Bismarck

During the years 1873 to 1875 I edited the Hannoverscher Courier. I then returned to Leipzig, where I was chiefly engaged on the Grenzboten, which was published there. At first my connection with the Foreign Office was not very close, and I only occasionally applied to it for information, which always reached me through Bucher, as arranged. At the end of May or the beginning of June, 1873, the latter wrote me that MacMahon was causing a great deal of work, so that he had been engaged until late at night on the three holidays. A few weeks later it seemed to me that there were signs of an approaching crisis, and I accordingly begged him to let me know how I could best serve the Chief in my paper. On the 27th of June I received the following answer:—

In 1874, when the differences broke out between the Prince and Arnim, I immediately applied to Bucher, and asked for directions as to the way in which I could make myself most useful. I received an answer without delay, and during the month of May various communications reached me. On the 3rd of May, for instance, I received the following sketch of an article for the Courier:—

“The opposition of Count Arnim, whom many newspapers puff by heading their articles, ‘Arnim and Bismarck,’ recalls the condition of things which prevailed under Frederick William III. and Frederick William IV., and which was believed to have entirely passed away to the great benefit of the country. Although it is a popular error to think that the title of Minister Plenipotentiary, which is borne by our Ambassadors, puts them on an equality with the Minister of State, yet, as a matter of fact, Prussian diplomatists have in the past not infrequently behaved as if they were the colleagues of their Chief, and carried on discussions with him such as take place between two Councillors of a Government or members of the bench of Judges. Prussian diplomacy was noted for its lack of discipline. Cases are known in which an envoy returned to Berlin without asking leave, in order to advocate his own views at Court, and to secure support for them in the newspapers. It was not his love of power which led the Imperial Chancellor to set aside a number of Excellencies of that old school, but rather the recognition that such a method of doing business might have suited a time when Prussia was a fifth wheel to the coach of European politics, but was entirely incompatible with the execution of the programme which Herr von Bismarck brought with him in 1862, and has already carried out in a way that will immortalise him long after the names of the malcontent Excellencies may have ceased to figure even in an encyclopædia. It is said that Herr von Blankenburg, a military writer, descended from a Pomeranian family with which Count Arnim is related on the mother’s side, makes insinuations in the Schlesische Zeitung against Bismarck’s character as a colleague. Our representatives abroad are not the colleagues of the Minister, but rather his agents. In their reports they have sufficient opportunity for expressing their views, but when a decision has been arrived at they have to carry out their instructions in a willing spirit. In a Cabinet (Collegium) any differences can be easily settled without damage to the interests of the country by putting the question to the vote. But when a difference arises between a Minister in authority and a subordinate who does not follow the instructions of his departmental chief it is difficult to find any other solution in a well-ordered State than the retirement of one or other of them from the service. This may possibly now be the case, and in the interests of the service it may be regretted that it did not occur before.”

Shortly afterwards followed a translation of the final passage of an article in the Hour, which it may be taken for granted was either written by Bucher or at least inspired by him. It ran:—

“The fact that the Imperial Chancellor has so long tolerated such a censorious and contumacious attitude on the part of a subordinate shows with what serious internal difficulties this statesman has had to contend during his whole career, difficulties which in their full extent will never become known to the public. These were the consequences of a transition from an absolute to a constitutional system of government. Even after the Constitution had been proclaimed under Frederick William IV. many diplomatists continued to follow the traditions of the former absolute régime, opposing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and endeavouring to obtain the approval of the King for their own policy. Such a condition of affairs, which brought Prussian diplomacy into disrepute, so far as its discipline and success were concerned, could not possibly be tolerated by a Minister who entered office with such far-reaching plans as those of Prince Bismarck. Behaviour of this description is also little calculated to succeed with a man of such a straightforward and resolute character as the Emperor William. The efforts made by Count Goltz, and others whom we will not here specify, as they are still living, to play the part of Ministers, met with no success. There is every reason to hope that Count Arnim’s endeavours will be equally unsuccessful, even if they be favoured by certain influences at Court, as thus only can the Minister’s policy overcome the machinations of ambitious and self-seeking intriguers. It is in the interest not only of Germany, but of all Europe, that this consummation should be achieved, and we have good reason to hope that it will be.”

