German sister — who 
 cordially detests her — is generally tranquil and reserved.^ 
 
 " All work and no play " is said to " make Jack a dull boy,^' 
 and there is no doubt that this fact in some measure accounts 
 for the habitual grimness of demeanour of the Berlinese. Such 
 incipient grimness is perceptible even in his state of urchinhood, 
 when newly breeched he steps along on his way to real-schule or 
 gymnasium, with his neat knapsack full of books, and his face 
 as grave as that of the most spectacled of professors when 
 engaged in evolving a new theory. " The Berliner, from peer to 
 droschke-driver, from privy-councillor to postman," observes a 
 writer long resident on the banks of the Spree," is an overtasked 
 being, and has been so for a couple of hundred years past, so 
 that the habit of not amusing himself is a hereditary one, and has 
 passed into his nature — has become a congenital characteristic. 
 That he is cross and cantankerous must be ascribed to the 
 facts that, as a rule, his whole time is spent in struggling to 
 exist, that he lives in one of the most unhealthy cities of 
 the world, and that year after year he finds himself compelled 
 to sacrifice bit by bit his well-being and few comforts, in 
 order to be able to keep a roof over his head and body 
 and soul together with the coarsest food." 
 
 The engrossing devotion to personal interests, the furtherance 
 of which absorbs each individual's attention and occupies his 
 energies, is a main cause of the cheerlessness characterising the 
 Prussian. He exhibits a national and habitual thriftiness akin 
 to that of the Scot, and, as a rule, not only works to live, but 
 lives to work, striving as hard to make money in peace as he 
 
 ^ Berlin statisticians, who are themselves possibly Jews, endeavour to show, 
 by the inexorable logic of figures, that Christianity is rapidly becoming 
 extinct in Berlin, and they supply data highly favourable to the followers of the 
 Mosaic rite. We learn from them that not only do a far larger proportion 
 of the Jews of Berlin marry than members of other religious denominations, 
 but that nearly the whole of them marry at what these savants style the 
 natural age — namely, when the man is not above forty, and the woman is 
 under thirty. Such marriages form 85 per cent, of those contracted amongst 
 the Jews, against 72 per cent, amongst the rest of the population, while the 
 lists of deaths show one-third of the Jews to be married, and less than one- 
 fifth of members of other creeds. The mortality, too, amongst Jewish 
 children from their first to their fifth year is only 17 per cent., whilst it is 25 
 per cent, among other persuasions ; and the circumstance that the general 
 percentage of illegitimate children in Berlin is 15, and amongst the Jews only 
 2, speaks highly in favour of their morality.— Sec Stiidtisches Jahrbuch, 
 Berhn, 1874.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 10/ 
 
 does to secure victory in war. Amusement costs both time and 
 money, and if, like John Gilpin, he is occasionally to be found 
 " on pleasure bent," like that citizen of credit and renown, he has 
 "a frugal mind." The mere man of pleasure, the epicurean 
 butterfly who flits from flower to flower, would be nipped to 
 death in the frosty Prussian capital, to which Friedrich the Great 
 had to impart the first elements of society, conversation, and 
 politeness from abroad. A certain amount of dissipation of the 
 most forcedly ostentatious character was favoured by the influx 
 of the French milliards, but it was confined almost entirely to 
 the financial element. Rumour, indeed, says that some of these 
 gentlemen carried the national spirit of order and economy into 
 their amusements, keeping ledgers and day-books wherein the 
 details of the sums expended for self-gratification were scrupu- 
 lously recorded, and wherein a supper to the corps de ballet, and 
 the cost of maintaining an actress, were written ofl" against a 
 lucky coup on the Exchange. The military element, so promi- 
 nent in the pursuit of pleasure in England, has neither the time 
 nor the money to spare in Prussia. All nobles enter the army 
 and have to work too hard at their profession to have leisure for 
 amusement, even if they had the necessary spare capital, which, 
 considering that the majority are as poor as rats, they certainly 
 have not. A few wealthy guardsmen go in for sport, but 
 they are the exceptions ; and when, after some years hard work, 
 the exceptionally rich noble dofls his blue uniform for good, he 
 has lost the habit of wishing to be amused, and devotes the rest 
 of his life to looking after his own interests and cultivating his 
 estates. 
 
 A wide-spread delusion formerly prevailed to the effect that the 
 children of the Fatherland were lovers of peace and quiet, and 
 that their repugnance to strife and contention was the result 
 partly of an inborn humility of disposition peculiar to them, and 
 partly of a philosophical temper of mind, superinduced by high 
 intellectual development, combined with strict physical sobriety. 
 We were in the habit of picturing the typical Teuton as sitting 
 in summer beneath the shade of the northern equivalents to the 
 traditional vine and fig-tree, and in winter within the heating 
 influence of his porcelain stove, and simultaneously evolving 
 whifls of kanaster from the bowl of his painted pipe, and moral 
 aphorisms from a mind overflowing with sympathy not only 
 towards his immediate fellows, but mankind at large. Nothing, 
 however, can be further from the truth, contention and contro- 
 versy being the normal condition of the average Berliner, who 
 exhibits a bitterness that would have won the esteem of our 
 great lexicographer, who so dearly loved a good hater. The 
 national proverb that " Two Germans will fight about the colour 
 of Barbarossa's beard," shows how conscious they are of the 
 spirit of contentiousness prevalent among themselves, since the
 
 io8 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Emperor's nickname sufficiently explains the fiery hue of his 
 hirsute adornment. Their neighbours, the French, have gauged 
 them pretty accurately too, and a quo'clle dAllemand denotes 
 a wilful and gratuitous wrangle. Nor do they appear to have 
 altered by emigration, since, even under the stars and stripes, the 
 national proclix'ity for the argiimentum ad hoviincm crops up. 
 At Hans l^reitmann's famous " barty," after "de gompany " had 
 revelled on brot and gcnsybroost, bratvvurst and braten, washed 
 down by Neckarwein and unlimited lager, instead of peacefully 
 digesting these good things, 
 
 " vighted mit daple leeks, 
 Dill de coonshtable made oos shtop." 
 
 This disposition, common to all Germans, is more vigorously 
 manifested in the North ; and when it is remembered that one- 
 half the entire number of German lawyers — exclusive of those of 
 Austro-Germany — are domiciled in Berlin, it may be imagined 
 what a disputatious set the inhabitants of the Kaiserstadt must 
 be. Even these gentlemen are not always called in to settle their 
 disputes. Within the memory of middle-aged Berlinese there 
 existed in the city a " kneipe," or beer-house, much frequented by 
 the humbler citizens, who loved to discuss the politics of the day 
 
 there of an even- 
 ing. In a con- 
 spicuous part of 
 the principal room 
 a notice was set 
 up to the follow- 
 ingefifect: — "Hon- 
 oured guests are 
 respectfully en- 
 treated to observe 
 that a reasonable 
 provision of blud- 
 geons is placed at 
 their disposition 
 by the proprietor, 
 grateful for their 
 patronage, and 
 may be found 
 handy behind the 
 great stove. It is 
 hoped that this ac- 
 commodation will 
 render it unne- 
 cessary for the future that honoured guests should break off the 
 chair-legs for the purpose of mutually adjusting their political 
 views ! "
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 109 
 
 \ 
 
 Prince Bismarck himself testifies to the unamiabih'ty of the 
 national disposition. " Each one here," he observes, " lives apart 
 in his little corner, holding his own opinion in the circle of his wife 
 and children, always mistrustful of the government as well as 
 of his neighlDOur. judging everything from his personal point 
 of view, and never from that of society at large. The sen- 
 timent of individualism and the need of contradiction are 
 developed in a German to an inconceivable degree ; show him 
 an open door, and rather than pass through it he will obstinately 
 seek to make a hole in the wall by the side of it." 
 
 The enmity between the inhabitants of Berlin and those 
 of Vienna has existed for years, the light-hearted, impulsive 
 " Wiener " venting his feelings in the wit he alone of all Germans 
 can display, and the bilious " Berliner " retaliating by that bitter 
 and reckless satire which is his formidable weapon. In popular 
 plays and humorous journals the typical inhabitant of the 
 rival capitals is held up to ridicule, and even serious publications 
 are full of the hatred and misrepresentations engendered by long 
 antagonism. It is singular, however, that the captious and 
 cynical Berliner, accustomed to criticize everything, naturally 
 disposed to opposition, and extremely cantankerous in his 
 dealings with his fellows, submits, though he may grumble, to 
 any arrangements that are officially made again.st his pleasure 
 or comfort in the city. The restrictions which the authorities 
 impose upon his claims to such scant amusement as is available 
 he generally accepts with the sullen obedience resulting from 
 a prolonged military regime. His manners are, indeed, rarely 
 ever cordial. When two acquaintances encounter each other they 
 will commonly content themselves with a dry Gutcn viorgen, and 
 take their leave with a curt Adieu. This last phrase they have 
 appropriated, like many others, from the French, as though con- 
 scious of the deficiency of their own language in the ordinary 
 terms of politeness. 
 
 Savoir vivre is certainly not natural to the Berlinese, though 
 many of them undoubtedly try to be polite. When introduced 
 to a stranger they will bow half-a-dozen times, at an angle of 45 
 decrees, in a ceremonious manner, and will never think of sitting 
 down at or quitting a table dliote without first saluting the 
 company. Before taking possession of a vacant chair, in a beer- 
 garden even, or taking up a newspaper in a cafe, they will first of 
 all appeal, uncovered, to the nearest person, even although he 
 may happen to be sitting at another table. Yet they will blow 
 clouds of smoke from their rank cigars into ladies' faces, and this 
 not merely in the street but in railway-carriages, and even 
 at dinner-tables, and will roughly elbow their way through a 
 crowd inside a theatre, regardless both of women and children. 
 Place aux Barnes has certainly no place in their code of 
 etiquette. They further thrust themselves in front of you 
 
 b
 
 no 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 should you happen to 
 be looking into a shop- 
 window, rudely push 
 against you in the 
 street, and tread un- 
 concernedly on your 
 favourite corns, and, 
 after obtaining a light 
 for their cigars, will 
 hurry off, caring little 
 or nothing whether 
 they have deposited 
 the borrowed weed 
 safely in its owner's 
 hand or allowed it to 
 drop upon the ground, 
 and, worse than all, 
 will rarely think of 
 apologizing for these 
 and other breaches of 
 good manners. Still 
 what is to be expected of a people who think nothing of taking a 
 comb out of their pockets and combing their hair in the midst of a 
 
 .^^^ 
 
 conversation, or of standing before a looking-glass in a restaurant 
 and performing the same operation, and who, instead of reserving
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 Ill 
 
 their tooth-picks for their teeth, clean their finger-nails with 
 them in pubhc, and at times even thrust them into their ears. 
 
 A Frenchman whom 
 I casually met at Ber- 
 lin complained bitterly 
 of the behaviour of the 
 Berlinese in a crowd. 
 At Paris he admitted 
 you get more or less 
 pushed against, and 
 occasionally a trifle 
 crushed, " but then," 
 observed he, " you 
 have the satisfaction 
 of being able to push 
 and crush those around 
 you in return. At 
 Berlin, hov/ever, this 
 is simply impossible; 
 you find yourself 
 pushed in all direc- 
 tions, have your corns 
 positively stamped on, 
 receive all manner of violent digs in the ribs and sharp pokes 
 in the sides, which you cannot return with interest — as you dearly 
 
 long to do — for these 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^4#^^^).. 
 
 heavy masses of flesh, 
 these gigantic feet, 
 these muscular arms, 
 these thick-set shoul- 
 ders, have the resist- 
 ance of granite. One 
 throws oneself against 
 them, one positively 
 hurts oneself, still 
 they do not budge an 
 inch. They have an 
 admirable plan, too, 
 in a crowd, of carrying 
 a lighted cigar in their 
 hands, so that, in push- 
 ing against them, you 
 run the risk of burn- 
 ing alike your hands, 
 face, and clothes." 
 
 Another weakness of the Berlinese is that all classes as a rule 
 " talk at the top of their very powerful voices ; no man waits 
 for his neighbour to finish the observations he has begun ; he
 
 112 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 shouts in reply as though the main object were to be heard 
 at any cost. Take a caf^, a steamer, a railway carriage, any 
 place of public resort where two or three Teutons are gathered 
 together, and the result will be vociferous. That finer instinct 
 which teaches the talker to lower his voice in a picture-gallery 
 or a public garden, and produces a pleasant hush in clubs, 
 reading-rooms, and theatres, is entirely wanting here." 
 
 A Ik^lin acquaintance once pointedly asked of me my 
 opinion of his compatriots. " The French," said he, " call us bar- 
 barians ; now as you have seen a good deal of our ways, tell me 
 if you find us very different from other people." Being hardly 
 pressed I readily owned that the French considerably exagge- 
 rated the little failings of their conquerors ; still I could not 
 help remarking that the natives of the Fatherland did appear 
 to me somewhat ill-mannered ; and I cited, as one example, 
 their graceless habit of using the knife as a spoon at their 
 meals, and frequently thrusting three or four inches of the blade 
 into their mouths. From that moment my Berlin friend treated 
 me with marked reserve, conscious though he must have 
 been of the truth of my observation. 
 
 This interjection by the Germans of knives half-way down 
 their throats has been the theme indeed of frequent satire. 
 Thackeray introduces us to the charming Princess of Potztausend- 
 Donnerwetter performing hideous feats of knife-jugglery at the 
 royal table of her illustrious relatives ; and the writer we 
 have frequently quoted describes how it has " happened to 
 her more than once to sup at royal, serene, transparent, and 
 impalpable tables where the service has been of fine gold and 
 the air literally charged with diamonds and decorations, and 
 yet to tremble at the dangerous dexterity of her neighbours, 
 as, ignoring the humble merits of the fork and spoon, they 
 performed surprising and audacious tricks with knives of 
 Damascene sharpness." She mentions, too, a naive compliment 
 which she overheard a German paying to an EngH.sh lady, 
 whose acquaintance she had casually made at the table d'hote, 
 from which they had just risen. " I knew directly you were 
 English," exclaimed she, "for you eat so prettily ! " 
 
 Anywhere in Ikrlin, from the table d'hote of the Hotel du 
 Nord to a cellar bicr-local, you will see people grasping their 
 forks dagger-fashion, and using them solely for the purpose of 
 steadying their food as they cut it up, while their knives fly inces- 
 santly backwards and forwards from their plates to their mouths. 
 At the dinner-table one has watched a party of good-looking 
 frdulcin,diV\(\ seen their knife-blades loaded with food disappearing 
 between their rosy lips in a way that has made one tremble 
 for the consequences. And not merely do the Berlinese use 
 their knives as spoons, but with their aid commonly scrape 
 their plates so clean, that changing the latter is a work of
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 113 
 
 |l:Sf!iPi!lM''---^^ 
 
 i|'!l;fS2 
 
 I, 
 
 supererogation. In 
 the restaurants you 
 may see them clat- 
 tering away at their 
 plates until the 
 smallest invisible 
 animalculae might 
 search in vain over 
 their surface for so 
 much as a mouthful. 
 To prove that we 
 have not exagge- 
 rated the Berliner's 
 deficiencies in the 
 matter of good breeding, it will suffice to quote some curt remarks 
 of a distinguished Prussian professor on this subject: — " It is not 
 easy," observes our authority, " for well-bred foreigners to asso- 
 ciate agreeably with a people who mistake rudeness and bluntness 
 for sincerity and frankness, who eat clumsily, wear unsightly 
 signet rings on their forefingers, whose women dress without 
 taste, and divide their time between the kitchen, and gossiping, 
 coffee-drinking associates, as they find it difficult at first no 
 doubt to accustom themselves to our execrable beds and bad 
 cookery."^ 
 
 The Berliner's proverbial ill-breeding can scarcely be attributed 
 to lack of proper counsel on matters polite, for he has the advan- 
 tage of any number of books on etiquette, all going deeply into 
 the question, both as to what is proper and improper to be done 
 in the various exigencies of social life. The most popular of 
 these — the Berliner GalantJionime — in its rules for good behaviour 
 at table, is, however, strangely silent upon the accomplishment 
 of polishing the plate off which you have eaten with the aptitude 
 of a scullion, and of handling your dinner-knife with the dexterity 
 of a juggler, although it gravely announces that it is " no longer 
 the fashion " to change the fork from the left hand to the right 
 when conveying the food to the mouth. Yet spite of this the 
 rule is daily violated at every Berlin dinner-table. One is con- 
 strained to believe that only people deficient in the rudiments of 
 refinement could possibly need such counsel as the following 
 extracted at random from the above-mentioned work : — 
 
 "Passing the hand through the hair at the dinner-table, using a knife or 
 fork as a toothpick, or throwing pellets of bread about, are improprieties 
 which scarcely require to be pointed out. 
 
 " It is not seemly to wipe your knife, fork, or spoon, with your napkin 
 before using them. It may be allowable at a restaurant, but not in a private 
 house. 
 
 ^ Professor Hillebrand.
 
 114 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 " Avoid soiling the table-cloth, spilling wine, or putting bones upon it, or 
 splashing those that sit next to you. 
 
 " It is for the host to see that his guests do not fill their wine-glasses to 
 the brim. 
 
 " Of course no one should help his neighbour with the knife, fork, or 
 spoon he is himself using. 
 
 " It is unpleasant to see any one eating great quantities of pastry, putting 
 too large pieces into his mouth, or filling a cup or glass with crumbs, and 
 eating them with a spoon." 
 
 The gravity of the following will provoke a smile : — 
 
 " If you wish a lady to think you over precise, be very careful about folding 
 up your napkin in the old creases at the end of dinner. Should you wish, to 
 be thought careless, crumple it up and throw it on the floor. It is, however, 
 preferable to adopt the proper medium. Women will judge from a man's 
 way of folding up his napkin the kind of husband he is likely to make." 
 
 From the same precious mentor a few other precepts may be 
 quoted, and first of all one embodying his individual opinion of 
 the value of those social courtesies which he sets himself up to 
 inculcate : — 
 
 ■ . I '■■.t-r^'. ,■ ' 1 
 
 "The usual civilities 
 current in social inter- 
 course are only lies by 
 which people seek to 
 deceive one another. 
 
 " Do not scratch 
 your head or pick your 
 ears or nose in com- 
 pany ; it is hard to be- 
 lieve such things are 
 done, nevertheless we 
 have seen them. 
 
 " Never allow your 
 nails to grow an inch 
 long. Delicate and 
 refined ladies object 
 to such claws, which 
 are only popular with 
 those who think them 
 a sign of the liohe- 
 niian. 
 
 " Do not tramp up 
 and down the carpets 
 in a lady's room with- 
 out occasion, seat your- 
 self on the edge of the 
 table, or rest your feet 
 upon its legs. 
 
 " Do not sit with your legs too far apart, too much stretched out in front of 
 you, or with them crossed, and if you have occasion to draw your chair 
 nearer to the table, do not use your feet for the purpose. 
 
 " Do not rock yourself in your chair, drum on the arm of any one else's 
 chair, or keep kicking your feet against it.
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY'. 
 
 115 
 
 :^li!l"Si>i 
 
 are speaking to them. Three paces off is 
 
 "In ladies' society refrain from arguing 
 other dry subjects, in 
 which they can take no 
 part and feel no interest. 
 Above all never discuss 
 points of belief with them, 
 and rob them of their 
 faith, since you have no- 
 thing better to offer them 
 in place of it." 
 
 The morality of the 
 following is at least 
 Questionable : — 
 
 "Do not look inquisi- 
 tively round a room when 
 paying a visit, or handle 
 everything you see lying 
 about." 
 
 The hints on con- 
 versation suggest no- 
 thing in the least de- 
 gree lively. Fancy 
 the moribund tone 
 that would pervade 
 a company where the 
 following precept was 
 strictly observed : — 
 
 " A man should always 
 speak as if he were mak- 
 ing his will. 
 
 "When conversing with 
 ladies do not fix your 
 eyes steadily on them, 
 neither cast them on the 
 ground. Do not press too 
 closely on them, thrust 
 }ourself immediately un- 
 der their noses, or breathe 
 in their faces while you 
 the proper distance. 
 
 on learned, religious, political, or 
 
 " Nothing wins a man 
 more admiration from 
 girls and women than 
 knowledge of any kind. 
 To them no one is so 
 ridiculous and contempt- 
 ible as an ignoramus. 
 Above all things, there- 
 fore, be on your guard 
 never to say ' I don't 
 know ' when you are asked 
 about anything. If you 
 are net in danger of some 
 by - stander remarking 
 
 1 2
 
 ii6 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ' that is untrue ' you had better make a misstatement ; an error is more 
 readily forgiven than ignorance. 
 
 " Forbear making comments to ladies on the good or bad looks of persons 
 whom you know" 
 
 The Berlin ladies on their part are admonished that — 
 
 " It will not do for a lady to knit stockings in every kind of company and 
 in all public places ! " 
 
 Spite of the courte'^y which there is a pretence of exacting to- 
 wards the fair sex, we find a lady justly complaining that in Ger- 
 many " No man rises to open the door for you when you leave the 
 room ; if cups of tea or coffee have to be handed about it is the 
 lady of the house that will carry them round ; she will be re- 
 warded with a ' Tauscud Dank, incine Gnddigste^ but the ' most 
 gracious ' will be allowed to trot about all the same. A man 
 need not wait (in that happy land) for ' pain and anguish ' to 
 ' rack the brow ' before the ministering angels appear upon the 
 scene. You (one of the angels) may search an hour for your 
 sortie de bal in a cloak-room, before one out of that group of glit- 
 tering beings assembled round the door will put out a helping 
 hand. When at last you emerge from your difficulties, and pass 
 down the stairs, they will draw themselv^es up, in stramme mili- 
 tiirischc HalUing, click their heels together, and bring their heads 
 to the level of their sword-belts ; and if that is not devotion, 
 
 chivalric behavour, and 
 splendid respect the 
 world has none to 
 show, and you are an 
 exacting and irrational 
 malcontent." 
 
 Dancing is a positive 
 mania with the Ber- 
 linese, yet our arbiter 
 cleoantiaru7n of the 
 Athens of the Spree 
 offers but few hints for 
 the benefit of novices 
 in the science of salta- 
 tion. He, however, in- 
 forms us that — 
 
 " There may be parties 
 where propriety requires 
 you to enter the room hat 
 in hand, to keep on your 
 gloves, to dance hat in 
 hand, &c., while there 
 may also be highly re- 
 spectable society where to 
 do so would look absurd. 
 
 " Jf you wish to look like
 
 THE BERLINISE IN SOCIETY. 
 
 117 
 
 
 n 
 
 I >. I.- 
 
 
 ^>Vv*4^sv;>A--^ 
 
 circumstance how with thcni the enthusiasm 
 itself perfectly with 
 the activity of the 
 stomach, citing, as 
 an example, that 
 Werther, even in his 
 moments of most 
 profound despair, 
 never once forgets 
 the hours of his 
 meals. To-day we 
 find a lettered Ber- 
 liner maintaining it 
 would be an im- 
 mense mistake to 
 imagine that a trace 
 remains of the ele- 
 ments which went 
 to form the picture 
 Madame de Stael 
 gave of them to the 
 world. " The idea- 
 ism, the dreaminess, 
 and moonshine," ob- 
 serves he, " have had 
 their day. We have become strict Realists 
 
 a fool you have only 
 to keep on your gloves 
 when no one else in 
 the room is wearing 
 them, or to dance hat 
 in hand when no one 
 else is doing so. 
 
 " In dancing avoid 
 grand steps and pirou- 
 ettes, which are admis- 
 sible in a theatre but 
 not in a ball-room, 
 where simplicity, mo- 
 desty, and dignity are 
 required in the dance. 
 The waltz especially 
 demands great moder- 
 ation." 
 
 The Germans 
 have long enjoyed 
 the credit of being 
 a sentimental peo- 
 ple, and M. Emile 
 Souvestre has call- 
 ed attention to the 
 of the mind allies 
 
 The questions that
 
 iiS 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 occupy US in the morning, which perplex us at nightfall, are 
 business questions. All in art and literature that savoured of 
 idealism, dreaminess, and moonshine, is gone. We have become 
 accustomed to deal better than we used to do with realities, and 
 to describe things as they are. Why are we Realists .-' For the 
 same cause that makes a Realist of any one on the pavements 
 of the London streets. If one is pressed upon, and shoved 
 from all sides, and must keep a sharp look-out in order to escape 
 being run over, one has no leisure for transcendental Idealism 
 and the sorrows of a ' beautiful spirit' " ^ 
 
 Spite of all this our thoroughly practical Berlinese are still 
 under the influence of the romanticism which pervades the 
 literature of the past century, and a very short sojourn in the 
 imperial capital suffices to satisfy one that its inhabitants have 
 other idols besides Bismarck and Moltke, and that Goethe and 
 Schiller still hold their place in the general admiration. You 
 can rarely open a Berlin newspaper or periodical of any kind 
 without meeting with something concerning one or other of these 
 twin geniuses — either some new detail concerning their lives, a 
 fete held in their honour, a projected statue, a criticism on their 
 works, the sitting of some vcrem devoted to their study, or some 
 allusion to their intellectual supremacy. Whenever there is a 
 dearth of news the papers invariably fall back upon Schiller or 
 Goethe. The elephant at the Berlin Zoological Gardens, although 
 a colossal one, would never be able to carry the piles of paper 
 
 , , ^^. printed every vear 
 
 with the specific 
 object of keeping 
 alive the worship of 
 these twin demi- 
 gods. 
 
 A German, al- 
 though he be but 
 a better-class shop- 
 keeper, will gene- 
 rally possess some 
 kind of library, and 
 occupyingthe place 
 of honour on its 
 shelves are certain 
 to be the complete 
 works of Goethe 
 and Schiller in 
 the handsomest of 
 bindings. And yet, 
 in spite of this, or 
 perhaps by reason of it, the trade keeps constantly reproducing 
 
 J F. .Spielhagen, in the Atlienccum,
 
 THE BERLINESE IN SOCIETY. II 9 
 
 these books, issuing them as perfect marvels of cheapness. There 
 is scarcely an intelligent German or educated young girl, or 
 mother of a family in the Fatherland who does not know much of 
 Schiller or Goethe by heart. And as it is only natural for people 
 to like to talk of what they know, you can scarcely converse with 
 a Berliner for half-an-hour, or if she be a lady for more than 
 five minutes without Schiller or Goethe coming upon the tapis 
 in the shape of some quotation from one or other of their works. 
 
 I was once with a friend at an open-air concert, when standing 
 behind us, were a rather numerous family. A gentleman passed, 
 eyic\di\vmng," Das also war des Piidels Kent!" a remark of Faust's 
 when Mephistopheles assumes his proper shape in lieu of that 
 of the dog into which he had transformed himself Instantly 
 the mother behind us repeated the continuation, " Eiu fahrender 
 Scolastf and then one of the daughters took up the quotation, 
 saying, " Der Casus macJit mich lachen ;" and so on, each member 
 of the family going on in turn to the end of the scene without 
 missing a single word. 
 
 " Do you prefer Goethe to Schiller, or Schiller to Goethe ? " 
 is the question constantly addressed to a foreigner. Each poet 
 counts his partisans and admirers, and Berlin, like other large 
 German cities, has its two parties of Schillerians and Goetheists. 
 Every one, while adhering to his particular preference, still 
 admits both to be great men. The discussion on this subject has 
 already lasted nearly half a century, and still continues as brisk 
 as ever. Friends and families constantly quarrel on account of 
 differences of opinion on this most important point, a propos oi 
 which a Belgian, whose acquaintance I made at Berlin, related 
 to me the following anecdote : — 
 
 " A rich banker," said he, " to whom I brought introductions is 
 owner of a charming villa in the vicinity of Berlin, where he 
 spends the summer months. When I first visited him there I 
 noticed in front of the entrance a bust of Goethe on a pedestal 
 surrounded with flowers. On a subsequent occasion I observed 
 that the bust had disappeared, and that its place had been sup- 
 plied by one of Schiller. Remarking on the subject to the 
 banker's wife, the lady replied : ' It was I who had the busts 
 changed, and I intend that Schiller shall remain. I am deter- 
 mined not to give way in this instance, although I have generally 
 fallen in with my husband's fancies. For Goethe to occupy the 
 place of honour whilst Schiller is hidden away in a garret will 
 never do. I certainly will not allow our sublime poet to be thus 
 insulted. I have forbidden the gardener to remove his bust, and 
 if he dares to touch it I will at once discharge him. Goethe, as 
 you know, was a dreadful character, and said marriage was 
 immoral, whilst Schiller ' 
 
 " At this moment the banker, who had evidently overheard the 
 latter portion of the lady's remarks, entered the room. * My dear
 
 I20 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 wife,' said he, 'you are most unjust with regard to Goethe. He 
 is more universal, addresses himself more to mankind at large, 
 than Schiller, who was exclusively German. The place of 
 honour, therefore, belongs to Goethe.' Then, addressing me, 
 ' You, I am sure, will be of my opinion.' 
 
 " I was greatly embarrassed how to reply, when the lady came 
 to my rescue. * No, indeed,' interposed she ; ' our friend is a 
 Belgian, and must prefer Schiller, who wrote such an admirable 
 history of his country's revolution in the sixteenth century.' 
 
 " 'And Goethe,' replied the banker, 'did he wot \\r\\.Q Egino7it? 
 Did he not translate the romance of Reyjiard the Fox, a 
 Flemish work .-' ' 
 
 " Thus beset on both sides, I was about proposing, as 
 a solution of the difficulty, that a second pedestal should be 
 erected for Goethe, when the daughter of the house, a girl of 
 seventeen, abandoning her roses, made her appearance, and 
 warmly espoused Schiller's cause. She detested Goethe instinc- 
 tively, and would not hear his name mentioned. Under these 
 circumstances, not knowing what to say, I relapsed into silence. 
 The discussion lasted until dinner-time. It was probably resumed 
 the following day, and I doubt if it is even yet concluded." 
 

 
 
 ,/- C'^*v-^ ^J^yv^oAX'f^sm..'^ 
 
 /I yiv ^^*Ji-v-).-i-vtv^ evv> Caw »,^.vu ^&.-iiw_— ^r»v-t-i-J » 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE BERLINESE— AT HOME. 
 
 WITH the exception of a score or two of mansions, for the 
 most part grandiloquently dignified by the Berlinese with 
 the appellation of palaces, Berlin houses, like Paris ones, are, as a 
 rule, built to let out in flats. Each has its common entry under a 
 parte cochcrc, and its common staircase for all the inmates, while 
 the larger ones have generally a good-sized court in the rear. 
 Sham marble pilasters and panels, and sham mosaic, decorate 
 the vestibules and staircases of most of the modern stucco 
 edifices, the stairs themselves being frequently painted over with 
 sham carpeting, just as the ceilings of the rooms are set ofi* with 
 sham cornices and centre ornaments, and the walls with sham 
 panels and mouldings. Double windows are invariably provided 
 to keep out the cold, yet the floors will be only partially 
 carpeted, while polished parquetry is merely found in the more 
 elegant houses, it being the fashion at Berlin simply to stain the 
 floors of the apartments some darker colour.
 
 122 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 In the typical middle-class drawinjr-room, most of the furniture, 
 includinf^ chairs, tables, sofa (the seat of honour in all German 
 households), and even footstools, is scrupulously covered with 
 crochet- work of elaborate design. Other chefs d'ceiivrcs of the 
 needle, from the familiar woolwork on which Berlin has conferred 
 a name, to complicated embroideries and endless inutilities in bead- 
 work, are prominently displayed about the apartment, while any 
 such artistic objects as mediaeval glass, last-century china, modern 
 bronzes, statuettes, caskets, sconces, chandeliers, and girandoles, 
 are scarcely ever seen. Considering, too, the shoals of French 
 clocks which the Prussians are accused of having carried off 
 during the war with France, gilt timepieces and \\\€\x garnitures 
 are rarer objects than one would have imagined in Berlin 
 drawing-rooms. On the walls invariably hang the family photo- 
 graphs in little oval frames, the men being commonly represented 
 in uniform with military medals on their breasts. On the table 
 one finds neither albums nor illustrated books, nor even maga- 
 zines and newspapers, excepting perhaps a stray number of 
 Dcr Bazar or Der Gartenlaube, for Berlin women rarely read the 
 papers or trouble themselves about anything outside their own 
 narrov/ sphere. 
 
 Just as the drawing-room is deficient in elegance, so does 
 the dining-room lack comfort, its walls being usually bare, its 
 floor uncarpeted, and its furniture of the plainest description. 
 In none of the apartments are there open fireplaces, warmth 
 being more effectually and economically secured by means of 
 the Berlincse kaclielofcn, a monumental stove of clay and gypsum, 
 glazed outside with white porcelain, the interior being so con- 
 trived that the heat passes slowly through endless circumvolutory 
 valves, which by degrees warm the whole mass. Preparatory 
 to heating, the stove is well piled up with wood and a strong 
 draught created ; and when the logs are reduced to ashes, a 
 handle is turned in the wall of the stove and a little door drawn 
 over the grating at its mouth, when, the draught being cut off, 
 the heated air remains imprisoned in the ofcn, which will keep 
 warm for many hours, communicating an equalised heat to the 
 remotest corner of the apartment. One drawback to this 
 arrangement is that, if the escape-valve be closed too soon, the 
 fumes of charcoal will pass into the room, rendering the danger 
 of asphyxiation in a sleeping apartment great. During very 
 cold weather such casualties are by no means uncommon. Cast- 
 iron stoves are frequently substituted for the Berliner of en, and 
 produce a furnace-like heat, affecting both taste, smell, and sight, 
 the unpleasant consequences of which are but very slightly coun- 
 teracted by the vessel of water which you are advised to keep 
 constantly boiling on their hottest part.^ 
 
 The sleeping apartments are provided with bedsteads of 
 
 ^ German Home Life.
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 12- 
 
 I 
 
 
 Liliputian dimensions — simple wooden boxes, too short to allow 
 of a tall man stretching himself out full length, and too narrow 
 for a fat man to turn round in. Indeed, narrower quarters could 
 scarcely be found in a coffin, and certainly not in a Berlin one. 
 The sheets, too, are little else than good-sized towels, so that 
 tucking in is altogether impossible, while, in lieu of blankets and 
 counterpane, the bed is provided with a voluminous bag of 
 feathers, too short, however, to keep the toes warm. The problem 
 to be solved by the unhappy occupant of one of these diminutive 
 sleeping berths is to slide deftly in between two bags of feathers, 
 and to keep the upper one, which is apt to be constantly slipping 
 on to the ground, in proper equilibrium. Coleridge, when 
 travelling in Germany, said that he preferred carrying his blanket 
 about with him, like a Red Indian, to enduring the discomforts 
 inseparable from a German bed. 
 
 The wall-papers in many private houses and hotels are 
 remarkable for their hideous patterns, which, in the case of 
 nervous individuals are sufficient to induce an attack of nightmare. 
 These papers are bad enough in the daytime, but at night — 
 lighted perhaps by a trembling moonray — they assume a ghastly 
 aspect. Great ogres' heads, with eyes as large as saucers, and 
 mouths which seem to open wider and wider every minute, 
 appear to stare down 
 upon one ; serpents 
 twist and twirl in 
 endless arabesques, as 
 though about to spring; 
 while little demons 
 perch themselves here 
 and there round the 
 room with hideous 
 grins stereotyped up- 
 on their features. No 
 wonder that a stranger, 
 with the indigestible 
 Berlin cuisine lying 
 heavily on his chest, 
 should imagine himself 
 encompassed by all 
 manner of horrors, and 
 engage in a more or 
 less desperate struggle 
 with the spirits of the 
 air, in the course of which the hateful bag of feathers is cer- 
 tain to overbalance itself and topple to the ground, leaving 
 him shivering in a half-sleeping, half-waking state during the 
 remainder of the night. 
 
 A special feature of Berlin is its furnished apartments. " Eine
 
 124 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW K.MI'IKE. 
 
 moblirte Stube zu vcrmiethen" is to be seen on thousands of 
 house-doors and beneath the windows of all the storeys from 
 ground-floor to attic. In Berlin the letting of rooms is a busi- 
 ness of itself, which not only pays the householder's rent, but 
 is frequently his or her sole source of income. All sections of 
 the middle- classes devote themselves to this vocation — widows 
 of privy-councillors, subordinate officials, thrifty gentlemen of 
 private means, tradespeople of all descriptions, but pre-eminently 
 tailors. A lodger has the widest choice, from gorgeous salons, 
 with pier-glasses and divans at extravagantly high rents, down 
 or rather up to humble attics, with rickety chairs and unsteady 
 tables. The principal occupants of the better class of furnished 
 apartments are strangers to the capital, members of the Reichs- 
 tag and Landtag, and well-to-do idlers, indifferent to civic 
 privileges, and free from the cares of family life. Lodgers of 
 this class are not dominated over by their landlords in the 
 fashion that those of humbler condition are. They are neither 
 controlled nor watched in the same harassing way, the only 
 scrutiny they are subjected to having reference merely to the 
 contents of their purses, whereas the occupier of furnished 
 apartments in an average Berlin lodging-house becomes in a 
 great measure the property of his landlady, who is never satisfied 
 with receiving the mere rent. She requires him to drink the 
 
 family coffee on the 
 plea that if he made 
 
 his own he would 
 spoil the table-cloth. 
 The heating of his 
 apartment is also 
 monopolized by her, 
 and, as a conse- 
 quence, only a few 
 lir-chips are laid in 
 the stove of a morn- 
 ing, causing him to 
 be shivering with 
 cold at noon, neces- 
 sitating its being 
 constantly relighted, 
 and forcing him to 
 seek for warmer 
 quarters in some 
 bicr-hnjis of an even- 
 ing. The furniture 
 generally consists of 
 a sofa, on which it would be idle to attempt to lie at full length, 
 such a proceeding being designedly rendered impossible for 
 the sake of the sofa itself; a secrdtairc, spotted all over with 
 
 - i/fiTi-if-..
 
 THE BERI.INESE AT HOME. 1 25 
 
 ink ; a chest of drawers, in which each new comer finds the 
 worthless relics of his predecessor ; a few rush-bottomed chairs, 
 a table, washstand, looking-glass, and finally a bedstead, con- 
 structed according to the universal rule of rigid military dimen- 
 sions, whose brevity is provocative of cramp, and whose extreme 
 narrowness renders extravagant dreams altogether impossible. 
 
 Hundreds of lodging-houses of this description, sv/arming 
 with domestic vermin, which the proprietors are at no pains 
 to exterminate — their habit being to assure their tenants that 
 they will soon get used to them — are to be found within a 
 stone's throw of the Linden. Up in the attic will perhaps be 
 perched one of those quiet, industrious young men, who, on his 
 arrival in the Weltstadt — as the Berlinese since the war have 
 christened their city — will have brought with him a huge trunk, 
 which, by the aid of a friend, he gets up stairs with apparent 
 difficulty, peremptorily refusing the landlady's proffered help, as 
 it happens to be almost empty ; in fact, as empty as the cupboard 
 in his room, which he carefully locks whenever he goes out, and 
 which contains simply some socks, a cap, sword-belt, and pair of 
 high boots. The owner of this scanty wardrobe is a truant from 
 home who had joined a company of strolling players, and, dis- 
 gusted with his first failure, and discarded by his plodding father, 
 has come to Berlin to try his hand at literature. His next-door 
 neighbour is an embryo portrait-painter — an orphan, whose uncle, 
 a stalwart country blacksmith, proud of v/hat he believes to be 
 his talent, makes him a monthly allowance to' enable him to 
 pursue his artistic studies. The money is not exactly wasted, 
 for the young fellow is constantly at work with his brushes and 
 his palette, and even in the open air has always the odour of 
 fresh paint about him. His uncle and the rest of his relations, 
 as well as all the landlord's family, have sat to him in turn. 
 Photographic portraits he maintains to be merely bungling pro- 
 ductions of science, whereas art, with its idealism, is capable of 
 surpassing nature herself. He gains, however, no prize-medal, 
 and is sent on no Italian tour, so that at length the old black- 
 smith, doubting his talent, withdraws his monthly allowance, 
 which obliges him to give up his furnished room, and he is last 
 seen on the top of a ladder painting the outside of a newly- 
 finished house. 
 
 Underneath live several rackety students and a professor of 
 the English language, who flaunts a stylish overcoat, but whose 
 general wardrobe, according to his laundress, is but poorly 
 supplied. He leaves home very early in the morning under the 
 pretence of breathing the fresh air ; but his neighbours, the 
 students, say that it is to avoid the bailiff". Vis-a-vis with him 
 lives a great but unknown composer, who regards the works of 
 Mozart and Beethoven as unadapted to the spirit of the age, and 
 who has composed a couple of inimitable operas which however
 
 126 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 he has failed to get performed. His landlady complains that 
 he is a most untidy genius, for he is always losing his soap, and 
 leaving his hair-brush on the sofa. He is poor and consump- 
 tive, and gets his living by giving lessons, which obliges him to 
 trudge long distances even in the very worst of weathers. 
 
 On the first-floor lodges a stout, middle-aged gentleman from 
 Pomerania, who has come to Berlin for the express purpose 
 of seeing the Minister of Finance. He is the inventor of a 
 peculiar water-mark for bank-notes, which it is impossible to 
 
 forge, since it is produced by electro-magnetism, and cannot, he 
 maintains, be imitated by the most skilful hand. He remains 
 installed for months, dressing well, and living still better with 
 his landlady for caterer, but postponing payment both for rent 
 and board until the Minister of Finance comes to a definite 
 decision on his invention, which he informs his landlady the 
 latter is certain soon to do, as everybody pronounces the new 
 water-mark to be one of the most ingenious inventions of the 
 
 age, besides which the 
 
 fcLTT^f'^'.l' 
 
 Minister has been heard 
 to express himself en- 
 thusiastically regarding 
 it. One day, however, 
 the stout, middle-aged 
 gentleman fails to re- 
 turn from the Ministry 
 ^ of Finance, and when 
 I the landlady examines 
 his room she finds 
 the wardrobe perfectly 
 empty. On the table 
 is a letter for her, in 
 which the defaulter has 
 inclosed a specimen of 
 the water-mark, pro- 
 mising to forward the 
 bank-notes belonging to 
 it at the earliest con- 
 venient opportunity.^ 
 The Bcrlinese have a traditional objection to letting apart- 
 ments to the fair sex, and certainly not one in a dozen is 
 willing to open his doors to a young lady living alone. Berlin 
 numbers thousands upon thousands of self-dependent, unpro- 
 tected women whom lodging-house keepers object to receive — 
 first because they are suspicious of their characters, and secondly 
 because nothing is to be made out of women. In itself there is 
 nothing remarkable that a young girl should be driven by her 
 destiny to support herself by honest and virtuous means ; never- 
 * Bc'r/i;i luird Wcltstadt, von Robert Springer.
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 127 
 
 theless for her the question of shelter in the capital of the new 
 Empire is invariably attended with painful humiliations ; and 
 vainly does the association for assisting women to support 
 themselves by their own industry try to vanquish this prejudice. 
 Even the magistracy retain their old suspicions, founded doubt- 
 lessly on actual experience, of women who live by themselves ; 
 hence an unmarried lady, engaged at the Court theatre, was 
 recently summoned by a magistrate to appear before him, and 
 state what were her ^ ^ 
 
 means of subsistence. ^<t^^ai^i^3^-^-^-^^i^ic-^-^^r-±!^iiyit■!■i.! 
 
 Such a person may 
 be in comparatively 
 good circumstances, 
 and yet be reduced 
 to tears when she tries 
 to obtain apartments 
 in Berlin. People will 
 mount their noses in 
 the air, and send 
 her from their doors, 
 or she will have to 
 submit to a sharp 
 cross-examination. If 
 she is received, and 
 her character and oc- 
 cupation are not at 
 once patent, all that 
 she does, as well as all 
 that she leaves un- 
 done, where she goes, 
 and the time when she 
 returns, her wardrobe, 
 and the letters she receives, 
 suspicion. 
 
 The Berlinese, following the general custom of the Continent, 
 assemble round no family breakfast-table, with its snowy cloth 
 set forth with glittering plate and handsome china, as amongst 
 ourselves, before entering on the avocations of the day. With them 
 the matutinal meal is partaken of under conditions the reverse 
 of inviting. On the table there is usually one of those abomin- 
 able oil-cloth covers, so common abroad, on which is placed a 
 basket or tray, piled up with newly-baked little wheaten rolls, 
 called semvicbi, and the requisite number of cups and saucers 
 — plates and knives being regarded as altogether superfluous — 
 while the coffee-pot is placed on the top of the kachelofen to keep 
 warm. One after another the members of the family troop in, if 
 not altogether unwashed, certainly after a too sparing external 
 use of cold water, and in varying stages oi dishabille, the hjad of 
 
 are 
 
 all 
 
 regarded 
 
 with intense
 
 128 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the establishment ordinarily in one of those offensively loud 
 dressing-gowns, to which the Germans are so partial, and the 
 mistress of the house in untidy morning wrapper and crumpled 
 as well as not over clean cap. Each grown-up member of the 
 family helps him or herself to coffee, and, as a rule, almost every- 
 one partakes of the uncomfortable meal — the fruhstiick, ox 
 " early bit " as it is expressively enough termed — if not moving 
 up and down at any rate standing. 
 
 By reason of the early dinner-hour, the d(^jetmer a la foiirchette 
 
 is not in vogue at Ber- 
 lin, where the two great 
 meals of the day are 
 the dinner and the sup- 
 per. With the middle- 
 classes the dinner-hour 
 varies from twelve to 
 two, during which time 
 all the public offices, 
 banks, and other large 
 institutions, are closed, 
 and business may be 
 said to be entirely sus- 
 pended. The upper 
 classes ordinarily dine 
 no later than four 
 o'clock, so as to admit 
 of their going to the 
 theatre or the opera at 
 the early hour of six. 
 The meal in the ma- 
 jority of households is 
 far from a substan- 
 tial one. The scant 
 supply of meat in the 
 butchers' shops has already been remarked on, and many a 
 British mechanic devours as much animal food in a day as 
 would serve an average middle-class household for a week. The 
 wealthier burghers and the poor nobility exercise in their 
 domestic commissariat an economiy which, judged by an Eng- 
 lish standard, is quite incompatible with the maintenance of 
 full health and strength, and one writer, whose long residence in 
 the Prussian capital renders him a competent judge, expresses 
 his doubts whether there are really ten thousand well-fed people 
 in all Berlin out of nearly a million of inhabitants. 
 
 The ordinary dinner may be taken to consist of soup, the 
 bouilli from which it has been made, and from which all nutri- 
 ment has been carefully extracted, a slice or so of sausage or 
 of raw ham, or equally raw pickled herring, various vegetables —
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 129 
 
 comprising, of course, the national sauerkraut, which, if warm, 
 will be redolent of grease, and if cold of vinegar — pre- 
 serves or pudding of some kind, and plenty of schwartzbrod 
 — that is, rye' bread stuck full of caraway seeds, which 
 the Berlinese pretend calm the nerves, an inference hardly 
 M'arranted by their condition of chronic cantankerousness. 
 During the autumn baked goose is an especially favourite dish 
 both at the Berlin restaurants and with private families. Into 
 the mysteries of the domestic cuisine it will not do to pry too 
 closely. German food generally has been divided into "the 
 salt, the sour, and the greasy : the salt, as exemplified by ham 
 and herrings ; the sour, as typified by kratit and salads ; the 
 greasy, as demonstrated by vegetables stewed in fat, sausages 
 swimming in fat, sauces surrounded by fat, soups filmy with fat." 
 But there are weird compounds, mysterious " hell broths," 
 evolved from odds and ends, and of which the restaurateur's carte 
 disdains to take notice, to be met with at private tables. The 
 English belief that to make soup sundry pounds of meat are 
 needed as a primary ingredient, may receive a shock on first 
 becoming acquainted with the soiipes maigres of France, but it 
 vanishes altogether on finding the water in which fish has been 
 boiled thickened with flour and flavoured with a dab of salt 
 butter, formally served up at a meal, or in the presence of a 
 soup composed principally of beer, thickened with eggs and 
 sweetened with sugar, and the aspect and flavour of which pro- 
 duce upon strangers much the same efl'ect as the black broth of 
 Sparta upon the guests at the classical banquet in Peregrijie 
 Pickle. 
 
 The dainties which Germany boasts of with some jus- 
 tice, such as Westphalia hams, Brunswick sausages, Pomeranian 
 goose breasts, East Sea fat herrings, smoked Kiel sprats, Elbe 
 and East Sea eels in jelly, caviar, and the like, and which are 
 to be found on the cartes of the better class of restaurants at 
 Berlin, are too costly to figure on the tables of her citizens, save 
 on the most exceptional occasions. Sticky jams and sallow 
 salt or acid pickles, notably the saure gtirken, play, however, 
 a conspicuous part in the repast, and are often eaten simul- 
 taneously. The preparation of the latter in the immense quantities 
 needed for home consumption is one of the great duties of a 
 housewife ; and that dead season of the year which we usually 
 associate with gigantic gooseberries and the sea-serpent is known 
 at Berlin as " die saiiregurkenzeitl' as everyone is then supposed to 
 be absorbed in the pickling of gherkins for winter consumption. 
 
 In many households the dinner is served in much the same 
 happy-go-lucky fashion as the breakfast. It is true the table 
 has a tumbled cloth on it, still its appointments and general 
 arrangements have little that is inviting about them. It is not 
 considered necessary to change the knives and forks, and only 
 
 K
 
 130 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 rarely to supply fresh plates ; still this can be of no great 
 moment to people who make a practice of eating half-a-dozen 
 different things of the most diverse flavours from off the same 
 plate at the same time. Tea or coffee is partaken of later in 
 the afternoon, after which comes the early theatre, very gene- 
 rally patronized by the Berlinese, and then the family supper, 
 commonly consisting of little slices of cold meat, ham, or 
 sausage, jam, pickles, hard-boiled eggs, black bread, cheese, and 
 butter, washed down with copious draughts of beer or a limited 
 quantity of simulated Bordeaux. 
 
 The primitive custom prevalent in provincial towns in regard 
 to the hiring of domestic servants still survives at Berlin, where, 
 at the end of each quarter, a kind of statute-fair is held in a 
 particular part of Friedrichs-strasse. Here, crowding alike the 
 foot-pavement and the roadway, a hundred or upwards of over- 
 dressed, tidy, or slatternly-looking female servants may at times 
 be seen, all duly provided with their dienstbucJis for the inspection 
 of the Berlin hausfrau, or the alter hagestolz (old bachelor) in 
 search of either kochin, inddchen, or wirthscJuifterin. In these 
 dienstbuchs — provided by the police authorities, and for which 
 the servant has to pay a few groschen — her name, age, and 
 native place are duly recorded, and then follows a series of 
 printed forms, one of which each successive mistress of the girl 
 fills up when the latter quits her situation. They certify as to 
 the time she has been in her place, and how she has conducted 
 
 herself whilst there, 
 
 
 
 together with the rea- 
 son for her leaving. 
 These latter particu- 
 lars, however, are not 
 to be relied on, Berlin 
 mistresses, like Paris 
 ones, being singularly 
 wanting in candour 
 with reference to 
 servants' characters. 
 When it happens the 
 girl's conduct has been 
 so bad that it is 
 impossible for her 
 mistress to overlook 
 it, she neglects on 
 leaving her situation, 
 to present herself at 
 
 _ , ,,.,^„,,^ «„ the police bureau to 
 
 ^^^i:m^^-c. :,.,„. .d'.mm'J3^W haveherbookstamped, 
 
 as she is bound to do. She rather finds it preferable to rus- 
 ticate for a few months in her native place, as, armed with a
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 131 
 
 certificate of her good conduct whilst there, she is enabled to 
 obtain a new dienstbuch on the plea of the old one being lost, 
 and so make a fresh start in life with a clean moral bill of health. 
 
 Berlin derives its sup- 
 ply of female servants 
 not merely from various 
 country places in the 
 vicinity of the capital | 
 and the Prussian pro- 
 vinces generally, but 
 from all parts of Ger- 
 many. Every year 
 upwards of 30,000 un- 
 married women come 
 to Berlin to enter do- 
 mesticservice, or procure 
 some kind of work. 
 Those who engage them- 
 selves as nurses, and 
 occasionally some of 
 the others — femmes de 
 chainbre and the like 
 — will continue to wear 
 the gay and picturesque 
 costume of their native place. Principal among these are 
 the buxom-looking peasant-girls from the Spreewald, whose 
 
 quaint head-dresses 
 and bright-coloured 
 petticoats contin- 
 ually attract the at- 
 tention in the cen- 
 tral avenue of the 
 Linden and the side- 
 walks of the Thier- 
 garten. The girls 
 who come from 
 Prussian Poland are 
 credited with being 
 both exceedingl)' 
 untidy and lazy, al- 
 though the majority 
 of Berlin servants 
 are certainly to be 
 commended. They cook fairly according to their lights, 
 wash and get up fine linen equal to professional laun- 
 dresses, and perform an amount of hard work, the mere enume- 
 ration of which would render an ordinary English housemaid 
 
 highly 
 
 indignant. 
 
 They do no end of scrubbing and 
 
 K 2
 
 132 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 scouring, commonly without the aid of soap, for the thrifty 
 Berlin housewife usually allows only sand for this pur- 
 pose. Sand, by the way, is largely in 
 request in most Berlin households, which 
 have their regiments of spittoons filled with 
 this substance, and the sand-cart is one of 
 the institutions of the capital, being indeed 
 almost as common as the universal beer- 
 dray. 
 
 The usual wages of Berlin servants are 
 60 thaler, or £c) a year, which is exactly 
 double what they were previous to the war. 
 They receive in addition a present equal to 
 at least a couple of guineas on the occasion 
 of the new year, besides which they are 
 always hungering after gratuities from 
 guests, lodgers, and the like. The afternoon 
 "" of every second Sunday belongs to them 
 
 of right, and is generally spent at some beer-garden or saloon, 
 where their great 
 delight is to join in 
 a dance. 
 
 The relations be- 
 tween German mis- 
 tresses and 
 servants have 
 animadverted 
 by a female 
 which describes 
 
 their 
 been 
 upon 
 pen, 
 "the 
 
 disastrous system 
 of rambling, slip- 
 shod gossip, carried 
 on between mistress 
 and maid, whilst the 
 potatoes are being 
 peeled and the car- 
 rots scraped, as 
 breeding a famili- 
 arity that is apt to 
 turn to contempt in 
 the inferior mind, 
 and is destructive 
 of anything like 
 truthfulness or in- 
 dependence on the 
 part of the mistress 
 
 A BERLIN SAND CART. 
 
 All the morning the lady potters in and out of the kitchen, and 
 between lifting the saucepan-lids and deploring the scarcity of
 
 THE BKRLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 133 
 
 eggs and the dearness of butter, many little confidences transpire, 
 the maid repeating all the miserable tittle-tattle of women of her 
 class with reference to their betters which she has picked up at 
 the market. A German servant who never saw her mistress in the 
 kitchen would soon despise her as a bad hausfrau, and would 
 probably begin a system of thieving, under the impression that 
 her mistress was so 
 rich it did not matter, 
 or so stupid she would 
 not discover it. , \^^^:WimL{«-'fx&'/:" .'Ammr, -.HtiiifRi; v 
 
 " In ordinary house- 
 holds only one servant 
 is kept, but if there 
 are children there 
 will be a nursemaid. 
 If the household be 
 that of a military 
 man there will be an 
 orderly, who helps with 
 the rougher work, 
 such as the hewing 
 of wood and drawing 
 of water. In almost 
 everything, domestics are allowanced, provisions (not stores 
 only) being kept under strict lock and key, and doled out from 
 meal to meal according to want or necessity by the inde- 
 fatigable haiisfraii. So much bread and so much butter is 
 allowed, or board-wages are given, so that the servants are 
 independent in all smaller matters of the family-food. 
 
 "A German servant continues a maid of all work until circum- 
 stances elevate her to a higher position. When dispensing with 
 the marriage ceremony, civil or religious, she becomes a mother, 
 a fresh career is opened to her as an avunc (wet-nurse). It 
 is extremely rare for German ladies to nourish their own chil- 
 dren, and in rich and noble families the amine forms a part of 
 the pomp and circumstance of the house. She will wear her peas- 
 ant's dress, and with singular sort of coquetry her mistress will 
 see that the smartest silver shoe-buckles and Mieder ornaments, 
 the brightest scarlet cloth, the trimmest cap and bodice are hers ; 
 and when she carries her charge through the public gardens or 
 is driven abroad for an airing, she will often attract more notice, 
 and receive more admiration, than equipage, lady, horses, and 
 infant all put together." ' 
 
 Miss Martineau speaks of Quaker children as being trained 
 from their earliest infancy to " cry softly," and it would appear 
 as if Berlin babies were subjected to something of the same dis- 
 cipline. The infants, mewling and puking in their nurse's arms 
 ^ German Home Life, by a Lady.
 
 134 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 have an air of gravity well becoming incipient Teufelsdrocks, an 
 expression of mental discipline, in strict accordance with the 
 fashion in which their physical freedom is cribbed, cabined, and 
 
 confined by a multipli- 
 city of swathings and 
 swaddlings. The same 
 soberness of demeanour 
 marks them as they 
 increase in years. If 
 they play they must 
 do so in the recesses 
 of their nurseries, for 
 you rarely see them 
 engaged, like English 
 children, at a boisterous 
 game in the open air. 
 li Such mild amusements 
 as flying kites and 
 blowing bubbles are 
 far more to their 
 taste. We all know Germany to be the great producer 
 of toys ; and although toy-shops are singularly rare at Berlin, 
 it is only fair to suppose that the numerous toys exposed 
 for sale at the Christmas fair there are turned to some kind of 
 account. And yet it is only the veriest toddlers, and rarely 
 even these, who are seen trailing after them such a sign of the 

 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 135 
 
 ^vx_^,^< -• 
 
 
 
 times as the ubiquitous uhlan mounted upon his wooden 
 Berlin boys play at neither round games nor games with 
 
 
 although they execute .„„a,ij!i, . .ji i-.-=,s-t:v_- 4 1 rrr-- 
 
 sundry weird manoeu- 
 vres at the commands 
 of their instructors, I 
 which may have the 
 effect of improving 
 their lungs and mus- 
 cles : but which, judg- 
 ing from the serious 
 aspect of their coun- 
 tenances, certainly do ].' 
 not relax their minds 
 Excellent gymnasia •. 
 for children and 
 adults abound, at 
 which really astound- 
 ing feats are executed ; 
 but standing on your - 
 head at the end 
 of a pole, hanging 
 
 by the chin on a trapeze, or revolving like a catherine- 
 round a horizontal bar, although achievements requiring 
 
 steed, 
 sides, 
 
 wheel 
 both
 
 136 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Strength and skill in their execution, have nothing in com- 
 mon with playing at a game. Such a sight as a boy spinning 
 a top, trundling a hoop, tossing a ball, knuckling down at 
 marbles, discharging a pop-gun, or sending a " cat " whirling 
 past your ears, is never seen in the streets of the Prussian 
 capital. Berlin boys of the middle-classes go to day-schools 
 furnished with playgrounds, it is true, but in which no play goes 
 on ; and when, on leaving these, they join one of the universities, 
 their relaxations take the form of gymnastics, beer-drinking, 
 and duelling, with a walking tour during the vacations. 
 An eight or a four, manned by German students, has 
 never been seen on the Rhine, the Main, the Neckar, or the 
 Spree, although there are universities on the banks of all these 
 rivers ; and when a recent writer remarks that " the only manly 
 game that Berlin youth of the upper and middle-classes play is 
 the kriegspiel" one appreciates his irony. 
 
 As to the girls, they are early taught to sew, knit, cook, and 
 attend to household matters, all of which, when combined with 
 their ordinary education, and their instruction in music and 
 .singing, allows them but little opportunity, even if they had the 
 inclination, to play. The separation of the sexes, commencing at 
 an early age in the school-room, is continued outside it, conse- 
 quently, boys and girls from their tenderest years rarely mingle 
 together, while sisters never share their brothers' pursuits and 
 amusements as with us. Croquet, boating, and archery, are 
 unknown among them, and riding is for the most part looked 
 upon with horror as an unfeminine recreation. The apparition 
 of a lady on horseback is such a novelty in the streets of Berlin 
 that the juvenile ragamuffins have been known to testify their 
 astonishment by stoning her. The out-door exercise of a Berlin 
 girl is confined to her daily passage to and from school, with 
 occasional strolls in the Thiergarten, if she lives at all near to 
 it, and suburban excursions on high days and holidays, in com- 
 pany with her parents. As she grows up, the in-door life of 
 a stove-heated atmosphere, aided by a diet in which coffee, grease, 
 .sweets, and pickles, play the prominent part, begins to tell upon 
 her constitution. She becomes, as the French say, tHiolee, her com- 
 plexion gets pasty, and her teeth take their leave at an early age. 
 The important epoch of confirmation at length arrives. This 
 is in reality, however, less a religious than a social ceremony — a 
 -species of "coming out," marked by a round of visits paid in 
 the dress provided for the solemnity, the congratulations of 
 friends, and promotion to the degree of " young ladyhood," 
 with its accompanying privileges, such as long dresses and 
 heart aspirations. German young ladies are very much like 
 each other, since their lives mainly revolve in the same narrow 
 round of daily occupation, varied by an occasional dance and 
 evenings spent at concerts and theatres. To deviate from
 
 THE KERLINESE AT HOME. 1 37 
 
 f 7- ' ■ •= — ■ 
 
 this round would be to scandalize all one's friends and acquaint- 
 ances. Above everything our heroine continues to cultivate, 
 under her mother's tuition, the eminently Teutonic virtue of 
 hduslicJikeit, or dom.esticity, a quality more highly prized by the 
 middle-classes than any other, and one which popular literature 
 incessantly celebrates in prose and verse. The result is that 
 when she marries she is nearly always equal to the domestic 
 duties of her position, and is prepared to pinch, scrape, shift, and 
 starve, as people only pinch, scrape, shift, and starve in Berlin. 
 
 A yet more important epoch in the young girl's life approaches 
 — that in which she gives her affections to another under the 
 pledge of betrothal. 
 
 An impressionable French author, M. Edgar Bourloton, writing 
 after the recent war, paints a highly sentimental picture of the 
 development of the tender passion among the youths and 
 maidens of the Fatherland ; pretending, among other things, 
 that " a grave and well-considered affection rather than sordid 
 calculations of interest, or that blind exaltation commonly 
 termed love," is the moving principle in the majority of marriages 
 contracted between them. "At the age when the heart expands," 
 he goes on to say, " the young man selects an aniie in the circle 
 of his acquaintances and under the eyes of his family. The 
 sentimicnt of love thus becomes fixed at the very moment it is 
 awakened, and the still flexible characters of the youthful couple 
 harmonize in pleasant intimacy, while they at the same time 
 learn to know each other. When the legal age arrives at which 
 marriage is possible they exchange the betrothal ring, which 
 symbolizes a solemn covenant, and embellishes the future with 
 tender expectations, the realization of which is the best and 
 worthiest encouragement to a young man to conduct himself 
 well on his entrance into life. With many it is in the tender 
 security of this love, which is not the mere dazzling of a moment, 
 the illusion of a day, that the dream of their youth passes by ; 
 this hope of their life smoothing down the difficulties attending 
 all first efforts, and preserving from the wanderings of inexperi- 
 ence a heart which is already satisfied." 
 
 All this is very pretty and equally proper, no doubt, but if 
 these idyllic unions are frequent in the purely rural districts, 
 they are certainly far from common in the larger towns, where 
 life is for the most part of the hard matter-of-fact rather than 
 of the sentimental type. Courtship and betrothal have little or 
 no romance about them at Berlin, where wooing a maiden's 
 heart is a task of less moment than gauging the probable 
 depths of her father's pocket. Young ladies too, on their side, 
 are little disposed to surrender themselves to "love's young 
 dream." When well born or handsome their great aim in life is 
 the making of a good match. If, like la Grande Duchesse, 
 they love the militaires, their reveries will be of an alliance
 
 138 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 with some officer 
 of hussars or white 
 cuirassiers. Other- 
 wise the three con- 
 ditions commonly 
 imposed by an 
 aristocratic BerHn 
 beUe upon her 
 lover are a flight 
 of steps leading 
 up to the house, 
 the title of "Your 
 Excellency," and 
 a man cook ; and 
 yet flights of steps 
 to which carriages 
 may drive up are 
 rarely to be found 
 in the Prussian ca- 
 pital, theseobstruc- 
 tionshaving of late 
 years been gene- 
 rally removed to widen the foot pavements. A young lady of 
 high birth, but poor, who succeeded in making one of these 
 
 ceived merely a 
 thousand thaler for 
 her dowry. With 
 half of these she 
 bought false hair, 
 and with the other 
 half real lace, leaving 
 her husband to pro- ^ 
 vide all the domestic 
 requisites of their 
 joint household, the 
 furnishing of which 
 in Germany pro- 
 perly attaches to the 
 wife or her relatives. 
 This is somewhat 
 different to the days 
 when "spinster" was 
 a title that every 
 German maiden 
 
 sought to earn, and 
 when no bride en- 
 tered her husband's dwelling without oak chest upon oak 
 
 ^■n:-J*!f
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 139 
 
 chest piled high with snowy lavender-scented linen of her own 
 manufacture. 
 
 
 The average middle-class young Berliner, instead of calmly 
 selecting his betrothed under the parental eye, begins, as a rule, 
 by losing his heart to his bashful partner of the dancing-class, 
 only to become fascin- 
 ated by a succession 
 of blonde belles met 
 with in the Thiergar- 
 ten, or encountered 
 at various places of 
 amusement or the 
 more congenial beer- 
 gardens, where so many 
 Berlin middle - class 
 families spend their 
 evenings. These indeed 
 form the favourite 
 hunting - grounds of 
 mammas with eligible 
 daughters, and certain- 
 ly no Belgravian mat- 
 ron is more keen in 
 detecting a "detrimen- 
 tal," or more skilful in 
 firmly hooking the man 
 uponwhomshehas fixed 
 her choice. The young 
 lady herself is expected to contribute to this end by making a 
 display of her domestic accomplishments, aided, of course, by
 
 140 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 judicious maternal hints. The scene has been thus amusingly 
 sketched: — "If the objective man be an industrious artisan or 
 thrifty tradesman, the maiden drinks sparingly of beer, eats a piece 
 of ham or sausage instead of a beefsteak, and knits on some useful 
 garment. If he be a banker's son, one grade higher socially, 
 but attracted by a pretty face, the tactics are different. The 
 girl is permitted to be a little more forward. Instead of knit- 
 ting she works at some light embroidery ; she takes not only a 
 beefsteak, but a beefsteak aitx chavipiguons ; she chatters a good 
 deal about the opera, and even about Renz's circus ; and in short 
 her whole manner is lighter and freer. If the first class of can- 
 didates are to be captured by the steady persistent work of 
 infantry, the movement for the rich 'catches' is more like a 
 cavalry charge. An observant young man can generally tell by 
 the second evening at the beer-garden if he is a persona grata 
 with the mother. If on his appearance she innocently offers 
 him a place beside "the daughter, or accidentally makes a place 
 for him, as it were, in the confusion of the moment, he knows at 
 once that one formidable outpost is carried ; and worse than 
 that, if he be himself indifferent, he knows that a sharp matron 
 is filling his path with traps and pitfalls. Perhaps the most 
 interesting scene is a mother who at a public place like that has 
 three or four daughters to adjust among as many ardent or 
 reluctant suitors. I can compare it to nothing but a cook 
 watching half-a-dozen beefsteaks in different degrees of prepara- 
 tion. From the pair who are most advanced in their wooing and 
 may be left pretty much to themselves, to the pair who least har- 
 monize and consequently need the most discreet attention and 
 encouragement, from the one of these extremes to the other, 
 along the intermediate grades of connubial readiness, the care 
 of this watchful mother ranges and operates. The young ladies 
 play their parts demurely, but with a good deal of skill. 
 
 " Perhaps the most delicate situation for an anxious suitor is 
 when the mother is indifferent, or, with a little judicious matronly 
 coquetry, knowing that he is anxious, pretends to be indifferent. 
 This situation exacts from the candidate the most careful be- 
 haviour, especially late in the evening after beer, when the mother 
 is likely to be sleepy and tired, and even irritable. One false step 
 then may ruin all. The other evening a friend and I sat under a 
 lime-tree at a fashionable resort, amused at, and, in spite of our- 
 selves, interested in, the proceedings at an adjacent table, where 
 there was a family party, consisting of a father, three 
 daughters, as many young men, and a mother calmly but 
 unobtrusively directing the course of affairs. One of the young 
 ladies, feeling cold, rose to throw a shawl over her shoulders, 
 and of course all the j'^oung men by a common impulse plunged 
 madly forward to assist her. One of those young men will 
 never be seen again with that party, for he carried in his hand
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 141 
 
 as he went to aid the young lady a heavy cane ; and, with 
 characteristic awkwardness, he managed, while drawing up the 
 shawl, to thrust the end of the cane into the eye of the mother, 
 and the shawl seeming to require a good deal of adjustment, as 
 I have observed it often does when a young man is drawing it 
 on, and the shoulders are those of a young lady, the unlucky 
 wretch nearly ruined the maternal eye. At any rate he seems 
 to have become convinced that it would never again look 
 favourably on him, for he comes no more to the trysting- 
 place." 
 
 Such wooings go on every evening at the various Ber- 
 lin beer-gardens, and people in the habit of observing the 
 actors can tell by one infallible sign when the climax is reached 
 and the couple are regularly engaged — namely, when the lover 
 begins to pay for the young lady's refreshments as well as his 
 own. To do so from that time forward is his privilege and his 
 duty ; but with true Prussian thrift he meets his sweetheart's 
 expenses alone, and considers himself in no way called upon to 
 dispense hospitality to the rest of her family. Even if there be 
 nobody else with them but the mother the latter always pays her 
 own bill. Night after night one may see at the same restaurant 
 a young man pay for himself and his sweetheart, while the worthy 
 matron just as regularly is left to the resources of her own purse. 
 If the three visit the theatre he purchases stalls for two, while 
 the mother takes her place in the qiieice and looks out for 
 herself, and the rule is scarcely ever broken through. 
 
 A Berliner who has been casually struck by some fair one, 
 and desires to pay his 
 court to her, has little 
 or no hesitation in 
 inquiring her address, 
 and writing point 
 blank either to the 
 lady herself or her 
 parents upon the sub- 
 ject, previous acquaint- 
 ance-ship or introduc- 
 tion being considered 
 altogether unnecessary. 
 In his letter he will, 
 as a matter of course, 
 draw a flattering por- 
 trait of himself, and 
 after mentioning his 
 income, position, pros- 
 pects, and friends, will 
 ask permission to visit the house in the character of the young 
 lady's suitor. If his request is accorded he finds himself received by
 
 142 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the family of his intended with open arms — father, mother, brothers, 
 and sisters, all treating him as though he had been their friend for 
 years. The happy individual is, moreover, at once privileged to 
 proceed to demonstrative proofs of the ardour of his affection with- 
 out any fear of being rebuffed, and as a consequence chaste salutes 
 are indulged in to a most unconscionable extent, and mutual 
 
 • • • 1 
 
 caresses exchanged in the presence of third parties, with a 
 freedom that is positively embarrassing. Yet there are many 
 suitors who exhibit a preference for more clandestine modes of 
 courtship if we may judge from the numerous advertisements of 
 declarations, assignations, and the like, encountered in the 
 popular newspapers. One day we read that — 
 
 " The two elegant young ladies who in their own carriage, and at eight 
 o'clock on Sunday evening, near Charlottenburg, passed by a young man in 
 grey, who smiled to them, arc begged to enter into private communication 
 with him. Address," &c. 
 
 On another occasion we are apprized that — 
 
 " The blonde with the eye-glass, who, after waiting in vain last Sunday 
 afternoon in the Cafe Bellevue with her mamma for her papa's arrival, went 
 in the direction of the Leipziger-strasse, and disappeared from my sight in a 
 droschke at the corner of the Wilhelms-strasse, is, with the most honourable 
 intentions, requested by the gentleman who sat at the same table to afford 
 him another opportunity for a meeting by addressing a line," &c. 
 
 From an advertisement headed " Renz's Circus, pit, left, second 
 row," we learn that — 
 
 "The charming and handsome young lady dressed in black who was 
 present at last Sunday's performance is politely and most earnestly requested 
 by the gentleman who sat on her right hand to arrange a meeting, if this be 
 in any way practicable, by addressing," &c. 
 
 Again — 
 
 " The dark-eyed, luxuriant-locked beauty who sat in stall 51, fourth row, 
 of the Wallner theatre, on Tuesday evening, and wept pearly tears over 
 Anna Ivanovna's sorrows, is passionately entreated to communicate her 
 honoured name to Ypsilon, a young Israelitish merchant in flourishing 
 circumstances. Love, respect, and silence ! Address at the editor's office." 
 
 Some few of these enamoured youths give vent to their 
 feelings in verse after the following fashion : — 
 
 "to LOUISE. 
 
 " Uncertain whether che eyes were thine, 
 
 Which charmed me so as past they went, 
 Let them again be on me bent ; 
 Perhaps thy life might blend with mine."
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. I43 
 
 One bashful swain, signing himself "Thy neighbour in the pit 
 at Kroll's," and who appears to have found himself tongue-tied 
 in presence of the fair one by his side, summons up courage to 
 address the lady in print, declaring his passion in legitimate 
 doggrel : — 
 
 " Thou didst but si<jh and glance at mc, 
 I also sighed, and yet to thee 
 The courage lacked to speak — 
 Still shall my heart be left to break ? 
 For once again, dear charming face, 
 That speaks of nought but love and grace, 
 Impart some sign to make life sweet ; 
 Say where again we two may meet. 
 Oh ! quickly shine thou fairest star, 
 Near to my heart and yet how far." 
 
 Some of these announcements, idiotic in expression, enigmatic 
 in meaning, and obscure in grammar, are evidently intended to 
 be intelligible only to the particular individual to whom they 
 are addressed. The absurdity and ambiguity of the following 
 are on a par : — 
 
 " Many, many thanks for the warm little flock, my own beloved heart. 
 Oh ! how inexpressibly enraptured and consoled was I by each heavenly 
 word in your precious note of vSaturday. Humming-bird thinks again and 
 again of all the past and future — little — in the dear little watch-tower ; and I 
 see precious little Lina trusting to the leaf which the little Wolf sees so happily 
 around her. It is well and so happy to hear the same of its Celandine. 
 How icily the wind blows ! The evenings are already growing long, and 
 everywhere autumn is appearing. With a burning hot Friday — every 
 hour, and your little bird's news is closed for to-day with her best love." 
 
 Here we are treated to something more impassioned : — 
 
 " From Her to Him. — While lost in deep meditation, my head resting 
 on my hand, and the candle nearly burnt out, suddenly the bandage fell from 
 my eyes, and to my great joy I saw clearly. Following thy counsel my 
 heart is left pure by that dew, although it was not thereby animated. Was 
 this owing to bitter grief or love's distress ? The hopeful glances I cast into 
 futurity ended only in nameless pain. 1 think of thee ! I love thee ! Open 
 to me thine heart, sharing with me all that fate may have in store. Love 
 never dies, but is the same as it befell — two souls and one thought, two 
 hearts and one pulse." 
 
 The betrothal is a matter of considerable importance, and 
 usually precedes the marriage by some years. As authorised 
 by law it takes the form of a written promise, signed by the 
 parents, which promise, without rendering the marriage abso- 
 lutely obligatory, makes the party retracting liable for 
 damages. Cards, with the names of the affianced pair printed on 
 them, are usually sent round to all the friends of the betrothed, 
 besides which the event is formally announced in the papers,
 
 144 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 under the headinf^ Vcrlobungsan::eigcn, or " Notices of Betrothal." 
 Here is a t}'pical notice of this class from the popular Vossische 
 Zcituug, evidently a favourite medium for announcements of the 
 kind : — 
 
 " We herewith have the honour respectfully to announce the betrothal of 
 our eldest daufjhtcr Elisabeth to the Rittergutsbesitzer (lord of a manor) 
 von Bismarck- Kniephof, Lieutenant of Reserve First Guard-Dragoon Regi- 
 ment, Castle Plathe, 7th September, 1872. 
 
 " Karl von der Osten, 
 
 " Marie von der Osten, nee von Kessel." 
 
 Immediately underneath follows the advertisement of the 
 victim : — 
 
 " I have herewith the honour respectfully to announce my betrothal to 
 Fraulein Elisabeth von der Osten, the eldest daughter of Herrvon der Osten. 
 
 "von Bismarck-Kniephof, 
 " Lieutenant," &c. 
 
 Scores of similar advertisements, drawn up in almost precisely 
 the same words, the names only varying, make their appearance 
 daily varied by such brief formula as the following : — 
 
 " Marie Charisius, nk Zober, 
 " August Lenz. 
 " Betrothed. Berlin, November 29, 1872." 
 
 Among a batch of announcements of this character there 
 recently appeared in \\\(t Reichsanzeiger ovi^ to the effect that Frau- 
 lein Pfortner von der Holle (Gatekeeper of Hell), was about to 
 bless a Prussian gentleman at some future period with the 
 possession of her hand and other Tartarean charms, giving rise 
 to the suggestion that Fraulein Cerberus would have sounded 
 prettier and more poetical, while preserving all the significance 
 of the dismal function denoted in the family title. 
 
 The betrothal compact is as good as indissoluble, for there 
 are few who are bold enough to break off an engagement thus 
 publicly notified, not only to their friends and relations, but to 
 the world at large. Still a small minority — alarmed, perhaps, 
 at the gradual development of an "incompatibility of temper" 
 that might eventually lead to an application to the German Sir 
 James Hannen — take time by the forelock, and slip their fingers 
 out of the engagement-ring. Such ruptures are commonly 
 passed over in silence, and the two sundered ones set forth 
 afresh in search of more congenial spirits with which to unite 
 their own. But it does sometimes happen that the passion for 
 advertising matters of purely personal interest, which continues 
 to form a feature of Berlin life, has led one of the parties to 
 publicly notify why the bud of betrothal has failed to expand to 
 the orange-blossom of matrimony, and a young man has been 
 found dolefully proclaiming that the engagement formally 
 announced has been broken off by his sweetheart, to his great
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 145 
 
 regret, because she "did not find in him that gravity of 
 demeanour which she conceived she had a right to look for." 
 
 In Paris, where well-brought-up young people of both sexes 
 are carefully restricted in their intercourse with each other, it is 
 no uncommon thing for parents even to have recourse to mar- 
 riage agencies — with their tribe of intermediaries occupying good 
 social positions and always on the look out for brides with 
 handsome dots — to secure alliances for their sons and daughters. 
 One of the best known of these, the Maison Foy, is continually 
 parading in the Paris newspapers the many thousands of advan- 
 tageous if not happy unions which have been arranged under its 
 auspices. Moreover in addition to these purely business agencies 
 there are few middle-class families which cannot count upon the 
 services in a similar direction of one or more match-making 
 friends. And judging these agencies, whether professional or 
 amateur, by results, one is inclined to believe that the prelimi- 
 nary courtship, on which in England we set so much stress, 
 adds in no degree to the proportion of prizes drawn in the 
 hazardous matrimonial lottery. 
 
 In Berlin, with none of the restriction to intercourse that pre- 
 vails in Paris, the old matrimonial machinery is found to run at too 
 slow a speed, and, as a consequence, marriage agencies and mar- 
 riage gazettes have recently sprung into existence there, the for- 
 mer with their managers and their matrons, their collections of 
 cartes de visite and lists of languishing candidates, laying claim 
 to well-nigh every moral and material advantage. The Berlin 
 Matrimonial Gazette is illustrated with vignettes, one of which 
 represents paterfamilias, in easy-chair and dressing-gown, 
 reading to his daughters offers from individuals of the opposite 
 sex, eager to be united in the bonds of wedlock ; another 
 introduces us to a young officer depositing a sealed packet at 
 the office of the hymeneal journal ; while in a third, depicting 
 a joyous marriage feast, we have the same young officer seated 
 beside his blushing bride, and the guests pledging the happy 
 pair in foaming bumpers of champagne. 
 
 Even the disreputable Berlin commissionaires do a brisk trade 
 in negotiating marriages ; and in the city small-debt courts they 
 are constantly found figuring as plaintiffs against hapi)y but 
 forgetful husbands, who have failed to pay the stipulated com- 
 mission on the dowries of wives whom they have succeeded in 
 securing through such exceedingly dubious intermediaries. 
 
 Another mode of obtaining a partner for life in favour at 
 Berlin is by means of the advertising columns of the ]'o;sische 
 Zeitiing and other popular newspapers. One firm of advei tising 
 agents — Rudolf Mosse and Company — alone insert upwards of 
 a thousand of these announcements annually ; all classes ap caring 
 to resort to this doubtful method of securing conjugal lia iness. 
 Figuring among their clients are officials of noble birth ; fficers 
 
 1
 
 146 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 in the army and in retreat, who guarantee secrecy on their 
 word of honour ; with non-combatants, whose exemption from 
 military service constitutes their principal recommendation to 
 the fair, whom none but the brave are said to deserve ; specu- 
 lative men of business, eager to embrace some opportunity 
 of engaging in a magnificent enterprise with their future wife's 
 fortune, which it is, of course, essential should be under her 
 own control ; penniless bachelors, who signify their willingness 
 to espouse youth and beauty if possessed of a fair manorial 
 estate ; widowers, who confess themselves to be neither young 
 nor good-looking, but make boast of a spotless name, and who 
 seek a helpmate having both the inclination and the capacity to 
 undertake the education of a family of amiable children. They 
 too stipulate that the lady they are in search of should have a 
 suitable fortune at her own disposal ; while bankers, merchants, 
 manufacturers, professional men, and tradesmen, show themselves 
 equally exigent on the score of the fair one's dowry. All 
 indeed hold to the truth of the axiom that — 
 
 " Love in a hut, with water and a crust, 
 Is — Love forgive us ! — cinders, ashes, dust." 
 
 Some among these advertisers stipulate for birth and beauty, 
 while others bear in mind what Kotzebue said about marrying 
 for beauty being like purchasing an estate for the sake of its 
 rose-trees, and the latter proceeding being the more sensible of the 
 two, inasmuch as the season of the roses always returns, but that 
 of beauty never. These more prosaic souls express themselves 
 as perfectly indifferent to personal charms, and as even prepared 
 to put up not only with ugliness, but age, indifferent character, 
 and doubtful family connections — anything, in fact, provided 
 their brides are weighted with sufficient coin. In return for a 
 portion amounting to the mere bagatelle of 100,000 thaler, they 
 offer a heart capable of loving beyond all precedent, and yet 
 there are simpletons in the world who pretend that love is 
 really beyond price. 
 
 The following advertisements of this class are from Berlin 
 newspapers which came casually under one's notice. The gram- 
 mar, style, and precise phraseology of the originals have been 
 closely preserved : — 
 
 "To Ladies of Noble Birth.— A cultivated legal official, of noble 
 birth, with a rising salary, which is now 1000 thaler (^ 150), not unplcasing 
 in appearance, and very kind-hearted, just thirty years of age, who has no 
 lady acquaintances, wishes to marry a pretty, refined, and amiable lady of 
 noble birth (spinster or widow) between the ages of seventeen and twenty- 
 seven, with a fortune of at least io,ck)o thaler at her own disposal. Highly- 
 respected ladies who comply with these requirements, and are inclined to 
 answer the present serious advertisement, or their respective parents or 
 guardianS; are most politely requested to forward their honoured addresses,
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 147 
 
 with details of their intimate circumstances, to 
 desired. Secrecy understood." 
 
 Photograph greatly 
 
 "To Independent Ladies.— A young man, of prepossessing appearance 
 and aristocratic manners, an official in the Imperial German Service, wishes 
 to unite himself to a pretty and cultivated lady of fortune. He would not 
 object to marry on a manorial estate or similar property. The gentleman's 
 photograph will be forwarded on application, but not in answer to anonymous 
 communications. Ladies feeling disposed are requested to send their 
 addresses in strict confidence to — — . The services of negotiators are 
 declined." 
 
 " To Young Ladies. — An officer, thirty-two years of age, wishes to make 
 the acquaintance of a 
 young lady of property 
 and attractive appear- 
 ance with a view to 
 matrimony. Those who 
 are willing are requested 
 to send full particulars 
 accompanied by their 
 real names. Photo- 
 graphs also are urgently 
 requested. I guaran- 
 tee, on my word of 
 honour, that their con- 
 fidence shall not be 
 abused." 
 
 " To Young Ladies 
 of Fortune. — I am 
 twenty-four years of age, 
 went through the last 
 campaign as an officer 
 of the line, was severely 
 wounded, and have re- 
 tired in consequence 
 from the service. 
 
 "My father intends to 
 sell his really fine estates 
 to me, and I request 
 some young lady who wishes to be married, and has a fortune of from 100,000 
 to 200,000 thaler under her own control to assist me in purchasing them. 
 Nevertheless I decidedly require her to be good-looking, of a respectable 
 family, well educated, and of simple tastes. 
 
 " As to the rest I believe that my personal quolities will insure a happy and 
 peaceful (!) union. Young ladies ready to respond are requested to forward 
 their photographs and addresses to the office of this paper, with the superscrip- 
 tion — 
 
 " When eyes are blue. 
 It proves they're true. 
 " Secrecy on my word of honour." 
 
 " Offer of Marriage.— A young man, exempt from military service, not 
 devoid of means, and belonging to the highest circles, a Lutheran, twenty-five 
 years of age, of pleasing appearance (photograph forwarded on application), 
 good character, and clerk in one of the first banks, wishes to marry a young 
 lady of good family and fortune at once. Young ladies or their friends are 
 most politely reqvested to forward their esteemed addresses, with particulars 
 
 of their circumstances, to ." 
 
 L 2
 
 148 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 "To Ladif.s. — An intelligent and speculative man of business, 30 years of 
 age, a Catholic (which is not requisite on the lady's side), with a grave and 
 manly but amiable character, refined manners, pleasing appearance, and 
 enjoying robust health, the owner of a factory and manufacturer of a lucra- 
 tive article much in request and exported, is led by want of time and lady 
 acquaintances to seek in this manner for a faithful partner for life, under 25 
 years of age. Preference given to an amiable disposition and cheerful tem- 
 perament rather than great beauty. A taste for quiet^and simple domestic life, 
 and a fortune of 30,000 thaler at her own disposal, to assist in an intended 
 development of the establishment are requisite. Ladies who have the cou- 
 rage to confide in a young man's honour, and desire a comfortable home are 
 requested in the strictest confidence to send their addresses, accompanied by 
 a photograph, which in case of unsuitability will be returned, to ." 
 
 "Matrimonial Offer. — A well-to-do merchant, a widower, 46 years of 
 age wishes to meet with a wife in a well-educated lady, spinster or widow, 
 without children, and of mature years. Well knowing that he can pretend to 
 neither youth nor beauty he only lays claim 10 a spotless name and really kind 
 heart. A pleasant life under favourable circumstances is offered. The fol- 
 lowing are the requisite qualifications ; a spotless character, cheerful dispo- 
 sition ; inclination and capacity to undertake the education of several amiable 
 children, combined with a suitable fortune at the lady's own disposal. Ready 
 money not essential. Offers, with particulars of circumstances and accom- 
 panied by a photograph, with regard to which the most honourable confidence 
 is guaranteed, will reach the advertiser if addressed to ." 
 
 " Offer of Marriage. — A high state official in the prime of life, a widower, 
 who is prevented by his occupation from finding a partner for life for himself 
 wishes to marry again by reason of his present lonely condition. German 
 maidens or widows without children, between the ages of 25 and 30, of pleas- 
 ing and stylish appearance, and if possible of good birth and fortune, who are 
 inclined to confide in this discreet mode of communication, and have a real 
 taste for domestic life, are requested to forward their obliging offers, sealed 
 
 and addressed accompanying them with a photograph and particulars 
 
 of their family and fortune. Secrecy on word of honour." 
 
 " Matrimonial Offer. — The advertiser wishes to arrange a marriage with 
 a lady of domestic tastes (having 20,000 thaler at her disposal, which she 
 would not object to invest on mortgage) for a really substantial and highly 
 educated gentleman of amiable disposition and agreeable appearance, 36 years 
 of age, and partner in an old established and lucrative manufacturing business. 
 N.B. The lady must be willing to answer inquiries. Letters to be addressed — ." 
 
 The following are some of the more characteristic advertise- 
 ments emanating from individuals of the opposite sex : — 
 
 "A young, pretty, and highly educated girl of rank, with a fortune of 10,000 
 thaler, wishes to meet with a partner for life, of noble sentiments, agreeable 
 appearance, and good birth. Offers to be addressed ." 
 
 " A young lawyer or forester already established, of noble sentiments and 
 aristocratic name may hear of an opportunity for marrying a young, hand- 
 some, highly educated, but domesticated girl of rank, who has pin-money of 
 her own, and expectations of a fortune. Offers, with photographs, may be 
 sent addressed ." 
 
 " A young lady, daughter of a wealthy tradesman who has been dead a 
 year, being youthfiil and amiable, and finding it impossible to make ac- 
 quaintance with suitable gentlemen, owing to the strictness of her parental 
 home, is obliged to choose this means of meeting with a husband. .She 
 has a fortune of 20,000 thaler at her disposal, which she offers to an officer 
 or official person. (Gentlemen of unimpeachable character are requested to 
 send confidential communications and photographs to ."
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 149 
 
 The next is unique in its way — 
 
 " I HAVE AN Excellent Daughter to marry, who refused many good 
 offers when young. She is now 29, and I would give a reasonable dowry to 
 a suitable husband, a tradesman, if possible, or well-to-do artisan, if pious, 
 and averse to alcohol. Address ." 
 
 Some advertisers seek to contract purely Platonic unions, as 
 witness the following : — 
 
 " A gentleman in comfortable circumstances, and of ripe age, who believes 
 in the Platonic form of love, and is anxious to realize this beautiful idea in 
 marriage, desires by some friendly means, and through the channel of a pre- 
 liminary anonymous correspondence, to make the acquaintance of a lady not 
 entirely without fortune, of honourable intentions, well educated, possessed of 
 a lively intellect, and a vivacious rather than a serious disposition, to conclude 
 with her a heart-union of the purest Platonism. Address, &c." 
 
 Another advertisement, headed " Heart and Intellect," is of 
 much the same type, excepting that the desired form of union is 
 somewhat ambiguously indicated, 
 
 " An educated gentleman, of cheerful disposition and in easy circumstances, 
 moving in good society, but no longer young enough to think of contracting 
 an ordinary marriage, cherishes nevertheless a wish to renounce the solitary 
 life he is leading and to form a purely Platonic connection with a lady of 
 Heart and Intellect in independent circumstances, who may feel disposed to 
 enter into some kind of union for life. Address, &c." 
 
 In the Berliner Stddtisches JaJtrbtich for 1874 — the contri- 
 butors to which strive to outvie each other by the minuteness 
 and abundance of their statistical information — some learned 
 doctor has been at the pains of preparing an elaborate analysis 
 of the matrimonial advertisements, some hundreds in number, 
 which appeared during the previous year in the Vossische 
 ZeiUmg alone. He tells us that out of 41 1 advertisements, 306
 
 ISO BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 emanated from men and 105 from women, showinc^ that in these 
 particular instances ahiiost three times as many men as women 
 sought to enter the haven of matrimony by this somewhat 
 doubtful channel. I\Ien aged between twenty-five and thirty- 
 five and women between twenty and thirty formed the great 
 majority, the latter being far less exigent than the former with 
 regard to the ages of those they sought to unite themselves to, 
 for fully one-third of the total number of men required their 
 future partners to be young, while no more than one-sixteenth 
 of the women made a similar stipulation. In the majority of 
 cases where age was alluded to, the desired husband or wife was 
 required to be on the sunny side of thirty. 
 
 Of the 306 men, thirty confessed to being widowers, and rather 
 more than the same proportion of women proclaimed themselves 
 widows, the latter being much less particular about the ages of 
 their second husbands than their maiden rivals eager to embark 
 on their first matrimonial venture. Most of the advertisers 
 refrained from any allusion to their physical endowments, but 
 such men as referred to them laid claim to health, activity, good 
 looks, robust figures, commanding statures, fair complexions, 
 agreeable appearance, &c. The reticence of the women on this 
 point speaks volumes in favour of their modesty unless indeed 
 their silence is to be taken as indicating an utter absence of all 
 personal charms. The sterner sex commonly demanded beauty, 
 good looks, or at least that ambiguous kind of charm known as 
 " pleasing appearance " in their prospective partners for life, 
 whereas the women made scarcely any stipulations upon that 
 score. It is creditable that 20 per cent, of both sexes required 
 those they sought to ally themselves with, to be intelligent, clever, 
 educated, or accomplished, although the majority of the adver- 
 tisers made no boast of any mental qualifications of their own, 
 such few as did being chiefly of the softer sex. Probably the 
 Teutonic lords of creation considered that credit was naturally 
 given them for a high degree of culture, rendering any special 
 announcement of their mental acquirements superfluous ; while 
 the women, vain of their mental gifts, determined that none of 
 their intellectual light should be hidden under the figurative bushel. 
 
