the second chamber.—the sword and the throne.—acceptance of the frankfurt project.—the new electoral law.—bismarck’s speeches.—the king and the stag.—birth of herbert von bismarck.—“what does this broken glass cost?”—the kreuzzeitung letters.—the prussian nobility.—“i am proud to be a prussian junker!”—close of the session.
immediately after the publication of the december constitution of 1848, bismarck was, in the same month, elected in brandenburg the representative of west-havelland, as a member of the second chamber.
the diet was opened on the 26th of february, 1849; and bismarck was among the first members to repair to the solemnity in the white saloon. how many reminiscences were associated in bismarck’s mind with the white saloon! how many more were to arise! memorials and landmarks still remain!
without any special object, most probably, bismarck took the[192] same seat in the assembly he had formerly occupied as representative of the knight’s estate of jerichow, in the united diet; and here he held, as it were, as member for the electoral metropolis of brandenburg, a sort of court. it was at least something of a court, for not only was he received by his former associates, such as count arnim-boytzenburg, the minister von manteuffel, and many others, but his opponents also addressed him—those who had been his opponents, and were to become so again. among these were auerswald, vincke, and grabow; at that time they all stood with bismarck on the right, in the terrible crisis of the country. bismarck received them with the perfect confidence of a great-hearted gentleman, in that gracious manner of which he was so perfect a master, but which he could, at any moment, for the sake of a joke, frankly and freely abandon, without in the least imperilling his position. on that day his face remained serious, despite the anecdote related by freiherr von vincke, who recounted in a humorous way that on alighting from his carriage he had been hissed at the palace gate by the berlin mob, while plaudits were made to temmes and d’esters. bismarck did not allow himself any illusions as to the difficulty of the position, although the royalists were in ecstasies at the result of the elections. parties were at the time about equal in numbers, if those were counted to the royalist side that had not formally sided with the democrats. it was a very beggarly account, and yet this was to be regarded, after the events of the spring, as a considerable gain—a gain greatly to be ascribed to the endeavors of bismarck and his immediate friends.
a conservative deputy from pomerania, addressing the member for west-havelland, said: “we have conquered!”
“not so!” replied bismarck, coolly. “we have not conquered, but we have made an attack, which is the principal thing. victory is yet to come, but it will come.”
these words accurately and truly convey the nature of the situation, bismarck being a master of short phrases in which situations are rendered in a perfectly intelligible manner. very frequently his expressions appear as if a curtain had been suddenly withdrawn to allow brilliant light to dissipate gloom. he is the very opposite to those diplomatists who make use of language only to conceal their thoughts. his clear perceptions are ever[193] conveyed openly in definite language. not only in politics is this true, but in ordinary conversation. on one occasion the relative positions of the pomeranian circles were under discussion. bismarck said, “the principality of cammin hangs like a pair of breeches over belgard!” of course his geographical studies aided him to this, but his expressions are equally applicable under all circumstances.
two of the deputies, on the occasion of this solemnity, displayed the cynicism of street democracy with childish vanity; one of them strutted about in a green frock-coat, and the other attempted to draw attention to himself by continually fanning himself with his gray hat. these were not, however, the worst enemies of the prussian monarchy in the white saloon on that day; under many a well-brushed black coat worse emotions were on fire.
by accident the sabre of one of the officers of the guards fell from its scabbard on his suddenly turning; the naked weapon lay before the throne of prussia, a circumstance which could only be regarded by many, on both sides, as portending that the sword alone could now save the throne.
at the sessions immediately succeeding the opening of the second chamber, bismarck now found himself placed in the position of defending the constitution—although it did not fulfill his aspirations, opinions, and convictions—against the attacks of democracy. he had accepted constitutionalism, from necessity, and was bound to defend the sovereignty upon this basis. this he did bravely and openly, but in a spirit of self-consciousness and dignity, which often drove his antagonists to despair, and frequently aroused a storm of disapprobation.
“no word,” he once exclaimed, “has been more wrongly used in the past year than the word ‘people.’ every body has held it to signify just what suited his own view, usually as a crowd of individuals, whom it was necessary to persuade.”
to throw this phrase into the face of democracy, meant far more in those days than at the present time.
