g?ttingen.—the danish dog and the professor.—duels.—berlin.—appointed examiner.—anecdotes of his legal life.—bismarck and his boots.—meeting with prince, now king, william.—helene von kessel.—aix la chapelle.—greifswald.—undertaking the pomeranian estates.—kniephof.—“mad bismarck.”—his studies.—marriage of his sister.—letters to her.—norderney.—saves his servant hildebrand’s life—“the golden dog.”—a dinner party at the blanckenburgs.—von blanckenburg.—major, now general, von roon.—dr. beutner.
tto von bismarck was anxious to enter himself at heidelberg, but his mother objected to it, because she was afraid that at this university her son would contract the habit, to her detestable, of drinking beer; and she therefore chose, at the advice of a relative—the geh. finanzrath kerl, who was a great authority with her in matters of learning—the university of g?ttingen, where kerl had himself studied. bismarck agreed to the change; he longed for the joys of academic freedom, the more delightful to him from the strictness with which his education had hitherto been conducted, as well as from his little knowledge of student life. in berlin student life was somewhat tame, obtruding itself nowhere; and bismarck had also been withheld from all contact with it. he entered into possession of his new liberty with enthusiasm, not easily comprehensible to the students of the present day. with[124] the entire recklessness of a sturdy constitution he plunged into its every enjoyment.
even before entering at g?ttingen he had fought his first duel at berlin. his opponent was a brave lad of the hebrew persuasion, named wolf. it is true he fought, but, like the ancient parthians, he fought flying. the arrangements must have been somewhat unscientific, in fact quite out of form, for bismarck was wounded in the leg, while he cut off his jewish opponent’s spectacles!
in the didactic epic “bismarckias,” by dr. g. schwetschke, of which several editions have appeared at halle, containing many a good joke, the following aptly alludes to the present period of the hero’s life:—
from his boot soles now is shaken
all the school dust: higher wavelets
bear the ship of the aspirant;
weighed on deck is every anchor,
and spread out is every canvass,
while the youthful flag of freedom,
gaily fluttering in the breezes,
bears, “nitimur in vetitum!”
jolly days of wild enjoyment!
votaries now gay assemble
of the nine castalian sisters;
crowd together in new temples;
crowd around the fragrant altars
of old bacchus and gambrinus:
and the neophyte so gayly
brings the liquid sacrifices.
while the battle-loving mavors
opes the clanging doors of combat;
dost thou hear the clash of weapons?
dost thou mark the shouts of contest?
ha! how gleam the flashing sword-blades;
with the tierce and carte resounding:
as the hewer hews so fiercely,
hews, and his fellow-fighter heweth!
e’en then sped a slender red line
(a red line of blood and iron),
through the life of our young hero
g?ttingen, berlin, and greifswald
echo deeds of noble daring,
[125]
done in years that now have fleeted;
“days departed, days all silent.”
as old ossian once out carolled.[28]
when bismarck came to g?ttingen, as we have said, he had not the remotest notion of student life; its customs were all unknown to him, nor did he learn any thing of them immediately, as he there found no friend of any degree of intimacy. by a certain herr von drenckhahn, whom he had formerly seen for a short time, he was introduced to a circle of mecklenburgers, who belonged to no academical body, but passed a tolerably jolly life. with these he travelled into the harz, and on his return it was agreed that the glories of real student life should be opened to him. bismarck gave his fellow-travellers a breakfast in celebration of the journey, and here matters went on somewhat madly. at length somebody threw a bottle out of the window. next morning the dominus de bismarck was cited to the deanery,[126] and, obedient to his academical superiors, he set forth on the way. he came in a tall hat, a gay berlin dressing-gown, and riding-boots, accompanied by his enormous dog. the dean stared at this fantastic garb, and only dared to pass the huge creature when bismarck had called him in. on account of this illegal dog, his fortunate possessor was at once fined five thalers—then came a painful investigation into the bottle-throwing matter. the former official was not satisfied with the simple explanation of bismarck, that the bottle had been thrown out of the window; it must have flown out. he was determined to know how this had happened, and was not content until the culprit had clearly shown him how he had held the bottle, and by proper muscular action had given it the necessary impetus. somewhat annoyed by this inquiry, he set forth on his way home, and was greatly incensed at the laughter with which he was encountered by four young students of the corps of hanover—although it was impossible not to laugh at his dress. “are you laughing at me?” inquired bismarck of the foremost of the party, and received as a reply, “hm! that you must very well see!” in his inexperience bismarck hardly knew how to proceed; he felt that he was in the right way to encounter a duel, but he knew nothing of the proper form. he was afraid of exposing himself, when suddenly—happy thought!—the “dummer junge” (foolish fellow) occurred to him. he “growled,” and felt exceedingly proud when he was challenged by the four hanoverians. he then took the necessary steps, and obtained weapons from the corps of brunswickers. but not one of these four duels was destined to be fought; for a sly agent of the hanoverians, who lived in the same house with bismarck, had seen that he was made of the stuff of which good student-chums are formed, and induced his four companions to revoke or receive suitable apologies—in short, the fuchs (freshman) bismarck “sprang,” i.e., joined the hanoverians, and became a member of their union. at this there was great rage among the brunswickers, for it was contrary to etiquette to obtain weapons from one corps and then join another; but of this bismarck knew nothing. the consenior of the brunswickers challenged the fuchs; they at once engaged, and mr. consenior was led off with a slash across the face, after he had roused bismarck’s wrath by several flat sword-strokes of a very ungentle[127] kind. to this duel there succeeded during the first three terms some twenty duels more. bismarck fought them all with success, and was only wounded in one instance by the fracture of his adversary’s sword-blade. the scar is still to be seen on the minister-president’s cheek. after a duello-dispute, this “blood” was held not to be “good,” as it was caused by accident, to the great annoyance of his opponent. the latter still asserts that it was “good;” at least, being now the deputy biederwig, he held an animated controversy with the minister-president on the question very recently in the white saloon.