On the 29th of May I received from Bucher the following short letter of the previous day’s date:—

A few months later I received the following from Bucher: “Harry (Count Arnim) has taken away with him from Paris a number of Foreign Office despatches, and asserts that they are private letters. In the spring the Berlin semi-official journals hinted that he had become a rich man.”

On the 28th of August Bucher wrote me from Varzin: “The Chief has received diplomas of honorary membership from two Italian lodges, and instructed me to ascertain from some trustworthy person acquainted with the subject what sort of connection he would enter into by a tacit acceptance (he will not send an answer), and what future obligations he might be considered to have assumed. I mentioned you, and received his permission to ask you. Please, therefore, to inform us. The Chief is better than he has been for ten years.”

I gave the desired information, and on the 16th of September received the following answer:—

The visit here referred to was postponed till the 3rd of November, when I called upon Bucher at his lodgings, No. 39 Lutzowstrasse. I made the following notes at the time of what I considered the interesting parts of our conversation. (...) Bucher further remarked ... that the Imperial Chancellor now appears to have also seen through Delbrück. He now takes into his own hands much that was formerly left to him. In the same way the Chief has for some time past taken Keudell’s measure. In his departmental connection with press affairs, Keudell had left a deficit not of 18,000 thalers as he had formerly told me, but of 80,000,[12] through the payment of remuneration and pensions to writers of all sorts, in some cases without the knowledge, and in one instance (Bucher mentioned an Englishman named ——, as the person in question), against the express instructions of the Prince. This deficit is now being made good by the suspension of similar subsidies for a period of two years. He was not much of a success in Rome either. He had together with Lonyay, the Austro-Hungarian envoy in Rome, started the project of a visit to be paid by the Emperor William to the Italian Court, by announcing that Francis Joseph intended to visit Victor Emmanuel. Bucher added: “Both gentlemen hoped in this way to obtain the rank of Ambassador. But when inquiries were made into the matter in Vienna it was ascertained that Francis Joseph did not dream of such a thing, and so the plan was dropped in Berlin.” I also now obtained a further explanation of Thile’s retirement. This was due to an intrigue of Keudell’s. According to Bucher the facts were as follows. On the occasion of the meeting of the three Emperors in 1872, Gortschakoff and Andrassy gave Keudell to understand that they would like to receive the Order of the Black Eagle. The Chief however was opposed to this, partly on the ground that he did not wish to diminish the value of this high Order by conferring it too frequently, and partly because he wanted to save it up as a reward for future services on the part of those statesmen. Notwithstanding this Keudell used his influence in favour of its immediate bestowal; and when the Emperor had issued the patent or decree to that effect he induced Thile to countersign it. When Keudell afterwards reported this to the Chief, the latter fell into a fearful rage and indulged in violent language against the unsuspecting Secretary of State. Keudell then let Thile know what had been said, with the remark that it was quite impossible for him to repeat some of the worst expressions. Thile thereupon immediately tendered his resignation to the Emperor. Bucher added: “When it was now suggested that Thile should be summoned as an expert in the Arnim trial, I pointed out that he bore the Prince a grudge.” The Chief replied: “He has no reason to be angry with me, although he may well be with Keudell. In spite of this and other instances, however, Keudell will still be maintained by the ladies.”

On my removal from Hanover to Leipzig in October, 1875, the correspondence between Bucher and myself gradually increased in frequency. In reply to a request of mine for particulars respecting the Prince’s family, which I required for an article that the editors of the Illustrirte Zeitung wished me to supply, Bucher wrote as follows from Varzin on the 31st of October:—

“It is very possible that your pen can do welcome service. Further particulars when you are in Berlin. Even now it would be very useful and agreeable to Gamaliel (this was the name under which, as a measure of precaution, we referred in our correspondence to the Chief, at whose feet we had studied politics), if you were to show up the manœuvre of representing Camphausen as the leader and the chief sinner, and Delbrück as following or being influenced by him, while the contrary is, and must be, the case, in view of the character of the two men. D. is cunning, C. blunt. Delbrück allows his bosom friend to be sacrificed as a scapegoat, in order to propitiate the raging waters.” And in a letter of the 7th of November also dated from Varzin, Bucher suggested the following: “A newspaper chorus is trying to make Herr Camphausen responsible for the financial policy of the German Empire. We fancy, however, that Herr Delbrück is both Minister of Finance and Minister of Commerce for the German Empire, and that in these departments he has been given a free hand by the Imperial Chancellor. He too has invariably had all the laurels so long as there were any to be plucked. Herr Camphausen has enough to bear in his responsibility for the financial policy of Prussia.”

