In February, 1890, a few days after the promulgation of the Imperial Rescript on the labour question, Bucher had already pointed out to me in conversation the difficulties in the way of an international settlement of the question, and said he imagined the Emperor was going further in this matter than the Chancellor could approve of.
Monday, February 24th, he said to me: “I have a commission for you which I must carry out before the Chancellor of State arrives. The ‘dragon’ sent for me to-day and asked if I still had any connection with English newspapers, as he wished to get them to insert an article on the elections. I was sorry that I had no longer any such connection, but I thought perhaps you might write to the Daily Telegraph and get it to publish the desired article. He said: ‘Busch! Why, how is he getting on? I understand he has had an apoplectic attack.’ I replied: ‘Oh! no, he only caught a bad cold last Whitsuntide, and suffered in particular from great hoarseness, but he is quite well again now.’ You will observe that the apoplectic attack comes from friend Holstein.” (Probably reached the Chief’s ears in quite a harmless way from Scheibler through Rottenburg.) I replied: “As a matter of fact I have not written for that paper for years, but they still send it to me daily, and Kingston, one of their editorial staff and a leader writer, has translated my book Unser Reichskanzler into English. I fancy, therefore, they would take an article from me on the subject suggested by the Prince.” He then drew an envelope from his pocket and said: “I have here jotted down our conversation on the subject. They are for the main part his own words, pointing out the chief cause of the way in which the elections turned out, the result of which he attributes chiefly to the Rescript. Work them up into an article and see that you get it published in London. He attaches great importance to it and would like to see a copy when it appears.” I promised to write and send off the article next morning, and if it were accepted, to hand in a copy of it personally to the Chief, when I should ask him whether I could be of any further use in the matter. He then mentioned to me that the Prince was not at all satisfied with the Rescript, nor was he pleased in other respects with the intentions of the young Majesty, who had become very self-confident and arbitrary, and that he had only remained in office up to the present because he had hoped that the Emperor would appoint Herbert to be his successor. He knew already, however, that this desire would not be fulfilled, as the Emperor objects to Herbert on personal grounds. (...)
“By the way, when you next visit the Chief, you should speak in a loud clear voice, as his hearing is not so good as it was. You should also avoid contradicting him in any way, as, according to Rottenburg, he is now very short-tempered and irritable.” Bucher’s notes (the original of which I have retained) ran as follows: “Explain the influence of the Imperial Rescript on the elections. The old Social Democrats (Republicans) acted as if the Rescript were a victory for their efforts. Many malcontents—and who in this world is contented?—who were hitherto deterred from joining the Social Democracy by their monarchical sentiments (and at bottom the bulk of our people are monarchical), now believe that they can vote for them with an easy conscience. The Emperor has offended the bourgeoisie, and has actually embittered the large manufacturers who regard the Rescript as an incitement to their workmen. The lower middle classes, middlemen and shopkeepers, do not see that their own interests are directly threatened, as they know how to shift from their own shoulders any increase in the price of goods, but they see their political position threatened by the fourth estate. Many of them have therefore fallen away from the cartel candidates who were in favour of the Government, and for whom they had formerly voted, and took up with the Progressists, whose leaders are double faced. The experience obtained during the period of conflict showed the importance of the sentiments entertained by the bourgeoisie. At that time they wished to seize the reins of power, à la Louis Philippe. The masses did not care, or did not see, yet repeated elections always yielded the same results. The Emperor does not understand that, he has had no experience of it; and it is difficult to make him recognise it as he is surrounded by too many servile flatterers (Byzantinern) who confirm his self-confidence. Among the ‘Sunday’ polling cards in the eastern provinces there were a great number with the name of the Emperor William. Conclusion: Had it not been for the Rescript the elections would have turned out much as they did three years ago.” I worked this up into an article for the Daily Telegraph, and forwarded it to the office in Fleet Street on the 26th of February.
It was not accepted, however, probably because they considered themselves to be better informed by their regular correspondent, or did not think themselves justified in taking sides against the Emperor.
On reaching home on the evening of the 15th of March I found waiting for me an invitation to do Prince Bismarck the honour of visiting him on the following morning at 11.30. (Original retained.) I went to the palace, No. 77 Wilhelmstrasse, at the time appointed, and was speedily shown in. The Chief, who was in undress uniform, was sitting in the front study. He shook hands with me: “Good morning, Büschlein,” and added with a smile, “you still keep your fine beard.” Proceeding to the large back room he called me in to him. There were several boxes and also a big trunk with papers, while a large cupboard containing documents was half emptied. He drew out one drawer of the writing-table and took out a dark green portfolio in which the correspondence with Andrassy had been kept at Friedrichsruh, as also the envelopes containing the papers which I had sorted for him, and said: “I wish you would look through these for me, first glance through those from Friedrichsruh once more, and then those from Varzin and other new ones; there is still a great number of them. I said to you at the time that we would resume the business. Do you still care to do so?”
I: “Most certainly, Serene Highness; I am only too happy to have the opportunity. I thought several times of reminding you, but I did not like to appear importunate and so preferred to wait for your invitation.”
He: “Well, there are others (pointing to the trunk) and here in the green portfolio are more recent ones. You should look through these from Friedrichsruh once more and make a note of those that are of importance from an historical standpoint, then number all the rest in chronological order and add a list of the important ones. I now want to write my memoirs, and you can help me with them. That means I am going to retire. You see I am already packing. My papers are going to be sent off immediately, for if they remain here much longer, it will end in his seizing them.” I expressed my amazement.
He: “Yes, I cannot remain here any longer and the sooner I go the better.”
I: “But surely not immediately, Serene Highness?”
He: “It is a question of three days, perhaps of three weeks, but I am going for certain. I cannot stand him any longer. He wants even to know whom I see, and has spies set to watch those who come in and go out. For that reason, too, I do not well see how I am to get the papers away. They might be sent to you, but how?” I replied: “I could take the more important ones away with me, a few small packets at a time, carrying them in the first place to Hehn’s and then perhaps to Leipzig.”
He: “Hehn? Who is he?”
I told him, and that he was perfectly trustworthy.
He: “I could also have sent them to Schönhausen, and you could go there from Friedrichsruh to fetch them. I want you to have the most important of them copied and to keep the copies for the present.”
I: “But if a stranger were to copy them he might betray the contents to others.”
He: “Ah, I am not afraid of that. Of course he might, but I have no secrets among them—none whatever. Come to Friedrichsruh when I am there and we will work together. But I should like you first to get a letter from Frederick William IV. into the press. I saw it at the end of a new book, of which I do not remember the title, but it was a fabricated version, inaccurate in form and full of impossibilities and absurdities. I have a correct copy of the original, but I cannot find it in your envelopes. (Searched in that for 1852.) Ah, yes, here it is. Take it with you, copy it, and then return me the original.”
I suggested that it should be printed in the Grenzboten.
He: “All right, but it must be given as coming from Vienna, and the publication of the false version must serve as a reason for publishing it.”
While I was helping him to pack the papers in one of the boxes he came to speak about the Rescript, and said: “It comes of an over-estimate of himself, and of his inexperience of affairs, and that can lead to no good. He is much too conceited, however, to believe me that it will merely cause confusion and do harm.”
I: “It is the disgusting —— of the press and of the Court menials that are to blame for his self-deception.” He laughed. I told him that the article on the influence exercised by the Rescript on the elections had been written and sent off, but was not published by the Daily Telegraph.
He: “It was quite correct, however, as reports reached us from all sides as to the bad effect which the Rescript produced on the electors.” He then asked how old I was.
