THE EMPEROR FREDERICK’S DIARY—THE CHIEF ON THE DIARY AND ITS AUTHOR—THE GERMAN QUESTION DURING THE WAR OF 1870—THE EMPEROR FREDERICK AND HIS LEANING TOWARDS ENGLAND—THE CHIEF PRAISES THE YOUNG EMPEROR—“BETTER TOO MUCH THAN TOO LITTLE FIRE!”—I AM TO ARRANGE THE CHIEF’S PAPERS, AND DO SO—LETTERS FROM FREDERICK WILLIAM IV. AND FROM WILLIAM I.—CORRESPONDENCE WITH AND CONCERNING THE CROWN PRINCE (FREDERICK)—LETTERS TO AND FROM ANDRASSY DURING THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE AUSTRO-GERMAN ALLIANCE—LETTERS FROM THE EMPEROR ON THE SAME SUBJECT—WILLIAM I.’S RELUCTANCE TO DESERT RUSSIA—CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE TSAR AT ALEXANDROWO—WILLIAM I.’S FINAL INSTRUCTIONS—BISMARCK’S ACCOUNT OF HIS RELATIONS WITH THE EMPEROR FREDERICK.
July 16th.—After it had been whispered in the press for some time that the Emperor Frederick had left a diary which did not throw a very favourable light upon Bismarck, and that this was at present in the hands of the Queen of England, a second version of the story (Berliner Boersenzeitung, evening edition of the 13th) is now reproduced from the Matin and other French papers. This is to the following effect. During the lifetime of the Emperor William I. Prince Bismarck prepared a frank statement respecting the European situation and his own political views, which he handed to the Emperor, believing that the latter would survive his son, and that the document would thus pass direct, without any intermediary, from the grandfather to the grandson. Frederick ascended the throne, and found the Bismarck memorandum. All the efforts made by the Chancellor to recover possession of it were in vain, and on Frederick’s death it was found that the document, which contained the most secret ideas and schemes of the Chancellor, had come into the possession of Queen Victoria, who declined to give it up. In this form the story is doubtless akin to that of the sea-serpent, and yet it is perhaps not entirely without foundation. Anyhow, it is possible that a diary by the late Emperor may be in existence, and may have been put into a place of safety by his consort or her mother.
On the 20th of September I received from Grunow the October number of the Deutsche Rundschau, containing the diary of the Emperor Frederick during the war. I reviewed it in No. 40 of the Grenzboten without having any doubt as to its being in the main genuine. On the 24th Hedwig announced the arrival of one of the Chancery attendants who had been sent by Rottenburg to request me to call upon him at 2.30 P.M. I went, and he showed me a letter from the Imperial Chancellor (written by an amanuensis) desiring him to request me to come to Friedrichsruh, and to bring with me my notes taken during the war, as the diary of the Emperor Frederick appeared to contain inaccuracies. I promised to start next morning, whereupon Rottenburg arranged to telegraph to Rantzau to stop the 8.30 A.M. train at Friedrichsruh where it does not usually stop. Nothing was to be said in the newspapers about my visit. I replied that that went without saying so far as it depended upon me. I had always felt disgusted at the merest mention of my name by that pack. On the same evening Rottenburg sent me a letter requesting me not to leave Berlin, but to come to the Imperial Chancellerie at 10 A.M. on the following morning, as other arrangements had been made.
I appeared punctually at 10 A.M. in the Chancellor’s antechamber, where I met the Secretary of State, Von Schelling (medium height, red face, white hair and small white moustache) who was shown in to the Prince before me. As Rottenburg informed me while I was waiting, the Chancellor had arrived and wished to see me. He added, however, that he might not be able to see me now, in which case I should return at 2.30 P.M. Rottenburg also inquired if I had already found any inaccuracies in the diary published in the Rundschau. I replied that so far I had only noticed some trifling errors, and that on the whole I considered it to be genuine, but not complete. Schelling remained for half an hour. On his leaving, Rantzau came out and spoke to Rottenburg, whereupon the latter again requested me to return at 2.30 P.M., as the Chief was too much occupied to be able to speak to me now. On my return at the hour named he said that the Chancellor had still no time to receive me and was going back to Friedrichsruh that evening. There was, therefore, no alternative but for me to go there likewise. It would be well if I were to start next morning and telegraph to him shortly before my departure in order that he might arrange for the train to stop at Friedrichsruh. I promised to leave by the 8.30 train from the Lehrter station, which arrives at Friedrichsruh about 1 P.M., and also to take with me my notes, of which he again reminded me.
September 26th.—About one o’clock I arrived at Friedrichsruh station, where Rottenburg was waiting with a carriage for Count Solms, our Ambassador in Rome—who travelled by the same train—and myself. On our way to the house, the Privy Councillor told us that the Prince had gone out for a walk in order to freshen himself up, as he had done a great deal of work last night. At 2.15 P.M. I met him at lunch, at which the Princess, Rantzau and his wife, his Excellency von Solms, and a Prioress, whose name I have forgotten, were also present. The Chief, as was his custom formerly at Varzin and here, read through, signed and otherwise disposed of various documents. After lunch Rottenburg, on his instructions, handed me a memorandum on the diary published in the Rundschau. This was directed to the Emperor and was to appear next day in the Reichsanzeiger. While I was reading this through in his study, the Chief came in, asked me to give it to him, and made a few corrections and additions in it. I then read it through in my own room upstairs, after which the Chancery attendant, Kleist, took it away. I then chatted with the three little Rantzaus, who were trying their skill at archery at an improvised target near the coach-house; advised them in the matter, and in that way, apparently, won the good will of the still very childlike and unaffected boys. Then a short walk with Solms in the park on the banks of the Aue. On my return, I found a carriage standing before the door of the house; and the Chief sent word to say that he was going out for a drive, and would I like to come with him. Of course I would. We then drove for about two hours, first to Silt, afterwards to Schönau and finally to the Billenbrück, and then home through the beech wood on the right bank of the Aue. On the way, the Prince spoke to two gamekeepers about the scarcity of partridges and the fish poachers; while he discussed the state of the crops, and the condition of the cattle with a cowherd whose charges were feeding in a field of vetches. Further on, he entered into conversation with overseers who were looking after the potato digging and with labourers who were ploughing with oxen. In the intervals he had a long conversation with me on the manner in which the Crown Prince’s diary should be dealt with. He introduced the subject by the remark (in English): “I am afraid you have forgotten your English.” On my answering, “No, sir, by no means,” he continued the conversation in that language on account of the coachman. He began: “As you will have seen from what you read, we must first treat it as a forgery, a point of view from which a great deal may be said. Then, when it is proved to be genuine by the production of the original it can be dealt with further in another way.” I said that on the whole it appeared to me to be genuine, but incomplete, on the one hand, while, on the other, there were interpolations, probably by Victoria No. 2, in support of which opinion I quoted examples. I also told him that, in ignorance of his plans, I had already dealt with the matter in the Grenzboten a week before, according to my own views, and in certain flagrant instances condemned it cautiously. Another course was, however, still open to me. I then repeated to him, from memory, the commencement of the article in question. He rejoined: “You were quite right. I myself consider the diary even more genuine than you do. It is quite insignificant, superficial stuff, without any true conception of the situation, a medley of sentimental politics, self-conceit and phrase-mongering. He was far from being as clever as his father, and the latter was certainly not a first-rate politician. It is just that which proves its genuineness to me. But at first we must treat it as doubtful.” The conversation then turned on the details of the diary. I asked if he had spoken to the Emperor on the subject, and he replied in the affirmative, saying: “He was quite in a rage and wishes to have strong measures taken against the publication.” He then came to speak of the demand for Imperial