Shortly after I had fulfilled these instructions, the publication of Arnim’s pamphlet, “Pro Nihilo,” afforded an opportunity for unmasking its author in the Grenzboten.

My relations with the Prince assumed a still more satisfactory form in 1877. Keil of the Gartenlaube wished to publish a large portrait of the Chancellor, and I was to supply the text. I therefore applied direct to the Prince in a letter, in the course of which I said: “It is not to be a biography, but only one side of your Serene Highness’s life and character, treated in a bright sketchy style. I have asked for time to consider the proposal, and was at first indisposed to undertake the work. But then the following considerations occurred to me. The Gartenlaube has at present 300,000 subscribers, and therefore at least a million and a half of readers; and if your Serene Highness should have any idea which you might think it desirable to launch into the world, or anything in the past which you might wish to recall to memory, this periodical would serve as a capital hoarding for purposes of advertisement, particularly as it is not a daily paper, but remains for permanent reference. And then there was another point which seemed to me worthy of consideration, namely, that if I declined the proposal, Herr Keil would probably instruct some one else to prepare the article who might be less devoted to your Serene Highness. Finally, to meet the wishes of the publisher of the Gartenlaube in this respect would confirm the good sentiments which he now entertains, and enable me to gain influence with him for future contingencies.

“If these considerations meet with your Serene Highness’s approval, I may, perhaps, hope that you will have a hint conveyed to me as to the treatment of the subject, and at the same time assist me with some materials for my work.

“I did not wish to apply to your Serene Highness before, as I took it for granted that it would be only in Varzin, if anywhere, that you would have leisure to give any serious attention to such matters. If your Serene Highness has no purpose in view which might be promoted by such an undertaking, I shall let it drop, as my only desire in the matter is to meet your wishes, and advance your interests.”

I then went on to say that Keil would probably be prepared to accept a series of sketches of the houses and estates occupied by the Prince in the course of the year, and one might combine various political matters with the descriptive part.

Nothing came of the article to accompany the portrait. On the other hand, the series last mentioned was carried out, although in a different form to that which was at first intended. In the meantime, however, I had something more important to occupy me.

On the 4th of April Bucher wrote: “Your request was received in a very friendly way by the Chief, who will give the necessary instructions and see you when you are here. He is going. It is not a question of leave of absence, but a peremptory demand to be allowed to retire. The reason: Augusta, who influences her ageing consort, and conspires with Victoria (the Crown Princess), works up the priests through the Radziwills and others, travels incognito from Baden-Baden to Switzerland in order to have tête-à-têtes with Mermillod and other rabid Ultramontanes—an incident which is discussed in every tap-room in Switzerland, and which we know from other sources to be a fact. The successor who seems to have the best prospect, because Augusta desires his appointment, is Schleinitz, the Minister of the Household. You can make use of this, but with that prudence which is imposed by the Press Laws.”

Of course I wrote to Bucher by return of post, that in these circumstances I held myself at the Prince’s disposal to do everything and anything which lay in my power, and that I would proceed to Berlin within the next few days. At the same time I wrote the first of the so-called “Friction Articles” of the Grenzboten. Advance copies were sent to the principal Berlin papers, and were reproduced by them. They caused a general sensation, and excited much discussion and comment, favourable and otherwise, even in the foreign press. This first article ran:—

On Wednesday, the 11th April, I left Leipzig for Berlin by the first train in the morning. I put up at Toepfer’s Hotel in the Karl Strasse, and proceeded to Bucher’s at 9.30 A.M. At the corner of Dorotheen Strasse, while on my way thither, some one tapped me on the shoulder. Turning round I saw it was Wollmann, who was greatly surprised at meeting me there.... I ascertained from him that the crisis on the first floor of No. 76 Wilhelmstrasse was at an end, and that the Chief would remain and only take a long holiday.