I: “Sixty-nine, but my father was eighty-six and my mother eighty-four.”
He: “Well, I should not mind living till I am eighty, out in the country.” He promised when I left to send me the latest papers (those in the green portfolio) to look through, arrange in chronological order, and copy. I thanked him for his great confidence in me, which was justified, for as I had already said to him on one occasion in 1870, he was my Master, and my Messiah.
He: “Blasphemy! But you have deserved my confidence.”
At 11 A.M. on the 17th of March a Chancery attendant arrived in a cab with a message that the Prince requested me to come to him immediately. On my entering the antechamber, Bleichröder was with him, and afterwards Herbert, and so I had to wait. At length Rottenburg, who had already declared that he, too, would retire, told me that they had gone upstairs to lunch, but that he would immediately again announce my arrival to the Prince. He returned in a few minutes with an invitation from the Chief to take lunch with him. At table upstairs I met a nephew or cousin of the Prince, to whom I was introduced as “Büschlein,” and who remembered having seen me at dinner in Versailles—doubtless the then lieutenant of dragoons with the red collar. The Princess and Count Herbert came in later. The conversation first turned on a foreign diplomatist, who would have married Countess Marie if her father had not been warned against him as a spendthrift. “Besides, I am altogether against marriages with foreigners,” said the Chief, “and particularly in the case of diplomatists.” He then spoke of the alleged second visit of Windthorst. It had displeased the Emperor, but it was merely a newspaper invention and ought to be contradicted. “Such intercourse, however, is useful,” he said. “It is well that I should in that way keep in touch with the parties, and for that reason I have always been accessible to them. Every member of Parliament could come to me at any time, day or night, and be received immediately. But they have taken little advantage of this. They do not want to be considered by their party as having Government sympathies, and prefer to be able to abuse me for having no relations with them. It is only the Ultramontanes who come sometimes, such as Windthorst, Schorlemer and Hüne, also Frankenstein, who is now dead. The cartel parties hardly ever put in an appearance.” He recommended me to try the caviar. “It has been sent to me by the Minister of the Imperial Household at St. Petersburg, and I take it that it is the same as that which is served to the Emperor Alexander. It is the best I have ever had.” He also praised the Moselle and Yquem. On Herbert coming in he laid before the Chief a portfolio connected with the negotiations in progress respecting a partition of East Africa, and the latter gave his opinion as to the frontiers. I accompanied him downstairs, and he handed me out of the green portfolio on the table in the large room nine or ten copies in his own handwriting of letters addressed by him to the Emperor William I., during the years 1872 to 1887. “Copy these and keep the copies by you, and bring me back the originals, as well as that of the letter of introduction of 1852.”
He also gave me a large envelope containing more recent letters and reports to be arranged in chronological order, with dockets on the more important ones for the purpose of the memoirs. “Return me these to-morrow or the day after,” he said; and I promised to bring them back on Thursday. We then went into the other study, and I said that even now I could not bring myself to realise that he was retiring; it seemed to me utterly impossible. He: “Impossible? It is now a fact. Things have gone more rapidly than I imagined they would. I thought he would be thankful if I were to remain with him for a few years, but I find that, on the contrary, he is simply longing with his whole heart to be rid of me in order that he may govern alone—with his own genius—and be able to cover himself with glory. He does not want the old mentor any longer, but only docile tools. But I cannot make genuflexions (Ich aber kann nicht mit Proskynesis dienen), nor crouch under the table like a dog. He wants to break with Russia, and yet he has not the courage to demand the increase of the army from the Liberals in the Reichstag. I have succeeded in winning their confidence at St. Petersburg, and obtain proofs of it every day. Their Emperor is guided by my wishes in what he does and in what he refrains from doing. What will they think there now? And also other expectations which I cannot fulfil, together with the intrigues of Courtiers, rudeness and spying, watching with whom I hold intercourse! My retirement is certain. I cannot tack on as a tail to my career the failures of arbitrary and inexperienced self-conceit for which I should be responsible.”
I: “When he falls into distress and difficulty he will himself come and fetch you back, Serene Highness! He will have to beg and implore you.”
He: “No, he is too proud for that. But he would like to keep Herbert, only that would not do—that would be a sort of mixed goods train, and I should always have to bear part of the responsibility. Moreover, although Herbert would doubtless stand being lectured and censured by me, he would not stand it from Imperial Chancellor Bötticher.” (He therefore seemed to think that the latter had been selected as his successor, and knew nothing as yet of the choice of Caprivi). “Besides they have treated his father badly.” I said: “The Emperor William seems to have the same notion as King Frederick William IV. had, according to Sybel, namely, that Kings in virtue of their office know everything better than their best servants.” He: “Yes, obedient Ministers! He has altogether a great deal in common with him.”... I proposed to publish the letters of William I., or at least a few of them, and mentioned the Grenzboten as a paper from which they would be largely quoted. He seemed to like the idea. “I will see about it when you bring me back the originals. If you do not then see me, report yourself at Friedrichsruh in a short time. I shall now go out riding for a while.” As I was leaving the room, he clapped me on the shoulder in a friendly way. In the antechamber, Rottenburg again said he would also retire. His nerves could no longer stand it. Very nice of him, but we shall see how the cat jumps.
On Thursday, March 20th, I took back to the Chief the originals of his letters to William I. He looked through them and sanctioned the publication in the Grenzboten of the first three, adding at the same time: “We shall first publish these which refer to family matters, and see what impression they make. Then we can let the others follow, and perhaps later on still more from the collection.”
I: “Perhaps articles also?”
He (smiling): “Yes, perhaps. Hamburg newspapers would also accept something of the kind. I have recommended the Norddeutsche Allgemeine, which the company that owns it placed at my disposal, to the Conservatives (doubtless those belonging to the Free Conservative wing) as their organ.”