 The moral qualities which the men laid claim to, and required 
 their wives to be possessed of, were so numerous and varied that 
 any single individual endowed therewith would present a perfect 
 type of human virtue. They embraced alike activity, energy, 
 industry, economy, domesticity, amiability, kindness, gentleness, 
 sweet as well as good tempers, cheerful and equable dis- 
 positions, good humour, innocence, simplicity, modesty, and 
 purity ; steadfast, straightforward, truthful, and unassuming 
 characters; nobleness, dignity, honourable feeling, liberality, 
 generosity, chivalrous hearts and noble minds ! One advertiser, 
 who demanded " a good but rather hasty temper," could be easily
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. I5I 
 
 satisfied, but scarcely so another, whose own temper was doubt- 
 less of the hottest, and who sought for what he styled a generous 
 and accommodating one. 
 
 The women boasted, as a rule, of their domesticated tastes, 
 their activity, economy and business qualifications, their unas- 
 suming characters, staid demeanour, modesty, and decorum ; 
 their good education and accomplishments ; their amiability, 
 cheerfulness, excellent spirits, and even of an exuberance of life, 
 and finally of their kindness, their affectionate dispositions and 
 excellent qualities of heart and mind. The men on whom they 
 were willing to bestow their hands and charms were required to 
 be respectable, estimable, honourable, worthy, reliable, simple, 
 and genuine ; good and easy tempered, amiable, possessed of 
 sterling qualities and affectionate and feeling hearts. More than 
 a quarter of the men and women, who dispensed with any allusion 
 to moral qualities of their own, demanded that their future 
 partners should be possessed of certain virtues, while of that 
 larger number, who affect a virtue even if they have it not, two- 
 thirds of the men and one-third of the women looked for 
 corresponding qualities in those with whom they were willing 
 their future lot in life should be cast. As a rule the fair were 
 less exacting on this score than the sterner sex, and when they 
 did put forward demands it was for moral qualities rather 
 than for intellectual ones. 
 
 With regard to religious belief only 3 per cent, of the men and 
 6 per cent, of the women made the slightest reference to their 
 own creed, and of these merely a fraction required any avowal 
 upon the subject from those replying to their advertisements. 
 
 It would appear from the foregoing that most stress was laid 
 upon moral qualifications by both male and female matrimonial 
 advertisers, who next seem to have sought for intelligence, and 
 to have set the least value upon creed. Strange to say that of 
 the various religious sects at Berlin, the Jews had recourse to 
 matrimonial advertisements in by far the largest proportion, and, 
 what is .stranger still, the proportion of Jewish women to the men 
 was almost as three to one. 
 
 The social qualifications commonly dwelt upon in these 
 advertisements were family, property, rank, and calling. The 
 importance of the fir.st-named in the Berlin matrimonial market 
 was indicated by the large number of both sexes, who stated 
 themselves to be of an estimable, respectable, honourable, wealthy, 
 good, or noble family. As a far larger proportion of women than 
 men thought it necessary to refer to their family connections, 
 these evidently count for much on the part of the would-be wife. 
 With reference to property, a few of the advertisers had the 
 candour to confess themselves poor, while the majority claimed 
 to be in well-to-do circumstances, in possession of a fixed income 
 or a comfortable independence, and even to be rich. Several
 
 152 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 gave their exact incomes in figures, numbers intimated that they 
 derived their means from trade or manufactures, and others from 
 landed, manorial, or house propert)\ The women considered it 
 necessary to be exceedingly explicit with regard to their worldly 
 possessions. Fixed incomes on their sides were numerous, and 
 riches preponderated over a respectable competence, showing 
 that the possession of pecuniary means was regarded by them as 
 their strong point in affairs matrimonial. At the same time they 
 asked in return for less in the way of wealth or easy circum- 
 stances than the men, and in the majority of instances made no 
 demand whatever on this score, whereas the men on an average 
 required a fortune of i6,ooo thaler, or about 2,400/., professing 
 themselves to be in possession of 35,000 thaler or 5,250/. More 
 than half of the advertisers described themselves as being bankers, 
 brokers, and owners or partners in some business or manufactory. 
 The betrothal ceremony, as we have already explained, fre- 
 quently precedes the wedding by several years. Before, however, 
 marriage can be seriously thought of, the lady or her friends 
 have to furnish a house. Should they not be prepared for this, she 
 has to remain single until it can be accomplished. Ordinarily 
 furniture will have to be provided for the drawing-room, the 
 dining-room, the husband's and wife's sitting-rooms, the bed- 
 rooms, and the kitchen. Bed and table hnen forms one of the 
 costliest items. When, in the case of a betrothed couple in good 
 circumstances, these are laid out on the " Polterabend " for the in- 
 spection of friends, the room presents very much the appearance 
 of a linendraper's shop. There will be piles upon piles of 
 sheets, table-cloths, pillow-cases and the like, seemingly sufficient 
 to last the engaged couple all their lives. For three weeks 
 previous to the wedding the names of the betrothed are dis- 
 played in the Rathhaus, no marriage being valid unless this 
 formality is observed. The ceremonies attendant on the rite 
 itself extend over three days ; the first day being the Polter- 
 abend, the second simply an intermediate day of rest, while on 
 the third day the marriage itself is celebrated. The Polterabend 
 used to be the evening immediately preceding the wedding, but 
 this too close proximity gave rise to so much hurry and confusion 
 that some sensible people hit upon the idea of introducing a dies 
 non in between, a happy innovation which has gradually 
 become universal. 
 
 On the Polterabend the bride's presents, chiefly composed of 
 useful articles, together with her trousseau, are laid out. The in- 
 vited guests assemble about three o'clock in the afternoon when 
 all kinds of diversions take place. It is customary for the young 
 people to come in fancy costume and make appropriate speeches 
 to the bride and bridegroom. On one occasion we remember 
 seeing a little boy dressed up as a farmer enter the room with a 
 huge bunch of vegetables on his back. He marched sedately
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 1 53 
 
 Up to the bride saying to her as he threw down his load at her 
 feet, " You like soup, I am told — well here is something to make 
 it with, only he sure to make some for your husband as well, for 
 you must remember from this time forward to look on him as 
 part of yourself, and let him share all you have." This little 
 ethical speech successfully delivered, the boy gravely retired. 
 At another wedding, where the bridegroom was an old doctor and 
 the bride the daughter of a wealthy merchant, all the young ladies 
 and children came in fancy dresses, and most of them delivered 
 their little harangue in allusion to some episode in the past lives of 
 the bride and bridegroom. One charming girl was arrayed as a 
 water-nymph, and a couple of little boys duly booted and spurred 
 diSjdger biirscJicn. Conspicuous among the other costumes were 
 those of two young ladies, designed to represent Coffee 
 and Tea respectively. Coffee wore a robe of cofifee-coloured 
 silk with a velvet head-dress of the same tint, in imitation of the 
 leaves and berries of the coffee-plant, and surmounted by a 
 miniature coffee-pot, while her necklace and the ornaments on 
 her dress were composed of actual coffee-berries. The young 
 lady who represented Tea was correspondingly arrayed, and the 
 pair presided appropriately enough at the tables where tea and 
 coffee were served to the company. After these had been par- 
 taken of, all the cups and saucers were duly collected together 
 on a tray, and Fraulein Coffee rising up made the bride a pretty 
 speech, advising her not to be led away by a poetical view of 
 married life to the neglecting of its practical duties, and reminding 
 her how essential it was always to be prepared with a cup of 
 coffee for her husband whenever he wished for one, and for her 
 friends whenever they called to see her. Saying this, she 
 dexterously overturned the tray, and cups, saucers, and plates 
 fell with one loud clatter upon the floor amidst frantic applause. 
 It was thus that a characteristic feature of the Polterabend, 
 the all essential smashing of crockery, was accomplished on 
 this particular occasion. 
 
 This custom of smashing crockery corresponds in a measure 
 to our time-honoured habit of throwing old shoes after the 
 departing wedded couple, the assumed motive of both proceed- 
 ings being the same, namely, the ensuring of good luck to the 
 newly married pair. Among the Berlinese, advantage is ordin- 
 arily taken of the delivery of some speech, or the singing of 
 some song to startle the company by a tremendous crash, which 
 sets everybody laughing, and is the signal for wishing happiness 
 to the bride and bridegroom. Formerly it was the custom to 
 carry. all the old plates and dishes outside the house door and 
 break them in the street, when, if a single one chanced to escape 
 demolition, it was considered an unlucky omen for the bride. 
 
 The charade performances at the Polterabend are frequently 
 succeeded by some play or opera, the parts in which are allotted
 
 154 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 to the grown-up members of the company. On one occasion we 
 heard Mendelssohn's Soji and Stranger, very creditably per- 
 formed by a small amateur orchestra of half-a-dozen fiddles, 
 flute, and piano, selected from among the friends of the bride and 
 bridegroom. At the wedding of our middle-aged medical friend 
 refreshments consisting of oysters, caviar, and sweet biscuits were 
 served at intervals during the afternoon, and the time, varied by 
 occasional little speeches and general conversation, was passing 
 pleasantly enough when the company was startled by a loud 
 voice, echoing through the apartment, and demanding admission 
 for the God Zeus. This being granted, the doors were flung open 
 to the sound of slow music and a procession filed in. At its 
 head marched Mercury with his caduceus and talaria, and behind 
 him came Apollo playing on a lyre — other gods and goddesses 
 in appropriate costume followed, and at the close of the pro- 
 cession came Zeus himself, who ascended a throne which had 
 hitherto escaped general notice. 
 
 Summoning the various deities around him, Zeus announced 
 that he had news of importance to communicate. "A rumour 
 hath come from the earth," said he, " that a certain son of 
 yEsculapius is about to be married. The report is shaking 
 Olympus to its foundations, and calm will only ensue when 1 
 learn who and what he is, and who and what is his bride. Let 
 him who knows therefore speak." At this ^sculapius stepped 
 out of the circle of gods and informed Zeus that his mortal son 
 was one who had not the power to bring the dead to life, but on 
 the contrary, very often brought the living to death, killing more 
 than he cured, and so on. Venus, who was attired in a flowing 
 white robe trimmed with broad silver braid, and who wore 
 necklet and armlets of silver, then advanced and prettily pleaded 
 for the bride. One was much struck by the taste displayed in 
 the toilettes of the various goddesses. Diana, with the orthodox 
 crescent on her brow and a hunting spear in her hand, was 
 nothing remarkable, but Athena adorned with the " krobulus," 
 and " tettinx," showed the stage manager of the charade 
 to have some knowledge of Thucydides. After a variety of 
 speeches, all of which related more or less directly to the bride 
 and bridegroom, the procession retired, but there being a general 
 demand for the appearance of Zeus and Venus, part of the 
 spectacle had to be performed over again. The company now 
 adjourned to the supper-rooms, the tables of which were loaded 
 with no end of Teutonic delicacies, and as soon as supper was 
 concluded, dancing, which opened with the inevitable polonaise, 
 commenced and continued with unabated spirit until the morning. 
 
 Thus ended the Polterabend. Advantage is taken of the day 
 intervening between it and the actual day of the marriage to get 
 things in something like order for the latter. As the invitations 
 are invariably for both days, on the morning of the wedding the
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 155 
 
 guests assemble again, and accompany the bride and bridegroom 
 on their visit to the magistrate by whom they are formally united 
 by civil contract. At Berlin this is considered quite sufficient, 
 not only by the law but by society itself, and no kind of stigma 
 attaches to those who go through the civil ceremony only. In 
 the capital of the new Empire the ecclesiastical marriage is 
 looked upon as a kind of luxury, which those who care to incur 
 the expense can indulge in if so inclined. It can take place 
 either in a church or a private house, and indeed is more usually 
 performed in the latter. An altar is erected and tastefully 
 decorated with flowers and the ceremony is frequently accom- 
 panied by music. The bride wears a plain myrtle wreath — the 
 artistic effect of which is excellent, and the placing of which 
 upon her head forms an interesting episode in the proceedings. 
 The bridesmaids all carry baskets of flowers. 
 
 The ceremony concluded there is a dinner of inordinate 
 length, consisting frequently of twenty or even more courses, 
 when, as a rule, every- 
 body feasts heartily j;— -— -'V! ''I'll 
 and drinks heavily. 
 The speeches which 
 follow have the merit 
 of scarcely being of the j^-^, , .« 
 
 racter as those deliv- 
 ered at average English 
 weddings. Even the 
 most ordinary speaker 
 will make a point of in- 
 troducing some anec- 
 dote or incident bearing 
 upon the past life and 
 characterof one or other 
 of the newly united pair; 
 while the speech of the 
 groomsman, who is inva- 
 riably the bridegroom's 
 oldest and most tried 
 friend,consists generally 
 of a sketch of the bridegroom's life, rendered more or less amus- 
 ing by piquant allusions to forgotten youthful amours. 
 
 At the doctor's wedding, shortly before the company dispersed, 
 the bridegroom was blindfolded and led into the centre of the 
 room, when all the young unmarried ladies of the company joined 
 hands and danced in a circle around him. While this was going 
 on the bridegroom put out his hands and the first one he touched 
 was declared destined to be the next bride. It was now the 
 bride's turn to be blindfolded, and the unmarried gentlemen
 
 156 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 present having formed a ring around her, the same mode of 
 vaticination was again gone through. 
 
 The bride and bridegroom generally disappear from the party 
 about eight or nine o'clock in the evening and straightway betake 
 themselves to their new home, such a thing as a wedding tour 
 never being even dreamt of. The bridegroom commonly goes 
 to his counter or his desk the very next day, which is the main 
 reason why Saturday is a favourite day for Berlin weddings, as 
 this allows of, at any rate, one day's holiday, ere the drudgery of 
 the shop or the counting-house is resumed again. 
 
 Before an officer in the Prussian army is privileged to marry, 
 he is prudently required to deposit a fixed sum in the funds so 
 that on his decease his widow may not be left unprovided for. 
 We have seen that in ordinary civil life the question of money 
 plays a very prominent part in all matrimonial engagements, and 
 one that would have charmed the heart of Tennyson's " Northern 
 Farmer." Like him the better class Berlinese believe that " pro- 
 putty, proputty sticks, and proputty, proputty grows," and that 
 money if possible should not be allowed to go out of a family. 
 Hence the example of intermarriages set by the petty princelets 
 and dukelings, has been followed by the owners of landed property 
 for generation after generation, leading to highly complicated 
 relationships and disastrous physical results. Of late years 
 however, a few of these gentry have seen the advantage of fur- 
 bishing up their faded escutcheons and fertilizing their barren 
 acres with some of the stream of wealth that has flowed from the 
 Berlin Borse, and have consented to lead to the altar the daugh- 
 ters of new sprung millionaires. 
 
 Marriages are announced in the Berlin newspapers with con- 
 siderate brevity on the whole, notification of these events being 
 commonly given in one or other of the following forms with the 
 addition of the date and the addresses : — 
 
 " Our marriage, celebrated on Sept, 3, is announced to friends and relatives 
 by this means instead of by private communication, by 
 " Dr. GuSTAV Lewinstein, 
 "Elise Lewinstein, nie Michaelis." 
 
 " Their marriage, celebrated this day is respectfully announced by 
 
 " Otto Braumuller, Master at the Gymnasium, and Lieut, in the 
 
 Landwehr, 
 " Pauline Braumuller, nde Maecker." 
 
 " Emil Werner and Emille Werner, //(?^'Keucke, announce themselves 
 
 a Wedded Pair." 
 
 " Oscar Laasch and Clara Laasch, nee Bauerhin present their respects 
 as newly married," 
 
 Alluding to the well-nigh universal practice of dispensing with 
 the intervention of the church in the matter of marriage, the
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME I 57 
 
 clerical organ, the Germania, dolefully lamented that what was 
 formerly one of the most venerated sacraments of religion was 
 no longer a source of grace, but merely the finish of a romance 
 and a pure matter of business. Modern marriages as now 
 performed, were rated by it as below the pagan marriages, which 
 consecrated the duration of the union. The general falling off 
 in church weddings and christenings among the Berlin Protestants 
 is understood to have caused both regret and astonishment in 
 the highest quarters, although many pretend that the reason 
 for it is to be found in the national virtue — economy. The civil 
 solemnization is not only compulsory, but it is also cheaper than 
 the ecclesiastical one, and the frugal Berliner of the middle and 
 lower classes cannot see why he should pay twice over for the 
 same thing, when a single ceremony is legally sufficient. The 
 government, disliking a state of things that might alienate a 
 church from which it has ever derived strong support, has done 
 all in its power to favour religious marriages by enforcing them 
 amongst those over whom it has any direct control. In ac- 
 cordance with this view we find the following decree issued 
 against the schoolmaster Priefart, at Weissensee : " Royal 
 Government of Potsdam, February 4, 1875. Having been 
 informed that you have not had consecrated by the religious 
 authority your marriage, contracted last December, we cannot 
 employ you any longer as primary schoolmaster, for we require 
 from a Christian schoolmaster that he follow the Christian rules, 
 and give in this respect a good example to his commune. You 
 are therefore dismissed from the first of next month." 
 
 In missionary circles the introduction of the civil marriage-law 
 was productive of an unforeseen difficulty. Most of the missionary 
 societies sent out only married missionaries in order that beneficial 
 results might follow from the example of Christian matrimony. 
 When the wife of a missionary died abroad it was customary 
 to select a new spouse for him out of the reserve stock of damsels 
 at the schools of the society, and to guard against her losing her 
 heart to anyone else on the passage out, by performing the 
 marriage ceremony by procuration, prior to her departure. When 
 marriages were wholly in the hands of the clergy such unions by 
 proxy were recognized as valid, but the obligatory civil marriage 
 law makes no provision for their performance, and anxious 
 missionaries, awaiting the brides whom the kind care of others 
 has chosen for them, are now liable to be disappointed in their 
 fondest anticipations. 
 
 It is time to speak more particularly of the fair sex of Berlin, 
 yet at the risk of being considered ungallant, one is constrained 
 to confess that the Berlin women as a rule lack the fatal gift 
 of beauty, being neither handsome nor even pretty, although 
 many of them have an expression of countenance that ^ is 
 peculiarly wmning. They may be safely summed up as being
 
 158 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 much less handsome than the English, less graceful than the 
 French, and less clever than the Americans. You might pro- 
 menade the Prussian capital for weeks without meeting a 
 really beautiful woman. You might search for months with- 
 out alighting on a Marguerite ! The worst feature of a Berlin 
 belle is unquestionably her nose. I scarcely remember having 
 seen a single woman in the Prussian capital with a nose of 
 the true cla.ssical type. The outline of this organ, instead of 
 being straight or delicately curved is frequently broken by an 
 exceedingly prominent bridge, while the end as often develops 
 into a ball, imparting an unpleasant and vulgar expression to 
 what might otherwise have been a handsome set of features. 
 The face is usually fat and pasty-looking, presenting large 
 
 dreamy eyes, and, not unfrequently, an exquisitely moulded 
 mouth, with full ruby lips, which, unfortunately, have lost their 
 charm from the fact of the front teeth commencing to decay 
 at an early age. The figure is generally good, although often 
 diminutive, with a well-developed bust, heavy loins, beautifully 
 shaped arms, large hands, and still larger feet. 
 
 The Berlin women utterly lack that grace which contributes so 
 much to the attraction of their Parisian rivals. In their toilettes, 
 too, although these are after Paris models, one misses the quiet 
 taste, the elegant cut, and the neat tournure which distinguish 
 the work of the French modiste from all others. The mode de 
 /'^rwsimply becomes travestied at Berlin, where, on the occasion 
 of our first visit, we remember the fashionable ladies' boots were
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 159 
 
 bottincs a viijambe 
 with tassels in front, 
 and tall wooden 
 heels, higher even 
 than those of the 
 ordinary Soulier 
 Louis Quinzc and 
 placed almost in 
 the middle of the 
 foot, so as to dis- 
 guise, as much as 
 possible, the re- 
 markable size of 
 the fair one's ppHal 
 extremities. The 
 French ph: a SQhtre 
 sur wi grand pied 
 dans le monde, ap- 
 plies itself literally 
 to a Berlin belle. 
 
 As amongst the 
 feathered tribes, 
 the male in Ger- 
 many wears the 
 gayest plumage, 
 sings the loudest 
 note, and lords it 
 absolutely over his 
 female mate. Men 
 take the lead in 
 social as well as public life, whilst their wives drudge away their 
 existences in sordid details. The advice of Mr. Disraeli, that every 
 public man should spend a portion of each day in conversing 
 with his wife — in order to refresh his mind and profit by that just 
 appreciation of matters in which they are not personally interested 
 that distinguishes the softer sex — would appear ridiculous in the 
 eyes of a Berliner. Woman in the Prussian capital has none of 
 that politico-social influence exercised in London and Paris by 
 the queens of the salon, whilst from anything approaching the 
 views of her " rights," set forth by Mesdames Garrett-Anderson 
 and Becker, she would shrink in horror. There her sole duty in life, 
 after the nuptial knot has been tied, is to be domesticated, to 
 wait hand and foot upon the nobler being who has condescended 
 to unite his lot to hers, to concentrate her Avhole attention 
 upon household affairs, to devote her intellect to the mysteries 
 of the kitchen and the minutiae of the store-room and larder, 
 to regard sewing and scrubbing as cardinal virtues, and to 
 pass no inconsiderable portion of her existence in locking
 
 l6o BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 and unlocking presses, cupboards, drawers, and store closets, 
 with that formidable bunch of keys which is the treasured 
 symbol of her authority. 
 
 The German moralists style this " assigning woman her real 
 place, by developing her domestic aptitudes and making her the 
 model mother of a family." The wife assumes the economical 
 government of the house, an end to which all her education has 
 been directed ; she has learnt to knit, to sew, to cook, and to 
 economize. On quitting the upper school she has been sent to take 
 lessons in cookery at an hotel, and lessons in dressmaking from 
 a dressmaker. In many respects she is able to make up for 
 the inefficiency of her husband, and this responsibility which she 
 accepts in marrying unquestionably develops the energetic side 
 of her character. 
 
 Her married life is indeed of the prosiest, and she has neither 
 the time for, nor the notion of escaping into the sphere of literature, 
 science, or politics. Moreover, save in the rarest of cases, her 
 sway over the household is after all but nominal, for her husband 
 whilst engaged in outside duties, manages to exercise a very 
 keen supervision over the details of home-life. He knows to an 
 ounce the precise quantity of groceries that ought to be consumed 
 in the course of the week, grumbles at excesses in soap and 
 candles, and is especially dictatorial when winter comes round 
 on the question of fuel, whilst his wife stands meekly trembling 
 before him, account-book in hand. " The German marriage," 
 observes Heinrich Heine, " is not a real marriage. The husband 
 has not a wife but a servant, and continues in imagination, even 
 in the midst of his family, his bachelor life." 
 
 When in due season the wife presents her husband with the 
 customary pledge of mutual affection, the event is chronicled in 
 the Berlin newspapers in far more effusive terms than are cus- 
 tomary among ourselves ; here, for example, are several of these 
 announcements. 
 
 " In lieu of Private Information. —By God's merciful assistance, my 
 beloved wife Antonie nee Harder, was safely delivered, at 8 o'clock this 
 morning, of a healthy daughter. — Hermes, Ober-Consistorial-Rath." 
 
 " I have the honour to announce the happy delivery of my dearly loved wife, 
 Lina, of a stout boy this afternoon, at 5.15.— Leo Krause." 
 
 "At 2 o'clock this morning, my dear wife, ROSAMUND, nie RiJHLE, presented 
 me with a healthy boy. — F. Schmalenburg, Master Baker," 
 
 "With God's gracious help, my tenderly loved wife, SOPHIE, was safely de- 
 livered this morning at 4.30 of a strong boy. Hallelujah ! 
 
 " H, Kleinwachter, Pastor." 
 
 "At \ past 3 this afternoon, my beloved wife, Anna ttee\ Klemm, delighted 
 me by the birth of a fine healthy girl. This is in place of any private in- 
 timation."
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 
 
 l6l 
 
 Some few of these announcements are couched in terms of 
 commendable brevity ; as for instance the following — 
 
 '' The birth of a son has, this day, brought great joy to Dr. Richard Brau- 
 MiJLLER and his wife." 
 
 " Highly rejoiced are P.Hirschberg and wife by the birth of a healthygirl." 
 Amoncf the middle / 
 
 .5\ ■• 
 
 > \-!' 
 
 ■Ml€ 
 
 
 and better class Ber- 
 linese, baptisms of the 
 newly-born common- 
 ly take place at the 
 house of the parents, 
 and but seldom in the 
 church. An altar de- 
 corated v.'ith flowers 
 and covered with a 
 white cloth is erected 
 in one of the apart- 
 ments, and on the con- 
 clusion of the cere- 
 mony an entertain- 
 ment, which usuall)^ 
 proves a remarkably 
 noisy affair, is given. 
 Only poor people as a 
 rule have their children 
 christened in a church, 
 where the clergyman baptizes them wholesale, and where you 
 will frequently see two or three dozen babies disposed in a circle 
 around the font when a single dash of holy water, and one sweep 
 of the hand is made to serve for them all. 
 
 If the Berlinese are received into the world in this uncere- 
 monious fashion they are rarely permitted to leave it in the 
 
 same slighting way. From the numerous handsome coffins 
 exposed in the Berlin undertakers' shops, and the frequent 
 notices exhibited of '' Bequcme Surge," in other words "com- 
 
 M
 
 1 62 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 fortable coffins," it is evident that the Berlinese are far from 
 indifferent to the pomps and vanities of sepulture. It will be 
 seen from the annexed engravings of a couple of these elegant 
 metal sarcophagi, with their elaborate gilt ornaments and 
 mouldings, that although the defunct Berliner may be consigned 
 to his final resting-place without the formality of the prayers of 
 the church, he yet quits this sublunary sphere in a sufficiently 
 splendid receptacle, as though anxious that " nothing in life 
 
 shall more become him than the leaving of it," and as if seeking 
 to deprive death of some portion of its terrors. The Berlin 
 hearses are equally grand affairs, being so many elegant canopies 
 on wheels, drawn by handsome Mecklenburg horses with long 
 black draperies, and hung with curtains and festoons of black cloth, 
 which allow of the coffin, decorated with wreaths and flowers, being 
 exposed to public view. " Since seeing one of these resplendent 
 vehicles," remarks an irreverent Frenchman, " my great ambition 
 has been — of course at some exceedingly remote period — to end 
 my days in the capital of the new German Empire." 
 
 At the single funeral at which T was present at Berlin, I found 
 myself received on my arrival at the house, by the brother of the 
 deceased, who, in accordance with the prevailing practice, kissed 
 my cheek and then led me to a suite of rooms communicating 
 with the funereal chamber, the door of which was at that moment 
 closed. When the clergyman arrived, the mourners assembled in 
 an immediately adjoining apartment, and the doors being thrown 
 open, the bier was exposed to view. The corpse was seen lying 
 on an altar covered with black velvet and decorated with branches 
 of funereal cypress. Hundreds of wax lights rising in a perfect 
 forest at various elevations were burning at the back of the altar. 
 Whilst the mourners were contemplating this striking "spectacle, 
 they suddenly heard the beautiful chorale " yesus, ineine Zuver 
 sicht," intoned, seemingly by far distant voices, but which proved 
 to be those of the choir of a neighbouring church, concealed in a 
 corner of the apartment. The effect was most impressive.
 
 THE BERLINESE AT HOME. 163 
 
 The coffins of the poorer classes are usually painted a bright 
 yellow colour, and in lieu of headstones at their graves it is cus- 
 tomary to place little china slabs in the form of an open book, 
 on which such inscriptions as the following may be read — " Hicr 
 
 ruhet in Gott niein Schzvager, JoJiann ScJmltz, geboren ge- 
 
 storben ." Black funereal wreaths, with the words " RnJie in 
 
 Friedc" inscribed on them in white, may be observed lying 
 upon most of the graves in the cemeteries around Berlin. 
 
 The announcements of deaths in the Berlin newspapers, if com- 
 monly somewhat lengthy, are not unfrequently pathetic, although 
 now and then one comes across some which are precisely the 
 reverse. The few selections we have made furnish examples of 
 both categories. 
 
 " On July 24 died suddenly, without previous illness, the Prussian Captain, 
 Knight of the Iron Cross, Herr Adolf von Petzold. A life rich in bitter dis- 
 appointments, heavy trials, and cares, lies behind him. His deeply religious 
 mind, his firm faith in the will of God, enabled him to bear many sorrows in 
 joyful Christian resignation. The evening of his life at last seemed to smile 
 on him, but, according to God's unsearchable counsel, he was not to enjoy it. 
 In him died a faithful husband, a loving father, a true friend — a man without 
 guile ! May God give him His eternal peace ! True friendship devotes to 
 the departed this brief memorial." 
 
 " According to God's inscrutable Providence, after prolonged and acute 
 sufferings, to-day, Sunday Sept. 29, at half-past 6 in the morning, our precious 
 and dearly-loved father, Karl Albert Ermeler fell asleep. This is 
 announced with the keenest grief to relations and friends in lieu of any private 
 intimation by and in the name of the entire family." 
 
 " Suddenly, of heart disease, in the arms of her married sister, on June 24, 
 at 6 p.m., our dearly-loved daughter, sister, and sister-in-law, Bertha von 
 DER Linde. God grant us strength to bear this heavy blow. In announcing 
 this domestic affliction to our relatives and friends we beg from them their 
 silent sympathy. The deeply afflicted survivors." 
 
 " According to God's eternal predestination, our only and inexpressibly be- 
 loved son, Roderick Kollatz, fell gently asleep in the midst of our prayers 
 and burning tears, at 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. — Karl Kollatz, 
 Oberprediger, Maria Kollatz, nie Koppner." 
 
 " At 9 o'clock last night, after a brief illness, our dear and never-to-be-for- 
 gotten husband and father, the Gingerbread Manufacturer, Friedrich 
 Conrad, departed in his 55th year." 
 
 The widow and children sign the above announcement. 
 
 " I here give notice to my friends and acquaintances that I have just lost my 
 well-beloved spouse at the moment she was giving birth to a son, for whom 
 I am looking out for a wet-nurse, until I meet with a second wife willing to 
 assist me in my grocery business. Signed ." 
 
 " To-day, at 9 in the morning, God our Lord called away from his counter 
 into a better world, the Jeweller, Sebald Michael Illmayer. Over him 
 weep his widow, named ioelow, and his two daughters, HuLDAand Emma, the 
 marriage of the first of whom, with a large dowry, was announced not long ago 
 in the columns of this journal ; the second is still unmarried. The desolate 
 widow, Veronica Illmayer, nee Seizes. — N.B. The business of our shop 
 will not be interrupted, only in three weeks' time we shall remove to No. 4, 
 
 strasse." 
 
 M 2
 
 A BORSEN TOURNAMENT. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT. 
 
 SO recently as a decade ago the Berlinese as a rule were modest, 
 nay, almost humble. They owned, in the most naive manner, 
 that everything was admirable save in their own city. War arises 
 with Austria, and Sadowa caused them to raise their heads 
 a little. Next ensued the contest with France, and Wissembourg, 
 Woerth, and Spicheren, Sedan and Metz set them twirling their 
 moustaches, while the capitulation of Paris sent their noses in the 
 air. The proclamation of the Empire with Berlin for its capital made 
 them prouder than ever, and the signature of peace, with the five 
 milliards, and Alsace and Lorraine, literally turned their heads. 
 
 " We have vanquished the modern Babylon," said the orators 
 of the bier halleji — they got this expression from the Kreuz Zei- 
 tiino; — " Paris is at our feet like the dragon beneath the lance 
 of St. George. She was the capital of the world ; she is fallen. 
 Berlin will take her place. The mode of Paris will become that 
 of Berlin. We will get together here all the be.st Paris workmen, 
 and as they are mostly Germans, that will not be very difficult. 
 Bismarck won't tolerate the French language any longer in 
 diplomacy, he will write in German, and if the French can't 
 understand him so much the worse for them. The favourite 
 articles of apparel and toilette requisites will in future be those 
 of Dentsches fabricat. We will inundate the world with Moltke 
 cravats, and Bismarck collars, manufactured at Berlin. The 
 products of Paris and Vienna are condemned for the future.
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT. 165 
 
 We have already 800,000 inhabitants, next year we shall have 
 900,000, and the year after that a million. We have distanced St. 
 Petersburg and Vienna, we shall soon pass before Constantinople, 
 then Paris, and afterwards commence to compete with London." 
 
 While reasoning thus, the Berlinese seemed to forget how little 
 of the character of a capital Berlin really had about it, the prin- 
 cipal Prussian newspapers and all the more important books 
 being published in the provinces, where not only is scientific 
 research quite as active and the artistic movement far more 
 intense, but even social life is almost equally animated as at 
 Berlin. The mot d'ordre, however, was given, " Berlin wird 
 Weltstadt " was in every mouth, echoed in every newspaper, and 
 placarded over the Litfass columns. " Ich bin Berliner," soon 
 became equivalent to the " Civis Romanus sum " of the ancients. 
 Newspapers augmented their size, so as to be able to insert the 
 advertisements which kept flowing in ; the most insignificant 
 shopkeeper, dazzled by the glitter of all this foreign gold, said to 
 himself, "to me belongs a share of these five milliards," and there- 
 upon he launched into extravagances which he had never before 
 dreamt of. On the pretence that his corns troubled him he 
 drove about in a droschke when he had to go only a hundred 
 yards from his home ; the subscriptions to the Zoological Gar- 
 dens increased tremendously, and the best restaurants were 
 frequented as though their charges were a mere bagatelle. 
 
 When all this was known in the Mark of Brandenburg, in 
 Pomerania, and in Posen — poor provinces where the workman of 
 the fields looks upon meat as gold, and upon beer as nectar — the 
 cry of "Let us go to Berlin the ncuc Weltstadt" found a ready 
 echo. " There," said these poor simpletons, "we shall have good 
 lodging, fine clothes, and the best food. Instead of a few 
 groschens a day we shall receive a bright silver thaler for merely 
 eight hours' work." And they came in crowds to the capital. 
 At the same time the little communal administrations intrigued 
 in a thousand ways to rid themselves of the obnoxious elements of 
 their population and cause them to emigrate to Berlin, which lost 
 rather than gained by its aggrandisement, as the administration 
 for the relief of the poor had to disburse 1,265,042 thaler during 
 the year. Meanwhile the newspapers proudly expatiated upon 
 the rapid increase in the population of the city. 
 
 What were the consequences of this influx of adventurers ? In 
 Berlin there are few people of really solid wealth, and instead of 
 fresh fodder coming to the manger, it was fresh horses that arrived 
 to eat up what fodder there was, causing the whole legion of 
 officers, employes, shopkeepers, and workmen, to complain 
 bitterly against the Freiziigigkcit which permitted every one to 
 come and take up his abode in the Weltstadt. The deficiency 
 in the matter of house accommodation, which already existed 
 prior to the war, increased at an alarming rate, and rents rose to
 
 1 66 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW. EMPIRE. 
 
 such fabulous amounts, that in the year following the peace, 
 hundreds of decent Berlin families, who up to that time had 
 paid their rents regularly, found themselves suddenly without a 
 roof to shelter them, and were forced to camp out in the suburbs 
 of the city, in vacant spaces, in temporary huts, stables, and the 
 like. It was in vain that scores of building companies were 
 created, and that the president of police promised all his assist- 
 ance towards the establishment of a new quarter at Treptow. It 
 was in vain that enthusiasts chanted the honour of Berlin being 
 the third and then the second city of Europe — the prospect pro- 
 mised neither the amelioration of existing inconveniences, nor 
 any positive benefit to people's pockets, consequently instead of 
 the former unanimity which prevailed in favour of the title of 
 Weltstadt, this was clung to by merely an insignificant minority. 
 
 The families of the small commercial employes who five years 
 ago had lived peacefully and contented upon what the father's 
 post brought them in, soon found that the same money was worth 
 only one-half of what it formerly was, and themselves, as a con- 
 sequence, in a position of relative misery spite of the augmenta- 
 tion of salaries. The inferior government officials as well as 
 persons with small fixed incomes, and indeed, the whole of thnt 
 large class among the Berlinese who are condemned to eke out 
 existence on narrow means, suffered in an equal degree. Perhaps 
 none felt the baneful effects of the five milliards more acutely 
 than the teachers at colleges and higher class schools, and 
 the general run of medical men. The former held meetings 
 at which it was shown how inadequate their salaries were to 
 maintain them in the position they were justified in claiming for 
 themselves and families, while the more distinguished members of 
 the medical profession declared that of their 700 or 800 colleagues 
 at Berlin, scarcely lOO were able to live by the proceeds of their 
 practice. The gross receipts of an average practice were estimated 
 at 2,000 thaler — under 300/. a-year — from which one-half had to 
 be deducted for purely professional expenses, such as a carriage, 
 a larger and more expensive residence, &c. What remained was 
 insufficient to maintain their families, educate their children, 
 provide for their old age, and for those whom they might leave 
 behind. The reports of Medical Aid Funds moreover showed 
 that many widows and orphans of medical men, and even some 
 of the more aged practitioners themselves were receiving annual 
 or occasional assistance, ranging in amount from 35 to lOO thaler. 
 
 The working classes by means of strikes, or threatened strikes, 
 succeeded in obtaining several extra groschen per day, and in 
 certain instances their earnings not only equalled, but even ex- 
 ceeded those of many employees. At this epoch one of the 
 satirical journals pictured the latter as complaining that whereas 
 the working classes were sending their sons to colleges, and their 
 daughters to boarding schools, they were obliged to put their
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT, 
 
 167 
 
 own sons to trade, and their daui^hters to domestic service. The 
 working classes, however, were not destined to enjoy for long the 
 special advantages they were believed to have acquired. Soon the 
 augmented prices of food and of lodgings, and more particularly 
 the latter, at Berlin, absorbed the increase in their wages, and 
 left them no better off than they had been belbre. 
 
 One natural consequence of the triumph of the German arms 
 was the flooding of Berlin with speculative enterprizes. " Peace 
 had scarcely been concluded when the tribe of improvised finan- 
 ciers began their merry mad dance round the golden calf at the 
 Berlin 13orse, The large houses opened the ball, the smaller 
 ones followed in their steps, and masters and pupils were joined 
 by an ever-increasing swarm of disciples and adherents, including 
 men of all ranks and all religions. They danced from morn 
 till eve, and went on dancing with screams and shouts for months 
 and even years. The wild dance only came occasionally to a 
 sudden standstill, as at the close of 1871, in the spring of 1872, 
 and late in the autumn of the same year. Then the dancers 
 grew pale, and suddenly trembled ; they held their breath and 
 listened, but all was quiet. The sky still looked clear, so they 
 went on with their gyrations. When in May, 1873, the storm 
 suddenly burst over Vienna, Berlin refused to hear the peals of 
 thunder or to see the 
 flashes of lightning 
 which illumined the 
 horizon, but still 
 danced on. The earth, 
 however, quaked, the 
 dancers stumbled, and 
 many among them ^-^o>s4'c\v;>:^1 
 rose no more. 
 
 " The five milliards, 
 with interest, which 
 Prince Bismarck, as- 
 sisted by Herr Gerson 
 and Herr Bleichroder 
 had wrung from MM. 
 Thiers and Favre, had 
 been at once looked 
 upon by the Borse as 
 its own, from a set- 
 tled conviction that 
 this fabulous sum must flow thither directly or indirectly. A 
 mighty impetus to trade and commerce, a constant increase in 
 the value of land was forthwith proclaimed. According to the 
 declarations of the Borse and the political econoni'sts in alliance 
 with it, every one, from the Emperor down to the beggar, had 
 suddenly become rich, the national property had increased 
 
 
 BKFORE THE CKASH.
 
 l68 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 tenfold, and in order not to allow this colossal surplus to lie unem- 
 ployed, new enterprizes were started and new stocks created. 
 
 "This was accordingly dona. During 1871 and 1872 about 780 
 joint stock companies were formed in Prussia. Rightly to 
 appreciate this number, it should be known that between 1790 
 and 1870, a period of eighty years, only about 300 such com- 
 panies in all had arisen. This gave an average of one every 
 three months, whereas during 1871 and 1872 one was created 
 every day. The majority of these 780 companies were formed 
 in Berlin, or were connected with it, and almost all the shares 
 were brought out on the Berlin Exchange." ^ 
 
 At this epoch frugal Berlin tradesmen, who, after long years 
 of toiling and scraping, had laid aside a little hoard, allowed 
 themselves to be bitten by the mania for speculation so carefully 
 fostered by the band of " promoterb " who had flocked to Berlin 
 in the rear of the victorious legions of the Emperor. Allured by 
 the specious promises of these Teutonic Captain Hawkesleys, 
 and eager to plunge their hands into "the golden stream flowing 
 from vanquished Gaul," they abandoned their counters for the 
 environs of the Borse, and while absorbed in the share list of 
 bogus stocks utterly lost sight of the prices current of more 
 legitimate commodities, with results, as a rule, only too disas- 
 trous. The government and municipal employee could not strike 
 like the artisan, neither dared they emulate the recklessness 
 of the trader. The places of such few as ventured to dabbie 
 in speculative enterprizes soon " knew them no more," while 
 their more cautious brethren dragged on their habitual cheese- 
 paring existences, full of constant shifts and ceaseless privations. 
 
 "Victory," remarked the celebrated novelist Gustav Freytag, 
 " has given birth to many evils ; the honour, the loyalty of the 
 capital are suffering terribly. Every one is infected with this 
 senseless passion of gain — this thirst of gold ; all are intoxicated 
 with it. Princes, courtiers, generals,high functionaries, alikcindulge 
 in the unbridled game; all seek to win the confidence of petty 
 capitalists ; all take advantage of their position to make a speedy 
 fortune. It spreads like wild-fire and renders one despondent. 
 The sight of so much corruption makes one doubt the future." 
 
 Yet with all this the Berlinese continued to assume a jubilant 
 air, and when the three Emperors met together at Berlin a 
 caricature made its appearance, representing a pair of scales, one 
 of which containing three milliards of francs, with little ]\I. Thien, 
 hanging on below, was high up in the air ; while the other, 
 holding three imperial crowns, and directed by the tip of 
 Bismarck's little finger, was close to the ground, leading one to 
 infer that the meeting of the F^mperors had been arranged with 
 the view of counter-balancing the favourable impression pro- 
 duced in P^urope by the success of the recent French loan. 
 
 ^ Dcr Borsen-und Griinatings schwindel in Berlin, von Otto Glagau.
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT. 
 
 169 
 
 Cassandra-like warnings were not, however, wanting, and the 
 Volks Zeitiuig observed, " When one notices the continual in- 
 crease of prices of 
 articles of the first 
 necessity, one is 
 led to ask oneself 
 seriously, What is 
 the benefit of the 
 strikes and of the 
 increase of sal- 
 aries ? What good 
 have the French 
 milliards done us ? 
 One thought that 
 these milliards 
 
 were going to 
 lighten the taxes 
 and bring opulence 
 into the country ; 
 whereas it is the 
 contrary which has 
 happened. The 
 dearness of every- 
 thing is a conse- 
 quence of the aug- 
 mentation of salaries and a result of the strikes, and the milliards 
 undoubtedly had much to do with it. 
 
 "Augmentation of salaries means augmentation of prices. When 
 the increase of salaries only applies itself to a few special branches 
 of industry, a greater salary may bring with it the possibility of 
 enjoying more easily the necessities of life. But when this aug- 
 mentation is general, and applies itself to every branch of labour, 
 its natural consequence is to oblige the workman to expend more 
 money in procuring less enjoyment. The illusion has prevailed 
 that the prices of the products of the soil do not augment when 
 the salaries of the town workmen increase. But inexorable 
 experience has shown that the augmentation of salaries does not 
 merely limit itself to the towns but unfailingly penetrates into 
 the rural districts. If the salaries of the country labourers do 
 not follow the progression as initiated by the towns, emigration 
 ensues either towards the towns or beyond the seas. 
 
 " Milliards, even if they rained from heaven, would not enrich a 
 people. If by magic each thaler changed itself into two during 
 the night, on the morrow that which cost one groschen before 
 would cost two. Spain experienced this in her palmy days, and 
 it is being experienced to-day in the countries where gold-fields 
 have been discovered. Money only conduces to easy circum- 
 stances when it is the result of labour which effectively enriches
 
 I/O 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 a country. The milliards temporarily serve for speculation, but 
 the working classes do not profit by them. As they come by 
 degrees from France, living in Germany increases, and labour in 
 France diminishes in cost. The want of habitations is not known 
 in Paris as it is in Berlin. Provisions also are not so expensive 
 there, whereas here they increase in price every day. There 
 are certain industrial works in which we compete with France in 
 foreign countries. If here salaries augment while they decrease 
 in France — such is the logical consequence of the milliards — 
 the result will be that France will triumph in the competition." 
 
 The truths of political economy notwithstanding, Germany was 
 soon found regretting that so little as five milliards had been 
 exacted from her ancient enemy. When, however, the inevitable 
 financial crash came, the tone changed again, and the Berlinese 
 felt more sure than ever that '•' those accursed five milliards " 
 were the cause of all their ills. They unquestionably turned the 
 
 heads of even sober 
 people, and brought in 
 their train, swindling, a 
 foolish rage for wealth, 
 credulity about values 
 that never existed, over 
 production, gambling 
 on the Borse, exorbi- 
 tant wages, high rents, 
 the monstrous rise in 
 the prices of all the 
 necessaries of life, and 
 finally the great "crash," 
 the effects of which are 
 seen in the fall to a 
 nominal value, or total 
 extinction, of shares 
 quoted a little while 
 before at extravagant 
 premiums, the failure 
 of large banks, the 
 diminished attendance 
 at the University, the 
 number of empty houses, the stranding of numerous families 
 cm the barren shore of poverty, and, as a necessary consequence 
 of this material destitution and its accompanying moral depres- 
 sion, an utter sterility in the realms of art and science.^ 
 
 Tlie lament was loud throughout Germany, where people 
 
 thought it very hard that, just as the nation had become 
 
 suddenly united and jiowerful, it should be called upon to make 
 
 such sacrifices. "The demons of swindling," exclaimed one 
 
 ^ F. Spiclhagen in the AiheticFian, Feb. 1876. 
 
 AFTER THE CRASH.
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT. I/r 
 
 indignant writer, " pounced upon it, and trampled it down in the 
 midst of its victorious joy and of the general enthusiasm. The 
 most sacred feelings of a people were played with by speculators 
 and swindlers for their own base ends and criminal purposes." 
 More than this, the Minister of Justice, in recommending the 
 adoption of a projected reform of the criminal code, urged its 
 necessity on the plea that, since the influx of the milliards, 
 popular manners had become more brutalized, respect for the 
 law and the authorities so much lessened, that public order could 
 scarcely be said to exist. With the Berlinese themselves, thus 
 dolefully lamenting the disasters born of the baneful five 
 milliards, it is not surprising to find a Frenchman chuckling over 
 their misfortunes in this somewhat exaggerated strain : — 
 
 " These five milliards falling into Count Bismarck's helmet, 
 like the golden eggs laid by the goose of the fable, literally 
 turned the Germans' heads. In Berlin it was believed that the 
 mythological era was about to return — that the Spree, like a new 
 Pactolus, would roll down sands of gold, and that it would only 
 be necessary to stoop to become rich. This hallucination lasted 
 for a year. A thousand enterprises were created : companies 
 sprung up hke mushrooms after rain ; everything was turned 
 into shares — butcheries, breweries, groceries, streets, canals, roads; 
 houses w^ere sold at the Borse, and in two hours changed owners 
 five or six times.^ A five-storeyed house fetched a million of 
 francs. Lodgings were classed like stocks and shares, and people 
 disputed over a garret. Building operatives made their fortunes, 
 worked ten hours a day, tossed ofT champagne in beer-glasses, 
 and drove in droschken from their work to the restaurant. 
 Money, in the heat of concupiscence, rushed forth from all its 
 places of concealment, darting upon the French gold in order to 
 become fecundated by the contact, and yield a profit of 50, 60, 
 and 80 per cent. The ground trembled at the rumbling of the 
 gold-laden trucks bearing the seals of the Bank of France, and, 
 opening as in the pantomimes, there arose up bier Jiallen as 
 splendid as palaces, restaurants as grandiose as cathedrals, 
 enchanted gardens, where the perfume of flowers and the sound 
 of music mingled during winter in the warm and voluptuous 
 atmosphere of vast conservatories, and during the summer in the 
 vicinity of refreshing fountains and cascades. 
 
 " Places of recreation and pleasure were necessary for this 
 people, who, like the Romans after the conquest of the provinces, 
 shouted ' Panem et Circenses ! ' The Kaisergallerie, with its 
 eccentric gilding, was built ; and the unique Flora of Charlotten- 
 burg, with its dining-rooms for 2,000 people, and its ballroom 
 looking on to a conservatory stocked with palms, odoriferous 
 
 ^ " The same house would pass in a single day through many a tribe of 
 Israel, through a dozen hands or more, each making five, ten, twenty, and 
 even fifty thousand thaler out of it." — Otto Glagau in Der Gartenlaitbe.
 
 172 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 trees, and bowers of roses, was created. Joint stock companies 
 foug^ht with millions as their weapons for the possession of the 
 feudal castles in the environs of Berlin, so as to transform them 
 into summer bier hallen, with open-air theatres, lakes and boats, 
 artificial mountains, Swiss dairies, and the like. But this vision 
 of the Arabian Nights did not last a twelvemonth. The temples 
 of pleasure and the graces are to-day in a state of bankruptcy, 
 and the bailiffs have seized the quiver of Cupid. 
 
 " Entire Germany, 'this nation of thinkers.' as its philosophers 
 call it, allowed itself to be duped by this deceitful mirage. The 
 cunning ones made use of the milliards as decoys. Five and 
 even ten companies were projected in the course of a day; 
 directly the shares were subscribed the managers disappeared, 
 and nothing remained but the empty safes. They escaped all 
 control by bribing the authorities. At length matters came to such 
 a pass that people asked themselves whether it was prudent to go 
 to the Borse without a revolver in one's pocket. Rows occurred 
 every moment, and speculators fought like brewers' draymen. 
 
 " The governor of the Prussian Bank stated, in a report 
 published on the 1st of January, 1873, that the promoters of 
 companies had gained in two years several millions of thaler, 
 thanks to public credulity. If France paid dearly for her defeat, 
 Germany is to-day paying cruelly for her glory. Peace is 
 costing her more than war." ^ 
 
 The agricultural labourer, or peasant, though he too had his 
 share of suffering through the indemnity, managed to escape the 
 best.^ So long as he can scrape together the few score thaler 
 needed for transport, either by fishing them out from the 
 proverbial stocking stowed away in one corner of his big chest, 
 or by disposing of the bulk of his household goods, he has the 
 world before him where to choose. 
 
 " I pay the men who lift those sacks twenty-five shillings 
 a week, whilst I can get a clerk for fifteen," recently remarked a 
 London wharfinger ; and muscle is a marketable article all over 
 the civilised world. Thanks to emigration agents, the most 
 obtuse of the Emperor Wilhelm's subjects have learnt to compare 
 their own persistent efforts to wring a scanty subsistence from 
 
 ^ Voyaj^e au Pays des Milliards, par Victor Tissot, 1875. 
 
 ' A brief explanation may here be given of how the indemnity received 
 from France was disposed of. Broadly speaking about four-fifths were de- 
 voted to military purposes, being either laid out in repairing the losses of the 
 last war, or in preparing for the successes of the next. Of the remaining fifth, 
 143,000,000 thaler (^21,000,000) were apportioned to Prussia, to be applied 
 by her as she thought fit ; and fit she deemed it that not a penny of the 
 amount should find its way into the pockets of the tax-payers, or be applied 
 to purposes ordinarily defrayed out of their pockets. One-third, indeed, went 
 to redeeming loans, thus relieving the nation from paying the interest ; the 
 other two-thirds built a good many miles of Government railway — useful, no 
 doubt, for military purposes, but highly prejudicial to the shareholders of 
 those private companies whose lines had formerly sufficed for the traffic.
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT. 1 73 
 
 the barren soil of their native provinces, with the comparative life 
 of luxury enjoyed by their brethren across the Atlantic ; and the 
 returns from the ports of Hamburg, Bremen, and Stettin, for the 
 last three years, clearly indicate the combined effects of the 
 milliards and the conscription upon the agricultural populations 
 of East and West Prussia, the Mecklenburgs, and Posen. 
 
 Concurrent with the influx of the milliards, there arose at 
 Berlin an insensate crusade against everything French, set on 
 foot by the leading newspapers. The war had revived in the 
 Berlinese many bitter reminiscences which the surpassing triumph 
 of the German legions had failed to efface. When, in 1807, 
 Napoleon I. carried off to Paris the colossal car of victory which 
 surmounts the Brandenburg Gate, and plundered the Berlin 
 Museum of its finest works,^ the feelings of the population, as 
 they watched the departure of their artistic treasures, must have 
 been almost as acute as those of the French, who saw their 
 bronse-dore clocks and their palissandre pianos carted ofT to the 
 Prussian frontier during the last war. The French seemed to 
 have forgotten this little piece of pilfering on the part of their 
 great Emperor, and the Prussians were perhaps not altogether 
 wrong in showing that they still remembered it, especially as 
 they contented themselves with such bagatelles as clocks and 
 pianos, and left the public galleries and art collections untouched. 
 But when the war was over, and France had been forced to make 
 ample reparation, one would have thought that the Prussians 
 would have stifled their animosity against their old enemy, 
 and if they had felt no pity for a nation that had suffered so 
 grievously at their hands, that they would at all events have 
 been actuated by no ill-feeling towards it. Unfortunately, it was 
 not so ; and I doubt if it is possible for the Germans to be more 
 hated in Paris than the French are at Berlin. The Berlinese 
 know that a time must come when vanquished France will be 
 strong again, and possibly still eager for revenge ; and the 
 opinion that she has not been rendered sufficiently powerless, 
 troubles peace-loving shopkeepers as well as bellicose generals. 
 
 One reason why the Germans hate the PVench is that, not 
 being a witty people themselves, they cannot tolerate French 
 ridicule. They are also particularly sensitive at being styled 
 barbarians, and spoken of as ill-mannered and uncouth. The 
 silly yet contemptuous manner in which the French spoke of 
 every German who had lived in France before the war broke 
 out, as an espio7i, touched them, moreover, to the quick. One is 
 
 1 In the recently published Recollections of the Countess von Voss, we find 
 her writing under the date of the nth of November, 1807, "I received the 
 catalogue of all that the French have either despatched officially from Berlin 
 to Paris or simply stolen, as well from the Royal Palaces as from Potsdam, 
 mostly statues, pictures, china, vases, valuables, and works of art of every 
 description. The list is incredible."
 
 174 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 here reminded of what befel a well-known German painter of 
 military subjects who had studied in France prior to the war, 
 residing for upwards of three years in Paris and Versailles 
 engjaged in copying the works of Horace Vernet. When the 
 war broke out he followed the Prussian army with the view 
 of making sketches for several pictures which the king had 
 commissioned him to paint, and while at Versailles called upon 
 different people he had formerly been on terms of intimacy 
 with. He was received everywhere with marked coldness, which 
 led him to suspect that he was regarded as one of " Bismarck's 
 spies." Nevertheless, chancing to meet one of the attendants 
 in the picture-gallery of the palace, to whom he was very well 
 known, he invited him to drink a bottle of wine. The old man 
 was nothing loth. " Ah ! " thought the delighted painter, " here 
 at least is one who does not turn his back upon me." They 
 repaired to the painter's room ; the bottle was uncorked ; the 
 glasses were filled, and the usual compliments exchanged. As 
 the old adage has it, " When wine sinks, words swim," and while 
 sipping his last glass the old man gravely shook his head, 
 remarking, "Well, it's over now, inais cest tout de nieme tin bien 
 vilain metier que vous avez fait la, Monsieur" 
 
 " What do you mean .■' " exclaimed the astonished painter, as 
 his belief in having found one old acquaintance who did not look 
 upon him as a spy was suddenly dispelled. "Ah !" replied the 
 other, again wagginghis head, "you were always with the officers in 
 garrison here, and it was not without an object, you know. True, 
 it's all over now, 7nais c'est neanmoins un bien vilain metier r 
 
 Before the war the Berlinese went into ecstasies over every- 
 thing that came from foreign countries, and condemned, as bad 
 or worthless, whatever was made at home. All the artificial 
 flowers, perfumery, cravats, collars, bonnets, and mantles, made 
 in the city, only found purchasers by the vendors telling false- 
 hoods concerning their origin. The best-loved ^(3:;za' would have 
 risked his future happiness had he dared to suspect that his 
 betrothed's toilettes did not come direct from Paris, or at least 
 from Brussels or Vienna. It was very different after the war, 
 for when the troops re-entered Berlin the committee of manage- 
 ment unanimously resolved that the young girls charged with 
 presenting wreaths to the Emperor and prince; should not be 
 attired a la Fran^aise, but in strict German fashion, whereupon 
 much perplexity ensued, and it was finally decided that the only 
 way to secure them a really German appearance was for them to 
 wear long flowing flaxen tresses in the style of Goethe's Gretchen. 
 
 Subsequently the Berlinese insisted upon French influence 
 being no longer allowed to assert itself in literature and the 
 drama, in drawing-rooms and kitchens, in apparel and cosmetics. 
 This proposed breaking off entirely with France, and dispensing 
 with all the results of French culture and industry, was not a
 
 BERLIN WIRD WELTSTADT. 1 75 
 
 mere idle caprice, still the Berlinese had scarcely estimated how 
 deeply rooted French fashions and ideas had become among 
 them. A precisely similar movement had been started in 18 14 
 after the war of Liberation, but only to die out in the peace that 
 followed, possibly from want of any power at that epoch which 
 could keep Germany in combined action. In the present 
 instance the warfare against everything French was equally 
 bitter, if not as active, as in the days of Lessing. It was not for 
 long, however, that the latest Parisian mode found no favour 
 in the eyes of Berlin belles, and that they employed native 
 couturicres, who draped them in robes of Spartan simplicity ; 
 that chignons became as rare as they had formerly been com- 
 mon, and that German labels and inscriptions usurped the place 
 of French ones. Before the war there were only 200 French 
 workmen in Berlin, now there are estimated to be 2400, the 
 wages of whom range from two-and-a-half to five thaler a day. 
 The larger number are masons, sculptors, upholsterers, and 
 designers, to whom may be added at least a hundred French 
 cooks. The Prince von Pless, a rich Silesian landowner, has 
 recently been building in the Wilhelms-strasse, a palace after the 
 designs of M. Detailleur of Paris. In the construction of this 
 edifice, not only have French workmen been employed, but 
 most of the materials have been forwarded from France. The 
 journals acknowledge that the local architects know next to 
 nothing of the ornate Louis Ouinze style, which is utterly ignored 
 in their manuals, and admit that Berlin artisans, accustomed 
 for fifty years to the bald style of decoration known as Berlin 
 Greek, are incapable of working in the highly florid style which 
 the Second Empire restored in France. 
 
 Before the war, French language used to be spoken in the best 
 Berlin society almost as freely as German itself ; but although 
 the officers of the Guard, who reign over the salons of Berlin, 
 returned from the campaign with increased fluency in the laugage 
 par excellence de la conversation — of itself a source of constant 
 temptation — scarcely a word of French was heard at either 
 evening party or military mess. Waiters, too, no longer pre- 
 sumed to air their French when addressed by a foreigner 
 in imperfect German ; and in certain Berlin clubs and drawing- 
 rooms it was the established rule to impose a small fine on 
 any one using a French word in the course of conversation. 
 
 These puerile attempts at suppressing the innumerable French 
 expressions which had crept into and been incorporated with the 
 German language proved far from successful. Three centuries 
 and a half ago Avelinus had complained of the evil, Stevin 
 followed in his footsteps, and Grimm and Radloff" thundered in 
 vain against the abuse. Recently a learned philologist ^ renewed 
 their protest ; but while bitterly criticising the writers and 
 ^ Dr. Zung in his ^Deutsche briefe.
 
 176 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 journalists who made use of what he termed so many barbarisms, 
 he was guilty of the very backslidings which he was censuring, 
 proving this habit of having recourse to French words to be far 
 too deeply rooted to be easily eradicated. A Frenchman on 
 arriving by railway at Berlin will be asked for his billet ; at the 
 hotel an individual in a cap with a gold band will announce 
 himself as the portier. Advertisements in the papers will 
 apprise him where he can live enpensioti ; outside many lodging- 
 houses he will notice the inscription Maison Mcublee, while the 
 better-class dining-places will style themselves restaurants, and 
 certain beer-rooms, where coffee is never by any chance seen, 
 will call themselves cafis. If he visits the opera he can apply 
 for a billet de parqtiet, and it is at once given to him. If he asks 
 for a loge, a parterre, or a balcon, he will be equally well under- 
 stood ; and has merely to pronounce the word /r^^rrt/zz/^^- to have 
 one handed to him. Over the shops he will find AlarcJiand 
 tailleur, Magasin de modes, &c., or such hybrid phrases as Rasir, 
 frisir, nnd haarschneide cabinet inscribed, while soieries de Lyo?i 
 and notiveajites de Paris, and similar announcements, stare him 
 in the face in many of the windows. In the papers he will read of 
 ein arrondirtes, separirtes, imd isolirtes, Gut, zum regidiren, for sale, 
 and that So-and-So recommandirt sein renommirtes tmd assortirtes 
 Lager, er garantirt seine marchandise. Furniture-dealers vaunt 
 their mobilidr and meublenicnts. The newspapers announce the 
 price of an abonnemejit, a journalist advertises for the post of 
 redactenr, and photographers speak of their ateliers, and adver- 
 tising agents of their ajinoncen expeditions. Theatrical pro- 
 grammes and the cartes of the better-class restaurants are 
 generally half in French, while the menus of private dinners are 
 entirely so — not such French perhaps as a Parisian would recog- 
 nize, but good enough to establish the rule. At regular intervals 
 the journals opened a vigorous campaign against the admixture 
 of French in the programmes, but without much success. 
 
 The extent to which the French language has been laid under 
 contribution for military purposes is certainly considerable ; still 
 we ourselves appear to be indebted to it in an equal degree. 
 The Prussian recruit is sent to the caserne, where he learns that 
 he has become a militair ; his uniform is given him ; as a 
 rekrut he learns to exerciren ; if tall and well built he will probably 
 be admitted to the cavallerie as a kiirassicr, and enter into a 
 regiment of such a mimei'o or into an escadron of the garde-corps. 
 If, on the other hand, he becomes an infafiterist, he may be a 
 grenadier, or be incorporirt into a bataillon oi fusiliers ; or, 
 failing his admission into either of these divisions, he will be 
 placed in the artillerie.
 
 riV 
 
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 i> "^S^ 
 
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 y^^-c^^. -i-s?^ 
 
 
 •-<JrVif»v; 
 
 
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 A ' ^-* 
 
 ">1^^> ^ 
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 From the Illustrated LondoK News. 
 
 Page 177. I.
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN, FROM THE PARISER-i'LATZ. 
 
 IX. 
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 TWO striking features of Berlin — more characteristic of the 
 city than the Schloss, the museums, the mihtary monu- 
 ments, the Spree, the vast barracks, or the equally vast beer- 
 gardens — are Unter den Linden and the Thiergarten, the 
 favourite promenades, intra and extra muros, of the Berlinese. 
 Berlin, without Unter den Linden and the Thiergarten, would 
 be like Paris without its Boulevards and its Bois de Boulogne, 
 Vienna without its Ring and its Prater, London without its 
 Regent-street and its Parks. It is of these twin attractions that 
 we shah now, therefore, speak, and first of Unter den Linden, 
 the Prussian via triwnphalis, where the national history may be 
 said to be written in bronze, stone, and — stucco. 
 
 Unter den Linden is a pretty name ; there is euphony even in 
 the mere words, which suggest the title for a sentimental poem, 
 telling of lovers meeting in the silence of evening under an 
 avenue of branching limes ; of throbbing hearts and faltering 
 voices, soft endearments and whispered vows, broken only by the 
 warbling of the nightingale. It is an appropriate name, too, for 
 that slightly meretricious picture of Kaulbach's — engravings of 
 which are in all the Berlin printsellers' windows — representing a 
 bouncing young shepherdess, in a trifle too obvious dhhabille, 
 listening with rapture to the impassioned declarations of a gay 
 and daring troubadour beneath the shade of overhanging lime- 
 trees. Her hat, which, like her hair, is wreathed with roses, has 
 fallen on the ground, and lies beside her crook among the blue- 
 bells, daisies, and forget-me-nots, while her strayed flock stand 
 bleating in the distance. She herself reclines unresistingly in 
 
 N
 
 178 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the minstrel's arms ; her hand, which a moment ago repulsed the 
 advances of the too impetuous youth, for whom the battle is 
 almost won, now reposes languidly on his shoulder, as gazing 
 into the limpid stream running at their feet she seems to lend a 
 willing ear to his persuasive pleadings. 
 
 Unter den Linden, however, applied to the principal street 
 in Berlin, is slightly inappropriate, for one might almost ask 
 where are the lime-trees ? One looks up and down that broad 
 thoroughfare — which the Berlinese foolishly compare to the 
 Champs Elysees and boulevards of Paris, the Corso of Milan, 
 and the Prado of Madrid — for the wide-spreading foliage, which 
 one is apt to associate with the lime, and all that one perceives 
 are rows of sickly-looking trees shedding their withered leaves 
 as they sway backwards and forwards in the autumn breeze. 
 Lime-trees are there, it is true, but either so languishing or 
 else so small, and so mixed up with stunted chestnut and 
 maple-trees, that it is somewhat difficult to distinguish one from 
 the other. The fact is, there is scarcely a tree among them that 
 has seen threescore summers, and yet the Berlinese cheat 
 themselves into believing that Unter den Linden is the finest 
 thoroughfare in Europe.^ 
 
 To obtain an idea of Unter den 
 
 Linden, 
 all, a 
 broad 
 place, 
 centre 
 
 imagine, first of 
 thoroughfare as 
 as Portland- 
 Trace out in the 
 a wide prome- 
 
 nade enclosed by mere- 
 ly a single iron rail 
 placed about a yard 
 from the ground; border 
 it with some scraggy- 
 looking trees ; dispose 
 along it a score or so of 
 seats and a few little 
 wooden houses for the 
 sale of fruit, walking- 
 sticks, and effervescing 
 drinks, with several 
 dumpy columns covered 
 with coloured announcements of the day's and night's entertain- 
 ments ; arrange a ride on one side by means of a second iron 
 rail ; border this with more trees, and reserve it to equestrians, 
 
 1 The debilitated condition of the trees in the Linden is stated to arise 
 from their being poisoned at their roots by escapes of gas. To obviate this 
 all newly-phmtcd trees are inclosed within a stone wall sunk five feet below 
 the surface of the ground. Certain Berlin savants say it is to other causes, 
 and more especially the drought in summer, that the decrepit condition 
 of the Berlin lime-trees is really to be attributed.
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 179 
 
 taking care, however, that it is only just broad enough for a 
 couple of horsemen to ride abreast ; then, on the further side, set 
 apart a similar strip of ground for carriages, with a reasonably- 
 broad foot-pavement beyond, which bound with a palace orso,some 
 stuccoed houses, large hotels, and second-rate shops. Imagine a 
 street disposed in the above fashion extending for nearly a mile in 
 a straight line, and intersected by smaller thoroughfares, with its 
 open drains in warm weather sending forth all the foul odours 
 which Coleridge professed to detect in Cologne. Place at one 
 end a stately gateway in the style of the Propylaeum at Athens, 
 and some sixty feet high and two hundred feet wide ; surmount 
 it by a colossal chariot of Victory harnessed to four prancing 
 steeds, and erect several ill-matched mansions in its vicinity. 
 Then, at the other end, in front of the Emperor William's 
 palace, place a handsome bronze equestrian statue of Friedrich 
 the Great standing on a tall pedestal, ornamented with finely- 
 designed alto-relievos, and you will have a very fair counterpart 
 of Unter den Linden, Berlin. 
 
 To give life to the scene there should be plenty of soldiers, 
 both on and off duty, including perhaps a squadron of the 
 famous White Cuirassiers, also helmeted officers, scintillating with 
 decorations, driving about in droschken, ambling aides-de-camp, 
 and orderlies, everlastingly on the trot, and young lieutenants 
 clattering their sabres on the pavement ; for at Berlin the 
 military element dominates every other. Add a fair number of 
 vehicles of all kinds, 
 not forgetting primitive 
 
 country waggons and 
 carts drawn by dogs ; 
 with women carrying 
 baskets of cakes and 
 fruit; newsmen with 
 the journals of the day 
 in boxes slung before 
 them ; nursemaids from 
 the Spreevvald, in the 
 quaint coiffure and 
 scarlet "unterrock" of 
 the district, and escorted 
 by philandering guards- 
 men. Amongst the more 
 respectable pedestrians 
 there should be an oc- 
 casional ragged urchin, 
 with a good sprinkling 
 of greasy-coated, un- 
 washed bangel, or Berlin roughs, who seem to pass a large portion 
 of the day sleeping upon the benches under the central avenue, 
 
 N 2
 
 l8o BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 much to the disgust of the seedy loungers who will sit here 
 meditatively for hours together, with their crossed legs incon- 
 tinently exposing the dilapidated boots they are ordinarily 
 so careful to hide. 
 
 It is through the open arcades of the Brandenburger Thor — 
 which rises up at the western extremity of Unter den Linden, on 
 the verge of the Thiergarten, and forms the grand approach 
 to the Prussian capital — that all the triumphal entries into 
 Berlin are made. At the conclusion of the late war with France, 
 the victorious legions, w^hich had recently passed in triumph 
 under the noble Arc de I'Etoile, in the Champs Elysees, marched 
 into Berlin by the Brandenburg Gate, acclaimed by an enthusi- 
 astic population. And when the first Napoleon, after the 
 battle of Jena, made his entry into the city as a conqueror, he 
 likewise passed through this gateway under the famous colossal 
 group of Victory — the laboured work of a common Berlin 
 coppersmith, after the sculptor Schadow's model — which a 
 few months later was on its way to Paris to swell the art- 
 spoils of Europe there accumulated. Seven years afterwards 
 it was brought back in triumph, and restored to its appro- 
 priate pedestal to again survey the broad Linden perspective. The 
 architect of the Brandenburg Gate is said to have borrowed the 
 idea of it from the Propylaeum, the entrance to the Acropolis. 
 If so, he certainly took great liberties with his model, for 
 his Doric columns are neither of classical proportions nor 
 artistically treated. Besides being too tall, they rest on bases, 
 and are fluted in the Ionic instead of the Doric style. The bas- 
 reliefs ornamenting the sides of the structure, and referring to 
 the military achievements of Friedrich the Great, are a sad 
 jumble of the historical and the mythical. 
 
 The wide Pariser-platz, immediately facing the Branden- 
 burger Thor, with its guard-house on the one hand, and a crowd 
 of ramshackle droschken standing at hire on the other, is bounded 
 on its two sides by some incongruous mansions and so-called 
 palaces, of no architectural merit, excepting one recently erected 
 by Prince Bliicher von Wahlstadt, on the site of the historic 
 edifice presented by the city of Berlin to his illustrious 
 ancestor, who arrived so opportunely at Waterloo. At this end 
 of the Linden is the School of Artillery and Engineers, with a 
 couple of the JVIiiiistries, the remainder being installed in, or 
 adjacent to, VVilhclms-strasse — the Parliament and Downing- 
 street of Berlin — which intersects the lime-tree avenue at this 
 point, and forms the official quarter of the city. Higher up the 
 Linden, on the southern side, is the capacious hotel of the 
 Russian Embassy, between which and the Palace of Prince 
 Frederick of the Netherlands, the broad thoroughfare is occupied 
 on both its sides by shops, all, with rare exceptions, more or less 
 commonplace, hotels more or less stately, restaurants with beer-
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 l8l 
 
 eewm:. 
 
 gardens in their rear, and conditoreien with iron balustrades in 
 front, penning in the out-door habitues of these establishments, 
 like so many sheep. 
 
 Quite a recent and attractive feature of Unter den Linden is 
 the handsome Kaiser-gallerie. standing on the southern side, and 
 leading into Friedrichs-strasse. The Berlinese, who style it 
 " the Passage," point admiringly to its lofty proportions and 
 redundant ornamentation, and believe it to be without equal in 
 Europe. Yet, as a commercial speculation, it is a lamentable 
 failure. Well-dressed loungers are not attracted to it, simply 
 because its shops, with the exception of those adjoining the 
 Linden, are stocked with worthless articles. You may dine, more- 
 over, in perfect solitude at almost any hour of the day at its 
 grand restaurant, the entrance to which is almost on a par with 
 that of a first-class London club-house ; while, as regards its 
 capacious Wiener caf^, scarcely more than a dozen people are 
 usually encountered there, although it offers ample accommoda- 
 tion to upwards of a hundred, besides which it is commonly 
 deserted by nine o'clock at night, at a time when the Berlin beer- 
 houses are perhaps the most crowded. 
 
 Berlin is not a lively nor even a particularly bustling city. 
 It altogether lacks the gay, kaleidoscopic life of a great metro- 
 polis. None of the crowd of well-dressed loungers, encountered
 
 l82 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 on the Paris boulevards 
 or in our own Regent- 
 street, throng its prin- 
 cipal promenade, where, 
 moreover, elegantly-at- 
 tired women are rare- 
 ly seen. As a rule, the 
 Berlin belles seem to 
 know as little how to 
 dress as a large section 
 of our own country- 
 women, the same war 
 of colour prevailing in 
 their toilettes, which are 
 for the most part extra- 
 vagant caricatures of 
 Paris fashions. 
 
 The broad central 
 avenue of the Linden 
 is almost exclusively 
 
 appropriated by nursemaids and children and the "residuum" 
 
 of the Berlin population, while it is easy to perceive that the 
 
 few loungers along 
 
 the side-walks are 
 
 either foreigners or 
 
 provincials. Where 
 
 the straight and 
 
 wearisomely lengthy 
 
 Friedrichs - strasse 
 
 crosses the Linden 
 
 is its busiest part. 
 
 Here the traffic re- 
 quires mounted po- 
 lice to regulate it ; 
 
 here " droschken 
 
 kutscher" loiter for 
 
 fares; street-vendors 
 
 of newspapers find 
 
 their chief customers, 
 
 " dienstmiinner " in 
 
 scarlet caps han;^ 
 
 about for jobs, an 
 
 Berlin shoeblacks ply R.;^ 
 
 their principal trade. If^/'' 
 
 Hereabouts, also, are '^ 
 
 the most frequented 
 
 conditoreien, where 
 
 more assignations
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 183 
 
 are made, more newspapers pored over, more coffee sipped, 
 and more pastry devoured, than anywhere else in Berlin. 
 Kranzler's, at the corner of Friedrichs-strasse, used to be the 
 favourite rendezvous of the officers of the garrison, but of late 
 
 kranzler's corner thirty years ago. 
 
 years they appear to have abandoned it to the smaller stock- 
 jobbing fraternity. 
 
 Rauch's admirable monument to Friedrich the Great, at the 
 eastern extremityof the Linden, dwarfs the adjacent two-storeyed 
 palace in which the Emperor resides. The colossal equestrian 
 statue of Friedrich in his habit as he lived — the accustomed 
 jeering smile playing over his cunning features, and the 
 legendary cane hanging from his right arm, stands on a bronze 
 pedestal, which, with its base of polished granite, gives to the 
 complete monument a total elevation of nearly forty-three feet. 
 At the corners of the lower pedestal are equestrian statues of 
 four of Friedrich's distinguished generals, the intervening spaces 
 being occupied by the effigies of different military heroes of the 
 time. The upper pedestal, on which the statue of Friedrich 
 rests, is ornamented by four sitting figures, symbolical of Wisdom, 
 Justice, Strength, and Moderation, and by bas-reliefs, repre- 
 senting, allegorically, certain incidents in the life of the soldier- 
 king. The monument may be said to illustrate an important 
 chapter in Prussian history, with no actor of that stirring epoch
 
 1 84 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 absent from it. The sculptor, too, understanding how to recon- 
 cile historic truth with ideal beauty, has successfully overcome 
 the difficulty presented by an undignified style of costume, and 
 produced a work of which Berlin may well be proud. 
 
 The palace of the Kaiser — over which the handsome imperial 
 standard floats, and sculptured eagles hover with outspread wings 
 — might pass for a respectable club-hou.se, or, were it a few storeys 
 higher, for a modern grand hotel. Unimposing though it be, 
 it has, in the eyes of the Berlinese, the especial merit of having 
 been constructed entirely of materials of home production, and 
 decorated exclusively by native artists. 
 
 Twice a day, while the Emperor is at Berlin, an interesting 
 scene is enacted in front of his palace, where the standards of the 
 various regiments quartered in the capital are for the time being
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 1 85 
 
 deposited. Soon after dawn in summer, and before that un- 
 seasonable hour in winter, when half the residents on the 
 Linden are between the conventional pair of feather-beds, early- 
 risers will assemble before the palace and await the arrival of 
 the detachment which — with uniforms and accoutrements alike 
 without a speck, and accompanied by a band playin 
 airs — comes to fetch away the standards for the 
 manoeuvres outside the city. The exercises over the colours are 
 brought back again — the detachment this time being smothered 
 with dust, or drenched with rain and splashed with mud — when 
 the band forming in front of the palace, strikes up some lively 
 march, and a general salute is given at the moment the stand- 
 ards are deposited in ceremonious fashion in their customary 
 resting-place. 
 
 g martial 
 morning 
 
 THE EMPEROR S PALACE AND ROYAL LIBRARY. 
 
 The rococo fagade of the Royal Library which abuts on the 
 Emperor's palace at the eastern end is jocularly said to be the 
 reproduction of an 1 8th century commode, which Friedrich the 
 Great had chosen to serve as a model to the architect. Stored 
 within the building "is a large collection of rare works, together 
 with an extensive and interesting assemblage of old music. 
 The former comprises an 8th century MS. of the four evan- 
 gelists, presented by Charlemagne to Duke Wittekind of 
 Saxony, a portion of Luther's translation of the Bible written by 
 himself, and more or less covered with his corrections, also both 
 Guttenberg's and Faust's Bibles and other rare early printed 
 books. Spread out in front of the Library is a small garden plot 
 across which a glance is obtained of the Roman Catholic Church 
 of St. Hedwig, while on the opposite side of the parterre and 
 facing the Royal Library is the Berlin Opera-house, a vast and 
 somewhat elegant structure, an adaptation on the part of Fried-
 
 iS6 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 rich the Great's favourite architect, Knobelsdorf, of the Pantheon 
 at Athens. Damaged greatly by fire a century after its erection, 
 when the edifice was restored, the external walls were all pre- 
 served. Its principal front 
 
 STATUE OF MAKSHAl. Bl UCHER. 
 
 looks on to the broad Opern- 
 platz, where Unter den Lin- 
 den terminates — its five 
 straight roads, fringed with 
 sickly - looking trees, here 
 
 mergmg 
 
 into a single broad 
 
 more ornate edifice — surmounted 
 
 and enriched with sculptured friezes and military trophies 
 
 thoroughfare, whence a com- 
 plete view can be obtained of 
 the numerous neighbouring 
 public buildings without ele- 
 vating one's nose unduly in 
 the air. 
 
 Perched upon tall pedestals 
 in the open space eastward 
 of the Opera-house are bronze 
 statues of three notable 
 Prussian generals — York, BlU- 
 cher, and Gneisenau — relieved 
 by a rich back - ground of 
 foliage. Beyond rises the 
 so-called Prinzessinnen Palace 
 linked by an archway to the 
 by statues and balustrades, 
 
 ill 
 
 PALAC8 OF THE PRINCE IMHERIAU 
 
 which the Prirxe and Princess Imperial reside. Prior to its 
 partial reconstiuction in 1858, it had been the residence of the
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 1S7 
 
 father of the present Emperor, and also of Friedrich the Great, 
 antecedent to his mounting the throne. It had been entirely- 
 refitted up for the latter on the occasion of his marriage ; the 
 Governor of Berlin who then occupied it — old Field-marshal 
 Wartensleben, grandfather of the Prince's friend, Katte, be- 
 headed for complicity in his famous attempt to escape — being 
 bundled out to make room for the Crown Prince and his bride. 
 
 Facing the Palace of the Emperor is the Academy of Arts and 
 Sciences, a building with no pretensions to architectural beauty, 
 having been originally designed for the P21ectoral stables, but the 
 clock of which enjoys the honour of regulating Berlin time. 
 
 THE ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 
 
 Allusion has been already made to the origin of that promising 
 Academy of Sciences founded at the instigation of the Electress 
 Sophia, and which at the present day holds its meetings within 
 the walls of this edifice. Under the utilitarian reign of Friedrich 
 Wilhelm I., it had sunk so low as to submit to have the drunken 
 butt of the King's tobacco parliament imposed upon it for a 
 president, and have proposed to it by the King himself as a 
 proper subject for discussion, " Why champagne foamed .-* " 
 The academicians, more witty than the King, replied that they 
 needed the requisite material to experiment with, but his parsi- 
 monious majesty sent them merely a dozen bottles. In subse- 
 quent years the Berlin Academy caused some noise in the world 
 apropos of the law of thrift doctrine of its then perpetual president, 
 the mathematician, Maupertius, and the ridicule with which this 
 was assailed by Voltaire in the famous Diatribe du Docteur 
 Akakia — a satire heartily laughed over in private by Friedrich 
 the Great, although it drew from him the simulated indignant
 
 1 88 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 observation that if Voltaire's " works deserved statues his conduct 
 deserved chains," and which, as already mentioned, was burnt by 
 his orders by the Berlin hangman. 
 
 Adjoining the Academy of Arts and Sciences is the more 
 imposing-looking University, formerly the Palace of Prince 
 Heinrich, brother of Friedrich the Great. The centre of the 
 edifice is thrown back some distance from the Linden, the quad- 
 rangular space in front being disposed in floral parterres. East- 
 ward of the University is the so-called Konig's VVache, designed 
 by Schinkcl, an enthusiast in the cause of antique art, and much 
 admired by the Berlinese, who see no anachronism in soldiers in 
 loose pantaloons and spiked helmets mounting guard with needle 
 guns before so severely classical an edifice. 
 
 Rauch's admirable statues of the brave Biilow von Dennowitz. 
 and Scharnhorst the Hanoverian, who organised the Prussian 
 army under Friedrich Wilhelm III., flank the guard-house, which 
 
 is almost surrounded by a grove of chestnut trees, between the 
 trunks of which peep some ancient cannon of large calibre, cap- 
 tured from the French. Here at eleven o'clock daily, when the 
 guard is paraded, connoisseurs of the street, loungers on the 
 Linden, and nurses with their charges, assemble to listen to music 
 admirably executed by the band of the regiment on duty. 
 Occasionally in front of the guard-house a crowd of officers, com- 
 missioned and non-commissioned, of all ranks and in all uniforms, 
 will be passing rapidly to-and-fro as on the eve of a battle. 
 Among these picturesque groups the eye will perhaps light upon
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN, 
 
 189 
 
 some white-moustached old general, his breast covered with 
 decorations, who, enveloped in a cloak lined with scarlet and with 
 his hand resting on his sabre, listens grave and attentively to the 
 report of a booted, spurred, and helmeted lieutenant, resplen- 
 dent as a sun. 
 
 At all times the sentinel on duty at this post has to be 
 
 
 constantly on the qui vive to avoid neglecting to "spot" the 
 numerous officers passing backwards and forwards on foot and in 
 closed and open droschken. When they chance to be of the 
 higher grade, preparations to salute them have to be made the 
 instant they appear in sight. Pass the guard-house at any moment 
 and the sentinel will certainly be found saluting some captain or 
 calling out the guard to render due honour to some moustached 
 old general for whom you look in vain, till by the aid of your 
 eye-glass you detect him almost a hundred yards off. It is
 
 1 90 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 always interesting to see the first salute given, when the move- 
 ments of the men are made with all the precision of mechanism, 
 so perfect is the drill. 
 
 Beyond the guard-house and facing the palace of the Prince 
 Imperial is the Royal Armoury, a huge square massive-looking 
 building which Berlin art connoisseurs pronounce to be an archi- 
 tectural chef d'ceuvre, and the handsomest edifice of which the 
 capital can boast. The credit of the original design belongs to 
 Nering, a Dutch architect, long settled at Berlin, whither he was 
 tempted by the Great Elector. Nering dying soon after the 
 buildinsr had been commenced, other architects in succession 
 were entrusted with the work, the completion of which was 
 ultimately confided to Dc Bodt, who became famous in after- 
 life as the architect of the Dresden Japanese Palace. De Bodt 
 was a French Protestant emigr^, who had met with a favourable 
 reception in Holland, and had accompanied the Prince of Orange 
 to England. Subsequently he entered the service of Prussia in 
 the somewhat dissimilar capacities of military captain and court 
 architect. 
 
 THE ROYAL ARMOURY AND GUARD-HOUSE. 
 
 The many important changes which De Bodt made in Nering's 
 plans entitle him to be regarded as the architect of the Armoury, 
 which bears some trifling resemblance to our Somerset House, 
 excepting that it is overlaid with military groups and trophies 
 which crowd as well as crown the roof Above the principal 
 entrance, which is flanked by four indifl"crent allegorical statues 
 by another Frenchman, named Hulot, is a vigorous gilt bronze 
 medallion by the same sculptor, of Friedrich I., with a fulsome 
 Latin inscription setting forth that this " terror to his enemies and 
 protector of his subjects and allies, built the present Armoury and 
 stored it with ammunition, war trophies, and booty of all kinds, 
 in the year 1706." Ornamenting the pediment and surmount- 
 ing the balustrade are some spirited groups by Schluter of the 
 old familiar allegorical type, one representing Mars reposing in 
 the midst of prisoners and war trophies, another showing him
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 191 
 
 ;^^-i. 
 
 surrounded by fettered slaves and preparing to rush into battle, 
 while Minerva encompassed by arms and warriors exhorts him 
 to moderation. Surmounting the windows of the lower storey 
 are richly-carved helmets, the details of which certainly display 
 remarkable fertility of invention, and the successful effect of 
 which seems to have led to this style of decoration, so consonant 
 with Prussian military tastes, being applied to many other Berlin 
 edifices, notably the Palace of the Prince Imperial, the Cadetten- 
 haus, the General Staff Ofifice, &c. No attempt, however, has 
 been made to reproduce the far more interesting " Schluter'sche 
 Masken " sculptured above the windows looking on to the inner 
 court of the building, and scarcely inferior to anything of their 
 kind within the range of ancient and modern art. They are twenty- 
 one in number, and consist of the heads of dying warriors, alike 
 youthful and aged, who are seized with all the pangs and con- 
 vulsions, the faintness and resignation of death. Schliiter, in giving 
 the expression of mental suffering to bodily anguish, judicious- 
 ly imparted dig- 
 nity alike to 
 the terrible and 
 the affecting. A 
 Berlin critic re- 
 marks that while 
 the sculptured 
 groups which 
 surmount the 
 outside of the 
 edifice deal with 
 the so-called 
 glories of war, 
 the has - reliefs 
 within reveal to 
 us something of 
 the anguish and 
 
 the suffering which are inseparable from battles and military 
 triumphs. 
 
 Standing with one's back to the Linden at the foot of the 
 broad Schloss-briicke — spanning a narrow arm of the Spree, and 
 connecting the wide " platz " in front of the Armoury with the 
 Lustgarten — one takes in the finest co?^J> d\eil of which Berlin 
 can boast. The eight classical marble groups symbolical of the 
 life of a hero — it is always deeds of arms that Berlin sculpture 
 seeks to glorify — which line the bridge on its two sides are seen 
 disposed in graceful perspective, while beyond on the right hand 
 there rises up the imposing facade of the old Schloss, dominated 
 at one end by the distant tower of the Rath-haus, and at the 
 other by an imposing dome, and picturesquely varied by long 
 lines of windows, gilded balconies, sculptured gateways, garden
 
 192 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 terraces, colossal bronze horse-tamers, and a great golden eagle 
 with expanded wings, posed on the summit of a marble column. 
 In front of the Schloss the Lustgarten — the former drill-ground 
 
 of Friedrich Wilhelm's gigantic 
 
 guards- 
 
 -spreads itself out, the 
 
 centre part disposed in formal parterres around a fountain, which 
 throws up fantastic spiral jets of water. Close by stands the 
 
 THE SCHLOSS-BRUCKE. 
 
 colossal equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhclm III., the pedestal 
 encompassed by a singular jumble of mythical and allegorical 
 figures representing Borussia brandishing a drawn sword, Father 
 Rhine with his conventional urn and vine branch, Frau Memel, 
 with wheatsheaf and ploughshare, Justice, holding her traditional 
 sceptre, Science, clasping a globe and a book, while Genius, 
 personified by a winged boy, lights him with the torch of truth. 
 Another group symbolizes the union of Art with Handicraft, 
 and finally Religion is shown covering a chalice with an olive 
 branch, to signify, we are told, what we certainly should not have
 
 UNTER DEN LINDEN. 
 
 193 
 
 MONUMENT TO FRIEDRICH WILHELM III. 
 
 Otherwise have divined, namely the union of the Prussian evan- 
 geHcal churches. 
 
 Bounding the so-called Lustgarten on the opposite side and 
 vis-a^vis the Schloss is the Museum, surmounted by colossal 
 groups of the horse-taming Dioscuri. Its Ionic portico, which is 
 supported by eighteen columns, surmounted byas many eagles, and 
 decorated with over-glowing frescoes from the pencil of Cornelius, 
 is approached up a vast flight of steps in front of which stands a 
 Cyclopean polished granite basin. Flanking it are the familiar 
 groups in bronze of the Amazon on horseback defending herself 
 
 O
 
 194 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 against a tiger, and a mounted warrior engaged in combat with 
 a lion — the one by Kiss, the other by Wolff. The drawback 
 to the tout ensemble is the Cathedral standing at the eastern 
 extremity of the Lustgarten and facing the Schloss-briicke, and 
 which, spite of its portico with its triad of colossal angels, its 
 twin towers and prominent dome, is about the baldest-looking 
 and least interesting cathedral church ever met with in a large 
 continental city.
 
 -'i'^^i'T-''^ "''^^"^'^-^ 
 
 ^i^>;-'>'^-'ii^iii 
 
 
 iMiiiaii 
 
 ^^l','.yi-.ii)«'rFr «•:*■■ ■• 7 •,-Vi.|;(frV 
 
 ^
 
 ■'^-'■^ frwri 
 
 
 'basking in the shine." 
 
 X. 
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 THE artistic attractions of the " Athens of the Spree " 
 compensate in a measure for its acknowledged deficiencies 
 on the score of natural beauty — deficiencies which none are 
 more conscious of than the Berlinese themselves. With the 
 exception of the Thiergarten, which is the Berliner's Eden, 
 all the immediate environs of the city are tame and common- 
 place in character. The Thiergarten, on the contrary, with the 
 inconvenient drawback that in summer the trees are grey with 
 dust, and only the sluggish meandering waters intersecting it 
 are green, is really a charming spot. If it cannot boast of 
 foliage equally venerable as the antiquated oaks and elms of 
 Hyde-park, it is by no means deficient in fine trees, besides 
 which it is far more densely wooded than Kensington-gardens, 
 and spite of the geometric avenues intersecting it, more naturally 
 picturesque than the Bois de Boulogne. Once within its 
 umbrageous precincts, you are walled in, as it were, by trees 
 which bound your view on every side, and, excepting in the 
 broader avenues, are screened alike from sun and wind, as well 
 as almost sheltered from the rain. 
 
 The Berlin Thiergarten — situated just outside the Branden- 
 burg Gate, and although much encroached upon of late years, 
 still about the size of Hyde-park — is a combination of Dutch 
 trimness in matters horticultural, with much of the studied 
 irregularity, and far more than the natural wildness of our 
 
 O 2
 
 196 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 English system of landscape-gardeninfj. Unenclosed as it is 
 on every side, and bounded by the city on the east and south, 
 it is naturally a place of considerable resort with all classes ; and 
 although it is intersected in all directions with straight and 
 winding footpaths and broad rectangular and radiating avenues 
 — the inevitable termination of which, according to one Avho 
 knows Berlin well, is either a beer-garden or a dancing-saloon — 
 sombre glades, into which the sun never penetrates, and seques- 
 tered solitudes, where errant footsteps rarely stray, exist within 
 a few minutes' walk of the Brandenburger Thor itself. 
 
 The Thierearten takes its name from the deer and other 
 animals which ran wild there two or three centuries ago, when 
 it extended almost to the heart of the existing city, and formed, 
 in fact, a hunting-ground for the Electors just outside the doors 
 of the Schloss. It was then fenced in with the double object of 
 keeping the game from escaping and preserving it from the 
 poachers of the period. The first King of Prussia had the first 
 regular roads cut through its dense thickets, and the earliest 
 walks and pleasure-grounds formed. Since then succeeding 
 sovereigns have contributed their mite towards rendering the 
 Thiergarten the attractive spot it now is. Friedrich the Great 
 especially had many alleys, basins, and flower borders, laid out 
 under the direction of his pet architect, Knobelsdorf 
 
 A broad roadway, inmiediately opposite the Brandenburg 
 Gate, bordered by centenarian trees, and with a tramway at one 
 side, along \\hich cars are continually running, divides the 
 Berlin park into two unequal parts, and conducts to Char- 
 lottenburg, by far the pleasantest suburb of Berlin, to which it 
 forms a kind of Kew. To the left of this avenue, and no great 
 distance down it, are the picturesque Apollo and Flora-platze,
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 19; 
 
 separated by a basin of water known as the Goldfisch-teich, and 
 ornamented with statues, floral parterres, and cHpped hedges, 
 the whole hemmed in by shrubberies and forest-trees, and 
 
 r^-'yi-^ 
 
 forming 
 
 by no 
 means an ill-as- 
 sorted union of 
 the careless and 
 the precise. Out- 
 side the circular 
 walk, which en- 
 compasses the Flo- 
 ra-platz, and forms 
 a favourite pro- 
 menade during the 
 summer months, is 
 a broad ride, bor- 
 dered by fine trees, 
 the tangled boughs 
 of which meet over- 
 head, and here in 
 the 
 \: tiers on 
 steeds caracole and 
 canter to the ad- 
 miring gaze of Ber- 
 lin nursemaids and 
 the terror of their 
 youthful charges. 
 