Ministers. We have them, of course, only without the title and name. The Imperial Chancellor is their permanent President,—permanent, because with us the power of the Emperor is greater under the Constitution than in other countries which are ruled by alternating Parliamentary majorities. I suggested that Gustav Freytag might perhaps at the instance of the Empress Victoria have edited the diary and arranged for its publication. I tried to show the probability of this suggestion by a reference to his political views, to the confidential position which he occupied towards the two Victorias, and in particular to an instruction to Brater’s paper in Frankfurt in the summer of 1863, during the conflict between the King and the Crown Prince respecting the “Press Ordinances.” He considered, however, that the trick would prove to have been done by Hengst, a writer who serves the Court, and particularly its ladies, in the press. He then repeated the main points of the memorandum which I had previously read. I now ascertained for certain that this was a report on the diary in the Deutsche Rundschau which the Chancellor, by the Emperor’s command, had submitted to the sovereign a few days ago. He added various details: “In 1870 the Crown Prince was only partially initiated into the negotiations, as the King feared that he would write about them either to his consort, or direct to Queen Victoria and her Court, whose sympathies were with the French. In the second place, he might also have done harm, as his views with regard to the demands upon our German allies went too far, and he was thinking of coercive measures which were urged upon him by his good friends at Baden and Coburg—as, for instance, Roggenbach, who always was a fool. He had therefore only a superficial knowledge of the course of affairs. It is, nevertheless, surprising that these notes, which are supposed to have been written down day by day, contain so many misconceptions, confusions and chronological errors. A great deal of it cannot possibly have been written by the Crown Prince, and must have come from his entourage or the publisher. Here it is said that, in the middle of July, I wanted to return to Varzin because peace was no longer in danger, while he, of course, knew that I considered war to be inevitable, and had declared my intention to retire when the King showed a disposition to yield. It is also inconceivable that the Crown Prince endeavoured at an early date to secure the Iron Cross for non-Prussians, in view of the fact that at Versailles he was opposed to it, and it was I who first suggested it. He represents this as the beginning of the struggle between him and me as to the future of Germany, although he must surely have remembered former differences of opinion between us, that led to some very lively discussions which one would not be likely to forget. It was before or immediately after Sedan, at Beaumont or Donchery, and the conversation took place in a long avenue through which we rode side by side. We came to high words over our respective views as to what was expedient and morally permissible, and when he spoke of force and of coercive measures against the Bavarians I reminded him of the Margrave Gero and the thirty Wendish Princes, and also of the Sendling massacre. When he held to his opinion, however, and suggested that I should carry it into execution, I said to him (scarcely in so blunt and plain a fashion) that there were things which a Prince, perhaps, might do, but no gentleman would attempt. Such conduct would be an act of perfidy, and an outrage upon allies who had fulfilled their obligations, quite apart from the folly of such an attempt at a time when we had further use for them. The statements in the alleged diary as to my position in the Emperor question in 1866, on my intentions in connection with the dogma of infallibility, my idea of an Upper House and the Imperial Ministries, can hardly have been written by the Crown Prince either. In 1870 he could no longer doubt that the Empire, in the form which he had in his mind in 1866, would have been neither useful nor feasible—in fact it would not have been an Empire at all. What he desired in 1866 was not an Emperor but a King of Germany—the other Kings and Grand Dukes being reduced to their former rank, merely Dukes—as if that were an easy matter to bring about. We had already put an end to the Upper House at Beaumont or Donchery, and had dealt with the Imperial Ministers in like fashion. He, too, must have finally recognised that the dogma of infallibility was of slight importance for us, and that I regarded it as a blunder on the part of the Pope and advised the King to let it rest during the continuance of the war. Even a hasty thinker like the Crown Prince could scarcely have concluded from that that I intended to oppose it after the war, and therefore this passage was doubtless not written by him. At least for the present we must continue to doubt the genuineness of this and other statements.” He then spoke of Bray, who, as an Austrian sympathiser, delayed the mobilisation of the Bavarian troops in 1870; and of King Lewis, who—at that time of sound German principles—was “our sole influential friend in Bavaria.” Returning to the Crown Prince’s idea of 1866 and to his Upper Chamber, the Chancellor observed: “An Emperor or King of North Germany would have created a division between North and South Germany such as did not exist under the Customs Union; and an Upper House with Princes and elected members was impossible.” I then reminded him of the importunity of Baden and Coburg, who at Versailles worried him with memorials and verbal counsels, questions, &c., to that effect, and of his indignation at the unexpected visit of the Grand Duke Frederick during dinner. I then mentioned to him what Bucher had told me about the sensible attitude adopted by the Queen of England at Charlottenburg, which he confirmed, adding that at the interview which he had had with her he had in part prompted the admonitions which she addressed to her daughter. In this connection I asked whether the statement in Bleichröder’s Boersenzeitung as to his strong condemnation of my article, “Foreign Influences in the Empire,” were true. I added that, rebus mutatis, I should have considered it quite conceivable, and had indeed said as much. He replied, smiling: “Nonsense! quite the contrary. I have several times expressed my high appreciation of it. The article was really quite first rate, and the Coburg pamphlet was also very aptly applied.” Driving along in the dusk on the right bank of the Aue, we passed a boarding school, and were greeted with cheers three times repeated by a crowd of children (doubtless the pupils and their teacher). “They will,” he said, “have taken the grey-bearded gentleman seated by me for a Rumanian or Bulgarian Minister on a visit.” “Then I too have had a share in the ovation,” I rejoined, “and shall take it with me to Berlin as a souvenir.” He afterwards requested me to look through my diary to-morrow, to see if there were any further chronological or other mistakes in the publication of the Deutsche Rundschau and to report to him on the subject.
After dinner, which began at 7 o’clock and lasted for about an hour, coffee and cognac were served in the next room, while the Prince seated himself on a sofa in the corner, behind a table with a lamp. There he read the newspapers and smoked a long pipe. We followed suit with cigars. I had some conversation with Rantzau, who is now about to leave for his post at Munich, concerning “Friedrich der Sachte,” and my intercourse with him and his “Ministers,” as well as on the old Schleswig-Holstein agitation. The Princess then brought me a book kept by her, in which I had to write my name and the date. I was preceded in this by various distinguished and eminent people, celebrities of the day, Ministers, Ambassadors, Envoys, &c. It will one day be an interesting collection. Afterwards met Solms upstairs in the corridor leading to his and my room, and hastily gave him a little (well deserved) praise for his sharp diplomatic scent in the months preceding the French war. This moved him to invite me to his room, where he gave me detailed particulars of his experiences and achievements at that time, but unfortunately in French, whereby some points were lost to me. (...)
On the morning of the 27th I again spoke to the Ambassador as he was on the point of starting for Berlin and Rome. “Adieu, old friend, and if you ever come to the Eternal City be sure to visit me. But what I said to you last night about the Paris affairs must not appear in your memoirs.” “No, Excellency, a mere reference to the conversation without any details. I know how to respect your confidence as well as that of other people.” “Yes, I am convinced that you have gathered a great deal about our affairs which does not appear in your books.”