he declared against a fresh amnesty with manly vigor and deep insight; he straightforwardly said the king, on the 18th march, 1848, had pardoned rebels, but such an act ought not to be repeated, because it would have the effect of spreading an[194] opinion among the people that the whole political rights of the state depended upon the will of the population, as if any one who armed a certain number of individuals, or assembled them in unarmed crowds, to overawe a weak government, possessed the right to overturn any law obnoxious to him. “there is no accommodation possible with this battle of principles, which has shaken europe to its foundations; these principles are founded on contradictory grounds, opposed from the very commencement. one apparently seeks its justification in the national will, but really in the brute force of the barricades; the other is founded in a sovereignty granted by heaven, upon the supremacy of divine right, and endeavors to accomplish its development by organically allying itself with constitutional jurisprudence and law. one of these principles regards agitators of every kind as heroic combatants for truth, freedom, and right; the other classes them as rebels. these principles can not be decided by parliamentary debates; ere long the almighty, who is the arbiter of battles, will throw the dice and so determine the controversy.”
the second chamber adopted the frankfurt imperial constitution by a vote of 179 against 159. bismarck spoke energetically against it, because it bore the broad impress of national sovereignty, this being evident, as the emperor retained nothing more than a right of a veto of suspension. the radicals, he said, would approach the new emperor with the imperial arms, and ask,—
“think you that this eagle is given you merely as a present?”
“the frankfurt crown,” he continued, “may be very brilliant, but the gold, which lends truth to its splendor, must be added by melting into its composition the prussian crown; and i can not believe that this recasting is possible by means of the proposed constitution.”
the course of the discussions in the second chamber gradually showed an increase in the power of the democrats, and they would render a monarchical government impossible. they insisted on the abolition of the state of siege in berlin, as this materially impeded their projects; and when they had finally succeeded in effecting this, the government could do no otherwise than dissolve the second chamber and prorogue the first. it seemed at one time that this dissolution would be the signal for[195] another insurrection, but the democratic mob was taken aback when the government showed the necessary severity. it was a terrible exaggeration for a paris newspaper to announce, “le canon gronde à berlin.” one volley in the d?nhofsplatz, and then, “arms—to the right,” and a cavalry charge in the leipziger-strasse, were enough thoroughly to deprive the democrats of all taste for another rising.
bismarck was then residing at wilhelms-strasse, no. 71; in the summer he went to pomerania, and thence, in august, proceeded to brandenburg for the election, and finally to berlin.
the new electoral law for the second chamber, and a decree summoning both chambers for the 7th of august, had already been published, on the 30th of may. this new chamber, which had grown clearer as to the position of parties, was employed with the revision of the customs constitution and with the german policy of prussia—in fact, with the plans for union proposed by herr von radowitz.
bismarck, who now appeared more and more as one of the leaders of the conservative party, declared against the projects of union and the triple alliance, because it was founded at the cost of prussia’s specific interests, and, if successful, would, in the end ruin her. on the 6th of september, 1849, bismarck spoke as follows:—
“i am of opinion that the motive principles of the year 1848 were far more social than national. national action would have confined itself to a few, but prominent, persons, in more contracted circles, if the ground had not been shaken under our feet, drawing in the social element, by false representations as to the ambition of the proletariat to acquire the property of others. the envy the poor had of the rich was excited in proportion to the continued feeding of a spirit of license from high quarters, which destroyed the moral elements of resistance in the minds of men. i do not believe that these evils would be averted by democratic concessions, or by projects of german unity; the seat of the disease is deeper; but i deny that any desire has ever existed in the prussian people towards a national regeneration on the model of the theories of frankfurt. the policy of frederick the great has been frequently alluded to; and it has even been identified with the proposition for union. i rather am of opinion[196] that frederick ii. would have turned to the most prominent peculiarity of prussian nationality, to her warlike element, and not without a result. he would have known that to-day, as in the era of our fathers, the sound of the trumpet which called to the standard of the father of the country, has lost no charm for the prussian ear, whether the question concern the defense of the frontier or the fame and greatness of prussia. he would have had the alternative, after the rupture with frankfurt, to ally himself with our ancient ally, austria, and then assume the brilliant part enacted by the emperor of russia, in alliance with austria, to destroy the common enemy—revolution; or he would have been free, with the same justification he possessed for the conquest of silesia, after declining the frankfurt imperial crown, to decide what the nature of the german constitution should be, at the risk of casting the sword into the balance. this would have been a national prussian policy! in this way prussia, in union with austria or alone, would have been able to arrive at the proper position that would have endowed germany with the power it should possess in europe. the plan of a constitutional union, however, destroys the prussian specific character.”
we must draw especial attention to the reply which bismarck made to the argument of herr von radowitz, that the frankfurt assembly had shielded prussia against some dangers.