On Saturday, March 22nd, I returned to him in an envelope the thirty-nine new papers chronologically arranged and numbered, the most important ones being specially docketed. The latter were: No. 14, letter written by William I. in 1884; on the Battenberger and his projected marriage, 16, 18, 21, 31, and 33; a letter to the Chief from the Crown Prince Frederick at Portofino, describing his eldest son as inexperienced, extremely boastful and self-conceited; a letter from Crown Prince William to Bismarck in 1888 on the “Battenberger” business and Albedyll’s plan for “nailing down” Prince Alexander by a written declaration; a letter of the Battenberger from Sofia to the Queen of England, sent to the Chancellor with a letter from the Crown Princess Victoria (two copies); a report by Professor von Bergmann on the illness of the Emperor Frederick; a letter from the Grand Duke of Baden respecting an interview with the sick monarch, which had taken place according to arrangement with him alone (without the Englishwoman) when the Emperor listened with deep seriousness to the statement made to him by the Grand Duke: “You cannot govern without Prince Bismarck (Ohne Fürst Bismarck kannst Du nicht regieren).” The Chief looked through the particulars of the contents which I had written on the envelope, and observed: “Those are really important papers, but take them back with you and keep them at your house for the present.” He then reflected, however, and said: “I am being watched, and you also, and if you are seen coming and going with a large envelope—this will be better. Come here!” He then went into the back study to a large trunk standing in the middle of the room. I followed him, and he raised the cover of a green portfolio which was packed up in it under a round box. “Those are maps,” he said. “Lay these papers between them, and remember where they are in case I should forget it, when we proceed with the Memoirs at Friedrichsruh. I am sending about 300 cases and other things away, and 13,000 bottles of wine. That is a great deal, but it includes many presents. Besides, while I still had money I bought several lots of good sherry, which will come in for my children. Write to me a fortnight after I reach Friedrichsruh and ask when you can come on a long visit and help me with the Memoirs. I must have a private secretary so that I may be able to dictate and dispose of minor affairs by letter. That is not for you, however, as I intend to employ you on something better. I have accordingly asked Schweninger to find a young doctor for this purpose, who would also be at hand in case of indisposition and accident, as, for instance, if I were to hurt myself out riding. It would be something for him, too, as it would in any case bring him in a couple of thousand marks. Keep yourself free for our business.” I replied that I would arrange for the present to remain with him for six months, and if necessary for a further period later on, after a short holiday. We then returned to the front room and sat down, when he said: “There is one thing I would ask you to do now if you still have any influence in the press, that is, to correct a mistake which I have repeatedly noticed in newspaper articles within the last few days, as also in communications from exalted places, as, for instance, from England—with suppositions and reproaches—namely, that I had sent in my resignation owing to my apprehension of great crises, and left the Emperor in the lurch through fear of the increased Opposition in the new Reichstag. A glance at my past history and character ought to have discredited that notion, and a remembrance of the conflict of 1866, when the Opposition was much stronger, and more dangerous, and of my loyalty to my royal master, which I likewise showed and proved on later occasions. But, as a matter of fact, it is quite wrong. On the contrary, I did not want to retire until the summer, and, in the meantime, offered to defend the Imperial policy in the Reichstag, and to take up the struggle with the Opposition. I was not permitted to do so however.... He wants to do everything himself, and he fancies that he can.” He then spoke once more of spying, and of the Emperor setting a watch upon him to see with whom he held intercourse. (Probably Windthorst’s visit.) “That is one of the final reasons that have induced me to tender my resignation.” He stood up, bent across the table, resting on his two hands, and smiling as he looked me straight in the face, said: “But, tell me, do you drink much wine?” I replied: “During the daytime no spirituous liquors whatever, not even at table. In the evening two pints of thin, sour Moselle.” “So!” he rejoined. “You certainly gave me the impression of having stowed away a bottle of Burgundy, and yet a short time ago you had some little trouble. (Apoplectic attack?) Otherwise I do not in the least disapprove of it, as I myself drink my share. But take care of yourself, for I wish to keep you with us for a long time yet.” It was then arranged once more that I should write to him a fortnight after his arrival at Friedrichsruh, but in the first only to arrange for a shorter visit, during which we should talk over and settle about a longer stay later on.
On Monday, March 24th, the Chief again sent, by a Chancery attendant, to fetch me in a cab. I had to wait in the antechamber from 11.45 to 1 P.M. as Caprivi was taking lunch upstairs with the Prince. I then saw the new Imperial Chancellor, as he was going away. Scheibler congratulated Rottenburg on a second quality Red Eagle and oakleaf, which may possibly soothe his nerves. On being called in I found the Chief seated in a causeuse before his writing-table. I handed him to-day’s Post, which Rottenburg had given me for him. He read out to me the short leader of the 23rd (which I have kept), and said: “They, too, want to curry favour. That comes from gentlemen at Court, who want to hush up things. Please say something against that! Could the Liberals themselves abuse me worse? Not the worst, but, on the contrary, the best service that could be done to me would be to give a correct answer to the question whether my retirement has been voluntary or involuntary; and that answer is: involuntary. It is a patriotic duty not to maintain the utmost reserve, but, on the contrary, to tell the truth. The young man would, however, like to have it hushed up. Indeed, he has gone so far as to summon Schweninger, and to try to make him believe that it was due to considerations of health. Yes, there is a great deal of flunkeyism (Byzantinerthum) here, and they all crawl on their bellies before him, in order to attract one gracious look upon themselves.” I asked if he would stay on much longer. He said: “No, to-morrow or the next day.”
I: “Then I am to write to your Serene Highness in fourteen or fifteen days about my visit?”
He: “You can write even earlier, and come very soon.”
The desired article was despatched to the Grenzboten as an appendix to that recently ordered. It appeared in No. 14, immediately following a longer article (probably by Kayser) which preached from the same text as the Post. The first three letters from Bismarck to William I. appeared at the head of No. 14. They ran as follows:—
1.
“Varzin, August 1st, 1872.
“Your Majesty has given my wife and myself great pleasure by sharing in our family festival, and we beg your Majesty graciously to accept our respectful thanks. Your Majesty is right in giving the first place among the blessings for which I have to thank God to my domestic happiness, but happily in my house that happiness both for my wife and for myself includes the consciousness of your Majesty’s satisfaction; and the extremely gracious and friendly words of recognition contained in your Majesty’s letter do more to soothe disordered nerves than all the art of the physician. In looking back upon my life I have had such inexhaustible reasons to thank God for His unmerited mercies that I often fear I cannot remain so fortunate to the end. I regard it as a particularly happy dispensation of Providence that my vocation on earth should be the service of a master for whom I can work with pleasure and affection, as—under your Majesty’s guidance—the inborn loyalty of the subject need never fear to find itself in opposition to a hearty devotion to the honour and welfare of the Fatherland. May God continue to grant me strength, as well as will, to serve your Majesty in such a manner that I may preserve your Majesty’s satisfaction with my efforts, of which such a gracious evidence now lies before me in the shape of the letter of the 26th. The vase, which arrived in good time, is a truly monumental expression of royal favour, and is at the same time so substantial that I may hope that not the ‘fragments’ only, but the whole, will go down to my descendants as a proof of your Majesty’s gracious participation in our silver wedding.
“The officers of the 54th Regiment, in a spirit of comradeship and friendliness, sent their band from Kolberg. Otherwise, as usually happens in the country, we were restricted to the more intimate family circle, with the exception that Motley, the former American Minister in London, a friend of my youth, chanced to be here on a visit. In addition to her Majesty the Empress, his Majesty the King of Bavaria and their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Frederick Charles, and H.I.H. the Crown Prince have honoured me with telegraphic congratulations.
“My health is slowly improving. It is true I have done no work whatever, yet I hope to be able to report myself to your Majesty as fit for service in time for the Imperial visit.
“v. Bismarck.”
2.
“Varzin, November 13, 1872.
“Most gracious King and Master,
“I am greatly depressed at being unable, on receipt of your Majesty’s gracious communication of the 9th instant, to proceed to Berlin at once and place myself at your Majesty’s disposal in the present crisis, all the more so as towards the end of last month I believed I should soon be sufficiently restored to do so. Since my return from Berlin I found my strength constantly increasing, and for that reason and also through my interest in the matter, I allowed myself to be tempted, in opposition to the urgent warnings of the doctor, to yield to Count Eulenburg’s frequent appeals, and endeavour to influence the course of affairs by communications to your Majesty, and correspondence with the Ministers and with Members of the Upper House. That is certainly very hazardous to proceed in such a fashion, and at such a distance, in the absence of discussions which might throw light upon the questions at issue, without knowledge of the opposing views, and also without sufficient assistance. I had hoped, however, that it would only last a few days and that things would soon again enter upon a more peaceful course. Unfortunately, this attempt only too speedily convinced me that my doctor was right, and that my store of newly-recovered strength was very slight. I am greatly discouraged, as my intervention will have exercised rather a disturbing influence than otherwise, while the few days’ work and excitement, with the nervous irritability which it involves, have sufficed once more to prove to me clearly the lassitude of my intellectual powers. I fear I am more exhausted than I should like to confess to myself. This anxiety, as well as the feeling of shame that I am unable to be at my post and at your Majesty’s service at such an important moment, is a source of great depression, even when I say to myself that I must humbly submit to the will of God, who does not require my co-operation and puts limits to my strength. My uneasiness is counterbalanced by the confidence which your Majesty expresses at the close of your letter, and which I fully share, that the grace of God which has hitherto blessed your Majesty’s Government will continue to assist it. The course which your Majesty has sanctioned in Council can lead to the same ends just as well as that proposed by me, provided there is no breach with the present Parliament and my colleagues remain united among themselves. They will do that for your Majesty’s sake, although up to the present there have been many indications of differences. I fear that my correspondence with some of them individually, in reply to questions addressed to me, may have sometimes increased the elements of discord, and that misunderstandings may have arisen with respect to myself owing to the fact that the contents of my reports were fully known only to those to whom they were addressed. I have therefore requested Roon only to consult me at your Majesty’s express command, and I have informed him that I shall no longer correspond with my colleagues individually.