During the forenoon, in accordance with the Chief’s desire, I went through my diary up to our stay at Ferrières. At lunch the Prince observed, after first recommending me to take some herring: “They are wholesome, and I always have some since Schweninger advised me to take fish. Moreover, it is a very fine and good fish, and is only looked down upon because it is so plentiful and cheap. Since I began in 1883 I must have disposed of over a thousand of them.” In the evening, after dinner, the Prince, while looking through the newspapers, suddenly said: “Yes, since 1840 the Princes have begun to degenerate. I will give you an example or two (looking towards me). In 1858, before Prince William, afterwards Emperor, acted as Regent for his brother, there was a reactionary intrigue on foot with which Manteuffel was not unconnected, and in which they also wanted me to join. Its object was to induce the sick King to withdraw his authority, and to let Queen Elizabeth govern through the Ministers. I did not join in that scheme, but on the contrary started for Baden—or was it somewhere else in South Germany?—and told the whole story to him (the Prince of Prussia). He was not at all disconcerted by the plan, however, and declared himself ready to retire immediately. It was therefore a matter of perfect indifference to him. But I argued it out with him. What will be the result of such a move? It is surely your duty to hold on! Send for Manteuffel at once. And Manteuffel actually came, after having hesitated for some little time, excusing himself on the ground of illness, and so the affair went no further. Then at Babelsberg, when I was called thither in order to be made Minister. In his despair he had the act of abdication ready signed, and it was only when I offered to stand by him in spite of Parliament and in spite of the majority that he tore it up. This restored his courage and confidence and his sense of royal duty, which in his unfortunate position had, until then, been a matter of utter indifference to him. He afterwards held to it firmly enough.” The Chancellor added that of late years the deceased monarch through this sense of duty had sometimes caused him considerable difficulties, as his knowledge of affairs was limited and he was slow in comprehending anything new. Of the present Emperor he said: “He has more understanding, more courage and greater independence of Court influences, but in his leaning towards me he goes far. How considerate he was the last time he came here! He was surprised that I had waited for him till 11 o’clock, a thing which his grandfather was incapable of saying. And in the morning he waited for me, and although he is accustomed to rise much earlier he did not get up until 9 o’clock, thinking that I slept till that hour. I was just washing and only half dressed when he put his hand on my shoulder, and I hurriedly pulled on my dressing gown in order to be to some extent in a proper condition to receive him.” I said: “Yes, Serene Highness, you now appear to have everything one could wish for you. A docile and grateful pupil and warm admirer stands by your side as ruler and chief authority in the State, and we, your people, rejoice with all our hearts, and hope that it may long remain so.”
“It is only in trifles and matters of secondary importance that one had occasionally some little reason to find fault with him, as for instance in the form of his pronouncements. After all, that was a little too much of a good thing when he said: ‘Forty-two millions and eighteen army corps on the field.’ ‘If at last the whole nation lies hushed in the silence of death.’ If every German soldier and civilian is dead, what significance can the independence and inviolability of Germany still have? And new-fangled words from the newspapers, such as ‘unentwegt,’ ‘voll und ganz,’ to say nothing of ‘diesbezüglich,’ do not look well in his proclamation.” The Prince rejoined: “In his reference to the battle-field it would certainly have been enough had he said: ‘And if I were to be the last man upon the field of battle nothing that we have conquered shall be lost!’ But that is youthful vivacity, which time will correct. Better too much than too little fire!” I then conversed with Countess Rantzau, and recommended to her a climatic cure, deep breathing in the open air. He looked up from his paper and said: “Pulmonary gymnastics? I too have tried that, and still do occasionally.”
Up to lunch time on the morning of the 28th I read through my diary, and came upon a number of passages that seemed likely to be of use to the Chief. On being called down to lunch I met a gentleman who was paying a private visit. He was introduced to me as Privy Councillor of Embassy Brauer, a portly man of about thirty-six, who has a slight touch of the South-west German accent. The conversation turned on the Crown Prince, and the shallowness and poverty of thought which characterised his diary. From this the Chief again concluded that the publication in the Deutsche Rundschau, or at least a great part of it, might be genuine. He again spoke in English on account of the servants. I took the liberty to remark that according to page 138 of my diary it appeared after all that he had had a conversation on the German question with his Royal Highness at Versailles on the 16th. He rejoined: “Yes, but then he has mixed it up with a former one, and moreover I cannot have advised him to propose to the King that the Bavarians should be disarmed.” I added that that must have been said ironically—a suggestion of such a monstrous description that no one could take it seriously.
On his rising from table to go to his study, I followed him outside in order to tell him privately that I had found some passages in my diary which might be of interest to him, mentioning in particular Fleming’s despatch on Mohl’s report. He said he would like to see them in the afternoon, and would send for me for the purpose. “I must now answer Augusta, who has once more administered to me one of her gracious Model Letter-Writer epistles.” Later on, when I brought him the diary with the passages of interest marked, he praised Mohl’s description of the relations of parties in Bavaria as apt and accurate. On my saying that it would doubtless have been in the hands of the Grand Duke of Baden three months before the differences at Versailles, and that he would certainly have communicated its contents to the Crown Prince, he answered in a tone of contempt: “Ah, that is mere talk on his part. He never took anything seriously, or studied it thoroughly. Do you really think that they were seriously concerned, to read despatches, and to think over and note the contents of reports? They just met in order to smoke and exchange ill-natured gossip.” He then related once more: “It was before the conference at Donchery when he spoke of using force against the Bavarians, and of eventually shooting down the two army corps if necessary. I said to him that would be an act of unheard-of treachery, which a Prince might decide upon, but which no gentleman could perform. That would be a course similar to Gero’s, in his treatment of the thirty Wendish Princes, a perfidy which had such fatal consequences for the whole Ostmark.” On this occasion he also repeated his plan of campaign with regard to the publication in the Rundschau: “First assert it to be a forgery, and express indignation at such a calumny upon the noble dead. Then, when they prove it to be genuine, refute the errors and foolish ideas which it contains, but cautiously, and bearing in mind that he was Emperor and father to the present Emperor.” He then exclaimed suddenly: “Well, he is gone! Made off with himself, with the Public Prosecutor at his heels. Geffcken, I mean, who published it, and who for the matter of that is no Democrat, but a Particularist.” I mentioned to him that, during the latter half of the fifties, Geffcken, under the nom de plume of “Victor,” had, as a friend of Freytag’s and a petty diplomat of the sniffing and spying order, supplied the Grenzboten with Opposition gossip inspired by the Crown Prince and the Coburg clique; that he was afterwards a diligent promoter of the Augustenburger’s cause, but that in 1877, as pointed out in the “Friction” articles, his place-hunting propensities had been recognised at Karlsruhe. I then asked whether he had read Hofrath Schneider’s posthumous work on the Emperor William, and added, “he did not appear to be well disposed towards you.” “Certainly not,” he rejoined; “and he had good reason for it. He hated me because I had spoilt a fine business for him. A cousin of mine, a Bismarck-Bohlen, wanted to marry one of his daughters, his senior by eleven years, who had driven him crazy by her coquetry. I pulled him away from her by his coat-tails. She might have captured a big estate with him.” I further expressed the opinion that the death of the Emperor Frederick had saved us from an evil future, and in particular from English influence on the foreign policy of Prussia and of the Empire, and from an estrangement with Russia. “Yes,” he rejoined; “he was in favour of the Orleans, used his influence for a daughter of Nemours, was on the side of Poland, of Denmark, and against the war of 1866,—always in favour of what fell in with the views of the English.”
Before lunch on the 29th I begged Rottenburg to ask the Chief whether our business was now at an end, and I might consider myself at liberty to return home. I received no answer, however, although I reminded Rottenburg of the matter. I spent the day in my room, in a bad temper, having nothing to do and feeling bored, and could not go for a walk, as it rained up to dusk. After dinner reference was again made to the Crown Prince’s incapacity, of which the Chief treated us to an exquisite example. He related: “We had at that time a secret treaty with the St. Petersburg people which now no longer exists. Under it we were to remain neutral in case of war breaking out between England and Russia. On my mentioning the treaty to the Crown Prince he remarked: ‘Of course England has been informed and has agreed to it.’” Great laughter, in which the ladies also joined. The deceased sovereign evidently stood badly in need of a wax candle to light up his head—more so, indeed, than even a certain uncle in Thuringia. (...)