 The Thiergar- 
 ten abounds with 
 
 mornmg cava- 
 prancing
 
 198 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 shady drives and rides, more or less thronged during the season 
 by the rank and fashion of Berlin, and rendered gay by the 
 preponderance of uniforms of the Prussian guard, which at times 
 give to the gathering somewhat of the aspect of a military pro- 
 menade. Spite, how- .:;r^j''rT: — ~-r^.— — — . -^ .. _=.=.=-r^T-. 
 
 ever, of the uniforms, J ' — — - 'i '--'■-■ •vv/r'^^ 
 
 the fours-in-hand, the 
 handsome carriages 
 and splendid horses, 
 there is not the same 
 animation as prevails 
 in the Ride and Rot- 
 ten Row. One draw- 
 back is the marked 
 paucity of feminine 
 equestrians. Of the 
 few that are seen, the 
 majority are either 
 English or American, 
 for riding, spite of the 
 example set by the 
 Crown Princess, is not 
 an accomplishment ne- 
 cessary to the complete 
 education of a well-born 
 Berlin fraulein. A principal drawback of the Thiergarten is the 
 absence of chairs for the motley assemblage of promenaders, both 
 
 military and civil, com- 
 
 pelling them either to 
 ^^J^-- keep continually on 
 ^^ ' their legs, or to seek for 
 a seat between nurse- 
 maids and vagrants — 
 
 " Dozing in the shade, 
 Or basking in the shine,'' 
 
 on the crowded wooden 
 benches. 
 
 The hours at which 
 the Berlin beau monde 
 takes its habitual dust- 
 bath in the sandy 
 drives of the Thier- 
 garten is two o'clock 
 in the afternoon and 
 six o'clock in the even- 
 ing when the days have sufficiently lengthened. The hand- 
 somest private vehicles are encountered in the broad Hofjager-
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 199 
 
 allee, but invariably with a sprinkling of better-class droschken 
 among them. The grandest Berlin ladies quit their carriages, 
 and mingle with the very mixed company v/hich promenades 
 there between two and four o'clock. Even the Empress, who 
 
 
 ... ... ) 
 
 'dozing in the shade." 
 
 makes her appearance in semi-state — in a carriage drawn by 
 four, and at times even six horses, and with outriders preceding 
 her — will frequently alight, and, attended merely by a lady-in- 
 waiting and a couple of footmen, pass quickly through the 
 bowing crowed to one or other of the more retired walks with 
 which the Thiergarten abounds. The Emperor, who drives alone,
 
 200 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 wrapped in his traditional grey military cloak, arrives pretty 
 punctually from three to half-past three, and, as his carriage flits 
 rapidly by, the horsemen in the adjacent avenue rein in their 
 caracoling steeds to render him the customary salute, while 
 the ladies, who, in their exaggerated toilettes, resemble living 
 fashion-plates, curtsey low to the ground, like flowers swayed by 
 a breeze. The old Emperor has enough to do in puckering his 
 lips into a perpetual smile, and raising his hand incessantly to 
 his helmet. 
 
 Prince Bismarck generally rides out of the garden at the back 
 of his house opening into the Thiergarten about two o'clock, 
 attended by one of his secretaries or burgher adjutants. He 
 mixes freely with the assembled company, but, being short- 
 sighted, not unfrequently salutes ladies whom he does not know, 
 and passes his own wife and daughter by without recognizing 
 them. Count Moltke, who maintains his accustomed reserve and 
 habitual thoughtful aspect even among the gay crowds that 
 throng the Thiergarten, usually rides alone since the death of 
 his young wife, a bold horsewoman, who was fond of accom- 
 panying him. 
 
 To the right of the main intersecting avenue, at the north- 
 eastern verge of the Thiergarten, and no great distance from the 
 Spree, is the broad Konigs-platz, in the centre of which rises the 
 monument commemorating the triple victories of 1864, '66, and 
 '70, the Prussians, in their prudence or their modesty, having 
 contented themselves by celebrating a triad of triumphs by 
 a single trophy. 
 
 The memorial designed by Professor Strack is most pretentious but alto- 
 gether unsatisfactory as a work of art. A stumpy fluted column bound round 
 ■with brass, encircled with toy cannon cast out of captured artillery, dividing 
 it into three sections, and crowned by a huge gilt bronze figure of Victory — 
 rises from the centre of a circular colonnade of granite. This colonnade is 
 raised upon a lofty pedestal, also of granite, ornamented at its four sides with 
 large bas-reliefs ; the one on the eastern side — facing Berlin — referring to the 
 Danish war, and the storming of the Diippell redoubt, while that on the north 
 depicts the battle of Sadowa with the King embracing the Crown Prince, whose 
 action had decided the fortune of the day. On the western side is a represen- 
 tation of the battle and capitulation of Sedan, with the King receiving the 
 Emperor Napoleon's letter, the southern panel being devoted to the triumphal 
 entry of the German army into Berlin after the capitulation of Paris. 
 Calandrelli, Schutz, Keill and Wolff are the designers of these bas-reliefs. 
 
 The capital of the columns is encompassed by spread-eagles, and the winged 
 figure of Victory which surmounts it is of the hamiliar fat and florid feminine 
 type which constitutes the Germanic ideal of beauty. In her right hand she 
 holds a laurel wreath above her head, and in her left a spear or sceptre. This 
 statue modelled by Professor Drake is upwards of thirty feet in height. 
 
 The inner wall of the circular hall encompassed by the circular colonnade 
 is being decorated with a colossal composition, representing the struggle with 
 France for German unity, and designed by Anton von Werner. " In this 
 gigantic picture we are presented with a figure of Germany, rising in a threat- 
 ening attitude on this side of the Rhine, while on the bank a fisherman is 
 anxiously drawing his nets. From the clouds on the other side floats a pale
 
 THE THIERGARTEN, 
 
 201 
 
 figure of the Caesars, who has in his train Pestilence, Famine, and Death. 
 From this side rush the German youth on foot and on horseback ; in front is 
 a figure that can be no other than the bold cavalry leader Prince Fricdrich 
 Karl. In the next scene the Rhine is gone. On the battle-field, among 
 corpses and ruins, North and South Germany shake hands in token of 
 brotherly union, under the guise of two men on horseback, of whom one is 
 'our Fritz,' and the other the Bavarian General, von Hartmann. Next we 
 are in the Palace of Versailles, indicated by two columns. The German 
 Princes and the Paladms of the Empire, 13ismarck, Moltke, &c., salute 
 Wilhelm I. as German Emperor, Jan. i8, 1871, exactly 170 years after Fried- 
 rich I. made himself King of Prussia. Old Barbarossa wakes in his Kyff- 
 hauser, and the rav^ens, which for centuries have hung round the hill, fly 
 away." 
 
 At the north-west corner of the Konigs-platz are the offices of 
 the General Staff, and on its eastern side is the Raczinsky 
 
 KACZINSKY PALACE. 
 
 Palace, noted for its Art Gallery, comprising sculpture by 
 Thorwaldsen and paintings by Cornelius and Kaulbach, Leo- 
 pold Robert, Paul Delaroche, and other modern artists, with 
 various works of the old masters. Facing the Raczinsky 
 Palace is KroU's popular establishment, a respectable kind of 
 Cremorne, patronized by entire middle-class Berlin, and univer- 
 sally regarded — royalty itself having deigned to visit it — as one 
 of the institutions of the capital. For this reason a somewhat 
 detailed description of it may be ventured upon. 
 
 On the right-hand side of the garden-entrance rises a large and 
 stately-looking stucco building, some four hundred feet long and 
 upwards of a hundred feet in depth, with lofty central towers and 
 pavilions at the extremities of its two wings. The edifice stands 
 in a moderate-sized garden, of which the most has been cleverly 
 made. The interior comprises covered corridors and vestibules, 
 a spacious theatre, a so-called Roman dining saloon, and the 
 Ritter and Korb Sale, together with what the Berlinese term a 
 "tunnel," comprising an underground restaurant, beer-hall and 
 billiard-room, for the accommodation of those numerous guests 
 who find the lingering hours pass pleasantest in a cellar. 
 
 On Sundays Kroll's is the Berliner's Mecca, and on that day
 
 202 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 is the place, of all others, to study him to advantage. The 
 entertainments commence with a tabic cfliotc at two o'clock, to 
 
 which in summer 
 as many as a 
 couple of thousand 
 people will occa- 
 sionally sit down 
 in the dining-sa- 
 loons and the large 
 garden pavilion. 
 The charge, a 
 couple of shillings, 
 includes admission 
 to the grounds, 
 which are laid out 
 with the customary 
 terraces, arcades, 
 rectangular, ser- 
 pentine, and se- 
 questered walks, 
 studded with trees 
 and ornamented 
 with the conven- 
 tional fountains, 
 thewaters of which, 
 trickling over mock 
 rock-work, bathe glassy green artificial aquatic plants, or 
 descend like dew on the gigantic metal leaves of illusory 
 bananas. Freshly-painted plaster gods and goddesses, branching 
 bronze candelabra, con- 
 nected by festoons of 
 coloured lamps, and 
 flower-beds, in which the 
 more intricate figures 
 of Euclid may be traced, ^^% 
 with countless chairs and 
 tables, occupy the larger 
 vacant spaces. 
 
 The repast concluded, 
 a band plays at frequent 
 intervals, and even con- 
 tinues its performances 
 after the entertainments 
 at the theatre have com- 
 menced for the amuse- 
 ment of those who pre- 
 fer a lounge in the open air, combined, of course, with continual 
 potations, for at no hour of the day or night does beer appear to 

 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 Id 
 
 < 
 
 •J 
 
 K 
 
 m 
 
 X 
 H 
 
 b) 
 
 S 
 h 
 
 
 J 
 O
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 203 
 
 come amiss to the droughty Berliner. At dusk, when the gar- 
 dens are lighted up with artistically-arranged fantastic jets of 
 gas and thousands of coloured lamps, something of the effect of 
 a studied stage transformation scene is produced, excepting that, 
 in lieu of houris in gossamer, it is peopled with a thirsty crowd, 
 to do whose bidding agile kcllncr, bearing trays laden with 
 braten and kalte spcisen, and balancing half a score of glass beer 
 mugs in either hand, apparently strive in vain. In the meanwhile 
 the band, perched like stage brigands among a mass of counter- 
 feit rock-work, are playing favourite airs from famous operas. 
 The scene is generally enlivened by the presence of numerous 
 
 officers, whose varied uniforms contrast with the over-bright tints 
 of the toilettes of the Berlin belles, and whose killing glances 
 evidently light on sympathetic eyes, w^hich, as a matter of course, 
 indignantly scorn, not only the impassioned gaze of enamoured 
 near-sighted civilians, but of the chubby-cheeked youths of the 
 Cadetten corps as well. Mingled with the more respectable 
 company, is a sprinkling of the dcmi-nwndc, who, spite of ma- 
 nagerial efforts to chase them from their Eden with a flaming 
 sword, contrive to parade the garden walks in their finest feathers.
 
 204 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The theatre is entered by a couple of spacious stone stair- 
 cases, which communicate with broad corridors, having issues on 
 both sides of the house, and admit of the crowd, divided into 
 two streams, pouring into the auditorium from opposite direc- 
 tions ; thereby effectually avoiding anything like confusion. 
 The tickets to all the seats in every portion of the house are 
 numbered, so that, instructed by the numerous attendants, 
 everyone can be in his place in the twinkling of an eye. The 
 theatre, instead of taking the conventional horse-shoe form, 
 resembles a spacious hall. Near the roof, as if supporting it, are 
 groups of capering caryatides posed in front of the white and 
 gold-fluted pilasters, while the ceiling is studded with medallions 
 of famous poets, composers, and artists. There are neither 
 dress-circle, upper boxes, nor gallery, but a vast number of 
 stalls ranged in successive tiers until they reach halfway up the 
 hall, with what would be called the amphitheatre rising up 
 behind them. The few proscenium boxes, with the rows of 
 stalls nearest the stage, are occupied by the elite of the gathering. 
 The auditorium thus arranged, if less elegant in appearance than 
 when of the conventional form, enjoys the immense advantage 
 of being beautifully cool even in the height of summer. 
 
 One found the family element largely represented in 
 
 the audience, which was 
 
 
 composed of well-to-do 
 tradesmen, whom a life of 
 beer-drinking had rendered 
 inconveniently puffy, and 
 who came accompanied by 
 their wives and progeny ; 
 short-sighted young clerks, 
 wearing the brightest-co- 
 loured cravats, and munch- 
 ing the knobs of their 
 canes as they ogled all the 
 fraulein within range of 
 their spectacles ; children 
 of Judea, with an undue 
 nasal development ; young 
 lieutenants, leering at every 
 blonde beauty, and focus- 
 sing with theiropera-glasses, 
 with military precision, each 
 pretty actress every time 
 she stepped upon the 
 stage; together with betrothed young couples, gazing spoqnily 
 into each other's eyes, as if searching for the little Cupids sup- 
 posed to be lurking in each pupil ; and not a few couples of a 
 riper age, whose earlier matrimonial illusions were by this time 

 
 THE THTERGARTEN 
 
 205 
 
 completely dispelled. These, with some over-dressed members 
 of the Berlin dcvii-monde, and a few dashing, dandified men of 
 pleasure, made up the audience in the midst of which we were 
 seated. 
 
 The piece was a comic opera, with the slightest of plots ; still 
 it was well acted, and everyone of the 800 spectators seemed 
 perfectly satisfied. A good-looking country clown is in love 
 with a distant cousin, a charming orphan heiress living lonely 
 by herself in the village Schloss, like another Mariana. Bashful- 
 ness, however, keeps the bumpkin from disclosing his passion, 
 and he confines his admiration to surreptitiously sighing beneath 
 the fair one's balcony, clandestinely nailing up her climbing 
 rose-trees, and placing bouquets of flowers furtively upon her 
 window-sill. While wasting his golden opportunities in such 
 puerile pursuits, a smart blade from the capital arrives upon the 
 scene, and the desolate heiress, although she has a sneaking 
 regard for the good-looking lout, her relative, yet mistakes his 
 silence for indifference, and, being in haste to be wooed and 
 wed, accepts the new suitor without further ado. 
 
 The sheepish cousin-german is of course dreadfully cast down, 
 and now, less than ever, can he muster up the requisite pluck to 
 give utterance to those two or three words which even the 
 boldest and most experienced in such matters amongst us often 
 find a diflficulty in articulating. The old landlady of the village 
 bier-haus, however, takes pity on him, and suggests that switch 
 to sluggish tongues, a bottle of champagne, of which exhilarating 
 beverage the poor inno- f^<^ 
 cent looby had never )^i^j:{kh'j 
 even heard before. He W^Mkh-^ 
 tastes it, however, and f0mm;'-^. 
 
 finds the first glass 
 agreeable to the palate, 
 but nothing more 
 
 '^'I'M'M 
 
 fills 
 
 agam 
 
 and 
 
 and by the time he has jimffWl/^ 
 
 swallowed the best part ''Sw'li^-.^ 
 
 of a bottle, feels not only ''iMjffl^ju 
 
 more desperately ena- /^/fM^l^' /''■.■,■;• 
 
 moured than ever, but '' 
 
 burning to declare his 
 
 passion. Happy fortune — which is always falling in one's way 
 
 in novels and on the stage, and rarely in real life — brings his 
 
 wealthy orphan cousin on the scene at this opportune moment, 
 
 when he — suddenly transformed into a jaunty gallant, ready to 
 
 chuck any girl under the chin that comes in his way — not merely 
 
 puts the difficult question, but supplements it by a warm 
 
 embrace, to the perfect dismay of his jilted rival, who of course 
 
 enters from the back of the stage at this particular juncture.
 
 206 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The latter is of course the villain of the piece, and proves it 
 by privately informing the orphan heiress that he has on more 
 than one occasion seen her newly-accepted suitor not only con- 
 versing with, but positively kissing, some girl of the village. Of 
 course this brings about a quarrel, and the handsome bumpkin 
 hastens home, packs up his trunk, and forthwith starts on an 
 emigration tour to America. His way necessarily lies by the 
 Schloss, and his distant female relative, seeing him pass, of 
 course cannot refrain from saying "Adieu" to him. In the 
 course of the explanations which naturally follow, it comes to 
 light that it was simply his own sister he was talking to and 
 embracing, whereupon he is restored to favour and supremest 
 bliss ; while the treacherous villain finds his reward in being 
 united to the young woman in question, who is blessed with 
 a more than ordinarily loquacious tongue. The entertainment 
 was brought to a close with the inevitable ballet, without which 
 no Berlin popular theatrical performance would be considered 
 complete, and in the course of it well-shaped feminine legs were 
 thrown about with the most daring recklessness and an utter 
 disregard of propriety, in accordance with the fashion in vogue 
 at Berlin. 
 
 Westward of Kroll's, and bordering an islet of the Spree, are 
 four famous beer establishments, looking on to a large semi- 
 circular space, surrounded by lofty oaks, and known as the 
 
 THE ZELTK. 
 
 Kurfiirsten-platz. In the days of Friedrich the Great this was 
 the favourite rendezvous of the Berlin upper classes, more espe- 
 cially on Sundays and holidays, when the hautboy-players 
 belonging to the regiments of the garrison, concealing themselves 
 behind the trees, used to entertain the assembled company with
 
 THE TIIIERGARTEN. 
 
 207 
 
 strains of martial music. This periodical gatherini^ induced a 
 Frenchman, who knew how provocative the Berlin sand is of 
 thirst, to set up a canvas tent for the sale of liquid refreshments 
 on the banks of the Spree. The success he met with induced 
 other speculators to follow his example, and in time the tents 
 gave way to more substantial structures, such as now exist, but 
 which, although of 
 solid bricks and mor- 
 tar, still preserve their 
 original designation of 
 the Zelte (tents). To- 
 day they appear to 
 retain much of their 
 ancient popularity, as 
 no less than a dozen 
 roads converge to- 
 wards them, from all 
 parts of the Thier- 
 garten, for the conve- 
 nience of thirsty Teu- 
 ton souls, who sit here 
 and watch the equi- 
 pages of the Berlin 
 beau monde and the 
 millionaires of the 
 Bbrse rolling past in 
 the midst of attendant 
 clouds of sand. 
 
 In summer the Zelte are largely frequented, though not 
 by the aristocratic guests of yore, and on certain days open air 
 concerts are given there. It is on Sundays, however, that their 
 Weiss and Bayerisch beer are most in demand. Zelt No. 2 has 
 been recently christened the Kaiser Wilhelm, and in front of it a 
 colossal bronze bust of the German Emperor has been set up with 
 a huge coloured glass crown suspended above it, and which 
 lighted up at night indicates to the droughty Berliner, wandering 
 about the Thiergarten, where he can readily quench his thirst. 
 On the adjacent Spree there are always a few pleasure-boats 
 for making excursions in, and in winter-time, when the river is 
 frozen over and the skating season has commenced, people flock 
 in thousands to the spot and the Zelte drive a lively trade. 
 
 A few minutes' walk along the banks of the Spree brings us 
 to the seedy-looking Bellevue Palace, a two-storied yellow ochre 
 tinted building with red-tiled roof, and having a small well- 
 wooded park in the rear. The long rows of uniform windows 
 are relieved by occasional pilasters and a {q.\4 dilapidated statues 
 surmount the central portion of the facade, while other statues, 
 equally dilapidated, support some lamps on either side of the
 
 208 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 building 
 
 principal entrances. In front of the 
 called Le drolc, captured from the French 
 posted, and points down the long Bellevue 
 Thiergarten. 
 
 an old cannon 
 at Leipzig, is 
 avenue of the 
 
 SCHLOSS BELLEVUB. 
 
 Bellevue owes its 
 origin to Fricdrich 
 the Great who built 
 himself a country- 
 house here, but 
 finding it too damp 
 to live in consider- 
 ately presented it 
 to his youngest 
 brother. He in his 
 turn converted the 
 little villa into a 
 so-called Schloss, 
 added a small 
 park to it and chris- 
 tened it Bellevue ; 
 not that there was 
 any kind of view to warrant the appellation, but simply because 
 his architect had attempted to impart to the edifice some faint 
 resemblance to the splendid Pompadour. Palace, thus named, near 
 Meudon. Prince Augustus, son of the builder of Bellevue, and a 
 handsome artillery officer, distinguished alike for his gallantry in 
 the field and towards the fair sex, long resided here, and formed 
 a remarkable gallery of portraits of beautiful and clever women 
 he had known, foremost among whom was the celebrated Julie 
 Recamier. He had made her acquaintance at Madame de Stael's 
 and used all his powers of persuasion to induce the lively and 
 gifted beauty to dissolve her marriage with her bankrupt banker 
 husband and become his bride. She hesitated for a lone time 
 and eventually refused. Her portrait, in Grecian costume, painted 
 for the Prince, is or used to be one of the attractions of Schloss 
 Bellevue, in which the Grand-Duchess of Mecklenburg now 
 resides. 
 
 The opposite bank of the Spree forms an important suburb of 
 Berlin, which on account of the barrenness of its soil came to be 
 designated by the refugee Huguenot gardeners who settled there 
 in the reign of Fricdrich I. as the land of Moab, whence its 
 present name of Moabit. To-day, however, as if to refute the 
 ,Frenchmen's dictum, Borsig, the great Berlin engineer, who has 
 his foundries here, has laid out some extensive and magnificent 
 gardens, which with their palm-house and conservatories de- 
 servedly rank among the sights of Berlin. 
 
 To tlie left of Schloss Bellevue is the Grossfiirsten-platz, .so- 
 named because of a memorable al fresco breakfast given there
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 209 
 
 about a century ago by the brother of Friedrich the Great to 
 the Grand Duke Paul of Russia — afterwards the mad and luck- 
 less Emperor Paul — on the occasion of his betrothal at Berlin 
 to a princess of Wiirtemburg, and niece of the King of Prussia 
 The entertainment had a ludicrous termination, for a sudden 
 downpour of rain completely drenched the aristocratic guests, 
 who made their return entry into Berlin in a dreadfully draggled 
 plight. 
 
 On the south side of the centre avenue of the Thiergarten, and 
 beyond the Apollo- and Flora-platze, various paths conduct to 
 the Louisen-insel, so 
 named after the beau- 
 tiful Queen of Prussia, 
 and whereon stands a 
 marble altar erected 
 to commemorate her 
 return to Berlin. Near 
 this spot, begirt by 
 beds of flowers over- 
 hung by towering 
 trees, and with its face 
 turned towards the 
 little island, stands a 
 marble statue of the 
 King her husband, 
 whose vacillating po- 
 licy entailed needless 
 misfortunes on his 
 subjects. On the cir- 
 cular pedestal are 
 some graceful alto- 
 relievos symbolizing, 
 it is said, the enjoy- 
 ments of the Thier- 
 garten, and including 
 chubby-cheeked chil- 
 dren feeding swans 
 and peeping into 
 birds'-nests ; an old 
 man leaning on 
 watching 
 
 STATUE OF FRIEDRICH WILHELM III. 
 
 his 
 stick watching a 
 
 couple of little girls dancing with garlands, a squirrel just escaped 
 from an amazed young urchin, springing up a neighbouring tree, 
 a young mother gazing affectionately on the babe at her breast, 
 while its elder brother clasps her round the neck. These graceful 
 groups, which rank among the finest productions of the sculptor's 
 chisel, are, hke the statue surmounting them, the work of Professor 
 Drake.
 
 210 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 This part of the Thiergarten is the favourite resort of the 
 Berlinese. Mammas rest here in the heat of the day with 
 
 their tired offspring 
 on the numerous 
 benches, while the 
 
 " Ancient trees, under- 
 neath whose shades 
 Wander nice young 
 nursery-maids " 
 
 attended by their 
 youthful charges, 
 form a special point 
 of attraction to 
 guardsmen off duty. 
 These obscure mili- 
 tary heroes have all, 
 of course, their tales 
 to tell to the ad- 
 miring Gretchens of 
 their choice, of pro- 
 digies of bravery 
 performed by them 
 among the woods 
 and vines of Worth, and while the mitrailleuses were shower- 
 ing bullets and the cannon belching shells at Spicheren and 
 Gravelotte, many of the more sympathising listeners
 
 I 
 
 B) 
 
 h 
 < 
 
 a 
 
 H 
 
 u 
 
 s 
 
 H
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 211 
 
 " Dropping gentle tears 
 While their lovers bluster fierce 
 About gunshots and gashes ! " 
 
 The path along the banks of the neighbouring sluggish stream 
 leads to the Rousseau-insel, the sheet of water surrounding which 
 is the resort during the skating season of the rank, fashion, and 
 beauty of Berlin. Hereabouts many a pleasant green nook and 
 tangled bosky dell are to be found, with the slight drawback, 
 however, that the sluggish and stagnant waters intersecting' 
 this portion of the Thiergarten give forth their full share of 
 noisome odours during the summer months and conduce to the 
 unhealthy condition of the capital. Recently the Emperor con- 
 tributed a considerable sum from his privy purse with the object 
 of remedying a state of things which has long reflected on the 
 authorities in whom the control of the Thiergarten is vested. So 
 crying was the nui- 
 sance that the Ber- 
 lin KladderadatscJi 
 humorously related 
 how a despairing 
 lover, determined 
 upon suicide, suc- 
 ceeded in " shuffling 
 off this mortal coil," 
 by hovering for 
 several hours to- 
 <jether on the banks 
 of these mephitic 
 watercourses. 
 
 The Berlinese of 
 opposite sexes being 
 equally prone to 
 philandering among 
 the trees, as the birds 
 themselves, it is not 
 surprising that the 
 groves of the Thier- 
 garten should be haunted by amatory couples. The latter secure 
 every seat which those persistent communers with nature, the 
 ragged philosophers who are found in great force at Berlin, have 
 not appropriated, and the amount of hugging which goes on quite 
 unconcernedly under the public gaze, even in broad daytime — 
 guardsmen and nursemaids being as usual the chief offenders — 
 is positively embarrassing to the phlegmatic promenader. When 
 such things happen in the sunlight, one may imagine what goes 
 on in the shade. At night time the Thiergarten with only a 
 few of its main avenues lighted up, and under scarcely any 
 kind of police supervision, is the scene of the most unrestrained 
 
 P 2
 
 212 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ;^:ISm 
 
 
 depravity. During the summer months it is the common couch of 
 
 all the roofless 
 wretches who re- 
 gard house-rent as 
 an intolerable ex- 
 tortion. Here they 
 sleep for weeks and 
 months, until in- 
 deed the police, 
 who require even 
 the most destitute 
 to pay their land- 
 lords what they 
 have not got, make 
 what is called a 
 " razzia," when 
 hundreds of these 
 outcasts are cap- 
 tured at a single 
 coup, and marched 
 off to the Polizei 
 Verwahrsam, or 
 Berlin lock-up. 
 The Thiergarten-
 
 o 
 o 
 
 > 
 r
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 213 
 
 strasse, which runs parallel with the Charlottenburg Avenue, 
 and bounds the Berlin park on the south, was formerly the high 
 road to a number of celebrated and, to some few, once fashion- 
 able places of entertainment in whose gardens concerts used 
 to be given during the summer months. With the exception, 
 however, of Krug's garden, all or nearly all of them have been 
 sacrificed to the exigencies of the city's rapid extension in this 
 direction, and on their sites many beautiful and even magnificent 
 villas have been erected, decorated occasionally with external 
 frescoes, paintings on marble in encaustic, and figure subjects 
 in mosaic, exhibiting a high order of purely domestic architec- 
 ture of which neither London nor even Paris presents the 
 counterpart, while the gardens surroimding several of these villas 
 may be classed among the master-pieces of horticultural art. 
 
 The Thiergarten-strasse is to-day one of the fashionable drives 
 of Berlin, and on special afternoons elegant vehicles and high- 
 bred horses are to be seen dashing through it at their top- 
 most speed to the adjacent Zoological Gardens, for like a 
 wheel within a wheel, this so-called animal garden of Berlin 
 comprises a zoological garden within its limits. The latter, 
 covering a surface of no less than ninety acres, is at the 
 south-western extremity of the Thiergarten, and is certainly 
 not excelled by any similar institution in Europe, either as regards 
 its picturesque laying out or the general perfection of its arrange- 
 ments. Thirty years ago the menagerie which had been established 
 on Peacock Island, at Potsdam, was transferred to Berlin and 
 formed the nucleus of the present Zoological Gardens. For years, 
 however, the institution, which offered no kind of attraction, lan- 
 guished, scarcely anyone visiting it. The ground was marshy, 
 and however adapted its stagnant pools may have been to the 
 water-fowl, they were certain death to animals from the tropics, 
 necessarily requiring the driest of atmospheres. The beasts of 
 prey, besides being shut up in cages without enough room for 
 them to turn, had an insufficiency of air, light, and sunshine, 
 while the larger birds confined under contracted wire-netting 
 were deprived of the necessary space for freely expanding their 
 
 wmgs. 
 
 After five-and-twenty years of disastrous failure, the manage- 
 ment of the Berlin Zoological Gardens was entrusted to Dr. 
 Bodimas, who had proved his capacity while at the head of a 
 similar institution founded by him at Cologne. Under his rule 
 a gloomy wilderness was transformed into a charming landscape 
 varied by hills, lakes, islets, grottos, rivulets, cascades, fountains, 
 and leafy groves. He had the dwelling-places of all the animals, 
 furred and feathered alike, constructed upon a principle which 
 regarded " their physical well-being and happiness, as mainl}- 
 depending upon a minimum, of confinement combined with a 
 maximum of air and light."
 
 214 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ««*^ 
 
 
 
 The nobler beasts of prey, lions, 
 tigers, leopards, and the like, 
 were installed in cages of ample 
 dimensions ranged down one side 
 of a wide airy hall lighted from 
 above, and ornamented with 
 creeping plants suspended in baskets from the ceihng. These 
 cages being designed for winter occupation, the building is warmed 
 with hot air during this season of the year. Sliding iron panels 
 divide the winter from the summer dwellings in the rear, 
 which, enclosed with strong iron bars and roofed in with thick 
 glass surmounted with ornamental wrought-iron crowns, are 
 sufficiently capacious to allow the animals a good run. 
 Here they breed freely, and what is more, successfully rear 
 their young. 
 
 The elephant house is a gorgeous-looking building in the 
 Hindoo style of architecture, constructed of coloured bricks and 
 painted tiles, decorated with architectonic elephants, rhinoceroses 
 and dragons, and surmounted by tall domes and corner towers 
 and great golden suns. Adjacent to it are ample exercising 
 grounds for the animals. Inside the building the massive 
 columns, the capitals of which are ornamented with elephants' 
 heads and tusks, as well as the roof, are elaborately decorated 
 with colours and gold. The giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and other 
 animals of a similar species are housed in a moresque building 
 dominated by the orthodox minaret. Its handsome central hall 
 with its arched glass roof forms a kind of palm-house in which 
 all manner of tropical trees and plants are growing among arti- 
 ficial rocks and plashing fountains. Trailing plants cover the 
 walls, twine up the columns, encircle the arcades, and climb to 
 the summit of the lofty roof In the rear of the different stalls 
 the animals are provided with an open air run.
 
 THE THIERGARTEN. 
 
 2IS 
 
 The bears are installed in a castellated stone structure flanked 
 with conical-capped circular corner towers, curved bars forming- 
 the front of their dens, which are open to the air at the top, and 
 are provided not only with pools of water and climbing poles, 
 but simulated caves, to which bruin, when he finds the heat too 
 oppressive, can retire. The various kinds of oxen have the run 
 of a spacious shady court enclosed with an iron fence, supple- 
 mented by stabling in the form of log huts ; the deer, too, have 
 their miniature park, the kangaroos their hopping grounds, the 
 beavers their rocky grottoes, while the monkeys, who give them- 
 selves no special airs since they have come under suspicion of 
 being related to us, as well as the wild-cats, are furnished with 
 branching trunks of trees up which they can scramble, spring, and 
 go through the most difficult gymnastic performances to their 
 heart's content. 
 
 The birds of prey are provided with a large aviary, 200 feet 
 in length, and including a central 
 cage upwards of thirty feet high, 
 surmounted by the Prussian spread- 
 eagle in the same way that the 
 poultry-house is decorated by a 
 couple of strutting cocks and the 
 bears' dens with sculptured heads 
 of bears. Within this space even the 
 bearded vultures from the Hima- 
 layas find ample room and verge 
 enough to test the power of their 
 pinions. Rock work with shady 
 recesses in addition to the neces- 
 sary perches has been constructed 
 for the general aggcommodation, and 
 some of the grey carrion vultures 
 have even built their nests here — 
 a most rare occurrence. 
 
 Endless varieties of quaint>;,:water- 
 fowl find themselves perfeetly at 
 home in the adjacent lake with its 
 islets, fountain, and cascade, the 
 herons and other waders who cannot be trusted to strut among 
 the smaller birds being housed in picturesque kiosks along its 
 banks. The ostriches and cassowaries enjoy ample facilities 
 for exercise, while the tamer kinds of fowl are permitted to 
 wander through the grounds at their own sweet will. The glass 
 houses for the pheasants are bordered by garden-plots laid out 
 with turf and planted with evergreens and enclosed with wire 
 netting. Indeed the aviaries generally are charmingly arranged 
 with trees and rocky nooks, as well as fountains and basins 
 for the birds to bathe in.
 
 2l6 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The Berlin Zoological Gardens now contain about 1,500 ani- 
 mals comprising nearly 400 different species, and including among 
 others lions, tigers, leopards, pumas, bisons, camels, antelopes, 
 kangaroos, ostriches, and no end of strange birds, all born and 
 reared there. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the lake is an orchestra where mili- 
 tary and other bands perform, and close by is the principal 
 promenade shaded by fine oak and birch trees. On set afternoons 
 this is a sort of Vanity Fair, to which the elegantes of the capital 
 and the elegants of the garrison resort, to pass one another in 
 review. At this gathering of the elite of Berlin, the one thing that 
 strikes the stranger is the variety ot ethnological types, including 
 Finns, Sclaves, Wends, Jews, and Germans, as well as evident 
 descendants of the French emigrants who settled in Brandenburg 
 during the seventeenth century. The Germans and the Jews pre- 
 dominate, the Teutonic type being represented in its perfection by 
 officers of the heavy cavalry and of the guard — tall and well-made 
 men with light hair and beards, fair complexions, blue eyes,straight 
 noses, round heads, slightly oblong faces, and square shoulders. 
 Their bearing is martial yet mild, their expression proud, and at 
 the same time modest, and with a certain air of awkwardness 
 which is, however, more apparent than real. 
 
 One marked feature of the Berlin Zoological Gardens is the 
 extensive restaurant erected on a kind of terrace just above the 
 prom.enade. Here during the fine weather on Sundays, when 
 the Berlin shopkeepers, employes and the better class artisans, 
 crowd the place with their wives and families, people will dine 
 almost by tens of thousands in the open air, contemplating 
 meanwhile the animated crowd promenading below, the little 
 lake v/ith its myriads of water-fowl, its miniature cascade and the 
 tiny Turkish kiosks erected along its banks, and listening to the 
 strains of some admirable military band. 
 
 To-day skating rinks, or as the Germans term them, Schlitt- 
 scJinh BaJinen, are temporarily the rage at Berlin the same as else- 
 where. The principal of these rinks is in Kaiserin Augusta-strasse 
 on the verge of the Thiergarten. In all essential features it is 
 in the same style as Prince's in London, and it belongs moreover 
 to the same proprietor. The grounds, which are tastefully planted, 
 are furnished with the customary tables and surrounded by a high 
 palisade which is generally decorated with flags. The company 
 frequenting them is remarkably select, the price of admission, a 
 mark and a half {\s. 6d.), being sufficient to exclude the rabble. 
 The fashionable time to skate is from two till four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, and on the hottest day in summer rinkers may be seen 
 sweltering under a scorching sun and utterly disdaining the shelter 
 afforded by the covered portion of the l^ahn. A large propor- 
 tion of the Jiabitut's are ladies, whose toilettes are often remark- 
 ably elegant. The garden is brilliantly lighted up at dusk, and
 
 IN THE BERLIN ZOOLOGICAL GABDENS. 
 
 Page 2l5. ]
 
 tiil: thiergarten. 
 
 217 
 
 a band plays throughout the evening, when English people located 
 at Berlin congregate there in considerable numbers. As a rule, 
 the English make by far the best appearance on the asphalte, 
 and the Berlinese, who regard skating rinks as English specialities 
 and who seem to be more or less mystified by them, readily 
 admit this. When the Schlittschuh Bahn in the Thiergarten was 
 first opened, people used to congregate outside and peep through 
 the palings, looking all the while as though they were thunder- 
 struck. Although they have ceased to do this, they still regard 
 skating in the summer as a phenomenon not to be witnessed 
 without emotion. 

 
 XI. 
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. THE MEETING OF THE EMPERORS. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 2, 1872, the second anniversary of the capitu- 
 lation of Sedan, saw Berhn en fete. The black eagle, and 
 the black-and-white Prussian banner relieved by the slightly less 
 sombre imperial tricolor, floated from the forest of flagstaffs that 
 dominate the capital. At some few points was the black, red, 
 and gold standard of the old Roman empire of Barbarossa ; at 
 numerous others there waved the black-and-white flag of the great 
 Friedrich, combined with the black, white, and red of the empire 
 created by Sadowa and Sedan, and known as Bismarck's flag. Of 
 eagles in every shape, single and double-headed with ferine beaks 
 and truculent talons, there were legion. Regiment after regiment 
 of soldiers defiled through the streets from an early hour. Crowds 
 of Berlinese, with peasants from outlying villages in their Sunday 
 best, thronged the Linden. War medals and iron crosses innu- 
 merable were seen this day on civilian breasts, not unfrequently 
 beside empty sleeves, or in company with crutches and crippled 
 limbs. " Grosse militarische Conccrte " with a more liberal 
 allowance than usual of schlacht or battle music were given 
 throughout the afternoon and evening at suburban biergarten
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. 219 
 
 and city Caecilien-sale, whilst at night-time bursts of " Die 
 Wacht am Rhein," with other less patriotic effusions, were to be 
 heard issuing from many a bier-local and wein-stube in the quiet 
 side streets of the city. 
 
 The following morning preparations commenced'in earnest for 
 the reception of the Russian Czar and Austrian Kaiser, who a 
 few days hence were to be the guests of the German Emperor. 
 "Francis, Alexander, William, take pity on us, quick! a con- 
 gress," sang Beranger, ironically, some half-century ago, and lo ! 
 history once more prepares to repeat itself, and another Francis, 
 Alexander, and "William are about to assemble ; France, according 
 to rumour, being as usual the object of the imperial gathering. 
 
 Berlin showed no great enthusiasm in the way of outward 
 adorning. There was a partial patching up and embellishing of 
 the dingier houses on the Linden, and limited preparations for 
 illuminating. The Russian embassy, which the Czar was to grace 
 with his presence, had a fresh coat of paint given to it, and 
 attempts were made to relieve the tiresome monotony of its 
 long facade by decorating its balconies with flowers and creep- 
 ing plants, bran new sentry boxes for the guard of honour being 
 posted at the principal entrance. Some of the large hotels 
 went through a course of external and internal decoration which 
 their owners could very well afford, in view of the exorbitant 
 tariffs they had determined on, regardless as to whether their 
 contemplated extortions might not put many of the geese laying 
 the golden eggs to flight. Unter den Linden, especially, com- 
 menced to drape itself with many-coloured banners, representing 
 the various nationalities resident at Berlin, which had the effect 
 of relieving in some degree the funereal aspect of the Prussian 
 standards. If banners were abundant along the pet promenade, 
 sentry boxes were scarcely less so, owing to the recent influx of 
 royal and serene highnesses, attracted to Berlin by the approach- 
 ing imperial gathering, and who, as accommodation could or 
 would not be found for them at any of the royal palaces, were 
 reduced to put up at various hotels, and had to be mollified by 
 the cheap compliment of a guard of honour. Gala carriages and 
 four conducted by smart postillions and attended by chasseurs 
 in magnificently plumed cocked hats, and gorgeous-looking 
 flunkies in long laced coats with huge shoulder-knots, commenced 
 to make their appearance in the streets, conveying grand-dukes 
 and princes on visits of high ceremony. 
 
 The afternoon of Thursday, September 5, had been fixed for 
 the arrival of the Emperor of all the Russias, and armed with a 
 piece of pink paste-board bearing the signature of Von Madai, 
 president of police, I made my way in a dowdy droschke to 
 the Ostbahnhof in a distant and dirty suburb of Berlin to be pre- 
 sent at the Czar's reception ; nearly all the uniforms of the Ger- 
 man army were encountered in the endless stream of carriages
 
 220 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 rolling in this direction. Bright steel casques glittered in 
 the sun, nodding plumes fluttered in the breeze, as the pranc- 
 ing horses dashed swiftly past, bearing the German Emperor, 
 with a score or more of high-born guests, and all the military- 
 magnates of Berlin, across the Schloss- and Kurfiirsten-brucken, 
 and through the narrow and tortuous streets of the old town, to 
 the place of rendezvous. In the suburbs there were crowds of 
 working people, and noisy bands of dirty ragged urchins, with 
 heads thrust out of all the windows, and scrambling groups 
 scaling the house-tops, but scarcely any flags and no other 
 attempts at decoration. 
 
 The entrance to the station was ornamented with evergreens 
 and the standards of Russia and Prussia entwined. Inside at 
 the edge of the platform where the train was to arrive stood the 
 Emperor Wilhclm, hemmed in by a motley throng of princes, 
 ministers, generals, and dignitaries of the household, with bright 
 steel and gilt helmets, white plumes and brilliant uniforms, and 
 half the orders in the universe scintillating on their breasts. 
 Everyone wore the Russian uniform in compliment to the 
 coming guest. The Emperor was gay in scarlet trousers and blue 
 riband, the Crown Prince less conspicuous, in dark green and 
 silver. Prince Friedrich Carl, the red hussar, wore a cossack 
 lancer uniform of Muscovite cut and florid ornamentation, while 
 the Grand Duke of Baden was travestied as a red-breasted 
 uhlan, and Prince Carl as a Russian general. Altogether 
 it was a perfect military masquerade, and the principal per- 
 formers on the scene being attired in uniforms of a na- 
 tionality different to their own, rendered it extremely difficult 
 to determine who was who in this complimentary exchange of 
 regimentals. 
 
 A line traced in white chalk on the platform indicated the pre- 
 cise point where the imperial carriage was to come to a halt. 
 Here the old Emperor Wilhelm, who, spite of his lame foot, 
 looked remarkably hearty, stationed himself. As the train 
 approached, the guard of honour detached from the Alexander 
 regiment, of which the Czar is colonel, presented arms ; as it 
 passed into the station the drums beat a royal salute, and the 
 moment it stopped the band struck up the Russian national 
 anthem. The door of the imperial carriage was thrown open, 
 and the Czar bounding out was caught in the Emperor Wilhclm's 
 outspread arms. The greeting was gushingly affectionate. The 
 German Emperor, since his blushing honours had set so thick 
 upon him, could aftbrd to be very gracious, and treat his dear 
 brother of Russia with marked deference. Neither was the 
 Czarewitch forgotten, and for several minutes there was a 
 succession of kissings and huggings between the members of 
 the Prussian royal family and the new arrivals. The burly, 
 not to say bloated-looking Reichs-kanzler, whom Berlin painters
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. 221 
 
 had been recently idealizing under the guise of St. George,^ 
 contemplated this scene v/ith a grim sort of satisfaction from 
 beneath the polished helmet which fell over his eyes, and after- 
 wards proceeded to offer his congratulations to Prince Gort- 
 schakoff, between whom and the German chancellor, physically 
 speaking, there could scarcely be a greater contrast. 
 
 The two monarchs were hemmed in by the crowd of petty 
 German princes, grey-headed old generals, and intriguing cour- 
 tiers, all eager for the slightest sign of recognition on the part 
 of the great northern potentate. And they were not disappointed, 
 for the Czar advanced towards one and the other in rapid suc- 
 cession, bowed, smiled, grasped them by the hand, and after 
 saying a few courteous words, turned on his heel to address some 
 of their less obtrusive companions whom his sharp eye recognised 
 among the throng. At last the crowd of brilliant uniforms 
 and jackboots and helmets, consented to allow the imperial 
 brothers to issue from their midst, and the two Emperors 
 advanced along the platform, the Czar casting gracious glances 
 on the group of elegantly attired beauties whom they passed 
 on their way. 
 
 Some Prussian officers now stepped forward to present the 
 daily reports of the regiments which have the honour of calling 
 the Czar their colonel. Military routine being thus satisfied, the 
 Emperors, cheered by the populace, entered their carriage, the 
 coal-black horses were touched up with the whip, and away they 
 dashed, followed by the Czarewitch, the princes, the generals, the 
 grand dukes, and the dignitaries, towards the royal palace, but 
 not sufficiently quick to prevent the Berlin drains carrying their 
 vile odours to the nostrils of the imperial visitors, who after 
 alighting for a few minutes to pay their respects to the Empress 
 Augusta and the princesses, drove along Unter den Linden to 
 the Russian Embassy. Here the crowd danced attendance for 
 hours, hoping to see a live Czar dining, smoking his cigar on the 
 balcony, taking tea in the drawing-room, or turning in for the 
 night. Next morning these same patient watchers were at their 
 post of observation, as if expecting to witness the levee of an 
 
 ^ One of the most pretentious compositions suggested by the recent war 
 with France, and which was exhibiting during the visit of the Emperors at the 
 Berlin Konigliche Akademie der Kiinste, was a commonplace allegory filHng 
 a vast canvas and styled " The Triumph of Germany." At the first glance, 
 it appeared as if the artist had simply reproduced the old legend of St. 
 George, but at the second. you discovered that, instead of the chivalrous 
 young saint whose hneaments have engaged the pencils of artists for cen- 
 turies, the hero was none other than burly Fiirst von Bismarck in the uniform 
 of a Prussian cuirassier ; not, however, with the familiar fat, florid face, the 
 bald head, and all but grey moustache, but according to that more refined 
 version of the Imperial Chancellor's countenance much affected by certain 
 German artists— that is to say, a Chancellor with a thoughtful brow and almost 
 ascetic aspect.
 
 222 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Emperor, and docile to the bidding of the martial-looking police- 
 men as a flock of sheep to its shepherd. 
 
 The following evening the Austrian Kaiser arrived, and the 
 trio of Emperors was complete. Francis Joseph, who came 
 accompanied by the Crown Prince of Saxony, alighted at 
 the new Potsdam Station in a precisely opposite direction 
 to that at which the Czar arrived, in the most fashionable 
 suburb and unquestionably the most inodorous quarter of 
 Berlin. There was the same display of flags and evergreens, 
 of military salutes, and martial music, as at the reception of 
 the Czar, save that the Prussian and German colours were 
 mingled with Austrian in place of Russian banners, that the 
 guard of honour was drawn from the Kaiser Franz-Josef regiment 
 instead of the Alexander, and that the Austrian national hymn 
 took the place of the "Boshe Czarya Chrani," of holy Russia. 
 As with the decorations and accessories, so with the performers, 
 who, with special exceptions, were the same, though in a mea- 
 sure transformed, the German Emperor and princes with their 
 satellites all donning the Austrian uniform in honour of the 
 Kaiser, who returned the compliment by appearing in Prussian 
 regimentals. The Germans suffered most from the travestie, 
 their brawny frames appearing to signal disadvantage in the chic 
 uniform so becoming to the slight and elegant Austrians, besides 
 which there was something comical of itself in the conceit of the 
 victors in the war of 1866, thus decking themselves out in the 
 uniform of the vanquished. 
 
 Spite, however, of all this assumed courtesy on the part of 
 hosts and guests, the reception can scarcely be said to have been a 
 propitious one. Either the white chalk line on the railway platform 
 had been forgotten, or from the length of time which had elapsed 
 since the German Emperor had disported himself in Austrian 
 uniform, the engine-driver failed to recognise him, for the train 
 was run much too far into the station, causing considerable em- 
 barrassment to the chief actors in the scene. The old Emperor- 
 King, however, regardless of his lame foot, rushed forward to try 
 and receive his dear brother of Austria at the moment he alighted 
 from the carriage, followed by the bedecorated crowd of princelets 
 and dukelings, and grave old generals, and dashing young aides- 
 de-camp in uniforms, the variety of which, to say nothing of the 
 gorgeousness of several of them, was absolutely bewildering. The 
 greeting was intended to be cordial, but it was evident that the 
 principal performers were by no means at their ease. The two 
 Emperors chased each other, as it were, about the platform 
 owing to this false movement of the train. Franz Josef, more- 
 over, hesitated to throw himself into the fraternal arms of his 
 successful rival to the imperial crown, and simply proffered his 
 hand. The incident lasted but a moment, still to those who 
 were watching the monarchs' movements tJie silent scene was a
 
 BERLIN EN F^TE. 223 
 
 complete revelation. The German Emperor on his part seemed 
 equally embarrassed. The Czar, luckily, was not present. Being 
 himself a guest at Berlin, imperial etiquette forbade his making 
 the smallest advances to meet an equal in rank. 
 
 The Austrian Kaiser, who could scarcely be expected to feel 
 at ease on the occasion of his first visit to Berlin since the crushing 
 defeat of Sadowa, looked grave, and as if beset with a crowd of 
 thoughts. Presently, however, he put on a permanent smile as 
 if with the object of impressing the couple of hundred pairs of 
 eyes which were scrutinizing him, that the present was in truth 
 the happiest moment of his life. Shaking hands with Fritz and 
 the other princes, he passed, with apparent unconcern, before the 
 impassive visage of Count Moltke, and the next moment found 
 him greeting Prince Bismarck with effusive warmth. Recognitions 
 of various serene highnesses and high mightinesses now ensued, 
 followed by the presentation of the reports of the particular 
 crack Prussian regiments of which the Kaiser or the Crown 
 Prince of Saxony chanced to be colonels, and by eager castings 
 about for imperial " nods and becks and wreathed smiles," on 
 the part of the bedecorated military courtiers in attendance. 
 
 The Emperors, followed by a train of princes, dukes, counts, 
 generals, court dignitaries, and supernumeraries, more or less 
 pomaded, dyed, cosmetiqued, rouged, powdered and decked out 
 in martial or official finery, entered their carriage, and without so 
 much as a single trooper byway of escort, proceeded at a rattling 
 pace to the old Schloss, passing down the shady avenue — whose 
 stately trees with their wide-spreading branches offer a marked 
 contrast to the sickly limes ranged along the Linden — known as 
 Koniggratzer-strasse, and leading to the Brandenburg Gate, in 
 order to enable the cortege to enter Unter den Linden by this 
 favourite approach. The Berlinese condemned this selection of 
 a thoroughfare, the name of which recorded a recent Austrian 
 defeat when the almost equally convenient Leipziger-strasse, 
 which commemorates a signal triumph of the combined German 
 arms, might have been chosen. The incident was the more in- 
 explicable as all the paintings referring to the war of 1866 had 
 been scrupulously removed from the various royal palaces. Spite 
 of a certain show of politeness towards their new guest, the Ber- 
 linese still regarded him as a slightly insignificant personage in 
 comparison with the high and mighty austere Russian Czar, 
 before whom they seemed almost disposed to prostrate themselves, 
 while holding their noses high enough in air in presence of the 
 over-gracious Austrian Kaiser. 
 
 Franz Josef as he crossed the broad Pariser-platz could scarcely 
 have failed to notice that one large mansion had all its shutters 
 strictly closed, and no flag floating over its roof. This was the 
 residence of the ambassador of France, who certainly had no 
 reasons for rejoicing over this imperial gathering. Arrived at
 
 224 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the vast old Schloss, the retreat of the mysterious white lady 
 whose apparition signals the approaching death of some member 
 of the royal house of Brandenburg, the Kaiser was conducted to 
 the apartments formerly occupied by Napoleon I., and after an 
 hour or two's repose was entertained at a somewhat expansive 
 family supper of eight-and-forty covers. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 7th of September, all Berlin was 
 astir making hasty preparations to witness the various sights that 
 were to follow each other in rapid succession throughout the day. 
 First an imposing spectacle was to be presented to the Russian 
 and Austrian Kaiser of the military power of their host, and 
 from seven o'clock the streets were crowded with carriages. An 
 hour afterwards everyone was upon the wing scudding through 
 clouds of sand to Tempelhof — thus named after an ancient 
 establishment of knight templars — in the southern environs of the 
 city, and a favourite place of Sunday resort with the working 
 classes of Berlin. On this side of the village and separated from 
 it by the railway is a vast plain of sand, known as the Tempel- 
 hofer-feld, divided into plots, disclosing a feeble and unhealthy 
 vegetation and intersected by a long and broad paved highway 
 bordered by some miserable-looking lime trees. It is on this 
 spot that the great Friedrich used to manoeuvre his soldiers, and 
 that the garrison of the capital is daily exercised. Although the 
 sandy soil, into which one sinks several inches at every step, 
 may be very good for the purpose of manoeuvring cavalry, it must 
 be terribly hard work for the infantry, who here get familiarised 
 in time of peace with some of the hardships and fatigues of war. 
 
 Our driver, a most intrepid individual, displayed the large 
 blue card which we had received from the Polizei-Prasidium in 
 front of his hat, thus at once securing us a free passage down the 
 long avenue bordered on one side with private and public vehicles 
 of all kinds, and carts of every description the owners of which 
 were vending salted meats and sausages, butter-brode and beer 
 christened for the nonce, " Das bier der drei Kaiser." We even- 
 tually reached the place where some couple of hundred privileged 
 carriages were drawn up, and after a considerable amount of 
 shouting and bellowing on the part of the police, took up what 
 appeared to them to be a satisfactory position on the opposite 
 side of one of the lime-tree avenues bordering the manoeuvring 
 ground. When at last we were fairly settled, and the wheels of 
 our conveyance and the horses' hoofs had sunk some few inches 
 into the sand, I mounted the seat and looked around. On the 
 right was a sea of sand which at each new arrival rose in huge 
 clouds and enveloped everything ; on the left was more sand 
 which did not however trouble us, so long as the carriages 
 covering it remained stationary. Behind there was still sand 
 bordered by the railway embankment, and before was more 
 sand stretching as far as the city, and continually upon the
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. 225 
 
 whirl. In the distance rose a large red-brick building named 
 the Bock-bier Brauerei, where the Berlinese resort in early 
 spring to get more or less tipsy upon bock-bier at least once 
 before the season has regularly set in. The day was splendid ; 
 the sun shining high in the heavens poured its pitiless rays 
 upon the assembled crowds, causing the perspiration to stream 
 from beneath the helmets of the mounted police, tanning the 
 complexions of the lovely Jewesses whom one saw on every 
 side, half smothered in gauze and cashmere, and rendering the 
 glossy black carriage horses skittish and irritable, and the poor, 
 broken-down droschken hacks still more weary and dispirited. 
 
 At this moment the plain itself appeared completely naked. 
 All that could be distinguished was a few black dots — men of 
 the Berlin fire-brigade marking out with lances the spot where 
 the Emperors would station themselves during the march past. 
 On the horizon though, with the aid of a glass, one could 
 detect something gliding and glistening in the sun. Slowly the 
 brilliant moving lines approached, and proved to be detachments 
 of troops coming from all directions. Later, the arriving columns 
 had swollen to a concentrated mass ; a hundred banners were as- 
 sembled, and over them floated a cloud of dust resembling the 
 long trail of smoke from a locomotive. By about half-past nine the 
 troops were in position, and what a spectacle they then presented ! 
 Two long lines stretching seemingly all the way to Berlin had 
 formed themselves on two sides of the plain. On the left were 
 stationed eleven regiments of infantry of the guard, and on the 
 right eleven regiments of cavalry and artillery, while between the 
 two lines was an open space nearly half a mile in extent. 
 
 Looking down from one's slightly elevated position upon the 
 long lines of infantry, the eleven regiments with their white, red, 
 rose colour and black plumes, gave one the idea of beds of lilies, 
 poppies, and roses. Glancing at them sideways they resembled 
 in their mathematical rectilinearity some long striped band dark 
 in the centre and light at either edge ; the bright helmets and 
 the white linen trousers forming the light borders, and the tunics 
 the dark central line. 
 
 Prince Augustus of Wiirtemburg, general of cavalry, had the 
 chief command, and placed himself in advance with the entire 
 mass opposite to him. The line of infantry was in two divisions, 
 the right being composed of a couple of brigades of two regiments 
 each, namely the 1st and 3rd and the 2nd and 4th of the guard, 
 of which the 1st was the only regiment that wore the old- 
 fashioned high-pointed gilded shako of a century ago. The left 
 wing comprised three brigades of two regiments each, including 
 the grenadier regiments of the Emperor Alexander and the Dow- 
 ager Queen Elisabeth, the Franz-Josef regiment and that named 
 after the German Empress, with the regiment of fusiliers of the 
 guard and a mixed regiment formed from battalions of the line.
 
 226 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 In advance of the right wing were Count von Roon, minister 
 of war, the Emperor's aides-de-camp, the Prussian Marshals, 
 including von Moltke, and "der alte Wrangel," whose military 
 experience went back to the wars against the first Napoleon, 
 and who strode his charger with ease and steadiness, while the 
 sun blazed down upon the great cuirassier helmet which he 
 seeks no excuse in his ninety winters for setting aside. Beside 
 them rode General Manteufifel, slight of figure and quick of 
 movement, with grey hair and beard and piercing eye. Then 
 came the staff of the regiments about to be passed in review, 
 and the military bands, and finally a detachment of mounted 
 police. Some little distance off with numerous foreign officers 
 in their suite were the Princes of the Imperial family, foremost 
 among whom were the Crown Prince and Prince Friedrich Carl, 
 " the right and left arms with which the head of the Hohenzollern 
 dynasty contrived to carve his way to the throne," once the 
 heritage of the Hohenstaufen and the Hapsburg. The line of 
 cavalry was composed of the regiment of the body-guard, huge 
 troopers with silver eagles on their burnished helmets, a regi- 
 ment of cuirassier guards — the famous white cuirassiers of 
 Prince Bismarck in their bright steel breastplates and helmets 
 surmounted by gilt eagles — a regiment of hussar guards in 
 scarlet uniforms with yellow facings, and composed in a great 
 measure of volunteers of good family ; two regiments of dragoon 
 guards, and three regiments of uhlans of the guard distinguished 
 by their red, white, and yellow plastrons, with the 3rd uhlans of 
 the line, of which the Czar is colonel. There were in addition 
 some battalions of riflemen, of the guard, of engineers, and of the 
 military train, while the artillery consisted of sixteen batteries of 
 four guns each. 
 
 As ten o'clock sounded from the red brick tower of the church 
 of Tempelhof, there issued from behind the huge brewery situated 
 at the extreme northern end of the manoeuvring ground, the 
 three Emperors, followed by a numerous and splendid suite. 
 At first a bright scintillating spot with a deep shade hanging over 
 it appeared on the horizon, then slowly approached, always with 
 the shadow hovering above. At length some helmets were dis- 
 cerned flashing in the sun, and the three Emperors became visible, 
 followed by a cortege of princes and generals enveloped in an 
 immense cloud of dust. Arms were presented, formidable 
 hurrahs rent the air, the bands struck up, some the Austrian, 
 others the Russian national hymn. Halting a moment before 
 the right wing of the infantry the Sovereigns saluted the regi- 
 mental colours, or rather shreds of colours, for many were in 
 tatters, while of others nothing remained but the flagstaff's with 
 a few embroidered streamers floating from the top. 
 
 When this gorgeous crowd turned the left wing and passed 
 near where I was stationed, my eyes instinctively singled out the
 
 BERLIN EN F^TE, 22/ 
 
 three Emperors — Wilhelm I. in the middle, brandishing his 
 drawn sword, Franz Josef on his right and Alexander on his left. 
 An indescribable scene succeeded. Following at a trot some ten 
 paces behind were hundreds of brilliant horsemen, comprising 
 princes of all ranks, officers of all the armies in Europe including 
 •even Cossack hetmen in their Astrakan caps and scarlet uniforms. 
 All were intermingled, all pressed together in one compact parti- 
 coloured mass in which red, blue, green, black, white, and grey, 
 picked out with gold, could be distinguished. Suddenly all 
 these fine uniforms disappeared. Nothing was to be seen beyond 
 clouds of sand, still one heard the sound of voices combined with 
 that clattering of accoutrements and neighing and tramping of 
 horses which one is apt to associate with an idea of battle. At 
 this spot not the smallest blade of grass or scrap of withered 
 vegetation of any kind was visible, the cannons which had passed 
 over the ground early in the morning had pulverised the soil 
 and the horses' hoofs sunk deep into the sand. It was not a mere 
 cloud of dust which arose, but the entire surface of the ground, so 
 to speak. Now and then a glimpse of some brilliant uniform 
 was obtained through the obscurity, only to be eclipsed however 
 a second afterwards. 
 
 The cortege past, the dust descended slowly to the ground, 
 and the Emperors with their suites were already far off when one 
 again perceived them. On arriving at the opposite end of the 
 plain they reined in their horses and the march past commenced, 
 all the regiments with their bands playing and colours flying, 
 defiling before the triad of crowned heads. At this moment the 
 two or three hundred privileged vehicles received permission to 
 cross the exercising ground in order that their occupants might 
 obtain a better view of what was going on. Vorwarts ! was 
 shouted from the lusty lungs of some stalwart sergeant of police ; 
 instantly the cry was taken up, and "Vorwarts!" "Vorwarts!" 
 resounded on all sides as droschke, caleche, barouche, and britzka 
 set off at a brisk trot. Suddenly some one exclaimed in a loud 
 voice to his driver, " Five thaler if you arrive first ;" others 
 repeated the words, and then ensued a scene of which it is 
 scarcely possible to form a conception. One almost shudders 
 while recalling the disorder which those five promised thaler 
 created. The coachmen anathematized and lashed their horses, 
 while the latter plunged and the carriages dashed onward as fast 
 as they could go, wheels grazing and bumping against each other 
 and roars of laughter mingling with the terrified exclamations of 
 fair ones in distress. Our driver continued yelling in spite of all 
 our efforts to restrain him. " Ich will siegen !" (" I will conquer") 
 and almost foamed at the mouth with excitement. Unfortunately 
 his fellows being equally determined to conquer, the utmost con- 
 fusion ensued. In vain the mounted police shouted out to the 
 coachmen to stop. Many were forced to gallop out of the way to 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 avoid being run ac^ainst and upset, the danger being considerably 
 increased by the otDscurity, as everj-thing was enveloped in a dense 
 cloud of sand which at once blinded and suffocated us. Occa- 
 sionally one caught sight of shadowy figures on horseback yell- 
 ing out words of command, still it was solely the desire which 
 everyone felt to give his neighbour a wide berth which caused 
 the vehicles to become scattered and obviated any serious acci- 
 dent. As the dust prevented the goal from being seen, each 
 driver engaged on his own account in a doubtful chase. Even- 
 tually the police succeeded in reducing this chaos into something 
 like order, and the carriages were finally ranged in line opposite: 
 to the saluting point. 
 
 All eyes were now turned towards the tall guardsmen, compan3r 
 after company of whom were striding past the trio of Emperors, 
 the bands of the respective regiments playing as the various 
 corps went by. 
 
 " Steady ! steady ! the masses of men 
 Wheel and fall in, and wheel again, 
 Softly as circles drawn with the pen." 
 
 This pretentious Prussian parade has been truly described as 
 a relic from the early days of the eighteenth century, when 
 military drill was raised to the dignity of a science, and so to say 
 infected by the narrow and pedantic spirit governing even the 
 more' intellectual pursuits in those over-methodical days. Pre- 
 served as a reminiscence of the olden time, it is as different as 
 possible from the thoroughly modern tactics adopted in the 
 Prussian army during the late reign. Imagine the upper part of 
 the body kept bolt upright with one leg firmly placed in the 
 same perpendicular position, while the other is spasmodically 
 lifted up at an angle of forty-five degrees ; imagine a hundred 
 legs in a row simultaneously performing this gymnastic exercise 
 with the utmost regularity, moving with an identity of step, 
 tread, and intent as though they belonged to one immense mul- 
 tiplied animal ; imagine every two lines of these cornbinations of 
 muscular humanity separated from each other by a comparatively 
 wide space, so as to expose everyone of them to the full gaze of 
 the scrutinizing beholder, and you have the bcaii-ideal of the 
 ceremonial march of this country. Judged by the pigtail and 
 pipe-clay standard no doubt the performance was a highly meri- 
 torious one, still anything more artificial could not be conceived. 
 It gave one the idea of dancing-school pupils being put through 
 their toe-pointing steps rather than soldiers in the field. Evi- 
 dently the movement could not have been kept up for long, as 
 many of the men trembled from head to foot, and would un- 
 questionably have broken down if they had had much more of 
 it to go through. 
 
 As the regiment came up of which the Czar is the honorary 
 colonel, his Russian majesty bowing low to the Emperor Wilhelm
 
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 BERLIN EN FETE. 
 
 229 
 
 rode out and placing himself at its head, conducted it past the 
 saluting point. When the Emperor of Austria as colonel of the 
 Kaiser Franz-Josef regiment placed himself in like fashion at the 
 head of the very men who had fought so desperately against 
 him in the defiles of the Erzgebirge and presented the regiment 
 to the German Emperor, some strange reflections must have 
 passed through his mind. 
 
 The cavalry followed at a trot, the body-guard heading the 
 heaving tide of many coloured squadrons. The silver eagle 
 glittered on the top of their steel helmets and their swords flashed 
 in the bright rays of the sun as these mounted giants swept along. 
 They were succeeded by uhlans, tall, but wiry men, whose ap- 
 pearance called forth prolonged cheers. An electric spark of 
 sympathy passed to and fro between the public and the troopers, 
 and the pace of the horses became insensibly faster and faster. 
 Light blue dragoons and hussars of all the hues of the rainbow, 
 light-weighted men, on lithe, active steeds, brought up the rear. 
 And then rumbled up the sombre line of the artillery and train. 
 
 A military critic thus remarked on this most imposing gather- 
 ing : — " Much larger bodies of troops have undoubtedly been 
 massed together and been inspected, but thirty thousand of so 
 splendid soldiers have perhaps never been combined in one 
 review. There is, however, a limit to the human sight and to 
 human patience. After a certain time even the practised soldier 
 •can no longer distinguish between the recruit and the veteran, the 
 eye becomes wearied, the patience becomes exhausted, and how- 
 ever keen one may be, all curiosity is supplanted by one sincere 
 and heartfelt wish that the great spectacle, with its accompany- 
 ing heat, dust, and discomfort, were numbered among the events 
 of history. As a specimen of perfect rigidity and stiffness of 
 drill it was without its parallel." 
 
 Prince Bismarck was on the ground, attired in the uniform of 
 his cuirassier regiment, and wearing the order of St. Stephen 
 -across his shoulder. I observed him approach a carriage full of 
 ladies in a most unceremonious manner, and, after complimenting 
 them, ask if they " happened to have a sandwich to spare." " Oh ! 
 Prince, why did you not ask before .'' " they answered in one 
 breath, and three pairs of fair hands immediately dived into a 
 hamper and produced some butterbrode, garnished in the centre 
 with slices of German sausage. " And what will the Prince have 
 to drink.?" inquired mamma. "A glass of Chambertin," said 
 -Bismarck, if they had any ; that agreed with him, he said, better 
 than the German wines. But the beauties could find no Cham- 
 bertin, so that it had to be requisitioned at a neighbouring car- 
 riage. " He looks as if he does not deny himself the good things 
 ■of this world," said a poorly-clad individual, who was standing 
 by, and gazing upon the famous minister's florid countenance, 
 one was bound to admit that the speaker was not far wrong.
 
 230 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 This slightly truthful remark cost the poor man his place and 
 the sight of the march past of the cavalry, for with the nonchalant 
 air of a man conscious of having said something pointed, he took 
 a whiff at his cigar, and blew a cloud of smoke from between his 
 lips in quite an important manner. Now, the carriage of her 
 Highness the Princess Imperial, our Princess Royal of England,, 
 happened to be close by, and it seems that like many other 
 ladies, she objects to the smell of bad tobacco, so she whispered 
 to her footman, who carried the message to a policeman, who in 
 liis turn suddenly made a dive into the little group of people, and 
 seizingtheunfortunateoffenderbythecollar,exclaimed, "How dare 
 you smoke your bad cigars here ? " and dragged him to the other 
 side of the carriages, when what more befell him one cannot say. 
 
 After the review the Emperor P>anz Josef went over the 
 barracks of his regiment, inspected the monument erected in the 
 courtyard to the memory of the men who fell in the Austrian 
 and French campaigns, and partook of some refreshment at the 
 officers' mess. The Czar had paid a similar visit of inspection ta 
 the head-quarters of the Alexander regiment on the previous 
 day. By the time the Emperors and their suites had returned 
 to Berlin and changed their dusty uniforms for gala regimentals,, 
 their presence was required at the grand banquet given in the 
 famous Weisse-saal of the old Schloss. State equipages were 
 the rule for the principal guests who had received invitations — 
 carriages with over-decorated and richly gilt panels, prancing 
 steeds with elaborate trappings, coachmen with powdered heads 
 and scarlet breeches, chasseurs half buried under their ample 
 plumes, flunkies in tall cocked hats w^ith taller feathers, long- 
 tailed gold and silver laced coats, and tightly-fitting snow-white 
 stockings displaying their muscular calves to advantage. The 
 German Empress and the Crown Princess came in carriages and 
 six, with postilions, outriders, and a bevy of footmen, while the 
 Emperors put up with simple carriages and pair. To ladies wha 
 came in robes a trainc, their footmen acted as temporary pages 
 as they crossed the vestibule of the palace, and I noticed one 
 awkward lacquey, richly belaced from his head to his heels, who 
 was so confused by his mistress's multiplicity of jiipes that on 
 hastily grasping at them one after the other he very nearly 
 capsized her as she was mounting the grand staircase. 
 
 The Emperor Wilhelm, equally to oblige both guests, appeared 
 in Austrian uniform, with the blue scarf of the Russian order of 
 St. Andrew, while the Crown Prince reversed the compliment 
 and wore a Russian uniform relieved by an Austrian decoration. 
 Only the younger Princes of the Royal House, including the two 
 sons of the Crown Prince — who came out for the first time on a 
 gala occasion — had to content themselves with Prussian uniforms 
 with a sprinkling of foreign orders. Both the Imperial guests 
 wore Prussian regimentals, with the great star and chain of the
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. 23 1 
 
 Black Eagle. The ladies being permitted to follow their own 
 individual inspirations, had adorned themselves with consum- 
 mate taste and skill. White and blue satin, interwoven with 
 golden threads, diadems and jewelled plumes abounded in the 
 noble hall. With studied richness of costume there was com- 
 bined the deliberate punctiliousness of etiquette. The Empress 
 Augusta, who was seated in the centre, had the Emperor of 
 Austria on her right, and the Emperor of Russia on her left 
 hand. The Czar being more nearly related to the host than the 
 Kaiser, and having also more recently ascended the throne, ceded 
 the pas to his Austrian brother not only in this instance but 
 throughout their sojourn at Berlin. Next to the Czar sat the 
 Crown Princess, next to the Emperor Franz Josef, the Emperor 
 Wilhelm. The Crown Princess had the Czarewitch on her right 
 and further on Princess Carl of Prussia and the Crown Prince 
 of Saxony ; the German Emperor having on his left the Grand 
 Duchess of Baden, and the Crown Prince, and further on the 
 Grand Duke Vladimir and the Grand Duke of Baden. In front 
 sat Prince Gortschakoff, Prince Bismarck, Count Andrassy, and 
 Count von Berg. Towards the close of the banquet the Em- 
 peror Wilhelm rose and proposed the first toast, the entire com- 
 pany rising with him. " Animated," he said, " by feelings of the 
 sincerest gratitude, I drink to the health of my imperial guests." 
 Scarcely had the cheers, accompanied by the melodious sounds 
 of the Austrian national hymn, subsided, when the Emperor Franz 
 Josef returned thanks — "From the bottom of my heart," said he, 
 " I thank his majesty for the words he has pronounced. May 
 God protect and preserve his Majesty the Emperor- King 
 Wilhelm of Prussia, the Empress Augusta, and the whole Royal 
 House of Prussia !" The Czar followed suit, saying, laconically, 
 " I drink to the w^elfare of the gallant Prussian army ! " 
 
 The banquet concluded, the imperial party proceeded to the 
 opera-house, but simply to witness the performance of some new 
 ballet. Few ladies were present, and these solely in the boxes 
 on the grand tier, all the remaining boxes and the stalls being 
 occupied by officers of various ranks and nationalities. While 
 the Emperors and the princes, the grand dukes and the generals, 
 the diplomatists and the dignitaries, were absorbed in the saltatory 
 gyrations of the faded figurantes of the Berlin Opera-house, there 
 were assembling in the broad Opern-platz in front — kept clear 
 by the troops for the occasion — the two-and-twenty military 
 bands which were to take part in the monster musical perform- 
 ance of the Zapfenstreich. They formed themselves into three 
 columns in front of the statue of the Great Friedrich, who from 
 his lofty pedestal seemed to gaze curiously down upon the 
 gathering beneath. At their head were 350 guardsmen bearing 
 tall lighted flambeaux, who, in the lurid glare, with their glitter- 
 ing helmets and waving plumes, seemed like soldiers of the 
 middle ages carrying fire and sword within some doomed city.
 
 232 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Soon after the Cathedral clock had chimed the hour of nine, and 
 just as the last carriages from the opera were setting down their 
 
 
 occupants in the court-yard of the old Schloss, the report of a 
 cannon was heard, and the procession moved forward midst the 
 deafening sounds from more than a thousand musical instru- 
 ments. The drums beat the parade march, then the bands 
 played the triumphal march of the entry of the allies into Paris, 
 after which the drums beat again, and as the procession passed 
 over the handsome Schloss-briicke, the bands struck up the 
 march of General York. Just over the bridge on the right hand, 
 the thoroughfare known as the Schloss-freiheit communicates 
 between the Lust-garten and the Schloss-platz, and as the pro- 
 cession passed this point, there suddenly arose above the 
 exulting clang of the sounding brass and tinkling cymbal, loud 
 frantic shrieks and piercing cries of distress, startling the illus- 
 trious guests who thronged the windows of the Schloss, and others 
 who, like myself, were assembled on the terrace beneath, 
 watching the arrival of the musical host. No one, however, 
 could divine the reason of these heart-rending cries. 
 
 The procession defiled in the Lust-garten, the brilliant aspect 
 of which on this famous gala night is difficult to describe. Let, 
 however, the reader picture a vast open space with the fagade of
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. 233 
 
 a noble palace extending along one side, and having in front of 
 it flower-beds and fountains, with a colossal central sculptured 
 group, and beyond the long open colonnade of the Museum 
 approached up wide flights of steps, and decorated with frescoes 
 and statues. One of the remaining sides is bounded by the 
 Cathedral, and the other by the Arsenal and the Schloss- 
 briicke, with its finely-executed groups in marble. Erect 
 around this space hundreds of ornamental bronze braziers 
 sending forth myriad tongues of flame ; suspend to them festoons 
 of coloured lamps, and mass beneath them several thousand men 
 belonging to different corps in diverse and occasionally singularly 
 picturesque uniforms ; place in front of them the military bands 
 of the Berlin garrison numbering more than r,ioo musicians, 
 around whom group several hundred torch-bearers. At a given 
 signal the bandmasters mount the wooden stages erected for them, 
 and the leader of this monster concerf ascends the lofty crimson- 
 draped platform immediately in front of the Palace balcony. Sud- 
 denly a deafening " boom, boom," from several score of big drums 
 startles everyone and commands attention ; and a few moments 
 afterwards the two-and-twenty military bands strike up the 
 Austrian national anthem in concert, leader and bandmasters 
 marking time with long lighted tapers, and the military torch- 
 bearers waving their blazing flambeaux excitedly over their heads 
 at all the more spirit-stirring passages. When the music ceased, 
 the crowd on the outskirts of the Place, set up a loud and frantic 
 hurrah, in response to which the torch-bearers again waved their 
 blazing flambeaux wildly in the air. After a brief interval of 
 silence, the 350 fifers and drummers commenced drumming and 
 piping the Alexander March in compliment to the Czar; then 
 the bands performed the " Entree des Invites," from Taun- 
 hauser, after which the Radetzki March was played by the 
 bands of the cavalry and the artillery. The " Boshe Czarya 
 Chrani " of holy Russia followed, and then commenced the 
 terrific Zapfenstreich, or Tattoo, in which certain critics, gifted 
 with the faculty of seeing further into millstones than ordinary 
 individuals, pretend to find " a perfect musical interpretation of 
 the military spirit of Prussia. Monotonous and sharp, sober, yet 
 inspiriting, it translates," say they, " the special characteristics 
 of the service into articulate, if not over-artistic sound." The 
 louder the drums beat, the shriller the fifes rent the air, the more 
 boisterous grew the crowd, until the steady beat of the tambour 
 was drowned by deafening hurrahs. Suddenly all became silent 
 again, as the bands passed over to the low diminishing roll 
 which precedes the evening prayer when the piece is performed 
 in camp. Then ensued a loud rushing sound, resembling the 
 fall of some immense volume of water, but which was produced, 
 I fancy, by the simultaneous roll of a couple of hundred drums, 
 and this singular performance came to a close.
 
 234 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 While these thousand instruments were playing in concert, 
 from the roof of the Schloss flashes of electric light were thrown 
 upon the scene, and the buildings surrounding the open 
 space were illuminated with Bengal fire, imparting a marked 
 melodramatic effect to a spectacle the weird phantasy of which 
 it is impossible to define — what with the clang of innumerable 
 musical instruments, sending forth now a shrill, now a sonorous 
 volume of sound, the lurid light and rolling clouds of smoke 
 from hundreds of waving flambeaux, the glittering of several 
 thousand helmets, and the waving of as many white and scarlet 
 plumes, the surging and clamorous crowds beyond the line of 
 soldiers, the bronze braziers with their darting tongues of flame, 
 the periodical illumination of the adjacent buildings, first with 
 the pale electric light, and then with brilliant coloured fires, 
 the stealthy love-making under the orange trees of the terrace, 
 between beardless lieutenants and Berlin belles, and finally, in 
 the balcony over one's head, the powerful potentates in whose 
 honour all this diablerie had been produced. 
 
 The illuminations of the city were nothing remarkable ; a coat 
 of arms in gas above the porticoes of several of the palaces, a 
 fringe of gas jets around certain of the windows, or along the 
 more important mouldings, coloured lamps over the entire fa(^ade 
 of the new Rathhaus, some isolated gas laurel branches, and 
 similar puerile devices at a few of the hotels, and Chinese 
 lanterns at several of the beer gardens, and that is all. Evidently 
 the authorities relied upon the liberal combustion of Bengal fire, 
 which was being continually kindled under the porticoes and on 
 the roofs and balconies of the public buildings, to compensate 
 for any shortcomings which Berlin may have presented in the 
 way of illuminations proper. After a morning spent on the 
 sandy plain of Tempelhof, and an evening devoted to being 
 jammed among the perspiring crowd Unter den Linden, while 
 listening to the distant music of the Zapfenstreich, the Berlinese 
 naturally felt thirstier than usual, so that no sooner was the 
 Tattoo over than there was a general rush to the bier-garten 
 on the Linden, which soon became completely crammed. 
 Individuals of regular habits after roaming the streets to look 
 at the few illuminations turned contentedly in-doors, while 
 those of more expansive principles still lingered in the bier- 
 garten, and the positively abandoned dived down into the less 
 respectable bier-locale, or prowled in parties through the prin- 
 cipal thoroughfares, coming naturally enough into occasional 
 collisions with the police. As there are no regulations at Berlin 
 exacting early closing on the part of the proprietors of drinking 
 establishments, a brisk trade was carried on until the small hours 
 chimed on Sunday morning, and it was time for people to think 
 of their accustomed devotions, Prussia being, as everybody 
 knows, a highly Protestant nation.
 
 BERLIN EN FETE. 
 
 ^35 
 
 Next morninjT one learnt the origin of the piercing cries and 
 shrieks which had so startled everybody as the procession of 
 torch-bearers and bandsmen pressed forward towards the Lust- 
 garten. The police it seems had permitted the crowd to become 
 so densely packed in the Schloss-freiheit that every paving- 
 stone bore its man. To secure free passage past here for the 
 procession orders were given to drive back this solid mass of 
 humanity — an impossibility, as the hindmost row was already 
 jammed against the iron shutters of the shops, and there was no 
 kind of outlet for those who might desire to escape. Still, orders in 
 Prussia must be obeyed, and the mounted police gallantly spurred 
 their horses forward, causing them to rear and plunge in the 
 midst of screaming women and terrified men, while the soldiers 
 attempted to drive the helpless people back with brutal blows 
 from the butt-ends of their rifles. It was even said that the 
 torch-bearers thrust their blazing flambeaux into the faces of 
 those who were in the foremost rank. As the crowd swayed 
 backwards and forwards in its desperate struggle with the 
 military and the police, some of its weaker members were 
 thrown down and trampled under foot, the result being eight 
 individuals killed and ten dangerously w^ounded, after which 
 soldiers and police desisted from their futile efforts. The Berlin 
 newspapers loudly censured the police as being directly re- 
 sponsible for this tragic interlude, and the satirical journals 
 assailed them, and especially the President, for the blundering 
 arrangements which led to such a direful result. In one carica- 
 ture he was depicted as energetically squeezing the people to
 
 236 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 death under a heavy screw-press, and in another as recklessly 
 galloping over the dead and dying victims of his criminal 
 negligence. 
 
 With the Imperial guests the Sunday morning's devotions 
 were supplemented by a promenade through the Berlin Zoo- 
 logical Gardens, and an excursion in the afternoon to Potsdam, 
 where most of the lions of the place were visited. The 
 Emperors afterwards dined at Schloss Babelsberg, the Emperor 
 Wilhelm's modern Gothic toy palace among the Havel woods, 
 and were present later in the evening at a tea and garden party 
 given by the Prince and Princess Imperial at the Neue Palace,
 
 BERLIN EN FJ^TE. 237 
 
 — a resplendent entertainment which seemed hke some chapter 
 out of the Arabian Nights. Palace, gardens, and grounds were 
 equally illuminated. The moment twilight set in, the flower- 
 beds and clusters of shrubs disposed in stars, circles, and other 
 geometric patterns over the extensive lawn were lighted up with 
 thousands of brilliant coloured lamps, recalling to mind the 
 famous jewelled garden of Aladdin. The orange-trees at the 
 same time covered themselves with variegated orbs while the 
 lindens beyond shone with a soft mellow radiance, pleasantly 
 framing in the gorgeous picture. Piercing the wooded back- 
 ground with a flood of brilliancy, the great avenue of the park 
 was seen stretching away for miles — a galaxy of candelabra 
 and Venetian lanterns. Right and left were firs, which by the 
 aid of candles and a rich appendage of ornamental festoons 
 were converted into so many living Christmas trees ; forming a 
 perfect paradise of light and colour. 
 
 Towards half-past eight the Emperors alighted in the inner 
 court of the Palace. After dinner they had taken a drive 
 through the Potsdam parks, and past the verdant glades, the 
 broad lakes, and a continuous string of palaces and villas, had 
 made their way from the father's pseudo Gothic castle to tht^ 
 rococo mansion of the son. At the moment of their arrival 
 the Neue Palace became enveloped in a flood of red light, sur- 
 mounted by sheaves of yellow flame on the roof. 
 
 It was not yet dark. The lingering rays of the sun subdued 
 the power of the artificial light and caused every blade of grass 
 to be distinctly seen amid the thousand flamelets playing on 
 the ground. Every polished leaf of the orange trees had its 
 light and shade, while on the limes you might have counted the 
 branches. As night began to assert herself the splendour of 
 the illuminations became too dazzling to permit the eye to 
 discern the less conspicuous details. You then saw nothing but 
 light ; but it was light of every imaginable tint and hue. 
 
 While the company were promenading on the terrace, and 
 sauntering down among the flowers, the Palace at intervals 
 glowed in the effulgence of Bengal fires. The gigantic crown 
 on the cupola had its special illumination, and later in the 
 evening a new surprise presented itself in the central avenue.. 
 A fountain of rose-coloured water rose upwards to the sky, 
 surrounded by sea-green marble statues, backed by a high 
 hedge, over which hung an opaque white light resembling molten 
 silver. Presently the colours changed, the statues turning red 
 and the fountain green ; then the water subsided and a jet of 
 fiery flame took its place. The bands greeted this volcanic 
 pyramid by playing the Austrian national hymn. At ten 
 'o'clock the guests left the palace and were coaveyed to the 
 capital by special trains.
 
 IM^rW 
 
 
 XII. 
 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MAXffiUVRFS.- 
 
 EAGLES. 
 
 -FLIGHT OF THE 
 
 N 
 
 O kind of respite was allowed the Imperial guests. Early on 
 Monday morning the autumn manoeuvres of the Prussian 
 guard corps commenced in earnest, and the Emperors had to 
 rise betimes to be present at the opening operations in front of 
 Spandau, some dozen miles from Berlin. General and special 
 ideas of the proposed manoeuvres had been promulgated by the 
 military authorities to the following effect : — 
 
 " General Idea. — The guard corps is moving from the line of the Oder 
 to reheve the fortress of Spandau, which is besieged. On its approach the 
 enemy raises the siege, quits the left bank of the river, and crosses to the 
 right bank which it occupies in considerable force, so as to cover the 
 retreat of the siege train and artillery." 
 
 "The Special Idea" is as follows: — "The general in command of the 
 guard corps, having approached near to Spandau with the principal portion 
 of his force on the 8th of September, and having sent his advance guard 
 through the fortress to the right bank of the river, on the gth determines 
 to attack the enemy, who have taken up a position on the heights of Staaken 
 and Amalienhof ; and to carry out this attack on the enemy's right wing, 
 so as to prevent him withdrawing his siege train and artillery." 
 
 On the Sunday the troops were marched out of Berlin, and 
 one division bivouacked between Charlottenburg and Spandau, 
 whilst the other passed through Spandau and bivouacked to the
 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MANCEUVRES. 239 
 
 westward of that fortress. The Emperors came down by the 
 eight o'clock train on the Monday morning, accompanied by 
 innumerable military notabilities, and immediately after their 
 arrival, the advanced guard having already penetrated through the 
 fortress of Spandau, the troops com.menced their attack. As is 
 always the case in the Prussian manoeuvres the great object was 
 to turn the enemy's flank — in this instance his left flank. The 
 advance guard, therefore, as it came into action deployed, and 
 the artillery, which occupied a commanding position in the rear, 
 opened fire. The cavalry of the advance guard, composed of 
 one uhlan regiment, took up a position in echelon on the flank, 
 and the infantry were thrown forward according to the principles 
 of the new drill. The great object being to hold the enemy 
 in check on the extreme right while the main attack was de- 
 veloped on his left, every precaution was taken to strengthen 
 the position of the attacking force on that side ; skirmishers 
 advanced to the front, lay down and fired; about 120 paces 
 in the rear their supports dug shelter trenches in irregular order 
 offering gaps and enabling them to support each other. In easy 
 soil the trenches were dug and shelter was obtained in about 
 ten minutes. The supports in the rear remained in a concealed 
 position, while the remainder of the army gradually developed 
 its force, and gradually brought fresh and fresh troops up in 
 Echelon on the enemy's left, driving him back with irresistible 
 force and turning his entire position. 
 
 I had left Berlin by an early train and eight o'clock found me 
 toiling along a sandy road towards the broad swift river Havel. 
 At the time the action commenced I was sailing across to the 
 opposite shore in one of those small, flat-bottomed boats, 
 dangerous for sailing trips should the slightest squall chance to 
 get up. While I was seated in the bottom of this punt — 
 speculating whether it would capsize as its side dipped from 
 time to time deeper into the water, and calculating the chances 
 of my being able to swim in my boots, I heard the report of 
 the signal cannon. We fortunately crossed without accident, and 
 soon afterwards the cavalry were marching over the pontoon 
 bridge which had been constructed overnight. It was a fine 
 sight to watch the tall uhlans with their long lances, and the 
 burly-looking cuirassiers, in their dusty-white uniforms and 
 shining helmets and breastplates, leading their horses down 
 from the wooded heights on the opposite bank of the river, 
 where they had been hidden among the foliage. Once across, 
 they vaulted into their saddles and dashed swiftly along the 
 steep sandy road till lost to sight under the hill overlooking the 
 river. In the meanwhile the artillery opened fire on the left, 
 and I followed the left wing of the infantry as it advanced 
 up the high ground bordering the lake. Here a battery was di- 
 recting its fire upon some houses where the enemy's advanced
 
 240 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 guard were supposed to be posted ; and while their attention 
 was engrossed by the artillery, our infantry advanced towards 
 the left under cover of the lofty bushes and the apple trees 
 disposed in avenues across the fields. From here one had a 
 very good view of the field of battle. To the north-east was 
 Spandau, to the east the river Havel, and to the west, distant 
 some three miles from Spandau, with the village lying at its 
 feet, was the hill of Staaken, where the Emperors with their 
 respective suites and the ladies of the Imperial family had 
 stationed themselves. This was the point of attack. Our army 
 consisted of nine regiments of infantry, comprising the four 
 first regiments of the guard with the regiments of the Czar, 
 the Emperor Franz Josef, the Empress Augusta, and the 
 Dowager Queen Elisabeth, together with a regiment of light 
 infantry. There were also nine regiments of cavalry, including 
 three of cuirassiers, one of hussars, [two of dragoons, and three 
 of uhlans. We had in addition a regiment of artillery and a 
 battalion of pioneers. With this army, which numbered some- 
 thing like 25,000 men, we were to storm the hill of Staaken, 
 capture the village, and put the enemy to flight. The enemy 
 being imaginary', the affair was very simple, still one could not 
 help admiring the way in which the whole of the troops, both 
 infantry, cavalr>% and artillery got over the ground in spite of 
 the clouds of dust and the sandy soil — without a scrap of hard 
 earth or even a stone — which was everywhere encountered, 
 whether upon high ground or low. One was, moreover, impressed 
 by the care with which everything was done, not even the merest 
 trifle being omitted which would be worth attending to if the 
 ragged lead were actually flying about. The men took 
 cover as if they were saving their lives instead of only going 
 through a drill, and were duly anxious never to let drive when 
 a comrade might thereby be endangered. 
 
 The jagers advanced with their knapsacks raised on high by 
 way of defence. The sharpshooters came out in swarms as 
 the reserve forces marched forward, the first rank kneeling down 
 and firing three rounds. Then the bugle sounded the advance, 
 which was accomplished with wonderful swiftness by the troops 
 in line, while behind came the columns covered on the left flank 
 by the advancing ordnance. The hussar guards having marched 
 up in squadrons, rattled off for an attack in the direction of 
 the Karolinenhohe, the infantry advancing towards Amalien- 
 hof, surrounded by its belt of brushwood, to the sound of 
 drums and fifes, the crowd of spectators invariably hovering be- 
 tween the firing ranks. The guards having taken Amalienhof, 
 the finishing blow was given by the cavalry executing a grand 
 charge. This spectacle of a whole division of horse rushing for- 
 ward at once, was a most imposing one. As the four thousand 
 swords flashed in the air, and the four thousand horses galloped
 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MANCEUVRES. 
 
 241 
 
 along, maintaining order and regularity even in the heat of the 
 onslaught, the earth shook, and the spectator could not help 
 admiring the effective result of military discipline and practice, 
 even while remembering and applying Marshal St. Arnaud's 
 pithy observation on the Balaclava charge — " C'c^lait viagnifique, 
 mats ce netait pas la guerre^ When the drums beat the final 
 charge, the troops responded with loud hurrahs ; the artillery and 
 the reserves advanced, and the cannon opened a raking fire, 
 under cover of which the infantry pushed forward. The Emperor 
 rode out to meet the advancing troops and lead them against 
 the heights. The long line, flanked right and left by the bat- 
 teries, steadily advanced ; the fusillade became general ; and, 
 while clouds of smoke enveloped the entire field of battle, the 
 central position of the imaginary enemy, the hill of Staaken 
 where the two Emperors and the ladies of the Imperial family 
 and of the Court were posted, was carried. By about one o'clock 
 the bugles sounded the halt. The battle over, the great train 
 of waggons with straw for bivouacking made its appearance, and 
 
 the troops encamped on the ground, while the Emperors and 
 their satellites, the numerous foreign officers, and the crowds of 
 ordinary spectators hurried in the direction of the railway 
 station. All along the dusty road rickety tables spread under 
 the trees attracted droughty crowds clamorous for beer. Thirsty 
 souls, too, thronged every room in the village bierhaus, and 
 fought for mugs of beer under the huge projecting porch, deco- 
 rated for the occasion with autumn flowers and wreaths of 
 evergreen. 
 