“In this manner my co-operation, so long as God does not give me better strength, will rest in your Majesty’s gracious and considerate hands. My hope and my prayer to God is that it may be soon granted to me once more to do my duty in person under your Majesty’s eyes, and to again find that peace which lies in work.
“v. Bismarck.”
3.
“Berlin, December 24, 1872.
“I thank your Majesty respectfully and heartily for the beautiful Christmas present, conferring fresh distinction upon me.
“My father entered the regiment of Carabineers of the Life Guard in 1783, and also had the honour, at the review, of being presented to Frederick the Great as a Junker, on which occasion the great king condescended in gracious recognition to hold up to him as a model his grandfather, Major von Bismarck (of the Schulenberg, afterwards Bayreuth, Dragoons), who fell at Czaslau.
“This and many other impressive reminiscences, which my father handed down to me from the time of Frederick the Great, as reproduced in the work of art now standing before me, and which I can supplement with a well-preserved series of letters from my grandfather in the field during the Seven Years’ War, form the permanent impressions of my childhood. I have always regretted that, by the will of my parents, I was not allowed to prove my devotion to the Royal House and my enthusiasm for the greatness and renown of the Fatherland in the fighting ranks of the army, rather than behind the writing desk. Even to-day, after your Majesty has raised me to the highest honours as a statesman, I cannot entirely suppress my regret at not having been able to win similar advancement as a soldier. I beg your Majesty, as it is Christmas Eve, to forgive this expression of personal feelings in a man who is accustomed on Christian festivals to look back upon his past. I might have been, perhaps, a worthless general, but I should have preferred to win battles for your Majesty, like those generals who adorn the monument, rather than diplomatic campaigns. By the will of God, and your Majesty’s favour, I have a prospect of seeing my name recorded in books and in bronze when posterity immortalises the memory of your Majesty’s glorious reign. But, independently of the loyalty of every honourable nobleman to his sovereign, the cordial attachment which I entertain for your Majesty’s person, and the pain and anxiety which I feel at not being always able to serve your Majesty as I wish, and no longer with my whole strength, can find expression in no monument. Yet in the last resort it is only this personal feeling which makes the servant follow his monarch and the soldier his leader with uncalculating devotion on such paths as under Divine Providence Frederick II. and your Majesty have entered upon. My strength for work is no longer equal to my will, but up to my last breath the latter shall be devoted to your Majesty.
“von Bismarck.”
The letter from Frederick William IV. was also published, in No. 13, and all were reproduced by numerous other papers.
I insert here, first the remaining letters from Bismarck to William I. which I copied at his desire, and then some of the more important papers in the new batch.
4.
“Varzin, August 13, 1875.
“I have received with respectful thanks your Majesty’s gracious letter of the 8th instant, and am pleased above all things to see that the cure has agreed with your Majesty in spite of the run of bad weather in the Alps. With respect to the letter from Queen Victoria I have the honour to add again that it would have been very interesting if her Majesty had expressed herself more fully as to the origin of the rumours of war circulated at that time. The sources must have been regarded as very trustworthy by that exalted lady, as otherwise her Majesty would not have again referred to them, and the English Government would also not have taken in connection with them measures of such an important character and such an unfriendly nature towards us. I do not know whether your Majesty considers it possible to take Queen Victoria at her word when her Majesty asserts that ‘it is an easy matter for her to prove that her apprehensions were not exaggerated.’ It would also be doubtless of importance to ascertain from what quarter such ‘serious errors’ could have been despatched to Windsor. The hints as to persons who must be regarded as ‘representatives’ of your Majesty’s Government would appear to refer to Count Münster. He, like Count Moltke, may very well have spoken academically of the usefulness of a timely attack upon France, although I do not know that he has, and he was never instructed to do so. It may indeed be said that it is not calculated to promote the maintenance of peace for France to have the assurance that she will never be attacked under any circumstances, do what she may. Now, as in 1867 in the Luxemburg question, I would never advise your Majesty to begin hostilities at once, merely because it was probable that the enemy would shortly enter upon them. One can never foresee the ways of Providence with sufficient clearness to do that. But it is also of no use to give the opponent the assurance that one will wait for his attack under all circumstances. I should therefore not blame Münster if he had spoken in that sense occasionally, and the English Government would have no right to take official steps upon non-official remarks of our Ambassador, and, sans vous dire gare, to invite the other Powers to bring pressure to bear. Such a serious and unfriendly course of action gives reason to suspect that Queen Victoria had yet other grounds for believing in warlike intentions than incidental remarks by Count Münster, the authenticity of which I do not even credit. Lord (Odo) Russell declares he has always reported his firm belief in our peaceful intentions. On the other hand, all the Ultramontanes and their friends have charged us secretly, and openly in the press, with wishing to bring on war in a short time, and the French Ambassador, who moves in these circles, sent these lies to Paris as trustworthy information. But at bottom that too would not be sufficient to inspire Queen Victoria with such trust and confidence in falsehoods that had been denied by your Majesty in person, as she still expresses in her letter of the 20th of June. I am too little acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of the Queen to be able to form an opinion as to whether the phrase about its being ‘easy to prove’ may possibly be intended merely to conceal, instead of openly confessing, a hastiness of action which could no longer be recalled. I beg your Majesty to excuse me if my ‘professional’ interest has led me, after three months’ forbearance, to dwell at such length upon an incident which has already been settled.
“The Turkish question can hardly assume large proportions if the three Imperial Courts remain united; and that end can be promoted most successfully by your Majesty, because we are the only Power that has now, and for a long time to come will have, no direct interests at stake. Moreover, it can only be of advantage to us if public attention and the policy of other Powers should, for a while, be directed elsewhere than to the Franco-German question.
“As your Majesty has been gracious enough to mention my health, I beg respectfully to report that the six weeks’ cure at Kissingen has affected me more than that of last year. I feel very exhausted, can walk little, and cannot ride at all as yet. This is now to be remedied by a course of malt and brine baths, and, as a matter of fact, the first four have had a good effect. I therefore hope that the next six weeks will render me more fit for work, though I fear that I must rely upon your Majesty’s consideration more largely than my sense of duty would fain allow. My wife and daughter thank your Majesty respectfully for your gracious remembrance of them, and commend themselves to your Majesty’s favour.
“v. Bismarck.”
5.
“Friedrichsruh, December 3, 1878.
“I am deeply afflicted at not being in a position to offer my respectful greetings to your Majesty the day after to-morrow, in common with my colleagues. I can only lay before your Majesty’s feet, in writing, the heartfelt wish that, in resuming the reins of Government your Majesty may find, in God’s blessing, consolation and satisfaction for the crime and ingratitude of mankind, which must have cut as deeply into your Majesty’s heart as the wound externally inflicted.