On Sunday, the 30th of September, Rottenburg came up to my room about noon, and said: “I have asked the Chief as to your going home, and he wishes you to stay at least for a few days longer, so that it may look like a visit, and not as if you had been specially summoned here for a purpose. How do you spell Commercy?” I replied: “With two ‘m’s’ and a ‘y.’” “He will probably question you about their stay there.” I looked it up, and found that we had arrived at that place at 2 P.M. on the 23rd of August, 1870, and left it at noon on the 24th; that the Chief had had a conference with the King there, and that Waldersee and Alvensleben dined with us. Mentioned that to the Chief at lunch, when by the way, as on the previous day, he returned my greeting with a “Guten Morgen, Büschlein”; and when, among the other good things provided, a basin of peasoup with bacon was served up to me by the Princess’s orders. This is a favourite dish of mine, as I happened to let out on Friday in the course of conversation on various delicacies. The Prince spoke of the Crown Prince’s inadequate acquaintance with modern history, as shown by his reference in his diary to the Emperor and Empire as new ideas emanating from himself and his party. “That was the aspiration of many a German long before he was born. The Burschenschaft sang and drank to it immediately after the War of Liberation, and when I went to Göttingen those were the ideals I carried with me, and if those students had not fought so shy of duelling and beer drinking I might have joined them and got myself involved with them in the subsequent inquiry.” He then related as further evidence of his political views at that time his bet with Coffin, whom he, by the way, knew to be still alive. “As far back as 1848 the idea of an Emperor was well to the front, but it was unworkable, principally because people were thinking of other things at the same time. The beginning of the Empire already existed in the North German Confederation, only Bavaria did not want to come in yet, as was indeed the case in 1870 also, when I had a great deal of trouble to secure her adhesion. On the other hand, I had a hard fight with our Most Gracious Master, who for a long time would not hear of being Emperor. ‘But does your Majesty wish to remain a neuter for ever?’ I said to him one day. ‘What do you mean by that?’ he said. ‘Why, that hitherto you have been the Presidency (das Sie bis jetzt das Präsidium sind.’)” If I rightly understood the Chief at lunch the reason of his question as to Commercy was that it was there he recommended the King to confer the Iron Cross upon the South Germans. “Moltke,” he said, “was entirely against it, asking whether he himself had any Bavarian Order.”
At dinner in the evening the guests included General Lesczinsky, who was in uniform, as was also the Chief. In conversation on a variety of subjects both at the table and afterwards, L. showed himself to be a well-informed man of sound views. He was engaged in the campaigns in Baden, Schleswig-Holstein, Bohemia and France, and has in addition travelled a great deal. He is now stationed in Hamburg, whither he returns to-day. Brauer leaves for home to-night, starting for Berlin at 11 o’clock.
Monday, October 1st.—At 9 A.M. Rottenburg came to my room, and asked me once more the date of our stay at Commercy. I told him. It actually turns out that the point in question is, that it was here the Chief first spoke to the King about giving the Iron Cross to non-Prussians and to the Bavarians in particular. In the evening, Rottenburg and I took a long walk past the Aumühl into Holstein, and arranged to make similar excursions in other directions, principally through the Sachsenwald, where there are a number of good roads, and which is now beginning to take on autumn tints. Rottenburg is a frank and amiable man, with whom one is soon on good terms. He is intelligent and well informed, particularly in social questions. He has an extensive knowledge of public men, and would appear in addition to be an excellent worker. He comes from Danzig, and spent five years in London for the purpose of study.
After dinner something in the conversation led me to inform the Prince of Andrae’s letter to me, and of my meeting with him. He observed that Andrae was a vain intriguer, and that the story about Stirum was not true. Moreover, not only Holtz, but the majority of the others who signed the “Declaration” wrote to him, Bismarck, separate letters of excuse. The Princess remarked that Andrae was one of the worst of the “Deklaranten.” I ascertained at the same time that her mother was a Gichtelite, and that Below-Hohendorf was their Grand Lama—an epithet which the lady did not use, however. The Chief then read a little of the book, Bismarck unter drei Kaisern, but after looking through it for a while he soon laid it aside. In reply to my question whether there was anything in it, he said: “Oh, no; a mere hack’s work! Put together with scissors and paste from the newspapers and such sources, without much knowledge of the subject or real coherence.”
During our walk I had mentioned to Rottenburg my longing for some work to do, and had sought refuge from my boredom in three volumes of Hallberger’s Ueber Land und Meer, which I found in my room. He promised to send me Schmidt’s work on the French Revolution, but did not do so. In my despair I plucked up courage and applied to the Chief himself, asking him if he could not give me something to do, if it were only ciphering, deciphering or copying, perhaps some matter of no importance,—“for my part it may be making out lists or adding up accounts.” He smiled, and, after reflecting for a moment, said: “Perhaps I can find some more interesting occupation for you to-morrow. I will see.”
On Tuesday, October 2nd, took a walk through the wood to Dassendorf and back, which occupied from 11 to 1 o’clock. The weather was very fine. At lunch I ascertained from Rottenburg that the Prince wished to give me a number of letters to look through. When the Chief got up from table he whispered something to Rottenburg at the door, whereupon the latter came back to me and said the Prince was now going upstairs to look out the papers. In about a quarter of an hour I was summoned to his study, where he had several large packets of documents lying before him. He began: “I once promised you that you should arrange my papers. Here are some of them—letters and other things from the Frankfurt and St. Petersburg period. Here for instance is the Gerlach correspondence, and there are letters from Frederick William IV. to me.” He read over one of the latter to me, and then said: “I think you will find other matters of interest among them. I myself can no longer remember exactly all they contain. Take these upstairs with you, and settle how you are going to arrange them. I think the chronological order will be the best.” Was I not delighted? Such confidence! and such a prospect of fresh information! the fulfilment of a hope that had almost died. Pleased beyond measure I hurried off with my burden and immediately set to work on them, first glancing through the various papers at hazard. The sifting of this treasure was to commence next morning, and to be continued on the following days with as little interruption as possible.
On the 3rd of October we were joined at dinner by the Head Forester, Lange, one of the Prince’s managers and an expert who was engaged in laying down meadows. On the 4th the technical controller of one of the Customs division at Hamburg dined with us. Schweninger arrived on the 5th. He behaved very nicely, and was, indeed, almost tender in his manner on my expressing my admiration of the unquestionable service he had rendered in restoring the Chancellor’s health. He wished to visit a patient of his in Mecklenburg, a lady of the nobility, but on the 6th he was still at Friedrichsruh, where he was treated by all the members of the family as a friend of the house. On the 8th we again had the Head Forester at dinner, as well as a prosperous timber merchant and coal-mine owner from Westphalia. In two hours Minister von Bötticher was expected to arrive from Berlin. At table the Prince related that formerly, and even since he became Minister, he was sometimes obliged to dance with Princesses at Court entertainments until the old gentleman (King William) expressed his displeasure. He excused himself by saying: “What is one to do, your Majesty, when Princesses command?” The Princesses were accordingly informed of the prohibition. Keudell was also passionately fond of dancing formerly, and Radowitz too, but the King also broke the latter of this habit.
Addendum.—Yesterday the Chancellor once more returned to the subject of King William’s anxiety in 1866 to utilise his victories in a different way to what he (Bismarck) advised. “His mind was set on Northern Bohemia, half of Saxony, half of Hanover, Ansbach and Bayreuth, &c., and it was difficult to get the idea out of his head.” At lunch to-day I told the Chief (in English on account of the servants) that I expected to finish my work in two or three days, and to return the papers to him in linen envelopes, arranged according to the years. He replied (also in English): “Then you have lost no time, seeing what a quantity of them there were. But I have also a number of others for you. The work is not yet over, as there is a lot more there, more recent and perhaps more interesting for you. Have you found anything of importance among the first batch?” I said I had. He called attention to the contrast between Gerlach and Manteuffel, the Minister, which was evident from their letters. He also mentioned Niebuhr, of whom he remarked: “It is with him as with many pious people of his sort: he has no tact, regards himself as the envoy of an anointed King, and as his representative considers himself to be also anointed.”