 There was evidently no rest at Berlin for the Imperial guests, 
 for early the next morning they were conveyed by special train 
 to Wustermark, and at once mounted their horses, there awaiting 
 them in charge of army grooms and orderlies. Another battle 
 
 R
 
 242 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 was to be fought in their presence, but this time, instead of the 
 attacking party having a mere phantom enemy to contend with, 
 they were to be opposed by a solid force of formidable troops. 
 On account of the presence of the three Emperors and the desire 
 to have certain results attained within a given time, less discre- 
 tion than usual was left to the commanding generals in the way 
 of tactical chess play. The strategy of this so-called battle of 
 Buchow Carpzow was of course entirely settled beforehand, and 
 all the commanders had to do was to see that the engagement 
 was smartly carried out, and that no blunder in detail was 
 allowed to pass unpunished. The West Division, commanded 
 by General von Pape, was supposed to be an enemy who had 
 advanced against Spandau for a certain distance, and, being 
 opposed by a strong force, had halted to give battle. Von Pape 
 occupied a line stretching from Beestow, a little way north of 
 the Wustermark station, to Falkenrede, some miles to the south 
 of it. His centre rested on the strong position of Buchow 
 meadows and a small lake impassable for troops. The weak 
 point was on the extreme right, where there was much open 
 ground favourable for the employment of his opponent's numerous 
 cavalry. The East Division attacking force was under General 
 von Budritzki, and had bivouacked in the wood near Doeberitz, 
 south-west of Dallgow railway station. It was a superb little 
 army composed of the four grenadier regiments of the guard, 
 a couple of cavalry brigades, and a large share of guard artil- 
 lery, with the schiitzen battalion to counterbalance the guard 
 jager on von Pape's side, and the combined regiment of line 
 and instruction battalions. The West Division, though inferior 
 in artillery, and with but one cavalry brigade, had a force of 
 infantry equal to that of its opponent, comprising as it did the 
 four infantry regiments of the guard, the fusilier regiment, and 
 the jager battalion. Each side had a baggage and ammunition 
 train in perfect order. 
 
 Von Budritzki commenced his attack with determined vigour, 
 the Prussian tactics of hammering with artillery, flanking with 
 cavalry, and finally storming with infantry, being carried out to 
 perfection. Gradually the attacking line pressed home upon 
 their opponents, turning their right flank, and driving them from 
 the field. There was a tremendous fire of infantry and artillery 
 in the centre about eleven o'clock, whilst the cavalry of von Bu- 
 dritzki moved steadily towards Falkenrede. At one moment the 
 clouds of dust were so thick that nothing could be seen. When 
 these had cleared off, the 2nd grenadier regiment Kaiser Franz, 
 was on the edge of the wide ditch that hindered the attack upon 
 Buchow Carpzow. They v>^ere evidently not expected to cross 
 the ditch, and the defending force calmly peppered them ; but 
 the grenadiers, constructing a slight bridge of boughs of trees, 
 came over one by one, and, forming on the other bank, captured
 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MANOEUVRES. 
 
 243 
 
 a battery of guns, and might have captured some of the Imperial 
 staff had not these been neutral. 
 
 There was a great cavalry charge on the extreme left, near 
 Falkenrede, and the flank of the West Division was turned. 
 Sharper grew the fire of muskctr}^ and through the dust glimpses 
 of cuirass and helmet were obtained as the waving mass of 
 cavalry swept on. Von Pape by slow degrees was forced off his 
 proper line of communications, and thrown towards the north- 
 west upon the Berlin and Hamburg railway at Nauen. The 
 bugles now sounded to cease firing. The dusty but undis- 
 mayed defending force tramped away gaily to the cantonments, 
 and the Imperial party with their suites returned to the Wuster- 
 mark station. Here, close to the railway, was a great tent, 
 wherein a sumptuous luncheon was served before the special 
 train conveyed the Emperors and their suites back to Berlin. 
 This was the finale of these displays, and the subsequent man- 
 oeuvres of the troops between September 12 and September 
 18, on which latter day they returned to their respective gar- 
 risons, were carried on independent of the presence of the three 
 Emperors. 
 
 The round of festivities complete, there simply remained 
 the doling out of the imperial pour-boiyes, in the shape of a 
 certain number of grand crosses, ere the Czar and the Kaiser 
 quitted Berlin. The latter showed himself the most liberal 
 in this way, confer- 
 ring orders alike upon 
 Bismarck and Gort- 
 schakoff, Manteuffel 
 and Redfern, Jomini 
 and Hamburger, Thile 
 and Delbruck, Baekers 
 and Baelow, besides 
 individuals of inferior 
 note. In reference to 
 this shower of decora- 
 tions one of the satiri- 
 cal journals published 
 the subjoined carica- 
 ture, the inscription 
 beneath which ran — 
 
 The Emperor Wil- 
 
 SO MANY ORDERS AND 
 KO ROOM. 
 
 SO MUCH ROOM AND 
 NO ORDERS. 
 
 helm with singular taste had appointed the Emperor Franz 
 Josef colonel of the Schleswig-Holstein regiment of hussars, 
 and more singular still, the latter condescended to make his 
 farewell visit to the German Emperor on the afternoon of 
 September nth, attired in the uniform of the regiment in 
 question. ^ At eight o'clock that evening the Austrian Kaiser 
 left Berlin in company with the Crown Prince of Saxony, 
 
 R 2
 
 244 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE, 
 
 by the Gorlitz line of railway. There is nothing particularly 
 picturesque about a departure by train, especially at night, 
 and that a rainy night. The carriages rattled over the stones ; 
 here and there the passers-by raised their hats where the 
 lamplight showed them whom those carriages contained ; 
 some mounted police rode along the street to see that 
 all was clear in front, and the first of the Imperial guests 
 had gone. The one thing which Franz Josef and his prime 
 minister, Count Andrassy, did not obtain in Berlin — and for 
 which, indeed, they scarcely cared — was the last word of the 
 conference. It was not until the following morning that 
 the Czar took his departure, and even then his Imperial 
 host, being also bound eastward, though only to Marienburg, 
 accompanied him for a part of the journey. The two Em- 
 perors, who caught the seven o'clock special train with military 
 punctuality, were loudly cheered by the crowd, which was not — 
 as may be supposed — very large at that hour, and with a dis- 
 tinguished company of princes and generals set forth towards 
 the Russian frontier. 
 
 The Emperors gone, the Berlinese returned to the sober 
 realities of life. The propitious weather had suddenly changed. 
 Rain commenced to fall in torrents, pattering upon the pave- 
 ments and the house-tops, flushing the yawning gutters, and 
 carrying their accumulated filth into the almost stagnant Spree ; 
 soaking the flags and banners which still floated from the roofs 
 of the palaces, public buildings, hotels and private residences ; 
 driving the people from Unter den Linden and the Thiergarten, 
 and obliging them to take refuge either at home or within the 
 overcrowded beer-rooms and cafes. Then came an easterly 
 wind, slamming open doors and windows, bending the tall 
 black and white flagstaffs, and sending the yellow autumn leaves 
 from the waning limes scudding along the Linden promenade. 
 Spite of their constrained attendance at fetes and banquets, 
 spectacles and military displays, the triad of Emperors had 
 nevertheless managed to snatch opportunities for serious con- 
 verse among themselves, besides which, Bismarck, Gortschakoff, 
 and Andrassy had many long interviews with each other. 
 In the comic papers eaves-dropping journalists were satirized 
 with an undue development of the acoustic organs listening at 
 the doors of the conference chamber. Speculation was rife 
 as to the object of these deliberations of the Emperors and 
 their ministers, and it was agreed it could be neither the bug- 
 bear of the International nor the Jesuits. It was commonly 
 thought there had been an interchange of ideas with regard to 
 the Pope and to the possible future attitude of France, and 
 above all that an understanding had been attempted and 
 perhaps arrived at in respect to Eastern affairs, so as to ensure 
 united action when the serious illness of the sick man next came
 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MANCEUVRES. 
 
 245 
 
 AT THE MILITARY I'ARADE. 
 
 AT THE DOOR OF THE 
 CONFERENCE CHAMBER. 
 
 AT THE ZAPFENSTKEICH. 
 
 round again. A caricature of the moment represented the Pope 
 and the three Emperors, the former exclaiming, " By the sacred 
 anathema, if I only knew what those three were planning 
 against me ! " and the latter remarking, " Ah ! did we only know 
 what to do with this troublesome old man." 
 
 There was a general flitting when the eagles took to flight, 
 and Berlin seemed transformed as with the touch of Prospero's
 
 246 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 wand. It lost its holiday aspect on a sudden. For days past 
 Emperors had been constantly driving about the city, attracting 
 crowds wherever they went. Princelets and dukelings, and 
 foreign officers in the most brilliant uniforms had thronged the 
 Linden at all hours of the day. Aides-de-camp and orderlies 
 had been kept incessantly on the trot, just as sentries had been 
 kept perpetually saluting. Gala carriages had been running 
 continual rounds from one palace to another, and flunkeys in 
 elaborately laced coats— the full value of which was only known 
 to the tailor who made them — had condescended to stretch their 
 laggard legs on the common footways. Now the Linden was 
 comparatively silent and deserted ; the elegant equipages, the 
 high-stepping horses, the plumed chasseurs, the powdered 
 coachmen, and the liveried lacqueys were alike missing. The 
 brilliant uniforms had also disappeared. Gone too were the 
 grand dukes and princes of royal and noble German houses, 
 the field marshals, generals, and dashing aides-de-camp. The 
 army being cantoned in the environs, completing its autumnal 
 manoeuvres, there was not even the habitual liberal sprinkling 
 of military uniforms to enliven the pavement. The detachments, 
 too, no longer called at the Emperor's palace for their banners 
 before proceeding to morning exercise. The extra sentries 
 were all removed, the sentr>'- boxes laid up in ordinary, the flags, 
 including blazoned Imperial banners, were every one struck, 
 the gas jets of the illuminations all taken down, and the Linden 
 was altogether slow. The hotels being empty and the better- 
 class shops deserted, hotel and shop keepers had nothing to do 
 but count their gains, the w^aiters were reduced to lounging at the 
 hotel doors, and the " dienstmann " to dozing on the hotel steps. 
 The droschken, save an occasional vehicle with luggage on the 
 box making for some railway station, remained unattended on 
 the stands, for the drivers, no longer in request, dived down 
 into the nearest bier-local. The gaping crowds that had hourly 
 found delight in loitering opposite one or the other of the 
 palaces returned to their ordinary work, the bangel too retired 
 to the Donhofs-platz and the Konigs-mauer, and the police 
 found their occupation gone. 
 
 The castles in the air which a fortnight ago had been erected 
 with all the lavish extravagance of a lively imagination by hotel, 
 shop, lodging-house, and livery-stable keepers, waiters, chamber- 
 maids, droschke drivers and commissionaires, had finally faded 
 away. Gone, too, were the fond hopes of the aristocratic beauties 
 of Berlin, based upon a mere passionate glance across the 
 Imperial table in the Weisse-saal of the old Schloss, a simple 
 pressure of the hand, or a whispered tite-d-tcte in a silent avenue 
 in the illuminated gardens of the Neue Palace at Potsdam. It 
 was a shame, protested the injured fair ones, pouting their 
 pretty lips — the tears glistening in their big blue eyes, as they
 
 THE AUTUMN MILITARY MANCEUVRES. 247 
 
 thought of some dashing young aide-de-camp in his beautiful 
 shiny-leather boots and spurs — and so it was. Had they not 
 most faithfully danced attendance upon the Imperial visitors 
 and their suites since the days of their arrival ? Had I not seen 
 them from the railway platform peering through the windows 
 of the first-class waiting room, eager to welcome that brilliantly- 
 attired crowd of princes, nobles, and officers ? Had they not 
 also made the most costly sacrifices at the altar of the Goddess 
 of Fashion ? And did they not, the very evening of the Czar's 
 arrival, enthroned in their satin-lined carriages, drive time after 
 time down Unter den Linden, in front of the Russian Embassy ? 
 Moreover were they not at the review at Tempelhof, braving 
 alike sun and sand ? Also at the opera and the Zapfenstreich ? 
 And if they did not all go to the Imperial banquet in the 
 Weisse-saal every one knows that it was because they were not 
 invited. But wherever they could go they did. They were at 
 the Zoological Gardens during their Imperial Majesties' visit ; 
 they secured admissions to the grounds of Babelsberg ; were 
 present at the tea and garden party in the Neue Palace at 
 Potsdam, and at the military manoeuvres at Staaken and 
 Wustermark. Now, however, all was over. The costly toilets 
 which poor, ill-fed, ill-clad, ill-remunerated work-girls toiled 
 at night and day to get finished were cast aside, the jewels 
 were locked up, the elegant barouche had returned to the coach- 
 house and the horses to the stable, the Baron vowing that his 
 wife and daughters had ruined that pair of flea-bitten greys, 
 which cost him a sack full of thaler. Cupid must have been 
 sadly inattentive to the whispers of his mother, Venus, to have 
 allowed such visions of orange blossoms and bridesmaids, and 
 dashing young officers, as troubled the slumbers of Berlin belles 
 during the Imperial meeting to fade away, leaving only the 
 recollection of a pair of high boots and spurs, a cavalry sword, 
 and a flaxen moustache to console them.
 
 THE EMPEROK WILHEI.M. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISER. 
 
 THE visitor to Berlin passing down Unter den Linden, and 
 pausing before the statue of the Great Friedrich may often 
 notice drawn up beneath the portico of the small stuccoed palace 
 facing him, a pair-horse victoria, with a cocked-hatted and plumed 
 chasseur seated on the box beside the Russian coachman. The 
 sole occupant is a tall [elderly officer in the undress uniform of 
 the Prussian foot guards — a blue tunic with silver buttons and 
 epaulettes and red facings, half hidden beneath the ample folds 
 of a military cloak — who touches his spiked helmet in reply 
 to the salute of the sentries as he is driven rapidly off. This 
 officer is the German Emperor. 
 
 Wilhelm, King of Prussia by Divine right and hereditary 
 succession, and Emperor of Germany by the astuteness of the 
 able men with whom he has known how to surround himself, 
 the power of the army which he has made it his life-long business 
 to foster and discipline, and the welding together of diverging 
 national interests by the flame of patriotism enkindled by the
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISER. 249 
 
 war with France, was born at the palace Unter den Linden, 
 now occupied by the Imperial Crown Prince, on the 22nd March, 
 1797 ; the year that witnessed the death of Friedrich Wilhelm 
 II., the cession of the left bank of the Rhine to France by the 
 treaty of Campo Formio, and the surrender of Mayence. His 
 father was that half-hearted martinet, Friedrich Wilhelm III., 
 then Crown Prince of Prussia, and his mother, the Queen 
 Luisa Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia, commonly known as the 
 beautiful Queen Luisa, who it is pretended died of a broken 
 heart at witnessing the havoc wrought upon her country by the 
 troops of the first Napoleon. This royal couple had formed the 
 resolution of putting to shame the prevalent P>ench fashions by 
 having "a. domestic German household," and passed much of 
 their time at their country seat of Paretz in the Mark of Bran- 
 denburg, living in rustic simplicity, and feasting on the national 
 East Prussian dish, grey peas and salted meat. At Paretz the 
 future Emperor, who had been baptized Friedrich Wilhelm 
 Ludwig, spent much of his early childhood in company with his 
 brothers Friedrich Wilhelm and Friedrich Carl and his sister 
 Charlotte, afterwards the wife of Nicholas of Russia. As a 
 child the stalwart warrior of later years was of a weakly con- 
 stitution and had such delicate health as to cause the Oueen 
 great anxiety for his life. In an address to his generals on his 
 accession to the throne, dated the 8th January, 1861, he says: 
 " I never expected to survive my dear brother. In my youth I 
 was so much the weaker that according to the laws of Nature 
 there was no prospect of my succeeding to the ancestral throne, 
 hence I looked for the work of my life in the service of the 
 Prussian army, and devoted myself to it with perfect love and 
 constancy, thinking that I should thus best fulfil the duties of 
 a Prussian Prince to his King and country." 
 
 The military spirit here indicated was inborn, and in his case the 
 child was truly father to the man. His royal sire aspired to be an 
 educational reformer, and his mother was an ardent admirer of 
 Pestalozzi, so a scheme of instruction was quickly drawn up for 
 the children, and the Prince commenced his studies under the 
 direction of Privy-Councillor Delbruck and Professor Reimann. 
 But the seeds that took firmest root were those sown by Cor- 
 porals Bennstein and Kleri, assisted perhaps by " Corporal 
 Schlague," in 1803 when, as a Christmas gift, he donned 
 the red dolman of the Ziethen hussars, and was presented 
 to the Oueen with his elder brother and his cousin Fried- 
 rich, as one of the three youngest recruits in the Prussian 
 army. We are told that at a subsequent period the Prince 
 studied the art of war under Scharnhorst and Knesbeck, law 
 under Savigny, philosophy under Ritter and Ancillon, and the 
 fine arts under Schenkel and Rauch. The first two might justly 
 feel proud of their pupil, though his aspirations have not been
 
 250 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 confined to shining in arms alone. Emulous probably of the 
 Great Friedrich, who wrote verses and played on the flute, 
 Prince Wilhelm, at the mature age of forty-three, produced a 
 poem. It is called '" Der Obcr-Rhein," and in it the royal author 
 after expressing the anxiety of Germany to regain her lost 
 possessions on the further bank of the river, says, prophetically 
 enough, to the people of Alsace and Lorraine, " Should you be 
 so lost to honour as not to feel the bondage you suffer, then 
 we will force you to do your duty. If you will not be Germans, 
 at least your children shall be, and they will rejoice that they 
 have overcome their own fathers !" 
 
 The idyllic tranquillity of Paretz was disturbed by the war 
 with France. After the battle of Jena the young princes were 
 hurried from place to place to escape capture. On New Year's 
 Day, 1807, the King joined them at Konigsberg, and there 
 Prince Wilhelm at the age of ten received from his father his 
 first commission, as ensign, in the foot guards. The return of 
 tranquillity which followed the Peace of Tilsit was marked on 
 his part by study and constant practice in regimental duty with 
 the garrison at Konigsberg. At the close of the year he received 
 his lieutenancy, and the following spring the Queen, writing 
 to her father, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, says : 
 " Our son Wilhelm will turn out, if I am not much mistaken, 
 like his father — simple, honest, and intelligent. He also re- 
 sembles him most of all, but will not, I fancy, be so handsome." 
 The royal family returned to Berlin in December, 1809, and on 
 the 19th July following, the Queen died at Hohenzieritz. 
 During the period of preparation which preceded the resumption 
 of hostilities against Napoleon, Prince Wilhelm was actively 
 engaged in field manoeuvres and various military duties. In 
 18 13 he left Berlin, a captain on his first campaign, and under- 
 went his baptism of fire at Mannheim, when the allies crossed 
 the Rhine in the teeth of the French batteries, on the ist of 
 January, 18 14. At Bar-sur-Aube he gained the cross of St. 
 George of Russia and the Iron Cross of Prussia by personal 
 gallantry. After entering Paris with the allies, he crossed over 
 to London in company with his father and brother. In 18 18, 
 a week after the celebration of his twenty-first birthday, he 
 became a major-general, and from that hour his v^hole energies, 
 time and ambition were given to the improvement of the army. 
 Organization, drill, arms and uniforms all came under his notice, 
 and from the most elaborate scheme of mobilisation to the 
 right number of buttons for a soldier's tunic, nothing was 
 beyond his solicitude. 
 
 On the nth June, 1829, Prince Wilhelm married Princess 
 Maria Luisa Augusta Catherina of Saxe- Weimar, the future 
 recipient of countless pious telegrams. In 1840 the King, his 
 father, died, and his brother ascended the throne as Friedrich
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISER. 2$ I 
 
 Wilhelm IV., a title for which many of his contemporaries, 
 from his royal habit of fuddling himself with champagne, sub- 
 stituted that of " King Clicquot." The new monarch, who 
 had been married seventeen years, was childless, and Prince 
 Wilhelm, recognized as heir-presumptive, was created Prince 
 of Prussia, and made Governor of Pomerania. The " Gamasch 
 Soldat," imbued with the principles of military absolutism, was 
 looked upon with fear and suspicion by the advanced party, 
 and when the outbreak of the P'rench Revolution of 1848 set all 
 Europe in a blaze, he found it expedient to effect a retreat to 
 England. Writing of him at this period, Varnhagen says : " It 
 is not merely in these days of riot that he has revealed his 
 military haughtiness, his thirst for retaliation, his wish to crush 
 the people by means of the soldiery, his contempt for all civic 
 rights, his ambition to consolidate the principles of authority 
 by the shedding of blood. This language has been continually 
 in his mouth for months past." The Sturm and Drang 
 paroxysm that convulsed the Prussian capital during those 
 memorable March days, when the stones of the Friedrichstadt 
 were reddened with the blood of slaughtered burghers, and 
 when the King from his palace windows bowed reluctant 
 homage to the corpses of the victims, passed over, and, by the 
 influence of the minister Camphausen, the Prince returned in 
 June, and took his seat in the Diet as member for Wirsitz. His 
 military duties prevented his appearing more than once in that 
 very heterogeneous assembly, and he soon found more congenial 
 work in quelling the insurrection that broke out the following 
 year in the Grand Duchy of Baden, under Mieroslawski and 
 Sigel, afterwards an American general. 
 
 Baden and the Palatinate tranquillized in approved military 
 fashion, and short shrift given to such of the insurgent leaders as 
 fell into his hands, the Prince hastened back to Berlin to receive 
 his reward in the shape of the Government of Westphalia and the 
 Rhenish provinces. He entered upon his duties with ardour, 
 " going about everywhere, making speeches, teaching everybody 
 his business, and laying down rules and regulations for all. Each 
 has his dose, Catholic and Protestant clergy, public functionaries, 
 burgomasters, merchants, manufacturers, members of the Land- 
 tag, savants, and especially general officers and soldiers, but 
 he is quite different in style to the King ; no point, no warmth, 
 no emotion in his addresses. They are all dry, pedantic, and 
 invariably disagreeable." The solution of the Hesse-Cassel 
 difficulty at Olmutz in 1850, prevented the war between Austria 
 and Prussia that King William was destined " under Provi- 
 dence" to bring to such a fortunate conclusion sixteen years 
 later. In 1857 the malady of the reigning monarch, whose 
 drunken habits had shattered his mind, and who at state dinners 
 was sometimes guilty of such breaches of etiquette as washing
 
 252 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 his face in his soup, became too pronounced for further con- 
 cealment, and Prince Wilhelm was appointed Regent. His first 
 step was to place Mantcuffel at the head of the War Office, 
 and shortly afterwards he made Moltke Chief of the Great 
 General Staff. On the 6th November of the following year he 
 took the constitutional oath, and pronounced peace and money to 
 be the prime necessities of the country^ but after the Italian 
 war he grew anxious, made von Roon War Minister, and harped 
 upon the need of reorganizing the army, declaring in presence 
 of the French ambassador that " he would never consent to 
 lose one square foot of German soil," and thereby to a certain 
 <ixtent anticipating the historic utterance of M. Jules Favre. 
 
 On the 2nd January, 1861, King Clicquot died, and the present 
 sovereign became ruler de jure as well as de facto. By the 
 month of July the cabinet was able to declare the new army 
 organisation complete, the popular answer to which was the 
 pistol shot fired against the King by the student Oscar Becker at 
 Baden-Baden. On the occasion of his coronation at Konigsberg, 
 on the 1 8th October, shortly after his return from the Com- 
 piegne fetes, he assembled the representatives of both Houses of 
 the Landtag, and said to them authoritatively, " The rulers of 
 Prussia receive their crowns from God. I will then to-morrow 
 take the crown from the Lord's table and set it on my head. 
 This signifies the kingdom by God's grace, and therein lies the 
 sacredness of the crown which is inviolable. I know that you 
 so understand the ceremony which I have summoned you to 
 witness. The crown is now surrounded by new institutions, and 
 you are by them appointed to advise. You will give me your 
 counsel and I will hear it." To hear did not mean to obey, for 
 with the aid of Otto von Bismarck, whom he summoned from 
 Paris to take the portfolio of foreign affairs and the presidency 
 of the council, he at once began that struggle with the chambers 
 on the subject of supplies which might have terminated in the 
 same manner as that of Charles the First with his parliament, 
 had Prussia but produced its Hampden. The fortunate outcome 
 of the Schleswig-Holstein war in 1864 prevented a crisis, though 
 the duchies once dismembered the old work of money-squeezing 
 and drilling was pushed on, the object of the minister being the 
 supreme command of Germany. It was a difficult task to per- 
 suade King Wilhelm to follow a new and audacious external 
 policy. Brought up in the severest and most exclusive notions 
 of legitimacy, prepared by his education and his position as a 
 younger brother to wield the sabre rather than the sceptre, and 
 to command an army rather than to rule a kingdom, a patriot 
 in a certain sense, but a Prussian before a German, full of super- 
 stitious respect for his royal dignity and for that of his brothers 
 and cousins, it was no easy task to win him over to the bold 
 policy of his Prime Minister. In 1866, however, all being in
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISEP. 253 
 
 readiness, war was declared against Austria, and the King left 
 Berlin at the end of June, joined the army under Prince 
 Friedrich Carl, shared in the advance of the Prussian troops, and 
 witnessed Benedek's last stand at Koniggriitz, from the heights 
 of Dub. Peace was signed at the end of September, the King 
 re-entered Berlin at the head of the victorious army, the 
 Landtag after granting a bill of indemnity, adopted the annexa- 
 tion of Hanover, Hesse, Nassau, and Frankfurt, whereby the 
 kingdom of Prussia was redeemed from the opprobrium of 
 resembling " a pair of braces," and the task of military organi- 
 sation and absorption was reserved. In 1867 King Wilhelm was 
 present at the Paris Exhibition and was lodged in the Tuileries, 
 for the subsequent destruction of which by the Communards he 
 may be said to have been indirectly responsible. On this occasion 
 he was entertained by the Paris municipality, and when Baron 
 Hausmann received him on the perron of the Hotel de Ville, 
 he naively remarked, in reply to the ofificial address, that he had 
 not been to Paris since 181 5 (when he entered it with the allied 
 armies), and found it very much changed. 
 
 A lull preceded the great storm ushered in by the candidature 
 of Prince Leopold for the Spanish crown and the real or pretended 
 insult offered'by Count Benedetti at Ems in 1870. Arrangements 
 for war w^ere made by the King during his journey back to Berlin, 
 where his son, von Roon, and Moltke were awaiting him, though 
 so little was the long-looked-for contest with France anticipated 
 at that particular juncture that the heads of sections of the Great 
 General Staff were mostly on leave. " I was in Switzerland with 
 my wife," says one of them, " when a telegraphic command — 
 ' Return at once. — Moltke,' reached me. I set off instantly, and 
 drove direct from the Berlin station with my luggage to the Chief 
 of the General Staff. My colleagues also arrived at the same 
 hour. We sat down to the maps at about half-past seven that 
 evening, by nine the war was planned, and we could go home 
 comfortably." Unter den Linden was black with surging crowds, 
 and the King was obliged again and again to appear and speak 
 from the palace window. The people would have carried 
 Bismarck on their shoulders from the palace to his house if he 
 would only have allowed it. The " Wacht am Rhein " was sung 
 for the first time, and the exhausted King might possibly have 
 had no peace that night had not a voice exclaimed, " Gentlemen, 
 his Majesty has still work to do, let us go home." " Home," 
 was the answer, and the tide of humanity rolled away, " Heil 
 dir im Siegerkranz " resounding above their heads. 
 
 On the anniversary of Queen Luisa's death the King opened 
 the North German Reichstag, and the day the French crossed 
 the frontier at Saarbruck found him reinstituting the order of 
 the Iron Cross. A million of men were soon under their helmets, 
 and he proceeded to Mayence and thence to Foulquemont,
 
 254 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 commanding the First Army in person at the battle of Vionville. 
 He was present at Gravelotte, and before lying down to rest 
 dictated to Bismarck his famous despatch to Queen Augusta. 
 Sedan and its memorable interview followed, and the King then 
 pushed on to Paris, installing himself at Versailles on the 15th 
 October. December brought the deputation from the Father- 
 land requesting him to assume the title of Emperor as a 
 Christmas gift; and the bombardment of Paris. On the i8th 
 January, 1S71, he was proclaimed Emperor of Germany in the 
 Grande Galerie des Glaces in the chateau of Louis XIV., an 
 atonement, it may be, for the architectural blemish which led 
 to the ravage of the Palatinate. The sortie towards Buzenval, 
 the armistice to allow of the general elections, the entry of the 
 German troops into Paris, the signature of a peace involving 
 the cession of Alsace and Lorraine, the Emperor's reception at 
 Frankfurt, and the triumphal entry into Berlin, are fresh in the 
 recollection of all. Since that time the Emperor Wilhelm has 
 been actively, if quietly, advancing the doctrine of absolutism, 
 of which he is the apostle and pontiff. He would seem, too, to 
 be imbued with a belief in the infallibility of his Imperial 
 attributes if the injunction imputed to him in the following 
 anecdote was uttered in a serious and not in a playful sense. A 
 summer or two ago, a young married couple sojourning some- 
 where on the banks of the Lake of Constance, visited the island 
 of Mainau, where the Emperor was residing with his son-in-law 
 the Grand Duke of Baden. On their departure, so furious a 
 storm came on that their boatman found it impossible to proceed, 
 and they were forced, after much buffeting from the waves, to 
 return to the island. The Emperor seeing their plight, met 
 them on the beach and ordering steam to be got up on his little 
 iron steamer, placed it at their service. The lady, alarmed at 
 her first encounter with the waves, demurred somewhat at in- 
 trusting herself again to their mercies. " Do not be alarmed," 
 said the Emperor, "you can embark without any fear, the 
 steamer will carry you safely across. She bears my name, 
 the Emperor Wilhelm, and that ought to reassure you." 
 
 The Emperor is above the average height, few men in his army 
 overtop him, though the Mark and Pomerania are known as 
 " the land of tall men," and his stature lends him an aspect of 
 dignity which is lacking to features with which all are more or 
 less familiar. His head is large and rests on shoulders pro- 
 portionately broad. His grey eyes tinged with yellow gleam 
 beneath his shaggy eyebrows, and with his bristling moustache 
 and long wiry whiskers give to him at the first glance some- 
 what of a cat-like aspect. The chin rounds off abruptly, the 
 moustache hides the smile, the lips are thin and slightly com- 
 pressed, and the protuberances above the temples indicate a 
 man of sudden resolutions. The eye small, steel-grey, and
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISER. 255 
 
 bright, twinkles coldly from behind the thick lashes that at 
 times almost entirely veil it. As a French writer has observed, 
 " One fails to trace in this strange physiognomy either the in- 
 trepidity of the warrior, the masterly glance of the general, 
 the far-sightedness of the statesman, the shrewdness of the 
 diplomatist, or the kindliness of the sovereign. For my part, all I 
 could see in this old man of seventy-five was a colonel grown grey 
 under harness, whose vigour and activity had caused his retirement 
 to be postponed." If he has the appearance he has also the 
 habits and the brusgtierie of an old soldier. When General von 
 Voights Rhetz was the military representative of the government 
 before the parliamentary committee, the Emperor, displeased at 
 his management, summoned him to the palace, and demanded 
 in that snuffling intonation fashionable amongst Cromwell's 
 puritans, which distinguishes him, and in which his flatterers 
 find a resemblance to the tones of Friedrich the Great, " See 
 here, general. Why do you allow those pettifoggers and 
 screech-owls (schreier) of the Reichstag to meddle with my 
 Army Bill .■' " He is sorely ruffled by what he regards as civilian 
 presumption and impertinence. Before all things he is pre-emi- 
 nently a soldier ; from his earliest youth he has devoted 
 himself to his profession, and has spent his life in uniform. It 
 was he who when on a visit to Weimar made the acquaintance 
 of Dreyse, afterwards privy commissioner, and was the first 
 Prussian commander to recognize the importance of securing 
 such a man. To him, too, the introduction of the needle-gun 
 into the army and the development of the North German reserve 
 forces is mainly due. His habits smack of the camp and the 
 barrack-room, whilst the tradition of economy that has obtained 
 in the house of Hohenzollern since the days of Kurfiirst Fried- 
 rich the First, and the greatest usurer of his epoch, finds especial 
 favour in his eyes. He lives in the same style as he did twenty 
 years ago, sleeping upon a camp-bedstead in a plainly furnished 
 room, and finding his chief relaxation in the pleasures of the 
 table, driving out continually, and until quite recently, aiding 
 his impaired digestion by horse exercise. This does not hinder 
 him from working several hours a day under the direction of his 
 prime minister. Not only is he able to sit at his desk day and 
 night, but he can still look on court ceremonies, state dinners, 
 balls, concerts, and especially field day.s, reviews and hunting 
 parties as relaxations. 
 
 The Emperor's study is on the ground floor at the corner of 
 the palace looking on the Opern-platz, and whenever he is in 
 Berlin, almost at the first flush of morn he maybe seen standing 
 in the recess of one of its windows. Here he transacts most of 
 his business, and gives audience to ministers and generals. In 
 front of this window rises Ranch's noble statue of Friedrich the 
 Great astride his bronze charger, towering above his worthy
 
 256 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 companions in arms, and seeming, as a French writer suggests, to 
 be showing his successors the road to victory. Beyond are the 
 Academy of Arts and the University ; to the right the classic 
 guard-house, and the trophy-overlaid facade of the Arsenal. 
 This window, says M. Victor Tissot,'is historical. In 1848 bands 
 of insurgents halted in front of it shouting, " Death to the 
 Prince Royal ! " From here the King heard the flourish of 
 trumpets which celebrated his accession, witnessed the grand 
 defile of the standards of the regiments formed in accordance 
 with the military law of 1861, and announced with pride to the 
 assembled crowds the first victory gained by his son the Crown 
 Prince, namely that near Skalitz over the Austrians. It was in 
 this apartment moreover that the decisions were arrived at which 
 led to the conflict with Austria and paved the way for the 
 foundation of the German Empire. 
 
 On entering his study in the morning the Emperor proceeds 
 first of all to the side window which opens on to a veranda in front 
 of the Opera-house and consults a calendar hung up here for 
 his especial use. Each leaf is headed with a text from the Bible, 
 or a proverb or quotation from the works of some German 
 poet or philosopher, while underneath the date the more notable 
 events of Konig Wilhelm's reign of which it happens to be the 
 anniversary are inscribed. The first visitor the Emperor receives 
 is his doctor, who prescribes the regimen he is to observe during 
 the day. His work table stands close to the window on the 
 side of the palace facing the Linden, and arranged on a shelf above 
 are miniatures and photographs of his children and grand- 
 children, together with a few personal souvenirs, principally 
 warlike in character. On the walls of the apartment hang full- 
 length portraits of the Empress and the Russian Czar, and at 
 one end of it is the bronze statue of the sergeant-major who 
 planted the Prussian standard in the Diippel redoubt. Ranged 
 round the room on pedestals are the marble busts of Friedrich 
 the Great, Friedrich Wilhelm III., the Emperor's sister, the 
 Czarina Alexandra Feodorowna, and the Princess Charlotte of 
 Prussia. In the recesses of the windows are the statuettes of 
 the Emperors Nicholas and Alexander II., in Cossack and hussar 
 uniforms, with medallions of the Emperors Ferdinand and 
 Franz Josef of Austria. The sofa is covered Vv'ith maps, papers, 
 drawings, and books, still the ordinary library of the Emperor 
 occupies merely a single shelf, being composed simply of a 
 Bible, a book of psalms, a state and court almanack, a history 
 of the different regiments of the Prussian army, the military 
 regulations and orders, and Prince Bismarck's speeches. A couple 
 of tables occupy the centre of the apartment on one of which 
 are laid out reports, telegrams, plans, petitions, and newspapers 
 — in a word the working materials of the Emperor ; while on 
 the other all the more highly-prized Christmas and birthday
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISER. 257 
 
 gifts from the members of his own familv are placed. There, 
 also, are albums bound by the Crown Prince — who learnt the 
 crafts both of printer and bookbinder — weapons of ebony car\^ed 
 by Prince Friedrich Carl, and a cigar case embroidered by the 
 hands of the Empress. One little round table, the carved 
 pedestal of which is composed of a group of grenadiers, was 
 presented to the Emperor by Prince Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. 
 It was formed out of the lime-tree beneath which Prince Louis 
 Ferdinand of Prussia fell mortally wounded at Saalfeld in 1806. 
 Summoned to surrender by some French cavalry soldiers who 
 were pursuing him, he replied whilst defending himself, " A 
 Prussian prince never surrenders," and the next moment fell 
 covered with wounds.^ 
 
 About two o'clock in the afternoon, if his health admits of 
 it, the Emperor takes his accustomed hourly drive in the Thier- 
 garten, if not in his favourite Russian vehicle, in a small open 
 carriage. He is invariably in military uniform and wearing the 
 conventional spiked helmet, and is nearly always unaccompanied. 
 A few years ago his commanding figure might often be seen 
 among the foot-passengers in the Linden promenade, but now 
 his walks are exceedingly rare, and he scarcely ever stirs out 
 excepting for a ride or a drive. 
 
 On the Emperor's birthday the city blossoms with banners 
 waving not only from the public buildings, but above numerous 
 private houses as well. At daybreak a corps of trumpeters mount 
 to the roof of the palace and blow a prolonged choral in the 
 Emperor's honour, conveying the idea, as a cynical Frenchman 
 suggests, that the music comes from the clouds like that of the 
 angels at the birth of our Saviour. The churches are filled with 
 political and municipal functionaries, and the Academies of 
 Science and Art, the University and the Schools celebrate the 
 day with speeches and congratulatory addresses. In the 
 morning a procession of state carriages with eagles blazoned on 
 their panels, hammer-cloths, and footboards rattles up to the 
 palace — in front of which a large crowd is certain to be assem- 
 bled — conveying the members of the Imperial family with their 
 presents and their congratulations. This is the only day in the 
 year on which the Emperor indulges in the freedom of an un- 
 dress coat up to the hour of nine o'clock. After he has opened 
 his despatches and letters and laid them aside to be replied to, 
 he repairs to the colour-room of the palace to receive the con- 
 gratulations of the various court officials. Then with closed 
 doors he receives those of his family, after which he belongs to 
 the outside world and the grand reception commences. The 
 generals arrive in a body headed by old Field Marshal von 
 Wrangel, who by virtue of seniority is the recognised mouth- 
 piece of the army on these occasions. Here is the courtier-like 
 
 * Voyage au Pays des Milliards, par M. Victor Tissot. 
 
 S
 
 258 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 little speech of which the nonogenarian warrior delivered himself 
 on the Emperor Wilhelm's seventy-ninth birthday : — 
 
 " Your Imperial Majesty is the intrepid leader in battle, the 
 never-vanquished commander in Europe. We all pray that 
 God, in His mercy, may spare your Imperial Majesty through 
 long years yet to come in full vigour of life, a blessing to 
 Germany and tlie promoter of her welfare." 
 
 The Emperor has his display of birthday presents like any 
 other German haus-vatcr, the gifts which come from all parts of 
 the country being laid out in what is termed the blue report- 
 room of the palace, which on this day is certain to be balmy 
 with the scent of countless flowers, however inclement the 
 season may chance to be. Tables, chairs, and window-sills are 
 crowded in fact with flowers in baskets and pots, with bouquets 
 and wreaths, including such floral triumphs as nosegays a couple 
 of yards in diameter, arranged in the form of a stool with a seat 
 of violets and a long hanging fringe of roses, or resembling a 
 vast star-shaped cushion composed entirely of violets, and 
 having an imperial crown in white camellias reposing thereon. 
 All tJie available room in the spacious apartment becomes occu- 
 pied, still these floral offerings continue to arrive with the cards 
 of the donors attached, and the weary attendants receive them 
 in mute despair. The gardens of Sans Souci and Babelsberg 
 send their choice " firstlings of the year," and many private 
 gentlemen despatch fine specimens of their horticultural successes, 
 including early fruit, and such homely matters as young green 
 peas and new potatoes. Berlin haus-fraiien likewise send tarts 
 and cakes, and Easter eggs of vast dimensions, not even forget- 
 ting the national sausage. It is impossible to enumerate all 
 the Berlin wool-work, the cushions, pillows, blotting-pads, paper 
 ba.skets, screens, clocks, inkstands, paper weights, military caps 
 and slippers, that cause the tables on which they are laid out to 
 resemble a stall at some fancy fair. Congratulations, moreover, 
 come by telegraph in such numbers from all parts of the world 
 that the telegraph office has to arrange them in packets, only 
 telegrams from crowned heads and princely personages being 
 handed separately to the Emperor. 
 
 A second display is arranged in the Empress's apartments, 
 the red audience chamber being set apart for gifts from 
 children, grand-children, and other members of the Imperial 
 family. Here, in addition to choice bronzes, elaborately-carved 
 brackets and statuettes, Gothic triptychs, renaissance candelabra, 
 portraits, and the like, are more interesting, if less costly, trifles 
 wrought by the hands of the givers, such as Berlin wool-work 
 embroidered with gold by the Crown Princess, and a screen 
 painted with flowers by the Empress, whilst the drawings and 
 birthday letters of the grandchildren have a side table to 
 themselves.
 
 WILHELM I., KONIG AND KAISKR, 259 
 
 The seventieth anniversary of the Emperor's mihtary career 
 came round on New Year's clay, 1877, when a deputation com- 
 posed of all the commandincT officers of the army, with the Crown 
 Prince at their head, presented him- with a golden sword of antique 
 shape having the names of all the battles in which the Emperor 
 had taken part engraved on the blade. The Crown Prince con- 
 gratulated his father in the name of the army, addressing him in 
 high-flown language as — " Most powerful Emperor, most gracious 
 Emperor, King, and Lord of War," and characterising him as 
 the type of all soldierly virtues, and the creator of that military 
 organization which had raised Germany to its former greatness. 
 He then wound up by saying that — " To-day the German 
 nation, strong in arms, hopeful and united, looks up to the 
 Emperor and Lord of War with grateful love and lo\alty, and 
 prays God to preserve your Majesty for many years — the pro- 
 tector of peace, the guardian of the P""atherland ! " 
 
 In his reply the Emperor said, truly enough, that Prussia had 
 become what she was principally through the army, whose 
 deeds, he remarked, were enrolled imperishably in the annals of 
 the world's history. 
 
 The Emperor's consort, the " dear Augusta " of his pious tele- 
 grams, was born on the 30th September, 181 1, and on the nth 
 June, 1829, she accompanied Prince Wilhelm of Prussia to 
 Berlin as his bride. Young, witty, and beautiful, her praise was 
 sung by poets, and all Berlin admired her. Grand-daughter of 
 Carl August of Weimar, her proudest boast is that she is a 
 pupil of Goethe. Brought up at the feet of Herder in the 
 traditions of that intellectual court, she has ever shown herself a 
 conscientious patroness of art, science, and literature, even to the 
 extent of surrounding herself with their professors. Humboldt, 
 Dieffenbach, and Ranch were her friends, and when she became 
 Oueen she drew to the court Berthold Auerbach, Werder, and 
 Gustav zu Putlitz, whilst no important literary or artistic work is 
 brought out without some expression of her interest. French 
 literature with which she became familiar during her early life, 
 still retains a certain hold upon her. She was able to exercise 
 but little influence over P'riedrich Wilhelm HL, but on the acces- 
 sion of her husband's elder brother, Friedrich Wilhelm IV., who 
 highly appreciated her intellectual qualities, she became the 
 mainspring of the Prussian court. Her ultra-aristocratic spirit 
 could not understand that the royal will should submit to that 
 of the people, and to her is usually attributed the most obstinate 
 resistance to the withdrawal of the troops from Berlin in 1848. 
 Her desire for pompous display at the coronation ceremony in 
 1 86 1 is well known, and on that occasion every gesture bespoke 
 satisfied ambition. Nevertheless she does not sympathise with 
 the warlike aspirations of her husband, and set herself against 
 the contests with Denmark and Austria. Opposed to Bismarck, 
 
 S 2
 
 26o 
 
 KERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 who is credited with having bestowed upon her the nickname 
 of " the muse of Weimar," she is suspected of favouring the 
 Ultramontanes. This opposition to the Chancellor places her 
 at the head of the " Court " party, just as the Crown Princess is 
 at the head of what is known as the " English" party. In this 
 position the Empress played an important part in the Arnini 
 affair, and the Vossisclie Zcitiing went so far as to announce that 
 she was the mysterious personage spoken of in a letter from 
 
 THE EMPRESS AL'GUSTA. 
 
 Arnim to von Bulow. It has, moreover, been asserted that she 
 holds some of the famous abstracted despatches. On the other 
 hand, Count Arnim has emphatically denied that there had been 
 any intercourse whatever between the Empress and himself on 
 political or religious subjects. 
 
 The Empress showed to advantage during the late war, 
 although at the outset she is said to have been strongly opposed 
 to it. A story is told that when the King announced to her in 
 the garden at Coblentz, that the struggle was imminent, she
 
 WII.HELM I., KONIG AND KAISER. 261 
 
 fell upon her knees and besought him to turn a deaf car to 
 J^jisniarck's suggestions. A month afterwards she re-entered 
 Berlin, then swarming with troops and cannon, and penned her 
 patriotic appeal to the women of Germany to send succours to 
 the Rliine. She herself did much to relieve the vanquished, 
 suppl}'ing the French prisoners with wine, tobacco, warm clothing, 
 and other comforts, and in this good cause contracting debts, 
 for her budget is a very limited one, and the Emperor is not 
 above saving the cost of a cannon or two out of her allowance. 
 Her benevolence during the war re-instated her in the half- 
 averted affection of the people, whilst the ambition she has been 
 reproached with can hardly soar beyond the Imperial Crown she 
 now wears. 
 
 Tall and imposing in appearance, she has the same upright 
 carriage as her husband, and though in reality delicate, manages 
 to undergo much exertion. Her habits are simple. The first 
 thing in the morning she listens to scientific works read to her 
 by Ahvina Frommann, her reader, a relic of the intellectual 
 epoch of Weimar. Audiences are then given from twelve till 
 one in an apartment where a marble angel stands by what are 
 known as the petition windows, so called because people come 
 and hold up petitions in front of them in order that the 
 Empress may see them. Close by is the balcony from which she 
 communicated the stirring war despatches to the crowd. The 
 audiences over, she daily visits some benevolent institution, 
 hospitals constantly, and also schools, and notably the peoples' 
 schools of cookery. She then allows herself a short drive in the 
 Thiergarten, where as already noted, she also takes several 
 turns on foot, attended by a lady-in-waiting and one or two 
 footmen. After dinner comes more reading, or perhaps, if a 
 classic piece is performed, a visit to the theatre. Otherwise the 
 windows of the tea-room glowing with light show that she is 
 presiding over one of those small gatherings of intellectual men 
 and women in which she delights, and in which she is well able 
 to hold her own, being no mean speaker, as she has often shown 
 on public occasions.
 
 THE CROWN PRINCE OF PRUSSIA. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN. 
 
 TALL and stalwart, with fair complexion, kindly blue eyes, 
 and flowing beard of yellowish brown, " Unser Fritz," whose 
 familiar nickname was taken from a song much in vogue amongst 
 the soldiers, is a splendid specimen of the typical Teuton. The 
 mildness of his aspect, which even the spiked helmet fails to dis- 
 guise, is borne out by his character. Those who know him best 
 look upon him as a pacific prince, incapable of enmity, and op- 
 posed to all ideas of conquest. He was born on the i8th Octo- 
 ber, 1831, and christened in full Friedrich Willielm Nicolas Carl. 
 Like all Prussian princes of the second branch, he was at once 
 destined for a military life, though his mother's influence has 
 always been exerted to interest him in more pacific matters. At 
 eight years of age he began to drill with two comoanions of like 
 tender years, and courtly scribes relate with pride how, once 
 when it came on to rain as he was practising the goose-step at
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN. 263 
 
 Babelsberg, a too zealous footman brought him an umbrella and 
 had to retire abashed at the withering rebuke, " Did you ever 
 see a Prussian helmet under an umbrella ? " He entered the ist 
 regiment of foot guards when he was twelve years old, still he 
 was trained in the arts of peace as well as those of war, being 
 crammed with all the " ologies " as onlya German can be crammed, 
 by Colonel von Unruh and Dr. Curtius. In accordance, too, 
 with the custom that every scion of the Hohenzollerns should 
 have a trade at his fingers' ends he w^as instructed in the art and 
 mystery of type-setting in the Royal Berlin Printing-office, where, 
 flatterers say, he was quicker at case than anyone else of his age 
 and standing. 
 
 In 1850 the Prince went to the University of Bonn, after which 
 Moltke became his adjutant and instructor. His visit to Balmoral 
 in 1856 and its result in the shape of his marriage with the 
 Princess Royal of England in the Chapel Royal of Saint James's 
 on the 25th January, 1858, found favour in the eyes of the Ber- 
 linese, for there was an old tradition current that good luck was 
 to come to the country with an English princess, who should 
 share the Prussian crown. Though his wedding gift from his 
 father was a pair of general's epaulettes, from this time forward 
 he evinced a decided interest in the arts of peace, and although 
 present during the operations of the allied forces in Schleswig- 
 Holstein he simply played the part of a spectator. 
 
 The Hohenzollerns are, however, in their own belief at any 
 rate, heaven-born generals, and in 1866 the Prince was called 
 upon to show his skill under the mentorship of that grim old 
 bulldog, Steinmetz. He had to take the command of the Second 
 Army at Breslau, and protect Silesia. On the 23rd June he 
 began his advance into Bohemia, and after some hard fighting, 
 reached the position prescribed by Moltke, on the banks of the 
 Elbe, by the ist July, and on the following afternoon effected 
 the junction with the First Army on the field of Koniggratz which 
 decided the fate of the day. The King, advancing^to meet him, 
 clasped him in his arms, and taking from his own breast the 
 order " pour le Merite," gave it to his son, saying, " Take it, 
 you have earned it." The legacy of Carl Emil, the dead Ger- 
 manicus of the Brandenburg Mark, the highest and proudest of 
 Prussian military decorations, lay in the Crown Prince's hands. 
 The King afterwards held a review of the troops at Austerlitz, 
 and when the march past took place, rode with drawn sword at 
 their head. As he conducted them past the Prince, their com- 
 mander-in-chief, and General von Steinmetz, he lowered his 
 sword by way of salute, saying at the same time — " The King to 
 his commanding generals." ^ 
 
 The Prince made a trip to Paris in 1867 to be present at the 
 
 ^ Die Manner der neuen deuischen Zeit, von A. E. Brachvogel.
 
 264 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 distribution of prizes at the International Exhibition, and again 
 in 1869, after the opening of the Suez Canal by the Empress 
 Eugenie. His next and latest visit to the "capital of civiliza- 
 tion " was destined to be less favourably appreciated. In the war 
 of 1870 he took command of the South German Army, composed 
 of Prussians, Bavarians. Wurtemburgers, and Badeners at Munich, 
 on the 27th July, and on the 4th August had gained the battle 
 of Weissemberg. VVoerth followed within two days, and it was 
 whilst praising the troops for their gallant behaviour in this con- 
 flict that an enthusiastic but oblivious Bavarian observed, " Ah ! 
 if we had only had you with us in '66 we would soon have 
 thrashed those confounded Prussians!" The advance towards 
 Chalons, the bombardment of Toul, the junction with the Crown 
 Prince of Saxony's Army and the surrender of Sedan followed, 
 after which the Third Army marched on to Paris, the Prince 
 making Versailles his head-quarters. Here on the 27th Septem- 
 ber he distributed the first iron crosses, here, too, he was created 
 by the King a general field-marshal, and on the i8th January he 
 bent his knee in the Galcrie des Glaces as the first subject of the 
 new German Empire. After taking part in the negotiations for 
 peace and entering Paris once more, this time helmet on head, 
 and sword by side, he returned with the army to Berlin. 
 
 The Prinre has a genuine appreciation of literature and art, 
 and thougii he makes no pretence to rival Maecenas, he does not 
 despise the company of philosophers, artists, and poets. He 
 takes, moreover, a warm interest in all new publications, and if a 
 book strikes him will send for the author to ask him for further 
 information. The platonic solicitude which he cherishes for 
 painting, literature, and fire-engines, he extends, in a more prac- 
 tical fashion, to the corn sprouting in the furrow, and the 
 asparagus shooting up from the earth like the spike of a pickel- 
 haube at his model farm of Bornstadt near Potsdam. From here 
 he sent diff"erent specimens of his crops to the Agricultural Ex- 
 hibition at Bremen in 1874, gaining a first prize for turnips, and 
 on that occasion made a speech, of which the following is one of 
 the most striking passages : — " Who would deny that agricultural 
 prosperity benefits all classes, that its extension is indispensable 
 to the progress of civilization, and that in time of war or troubles 
 it is often agriculture alone that bids us hope for a better future ? 
 I trust that the foreign exhibitors will return to their homes with 
 the conviction that the desire to increase the development of 
 civilization in favour of a permanent peace is nowhere greater 
 and more serious than in the new German Empire." 
 
 If the Prince who utters such sentiments as these had that 
 ascendency in the political affairs of the Empire, to which he is 
 entitled, the Fatherland would doubtless flow with milk and honey 
 and Herr Krupp have to turn his attention to forging plough- 
 shares instead of cannon. But the duo of von Moltke and von
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLEKN. 265 
 
 Bismarck has always drowned the solo of the heir to the crown, 
 and therein lies the cause of the rivalry existing between Queen 
 Augusta's son and the terrible Chancellor, a rivalry known to 
 every gossip in Berlin, and though at present smothered, destined 
 to break out in face of all at some future period. By his politi- 
 cal and religious ideas the Prince belongs to what is called 
 the liberal school. He is grand master of the Prussian free- 
 masons, and president of the Protestant Verein, and recently 
 staggered an orthodox clergyman by asking him if he did not 
 think the national church needed a little fresh air. It is antici- 
 pated, therefore, that his reign will inaugurate the liberal and 
 constitutional empire, still his father once inspired similar hopes, 
 and Pope's remarks on the claws of young lions may be borne 
 in mind. 
 
 As a general, " our Fritz " is far from enjoying the reputation of 
 his cousin the Red Prince, although he has been fortunate in all 
 his campaigns. He takes the field rather from a .sense of duty 
 than from military predilection. It is told of him that when he 
 gained the heights of Chlum, during his Bohemian campaign, 
 and saw victory everywhere around him, he turned with ill- 
 suppressed emotion to one of his staff, and pointing to the ghastly 
 battle-field below, exclaimed, " What a responsibility is incurred 
 by those who are the cause of war." The Prince is popular with 
 all who have ever served under him, wdiether high or low, by 
 reason of his kindness and affability, the great interest he takes 
 in the well-being of his troops, and his solicitude for the wounded. 
 There has never been much sympathy between the two princes, 
 and whilst Friedrich Carl is inspecting regiments, Fritz devotes 
 his time to visiting schools and hospitals. The sole attempt at 
 wit with which he is credited occurred when he was visiting one of 
 the latter. A keen wind was blowing, and when the head-surgeon 
 who was as bald as a coot, received him bare-headed in the court- 
 yard, the Prince, tapping him familiarly on the shoulder, said in 
 that pure Berlin slang, which he speaks so fluently, " Put on your 
 tile, or those two grey hairs of yours will catch cold." 
 
 Victoria has been a name of good omen to the Crown Prince, 
 in peace as well as in war. By his union with Victoria Adelaide 
 Mary Louisa, Princess Royal of Great Britain, he has become the 
 father of six children, the youngest of w^iom, however, Prince 
 Sigismund, died in 1866, just as the Crown Prince was about to 
 advance with his army into Bohemia. The eldest son, named 
 Friedrich Wilhelm, after his father, and born in 1859, early had 
 the order of the Black Eagle of Prussia, conferred on him like 
 all the princes of this house in virtue of his rank; and on attain- 
 ing his majority in January 1877, he was invested at Berlin with 
 the English Order of tne Garter. When the German troops 
 made their triumphal entry into Berlin, the young Prince accom- 
 panied them, riding on a dapple-grey pony beside his grand-
 
 266 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 father's high-stepping charger. The other offspring of this union 
 are the Princess Charlotte, Prince Heinrich, and the Princesses 
 Victoria and Sophia. 
 
 The Crown Princess takes great interest, not only in her own 
 children but in those of her future subjects, having introduced our 
 English .system of rearing them into Berlin, and founded train- 
 ing schools for nurses, at which the fact that washing is beneficial 
 and not injurious to a child, is strongly inculcated. She has also 
 endowed the city with an Art Museum, on the South Kensington 
 model. Her artistic abilities and general culture are well known, 
 but English readers are not generally aware that she has become 
 an adept in rationalism and free-thought, perhaps from continual 
 contact with the pseudo-piety of the Emperor. David Strauss, 
 the theist philosopher, was in constant correspondence with her, 
 and at his death her portrait was hung over his bed like the 
 image of a patron saint. Das Lcboi Jcsns, Das Lcbcn Voltaire, 
 Der alte mid dcr naie Glatibe, and works of a like character 
 occupy a prominent position on her bookshelves. 
 
 The literary and artistic tastes of the Princess and her husband 
 are altogether in common. If the sympathies of the Crown 
 Prince were not originally in this direction, he, like a faithful 
 husband, has adopted those of his wife. Whenever a new picture 
 is on exhibition they are among the first visitors ; whenever a 
 sale of paintings occurs they are liberal purchasers, and whenever 
 an unfortunate artist or author is to be helped their contribution is 
 always one of the earliest. While the Crown Princess shares her 
 husband's aversion to state ceremonies and pageants, her literary 
 and artistic soirees form a characteristic feature of Berlin court life. 
 They are frequented by the greatest savants, the ablest artists, and 
 the most popular authors of Germany. At her musical soirees, 
 too, the guests are not limited to officers in uniform. Civilians of 
 less imposing appearance, but of more real service to the best 
 interests of the national life, are among the most welcome, and 
 most appreciative guests. The Crown Princess, indeed, has done 
 more than anyone else to elevate and refine the tone of Berlin 
 court society, and is firm in her endeavours to subdue the pre- 
 dominant military element. Amongst the reasons alleged for the 
 coolness existing between her and Prince Bismarck is one to the 
 effect that the Chancellor would persist in appearing in her draw- 
 ing-room in full cuirassier uniform, although she professed not 
 to understand such a proceeding on the part of a civil functionary. 
 This difference of tastes has, however, been so far compromised 
 that the bellicose Chancellor now condescends to appear in a 
 black coat whenever he attends the Princess's receptions. Opposed 
 as the Princess may be to the pomp and circumstance of war, 
 there have yet been occasions when she herself has donned the 
 military uniform, notably at the parade at Haynau during the 
 Silesian manoeuvres in 1875, when, in fur cap and embroidered
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN. 
 
 267 
 
 jacket, she put herself at the head of the hussar regiment of which 
 she is the honorary colonel, and presented it to the Emperor. 
 
 THE CROSVN PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA AT THE SILESIAN MANCEUVRES. 
 
 The Crown Prince's only sister, Maria Luisa Elisabeth, is 
 the wife of Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwag, Grand Duke of Baden, 
 She is handsome in appearance, and has a great influence over 
 her father, who is extremely attached to her, as well as over her 
 husband, a somewhat ungracious-looking princeling who sees 
 only with her eyes, and seems fully to realize the fact that his 
 duchy is at the disposition of his papa-in-law at any moment the 
 latter may feel inclined to attach it. 
 
 Prince Carl, the Emperor's brother and Grand Master of the 
 Brandenburg Knights of St. John, whose palace stands in the 
 Wilhelms-strasse, closely resembles the Emperor in features, 
 though stronger and younger looking. He is not remarkable 
 for anything but his love for art ; and his palace at Glienicke near 
 Potsdam resembles a museum. His wife, born Princess Maria 
 Luisa Alexandrina of Saxe-Weimar, and sister to the Empress 
 Augusta, shares to a certain extent his artistic proclivities, 
 painting roses and lilies on marble with skill and taste ; still she 
 is chiefly interested in the brute creation, presiding over 
 several societies for the protection of animals, and devoting a 
 vast amount of time and trouble to the improvement of the
 
 268 
 
 BKRLIN UNDER THE NliW E^fPIRF.. 
 
 breeds of pij^eons which swarm at Glicnicke. Their eldest 
 (lautrhter, Princess Luisa of Prussia, the divorced wife of the 
 Landgrave of Hesse Phillipsthal, has the same tastes for art 
 and hterature, and is a well known patroness of female authors. 
 She ordinarily resides at Schloss Monbijou, a neglected oasis 
 in the heart of Berlin. 
 
 Shorter in stature than his uncle or his cousin, but broad- 
 .shouldered, deep-chested, muscular, and active, Prince Carl's only- 
 son General Field-Marshal Prince Friedrich Carl, christened by 
 his soldiers, " Prince Ahvays-in-front," but better known to the 
 world at large as the Red Prince, from his affection for the uni- 
 form of the Ziethen Hussars, looks the model of a cavalry officer. 
 His proclivities are purely military, and his whole heart and soul 
 are wrapt up in the profession of arms. Like the first Napoleon 
 
 PRINCE FRIEDRICH CARL. 
 
 e has an almost fabulous memory for names and faces, and 
 has only to inspect a garrison twice to remember every man 
 comprised in it. Grave and serious he prefers sarcasm to mirth. 
 His least estimable quality is the exaggerated notion which he 
 entertains of his princely rank and position, and which induces 
 him to insist upon the most blind and abject submission to his 
 will from all who approach him. His officers readily acknow- 
 ledge his military skill, and speak of him with unfeigned respect, 
 but he is one of those who secure admirers rather than friends, 
 and with the outside world his military exploits are his sole 
 claims to popularity.
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLEKX. 269 
 
 Born on the 20th March, 1828, Friedrich Carl showed himself 
 in early youth obstinate and unmanageable. Count Bethusy 
 was his first military instructor, and Heyni, now a court preacher, 
 his tutor, though little opportunity, it is said, was afiforded to the 
 latter to carry out his duties. When he attained the age of sixteen 
 he passed under the charge of Captain von Roon, afterwards War 
 Minister, and with him spent a couple of years at the University 
 of Bonn. He failed to get on well with his fellow-students, 
 owing to those exaggerated ideas of his self-importance already 
 noted — ideas von Roon, who was a thoroughgoing conser- 
 vative Junker, did his best to foster. A true Hohenzollern, 
 the Prince's devotions were entirely centred in the career of 
 arms, and all connected with this he learnt rapidly and well. 
 Wrangel, for whom he had at an early age conceived a great 
 reverence, was counted the first cavalry authority of his day, 
 and under his guidance the Prince, who devoted himself more 
 particularly to this arm of the service, first smelt powder in 1848 
 on that Schleswig-Holstein territory where he was to reap 
 a future crop of laurels. 
 
 The first engagement in which he took part was fought near 
 the town of Schleswig, and here his natural independence of 
 spirit showed itself, though to a good purpose. As captain on 
 the staff" he was sent by Wrangel with orders to the Royal 
 Pomeranian regiment. On reaching it he found the orders no 
 longer applicable, altered theni on his own responsibility, turned 
 the regiment against the enemy's left flank and so helped to gain 
 the day. The following year he assisted his uncle to disperse 
 the free companies in Baden and the Palatinate, and when 
 charging the so-called Polish legion at the head of some forty 
 hussars received two wounds, from one of which he is still unable 
 to lift his left arm higher than his breast. In 1854 he married 
 Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt Dessin, by whom he has had 
 three daughters and a son, Prince Friedrich Leopold. 
 
 In 1855 Friedrich Carl visited Paris, where he studied the 
 composition and tactics of the French army, and afterwards 
 wrote his famous pamphlet to show how it was to be beaten. 
 Printed at first for private circulation only this pamphlet was 
 brought out in i860 by a Frankfurt publisher, with a preface of 
 his own and the Prince's initials on the title-page, whereupon the 
 latter brought an action against the bibliophile for daring to 
 take such a liberty, and, to his amazement, lost it. Created a 
 general of cavalry at the King's coronation in 1861, he took 
 part under Wrangel in the opening of the Schleswig-Holstein 
 campaign, and on the retirement of that veteran leader became 
 general-in-chief of the allied troops. In the war of 1866 he 
 com.manded the First Army, and though displaying great skill, 
 laid himself open to the accusation of having attacked before 
 the appointed hour at Koniggratz, and thereby endangered the
 
 270 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 success of the day, through a feeling of jealousy towards his 
 cousin the Crown Prince, whose forces, then approaching, he 
 wished to deprive of all share in the victory. In the recent war 
 with France his military talents were again called into j^lay. 
 The part he took at Vionville and Saint Privat, the fall of 
 Metz which earned for him his marshal's baton, the battle of 
 Orleans, when his troops encamped around the statue of La 
 Pucelle yet decorated with votive garlands offered in hope of 
 her aid, and the campaign on the Loire against Aurelles de 
 Paladine and Chanzy, terminating in the final victory of Le 
 ]\Ians, need no recapitulation. 
 
 Since then, Cincinnatus-like. Prince Friedrich Carl has mainly 
 occupied himself in the cultivation of his cabbages, passing 
 part of every season on the little estate of Drei Linden, an off- 
 shoot from his father's property at Glicnicke, which he purchased 
 to gratify his agricultural tastes. Here, surrounded by his 
 family, he abandons his role of prince and soldier, and prunes 
 his trees and looks after his farm labourers. At Berlin he occu- 
 pies one of the upper stories of the old Schloss, and here his 
 pleasures are purely militarj', reviews and inspections supplying 
 the place of the great game of war in which he delights. This 
 uneventful life since the war has only been broken by his journey 
 to St. Petersburg in December, 1871, at the head of the German 
 deputation of the Knights of St. George to attend the festival 
 of that order. 
 
 Prince Albrecht, the Emperor's orphan nephew, and the 
 youngest of the grown princes, is tall and slender, with delicate 
 and intellectual features. His tastes are musical and he is him- 
 self a composer. For a long time he bore the reputation of a 
 misogynist, and among the ladies speculation ran high as to 
 whether he would ever marry. The nmch-discussed event, how- 
 ever, came off in April, 1873, together with the attendant 
 ceremony peculiar to the court of Berlin, namely the whimsical 
 torchlight dance of the cabinet ministers. 
 
 The state banquet over, lighted torches were handed to the 
 twelve ministers by pages, and the Emperor and Empress, sur- 
 rounded by the members of the royal house and the guests of 
 princely rank, having taken their position in front of the throne, 
 the orchestra struck up a solemn march. The Grand Marshal 
 holding his wand of office, then advanced, followed by the 
 ministers torch in hand, walking two by two, the juniors in front, 
 in the following order, P'alk and Kamecke, Delbriick and von 
 Stosch, Camphausen and Leonardt, Eulenberg and von Itzen- 
 plitz, von Schleinitz and von Uhden, and lastly von Roon and 
 von Bismarck. The bride and bridegroom brought up the rear, 
 and with measured .steps and slow the procession described a 
 large ellipse around the hall. The bride then stepped from 
 the ranks and making a deep curtsey to the Emperor invited
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN. 271 
 
 him to dance. He gave her his rij^ht hand and both described 
 a similar curve, marching behind the last couple of ministers. 
 On arriving opposite to the throne the Emperor resumed his 
 place, and the Princess invited the Crown Prince in the same 
 way to be her partner, and so with all the other princes, the 
 ministers, torches still in hand, continuing to describe the same 
 ellipse without halt or check, like stars revolving round the sun. 
 
 The sight might have been a useful one to arrtbitious individ- 
 uals, who however much convinced of their mental fitness for 
 ministerial posts might yet hesitate at accepting them from the 
 conviction that their physical organization would never enable 
 them to support the fatigues of such a dance. On this occasion, 
 however, the chief performers bore up bravely, and even the white- 
 headed Minister of Commerce did not seem to find it necessary 
 to borrow support from the robust arm of his companion Count 
 Eulenberg. When the bride had danced with her last partner, 
 the young Prince Friedrich von HohenzoUern, and had resumed 
 her place, the bridegroom in his turn made a low bow to the 
 Empress to invite her to join him, and the solemn dance re- 
 commenced behind the indefatigable ministry, till the last lady 
 had been called out. The ceremony had lasted about half an 
 hour, but the members of the cabinet had not yet arrived at the 
 end of their task. The Grand Marshal passed from the hall 
 into the picture gallery, and the entire procession, the bride and 
 bridegroom marching behind the last ministers, followed him to 
 the Queen's apartments. Here at length the wearied statesmen 
 were suffered to return their torches to the pages who proceeded 
 to light the young couple to their chamber. 
 
 The Kreuz Zeitiing, describing the afiair, remarked that the 
 performance is not properly a dance but a solemn procession, 
 a kind of polonaise executed in very slow time, consecrated 
 by the traditions of the House of Brandenburg. As on the 
 occasion just narrated it was danced on the 20th November, 
 173 1, at the wedding of Wilhelmina, Friedrich the Great's 
 elder sister to the Margrave of Baireuth. " In fact the wedding 
 went beautifully oft"," writes Mr. Carlyle, " with dances and 
 sublimities, slow solemn torch dance to conclude within those 
 unparalleled upper rooms. Such variegated splendour, such a 
 dancing of the constellations, sublunary Berlin and all the world 
 on tiptoe round it. Slow torch-dance winding it up, melted into 
 the' shades of midnight, for this time, and there was silence in 
 Berlin." 
 
 Prince Albrecht, the father of this happy bridegroom, and the 
 Emperor's youngest brother, who died recently at the age of 
 sixty-three, was born in 1809. In 1848 he aimed at political 
 notoriety and went so far as to sport the revolutionary black, 
 red, and gold in the streets of Berlin. He was then nicknamed 
 " the mock Duke of Orleans," and credited with views similar to
 
 2/2 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 those entertained by Philippe Egalite during the first French 
 revokition. Slighted by both court and populace he spent most 
 of his time in retirement on his estate of Albrechtsburg, near 
 Dresden, with his morganatic wife, Rosa von Rauch, Countess 
 von Hohenau — whom he married on obtaining a divorce from 
 the Princess Maria of Holland in 1849 — and her two sons. He 
 quitted this retreat, however, to command the cavalry in the late 
 war. A romantic and possibly baseless story is current as to 
 the origin of the private fortune that enabled him alone of all 
 the HohenzoUern princes to live a life independent of his family. 
 His mother, the beautiful Queen Luisa, during her stay at 
 Stettin was seen, it is said, by an invalid Englishman who fell 
 desperately in love with her. He dared not tell his love, but 
 dying shortly afterwards left all his fortune with characteristic 
 national eccentricity to the child to which she was expecting to 
 give birth. This was Prince Albrccht. 
 
 The charitable disposition of Prince Alexander of Prussia, the 
 Emperor's cousin, and the eldest son of Prince Friedrich, Stadt- 
 liolder of the Rhenish provinces, who held his court during 
 Dusseldorfs palmy days, is so well known and so often appealed 
 to in Berlin, that his secretary must have acquired great ex- 
 perience in answering begging applications. He passes the 
 greater part of the year in Switzerland and at Schloss Rheinstein, 
 his castle on the Rhine. Prince George, his youngest brother, 
 dabbles in poetry, though his efforts are better appreciated 
 in the circle of the court, wdiere some of his pieces have been 
 represented, than by the outer world. 
 
 Prince Adalbert, the Admiral Prince, who is a cousin of the 
 King, and was born in 181 1, besides fulfilling the duties of 
 his office as commander-in-chief of the Prussian navy, devotes 
 much time to science and takes an interest in literature. He 
 owns a palace on the Leipziger Platz and lives there in seclusion 
 with his morganatic wife, a sister of Fanny Elsler. Their only 
 son, Baron Barium, died some years ago while on a scientific 
 expedition to Egypt.
 
 PRINCE BISMARCK AT THE REICHSTAG. 
 
 XV. 
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 
 
 'nr^WO individuals share the Emperor's popularity at Berlin, 
 J. Prince Bismarck and Count von Moltkc. On all public 
 occasions whenever the full, bilious, and resolute-looking counte- 
 nance of the one, or the shrewd, placid features of the other is 
 caught sight of, it is the signal for a popular ovation. Their 
 effigies are encountered everywhere, in private houses and in 
 places of public resort. There is scarcely a restaurant or a beer 
 saloon where their portraits or their busts do not flank those of 
 the Emperor, just as their photographs figure beside his in every 
 album and every printseller's window. Artists too delight in 
 depicting the burly figure and the puffed face of the famous 
 Chancellor under the graceful guise of Perseus, or as the chival- 
 rous patron saint of England, trampling upon some winged and 
 scaly monster, in whom of course everybody recognizes the 
 " hereditary enemy " France ; whilst unquestionably amongst the 
 most popular of brochures, the Kleine Anckdote-biich of Fiirst 
 von Bismarck is to be classed. " He the greatest, comes home to 
 the smallest, to men's business and bosoms in a special manner ; 
 the likeness of him hangs in the humblest hut ; but for him Hans 
 and Michel had not laid down their lives in French mire and 
 clay ; but for him, food were not so dear, nor widows so many, 
 nor wives so few ; but for him taxes had not been so rigorous, 
 nor money so scarce. Yet he is the idol of the populace — of 
 that populace which erewhile stoned, lampooned, caricatured, 
 
 T
 
 274 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 and reviled him." ^ His career has indeed exemplified the 
 proverb that nothing succeeds like success. Each material 
 adversary he has encountered, he has successively demolished, 
 and all former errors have been atoned for by triumphs that 
 have benefited his country. But since he has sought to grapple 
 with and .stifle an intangible foe, since he has vainly striven to 
 meet on equal ground the invisible power of the Papacy, there 
 are signs of a rift within the lute. The hymn of universal 
 praise is mingled with curses and execrations, the venom of the 
 Ultramontane press has penetrated to thou.sands of hearts, and 
 the Chancellor of the Empire has had to yield to the warnings 
 of the police and to confine himself within his dwelling. 
 
 For the stranger who seeks in Berlin the things most im- 
 pressed with the personality of the man who has made the 
 Prussian capital that of a New Empire — the first street is not the 
 Linden, but the Wilhelms-strasse, in which are situate half-a- 
 dozen so-called palaces and many of the chief administrative 
 departments of the State. Its most interesting edifice, however, 
 is No. 'jd, a list of whose inhabitants, pace the Berlin Directory, 
 is as follows : 
 
 Bade — coachman. 
 
 von Bismarck-Sch6nhausen, Prince, Chancellor of the Empire. 
 
 Engel — valet. 
 
 Grams— house-servant. 
 
 Lindstedt— porter. 
 
 Nicdergesass — servant. 
 
 Spitzenberg— house- servant. 
 
 Zimmermann — gardener. 
 
 These few^ individuals form the Prince Chancellor's entire 
 establishment. The house which he has inhabited since 1862 is 
 a stuccoed building of decidedly seedy aspect, completely thrown 
 into the shade by the neighbouring, though by no means mag- 
 nificent, palaces of Prince Radzivill and Prince Carl, and the 
 stately residences of Herren Pringheim and Krause. It dates 
 from the commencement of the last century and was purchased 
 by the government some forty years ago. The facade, pierced by 
 twelve windows and decorated with pilasters and a common- 
 place classic frieze relieved by a few masks, consists of a centre 
 and two small wings, the stuccoed surface of which, through the 
 want of a fresh coat of paint, is rapidly going to decay. The 
 ground floor is devoted to the offices, and the story above, con- 
 taining the principal rooms, is surmounted by a high pitched red 
 tiled roof with projecting mansard windows. The chief recom- 
 mendation lies in an extensive and park-like garden stretching 
 to the Koniggratzer-strasse. 
 
 The Chancellor's door-porter is in thorough keeping with this 
 unpretending residence ; he wears no livery, no badge of office, 
 and carries no pompous gold-headed staffi His lodge is on the 
 ' " German Home Life," Fraser's Magazine^ December, 1875.
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 275 
 
 right of a covered passage leading to the vestibule whence a 
 flight of steps, guarded by two stone sphynxes — fit emblems of 
 Prussian policy — conducts to the reception and living rooms. 
 The interior fittings of the Chancellor's residence correspond with 
 its exterior aspect, for when the government purchased the house: 
 the furniture was taken with it and has never been renewed. A 
 few absolutely necessary adjuncts, some presents from the King, 
 and a score or so of family portraits from Schonhausen, are all 
 that have been added by the present tenant. Three halls, one 
 of which serves for the official reunions, a couple of salons and 
 a moderate suite of living rooms comprise the whole of the 
 dwelling. Once when the Chancellor gave a party, he jocularly 
 said, " I have invited the Minister of Finance to-night, that he 
 may see for himself that my house is too small." 
 
 The first apartment entered is known as the Chinese room 
 from its upholstery of figured silk representing fair celestials on 
 the banks of some river, and groups of fabulous birds. It serves 
 for the dining-room, and is of an extreme simplicity. Save its 
 table and chairs it is completely bare, not containing even a 
 sideboard. The adjoining apartment is the billiard-room, now 
 transformed into a museum of souvenirs. The billiard-table is 
 hidden under its green cover, and encumbered w^ith knick-knacks 
 of all kinds, presents from every source, and diplomas of the free- 
 dom of various cities richly illuminated and framed. It might 
 be taken for the back room of a dealer in bric-d-brac. Three 
 objects alone are worth mentioning, a bronze model of Rauch's 
 monument of Friedrich the Great, the diploma of the freedom 
 of the city of Hamburg, in the form of a hronzt plaque, and an 
 inkstand of black marble, surmounted by a dying lion, worth 
 about ten thaler. The latter was a present from the Emperor 
 during the Chancellor's illness. "He thought I was like the 
 lion," said Bismarck, showing it before his departure for 
 Kissingen, " but, thanks to God, I am restored to health and his 
 Majesty is not yet quits with regard to some other little presents 
 he owes me." 
 
 The third and the most interesting apartment is the Chancellor's 
 study. It has only two windows, and the large mahogany writing 
 table is a very simple piece of furniture. The Prince occupies 
 a carved armchair and his secretary sits facing him. An etagere 
 packed with official papers and reports is within reach on either 
 side of him, and a bell-pull hangs from the ceiling. In front of 
 the table, over a bonheur dujour, is a portrait of his wife when 
 young, a superb brunette, with luxuriant hair, large black eyes, 
 and rather square shoulders. " Madame de Bismarck," wrote 
 Merimee, " has the longest foot in the Empire, and her daughter 
 walks in her steps." The study contains no library. It has by 
 way of compensation a complete collection of meerschaum pipes 
 and military caps with red bands. Between the door and the 
 
 T 2
 
 276 BERLIN UNUKR THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 bonJiciir du jour is an assortment of swords and sabres that 
 would do honour to an arsenal, and buckskin tj^Iovcs lie about on 
 all the articles of furniture. An iron couch of inordinate dimen- 
 sions occupies one end of the study and on this the Reichs- 
 Kanzler is in the habit of reposing to read the papers after 
 dinner. The Chancellor's huge dog usually crouches under this 
 piece of furniture when his master is engaged with isitors. 
 
 Contiguous to the Prince's study is his bedroom, where a screen 
 of blue silk surrounds an immense bed. A little table serves as 
 a washstand. One is struck by the many combs and brushes, 
 outnumbering the hairs on the Chancellor's head. One re-enters 
 the study to pass into the salon of the Princess which is simply 
 a gallery ornamented with family portraits and furnished with 
 couches and armchairs of red damask. The private apartments 
 of the Princess and her daughter which overlook the garden 
 open into this salon. The last and largest room serves as a re- 
 ception-room. The furniture is in the middle-class style, without 
 character or distinction ; one fails to di-scover among it a single 
 object of art, or in fact anything that appeals to the eye. The 
 hangings and chair coverings are faded and almost threadbare. 
 The only object that excites curiosity, thanks to the large brass 
 plate on it, is the table upon which peace was signed at Versailles. 
 The P'rench say that the owner of the house in which Bismarck 
 resided refused to give it up, and pretend that the Chancellor, 
 not to be baulked of the coveted spoil, had one made exactly 
 like it and substituted it for the real one, on his departure. On 
 leaving the reception-room my guide opened a door to the right. 
 ''Der Tanzsaal" said he. This ballroom was once a chapel, 
 but the Chancellor has put so many bishops in prison that he 
 can have no scruple about putting dancers in a church.^ 
 
 The Prince's style of living corresponds with the simplicity of 
 his surroundings. When in good health he rises early and 
 works, joining the family circle at breakfast towards ten, when 
 he glances through his letters and newspapers. He then receives 
 his councillors in his study, goes to report to the Emperor, rides 
 for an hour or so if he is not required by the Parliament, and 
 dines about five o'clock. After dinner he generally allows 
 himself an hour's rest on the sofa in his study, or else in the 
 Princess's drawing-room, where coffee is served, and then confers 
 again with councillors and ministers. Subsequently he works 
 alone and receives visitors up to a late hour, often till midnight, 
 or he closes the day with conversation in the Princess's apart- 
 ments, where a few guests usually assemble. Before retiring to 
 rest he drinks a bottle of champagne as a sleeping draught, for 
 he suffers terribly from insomnia, unless, indeed, he intends, as 
 is sometimes the case, to rise in the night and work. Latterly 
 Jiis sleeplessness has arrived at such a pitch, that strong doses 
 ' Voyage au Pays des Milliards, par Victor Tissot.
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 277 
 
 of morphia have failed to procure him the necessary repose, and 
 his nervous system has been terribly affected in consequence. 
 This sleeplessness and nervousness are not owing to the irregular 
 hours enforced on him in a measure by his position, but are 
 due to old habits. "When I was a captain," says he, "atSchon- 
 hausen I could never sleep, and used to go out walking or riding 
 by night. I am always anxious to know when it will be dawn." 
 
 He gives neither balls nor dinners, but during the parlia- 
 mentary session he is in the habit of throwing open his rooms 
 on certain evenings to the representatives of every party, who 
 after a hot contest meet here on ncutnil ground, just as the 
 opposing armies taking part in the military manrcuvrcs, fraternize 
 after a battle and discuss their strategetic performance.-:. Hither 
 come Moltke and Dr. Loewe, Prince William of Baden and 
 Lasker, Braun and Fordenbeck, Bennigsen, Volk, Prince Holien- 
 lohe, the Duke of Ujest, and the rest. Ministers greet their 
 bitterest opponents in the Reichstag with a polite smile, and 
 shake their friends by the hand. The most important topics 
 of the day are discussed and commented upon with an absence 
 of the acrimony which sometimes makes its appearance in a 
 debate, and political adversaries learn to appreciate each other's 
 social as well as mental qualities. 
 
 Bismarck was the first to organise these gatherings, at which 
 the promotion of cheerful social intercourse is aimed at, and 
 which agreeably replace the stiff ceremonial dinners of his pre- 
 decessors and colleagues. A simple cold supper is accompanied 
 — another innovation in a Berlin salon — by genuine Bavarian 
 beer, served in small casks and drawn from the tap on the spot 
 This beverage is held in high esteem by the Chancellor, who 
 drinks it all day long, and who further consumes large quantities 
 of wine at his meals, to which he brings an appetite propor- 
 tioned to his stature. The cigars that he used to smoke from 
 morning till night have been prohibited by his doctors, but he 
 consoles himself with pipes of colossal dimensions, of which he 
 has an ample collection. Amongst them is one presented by a 
 pipemaker of Oberhausen, who received in reply half a dozen 
 lines to the effect that the Prince had never had such a good one 
 since he left the university. 
 
 The Chancellor seldom goes to balls or parties, and almost 
 the only theatre he honours with his presence is the Wallner, 
 where local farces are commonl)' given. In his rides out, attired 
 in the eternal white cuirassier uniform, which he never seems to 
 lay aside, he used freely to return the salutations of the Berlin 
 gamins with evident gratification, and it v/as noticed that during 
 the French campaign he strolled alone about the streets of the 
 various towns occupied by the French troops, with the same 
 indifference to danger that, but for the entreaties of the pohce, 
 he would continue to show at Berlin.
 
 278 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 His daughter is entrusted with the task of collecting in an 
 album all the caricatures published about him, and over these 
 
 we are told he good-humouredly laughs. German pictorial 
 .satire is, hoAvever, so devoid of point that if the Chancellor is 
 
 able to derive 
 amu s ement 
 from the ef- 
 forts of the 
 Berlin carica- 
 turists' pen- 
 cils, he must 
 be a happily 
 c onstitut e d 
 individual in- 
 deed. That 
 the reader, 
 may judge for 
 himself, some 
 specimens of 
 them from 
 the K la cider - 
 adatscJi, the 
 Berliner IVes- 
 pcn, the Ulk, 
 and the Ber- 
 liner Figaro 
 arc here sub- 
 joined. In the 
 first we have 
 Bismarck un- 
 der the guise of a nutcracker which is stated to be of cast iron 
 and able to crack the very hardest nuts. The next, in which the 
 German Chancellor and Count Arnim are depicted ^^j'-rtV^i-, has
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 
 
 279 
 
 an inscription beneath it to the efifect that if Count Arnim would 
 but get the missing letters together, or Prince Bismarck would 
 consent to write them over again, there might then be peace 
 between the two. In the third we have the doughty Chancellor de- 
 picted as a corpulent cru.sader prodigal of good advice but indis- 
 posed to draw the sword against the Turk. Next he figures as an 
 
 archer, who having disposed of one adversary, Count Arnim, is 
 
 directing his shafts against the Ultramontanes, the Socialists, 
 
 the annexed Alsatians, and the re.st of his recognised enemies. 
 
 Then we have him 
 
 as the sea serpent 
 
 rising out of the 
 
 ocean to the great 
 
 terror of the poor 
 
 old Pope as he 
 
 passes by in his 
 
 bark. The lines 
 
 beneath, evident- 
 ly quoted from 
 
 some German 
 
 classic, are to the 
 
 effect that "An 
 
 old man sits in 
 
 the boat, and 
 
 knows not how to 
 
 save himself," no 
 
 very brilliant application of apparently some familiar quotation. 
 
 Finally the Chancellor is presented under a classic aspect in 
 
 the dubious guise of a Roman charioteer who appeals to his
 
 28o 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 master the Emperor, not to order him to set off again on 
 the plea that his horse is so fearfully jaded and requires both 
 rest and fodder before starting on an)' new journe}'. 
 
 If the Chancellor is disposed to smile over such puerile 
 attempts at wit as the foregoing, he certainly does not regard 
 the bitter attacks of Majunke in the Gcrviaiiia, or of Hassel- 
 mann in the Social Democrat, with the same equanimity. 
 Journalists are, indeed, no favourites of his ; it was he who 
 invented the term Reptilien, and when Jules Favre requested 
 troops to secure order in Paris during the armistice, he suggested 
 that " the journalists should be given up to him, and then order 
 would maintain itself" A yet more serious cause of annoyance, 
 and one which succeeded in shaking even his iron nerve, and 
 producing with the sleeplessness referred to a morbid irrita- 
 bility, was the scores of threatening letters which he was in 
 the habit of receiving every week. They were addressed to 
 him by both Frenclimen and Germans, the latter forming an 
 immense majority since his attacks upon the Ultramontanes. 
 The object of the writers was in most cases merely to terrify him 
 into retirement, but the police themselves profess that there are 
 genuine plots for his destruction, and not only watch over him and 
 his house with tenfold precautions, but have persuaded him to go 
 out only in a close carriage, and instead of riding in the Thier- 
 garten to confine his horse exercise to the large garden of the 
 Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Strange irony of fate that the man 
 who can scarcely show himself without being made the object 
 of a popular ovation, should shrink from crossing his threshold 
 lest the knife or bullet of a fellow-countryman should be buried 
 in his heart ! 
 
 As seven cities of Greece disputed the honour of having given 
 birth to Homer, so the Sclavcs and Teutons both lay claim to 
 Bismarck, whose bare head indeed reveals the characteristics of 
 both these races. The former derive his name from the Wendish 
 bii siiiarkou, "beware of the thorns," and in confirmation allege 
 that the golden trefoil of the famil}' arms is a blackberry 
 leaf. The others maintain it comes from the little town of Bis- 
 marck on the Biese, in the circle of Stendhal, formerly inhabited
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 28 1 
 
 by his ancestors. It is quite certain that some five hundred 
 years ago Rule von Bismarck was excommunicated by the 
 Bishop of Haberstadt, for founding a school in the town of 
 Stendhal and refusing to place it under the direction of the 
 Church, so history has repeated itself in the Chancellor's passage 
 of the School Inspection Bill, and his enmity to the Ultramon- 
 tanes. This ancestor was one of the guild of tailors of the 
 same town, which has led to the Prince's enemies sneering at the 
 claim of the family to Junkerdom, though the burghers of Stend- 
 hal proudly alluded to it on presenting the Chancellor with the 
 freedom of their place. A yet more damaging assertion in 
 patriotic eyes, namely, that his was one of the families that 
 supported the French between 1806 and 18 13, was contradicted 
 by himself by the publication of the list of half a dozen Bis- 
 marcks, who perished for Germany during the War of Liberation. 
 Friedrich the Great's Minister of Justice was a Bismarck, and 
 it was from him that Voltaire procured the warrant to arrest the 
 Jew Hirsch, with whom he had entangled himself in some scan- 
 dalous financial transactions during his residence at Berlin. 
 
 Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born on the ist April, 
 18 1 5, at Schonhausen in the Altmark, in an old-fashioned 
 manor-house, built at the end of the seventeenth century, on the 
 foundation of an older mansion destroyed during the Thirty 
 Years' War. It is a plain, square, rather heavy-looking building 
 of two stories with a high-pitched roof, standing on a hill over- 
 looking the town of Schonhausen, and near to a church and ceme- 
 tery, through which latter, somewhat strangely, the courtyard of 
 the house is reached. To the right is a fine park studded with 
 centenarian chestnut and lime-trees, and to the left lie the farm- 
 buildings of the estate. Above the principal entrance to the 
 house are a couple of shields, upon which are sculptured the 
 armorial bearings of the builders — Augustus von Bismarck and 
 his wife Dorothea Sophia von Katte. "The arms of the latter," 
 observes a zealous Frenchman, who since the war has had the 
 curiosity to visit the birthplace of the man who imposed so 
 hard a sacrifice and so vast a burthen upon France, " are composed 
 of a cat playing with a mouse. Think of all the mice with 
 which Bismarck has tragically played for ten years past before 
 choking them. Recall to mind the chiefs of the parliamentary 
 opposition at Berlin, the noble Diet of Frankfurt, the Prince of 
 Augustenburg, the Marquis de Lavallette, Count von Beust, 
 Napoleon III., the Duke de Gramont, M. Jules Favre, and M. 
 Thiers," — to whom, moreover, may now be added a score of 
 Catholic dignitaries, and Count Henry von Arnim — "and say if 
 ever allusive arms spoke more prophetically than those ot Sophia 
 Dorothea of the house of Katte, great-great-grandmother of Otto 
 Eduard Leopold, Prince von Bismarck." 
 
 Bismarck's father was a retired officer, and his mother, a tall
 
 282 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 blonde, was daughter of Privy-Councillor Menken. Besides the 
 future Chancellor two others of their six children have survived, 
 namely, his elder brother Bernhard, now a royal chamberlain, 
 and a younger sister, Malvina, married to the chamberlain von 
 Arnim-Krochlendorf. His early childhood was spent on his 
 father's estate of Kniephoff in Pomerania, and after studying at 
 Dr. Plamann's school and at the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium 
 at Berlin, he entered the University of Gottingen in 1831. The 
 maddest of mad students at a time when the majority of these 
 were reckless and violent, he soon earned the name of " the 
 wild Bismarck," distinguished himself by his avoidance of 
 lectures and prowess with both bier-glas and sdiliiger, and 
 was able to notch upon his student's stick, the registry of three 
 dozen encounters, the marks of one of which he carries pro- 
 minently on his face to this day. Nevertheless he managed to 
 pass his examination as Referenderer, and coming to Berlin 
 began to practise in the municipal court. On one occasion he 
 was examining a genuine Berliner who so exasperated him by his 
 impertinence that he jumped up and exclaimed, " Mind what you 
 are about, sir, or I will kick you out." The magistrate, tapping 
 him upon the shoulder said quietly, but with a due regard to 
 the traditions of Prussian hierarchy, " Mr. Examiner, the kicking 
 out is my business." The examination proceeded, but ere long 
 Bismarck was up again thundering, " Take care, sir, or I will 
 have you kicked out by the magistrate." It was about this 
 time that he was presented at Court and was asked by the 
 present Emperor in allusion to his athletic appearance, 
 " Whether the Law required her sons to be of the same stature 
 as the Guards." Those were the days when in company with 
 numerous young officers he was accustomed to hear the chimes 
 at midnight, and to distinguish himself at drinking bouts and 
 with the dice-box. 
 