We then took a glance in passing at the now-completed Column of Victory, whereupon I took leave of Wollmann, saying that I had to visit a friend, and went on to Bucher’s. He was as usual friendly and communicative. His view of the situation differed from that of Wollmann, however. According to him the crisis was only postponed. The Prince had for the present yielded to the desire of the Emperor that he should continue to hold the offices of Chancellor and Minister, and had only requested leave of absence for an indefinite period. He had been quite serious in wishing to resign all his offices, and it was doubtful whether he would return. Count Stolberg had been selected by him as his successor, as he is a distinguished and independent man, who enjoys a certain authority at Court. Bülow, the Mecklenburger, and Hoffmann have been selected as the representatives of the Chief during his absence.

Bucher further related that the condition of affairs at the Baden Court was also “rotten.” The Grand Duke, well-meaning, but of somewhat limited intelligence, had, during his Italian journey, “fallen under the influence of some of the shrewdest of the Cardinals, and had allowed himself almost to be persuaded into perpetrating a huge blunder by visiting Pio Nono.” The Grand Duchess held with the priests in Alsace, and with orthodox place-hunters like Geffcken and Max Müller, and was disposed to conclude peace with the Ultramontanes. This was one of the causes of Jolly’s retirement. Bucher went on to say: “The Grand Duchess has also written a letter to papa (the Emperor William), in which she begged that the alleged oppression of the Catholics in Alsace should be stopped. This suggestion was, however, declined.”

He confirmed what he had said in this letter respecting the Empress, and added: “In the spring of 1871 our troops should have returned much sooner, but Augusta wished to be present at their entry and yet to complete her course of baths before she came back. So there was a postponement of four or five weeks, which cost the Treasury nine millions in hard cash. The losses suffered by agriculture in consequence of this delay are incalculable. The promotion of Gruner as Wirklicher Geheimrath (‘Real’ Privy Councillor), which was given by the old Emperor in a note written in his own hand, without counter-signature, was also her work. Gruner is quite incapable, but is a member of the Bonbonnière Fronde.[13] It is just the same with Schleinitz, who is also quite devoid of talent and smartness, and of whom she was thinking as successor to the Chief.”

According to Bucher, the Prince’s health was again anything but satisfactory. When Bucher told the Chief that if he retired he himself would not remain, the Prince replied that that was a matter he should first consider well, but if he nevertheless decided to resign he should come to him at Varzin. With regard to my visit to the Chief, he feared nothing would come of it at present, as to-day was his wife’s birthday, and he would perhaps leave to-morrow evening. At the same time he wanted to report my arrival, even if he were not summoned to the Chief.

I returned to my hotel at 3 o’clock. Leverstroem and his black horse were standing at the door. He handed me a card from Bucher, with the words: “The Prince expects you at 4 o’clock.” I hastily donned evening dress and white gloves, and, jumping into a cab, drove to 76 Wilhelmstrasse. Then upstairs and through the old familiar rooms. I had to wait about five minutes in the billiard-room, where the billiard table was quite covered with huge bouquets of flowers. Then into his chamber. He came forward a few paces to meet me with a most friendly smile, shook hands, and said he was glad to see his “old war comrade” once more. I had then to take a seat opposite him, while he sat with his back to the first window. Our conversation lasted till 5.30, that is to say, nearly an hour and a half.

He first thanked me for the Grenzboten article, and then said: “It would be well, however, if such communications were repeated, and the origin of the crisis discussed at length.”

I replied: “That is my chief reason for coming here—to get materials and information for such articles. The more I get the better. The Grenzboten is absolutely and unconditionally at the disposal of your Serene Highness.”