amidst the stormy career pursued by bismarck in g?ttingen, it is only natural that he had no leisure to attend the classes; nevertheless he received very good testimonials as to his industry; but old hugo remarked that he had never seen herr von bismarck at lecture. he believed that the lectures of the celebrated jurist would be so well attended that he might safely omit to attend; unfortunately, the old gentleman had only had three hearers, and had observed the absence of bismarck with pain.
once bismarck went home in the vacation, but in his velvet coat, and with the student’s manner; he found little approbation at the hands of his mother, who did not find his whole appearance in harmony with the picture of the diplomatist she fondly expected to see.
in berlin, too, whither bismarck returned in the autumn of 1833, he found the license of student life far too sweet to enable[128] him to sever himself from it. when the examination was threatening him like a terrible spectre, he summoned up determination, and went to lecture for the first time; he went a second, and the last time; he saw that, even under savigny, he could not profit as much from jurisprudence as he required for his examination, in the short time remaining to him. he never reappeared at lecture. but he passed his examination with credit at the appointed time, with the aid of his own industry, his great gifts, and by a clever memoria technica.
during his berlin student life he resided with count kayserlingk, of courland, who afterwards became curator of the university of dorpat; he learnt from him to set a value on music, and often heard him perform; he was especially fond of beethoven. after kayserlingk, an american named lothrop motley became his companion. this gentleman won himself fame as the author of a history of the rise of the dutch republic, and other works, was sent as united states ambassador to vienna, and is now ambassador to great britain.
when bismarck became sworn, after his examination about easter, 1885, in the capacity of auscultator (examiner) he again occupied apartments in the behrenstrasse, jointly with his brother bernhard, who, about that time, after having served four years in the dragoon regiment of guards, exchanged the sword for the pen, passed his examination in the following year, and became referendary in the government at potsdam. during bismarck’s service as clerk in the city police, he exhibited his sense of humor by many pranks, of which we could give an account were we able to vouch for their authenticity—these are, however, so numerous, that we are sure many are ascribed to bismarck, properly the acts of others. the following anecdote we know to be genuine: the auscultator was taking the protocol of a true berliner, who finally so tried the patience of bismarck by his impudence, that he jumped up, and exclaimed, “sir, behave better, or i’ll have you kicked out!” the magistrate present patted the zealous official in a friendly way upon the shoulder, and said quietly, “herr auscultator, the kicking out is my business.” they proceeded in taking evidence, but very soon bismarck again sprang to his feet, thundering out, “sir, behave yourself better, or the magistrate shall kick you out!” the face of the court may be imagined.
[129]
bismarck had a great deal to do in divorce cases, which were then treated in a manner in prussia—with a thoughtlessness still sadly remembered, although long since receiving a more solemn and worthier attention. the young jurist was deeply impressed by a lady with whom he had to arrange a divorce, when she decisively refused to attest it. she had determined otherwise. bismarck, who had never met with such a refusal, was disconcerted, and at last went and consulted with the senior jurist, and requested his aid. arrogantly shrugging his shoulders at the inexperience of his young colleague, he entered into the matter, and endeavored with all his wisdom and authority to induce the poor woman to consent to the divorce. she, however, continued her refusal; the matter ended without any result. bismarck never forgot this circumstance.
to the more amusing events of that time belongs the history of how bismarck taught a boot-maker in the kronenstrasse punctuality. this man, after many express promises, had neglected him on several occasions. when this again occurred, the shoemaker was roused at six o’clock the next morning by a messenger with the simple question: “are herr von bismarck’s boots ready yet?” when the maker said, “no,” he retired, but in ten minutes another arrived. loud rang the bell. “are herr von bismarck’s boots ready yet?” “no;” and so it went on every ten minutes until the boots were ready in the evening. the shoemaker no doubt never disappointed him again.
to the social circles in which the brothers bernhard and otto von bismarck then moved, there belonged the intimately related house of madame general von kessel. she was a sister of bismarck’s mother and resided in berlin, possessing many daughters. here he found pleasant and amiable society, and the affection of a relative. another house he was very fond of visiting was that of his cousin, the count von bismarck-bohlen, who was also accustomed to pass the winter in berlin with his family. during the winter of 1835-’6, bismarck was also introduced to the court festivities, and took part in the usual amusements.