 After a short sojourn at Aix-la-Chapelle as Referenderer, 
 Bismarck served his year as a volunteer at Potsdam, in the jagers 
 of the guard, and was then recalled home to aid in relieving 
 the family estates, having succeeded in which he gave himself 
 up to a career of reckless dissipation. Respectable people 
 shuddered at the doings of the " wild Bismarck of Kniephoff," 
 who with boon companions, selected from the officers of adjoining 
 garrisons and the neighbouring Junkers, was wont to pass the 
 night in draining beakers of mingled champagne and porter. 
 Yet his father, keener sighted than the elder Mirabeau, detected 
 the germs of better things amidst all this exuberant flow of 
 animal spirits characterizing the Sturm und Drang period of his 
 life, and said " We must not snuff this candle, for fear of extin- 
 guishing it." His brother Bernhard, too, kept urging him to go 
 to Berlin, maintaining, as P'rance and Austria have since learnt 
 to their cost, that he was cut out for public Hfe and diplomacy.
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 283 
 
 Yet even as Cromwell was once on the point of starting for 
 America, Otto von Bismarck, before he entered Parliament, had 
 serious thought of going to India to make his fortune. 
 
 It was duringthis period, which was marked, moreover, by visits 
 to England and France, that he received his first decoration, a 
 medal, for saving, at great personal risk, the life of his groom 
 Hildebrand, whose horse had become unmanageable and had 
 dashed with him into the Lippener lake. This medal he always 
 wears amongst his grandest decorations and when a foreign 
 diplomatist once asked him what it meant, answered, with his 
 usual insolence towards his equals : " I have a habit of sometimes 
 saving a man's life." 
 
 On the death of his father, he began to interest himself in 
 politics, made the acquaintance of von Roon, and betrothed 
 . himself to his first love, Johanna von Puttkammer, whose parents' 
 consent he obtained in spite of themselves, by going straight to 
 their house and embracing their daughter beforethe whole house- 
 hold. The decree of the 3rd February, 1847, brought him to 
 Berlin as a member of the first Prussian Landtag, and a red-hot 
 Junker. He boasted of his mediaeval ideas, opposed the eman- 
 cipation of the Jews, and cried out against civil marriage, which 
 he has since so strenuously insisted on, as a degrading institution 
 that " made the Church the train-bearer of a subaltern bureau- 
 cracy." In national matters too he opposed the unit}' of Germany 
 and the annexation of Schleswig-Holstein, though the speeches 
 he made on these subjects have been carefully omitted from the 
 collection published at Berlin, together with the one he pro- 
 nounced in 1850 in defence of the ministry which had brought 
 about the Olmutz humiliation, wherein he maintained that 
 Prussia should give way to Austria in order to combat with her 
 the threatening democracy. 
 
 At the close of the session he married, made a wedding tour 
 through Switzerland and Italy — falling in at Vienna with the 
 late King of Prussia, much of whose confidence he gained — and 
 then settled down at Schonhausen. His union was blessed with 
 three children, Maria Elisabeth Johanna, Nicolas Heinrich 
 Ferdinand Herbert, a lieutenant in the 1st dragoon guards, and 
 Wilhelm Otto Albrecht — named after the German Emperor 
 who was his godfather — holding a similar rank. All of them 
 were born at short intervals from 1848 to 1852. 
 
 After fighting the Radicals in the Landtag wathhis tongue and 
 in the columns of the Kraiz Zeitung with his pen throughout 
 the stormy period of 1848, he entered upon his diplomatic career 
 in 1 85 1 as First Secretary of the Embassy at Frankfurt. Here he 
 had a difficult part to play, for Prince Schwartzenberg had uttered 
 the memorable phrase, " Prussia must first be humbled in order 
 that we may destroy her," and as the representative of that power 
 he was not looked upon with favourable eyes. Count von Thun
 
 284 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Holstein, the Austrian ambassador, sought to establish their 
 respective positions by receiving him in his shirt sleeves. "You 
 are right," said Bismarck as he entered, " it is awfully hot in 
 here," and pulled off his own coat at once. Thun apologised, 
 and the two became better friends. Bismarck succeeded Rochow 
 as ambassador and for the eight years during which he was 
 connected with the Bundestag worked energetically against the 
 influence of Austria, though he found time to pay flying visits 
 to dificrent parts of Europe, notably to Paris during the Interna- 
 tional Exhibition of 1855, and again in 1857, when he had his 
 first interview with the Erench Emperor. Towards the close of 
 his Erankfurt mission, he was present at a review, wearing on the 
 breast of his Landwehr uniform the numerous decorations he had 
 already received. The Austrian Archduke, in whose honour the 
 review was held, asked him, with a tinge of irony, whether these 
 had been won in presence of the enemy. " Certainly, your High- 
 ness, all in presence of the enemy — at Erankfurt," was his reply. 
 
 During this period the reins of Government passed into the 
 hands of the present Emperor who changed the ministry and 
 began to plan the reorganization of the army. Bismarck sup- 
 ported him in this, but his Italian sympathies led to his being 
 transferred to the court of St. Petersburg. " I am like champagne, 
 they put me in ice before serving me up," was his comment. This 
 pseudo- banishment and a severe illness, due to an injury to the 
 leg bone received whilst hunting, rendered him a passive spectator 
 of the Italian campaign, though it did not hinder him from 
 putting forth his views in that letter on " Prussia and the Italian 
 question," in Avhich he developed the programme of 1866 and 
 declared that Prussia must become Germany. 
 
 In the spring of 1862, having previously declined a portfolio, 
 he was transferred from St. Petersburg to Paris, whence, however, 
 he was recalled in the month of September to assume the Minis- 
 tr}'- of P^oreign Affairs and the Presidency of the Council and to 
 attain the acme of unpopularity. Pie accepted the heavy inheri- 
 tance of the old Liberal administration, the conflict between 
 which and the Tower House had already lasted a couple of years 
 " without conditions or reservations " saying that " the rest would 
 be shown by the future." Then began that long and bitter 
 struggle with the Prussian parliament upon the questions of army 
 reform and the supplies. So inflamed were men's minds at his 
 appointment, though he simply accepted the situation created by 
 others, that the sittings were suspended for five days. At the out- 
 set he endeavoured to gain the confidence of the liberal leaders 
 by exposing his plan of a bold foreign policy, but in vain. 
 
 The conflict about reorganization grew into a constitutional 
 question. Bismarck withdrew the budget and went on govern- 
 ing without it. The following year the House threw it out, and 
 censured him for making a secret treaty with Russia, and he in
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 285 
 
 return closed the House, declaring that he would carry on his 
 plans without supplies till the country was ready to furnish them. 
 " Voi/d ino7i mcdccin" said the King, well pleased with the boldness 
 with which the minister contested even the president's discipli- 
 nary authority, and when a deputy asked why, if the Government 
 was dissatisfied with the House it did not dissolve it and appeal 
 to the country, "Gentlemen," was Bismarck's reply, "before 
 doing so, we should like to give the country an opportunity of 
 learning what its representatives are, that future elections may 
 be based on a more thorough personal knowledge." 
 
 The cavalier fashion in which the minister acted vis-d-vis with 
 the Prussian parliament was looked upon at the time as the 
 haughtiness of the noble in presence of a gathering of vassals, 
 whereas it was simply the impatience of a practical and 
 sceptical statesman in face of an assembly of honest ideologists, 
 inflexible slaves of principle. One can realize his scornful 
 irritation, when he had to listen to a long report on the reorgan- 
 ization of the army, learnedly drawn up by the illustrious 
 historian of the " triehinose," whose competence in military 
 matters, considering the bent of his previous studies, might fairly 
 be called into question. And one can excuse his impatience at 
 seeing a great assembly, which took upon itself the historical role 
 of the Long Parliament, fighting pitched battles over such mise- 
 rable questions as striking off a thousand or a couple of thousand 
 thaler from the secret service fund or the salary of some ambas- 
 sador. The somewhat violent sallies of the members of the 
 opposition might however have been allowed to pass unheeded, 
 and not have been made the subject of ill-advised judicial pro- 
 ceedings.^ It is said however that the minister was not responsible 
 for these repressive measures, and in proof of his real sentiments 
 a story is told of his taking a little sprig of olive from his cigar- 
 case and saying to some of the members of the extreme opposi- 
 tion in a half-jesting manner, "I gathered this in the South of 
 France and shall perhaps offer it one of these days to the Demo- 
 crats as a token of reconciliation, but as yet it is too soon." 
 Nevertheless neither the country, the legislature, nor Germany 
 would believe him in spite of the remarkable acts which followed 
 his accession to the premiership. 
 
 Three months after attaining power, he proposed the convoca- 
 tion of that German parliament which had been petitioned for so 
 long, and received for answer " tuiico Danaos." He intervened 
 in Hesse-Cassel to re-establish law, but people laughed at the 
 minister who acted in defiance of his own parliament whilst 
 defending the prerogatives of another. He espoused the cause 
 of the Holsteiners, especially dear to the German people, but the 
 reply was, " It is to deliver them up to Denmark as in 1850." 
 He signed commercial treaties with Italy and France, and 
 
 ' Zm Ptiisse Conicmporaine, par Carl Hillebrand.
 
 286 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 imposed them on the recalcitrant petty princes ; he renewed the 
 Zollverein in accordance with pubHc opinion ; he prevented the 
 King from taking part in the congress of princes at Frankfurt, so 
 unpopular throughout Germany ; he again proposed the convoca- 
 tion of a German parliament ; he threatened to dissolve the 
 Frankfurt Diet, the object of the hatred and the scorn of all ; he 
 announced that his policy would be at once German and in 
 favour of union, seemingly a sure means of attracting the sym- 
 pathy of the whole of Germany. But all was of no avail.' 
 
 The passions that had been aroused, the antecedents, and the 
 frequently provoking language of the minister, notably his ex- 
 pression, " not through speeches and votes of the majority are the 
 great questions of the day to be decided, that was the blunder of 
 184S and 1849, but by iron and blood," blinded them completely 
 to the fact that even at this period the ^' coup iVctat minister" 
 as he had been styled, on account of his intimacy with Napoleon 
 III., was founding German unity. The hatred he inspired, passed 
 the ordinary bounds of ministerial unpopularity, and strange to 
 say he positively took a pleasure in provoking it. A member of 
 a deputation introduced to him was so struck by his bearing as 
 to remark that in presence of such a man it was impossible to 
 say anything foolish. " One can see very well that you have 
 never been in the Chamber," was Bismarck's grim comment. In 
 proof of this hatred it is said that once when the Crown Prince 
 was looking on somewhat dejectedly at the departure of a num- 
 ber of German emigrants for America, a man stepped out from 
 the crowd and said, "Will your Royal Highness give me a thaler 
 if I tell you how to prevent this .'' " " Speak," said the Prince. 
 " Send Bismarck to America, and you may be sure no one will 
 follow him ! " At that time he had, to all appearances, more 
 detraction at his heels than fortune before him. 
 
 His foreign policy was based on his observation "that the 
 gravitating centre of Austrian policy must be sought at Buda- 
 pest " and at the commencement of 1863 he issued that bold circu- 
 lar despatch, in which he stated that the relations between Prussia 
 and Austria " must at once become either better or worse." This 
 did not prevent the two powers from uniting for a time in 
 the seizure of Schleswig-Holstein, " the bone on \yhich the 
 Germans are sharpening their teeth," as Metternich observed. 
 In July, 1864, he was in Vienna negotiating the peace, and as he 
 observes was "stared at by the people as if I were a new hippo- 
 potamus for the zoological gardens. . . This existence on the 
 stage is very uncomfortable if one wants to enjoy his beer in 
 peace." The Emperor Franz Josef fully recognised his value, 
 and on one occasion when a disparaging remark was made about 
 him exclaimed, " Ah J if I but only had him ! " But he did not 
 have him, and two years later came Koniggratz. 
 
 ' La Prusse Cofttemporaine, par Carl Hillebrand.
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 
 
 287 
 
 '■% 
 
 ,^=--=M^==-:n&-.'*---;.i'=^!- ; 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 % 
 
 ^3pf '^ m 'Hpf 
 
 i' 
 
 ■J^^t"" 
 
 
 ii^^^H^ I 
 
 Meanwhile the relations between the two countries failed to im- 
 prove and the condition of home affairs was equally trying. The 
 successful results of the Schleswig-Holstein campaign had not 
 overcome the mistrust of the Prussian Lower House. Hot and 
 bitter debates, a personal challenge to a duel, averted by a com- 
 promise, and the declaration that the use made of the State funds 
 without the authority of the national representatives was uncon- 
 stitutional, marked the session. The next year the Cologne and 
 Minden railway was sold by the State to meet the expenses of 
 the army reorganization and Bismarck received the title of Count. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 7th May, 1866, as he was passing along 
 the Linden on his way home from a conference with the King two 
 shots were fired at him. Turning round he perceived a young 
 man with a revolver taking aim for the third time. Rushing in, 
 he seized his assailant, the third shot grazing his right shoulder. 
 Two more shots were fired as they struggled, one of which glanced 
 from the Count's ribs and then Bismarck handed over his captive 
 to the police. Politically speaking this was a lucky incident for 
 him, it aroused universal 
 sympathy, congratulations 
 poured in on all sides, 
 the King himself has- 
 tened to his house and the 
 people of Berlin flocked 
 in thousands beneath his 
 windows. His courage in 
 grappling with and se- 
 curing his opponent was 
 highly eulogised though 
 it is commonly believed 
 that he owed his safety to 
 a cuirass, and a cuirass, 
 moreover, composed of 
 folds of satin, the invul- 
 nerability of which some 
 Hungarian had pointed 
 out to him. The author 
 of this attempt, Cohen 
 Blind, son of Carl Blind, 
 the Republican leader, 
 committed suicide some 
 days afterwards in his cell. 
 
 This incident helped to 
 precipitate the war with 
 Austria towards which 
 the King had been urged with such difficulty and against 
 which public opinion was so strong. On the 27th June the news 
 of the first victory reached Berlin and crowds again assembled in
 
 288 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 front of 76, Wilhclms-strassc to thank and applaud the man whom 
 they had so detested. The following day he left for the seat of 
 war, sure of success, and prepared for all the difficulties success 
 would bring. At Koniggriitz where, as he wrote home, he "rode 
 the big chestnut and was thirteen hours in the saddle without 
 food," and where in the evening " his first couch for the night 
 was the pavement of Horitz without straw or anything but a 
 carriage cushion," he was the first to discern through his glass 
 the arrival of the Crown Prince's army. Whilst the King and 
 his generals were almost confounded at the triumphant result of 
 Koniggratz he steadily pursued his task of re-establishing peace, 
 passing eight days without taking his clothes off and sleep- 
 ing one night on the bare stones under a piazza in a Bohemian 
 village, and another, as he expressed it, "doubled up like a 
 jack-knife " in a child's crib, till all had been settled according 
 to his plans. 
 
 On the return of the King to Berlin, the farce of begging 
 indemnity from the Landtag was gone through and helped to 
 strengthen Bismarck's new popularity. He had now attained 
 that height of fame by which tailors and bootmakers hasten to 
 profit. The names of Bliicherand Wellington have been immor- 
 talized by the followers of St. Crispin. Bismarck was fated to 
 give his to a shirt-collar and to a colour, which latter a bright 
 brown, was all the rage in Paris for a full year, and even 
 branched out into a paler variation known as Bismarck malade. 
 People too began calling their children after him, a compliment 
 with which he expressed himself disgusted. The following year 
 however witnessed the greatest triumph of his policy, the form- 
 ation of the North German Confederation, in spite of foreign 
 foes, South German antipathies, and the opposition of some of 
 the States composing it. " Let us put Germany into the saddle. 
 She is already able to ride," he exclaimed when he laid the sketch 
 of the new confederation before the Reichstag, whilst he con- 
 soled a somewhat dolorous deputation from a newly-annexed 
 State by the homely remark that " Prussia was like a flannel 
 waistcoat, rather uncomfortable when you put it on for the first 
 time, but a great comfort when you are used to it." To another 
 deputation that complained of the heavy taxation and general 
 liability to military service, he replied, w'ith feigned astonishment, 
 " Well, gentlemen, did you expect to become Prussian for 
 nothing .?" He had naught to say however in reply to the tell- 
 ing reproof of the wife of a foreign diplomatist, whose beauty 
 was supposed to have produced a great impression upon him, 
 when at a Court ball in Berlin, he, with that audacity which is his 
 especial characteristic, extended his hand to pluck without per- 
 mission a flower from her bouquet. " Pardon, Monsieur le 
 Comte," she remarked, smartly rapping his knuckles with her fan, 
 " that flower is not a German State, and must be asked for."
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 289 
 
 His policy had been that of Horatius, to combat the enemies 
 of German unity in succession. Two of these Curatii 
 Denmark and Austria, had fallen, and France alone remained' 
 filled with jealous hatred. He was made Chancellor of the 
 New Confederation ; assisted in the pacific settlement of the 
 Luxembourg question, and paid a visit to the Paris Exhibition. 
 Overtaxed in strength by the heavy session of 1868, he retired 
 to Varzin, where, exhausted both bodily and mentally, he broke 
 down completely. His recovery was retarded by a fall from 
 his horse, as he was becoming himself again ; and remedies 
 innumerable were suggested by sympathising Germans, one 
 old soldier recommending him to smoke a pound of tobacco 
 daily. Bismarck sent the man a pipe and half-a-hundredweight 
 of tobacco, accompanied by the request that he would be good 
 enough to do the smoking for him. At the close of the year 
 he got back to Berlin, and worked at the consolidation of the 
 Confederation till the outbreak of the inevitable war with 
 France. He followed the army to the field ; received the 
 Emperor Napoleon on his surrender after Sedan, and, during 
 the siege of Paris, installed himself in a villa at Versailles. 
 Upon him devolved the adjustment of the terms of peace. 
 Whilst discussing the war indemnity with Jules Favre, he had 
 Bleichroder, the great Jewish banker, beside him, as a kind of 
 financial expert. Jules Favre was taken quite aback at the 
 demand for five milliards of francs, and, to render its excessive 
 nature apparent, observed, " Even if a man had begun to reckon 
 it at the birth of Christ, he would not have finished by the 
 present time." " For that reason," replied Bismarck, pointing 
 to Bleichroder, " I have brought this gentleman, who counts 
 from the Creation." Ernest Picard, who, at the beginning of 
 February, had to arrange the indemnity to be paid by Paris, 
 met with a similar jocular retort when endeavouring to obtain 
 a prolongation of the armistice. The Count expressed his 
 willingness to prolong it to the 25th, or even the 28th of the 
 month. "Then why not to the 30th .^ " asked Picard. "Abso- 
 lutely impossible," was the dry reply. " Would your excellency 
 at least mind giving me the reasons of this impossibility." 
 " Oh ! certainly. It is because there are only twenty-eight days 
 in the month." 
 
 Crueller sayings are attributed to him ; and during the out- 
 break of the Communist struggle he was credited with the 
 remark, " We may not burn Paris, but we can let it be burnt ; " 
 whilst his recommendation that the Parisians should be left to 
 cook in their own gravy has almost passed into a proverb. 
 With all this, he could still spare a shaft for his own country- 
 men. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in conversation with 
 him, complained of the too liberal distribution of the Iron 
 Cross. "I am not of your opinion," replied Bismarck; "the 
 
 U
 
 290 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Iron Cross has been given for two reasons. Either those who 
 are decorated with it have deserved it, and in that case there 
 is nothing to be said, or it has been bestowed as a pure matter 
 of courtesy upon people like your Highness or myself, and in 
 that case the less said about it the better." 
 
 On his return to Berlin, with the title of Prince, the lordship 
 of Schwartzcnbeck, which was valued at some ;{i"230,ooo, and 
 the dignity of Chancellor of the Empire, he turned his atten- 
 tion against internal foes. The Ultramontanes were assailed 
 by the law for the Inspection of Schools ; and the following 
 session the measures against the Jesuits were promulgated, the 
 contre coup of which was the pistol-shot fired two years later 
 by Kuhlmann at Kissingen. At the close of 1872, he resigned 
 the Presidency of the Prussian Cabinet in favour of Count von 
 Roon, to whom he entrusted the task of passing the Church 
 Laws, in order to devote himself exclusively to the administra- 
 tion of the German Empire, but resumed it within a twelvemonth. 
 There is no need to recapitulate the circumstance attendant 
 upon his prosecution of Count Arnim ; and his prolonged 
 struggle with Church and Press is elsewhere narrated at length. 
 In his great task of constructing a United Germany, the 
 Austrian war served to bring the scattered fragments into con- 
 tact ; and the patriotic fire, enkindled by the contest with 
 France, to weld them together. It yet remains to be seen 
 whether the spirit of resistance, engendered by continued per- 
 secution, will die out, or whether it may not explode with a 
 shock that will endanger the edifice. 
 
 The two greatest qualities of a statesman, and the two rarest 
 amongst public men in Germany, namely, clearness of views, 
 and determination of purpose, belong to Prince Bismarck in the 
 highest degree. He knows what he wants, and makes up his 
 mind to secure it. At no period of his career has he sought to 
 conceal his views, and his almost brutal frankness has been a 
 hard puzzle to diplomatists, unable to comprehend such a want 
 of reticence. This may be due to the fact that whenever he 
 has dissimulated he has exaggerated to such an extent as to 
 miss his aim, and has more often deceived his adversary by 
 telling him the truth than in trying to disguise it. With an 
 antagonist, too, although he may be spiteful, and even unjust, 
 there will be nothing spurious about him. He may openly 
 disregard justice and morality, but he will not aggravate this 
 by any affectation of the pathetic. He has always sought to 
 strike a decisive blow, when he had any object to attain, without 
 wasting his time in preliminary skirmishes. He has been 
 characterized, accurately enough, as not being one of those 
 "patient plodders who are content with slow and laborious 
 progress, with small victories, each won by painful strategy and 
 diffident venture. His forward strides are made with seven-
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 291 
 
 league boots ; his political plans of campaijTn are $:^rand schemes, 
 culminating in general actions of a decisive character, not 
 studded with harassing skirmishes and insignificant encounters. 
 Moreover, he is the only public man in Europe who dares to 
 speak out his mind utterly, regardless of consequences. He 
 is indomitable, wholly unsusceptible of fear, resolute to have 
 his own way, thoroughly convinced that he knows better what 
 is for the good of his country than any other man, and not to 
 be deterred by any consideration whatever from saying exactly 
 what he thinks."^ For these reasons he is scarcely the same 
 favourite with his equals and superiors in rank, or with his 
 colleagues — all of whom he subjugates unhesitatingly to his 
 indomitable will — as with the middle classes. It has been said 
 that there is no man in Prussia strong enough to stand up 
 against him. 
 
 Even with the Emperor, over whom he seems to exercise 
 some of that strange fascination which chained Louis XIII. to 
 Richelieu, Bismarck can afford to be resolute and unbending. 
 Whenever his absence from Berlin is not to be satisfactorily 
 accounted for — and the rumours of his retirement on the score 
 of ill-health are not so readily accepted now as they once were 
 — people say, " Er grollt (he is sulking) ; he has had a difference 
 with a certain person, and has gone off in a passion." Every 
 time that personage and he have fallen out, he has retreated 
 to Varzin, and shut himself up there until an amende honorable 
 has been made him. Concerning these retirements, the author 
 of the Pro NiJiilo pamphlet, published in defence of Count 
 Arnim, has remarked : — " In his own country Prince Bismarck 
 is believed to be indispensable ; and he is so, as long as this 
 belief continues. But suddenly a man made his appearance 
 who threatened to deprive him of the charm of indispensa- 
 bleness — who was indicated by public opinion as one who 
 could replace him. The fear of the instability of all human 
 fortune then stole over the Chancellor's mind. People see with 
 astonishment how an elephant can with the same instrument 
 raise hundredweights and pick up needles from the ground. 
 Prince Bismarck acts in a similar way ;■ only to the stolid, 
 unimaginative elephant a needle is but a needle, while to the 
 Chancellor it appears a poisonous and fatal weapon. We have 
 seen many such needles irritate the Chancellor's morbid nerves, 
 and exercise more influence on politics than many a cannon 
 shot — the Duchesne affair, articles in the press, speeches by 
 Windthorst, Lasker, Virchow, and so on. Those who will take 
 the trouble to follow up the chain of ideas of which we have 
 only given the first links, will understand why Prince Bismarck 
 remains more and more isolated in Varzin — whence he rules the 
 world like Tiberius from Capri — why he avoids more and more 
 
 ^ Berlin correspondence of the Daily Telegraph. 
 
 U 2
 
 292 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 the intercourse of other men, and why an unimportant incident 
 assumes in his eyes the proportions of an historical event." 
 
 It is well known that Bismarck at times expresses himself 
 slightingly enough of the Emperor, who, according to him, has too 
 much and too little of the Hohenzollern in him. Once he was in 
 the habit of regretting that he could not do what he liked 
 with him, because he was not a king of his own making. 
 Possibly a change has come over the Chancellor in this respect, 
 since he has made of the King an Emperor, for he has added 
 to Goethe's dictum, that " Every German has his own indi- 
 viduality, which he does not like to lose," the rider, " and 
 if he only had money enough each man would have a king 
 of his own." He, however, still compares the Emperor to a 
 hunter that needs to be well spurred before he will take a fence ; 
 which is only repeating in other words his phrase about its being 
 necessary to wind the King up every day like a watch, when 
 the quarrel with Austria over the Schleswig-Holstein spoils was 
 coming to a crisis. 
 
 His differences with the Crown Prince date back to 1862, 
 when the latter, whose liberal tendencies are well known, felt 
 bound to protest publicly against the President of the Council's 
 arbitrary proceedings, and even to express to the King his 
 condemnation of them as tending to endanger his own succes- 
 sion to the throne — a step that had no further result than 
 obliging him to retire from Court for a time. Prince Bismarck, 
 who, in spite of the past, claims to be in no respect an enemy 
 of parliamentary government, has since maintained that in these 
 proceedings he had but a single object in view, namely, the 
 consolidation of Northern Germany under the aegis of Prussia. 
 To attain this he was prepared, he said, to brave exile, and 
 even the scaffold, and had observed to the Crown Prince, " What 
 matter if tliey hang me, provided only that the cord firmly 
 bind your throne to this new Germany." And the view he 
 entertains of his own importance and position, is well shown 
 in a recent speech on the new Penal Code, wherein he said that, 
 whilst the House was quite right to reject the Bill if it thought 
 it incompatible with .the interests of the Empire, he, for his 
 part, could not retain the position of Foreign Minister unless 
 his hands were strengthened by its passage. He said : — " In 
 my double quality of President of the Council of Ministers in 
 Prussia, and Chancellor of the Empire, I am the point on which 
 all discontent concentrates itself In the railway-carriage, and 
 in the drawing-room, in every society, the impression is the 
 same. They complain of me as the farmer complains of the 
 bad weather. People treat me as if I could, by the effects 
 of my sole personal will, remove all the faults which are to be 
 found in the new legislati(Mi." 
 
 And yet, with all this arrogance, Prince Bismarck can be
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 29- 
 
 reasonable enough in ordinary life. Credit is given him for 
 possessing a certain personal charm, such as many people mani- 
 fest in a tete-d-tete, but which entirely forsakes them in the 
 presence of numbers. Haughty, provoking, and unconciliatory 
 in the Reichstag, he more or less succeeds in gaining over those 
 of his opponents who approach him in his drawing-room or 
 his study; and a well-known diplomatist, comparing him with 
 the famous Italian minister, considered his brusque frankness 
 and cavalier abandon more winning than the seductive bonhomie 
 and airy grace of Cavour. He has also been described as 
 amiable in society, talkative to excess, communicative to in- 
 discretion, full of wit and originality, not too impatient of 
 contradiction, and, when in good temper, quite open to argu- 
 ment. Whatever prejudices he may have, he knows how to 
 conceal and even to laugh at ; but as the boundary between 
 prejudice and conviction, fancy and belief is hard to define, 
 he too often ridicules what is looked upon by the mass of 
 mankind as most noble and sacred. 
 
 In illustration of Prince Bismarck's affability, one may refer 
 to a little incident that transpired during one's first sojourn in 
 Berlin, and which for the moment shared with the coming of the 
 Czar and the Kaiser the talk of the city. This was the Chan- 
 cellor's entertaining Herr Hclmerding the popular Berlin come- 
 dian — noted for the lively and pointed style in which he sings — 
 at dinner on the very day the Emperor Franz Josef arrived, and 
 probably accounted for by his preferring the company of come- 
 dians who sing good songs to that of mere diplomatists and am- 
 bassadors. The actor has given his own version of the incident 
 which is sufficiently amusing to be quoted iji extenso. 
 
 '' My connection with Prince Bismarck," says Herr Helmerding, " dates 
 from the epoch of the constitutional conflict in 1863. At a stormy sitting of 
 the Lower House, he was severely dealt with, and whilst some orator was 
 shouting his loudest against the unpopular minister, Bismarck opened the 
 door of the little room reserved for members of the Government, and which 
 communicates with the chamber, and said in a disdainful way : ' The honour- 
 able gentleman need not shout so loud, we can hear him very well here.' 
 
 " The incident was reported in all the newspapers, and the following evening 
 Bismarck came to the theatre where 1 was performing and shook with laughter 
 whilst I was singing a verse in which he was sharply criticised. The curtain 
 fell, and plaudits resounded from all parts of the house. A sudden thought 
 seized me, I stepped before the curtain, and said to the audience : ' Not quite 
 so much noise gentlemen, one can hear you very well here.' The hit had a 
 tremendous success. Bismarck complimented me in person, and it is from 
 then that our relations date. Every tirst of January he sends me his card, to 
 show me the interest he takes in my feeble artistic talent. 
 
 " His favourite piece is a short act by David Kalisch, the most popular author 
 of Berlin ; this little sketch is entitled : ' Musical and declamatory evenings.' 
 In it I play the part of a German concierge who, during the absence of his 
 master, has invited his brethren of the neighbourhood. Each concierge 
 belonging to the foreign embassies of Berlin, is received by me with political 
 allusions more or less comical. The part which amuses Bismarck most is,
 
 294 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 when I address the English cotidergi', whom I sahite profoundly, saying to 
 him ' My dear friend, I am enchanted to see you, I hope you will do me the 
 pleasure of passing the evening at my house very often.' And at the same 
 time I ovenvhelm him with kicks and blows, and knocks with the broom. 
 
 " Recently while at the sea-side, on the shores of the Baltic, close to the 
 Prince's country-house, I learnt that he was celebrating the twenty-fifth anni- 
 versan' of his marriage, called by us the silver wedding. I sent him by tele- 
 graph, a little song of felicitation, for which he thanked me very graciously.. 
 But to speak of our famous dinner. 1 was thus honoured when I least 
 expected it, for at the time the political world was greatly agitated by the 
 approaching meeting of the three Emperors. One afternoon the Baron von 
 Rosenberg called upon me and said with an almost official air : 'I am com- 
 missioned by Prince and Princess Bismarck to invite you to dine with them 
 on Friday next, the 6th of September, at two o'clock.' 
 
 " The day happened to be the same as that on which the Emperor of 
 Austria was expected. When it arrived I put on evening dress, hired a 
 first-class open vehicle, and said to the coachman in a grand oft-hand way : 
 ' To Prince Bismarck's.' Though vehicles were not allowed by the police 
 along the principal thoroughfares, my carriage was never once stopped. I 
 was, no doubt, recognised. When one has played for twenty years the 
 principal parts at the same theatre, every one knows you in Berlin, and I 
 heard some urchins cry : * Hallo ! there's Helmerding ! ' At this moment I 
 caught sight of the Prince himself, in an open carriage, going in a perfectly 
 opposite direction. He saluted me as he passed and 1 saluted him in return ; 
 but without laughing, I assure you. I looked at my watch. It wanted only 
 a few minutes to the dinner hour, and yet my host was evidently going away ! 
 I thought I was the victim of some hoax of Rosenberg's, and hesitated what 
 to do. Finally, with royal exactitude, I entered Prince Bismarck's house, 
 where I expected to find all possibleluxury, instead of which there was nothing 
 of the kind. One of the shabbiest-looking porters came to me, and laughing 
 stupidly in my fare, said : ' Ah ! there you are, Mr. Helmerding ; I knew 
 you were coming.' And with this he commenced laughing all the more. 
 Well, its my business to make people laugh, and I like to hear them, when 
 Pm on the stage ; but that laugh at that particular moment was remarkably 
 disagreeable, I assure you. I passed him hurriedly by and was shown into a 
 small room, where I found several gentlemen who expressed their delight at 
 meeting me. A young lady more agreeable than handsome, with channing 
 manners, came up to me and said : ' Mr. Helmerding, my father has gone to 
 see the Emperor, but it will not be long before he returns.' Amongst those 
 present I remarked the Baron von Holstein, the same who appeared as a 
 witness in the Arnim trial ; also Baron Rosenberg, and the son of Prince 
 Bismarck, the Count Herbert, an officer in the dragoons. I noticed on the 
 table a decoration which the Prince had received from some petty potentate 
 or other. It was a very handsome cross, ornamented with diamonds, and I 
 was still admiring the richness of it when the Chancellor entered, saluted 
 everyone with his accustomed high spirits, offered me his hand, and excused 
 himself for being late. 
 
 " We talked of different things, but not of politics, as you will readily believe. 
 Whilst we were conversing the Princess entered, and as soon as dinner was 
 announced, she begged I would offer her my arm. I certify to you that I did 
 so w^ith infinite grace. The repast was excellent, but very simple. 1 noticed 
 that the Prince did not use glasses, but goblets. He had two before him, of 
 different sizes : the one, very large, was for his port, of which he is very 
 proud. He has several pipes of this wine in his cellar, and pretends his col- 
 lection of ports has no rival in the world. The second goblet, he uses for his 
 champagne. The Princess did me the honour to propose my health. We 
 clinked glasses and I was asked to relate the particulars of my life, my studies, 
 my theatrical career. I was so absorbed in my narrative that when we rose 
 from table, I forgot to reconduct the princess, who called my attention to the
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 295 
 
 circumstance, laughing heartily all the while at my distraction. She brought 
 her husband the long porcelain pipe he smokes every day, for the Prince 
 cannot smoke cigars, being 
 forbidden by the doctors, 
 because he so chews the 
 tobacco that poisoning by 
 nicotine is feared. After a 
 time the Prince rose and 
 said graciously : * My dear 
 Herr Hehnerding, you must 
 forgive my running off, but 
 I am obliged to go to the 
 station to await the aiTival 
 of the Emperor of Austria.' 
 Whereupon he withdrew to 
 put on his cuirassier's hel- 
 met, which is a good deal 
 too large for him, whilst I 
 drove to the Wallner 
 
 Theatre to paint my face preparatory to performing my part in ' Berlin that 
 cries and Berlin that laughs.' The Prince and I continue good friends, and 
 it is not without reason that 1 am made to say in a piece called ' Helmerding 
 in Olympus : ' — ' When I go to see my friend Otlo, meaning the Prince, we 
 are so familiar that he sleeps on the sofa, whilst I get into his bed.' " 
 
 The German Chancellor has no pretensions to oratory. The 
 substance of what he says is of more moment to him than 
 the manner of delivery. His voice, though clear, is dry and un- 
 sympathetic, monotonous in tone and far from powerful ; indeed 
 the contrast it offers with his massy physique is one of the things 
 that strikes all who hear him for the first time. He frequently 
 interrupts himself and pauses, sometimes commences to stutter, 
 as though he had a difficulty in finding words to express his 
 ideas. Watching his face closely it is almost possible to trace 
 the workings of his brain. He will mentally attack a sentence 
 two or three times humming and hawing till he finds the exact 
 expression of his thoughts and by this method he never says 
 anything excepting what he precisely means to say. His uneasy 
 lolling attitude and careless movements in no way aid the effect 
 of his delivery. He cannot, it appears, speak without something 
 in his hand, and in the Reichstag twirls between his fingers a 
 grey goose-quill or one of those immense lead pencils which he 
 especially affects, or seizing on a sheet of paper rolls it up and 
 brandishes it like a marshal's baton. 
 
 All this awkwardness of delivery does not hinder both the 
 substance of his speeches and the language in which they are 
 couched from being excellent. The strong solid common sense 
 that forms their basis is relieved by a series of sallies, the biting 
 energy of which has rendered many of them almost proverbial. 
 His speeches have indeed been most aptly compared to his once 
 favourite drink, stout mixed with champagne. When he comes 
 to a climax in a speech, he collects all he has to say in his heart
 
 296 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 into one powerful sentence, as if he were striking the last blow to 
 drive home the nail, and such sentences often re-echo throughout 
 Europe. As he warms up, too, he surmounts all the apparent 
 difficulties noted above, attains a greater facility of expression, 
 presents his propositions in sharp happy touches, pressing into 
 his service similes from real life, with wonderful audacity, and 
 in a cool unprejudiced kind of way, recklessly overthowing revered 
 traditions. His boldness of speech rivals his boldness in action, 
 and whilst he will jest and even pun on all manner of subjects, 
 no one can better assume a tone of scornful disdain. " He speaks, 
 and it is as though the king of beasts sent his leonine roar before 
 him through the forests of which he is lord. That orator erst so 
 eloquent, seems now but froth and fribble ; the attempted epigram 
 of the penultimate patriot dwindles into mere spite ; prudence be- 
 comes pedantry ; warnings the mumblings of blind senile leaders 
 of the blind ; threat the mere futile squeak of peevish impotence."' 
 Such cutting sallies as that in which he declared that Kuhlmann 
 belonged to the right centre faction, and that thrust him away as 
 they would he still clung to their coat tails, are common enough, 
 and his perorations, as a rule, are only too vigorous. 
 
 Little need be said of his personal appearance with which all 
 the world may be said to be familiar. He stands over six feet 
 in height, is broad shouldered, and strongly built. His move- 
 ments are bold and dignified, and there is something of military 
 stiffness in his bearing. His countenance now generally wears an 
 anxious expression, and his complexion which used to be of pecu- 
 liar paleness has of late years become florid and bloated looking. 
 His forehead is large, high, and full, and a few grey hairs, three, 
 according to the popular sobriquet bestowed on him in Berlin, 
 are scattered over the top of his head, the rest falling behind his 
 immense projecting ears. His eyes, shaded by thick black eye- 
 brows, are large, and still clear, bright and lively, but their 
 orbits are pufied and swollen by lymph. A thick moustache 
 gives to the otherwise cleanly-shaven face a military character, 
 and veils the irony of his mouth, the lower lip of which now droops 
 instead of closing firmdy with the upper one. 
 
 The collection of Bismarck's letters, chiefly addressed to his 
 wife and his sister, and published at Berlin by Herr Hezekiel, after 
 a careful revision by the author, are interesting enough from a 
 certain point of view, though, as a matter of course, anyone who 
 expects to find diplomatic or political revelations in them will 
 be grievously disappointed. They show, however, that the 
 Chancellor is possessed of a descriptive faculty of no mean order, 
 a dash of the sentimental, and a turn for the facetious extremely 
 creditable in a German, that family and domestic affairs have 
 ever occupied a great share of his attention, that shooting is one 
 of his favourite recreation.s, and that a happy retirement amidst 
 
 ^ "German Home Life." Fraser's Magazine, December, 1875.
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 297 
 
 green woods and fields presents itself to him as the heitjht of 
 earthly felicity. Thus writing to his wife from Frankfurt in 185 i, 
 he says, " I feel as one does on a beautiful day in September, 
 when leaves are turning yellow, a little sad, a little home-sick, and 
 longing for woods, sea, desert, you and the cliildren, sunset and 
 Beethoven." and to his sister in 1854, from the same place: " I 
 regret the country, the woods, and idleness, with the indispens- 
 able accessories of loving women and nice children." In 1863 
 he wrote to his wife, " I wish some intrigue would bring a change 
 of ministry, so that I could honourably turn my back on this 
 uninterrupted flow of ink and live quietly in the country." 
 
 Domestic details are plentiful. A family group at Schon- 
 hausen in 1851 is sketched by him as follows : " Johanna, at this 
 moment asleep in the arms of Lieutenant Morpheus, will have 
 told you of my present fate. The boy roaring in a major key, 
 the girl in a minor one, two nursery maids singing, whilst I, a 
 devoted paterfamilias, sit by in the midst of wet clothes and 
 feeding bottles. I resisted for a long time, but as all the mothers 
 and aunts were unanimous that nothing but sea water and sea 
 air could benefit poor little Marie, if I had not given in, every 
 cold which the child caught up to her seventeenth year would have 
 been laid upon my paternal cruelty and stinginess, with a ' There, 
 now, don't you see if the poor child had gone to the seaside.' " 
 He also notes that at the Hotel de Douvres at Paris, in 1857, he 
 had " five fireplaces, and yet I freeze, five clocks that go, and yet 
 I never know the time, eleven large looking-glasses, and yet my 
 cravat is never well tied." Another family picture from St 
 Petersburg, in 1862, runs as follows: ''Johanna has a cough 
 which quite exhausts her, and dares not go out, Bill is in bed 
 feverish with pains in the stomach and throat, and the doctors 
 do not yet know what it is. Our new governess has scarcely 
 any hopes of seeing Germany again, she has been in bed for 
 weeks past and grows worse every day. I for my part am only 
 well when out hunting ; as soon as 1 go to balls or theatres here I 
 catch cold and cannot eat or sleep." 
 
 Success or bad luck in sport are continually being noted in 
 these letters. Thus in 1872 he sends his wife a wild boar, killed 
 at Blankenburg by the King, whom he had accompanied there, 
 and writing from Konigsberg, in 1857, says: "Without counting 
 several deer I have killed five elands, one of them a magnificent 
 stag, measuring six feet eight inches from the foot to the throat, 
 with an immense head above this. He was dropped like a hare, 
 but as he still breathed I gave him the coup de grace with the 
 other barrel. Scarcely had I done so when I saw another }'et 
 larger, which passed quite close to me, and which I could only 
 look at not having another shot to fire. I am not yet consoled 
 for this ill luck." In his letters from Russia too, he continually 
 mentions sport as his only relaxation.
 
 298 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 When political topics arc touched upon they are mainly in 
 reference to his personal aspirations. The views respecting him- 
 self early in 1862 arc thus expressed in a letter from St. Peters- 
 burg to his sister. " I would go to Paris or to London without 
 regret or pleasure, or remain here as it pleases God and his 
 Majesty ; neither our policy nor my prospects will be much 
 affected whichever may happen. I should be ungrateful to God 
 and man if I said I was doing badly here and wished for change. 
 I dread a ministerial portfolio as a cold bath." Three years 
 before he had found his position "very agreeable," though he 
 had "a great deal to do, with 40,000 Prussians for whom I act 
 as policeman, lawyer, judge, recruiting officer, and country 
 magistrate, besides writing from twenty to fifty signatures a day, 
 without counting passports." 
 
 In many of his letters a due observance of the Prussian 
 principle of economy is noticeable. Thus in one from St 
 Petersburg to his sister, dated December, i860, he says: "I do 
 not receive, my means will not allow it ; an ambassador who only 
 receives 30,000 thaler must restrict himself. . . . I receive at noon, 
 and people take pot luck with me, but I do not give soirc^cs. . . . 
 The approach of Christmas renders me anxious ; I can find 
 nothing here for Johanna except at exorbitant prices. Be pleased 
 therefore to buy from twelve to twenty pearls, to match those 
 in her necklace, at Friedberg's. I will consecrate about 300 thaler 
 for this. . . . Join to these some boxes of bonbons, but not too 
 much, since the children have no need of these to help them to 
 digest quickly." In an earlier letter from Frankfurt in 1857, he 
 gives a full catalogue of Christmas purchases to be made for his 
 wife, which include an article of jewellery that must not exceed 
 200 thaler, a white dress at about 100 thaler, a pretty gilt fan, 
 if one is to be picked up for 10 thaler, not more, since he cannot 
 " stand these inutilities," and a large warm travelling rug with a 
 tiger, or a hippopotamus, or a fox on it, that ought to cost the 
 same sum. 
 
 A few days after assuming his ministerial position in 1862, he 
 sends his wife news of his health written " at the table in the House 
 with an orator in the tribune in front talking nonsense to me." 
 He complains of "much work, no little fatigue, and not enough 
 sleep," but hopes after a time to become reconciled to " this life 
 in a glass-house," in which he says, "but for Roon and my 
 chestnut mare I should feel a little lonely, though I am never 
 alone." Three days later he thanks his sister for a gift of 
 sausages and liver, the best he had ever eaten. 
 
 In many instances he shows descriptive powers for which one 
 would hardly be prepared. Describing a swim down the Rhine 
 in 185 1, he becomes strongly poetical. "There is something 
 wonderfully dreamy in lying on the water like that on a warm 
 still night, slowly carried along by the stream, gazing up at the
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 299 
 
 sky, and moon, and stars above one, and on either side moonlit 
 castle towers, and wooded mountain tops, and hearing nothing 
 but the gentle splashing of one's own motion." When he is 
 travelling through Hungary in 1852, he notes the "thousands of 
 whitey-brown oxen with horns as long as one's arm, and timid as 
 deer ; innumerable shaggy-coated horses, tended by mounted 
 herdsmen half naked, and with goads like lances ; endless droves 
 of swine, with each of which is an ass to carry the sheepskin 
 coat of the swineherd ; then great flocks of bustards, and some- 
 times on a pond of brackish water wild geese, ducks, and grey 
 plover," that stud the face of the country. 
 
 A Swedish landscape is sketched as follows in 1857: "No 
 towns, no villages, as far the eye can reach ; only a few solitary 
 wooden huts with a little patch of barley and potatoes ; little 
 cultivated spots lost in the midst of stunted trees, rocks, and 
 bushes. A hundred square miles of tall heather, alternating 
 with tracts of short grass and marshes, and with birches, junipers, 
 pines, beeches, oaks, and alders, here clustered together, here 
 scattered apart, the whole intermixed with innumerable rocks 
 often as big as a house, and with here and there lakes with 
 fantastic outlines, bordered with heath-covered hills, and with 
 forests." 
 
 A Spanish frontier town is thus noticed in 1862 : "At Fonte- 
 rabia the street is very steep and only twelve feet wide ; to every 
 window there is a curtain and a balcony ; at every balcony black 
 eyes and mantillas, beauty and dirt ; in the market-place one 
 hears tambourines and fifes, and sees a hundred women, young 
 and old, dancing with each other, whilst the men look on, draped 
 in their cloaks and smoking their cigars." 
 
 Especially good is the description of the table cCJwte at Nor- 
 derney which " changes its hours between one o'clock and five ; its 
 component parts varying between cod fish, beans, and mutton on 
 the odd days, and soles, peas, and veal on the even days, accom- 
 panied in the former case by porridge with sweet sauce, and in the 
 latter by plum pudding. Opposite to me sits the old minister, one 
 of those figures that appear to us in dreams when we are not 
 sleeping well ; a fat frog without legs, who at every morsel opens 
 his mouth like a carpet bag as far as his shoulders, so that I hold 
 fast to the table for fear of falling into it from giddiness. My 
 other neighbour is a Russian officer, a good fellow, but when I 
 look at his long thin body and short legs turned like a Turkish 
 sabre, he invariably puts me in mind of a boot-jack." 
 
 Prince Bismarck has his Sans Souci — though, as befits these 
 railway days, it is further from the capital than the Great 
 Friedrich's. This is Varzin, an estate lying in a remote corner 
 of Pomerania, three German miles south-west of the Schlawe 
 station, on the Stettin and Dantzig Railway, in the n-idst of an 
 undulating tract of well-cultivated country, pleasantl) diversified
 
 ?oo 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 by wood and water, with here and there a stretch of Baltic sand, 
 and studded with Httle villages of low houses, the walls of red 
 brick or earth, and the roofs of tiles or thatch. The Schloss is 
 an unpretending two-storied building capable of accommodating 
 
 from twenty to thirty guests, resembling the dwellings of the 
 bulk of the landed gentry of the district, and displaying in the 
 centre of its somewhat bald fagade the escutcheon of the von 
 Blumenthals its former owners. In the rear of the house is a 
 tastefully-arranged garden with ornamental water, fountains, and 
 statues, beyond which the ground slopes upwards into a magni- 
 ficent park thickly studded with beech trees — the haunt of a 
 colony of herons — and gradually merging into the ocean of 
 rolling woods which surround it. It was this park and the woods 
 of oak, pine, fir, birch, and beech, abounding in wild boars and 
 other game, that led the Chancellor to purchase the estate, which 
 it takes about six hours to drive round, and the remainder of 
 which consists of tolerably fertile soil, producing rye, potatoes, 
 and the like. The Wipper flows through a part of the domain, 
 and forms its boundaries in other places. It adds both to its 
 beauty and its value, as the rapid stream, which is well stocked 
 with trout, is used to float the timber of Pomerania to the Baltic. 
 The Prince, however, only allows trees enough to be felled to let 
 sufficient air and light into his woods. 
 
 When at Varzin the Chancellor avoids business as much as he 
 can, seeking absolute quiet and repose, and hibernating as it 
 were by lying in bed till 1 1 o'clock in the day. He once 
 retorted to certain editors who had commented on his prolonged
 
 
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 e
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 3OI 
 
 retirements to this retreat, and admonished him to live in Berlin, 
 since his salary had been augmented with a view of enablinp^ him 
 to do so, by the information that he always spent all his official 
 emoluments and more during the months he was in town. 
 Breakfast over, and the business that is absolutely necessary 
 despatched with the aid of Lothar Bucher (the only official who 
 accompanies him) beneath the shadow of the beech trees beside 
 the ornamental water in the rear of the house, the Chancellor 
 .sallies forth on his rounds on foot or on horseback, but always 
 with his huge Bavarian do!7 at his 'heels, and his head covered 
 with a battered hat of soft felt which the peasants have nick- 
 named the "three master." His declaration "I should like to 
 be an ambassador ten yeans, and a minister ten years, in order 
 to end my life as a country gentleman," is characteristic of his 
 temperament and tastes. 
 
 The Pomeranian Squire, as he sometimes styles himself, or 
 the Hermit of Varzin, as he is dubbed by the Berlin papers, 
 passes the greater part of his time in the open air; interests 
 himself in his stock and his crops, entertains his relatives, and 
 neighbours, hunts or shoots at times in the surrounding forests, 
 keeps all intruders attracted by mere curiosity at a distance, and 
 avoids all discussion of political topics. He chats with all the 
 peasants he meets, pats the little children on the head as they go 
 to school, and bids them be good, and sends alms to the sick 
 and distressed. But the malicious assert that he is without 
 honour in his own country, and that the peasants draw invidious 
 comparisons between the powerful Chancellor and his predecessor 
 Herr von Blumenthal. The harvest home and the anniversary 
 of Sedan are celebrated every year at Varzin with great rejoicing, 
 the festivities winding up with a ball, at which the Prince and 
 Princess do not disdain to foot it with their tenants. On a 
 recent occasion the Prince's first partner was a stalwart Pomera- 
 nian lass, who dashed into a waltz with an ardour and vigour 
 that almost twisted him off his legs, which are not so supple as 
 they used to be. He had to beg her to moderate her pace, and 
 thus a North German inddchcn proved more successful than the 
 Ultramontanes in shaking and almost upsetting the Prince 
 Chancellor.
 
 FIELD-MARSHAL COUNT VON MOLTKE. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 PRUSSIAN GEI^ERALS — MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON. 
 
 IT is afternoon, and the Linden is thronged with promenaders. 
 Amongst them there passes suddenly an elderly gentleman 
 in a flat undress cap, and the plainest of military frocks, whose 
 sole decoration is the funereal-looking Iron Cross. There is 
 nothing striking about his spare and somewhat bent figure — 
 which is sinewy rather than muscular, and spite of the stoop, 
 clastic as a good sword blade — or his pale clean-shaven face, 
 cross-hatched by innumerable little wrinkles and furrowed with 
 the traces of intellectual labour ; with its thin compressed lips, 
 suggestive of their being able to keep a secret close, its prominent 
 nose as transparent as horn, its quick eyes peering from a nest 
 of crows'-feet, and its arched forehead fringed at the sides with 
 scanty tufts of hair once fair and now grizzled. Nevertheless, 
 he is instantly recognized and saluted on all sides with respect 
 and admiration. The pert apprentice bawling at the top of his 
 voice the last street ballad, stops as suddenly as though he felt 
 the hand of the policeman upon his collar, the dandy ceases to 
 ogle the passing beauty, and the nursemaid for the moment loses 
 sight of her infant charges. The student, so slow to recognize any 
 authority, bows before the presence of genius, the hypochondriac 
 forgets his fancied ailments, the socialistic workman his hatred 
 for the military, and the invalid officer the wounds received in the 
 last war. The physiognomist scrutinizes the impassive features 
 before him, seeking to divine the character hidden beneath them.
 
 MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON. 303 
 
 the artist strives to impress them upon his memory, and the 
 portly citizen turning to his brood of httle ones gives them a 
 short lesson on modern history. 
 
 Almost surprised at so much attention, the object of it hastens 
 on towards the Brandenburg Gate. Here, however, the sentry 
 calls out the guard, and the men come rushing forward to 
 present arms, although with a kindly gesture the old officer seems 
 to deprecate the mark of honour paid him and passes on towards 
 the Thicrgarten, either to the offices of the Great General Staff 
 or to seek some of the m.ore secluded walks in the Berliner's 
 favourite woodland promenade. And should a stranger, struck 
 by so much attention bestowed upon so unpretending a personage, 
 ask his name, the Berliner will bestow upon the questioner a 
 look of wonderment and pity, before replying with proud 
 consciousness : — " Why that is our Moltke ! " 
 
 This mild-looking individual, whose melancholy and ascetic 
 face and student stoop, might but for his uniform cause him to 
 be taken for a poor professor of theology, is indeed Count 
 Helmuth Carl Bernhard von Moltke, General Field-Marshal and 
 Chief of the Great General Staff of the Prussian Army. His 
 career is to be summed up in a few words, for it is one to be 
 judged rather by results than by deeds. Born at Parchim, in the 
 Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, on the 26th October, 1800, he 
 was the third son of Lieutenant-General von Moltke of the 
 Danish Army, by the daughter of Finance Councillor Paschen 
 of Hamburg. When he was six years old, as he tells us in his 
 concise autobiography, he went with his parents to Liibeck, 
 where their house was pillaged by the French, who the year 
 following burnt his father's property of Augustenhoff, with all 
 the produce of that year's harvest. Shortly afterwards his 
 grandfather died, having suffered such considerable losses from 
 the war that Moltke's mother, who was his residuary legatee and 
 had large expectations, found that she had nothing whatever 
 to receive. No wonder, therefore, that the great strategist 
 should harbour no particularly kindly feelings towards the 
 French. 
 
 Moltke was educated with his elder brother at the Cadet 
 Academy of Copenhagen, where his existence by his own 
 showing was anything but a happy one, and after serving as a 
 royal page, he entered the Danish army at eighteen. The small 
 chance of making his way which this offered, led to his trans- 
 ferring his services by the aid of the Duke of Holstein to 
 Prussia. He came to I3erlin in 1822, and was gazetted to the 
 8th light grenadier regiment. He attended the military 
 school there, earned by his assiduity the nickname of the "Com- 
 pendium of Military Science," became an instructor in turn at 
 that of Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, and in 1827 assumed the crimson 
 badge of the Great General Staff, which he has never since laid
 
 304 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 aside. In 1835, whilst on a visit to Constantinople, he was 
 introduced to Chosrcf Pacha, Minister of War and the rici^ht- 
 hand man of the reforming Sultan jMahmoud. Chosref and his 
 master were both greatly impressed by Moltke's talents, and 
 requested the Prussian Government to allow them to avail them- 
 selves of his ser\Mces. This was granted, and aided by three 
 other Prussian officers, he organised and drilled troops, built and 
 repaired fortresses, palaces, bridges, naval schools, and aqueducts, 
 surveyed frontiers and districts, and designed defences which 
 years afterwards caused the Russian General Luders to exclaim 
 that some one had passed through those places who knew what 
 he was about. His Letters on the State of Turkey, 1834-9, 
 first published anonymously, and his Russo-Tnrkish Cmnpaign 
 in European Turkey in 1828-9, stamped him as a scientific 
 military writer. After taking part in an expedition against the 
 Kurds, and in the campaign against Mehemet Ali, he resigned 
 his post consequent upon the battle of Nisib, the loss of which 
 is ascribed to the neglect of his advice by Hafiz Pacha, and 
 returned to Prussia. 
 
 Moltke's sister had married an Englishman named Burt, 
 settled in Holstein, and the letters written home by Moltke had 
 produced a profound impression upon her step-daughter, a girl 
 of sixteen. This impression was deepened when the writer 
 himself, then verging on forty, made his appearance, and though 
 up to this period he is said to have displayed all the indiffer- 
 ence to the fair sex with which Charles XII. is credited, he on 
 his part succumbed to the charms of Mary Burt to whom he was 
 shortly afterwards united. It was a real love match, and the 
 grave soldier positively idolized his young wife, whose death 
 on Christmas Eve, 1868, cast a sorrow over his whole life. 
 
 Attached as adjutant first to Prince Heinrich, with whom he 
 spent some time in Italy almost immediately after his marriage 
 with Mary Burt, and after Prince Heinrich's death to the present 
 Crown Prince, Moltke was made a general in 1857, and shortly 
 afterwards appointed chief of the Great General Staff. In the 
 Schleswig-Holstein war he directed the strategetical movements 
 from Berlin till the end of April, when he joined the allied 
 armies. The war with Austria followed, and it was the crowning 
 point of Moltke's career, when, on the afternoon of the 3rd 
 July, 1866, catching sight of the helmets of the Crown Prince's 
 army glittering in the sunlight as the troops advanced towards 
 the field, he removed the cigar which he had been smoking, with 
 the calm composure of a mathematician, certain beforehand of 
 the result of the problem he was working out and said, " It is 
 actually three o'clock." From that hour he secured in the eyes of 
 Europe that position of first strategist of his day, which he has 
 never relinquished. Two years later he took his seat in the 
 North German Reichstag and though he has the reputation of
 
 \'/t^/.r/i:'.
 
 MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON. 305 
 
 being " eloquently silent in seven languages," proved a frequent 
 and lucid speaker in his native tongue. 
 
 In 1868-9 he drew up his plan for a campaign against France 
 so as to be ready in case of necessity, and when the war came 
 he accompanied the King to the field. The part he played in 
 this contest was one peculiarly his own. He directed simul- 
 taneously the action of the several armies without himself taking 
 an ostensible command. Just as the strategy of the Danish war 
 of 1864 and the Austrian war of 1866 was all his own, so was 
 that of the war with France, and it was his brain, if not abso- 
 lutely his arm, which launched the German battalions to victory 
 at Worth, Vionville, Gravelotte, and Sedan. His strategetical 
 labours closed with the investment of Paris, though he subse- 
 quently took part in arranging the details of the treaty of peace, 
 and his reward assumed the shape of the title of Count, bestowed 
 upon him after the surrender of Metz, and a field-marshal's 
 baton on the return home of the victorious troops. His actuat- 
 ing principle may be summed up in the familiar axiom — " That 
 should be well considered which can be decided only once," 
 which is akin in spirit to his heraldic motto, Erst ivdgen, dann 
 wagen (First weigh, then wage). The leading idea of his 
 strategy is the separate advance of each army corps and their 
 union on the field of action. 
 
 Every year since the war with France, the students of the 
 Berlin University celebrate their Kriegs-Commers in honour of 
 those members of their body who perished during this struggle, 
 and Count von Moltke scarcely ever fails to be present at these 
 assemblies. At the first of them, held on the evening of the 
 6th March, 1871, the hall of the Urania, which had been decked 
 out with banners and escutcheons in honour of the occasion, 
 was crowded with students, leading professors, and officials, 
 who had been invited to take part in the ceremony. When 
 Moltke entered accompanied by several officers of the General 
 Staff, all those present rose and cheered. The singing of 
 " Deutschland, Deutschland liber alles," was the signal for the 
 commencement of the festivities. After the Emperor's health, 
 that of Field-Marshal Count von Moltke was proposed and 
 received with riotous enthusiasm. Loud shouts of " Silence for 
 the Great Taciturn," announced that Moltke was about to break 
 through his wonted reserve. In a short speech he attributed 
 the German success to the patriotism and devotion of the youth 
 of the nation, the representatives of which he saw around him. 
 The Fatherland, he said, still counted on their support whether 
 to sustain fresh conflicts or to enjoy the advantages it had won, 
 and to consolidate them by peaceful industry. At the end of this 
 brief oration, the students crowded round the speaker, every one 
 being eager to clink glasses with the great strategist of the age. 
 
 Though upwards of seventy and not very robust in appearance 
 
 X
 
 3o6 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 von Moltke retains his freshness and vigour. He looks better 
 on horseback than on foot, for his stoop is not noticeable in the 
 saddle. Much as has been written and said about him, he talks 
 but little himself. Though a constant attendant at the Reich- 
 stag, his voice is now seldom raised there, excepting on some 
 special subject, like the Army Bill. His political convictions 
 include a deep detestation of the socialistic democrats, and a 
 dislike but little less intense for the Catholic party. In 1874, he 
 was present at the meeting held in Berlin to thank the English 
 people for their expressions of sympathy with the religious policy 
 of the German Empire. He expresses his thoughts as briefly as 
 possible, and in supervising the written compositions of the 
 General Staft" strikes out all superfluous phrases, and gives the 
 pith of a report in a few terse sentences. Simple and modest in 
 manners as in appearance, he is as sparing of money as of words, 
 and is economical even in trifles. His personal wants are few 
 and his only luxury a good cigar. The house he occupied in the 
 Behrenstrasse before taking up his quarters in the new building 
 of the General Staff, was small and plain-looking, and any well- 
 to-do burgher in Berlin fared better than the great general. In 
 his plainly-furnished study he works for eight or nine hours at a 
 stretch, on a glass of wine and a biscuit. He dines at two, and 
 sups at eight, excepting when the Reichstag is sitting, and his 
 only relaxations are a short walk in the Thiergarten and a rubber 
 in the evening with a few friends, chief amongst whom are von 
 Burt, his brother-in-law and adjutant, and the Finance-Coun- 
 cillor, Schiller. Quiet and silent in general society, in his inti- 
 mate circle he opens himself and exhibits remarkable conversa- 
 tional powers, tells a good story, and displays a keen but never 
 unkind wit, and indulges in that dry humour which prompted 
 him to reply to the army of English, Russian, and American in- 
 terviewers, who assailed him before he set out for the Rhine in 
 1870 — "You want to know how things are going on ; well, the 
 wheat has suffered a little from the rain, but the potatoes were 
 never looking better." He is credited with an almost feminine 
 tenderness of manner which renders him especially attractive to 
 women. Kind-hearted and considerate, too, as he is known to be 
 towards his subordinates and inferiors, quite a sensation was 
 created among the gossips of Berlin when it was known that he 
 had boxed the ears of a stable lad on his estate for smoking in 
 the stable in spite of repeated admonitions. Modesty itself, he 
 is still astonished at his popularity, and ascribes his victories to the 
 valour of the German troops and the experience of their leaders. 
 " The faults of the enemy," he remarked to an Italian officer, 
 " had much to do with our rapid victories. We were sure that 
 each of our corps iVannir could hold on for twenty-four hours, 
 and in twenty-four hours everything can be made good, especially 
 with troops like our own,"
 
 MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON. 307 
 
 We have already mentioned that Count von Moltke resides at 
 the General Staff offices some little distance outside the Bran- 
 denburg Gate. There he has a suite of private apartments 
 approached up a handsome marble staircase, to which access is 
 gained through a stately vestibule. The anteroom contains a 
 portrait of the Emperor and marble bust of the great strategist 
 himself Some folding doors lead into Moltke's study, a lofty 
 apartment lighted by three windows looking on to the 
 Konigs-platz, and sufficiently spacious to allow of its occupant 
 promenading up and down, while meditating, according to his 
 wont. Running along the upper portion of the walls is a frieze 
 in fresco symbolizing the development of the science of arms ; 
 and including such weapons as the catapult, the cross and long 
 bows, the mace, the battle-axe, the two-handed sword, &c., with 
 the earliest and latest forms of firearms, numerous appropriate 
 figures being introduced into the subject in the costume of their 
 respective epochs. The series, which includes the remoter and 
 the middle ages, the Thirty Years' War, the period of Friedrich 
 the Great, and the War of Liberation, terminates with the recent 
 contest with France and the introduction of the mitrailleuse, 
 which figures in a representation of a conflict between Prussian 
 grenadiers and jagers and French zouaves and turcos. Under- 
 neath this frieze hang som© engraved portraits of members of 
 the Imperial family. 
 
 Each of the three windows in the apartment has a table in 
 front of it, but it is at the one to the left that Moltke commonly 
 sits, in an antique-shaped carved arm-chair. We noticed that 
 all his papers had been discreetly put out of sight, save a few 
 unopened reports beside which his spectacles were lying. Maps 
 and plans were spread over the other tables together with an 
 elevation of the new military railway station in course of con- 
 struction between the Halle and Anhalt Gates, from which an 
 entire division will be able to be moved simultaneously ; also a 
 plan of the old fortifications of Strasburg, kept down at either 
 end by a couple of bronze paper-weights formed of fragments of 
 French and Austrian cannon, the latter inscribed " Koniggratz, 3 
 Juli, 1866." In one corner of the apartment stood a bookcase with 
 glass doors on the ledge of which was a box of Havannah cigars, 
 sufficient rarities at Berlin to attract special attention. It is in 
 this room that Moltke receives the numerous German and foreign 
 officers who call upon him ; that he reads the despatches con- 
 nected with his manifold occupations ; digests his schemes for 
 army organization, and meditates over his plans for possible 
 future campaigns. 
 
 In the adjacent bedroom we observed an iron camp bedstead 
 behind a screen, and beside it a small leather bag capable of 
 holding just what was absolutely necessary for a soldier on cam- 
 paign, together with a tin cylinder containing maps. There were 
 
 X 2
 
 308 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 a couple of portraits of Moltke's deceased wife, one on a small 
 table, the other suspended against the wall. The appointments 
 of the dining-room were both limited and simple, indicating that 
 the Field-Marshal is not in the habit of entertaining guests, whilst 
 as regards the salon, or vinnkzinii)iC7\ this has never been used 
 since the lamented death of Moltke's young wife. 
 
 Like Bismarck, Moltke has a large estate in Silesia, situate in 
 the midst of a fair and fertile plain, stretching between the towns 
 of Schweidnitz and Rcichenbach. An avenue of venerable lime 
 trees leads to the manor house, which lacks the lordly aspect of 
 most of the South German chateaux, being a large rambling 
 building with whitewashed walls and green shutters. The 
 entrance to the courtyard is guarded by the statues of two 
 warriors with lances couched and bucklers thrown forward, and 
 at the foot of the flight of steps leading to the main doorway 
 are two French cannon, a present from the Emperor at the close 
 of the war. Faithful to his old habits, the Field-Marshal is always 
 the first person astir in the house. At five o'clock every morn- 
 ing regularly he turns out of the narrow iron bedstead that con- 
 stitutes almost the whole of the furniture in his room, warms 
 for himself at a spirit lamp a cup of coffee prepared over-night, 
 and sallies forth to breathe the morning air. As he paces, deep 
 in meditation, up and down the park with his clean shaven face, 
 black cravat, long frock coat, and soft wide-awake, he might be 
 taken for a Lutheran minister thinking over his next Sunday's 
 sermon. At seven o'clock he begins his general inspection, 
 visiting the stables and cowhouses, the barn, the granary, the 
 mill and the distillery He winds up with the orchard and gar- 
 den, propping up a drooping sapling or cutting off a dead or 
 straggling branch as he walks along, and holding long consulta- 
 tions with his gardener, with whose aid he has carried oft" prizes 
 at several horticultural shows. At ten o'clock he mounts to his 
 study on the second floor. Here a frugal breakfast, a bowl of 
 soup, or a slice or two of bread and butter and a glass of wine, 
 awaits him. Whilst eating he skims over the newspapers which 
 the post has just brought, opens his letters and then sets to work. 
 At noon he retires to his bedroom and has a nap till dinner, 
 which is served at two o'clock. On rising from table he smokes 
 a cigar and then returns to his study to finish and despatch his 
 correspondence. If there are guests at the manor-house they 
 usually await his leisure beneath the trees of the park, where he 
 joins them. Riding, walking, or a neighbourly visit passes away 
 the hours till supper-time, eight o'clock, after which, if the evening 
 is fine, the great strategist indulges in a solitary stroll to smoke a 
 cigar and plan the work of the morrow. His steps usually lead 
 him towards his wife's tomb, a marble mausoleum on the summit 
 of a hillock at the end of the park, veiled by a screen of cypresses. 
 He himself designed this tomb, the key of which never leaves
 
 MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROOX. 
 
 309 
 
 him, and which bears the inscription, " Die Liebe ist der Gczetze 
 Erfiillung." Whenever he comes to Creisau his first care before 
 crossing the threshold of the house is to visit this tomb. On Sun- 
 day he goes to church at the head of his workmen, in the morning, 
 and passes the rest of the day in reading religious works. 
 
 The tall gaunt nonagenarian, attenuated almost to a skeleton, 
 and clad in the white uniform with blue facings of a Prussian 
 cuirassier colonel, who may.be sometimes seen, on a fine after- 
 noon, tottering towards the ICmpcror's palace, with a troop of 
 urchinsat hisheels, 
 and bowing right 
 and left in reply to 
 the numerous sal- 
 utations, and oc- 
 casionally kissing 
 his hand as his 
 eye lights upon a 
 pretty girl, is 
 Field-Marshal,Ge- 
 neral Count Fried- 
 rich von Wrangel, 
 whose years of ser- 
 vice in the Prus- 
 sian army out- 
 number those of 
 the present cen- 
 tury. He smelt 
 powder at Leipsic, 
 ranked as colonel 
 in the year of 
 Waterloo, and has 
 taken part in ten 
 pitched battles 
 and two-and-twen- 
 ty minor engage- 
 ments. Though 
 
 his eye has lost 
 much of its lustre and his limbs at times seem hardly able 
 to set themselves in motion, long years spent under harness 
 have stiffened his spare figure to the rigidity of a ramrod, 
 and he is still as upright as any corporal in the foot guards. 
 Occasionally the old cavalry leader, who is now in his dotage, 
 sallies forth on horseback from his residence on the Pariser-platz, 
 arrayed in the full dress uniform of a Prussian field-marshal, and 
 on these occasions he is followed by his usual escort of Berlin 
 boys, who hail the appearance of " Papa Wrangel," as he is 
 styled by the whole city, with unfeigned delight, it being his 
 habit to scatter specimens of the infinitesimal coinage of United
 
 310 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 Germany broadcast amongst them. Papa Wrangel is as much a 
 part and parcel of that Berh'n, which once hated him so bitterly, 
 as the statue of the Great Elector, and there is no doubt that 
 within the next fifty years as many popular myths will have 
 grown up around this relic of the War of Liberation, as have 
 gathered around the Great Friedrich, " Old Ziethen," Bliicher, and 
 the rest. 
 
 Marshal Wrangel was born in Stettin, in 1784, and on the 30th 
 April, 1873, he completed his fiftieth year of service as a general 
 in the Prussian army. The vigour with which in the latter year 
 he rallied from a stroke of paralysis is something remarkable, 
 even in this country of hale old men. It was during this illness 
 that he wrote at the top of the sheet of paper on which his 
 numerous visitors inscribed their names, "J. have not yet the least 
 mind to die." In 1796, when but twelve-and-a-half years old, he 
 quitted the benches of the Stettin gymnasium with the slightest 
 store of acquired knowledge, for the saddle of Werther's dragoons, 
 a regiment which now ranks under his immediate command as 
 the 3rd Kast Prussian cuirassiers, and two years later he was a 
 lieutenant in that corps. In 1806 he fleslied his maiden sword 
 in a skirmish with Ney's cavalry near Gurczno, and the year 
 following received his first wound and the Merit Order, at Heils- 
 berg. In the War of Liberation, when breaking a French infantry 
 square at the head of his squadron at Gross Gorschen, his horse 
 was shot, and Wrangel falling under him with a painful wound in 
 his foot, remained all night on the field given up for dead. It 
 was characteristic of the economical principles which have always 
 distinguished him, that on being offered his choice of promotion 
 or the Iron Cross, he at once selected the former, though both 
 were subsequently awarded him. His chief exploit during this 
 struggle was covering the retreat from Etoges in February, 18 14. 
 Surrounded and summoned to surrender by the French, who 
 offered honourable terms of capitulation, he answered that as 
 long as he could hold his sabre and sit in his saddle he would 
 never yield, and on the envoy endeavouring to persuade the 
 cuirassiers to lay down their arms, Wrangel had him shot 
 despite the flag of truce he carried, " by virtue of the Prussian 
 articles of war." 
 
 The situation was desperate. Wrangel saw that the only 
 chance of his regiment was for it to force its way in the darkness 
 through an adjacent wood occupied by the enemy, and in the 
 event of success to rejoin the main army. Addressing his men 
 he said, " Nothing is left but to cut our way through — Follow 
 me ! I will ride first and open the way." And forward they 
 u ent, first at a walk, then at a trot, and next at a rushing gallop, 
 with ringing hurrahs, right into the wood, where it was crossed 
 by the road by which tlie enemy's infantry had penetrated. In 
 the darkness the latter could not discern the approach of the
 
 MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON. 31 1 
 
 cuirassiers and were terrified at the sabre thrusts which they made 
 at their heads as they rushed wildly by. No sooner, however, 
 were they recognized than the French infantry turned upon 
 them and fired at hazard. Still Wrangcl and his men rode on 
 undaunted. They flew as it were on the wings of the wind, past 
 the enemy's columns, their bold commander always leading the 
 way, undeterred by the many obstacles on the road — ditches, 
 trunks of trees, underwood, and the like. Onwards they went 
 over dead bodies and wounded horses, till the French infantry in 
 the wood w^ere left far behind, and they emerged into open 
 country and finally came upon the Prussian head-quarters where 
 they had been given up for lost. 
 
 VVrangel was constrained to remain inactive in 181 5 ; still he 
 had been made a colonel, and eight years later, after rather more 
 than a quarter of a century of service he was promoted to the 
 rank of general. On the accession of Friedrich Wilhelm. IV. in 
 .1840, he was actively engaged in organizing the Prussian cavalry, 
 which, according to that competent authority Prince Friedrich 
 Carl, is indebted to Wrangel for much of its existing efficiency. 
 In 1848 he successfully commanded the forces employed against 
 Denmark, and after the truce of Malmo was placed at the head 
 of the troops sent to Berlin to restore order to the riotous capital. 
 Before he entered the city he had been threatened with hanging 
 by the infuriated populace, but he drove in unattended in one of 
 the royal carriages, and personally faced the mob, who were 
 daunted by his pluck. When the city was occupied by the 
 troops, crowds used to assemble outside the Schloss where he 
 had taken up his quarters, and threaten him with the fate of 
 Count Latour whom the Viennese had recently strung up to a 
 lamppost. The present idol of the Berlinese was then the most 
 detested man in the city, but, like Wellington, he lived down 
 his unpopularity, and after several narrow escapes his tact and 
 firmness gained him general esteem. 
 
 In 1856, on completing his sixtieth year of service, Wrangel 
 was made a field-marshal, and the next year he became 
 Governor of Berlin, a post which he held for eight years. In his 
 eightieth year the old Pomeranian was despatched to the scene 
 of his former triumphs in Schleswig-Holstein, at the head of the 
 allied Prussian and Austrian forces, but the fatigues and exposure 
 of the winter campaign proved too much for him, and he resigned 
 his command to his pupil Prince Friedrich Carl, receiving the 
 title of Count on his retirement which he temporarily emerged 
 from in 1866, when he appeared in the saddle at the head of his 
 cuirassiers. To-day he still takes a part in all the great military 
 parades, although he is as deaf as a post. 
 
 On the occasion of the jubilee of Wrangel's eightieth year of 
 military service, the Emperor presented him with a sword, 
 accompanying it with a letter, which, after speaking of the
 
 312 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 veteran field-marshal's glorious deeds, of his being specially- 
 favoured by Providence, and making constant reference to the 
 mercies of Almighty God, wound up by saj'ing : — 
 
 " I wish to manifest today that I number you with all my heart among the 
 prominent men who have risen from the Prussian army, by informing you that 
 I have resolved one day to erect to you a monument, so that the most remote 
 passer-by may know of your deserts and my acknowledgment of them. As 
 a reminiscence of to-day, I send you the accompanying sword, a weapon 
 which you have now used for eighty years, with which at Etoges with your 
 present regiment you forced a passage through the enemy, and which has 
 everywhere shown to the troops you led the path of victory. As the monu- 
 ment will show to the world, so will the sword give testimony to your later 
 descendants of the gratitude and special high esteem of your gratefully 
 obedient King, WlLHtLM." 
 
 Somewhat of a martinet in military matters, and most rigidly 
 abstemious in private life, Papa VVrangel is notorious in Berlin 
 for having pushed the virtue of economy to absolute miserliness. 
 It is only of late years that the generosity which takes so 
 strange a form has developed itself. The principles of rigid 
 economy which have distinguished his whole existence and 
 enabled him to amass a handsome fortune, are reported to have 
 cost him the life of a son, who in a moment of despair at the 
 refusal of his father to advance him the sum necessary to pay 
 a debt of honour blew out his brains. Indeed slander goes so 
 far as to assert that the now childless old man is to a certain 
 extent no longer conscious of his actions, and that when scatter- 
 ing pfennige to the rabble of Berlin, he thinks he is supplying 
 the troops with bullets to return the fire of the enemy. 
 
 The reorganizer of the Prussian army, Albrecht Theodor Emil 
 von Roon, is the last representative of an old Dutch family 
 settled for some generations in Gerinany. He was born in April 
 30, 1803, at the family estate of Pleushagen, near Colberg, lost 
 his father while a child, and witnessed the siege of Stettin a few 
 years afterwards, when he was slightly wounded by a shell. At the 
 age of thirteen he entered the Cadet corps at Culm, went thence 
 to Berlin, and received his first commission in 182 1. His mother 
 died about this time and the family property had to be sold, so 
 that he began life very poor. After spending some years in the 
 capacity of teacher at the Berlin Cadetten-haus, where he 
 produced certain manuals of geography which helped to revolu- 
 tionize instruction in public schools, he joined in 1832 the army of 
 observation formed at Crefield'to watch the Belgian revolution. 
 
 This decided Roon's future career, bringing as it did under his 
 notice the defects of the army organization of which he wrote : 
 " B}- hook and by crook we gathered together some thirty 
 thousand men of Aix-la-Chapelle, but what was their condition .■• 
 One commander of a battalion presented himself before the 
 governor of Coblcnz, but without his battalion. His men did 
 not turn up at their appointed quarters till nightfall, when they
 
 MOLTKE, WRANGEL, AND ROON. 513 
 
 came to receive their billets, and escape punishment for their 
 absence. But as to where they had spent the day the officer knew 
 nothin<j. Another landwehr commander could only get his men 
 on by having barrels of beer placed at intervals along the road ! 
 Insubordination was the order of the day, and the greatest 
 excesses were committed on the march. Wherever the landwehr 
 came it either incurred hate or became an object of contempt." 
 After the siege of Antwerp Roon returned to Berlin, joined the 
 Topographical Office in 1833, and was attached to the General 
 Staff two years later. 
 
 He married, vvorked hard at his duties, and in 1842, being then 
 a major, was present at the grand manoeuvres held at Euskirchen 
 in honour of the Queen of England. On this occasion, when the 
 eyes of all the world were turned to the Prussian army, its 
 defects were still more prominently displayed. " The landwehr 
 battalion which had to march in the midst of the dust during the 
 review, when they approached the inspecting general, von Pfuel, 
 in the march past, began to snort, groan, puff, and give such 
 signs of dissatisfaction, that the embarrassed general turned 
 aside to his suite, and commenced to tell them anecdotes." In 
 1844 von Roon became instructor to Prince Friedrich Carl, whom 
 he accompanied in his travels through Europe, served through 
 the Baden campaign of 1849, receiving the order of the Red 
 Eagle, and a sword for personal bravery, and working his way 
 steadily upwards, became a general of division in 1858. 
 
 The question of reorganization which the Prince Regent had 
 had at heart for thirty years was pending under the Bouin 
 ministry, when in 1858 Roon found himself on leave in Berlin, 
 and presented himself as in duty bound before the Prince at 
 Potsdam. The latter was on the point of starting for Berlin, 
 and asked the general to accompany him. During this memorable 
 ride Roon found an opportunity of setting forth the sad state of 
 the army with all the energy of his nature, and of pointing out 
 the importance of the question to the state. On being asked 
 how the system was to be altered he explained his views, which 
 the Regent on hearing asked him to put before him in writing. 
 This was done, and as soon as the demobilization was accom- 
 plished, he received orders to discuss the matter with a General 
 War Committee, and the completed plan of reorganization as 
 afterwards carried out was then produced. The leading idea was 
 to create by universal military duty and three years' service, a 
 standing army, and to retain the landwehr as a defence for the 
 country as soon as the line had taken the field. 
 
 Bouin resigning at the end of 1859, von Roon succeeded him 
 as Minister of War, well aware of the struggle on which he was 
 entering, but as full of courage to face the thunder of parlia- 
 mentary eloquence as when as a mere child at the siege of 
 Stettin he was seen flour-shing a broom-stick surmounted by a
 
 314 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 bayonet wherever the guns were roaring loudest. The country 
 failed to see the necessity of the proposed reform, and the 
 hatred of the nation, and a personal insult in the House from 
 Herr von Vinckc, was the first result of his labours. He 
 struggled on nevertheless, and the task of reorganization was 
 accomplished, and the battle ground shifted to the term of 
 service, till in 1862 Bismarck became I'rcmier and came to Roon's 
 aid. enabling him to devote more time to his own department. 
 
 The value of Roon's work was proved by the success of the 
 reorganized army in the Schleswig-Holstein war, but the cost of 
 this reorganization was unpaid, and the Lower House continued 
 to refuse the necessary subsidy till the war with Austria, and the 
 rapid mobilization of the troops in the Spring of 1866, established 
 Roon's reputation, and caused his measures to be finally recog- 
 nized, even by his most stubborn opponents, as highly beneficial 
 to the country. The war of 1870 brought him fresh honour, 
 saddened by the loss of his eldest .son who fell at Sedan. On 
 the 9th of January, 1871, he celebrated his fiftieth year of service 
 at Versailles, and on the return of the troops to Berlin, was 
 created a Count, subsequently receiving a marshal's baton, though, 
 like Moltke, he had never commanded an army in the field. His 
 talent and activity were subsequently called into play to fill up 
 the gaps in the army and provide for the protection of United 
 Germany. 
 
 Created Premier in succession to Bismarck in 1873, though for 
 some time he had been seeking permission to resign his post as 
 Minister of War, on the grounds of ill-health, Roon found him- 
 self unable to discharge the new duties, and obtained leave to 
 retire to his estate of Neuhof, near Coburg. It was noticed that 
 whilst he was playing Premier the vacancies in the cabinet were 
 filled up with Bismarck's men, content to act as mere head clerks. 
 A staunch conservative, Roon cordially disliked the County 
 Reform Bill, but policy forbade him to oppose it, and he made 
 his illness an excuse for keeping away from the House. 
 
 In person Roon is tall and broad-shouldered, his manner is 
 determined, and his bearing stiff, though the fatigues of the 
 French campaign, and a chronic asthma from which he suffers, 
 have told heavily upon his constitution. His natural rhetorical 
 gifts, striking in a military man, have been developed by 
 Parliamentary debate, till they have ripened into a rare eloquence. 
 As an author and a man of science he has some reputation, and 
 his philological acquirements rival those of Moltke. The phrase 
 " Might goes before Right," usually attributed to Bismarck, was 
 uttered by Roon in the House in a discussion on home affairs, 
 and is worthy of his Junker sentiments. And if to Bismarck be 
 due the creation of a United Germany, to Roon is certainly due 
 the welding of the implement by which that union was accom- 
 plij^hed — the Prussian Army.
 
 THE GEKMA.N EMI'EKOK S RODY-GLAKD 
 
 XVII. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RECRUITED AND OFFICERED. 
 
 BERLIN swarms with soldiers. Perhaps no other capital in 
 Europe presents such a military aspect. Regiments sally- 
 ing forth in spick and span brightness, or returning to barracks 
 half-smothered in the dust or bespattered by the mud picked up 
 during the morning's manoeuvres, orderlies mounted or on foot 
 hurrying to-and-fro between the different ministries and public 
 offices, squads in charge of waggons laden with provisions or 
 munitions for the various barracks, rounds engaged in the sempi- 
 ternal task of relieving the countless sentries stationed at all 
 public buildings, groups of men lounging at the guard-houses 
 and ready to spring to attention, seize their arms and fall in 
 the moment a general officer is perceived in the distance b}' their 
 keen-eyed comrade on guard, officers hastening to obey the calls 
 of duty or pleasure, or strolling gravely about in knots of 
 two or three with their sabres clattering on the pavement, and
 
 3i6 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 others engaged in a quiet saunter towards the Thiergarten with 
 their wives and famihes, are to be seen on all sides. Not only in 
 the streets but at tables cT/wte, restaurants, beer-rooms, and gar- 
 dens, conditoreien, theatres, and other places of public resort, the 
 dark blue uniform of the infantry or the somewhat gayer attire 
 of the mounted troops meets the eye at every turn, and at times 
 it appears as though civilian life were a mere adjunct to the 
 martial element.^ 
 
 The city itself is the home of that immense number of officers 
 attached to the War Office, the General Staff, and the various 
 Military Schools, whilst all round the outskirts rise huge castel- 
 lated barracks, swarming with horse, foot, and artillery, and jus- 
 tifying the saying that in North Germany there arc no cathe- 
 drals but barracks and arsenals. The flat plain on which Berlin 
 is built furnishes admirable spaces for drill and parade grounds, 
 
 some of them of 
 vast extent. Here 
 from morn till eve 
 squadrons of ca- 
 valry trot, gallop, 
 and charge, wheel- 
 ing and swooping 
 amidst clouds of 
 sand, and battal- 
 ions of infantry 
 march and coun- 
 ter - march, now 
 drawn up in a 
 dark imposing 
 
 column, and now 
 expanding fanwise 
 in a cloud of scat- 
 tered skirmishers 
 and detached sup- 
 ports. The blast 
 of the bugle, the 
 roll of the drum, 
 and the guttural yells of the officers in command resound above 
 
 
 
 
 i km ^B£ 
 
 %o^ 
 
 ^ The military population of Berlin in March, 1875, comprised 1,649 
 officers, 485 military of¥icials, and 18,550 rank and file, quartered. within the 
 city limits. They included the Kaiser Ale.xander regiment of grenadiers of 
 the Guard, the Kaiser Franz regiment of grenadiers of the Guard, the ist foot 
 Guards, the fusiliers of the Guard, a battalion of riflemen of the Guard, the 
 pioneers of the Guard, the railway battalion, the cuirassiers of the Guard, the 
 1st and 2nd dragoons of the Guard, the 2nd uhlans of the Guard, the 3rd 
 squadron of the Gardes du Corps, the ist regiment of field artillery of 
 the Guard, the ist and 2nd detachments of the 2nd regiment of field artillery 
 of the Guard, and the Guard train battalion, together with the 3rd train 
 battalion, staff of the 35th reserve landwehr battalion.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RECRUITED, ETC. 317 
 
 the thunder of the hoof-beat.s and the heavy thud of measured 
 footfalls, though they in turn are drowned at times by the cheers to 
 which the infantry are permitted to give utterance when advanc- 
 ing to seize a position. Countless squads of recruits are to be seen 
 under the command of loud-voiced and energetic drill sergeants, 
 some going through their facings, others practising the manual or 
 bayonet exercise, and others again performing the most wonder- 
 fully complicated extension movements, varied with the wildest 
 twists and leaps and bounds which seem to threaten instant dis- 
 location of their limbs and cause them to resemble for the time 
 being a row of toy scaramouches under the influence of an electric 
 battery, but which have much to do with transforming the un- 
 couth, hulking, and stiff-jointed peasant into the smart, straight, 
 and supple soldier. Ceaseless activity prevails on all sides and 
 it is evident that nothing is spared to render the Army what it 
 is — the first military machine in Europe. Prussia too has devoted 
 more study to the science of war than any other civilized nation, 
 and her officers have gained more real experience in its practice 
 than those of other European countries. The system of general 
 service and district corps organization has shown itself per- 
 fectly adaptable to both rapid mobilization and the steady con- 
 tinuance of a war. " One can scarcely comprehend," says an 
 eminent military writer, "the grandeur and completeness of the 
 German Army. There has been no parallel to it, and no nation, 
 unless favoured by distance, can hope to cope successfully with it." 
 The military element forms so important a constituent of Berlin 
 life, and dominates the various social elements of the capital 
 so completely, that the subject of the Prussian Army may here 
 be sketched with perfect relevancy in a somewhat comprehensive 
 fashion. 
 
 If Friedrich Wilhelm, the great Elector of Brandenburg, was 
 the founder of the Prussian nationality, it was his grandson and 
 namesake, the second King of Prussia, who, by parcelling his 
 dominions into cantons and assigning to each the duty of keep- 
 ing up a regiment to its effective "strength from within its own 
 limits, laid the foundation of the existing military system.. His 
 method of instructing recruits yet prevails, and the splendid army 
 which he left behind him proved in the hands of his son Friedrich 
 the Great the instrument by which the position of the kingdom 
 was assured in Europe. His successors followed his traditions 
 with the servile fidelity that chooses the letter rather than the 
 spirit, making use of the true formation he had handled so suc- 
 cessfully, but neglecting the mobility by which he had attained 
 a larger development of fire than had been previously dreamt of, 
 and had succeeded in marching round and defeating his ponderous 
 antagonists whose inert formations had changed but little since 
 the days of Gustavus Adolphus. The battalion columns pre- 
 ceded by skirmishers of the French Republican Generals broke 
 and routed these immobile lines, and the old Prussian Army,
 
 ,i8 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 though animated by the patriotic fire enkindled by the aggres- 
 sion of Napoleon, was finally shattered on the heights of Jena. 
 
 During the period of degradation which followed, Stein and 
 Scharnhorst commenced the uork of rehabilitation, the latter 
 devising the scheme of short terms of service in the regular 
 army, with a constant supply and discharge of recruits, on which 
 the present organization is based. In 1814 the law obliging 
 
 scharnhorst's monument in the grounds of the invaliden-haus. 
 
 every native of the state to enrol himself in the defensive force 
 on completing his twentieth year, establishing the standing army, 
 landwchr, and landsturm, and providing for the one year 
 volunteers, was passed. Gradually the landwehr, officered b}^ 
 men of wealth and substance, and composed of men of riper 
 years, equal military importance, and greater social influence than 
 the regulars, began to show a jealousy of these latter, and display 
 a dissatisfaction at being called out when the object was not 
 thoroughly supported by national sentiment. In 1858, von 
 Roon seeing the imperfections of the existing system, brought 
 forward his plans, which were carried in spite of the constitu-
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.— HOW RECRUITED, ETC. 319 
 
 tional objections of the Lower House. The new laws lowered 
 the status of the landwehr, and gave importance to the regular 
 troops, by lengthening their term of reserve service a couple of 
 years, and enlarging the number of their battalions. The annual 
 supply of recruits was augmented from 40,000 to 63,000, and on 
 a peace footing the standing army was now as large as it could 
 have been before with the first call of the landwehr. A sop to 
 Cerberus was thrown to the latter in the shape of a reduction of 
 their term of service. 
 
 The war of 1866 proved the value of the new measure to the 
 government, the Army itself did all the fighting, and the landwehr 
 in the second line could effect but little by their disapproval of a 
 quasi-fratricidal struggle at the outset, and in case of reverses 
 would have been warmed to work by patriotism. The formation of 
 the North German Confederation whilst increasing the Army did 
 not materially modify the system, but after the war with Fiance 
 the necessity for fresh preparations led to the New Army Bill. 
 