He then gave me various particulars concerning the Court clique and its aristocratic followers in the Kreuzzeitung, and among the high officials who had been shelved as well as others who were still in office, and their manifold machinations, intrigues and cabals against him, at the same time giving me an account of his own measures. He drew a detailed picture of the Empress, who opposed him not only in his struggle with the Clericals, but also in purely political questions. “She has always desired to play a part,” he said, “first with the Liberals and the friends of enlightenment, now with the Ultramontanes and the orthodox Court preachers. She has become pious now that she is growing old, and has in consequence taken up with the Clerical circles on the Rhine. If she is not already a Catholic, she will be so very soon. We know that she has negotiated with Mermillod in person, and formerly—during the war—with Dupanloup by letter. She has written to Catholic associations that she disapproves of the ecclesiastical laws, and these letters have been published. And then the defence of the Ursulines. Like Eugen, i.e., in 1870, she has, as I subsequently ascertained, issued direct instructions to officials. The Emperor is old, and allows himself to be influenced by her more and more. He has never had that strength of character with which many people credit him. I remember in the period of conflict when things were at the worst that he returned once from a summer resort, where his wife had been frightening him about the Opposition. I went to meet him at Jueterbogk, joining him there in his carriage. He was very depressed, was thinking of the scaffold, and wanted to abdicate. I told him I did not believe things were so bad. Prussians were not Frenchmen, and instead of thinking of Louis XVI. he should remember Charles I., who died for his honour and his rights. If he were to be beheaded, he would also die for his honour and his rights. So far as I was concerned I too would willingly suffer death in case it were necessary. There I had caught him by the sword-knot and appealed to him as to a King and an officer. He became more cheerful, and by the time we reached Berlin he was again quite reasonable. In the evening he joined a large company, and was in excellent spirits. This time when I asked to resign he did not wish me to do so But in acting in this way he only pities himself—what should he do then?—and has no pity for me. I have yielded—for the present—but before I come back I will put my conditions.”

I said: “And they must agree to them. They cannot get on without you. That would only lead to follies and blunders and misfortunes, and they would have to crawl to you on their knees to beg you to return.”

He then came back to the subject of the Empress, and said: “She also interferes in foreign politics, having taken it into her head that it is her vocation to plead everywhere in favour of peace—to be an Angel of Peace. She therefore writes letters to foreign Sovereigns, to the Queen of England for instance, which she afterwards mentions to her consort, who, however, says nothing about them to me. Part of this correspondence is carried on through one of the minor officials of the household. Schleinitz, the Minister of the Household, after having proved his utter incapacity in foreign affairs, has obtained his present post through her Majesty’s favour. But there, also, his success leaves much to be desired. As he knows nothing of the administration of property he only manages to secure very insignificant revenues from the Royal estates. But as he has always been a member of the Court opposition, of the Bonbonnière, he is in high favour with Augusta. In 1866 his salon was the gathering place of the Austrians, and in 1870 the French were constantly at his house, and made it their rendezvous. Whenever an intrigue against me was on foot he was certain to be in it. Gruner is another member of the clique, a man who is not only incapable but passionate. She obtained his promotion on the Emperor’s birthday by a mere written note without the counter-signature of a Minister as a reward for his hostility to me. Then we have Stillfried, Count Goltz and Nesselrode, who all belong to the Bonbonnière, and intrigue with Augusta against me and my policy, and seek to turn our Most Gracious against me. Goltz, a general of cavalry, is a brother of the former Prussian Minister in Paris, whose legacy of hatred he has entered upon without any beneficium inventarii. Nesselrode, the Master of the Household, is a well-known Ultramontane, whose relations with Gehlsen’s Reichsglocke came to light on the prosecution of the latter, and who had a seat and a vote at the editorial conferences held at Olbrich’s.[14] Immediately after that miserable scandal he received one of the highest Orders, thus confirming the fact that that disreputable sheet was favoured by the palace. Stillfried, the great authority on heraldic and ceremonial matters, also a Catholic, was at first moderate, but later—probably in consequence of the Empress’s lectures—went over to the fanatics. And finally, you should not forget the two Radziwills, the former secretary to Ledochowski, and the chaplain. Both belong to the Centre party, and both are welcome guests at the Bonbonnière. The newspaper in which they now deposit their poison—I mean the Evangelical section of the clique—is the Kreuzzeitung. Nathusius, the editor, who for a long time past has tried to turn his readers against the Government and the Emperor, has at length been condemned for libel against Ministers.[15] He has been pardoned by his Majesty on the intervention of the offended parties—certainly in consequence of the Empress’s intercession. You can say that in view of these facts it may be taken for granted that I actually made the statement attributed to me, namely, that my greatest difficulties have arisen from having to undertake a diplomatic mission to our own Court. And you may add that Prince Charles is not well disposed towards me, and exercises an unfavourable influence upon his brother. When you speak of the Evangelical section of the Bonbonnière you may use the expression: ‘The dregs of the Kreuzzeitung faction and of the irreconcilable Opposition in the Upper House.’” We went on to discuss his opponents, and in particular the Privy Councillors and diplomatists who had been retired. In the course of conversation he dealt fully with Arnim, his opinion of him being very similar to that expressed by Bucher.