On the 9th of October I had been a fortnight at Friedrichsruh, and on the 10th the last envelope would be filled, but other important work intervened unexpectedly. Two documents arrived from the Ministry of the Household, a short and a long war diary of the Crown Prince, afterwards Emperor Frederick, both written in his own hand, the first presumably an extract, or perhaps the original of the harmless part of the latter, the second obviously written for the most part after the war, and with many additions. Both are to be speedily examined, and, as Rottenburg informed me on bringing me the documents, I was to do part of the work, examining the latter portion of the first of the two manuscripts, while the Chief dealt with the earlier portion and he (Rottenburg) with the second. I also assisted Rottenburg afterwards, as the papers had to be sent back to Berlin in two days. The diary in the Deutsche Rundschau is not from the shorter version, but from the far more comprehensive one of the Ministry of the Household, the interpolations of which are in great part of a political nature, and are often highly characteristic, although deficient in real statesmanship. The writer is in every respect mediocre and superficial, no talent and no character, although he is thoroughly at home in fault-finding and abuse. We collected and noted down in our section some particularly fine specimens of his manner of thought, and of these a small selection may be here given. They do not include the finest of all, which I had to leave to Rottenburg or for the Chief, who came into our bureau (at 11 o’clock at night) while we were making the extracts, and was pleased to find that I was so diligent in my efforts to be of use. On the 4th of January the author of the interpolated diary had read “with great satisfaction” the reflections upon the new year published by the Volkszeitung, and was “horrified” that the Minister of War had forbidden the circulation of the paper. On the 2nd of January an eulogy of the Queen of England, “who stands up for us Germans at every opportunity, knows very well what are the issues involved, and understands German affairs.” On the 8th of January he notes Odo Russell’s satisfaction at Bismarck’s having yielded in the matter of the English coal ships (a matter which H.R.H. had much at heart).—On the 11th of January Prince Luitpold’s “unworthy” proposal respecting the military oath of allegiance of the Bavarians, had, like Bismarck’s irritability, greatly worried his Majesty.—January 17th. Bismarck, speaking to Schleinitz in the antechamber, had “peevishly” exclaimed that he could not conceive why there should be a joint conference of the Chancellor of the Confederation and the Minister of the Household in presence of the King. Then a very detailed account of the interview respecting the Emperor and Empire at the Prefecture. On that occasion the King was very excited and vehement, and the Crown Prince was afterwards so unwell that he had to take medicine.—February 1st. Interesting addition respecting Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, “who, like myself (the Crown Prince) regrets the manner in which the Empire has been brought into existence, &c.”—February 14th. A somewhat lengthy account (an addition) of an interview between the Crown Prince and Bonnechose.—16th. Conversation with Russell on the consequences of English neutrality. (In another passage apprehensions for beloved England, owing to Bismarck’s leaning towards Russia and the United States). 22nd. Doubtless an interpolation of a much later date. That “after the peace our next task must be the solution of the social question.” It is certain that the good gentleman with his narrow views and small brain never thought of that subject until Bismarck found time to take the matter in hand, and discovered ways and means for dealing with the evil which would never have occurred to his Royal Highness and his Volkszeitung.—26th. Conversation with Père Hyacinthe on the Catholic Church (and also on Döllinger). As was to be expected, the Crown Prince has high praise for that superficial and sentimental individual, and feels that his words have actually given him a sense of exaltation and a feeling of deep peace.—March 10th (pp. 351, 352 of the MS.). Lengthy statement of political views, of which extracts have appeared in the Deutsche Rundschau. The interpolated diary goes as far as the 17th of July, 1871, at Munich, and then a few pages follow respecting his stay in England and at Wilhelmshöhe.
On the 10th of October his Excellency von Bötticher appeared at lunch. Intelligent, practical looking face, tall figure, and a moustache with a tuft trimmed after the fashion of Napoleon. On going to the chimney piece for a light for his cigar brings me one also. The Chief, who as usual occupied himself at lunch with reading through and signing official documents, looking up from a paper, suddenly remarked: “‘Unentwegt,’ Busch can’t bear that word.” The Minister looked at me and smiled. “That is so,” I said, “and I consider ‘diesbezüglich’ still more abominable. The former has come to us from Switzerland, and the latter from Vienna.” The Chief then sang the praises of the herring to Bötticher also, mentioning that he eats it regularly, and adding some remarks on other means of promoting health, as, for instance, that here when the weather is favourable he rides or walks for two or even three hours daily, his quantum in the latter case being five thousand paces, and not infrequently more.
On the 12th of October the documents which the Chief had handed over to me to arrange had all been read through, put into chronological order, and numbered consecutively in red pencil from 1 to 308. These were packed in eight large envelopes, each docketed with the year and the dates and numbers of the first and last documents contained in them. Further particulars of the contents, which I offered to give, were declined by the Prince as superfluous. These papers consisted for the most part of letters, the remainder being reports, memoranda, drafts, and telegrams. The following is a survey of the contents.
First Envelope. The year 1851. (Also includes a letter from Prince Charles, dated March 21st, 1848.) Nos. 1 to 29. They begin with the 5th of June and end with the 24th of December, and consist in great part of letters from the Minister and General Manteuffel, from R. Quehl, from Bismarck to Manteuffel, and from General L. von Gerlach. Contents of the latter: That of the 23rd of November, against the new Hamburg Constitution, Senator Hudtwalker’s mission, a scheme for giving the Estates a position side by side with Constitutionalism. That of the 4th of December, again on the Hamburg Constitution. That of the 20th of December, considerations on Bonapartism, after the coup d’état, request for an expression of opinion on the situation, with the hope that their views coincide.