“The sudden transition from the cure at Gastein to the work in the Reichstag appears to have hindered my recovery, so that even to-day I am not as well as I was in September. But if your Majesty will be gracious enough to allow me four to six weeks’ further leave of absence and forest air, I may hope, with the help of God, that in January I can, with fresh strength, place myself at your Majesty’s disposal for the preparing the work in the Reichstag. This year, owing to the necessity for far-reaching financial and economic reforms, the proceedings in the Reichstag will be particularly laborious; and it is to be foreseen that they will be accompanied by severe struggles between the parties themselves, and against your Majesty’s Government. I do not, however, doubt that, in the financial and economic questions, the result will ultimately be favourable, if concord can be maintained in the Ministry of State and with the more important Federal Governments, and if the Ministry preserves that firmness and decision which your Majesty’s leadership has secured to us in all difficult situations, and to which, next to God, we owe all our great success.
“v. Bismarck.”
6.
“Friedrichsruh, December 25, 1883.
“I thank your Majesty respectfully and cordially for the gracious Christmas present, and in particular for the gracious wishes that accompanied it. They afford me that full gratification which I should have felt in the Niederwald, had I been able to attend the festival. For me your Majesty’s satisfaction has a higher value than the approval of all others. I thank God that He has so disposed my heart that I have been able to secure your Majesty’s commendation, while I seldom obtain the approval of others, and then only temporarily. I also thank your Majesty for the immutable confidence always reposed in me for the long period of over twenty years, and for your Majesty’s constant graciousness to me as a master, in spite of the attacks of my opponents and my own well-known failings, in the most arduous as well as in quiet times. I require nothing more in this world, in addition to peace with my own conscience before God. God’s blessing has rested upon your Majesty’s rule, and has favoured your Majesty above other monarchs who have achieved great things, in so far as your Majesty’s servants can look back on their service with gratitude to your Majesty. The loyalty of the ruler generates and maintains the loyalty of his servants.[19]
“My wife returns her respectful thanks for your Majesty’s gracious greetings in the gracious letter of the 21st instant, to which I send a separate reply. She is slowly improving in health after a few weeks during which I was very anxious as to her condition. She requests me to lay her most humble respects and good wishes for the new year at your Majesty’s feet. At the present moment I myself am physically stronger than I have been for many years, and yesterday was able to take a ride of several hours in the woods with my two sons, who are staying here on a holiday. Although I may not as yet strain my nerves in intellectual work to the extent demanded by my position, I hope for a further improvement in this direction also if your Majesty will graciously permit me to remain here until the end of next month. God grant your Majesty a happy Christmas, health, and contentment.
“v. Bismarck.”
7.
“Varzin, September 2, 1884.
“Your Majesty has made the anniversary of Sedan a day of exceptional joy and honour to me by graciously investing me with the Order Pour le Mérite, at the same time increasing the significance of the distinction by the exceedingly gracious words which accompanied it yesterday. I am happy to see from this, and to realise on looking backwards over a long series of years, that your Majesty’s favour and confidence have been my constant and unalterable support, and that your Majesty’s consideration also compensates for my failing strength. Your Majesty’s recognition and good will is in itself the highest satisfaction to which I aspire in this world, but it is also a pleasure to me when the world ascertains that I have always been, and still am, in possession of the boon for which I have ever striven, viz., the favour of my earthly master. I will always faithfully and zealously endeavour to deserve it, so that your Majesty, as the highest and most competent authority, may recognise in me the heart and sentiments of a Prussian soldier. I desire no higher praise than that contained in those words, when they bear your Majesty’s signature.
“On the 11th I hope to lay my renewed thanks personally at your Majesty’s feet, and to see your Majesty in good health.
“v. Bismarck.”
8.
“Berlin, December 25, 1884.
“I respectfully thank your Majesty for the beautiful Christmas present. The work of art reminds me to some extent of my own position. While the centaur has both hands engaged in lifting the huge horn to his shoulder, the woman hangs on to his beard with her whole weight. So it is with me! While I have my hands full in the service of your Majesty and the country, the Opposition in Parliament pulls and drags at me, at the risk of overthrowing me while bearing the burden of affairs. Moreover, the Opposition is unfortunately much uglier than the female form that clings to the centaur’s beard. I will not, however, allow this to prevent me from gladly and firmly carrying the burden on my shoulders, so long as God gives me strength to do so, and I enjoy your Majesty’s favour. With the heartiest and most respectful wishes for your Majesty’s Christmas, I unite those for the coming year, reserving to myself the pleasure of reiterating them verbally.
“v. Bismarck.”
9.
“Friedrichsruh, September 26, 1887.
“I thank your Majesty respectfully for the gracious letter of the 23rd instant, and for the gracious present of the picture of the palace, in which I had the honour for so many years to make my reports to, and to receive my orders from, your Majesty. For me the day received a special consecration, through the greeting with which I was honoured at your Majesty’s bidding, by their Royal Highnesses Prince William and Prince Henry. But even without this further evidence of favour, the feeling with which I greeted the twenty-fifth anniversary of my appointment as Minister was one of the heartiest and most respectful gratitude towards your Majesty. Every monarch appoints Ministers, but there is scarcely an instance in recent times of a monarch retaining and protecting his Prime Minister, against every kind of hostility and intrigue, during twenty-five long years of vicissitudes, when not every measure succeeds. During this lapse of time, I have seen many former friends change into opponents, but your Majesty’s favour and confidence in me has remained immutably the same. In this thought I find a rich reward for all my work and consolation in sickness and solitude. I love my Fatherland, the German as well as the Prussian, but I could not have served it joyfully if it had not been granted to me to do so to the satisfaction of my King. The foundation and the indestructible core of the high position which I owe to the favour of your Majesty is the Brandenburg liegeman and the Prussian officer, and therefore your Majesty’s satisfaction is a source of happiness to me, without which every form of popularity would be worthless and distressing. In addition to numerous telegrams and letters received by me on the 23rd, from Germany and abroad, I have had very gracious greetings and congratulations from their Majesties of Saxony and Würtemberg, H.R.H. the Regent of Bavaria, the Grand Dukes of Weimar, Baden and Oldenburg, and other reigning personages, as also from his Majesty the King of Italy, and Minister Crispi. The two latter communications touched on politics, and were difficult to answer. As your Majesty may perhaps be interested in the text, I have instructed the Foreign Office to submit them.
“I pray God to grant me the pleasure of continuing my service to your Majesty’s satisfaction.
“v. Bismarck.”
10.
“Friedrichsruh, December 30, 1887.
“I thank your Majesty respectfully for the gracious letter of the 23rd, and for the evidence of favour with which it was accompanied, and first for the drinking horn with the hunting trophies, which I regard as intended for your Majesty’s Grand Huntsman of Pomerania, and shall keep at Varzin. But my chief happiness arises from the recognition accorded to my son by his official promotion, which shows me that your Majesty is satisfied with his work, and therefore that he fulfils the end for which I have educated him. I crave your Majesty’s further indulgence towards him, feeling certain that he will deserve it by his attachment even in those matters in which he still lacks experience.