at a court ball he first met the prince william, son of h.m. the king frederick william iii., as his royal highness was then called, to distinguish him from the prince william, brother of h.m. the king. bismarck was introduced to the royal prince[130] at the same time as a certain herr von schenk; the latter was as tall as bismarck, and also a legal official. looking at the two stately forms of these youths, prince william said merrily, “well! justice seeks her young advocates according to the standard of the guards.”
this was the first meeting between the king william, afterwards to be, and his bismarck; the first scarcely expected ever to wear a crown, but bismarck most certainly never thought that he should be that king’s powerful premier and most faithful servant.
one evening bismarck appeared in the saloons of madame von kessel, quiet, in low spirits, his hair, smoothly combed down, a melancholy mode of “frisur,” wearing a long waistcoat of woollen stuff, in trowsers of large pattern, checked blue and green; in[131] short, his plight was one of the most comical kind. in a gentle conciliatory way he accepted all the jokes it created, and patiently allowed a sketch of himself to be taken in this costume. this caricature is still in the possession of the family, and is highly characteristic. about a year afterwards, his cousin, helene von kessel, herself a skillful artist, painted a portrait of him; this very excellent likeness displays his bountiful head of hair, and forms a striking contrast to the “three hairs,” with which the berlin punch, “kladderadatsch,” usually endows the premier. this cousin, helene von kessel, at present a canoness at lindow, remained during her whole life on the most intimate terms with the minister-president. once, on taking a journey for some weeks into pomerania, his cousin begged him to take a letter for her and deliver it. he took it; but when he returned, and she asked him about it, he looked in his pockets; he happened to have the same coat on, and brought out the letter, but, with great presence of mind, declared that he had not delivered it in order to entirely cure his cousin of the habit of intrusting him with letters. among the surprises he delighted to prepare, some were very curious. thus, on one occasion, at kniephof, he was in deep conversation with his cousins, when the door suddenly opened, and four young foxes dashed into the room, and in their terror they jumped upon the sofas and chairs till they tore them to rags. the company, after their first surprise, could not help bursting into a scream of laughter.
in the year 1836, referendarius von bismarck left the department of justice for that of administration. as a future diplomatist, it was necessary to serve in that; therefore he went to aachen (aix la chapelle) to the crown court. count arnim-boytzenburg was at that time president; he possessed a great reputation, and bismarck hoped that he should be able to effect a conjunction with this rising star, and follow in his course. he was received by the arnim family with great kindness, and at first was very industrious; but he soon was carried into the vortex of society which existed during the season at the celebrated baths of the imperial city. he associated much with englishmen, frenchmen, and belgians, and in their company made several excursions to belgium, france, and the rhine province. he was especially the favorite of the english, as they were delighted[132] to find in him an amiable gentleman, possessing a perfect mastery over their language. these connections, however, got him into many scrapes.
he, in consequence, quitted “het ryk van aaken” (the realm of aachen), and, in the autumn of 1837, had himself transferred to the crown office at potsdam. about the same time, in 1838, he entered the j?ger guard, to fulfill his military duties. but the merry mess-room life did not last long, and in the same year he exchanged into the second battalion of j?ger, at greifswald, hoping to attend the lectures of the agricultural academy of eldena.
to such studies he was compelled by the sad state into which the administration of the paternal estates in pomerania had fallen, and which threatened total ruin. on this account the sons proposed to their father to grant them the pomeranian estates, as the only way in which the estates could be saved. his parents acceded to the proposition, and retired to sch?nhausen, under the faithful care of bellin, to there pass the evening of their lives. his father continued to reside there until 1845; but his mother, long an invalid, sought better medical attendance in berlin, and died in that city on the 1st of november, 1839.
at first, the elder brother, bernhard von bismarck, undertook the sole administration of the estates, otto remaining until the end of his year of service, until easter, 1839, at greifswald, but he soon perceived that it was impossible to combine the military service with agricultural studies. he soon fell into wild student ways again, there being nothing better to do in that place.
in the summer of 1839 bismarck entered on the administration of the pomeranian estates, and carried it on, in conjunction with his brother, until the summer of 1841. at this time the elder brother was elected landrath of the circle of naugard, married, and settled in the chief town. by this the common household of kniephof was broken up; and they divided the estates in such a manner that the elder brother retained külz, the younger receiving kniephof and jarchelin.
the younger brother had already desired to divide the estates, as he spent more than his elder brother, and the income of the common treasury therefore fell short. until his marriage, bernhard[133] would not consent to this, the brotherly affection between them having always been very sincere.
bismarck became deputy to the circle in his brother’s place, and in that capacity conducted the management of naugard, and was chosen representative in the provincial pomeranian diet; but, after the first session, wearied by the unimportant duties assigned to him, he resigned his functions; his place was filled by his brother.