Second Envelope. 1852. Nos. 30 to 85. Begins with the 5th of January and ends with the 30th of December. Principally letters from General Gerlach and Minister Manteuffel, R. Quehl, King Frederick William, a rescript by that sovereign, four almost illegible notes from the Prince of Prussia, and, finally, a communication from Bismarck to Gerlach, dated the 5th of January, reporting on the change of Ministers in Nassau, the question of the fleet, the relations of Austria to France, and possible anti-Prussian schemes of Schwarzenberg, the views of the English Chargé d’Affaires, Edwardes, on Bonapartism. The first letter from the King begins with the words: “I would remind you, dearest Bismarck (theuerster Bismarck), that I reckon upon you and your assistance in the approaching debates in the Second Chamber respecting the shape to be given to the First Chamber.” Further on there is a reference to “the low intrigues of the conscious or unconscious coalition of scabby sheep on the Right and stinking goats on the Left to defeat the Royal intentions.” “A sad sight, and in any circumstances sufficient to make one tear his hair, but on the field of the dearly-purchased, lie-producing machine of French Constitutionalism! (Ein trauriger Anblick, unter allen Verhältnissen zum Haare Ausraufen, aber auf dem Felde der theuer angeschafften Lügenmaschine des französischen Constitutionalismus).” The rescript (of the 3rd of June) appoints Bismarck Chargé d’Affaires in Vienna, and summons him to Berlin to receive instructions. The second royal letter (of the 5th of June) introduces him to the Emperor Francis Joseph and says, inter alia: “I am pleased that your Majesty will be able to make the acquaintance of a man who is here honoured by many and hated by others, on account of his chivalrous loyalty and his irreconcilable opposition to revolution in every form. He is my friend and loyal servant, and comes to your Majesty with the fresh and lively impress of my principles, of my line of action, of my will, and, I may add, of my love for Austria. If it be deemed worth while, he can inform your Majesty, and your Majesty’s advisers on various matters as I believe few are capable of doing, and if misunderstandings of an old date have not struck too deep a root, which God in His mercy forbid, his brief official sojourn in Vienna will truly be rich in blessings. Herr von Bismarck comes from Frankfurt, where what the middle States, with their leaning towards a Rhenish Confederation (die rheinbundschwangeren Mittelstaaten) call the weak P. of P. (Query—the weak points of Prussia) has always elicited a powerful echo and has frequently made recruits. He has watched all this and whatever was going on there with a sharp and penetrating eye. I have commanded him to answer every question that may be addressed to him by your Majesty and your Ministers as if I myself had addressed them to him. If your Majesty should be pleased to ask for an explanation of my views and my action in the matter of the Hessian Constitution, I feel sure that the course taken by me, even if it should not perhaps have the good fortune to meet with your approval, will at least secure your respect. The presence of the beloved and glorious Emperor Nicholas has been to me a real encouragement, and a certain confirmation of the strong hope that your Majesty and myself are at one in the truth that our triple, unswervingly loyal and active union can alone save Europe and the froward, yet so beloved, German Fatherland from the present crisis, fills me with gratitude to God, and increases my old and faithful affection for your Majesty. Do you also, my dearest Emperor, preserve for me your love from the days at Tegernsee, and confirm your confidence and your weighty and powerful friendship to me which are so indispensable to the common Fatherland. From the bottom of my heart I commend myself to this friendship as your Imperial Majesty’s true and most cordially devoted Uncle, Brother and Friend.” Gerlach’s letter to Bismarck of the 9th of March condemns the language used by B. in an interview with the King respecting the First Chamber, and in particular that he had not pointed out how his Majesty, “through the attitude which he had adopted, had estranged the nobility, disorganised the parties, and shaken the position of the Ministry.”—15th April. An inquiry at the instance of the King concerning the truth of the rumour that Prince Frederick of Baden was thinking of becoming a Catholic. Then an announcement that Nesselrode was coming to Berlin and that Bismarck was to be introduced to him. G. praises the excellent report on the situation in Bismarck’s letter to Manteuffel on the representation of the Confederacy in the Danish negotiations. He laments the death of Schwarzenberg, and expects nothing better from Bach and Buol. Reports that Rochow has arrived with very good news; regrets that England and Austria should fraternise with Bonapartism and that the Emperor Nicholas should have also allowed himself to be taken in by its anti-Constitutionalism. According to an enclosure of the 21st of April, the rumour respecting Prince Frederick was unfounded.—12th April. Telegram: “There is no hurry with the answer in the (Baden) religious affair.”—18th April. Bismarck was to come to the debate on the First Chamber. The King counted upon his doing so. “We have now assembled the publicans and sinners, ... and the speeches in the Chamber will soon begin again.”—9th May. Gerlach agrees with what Bismarck had said on the debates in the Chamber; reports that the King was greatly incensed at Arnim’s speech, and that he doubtless recognises that “his whole salvation lies in the hands of the Junker party.” He does not anticipate that all will go well in Berlin, although the Emperor of Russia remains there for twelve days, and Francis Joseph has ordered a Prussian Grenadier uniform.—17th May. Gerlach shares Bismarck’s indignation at a newspaper article which was probably inspired by Manteuffel; considers M. to be an honest man, but he has had a singular political past, and cannot come to a good end, unless he sends Quehl about his business. Examples of his inconsistency. “M. has a yearning towards Bonapartism,” “which, after all, has no future.” All is going well with the Emperor and Empress of Russia, “but when they see these things one cannot expect them to entertain much respect for our policy.” Alludes further on to the Zollverein and the opening of direct negotiations for a commercial treaty with Austria; and concludes with a suggestion that Bismarck should come to Berlin, remaining there while the Chamber was sitting and until the departure of the Russians, “in order that one might consider what should and what could be done.”—May 19th. Gerlach reports that Manteuffel, in speaking to him, had defended Quehl, and declared that he would rather resign than part with him. Quehl asserts that he has received a very reassuring letter from Bismarck. Manteuffel is considered indispensable, and so the only course would be to take Westphalen, who deserves it “for sticking to a principle and for his high-mindedness.” His fall would signify a renunciation of the principle of restoring vitality to the Estates as against Constitutionalism. A marked opposition was now developing between Absolutism and the liberty of the Estates, between the atheistic and the Christian State, and the Manteuffels inclined towards Absolutism and political atheism.—May 29th. Under instructions from the King Gerlach calls attention to the circulation of Dulong’s pamphlet, “Der Tag ist angebrochen,” and observes that his Majesty wishes action to be taken against this state of things in the press.—July 21st. Gerlach censures Wagner’s attitude towards Manteuffel, whose position, it is true, is scarcely tenable “unless he decides to enter into alliances with respectable people.” G. regards the future with apprehension, “not that a revolutionary Parliament is now probable, but owing to fear of the rising bureaucracy with its measures of police and its weakness in the days of trial,” days which must come, as Bonaparte will be driven into action abroad by the failure of his internal policy. Bismarck ought to “carry on a positive federal policy” in order that the others should not take the wind out of Prussia’s sails. After the probable victory in the matter of the Zollverein, our dull-witted opponents will presumably lack material for fresh attacks. We should then assume the offensive.—July 23rd. Gerlach begs Bismarck to take up the question of the Hamburg Constitution (against the proposed reform of the new Constitution). Further on, the news that Gerlach has written to Manteuffel that he should not allow himself to be governed by the Conservative party but that he should show himself their master, “and once under the yoke, govern with them.”—July 26th. The Conservatives of Hamburg have begun to move and are anxiously awaiting the note of the Federal Diet; and Bismarck should meet this desire. “The position of affairs in Berlin is an extraordinary one.” Gerlach spoke very strongly to the Premier but without any hope of success. Manteuffel “must be retained at all costs, as his probable successors are simply a terror.” Gerlach’s brother in Magdeburg wishes to visit Bismarck at Frankfurt.—July 29th. Gerlach was highly pleased at Bismarck’s letter of justification, and communicated its contents to the King, who has not entertained the suspicion therein mentioned. The Zollverein business promises to go well. In dealing with it Austria has “behaved in a miserably intriguing fashion. What a pitiful policy in presence of the revolution, and of the sovereignty of the people, of which Bonaparte is the incarnation! On a smaller scale, however, our own policy is just the same.” In connection with the Hamburg affair, Bismarck should publish the Notes and Rescripts of the Confederacy to the Senate by an indiscretion. “This, which has hitherto been a mild request on my part, is now a strong expression of the King’s desire.”—August 3rd. Renewed request that Bismarck should take up the cause of the Hamburg Conservatives. It has now come to such a pass with Manteuffel that no one trusts him, and he trusts nobody. If this mistrust is to be removed, the Ministry must be supported in every possible way.—October 8th. Gerlach complains of Manteuffel and Wagner, and at the instance of the King urges intervention in the Hamburg affair. Hübbe, the leader of the Conservative party there, has been to see him and the King.—November 13th. Gerlach is of opinion that the internal situation is good, if Bismarck “will remain at his post as sentinel on the Rhine (not become Minister?) and keep a sharp eye on the inception and development of the Rhenish Confederation.” If he comes to the Chambers he should get elected to the First “where there is a lack of talent.” G. thinks him better off with Rechberg as a colleague rather than Hübener, because the former is opposed to Bonapartism, while the latter is in favour of it. There is nothing to be done in Hamburg except to procrastinate. The idea of revising the draft prepared by the nine deputies, instead of the old existing Constitution, is absurd.