“With reference to my most humble suggestion respecting the further preparation of H.R.H. Prince William for State affairs, I appreciate and share the anxiety with which your Majesty is inspired by your solicitude for the health of his Imperial Highness (the Crown Prince). I considered it my duty to raise the question, but I do not venture to urge it any further, not wishing to make myself responsible for the consequences upon the health of H.I.H. which any irritation might produce. Perhaps the object which it is sought to attain in the interests of the State may be approached in a manner less calculated to attract attention; and this would not be difficult if the Prince resided in Berlin instead of at Potsdam. I therefore respectfully beg your Majesty’s permission to submit my views on the subject when I return to Berlin, which I hope to do next month. In the meantime, I humbly beg your Majesty to allow me to try and move H.I.H. to submit to your Majesty, on his own initiative, the proposed scheme for a Civil Adlatus to be attached to the Prince. Count Radolinski, who called upon me to-day, thinks there is some prospect of this attempt being successful, as the Crown Prince’s irritation in the matter was connected with the question whether his parental authority would be taken into consideration or not. If H.I.H. could be moved himself to propose the object in view, which would be of advantage to the State, the entire difficulty would be at an end. Should the attempt fail, no great harm would be done, as the Crown Prince could easily give me a negative answer, which he could not give to your Majesty. Meanwhile, the present system of giving the Prince occupation at some of the Ministries may be continued as heretofore, in accordance with your Majesty’s intention.
“I have ascertained through Count Stolberg that H.I.H. has suggested the promotion of Count Radolinski to the title of Excellency. I beg respectfully to recommend this proposal of the Crown Prince, in the first place because granting it would have a favourable, and refusing it an unfavourable, effect upon the sentiments and health of H.I.H.; and then furthermore because Count Radolinski is worthy of such a distinction. With a large fortune and very considerable private interests, he has given up an easy position in the diplomatic service, and, solely in obedience to your Majesty’s wishes, has willingly undertaken his present duties, which, often very onerous, are rendered specially difficult by the rivalries to which they expose him; and it is desirable that a nobleman of his prestige and uprightness should continue to discharge them. Moreover, he is one of the few Polish noblemen who, like the deceased Count Raczinski, may be relied upon with perfect safety by your Majesty and the Prussian State, and in my opinion this attribute alone deserves to be recognised by a distinction. Indeed, custom alone would have secured him such a distinction even if, without being a Court official, he had lived on his estates in Posen as a magnate loyal to the Government.
“I beg your Majesty graciously to accept my hearty and respectful good wishes for the New Year. I hope to renew them verbally in the course of January, and to be permitted to report myself to your Majesty, at the same time as the Reichstag, in as good health as I have any prospect of enjoying in this life.
“v. Bismarck.”
... No. 31.—Letter from Prince William to the Imperial Chancellor, dated Berlin, April 2nd, 1888:—
“Albedyll has been to see me and talked over the whole Battenberg affair (die ganze Battenbergerei) once more. On this occasion a letter was also mentioned, which the Empress is understood to have received yesterday, in which the Battenberger informs her that he would only marry with my consent—a point deserving mention. In this connection Albedyll was of opinion that a positive acknowledgment, repeating this phrase, should be demanded from the Battenberger in order to have a more certain hold over him. Would your Serene Highness approve of my sending a cipher telegram ordering Henry to go to him and demand from him for me a note containing the above declaration? If that were in my hands, and the Battenberger were nevertheless to take any steps or to enter into any intrigues, we could prove by documentary evidence that he had been guilty of a direct breach of his word.
“Awaiting your Serene Highness’s kind decision, and hoping that you enjoyed your birthday celebration, I remain always,
“Your faithful and devoted,
“William,
“Crown Prince.”
No. 33.—The Grand Duke of Baden to the Imperial Chancellor:—
“Serene Highness,—I hasten to let you know in this inadequate form that I had occasion to-day to speak to the Emperor Frederick alone. In the manner arranged yesterday I explained to him how I came to know your sentiments and state of health. My explanation greatly impressed the Emperor, and I took advantage of this to proceed to the general situation of political affairs in Europe, and—referring to the firmly established position of Germany during the reign of the Emperor William, as compared to the troubles and confusion in the rest of the world—emphasised the necessity for us and for Europe of perseverance in the course adopted.
“The Emperor manifested a friendly disposition, and warmly approved of my statement. He is anxiously expecting your visit. His features wore an expression of deep seriousness when I said to him: ‘You cannot possibly govern without Prince Bismarck.’
“This, in bare outline, is the result of my weak endeavours.
“Your cordially devoted,
“Friedrich Gr. v. Baden.
“Charlottenburg, March 31st, 1888.”
A few days after our last interview, the Chief left for Friedrichsruh. On the 11th of April I wrote him (respecting my proposed stay there). I received no answer for a week. The newspapers, however, published a report that the Prince had selected as his private secretary a Dr. Chrysander, who had hitherto been Professor Schweninger’s assistant, and who would help him in preparing his memoirs. According to a second press notice, he was also to be assisted by a member of the editorial staff of the Hamburger Nachrichten. Bucher ultimately wrote me that he was going to Friedrichsruh, and hoped we “should be harnessed together.” (...)
I called upon him the same day to congratulate him, and mentioned to him my fear that nothing would now come of my proposed visit to Friedrichsruh. Perhaps my letter of the 11th had not reached the Chief’s hands; or perhaps he had been turned against me by an article on his retirement, published in the Grenzboten, which was, however, written by Kayser, and reached Grunow just before mine. Bucher reassured me as to this supposition, but said that Kayser, like Lindau and Holstein, had actually gone over into the other camp. (...) Although he considered it quite impossible that the Prince could now give up the idea of employing me in connection with the papers, I did not feel sure of this, and so a few days afterwards I wrote again to the Prince, and registered my letter. Count Herbert replied that “the Prince intends to invite you here in order to sort some papers. In the meantime, however, he is too much occupied by visits and the arrangements rendered necessary by his removal to take these papers in hand immediately.”
A fortnight later, after I had received a post card from Bucher informing me that he had started for Friedrichsruh, I wrote to him there (as to the proposed visit, and giving him an account of my future movements). This crossed the following letter, which Bucher sent to me under cover to Frau Hedwig Hämmerling:—
“Friedrichsruh, May 15, 1890.
“I have two reasons for sending you this letter under cover to another person; first, because you have not informed me of your whereabouts, and secondly, because there is some reason to suspect the existence of a Dark Cabinet. Therefore be prudent when you write to me here. I have had a large bundle to sort and register, and in doing so have satisfied myself that you have exhausted the materials. What came into my hands was very unimportant,—congratulations, letters of thanks, telegrams, reports from aides-de-camp and such like. (...) I am expected to remain until H. returns from England, probably towards the end of this month. He (the Chief) is physically well, and is gradually quieting down.”
I immediately acknowledged the receipt of Bucher’s note, and reminded him of the concluding request in my former letter. He replied on the 17th of May, 1890, again under cover to Hedwig Hämmerling: “To enable me to answer your questions I should be obliged to ask him, and up to the present I have had no opportunity of doing so. (...) After your registered letter and the reply thereto, it seems to me not to be in your interest that I should also press the matter. Besides, he talks of presently starting on a lengthy tour to countries[20] which he has not yet visited—certainly a very happy idea. I take it that he will not begin work before his return in the autumn; and then he will doubtless remember his arrangement with you. I will write you as soon as the departure is approximately settled.”
On the 20th of May I had an attack of apoplexy combined with paralysis, from which it took me six months to make an almost complete recovery; that is to say, with the exception that my handwriting had changed and my voice remained hoarse.