when bismarck, at the age of twenty-three, in the most pressing circumstances, without credit or capital, undertook the conduct of the wasted estates, he evinced prudence and activity, and, as long as bitter want pressed upon him, he found solace in agricultural activity; but when, by his means, the estates began to rise in value, and every thing went on smoothly, and he was able to rely upon able subordinates, the administration gave him less satisfaction, and he felt the circle in which he moved too contracted for him. in his youthful fancy, he had formed a certain ideal of a country junker; hence he had no carriage, performed all his journeys on horseback, and astonished the neighborhood by riding six to ten miles[29] to evening assemblies in polzin. despite of his wild life and actions, he felt a continually increasing sense of loneliness; and the same bismarck who gave himself to jolly carouses among the officers of the neighboring garrisons, sank, when alone, into the bitterest and most desolate state of reflection. he suffered from that disgust of life common to the boldest officers at certain times, and which has been called “first lieutenant’s melancholy.” the less real pleasure he had in his wild career, the madder it became; and he earned himself a fearful reputation among the elder ladies and gentlemen, who predicted the moral and pecuniary ruin of “mad bismarck.”
the mansion of kniephof is pleasantly situated, but was built in a very simple style by its first possessor, the brave cavalry colonel frederick august, who lay in garrison at that time at gollnow, hard by, and who personally superintended its construction. the whole arrangements of the dwelling—little changed to this day—are of the sober simplicity of the era of frederick william i. the then major von bismarck had purchased these estates chiefly to gratify his passion for the chase, for game then[134] abounded on it, especially deer, very few of which remained when his grandson, otto, came to reside there.
kniephof did not then behold stag huntings with horses and mastiffs, as in the previous century. but strange scenes occurred when the youthful owner, tortured by dark thoughts, dashed restlessly, to kill time, through the fields, sometimes in solitude, and sometimes in the company of gay companions and guests; so that kniephof became a kneiphof far and wide in the land.[30] strange stories were current about their nocturnal carouses, at which none could equal “mad bismarck” in emptying the great beaker filled with porter and champagne. tales of a wild character were whispered in the circles of shuddering ladies—the power of imagination being rife in dear old pomerania. at each mad adventure, each wild burst of humor, a dozen myths started up, sometimes of a comical, sometimes a terrible character, until the little mansion of kniephof or “kneiphof” was looked upon as haunted. but the ghosts must have had tolerably strong nerves, for the guests, slumbering with nightcaps of porter and champagne, were often roused by pistol-shots, the bullets whistling over their heads, and the lime from their ceilings tumbling into their faces.
and yet the guests at this time relate that they were “miserably” bored at bismarck’s nocturnal political discussions with his intimate friends, dewitz of mesow and bülow of hoffelde—so different in character, but so inseparable from him. young gentlemen in those days were not so accustomed to political discussions as the youth of our time, and political parties were then nearly unknown. it should be stated, however, that otto von bismarck, despite his wild life, stood in high consideration, and he was heard with avidity, though the affair might be “miserably” tedious. “he made an impression on all of us—and i think at that time he was somewhat of a liberal!” a companion of those days told us, who complained of being “wretchedly bored” amongst the rest. the estimation in which bismarck was held was in nowise confined to youth; grave men of position, in a greater or less degree, felt that from this fermenting[135] mass would be formed an excellent and strong wine. many of the electors desired to nominate him for the landrath, but bismarck, decidedly enough, refused this.
and then there came a day, on which the furious revelry of “kneiphof” was silent; the old mansion, as if by enchantment, grew quiet and respectable, so that the world was first astonished and then whispered, “a lady will become mistress of kniephof!”
but no lady appeared at kniephof—it was a mistake, perhaps a disappointment. it was then said, “bismarck is going to india!” he did not go, though, perhaps, he for a time desired to do so.
for the rest, it must be said that bismarck fought chivalrously with the demons around him. he read much, and continually received parcels of books from his bookseller, chiefly historical works, but also theological and philosophical works. spinoza he studied deeply. the melancholy he had contracted by the events which befell him on the rhine, he strove to dissipate by travelling. about this time he visited france and england; he even resumed the position of referendarius under the crown at potsdam, and was very industrious; his friends, among whom were baron senfft von pilsach, afterwards chief president of pomerania, and his brother, considering him remarkably adapted for the services of the state, although at that time he assumed a very surly attitude in reference to the bureaucracy. it was probably about this time, at a party, where his president somewhat slighted him, as he was inferior to him as an official, that he begged the president in a friendly way to consider that in society herr von bismarck was as good as herr von anybody else—which scarcely pleased the president. another of his chiefs once pretended not to notice the presence of bismarck, went to the window and began drumming with his fingers, whereupon bismarck went to the window and stood beside him, drumming the dessau march. it was very likely the same official who allowed bismarck to wait in the antechamber for an hour, and received the answer to his short question “what do you want?”—“i came here to beg for leave of absence, and now demand leave to resign.” to about this time may be referred a report of bismarck’s as to certain expropriations, which attained[136] much celebrity. he might have been appointed landrath in posen or prussia proper, had he been willing to go. in this report bismarck freely and faithfully spoke his opinion as to the injustice of many expropriations, and his friends still quote the classical phrase, “you could not pay it me in cash, if you were to turn the park of my father into a carp lake, or the grave of my deceased aunt into an eel swamp!”