Third Envelope. 1853. Begins with the 2nd of January and ends with the 14th of December. The first is a letter from Frederick William to Manteuffel on the Danish detachment in the Holstein federal contingent. It says: “In my opinion this should not be tolerated by the German Confederacy if it still retains a spark of honour. We must speak at Frankfurt like honourable Germans, even if they through their ingrained dishonesty will not listen to us. Germany, however, shall and will hear us. If the particulars given by the newspapers should be confirmed, I authorise you to send this little note, in the original, to Bismarck, and to consult details with him.” The following letters are chiefly from Gerlach, Minister Manteuffel, and the Prince of Prussia, and include a further communication from King Frederick William to Bismarck, dated the 12th of September: “My dearest Bismarck, a misunderstanding prevails in my brother William’s circles, a solution of which is necessary to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. At Doberan I received a letter from him, in which he loudly laments Manteuffel’s now certain retirement, which he rightly characterises as a calamity. I asked William for a solution of this riddle, as, of course, everything had been settled three weeks ago, and my perseverance had been crowned with success. He wrote to me in reply about a week since, that he was glad of this, but you, my good Bismarck, had received a letter from Putbus, from the contents of which you, like himself, could draw no other conclusion. From Sans-souci I asked him who was the writer of this letter. He told me Gerlach (Polte); to-day I questioned Gerlach, and he assures me most positively that he has written nothing of the kind to you from Putbus. Here you have the puzzle Schlemassl, in the German-Jewish dialect. Unravel it for me and William as soon as possible. Let your pen be guided by the purest truth.” Bismarck replied to this that Gerlach had written him that he wished to induce Manteuffel to remain, as it appeared impossible to replace him. He had only received this letter however on the 17th or 18th of August, at Ostend. The following letters from Gerlach are worth mentioning. January 8th. (Report of a conversation which Gerlach has had with Ex-Minister v. d. Decken on constitutional changes in Hanover, in which the King of Prussia should assist. The letter desires Bismarck to take up this matter, but first of all to write and give his opinion.) Another of the 28th of January. (For the present Bismarck is not to trouble himself about the Hanoverian affair. Opinion of Prokesch. Gerlach would like to have Bismarck in Berlin, as he fears grave crises, and, according to him, the people should be given clearly to understand that Bonapartism is our worst foe.... Bonaparte will direct his lust of conquest against Spain.) Finally, Gerlach’s letters on his conflict with Manteuffel. This conflict was clearly indicated in the letter of the 23rd of February, in which it is stated, inter alia, that Manteuffel had through Quehl taken a turn downwards, because he doubted the truth of what came to him from above; he wants to see the Conservative party destroyed, and he allows himself to be tempted by Quehl into secret opposition to Westphalen’s measures.
Fourth Envelope. First half of the year 1854. Begins with an undated letter from Gerlach, probably written in January; it is followed by one from Manteuffel dated the 4th of January, while the remainder are mostly letters from the latter to Gerlach, together with reports by Bismarck, and finally, two letters of Seckendorff’s from Stuttgart, the second of which is dated the 27th of June. The following are of special interest. A note of the 17th of March, from the Prince of Prussia, asking Bismarck for information on the Eastern Question, and the reply thereto, a rather lengthy draft by Bismarck; then his report as to an interview which he had with the Prince at Baden, with the result that the latter yields to the royal will, though opposed to his own convictions; a letter from Bismarck to Gerlach on the Bamberg results; an exhaustive report by Bismarck on Buol’s view of the Eastern Question, which the former considers to be correct—doubtless addressed to Manteuffel; another report to the latter on the Bamberg Governments, Bismarck wanting apparently to keep them in check, and also respecting Bunsen and Gagern.
Fifth Envelope. Second half of the year 1854. Begins with a letter of the 1st of July from Gerlach (who finds that Manteuffel is now taking a proper course) and ends with a letter of the 31st of December. The intervening papers include among other things a confidential report by Bismarck to Manteuffel on the abstention of Würtemberg from the existing agreement between the other Governments in favour of the alliance of April 20th; letters from Manteuffel and Gerlach; an (autograph) memorandum by Bismarck on the attitude of the Bamberg people, and of Buol towards Prussia. It says: “We cannot consent to an aggrandisement of Austria, because the importance of Prussia in respect of physical force would be approximated thereby to that of Bavaria. The Western Powers will want to restore Poland, which would be less against the interests of Austria than against those of Prussia and Russia.” The remaining papers include letters from Alvensleben, Bunsen, Pückler, Wolzogen and Schulenburg.
Sixth Envelope. The year 1855, but only from the 2nd of January to the 14th of August. Then come breaks in the correspondence up to November 1858. Chiefly letters from Gerlach and Manteuffel. Also a letter from Frederick William to King John of Saxony (dated 18th January); five or six from Savigny (in one of which he laments that Prussia has missed an excellent opportunity of placing herself at the head of Germany) and from Schulenburg, &c. There is a characteristic letter from Gerlach, dated the 4th of January, in which he writes: “I believe that we should be in agreement if you were here, that is to say, as to the measures to be taken, if not also as to principles—for I hold to the Holy Scriptures, which teach that we must not do evil in order that good may come of it, because those who act in that way are very properly damned. Now to coquet with Bonapartism and Liberalism is to do evil, and moreover, to my thinking, it is unwise in the present case. This you forget (a mistake into which every one falls who has been away from here for some time).... How can you go on finessing indirectly with such an utterly unprincipled and untrustworthy Minister, who is involuntarily lured into the wrong path, and with a master whose peculiarities, to put it mildly, defy calculation? Just remember that F. D. (Fra Diavolo, pseudonym for Manteuffel) is a Bonapartist on principle; think of his behaviour in connection with the coup d’état, and of what Quehl wrote under his patronage—and if you want to know something new I can tell you that he has now written to Werther expressing the foolish opinion that if one wanted to be useful to Russia the way would be to adhere to the treaty of the 2nd of December in order to have a voice in the negotiations; indeed I believe that F. D. has actually advised the King to adhere to the treaty of the 2nd of December, that is to say, with modifications, these, according to the way in which things are done here, being of the nature of reservations which our adversaries would afterwards ignore, without paying any attention to us in the event of their non-observance. Our policy moves along a very narrow path, upon a tight rope, and so far one may say that it has maintained its equilibrium, i.e., it has not fallen into the abyss on either side, yet its course remains anything but secure.... The King, and you also, appear to attribute an exaggerated importance to our participation in the conferences. What good is this gloriole to us, as we can turn it to no account so long as Austria (as is clear from Gortschakoff’s reports) is frightened into hobbling after the Western Powers? Shall we hobble with her, or shall we join England and France in the chorus against Russia, or shall we alone take Russia’s part, a course that would require more courage and skill than can be expected of our deaf and invalid envoy in Vienna. I consider it more dignified, effective, and successful for us to take up an entirely independent attitude towards Austria and the Western Powers. We have met with a rebuff in Paris and London. (The züffliche[14] Usedom and his Radical wife ought never to have been sent there; but that has now been done, however.) Austria has treated us with consistent perfidy. We are, therefore, released from all ties. France, with 300,000 men beyond her frontiers, and England, without an army, will not begin war with us. I do not fear Austria in the least, first because she fears us, while, in addition to that, she has not a man to spare. It would be mere madness to irritate us, should she really want to pick a quarrel with Russia. She now demands with her usual impudence and recklessness that 100,000 men be raised as soon as possible, under the military convention which Hesse has concluded with her. (I shudder at the thought of the foolish and puerile proceedings of April of last year.) To this the reply is curt and bold; there is a firm conviction, based on assurances as well as information received, that the Emperor of Russia has no idea of attacking Austria, either on her own territories or in the Principalities, so that no casus fœderis arises either for Prussia or for the Germanic Confederation. The Prussian army is ready for war, and can be brought into a still greater state of readiness. It is true that Austria has provoked Russia by the treaty concluded on the 2nd of December without the concurrence of Prussia and the Bund, but one is convinced that Russia nevertheless contemplates no attack. I certainly believed that, in face of this declaration on the part of Prussia, Austria would hardly secure her two-thirds majority, and, indeed, that she would probably not even try to force the matter through. Unquestionably, nothing can be done very speedily now. If, however, the negotiations in Vienna take such a turn that their success may be anticipated, they will come to us, and not ignore our 300,000 men. That would be impossible, even now, if all confidence, as well as all sense of fear, had not been destroyed by swaying, not merely to and fro, as frequently happens, but in three different directions, which is of rarer occurrence. I am very anxious that you should come here, if only for a few days, in order to discuss matters.... Do, please, write soon, and criticise this my letter. Write also, if it can possibly be managed, that you are coming.... I yearn for political death. A man who has grown old and blunt and peevish is no longer the right man to wriggle his way through between such a singular master (for whom, all the same, I have an affection of forty years’ standing) and such a premier. Indeed, my bodily conformation is a symbolic warning against doing anything of the kind.”[15]