 The Prussian Army is an integral portion of the German Army,^ 
 to which it contributes twelve army corps. These are the corps 
 of the Guard, recruited throughout the Prussian dominions, and 
 eleven others taking their names from the provinces from which 
 
 ' According to the Prussian militar\' calendar the German Army on a war 
 footing consists of 1,324,934 men of all arms and ranks, and 2,740 guns. Out 
 of this number 401,659 men are always on active service, and in eight days 
 700,000 can be brought into the field. It is divided into eighteen army corps 
 each complete in itself 
 
 In an analysis of the military strength of the various European nations 
 in 1875 by M. Amedee le Faure it is stated that Germany has an army com- 
 prising 469 battalions of infantry, 465 squadrons of cavalry, 300 campaign 
 batteries, 29 battalions of foot artillery, 18 battalions of pioneers, and 18 bat- 
 talions of service corps. When are added the reserves, the landwehr, and 
 the navy, a total of 1,700,000 men is arrived at, with annual estimates of 
 20,000,000/. Russia has an army in time of peace of 188 regiments of infantry, 
 82 battalions of riflemen, 48 battalions for frontier service, 56 regiments of 
 cavalry, 310 batteries of artillery, 14 battalions of engineers, besides irregulars 
 and reserves. With the fleet, the effective strength of the country is 1,550,000 
 with a budget of 27,200,000/. France has 132 regiments of infantry, 30 bat- 
 talions of chasseurs, 77 cavalry regiments, 40 regiments of artillery, 4 of 
 engineers, and 20 squadrons of service corps. With the reserve and navy 
 the total effective strength of the country is 1,700,000, costing 26,600,000/. 
 The English army and navy, including militia and volunteers, comprise 
 535,000 men, and costs 24,800,000/. Austria has 535,000 men, costing 
 10,800,000/., Italy, 760,000 men, expenditure 9,840,000/., Turkey, 300,000 
 men, with estimates of 5,680,000/. Spain, according to the regulations of 
 1870, possesses 270,000 men, with a yearly budget of 6,400,000/. The law 
 passed by the Cortes in 1872 has as yet been imperfectly applied. Sweden 
 has 160,000 men, costing 1,120,000/. The effective strength of Switzerland 
 is approximately 180,000 men, costing only 360.000/ Holland, has 100,000 
 men, estimated at 1,120,000/., Portugal, 73,000 men, costing 180,000/., 
 Denmark, 54,000 men, costing 366,000/, Greece, 51.000 men, with an 
 estimate of 360,000/., and Belgium 43,000, with an expenditure of 1,659,200/. 
 On a war footing, therefore, the annies of Europe are 9,333,000 men, costing 
 annually 136,804,000/.
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 they are drawn, namely, East Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenburg, 
 Saxony, Posen, Silesia, Westphalia, Rhineland, Schleswig- 
 Holstein, Hanover, and Hesse-Nassau. The official returns at 
 the end of July, 1874, c^ave the strength of the Prussian Army, 
 officers and men, as follows: infantry, 210,780; jagers, 8,477; 
 cavalry, 53,294; artillery, 36,690; engineers, 7.790; train, 
 5,120; administrative and other troops, 6,199.^ On a war 
 footing the Army numbers over 700,00c men, exclusive of 200,000 
 garrison troops. When we look back we find that the Great 
 P^lector who laid the foundation of Prussia's future greatneb.s, by 
 beating ii.oco Swedes with 6.000 Brandenburgers at FehrbelHn, 
 left at his death an army of 26,000 men, raised by his son to 
 28,000. Under Friedrich Wilhelm I. it rose to 84,000, and 
 Friedrich the Great left it at 172,000. In 1806 Prussia fought 
 France with 212,000 men, and in 1813 had 238,000 in the field, 
 whilst the conclusion of the campaign of 1866 saw her with 
 640,000 men under arms. 
 
 Nominally every Prussian subject is a soldier, and serves 
 twelve years, three in the active army, four in the army of 
 reserve, and five in the landwehr, entering service as soon as he 
 completes his twentieth year. But despite missing conscripts, 
 and those who escape the call to arms by emigrating, not to 
 mention those rejected on account of physical infirmity, the 
 supply exceeds the demand, and the number of able-bodied men 
 who annually escape military service is considerable. In the 
 whole of the Empire the average annual number of recruits is 
 406,000, but from this number 42,000 refractory emigrants and 
 missing conscripts have to be deducted. There remain 364,000 
 men who go before the Council of Revision after having drawn 
 lots, for drawing lots exists in Germany, although the contrary 
 has often been asserted. Above 25,000 men are then rejected on 
 account of infirmity, malformation, &c., 250 for immorality 
 [iiniviirdigkeit), 500 as under judiciary examination, and from 
 500 to 600 for temporary incapacity, while the one year volun- 
 teers number some 15,000, in addition to which 10,000 men are 
 provisionally dispensed from serving for family reasons, or to 
 allow of their pursuing some special study, and other causes. 
 Of those remaining the majority are not considered good enough 
 for immediate employment, and have their period of service 
 adjourned, so that, in fact, the number of men annually enrolled 
 in the army and navy amounts to something beyond 160,000. 
 Some of the large proportion of able-bodied men who annually 
 escape military service are subsequently enrolled to form, accord- 
 ing to need, what are known as " Ersatz Truppen," supplementary 
 
 ' The British army, according to Mr. Holms, consists of 230,000 men, of 
 whom 100,000 are untrained militia, and of the rest only 73,500 are of the 
 proper age, namely, between 20 and 32. The number of horses is 15,000, 
 and there are 340 guns.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — IIOW RFXRUITED, ETC. :J2l 
 
 troops, or troops employed for occupyinrr foreifrn territory. 
 Nevertheless, a considerable number of able-bodied subjects 
 are never called upon to serve, the total number between 
 seventeen and forty years of age being estimated at half a- 
 million at the least. The new Army Law however spreads 
 its net to catch all these fish, and carefully relegates those it 
 catches to the landsturm, with the men above thirty-two who 
 have successively served in the army, the reserve, and the 
 landwehr. This second category comprises 500,000 men, so 
 that the troops of the future landsturm can be estimated at a 
 million of men. The military authorities are thinking of 
 organizing at present only the first ban of these new troops, 
 and this would number about 300,000 men and 6,500 officers. 
 These last will be taken from among the retired officers, or those 
 not on active service. But there is in this project a feature which 
 gives it an almost warlike character. It is provided that the 
 battalions of the future landsturm may be employed to com- 
 plete the landwehr. Now, the landwehr can and ought to be 
 able to take the field outside the limits of the country. A 
 reinforcement of 300,000 men will, therefore, be brought to the 
 regular army which can make war in a foreign country.^ 
 
 The money penalty in Prussia for non-appearance when called 
 upon for military service is as high as ^^150, and it is proposed 
 that this shall be levied in contiiviaciam without the defaulter 
 having the opportunity of making any defence. Positive deser- 
 tions from the active army are not numerous, and amount in 
 proportion to merely a fraction of those which take place from 
 our own army, ranging as these latter do from five to six thousand 
 annually, some of the offenders, as shown by the police reports, 
 having deserted and re-enlisted again and again, as many as 
 seventeen times. In Prussia the desertions are principally from 
 the reserve and the landwehr, and in 1871 these formed one-third 
 of the total number of Prussian emigrants.^ 
 
 Compulsory service in the Army, instead of acting injuriously 
 on the population and physique of the country, is credited with 
 quite a contrary effect. The young men are taken, it is said, out 
 of the way of temptation at the most critical period of their lives, 
 have their morals looked strictly after, are forced to work hard 
 and live soberly, are fed frugally but sufficiently, and have their 
 
 ' Individuals not originally subjects of the German empire, who settle 
 within it, and owe no allegiance to other states, become liable to military 
 service ; but this liability ceases after their thirty-first birthday. In Germany 
 the number of men engaged in military service form 3"34 per cent, of the 
 population, in Austria it is 2'99 ; in France 2-98 ; in Italy 2'8o ; in England 
 172 ; and in Spain i'3o. 
 
 2 In the circle of Imwraelowin the province of Posen 1102 persons were 
 prosecuted for desertion. In the countries annexed in 1866, the introduction 
 of the Prussian military law has certainly had much to do with the emigration 
 that in six years diminished their population by 170,000 souls. 
 
 Y
 
 322 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 lungs and muscles developed by constant exercise, and at the end 
 of three years return home improved in every way, to follow their 
 old avocations and to marry, and as a rule, beget large families. 
 The medal, however, has its reverse, inasmuch as young men 
 in a respectable position are taken from their homes, or, what is 
 worse, from the posts in which they are already established, and 
 two or three of the best years of their life are as it were robbed 
 from them. During those years they not only have to associate 
 with tile lowest classes of men, but are paid so miserably that to 
 live with any comfort they must expend any little savings they 
 have accumulated. Reliable data show that the Prussian levies 
 of to-day are larger and finer men than those who fought at Jena, 
 Leipsic, or Waterloo. The infantry of the entire guards corps 
 average 5 feet 9^ inches in height, and about 1 1 stone 8 
 pounds in weight, from six to seven thousand of them being over 
 six feet. In the Pomeranian, Brandenburg, and Westphalian 
 regiments the men as often weigh 12 stone as 10 stone, and even 
 in the Polish and East Prussian regiments, recruited from poor 
 and barren districts, where many of those brought into service 
 have never previously tasted meat, a man under 5 feet 5 in. in his 
 boots is a rarity. The men of the foot artillery, selected both 
 for strength and substance, range between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 
 feet in height. 
 
 Nor is the service without its moral influence on the character 
 of the nati6n at large. A man in the army learns exactitude, 
 punctuality, and obedience, and has acquired habits of thorough- 
 ness and order, which he brings into play in the habits of civil 
 life. The drawback, however, is that with promptness to obey 
 the word of command one finds a corresponding roughness and 
 readiness in giving it, and that the soldier when dismissed from 
 duty carries soldierly forms into private life, becomes brusque 
 and laconic in speech, and looks for a military exactitude of 
 obedience. 
 
 The "Einjahriger Freiwilliger," or one-year volunteer, is allowed 
 to serve one year instead of three in the regular army on condi- 
 tion of paying for his own equipment, food, and lodging, and if 
 in the cavalry, an extra sum for the use of his horse ; he is, how- 
 ever, still liable to full duty in the reserve and landwehr. The 
 Einjahriger sometimes aims at becoming an officer in the last- 
 named body, and by passing certain examinations succeeds in 
 this, but as a rule, his object is to get off with one year's service 
 in place of three, so as to interfere as little as possible with his 
 professional prospects. He may, for instance, be the son of a 
 rich merchant, banker, or financier, with no taste for a military 
 hfe, and only desirous of following in his father's footsteps as 
 soon as possible. Such a man would naturally profit by every 
 amelioration of his position that money could procure, and there 
 is a story of one of these yf/j- ^^/a/;////^ astounding and horrifying
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.— HOW RECRUITED, ETC. 323 
 
 his lieutenant, who had sing-led him out on account of the 
 smartness of his ajifearance to be his orderly, by quietly 
 remarking, " I 
 beg your pardon, 
 
 H err Lieutenant, f|K^-s;*S!s'' '' ' ^ 0^i 
 
 I have already I* ' ri' ^.^^^It tt* 
 
 two servants of 
 my own." In any 
 case the one-year 
 volunteer has to 
 find his own 
 clothing, food, 
 and lodging, and 
 the total expense 
 of these is about 
 £ 105. He must, 
 moreover, give 
 proof of a good 
 education either 
 by passing an 
 examination or 
 producing certifi- 
 cates from the 
 schools he has 
 attended. All 
 volunteers are 
 allowed to choose 
 their, own branch 
 of the service, 
 whereas ordi- 
 nary recruits have no choice in the matter, but are posted to the 
 arm for which they are the best physically qualified. They may 
 however, elect to serve from seventeen to twenty years of age 
 instead of from twenty to twenty-three, if they prefer it. 
 
 The soldier is early brought into the service. A third of a 
 German regiment is dismissed to their homes every year after 
 the September manoeuvres, and the recruits for the next year 
 are draughted into the ranks in October, which may be termed 
 the commencement of the military year. After passing the 
 medical examination the recruit is sent at once to the head- 
 quarters of the landwehr battalion of his district, and thence to 
 his regiment, where he is handed over to the drill-sergeant. For 
 the first six weeks the newly-joined recruit is taught the posi- 
 tion of the soldier, facings, the goose-step, and the like ; also the 
 honours due to superiors, the distinctions and insignia of rank, and 
 generally the first principles of military duty. "As in the drill 
 the word ' attention ' forbids the slightest movement of the body, 
 so the word ' subordination ' forbids in the strictest sense all 
 
 Y 2
 
 3^4 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 iadcpendence of thought or speech. Subordination means nothing 
 more nor less than 'hold )-our tongue,' and it is only when a 
 soldier neither grumbles nor reasons even in his thoughts — that 
 is, makes no impatient gestures — when he has learned exacti- 
 tude, punctuality, and obedience, to hear, not to speak, and to 
 obey," he is regarded as well disciplined. There is only one 
 expression he is permitted to make use of. If his officer says to 
 him, "You are an ass," he may answer, "At your service" (Zu 
 
 Bcfehl), and there 
 the matter will end.^ 
 The soldier next 
 learns the manual, 
 his former instruc- 
 tion being continued 
 the meanwhile, and 
 finally takes his 
 olace in the ranks 
 of his company. For 
 the first year the 
 drills occupy about 
 four hours in the 
 morning, and the 
 same time in the 
 evening, varying 
 somewhat in sum- 
 mer with the weather. 
 During the second year they are a trifle lighter, but their range 
 is more extended, and includes battalion drill, manoeuvring, &c. 
 During the third year the cavalry, artillery, and engineers have 
 special instructions in their particular branches, the infantry 
 working hard at tactics. At the end of this year all receive 
 their furlough for the next four years, holding themselves in 
 readiness to be called out for annual exercise, or to join their com- 
 mands in time of war. During the three years' service barrack 
 schools have to be attended for instruction in swimming, gym- 
 nastics, duties in quarters, duties as sentries, in garrisons or on 
 outposts, target practice, the care of arms, the duties of soldiers 
 towards their officers, reading and writing for the few who need 
 it.^ and such higher studies as the commanding officer may direct. 
 This instruction in barracks is a most important element in the 
 military system. Recruits four times a week, and older soldiers 
 never less than twice, are instructed and catechized in all duties 
 connected with service in the field, so that long before a private 
 has to act as a vedette, he has been thoroughly grounded in the 
 
 ' F. W. Hacklandcr's So'dier in Time of Peace. 
 
 2 The average ot illiterate recruits in the Prussian army is 3 percent., and 
 in France 20 percent., whereas the number of men in the liritish army unable 
 to read or write was i n the 1st of January, '873, no less than 12,131.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN AKMV.— IIUW RECRUITED, ETC. 
 
 325 
 
 theory of his various duties, and only wants the opportunity of 
 practice. There are a number of simple text-books, and the 
 ofificers are held responsible that their men know them thoroughly. 
 In general, all instruction is imparted by the officers, who, not 
 only drill their men 
 themselves, but look 
 after their moral as 
 well as phj^sical train- 
 ing, and deliverevening 
 lectures to them upon 
 military matters and 
 the rudiments of natu- 
 ral science. Qjestions 
 are put at the close of 
 the lectures to the men, 
 and as many of them 
 take advantage of the 
 occasion to go quietly 
 to sleep, the most ex- 
 traordinary responses 
 are sometimes obtain- 
 ed, not confined, how- 
 ever, to the sleepers 
 alone. 
 
 It was the practice 
 of Friedrich the Great 
 to be much more par- 
 ticular with regard to 
 the selection of the non-commissioned than the upper officers of 
 his army, and he would himself nominate the cadets to fill the 
 x-acancies. He usually chose nobles, for said he, " Nobles have 
 honour; a noble that misbehaves or flinches in a moment of crisis 
 can find no refuge in his own class, whereas a man of lower birtii 
 can in his." The Prussian nobles of to-day have a soul above the 
 corporal's and sergeant's stripes and the keeping up the supply 
 of non-commissioned officers from men of "lower birth," is 
 attended with some difficulty. The non-commissioned officers 
 are obtained in two ways. The first is from the six schools 
 established for the purpose at Potsdam, Biebrich, Julich, Weissen- 
 fels, Ettlingen, and Marienwerder. To join one of these the 
 candidate must be between seventeen and twenty years of age, 
 and must be able to read, write, and cipher. The course of 
 instruction lasts three years, and comprises all that relates to 
 iiiilitar}- exercises, gymnastics, and swimming, the first elements 
 of topography and temporary fortifications, history, geography, 
 and the German language. There are also classes to impart to 
 the pupils those branches of knowledge required to qualify them 
 to discharge the duties of posts in the civil ser\ice, reserved for
 
 326 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 them after twelve years in the Army. On'leavingthe school the 
 pupils undergo an examination. Those passing first are ap- 
 pointed non-commissioned officers at once, a method which 
 encourages all to work their hardest. The rest are entered as 
 privates in regiments in which vacancies are likely to occur, and 
 are promoted as occasion offers. Those who have failed to pass 
 the examination on leaving the school, have to prepare them- 
 selves, after joining the ranks, for a fresh one, and until this is 
 passed they cannot become non-commissioned officers. 
 
 All, these men, whctlier they pass or not, are bound to serve 
 two years in the Army for every year they have spent at the 
 school. The total number of sub-officers supplied to the Army 
 by the six schools previously mentioned, averages 990 yearly, or 
 5,940 in the whole, taking the six years' service into account. It 
 is at present i'ltended to increase the number of these schools, 
 and to form others specially designed for the instruction of sub- 
 officers for the cavalry and artillery, there being as yet only one 
 for these arms, namely the cavalry school at Hanover. The re- 
 maining non-commissioned officers are obtained from the "caj)itu- 
 lants " that is to say, the men who, having completed their three 
 years' active service, are allowed to re-engage, providing they 
 show the requisite knowledge and aptitude for the position they 
 aspire to. 
 
 The candidate is required to undergo an examination by a 
 uperior, officer and the class of men who are sometimes found pre- 
 
 sentiiigthemselvesmay 
 be judged of from 
 the following dialogue 
 between a corporal 
 Cgefreiter), who does 
 not reckon as an 
 " unteroffizier," and the 
 officer to whom he 
 applies for promotion. 
 " Canst thou read ? " 
 " At your service, I lerr 
 Oberstwachtmeister. " 
 "Canst thou write.'" 
 " At )'our service, Herr 
 Oberstwachtmeister . " 
 " Canst thou also ci- 
 pher.''" "At your 
 service, Herr Oberst- 
 wachtmeister." " What 
 was your position as 
 a civilian ? " " Doctor in Philosophy and Privatdocent at the 
 University ! " 
 
 With the exception of musicians, and under certain circum-
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RECRUITED, ETC. 327 
 
 stances, officers* servants, who however do not receive the 
 capitulants' extra pay, no man is allowed to re-engage unless 
 there is a probability of his becoming a non-commissioned 
 officer. 
 
 P^very soldier who has served twelve years and held the rank 
 of " unteroffizier " for three quarters of this term is certain of 
 employment under Government on his retirement from the 
 service. The system worked admirably up to the close of the 
 late war, but when the milliard fever sent up the general rate of 
 wages far beyond the salaries accorded by Government to the 
 holders of such posts as the retired non-commissioned officer 
 might aspire to, and the price of the necessities of life rose in an 
 almost corresponding ratio, the men in question amply exercised 
 their annual right of retirement, to accept the comparatively 
 lucrative private employments open to them, and a great dearth 
 of non-commissioned officers has been the result. For these 
 tried and proved men are eagerly sought to fill posts requiring 
 steadiness, integrity, and intelligence. Bank porters and mes- 
 sengers, dail}' entrusted with large sums of money, cash-takers at 
 theatres, and foremen carriers are almost exclusively recruited from 
 amongst this class. Railway companies too are most eager to 
 secure their services as country stationmasters, ticket clerks, and 
 guards. To this may be ascribed the military sternness and 
 brevity of speech characterizing all Prussian railway officials, who 
 are apt to treat passengers as though they were made for the 
 railway and not the railway for them. These posts all command 
 better pay than is to 
 be found in the Arni}% 
 and the duties are far 
 less irksome. Ser- 
 geants, it is true, are 
 proportionately much A 
 better paid than in ^\\ 
 England, though there 
 seems to be no rigidly 
 fixed rate of pay for 
 the non-commissioned 
 ranks, a bargain being 
 apparently made with 
 each man as with a 
 servant, to induce him 
 to serve on according 
 as his services are 
 valued. Still although 
 recently promulgated 
 regulations lighten the regimental work, do away with arbitrar\' 
 selection in promotion, and provide that on a non-com mii^^sioncd 
 officer depositing fifteen pounds as security that he will not 

 
 328 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 leave his widow in distress, he may be recommended by liis 
 commanding officer for leave to marry and may when married 
 live out of barracks, it is not to be wondered at that a man 
 able to discharge all the varied, complicated, and responsible 
 functions of a sergeant-major in the Prussian Army should aspire 
 to a higher salary than tliirt}--six pounds per annum, when in 
 Berlin a good cook earns more and a good coachman twice as much. 
 
 The officers of the Prussian Army are drawn from two 
 sources, first the Cadetten-haus — an institution to be described 
 in detail in a subsequent chapter — and next the " advantageur" 
 class, the system of which is rather peculiar. A young man 
 who is desirous of securing a commission obtains a nomination 
 from the colonel of some regiment admitting him to serve as a 
 private, but with the recognition of his being a candidate for 
 the rank of officer, whence he comes to be known as an advan- 
 tageur. His position so far resembles that of the volunteer in 
 our own service up to the close of the great French war. In the 
 Prussian Army the advantageur before definitively obtaining his 
 commission is obliged to serve at least six months as a private; 
 he must then pass an examination in the usual subjects of a 
 liberal education known as the " portepee fahnrich " examination, 
 attend a war-school, and go through a course of about ten 
 months' military instruction. After passing a second examina- 
 tion in professional subjects to test his fitness for the rank of 
 officer, he returns to his regiment qualified for a commission if 
 a vacancy occurs. Before being recommended for one, however, 
 he has to pass through a further ordeal, as the officers of the 
 regiment meet to decide whether he is worthy of admission 
 amongst their number. The preliminary examination is dis- 
 pensed with in the case of j'oung men who, on quitting a civil 
 school, have obtained a certificate qualifying them for admission 
 to a university. 
 
 Some explanation may here be given with reference to the 
 rank of portepee-fahnrich or, as it is usually translated, ensign. 
 The gradation of rank in the Prussian service below that of 
 officer is as follows : — Feldwebel, or wachtmeistcr, equal to our 
 sergeant-major; portepee-fahnrich, sergeant; unteroffizier and 
 gefreiter, the two last nearly corresponding to our corporal and 
 lance-corporal. Above the rank of sergeant a distinctive silver 
 sword-knot, or portepee, is worn which gives rise to the name of 
 portepee-fahnrich. In this title may be noted the French nomen- 
 clature introduced into the Prussian army by Friedrich the Great, 
 and so thoroughly adapted into the military vocabulary that 
 the troops could not possibly be handled in their native tongue. 
 The South Germans have done all in their power to substittue 
 })urcly Teutonic term.s, but with only partial success, and in the 
 Prussian Army a party exists which would like their example to 
 be followed.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RECRUITED, ETC 329 
 
 Prussian officers look upon themselves as forming a single 
 corps — the " offizier " corps, admission to which is regarded as 
 conferring distinctive privileges and imposing particular duties. 
 There is no military service in the world in which class-spirit is 
 so strongly developed as that of Prussia, and the wearers of the 
 silver sword-knot form the nearest approach to a caste which 
 exists out of India. The esprit de corps is strongly aristocratic, 
 and every means are employed to keep it up. None but young 
 men of good social standing can obtain the nomination from 
 the colonel of a regiment necessary to enable them to take ser- 
 vice as an advantageur, and even when this is secured they have 
 to stand or fall by the verdict of their comrades upon whom 
 their ultimate admission to the regiment after passing their 
 examination for a commission depends The officers of each 
 regiment constitute a court of election and a court of honouf, 
 and when a cadet or advantageur has passed his examination 
 and is put down for a commission in their corps, they assemble 
 and sit upon him, something after the fashion of a coroner's 
 jury, the difference being that the facts of his life and not of 
 his death are investigated. A certain time has previously been 
 devoted to inquiring into his character, social station, pecuniary 
 means, and the like, and if any officer has any objection to make 
 he is bound in honour to substantiate it. The decision of the 
 court is accepted as final at head-quarters, and if it is unfavour- 
 able to the candidate he is got rid of or another regiment is 
 tried, the whole proceedings being strictly confidential. An}'- 
 officer misconducting himself socially — misconduct so far as duty 
 is concerned coming under the notice of a court-martial — is tried 
 by the Court of Honour, and the verdict, if unfavourable, results 
 in his removal from the army or transfer to another corps. For 
 instance, not long ago Lieutenant Helmus of the 7th Battalion 
 of the Military Train was dismissed the service by the verdict 
 of a jury of honour for not drinking the Emperor's health. The 
 protocols in these cases are usually submitted to the Emperor 
 who decides what shall be done with the offender. 
 
 A body thus fenced in from all contamination learns to look 
 down on the outer world with a species of mild contempt. The 
 officer is a social Brahmin, for whether his birth be noble or 
 plebeian he is " court worthy " by virtue of his silver sword knot, 
 and has the pas of every other man who has not the right to 
 array himself in a uniform denoting the enjoyment of the pri- 
 vilege to slay his fellow-creatures. The spirit of caste and an 
 equally strong esprit de corps exercise a material influence on 
 the character of the officer. Brought up for the Army he assigns 
 to the Army the principal role in the affairs of the world. He is 
 thoroughly penetrated with the idea of the superiority of his 
 calling. If religiously disposed, he regards himself as an instru- 
 ment in the hands of Providence ; if a philosopher, he looks
 
 330 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 upon life as a combat for existence, in which the stronc^est has 
 the right and even the mission to crush the weakest, lie pre- 
 tends to believe that periodical wars are necessary for the 
 good of mankind, and has not words to express his disdain for 
 those political economists who complain that war is unproductive. 
 Towards individual civilians he is politely reserved ; he does 
 not bully them, he looks down on them from so lofty an 
 eminence that to descend to such an action is too great a con- 
 descension. If however he does get involved in a dispute with 
 an unarmed citizen, and the latter so far forgets himself as to 
 strike him, he has no choice but to draw and cut his assailant 
 down. Unless he does so, he runs the risk of being tried by 
 court-martial and dismissed the service. 
 
 Despite this exclusiveness and the aristocratic spirit that 
 prevails in the Prussian Army, it is not entirely officered by the 
 scions of the nobility. The officers of the Guards are almost all 
 men of title, but nearly one-half of the names on the Army 
 Tist lack the distinguishing particle " von." Nevertheless it may 
 be noticed that whilst the names of the commoners figure thickly 
 in the ranks of the subalterns, they are few and far between 
 amongst the colonels, and disappear entirely amongst the 
 generals. It may be argued from these facts that though 
 commoners may obtain commissions, they must not expect to 
 rise beyond the rank of major, though an answer has been put 
 forward to the effect that after twelve years' service, which 
 entitles an officer to claim an appointment as a civil functionary, 
 many first lieutenants and captains abandon the military for 
 the more profitable civil career, whilst the richer officers and 
 members of noble and military families remain. 
 
 There is however another method of weeding out practised. 
 Promotion in the Prussian service goes by seniority, tempered 
 not generally by selection but by rejection very rigidl}' enforced. 
 Officers considered incapable through physical or mental in- 
 firmities, deafness, blindness, or stupidity, are ruthlessly weeded 
 out, it being considered better to hurt the feelings of one man 
 than to risk the lives of a thousand by the possible results of his 
 incompetency. An officer who has been two or three times 
 passed over may consider that he has received an intimation to 
 retire from the service, and if he does not act on it will probably 
 be gazetted out. The class of officers who in England are known 
 as " her Majesty's hard bargains," and who shuffle through the 
 service and finally retire on pensions without Icnowing even the 
 elements of their profession, would not be tolerated for a moment 
 in the Prussian Army. Although in the junior ranks promotion 
 is somewhat slower than in the P^nglish army, which .so many 
 gentlemen join temporarily either to enhance their social stand- 
 ing or to pass a few years before marrying and " settling down " 
 thereby continually creating vacancies below the rank of major,
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RECRUITED, ETC. 33 I 
 
 it is in the higher ranks infinitely quicker. Five years' service as 
 a major, gives the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and three as lieu- 
 tenant-colonel that of colonel. The average length of service to 
 rise to the command of a regiment, being twenty-three years, 
 and the length of such a command six. 
 
 So far as knowledge and practice of their military duties are 
 concerned, Prussian officers surpass the officers of all other 
 European armies. "A Prussian general commands his own 
 division himself and is not dependent upon his staff officers for 
 information or instruction regarding the duties of his profession. 
 A Prussian colonel carries on the administration of his own 
 regiment and docs not allow the adjutant to do his duty for him, 
 and above all in the Prussian Army, captains really command 
 their own companies to an extent that gives them pleasure, 
 interest and responsibility in carrying out the duties of their 
 commissions. A company of Prussian soldiers is never under 
 arms, except under its own officers, nor is it interfered with in 
 any way except through its own captain." Kach one in his grade 
 is permitted to do his proper work without undue interference 
 from his superiors, and one of the most striking things in the Army 
 is the distribution of responsibility from the highest to the lowest 
 ranks. The generals commanding corps are supreme in almost 
 all matters pecuniary as well as military, and settle numerous 
 questions without referring to the War Office at Berlin, but they 
 are not overworked, because the generals of division under them 
 have their special duties and are allowed to perform them with- 
 out interference. So the officer commanding a battalion does 
 not attempt to command every company in it and thus does his 
 own work well. Not only the drill, but the conduct, dress, and 
 appearance of the men, with the pay, the books, the quarters, and 
 the stores of the company are subject to the captain's imme- 
 diate control, and the consequence is that the men, learning to 
 look up to and rely upon their immediate commanders in all 
 things in camp, garrison, and action, are prompt in obedience. 
 The duties of the non-commissioned officers are, though arduous 
 and indispensable, comparatively non-important where officers 
 drill their men themselves, superintend their gymnastic exercises 
 and swimming, and look after their moral as well as their phy- 
 sical training by delivering lectures and imparting information. 
 All these duties do not prevent the officers from studying hard, 
 and more especially those quartered in the remoter districts. 
 
 The secret of the extraordinary successes of the Prussian 
 Army lies not in the genius of any one commander, nor of any 
 number of commanders, but in the military system by which 
 the officers are educated and the rank and file trained. The 
 cardinal principle that by work and study alone, can military 
 excellence be attained, has lono; been recognized in the Prussian 
 Army. There is not another in which military science is more
 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 highly valued, nor more universally cultivated, work and diligence 
 being regarded as the only sure roads to success in war. " Always 
 ready, such is the motto of the New Km[jire," said a young sub- 
 altern to M. Tissot ; " we do not rest upon our laurels, and have 
 never worked harder than after the victories of 1870 and 1871. 
 Our military organization has been perfected by the experience 
 acquired on the battle-field ; we have transformed our old war- 
 material, changed our guns twice, tried cannon after cannon 
 u ithout making any fuss about it, and daily try fresh experiments 
 in the artillery camps. We are so little sure of peace that our 
 fortresses are all mounted with their cannon, our magazines filled 
 with provisions and forage. At the first signal eighteen army 
 corps of 40,000 men will be ready to take the field, and the 
 soldiers know that the plan they are to follow has long ago been 
 studied and worked out in the General Staff" Office at Berlin." 
 The landwehr is officered from two sources. Officers of the 
 standing army who quit the service whilst still within the limits 
 of age which render them liable to serve in the landwehr pass 
 natural!}' into this force as officers. The others are obtained from 
 the one-year volunteers, and men who have distinguished them- 
 selves before the enemy. Such of these as desire to obtain com- 
 -«^c^^<^- .-.- ~- -. missions in the land- 
 
 
 wehr apply to a board 
 that sits twice a year 
 for this purpose, and 
 on joining their regi- 
 ments are given oppor- 
 tunities of qualifying 
 themselves for their 
 future profession. At 
 the end of the year 
 they are examined, and 
 if they pass become 
 corporals. They then 
 serve two months more 
 in a regiment of the 
 line or take part in 
 one of the periodical 
 trainings of the land- 
 wehr. After the first 
 week or so of this 
 training they obtain 
 the rank of vice-feld- 
 webel. or lance ser- 
 geant-major, and at its 
 ^ the commanding officer expresses himself satisfied 
 with their knowledge, are proposed for acceptance to the officers 
 of their battalion, and if approved are recommended to the 
 
 close
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RECRUITED, ETC. 333 
 
 Emperor for appointment as scc<^)nd lieutenants. They must 
 however be "men of honour and possessincj sufficient means to 
 secure them such a position in h'fe as is becoming to an officer." 
 As long as they are within the limits of age of the reser\'e 
 they are called officers of the reserve and afterwards officers of 
 the landwehr. During the war with France, a large proportion 
 of the non-commissioned officers in the field army consisted of 
 one-year volunteers summoned back to their colours with the 
 reserve, and several of these were promoted for gallantry. It is 
 the common practice for the sons of wealthy citizens, large manu- 
 facturers, land-owners, and others to obtain commissions in the 
 landwehr in this manner, and hence the officers of this corps 
 are not only far less exclusive than those of the Army but take 
 a far deeper and wider interest in the afi*airs of the nation. The 
 35th Berlin battalion has between seven and eight hundred 
 officers belonging to it representing every class of society, 
 noblemen, police officials, government clerks, civic magistrates, 
 members of the diplomatic service, merchants, students, lawyers, 
 doctors, professors, bankers, foresters, civil engineers, commission 
 agent.s, and others. 
 
 The fact that a second lieutenant's pay is something like forty 
 pounds a year renders it almost impossible, even with the rigid 
 economy distinguishing the Prussian service, for a subaltern to 
 live without some small additional private income, more especially 
 in Berlin. In certain cavalry regiments, the hussars, for instance, 
 it is quite impracticable, owing 'to the cost of the uniform 
 accoutrements, horse furniture, and other matters. Still the vast 
 majority of the officers are poor, and with a view of maintaining 
 the rigid equality in all matters of comradeship that prevails 
 in the Army, mess expenditure is adapted to the purses of this 
 class and not those of their wealthier associates, so that there can 
 be no excuse for the former involving themselves in pecuniary 
 difficulties through force of example. In country quarters and 
 garrison towns the cost of dinner usually ranges from ninepence 
 to a shilling, and a subaltern can live on as little as twenty 
 groschen (2J.) a day, whilst there is not a mess in the Guards corps 
 — the thirty thousand men of which are quartered in the capital 
 and its neighbourhood — in which an officer pays more than six- 
 teen-pence for his dinner, though they are mostly men of family 
 and comparative wealth. Champagne costs them about five and 
 sixpence, and excellent claret eighteenpence a bottle, for they 
 import it direct from the grower and enjoy certain privileges in 
 respect of dues. 
 
 In war time the pay of officers is increased and sundry extra 
 allowances, to be hereafter noticed, are granted them. Though 
 the pay does not approach our own, the higher grades of officers 
 receive far more in proportion than their subordinates, whilst 
 there are also many allowances in kind such as fuel, light, quarters.
 
 334 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 medical attendance, &c., for which money commutation can be 
 had. A general commanding an army corps has in addition to 
 his pay of 10,000 thaler a year, forage free for eight horses, a 
 roomy house, and other advantages, a general commanding a 
 division has besides 5,500 thaler a year, forage for six horses, and 
 lodging allowance, and an officer conmianding a regiment of 
 cavalry has forage for five and of infantry for three horses allowed 
 him with other advantages that render him practically as well off 
 as his English compeer. Captains in the cavalry receive forage 
 free for three, and subalterns for two horses, and can buy it from 
 the Government for as many more as they like to keep at a very 
 cheap rate. 
 
 The recreations of a Prussian officer are somewhat different 
 from those of his English compeer. Music is a favourite relax- 
 ation and the artillery of the Guard have an "Officers' Orches- 
 tral Union " which for the last quarter of a century have held 
 weekly meetings in the mess-room of their huge barracks, built 
 in the reign of Friedrich the Great, and situate in a sort of 
 debatable land called " Am Kupfergraben." The Union can 
 furnish an orchestra of fifty members, capable of performing the 
 most elaborately concerted works of the great masters, and com- 
 prises officers of all ranks from lieutenant-general down to second 
 lieutenant, each of whom has to qualify himself for admission by 
 a certain degree of proficiency on some musical instrument. The 
 peculiar bent of the German mind is shown by the formation of 
 tuo mock orders, with grand masters, chapters, degree crosses of 
 various grades, &c., known as the Order of the White Napkin, 
 confined to executants, arrangers, and composers, and that of the 
 Golden Ear for" listening members " of the Union, whilst the eco- 
 nomical spirit of the army crops up in the shape of fines of sixpence 
 inflicted for neglecting to wear these insignia of these orders, being 
 late at attendance, or failing to give notice of non-attendance. 
 This mess-room, in addition to musical practice, is also devoted 
 to lectures by officers on matters of social or topical interest or 
 discussions on professional subjects. 
 
 Nevertheless there is not so much difference between the 
 wearers of uniform all the world over, so far as tastes are con- 
 cerned. The philosopher Schopenhauer, we are told, when dining 
 in company with Prussian officers used always to place a piece of 
 gold beside his plate. If asked why, he would sdy, " I am a philo- 
 sopher of the Diogenes school, and have made a vow to give 
 this piece of gold to a beggar the day you and your comrades do 
 not talk about women and horses. I have been waiting ten 
 years." Despite, too, the soothing effect of music upon the 
 savage brcart, and the humanizing influence of the studies to 
 which most of the Prussian officers are supposed to deyote their 
 spare time, the talent for blood-letting, so assiduously cultivated 
 with reference to the enemy, is not above finding vent for
 
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 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — HOW RFXRUITED, ETC. 33; 
 
 exercise upon the body of a friend. "Comradeship" not- 
 withstanding, a German officer will quarrel upon the slightest 
 pretext, and a quarrel means a duel. 
 
 Since the war, these encounters, which are far from being so 
 harmless as those of French journalists, have increased to such 
 an extent that the Emperor has felt bound to interfere. He by- 
 no means wishes to put a stop to the practice but only to check 
 what he considers its abuse. Every officer who considers his 
 honour attacked is bound to give information to the Court of 
 Honour of his regiment, and no duel is allowed to come otf 
 without its approval, and until no other solution of the dispute 
 is found possible. The president of the Court too is bound to 
 be present at the encounter to see all is duly and properly con- 
 ducted, and officers who, carried away by their feelings, forget to 
 appeal to their regimental court, and fight without the presence 
 of this novel "referee," are subject to criminal proceedings. 
 A violation of the rules of honour, such as a serious unprovoked 
 insult, is only to be rectified by an appeal to the sword, and the 
 officer refusing to fight under such circumstances would be 
 dismissed the service. 
 
 Amongst minor regulations devised for the purpose of keeping 
 up the spirit of exclusiveness in which the offizier corps delight, 
 and of placing them on a pinnacle above their less-favoured fellow 
 mortals, may be mentioned those which forbid them to carry, 
 under any circumstances, an umbrella, a bundle, or a parcel, 
 even for a lady. The prevailing outward characteristics of 
 the Prussian officer have been summed up as "well-squared 
 shoulders, a well-belted waist, a regulation spine, an angular 
 elbow, a click of the heels, a salute that is meant to be at once 
 fascinating and haughty, and a pronounced contempt for every- 
 thing civilian beneath the grade of a privy councillor or a first 
 secretary." 
 
 The military class in Prussia enjoys particular privileges and 
 exemptions, but is at the same time subject to certain restric- 
 tions. No military man, for instance, can marry without the 
 permission of his superiors. He can decline or give up any 
 trusteeship. All existing State restrictions on his acquiring or 
 selling property are removed ; but, on the other hand, he cannot 
 carry on without permission any trade or occupation, with the 
 exception of such as may be indispensably connected with any 
 possession in land of which he is the owner. Military men are 
 subject to. the ordinary laws for all State taxation, but while 
 they are free from local rates, they are forbidden to exercise 
 any such civic right as that of voting or of joining any political 
 society. Finally, they are exempt from all jury service, as, 
 indeed, is the rule in other countries.
 
 XVIII. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BERLIN BARRACK LIFE, DRILL, AND 
 
 DISCIPLINE. 
 
 grenadiers 
 
 BERLIN has often been styled a city of barracks, less from 
 the number of such edifices it really contains than from 
 the large size, countless windows, and uniform appearance of 
 the houses in particular districts. The largest and finest barracks 
 are those of the fusiliers in the Carl-strasse, and in the Chaussee- 
 strasse on the north side of the city, of the Czar Alexander's 
 grenadier regiment in Kleine Alexander-strasse, of the 2nd 
 
 foot guards in 
 
 Friedrichs-stras- 
 
 se, and of the 
 
 =■ - i Kaiser 
 
 Franz 
 in 
 Pionier - strasse 
 just outside the 
 Halle Gate. In 
 the last-named 
 neighbo urhood 
 are several cav- 
 alry barracks, 
 including two 
 belonging to the 
 dragoons of the 
 Guard — one in 
 the Belle-Alli- 
 ance- and the other in the Alcxandrinen-strasse — and the bar- 
 racks of the cuirassiers of the Guard in the Linden-strasse, 
 
 BARRACKS OF THE CZAR AI.I-.X ANUliK CKLNADlbKS
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 
 
 337 
 
 while at Moabit the extensive barracks of the uhlans of the 
 Guard are found in close proximity to the Zcllengefangniss 
 model prison. 
 
 Barrack-life is held in high favour by the Prussian military 
 authorities, who consider that it calls into play and keeps alive 
 the military spirit, promotes order and discipline, banishes 
 the evil influence of the outer world, and by superior cleanliness 
 and airiness fosters the health of the men. Early to bed and 
 early to rise is a maxim of barrack life, and when a resident 
 near the Halle Gate is roused from his morning slumbers by the 
 trampling of troops and the sound of martial music, he knows 
 well enough that a regiment issuing from one of the neighbour- 
 ing barracks on its way to the Tempelhofer Feld is the cause of 
 the disturbance. Long before many a worthy citizen has left his 
 pillow, the regiment 
 has returned to its 
 quarters covered 
 with mud or dust. 
 A curious fact in 
 connection with Ber- 
 lin garrison life, and 
 one to which we 
 have already refer- 
 red, is that the 
 colours of all the 
 regiments quartered 
 in the city are kept 
 in the Emperor's 
 palace. The first 
 thing which a regiment does on marching into the Prussian 
 capital, is to send a detachment to deposit its colours in the 
 palace Unter den Linden. And whenever the colours are 
 required for marching out, parade, or other purposes, they have 
 to be fetched from the palace and are deposited there again 
 when the parade is over. 
 
 The men in barracks are aroused in summer at day-break, 
 and in winter an hour or so later by the sound of the bugle. A 
 newly-enlisted recruit who in his anxiety to be early the 
 morning after his arrival, had risen betimes, speaks of catching 
 sight in the passage of the bugler of the regiment, blowing away 
 in his nightshirt : — 
 
 " Sudden his trumpet he took, 
 And a mighty blast he blasted." 
 
 The bugler's task accomplished, he returned to his bed and 
 indulged in a couple of hours' extra sleep, a proceeding most 
 unworthy of one who should be the first in the field both for 
 courage and promptitude, for what cannot a bugler effect by a 
 
 z 
 
 '^^=SS'r.S!&^fe^4^ 
 
 THE UHLA.N BAKKACKS AT MOADIT.
 
 338 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 single blast of his trumpet. And yet so insensible was the man 
 to the dignity of his calling, that he had not even taken the 
 
 trouble to put on his 
 trousers before giving 
 the signal. 
 
 The instant the 
 sound of the bugle is 
 heard, the room, per- 
 fectly still before, be- 
 comes a scene of 
 busy confusion. As 
 soon as the men are 
 dressed, the room has 
 to be put in order, 
 and that as speedily 
 as possible. The 
 ^ senior in each room 
 is responsible for this 
 being done, and two 
 men in turn clean it, 
 heat it, see to the 
 lamps, and other mat- 
 ters. After the rooms 
 have been put straight, an inspection is made and such men as 
 wish to be placed on the sick list present themselves before 
 the surfjeon for examination. 
 
 AKMY DOCTORS. 
 
 The cavalry soldier has to hasten and attend to his horse, 
 without which, according to a quaint little book that is generally
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 
 
 339 
 
 put into his hands, "he cannot be a cavalry soldier, and in fact is 
 nothing at all." The first chapter of the work in question 
 treating of the grooming of the horse, commences in this wise, 
 " See, my dear little horse, here is the man whose duty it is 
 to groom and tend thee ; he must come to thee every morning 
 at five o'clock in summer and at six in winter ; he must first 
 spread out the straw upon which thou hast slept, in the yard to 
 dry ; then, after shortening thy halter-chain, commence the ope- 
 ration of currying." In the preface to this eccentric work, it is 
 
 impressed upon the officers that they should insist upon their men 
 reading the book to their horses, by which means it is intimated 
 they would not only acquire a knowledge of their duties, but 
 also improve themselves in the art of reading aloud. 
 
 A military stable at day-break presents a lively scene. There 
 is an air of comfort and cheerfulness about it, and cleanliness is 
 the presiding genius ; the well-washed floors, the polished bails, 
 which separate the animals from each other, the men engaged in 
 a variety of occupations, some attending to their horses, others 
 polishing their accoutrements, some singing, others smoking 
 and chatting, the hum of voices, the snorting, neighing, and 
 pawing of the steeds, all combine to form a striking and 
 animated scene. Each man is required to clean from his liorse 
 
 Z 2
 
 340 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 as much dust as will make twelve lines a foot long and an inch 
 thick. The curry-comb is cleared by being knocked on the 
 ground, and the dust thus removed, forms the lines mentioned. 
 To produce this quantity of dust from one horse twice daily, is 
 hard work even in the sandy Brandenburg mark, and the idle 
 soldier is said to be in the habit of slily adding chalk to 
 make up the desired amount and so save himself trouble. 
 
 The grooming at the best is but slight, when compared with 
 that which obtains in England ; and polishing equipments, and 
 burnishing bits, seem unknown, to judge from the appearance 
 of the saddlery. Probably the short service system and the 
 number of things a cavalry soldier has to acquire a knowledge of, 
 together with the severe work which ordinary barrack life entails, 
 make it impossible for him to become a first class groom. 
 Certainh% the horses, so far as smartness of appearance is 
 concerned, fail to come up to the English standard, and their 
 capacity for hard work is occasionally limited. During the 
 winter months they are not shod, and are kept constantly at 
 exercise in the riding-school, which forms but an indifferent 
 preparation for campaign duties. The riding-schools in the 
 Berlin barracks are excellent, and the latter, moreover, are pro- 
 vided with a large open manege of soft sandy soil, with 
 numerous made jumps of varied character, over which the 
 recruits are exercised almost daily. 
 
 The barrack breakfast consists of dry bread and a canful of 
 coffee or gruel, and this despatched, the morning is mostly taken 
 up with drill, a short pause being made in the forenoon to allow 
 the men to partake of a slight luncheon, usually limited to a 
 slice of bread and a glass of spirits. As the government pro- 
 vide bread alone, the men are compelled to buy any other 
 items they require, either from the barrack sutler or at 
 the nearest shop. Those members of the company who are 
 possessed of money or credit, gratify themselves with such 
 luxuries as the barrack canteen affords, and will lunch to the 
 tune of a silver groschen off sausage and schnapps. In this 
 dingy den the privileged few spend their spare time, talking 
 over the service, criticising the officers, and narrating their own 
 adventures, and telling anecdotes and lies to each other with 
 equal facility. 
 
 Erom this pleasant pastime they are suddenly summoned to 
 present themselves on the parade ground for the dreaded roll- 
 call, when each man has to respond by a loud " Here," and all 
 shortcomings are pretty certain to be brought to light. The 
 scrutiny is most thorough, and woe to the man whose accoutre- 
 ments are not in perfect order. If an unfortunate fellow has 
 supplied the place of a lost button by such a nianmivre de 
 force as fastening his braces and trousers together by a piece 
 of string, the makeshift, though it would never have been
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 34I 
 
 detected at drill, is sure to be smelt out by some prying officer, 
 and the reward of ingenuity takes the shape of three days " on 
 the wood," as the being put under arrest is termed. The 
 sternest exactitude with reference to even the smallest minutia; 
 when on parade conduces in the opinion of the Prussian mili- 
 tary authorities in a high degree to the formation of a steady 
 infantry which nothing can shake on the field of battle. 
 
 The non-commissioned officer frequently arrogates to himself 
 no little authority over the hapless recruit, and there is a familiar 
 sketch representing a captain, a sergeant, and a recruit, the 
 captain looking severe but just, the sergeant very angry, and 
 the unfortunate recruit apparently protesting by his expression 
 a state of perfect innocence. " Fusilier Eisenbaum," reports the 
 sergeant with animation, " was absent at roll-call. What excuse 
 has he to give .-'" "At your service, I was — " "Silence," thunders 
 the unteroffizier — "how can he explain his unjustifiable conduct.*'" 
 " At your service, I was — " " Be silent," repeats the sergeant, 
 and then turning to his superior observes, " at your service, you 
 see, Herr Captain, that he has not a word to say for himself," 
 
 The sound of the bugle calls the soldiers to dinner, which at 
 Berlin usually takes the form of meat with pea, lentil, or bean 
 porridge. In the evening a slice of bread with a piece of ham 
 or sausage, and a glass of beer forms the soldier's frugal supper. 
 The whole of these repasts are paid for out of their own pockets, 
 with the exception of the bread of which they receive six pounds 
 every four days. Each company has its mess board, composed 
 of the captain, a lieutenant, a non-commissioned officer, and 
 some privates ; the latter deciding all questions pertaining to 
 themselves, regulating the bill of fare, and determining the cost 
 and hours of meals. The companies are divided into messes of 
 about twenty men, each under the charge of a non-commissioned 
 officer. The officers usually draw money commutations for 
 their rations and make their own arrangements. In the guards 
 regiments, the officers' messes are on the same system as prevails 
 throughout the whole of the English army, excepting that 
 much more economical principles are pursued, the dinner con- 
 sisting of simply three plain courses, for which each officer pays 
 about a shilling, whether he is present or not. There is very 
 Tittle extravagance as a rule, as although most of the officers 
 have long pedigrees, they have short purses, and do not indulge 
 in expensive entertainments or, indeed, extravagance of any 
 kind. 
 
 At Berlin, drill in the barrack-square, and instruction in the 
 barrack-room, go on throughout the winter, the latter being, as 
 already explained, an important element in the Prussian military 
 system. After fatiguing exercise the men are allowed to lie 
 down on their beds for an hour or so, but not after the ordinary 
 exercise gone through in the barrack -yard ; and those who have
 
 342 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 been on guard during the night may sleep for some hours in 
 the daytime. A recruit, acting as sentry for the first time, is 
 expected to stand treat to the whole guard-room. The men pass 
 their spare time in enforced gymnastic exercises, in reading or 
 writing letters, staring out of the windows at the passers by, 
 playing cards, frequenting the popular theatres and beer-gardens, 
 courting nursemaids, but more especially cooks, and such 
 similar occupations as are common to soldiers all the world 
 over. The officers, on their part, pay and receive visits, study, 
 read, play at cards, or on some musical instrument, and frequent 
 the more attractive places of amusement. Every soldier in 
 barracks at Berlin receives an extra monthly allowance of 2^ 
 
 groschen, about 
 2,d., styled garrison 
 allowance. No one 
 knows exactly why 
 this is given ; some 
 say to permit of 
 his spending more 
 on pipe-clay and 
 rotten-stone than 
 in smaller towns, 
 and others that it 
 is to enable him to 
 have an infinitesi- 
 mal amount of ex- 
 tra enjoyment. At 
 nine in the evening 
 thegatesareclosed, 
 the rounds are 
 made, and the re- 
 port is handed in. 
 The officer in 
 charge for the day 
 is informed by the 
 non -commissioned 
 officers on duty of 
 all occurrences, and is held responsible for all disturbances, 
 practical jokes, &c., that may happen. The barrack guard is 
 under his command, but should it be called on to do duty 
 without the limits of the barracks, it passes under the authority 
 of the governor of the city. The health of the troops in 
 barracks is unusually good. Next to the Russian, the pro- 
 portion of men in the Prussian army on the sick-list is smaller 
 than in the armies of any of the other powers, England, Austria, 
 and France following in the order indicated. Diseases of the 
 eyes, by the way, form an exceptionally large proportion of 
 the illnesses among the troops in garrison at Berlin.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 
 
 343 
 
 If, in view of the exigencies of modern warfare, the traditional 
 tactics of Friedrich the Great have been gradually abandoned 
 by the Prussian army, and if the rigid stiffness for which the 
 troops were proverbial in Europe at the commencement of the 
 present century has been materially modified, the iron discipline 
 and constant drill, to which Mr. Carlyle's favourite hero owed so 
 much of his success is still retained in full vigour. As in his 
 day, the aim is to create a system which shall be superior to 
 circumstances, and not depend upon the accidental genius of one 
 man, but upon the thorough training of all. Thus, in all drill 
 books and works of instruction, it is presupposed that the 
 intelligence of the pupil is of the densest description, and every 
 precaution is taken to prevent his going wrong. Nothing is 
 left to chance or accident. The Germans, as a race, are capable 
 of acquiring this minute instruction, and the Duke of Wellington 
 noticed long ago that the German sentinels of his auxiliary 
 forces were far superior to the ordinary British private in know- 
 ledge and intelligence. 
 Matters have not 
 changed since that 
 epoch, for, as already 
 noted, in the Prussian 
 Army the proportion 
 of men unable to read 
 and write is only 3 per 
 cent., whereas out of 
 90,000 men in the 
 British army there are 
 upwards of 12,000, or 
 13^ per cent, of these 
 ignoramuses. 
 
 The ruling spirit 
 with regard to drill 
 was shown by the 
 sergeant who, being 
 ordered at the close 
 of the last war to 
 retire with his men to fixed quarters in France, found, on re- 
 suming the old drill, that things did not go very smoothly, 
 from the free practice of war having slackened the normal pre- 
 cision of movement, " Hinimddojinerwetter, Kerls" he broke out 
 "what disgraceful work is this. Don't you know that the play 
 is now over, and that you have to return to regular service ^ " 
 Both the drill and discipline, however, have for their object the 
 teaching of the art of war. The winter after they join, the 
 recruits are taught regular drill in the barrack-yard, of the 
 painful exactitude of which a well-known Prussian author has 
 recorded his experience : —
 
 344 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 " I was now," he "says, " to receive my first instruction in infantry drill, 
 and for this purpose I was conducted by the sergeant to the barrack-yard 
 and handed over, with a few words of introduction, to Corporal Dose, who 
 was told off to superintend this part of my military education. The exercise 
 began, and I held myself in readiness for the first word of command, 
 ' Attention.' At that word I drew myself up like a flash of li,ijhtning, and 
 stood stiff as a post. So far so good. ' Now, listen ! ' shouted Dose ; ' when 
 I say " At ease," you may advance your right foot, and relax the muscles of 
 your body, but you must on no account speak ; when I again say "Attention," 
 you must not only execute the order, but I must see, by the sudden shock 
 with which you instantly straighten your limbs in obedience to it, that you 
 are fully conscious of the importance of the movement ; that word, "Attention," 
 should inspire every muscle, and convert the unformed mass into disciplined 
 soldiers ; now then, "Attention !"' I stood there an unfinished statue, and 
 the non-commissioned officer figured as sculptor before me. He surveyed 
 me sharply, took a few steps backwards, walked all round me, and remarked 
 on the want of posture, which he forthwith essayed to improve by bending 
 me first an inch to the right and then to the left, pushing back my shoulder- 
 blades, then, by a slight pressure under the chin, he raised my head sufficiently 
 to enable me to contemplate the heavens, and, lastly, he placed my hands 
 so as to bring the little fingers into contact with the red stripes down my 
 trousers ; this he seemed to consider indispensably necessary to the military 
 bearing of a soldier. He was tolerably well satisfied with my bearing on 
 this first day. ' Stand at ease ; ' I advanced my right foot, as I had been 
 directed, and I became once more 'an animal' — Dose's favourite term, 
 besides ' rank and file,' for recruits."* 
 
 A military writer has pointed out that the object of drilling 
 soldiers is clearly twofold, first to bring them more completely 
 under command, so that they will execute exactly what is 
 ordered, and next to place them in the best formation to meet 
 the enemy under certain groups of circumstances. It would be 
 impossible to provide for all the contingencies of war. To bring 
 them under command and marshal them at a certain spot with 
 the least possible delay, steadiness and swiftness are necessary 
 to be enforced and constantly practised. These are attained in 
 the Prussian Army by much regular drilling according to the 
 book, and perpetual marching by night as well as by day. It is 
 only in route marching that the men are not obliged to keep 
 step. During the early part of the year the recruits work with 
 the older soldiers, and then throughout the summer m.onlhs they 
 practise perpetually, not simple drill only, but the art of fighting. 
 The men are exercised by the subalterns under the superin- 
 tendence of the captains in squads, after which the whole com- 
 pany is manceuvred by the captain, who likewise exercises it in 
 light infantry and piquets. Everything has to be done as quickly 
 as possible, but with no neglect of steadiness and precision. The 
 movements of the files are perfectly natural, and when the men 
 are marching in line or in fours the arm that does not carry the 
 rifle is allowed to swing backwards and forwards like that of an 
 ordinary pedestrian. The dressing of the largest companies, 
 notwithstanding this innovation, is perfectly preserve. " No 
 • F. \V. Hacklander's Soldier in Time of Peace.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 345 
 
 English drill sergeant," continues the writer, an officer in our 
 own service, " could find the slightest fault with the manner in 
 which the men handle their arms, which flash from one position 
 to another as though the whole company were animated by 
 a single mind. And when they stand with shouldered arms 
 there is a steadiness, a stillness, and a solidity which is rarely 
 witnessed." 
 
 "Felddienst," or field duty, commences in June, and comprises 
 not only outpost duty and all the work soldiers may be called 
 upon to perform in the field, but the men have in face of them 
 either a supposed enemy or one drawn from their own ranks. 
 On such occasions as these, mistakes are of course constantly 
 made, but they are at once pointed out and corrected. The men 
 are especially exercised in rapid firing, in judging distances, and 
 in profiting by the nature of the ground to make attacks. One 
 day they will seize a railway station, and after sending off the 
 employes as prisoners under an escort, will organize the service 
 themselves, as though in a conquered country. The youngest 
 Prussian officers are obliged to show their power of handling 
 their men, placing outposts, watching an enemy, attacking and 
 defending positions, and these summer experiences are to them 
 and to the men what the autumn manoeuvres are to the general 
 officers. 
 
 In the Prussian Army two branches of discipline are recognized 
 exactly analogous to drill and tactics, namely, barrack or camp 
 discipline and fire or fighting discipline. The latter should 
 include submission to heavy loss when necessary, without re- 
 turning a shot till ordered, care not to waste ammunition, 
 obedience to orders, especially when mixed up according to the 
 modern system of attack with other companies and battalions, 
 and withdrawal from fight, and a steady assembly at the officer's 
 command. In England great difficulty is found in repressing the 
 men, who sometimes in their eagerness and excitement are even 
 tempted to come to blows, whereas in Germany all are stolid 
 and undemonstrative, there being apparently no eagerness to 
 advance, no annoyance at being ordered to retire. 
 
 What is known as barrack discipline is pushed to the greatest 
 extreme. The soldier is deprived of his individuality and turned 
 into No. — of a company, squadron, or battery. His complete 
 subserviency to his superiors is insured in a hundred minute 
 ways. In General von Mirus's book it is laid down that " When 
 a superior offers, or causes to be offered, a glass of wine, beer, 
 &c., to a soldier, he must accept it without saying a word, and 
 empty it at a draught ; he must then hand the glass to a servant 
 or place it on the window ledge, or on a side-table, but never on 
 that at which the superior is seated." In the Prussian Army the 
 preservation of discipline is paramount to human life, as was 
 shown not very long ago in the case of a private at Cologne,
 
 346 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 who, for some small ofifence was beinjr escorted across the bridge 
 of boats to Deutz by a sergeant's guard, and who, not liking the 
 prospect of the military prison awaiting him on the other side, 
 jumped into the Rhine. The non-commissioned officer at once 
 ordered his men to make ready, and when the poor devil came 
 up to the surface his comrades, at the word "fire," shot him dead 
 in the water, though under the circumstances his recapture 
 would have been certain. Such is the effect of this rigid disci- 
 pline that during a riot in Berlin, an officer succeeded in checking 
 the advance of the mob by riding right up to them and calling 
 them to attention, when the old soldiers amongst them from force 
 of habit at once halted and drew themselves up. 
 
 The punishments in the German Army differ but little from 
 those inflicted in other states. The men are no longer hounded 
 on to battle by corporals armed with canes and striking right 
 and left, as was once the case, and picketing, riding the wooden 
 horse with a couple of firelocks tied to each ankle, and being 
 strapped neck and heels by a pair of slings, with a musket under 
 the hams, are things of the past. Corporal punishment is strictly 
 
 forbidden, and if a complaint 
 of this kind can be proved the 
 offender is supposed to be 
 severely punished ; but offi- 
 cers do strike their men in 
 the ranks, and if in cavalry 
 drill an officer should say 
 "that horse goes lazily," and 
 give the beast a slash over 
 the flank with his whip, the 
 rider cannot complain if his 
 leg happens to catch the best 
 part of the stroke. Punishment 
 usually takes the form of ar- 
 rest. For the most trivial 
 breach of discipline or even 
 for an unfastened button, 
 boots or arms not sufficiently polished, a speck of rust, a 
 greatcoat lacking mathematical accuracy in its folds, a culprit 
 can be sentenced on the spot to three days' arrest. This is 
 usually spent in the military prison, to be found in every garrison 
 town. The culprit dressed in his worst clothes, an example 
 of that minute economy which is one of the characteristics of 
 the Prussian service, takes a two-pound loaf, representing two 
 days' allowance, under his arm, and is marched off to durance 
 vile. The cells are of the smallest dimensions, and their furni- 
 ture consists of a plank forming a bedstead, a bucket, and a 
 pitcher containing the water, which, with the bread already 
 mentioned, forms the prisoner's sole refreshment. The fol-
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 
 
 347. 
 
 lowing gives the result of an experience acquired in one of 
 these cells : — 
 
 " It was now about five o'clock. The time passed very slowly, I could 
 distinctly hear the quarters strike and there seemed an eternity between 
 each. I traversed my cell, it only took two steps to get from one end to the 
 other, and I measured this space at least a thousand times. Sometimes I ate 
 a little of my bread, then I sat on my pallet, drank a little water, and stood 
 up again. I tried to sleep but my limbs ached after the first minute on the 
 hard wood. It was, moreover, rather cool, I ran up and down like a bear in 
 a menagerie — a resemblance further increased by my growls— holding out 
 my hands before me to prevent breaking my head against the wall. I 
 thought over all my sins, and also of a pretty young girl who perhaps at 
 that very moment was waiting for me, and at each sound would fancy she 
 heard me coming. I did what Jean Paul advises if one cannot sleep, and 
 counted up to a million. I conjugated irregular verbs until I became quite 
 puzzled. 
 
 All at once the rattle of the drums was heard before the guard-house, and 
 from the more distant town I could hear the tattoo soundings so it was nine 
 o'clock and I 
 had still eight 
 hours to enjoy 
 before day re- 
 turned. I made 
 preparations 
 for sleep, fold- 
 ed my pocket- 
 handkerchief 
 and laid it un- 
 der my head, 
 rolled myself 
 up like a 
 
 hedge-hog and 
 
 covered my 
 breast and 
 arms with my 
 tunic which I 
 had taken off 
 for that pur- 
 pose as it 
 would keep me 
 warmer. After 
 numerous 
 changes of po- 
 sition I fell asleep at last, and had frightful dreams. Suddenly I awoke 
 with a start and recollected where I was. I heard a splash near me, a 
 little mouse had fallen into my water jug, I delivered it from a watery 
 grave, in return for which it bit my finger. I repeated my foiTner manoeuvres, 
 rolling myself up and covering m\'self over, and wished I had the horny 
 skin of Siegfried, and after many groans and sighs I slept again. I dreamt 
 many things, I was no longer a gay volunteer condemned to a short imprison- 
 ment for wearing a white waistcoat, I was a murderer and this was my last 
 night ; already I heai'd the clash of the arms of the guards coming to lead 
 me forth to death. 
 
 " I started up, awakened by a sudden light shining brightly in my eyes. 
 The door of my cell was open and before it stood the guard leaning on their 
 rifles, and the inspector, ' King of the Rats,' entered, ' He ! he !' said he, ' I 
 am the inspector come to examine the place and see if everything is in proper 
 order. So, my son, the tunic taken off. He ! he ! is that permitted.'' I have
 
 348 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 a great mind to report you to the commandant, he does not understand 
 joking, and will give you three days' arrest, and you will not know whether 
 you are standing on your head or not. Put on that tunic immediately. He ! 
 the green-horn has also spit on the ground. He ! what is the pail there for ?' 
 With that he shuffled out as quickly as his old legs would carry him, drew 
 the bolt, and I was again left in darkness. . . . 
 
 " The night came to an end as everything does in this world. At six 
 o'clock my cell was again opened and surrounded by a guard — we were all 
 allowed to breathe the fresh air for a quarter of an hour in a little grated 
 court. The company assembled there resembled a band of marauders, the 
 remnant of a lingering war, rather than the peaceful soldiers of a well-regu- 
 lated force, who were in this horrible place, for some slight insubordination 
 or foolish prank. There were men of all sorts, infantry, artillery, pioneers, 
 in their oldest uniforms, become still more shabby after the sufferings of 
 several days' arrest, trousers without braces hung loose and showed a yellow 
 shirt, faces usually fresh and bright, had a grey look, for they were seldom 
 washed during arrest, the hair and beard straggled about in wild disorder, 
 for razors and combs were prohibited, 
 
 " During this morning promenade every one seemed to have forgotten the 
 sufferings of the night, there were laughter and joking going on, acquaintances 
 met and related to each other what brought them here, and they came to 
 the conclusion that all were equally innocent. The water jugs were re- 
 plenished, and when at the end of the appointed time ' Uncle' appeared in 
 the court and gave a significant sign, all followed him and were led back to 
 their respective cells. " ^ 
 
 In the military prisons there are rooms, the walls and floors of 
 which are studded with sharp-pointed wooden spikes, so that 
 repose is all but impossible. These rooms go by the name of 
 the " Laths," and are no longer used excepting in very rare cases 
 as, for instance, when one of the chain gang becomes mutinous 
 to his guards. The mildest form of arrest is the guard-room, in 
 which the prisoner has a straw mattress in place of the wooden 
 bedstead, and a warm meal daily. The guard-room is also used 
 as a place of detention for soldiers awaiting trial by court-martial 
 for the commission of some crime, and the German susceptibility 
 makes this circumstance a cause of considerable annoyance to 
 those who are brought there only for some trivial offence. The 
 black hole is a place to which no ray of light penetrates, and in 
 which there is neither wooden bedstead nor straw mattress. 
 Confinement in this is generally awarded by sentence of court- 
 martial for serious offences, for periods of from three days to six 
 weeks.^ 
 
 • F. W. Hacklander's Soldier in Time of Peace. 
 
 2 It should be noted that the morale of the Prussian Army is vastly superior 
 to our own, from the ranks of which year after year between i,6oo and 2,000 
 bad characters are expelled. The returns, moreover, show that in 1870 
 there were 3,303 British soldiers imprisoned in civil gaols and in the military 
 portion of Millbank penitentiary, without reckoning those confined in military 
 prisons and provost cells. In 1874 these numbers had increased to as 
 many as 5,584, or upwards of 60 per cent. Further, drunkenness would seem 
 to prevail to a fearful extent in the British army, as out of the money result- 
 ing from fines inflicted on those addicted to this vice by the authorities, no 
 less than 30,000/. was distributed during the year 1876 in gratuities to dis- 
 charged non-commissioned officers and men in the possession of good
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — BARRACK LIFE, ETC. 
 
 349 
 
 conduct badges. With regard to desertions from the army, the chaplain of 
 Millbank, who had made himself acquainted with the reasons whicli induced 
 the deserters confined in that prison to quit the service, states that out of 6i6 
 men, 48 deserted through harshness of non-commissioned officers or bad 
 treatment from comrades, 114 through drink, 161 from dislike of the army, 
 72 through the persuasion of comrades, 12 from refusal of leave, i from 
 marriage witliout leave, 92 from having overstayed their furlough and not 
 liking to re-join, 100 to get something better to do, and 16 from debt. 
 
 Captain Creagh is of the opinion that " when it comes to pass that sum- 
 mary dismissal from the army will be looked upon as a punishment by all, as 
 it now would be by many, the social standing of the army will be raised in 
 the eyes of civilians, and its popularity and respectability increased as a 
 matter of course. In the army, as in many other classes of hfe, a few ( !) black- 
 guards give a character to the mass, and people who say that our soldiers 
 are the dregs of the population, the offscouring of gaols, and include them in 
 the usual categories of sin and wickedness under which they are popularly 
 supposed to be comprised, only show that they know very little about their 
 national defenders, and any man who knows soldiers well can say that in 
 every troop and company of the British army the majority of the non-com- 
 missioned officers and soldiers are men of the highest respectabiUty, of whom 
 any army in the world might well be proud." 
 
 THE WAR OFFICE, BliRLIN,
 
 LIEUTENANT EXAMINING PRIVATE ON THE SUBJECT OF HIS FAY. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — ORGANISATION, PAY, UNIFORMS AND 
 
 RATIONS. 
 
 EACH Prussian Army Corps, as already noted, is complete 
 in itself, consisting, with some slight exceptions, of two 
 divisions of infantry, one of cavalry, a regiment of field and a 
 regiment of siege artillery, a battalion of jagers, a battalion of 
 engineers, and a battalion of the military train.^ Each division 
 of infantry consists of two brigades, which in time of peace are 
 usually formed of two regiments of three battalions each. In war 
 the brigades are often reinforced by two regiments of landwehr. 
 A cavalry regiment is usually attached to each infantry division, 
 the remaining cavalry acting independently with batteries of 
 horse artillery. The Guards form an army corps of themselves, 
 and are quartered in and around Berlin. In peace each of the 
 
 ' In a paper prepared by the Topographical and Statistical Department of 
 the English War Office, on the strength and organisation of a North German 
 Army Corps, it is stated that the numbers are in peace 21,599 men, with 915 
 officers ; in war 54,954 men, with 1,758 officers— making in the case of the 
 latter 56,712 in all. But after deducting the depot men left behind in the 
 corps province under a different command, the cavalry division often acting 
 independently, and the fusiliers abolished under the existing organisation, 
 the actual number of men brought into the field when a Prussian corps is 
 mobilized varies from 31,000 to 34,000.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — ORGANISATION, PAY, ETC. 35 I 
 
 Other army corps is assigned to its special province, so that the 
 regiments are recruited in the districts from which they take 
 their names. Princes and other individuals of rank and im- 
 portance are often placed at the head of Prussian regiments. 
 Thus Prince Bismarck is a colonel of cuirassiers, the Crown 
 Princess a colonel of hussars, and the Czar and Emperor of 
 Austria, with other members of foreign royal houses, command 
 regiments in the Prussian service. On all ceremonial occasions 
 the titular leader usually assumes the command, and a certain 
 number of fetes, dinners, with gifts of plate, are expected from 
 him. 
 
 With a centralised power and a decentralised administration, 
 wonderful results are effected. Subsistence for each corps is 
 drawn from its own province. In peace everything is kept 
 ready for the mobihsation of the army for war, there being no 
 machinery for relieving subordinates in time of peace from the 
 responsibility they must necessarily assume in the event of a 
 contest. Every officer and every civil official knows what will be 
 his part when mobilisation is determined on, and the moment 
 this information is received, each springs to work without further 
 orders or explanations, but in so quiet and regular a way as to 
 be scarcely noticeable. Nor does this system date from }^ester- 
 day. Speaking of the rapidity with which Friedrich the Great's 
 father mobilised his forces, Mr. Carlyle remarks, " Captains, not 
 of an imaginary nature there, are always busy ; and the king 
 himself is busy over them. From big guns and waggon-horses 
 down to gun-flints and gaiter-straps, all is marked in registers ; 
 nothing is wanting, nothing out of its place at any time in 
 Friedrich Wilhelm's army." The general commanding each 
 corps at once mobilises it ; the governors of fortresses take 
 steps to complete their armaments, and the heads of administra- 
 tion supply their needs for a war-footing. 
 
 The method is as follows. All orders are sent by telegraph to 
 the main stations, and the civil magistrates are required to serve 
 notices upon the reserves needed to be called out, at their homes 
 in their respective magistracies. The reserves at once assemble 
 at the head-quarters of the landwehr of the district, where they 
 undergo a medical examination, and are then forwarded to their 
 proper regiments. The field army is filled up to its full strength, 
 depot troops are formed, garrison troops are mustered, and 
 fortresses armed, the field administration is mobilized, and an 
 extensive staff, which performs home duties whilst the regular 
 field staff goes with the field army, is formed. At the conclu- 
 sion of a war and the disbandment of the extraordinary troops 
 called out, the standing army returns to a peace-footing, and 
 the reserves and landwehr are put upon furlough. Officers 
 called into service from the pension-list, and civil officials taken 
 from their ordinary posts, return to the places they occupied
 
 352 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 before mobilisation. Paymasters, however, are retained upon the 
 war-footing for a sufficient time to allow of the settlement of their 
 accounts. 
 
 The interior economy of a regiment is regulated with an 
 almost painful minuteness, not only as regards matters of 
 discipline, but of administration. The arms, clothing, and 
 equipments are the property of the regiment, and are adminis- 
 tered by its own board of control, according to fixed regulations. 
 The commanding officer is president of the regimental board, and 
 should the funds of the regiment become exhausted, is authorised 
 to draw within certain limits on the general war fund. A certain 
 fixed sum is handed over annually to him for each soldier under 
 his command, a portion of which goes to the man as pay, the 
 rest being disbursed for arms, equipments, clothing, &c. The 
 lieutenant-colonel, as the second member of the board, super- 
 intends the business of the paymaster, and mu.st see that the 
 books and accounts are properly kept and balanced. He is 
 responsible for the accuracy of all accounts, and in view of these 
 functions is excused from all field exercises. All organisations 
 manage their own funds, supplies of clothing, and entire equip- 
 ment. The regimental board has charge also of the funds for 
 keeping in order clothing and equipments, including the usual 
 equipments and arms, and for the messing arrangements. The 
 paymaster, who is an officer of the regiment, for there is no 
 pay-department proper in the Prussian army, receives and counts 
 the different regimental funds, keeps each in its proper safe, and 
 disburses them under the direction and supervision of the 
 regimental board. The money for the payment of troops, 
 together with allowances for the other funds, is received from 
 the War Department by the regimental commander, and the 
 paymaster's duties are those of a treasurer and cashier. He 
 directs the correspondences, calculations, and bookkeeping, and 
 does not attend drills or field manoeuvres. 
 
 Private deposits are not allowed to be made in the regimental 
 safes, but officers are allowed to receive the savings of their men 
 until the amount reaches about two pounds, when it must be 
 deposited, to secure interest. Contributions are made monthly 
 to the fund for officers' widows and to the officers' clothing fund. 
 The fund for the assistance of officers actually in want was 
 instituted by the War Department in 1869, and is for the benefit 
 of officers below the grade of captain. On mobilisation the 
 garrison troops receive stated amounts for this last fund and 
 for some others. The additional pension fund for artillery 
 officers is kept up by donations from officers of that corps, 
 and, together with a fund for the relief of widows of artillery 
 officers, is managed by a board selected from the artillery 
 brigade of the Guards at Berlin. The review fund accrues 
 from the sale of worn-out tools and unserviceable ordnance and
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — ORGANISATION, PAY, ETC. 353 
 
 building material, and from the rent of refreshment booths 
 on the review ground. It is applied to payment of damages 
 done to fields and crops during manoeuvres and for miscellaneous 
 purposes. Each battery of artillery receives a fund monthly 
 for repairs of harness and gun-carriages, and for making targets, 
 &c. There are also numerous other funds such as those for 
 the education of soldiers, for medical attendance and medicines 
 for the wives and children of soldiers, for horse medicines, for 
 regimental bands, for libraries and military charities, for swim- 
 ming schools, and for the decoration of cemeteries. All these 
 funds are closely looked after and every groschen dispensed has 
 to be set down under its right heading. There is a story current 
 that von Moltke himself had to appear before a board of inquiry 
 at the close of the last campaign. A pound of snuff had been 
 supplied to him and the amount of one thaler ten groschen 
 figured in the accounts of the general war fund as its cost. 
 The board disapproved of this item, remarking that the Imperial 
 Treasury could not be charged with an expenditure affected to 
 the private needs of an individual, and the field-marshal was 
 requested to reimburse the amount. This is a fit pendant to the 
 story of how the English Ordnance Department for years 
 brought forward a claim against the Duke of Wellington for 
 sundry picks and shovels expended during the Peninsular 
 campaign, and not properly vouched for, Prussian generals 
 commanding armies and army corps, it may be noted, have to 
 supply their own office furniture. 
 
 Upon the mobilisation of the Prussian Army an extra allowance is made 
 by the Government for the purpose of providing an outfit for field service. 
 Mounted officers receive from 20 to 40 thaler for horse equipment. Members 
 of cadet corps promoted to lieutenancies, and non-commissioned officers 
 promoted to commissions, receive 20 thaler in the infantry and 40 in 
 the cavalry and artillery. The War Department also allows sergeants thus 
 promoted while on active service an equipment fee of 150 thaler. Loss of 
 uniform and equipments on active service validates a claim for 70 thaler. 
 
 The pay of all ranks in war time is supplemented by allowances. A bat- 
 tahon commander for instance receives 30 thaler, and a battalion adjutant 
 10 thaler per month extra. On taking the field both officers and soldiers 
 may arrange to have one half their pay handed over to their families. These 
 payments are made m.onthly in advance, and continue if the officer is sick 
 or under arrest, and in case of his death do not cease till the end of the 
 month. In peace a general receives 4,000 thaler per annum, a major-general 
 3,000, a colonel of cavalry 2,600, of infantry 2,000, a lieutenant-colonel of 
 cavalry 1,800, of infantry 1,300, a captain of cavalr}', artillery, or engineers 
 from 720 to 1,300, of infantry from 600 to 1,200, a lieutenant from 300 to 
 420, according to his standing and the branch of the service to which he 
 belongs. 
 
 High civilian officials called on for the performance of their usual vocation 
 with the army are tolerably well paid. Surgeons, hospital inspectors, &c., 
 receive from i thaler 24 groschen to 3 thaler 15 groschen per diem ; chap- 
 lains, who are paid from a special fund, and auditors 2 thaler, field post- 
 masters and field telegraph inspectors 2 thaler, field intendents 3 thaler, 
 railway officials i thaler 15 groschen to 3 thaler 15 groschen, or in an enemy's 
 
 A A
 
 354 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 country 5 thaler. Ever)' civil official thus called into service at the mobilisa- 
 tion receives two or three months' salary in advance. 
 
 The monthly pay of a sergeant of cavalry, artillery, engineers, or train, is 
 from 8 to 12 thaler, of infantry from 8 thaler 15 groschcn to 10 thaler 15 
 groschen ; of a corporal of cavalry, &c., from 6 thaler 15 groschen to 9 thaler, 
 of infantry 5 thaler to 7 thaler 15 groschen. Privates of artillery receive 
 5 thaler, of cavalry 4 thaler, and of infantry 3 thaler 15 groschen per 
 month. 
 
 A popular caricature depicts a Prussian lieutenant questioning 
 a grenadier with reference to the amount of his pay, and the 
 mode in which it is required to be disbursed, which will be 
 best understood by quoting the dialogue that ensues in detail. — 
 Lieutenant : " Grenadier Eisenbeiser, What is the daily pay 
 received by our foot soldiers .'' " — Grenadier : "3^ groschen (4^^.) 
 per da}'. — Lieutenant : "Yes, but from this i^ groschen has to be 
 set apart for messing ; now tell me what is the soldier required to 
 furnish himself with out of the remaining 2} groschen (2^d.)" — 
 Grenadier: " He has to provide his cleaning apparatus including 
 various brushes, such as blacking, polishing, clothes, tooth, gun, 
 and hair brushes, also wadding, stocks, varnish, blacking, stearine 
 and gun-oil, lime, lard, soap, combs, looking-glass." — Lieutenant : 
 " Yes, and beside these he has to pay for his washing, and also 
 his supper out of it ; that is to say he can if he pleases buy 
 a piece of brick-like cheese, to eat with his ammunition bread, 
 afid if he is thirsty, there is a large jug of water standing in 
 every room. His instructions run that he is so to apportion his 
 pa)', as never to exceed the due portion per diem, and further 
 that he is to lead a respectable life and never run into debt." ^ 
 
 The sum set apart for messing is supplemented by an allow- 
 ance from the government, which varies according to the garrison, 
 and is fixed regularly every quarter, as well as by a daily ration 
 of i^ lb. of coarse bread per man. The result is that each 
 soldier has his bowl of gruel or coffee in the morning and a meal 
 in the middle of the day provided for him, and that for his supper 
 he is dependent on him.self The men are paid on the ist, nth, 
 and 2 1st of each month, and in the case of those who are in the 
 habit of spending it at once and saving nothing for their messing, 
 the money is handed to a non-commissioned officer who deducts 
 the sum required and hands the rest to the soldier. 
 
 In war time the reserves and garrison troops are on a peace- 
 footing, and when a man is made prisoner his pay ceases. 
 Officers and officials in hospitals receive full pay, and soldiers 
 sent to hospital receive a slight addition to their pay. When 
 
 * The low scale of pay in the Prussian Army tells in the aggregate, as Mr. 
 Holms estimates that for an outlay of 12,000,000/. Prussia has an army of 
 470,000 men, 86,000 horses, and 594 guns, whereas Great Britain for an 
 expenditure of 13,700,000/. has only 230,000 men, of whom 100,000 are un- 
 trained militia, while of the remainder no more than 78,500 are of the 
 proper military age, namely between 20 and 22. In place of 86,000 horses 
 Great Britain has nearly 15,000, and instead of 594 guns she has but 340.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — ORGANISATION, PAY, ETC. 355 
 
 soldiers are taken ill on the march and there is no sur^reon on 
 duty with the command, they are conveyed to the nearest suitable 
 liouse and a civil physician summoned to attend them, who is 
 entitled to a thaler a visit. Sick men in the reserve hospitals 
 receive pay as if on a peace-footing. Officers and soldiers on 
 sick-leave receive full pay, but on ordinary leave pay stops at 
 the end of six months. In case of death the family of the 
 deceased receives one month's pay, called a grace salary, upon 
 which the creditors have no claim. Soldiers under ordinary 
 arrest or confinement receive full pay. When under close arrest 
 they forfeit about i? groschen a day. Officers in confinement or 
 suspended by sentence of court-martial receive no pay after the 
 forty-sixth day of such confinement or suspension. An addition 
 is made to the pay of military prisoners for activity and good 
 conduct, and their leisure hours are employed in work for them- 
 selves and at school. 
 
 A prisoner acting as teacher receives 40 groschen per week ; half of this sum 
 is deducted for tobacco and spirits, and the other half saved up and handed 
 to him at the expiration of his sentence. Soldiers in charge of prisoners 
 receive an addition to their pay of 2 thaler per month. Officers of the 
 enemy held as prisoners of war receive a monthly allowance of 25 thaler 
 paid in advance, but privates only receive food and clothing. Extra pay 
 according to length of service is given to dnammers, buglers, and bandsmen. 
 The best marksman of a regiment receives additional pay, but for one year 
 only. Prizes are given to Polish soldiers for proficiency in learning the 
 German language, the best scholar in a company receiving 5 and the second 
 best 3 thaler per annum. Holders of the military merit cross receive 3 
 thaler, and of the military honour token of the first class i thaler per month 
 additional pay. Officers holding medals for bravery in action during the 
 years 18 13-4-5 get 8 thaler per month. Lieutenants detached as instructors 
 in technical schools receive 9 thaler per month, officers on duty at the 
 artillery school 50 thalers per annum, and officers detached for topographical 
 duties 20 thaler per month extra pay. To officers on duties connected with 
 trigonometrical surveys 40 groschen per day are allowed for travelling 
 expenses. Officers of the Militaiy Academy attending the Spring or Autumn 
 manoeuvres receive 8 thaler per month. During the annual drills a captain 
 of the landwehr receives 2 thaler 15 groschen, a lieutenant i thaler, and 
 a second lieutenant 15 groschen per day. 
 
 The same categorical exactitude which marks all money 
 matters extends to the soldier's clothing. These are not the pro- 
 perty of the man by whom they are worn, but of the regiment, 
 though each man is held responsible for his arms and equip- 
 ments, and if any are lost by his fault the loss is usually made 
 up by the company if he has previously borne a good character ; 
 if not he must pay for them. The commanding ofiicer of the 
 regiment is responsible for the clothing and entire equipment of 
 his command, and general officers have a like responsibility. 
 All materials for clothing are furnished to the tailors, who are 
 enlisted men, and are by them made up for the different regi- 
 ments, all articles of clothing being twice inspected before being 
 issued. Non-commissioned officers and privates, except one-year 
 
 A A 2
 
 356 r.ERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 volunteers, are furnished with all articles of clothing and equip- 
 ment required during their term of service. The clothes are 
 kept in stock by the regiment. There are three suits for each 
 soldier. That for everj-day wear he hands in every Saturday 
 night and receives in exchange the one for Sundays. This is 
 also given out to him when he has leave to go into the town. 
 He has still another, brought out only on great occasions, such 
 as reviews before the king. Tlie clothing is in charge of the first 
 sergeant, and though on an average each suit lasts only a year, 
 each of the old suits being degraded one degree in importance 
 as a new one is issued, such is the care taken that there are suits 
 in stock that have been in service twenty years. This applies 
 only to garrison life, for when the army takes the field only one 
 suit is worn. Soldiers discharged for disability during the 
 winter months, if of feeble constitution, are furnished with an 
 overcoat, which must be handed in to the proper authority on 
 their arrival at home. Each man on joining receives his 
 outfit. 
 
 For the infantry the outfit consists of a cap, a tunic, a linen jacket, one 
 pair each of cloth and linen trousers, a great-coat, stock, and one pair of 
 each of the following : drawers, stockings (which are necessarily only worn on 
 exceptional occasions), mittens, ear coverings, boots, shoes, and two pairs of 
 half-soled ditto. 
 
 In the cavalry each man receives a cap, a linen jacket, one pair each 
 of kersey and cloth trousers, the latter faced with leather, together with 
 a pair of stable trousers, a great coat, stock, shirt, and one pair each of 
 drawers, stockings, long boots, shoes, gloves, and ear coverings. These ear 
 coverings are a kind of light hood worn under the helmet, the sides being 
 brought down and fastened under the chin. 
 
 The soldier is allowed annually two pairs of cotton drawers, two cotton 
 shirts, a cotton suit for drilling, two black cloth stocks, and two pairs of boots. 
 In garrison he receives two double blankets in winter and one in summer, one 
 coverlet, one mattress, one pillow, and a couple of sheets. The garrison 
 administration pays for the washing of the bed furniture, but each man is 
 required to see to the washing of his own clothes. 
 
 In time of peace the rations, with the exception of the govern- 
 ment allowance of bread, are determined by a board of officers, 
 and vary with the products and prices of different localities. 
 Although it is a theory with the Prussians that an army, like a 
 serpent, goes upon its belly in time of war, officers and soldiers 
 alike are only entitled to one ration in kind daily ; commutations 
 are not then allowed, excepting under special circumstances. 
 
 The ration consists of twelve ounces of beef or mutton, or two-thirds of 
 a pound of salt pork ; a pound and a half of bread, which may be increased 
 to two pounds ; four ounces of rice and four ounces of barley or grits, or 
 eight ounces of peas or beans ; half a pound of flour or three pounds of 
 potatoes ; four ounces of salt and four ounces of green coffee. The cost of 
 this ration is about eight or niVie groschen, and the general commanding 
 directs which of the component parts shall be issued, and in case of want of 
 means of transport has the power of reducing it. The general commanding 
 may also authorize the issue of beer, wine, tobacco, and butter when they are
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — ORGANISATION, PAY, ETC. 357 
 
 obtainable, together with dried fruit, sauerkraut, and vegetables. In the 
 field the ration may be increased to a pound of meat, a third of a pound of 
 rice, and the same of barley or grits, or two-thirds of a pound of peas or 
 beans, and four pounds of potatoes. 
 
 When troops are travelling by rail or steamboat an extra 
 allowance of money is made for procuring refreshments on the 
 line of travel, and commanding officers are required to see that 
 each man carries with him at least a pound of bread and a 
 suitable quantity of salt pork and spirits as a reserve ration. In 
 case there should be no proper accommodation for the men on 
 the line of travel, stores with butchers and bakers are sent 
 forward in charge of an officer, and warm meals are prepared in 
 advance for the troops. The issue of provisions must in every 
 case be witnessed by a company officer, and offxers in command 
 of posts are required to thoroughly inspect all articles received. 
 
 In an enemy's country the rule is that " supplies are obtained 
 by requisitions upon the inhabitants through their own civil 
 officers, if possible, but no more than the home price of the 
 article so obtained is paid imder any circumstances." This 
 sounds very prettily, but the payment consists of a piece of 
 paper on which is scrawled the sum considered by the officer 
 conducting the operation of requisitioning the foe equivalent for 
 what he receives, and as it very often happens that a town or 
 village is subjected to a monetary penalty for some real or 
 fancied infraction of the rules of war as laid down by Prussian 
 authorities, by the time debtor and creditor accounts are balanced, 
 if any money at all is to be received, it is by the invaders and 
 not by the invaded.
 
 XX. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 
 
 WITH the Prussian infantry soldier every one is pretty well 
 acquainted. He has been sketched on the march as 
 follows : " His overcoat is made into a long, slender roll, and hung 
 on the left shoulder, the two ends coming together and being 
 fastened on the right hip. His haversack, of coarse white 
 canvas, and glass canteen covered with leather, are slung from 
 the right shoulder. Around the flask are buckled two broad 
 straps, used in peace to cover the sights of the gun. He wears 
 no shoulder-belt, but a pipe-clayed waist-belt, on which are 
 strapped two cartridge-boxes of black leather, carried on either 
 side, each box holding twenty cartridges. The knapsack is of 
 calf-skin, tanned with the hair on, and stretched on a wooden 
 frame, and is slung by two pipe-clayed leathern straps, hooked 
 to the waist-belt in front and then passing over the shoulders. 
 Two short straps attached to these in front pass back under the 
 armpits, and are fastened to the knapsack. On each end of this 
 outside is a deep bo.x, in which is carried a case of twenty 
 cartridges. Within are one shirt of white flannel, one pair of 
 drawers, one pair of drill trousers, a short jacket, one pair of 
 boots, and the cleaning and toilet kit, consisting of four or five
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 359 
 
 brushes for the clothes, hair, teeth, gun, blacking, and polishino-, 
 a box of rotten stone, a bottle of oil, and the usual number of 
 old greasy rags for cleaning, together with writing materials 
 and a roll of bandages. On the top of the knapsack is strapped 
 a galvanized iron pot, holding about three quarts, with a tight- 
 fitting cover, which is used separately for cooking. Within the 
 knapsack, slipped into little loops, are a spoon, knife, fork, comb, 
 and small mirror. In his haversack is carried whatever may be 
 the food for the day." 
 
 The knapsack itself is heavy and clumsy, and when fully 
 packed weighs some fifty pounds, which is a stone and a half 
 beyond the weight an English infantry soldier is required to 
 carry. This leads to the knapsacks being usually conveyed in a 
 cart which is attached to each company in time of war in order 
 to facilitate the speedy movements of the troops. The Prussians 
 are duly mindful of the familiar saying that more battles are 
 won by marching than by fighting, and have never forgotten 
 that much of the success of Friedrich the Great was due to 
 the celerity with which his troops had been trained to cover 
 the ground. They therefore do all they can to ensure excel- 
 lence in the locomotive powers of their men. Before a 
 recruit is entered in the infantry he is carefully examined in 
 order to see whether his feet will bear the strain of long 
 marches, and the greatest attention is paid to the fit of the 
 excellent boots with which each man is provided. The march- 
 ing of the Prussian troops in the late war and the way in 
 which MacMahon's army was overtaken despite its flying 
 start and hindered from joining Bazaine, is a proof that such 
 care is sure to reap its due reward. 
 
 The Prussian infantry soldier wears a single-breasted tunic 
 of blue cloth with red facings, very dark grey trousers, with 
 a red cord down the seam, half-wellington boots and no stock- 
 ings, but a greased linen rag wrapped around the foot. He 
 carries on his waistbelt a strong sword fifteen inches long, 
 which he can use for defence or for cutting wood, or materials for 
 fascines or gabions. His gun is unburnished, so that it may not 
 attract the enemy by flashing in the sun, and is pretty well 
 coated with grease. He carries no blanket, but hopes at night 
 to find some straw for his bed. He wears on his head either a 
 flat forage cap of blue cloth with a red band, or a glazed leather 
 helmet with a brass Prussian eagle displayed in front, and a 
 brass spike about two inches high at the top. A leather pouch 
 for money is hung about the neck, and also a zinc plate attached 
 to a cord on which is the soldier's name, number, company, and 
 regiment. 
 
 Each Prussian infantry regiment has a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, and 
 a lieutenant acting as adjutant, and is divided into three battalions. Each 
 battalion has a major, an assistant, a surgeon, an assistant-surgeon, a pay-
 
 360 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 master, a quarter-master, and two non-commissioned staff officers, and is 
 divided into four companies. The various companies are composed of a 
 captain, one first and one second lieutenant, and two hundred and fifty 
 enlisted men, but on a peace footing these are not all with the colours. Each 
 battalion of all regiments of the line on a peace footing has a strength of 18 
 officers and 532 men. The battalions of the fine old regiments of the Guards, 
 namely, the ist and 2nd foot Guards, the ist and 2nd grenadiers of the 
 Guard and the fusiliers of the Guard, number 22 officers and 684 men on 
 a peace footing. In these five regiments and in the 4.th grenadiers of the Guard, 
 the regimental band, numbering 48 men, is borne on the staff. In the 40 old 
 regiments of the line 10 bandsmen are borne on the staff with 32 more taken 
 from the strength of the companies as assistants. In the remaining regiments, 
 whether of the Guards or the line, 10 are borne on the staff and 12 t.nken 
 from the companies. As in the days of our " Tow-rows " and " Light Bobs," 
 the Prussians still embody the tallest men of the battalion in the right flank 
 company. Each battalion in war has one six-horse waggon with munitions, 
 one four-horse waggon containing the pay chest and accounts of the batta- 
 lion, articles of uniform in reserve, and the shoemakers' and tailors' tools, 
 one four-horse waggon for the officers' equipage, one two-horse cart with 
 drugs and medicines, and four horses with pack saddles packed with the 
 books of the four companies. 
 