he decided in the end to go to sch?nhausen, and become landrath in the original seat of his race. his father was ready to resign sch?nhausen to him, but this plan also failed. in the autumn of 1844, on the 30th of october, he had the delight, after his return from a longer journey, to betroth his only sister malwina, to whom he was ever affectionately attached, to the friend of his youth, the landrath of angermünde, oscar von arnim. the affection of the brother and sister, people proverbially compared to that of a bridegroom to a bride.
after the death of his father, which took place in november, 1845, the sons so divided the property, that the elder retained külz and received jarchelin, the younger retaining kniephof and adding to it sch?nhausen. from that time bismarck resided in sch?nhausen, became dyke captain there, and afterwards knight’s deputy in the circle of jerichow in the saxon provincial diet at merseburg. in that capacity he attended the first meeting of the united diets in 1847, on which occasion he first attracted the notice of the public to himself in more extended circles.
we shall now give some letters written by bismarck to his sister at this troubled time, as they afford an insight into his peculiarities. we called this a troubled time, as the management of kniephof and jarchelin afforded him no satisfaction, for we find him continually flitting about between pomerania, sch?nhausen, and berlin. in berlin itself he changed his residence very often. on the morning of such removal he used to say abruptly to his servant, “bring all my things to no. so-and-so, in so-and-so street; i shall be there by bed-time.” the things were placed on tables, chairs, and sofa, spread out; for bismarck loved, as he said, to hold a review of his worldly possessions.
we must add that the disquiet he then suffered had a particular reason, and we shall find some allusions to this in his letters.
[137]
i.
mademoiselle,—i have just received your boots from glaser, and while they are being packed up i write to say that i am fairly amused here, and hope you enjoy your quadrille as much. i was pleasantly surprised to hear you danced with ——. if the boots are not properly made i am sorry, for you did not write any thing to me on the subject, so i had them made like the old ones. to-morrow i go with arnim to sch?nhausen, where we propose to have a hunting-party. father has given permission to us to kill a stag, but it is almost a pity at the present time of year. it has been freezing since yesterday. among you samoyeds the snow ought to be as high as the house. there are no news here—all is mourning—the king of sweden also is dead. i feel ever more how alone i am in the world. to your quadrille you will probably only see —— from here. i have been able to excite jealousy. take care that ice is brought in at kniephof, and as much as possible, or you will have to drink lukewarm champagne in summer. greet every one, especially father.
b.
berlin, wednesday, 1844.
ii.
dear maldewine,—only because it is yourself, i will depart from one of my principles, by writing a letter of congratulation purement pour féliciter. i can not come myself to your birthday, because my viceroy is not here to relieve me; but i would risk the assertion, that according to your incredulous bridegroom’s view, you would be convinced that i came to you on business, and not for your own sake. looking at it carefully, i don’t know what i can wish you, for you can remain as you are; but i could wish that you had two more sisters-in-law; one who is gone, and one who will not arrive. good-bye, my heart—greet my father, arnim, antonie, etc.; in about a fortnight i hope to see you. count the days till then, and kiss your affectionate brother,
bismarck.
kniephof, 27th june, 1844.
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iii.
dear little one,—being too much engaged in packing to attend the landwehr drill, i will only just write a couple of lines, as i shall have no time to do so after this, just now. very shortly after the wool-market i represented our vagabond of a landrath, have had many fires, many sessions in the burning heats, and much travelling through sandy bramble moors, so that i am completely tired of playing the landrath, and so are my horses. i am hardly at rest for a week, and now i must go serve my country as a soldier! you see[31] “how men of merit are sought after, the undeserver may,” etc. i am sorry to say i have had to buy another horse, as mine is not adapted for evolutions; however, i must try it, with grosvenor for a reserve. the latter pulls the carriage like an old coach horse; i must therefore pay for it, you can tell oscar (as soon as the rape harvest is current), which i had firmly resolved not to do—if he did not draw well. [here a blot.] forgive the preceding arabic; i have not a moment’s time to write this billet over again, for i must set out in an hour, and much packing has yet to be done. we shall remain for fourteen days in garrison at crüssow, by stargard, afterwards near fiddichow and bahn, opposite schwedt. if you write to me, address me at stargard, poste restante; i shall make no apologies for my long silence, and, if the case arise, regard you in the same way. good-bye—my portmanteau is yawning at me in expectation of being packed, and it looks very blue and white and military all around me.
when we reach fiddichow, oscar can visit me at bahn. i will let him know. your faithful brother,
bismarck.
kniephof, the 21st.
iv.
norderney, 9th sept., 1844.