On the 10th of July, Frau Hämmerling received a note from Friedrichsruh (from Bucher, inquiring as to my illness). On Frau Hämmerling informing him of the truth he wrote me as follows:—
“Dear Busch,—I need not tell you how heartily I sympathise with you. I now write to put your mind at rest on one point, to tell you that you have missed nothing here, and will not miss anything during the next few weeks. I have had five or six thousand letters, extending from the fifties to the present day, to arrange in chronological order. They were all mixed up anyhow, both as regards dates and matter. They contain little on politics, and of that little again but a small portion refers to foreign affairs. He was not prepared to accept my suggestion that it would be well to put the begging letters, medical counsels, schemes for the improvement of the world at large, thundering hurrahs and fiery ‘salamanders’ into the fire. Therefore, when the preliminary work begins you will have to wander through a desert from which I have only removed tradesmen’s bills, &c. It is as yet impossible to say when that will be. He complains, with that humorous self-mocking air of desperation which you know, that he has now no time to set about anything. His excuse for the present is that of course the whole material must first be chronologically arranged, which will doubtless take a fortnight longer, although I am keeping hard at it. And then he will certainly be obliged to make some change in his way of living and in the apportionment of his time. The projected journeys will hardly come to anything; but even if he remains here he will not begin work before you are recovered—according to what F. H. (Frau Hämmerling) writes me. There is no idea of calling in Poschinger. He knows that the man is incapable of giving shape or form to anything of the kind.
“He himself and Herbert desire me to express their sympathy to you. With good wishes for your improvement,
“Truly yours (in English),
“Bucher.”
In the days immediately preceding and following this letter, the newspapers published many things from Friedrichsruh which were anything but pleasant reading to me, or were at least at variance with my conception of the greatness and distinguished character of the Prince, and also to some extent with the opinions which he had himself formerly expressed. He allowed it to be seen too often and too plainly, for the benefit of the Court and to the delight of the Radical Thersites, how mortified he felt at his base dismissal; he expressed himself, as I thought, too confidentially, and indeed it would appear sometimes with conscious untruth, in speaking to importunate Jew press spies and other eavesdroppers and talebearers from the newspaper factories. The most inexplicable of all to me was what he was represented as having said to Kingston, of the Daily Telegraph, concerning the excellence of the late Emperor Frederick—which was diametrically the opposite of what he had said to me in Berlin and at Friedrichsruh. The principal passage in the Englishman’s report runs as follows: “Finally, the conversation turned on the Emperor Frederick, of whom Prince Bismarck spoke with the profoundest admiration. He was in truth a man of rare and most estimable character, thoroughly amiable, exceptionally good-hearted, and at the same time intelligent, clear-sighted and determined. He knew exactly what he wanted, and when once he had come to a decision he held to it immutably. If he had only lived he would, as German Emperor, have amazed the world.” (Retranslation—translator’s note.) Really! That would then be a case of a farthing candle developing into a first-class lighthouse! Was it Bismarck or Kingston who said that? If the former he must have had some particular object in view. But what could it be? To elevate Frederick III. at the expense of William II.? (...)
I afterwards received from Bucher the following letter from Berlin:—
“I must send you another short contribution to your Memorabilia. When Count Herbert gave a farewell dinner to the officials, four of them—Holstein, Lindau, Kayser and Raschdau—declined the invitation. All four owed everything to the Prince. Not a word has been heard from Keudell since the 20th of March. Lehndorff, Stirum, Krupp, Stumm and Kardorff have defied the royal displeasure by visiting Friedrichsruh. After Bötticher, who owes his promotion to the Prince, had told the Emperor that Bismarck was a slave to morphia, his Majesty sent for Schweninger, and questioned him on the subject. Schweninger answered: ‘Your Majesty, that is a wretched calumny, and I know the curs with whom it originated.’ (...)
“As a contrast to this pretty set! Shortly before my departure from Friedrichsruh, Bismarck, while out driving, dropped into conversation with an old peasant on the bad weather. ‘Yes,’ the latter remarked, in Low German, ‘the good God has forgotten us altogether. He gives us no summer, and takes away our Chancellor.’”
On the 5th of September I had a visit from Bucher, who had returned from Laubbach on the 3rd or 4th, and on the 6th I called upon him. Of his communications the most noteworthy is that at Friedrichsruh he found a letter from Hermann Wagener to the Prince, from which it appeared that, as far back as 1876, W. was instructed to draw up a memorandum on working class insurance. At that time, when Bismarck doubtless first seriously took up the labour question and thought of positive measures for opposing the Social Democracy, it was the old Kreuzzeitung man who was his assistant and counsellor, and not Bucher, who belonged to the school of Lassalle and Rodbertus, as alleged by Poschinger. Bucher expressly denied that the Chancellor had ever discussed this question with him. On the 20th of September Bucher wrote to me that he had received an invitation to visit Bismarck at Varzin.
Shortly afterwards I received the following letter:—
“Varzin, October 3rd.
“Dear Busch,—I have delivered your message. He is glad you are better, and wishes you permanent recovery. Here the condition of affairs is the same as at Friedrichsruh. Nothing is being done and much time is spent over the newspapers. Owing to the articles in Nos. 431 and 433 of the Boersenzeitung, referred to in No. 459, a desire has been expressed to see the numbers of the Grenzboten which started the controversy—reproaching the bourgeoisie with opposing the paternal intentions of the Sovereign. Can you lend us the numbers in question from your file, or, if you have not got them, procure copies from Grunow? Lord Rosebery, who ran across from Scotland, was here for a few days, and is now visiting Danzig and Marienburg. With lots of good wishes,
“Bucher.”
... In another letter from Bucher of October 14th, the following passage occurs: “The Chief still occupies himself far too much with the press. In the meantime he has begun to dictate during the past few days, but without any real coherence, alternately from various years. It is, therefore, for the present, only raw material. Now and again news reaches here from the Foreign Office. Holstein, who for ten years was taken seriously by nobody, now does everything. He not only slanders the Prince, which he did twelve months since, but also abuses Herbert, who, with inconceivable blindness, had supported him up to the last. Paul Hatzfeldt too, Sardanapalus as his cousin Landsberg christened him, has proclaimed his apostacy in London. But I will also mention a decent man, Count Arco, Minister at Washington, who is here on a visit for a few days. Rara avis!”