Seventh Envelope. Documents of the period extending from the 7th of November, 1858, to the 21st of June, 1861, chiefly letters from Minister Schleinitz to Bismarck, and from the latter to the former from St. Petersburg, including a very long one of the 12th of May, 1859, in which B. deals with the improvement of Prussia’s position in Germany as opposed to Austria, indicating ways and means of bringing it about.... Then a very interesting communication, dated the 14th of May, from Bismarck to Alvensleben, which was accompanied by a copy of the letter of the 12th. According to this, the latter was really intended for the then Minister President, the Prince of Hohenzollern, yet the writer is “in the end in a state of doubt as to how his Highness is in his heart likely to regard this matter.” The letter to Alvensleben then goes on to say: “I believe too that Schleinitz will not withhold my letter from H.R.H. the Regent, although I scarcely hope that it will be received with favour there. If you are so disposed and have an opportunity of kindling in the Prince a spark of royal ambition in this sense, I beg of you to make use of the contents of the enclosure, as if I had written to you privately on the same subjects upon which I wrote to Schleinitz. Of course, the only difference is in the head and tail of it, and to whether in your case the title of Excellency already connotes externally the excellences of the inward man. There is almost always an element of mistrust and discontent when I write to Schleinitz, sending you at the same time a copy of my letter, and the Prince allows it to leak out.” On the 29th of May, 1859, Bismarck gives his Minister a serio-comic description of the petty proceedings of the envoys of the German Middle States at St. Petersburg, with whom Gortschakoff has little intercourse, and who worry the more fortunate Prussian representative in their efforts to obtain some material to satisfy their love of gossip. The Hanoverian, Münster, is particularly active and importunate. The Saxon, Könneritz, manifests the warmest enthusiasm for Prussia, abuses Beust and Austria, and “speaks as if he were serving under a Carlowitz Ministry; but we have an old and good proverb[16] that teaches us never to trust a Saxon from Meissen. Montgelas is most profoundly depressed at the fall in the value of Austrian securities, and seems to think, strangely enough, that the remedy to this evil lies in bringing about a general war.” Schleinitz’s letters are almost always full of praise and thanks for Bismarck’s excellent reports. Yet on one occasion (June 24) he acknowledges that many insinuations against him personally, and against his official conduct have reached Berlin. But he adds: “With your reports in my hand I have, however, succeeded in effectually repelling them;” and continues: “if, nevertheless, I take the liberty of requesting you to conform as far as possible to the views of your Government in your non-official conversations and relations, that request is perhaps entirely superfluous, but I am induced to make it by a desire to prevent your laying yourself open in any direction to the attacks of opponents.”
Eighth Envelope. Undated letters and other documents, as well as some of uncertain date.
On Friday, the 12th of October, we were joined first at lunch and then again at dinner by a plump lady in black silk, a Frau von Patkowski from East Prussia, a daughter of Kaiserlingk, an old friend of the Chief’s. I begged the Prince’s permission to absent myself for three days, and took leave of him and of the ladies of the house.
I started for Berlin at 12.45 P.M. on Saturday, the 13th. On my going down to his bureau to see Rottenburg, who wished to accompany me to the train, I met the Chief in the antechamber. He said, smiling, “It is lucky that I have met you before you leave. Frau von Patkowski is travelling with you, so please take care not to lay siege to the pretty plump little lady on the way!” “Those times are over, Serene Highness, and besides, she travels first class and I second.” “Well, in that case she will no doubt be safe.” I expressed a hope that during my absence he would have good weather, as it is necessary for his health, so that he may get his walks and rides. “I do what I can,” he said, “to keep illness at a distance, but it will come all the same, and probably soon. It will be a sudden break down, just as I stand.” Thanks be to God, his appearance in no way justified such a foreboding, as he proceeded to the station with the lady on his arm, walking erect and the very picture of health.
On Wednesday, the 17th October, at 8.30 A.M., I again left Berlin for Friedrichsruh.
I had previously been accustomed every evening after dinner to spend some time romping in the next room with the three little Rantzaus. When I asked their mother at lunch how the boys were, she asked me not to let them have their usual game to-day as a punishment, the two elder lads having been rude and insolent to their governess in the morning. The Prince said they must be whipped for that. The Countess replied that she had deprived them of their bath and slapped them on the cheek for it. He rejoined, however, “That is not enough for such naughtiness. They ought to be well whipped.” He then related how he had chastised Herbert and Bill on one occasion, when they took some hazel nuts and then ran away from the ranger. “It was not on account of the nuts, but because they had obliged the old man to run after them through bush and briar until I caught them and gave them a good trouncing, at which the ranger seemed to be greatly surprised.” I inquired of him whether governesses and other persons entrusted with the education of princes were at liberty to chastise them when they were naughty, or whether they had to tell the parents, who decided as to their punishment. He answered the first part of my question in the affirmative, and went on to say that the governess of the Emperor William II. said as she was administering physical chastisement to him on one occasion: “Believe me, Royal Highness, that it hurts me as much as it does you to do this.” “Ah!” exclaimed the little Prince, “and does it hurt you in the same place?” Everybody laughed heartily at the queer form taken by the boy’s curiosity. As we rose from table and Lindau was taking leave before returning home, the Prince asked me: “Are you going to your room now?” “Yes, Serene Highness.” “I will send for you there. I have something I should like to show you.” In about a quarter of an hour I was summoned to the Prince’s study, where the Chief handed me a large packet of letters. “These are from the old Emperor,” he said, and then read me some passages from them. He wished to have them arranged like the former papers. “Again in mere chronological order, according to the dates.” He asked: “But will not that be too much for you?” I replied with an emphatic negative. I was there for that purpose, and it was a pleasure to me to serve him, and at the same time to have something to read and take with me for my information. He continued: “And here, too, is one from old Bodelschwingh-Schwindelbod. And there are others (pointing to a second packet), the correspondence with Andrassy, for instance, in the summer of 1879. You will find information enough there.” He took up the third pile. “These are from the Emperor Frederick when he was Crown Prince, and also one from her from the villa Zivio.” He was about to return them to the drawer of his writing-table, but I begged him to let me have them also. He said smiling, “But, Büschlein, haven’t you already enough?”—“It will be better for me to have everything there is at once, so that I may have a general idea of all the documents and arrange them more rapidly.”—“But there are still plenty more, and that pile is already heavy enough to carry!” I took all he had by him, however, and carried them upstairs in order to begin my inspection of them next morning. But I could not rest until I had read through some of them as specimens in the afternoon. For example, a long letter from the Crown Princess, dated San Remo, the 22nd of November, 1887, giving the Chancellor particulars of her consort’s illness and of the doctors; and also Bodelschwingh’s communication, on the top of which the Chief had written in pencil “Old hypocrite.” Then before dinner a further walk with Rottenburg in the wood where it is cut through by the road leading to Möhnsen. Lively conversation on a variety of matters serious and amusing, as for instance on Darwin and the high esteem in which he is held by the Chief.