darling little one,—a fortnight ago i intended to write to you, without being able, amidst the throng of business and pleasure, to do so. if you are curious to know the nature of the business, i am really unable, with the sparseness of my time and[139] paper, to give you a complete picture, as its series and nature, according to the change of ebb and flood, every day produces the most manifold variety. bathing, for instance, only takes place at flood tide, the waves being then strongest; this happens between six in the morning and six in the evening, every day one hour later, and is enjoyed with the advantages of a breezy, rainy, summer morning, sometimes in god’s beautiful nature with the glorious impressions of land and water, sometimes in my landlord’s mousse omne fimmen bed, five feet long, with the delightful ideas inspired by a seaweed mattress. in the same way, the table d’h?te changes its times between one and five o’clock, its component parts varying between shell-fish, beans, and mutton on the odd days, and soles, peas, and veal on the even days of the month, in which case sweet porridge with fruit sauce accompanies the former, and currant pudding the latter. that the eye may not envy the palate, a lady from denmark sits beside me, whose appearance fills me with sorrow and longings for home, for she reminds me of the pepper at kniephof, when it is very thin. her mind must be heavenly, or fate was very much unjust to her, for she offers me, in a sweet voice, two helpings from every dish before her. opposite sits the old minister ——, one of those beings we only behold in dreams, when we are somnolently ill; a fat frog without legs, who opens his mouth before every morsel like a carpet-bag, right up to his shoulders, so that i am obliged to hold on to the table for giddiness. my other neighbor is a russian officer; a good fellow, built like a bootjack, with a long slender body, and short crooked legs. most of the people have left, and our dinner company has melted from two or three hundred down to twelve or fifteen. my holiday at the baths is now over, and i shall leave by the next steamboat, expected the day after to-morrow (the 11th) for heligoland, and then by hamburg to sch?nhausen. i can not, however, fix the day of my arrival, because it is uncertain that the steamer will arrive the day after to-morrow; the notices say so, but they often retard the later passages if there are not sufficient passengers to bear the expense. the bremen steamships have long since stopped, and i do not like travelling by land, the roads being so bad that it is only possible to reach hanover by the third day, and the post-coaches are abominable. if,[140] therefore, the steamer does not come the day after to-morrow, i propose to go by sailing vessel to heligoland; thence there is a twice-a-week boat to hamburg, but i do not know on what days. father wrote me word that you would go to berlin on the 15th; if i therefore find, on reaching hamburg, that i can not reach you per steamer by the 15th, i shall try and get the potsdam boat, and go direct to berlin, to talk about art and industrial matters with you. if you receive this letter in time, which, considering the slowness of the post here, i scarcely think you will, you might send me a couple of lines to hamburg—old stadt london hotel—to say whether father has changed his travelling plans. the bathing here pleases me, and i should not mind stopping a few days longer. the shore is splendid—very flat, even, soft sand, without any stones, and a surf such as i have neither seen in the baltic nor at dieppe. even when i am only knee-high in the water, a wave comes as high as a house (but the houses here are not so high as the palace at berlin), turns me over ten times, and throws me on the sand some twenty paces off—a simple amusement which i daily enjoy, con amore, as long as the medical men advise. i have made great friends with the lake; every day i sail for some hours, fish, and shoot at seals. i only killed one of the last; such a gentle dog’s face, with large, handsome eyes; i was really sorry. a fortnight ago we had heavy storms; some twenty ships, of all nations, came ashore here, and for several days the shore was covered with innumerable fragments of wreck, utensils, goods in casks, bodies, clothes, and papers. i have, myself, had some sample of what a storm is. with a piscatorial friend, tonke hams, i had sailed in four hours to the island of wangeroge; on our return we were tossed about for twenty-four hours in the little boat, and in the first hour had not a dry thread on us, although i lay in an apology for a cabin; fortunately, we were well provided with ham and port wine, or the voyage would have been very distressing. hearty greetings to father, and thanks for his letter; the same to antonie and arnim. farewell, my treasure, my heart. your loving brother,
bismarck.
madame,—it is only with great difficulty that i withstand my desire to fill a whole letter with agricultural complaints, about night-frosts, sick cattle, bad rape and bad roads, dead lambs, hungry sheep, scarcity of straw, fodder, money, potatoes, and manure; in addition to that, john outside is, as continually as badly, whistling a wretched schottische, and i have not the cruelty to forbid him, as music may perhaps soothe his despair in love. the ideal of his dreams, at her parents’ desire, has lately refused him, and married a frame-maker. just my case, except the frame-maker, who is rasping away in the bosom of the future. i must, the devil take me! get married, i can again see, plainly; since, after my father’s departure, i feel lonely and forsaken, and this mild, damp weather makes me melancholy, and longingly prone to love. i can not help it, in the end i must marry ——; every body will have it so, and nothing seems more natural, as we have both remained behind. she is somewhat cold to me, but that is the way with them all; it is pretty not to be able to change one’s affections like one’s shirt, however seldom the last event may occur. that on the 1st i bore the visit of several ladies with polite urbanity, our father will have informed you. when i came from angermünde, i was cut off from kniephof by the floods of the hampel, and as no one would let me have horses, i was obliged to remain for the night at naugard, with many merchants and other travellers who also awaited the subsidence of the waters. afterwards the bridges over the hampel were carried away, so that knobelsdorf and i, the regents of two mighty circles, were surrounded here on a little patch by the waters, and there was an anarchical interregnum from schievelbein to damm. about one o’clock one of my wagons with three casks of spirits was carried away by the flood, and in my little river the hampel, i pride myself to say, a man driving a pitch-cart was carried away by the flood and drowned.[32] besides this, several houses in gollnow fell in, a criminal in the jail hanged himself for being flogged, and my neighbor, the proprietor ——, in ——, shot himself on account[142] of the want of fodder; three widows and an infant mourn in tearless sorrow beside the bloody coffin of the suicide. an eventful time! it is to be expected that several of our acquaintance will quit the scene, as this year, with its bad harvest, low prices, and the long winter, is difficult to be encountered by embarrassed proprietors. to-morrow i expect bernhard to return, and am glad to be quit of the district business, very agreeable in summer, but very unpleasant during this weather and rain. then i shall, should oscar not write otherwise, come to kr?chelndorf and thence to you.