 The existing fusilier battalion of a line regiment differs from the other 
 battalions only in name. The jiiger battalions are armed with superior rifles, 
 and are formed, as far as possible, of men who have been foresters and as- 
 sistants to gamekeepers, and who wish to resume the same occupation on 
 leaving the service. A battalion of jagers on a peace footing consists of 
 22 officers and 532 men, each of the four companies being divided into 
 smaller commands of about 20 men each, at the head of which is a non- 
 commissioned officer. On a peace footing there are from six to eight such 
 commands, whereas in war time there are generally twelve. A body formed of 
 two or three of these smaller commands, and commanded by an officer, is 
 called an inspection, still it does not rank as an intermediate command 
 between the captaincy of the company and the command of the non-com- 
 missioned officer. 
 
 The favourite fighting formation of the Prussian infantry is the 
 well-known company column. They have a line formation, but this 
 is only used for parade, being they maintain, too stiff for battle, 
 especially on broken ground. This parade line has three ranks, the 
 rear rank having hitherto been composed theoretically of skir- 
 mishers. The company is divided into two parts or siege, and in 
 forming the company column the first and second ranks of one 
 zug form about six paces behind the first and second rank of the 
 other 3i(g, while the entire third rank stepping back the same 
 distance forms a third zug also two-deep. When a closer order 
 is required a column is formed of hdXi-ziige, comprising four of 
 the two first ranks and two of the third or " shooting " rank. 
 The Prussians, recognising that with the present improved small 
 arms nothing presenting a fair target, either as line or column, 
 can advance and survive, depend greatly upon the employment 
 of skirmishers. They argue that small columns are best adapted 
 for concealment whilst at long range, because they can best take 
 advantage of inequalities of ground. 
 
 During the last war, the battalion being formed in company 
 columns, usually one or both of the flank companies were sent
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.— INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 361 
 
 forward, still on the flank, and their third ziig of skirmishers 
 covered the whole part of the battalion. Each company with its 
 mounted captain then worked almost as a free and separate 
 body. But it was found impossible to keep the companies 
 intact. As the men advanced, gathering behind hillocks, wind- 
 ing through hollows, and rushing on as best they could, the 
 different ziige became mixed up, and afterwards those of the 
 different companies, battalions, and even brigades and divisions. 
 There was no hindering this mixture of different bodies ; the 
 Prussians therefore, accepting it as a necessity of war, now seek 
 to train their men in such a manner as to accustom them to this 
 apparent but not real unsteadiness. The actual drill has not been 
 altered because the company column formation can adapt itself to 
 Varying circumstances, but in practice little or no distinction is 
 made between the third rank, which formerly consisted of skir- 
 mishers, and the other two ranks. Two and sometimes three com- 
 panies are sent out in a body to skirmish while the remainder of 
 the battalion serves as a support or reserve. The entire battalion 
 is sometimes sent out in skirmishing order, but more commonly, 
 three companies skirmish to the front whilst a flank company 
 endeavours to gain the enemy's flank, attacking by skirmishing 
 when it grips the enemy. At other times one line of skirmishers 
 makes a rush forward, the men throwing themselves down and 
 firing to cover the advance of a second line through them, who 
 in their turn repeat the movement. 
 
 Even if the " column of attack " is employed, its way is paved 
 by swarms of skirmishers. As the range and rapidity of fire has 
 increased, a given number of men cover more ground by their 
 fire than they used to do. Therefore open spaces may be left 
 behind as well as on the flanks of advancing bodies, and un- 
 favourable and exposed ground may be avoided. This has 
 especially been the case of late, and instead of covering the 
 entire country with little detachments and corps without number, 
 the aim at recent manoeuvres has been mainly to be stronger 
 than the enemy at certain given points. 
 
 A Prussian military authority has laid down the rule that a 
 force of infantry in making an attack can never be too strong, as 
 its commander can never be perfectly sure of what forces he 
 may have to encounter, or at what moment the defender may 
 turn and make a counter-attack. Infantry, unlike cavalry, is not 
 put hors dc combat by a repulse, and an attack made with merely 
 a portion of the force at command at once suggests the possi- 
 bility of failure. Moreover in these days, with the deadly effects 
 of the modern rifle, it is simply destruction to go back. When 
 attacks are made upon a large scale, three lines of troops are 
 formed, the first two being as a rule furnished by one battalion, 
 and the third by another regiment or brigade immediately in the 
 rear. Then long lines of skirmishers are thrown out and sup-
 
 362 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ported by company columns ; after attack comes the invariable 
 turninf^ movement and then the final attack to beat of drum. 
 The whole system has been summed up as " offensive tactics 
 whenever they are at all possible, with swarms of skirmishers 
 taking every advantage of ground with the greatest independence 
 allowed to the smallest bodies." The danger of the men getting 
 mixed beyond recall is mitigated by their being constantly and 
 assiduously practised in rallying on their officers at voice or 
 bugle. When a position has been carried, the infantry no longer 
 seek to pursue the enemy as formerly. They remain stationary, 
 continuing their fire until the arrival of the artillery, which then 
 undertakes the real pursuit. 
 
 The cavalry always scouring the front renders the infantry 
 safe from attack and relieves them from harassing outpost duty. 
 The rule is: "Be as economical as is consistent with safety; do 
 not place sentries where an enemy could not advance ; watch 
 especially the roads and hold them strongly. Move cavalry by 
 day, and infantry by night, but always with each infantry post 
 some cavalry to carry messages." In teaching the men outpost 
 duty they are not merely placed but something is given them to 
 do, and it is considered advisable to oblige patrols to bring in 
 certain information in order to show that they have not shirked 
 their duty. For instance, the officer may say " Patrol as far as 
 that stream, ascertain its depth, and see whether that bridge is of 
 wood or stone." 
 
 The arm with which the Prussian infantry is now supplied is 
 the Mauser rifle, though with some considerable modification of 
 the original design. It is on the central fire principle, with a 
 short needle and metal cartridge, and is lighter and handier than 
 the Bavarian Werder or the French Chassepot. It is loaded 
 in two moments and can be fired twenty-six times a minute, 
 twice more than the Werder. This reoresents about ten shots a 
 minute in volley firing in the hands of ordinary troops and from 
 ten to fifteen in independent firing. It is sighted up to about 
 seventeen hundred yards, and the flatness of trajectory answers 
 the highest expectations. 
 
 Ever since the advent of Prussia as a military power, the 
 cavalry arm has been one to which the most unwearying atten- 
 tion has been directed, and with results fully justifying the care 
 bestowed upon it. Fricdrich Wilhelm I., that " great drill sergeant 
 of the Prussian nation," carefully studied the tactics of the Austrian 
 hussars, then the first in Europe, sending Ziethen amongst them 
 to learn their various evolutions, which he did with a success 
 most painfully convincing to his tutor Baronay when they met in 
 the saddle at Rothschloss. Ziethen and his fellow cavalry general 
 Seydlitz, the Achilles of the Prussians, are the two best known of 
 all the heroes that the Great Friedrich gathered around him, and 
 grim old BlUcher, equally high enshrined in the national Walhalla,
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. ^6 
 
 was also a cavalry leader. Ziethen and Seydlitz, whose dashing 
 charges alone saved the day when all looked desperate at Zorndoriif, 
 were the two best cavalry generals of their day, and their prin- 
 ciples, copied by friend and foe for many successive generations, 
 were those adopted in Napoleon's day by Kellermann and Murat. 
 After Waterloo the cavalry rested somewhat upon its laurels, 
 and in 1866 showed at a disadvantage compared to the infantry, 
 contributing little or nothing towards the success obtained. But 
 in J 870 it more than recovered its reputation, and military Europe 
 
 was astounded by the way in which it was employed to hover 
 about the enemy and to serve as the eyes, ears, and feelers 
 of an advancing army, whilst the French cavalry, reserved for 
 charging in masses in the old fashion against troops armed 
 with breech-loaders, was annihilated in every battle in which it 
 engaged. 
 
 If the uniforms of the Prussian infantry are sombre and 
 monotonous there is no lack of bright colours and fanciful 
 designs in those of the mounted troops. Cuirassiers with helmets 
 closely representing those of Cromwell's Ironsides, or crested with 
 the emblematical eagle of the monarchy, white tunics, and jack 
 boots rising to mid-thigh ; uhlans muffled in the long great-coats 
 that but for lance and schapska might cause them to be taken 
 for infantry on horseback, or displaying gay-coloured plastrons
 
 564 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 on their manly beasts ; hussars in the brightest of skyblue from 
 neck to knee or in scanty red tunics liberally befrogged with 
 
 white, darkish 
 
 green 
 tieht 
 
 carbine and sabre, 
 a good reputation, 
 
 skin- 
 j,... panta- 
 loons and hes- 
 sian boots, all 
 help to lend 
 that element 
 of smartness 
 and variety of 
 attire which 
 we associate 
 with military 
 spectacles.The 
 cuirassiers are 
 armed with 
 pistols and sa- 
 bre, the uhlans, 
 who are count- 
 ed as heavy 
 cavalry, with 
 lance, pistols, 
 and sabre, 
 and the light 
 cavalry Avith 
 
 German cavalry blades have always had 
 but the pistols are old-fashioned muzzle- 
 loading smooth-bores, likely to prove from their size and weight 
 far more useful when empty at close quarters than serviceable as 
 arms of precision ; the uhlan lances too are cumbersome and 
 heavy. By recent regulation thirty-two men in every squadron 
 of lancers are armed with breech-loading Chassepots shooting 
 well up to five hundred yards. The cuirass is still held in 
 esteem. Of the ten cuirassier regiments, seven have steel and 
 three brass cuirasses, which latter are reckoned the best on 
 account of their being easier to clean after rain. They are all 
 tested by being ftred at at a distance of about four hundred 
 yards before being used. 
 
 With respect to the horse equipment, the valise is not carried, 
 and the weight is taken off the weakest part of the horse, 
 namely, the small of the back. Two kinds of saddles are used, 
 one, the Hungarian, for uhlans and hussars, and the other, the 
 German saddle, for cuirassiers only. The first of these .saddles 
 has a tree " composed of two side-pieces of wood attached at 
 the ends by cast-iron forks made to form a decided pommel and 
 cantle, the latter being very high and terminating backward in 
 a handle by which the saddle is seized ; a strip of leather drawn
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMV.— INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 365 
 
 tightly connects the two pieces of iron and is laced across with 
 leather thongs, thus supporting much of the weight of the rider. 
 The seat is covered with a close-fitting padded leather cushion. 
 Several strong cords are fastened to the under portion of these 
 side-pieces by means of which a temporary padding of straw, laid 
 straight and made to fit precisely to the shape of the horse, is 
 firmly attached to the tree. This can be changed in a few 
 minutes as the animal may alter in condition, or when the saddle 
 is shifted to another horse. The front portion of the padded 
 leather cushion terminates in a thin bag in which the trooper 
 carries his under-clothing. The girth ends in three buckle straps 
 and is made of some twenty or thirty small cords. A breast 
 strap and crupper and plain iron stirrups with ordinary straps 
 complete the saddle. A double wool blanket is carried under- 
 neath the saddle to cover the horse when necessary. Over the 
 whole is a shabrack of cloth lined with coarse linen. On each 
 side of the cantle are iron rings, to which are attached spare 
 shoes hanging under the shabrack. The mantle of the trooper 
 is fastened to the shabrack, and on the top of it one ration of 
 grain is carried in a small sack. Both mantle and sack are so 
 elongated as to lie across the cantle and hang down on 
 each side of it. On the right side of the pommel is a coiled 
 picket rope, and on the left a simple cooking kit. A surcingle of 
 leather is now put on and a narrow leather strap is fastened under 
 the thighs of the rider and passes around the pack in rear and 
 holster in front, under the cantle and pommel, holding everything 
 firmly in its place. In the left hand holster are carried brushes 
 and a personal kit, and in the other a pistol. A cotton stable 
 frock is thrown over the front of the saddle. The bridle is 
 double with a powerful curl-bit and a light snafiie rein buckling 
 on to the bottoms of the single check pieces. The weight of 
 this equipment is from seventy to eighty pounds." The objection 
 to the Hungarian saddle is that it gives an uncomfortable seat, 
 whilst that employed by the cuirassier, resembling a large and 
 heavy English hunting saddle, though more agreeable for the 
 rider, is apt to give the horse a sore back. 
 
 Each cavalry regiment on a peace footing numbers 25 officers, 
 from 713 to 716 men, and 672 horses, divided into five squadrons, 
 but though the nominal strength of a squadron in peace is from 
 120 to 135 horses, only about lOO appear on parade. In war 
 one squadron remains in garrison, forming the nucleus of rein- 
 forcements, and 23 officers, 653 men, 705 horses, and 7 waggons 
 take the field. In consequence of the three years' service 
 system, the men are more employed in drilling and learning to 
 ride than in cleaning and polishing their dress, arms, and accou- 
 trements, and, save on gala occasions, a Prussian cavalry regi- 
 ment does not present the same appearance of smartness as one 
 of our own.
 
 366 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The great central school of instruction for the cavalry of the 
 German army is at Hanover, but every cavalry [barracks has 
 both covered and open riding schools, the latter fitted with a 
 number of made jumps of various descriptions, over which 
 recruits are almost daily exercised. Ofiicers and men are most 
 
 ■^^ !'[i';,(|;|.l.;|;ylt,r|;.;l'i;||;:!|;*!'i;ilV,!!ia^^^ . 
 
 
 thoroughly instructed, not only in the mechanism of drills and 
 evolutions, but also in the details of field duty under all the 
 varying circumstances that may occur in war. In the summer 
 they practise outpost duty four days a week, one part of the 
 regiment opposing the other, and on the fifth day there is usually 
 a commanding officers' drill ; two days a week, including Sunday, 
 being kept as days of rest for the horses. The habit of rallying 
 as quickly as possible round the colours, the supports, or the 
 commander, is practised continually, and, indeed, the cavalry now 
 practise skirmishing and assembling at any point as industriously 
 as the infantry. They are exercised in the mclce, and after every 
 charge or attack, squadrons either scatter to pursue, or on their 
 own ground disarrange their ranks, the men going through the 
 sword exercise with one another. They are then accustomed to 
 rally quickly in rear of the squadron border, and to manoeuvre 
 without waiting to tell off the ranks. 
 
 According to the present system, in time of war a regiment of 
 cavalry is attached to each division of infantry for advanced 
 guards, outpost duties, patrols, and orderlies. The remainder, 
 formed into divisions, veil the arrangement and movements of the 
 infantry corps, and collect information respecting the movements 
 of the enemy, and on an advance cover and clear the whole
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 367 
 
 country for at least a day's march if possible. On coming up with 
 the enemy they hold him in check till the arrival of the infantry 
 if necessary, or fall back to protect the flanks or maintain com- 
 munication between separated corps. A cavalry division of three 
 brigades, each brigade consisting of three regiments with at the 
 most three batteries, is strong enough, according to the latest 
 authorities, on the one hand to make a detached reconnaissance, 
 or to cover the advance of an army in its rear, or, on the other 
 hand, to co-operate decisively so as to ensure victory on the 
 battle-field. 
 
 The principles kept in view by the reformers of Prussian 
 cavalry tactics are in the main two, the greater independence of 
 subordinate officers, especially squadron leaders, in accordance 
 with the practice already adopted in the infantry, and the forma- 
 tion of the whole body into three lines instead of two, so as to 
 ensure a succession of reserves. The leaders of the first two 
 lines, or brigades, are, when fighting is to be done, not to wait 
 for orders from the leader of the division, but to act upon their 
 own judgment, and charge home at every opportunity, the 
 second following the movements of the first so as to be ready to 
 support it offensively or defensively. The third line, on the 
 other hand, is held specially at the orders of the divisional com- 
 mander, but its leader must never hesitate to use his own discre- 
 tion in aiding his comrades. " The squadron is formed in double 
 rank, and is divided into four divisions, each led and commanded 
 by an officer. The usual formation for a regiment in presence 
 of an enemy is squadrons in column of divisions at deploying 
 distance. Some are only formed for the purpose of charging, 
 and the previous formation is resumed as soon as the charge has 
 been executed." It is laid down, too, that, " the squadron, unin- 
 fluenced by its fellows on either side, has only to follow its 
 leader, who alone is responsible for the direction of his squadron 
 and its relative position to other squadrons." 
 
 The cavalry work mainly by sound of trumpet, and compara- 
 tively little by word of command. Each regiment has its 
 separate call, and there is a general call for each squadron 
 according to its number, so that by sounding the regimental 
 and then this numerical call a single squadron can be detached 
 and recalled. The general rules now laid down are, that it is the 
 mission of the first line to break through the enemy by a direct 
 attack, that of the second to turn his flank as his attention is 
 being occupied by the danger in his front, while the third line 
 acts as a reserve for the first or second as occasion may require, 
 but in all cases when charging to press boldly home. 
 
 The text-book of General von Mirus is the Koran of the 
 Prussian trooper. It especially illustrates the leading military 
 maxim that soldiers in their peace studies should always be 
 called upon to imagine an enemy before them. Every young
 
 368 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 soldier is enjoined to make the best use of his time in peace, in 
 order that he may be efficient in war. It is necessary for him 
 to learn his drills, still he has to learn his field duty, which is 
 more important than all. Again and again too, in all German 
 books of instruction, officers and men are called upon to think 
 for themselves. General rules are given for all things, but a man 
 has to think for himself in applying them, and at all times it is 
 held to be no defence to quote a regulation as an excuse for 
 behaving with a want of intelligence. 
 
 On coming into contact with the enemy, the troopers when 
 ordered to advance are to charge boldly home. If there are gaps 
 in the enemy's line they are to dash through and cut a road for 
 those who follow. There must be no gaps in the charging line, 
 and no man is to hang back. The soldier is told to remember 
 " that his sovereign and country will honour and reward his 
 bravery, and that in the greatest danger his life is watched over 
 by Almighty God." If he sees a colour, an officer, or a comrade 
 in danger, he must hasten to the spot. No man is to yield 
 himself prisoner because he is surrounded, unless he is disabled 
 by a wound or has lost his horse. If captured, however, he is 
 to bear his misfortune with dignity, and so earn his adversary's 
 respect. If his horse is killed he is to try and save the saddlery, 
 or to catch a riderless horse and appropriate him, or if this is 
 impossible, he is expected to make his way to the nearest in- 
 fantry and fight in their ranks to the best of his power. 
 
 Directions are even given by General von Mirus for single 
 combat, the lancer being recommended to strike his adversary's 
 horse on the head to make it shy, and the swordsman to thrust 
 at his antagonist's stomach or to cut at him over the back of the 
 head, on the arms, or the bridle hand. The blade of the sword 
 must be sharp, " and its possessor must never dishonour nor 
 destroy it by putting it to a use for which it was never intended." 
 The necessity of subordination and obedience is strongly incul- 
 cated. " Every sign, look, or command must be obeyed in- 
 stantaneously and implicitly." Especially is this the case when 
 withdrawing from a fight or pursuit. 
 
 The efficiency of the Prussian cavalry is due, not only to the 
 intelligent training of the men, but to the wonderful endurance 
 of their horses. The greatest attention is paid to the mounting 
 of this branch of the service. About 7,000 horses are annually 
 required for the cavalry and artillery, and these are procured 
 partly from the government breeding-studs, and partly by pur- 
 chase. There are upwards of a dozen remount depots in North 
 Germany, and the government has possessed itself of some of 
 the best English animals, which are bred into the hardier native 
 stock for military purposes. Certain foals, bred by government 
 stallions, may be claimed at a fixed rate, which was lately 150 
 thaler. Those bought are generally three or four years old
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. - INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 369 
 
 and are sent to a remount depot, not beinjr allowed to take their 
 j)lace in the ranks of a rc<;iment in the field till six years old. 
 All must conform to a fixed standard as regards age, height, 
 and condition, and must pass a board of inspection, consisting 
 of two commissioned officers, and a veterinary surgeon, and 
 which also condemns such horses in the regiment as are found 
 unfit for service. These are sold out, and an equal number 
 are bought to take their places. Horses captured from the 
 enemy must be turned over at once to the officer in charge 
 of the horse depot, a premium of eighteen thaler being paid 
 for each one found serviceable. 
 
 The forage ration is of two kinds, light and heavy. The 
 heavy ration consists of eleven-and-a-quarter pounds of oats, 
 barley, or rye, three pounds of hay, and three pounds and a 
 half of straw. In the light rations, the amount of corn is ten 
 
 » ." v rr-i It -v-^ - <-^,\. -i- -^ >c " * 
 
 pounds. Heavy rations are issued to horses of the cavalry and 
 to officers' horses, light rations to all others. The actual delivery 
 of forage supplies to troops must be Avitnessed, and such sup- 
 plies thoroughly inspected at the time by an ofificer. The 
 horses of both cavalry and artillery are lighter looking than 
 our own, from this spare diet and the constant exercise to which 
 they are put. The principle of the Prussian cavalry in field 
 manoeuvres is rapidity of movement, and the animals always 
 look in condition to gallop for their lives. They are naturally 
 
 13 B
 
 370 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 hardy, and enduring qualities are secured by the practice of 
 leaving them free from all hard work in the army till they are 
 of a proper age. For this reason they are expected, if they 
 escape accidents, to continue in good working order until they 
 are seventeen years old. 
 
 An eye-witness of the manoeuvres of 1875, at Walstrode, 
 bears testimony to the extraordinarily hard-working condition 
 of the Prussian troop horses. Continually galloping, they never 
 seemed to blow or tire, and in the many long advances went at J 
 a most rapid pace. Even at the close of the day, none were seen 
 lagging behind or falling back in the ranks, as invariably 
 happens with underbred and underfed horses. The kits were 
 fairly heavy, almost unnecessarily so ; the shabracks, wallets, 
 cloaks, mess tins, piquet ropes, &c., being worn. The cuirassiers 
 had on their cuirasses, and in fact, with the exception of the 
 forage, and probably some of the extra kit in the wallets, all 
 rode as heavy as they would on the march in a campaign. 
 The importance of great speed is well understood, since Moltke 
 himself remarks that the essential component of the cavalry arm 
 is the horse, and that a dragoon possesses in a well-fed, not 
 over-weighted animal, the best security against modern fire-arms, 
 by reason of the rapidity with which he can manoeuvre. 
 
 The excellence of the German cavalry horses is explained by 
 the circumstances of there being no hunting in the country, and 
 of but few men of wealth keeping large studs ; consequently, 
 nearly all the best horses, including those bred by the govern- 
 ment stallions, find their way to the Army. The choicest of 
 these are given to the officers, who, as a rule, are admirably 
 mounted, and who on their first joining, and every successive 
 five years, are presented with a horse free of charge by the 
 government.
 
 XXI. 
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY AND TRAIN. — THE 
 
 ANNUAL MANOEUVRES. 
 
 LIKE the cavalry, the artillery failed to accomplish all that 
 might have been expected in 1866, and turned to little 
 account the excellent guns with which they were furnished, 
 owing to the scattered and untactical position assumed by them 
 on the battle-field. In 1 870-1, however, all this was altered. 
 The necessity for the concentration of fire — which, though largely 
 adopted by Napoleon at Eylau, Friedland, Wagram, Borodino, 
 and Waterloo, seemed since to have been forgotten — was once 
 more acknowledged, and by Prussian artillerists, is now regarded 
 as a military axiom. It can only be accomplished, however, 
 with certainty by uniting batteries. These are now brought 
 to the front at the commencement of a fight, are massed under 
 superior command, and remain, when attacking, until the infantry 
 reserves have passed them, and when on the defensive, until 
 the enemy's skirmishers force them to retire. The reason 
 for bringing artillery at once into play, is, that this arm can 
 obtain great advantages without exposure to losses like infantry. 
 Thus a hundred yards of front occupied by .artillery exposes 
 eight guns, forty-five horses, and forty-eight men, whilst the 
 same space filled by infantry exposes 300 men. Besides artillery- 
 opens its fire at 3,000 yards, and infantry barely at 1,500. This 
 circumstance and the murderous effect of infantry-fire rendering 
 a front attack in open country all but impossible, the artillery 
 
 B B 2
 
 J72 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 t 
 
 continues its fire, the infantry following it or marching on its 
 flank, so as not to interfere with its fire until it has paved the 
 way for their advance. The combined fire then increases in 
 intensity, and the decisive moment marking the close of the 
 combat arrives. 
 
 The nominal head of the Prussian artillery is General von 
 Podbielski, who has the title of Inspector-General. But each 
 general commanding an army corps has his artillery completely 
 under his own control, and the inspector-general, who is a 
 member of the general staff, gives no direct orders, but simply 
 issues reports. There are four " inspections " of artillery, com- 
 manded by lieutenant-generals and major-generals, having under 
 their orders three or four army corps brigades each. Each in- 
 spector has two adjoints, and the commandants of the brigades 
 a single adjoint. The Prussian artiller\'men wear a dark-blue 
 uniform faced with black, and have their helmets surmounted by 
 that professional emblem, a ball, in place of the spike of the 
 infantry soldier. The foot artillerymen are armed with a short 
 sword, while the horse carry pistols and a tremendous curved 
 sabre. 
 
 The privates in the different branches of the artillery are 
 trained solely for their special services, but every one of the 
 officers receives instruction which makes him completely con- 
 versant with all the various branches, and enables him to take 
 a command in any one of them. The Prussian Army has 
 no ordnance department, all the duties relating thereto being 
 performed by the artillery. 
 
 A rec^iment of field artillery consists of three detachments of foot artillery, 
 each composed of four batteries and of a detachment of horse artillery, com- 
 prising three batteries. On a peace footing each battery numbers four guns, 
 in war six. A detachment of foot artillery numbers on a peace footing, one 
 staff officer, 6 captains, 13 lieutenants, 73 non-commissioned officers, 368 
 men, and 160 horses ; and in war 18 officers, 610 men, 516 horses, 24 guns, 
 and 41 vehicles. The field artillery and siege artillery are quite distinct. 
 Each siege artillery regiment consists of two detachments of four companies 
 each, each detachment in peace being composed of one staff" officer, 5 
 captains, 13 other officers, 61 non-commissioned officers, and 340 men. 
 There is a detachment of artificers entrusted with the manufacture of fire- 
 works, rockets, fuses, &c., requiring technical skill. On mobilisation each 
 artillery regiment forms nine ammunition trains and a reserve ammunition 
 park. In the field the former marches directly in the rear of the army corps, 
 and the reserve two days' march behind. 
 
 During the late war the Prussian field artillery consisted of 
 four- and six-pounder steel breech-loaders of Krupp's pattern, 
 carrying an elongated shell, with a leaden jacket to make it fit 
 the grooves. They were bored through from errd to end, and 
 were loaded from the rear of the breech, the opening being 
 • closed in the four-pounders by a key of steel inserted at the 
 side, and in the six-pounders by a plug fitted in at the rear and 
 fastened in its place by a pin. These guns were served by four
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 373 
 
 men, one to point, one to sponge and load, one to prick the 
 cartridge and fire the piece, and one to bring up ammunition. 
 The driver and horse-attendants have nothing to do with tlie 
 service of the gun. The field-gun at present adopted is a cast- 
 steel breech-loader, with a bore of eight centimetres, charged 
 with 2f lbs. of powder, and throwing an eleven pound shrapnel 
 projectile with a velocity of 1,522 feet. The Prussians have also 
 a gun of nine centimetres bore, which fires a shrapnel shell con- 
 taining 209 bullets, and weighing rather over 17 lbs., with a 
 charge of 3^1bs. of powder, the resulting velocity being 1,460 
 feet.^ In order to load, the breech-piece is screwed out at the left 
 side by about two turns of a screw fitted there, which allows 
 the insertion of the charge, when the breech-piece is screwed 
 back and the gun is ready to be fired. The limbers are larger 
 than those used in England, and contain twenty-four double- 
 cased shells and twelve shrapnels, which latter have been taken 
 into favour on account of the introduction of an improved fuse. 
 The gun-carriages, which in future are to be of cast-steel plates. 
 are to have a brake attached to their wheels, with the object of 
 regulating the recoil ; pebble powder, moreover, is to be used. 
 Three gunners are carried on the ammunition-box, and two on 
 the axle-tree seats, whilst a non-commissioned officer rides. 
 New pattern ammunition waggons are being prepared to accom- 
 pany the artillery in time of war. 
 
 The two parks of siege artillery lately attached to the 
 Prussian Army have been completed by the addition of sixteen 
 ammunition transport columns to each of them. Each column 
 consists of forty-six ammunition waggons, a field smithy and 
 rack, baggage and forage waggons. In addition to the guns 
 belonging to each park a certain number of the fifteen centi- 
 metre coil guns, placed in fortresses, have been utilised for siege 
 purposes ; the siege gun-carriages, moreover, have been newly 
 constructed of iron. One park of siege artillery is kept at 
 Spandau, while the other is divided between Coblenz and Posen. 
 The Prussian artillery presents a somewhat rough appearance 
 compared to our own, but both guns and horses are in excellent 
 condition and manoeuvre rapidly. 
 
 The principal Prussian cannon foundry is at Spandau, near 
 Berlin. The events of 1848 led the Prussian Government to 
 transfer all the great military establishments to fortified places, 
 and Spandau was naturally fixed upon as one of the most suit- 
 
 ' The English 9-pounder field battery gun throws a 9-lb. projectile, con- 
 sumes 1 5 lbs. of powder, and imparts to its projectile a velocity of 1,381 feet. 
 The i6-pounder gun, which weighs upwards of one-third more than the 
 German 9 centimetre gun, tires a shell of merely i6j lbs. with 3 lbs. of powder, 
 the resulting velocity being 1,352 feet. Notwithstanding the greater weight 
 of our i6-pounder, the German gun consumes a heavier charge of powder, 
 fires a more powerful shrapnel, and has a superiority of 100 leet in initial 
 velocity.
 
 374 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 able for this particular purpose. The cannon-foundry which 
 formerly existed behind the Berlin arsenal was not, however, 
 transferred there until 1855. ^^ ^^as at first only of moderate 
 dimensions, and in i860 employed merely one hundred hands. 
 But the great changes in artillery and marine ordnance which 
 supervened rendered improvements and extensions necessary, 
 and the foundry and its dependencies have grown to a small 
 town, capable of turning out some two thousand pieces of 
 cannon in the course of the year. 
 
 In the Prussian Army the artillery and engineers have a close 
 relation to each other, their field duties running together, and 
 their school at Berlin being the same. The engineers are more a 
 technical than a tactical body, and in the field have a train laden 
 with construction and intrenching tools. The prejudice against 
 engineer officers rising above a certain grade, that prevails in 
 our own service, likewise existed amongst the Prussians, and in 
 the case of General von Kameke we have the first instance of 
 the spell being broken. 
 
 According to recently-promulgated regulations the peace establishment 
 of the officers of the engineer corps is fixed at 600. Under the inspector- 
 general are four engineer inspectors, each of whom has under his orders one 
 pioneer inspector commanding from three to four battalions, and two fortress 
 inspectors having charge of from four to eight fortresses apiece. A batta- 
 lion, numbering about 500 men, consists of three field pioneer companies 
 trained for pontooning and mining as well as for working in the trenches, with 
 a fourth destined to be employed exclusively in mining and only occasionally on 
 general service. On mobilisation merely the first three companies will take the 
 field, the fourth being broken up to supply detachments of sub-officers and 
 men to the other three, and forming with the rest the nucleus of a reserve 
 company. When the reserves are called in, each of these reserve companies 
 will be formed into three fortress pioneer companies, to be attached to the 
 landwehr or employed to defend fortresses. The guard battalion and the 
 fourth pioneer battalion will provide in place of the fortress companies 12 
 field telegraph detachments to be attached to various army corps. A pontoon 
 train will also be mobihsed with each pioneer battalion. It will consist of 
 two division trains, each of 14 waggons with 42 yards of pontoons, and one 
 corps train of 33 waggons with 143 yards of pontoons. The division trains 
 will be attached to the infantry divisions, each with a pioneer company, and 
 the corps train will remain with the third company at the disposal of the corps 
 commandant. Reserve pontoon trains are estabhshed in addition at Coblenz, 
 Glogau, Magdeburg, Graudenz, and other places. 
 
 The military train is composed of organised troops required 
 for the transport of munitions, provisions, pontoons, field-tele- 
 graphs, railways, and hospitals, and also furnishes drivers for the 
 baggage and munition carts of mobilised troops. The transport 
 corps following an army in the field, exclusive of the waggons of 
 each battalion, and the artillery, engineer, and field-telegraph 
 trains, is divided into two portions, the first and principal of 
 Avbich is attached to the commissariat, and is formed solely for 
 the purpose of supplying food to men and horses. The second 
 belongs to the medical department, and carries medicine-s,
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 375 
 
 hospital .stores, and means of transportation for the sick and 
 wounded. The first portion is limited, in times of peace, to a 
 certain number of waggons, which, on the mobilisation of the 
 army, are provided with men and horses from the military train, 
 each army corps having its battalion of train troops. These are 
 under the entire control of a principal commissariat officer, with 
 the rank of captain, who is attached to the head-quarters of the 
 corps. 
 
 The commissariat columns of an army corps are five in number, each of 
 them having two officers, 28 men, 161 horses, and 32 waggons. These 160 
 waggons carry three days' provisions for every man in the corps. As soon as 
 the waggons which carry the first day's supply are emptied they are sent to 
 the magazines in the rear, and must be again with the troops to give them 
 their fourth day's food. Each army corps takes with it a field bakery, as 
 flour can be more easily carried than bread. This bakery consists of 10 
 officers, 118 men, 27 horses, and 5 waggons, distributed amongst the men as 
 is found most convenient. 
 
 The provision trains do nothing in the way of gathering food, 
 but merely bring it up from the depot magazines, which move as 
 the army moves. Means, therefore, have to be provided for 
 gathering food into these depots. So long as railways are 
 unbroken, and trains follow the troops, no difficulty is expe- 
 rienced, but as this is not always the case, it becomes necessary 
 to gather supplies. For this purpose, as well as to carry hay 
 and corn from the depots to the horses of the cavalry and 
 infantry in front, waggons and carts are hired, or rather impressed 
 into service in the country. 
 
 The medical train accompanying an army corps consists of 
 three heavy hospital trains, each of 14 waggons, 1 14 men, 69 
 horses, and 1 1 surgeons, and 3 light divisional trains. Each 
 train carries everything necessary for treating men in the 
 field and for establishing field hospitals. Every corps has, more- 
 over, a company of sick-bearers, who on the day of battle are 
 divided amongst the troops. Each battalion has also ten sick- 
 bearers, the men not being allowed to leave the ranks under fire, 
 to assist a wounded comrade, so that the advice of the American 
 general who recommended his men always to fire at their 
 adversaries' legs, since it required two sound men to help one 
 so wounded from the field, would not hold good in a contest 
 with Prussian troops. The sick-bearers convey the wounded but 
 a short distance to the rear, out of the range of fire, where they 
 are taken in charge by the hospital men. 
 
 Another important feature of the German Army, and one 
 excellently organised, is the field-post, the chief object of which 
 is the secure and rapid conveyance of the official correspondence, 
 parcels, &c., of an army in the field. Still the field post-offices 
 transmit private letters, newspapers, and ordinary remittances of 
 money and other small articles to and from the army. It will 
 be remembered that during the late war stories were current of
 
 3/6 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 flannel under-garments being sent in sections by this means, as 
 well as sausages and similar luxuries. These offices are organised 
 simultaneously with the mobilisation of the troops, and in order 
 to maintain a secure postal communication between the armies 
 and the Prussian territory, field-post relays are placed at certain 
 points on the road from the frontier. The officials and men for 
 the field-post are held in reserve for this duty by the postal 
 authorities even in time of peace, and a list of them is kept at 
 the War Office. They are supplied by the director of the post- 
 office, on the requisition of the minister for war, who then issues 
 orders for their equipment and maintenance on the same footing 
 as the troops generally. 
 
 The military railway recently constructed between Berlin and 
 Zossen, forms an admirable practical school for what is termed 
 the railway corps of the Prussian Army. This line, which is 
 twenty-seven P2nglish miles in length, belongs to the State, and 
 was constructed by the corps in question. F'rom Berlin to Zossen 
 the rails are laid alongside the Berlin and Dresden railway, 
 to which the military railway is connected by points and cross- 
 ings. At Zossen, however, the line branches off into the forest of 
 the same name, where the Polygon of Artillery is situated. The 
 railway, as its title implies, serves chiefly for military purposes ; 
 still the interests of the public are not neglected, and passengers 
 are carried by it. The direction and administration are composed 
 of the commander of the railway regiment, of one field officer 
 and two lieutenants. The working of the line is in the hands of 
 a captain, who receives his orders from the commander, and is 
 assisted by two lieutenants ; this department also comprises a 
 chef de bureau, a superintendent of rolling stock, an officer acting 
 as administrator of his depots, and a paymaster. For the in- 
 struction of the regiment, complete companies are placed at 
 the disposition of the working section. 
 
 The chief of the working company acts as inspector, and has 
 an officer to assist him. This company is composed of men 
 belonging to tiie eight companies which form the regiment, 
 and who are changed after a course of instruction of six 
 months. The service of the permanent way is conducted by 
 forty-two men, twenty-nine of whom belong to the Berlin and 
 Dresden line, whilst the other thirteen are pioneers of the 
 regiment, and are stationed between Zossen and the forest. 
 The whole of these men are under the superintendence of five 
 non-commissioned officers. The station duty is performed by 
 a station master and an assistant, both non-commissioned 
 officers, who are assisted by nine pioneers, who act as points- 
 men. The telegraph service is conducted by the officer who acts 
 as chief of the working section, aided by a non-commissioned 
 officer. During the first year of working, six engine-drivers — 
 non-commissioned officers — and six stokers — sappers — were em-
 
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 X 
 < 
 
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 a 
 
 X 
 
 mm
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 377 
 
 ployed. The trains were worked by eight non-commis.sioned 
 officers acting as guards, and sixteen pioneers acting as brakes- 
 men. The guards and stokers are under the orders of the 
 engine-drivers. The men receive no extra pay, beyond an allow- 
 ance made to the non-commissioned officers and men who are 
 away beyond a certain time from the garrison. 
 
 The original idea of those autumn manoeuvres, which have 
 been carried out with very partial success in our own country, 
 comes from Prussia. All the troops of the German Empire are 
 put through a certain amount of field-work every autumn, though 
 the so-called Imperial manoeuvres, at which the Emperor himself 
 inspects operations, only take place every three years. The 
 army corps, of the Guards quartered in and around Berlin, take 
 their full share of this kiiiU e.f work. On the Prussian plan that 
 the force on paper must be as nearly as possible actually brought 
 into line, the task of holding the country in the rear being that 
 of the reserves, some regiments of another army corps usually 
 undertake the necessary routine duties in Berlin, in order that 
 the whole of the Guards may take part in the manoeuvres. They 
 do not, however, go far from home, and are still available for 
 the protection of the district that surrounds the capital, from the 
 attack of an invading force. It is to be noted that in the 
 neighbourhood of Berlin, the inhabitants being thoroughly 
 blasts on military exhibitions, display comparative indifference 
 to the movements of troops, so that these parades as a rule, 
 hardly attract more spectators than an ordinary English 
 suburban race-meeting. 
 
 On all such occasions the principles which have proved so 
 effective in real warfare are rigorously acted upon. The cavalry 
 thrown out like a moving screen in front of the army, quarters 
 the country as a brace of pointers quarter a stubble-field. The 
 waving pennons of the uhlans flicker amongst the foliage, as 
 they carefully sound the pine woods and copses in quest of 
 lurking infantry, now disappearing in a bosky hollow, now seen 
 in bold outline against the clear blue sky as they mount the 
 slopes beyond. Behind them the artillery comes lumbering 
 along in clouds of dust, for artillery is now understood to be a 
 most active arm and opens the attack. The general in com- 
 mand has learnt from his scouting cavalry — who, though their 
 work is far from over, now begin to fall back to the flanks and the 
 rear of his army — the position of the enemy, and so prepares his 
 attack, giving to each corps commander general instructions, but 
 leaving to him the working out of the details. Formerly there 
 was often merely a supposititious enemy, but now, in cases where 
 two equal forces are not opposed to each other, the foe is always 
 indicated by detachments, flags, and other signs, so as to give 
 an appearance of reality to the field of battle, and serve as a 
 guide to the troops.
 
 378 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The usual form of attack and defence is for a line of woods 
 and villages to be strongly occupied, the ground between them 
 being commanded but not held, and for the attack to be mainly 
 directed to these strong points with a view to their occupation. 
 With this object the guns are everywhere pushed on as near to 
 the enemy as possible. They halt and unlimber — here a group 
 of three or four batteries together, and elsewhere a couple of 
 detached field-pieces. Artillery, the Prussians hold, can protect 
 its front against anything, and is pushed on to within fifteen 
 hundred or at most two thousand yards of the enemy. Soon its 
 roar is heard, re-echoed back by that of the enemy in those-cases 
 in which he is represented by flesh and blood, and not by flags 
 and skeleton detachments, and the white smoke curls upward 
 from the summit of each height. In one part of the field 
 heavier metal begins to tell, the enemy's guns are withdrawn, 
 and the attacking force limbers up for pursuit. In another they 
 are hard pressed, and a battery has to dash off furiously across 
 country to their support. Roads and ditches are cleared by the 
 smoking horses, as they scour on with the cannon clattering 
 behind them like a tin kettle attached to a dog's tail. Some- 
 times an accident brings them to a temporary halt, but the 
 standing order under such circumstances is to repair damages 
 and push on. Hacklander relates an instance of a gun belonging 
 to a horse artillery battery coming so violently into collision with 
 a road boundary-stone that one wheel of the carriage was par- 
 tially shattered. At first there seemed no possibility of repairing 
 the damage according to directions, either by fastening the 
 pieces together with cords, or, if that would not do, by tying a 
 piece of wood underneath the carriage, so that the axle might for 
 a short time, in a measure, replace the wheel ; till one of the 
 drivers, noticing a finger-post at a little distance, tore it out of 
 the ground, and had it promptly lashed along the damaged 
 portion, the hand indicating his path to the wayfarer, being left 
 on to point, as it were, appealingly up to heaven. 
 
 Meanwhile the infantry, pushing steadily onward in battahon 
 columns, follow close behind the artillery, though they are not to 
 be hurled at the enemy until he has been shaken by the latter arm. 
 At length the first line advances, taking every advantage of the 
 ground, until they begin to feel the opposing fire. Then the batta- 
 lions deploy into company columns. Some of them, if the ground 
 serves, wind steadily onward through sheltered hollows, others 
 disperse in clouds of skirmishers and advance by a series of 
 rushes. In one quarter of the field they gain possession of a 
 wood, and darting out on some broken ground, lying a short dis- 
 tance in advance, fling themselves down and cover the approach 
 of their supports which follow in open order. The skirmishers 
 are continually reinforced, and profiting by every scrap of shelter 
 push steadily on. Gradually the engagement becomes general
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 379 
 
 all along the line, and the rattle of small arms deafens the spec- 
 tator. The second line comes to the support of the first, mixing 
 up with it, and dissolving into skirmishers also, whilst the artillery, 
 galloping up, seize upon every coign of vantage and from thence 
 pour grape and the shrapnel, which has grown into such high 
 favour since the last war, at the infantry of the foe. A village 
 receives the concentrated fire of many guns, and then the infantry 
 attack its weakest point, a rush of skirmishers trying at the same 
 time to turn it, since one of the most important lessons of the 
 last war was the futility of a direct attack against positions like 
 those held by the French at Amanvilliers and St. Privat, unless 
 such front attack is supplemented by one on the flank. 
 
 Finally an opening in the line is found, and through it quickly 
 pour a stream of troops, seizing every atom of shelter as they ad- 
 vance, each man apparently fighting on his own account, yet ready 
 in an instant to re-form into a solid and organised body. Cavalry 
 are from time to time hurled forward against infantry supposed 
 to be broken by artillery fire, in double lines, one immediately 
 in the rear of the other, as was done by Murat at Eylau. Their 
 headlong career is checked from time to time by opposing 
 squadrons advancing to the rescue, and then they break, skirmish, 
 rally, and meet in feigned melee. Now a man is dismounted 
 and his horse scours riderless away, and now steed and rider 
 come crushing down together, checked in their hot career by 
 the broken ground. 
 
 At length a retreat is sounded and the opposing forces draw 
 off to their respective quarters. The Prussians have no tents, and 
 the men are therefore quartered in the villages and farms of the 
 district in which they manoeuvre, crowding into the barns and 
 outhouses in accordance with the current saying that " the worst 
 quarter is better than the best bivouac." When they are obliged 
 to bivouac they make the best of what comes to hand, and there 
 is always something in the shape of turf, knapsacks, and 
 brushwood to build a wall of against the wind, wood for fires, 
 and straw, dead leaves, or young branches of trees to vary the 
 monotony of hard ground as a couch. The fire, once made, is 
 generally fed with pieces of wood four or five feet long leaning 
 against each other at the top so as to form a cone. Earth is then 
 heaped up for about a foot round their lower ends, and the result 
 is a blazing high fire, quite safe, because the burnt wood always 
 falls inwards towards the centre. A kind of shallow trench 
 slightly lowered towards the inside edge is cut round the fire, and 
 here a hundred men or so stretch themselves with their feet 
 towards the blaze. Great-coat collars are raised above the ears, 
 and after a few hearty choruses ^accompanied by clouds of 
 tobacco, or even potato-leaf smoke, they drop off to sleep. The 
 old campaigners, however tired, take care to make their sleeping- 
 place as comfortable as they can, and above all as warm, for
 
 380 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 there is always an hour before dayh'ght when the air is chilled 
 and the body most susceptible of cold. 
 
 The scene presented on these occasions has been depicted by a 
 native writer from the results of his own experience as follows : — 
 
 " A clear moon shed its light over the encampment and the surrounding 
 b.ittle-tiold of the day ; but no groans of the wounded and dying smote on 
 the ears of the passers by. The silence of the night was only broken by a 
 low song or an oath. No mortally wounded friend raised himself from the 
 ground to groan out ' Greet my Lottchen, friend ! ' Only here and there 
 a sutler was murmuring some scarcely intelligible words, offering a small 
 .imount of brandy for a large sum of money. Behind and close to us was 
 the bivouac, and we could distinctly hear the snorting and neighing of the 
 horses, the hum of men's voices, and at intervals a low song. We saw in- 
 fantry sentries with shouldered muskets walking to and fro with measured 
 steps, the uhlans, with their schapska over the right ear, by their horses, and 
 our artillerymen by their guns. The officers were grouped round a large fire 
 which flickered on their faces and which must have felt honoured at being 
 the light of such lights. 
 
 " During the night our rifles and uhlans had continual skirmishes with the 
 enemy's advanced guard, which gave us plenty of occupation. Their hussars, 
 enveloped in their cloaks, frequently rode through the shallow stream 
 and crept like ghosts up to the foot of the hill on which we were stationed. 
 We knew at once when they were going to fire by the gleaming of the moon- 
 beams on their carbines, the polished barrels of which as they raised them to. 
 take aim described brilliant circles in the moonlight ; having fired, they gal- 
 loped back across the stream under a volley from our rifles. 
 
 " All was life and movement in the bivouac. Round the great fire we saw 
 numerous epaulettes glittering, and the bands of the infantry and cavalry 
 played alternately. It was not until after midnight that the music ceased, 
 silence fell upon the camp, and the fires gradually died out. The rest of the 
 night passed pretty quickly, and soon the sky began to brighten. Gradually 
 the circle of light increased and the stars paled, and in a short time the 
 clouds which floated in the horizon became edged with crimson. Now the 
 reveille sounded from the other end of the encampment, the drums beat, and 
 the artillery and cavalrj- bugles played joyously in between. 
 
 " Daybreak revealed the comical confusion that had crept amongst us 
 during the night. In one place an officer, looking round with astonishment, 
 finds that he has slumbered in the closest proximity to his servant. The 
 awakening sutler contemplates her basket with consternation, for the best 
 contents have vanished during the night. Here a movement is seen under a 
 cloak ; it is a warrior who had rolled himself up securely the evening before, 
 and is now making painful efforts to disengage his head. The loud calls of 
 the bugles had suddenly produced animation where a moment before all had 
 been as still as death. The snorting and tossing of the horses as they ex- 
 panded their nostrils towards the rising sun, the hasty movements of the 
 soldiers who expected every instant to hear the signal for marching, all united 
 to form a lively picture which was contemplated on each occasion with fresh 
 pleasure."' 
 
 The country people, upon whom soldiers are billeted during 
 the mano-'uvres, are bound to supply them with a certain 
 amount of food. During the Silesian manceuvres in 1875 this 
 allowance consisted of about half a pound of bread, and rather 
 more than that amount of meat, with salt, pepper, &c., for which 
 eight silbergroschen (nearly 9^/.) was paid, though it usually 
 
 ' Hacklander's Soldier in Time of Peace.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 
 
 3«S' 
 
 happens that the hosts give the soldiers more than the proper 
 ration, sharing with them whatever they have for themselves. 
 The troops complained very much of the way in which they 
 were fed by the contractors during these manoeuvres, for they 
 not only were forced several times, on account of the long hours 
 of exercise, to go without food from daybreak till seven in the 
 evening, but, when supper was prepared, found themselves 
 defrauded by the contractors who had to supply it. Old officers 
 maintained that their men suffered more than they ever did in 
 the late war. It is, therefore, not surprising that the soldier 
 when out manceuvring should be ready enough, when he gets 
 the chance, to supplement his rations, and the fare provided for 
 him by those on whom he is billeted, with whatever he can 
 obtain. The sutlers who follow the troops have a plentiful 
 supply of customers, especially from amongst the one year 
 volunteers, who flock around their carts and booths all day long. 
 In Berlin the cook.s, who in England are supposed to resei-ve 
 their cold mutton and their affections exclusively for the blue- 
 coated representatives of the civil power, are the especial objects 
 of the soldier's amatory assaults. The votaries of Mars and the 
 exponents of the culinary art are to be encountered arm-in-arm 
 at every place of public resort, notably at the summer beer 
 gardens. When the troops 
 march into the country 
 they strive to extend the 
 sphere of their fascina- 
 tions, and the wives, 
 daughters, and servants of 
 the farmers and peasants 
 become the object of at- 
 tention often as hollow as 
 they are transitory. The 
 .sharp-witted and often im- 
 pecunious infantry man 
 practises on a minor scale 
 the art of surprising and 
 capturing a provision train, 
 by rising early in the 
 morning and sallying 
 forth in quest of what he 
 may devour. The chances 
 are that he may encounter 
 the temporary object of his 
 vows laden with a basket 
 
 of good cheer, destined either for his own especial benefit or for 
 that of one of his superiors. In either case he bears down upon the 
 convoy, and by his blandishments and lavish endearments soon 
 convinces the blushing mddchen that the transfer of her cargo 

 
 382 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 ..;\, (P-. 
 
 of wiirst, scJiinkcn, bra- 
 ' ten, bread, and spirits 
 can be dev^oted to no 
 better purpose than 
 - that of fortifying him 
 against the coming 
 fatigues of the day. 
 That such a fortifying 
 is necessary was shown 
 by several deaths and 
 the invahding of nu- 
 merous men during the 
 1875 manoeuvres in 
 Baden and Alsace- 
 Lorraine. The troops, 
 however, suffer more 
 from sunstrokes and 
 apoplexy than from 
 exhaustion, and the 
 preceding year special 
 instructions on the 
 subject were issued by 
 the Berlin War Office, 
 the men being directed to march in open order with stocks off 
 and coats open, and all manoeuvres on a large scale being for- 
 bidden when the tem- 
 perature had reached 
 'J'j° Fahrenheit. 
 
 The special attri- 
 butes of the Prussian 
 Army have been thus 
 summarized. " The 
 absence of exemp- 
 tions and substitu- 
 tions which secures 
 for the army the best 
 men, and makes ser- 
 vice even and accept- 
 able ; general educa- 
 tion of officers and 
 soldiers ; an effective 
 system of keeping the 
 ranks full ; superior 
 training and selection 
 by merit of the higher 
 staff ; a decentralised 
 administration ; the 
 certainty of recognition and reward for enterprise and laUustr^ ;
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 383 
 
 strict discipline and rigid economy." These qualities have been 
 steadily developed until they have placed the kingdom of Fried- 
 rich the Great at the head of the military powers of Europe. 
 
 It has been remarked with truth that the German Emperor 
 pointed out the veritable secret of the nation's military successes 
 when he reminded his grandson on the occasion of the entrance 
 of the latter on active service in the Prussian Army that in the 
 correct appreciation of what might appear to be a trifling 
 matter, was to be found a guarantee for the performance of great 
 things. This principle, he truly added, had been and should 
 remain the rule of the Prussian Army. " Careful organisation, 
 laborious attention to the most minute details, patience, and 
 thoroughness are the prosaic secrets of military triumphs which 
 rival those of Napoleon himself. There was nothing very 
 original in Scharnhorst's plan of quickly passing the whole of 
 the able-bodied population through the ranks, and thus securing 
 a huge reserve of drilled troops. The system chiefly depended 
 for success on the stubborn perseverance of the people — a per- 
 severance undaunted by the prowess of the greatest commander 
 in the world, and independent of the fitful triumphs which would 
 have been needed to spur the zeal of France. Count Moltke 
 has relied on precisely the same homely qualities in finishing 
 the work which was begun in the shadow of unparalleled defeat. 
 Even the artistic completeness of his organisation and the 
 success of his strategy are less wonderful than the almost 
 mechanical obedience and perseverance with which the whole 
 nation has gone through the exhausting, and what might have 
 seemed the useless, mill of the barrack-room. The system 
 might have been a disastrous failure if the people had been less 
 docile, plodding, and intelligent." 
 
 The nation had the advantage of " a born race of military 
 leaders in an aristocracy at once large, poor, well educated, and 
 disdainful of any work but that of the public service. The sons of 
 a German baron would scorn to become traders, or even, as a rule, 
 to enter any of the more intellectual professions. They go into 
 the army as a matter of course, and they bring with them those 
 habits of command which belong to an aristocratic caste. They 
 are equally marked by the habits of obedience natural to the 
 feudal society of a military state which has been little disturbed 
 as yet by an aspiring democracy. They study their duties with 
 German thoroughness, and take a pride in matters of detail 
 which the officers of other countries leave to plebeian sub- 
 ordinates. It w^ould be impossible to find a class better qualified 
 to form the cog-wheels of the mighty machine which Count 
 Moltke puts in motion from the quietude of his bureau. The 
 rigidity and thoroughness of Prussian discipline could not be 
 safely applied to any nation which did not unite a highly-educated 
 intelligence to primitive habits of obedience. It is quite possible
 
 384 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 to drill an army into such stolidity that it loses the power of 
 helpinf^ itself when it cannot be guided by rule. Thus misplaced 
 industry has sometimes been little else than a laborious pre- 
 paration for disaster, l^ut the Germans have gone to school as regu- 
 larly as to drill, and their best intelligence passes through the bar- 
 rack-room. It has been safe to give their movements the precision 
 of a machine, and yet to put great trust in the mother wit of the 
 officers and the men. The result is perhaps the most marvellous in- 
 strument of destruction ever fashioned by human labour and skill."^ 
 The social side of the question, however, needs to be viewed 
 under different aspect. All other interests are sacrificed to those 
 of the army. The best and most promising youths are sent 
 to the drill ground for years ; the most accomplished young men 
 are torn from the university, from the learned professions, from 
 the laboratory, or the factory, to fill the ranks. Literature and 
 science suffer from the diversion of the rarest mental qualities to 
 the purposes of war. Political freedom suffers in order that 
 discipline may be perfect. Trade is sacrificed that the country 
 may be covered with troops, railways are constructed in view 
 with strategetical schemes, and not in accordance with com- 
 mercial necessities, and the burden laid upon the nation 
 forces the most stalwart peasantry and the most skilful 
 artisans to seek refuge across the Atlantic. On the occasion 
 of the discussion of the new law on the landsturm, Herr 
 Schorlemmer Ast pointed out that this system of excessive 
 military preparations rendered the principal burden of the 
 Empire a heavy load for everybody to bear. " The milliards 
 that we have received," continued he, "are already converted 
 into fortresses, vessels. Mauser rifles, and cannons ; and there is 
 an augmentation of forty-nine millions of marks in the military 
 budget. This budget is like the sieves of the Danaides. We 
 throw into it all our resources, our savings, our reserves — still we 
 shall never be able to fill it up. Montecuculi laid down the prin- 
 ciples of war — money, more money, always money ! This is what 
 we are asked for at the risk of soon exhausting all our vital 
 strength." The Germania, too, alluding to a speech made by 
 M. Leon Say, respecting the prosperous internal and financial 
 condition of France, despite the burden imposed by the late war, 
 remarks: "The minister who speaks thus is minister of a country 
 that has recently undergone unparalleled catastrophes. Germany 
 on the contrary, although she has received fabulous sums, only 
 possesses a ruined trade, ruined industries, crowds of workmen 
 without work, and very little money. She has in perspective 
 new taxes, an increase in the war budget, the continuation of the 
 discharge of workmen, and the misery of the people." Such is 
 the price at which the New Empire has purchased the military 
 dictatorship of Europe. 
 
 ' The Times, Feb. 14, 1877.
 
 THE PRUSSIAN ARMY. — THE ARTILLERY, ETC. 
 
 385 
 
 In order to retain her military supremacy Germany is com- 
 pelled to be continually on the alert with regard to new 
 improvements in the machinery of war, so that she may be the 
 first to profit by them. The latest novelty in this direction is a 
 machine termed a " telemetre," which is understood to indicate the 
 exact distance at which shots have been fired from an enemy's 
 cannon. One great advantage it ofiers is that it will enable the 
 gunners in a coast battery to determine the position in regard 
 to distance of a hostile ship, a calculation hitherto fraught with 
 the greatest difficulty. The adoption of the telemetre by the 
 German troops has been decided upon, and experiments have 
 been made with smaller machines designed to indicate the distance 
 of shots fired from rifles with perfectly satisfactory results. 
 
 Another sensational novelty in the artillery service is the 
 35|-centimetre Krupp gun, which, although weighing only 57 
 tons, is so firmly encased in mantle and rings as to admit of 
 firing a cartridge of 300 lbs. of prismatic powder, with a ball, 
 weighing 1,150 lbs. In the experiments made at Dulmen, the 
 Inflexible target, carrying 24 inches of solid iron, was pierced 
 right through, from a distance of 2,250 yards. The barrel of the 
 gun can be elevated to i8f deg., and inclined to 7 deg. It lies 
 high enough in its frame to fire over a two-feet breastwork, and is 
 moved by simple machinery, requiring only a few men to work it. 
 
 A third important innovation is the adoption of an iron bridge 
 to be carried by the engineers in order to replace any railway 
 bridge that may have been destroyed by the enemy. The bridge, 
 which can be rapidly put together, is easy of transport, and 
 capable of bearing any burden likely to pass over it. One 
 specimen that has been constructed is 90 feet long, and costs 
 only ;^3,ooo. The Army is indebted for this clever contrivance 
 to Herr Stern, a Baden engineer. 
 
 
 
 
 PRUSSIAN RIFLE PRACTICE. 
 
 c c
 
 THB BERLIN CADKTTEN-HAUS. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 
 
 BERT. IN, as the capital of a military monarch)'-, is the seat 
 of many of the most important institutions established in 
 connection with the Army, and amongst the chief of these may 
 be reckoned the Central Cadet School, or Cadetten-haus, which 
 furnishes about one-third of the officers to the Prussian service. 
 This establishment and the six others situate at Potsdam, Culm, 
 Wahlstatt, Bensberg, Ploen, and Oranienstein form, as it were, so 
 many separate battalions subdivided into companies, and together 
 constitute a body known as the Royal Cadet Corps. The corps, 
 as originally established in 17 17 in accordance with the military 
 proclivities of Fricdrich Wilhelm I. for the benefit of the young 
 Crown Prince, afterwards Friedrich the Great, consisted of " a 
 miniature soldier company which, by degrees, rose to be a per- 
 manent institution. A hundred and ten boys about the Prince's 
 own age, sons of noble families, had been selected from the three 
 military schools then extant, as a kind of tiny regiment for him, 
 where, if he was by no means commander all at once, he might 
 learn his exercise in fellowship with others. An experienced 
 lieutenant-colonel was appointed to command in chief." ^ The 
 corps was reorganised by Friedrich the Great, and has always 
 been an object of special interest with subsequent Prussian 
 
 sovereigns. 
 
 The cadets are of two kinds — the pensioners, or paying cadets, 
 and the King's cadets, who are educated mainly at the expense 
 
 • Carlyle's Friedi ich the Great.
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 387 
 
 of the state. The pensioners in ordinary cases pay 260 thaler 
 a year. The King's cadets pay from 30 to 100 thaler a year, 
 and in very special cases are admitted without payment. 
 These latter cadetships are granted, according to the pecuniary 
 circumstances of the applicant, to the sons of officers who have 
 died on active service or been invalided from wounds received, the 
 sons of meritorious officers who have retired on pensions or died 
 in indigence, the sons of officers actually serving in reduced cir- 
 cumstances, the sons of non-commissioned officers who have been 
 killed or severely wounded in action, or who have served meritori- 
 ously for twenty-five years, and the sons of civilians who have 
 performed special services towards the state, by which personal 
 danger was incurred. In the Berlin Cadetten-haus the last class 
 used to be mainly composed of the sons of people who rendered 
 services to the Government in 1848 or who had distinguished 
 themselves by saving life. Pensioners are admitted from all 
 professions, according to priority of application and the number 
 of vacancies. The ordinary payment of 260 thaler may be 
 reduced to 150 thaler in the case of the sons of officers on 
 active service, who, though not entitled to King's cadetships, are 
 in poor circumstances. Foreigners are exceptionally admitted 
 with the King's permission, on payment of 360 thaler yearly. 
 ■ The cadet corps is under the command of a general officer, 
 and has a special administrative staff of its own, who wear its 
 distinctive uniform, trimmed with the lace worn by the Great 
 Friedrich's guardsmen. The provincial cadet-houses are merely 
 training schools for the central institution at Berlin, and at these 
 boys are admitted at ten and remain till fifteen or sixteen years 
 of age, the ordinary stay at the Berlin school being from the age 
 of fifteen or sixteen to eighteen or nineteen. There is an ex- 
 amination on the first admission to the corps, the subjects of 
 which depend upon the candidate's age. Pupils passing through 
 the lower schools are transferred to that of Berlin without further 
 examination, being already members of the corps, but pupils 
 entering the Berlin school direct are examined. This class of 
 pupils is,^ however, not encouraged, as it is considered that in 
 their case one of the chief advantages offered by the corps, that 
 of accustoming its members to military discipline from early 
 boyhood, is altogether lacking. 
 
 A military spirit pervades the schools, and though prepara- 
 tion for the army is not the exclusive, it is the predominating, 
 object of the course of training pursued, and the cadets in 
 almost all cases enter the service. The corps is, in fact, looked 
 upon as a nursery for officers. Admissions to it take place once 
 a year, on the ist of May. The six junior schools are divided 
 for purposes of instruction upon an uniform plan into four 
 classes, numbered up from six to three, that is, sexta at the 
 bottom and tertia at the top. The upper school at Berlin 
 
 C C 2
 
 388 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 follows with four more classes — the second, first, upper first, and 
 special — secunda, prima, ober-prima, and selecta. The idea 
 which prevails, that no teacher can instruct more than twenty- 
 five or thirty pupils at a time, causes the classes to be split up 
 into sections, each pursuing a parallel course of instruction. In 
 the junior schools the subjects taught are Bible history, Latin, 
 German grammar and composition, elementary algebra and 
 geometry, history, the rudiments of natural philosophy, drawing, 
 and writing. There is plenty of drilling and gymnastics, with 
 bayonet exercise, and dancing, and in the two upper classes 
 instruction is given in military drawing. 
 
 Military training can hardly be said to commence until the 
 pupils enter the Berlin Cadetten-haus, which is the nearest 
 approach in Prussia to our Sandhurst and Woolwich establish- 
 ments. It is a spacious two-storied edifice, having the centre 
 portion of its long facade ornamented with columns and military 
 trophies, and is situated in the Neue Friedrichs-strasse, in the 
 midst of the old-fashioned houses with which this quarter of Berlin 
 abounds. The buildings erected in 1775 by Friedrich the Great, 
 and dedicated by him "to the pupils of Mars and Minerva," 
 have long since been found too small for their object, and though 
 various additions have from time to time been made, the accom- 
 modation is no longer sufficient for the number of cadets. The 
 situation is also objectionable from a sanitary point of view, the 
 school being hemmed in on all sides by houses, and the inten- 
 tion exists to move the entire establishment to a more open and 
 healthy situation at Lichterfelde, in the environs of Berlin.^ 
 
 The main portion of the buildings at Berlin consists of a large 
 quadrangle in which are situated the quarters of the cadets and 
 company officers, the dining-hall, library; and a large hall called 
 the Feld-Marschall Saal, in requisition on state occasions, and also 
 serving the purpose of an examination room, and which takes 
 its name from the life-sized portraits of Prussian field-marshals 
 
 ' The new Lichterfelde Cadetten-haus, destined for the reception of cadets 
 from all parts of the empire except Bavaria, has been in process of construc- 
 tion for the last four or five years, and will require at least another three 
 years to bring it to completion. Part of the building, however, will shortly 
 be ready, when it is intended to remove the Berlin cadets there. The new 
 school is situate on a broad stretch of sandy ground distant about a mile 
 from the railway station. The buildings in 1876 consisted of six immense 
 blocks : a central mass flanked at some distance by two long wings facing 
 similar blocks of building at a distance of about 1 50 feet. Of the two central 
 blocks, the one nearest to the railway is intended for the class-rooms and the 
 examination hall, while among the buildings facing it is comprised the chapel. 
 Each wing contains a mess-room and a number of small but lofty rooms 
 arranged on each side of long corridors, and intended for sleeping apart- 
 ments and barrack-rooms. Six huge blocks of similar proportions to those 
 already completed have to be erected, and when the whole is perfect it will 
 form a small town in itself. The situation is an excellent one for a cadet 
 school, there being nothing for miles around but a few scattered houses, so 
 that it will be completely isolated.
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 389 
 
 lining its walls. There, moreover, is exposed the sword of the 
 First Napoleon, captured at Gemappes, and presented to the 
 institution by Marshal Blucher. 
 
 Beyond the quadrangle is a large court-yard used for drill and 
 exercise, in which are some indifferent marble statues of the 
 heroes of the Seven Years' War, that formerly stood in the 
 Wilhelms-platz until they were replaced by statues of bronze. 
 On one side of the quadrangle is a range of buildings containing 
 the class-rooms, and on the other the quarters of the professors 
 and instructors. The residence of the general commanding the 
 cadet corps and the commandant of the school, together with a 
 large red brick church, built for the accommodation of the 
 cadets, are situate on the opposite side of the Neue Friedrichs- 
 strasse. 
 
 The class-rooms, intended merely to accommodate about 
 thirty pupils, which is the largest number in a single class, are 
 fitted with rows of parallel desks, at which the cadets sit, the 
 instructor occupying a raised dais at one end of the room, and 
 having near him a black board, of which he makes frequent use 
 during the lessons. The quarters occupied by the cadets com- 
 prise a sitting-room and bed-room opening into each other, and 
 shared in common by a number of occupants varying from six 
 to fourteen or fifteen, the usual number thus lodged being 
 eight or ten, although deficiency of accommodation has led in 
 some degree to overcrowding. The bed-rooms are simply fur- 
 nished with iron barrack bedsteads, and narrow tables running 
 down the centre of each room, furnished with washing basins in 
 accordance with the number of its occupants. In the sitting- 
 rooms each cadet has a desk and cupboard to himself, in which 
 to keep his books and other effects ; a table and chairs com- 
 pleting the furniture, which is of the plainest description. The 
 senior of the room is responsible for order. 
 
 The dining-hall is a large handsome apartment capable of 
 accommodating the whole of the cadets, who take their meals 
 here in common. Three regular meals are provided in the 
 course of the day : breakfast, consisting merely of soup and 
 bread ; dinner, in the middle of the day; and supper, shortly before 
 bed-time. In addition, a trifling lunch of bread and butter is 
 served out to each cadet. At meals the cadets are seated at 
 tables each accommodating twelve, in addition to a senior who 
 occupies the head. The dinner consists of soup, meat, and 
 vegetables, pudding being given as an extra on Sunday, Water 
 is the only beverage drunk, neither wine nor beer being at any 
 time allowed within the school buildings. The cadets are 
 marched to their meals by companies under the charge of their 
 officers, and one officer remains on duty in the dining-room 
 during meal-time. Attached to each company is a kind of 
 buffet at which coffee, fruit, and confectionary are sold.
 
 390 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The Berlin Cadetten-haus contains a good library, but the use 
 of it is confined to the officers and the senior cadets in the 
 selecta, or highest class, the others not being allowed to frequent 
 the room or to obtain books from it. There is, however, a smaller 
 library for each company under the charge of the captain, con- 
 taining novels and works of general literature, any of which may 
 be taken out. No general reading-room of any kind exists, but 
 the cadets, joining together, usually subscribe to some newspaper 
 among them. Each company has what is called its company 
 room, a large apartment very plainly furnished, but supplied 
 with no games or other means of amusement. The cadets of 
 each company, however, generally club together to hire a piano 
 for this room. Music and novel-reading seem to be the most 
 favoured recreations during leisure hours, though gymnastics 
 are also practised. 
 
 The daily routine is something as follows. The cadets rise at 
 half-past five in summer and six in winter, twenty minutes being 
 allowed them to dress in, after which they turn out of their 
 rooms, form on parade, and are marched to breakfast. Half an 
 hour's private study in their rooms to look over the lessons for 
 the day follows, A short time is then allowed for cleaning arms 
 and accoutrements before the morning roll-call, at which a most 
 minute inspection of each company is made by the captain, and 
 any cadet found with his things imperfectly cleaned is punished. 
 Prayers for the whole school in chapel follow the roll-call. Lessons 
 begin at eight and generally continue till one, with an interval of 
 twenty minutes at eleven o'clock for lunch. At one all the cadets 
 fall in by companies on parade, when the daily orders are read 
 and other routine business transacted. At half-past one the cadets 
 march in to dinner. The actual lessons in the class-rooms are, 
 excepting for the classes known as the selecta and ober-prima, 
 generally finished by one o'clock, the afternoon being chiefly 
 devoted to such subjects as singing, dancing, fencing, and gym- 
 nastics. Wednesdays and Saturdays are nominally half-holidays, 
 but the only difference between them and the other days appears 
 to be that the afternoon is occupied in battalion drill, for which 
 the cadets are marched to a drill-ground some distance off. From 
 half-past five to eight every evening the cadets are obliged to 
 study their lessons in their own rooms ; at eight supper is served, 
 after which their time is their own till half-past nine, when they 
 turn in, lights being put out at ten. Except with the selecta and 
 ober-prima the whole afternoon is seldom completely occupied, 
 but there is little or nothing in the shape of manly games during 
 recreation. For an hour in the afternoon, between half-past 
 four and half-past five, all cadets unemployed are obliged to take 
 exercise in the court-yard ; but this commonly consists of walking 
 up and down, usually with their arms about each other's necks, in 
 the orthodox German fashion. On Sundays dinner takes place
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 39 1 
 
 at twelve, to allow of more time for those who have leave. All 
 have the greater part of the day to themselves, but none are 
 allowed to leave the school without permission, though they are 
 frequently taken in bodies under the charge of officers to visit 
 places of interest in Berlin and its neighbourhood, and are also 
 on one or two occasions during the year taken to the opera or 
 theatre. The charge of the cadets out of school-hours devolves 
 upon the captains and subalterns of companies, principally upon 
 the latter, who must be unmarried and live amongst the cadets. 
 Besides looking after them, they are required to assist them in 
 their studies. 
 
 The number of cadets in the Cadetten-haus is about 700, which 
 is to be shortly increased to 850. They are divided into seven 
 companies of 100 each. The annual cost of a cadet is estimated 
 at 300 thaler. The staff of the school is both civil and military, 
 the latter comprising the commandant, the adjutant and a 
 captain, four subalterns, and two military instructors for each 
 company. The civilians comprise professors, instructors, writ- 
 ing, singing, drawing and dancing masters, &c. There are also 
 a Protestant and a Roman Catholic chaplain, and three surgeons. 
 The Cadetten-haus is under the direct control of the general 
 commanding the cadet corps, who resides close by, the immediate 
 superintendence of instruction, discipline and drill being in the 
 hands of the commandant. There is no special director of studies, 
 but a board exercises a general supervision, and the senior 
 civilian professor, who is a member of the board, has the superin- 
 tendence of the civilian instructors. These serve a certain time 
 on probation, and then receive permanent appointments; but the 
 military instructors, who are chosen for special qualifications, are 
 generally sent back to do regimental duty for a time after six or 
 seven years' employment in the school, though they are often 
 reappointed. I'hey receive a fixed addition to their regimental 
 pay, and also an honorarium in proportion to the number of lessons 
 given by them. 
 
 The instruction imparted in the secunda and prima comprises 
 religious indoctrination, Latin, German composition and litera- 
 ture ; French ; mathematics, with especial reference to their 
 application to military purposes ; history, especially that of Ger- 
 many ; geography, physical science, and military drawing. 
 Dancing is compulsory in the secunda as in all the junior classes. 
 It is regarded both as a gymnastical exercise and a necessary 
 accomplishment for an ofhcer, and the cadets have to display 
 their proficiency before the general commanding the corps at 
 the periodical inspections. The practical exercises comprise 
 battalion drill about twice a week, daily parade, gymnastics and 
 bayonet exercises, fencing and sword exercise, swimming, and 
 riding for the pupils of the selecta. Elementary instruction is 
 also given in military duties, but this is mainly confined to the
 
 392 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 mode of behaviour towards officers, and other points of mihtary 
 etiquette. The ordinary period for remaining in a class is a 
 year, but two are often allowed. 
 
 At the end of the year all who have passed through the prima, 
 after a preliminary examination in the school, go up for the 
 portepee-fahnrich examination. Those who reach the ordinary 
 standard are admitted at once as " ensigns designate," but they 
 must serve with the regiment six months and be of the age 
 of seventeen and a half before they obtain the patent actually 
 conferring that rank ; they attend a war school when they pass 
 their officer's examination, and finally obtain their commissions, 
 subject to the approval of the officers of the regiment. Of 
 those who are not allowed to go up for examination or who fail 
 in it, some are permitted to remain for another year at the 
 Cadetten-haus ; others, whose conduct has been exceptionally 
 good, are admitted as 'under-officers, a rank below that of 
 fahnrich ; and others, who have not this recommendation, as 
 
 privates. The majority 
 of the cadets enter the 
 army in this manner ; 
 but a certain number who 
 take honours at the ex- 
 amination of the prima 
 are formed into classes 
 known as the ober-prima 
 and selecta, and receive 
 the special military in- 
 struction which is given 
 to the others at a later 
 period at the war schools. 
 The course of study 
 pursued by the two classes 
 is the same, but the se- 
 lecta consists of cadets of 
 seventeen years of age 
 and having a good cha- 
 racter, and the requisite qualifications for admission, whilst 
 the ober-prima is composed of those who are below that 
 age, who are of weakly constitution, or below the regulation 
 standard of height, or whose conduct has not been quite satis- 
 factory. Their studies are confined to the science of arms, 
 tactics, fortification, instructions in military duties and regu- 
 lations, and in military composition, topography, and surveying, 
 with higher mathematics for those cadets intended for the 
 artillery and engineers. At the end of the year the classes go 
 up for the examination which qualifies for the officer's com- 
 mission. Those of the selecta who pass, enter the army at once 
 as officers, and in their case alone, in the whole service, is the
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 
 
 393 
 
 right of veto usually exercised by the officers of a regiment as to 
 the admission of a new comrade dispensed with. Those of the 
 ober-prima enter as portepee-fahnrich, and must serve six months 
 in this grade, and be approved of by the officers before obtaining 
 their commissions ; they do not, however, attend a war school, 
 nor are they required to pass any further examination. 
 
 The cadets are not subjected to military law, but the discipline 
 maintained and the punishments inflicted are of a military charac- 
 ter. The officers are assisted in preserving discipline by the senior 
 cadets, who arc invested with the authority of under-officers. 
 One of the distinguishing features is the division of the cadets 
 into conduct classes, four in number and entirely independent of • 
 the classes for instruction. On entering, a cadet is placed in the 
 third class, in which he can only obtain leave on Sundayafternoons, 
 and at the invitation of some one known to the school authorities. 
 After a time he is promoted to the second class, and gets more 
 extended leave, the first class being almost entirely limited to the 
 selecta and ober-prima, who have many extra privileges. These 
 are the young fellows, 
 
 
 parties of whom are 
 encountered on Sunday 
 afternoons at the Ber- 
 lin Zoo, Kroll's, and 
 the better-class subur- 
 ban beer-gardens, and 
 who early affect a con- 
 temptuous bearing to- 
 wards the burgher or 
 philistine element of 
 the Prussian capital. 
 The fourth class is 
 reserved for those 
 guilty of serious mis- 
 conduct, and degrada- 
 tion to it is both a 
 disgrace and a punish- 
 ment. The cadets com- 
 posing itarenotallowed 
 to go outside the walls, 
 and any one found in 
 it at the end of his 
 
 career has to enter the army as a private. The distribution 
 in classes mainly depends upon general conduct, but to a certain 
 extent upon diligence and study. The punishments inflicted 
 comprise reprimands, punishment parade, extra duty, extra 
 study, curtailment or stoppage of leave, forfeiture of class privi- 
 leges for a certain time, or reduction to a lower class, arrest in 
 quarters, close arrest, reduction to the ranks, and dismissal.
 
 394 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 In minor matters the discipline is very strict : no watches, 
 rings, or jewelry, are allowed to be worn ; only a fixed sum of 
 pocket money, ranging from two thaler to three thaler twenty- 
 five groschen per month is allowed, and letters have to be opened 
 in presence of an officer to show that they contain no remittances. 
 Smoking is strictly prohibited within or without the school, and 
 the most scrupulous neatness with regard to dress is enforced. 
 The discipline is easily maintained, thanks to the early age at 
 which the cadets are brought under it, the system of conduct 
 classes, and the fact that a report in minute detail and termed 
 the cursuvi viics, of the cadet's conduct, is forwarded to the 
 regiment to which he is appointed, and may materially aft'ect 
 his future career. There is also the esprit de corps ; for every 
 cadet feels a pride in the body to which he belongs, and in its 
 privilege of taking precedence of all other troops when marching 
 past the sovereign, beneath the colours that were carried when 
 the Second Friedrich wore its uniform, and which still bear his 
 initials stamped upon their staff. 
 
 But it happens that neither the people at large nor the 
 majority of the commanding officers of regiments quite share 
 this feeling. The former say that the cadet school tends to keep 
 up the class spirit that forms so objectionable a feature in the 
 officers of the Prussian army, and that the education given is 
 much below that of a gymnasium ; while the latter hold that 
 the exclusively military atmosphere with which the cadets are 
 surrounded, from an early age, has a narrowing effect upon the 
 mind, and that the almost monastic system in which they are 
 brought up is fatal to freedom of thought and development of 
 character. They greatly prefer the Advantageur sysiem which 
 has been explained in a preceding chapter. 
 
 The subjoined reminiscences of a cadet ^ furnish a graphic 
 account of the kind of life which is led at the Prussian pro- 
 vincial cadet schools, where, as already intimated, most of the 
 members of the corps go through their probationary course 
 before being admitted to the central establishment at Berlin. 
 
 The unaccustomed sound of the drum awoke me in the morning. Though 
 still half asleep, I hastily started up, rubbing my eyes. Where was M In a 
 wide and almost interminable room containing four long rows of iron bed- 
 steads with blue chocked coverlets, from beneath which peeped sleepy, 
 bewildered faces. I felt my narrow hard couch, the pillow of which was stiff 
 as a stone. I heard the roll of the drums outside, growing fainter and 
 fainter. My eyelids closed again heavily, and dead tired 1 sank back to 
 sleep ; but some one was already shaking me by the arm : " Up, up with 
 you !" cried a deep voice of command ; "dan't you hear the drum?" I 
 started up in alami, and saw the kind-looking face of a man in a blue 
 uniform, evidently trying to look very grave, but thinking in his heart, Poor 
 fellow ! how tired he still is after his long journey. 
 
 Close to the bed, on a brown wooden stool, lay my clothes. I slipped 
 
 ' Alls tmiiien Kadettenjahren, von Johannes van Dewall.
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 
 
 395 
 
 into them mechani- 
 cally, trying hard to 
 tinish dressing as 
 soon as my neigh- 
 bours. Following 
 the stream, holding 
 up my trousers with 
 one hand, and car- 
 rying my waistcoat 
 and jacket in the 
 other, I passed 
 through a bare cor- 
 ridor into another 
 room, in which were 
 clothes - pegs and 
 tables with large tin 
 washing-bowls, each 
 with its number on 
 the post above. 
 Stripped to our 
 waists, we splashed 
 and dipped in our 
 
 respective bowls, wasting the water and drenching the floor. The icy cold 
 bath removed any feeling of drowsiness, and, red as a lobster, I got into my 
 
 clothes. 1 then 
 made a few 
 bold strokes 
 with a comb 
 through my 
 wet locks, and 
 my toilet was 
 complete. 
 
 "All you be- 
 longing to 
 room 8, you 
 there No. 88, 
 and you No. 
 1 13, wait out- 
 side till I 
 come," was the 
 aut horitative 
 command of a 
 bigger cadet, 
 who was just 
 buttoning his 
 waistcoat, and hanging on his green silk strap. So Nos. 88 and 113, 
 which latter was myself, stood shyly outside in the passage waiting and 
 casting rather despondent glances at one another. " What is your name.?" 
 asked No. 88 at length. " Hans van Dewall," replied No. 113 ; "and yours?" 
 " Max Oehlschlagel,^' said No. 88. 
 
 A cadet, a regular dwarf, here running past thumped me with his fist 
 without the slightest provocation, crying, " You silly lout ! " My blood was 
 up at this insult, but I was forced to suppress my feelings, for the cadet 
 sprang down the stairs four steps at a time, and then, too, I had been told 
 agam and again that if a "knapsack," as a novice is termed, struck a real 
 cadet back again, he would be mercilessly beaten by the whole class, or even 
 be set upon by the entire corps. 
 
 I had not much time to ponder over this, for the same cadet who had 
 ordered us to wait emerged from the lavatory, and telling us that he was the
 
 396 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 eldest in our room, ordered us to follow him. He led us downstairs and 
 into a large well-lighted corner room with four windows, on the door of which 
 was painted the figure 8. Two lamps hung suspended from the ceiling, and 
 beneath them stood large tables painted black. Against the walls were little 
 cupboards, marked with the names of individual cadets. 
 
 On one of these was " van Dewall," and to it I was led by the head of our 
 room, who said as he opened it : " You can put your things in here ; but mind 
 you keep it always clean and tidy, or you'll catch it. I just tell you once for 
 all that I'll stand no nonsense, so you may look out ! " After this short 
 address, our senior took a chair, sat down at the large table, and began to 
 rummage in his drawer. Meanwhile we arranged our small possessions 
 in the divisions of our cupboards, until the drum sounded again in the court. 
 " Sit down and work," exclaimed our tyrant, and we all obeyed. Each one 
 had his place and drawer assigned him at the table, and silently took his seat. 
 I had fetched my pen and paper to write to my parents, and was just 
 placing it before me on the table, when the red curtain of the glass door 
 opposite me was suddenly raised, and the face of our Governor Justus, the 
 same who had awaked me in the morning, was visible for a moment. I 
 
 began my letter, but only 
 wrote a few lines, for 
 my head was already 
 sinking heavily on the 
 table, and I fell asleep. 
 
 A clatter of cups 
 
 aroused me ; it was the 
 
 |i iijiiji,,™ t ijjj ii^i^^r\i i \ breakfast, brought in by 
 
 -iftjillllirW '* .&)^^i,:!/ 1 \ ,' a waiter, who set his tray 
 
 ' " —is- I II down on the ground near 
 
 the stove and counted 
 the flat rolls on the win- 
 dow-sill, after satisfying 
 himself of the number of 
 people present. We 
 looked with longing eyes 
 at the smoking vessels 
 and the bread, for we 
 were ravenously hungry ; 
 but' we were not allowed 
 to touch anything, as the 
 hour for work was not 
 yet over. 
 
 Suddenly the beat of 
 the drum was heard out- 
 side, and we rushed at 
 once to the cups and 
 bread ; but, oh ! how cruelly was I undeceived ! Instead of coffee, I found 
 a thick gruel, with a skin on it as tough as leather ; the roll, too, was dry 
 and hard, and, worst of all, very little. And this was to appease the stomach 
 of a hungry boy till noon, and it was then only just seven. 
 
 As soon as breakfast was despatched we began to brush our clothes ; then 
 the drum summoned us to muster and to prayers. In the corridor outside, 
 the occupants of the different rooms were assemlsling, the eldest in the room 
 reporting that all were present to the eldest in the brigade (two rooms formed 
 a brigade), and then we were marched off. We little "knapsacks" fol- 
 lowed in the left wing, convulsively attempting to keep step like the rest. 
 On arriving in the large hall, the eldest in each brigade reported us to the 
 head of the company, who commanded the whole, and divided us into 
 proper squads with an air of importance. A profound silence then reigned 
 till Governor Justus came. That day, without holding a special early muster,
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 
 
 397 
 
 After 
 prayers 
 comers 
 amined 
 
 the governor gave 
 marching orders. 
 " Left wheel ! Com- 
 pany, march ! " 
 commanded the 
 leader in a clear 
 voice, and we wound 
 like a long snake 
 across the court into 
 the chapel. 
 
 morning 
 
 the new- 
 
 were ex- 
 as to their 
 preparatory know- 
 ledge, and then di- 
 vided into different 
 class-rooms for the 
 regular examina- 
 tion. This was the 
 anxious moment, 
 and the beginning 
 of the hard school 
 of Ufe. " Write ! " 
 was the order we 
 received from a tiny 
 man who had to 
 stand on tiptoe to 
 look at us over his 
 desk. Dictation fol- 
 lowed, both in German and Latin characters ; then we were examined in Latin, 
 and I rolled off glibly the rules for the third declension ; reading, arithmetic, 
 geography, and history followed, in which many proved very deficient, and we 
 ended with singing, when, in my bewilderment, I gave forth such execrable 
 sounds that the examiner stopped his ears and sent me back. These tortures 
 lasted for three hours, during which the victims' relatives were anxiously 
 pacing round the fountain in the great courtyard, anxious to see their little 
 ones in the royal uniform before returning home. How, when we were at 
 length dismissed, they questioned and kissed them ! while we friendless ones 
 looked on, sad and envious. 
 
 Then the drum summoned us all upstairs to clean our things, for the daily 
 parade was held at a quarter past twelve. Here for the first tirne we saw 
 assembled all the officers, governors, and cadets, and the commander of the 
 corps, a dried-up little man, whose thin beardless face peeped pleasantly out 
 beneath his over-large helmet, often absently put on the wrong way. He 
 was a noted savant, and had even translated the Nibelungen. Slowly, 
 with his hands behind him, he passed along the front, with kind and 
 searching glances, speaking now to one, now to another, and ordering an 
 hour's extra sleep that afternoon for those who had come a long way 
 (some had been an entire week on the journey), and finally giving orders 
 to march past. Two drummers placed themselves opposite to him, and then 
 began the parade march of the genuine cadets, in four ranks of two deep, 
 headed by a leader, all in strict accordance with rule, though, to save their 
 caps or promote the growth of their hair, all marched bareheaded. 
 
 From parade we went direct to the large dining-room. Grace was said, 
 and all fell to work with tremendous appetites on the barley soup and prunes, 
 and then on the beef and vegetables, till nothing was left. In the afternoon 
 we were free ; those whose relations still remained went with them to the 
 village inn, the rest looked about them. At four o'clock each had a dry roll,
 
 398 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 at a quarter past seven supper, and at nine o'clock punctually we went to 
 bed. 
 
 How proud I was to write home that I had passed and was put in 5 a ! 
 At ei<:^ht o'clock next morning I received the news, and at ten had the delight 
 of dressing in my cadet's uniform, not ho*vevcr until after I had been examined 
 as to my physical capacities by the surgeon of the regiment. '' Can you 
 hear.?" asked he with an important air, holding the watch close to my ear. 
 " To be sure I can." " Count;" and I did so. " Can you see well ? " " Yes." 
 "What time is it.?" "Half-past nine." " How many fingers are these ?" 
 "Five." "What is sitting on the roof up there?" "Nothing." Then 
 he made me jump over a string, pressed me all round my chest, and at 
 length muttered that I might go. 
 
 We were received by a droll couple in Sergeant-Major M. and his right hand 
 man Sergeant W. — two important personages, who spoke in a strong pro- 
 vincial dialect ; they marched us to the topmost story, where the uniform 
 
 rooms were, when 
 we donned our uni- 
 forms, amidst many 
 interjections and 
 admonitions on the 
 part of our supe- 
 riors. 
 
 The poor little 
 cadet has to learn 
 betimes the truth 
 of many a hard 
 proverb ; he does 
 not wear the 
 splendid and much- 
 coveted uniform 
 with yellow cord, 
 the King's bluecoat, 
 without having to 
 pay for it. The 
 iron has to pass 
 through the fire 
 and under the ham- 
 mer to be converted 
 into good steel; and 
 so, from the very 
 first day, the boy 
 of eleven is taken 
 in hand and roughly 
 treated, in order to 
 turn him into a true 
 cadet. This hard 
 period of transition 
 is known as the "knapsack time," and the boy as a "knapsack." The 
 cadet corps is the severe school in v.'hich the foundation is laid of the many 
 qualities required in a good officer, who must know both how to command 
 and how to obey in every situation ; and, strange to say, this training is not 
 so much due to the officers and teachers as to the cadets themselves, who 
 carry on this system of education with relentless severity, beating into one 
 another all that goes to form their ideal of a true man, namely, obedience, 
 self-denial, honour, and esprit de corps, and learning to bear heat and cold, 
 hunger and pain without complaint. Woe to him who cries or " peaches," 
 or who shows himself a coward ; he is twitched and tortured from mom 
 tijl eve with pins or hot tongs, till he either improves or finds the place too 
 warm, and leaves the corps to return to the arms of an over-tender mother.
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 399 
 
 Whilst we new-comers were battling against fatigue and home sickness, the 
 storm burst, and as 1 stood at the window that evening, a hand was laid on 
 my shoulder, and in rough tones I was ordered down to the gymnastic exer- 
 cise ground,by the senior of my room, while with his strong arm he pushed 
 me out at the door. I was told to swing myself up and down on the horse 
 twelve tiiues running, and not being able to do this, was first admonished by 
 some slaps on the muscles of the arms, and afterwards thoroughly beaten. 
 
 I grew angry, and gave an indignant challenge, whereupon they all exclaimed 
 at the impudence of the " knapsack," and I received a swinging box on the 
 ear, in reply to which I sprang like a young tiger on to my oppressor, felling 
 him to the ground and belabouring his face with both my fists. I held fast 
 to him — although the others rushed to his aid and blows rained upon me — 
 until we were interrupted by the deep bass voice of our astonished governor. 
 I was at once accused by my tyrant of having struck him for a little fun 
 which they had been having with me, and as I abstained from giving my 
 version of the affair, we escaped with an admonition to keep the peace, orders 
 being given that 1 was to be left alone. My adversary made an attempt to 
 attack me again after the governor's departure, but the others protected me as 
 a good fellow who had not " peached ;" some of them even offered their hands 
 and asked my name, and then took me to the well to wipe the bl jod from off 
 my face. My first fight ended with a lecture about never again daring to 
 return a blow from an older cadet or " breadsack ;" my transgression was to 
 be passed over in this instance because I had not " peached,'' but next time, I 
 was told, nothing would save me from the most terrible beating from the 
 whole class. 
 
 Hardly has the "knapsack" rushed into the lavatory on rising in the morning 
 than he receives a dig in the ribs from the senior of his room, who manages 
 everything by blows, and who tells him to wake up and strip more completely; 
 in the hour for study a ruler flies at his head to make him sit straight or pay 
 attention ; during breakfast-time he is ordered to clean a senior's buttons, 
 and if he aims at securing the largest roll, he is called greedy and punished 
 with the smallest. His pens, paper, and the like are considered public 
 property ; he receives the smallest portions at table, has to take the least 
 popular parts in the games, and is trained by blows into a regular Spartan. 
 All the boys read Grecian and Roman history and Cooper's novels, and aim 
 at imitating their heroes; they scorn to flinch under pain; and one cadet went 
 so far as co burn a piece of sponge on his hand in emulation of some similar 
 feat that he had read about. The " knapsacks " follow these examples of forti- 
 tude, until the yoke becomes easier each day ; they have companions in woe, 
 and the foundation of lifelong friendships is often the result. 
 