At this moment his wife entered the room, and handed him some medicine in a cup which she held in her hand. He introduced me as a “fellow campaigner at Versailles.”

When she had gone he continued his explanation: “Then in addition to the Court there are other causes, of friction that hamper and worry me. The Ministers will not modify their views in harmony with my plans—in matters affecting customs and taxation, and in the railway question—particularly Camphausen and Delbrück. They will not take up my ideas, but twist and turn and procrastinate. I must, forsooth, draw up Bills for them and the Reichstag to criticise. Let them do it; in the first place it is their business, and they have the necessary technical knowledge, so they should show what they are capable of. There is in this respect a great deal to be altered, which has been postponed up to now, as other matters took precedence.”

Finally he mentioned the Reichstag as a source of friction. The National Liberals, he said, meant well, and in this connection he mentioned Wehrenpfenig, but they could never forego criticism.

I said everything he had told me would be carefully stored in my retentive memory, and gradually made public in an explicit, vigorous and prudent way. I then put forward my plan for a sketch of his houses and estates for the Gartenlaube, begging permission to inspect Varzin, Schoenhausen and Friedrichsruh, and requesting introductions to the Prince’s officials at those places. He consented to everything, and said, “You must come to Varzin when I am there myself. I will there give you letters for Schoenhausen, and Friedrichsruh, and also for Kniephof, to my cousin who now owns the place, as you should see it too.”

I remarked that he looked in better health than I had expected. “Yes,” he replied, “others think so, too. People misjudge me in three respects: they consider me healthier, wealthier, and more powerful than I really am,—particularly more powerful; but you know how much truth, or rather how little truth, there is in that.” He seemed to have exhausted all the necessary topics, so I rose to take leave, when he accompanied me through the two salons to the room occupied by the attendants, who must have been surprised at seeing this. At least that was the effect made upon good old Theiss, who was on duty there, and who whispered as he helped me on with my overcoat: “Good Heavens, Doctor, an hour and a half with his Serene Highness, who then sees you as far as the door of the antechamber!”

Next morning I paid a visit to the Central Bureau, where my acquaintances were exceptionally friendly—of course I again enjoyed the Prince’s favour. Holstein begged me to come to him, and had a long conversation with me. He said I had been quite different to Aegidi; every one had read about me; and yet I had never pushed myself forward. Little influence was exercised over the press now. In the long run, however, that would not do, and it had already occurred to him whether I might not return. But Bucher was of opinion that I should not be willing to do so. I replied that, as a matter of fact, I did not wish to; but if the Prince desired it I would regard that as a command. Finally, he was good enough to give me a “partout” card of admission to the Reichstag. I went there, heard Hänel and Bennigsen speak on the crisis, and then strolled off to Ritter Schulze’s, where I took lunch. On returning to my hotel the porter handed me a note from the Prince, inviting me to dine with him at 6 P.M. Went there in a frock coat, as requested in the note but wearing a smart white tie and white gloves, while etiquette prescribed a black tie and coloured gloves with a frock coat. I was soon to be reminded of this breach of propriety.