i have nothing new to tell you from hence, except that i am still satisfied with bellin—the thermometer now at 10 p.m. marks +10° (50° fahr.). odin still continues lame of his right fore paw, and enjoys the society of his rebecca with touching affection all day, and i was obliged to chain her up for domestic misbehavior. good-night, m’amie, je t’embrasse. thine, etc., etc.,
bismarck.
kniephof, 9th april, 1845.
vi.
most dear creusa,—i have not taken the smallest key with me, and can assure you from experience that it never leads to the slightest result to look for keys; for which reason, in such circumstances—very rare with me, with my love of order—i at once turn to the locksmith to have a new one made. with important ones, such as safes, one has the choice of altering the wards and all the keys in use. i can see that i shall soon end my letter; not from malice, because you only wrote a page to me—it would be terrible to think that you would consider me so wretchedly revengeful; but from sleepiness. i have been riding and walking all day in the sun—saw a dance in plathe yesterday, and drank a good deal of montebello; the one gives me bile, the other the cramp. add to this, in swallowing, a painful swelling of the uvula, a slight headache, cramped legs, and sun-burn, and you can understand that neither my thoughts of you, my angel, nor the melancholy howling of a shepherd dog, locked up for too great a passion for hunting, can keep me longer awake. i will only tell you that the kr?nzchen (club) is not very much visited; a very pretty little miss ——, sister of ——, was there, and[143] that most of the young and old ladies are lying in childbed, except frau von ——, the little one who wore the light blue satin; and that i go to-morrow to an ?sthetic tea in ——. sleep well, my idolized one—it is eleven o’clock.
bismarck.
k., 27th april, 1845.
vii.
ma s?ur,—je t’écris pour t’annoncer that i shall be with you at angermünde at the latest by the 3d march, if you do not write to me before that you will not have me. i think then, after i have enjoyed a sight of you for three or four days, to carry off your husband to attend a meeting of the society for the improvement of the working classes, on the 7th march, at potsdam. my journey, previously intended, has been delayed by all sorts of dyke suits, and game cases, so that i shall leave here by the 28th at earliest. i am to be invested here with the important office of dyke captain, and i have also considerable chance of being elected to the saxon (not the dresden) diet. the acceptance of the first office would be decisive as to the settlement of my residence—that is, here! there is no salary, but the administration of the position is of importance to sch?nhausen and the other estates, inasmuch as it very much depends upon this whether we may occasionally get under water again or no. on the other hand, my friend ——, who is determined to send me to east prussia, pushes me hard to accept the office there of h. m. commissioner for improvements. bernhard urges me, contrary to my expectation, to go to prussia. i should like to know what he thinks himself about it. he declares that by taste and education i am made for government service, and must enter it, sooner or later. greet oscar, detlev, miss ——, and the other children heartily, from your devoted brother,
bismarck.
sch?nhausen, 25th february, 1846.
viii.
dear arnimen,—i have within the few last days been obliged to write so many letters, that i have only left by me one sheet, stained with coffee, which i will not, however, deprive you of. my existence here has not been the most agreeable. to[144] make inventories is tedious, particularly when the rascally valuer has left one three times in the lurch for nothing, and one has to wait in vain for several days. besides this, i have lost a considerable amount of corn by hail, on the 17th, and finally i am suffering from a very annoying cough, although i have drunk no wine since angermünde, and have taken every precaution against catching cold, can not complain of want of appetite, and sleep like a badger. at the same time every one laughs at me for my healthy looks, when i declare i am suffering from the chest. to-morrow, at noon, i will visit redekin, the next day go to magdeburg, and then, after a day or two’s sojourn, throw myself immediately into your arms. i can not tell you of any further news here, except that the grass was fourteen days in advance, in comparison with angermünde, and the crops, take them altogether, very middling. the results of the inundation are very annoyingly visible, i am sorry to say, in the garden. besides the many trees i took during the winter from the plantation as useless, it now appears that all the other acacias and the ashes are dried up, so that little remains; seventeen of the limes at the lower end of the great avenue are either dead or appear dying visibly. i shall have those showing a leaf anywhere topped, and see whether this operation will save them. in fruit trees, and especially plums, there has been a considerable loss. in the fields, and more particularly in the meadows, there are many places in which the grass has not grown, because the upper vegetative soil has been washed away. the bellins and the rest of the sch?nhausers send their respects; the former suffer much from to-day’s heat. sultan not less. thermometer 21° (68° fahr.) in the shade. many greetings to oscar. your consumptive brother,
bismarck.