 As soon as the governor and the lieutenant had left the boys at study, and 
 their parting steps were heard, boys began to get help in their exercises, the 
 second senior occupied himself with cracking nuts secretly, while the senfor 
 himself fetched one of Cooper's novels from his cupboard to read. While 
 he was thus absorbed, talking, laughing, and letter- writing went on, with 
 occasional fighting, speedily repressed by a look from him. Some fell asleep 
 with their heads on the table, and one snored, whereupon another tickled 
 him with a goose feather, causing even the senior to forget his gravity. As 
 the boy failed to awake, a wisp of paper was lighted and put undrr his 
 nose, and finally a piece of india-rubber was stuck upon the little toe of 
 each boot and set on fire, making him dance about like a dervish, suddenly 
 awakened by pain from sweet dreams. Before he could get his boot off, 
 the fire had burnt through and blistered his foot. The boy proved to be 
 anything but a stoic ; he limped and went into the hospital next day with 
 the officer, when he told the doctor what had happened, in cons<^quence of 
 which we were reported and a storm broke over our heads at parade. The 
 first and second seniors, and the perpetrator of the trick, were all severely 
 punished, and when the victim returned among us, a week later, he was not 
 only declared " chief of the mollycoddles," but received a severe thrashing
 
 400 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 report, a parcel from home, or a well-executed piece 
 holidays, when we could appear before our friends 
 Then we returned to school, " knapsacks " no longer 
 boys of twelve were 
 toughened into steel, 
 their bodies hardened, 
 their feelings of hon- 
 our stirred, and an 
 espj-it de corps aroused 
 ready for any self- 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Lesson hours were 
 very strict, and we were 
 all ambitious to reach 
 as high a place as we 
 could on the first 
 bench. Good or bad 
 reports were made of 
 us according to our 
 diligence. The indus- 
 trious were gradually 
 promoted to be second 
 and afterwards head 
 of their room or bri- 
 gade. These heads of 
 rooms and brigades, 
 eight in number, had 
 the distinction of sub- 
 alterns. There were 
 five different censure 
 classes which began 
 
 and was put in the 
 " Spanish stocks." 
 This consists in fast- 
 ening thedelinquent's 
 hands together with 
 a sledge strap or 
 pocket-handkerchief, 
 pushing them over 
 his knees, and stick- 
 ing a bat obliciuely 
 under the latter, 
 thereby rendering 
 him perfectly help- 
 less. In this condi- 
 tion he received a 
 few more hard blows, 
 with a lecture on tell- 
 ing tales and the 
 consequences ; and 
 was finally deposited 
 in a large metal 
 washing - bowl to 
 cool, till the drum 
 summoned the class. 
 The time passed 
 slowly, with occa- 
 sional alleviations in 
 the shape of a good 
 of mischief, until the 
 in our fine unifoiTns. 
 ; the worst was over ;
 
 WAR SCHOOLS.— THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 
 
 401 
 
 with the third and ended, according to the offender's conduct, in the first 
 or fifth. Any one placed in the latter was generally dismissed from the corps 
 as a sickly sheep. 
 
 Most of us found 
 easy to learn, but 
 
 It 
 to 
 some It was a trouble, 
 and the additional les- 
 sons which they re- 
 ceived in Latin or 
 French were an equal 
 torment to their teacher 
 and themselves. From 
 the sexta we rose up 
 to the tertia, by whicli 
 time our stay in the 
 preparatory corps was 
 completed. 
 
 The woes and con- 
 solations of the cadet 
 have been embodied 
 in verse by some pre- 
 cocious spirit, who 
 probably owed his in- 
 spiration to an after- 
 noon spent in the 
 " Black Angel," to 
 which he refers. The 
 woes enumerated are 
 the early rising and late going to rest, the hard bolster and cold bed-room, 
 the rude fare, poor cabbage, small rolls, hollow loaves, weak soup, tainted 
 meat, and weeds flourishing at the bottom of the water-bottles. The pickled 
 beans are said to be sweet, whereas the plums are sour, and the only 
 consolations are that none are tempted to make themselves ill by over- 
 eating, while the steward thrives and the cadets grow slim. As soon as they 
 are awake, and have slipped into their clothes, the tortures of study at the 
 black table begin, to be succeeded by prayers, which are every night as 
 well as morning. If the cadet does not manage to learn his lessons, he is 
 marked down in the class-book, and called to the front. The head of his 
 company shouts out "Half rations at dinner!" and he receives corporal 
 punishment in addition. When the following Sunday arrives, and he 
 wishes for leave of absence, he finds his name crossed out of the book, 
 and on appealing to the captain is turned out of the room. The unlucky 
 thought of obtaining pity from the major occurs to him ; but for this he is 
 sentenced to two days in the " Black Angel," the room of arrest, where he 
 sits shivering and hungry. The time seems very long, but if the worst comes 
 to the worst, it is always possible to sham illness, spite of teacher and doctor. 
 
 Our sufferings from the cold in winter were very great ; woollen stockings 
 and underclothing were unknown luxuries, and our uniform furnished but 
 a slight protection against the cold wind which blew round the elevated castle. 
 Caps were only worn on state occasions; we generally went about bareheaded, 
 and a pair of regulation woollen gloves were put on only in the depth of 
 
 winter ; we were obliged to try to warm ourselves by 
 
 and gym- 
 
 nastics. The thermometer rarely rose to 14° in the living rooms, and we had 
 scanty food. In spite of this, our greatest fun was in winter, when we all 
 helped to build a great snow fortress in the courtyard, which was stormed and 
 defended by two parties. In this, and the snowballing matches between the 
 companies, there were frequently bleeding faces, for the courtyard was covered 
 with coarse gravel, which got mixed with the snow. But such spirit and 
 obstinacy were displayed in these fights, that the masters had often hard 
 
 D D
 
 402 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 work in separating the combatants. They fought for the honour of their 
 company, as in later Ht'e they faced the deadliest fire in the battle-tield. 
 
 The sledging was less bloody, but all the merrier. There was a steep descent 
 inthecastle yard, closeto the entrance, and the wide straight hilly road, which 
 led down to the Post Office, presented a splendid course for sledging ! We 
 squatted two and two on the small, low, iron-shod sledges, clasping the board 
 firmly with our hands, and then rushed down the hill with the swiftness of 
 lightning. The one at the end guided the little conveyance with his extended 
 heels, making the sledge diverge to one side by touching the ground on the 
 other. Great skill was requisite in the management, and many came to 
 grief against the iron railings or the large stones by the road side. 
 
 Our only escape from the monotony of cadet life, the constant noise of the 
 tattoo, and the severe cold in which we had to stand sentry, was to get 
 ordered into the hospital, where quiet and warmth were to be found. The 
 cadets sometimes bought tapers for the purpose of dropping a little burning 
 wax on their bare feet so as to raise a blister, and they would then set to work 
 to bring off wax and skin together with a clothes-brush. A cadet in this 
 state would show his foot to the doctor, complaining of his boot having 
 blistered it, and would be ordered to hospital, to lie in bed for the wound 
 to heal. The only drawback to his enjoyment would be the half rations 
 ordered by the doctor. By dint of scratching the wound with his toe during 
 the night, he would make it bleed again, and so manage to prolong his stay 
 for a fortnight. 
 
 When 1 20 fresh healthy boys between the happy ages of 1 1 and 1 5 are 
 packed close together in a small space, there is an abundance of combustible 
 material, and their superabundant spirits are vented in mischief, practised 
 sometimes on each other, and sometimes on outsiders. The chief occupation 
 of the cadets in their play hours is gymnastics, these are their resource in 
 hunger, cold, or vexation. Another amusement is games at ball of various 
 
 kinds, Laufball, Rummel- 
 Ijall, Carrdball, &c., in 
 which the masters and 
 officers now and then 
 take part. Occasionally, 
 by way of diversion, some 
 " mollycoddle " is tossed 
 by the boys, who, placing 
 themselves opposite to 
 one another in two long 
 rows, cross their hands, 
 and toss the selected 
 victim high in the air, 
 amid the general jubila- 
 tion. 
 
 If a "knapsack" is 
 found inquisitive, he is 
 made to look at the stars, 
 which he is told may be 
 counted in broad daylight 
 through any kind of tube, 
 the sleeve of his coat, for 
 instance. When he seems 
 incredulous, he is placed 
 on a chair near the win- 
 dow, made to pull off his 
 coat, which is hung over 
 his head, one of the sleeves being drawn out so that he can see through it. 
 Then he is told to look patiently, but presently a jug full of water is poured 
 down, and wets him through, while he is laughed at for his credulity.
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 
 
 403 
 
 If any one sleeps in lesson time, his chair is dragged from under him, and 
 his face and fingers are smeared with ink, or a match is held to his nose. 
 Any one who is miserly and stores up eatables, a very rare occurrence, will 
 find his whole cupboard cleared out some fine day, or be treated even 
 worse. One of the cadets in our room, distributed very little of the good 
 things he received from home on his birthday, but kept them in his cupboard 
 to cat on the sly. Plans were concerted, each cadet brought up a handful 
 of salt from the dining-room, and during the afternoon one of them pre- 
 tended that his nose 
 bled, stole up to his 
 room, and stirred all 
 the salt into the large 
 pot of honey. The 
 owner soon discover- 
 ed the trick, but 
 being afraid of worse 
 befalling the honey, 
 ate it all up at once, 
 and had to be sent 
 to the hospital in 
 consequence. His 
 absence was employ- 
 ed in eating up his 
 cakes and chocolate, 
 extracting the kernels 
 from his nuts by care- 
 fully dividing the 
 shells with a knife, 
 and filling them up 
 neatly with sand and 
 
 ink before 
 
 them together again. 
 
 On his return after 
 
 four days' illness, he found some satirical verses in his cupboard and 
 
 nothing left but the horrible nuts ; tears came to his eyes and he rushed 
 
 down into the court, vowing to tell of us all, and many threats had to be 
 
 used before we could dissuade him. 
 
 Any one who proved unbearable, was shut up in an empty cupboard to 
 quiet him ; if he told tales he received hard blows and was put into the 
 stocks ; if he repeated the offence every one avoided him like the plague, 
 and made his life as miserable as possible. This was so well managed that 
 the governors hardly ever knew about it, and it was rarely that anything 
 oozed out. 
 
 Every one in the cadet corps has a nickname which is more or less appro- 
 priate. Among us there was the Sloth, who was always the last to rush 
 into the lavatory, while half asleep, with all his things hanging untidily about 
 him. He would just dip the tip of his nose into the bowl and seize the 
 towel if the eldest in the room did not keep a sharp eye on him, and, much 
 to his disgust, force him to strip and wash, when he would be assisted by 
 many a splash of water from his companions. During the lesson hour the 
 Sloth would snore or nod over an atlas, but as soon as the clatter of break- 
 fast basins was heard, he would wake up, for he was idle, stupid, and greedy, 
 and no sooner had he finished his own porridge than he would try to secure 
 scrapings from the other basins. 
 
 On the early roll being called, he was nearly certain to have lost a button, 
 to have dirty ears or fingers, or marks on his coat, but punishment failed to 
 cure him. He slept during prayers and in class. Of course he sat on the last 
 bench, and never woke up till a question was put to him, or answered unless 
 he was prompted. When parade time came, he would be reprimanded for
 
 404 
 
 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 
 untidiness and threatened with being removed to the 4th censure class on 
 the next offence, but nothing had any effect on him, until he was ordered to 
 fast the whole of that day. He would have to stand at the end of the dinner- 
 table, watching the others eat, and begging for bits of their bread on the 
 sly, till the nieat and potatoes came, when, unable any longer to restrain 
 his grief, he would groan and sob, till he was removed by order of the officer 
 of the day. 
 
 He was' the greatest trouble to the sergeant-lieutenant, always requiring 
 new clothes, as he grew out of his own about every six weeks. These clothes 
 had to be expressly made for him, as none of those on hand would fit him, 
 while the discarded ones were soiled all over with dirt and grease. At 
 Christmas he received a very bad report, was placed in the 4th censure class, 
 and had his furlough stopped. This was a hard blow, for he had been 
 dreaming of eating and sleeping to his heart's content throughout the holidays. 
 One morning, however, he vanished, and could nowhere be found, but four 
 or five days afterwards, word was received from his father of his having 
 reached home, half frozen, and nearly starved to death. The attempt to 
 humanise this animal seems to have been abandoned, for he never returned 
 
 to the corps. 
 
 The isolated holi- 
 days and festivals 
 standing out like re- 
 freshing isles in the 
 vast ocean of cadet 
 life may be headed 
 by Christmas day, 
 which brought its 
 Christmas trees, gin- 
 gerbread, bonbons, 
 and great bowls of 
 rice and currants, in 
 which we might revel. 
 But these pleasures 
 were alloyed by the 
 thought of all we were 
 missing at home. 
 Then came the King's 
 birthday, the second 
 great annual holiday, 
 when the whole corps 
 m.ustered for grand 
 parade in the court- 
 yard, dressed in their 
 new uniforms, and 
 the governor made a 
 splendid speech. 
 
 So months and 
 years passed in work 
 and play till 1 became sub-officer and eldest in the brigade, and reached the 
 4th form and ist censure class. Then came the summer's day when, dis- 
 missed by the sergeant-lieutenant with tears and parting words of advice, I 
 bade the school farewell, and started on my journey to the capital, to join the 
 corps at No. 13, Neue Fricdrichs-strasse. 
 
 The War Schools at which the advantageurs and cadets, not 
 belonging to the Selecta, gain their military instruction, are seven 
 in number, and are situate at Potsdam, Erfurt, Neisse, Engel, 
 
 Before entering one of them a 
 
 Cassel, Hanover, and Anklam.
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 405 
 
 young man must have received a good education, and served six 
 months in the ranks. The course of instruction lasts ten months, 
 and comprises tactics of all arms, manoeuvres, the defence of 
 places, the transport of troops, the science of arms and their 
 manufacture, also the theory of projectiles, fortification, topo- 
 graphy and military drawing in all their branches, instruction 
 in military regulations and the duties of the service, including 
 the whole system of military correspondence and accounts, with 
 drill, riding, fencing, and gymnastics. 
 
 No civilians are employed in these schools, at which the daily 
 routine does not materially differ from that of the cadet schools, the 
 lectures leaving abo.ut three hours' spare time every day. Disci- 
 pline is mainly secured by the inspectors who live amongst the 
 pupils. The rules and regulations are very strict, and the con- 
 duct report may affect future promotion to a considerable degree. 
 Conduct unbecoming an officer is rigidly punished, and the 
 greatest neatness of dress is enforced. Plain clothes are not 
 allowed to be worn under any circumstances. As the pupils are 
 mostly nineteen or twenty years of age, much of the main- 
 tenance of discipline rests with themselves. Duelling as a pre- 
 ventative to bullying is permitted within certain limits. The 
 senior pupils, under the presidency of an officer, form a Board of 
 Honour, by which all quarrels are investigated. The board 
 decides which of the disputants is in the wrong, and whether a 
 duel should take place. These duels are fought with swords, 
 and it rarely happens that much damage is done; after they 
 are over the disputant pronounced by the board to be in the 
 wrong is punished by the director of the school. Under these 
 circumstances a man knowing himself to be in the wrong, and 
 certain that in whatever way the contest ends he will certainly 
 be punished, often tries his very hardest to wound his adversary 
 when standing up face to face with him. 
 
 The United Artillery and Engineer School, situate at No. 74 
 Unter den Linden, was founded in 18 16. None of the students 
 live at the school, but there is a mess establishment at which 
 about 140 of them dine together, the remainder messing at an 
 adjoining restaurant. On the ground floor are the offices, the 
 officers' mess-room, a chemical laboratory, very well furnished, 
 and a number of electrical and scientific instruments used in 
 illustrating the lectures on physical science, said to be the best in 
 Berlin, after those of the University. On the first floor are the 
 lecture rooms, larger than those of the Cadetten-haus, though 
 not generally intended for classes of more than thirty students, 
 together with two large halls especially devoted to drawing, and 
 which have their walls covered with topographical designs, plans 
 of fortifications, &c. On the second floor is the students' 
 mess-room, with billiard and card rooms, and also the library, 
 the latter well supplied with German and foreign military and
 
 406 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 scientific works. Above the library are the model rooms and 
 museum, containing models of artillery carriages and fortifica- 
 tions, together with a large collection of surveying instruments. 
 
 Young men intending to join the artillery and engineers 
 receive no special education before entering the army. They 
 join their regiments as cadets or advantageurs, and after serving 
 a year, instead of the six months necessary in a line regiment, 
 proceed through the ordinary ten months' course at a war- 
 school. The reason why officers of all arms are called upon to 
 go through the same course, is partly to establish a more 
 complete sympathy between the different branches of the 
 service, and partly because it was thought unwise that young 
 men of the artillery and engineers, who had only been in service 
 a few months, should by proceeding direct to their special school 
 be left comparatively free from control in Berlin. After leaving the 
 military school and passing the officer's examination, they receive 
 a kind of provisional commission. They are officers in the army, 
 but in their own corps are merely supernumeraries, and before 
 actually becoming officers of artillery or engineers must serve with 
 their regiments two years in the former branch and one in the 
 latter, and then attend their special school for one or two years 
 respectively. The reason the artillery students spend two years 
 with their regiments is to give them a more thorough acquaint- 
 ance with their practical duties. 
 
 The course of instruction is both theoretical and practical. 
 The former comprises for both divisions the usual branches of 
 scientific military education, with certain special branches, such as 
 veterinary science for the artillery, and hydraulic construction for 
 the engineers. The practical course embraces visits to the 
 military establishments at Berlin and Spandau, laboratory opera- 
 tions, attendance at the exercise of the engineers of the guard 
 in sapping, mining, &c., tracing fieldworks, surveying, and artil- 
 lery practice. The professional examinations take place in July, 
 and those who pass join their regiments as second lieutenants. 
 In the event of a first failure a second trial is allowed, but a can- 
 didate who has twice failed is not eligible for appointment as 
 officer in a scientific corps and is transferred to the line. The 
 artillery and engineers are the only branches of the Prussian 
 service in which there are examinations for promotion. In both 
 corps first lieutenants must pass a further examination before 
 promotion to the rank of captain. These numerous examina- 
 tions render these services somewhat unpopular, and are con- 
 sidered a grievance by the officers themselves, though they are 
 in some degree made up for by better pay, subalterns receiving 
 about sixty thaler, and captains and majors about lOO thaler 
 per annum more than the holders of corresponding ranks in the 
 infantry. 
 
 The War Academy situated in the Burg-strasse, in the rear of
 
 WAR SCHOOLS, — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 407 
 
 the Schloss, was founded by General Scharnhorst in 18 10, on 
 the site of the Academie des Nobles, afterwards the Academie 
 Militaire of Friedrich the Great. There is nothing remarkable 
 about this building, the accommodation of which is on a limited 
 scale, but it contains a good library, a large collection of maps 
 and plans, a museum of models of artillery and fortifications, a 
 chemical laboratory and a cabinet of physical science well pro- 
 vided with apparatus. The War Academy, which was formerly 
 known as the War School till the institution of local war schools 
 led to its change of title, is not a staff school, for though the 
 ordinary means of obtaining a staff appointment is by passing 
 through it, such a course of instruction does not give a claim to 
 staff employment, nor is the education given exclusively intended 
 for staff officers. The general object of the institution is to 
 raise the scientific spirit of the army, while its special object is to 
 give such an education to the most talented officers of all arms 
 after they have proved themselves to be possessed of the practi- 
 cal qualifications of good regimental officers, as will fit them for 
 responsible positions of high rank and duties requiring attain- 
 ments of a higher degree than ordinary. 
 
 The course of the Academy extends over three years, and 
 admission is obtained by a competitive examination open to 
 officers of all branches of the service who have served as officers 
 for three years. The candidate must, however, produce certifi- 
 cates from his commanding officer, setting forth that he is well 
 acquainted with regimental duty and has on all occasions shown 
 himself a thoroughly practical officer, that he has the disposition 
 and abilities to profit by a high scientific education, health likely 
 to ensure his remaining in the service, strength of character and 
 firmness, and that he is not in pecuniary difficulties. The ex- 
 aminations of the candidates take place at the head-quarters of 
 the army corps to which their regiment belongs, the papers, 
 which are the same for all, being sent from Berlin. The subjects 
 are partly of a general, and partly of a professional, character, 
 and the questions are such as require not merely an effort of 
 memory to answer them, but allow the candidate to display his 
 mental capacity and power of thought. The papers are sent in 
 to the Board of Studies, and in cases of near equality the pre- 
 ference is given to candidates who have distinguished themselves 
 in the field, who, from personal qualifications, are likely to prove 
 useful members of the Academy, or who, from advanced age or 
 higher rank, would make the postponement of their admission a 
 disadvantage. The number received depends upon the vacancies. 
 
 The students are divided into three classes, one for each year, 
 and the course of instruction followed is of a very wide 
 character, embracing many subjects of a literary and scientific 
 nature that have no connection whatever with military matters. 
 The purely military subjects are of course obligatory, but a wide
 
 408 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 latitude of choice is allowed in pursuing the others, so that 
 every one is encouraged to cultivate any special talent he may 
 possess, though all are obliged to attend a cc^rtain number of 
 lectures. Care is taken that the lectures shall be thoroughly 
 comprehensive in their character. Thus the professors are in- 
 structed that those on military history shall consist of some- 
 thing more than a dry chronological account of military events, 
 with an enumeration of the changes which have taken place in 
 tactics and strategy. It is necessary they should furnish a life- 
 like description of the circumstances under which war was waged 
 at different eras, and to present a finished picture of the cha- 
 racters of any great military leaders and of the troops which 
 they commanded. In the same way it is required that the lec- 
 tures on military geography shall embrace statistics as to the 
 population, commerce, and products of different countries, with 
 the social and political circumstances of the inhabitants, their 
 education, industrial occupations, military and civil institutions — 
 in fine, "everything that is of importance for military operations, 
 as these may be affected by the general defensive powers of a 
 country." At the War Academy, as at the other military schools, 
 the testimony is, that the men who have passed through the 
 public schools, show a marked superiority over those who be- 
 longed to the cadet corps. The students on leaving receive 
 certificates of proficiency, which do not however entitle them to 
 any appointment, though they set forth the branch of the service 
 for which the holders are best qualified. 
 
 Amongst other educational establishments connected with the 
 army and situate in Berlin, are the School of Gunnery, the 
 Central Gymnastic School for training instructors in gymnastics, 
 and the School of Pyrotechny for the instruction of non-com- 
 missioned officers of artillery in laboratory duties, together with 
 the two Army Medical Schools, the Friedrich-Wilhelm Institute 
 and the Military Medical Academy, and the Military Veterinary 
 School.-^ One other military institution, the renown of which is 
 European, remains to be described, namely the establishment of 
 the " Grosser Generalstab," or Great General Staff 
 
 Outside the Victory-crowned Brandenburg Gate, within a hun- 
 dred yards of Unter den Linden, and on the north side of the 
 Thiergarten, stands the imposing block of buildings compos- 
 ing the offices ot the General Staff of the German army. In 
 advance of them on one side is KroU's establishment, and on 
 the other the Raczinsky palace and picture^ gallery, while in 
 
 ' In March 1875 the number of the inmates, both professors and teachers, 
 of the War Academy was 480 ; of the United Artillery and Engineer School, 
 548 ; of the Cadetten-haus, 789 ; of the School of Gunners, 302 ; of 
 the School of Pyrotechny, 258 ; of the Gymnastic School, 237 ; of the 
 Military Veterinary School, 184 ; and of the Friedrich-Wilhelm Institute, 
 213. The Ministry of War had 147 inmates, and the General Staff, 139, -
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 409 
 
 the centre of the Konigs-platz, in front, rises the stumpy fluted 
 Victory column, which the Berhnese have irreverently nick- 
 named " the bundle of asparagus." 
 
 The building in which the General Staff is installed has a 
 principal and two side fa9ades, enclosing a large court, with 
 ample room in the rear for the extension of the edifice, which, 
 though only occupied since 1871, is already found too small for 
 its intended purpose. Like the majority of modern public 
 buildings in Berlin, it is built of brick, with stone dressings ; it 
 is also ornamented in the prevailing style of 15erlin military 
 architecture, with helmets, eagles, laurel wreaths, and palm and 
 oak branches, and with mythological groups of bellicose aspect. 
 The establishment of the General Staff includes such officers as 
 are not employed with the different military commands, and is pre- 
 sided over by Count von Moltke. It is perfectly distinct from the 
 War Office, or that department which answers to our own Horse 
 Guards. Count von Moltke has nothing whatever to do with 
 promotions or appointments in the army, or with any patronage 
 or routine work. He is Chief of the General Staff, and, as such, 
 the Emperor's principal adviser in time of war ; but he in no 
 way controls the army. Indeed, it would be wholly impossible 
 for him to work out the great questions and problems submitted 
 to him if he did. At the offices of the General Staff information 
 of every kind is received, digested, and applied to the steady 
 improvement of the military system ; here plans are prepared 
 for offensive and defensive campaigns against every nation in 
 Europe ; here the brightest wits and hardest workers of the 
 army come together and work out the grand principles of war, 
 and here also they are being trained to become first-rate Generals, 
 capable of handling, not tens of thousands only, but hundreds of 
 thousands of men. " In this vast factory," says M. Victor Tissot, 
 " war is prepared just like some chemical product ; within these 
 walls all the various directing strings that regulate the German 
 army are made to meet in order to be under the control of one 
 master-hand, so that the troops in fact scarcely march a step, 
 explode a cartridge, or fire a cannon shot without orders from 
 here, while not so much as a military gaiter button can be 
 sewn on anywhere in Europe without a note being taken 
 of it." 
 
 Attached to the General Staff is the Accessory Staff, com- 
 posed of officers employed in the strictly scientific work allotted 
 to this department, their appointments being of a permanent 
 nature; these officers, as a , rule, do not participate in the ad- 
 vantage of rapid promotion enjoyed by the officers belonging to 
 the active staffs 
 
 Three sections of the General Staff are charged with study- 
 ing the strength, organization, recruiting, equipment, drill, and 
 
 ^ Accoimt of the Prussian Staff, by Colonel Walker, C.B. 
 
 E E
 
 4IO BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 distribution of foreign armies, and with keeping a minute account 
 of their effective force and their armaments, of the time neces- 
 sary for their mobilization and their concentration on the different 
 points of the frontier, together with their systems of reinforcement 
 and reserve. Their artillery strength is carefully recorded, and 
 scarcely a cartridge or a shell enters their arsenals without being 
 noted. The first section occupies itself with the armies of the 
 East — namely, those of Austria, Russia, Sweden and Norway, 
 Denmark, Turkey, Greece, and Asia ; the second with the armies 
 of middle Europe, including those of Prussia and Germany — 
 with particulars of their fortresses, magazines, forts, and inland 
 communication — and likewise those of Italy and Switzerland. 
 The third section charges itself with the armies of the West, 
 comprising those of France, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, 
 Spain, Portugal, and the United States. The colonies are in all 
 instances noted under the section to which the mother country 
 belongs. 
 
 There is a sub-section, under the direction of Colonel von 
 Branderstein, charged with collecting information respecting 
 foreign railways, both from a strategical point of view and in 
 reference to the transport of troops and materiel. In the case 
 of an anticipated war, this section would have to draw up before- 
 hand a tableau of the halting-places in the particular foreign 
 country, regulated by the resources and wealth of the different 
 towns and districts. Certain officers are attached permanently to 
 this sub-section, who have not only to make themselves theoreti- 
 cally masters of their subject, but by travelling on the various 
 foreign lines of railway have to acquire practical acquaintance 
 with their transport capabilities in all their details. With a view 
 moreover of diffusing this class of knowledge as widely as possible, 
 ail the officers of the staff are required to attend a six weeks' 
 course of study with this sub-section. 
 
 The trigonometrical and topographical sections employ a 
 legion of geographical engineers, draughtsmen, engravers, &c., 
 and the surveys of special localities made by the former are 
 afterwards verified by the troops between the 1st of May and 
 the 1st of October in each year. To the Jatter section a photo- 
 graphic workroom and lithographic printing-office, under the 
 direction of Major Regelz, have recently been annexed. The 
 geographical-statistical section collects and utilizes information, 
 and for this purpose is in constant communication with the re- 
 maining sections. It also charges itself with the scientific duties 
 connected with the map collection of the General Staff, one room 
 devoted to which contains maps on a large scale, relating to all 
 the countries in the world, arranged in the most perfect order. 
 
 Not the least important section of the General Staff is that of 
 military history, directed by Colonel Count von Wartensleben, 
 under the control of Count von Moltkc. It is this section which
 
 WAR SCHOOLS. — THE GREAT GENERAL STAFF. 4I I 
 
 is engaged in preparing the history of the war of 1870 and 1871. 
 In the narrow and dark vestibule leading to its offices, the rare 
 military library which the Germans carried off from Metz is 
 installed. To the right an iron door conducts to a vaulted apart- 
 ment, wherein are deposited the national war archives, dating 
 from the epoch of the Elector Johann Sigismund. Orders, reports, 
 instructions, everything has been preserved in no fewer than five- 
 and-twenty thousand heavy folios, all classed and divided into 
 the different epochs, the principal being the Seven Years' War, 
 the War of Deliverance (1813-15), and the war of 1870-71. 
 The Danish War and the campaigns against Austria and the 
 French Republic of 1793 likewise furnish a vast number of 
 documents. 
 
 The rooms where the official history of the late war was being 
 prepared were encumbered with maps, plans, despatches, bulletins, 
 reports, notes, extracts, and French, English, German, Russian, 
 and American books and newspapers. " These are by no means 
 the whole of the materials which you see here," remarked the 
 officer who accompanied us. " Altogether, there is little short of 
 a million documents of one kind or another ; " and he opened the 
 doors of various rooms filled with piles of orders, despatches, 
 and other papers, reaching to the ceiling. 
 
 The staff of this section, it appears, not only occupies itself 
 with subjects of intermediate and recent .interest, but with the 
 collection and arrangement of papers referring to wars of former 
 times ; and it is said there is scarcely a European battle of any 
 importance of which a plan is not to be found in this repository. 
 The library attached to it is, moreover, rich in works on military 
 history, tactics, geography, and military science generally, in all 
 the languages of Europe. 
 
 In addition to the duties already enumerated, the General Staff 
 occupies itself with the preparation of printed reports on foreign 
 armies for distribution to staff officers not employed upon the 
 establishment. It also undertakes the training of officers for 
 Staff purposes, to which end young officers who have passed the 
 prescribed three years at the Military Academy are attached for 
 a year to the different sections. Here they are employed in 
 drawing up reports on strategical and tactical questions, critical 
 reports on the military events of past eras, descriptions of the 
 ground embraced in military operations, and of the military 
 organization of foreign countries. Whenever the foregoing 
 essays appear to be of special value, they are brought beneath 
 the notice of the Chief of the Staffi 
 
 The officers of the General Staff go on military tours of in- 
 struction, some of these being personally conducted by Count 
 von Moltke, when the theatre of operations and certain conditions 
 by which the latter are likely to be influenced are indicated, a 
 suppositious strength is given to two contending armies whose 
 
 E E 2
 
 412 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 depots and means of reinforcement are clearly laid down, while 
 the influence likely to be exerted by the movements of other 
 armies or bodies of troops on their flanks are duly taken into 
 calculation. According to these data, the senior officers present 
 form their plans of manoeuvre, employing their juniors in the 
 preparation of all the subordinate arrangements, the movement 
 of the troops, the selection of positions for attack or defence, the 
 arrangements for supply, and for retaining a communication with 
 the base. All these measures are carried out on the spot, and 
 daily reports are made to the superintending officer, accompanied 
 when necessary with such rough sketches as are usually indicated 
 during the progress of a campaign. Officers of the General Staff 
 are moreover detached to attend the annual corps manoeuvres, 
 as well as those taking place in foreign countries, and are also 
 appointed to follow the active campaigns of friendly nations and 
 allies.^ 
 
 The great value of the institution of the General Staff is due 
 to the composition of its official corps, and to the thorough exami- 
 nation to which Count von Moltke subjects even the man whom 
 he considers worthy of a prominent position in this body of picked 
 men. The officer who thinks himself fitted to enter the General 
 Staff must be not only blameless in his military capacity, but 
 possessed of a large store of positive knowledge. Moreover, 
 he has to learn by degrees every branch of the science of war in 
 these various offices, and to show distinct activity in all of them 
 before he will be promoted a single step. And between times he 
 is ordered on active service to give proof of his capacity in com- 
 manding a battalion or a regiment. There is no patronage or 
 nepotism here ; only the best man is advanced. Throughout 
 the army the most capable men are sent to this High School of 
 the Science of War, while the least valuable are weeded out again 
 and transferred to ordinary military service. 
 
 By means like these Prussia has succeeded in gaining the best 
 instructed body of officers in Europe, and the dite of the army 
 in her General Staff. There is no military qualification which 
 each of its members does not possess in a high degree. He 
 must be one of the best riders and most energetic officers in the 
 service ; a thorough historian, topographer and mathematician, 
 artilleryman and pioneer, tactician and strategist ; a general able 
 and ready to undertake the command of a division of the army, 
 and, if not as generalissimo, yet independently and successfully 
 to carry out his superior's plan and his own part in it. 
 
 ^ Account of the Prussian Staff, by General Walker, C. B.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 WILIIELM I. KONIG AND KAISER. 
 {Resumed from page 261.) 
 
 On the 22nd March, 1877, the celebration of the Emperor's 
 eightieth birthday was marked by an absolute flood of congra- 
 tulatory addresses and gifts ; conspicuous amongst the latter 
 being a gigantic oil-painting by Werner, representing the pro- 
 clamation of the German Empire at Versailles, which was 
 personally presented on behalf of the minor sovereigns by the 
 King of Saxony, and several of the German Grand Dukes. Of 
 course a due return was made in the shape of titles and crosses. 
 Bismarck, already loaded with all the civil and military digni- 
 ties in the country, was created, for want of something else, 
 Head-ranger of Pomerania, and Dr. Lauer, physician in 
 ordinary, was made a privy councillor, according to an old 
 promise, the Kaiser having often jestingly complained of Lauer 
 curtailing some of the delicacies of the Imperial table, in order 
 to make his patient an octogenarian, and himself in conse- 
 quence an Excellency. 
 
 Thanks to the constitution given him by nature and thus 
 cared for by Lauer, the Emperor was able, the following year, 
 to support a shock to the system which would very likely have 
 proved fatal to a weaker man. On the nth of May, as he and 
 his daughter, the Grand Duchess of Baden, were returning from 
 a drive in an open caleche along the Linden, a pistol-shot was 
 discharged at him from the side pavement nearly opposite the 
 Russian Embassy, by a socialist tin-smith named Hodel. The 
 Grand Duchess swooned away, but the old veteran had smelt 
 powder too often to feel much alarm, and at once ordered his 
 coachman to pull up and his chasseur to get down and secure 
 the would-be assassin. Perceiving that he had missed his aim 
 the latter ran to the opposite side of the road, crouched down and 
 fired a second time at the Emperor, who, to show the passers-by 
 that he was unhurt, stood up in the carriage. The second bullet 
 missed its mark, like the first, and Hodel took to flight after dis- 
 charging a couple more shots at the people near at hand, but was 
 pursued and captured opposite the end of Schadow-strasse by 
 several gentlemen, one of whom, Herr Kohler, died two days 
 afterwards through an internal injury received during the struggle.
 
 414 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The antecedents and the fate of Hodel will be found narrated in 
 the chapter on German Socialism, 
 
 On his arrival at] the palace, where there soon poured in a flood 
 of congratulatory telegrams from all parts of the world, the 
 Emperor received the princes, princesses, ambassadors, minis- 
 ters, generals, and high functionaries then in Berlin. After a 
 family dinner he visited, in company with the Grand Duchess of 
 Baden, both the Opera and the Schauspiel-haus, where an enthu- 
 siastic reception awaited him, the audience in cither instance 
 rising to their feet, and, after a burst of applause, singing the 
 national hymn. As the Kaiser drove to and from the theatres 
 he was greeted with jubilant cheering by the excited multitude 
 assembled in the Linden, whilst in many of the principal streets 
 flags were displayed and houses illuminated in gratification at 
 his providential escape. 
 
 A yet more serious and deadly trial was, however, in store for 
 the aged monarch. With undismayed confidence in the afi"ec- 
 tion of the Berlinese, he continued to drive out without taking 
 any extra precautions which Hodel's attempt might have sug- 
 gested. This sense of security was taken advantage of by an- 
 other socialist of higher standing, a doctor of philosophy named 
 Nobiling. After a lengthy preliminary study of the most suit- 
 able method of accomplishing his purpose, he installed himself 
 in a room of the house, No. i8, overlooking the Linden, and 
 bided his time. On Sunday, the 2nd of June, he determined to 
 carry out his plan, and having written and laid in a prominent 
 position on his writing table a memorandum to the effect that he 
 owed some money to his landlady and his washerwoman, whom 
 he requested might be paid out of a sum of seven pounds odd 
 stowed away in the table-drawer, he placed his double-barrelled 
 gun and revolver near the window and watched for the passage 
 of the Emperor. At about 2 p.m. the latter passed down the 
 Linden in an open carriage as usual, and Nobiling fired at him. 
 The gun had been loaded with heavy charges of small shot, as 
 being more certain to hit a rapidly moving object at the range 
 than a bullet. A correspondent writing at the time observed 
 that— 
 
 " Nobiling must have covered the Emperor as the latter drove by the 
 Kaiser-gallerie, and became visible to him, clear of the chasseur sitting on 
 the box — and therefore between Nobiling and the Emperor — and have kept 
 the muzzle of his piece laid dead on his Majesty's head until the carriage had 
 arrived at a spot directly fronting the window at which he sate with levelled 
 gun. Then he fired — ^just as the Kaiser was returning some respectful greet- 
 ing from the iroitoir — watched the effect of his shot, which he saw could not 
 have been mortal, as the Emperor partly rose and lifted his hand to his face 
 with some vivacity. The carriage stopped and was being turned by his 
 Majesty's orders when Dr. Nobiling took aim a second time, somewhat 
 lower than before, and fired again, directing his whole charge at the Emperor's 
 left side, probably in the hope of attaining the very centre of vitality. Thirty 
 seconds later his room door was burst in, and he had hardly time to shoot
 
 APPENDIX. 415 
 
 down the foremost of his assailants when he was seized by three powerful, 
 furious men, who, however, failed to disarm him before he had twice dis- 
 charged his still smoking revolver into his own head. Pinioned, bleeding 
 from mortal wounds, his brain oozing from his fractured skull, he did not for 
 a moment lose his self-command or coolness, though execrations were being 
 yelled at him from a score of mouths, and he knew himself to be the accursed 
 of his countrymen.'. Questioned, he avowed his deed, justifying it by his con- 
 victions, and, whilst admitting that he had accomplices, steadfastly refused 
 to denounce them." 
 
 Nobiling shortly afterwards became insensible, and expired 
 rather more than three months later from his self-inflicted wounds, 
 without having once recovered consciousness, so that no con- 
 fession was extracted from him. 
 
 Instead of the Kaiser escaping scathless as on the occasion 
 of Hodel's attempt, he was severely wounded in both arms and 
 in the right leg, while his cheek was pitted with shot. He bled 
 profusely from the face, to the consternation of the crowd, who 
 at first fancied he was dead. He was at once conveyed to the 
 palace and placed upon a camp bed, temporarily installed in the 
 council chamber, so as to afford greater convenience for the 
 surgical operations needed. Both arms having been injured and 
 requiring to be kept in bandages, an Imperial decree was drawn 
 up and issued, investing the Crown Prince with the duty of re- 
 presenting his father in the current business of government, and 
 of signing all documents requiring the royal sign-manual. As 
 soon as sufficiently recovered to bear the journey, the Emperor 
 was moved to Babelsberg, and thence to Toplitz and Gastein. 
 Subsequently he visited Cassel, Baden, and Wiesbaden. 
 
 On the 5th of December the Kaiser returned to Berlin, where 
 he was greeted with an enthusiasm rivalling that displayed on 
 his triumphal entry after the Franco-German war. The city 
 had been gaily bedecked in honour of his return, the route taken 
 from the Potsdam station to the palace being a continuous 
 avenue of Venetian masts entwined with evergreens and con- 
 nected with verdant garlands and adorned with flags and 
 pennons in the national colours. In the Potsdamer-platz was a 
 huge obelisk, having its pedestal guarded by enormous bronze 
 eagles, and supporting on its base facing the station two colossal 
 angels, bidding the Kaiser hail and welcome. Outside the 
 Brandenburg Gate was a double half-circle of pyramidal con- 
 structions in evergreens thirty feet high, resembling gigantic 
 Christmas-trees — the gate itself being bound with evergreens and 
 garlands and decorated with the Hohenzollern and Branden- 
 burg escutcheons. 
 
 At the entrance to the Linden there rose a magnificent trium- 
 phal arch one hundred feet high, and in the centre of the Pariser- 
 platz was St. George overcoming the dragon, with allegorical 
 figures of Germania and Borussia on each side. At the various 
 breaks in the Linden were enormous triumphal arches similar
 
 4l6 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 to that erected in the Pariscr-platz, and at the extremity of this 
 famous avenue, down which the Kaiser had last been borne 
 faint and bleeding from the assassin's shot, was a colossal figure, 
 symbolical of Prussia crushing under her foot the typical Social 
 Democrat and stretching both arms as if to welcome the Em- 
 peror, her eyes being raised as though she were offering a nation's 
 prayer for the sovereign's health and welfare. 
 
 At noon precisely, the Imperial train arrived at the Potsdam 
 station, the Emperor having already officially resumed the reins 
 of government at Gross Kreuz, where the Crown Prince had met 
 him. On alighting, he entered the waiting-room which had been 
 prepared for him and shook hands with Ilerr von Forckenbcck, 
 the chief burgomaster of Berlin, and then addressing himself to 
 the ministers, generals, and other dignitaries present, he said it 
 was with mixed feelings that he returned to the capital. With 
 the joy he experienced at the reception accorded to him and at 
 the various signs of devotion to himself and his Plouse, there was 
 mingled a feeling of pain at the recollection of what he had had 
 to endure, for his heart had bled more than his wounds. He would, 
 however, willingly bear anything, and would be glad to think he 
 had shed his blood, if he could feel the conviction that it would be 
 for the good of the country and the welfare of those of his people 
 who had been led astray. 
 
 The Emperor and Empress took their places in an open 
 landau drawn by six coal-black stallions, and with twenty-two 
 state carriages, in which were the members of the royal family 
 and their suites, following them, they proceeded at a walking 
 pace towards the palace. The route was lined by a crowd 
 estimated at half a million people, in addition to those blocking 
 the windows and covering the housetops, the line being kept by 
 the police and by a large number of students from the various 
 colleges and technical schools of the capital aided by some 
 trades' guilds and associations. As the Emperor passed between 
 their serried ranks, the mounted standard-bearers dressed in velvet 
 and gold lowered their banners to the strains of the national 
 hymn, and the students wheeling into line closed in the rear of 
 the procession and marched in close column with swords drawn 
 and flags flying. 
 
 " There were," remarks an eye-witness of the scene, " no symp- 
 toms of exuberant exultation, no manifestations of high spirit or 
 excitement. To me it seemed an anxious and somewhat gravely 
 preoccupied crowd. Only as the Emperor passed in safety along, 
 did each section of the immense multitude break out into a 
 passionate cry of welcome, which sounded quite as suggestive 
 and significant of mental relief as of glad jubilation. Peals of 
 bells, salvoes of cannon, and storms of stentorian cheering hailed 
 the sovereign's return with such convincing clamour, that the 
 grave expression upon his countenance when he arrived speedily
 
 APPENDIX. 417 
 
 vanished, and was soon replaced by the old kindly and benevo- 
 lent smile familiar to every Berliner. He incessantly acknow- 
 ledged the hearty greetings of the populace, and every now and 
 then, as he recognized some old and familiar friend at a balcony 
 or before a window, he waved his hand in gay salutation." On 
 the Sunday following there were thanksgiving services at all the 
 churches in Berlin, the P2mperor, the Empress and the various 
 members of the royal family being present at the cathedral. 
 
 The "Golden Wedding" of the Emperor and Empress was 
 celebrated with great pomp and magnificence at Berlin on the 
 nth July, 1S79. There was an open-air concert on the Don- 
 hofsplatz in the morning, and at noon the Kaiser and his Im- 
 perial Consort left their palace on the Linden and proceeded 
 through streets lined with dense masses of spectators to the 
 Schloss. In the chapel, which was crowded with members of 
 all the royal families allied to the Hohenzollerns, including 
 those of England, Russia, Holland, Saxony, and Bavaria, the 
 high military and civil functionaries of the Empire and of the 
 Kingdom, the diplomatic body, the representatives of the legis- 
 lature and the federal council, &c., the venerable pair were 
 formally rc-united to each other in the bonds of matrimony by 
 the Rev. Dr. Kogel. They then adjourned to the Weiss-saal, 
 where what is known as a " Defilircour " was held. The Emperor, 
 who had been suffering from an injury to the leg due to a fall in 
 his apartment a few days before, stood up in front of the throne 
 to receive the congratulations proffered by the diplomatic body 
 as they filed past him in succession, and then resumed his seat. 
 Prince Bismarck at the head of the federal council. Count von 
 Moltke with an attendant cohort of marshals and generals, and 
 the deputations from the Reichstag, the Landtag, the different 
 Prussian provinces, the chief towns, the universities, &c., then 
 in turn expressed their good wishes, and after this lengthy 
 ceremony had come to an end the Emperor and Empress were 
 driven home by a circuitous route with the view of gratifying 
 the large crowds which had assembled in the gaily-decorated 
 streets. Bells were ringing and cannon booming throughout 
 the day, the close of which was marked by a brilliant illumi- 
 nation of the city and a grand gala performance at the Opcrn- 
 haus. 
 
 SCIONS OF THE HOUSE OF HOHENZOLLERN. 
 
 {Continued from page 272.) 
 
 Princes and princesses are not exempt from the ordinary con- 
 tingencies of human existence. Since the early portion of this 
 volume was written several twigs have been lopped off the 
 Hohenzollern tree, but on the other hand, there are shoots which
 
 41 8 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMriRE. 
 
 have budded into orange-blossoms, and have either become, or 
 promise to become, fruitful. Death has laid his hand upon 
 Prince Heinrich Wilhclm Adalbert of Prussia, the Emperor's 
 youngest brother and the High Admiral of the Prussian Navy, 
 who died on the 6th of June, 1873, and whose obsequies were 
 solemnized with much pomp and ceremony. His morganatic 
 widow, Frau Theresa von Parnim, better known as Theresa 
 Elsler, expired on the 19th November, 1878, at Meran. Further, 
 the 1 8th of January, 1877, witnessed the decease of Princess Carl 
 of Prussia, the grand-daughter of Goethe's patron, the Grand 
 Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar, and the mother of the Red 
 Prince Friedrich Carl. 
 
 The Prussian court newsman, if such functionary there be, has 
 had, however, happily more to do in chronicling wedding festivities 
 than funeral solemnities. Again grave statesmen " have pain- 
 fully gyrated through the intricacies of the torch dance ; arch- 
 chamberlains, glittering like Brazilian beetles, have meandered 
 past royal brides and bridegrooms, waving aloft huge guttering 
 flambeaux, and blandly smiling as they distributed splashes of 
 molten wax upon the gorgeous habiliments of their fellow per- 
 formers. Bridal garters, or rather the gold-and-silver embroi- 
 dered ribands symbolical of those concealed ligatures, have been 
 distributed to the wedding-guests of royalty by hundreds and 
 hundreds of yards ; and Court photographers have found their 
 incomes considerably increased by an extraordinary demand on 
 the part of the public for counterfeit presentments of Royal and 
 Serene betrothed and wedded couples." 
 
 On the 1 8th of February, 1878, a twofold marriage was cele- 
 brated in the Schloss chapel, by the Rev. Dr. Kogel, the court 
 chaplain. Princess Charlotte, the eldest daughter of the Crown 
 Prince, was united to Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, eldest 
 son of the reigning Duke, George II., and captain in the Prussian 
 foot guards, and her cousin, Princess Elisabeth, second daughter 
 of Prince Friedrich Carl, to the Grand Duke George of Olden- 
 burg, in presence of the King and Queen of the Belgians, the 
 Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Connaught. There was a 
 supper in the Ritter-saal, and a " Cour," as it is termed, in the 
 Weiss-saal, at which the orthodox Fackeltanz, or torch-light 
 procession of ministers already described, was duly executed. 
 The Reichs-Kanzlcr showed his superiority to all sublunary things, 
 even to the iron fetters of Prussian court etiquette, by neglecting 
 to join in this part of the ceremony, but his colleagues had to 
 make no less than two-and-twenty circuits of the extensive hall 
 before they were suffered to enjoy their much-needed repose. 
 
 On August 24, 1878, similar festivities took place at the some- 
 what hurried'ly arranged union of the Princess Marie, eldest 
 daughter of Prince Friedrich Carl, with Prince Henry of the 
 Netherlands, brother and heir presumptive of the King of Holland,
 
 APPENDIX. 419 
 
 a union unhappily terminated by the death of the bridegroom 
 within six months of its celebration. The Red Prince had an 
 opportunity of judging whether our English method of conduct- 
 ing such ceremonies was preferable when he was present at the 
 wedding of his third daughter, Princess Luisa Margaretha, to the 
 Duke of Connaught in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on the 13th 
 March, 1879. On this occasion, despite the known partiality of 
 the Court for everything German, the Earl of Beaconsfield, the 
 Marquis of Salisbury, Sir Stafford Northcote, and Mr. W. H. 
 Smith were not called upon to execute any torch-dances for the 
 edification of the guests. A gloom was subsequently cast over 
 the rejoicings following upon this union by the untimely 
 death of Prince Waldemar, third son of the Crown Prince, 
 who expired suddenly from heart disease at Berlin a fortnight 
 afterwards. 
 
 REICHS-KANZLER VON BISMARCK. 
 
 {Continued from page 301.) 
 
 On various occasions during the last year or two, Prince Bis- 
 marck has indulged in his favourite cry of " Wolf," or " Resigna- 
 tion," for it really amounts to the same thing. In April, 1877, he 
 tendered his resignation, on the plea that von Stosch, the naval 
 minister, had granted to the Reichstag a reduction in the esti- 
 mates refused to himself Of course he was prevailed upon to 
 continue in office, and received the usual sop of leave of absence 
 on account of ill-health. Of this he profited to make his cus- 
 tomary retreat to Varzin, and in the ensuing November had his 
 study at this Pomeranian hermitage connected with the Foreign 
 Office at Berlin by means of a telephone. His real grievance 
 seemed to lie in the particularism of the Prussian Government, 
 as distinct from the German Chancellerie, cabinets in Prussia not 
 being responsible, but only individual ministers, and these owing 
 their responsibility, not to the premier, but to the sovereign alone. 
 What the Chancellor really wanted was Imperial instead of Prus- 
 sian ministers, and these responsible to himself. Accordingly a 
 bill was introduced in the Reichstag with this object, and also 
 empowering the Chancellor to authorise other functionaries to 
 act in his place in case of need. It having passed by a large 
 majority, Camphausen, the Prussian Finance Minister, hitherto 
 dependent as such upon his sovereign alone, and imbued with 
 the traditional spirit of the Prussian bureaucracy, resigned, and 
 was succeeded by Herr Hobrecht. 
 
 A notable change has taken place of late in Prince Bismarck's 
 personal appearance, through his allowing his beard to grow, per- 
 haps to conceal in some degree the traces of the illnesses from 
 which he suffers. His shadow, however, does not seem to have
 
 420 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 grown less, for in August, 1878, he was found to weigh 243 lbs., 
 which is in excess of the weicrht of "the unfortunate nobleman " 
 in retirement at Dartmoor. The Chancellor's old epigrammatic 
 smartness occasionally cropped up during the Russo-Turkish 
 War, though his remarks were frequently more pointed than 
 accurate. One of his happiest mots was in relation to the antici- 
 pated outbreak of war between England and Russia, which he 
 suggested would be a battle between a whale and an elephant. 
 In his long expected speech on the Russian demands on 
 Turkey in February, 1878, he observed that if it were a serious 
 question about men-of-war being allowed to pass the Dardanelles 
 in time of war, it was in his opinion a much more important 
 matter that merchantmen should pass in time of peace. And 
 alluding to the state of feeling between Austria and Russia, he 
 said that Germany wished to mediate between them, but did 
 not want to put forward a programme of her own. Her ambi- 
 tion was confined to the modest task of a broker who settled 
 a bargain between two parties. 
 
 One of the most important public positions in which the Reichs- 
 Kanzler has ever posed was as president of the Congress for the 
 settlement of the Eastern Question, which assembled at Berlin 
 in June, 1878. The Congress met at the Radzivill Palace, 
 recently purchased by the German Government and assigned to 
 the Prince as his official residence. It is an old-fashioned struc- 
 ture in the later style of the i8th century, and occupies three 
 sides of a quadrangle, having a paved court with a garden in 
 front. The large windows of the central section betoken halls 
 of noble proportions; the low wings indicate indifference to the 
 economical use of space, whilst the obsolete architecture of the 
 edifice and the time-worn discoloured tiles of its roof combine 
 with the new pointing of the walls to exhibit antiquity in a care- 
 ful state of repair. A wide hall and spacious staircase lead to 
 the central circular saloon with its ceiling decorated with the 
 escutcheons of the v^arious German States, in which the plenipo- 
 tentiaries of the various powers took their seats in alphabetical 
 order round a semicircular table. Close to the saloon is the 
 Prince's study, and a reception room furnished in oriental taste, 
 which, with several adjoining apartments, served as bureaux for 
 the Congress. With the actual work of the latter we have 
 nothing to do ; still allusion may be made to a melodramatic 
 incident that preceded its opening, and excited much attention 
 in Berlin at the time. On the occasion of a visit which Prince 
 Gortchakoff paid to Prince Bismarck here, the Chancellor's in- 
 separable companion, the huge Danish dog known as the Reichs- 
 hund, or " Dog of the Empire," who had never been guilty of 
 any such ill-mannered act before, suddenly '•' pinned " the Russian 
 diplomatist in the most effective fashion, and was only dragged 
 off him by the utmost exertion of his master's Herculean strength.
 
 APPENDIX. 421 
 
 On November 6th, 1878, the Chancellor's only daughter, the 
 Countess Maria von Bismarck, was married to Count Kuno von 
 Rantzan, a scion of an ancient Schleswig-Holstein family. The 
 ceremony was performed at Prince Bismarck's official residence 
 in the great hall in which the Congress had held its sittings, an 
 altar being erected there surrounded with orange and myrtle 
 trees. The Crown Prince and Princess and a small number of 
 intimate friends were alone present. 
 
 The Chancellor continues to give the tribunals plenty of work 
 with respect to offences against himself and his dignity. In 
 March, 1878, two authors and two publishers were sentenced in 
 continnaciuin, at Mainz, to long terms of imprisonment for " high 
 treason and insult against the Chancellor," in writing and issuing 
 certain works. The authors were German subjects, but one of 
 the publishers was a Swiss and the other a Frenchman, having an 
 establishment in Switzerland, in which country both the offend- 
 ing books were published. Nevertheless the court included them 
 in its judgment, as if the German Emperor and his Chancellor, 
 like his Roman prototype, claimed supreme jurisdiction over the 
 whole of Europe. The Chancellor himself insists on immunity 
 from all judicial troubles. In September, 1878, Baron Loe, ex- 
 Secretary of Legation, was accused before the Supreme Court 
 of Justice of Berlin of libelling Prince Bismarck by maintaining 
 that the latter's statement to the Emperor to the effect that the 
 British Cabinet had refused to receive Count Arnim as am- 
 bassador on account of his lying propensities, was a slander 
 disproved by both Lord Granville and Mr. Gladstone. The 
 Baron demanded that Prince Bismarck should be summoned as a 
 witness, and the Court consented ; but the Chancellor objecting 
 no doubt to the cross-examination that was in prospect, pro- 
 tested that as a high imperial functionary he could not be so 
 summoned, and the complaisant Court accepted the plea and 
 condemned the unlucky Baron to a year's imprisonment. 
 
 An ingenious Frenchman has been regarding the multifarious 
 prosecutions which are annually instituted for the protection of 
 the Imperial Chancellor and his dignity from a novel and highly 
 matter-of-fact point of view. He points out that in 1872 there 
 were 5,960 people tried for offences against the Prince, of whom 
 no less than 5,924 were found guilty. Their aggregate sentences 
 amounted to 993 years' imprisonment, and he calculates that the 
 maintenance of these offenders in prison will cost the country 
 some 54,000/., a large amount for the Chancellor to saddle the 
 Budget with for the mere gratification of his personal feelings. 
 
 Considerable sensation was created not only in Berlin, but 
 
 throughout Europe, in the autumn of 1878, by the publication 
 
 of a book entitled, Prince Bismarck and his People during tlie 
 
 War of iZjQ). The author was a certain Dr. Moritz Busch, a 
 
 native of Dresden. Educated at Leipzig, he took part in the
 
 422 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 revolutionary movement of 1848, fled to the United States, 
 where he became pastor to a free-thinking German congregation, 
 returned to Europe in 1856 and entered the service of the 
 Austrian Lloyd till a general amnesty opened his native country 
 again to him. Here he became in turn editor of the Grenzbote 
 of Leipzig, and salaried literary defender of the hereditary rights 
 of the Duke of Augustenburg to the duchies of Schleswig- 
 Holstein. The ducal liberality being exhausted, Busch turned 
 round on his quondam patron, abused him most heartily, and 
 enrolled himself as a writer-up of the Prussian cause and a 
 recipient of the Reptile, or Guelph Fund. Being a tolerable 
 linguist, this particular " Reptile " was selected to accompany 
 Bismarck on the French campaign, to post him up in any im- 
 portant utterances of the press,' and keep the latter apprised of 
 the progress of the war. Busch profited by his position to note 
 down all the sayings and doings of the Chancellor with which he 
 became acquainted, prying into his chief's most private affairs 
 whenever he got the chance, and giving the public the result of 
 all he saw and heard in the book in question. Having been 
 thrust out from the Chancellor's staff, he commenced for the 
 Gartenlmibe a series of articles based on his experience ; but 
 these, though ridiculously personal, were harmless, and were 
 discontinued at the instance of the editor, who reproved their 
 author for " writing as a lackey." Seeing he was on the wrong 
 tack, Busch, some time later, produced his book, which had the 
 effect of a bombshell upon the upper ranks of Prussian society, 
 being crammed with the most scathing criticisms alleged to 
 have been uttered by Bismarck on every dignitary, living or 
 dead, with whom he has come in contact. Napoleon the Third 
 was pronounced to be — 
 
 " Stupid and sentimental — much more good-natured than is generally be- 
 lieved, and far less of the wiseacre than people have taken him for. What- 
 ever may be thought of the Coup d Etat, he is really good-natured, full of 
 feeling, and even sentimental; as to intelligence and knowledge (IVt'sseu), he 
 has but little of either. He is particularly badly off with respect to geography, 
 although he was brought up and went to school in Germany ; he lived, more- 
 over, in all manner of fantastic imaginations. His acquirements are of that 
 sort that he would certainly not be able to pass our examination for the post 
 of referendary. I knew this long ago, but nobody believed me. He has not the 
 least idea how matters stand with us. When I was sent as Minister to Paris I 
 had a long conversation with him in 1S62. It was then his opinion that we 
 should not last long — that there would be an hneiite in Berlin and a revolu- 
 tion throughout the whole country, and that if a plebiscitum were held the 
 King would find everybody against him. I told him then that our people were 
 no barricade-builders, and that in Prussia nobody but Kings made revolutions; 
 that if the King only chose to endure the strain then existing for three or 
 four years he would win the game ; that if his majesty did not get weary of 
 the whole business, and did not give me up, I should not fall ; and that if he 
 even then appealed to the people, and allowed them to vote, nine-tenths of 
 them would be in his favour. The Emperor, speaking of mc at that time, 
 said, * Cc n'est pas un homme sdrieux.' I did not remind him of this when 
 we met in the weaver's cottage at Donchery ! "
 
 APPENDIX. 423 
 
 Jules Favre's deportment at Ferritbres and Versailles elicited 
 from the Chancellor some cutting irony. The circumstance of 
 his weeping during the negotiations having been broached, Bis- 
 marck remarked : — 
 
 " True ; he certainly looked like it ; but when I watched him more closely, 
 I came to the conclusion that he had not squeezed out a single tear. He 
 probably thought he could work upon me by a theatrical performance, as the 
 Paris advocates do upon their audiences ; and I am positively convinced that 
 at Fcrritires he had painted his face white — especially the second time that he 
 came to see me there. That morning he was of a much greyer tint than before, 
 in order to play the part of one overcome by grief and in deep suffering. Per- 
 haps he may really have felt something, but he ought to have known that 
 explosions of feeling are not appropriate to politics. When I mentioned 
 something about Strasburg and Metz he made a grimace, as though I had 
 been cutting a joke. I might have told him what the great furrier in Berlin 
 once said to me when I went to his shop for a fur coat, and he asked me a 
 long price for the one which best pleased me. ' You are surely joking,' I ob- 
 served. ' No,' he replied, '• nci'er in business.^ At Versailles Favre had got 
 still greyer, and stouter to boot — the latter probably on horse-flesh. He often 
 remarked to me that France was the land of freedom, whilst we were reigned 
 over by despotism. I mentioned to him that we were in want of money, and that 
 Paris would have to find some for us. He rejoined ' that we could issue a loan.' 
 I replied that we could not do that without Parliament. ' Ah ! ' he cried, 
 ' you can manage to get hold of 500 millions of francs without the Chambers ! ' 
 I answered, ' No ; not five francs !' He would not believe me ; but I told 
 him that I had lived for four years in a chronic state of war with the national 
 representatives ; but that the issue of a loan without the consent of the Diet 
 had always been the barrierwhich it had never even occurred to me to step over. 
 This appeared somewhat to shake his convictions ; he remarked that 'en 
 France on ne se generait pas ! ' and promptly returned to his theorem ' that 
 France was in possession of enormous lilDerties.' It is really uncommonly 
 funny to hear Frenchmen talk in this way. You can administer five-and- 
 twenty lashes to any Frenchman, if you will only make him a fine speech 
 about the freedom and human dignity expressed in those same lashes, making 
 the appropriate gestures to your oration ; he will forthwith persuade himself 
 that he is iioi being flogged ! " 
 
 A curious anecdote, especially if it be a true one, is related of 
 the Duke de Morny by his former diplomatic colleague at St. 
 Petersburg : — 
 
 " When Morny was appointed ambassador there, he arrived with a long 
 procession of splendid carriages, and countless trunks crammed full of laces, 
 silks, and ladies' toilettes, for which, as a foreign envoy, he had no duty to 
 pay. Every single servant had his own carriage, every secretary and attachd 
 at least two, and he himself five or six. Two days after his arrival he sold 
 the whole lot by auction— carriages, lace, fashionable costumes and all. The 
 profits by this transaction were enormous. He had no conscience whatso- 
 ever, but he was really a charming person ." 
 
 Thiers was described by Bismarck as — 
 
 " A wide-awake, amiable man, witty and intelligent, but without a trace of 
 a diplomatist— too sentimental for that business ! His is a higher nature, 
 doubtless, than Favre's. But he is not fit to be a negotiator : no, not to be 
 a horse-chaunter. He allows himself to be 'bluffed' too easily; he betrays 
 his feelings and he lets himself be pumped."
 
 424 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 In connection with the " Liberator of the Territory " a Strasburg 
 journal narrated the followins^ episode : — Count Enzenberg, 
 formerly representative of Hesse at Paris, was an indefatigable 
 collector of autographs. One day he presented his album to 
 Bismarck, asking him to write something. The leaf already con- 
 tained two sentences. The first was by M. Guizot, who wrote : — 
 " In my long life I have learned two rules of prudence : the first 
 to pardon much ; the second never to forget ! " M. Thiers had 
 written underneath, " A little forgetfulness would not lessen the 
 sincerity of the pardon." Bismarck added, " For my part I have 
 learned to forget much, and to ask that I may be forgiven much." 
 A sentiment, which coming from such a source, may be summed 
 up in modern slang, as " quite too idealistic." 
 
 The German Chancellor's own countrymen fare no better at 
 his hand than foreigners. During one of the after-dinner caiiseries 
 in the Rue de Provence at Versailles, somebody mentioned the 
 Prince of Augustcnburg, who followed the campaign on the 
 " Zweiter Stafiel," or staff of idlers, consisting almost exclusively 
 of German princes, and which was respectfully but steadily 
 snubbed by the fighting men of the army. His Highness gave 
 considerable umbrage at head-quarters by wearing the Bavarian 
 uniform, and maintaining somewhat of a " frondeur " attitude. 
 On hearing his name, Bismarck observed : — 
 
 " He might have got off much better than he did. I did not originally want 
 any more from him than the small Princes had given up in 1866. But he 
 would not give up anything at all, thanks to Divine guidance and the wisdom 
 of lawyers. I remember that during the conversation I had with him in 1864 
 — it was at my house — I began by calling him ' Your Highness,' and was 
 extremely civil. But when I spoke to him about the harbour of Kiel, which 
 we required, and he said that would be at least a square (German) mile, and 
 when he also would not listen to any of our demands respecting military 
 matters, I put on quite another sort efface. I then addressed him by the title 
 of * Your Serenity,' and finished up by saying to him, quite coolly, in Low 
 German, that, ' as we had hatched the chicken, we could also very well 
 wring its neck ! " 
 
 German dignitaries are freely tarred with the Chancellor's 
 brush. Of Heinrich von Gagern he says that "he is an utterly 
 stupid fellow — a watering-pot full of phrases, with whom it is of 
 no use to talk." Of the Minister Arnim-Boitzenburg he observes : — 
 
 "An amiable clever person, but not inclined to steady business or energetic 
 action. He is like an india-rubber ball, which hops and hops and hops, but 
 more weakly every time, and at last comes to a full stop. At first he would 
 have an opinion ; then weaken it by self-contradiction ; then, again, an 
 objection to the contradiction occurred to him, until at last nothing at all 
 remained, and nothing was done in the business on hand." 
 
 The condemnation of General von Steinmetz's conduct and 
 character is so bitter and crushing that it is doubtful if the 
 collector of these remarks would have dared to publish it 
 had that stormy old soldier been alive.
 
 APPENDIX. A-^ 
 
 425 
 
 The following sketch of Alexander von IlLunboldt, the illus- 
 trious traveller, savant, and author, certainly docs credit to 
 Prince ]3ismarck's humoristic capacities : — 
 
 " At the late King's evening parties," observed he, " Humboldt undertook 
 to amuse the company after his fashion. He used to read aloud, for hours at 
 a stretch, from the biography of a scientist or architect, in which not a living 
 soul but himself took the least interest. The Queen sewed away steadily at 
 some embroidery, and certainly did not hear a word. The King looked at 
 pictures and engravings, and made as much noise as he could in turning over 
 the leaves, in order that /w might hear nothing cither. The young people 
 chatted away to one another quite unrestrainedly, giggling, and rendering the 
 reading utterly inaudible. But it went on all the same, like a brook, inces- 
 santly murmuring. Gerlach, who was generally present, sat upon his little 
 round stool, over the edges of which his fat hung in flaps all round, and slept, 
 snoring with such vehemence that the King upon one occasion awakened him, 
 saying, ' Gerlach, don't snore so loud.' I was Humboldt's only listener, that 
 is to say, I held my tongue as if I were attending to his reading, and occu- 
 pied myself M-ith my own thoughts until the time came for cold cakes and 
 white wine. The old gentleman used to be horribly annoyed when he could 
 not have all the talking to himself Once there was somebody there who took 
 up the conversation, quite naturally, for he could talk in an agreeable manner 
 about things that interested every one present. Humboldt was beside him- 
 self. Growling, he filled his plate with a pile of goose-liver /)cUe, fat eels, 
 lobster tails, and other indigestible substances — a real mountain ! It was 
 quite astounding what the old man could put away. When he could positively 
 eat no more, he could no longer keep quiet, and so he made an attempt to get 
 the conversation into his own hands. ' Upon the peak of Popocatepetl,' he 
 began — but it was no use, the narrator would not be cut short, in his story. 
 ' Upon the peak of Popocatepetl, seven thousand yards above . . .' — again he 
 failed to get in, for the narrator calmly went on. ' Upon the peak of Popo- 
 catepetl, seven thousand yards above the level of the sea,' ... he exclaimed 
 in a loud, agitated voice — but all to no purpose ; the other man talked away 
 steadily as before, and the company listened to him only. Such a thing had 
 never been heard of ! Humboldt sat down in a fury, and plunged into 
 profound meditations upon the ingratitude of humanity, even at Court. The 
 Liberals made a great deal of him, and reckoned him amongst their members ; 
 but he was a man to whom the favour of Princes was absolutely indispensable, 
 and who only felt comfortable when the sun of the Court shone upon him. 
 But that did not prevent him from discussing the Court with Varnhagen, and 
 from telling all sorts of evil stories about it. Varnhagen made up books from 
 his materials. They are the expression of Berlin acidity during a period 
 which produced nothing, and when everybody talked m ith the same malicious 
 impotence ! " 
 
 Here is the famous ''cigar incident" of the defunct German 
 Bund, narrated in Bismarck's own words : — 
 
 " I went to see Rechberg, who was at w^ork and smoking. He begged me 
 to excuse him for a moment. By and by I got rather tired of waiting, and 
 as he did not offer me a cigar, I took one out of my case and asked him for a 
 light, which he gave me with a somewhat astonished expression of countenance. 
 But that is not all. At the meetings of the Military Committee, m hen Rochow 
 represented Prussia, Austria was the only member who smoked. Rochow 
 would have dearly liked to smoke too, but did not venture to do so. When I 
 came in, I felt that I wanted to smoke, and as I did not see why I should not, 
 I asked the Presiding Power for a light, which appeared to be regarded, both 
 by it and the other Powers, with equal wonder and displeasure. Obviously 
 
 F F
 
 426 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 it was an 'event ' for them all. Upon that occasion, only Austria and Prussia 
 smoked. But the other gentlemen considered it such a momentous matter 
 that they reported upon it to their respective Governments. The affair de- 
 manded the gravest consideration, and fully six montlis elapsed during which 
 only the two Great Powers smoked. Then Schrenkh, the Bavarian Envoy, 
 began to vindicate the dignity of his position by smoking. Nostitz, the 
 Saxon, yearned to do so too, but he had not as yet received permission from 
 his Minister. But as, at the next meeting, he saw that Bothmer, the Hano- 
 verian, lit a cigar, he came to an understanding with Rechberg ; drew a weed 
 from its leathern scabbard and ' blew a cloud.' The only ones now remaining 
 were the Wiirtemberger and the Darmstiidter, neither of them smokers. But 
 the honour and importance of their respective States imperatively exacted 
 that they should smoke ; and so, at the very next meeting, the Wiirtemberger 
 brought out a cigar. I can see it now ! a long, thin, light yellow thing I— and 
 smoked at least half of it, as a burnt-offering for his Fatherland ! " 
 
 A critic has remarked that in this anecdote " Bismarck hits off 
 with a masterly toucli the ridiculous jealousies that animated the 
 petty German kinglets and princekins of twenty years ago. 
 Who can refuse his .sympathy to the worthy Suabian, heroically 
 making himself sick /r^/rt'/'r/^, and penetrated by the conviction 
 that he was deserving well of his country by braving all the 
 horrors of nausea, lest proud Prussia or arrogant Austria should 
 boast that Wiirtcmberg had not dared to put itself upon a smok- 
 ing equality with the great German Powers 1 " 
 
 If Dr. Busch be correct, the Prince's views of the homogeneity 
 of the French people, which has always been their strong point, 
 were very erroneous, since he makes him say — 
 
 " I believe that France, already broken up into parties, may shortly be de- 
 composed into various States. They are Legitimists in Brittany, Red Re- 
 publicans in the south, moderate Republicans farther north, and Imperialists 
 in the army. It is just possible that each division will work out its principles, 
 — when the country would be broken up." 
 
 In other passages the Prince descants at length and quite 
 seriously upon his idea of resuscitating Burgundy as an inter- 
 mediate State between Germany and France. During the war 
 he complained bitterly that the French were too well treated, 
 and the francs-tireurs too leniently dealt with. The three mots 
 rt''(3;'(^;r constantly in his mouth were "shoot, hang, and burn," 
 and he praised the Bavarian soldiers because they showed less 
 consideration towards their adversaries than the North Germans 
 did. Bismarck is an admirer of the Poles, and tried to induce 
 the Crown Prince to have his eldest son taught Polish, but the 
 Crown Prince answered that it was unnecessary, as he intended 
 the Poles should all learn German. 
 
 Some of Bismarck's observations were anything but complimen- 
 tary to the English. When Russia cancelled the Black Sea stipu- 
 lations in the Treaty of 1856, he exclaimed, not without justice — 
 
 " There is as little to fear from these English now, as there was to hope from 
 them four months ago. If they had forbidden it when Napoleon declared 
 war againit us, there would have been no war and no cancelling of the Treaty 
 of 1856."
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 427 
 
 Later with regard to the same subject, he remarked that he 
 had told Mr. Odo Russell that — 
 
 " He was of opinion gratitude should be recognized as carrying weight in 
 politics. The present Czar had always been on friendly terms with Ger- 
 many ; while, as regarded England, well everybody knew what reason 
 Germany had recently had to feel indebted to England." 
 
 About the same period the relations between Germany and 
 England were smartly commented upon in Bismarck's after- 
 dinner talk : — 
 
 " The English are very angry that we have defeated the French in a great 
 war, single-handed. In their eyes it is unpardonable of diminutive, despised 
 Prussia to presume to get on in the world. They fancied the object of 
 Prussia's existence was to fight England's battles, and get paid for it." 
 
 On the subject of diplomacy his utterances were as follows : — 
 
 "A great many communications from our diplomatic agents are well-written 
 feuilletoiis with nothing in them. You read on and on, carried along by the 
 smooth flow of language, hoping to come to the pith of the matter. The end 
 is reached at length, and you are no wiser than you were before. It is all 
 sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. Most diplomatic reports may be defined 
 as paper freely daubed with ink. Poor fellows, ye who have to write history 
 from such verbiage ! 1 believe it is usual to throw open archives to investi- 
 gators after thirty years. Considering the little to be culled from them, per- 
 mission might be given much earlier. Much more may be gathered from the 
 newspapers, which are frequently made use of by Governments, and as a rule 
 speak more openly. But even these cannot be correctly interpreted without 
 adequate knowledge of attending circumstances. What is really going on is 
 transmitted in private letters and confidential communications, written and 
 oral, but never recorded in archives." 
 
 In a conversation with Baron Keudell, about the introduction 
 of German as a diplomatic language, Bismarck said : — 
 
 " Official communications must be carried on in the language of the country, 
 not in a foreign tongue. Bernstorff was the first who tried to carry this prin- 
 ciple out with us, but he went too far. He wrote to all the foreign diplomatists 
 in German, and they all answered — it was, of course, a conspiracy amongst 
 them — in their respective mother tongues, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and I 
 don't know what, so that he had quite a swarm of translators at the Ministry, 
 when I entered office. Budberg sent me a note in Russian. That was not 
 fair. If they wanted to take their revenge, Gortschakoff ought to have written 
 in Russian to our Ambassador at Petersburg. But here, in Berlin, to write 
 to me in Russian, in answer to a German despatch, was clearly unfair. So 
 I gave the order that whatever should be sent in, not in German, French, 
 English, or Italian, should be let alone, and simply deposited with the archives. 
 Budberg wrote reminder upon reminder, always in Russian. They were put 
 away in the archive cupboard. At last he came in person to me, and asked 
 ' Why did we not reply to him .^ ' ' Reply ! ' I inquired, with the greatest as- 
 tonishment ; ' reply to what .'* I have seen nothing of yours.' ' Why, he had 
 written four weeks ago, and reminded us several times since.' ' Oh, quite so ! 
 now I remember,' I said ; 'there is a bundle of documents downstairs in 
 Russian writing — perhaps your communications are amongst them. But none 
 of the people downstairs understand Russian ; and papers that reach us in 
 any incomprehensible language are stowed away amongst the archives 1 ' 
 Upon this, Budberg promptly agreed to write for the future in French." 
 
 F F 2
 
 428 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The piece of table-talk, which, if sincere, affords the deepest 
 insight into Bismarck's nature, was that which he gave vent to at 
 Fcrricres, on September 28, 1870. The conversation had turned 
 upon the German's sense of duty, as compared to the Frenchman's, 
 and Bismarck attributed the former to " the remaining scraps of 
 Faith possessed by our people." Then he went on to say : — 
 
 " How people can live together in an orderly manner, do their duty, and 
 allow everybody to enjoy what is his, without believing in a revealed religion, 
 in a God who wills what is good, in a higher Judge, and in a future existence, 
 I do not understand. Were I no longer a Christian, I would not remain for 
 an hour in my post. Why should I go on unflinchingly allowing myself to be 
 worried, and working in this world, exposing myself to embarrassments and 
 vexations, if I did not feel myself obliged to do my duty by reason of God ? 
 If I did not believe in a Divine ordinance, which has destined this German 
 nation to something good and great, I would forthwith give up the diplomatic 
 trade. Orders and titles do not tempt me. I have derived the steadfastness 
 that I have displayed during ten long years against all imaginable absurdities 
 solely from my determined belief. Take away that belief from me, and you 
 deprive me of my Fatherland. If I were not a stiffly faithful Christian, and 
 did not rest upon the marvellous basis of religion, you would never have had 
 such a Chancellor as I am at all. Get me a successor on that basis, and I 
 will take my departure at once. But I live amongst heathens ; I don't want to 
 make any proselytes, but it is necessary that I make this profession of faith." 
 
 Since the appearance of Count Harry Arnim's Pro Nihilo, no 
 work has created such a sensation in Germany as that of Dr. 
 Busch. With the exception of Prince Bismarck himself and the 
 persons to whom he is made to refer in his " table-talk," or their 
 relatives, every one revelled in its disclosures, and the sale was 
 enormous. The Chancellor disapproving, it is said, of the pub- 
 I'cation, had sent a friend round, when the work was in the press, 
 to revise the proof-sheets and cut out objectionable passages, but 
 this deputy seems to have done his excising somewhat gently, for 
 many of Bismarck's frank utterances have been published which 
 were never meant to be repeated. The Prince is evidently ani- 
 mated by a constitutional recklessness which prevents him from 
 exercising the least control over his tongue when in the critical 
 m.ood, and is perfectly indifferent whether his comments reach 
 the ears of their objects, however influential or exalted the latter 
 may be. But publication was another matter, as was felt by a 
 number of living celebrities — princes, soldiers, statesmen, diplo- 
 matists, and politicians — and by the relatives of many departed 
 ones. German generals and diplomatists had been subjected to 
 castigations quite as freely as French ministers and statesmen, 
 and even German princes had not escaped the lash, the Chan- 
 cellor apparently following the Scripture ordinance and chastising 
 those he loves. No work was ever brought out in Prussia which 
 caused so much irritation amongst the Junkers. Many members 
 of the highest aristocratic families declared they had been in- 
 sulted, the Crown Prince was deluged with complaints against 
 the Chancellor for expos'ng fa-'thful subjects of the Prussian
 
 Al'PKNDIX. 429 
 
 throne, including dead statesmen and ambassadors, to the laughter 
 of Europe ; the sons of the minister von Arnim-Boytzenburg 
 complained that Prince Bismarck had not even spared the honour 
 of reigning princes, and threats of action for libel against Busch 
 M'ere many and loud. The staunch old Conservatives were hor- 
 rified, and doubted whether there could be any truth at the bottom 
 of the Chancellor's reactionary measures, nearly all the Bis- 
 marckian judgments on great personages having, they asserted, 
 a destructive and levelling tendency. 
 
 As regards Prince Bismarck himself, he has surely equal ground 
 of complaint, for not content with portraying his hero in uniform. 
 Dr. Busch exposes him in dressing-gown and slippers. His re- 
 ligious belief and his preference for one fish above another, his 
 opinions on political consistency and his appreciation of old port 
 are expressed in turn with equal affability and aplomb by the 
 Chancellor and recorded by his Boswell. Pages are devoted to 
 the culinary knowledge displayed by the Prince, who holds forth 
 by the hour on wines and spirits, displaying profound learning 
 with reference to cheeses, and claims to be a Heaven-sent bene- 
 factor to the inhabitants of Aix-la-Chapelle in having first taught 
 them to fry oysters. The Prince, it seems, plays a tremendous 
 knife and fork, and astonished the Crown Prince by the profusion 
 of good things set forth on his table at Versailles, whilst so 
 terrific are his bibacious achievements, that the King on witness- 
 ing his libations one dreadful day had recourse to his sovereign 
 word of command to prevent any further like display. 
 
 Bismarck is represented as a fiercer enemy to his enemies than 
 is quite compatible with his avowed convictions, and as perfect a 
 specimen of a "good hater" as Dr. Johnson could have desired 
 to encounter. Herr Busch states that the Chancellor lies awake 
 at night revolving and resenting injuries received. Another con- 
 stant nocturnal occupation is the perusal of the mystico-religious 
 books printed for the Herrnhuter or Moravian brethren, of which 
 lie keeps a constant stock in his bedroom, and which inculcate 
 the immediate and momentary interference of the deity in our 
 thoughts and acts, the divine influence of certain texts over cer- 
 tain days of the year, and the indication of the guiding-hand of 
 providence in the first verse the eye lights upon on opening the 
 bible for counsel. Their influence fosters his natural tendency 
 to superstition. He objects to sitting down thirteen to dinner, 
 will conclude no treaties on Fridays, and will not even negotiate 
 on the anniversaries of those black days for Prussia, the battles 
 of Hochkirch and Jena. He insists that no Pomeranian noble 
 created a count ever saw his progeny thrive, objected to his own 
 elevation on this score and is not yet at ease, and descants on 
 the pernicious influence of having one's hair cut when the moon 
 is on the wane, — though judging from his own baldness the op- 
 posite practice does not seem to offer any particular advantage.
 
 430 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 The Prince's latest stroke of policy has been the abrogation 
 by the joint action of Prussia and Austria of that clause in the 
 Treaty of Prague providing for the restitution of North Schlesvvig 
 to Denmark. This action was prompted by the attitude assumed 
 by the Duke of Cumberland, son of the late ex-King of Hanover, 
 and his marriage w'th the Princess Thyra, daughter of the King of 
 Denmark. The failure of the Danes to obtain their undeniable 
 rights to North Schlcswig, which were acknowledged at the time 
 the treaty was signed, was due to the dexterity of Privy-Councillor 
 Lothar Bucher, Prince Bismarck's right-hand man at the Im- 
 perial Foreign Office. Bucher is a Pomeranian who was in the 
 Government service as an assessor when elected a deputy to the 
 Lower House in 184S, upon ultra-liberal principles. In the 
 debates of that stormy assembly his name often occurs, and, 
 strange to say, frequently in connection with that of Bismarck, 
 who, as champion of the throne and altar, had many a tough 
 struggle with Ir's radical fellow provincial. After the forcible 
 dissolution of the Chambers, Bucher refused to pay taxes he 
 considered illegally imposed, and was sentenced to a long im- 
 prisonment, which he escaped by flight to England, where he 
 earned a scanty livelihood as teacher of languages and news- 
 paper correspondent. Profiting by the amnesty granted on the 
 Emperor's accession, he returned to Prussia, obtained employ- 
 ment in Wolfi's telegraphic agency, and made several unsuc- 
 cessful applications to re-enter the Government service. At last 
 Bismarck, who had recently assumed the reins, and was in need of 
 clever heads to carry out his designs, remembering the ability 
 of his old opponent, sent for him, and after an interview or two, 
 installed him in the Foreign Office, to the great indignation of 
 Conservative circles. This indignation has continued to mani- 
 fest itself on each successive promotion, and is said to be partly 
 shared by the Emperor, who cannot forget Bucher's early 
 opposition. 
 
 His influence over the Chancellor is said to be unlimited, and 
 though violent scenes sometimes mark their intercourse, they 
 usually end in the Prince yielding to his subordinate. The 
 latter's gift of defining and expressing the Prince's thoughts is 
 regarded as something wonderful, and most of the important 
 State papers issued from the German Foreign Office, though 
 bearing Bismarck's name, are drawn up by Bucher. Small, 
 withered-looking, but with a sharply-cut face expressive of 
 great energy and intellect, his natural reserve makes him quite 
 a recluse. He only played a part in public when acting as 
 special plenipotentiary at Copenhagen, on which occasion, as 
 noted above, he baffled the Danes, though Napoleon III., then 
 at the height of his power, supported their claims. 
 
 Owing to this seclus'on, official relations with the corps diplo- 
 matique are maintained, in Bismarck's absence, by one of the
 
 APPENDIX. 431 
 
 Reichs-Kanzler's most able disciples, Baron Radowitz. Despite 
 his comparative youth, the astuteness and diplomatic skill shown 
 by him as charge cV affaires at Constantinople and Consul-Gcneral at 
 Bucharest, and his thorough knowledge of Eastern matters, have 
 made himi a great favourite with the Reichs-Kanzler, and cause 
 him to enjoy quite an exceptional position at the Office for 
 Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Since the National Liberals of the Reichstag refused to gratify 
 Prince Bismarck's wishes with regard to the Socialists, the 
 Prince has returned to the loves of his youth and openly 
 espoused the cause of the Conservatives in the battle between 
 Protection and Free Trade which was waged at the commence- 
 ment of 1879. He even went so far as to seek the aid of the 
 Catholic party, and in the May of that year a profound impression 
 was created by the appearance at one of the Prince's soirees of 
 Herr Windthorst, the redoubtable leader of the Centre. He was 
 followed by a number of the party, and was received by the 
 Chancellor with much the same kind of attention as a great 
 general would show to his military opponent on a day of truce 
 or pacific'ition. Prince Bismarck hurried forward, seized his 
 former antagonist by both hands, and the two rival chieftains of 
 the Kultiud'avipf rQ.mK\r\td for half an hour in close conversa- 
 tion. When the Prince left Herr Windthorst's side, a group 
 of deputies and journalists gathered round the leader in the 
 battle against the May laws, and tried to extract from him 
 some information concerning the subject-matter of his colloquy 
 with the Chancellor. To all questions put to him, Wind- 
 thorst replied, with the dignity and mystery of an augur, 
 " Extra centnnn nulla sains.'" The marked attention shown by 
 the Chancellor to his late antagonist did not pass off without 
 a humorous episode. As Bismarck was reaching out his right 
 hand to shake hands with a new comer, he transferred his glass 
 o{ Maitrank to his left hand, and in doing so jerked out half its 
 sugary contents upon the head and shoulders of the Pope's 
 German champion, to the no small amusement of the little 
 detachment of National Liberals who were present. 
 
 By effecting this coalition of Conservatives and Catholics the 
 Prince has secured a majority in the Reichstag and achieved a 
 victory, the completeness of which is not to be measured by the 
 mere votes obtained. Such is iht prestige attached to this man 
 of blood and iron, that the very leaders of the National Liberals 
 are eager to show themselves to be Nationalists first and 
 Liberals afterwards, and are as ready as when he leant entirely 
 upon them to support his foreign policy and to believe that he 
 is indispensable to the country. The most unmistakable 
 homage is paid to him by those who voted against his proposals. 
 Majorities come and go, but his ministry remains. Whatever 
 may be the dominant opinion in the Reichstag is indeed of little
 
 432 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 concern to him, provided he can, by grouping together two or 
 three fractions, out-vote or out-manoeuvre the largest individual 
 party. 
 
 The Chancellor's power is far from bjing depsndcnt upon 
 such an unnatural coalition as that by the aid of which the 
 new tariff has been passed and which has s"nce been menaced 
 by symptoms of dissolution. His popularity and influence are 
 practically unbounded and will certainly be made use of to 
 carry out those schemes upon which, as is evinced in his speech 
 of the 9th of August, 1879, he has set his heart. These schemes 
 include the purchase of all the Prussian railways by the State ; 
 the giving of greater stability to the Budget arrangements both 
 for Prussia and Germany; the doing away with the annual 
 meeting of the Reichstag ; the maintenance of the army upon 
 a strong footing, and rendering it unnecessary for the Minister 
 of War to obtain a new vote each Session. Parliamentary 
 government is acceptable to the Reichs-Kanzler as long as it 
 suits his purpose, but he has reminded the Reichstag in plain 
 terms, such as he alone dare employ, that dominant consti- 
 tutional power cannot exist, since the pivot upon which the 
 entire system of Government centres must be himself — the 
 representative of the Emperor. 
 
 PRUSSIAN GENERAL.S — AIOLTKE, WR ANGEL, AND ROON, 
 
 {Continued froui page 309.) 
 
 AlthouGrh Count von Moltke's talents have not of late been 
 called into active requisition, he has indicated on several 
 occasions that he would be by no means unwilling to undertake 
 another campaign against the so-called " hereditary enemy " of 
 the Fatherland. In April, 1877, he appealed to the Reichstag 
 to vote the addition of 122 captaincies to the standing army, 
 pointing out that the French Government was concentrating 
 large masses of troops between Paris and the German frontier, 
 " a measure which sooner or later they would have to recipro- 
 cate." The 700,000 marks needed for the addition were voted 
 by a large majority, for the Parliament felt it would never do to 
 neglect precautions suggested by the man to whom the Emperor 
 observed at an inspection of the 7th Royal Silesian Fusiliers at 
 Leignitz, in the following June : " We all only carried out what 
 you, the thinker of the battle, chalked out for us." War is, in 
 fact, Moltke's element. Dr. Maurice Pusch, in his amusing 
 work, Prince Bismarck and his People during the War of 1870, 
 narrates that Moltke having gallantly " seen out " the drinking- 
 up of a potent and vast bowl of sherry-punch at the little villa 
 in the Rue dc Provence, at Versailles, where Count Bismarck
 
 APPENDIX. 433 
 
 resided during the siege of Paris, one of Bismarck's guests 
 remarked, " how well the General looked after it." " Yes," 
 replied Bismarck, " that is all the war's doing. War is his 
 business. I remember when the Spanish question became a 
 burning one, that he immediately began to look ten years 
 younger. Then, when I told him that the Hohenzollern had 
 given in, he at once got to look old and worn out. And when, 
 soon after, the French were not satisfied with even that con- 
 cession, 'Molk' was suddenly quite fresh and young again." 
 
 During the Russo-Turkish war all the different accounts by 
 native and foreign correspondents were carefully collected, 
 digested, and condensed day by day by the great General Staff 
 at Berlin, under Count von Moltke's supervision. 
 
 In March 1879 Count von Moltke went to spend a few days 
 with his brother in the country, so as to escape the general 
 ovation which threatened him on the occasion of the sixtieth 
 anniversary of his service in the army. He came back to 
 Berlin on Sunday the 9th, delighted at the idea of having 
 celebrated such a memorable date in a fashion suited to his 
 taste, but hardly had he reached his town residence ere deputa- 
 tions, presents, congratulatory telegrams, and the like came 
 pouring in from all points. From the Emperor he received the 
 Star of the Order of Merit — a decoration hitherto exclusively 
 reserved for Royal members of the order — containing a miniature 
 of Friedrich the Great, and an equestrian statuette of his pre- 
 sent Majesty. These were accompanied by a letter in the 
 course of which the Emperor, outstripping his accustomed 
 military fanaticism, remarked, " You will wear this Star and 
 likeness of my great ancestor with the elevating consciousness 
 of truly and for all time belonging to those who have faithfully 
 guarded the legacy of the great King — the glory of the Prussian 
 army, on which his eye has assuredly looked down from Heaven 
 with satisfaction!" The letter was signed, "Your ever grateful 
 King, Wilhelm." From the Empress there came to Count von 
 Moltke a letter casket, with the doner's portrait engraved on 
 silver, and from the Crown Prince his portrait in oil. Presents 
 were also sent to the veteran by the King of Bavaria, the 
 town of Leipzig, the general staff of the Prussian, Saxon, 
 Bavarian, and Wiirtemberg armies, and numerous other donors. 
 
 {Conthiued from page 312.) 
 
 Field-Marshal von Wrangel died on the 1st November, 1877, 
 in his ninety-fourth year. The one sorrow of the tough old 
 veteran during the past few years of his life had been the dread 
 of being pensioned off, a contingency which, to his military 
 mind, was tantamount to annihilation. The Emperor, in recog- 
 nition of his long and faithful services, had set his mind at rest 
 
 G G
 
 434 BERLIN UNDER THE NEW EMPIRE. 
 
 on this point shortly before his death, by a solemn promise that 
 he should never be removed from the active army, and the old 
 field-marshal had the satisfaction of dying in harness after a 
 brief illness. A funeral service, at which the Emperor and the 
 Crown Princess were present, having been celebrated at Berlin 
 over his remains, the latter were transferred to Stettin, Wrangel's 
 birth-place, and there interred in presence of the garrison and a 
 large concourse of spectators. 
 
 {Contiiitied fro7n page 314.) 
 
 Field Marshal Count von Roon died at Berlin on the 23rd 
 February, 1879, and on the 26th the funeral service of the former 
 War Minister was performed at the Garrison kirche with great 
 pomp. The Emperor was prevented from attending by a slight 
 cold, but amongst those present were the Empress, the Crown 
 Prince, Prince Carl, Prince Friedrich Carl, Count von Moltke, 
 Von Manteufifel, Von Kameke, and the principal civil and 
 military authorities present in Berlin. 
 
 END OF VOL. L 
 
 London: r. clay, so:<s, and taylok, ruiNiEKS.
 
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