SIGNS OF FRICTION BETWEEN THE CHANCELLOR AND THE YOUNG
EMPEROR--WITH THE CHIEF DURING THE CRISIS--HIS ANXIETY ABOUT
HIS PAPERS--HOW TO GET THEM AWAY--HIS RETIREMENT A FACT--THE
EMPEROR WANTS TO BE RID OF HIM IN ORDER TO GOVERN ALONE WITH
HIS OWN GENIUS--COURT FLUNKEYISM--HIS RETIREMENT IS NOT DUE
TO HIS HEALTH, NOR IS IT IN ANY SENSE VOLUNTARY--LETTERS
FROM BISMARCK TO WILLIAM I.--THE CHIEF ON THE INITIATION OF
PRINCE WILLIAM INTO PUBLIC AFFAIRS--THE GRAND DUKE OF BADEN’S
ADVICE TO THE EMPEROR FREDERICK--THE CHIEF TALKS OF WRITING
HIS OWN MEMOIRS--BUREAUCRATIC INGRATITUDE--FOREIGN OFFICE
APOSTATES--ACCORDING TO BUCHER THE NOTES DICTATED FOR THE MEMOIRS
ARE MERE FRAGMENTS, SOMETIMES ERRONEOUS--THE CHIEF’S LIFE AT
FRIEDRICHSRUH--SCHWENINGER’S APPREHENSIONS.
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.
FURTHER LETTERS FROM BISMARCK TO EMPEROR WILLIAM I.
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.”
SPECIMENS OF THE NEW (BERLIN) SERIES OF PAPERS.
... 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.”