I sent him a long jocular epistle congratulating him on his birthday on the 25th of October. But I received no answer for over seven weeks, and was already worrying myself with all sorts of fancies, when on the morning of the 22nd of December he himself called upon me. He told me that physically the Prince was in excellent health, and, as it appeared, took exercise, had a good appetite, and at table drank rather too much than too little, and besides he no longer complained of insomnia. Mentally, however, and in particular so far as his memory is concerned, “he is falling to pieces.” By this Bucher meant that he could no longer concentrate his thoughts sufficiently, had no longer a firm hold of the details in a narrative, and was easily turned aside from his subject. He also tells a story one way to-day, and quite differently to-morrow. “He wished me to go to Friedrichsruh for Christmas, but they gave me to understand—and indeed very plainly—that that would not be agreeable to them; and so I am my own master for a couple of weeks.” “Urged by Schweninger he has at length decided to dictate his reminiscences to me for an hour daily, when I take them down in shorthand. But they are merely disconnected fragments, and contain many errors, particularly in the matter of dates. For instance, there were some very interesting particulars respecting 1848, but they must first be compared with Wolf’s ‘Chronik’ and corrected. Chrysander is making himself very useful, also in his capacity of doctor, and has, for instance, done me good service with my gout. The Prince has ascertained on good authority that Lindau has been to the Korrespondenten (or the Nachrichten) in Hamburg, and the Allgemeine Zeitung in Munich, setting them against his old Chief and patron, and ‘threatening’ the latter paper with disciplinary measures if it continued to take the Chancellor’s part. The Princess’s ‘dear Rudchen,’ who for other people is a shameless Judas! Kayser, his countryman from the East, who is indeed less of a stock jobber and less worthless for official purposes, was recommended to the Foreign Office by Herbert, while Raschdau, also one of the children of Israel, who has married a millionairess of his tribe, was—if I understood Bucher rightly—introduced by Bill. (...) I asked what the Prince thought of Caprivi. He only knew that the Chief had had an interview with his successor (doubtless while he was still in Berlin—at lunch), when Caprivi said that if the Emperor sent him with an army corps into a position where its destruction might be anticipated, he would remonstrate; if the order were then repeated, he would remain at his post and await events. Bucher feared that nothing would come of the projected autobiography. ‘He has indeed dictated quite a pile of notes, which of course include a great deal of new and valuable matter; but his account is not always reliable, and in particular he often believes that he said or did something which he ought to have said or done but omitted to do, or at least could not have said or done in the manner alleged by him. And in the most important matters he sometimes stops, like a well that runs dry, and does not return to the subject. In that way he recently began to speak of his relations with Napoleon previous to 1870, but then let the subject drop, and since then I have never been able to bring him to give a coherent account of it. There is yet another drawback. In these notes he might think of history, of a legacy for the future, and that would certainly be most praiseworthy and useful, as there are many things of which he alone has a complete and accurate knowledge. But he seems to be thinking rather of something else. His thoughts are still with the present, which he desires to influence. He wishes to warn and to teach, and for that reason he often selects a subject that has nothing whatever to do with his own life, and sometimes one of which he has not a thorough knowledge, but which seems to him to offer a suitable opportunity for introducing his own reflections. For instance, he is afraid that the Emperor will not be careful and thoughtful enough in tacking between Vienna and St. Petersburg, and may, perhaps, on some occasion forget himself and draw too near to the Austrians; all the more, as of course he is aware that the gentleman in Berlin cannot endure the other in St. Petersburg, because the latter had treated him somewhat de haut en bas. Now Bismarck does not want to say that straight out and give a plain warning, but tries to work it into a survey of the treaty of Reichenbach, as the relations were then somewhat similar, the people in Berlin not rightly knowing what they wanted or with whom they really had to deal. The idea was merely to show that one was also a power—(in English) a mere show of power! I have now read it up in Ranke, however, and according to him the situation was not all as the Chief represented it. At that time, Herzberg still had charge of the conduct of affairs, and he knew exactly what he wanted, namely, Danzig and other towns on the Vistula, in order to round off West Prussia.’”
Bucher continued: “What I have done up to the present could be done equally well by any shorthand writer, the only difference being that yet another stranger would have to be taken into his confidence. But I have no taste for criticising and editing, however much Schweninger may beg and urge me to do so. That would be too much trouble and responsibility. Besides, there are not the necessary books for reference and comparison. It is true that for twenty-five years hardly a historical or political book has been published of which a copy has not been sent to him, but she has acted as librarian and has divided them between the different rooms, putting some of them in the cellar, where they rot and fall to pieces, and others in the visitors’ apartments, so that nothing can be found when it is wanted.”
Bucher agreed with me that the Chief was not prudent in his dealings with the eavesdroppers of the press; that his attitude towards the Court was not sufficiently dignified, and that he let his anger be too easily seen. At the same time, Bucher, speaking of those who came to question the Prince, observed, not inaptly: “Whoever wants to know much learns a great deal, even though it be not always unadulterated truth, and that applies with particular force to the commercial travellers for newspaper firms, who, of course, do not deal in truth.” As to the Prince’s state of feeling, Bucher said: “He diligently reads the newspapers, but on the whole he is indifferent to politics. ‘I am no longer so very much interested even in the management of my own estate.’ There is no longer the old devil-may-care spirit arising from that high sense of easy superiority and ready power of mastery—no longer the unconcerned glance cast down as from a great height, but only apathetic indifference, weary satiety.”
January 2nd, 1891.—Called on Bucher this morning. Schweninger is trying to provide the Prince with occupation on hygienic grounds. He fears that otherwise he would become still more sulky, cross-grained, and peevish, and, indeed, might in the end become mentally affected. (...)
In the course of conversation on the Prince’s notes, Bucher, in speaking of their didactic aim, referred to Nicoll’s “Recollections and Reflections” as a model for that kind of writing. He believes he must soon return to Friedrichsruh, “although it will probably lead to nothing.” “God grant that there may be an improvement!” he sighed on our parting at the door. I heartily joined in that prayer.
It was not until the 21st of February that I again received a sign of life from Bucher, and then in the form of an unsigned note enclosed in an envelope to Hedwig. It ran: “You will probably soon receive an invitation to the place from which I write. The enclosure is for publication, with an introduction or note to the effect that the letter was read to the guests on the 28/7/72, and that several of them took copies of it. Do not forget to write to G. to impress upon the sub-editorial ass and on the proof-readers that not a single letter is to be omitted, and that the abbreviations, &c., and the Latin characters in ‘Borussia’ and ‘Material’ are to be retained. The Chief will have it so. If you happen to write to me, remember the Dark Cabinet.”
The “enclosure,” a letter from the Emperor William I., ran as follows:—
“Coblenz, July 26, 1872.
“On the 28th instant you will celebrate a beautiful family festival which God in His mercy has granted to you. I may not, and cannot, withhold my sympathy on this occasion, and therefore you and the Princess, your consort, will accept my heartiest and warmest congratulations on this elevating festival. That your domestic happiness should always have held the first place among the numerous blessings which Providence has elected to bestow upon you both—it is for this that your prayers of thanksgiving should rise to Heaven! But our and my prayers of thanksgiving go further, inasmuch as they include thanks to God for having placed you at my side at a decisive moment, and thereby opened up a path for my Government far beyond imagination and understanding. But you will return thanks to Heaven for this also—that God granted you to achieve such great things. And in and after all your labours you have constantly found recreation and peace in your home. It is that which sustains you in your difficult vocation. My constant anxiety for you is that you should preserve and strengthen yourself for this vocation, and I am pleased to learn from your letter, through Count Lehndorff, and personally from the Count, that you now think more of yourself than of the documents.
“As a souvenir of your silver wedding you will receive a vase representing a grateful Borussia, of which—however fragile its material may be—every fragment will nevertheless express what Prussia owes to you for her elevation to the pinnacle on which she now stands.
“Your faithful, devoted and grateful King,
“William.”
I AM INVITED TO FRIEDRICHSRUH—BUCHER AND THE PROPOSED “MEMOIRS”—HE DOUBTS WHETHER THE LATTER WILL BE COMPLETED—THE CHIEF—“BÜSCHLEIN” AS BEFORE—THE ANGLO-GERMAN AGREEMENT—THE EMPEROR AND RUSSIA—THREE KINGS IN THEIR NAKEDNESS—BÜSCHLEIN WILL WRITE THE SECRET HISTORY OF OUR TIMES—THE PRINCE GIVES ME IMPORTANT PAPERS TO EXAMINE IN MY ROOM: HIS RESIGNATION IN 1890, A DRAFT OF A CONFIDENTIAL STATEMENT OF THE MOTIVES OF HIS RETIREMENT AND NOTES ON THE ATTITUDE OF THE INDIVIDUAL MINISTERS ON THAT OCCASION—STILL ANOTHER BOOK ON BISMARCK IN VIEW; CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SUBJECT WITH BUCHER AND THE CHIEF HIMSELF; THE PLAN DROPPED—LAST VISIT TO BUCHER IN JANUARY, 1892—HIS DEATH—LAST STAY AT FRIEDRICHSRUH IN MAY, 1893—GOOD-BYE, DEAR OLD FRIEND.