The table was laid in the first of the two back rooms. When I entered only the Princess, Countess Marie, Count Bill, and a lady with a Polish name were present. The Russian General Erkert came afterwards. The Princess, noticing my white necktie, exclaimed, “Herr Doctor, how smart you have made yourself!” I do not remember what I said in reply, as I suddenly became conscious of my sin and felt somewhat out of countenance. Luckily the Prince soon appeared, and we went to table, the general taking in the lady of the house, while I had the honour to give my arm to the daughter. A beautiful silver vase set with old and new silver coins stood in the centre of the round table. I sat between the Princess and the Countess, the Russian being on the other side of the Princess, while the Prince sat opposite me. Then came the dainty little Polish lady and Count Bill, next his sister. We drank Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhine wine, champagne, beer, and finally chartreuse, which the Prince praised as being very wholesome. The conversation was lively and unconstrained. The general related some pretty stories of the simplicity of the Russian soldiers. The subject of the last war then came up, and I reminded the Chancellor of Herny, where he was quartered in the garret of a farmhouse; of Clermont, where in the absence of a bedstead he was obliged to sleep on the floor; of Madame Jesse’s house, the goblin clock and the historical table. He related a number of anecdotes on the same subject, among other things his interview with madame, and the way in which Hatzfeldt had “rescued” the table, replacing it by one exactly similar.

The Prince then turned the conversation upon Kings and Princes, and the way in which they regarded the world.

“They live above the clouds,” I said.

“How do you mean?” he asked.

“Above the cloud of courtiers and other menials,” I replied, “separated by them from the ideas and feelings of other mortals, whose wishes and opinions only reach them in a mutilated or adapted form, and sometimes not at all.”

“The comparison is a good one,” said the Prince. “Gods, and yet very human. They ought to be better educated, so that they should know how things look here below, how they really are. Not appearances, but truth. The great Kings have always clung to truth, and yet have suffered no loss of dignity.”

Education in general was then discussed, and the Prince observed, inter alia: “I was not properly educated. My mother was fond of society, and did not trouble much about me. Afterwards I was sent to an educational establishment, where too severe a system prevailed, insufficient and poor food, plenty of hardening, thin jackets in the winter, too much compulsion and routine, and unnatural training.” I said that too much severity in schools was not good, as after the restraint was removed young people were apt to abuse their liberty, and even while the restraint lasted nature sought relief in underhand ways. The Saxon Fuerstenschulen were an example of this, their pupils turning out the wildest of all University students. He replied that was so; it had been the case with him too, when he went to the University at the age of seventeen. “It was different,” he continued, “with my sons. They, on the contrary, have had too good a time. They were too well fed, as is customary in the houses of diplomatists, Herbert also afterwards, as he spent his apprenticeship in such houses.” Herbert had, in the meantime, joined the party, when his father introduced me to him; he remembered very well having met me at Pont-à-Mousson and Versailles.

Between 8 and 9 o’clock the Princess, the Countess and Count Herbert retired, returning after a while, the ladies in evening toilette and the Count in a dragoon uniform, as they were going to a Court soirée. The Polish lady disappeared with them. At the desire of the Prince the rest of us remained and continued the conversation, smoking the while, the Chancellor using a long pipe, while another waited ready filled alongside his chair.

At 10 o’clock the general rose, and I followed his example. When we had reached the door, however, the Chief said: “Please wait for a minute, doctor, there is something more I would like to tell you.” He then added a few particulars to what he had said on the previous afternoon respecting the Empress and her Bonbonnière. I asked, “How has Thile acted in this affair? I have always considered him a decent sort of man.” He replied: “That is not quite the case. He did not behave very well in the Diest-Daber matter;” which he then proceeded to explain. I again promised to make diligent use of what he had communicated to me on the previous day. It would be necessary to keep on constantly repeating it, and not to let it drop too soon—it should have young ones, as he had said formerly to me respecting one of my articles. “I shall be very grateful to you for doing so,” he added. I then thanked him once more for his confidence, and said I would let myself be cut to pieces for his sake, as for me he was like one of God’s prophets upon earth. He pressed my hand, and dismissed me with the words, “Auf Wiedersehen in Varzin!” Blessings on his head!

Immediately on my return to Leipzig I wrote the second “friction article,” based on the information I had received in Berlin.