sch?nhausen, 22d july, 1846.
in the course of this year bismarck obtained his first decoration, for many years the only one which graced his breast, but which he wears to this day beside the stars of the highest orders of christendom. in the summer of 1842, he was on duty as cavalry officer with the stargard landwehr squadron of uhlans, in exercise at lippehne, in the neumark, and one afternoon was standing with other officers on the bridge over the lake, when his groom hildebrand,[145] the son of the forester on his estate, rode one of the horses to water and for a bath in the lake, close by the bridge. suddenly the horse lost footing, and as the terrified horseman clung tight to the bridle, it fell, and hildebrand disappeared in the water. a terrible cry of horror resounded; bismarck threw off his sword in an instant, tore off his uniform, and dashed headlong into the lake to save his servant. by great good fortune he seized him, but the man clung to him so fast in his death agony, that he had to dive before he could loose himself from him. the crowd stood in horror on the shore; master and servant were both given up for lost—bubbles rose to the surface, but the powerful swimmer had succeeded in releasing himself from the deadly embrace of the drowning man; he rose to the surface, raising his servant with him. he also brought him safely to land, of course in an inanimate condition; but hildebrand soon recovered, and the following day was well. this little town, some of the inhabitants of which had witnessed the brave rescue, was in great commotion; they expressed their feelings by the superintendent meeting the noble rescuer in full official dress, and wishing him happiness for the mercy of the almighty. hence he obtained the simple medallion “for rescue from danger,” the well-known prussian safety medal, which may be seen beside so many exalted stars on the breast of the minister-president. bismarck is proud of this mark of honor, and when on one occasion a noble diplomatist, perhaps not without a tinge of satire, asked him the meaning of this modest decoration, then his only one, he at once replied: “i am in the habit sometimes of saving a man’s life!” the diplomatist abased his eyes before the stern look which accompanied the lightly spoken words of bismarck.
in the spring of 1843, lieutenant von bismarck sought and obtained permission from the landwehr battalion of stargard to enter the 4th uhlans (now the 1st pomeranian regiment, uhlans, no. 4), then in garrison at treptow and greiffenberg, and do some months’ duty. bismarck certainly aimed, when he entered this regiment, to serve as an officer in the active army, and to become acquainted with the regular routine of duty, although he did not say so, and allowed the officers of uhlans to believe that he had only been induced by their agreeable society to join them.[146] it is true he lived with them as a comrade, and often entertained them, almost every saturday, as his guests at kniephof; but they had frequently been his guests before, and afterwards they became so constantly. the regimental commandant, at that time, of the 4th uhlans, was lieutenant-colonel von plehwe, who fell in a duel as general, a person well known in many circles, and of a very distinguished character. plehwe was one of the few important men, without an idea of what there was “in” the wild landwehr lieutenant, who joined his regiment in so strange a manner, for he did not know how to deal with bismarck in any way. half-way between treptow, where the staff of the regiment was quartered, and greiffenberg, where bismarck lay, was a rendezvous known as “the golden dog” (zum goldenen mops); to this place the severe regimental commandant was accustomed to summon the officers of greiffenberg when he wanted to treat them to—compliments, or rather the very opposite to compliments. oh! how often did lieutenant von bismarck ride to “the golden dog” upon his caleb!
caleb was bismarck’s favorite charger; a dark chestnut, not very handsome, but a good hunter; the warmer the work the more furious his pace. caleb has carried his master at such speed impossible to relate without being supposed guilty of fabulation; but these rides were nevertheless true, according to the most credible witnesses. it was caleb who bore bismarck on that wild ride when the stirrup flew up to the epaulet. how it happened, who can tell?—but the fact is sure.
although von plehwe may have summoned lieutenant von bismarck a few times too often to “the golden dog,” although he may have been commanded to appear in full regimentals on more occasions than was necessary, bismarck even now tells his former comrades in the 4th uhlans, “i spent a very pleasant time with you!” he still chuckles with satisfaction at the little practical joke when, in company with other officers, he seated himself, smoking a cigar, on the bench before the burgomaster of treptow’s house. this official was an enemy of tobacco, and officers were even then forbidden to smoke in the streets. it was in vain that the burgomaster, who in other things was a very excellent man, informed them that it was no hotel, but the burgomaster’s house; bismarck remained immovable, until the severe[147] commandant appeared in full uniform, and raised the tobacco blockade.
during the christmas holidays of 1844, there was a dinner-party at the house of the youthful frau von blanckenburg, at cardemin in pomerania. this pious and intellectual lady—born a von thadden-triglaff—had great influence over bismarck, and had confirmed the ancient family friendship between the blanckenburgs and the bismarcks. after dinner four gentlemen sat in the red saloon under the lamp, who were to meet again after many years, although in different positions, but still fighting on the same side. next to the host, the retired examiner, moritz von blanckenburg, sat otto von bismarck, then in the same official position; beside the latter, major von roon, whose cradle was also in pomerania; and, last, dr. theodor beutner, since 1855 editor-in-chief of the “new prussian gazette,” popularly known as the kreuzzeitung, from the cross on the title-leaf.