“i am not in the least aware,” said bismarck, “of such a thing. i only know that the 38th prussian regiment, on the 18th of september, 1848, preserved us from that which the frankfurt parliament, with its predecessor, had conjured up. the specific character of prussia actually accomplished this. this was the remains of the heretic prussiadom which had survived the revolution; the prussian army, the prussian treasury, the fruits of prussian administration accumulated through many years, and the animated reaction exerted by king and people on each other in prussia. it consisted in the attachment of the prussian population to the established dynasty; it consisted in the old prussian virtues of honor, fidelity, obedience, and bravery, which inspire every prussian soldier from the backbone—from the officers to the youngest recruit. the army has no enthusiasm for the tricolor; in it, as in the rest of the people, will be found no longing for national regeneration. the name of[197] prussia is all-sufficient for it. these hosts follow the banner of black and white, and not the tricolor: under the black and white they joyfully die for their country. the tricolor has been, since the 18th march, recognized as the attribute of their opponents. the accents of the prussian national anthem, the strains of the dessau and hohenfriedberg march, are well known and beloved among them: but i have never yet heard a prussian soldier sing, ‘what is the german fatherland?’ the nation whence this army has sprung, and of which the army is the truest representative, in the happy and accurate words of the president of the first chamber, rudolf von auerswald, does not need to see the prussian monarchy melt away in the filthy ferment of south german immorality. we are prussians, and prussians we desire to remain. i know that in these words i utter the creed of the prussian army, the creed of the majority of my fellow-countrymen, and i hope to god that we shall continue prussians, when this bit of paper is forgotten like the withered leaf of autumn!”
this love for the prussian army, this enthusiasm for it, is a red line which runs through the whole political life of bismarck. in it he recognizes the especial representative of the prussian nation, the pillar of the state; and this was quite in the style of frederick; for did not the great monarch say, “that the sky did not rest more firmly on the shoulders of atlas, than the prussian state on the regiments of the army.” the german policy of herr von radowitz had no more conscious and energetic opponent than herr von bismarck, unless in the excellent general von rauch, the royal adjutant-general, a remarkable and highly gifted statesman, who opposed him on every opportunity in his powerful way, even in the royal presence. radowitz, on one occasion, in his emphatic style, conjured the king, like c?sar, to cross the rubicon. general von rauch replied, with a twang of the berlin dialect, “i do not know that fellow c?sar, nor that fellow the rubicon, but the man can not be a true prussian who counsels his majesty thus!” herr von radowitz, it is known, was not a born prussian.
as to the revision of the constitution, herr von bismarck and his associates strove actively to endow it with such a shape that it would be possible for the king actually to govern with it. much was accomplished, but “far from sufficient!” said bismarck.[198] nor was it the fault of bismarck that much more was not done.
he was particularly zealous against the power of granting taxation by the diet. “the centre of gravity, the whole power of the state, departs from the crown to the chambers, or their majorities, and nothing then will remain to the crown but the power of carrying out the votes of the majority. it is true the government can dissolve the chambers, and proceed to new elections, but the new chambers might choose to pursue the way of the old, and thus the conflict would become insoluble and eternal; there is no way of avoiding this. this would be overturning the prussian state prerogative, he perceived, the effects of which very easily would be of a more enduring nature than those of the so-called march revolution!”
the orator of 1849 seemed to have a perception of the conflicts which the premier of 1862 would have to pass through: he then did not see how he should emerge from such a state of things, but in 1866 he found the way the via triumphalis.
bismarck had been forced to accept constitutionalism, but he did not unconditionally do so: it was at least to be a prussian constitution, or modelled on prussian principles, not directly inimical to the kingship.
prussia, said he, must be distinguishable from other countries. the downfall of german states kept tolerable pace with the concessions made by their governments to the people. a reference to england was a mistake. “give us every thing english that we do not possess; give us english piety, and english respect for the law; give the entire english constitution, but with this the entire relations of the english landlords, english wealth, and english common-sense—then it will be possible to govern in a similar manner. the prussian crown must not be forced into the powerless position of the english crown, which appears more like an elegant ornament at the apex of the edifice of the state. in ours i recognize the supporting pillar.”
england, he added, had given itself the leading principles of the constitution of 1688, only after having been, for more than a century, under the curatorship of an omnipotent aristocracy, consisting of a very few families. parliamentary reform had now, it was true, broken the power of the aristocracy, but it was yet to[199] be seen whether it would endure like the influence of the aristocracy. “we are deficient in the very class which controls politics in england, the class of wealthy and thence conservative gentlemen, independent of material interests, whose whole education is directed to becoming statesmen.”
bismarck’s words were no longer hesitating, as at the united diet, although there was always some slight impediment until his language began to flow more readily. but, as now, we perceive in his speeches that he had always to contend with the too rapidly advancing flood of thought. in his outward appearance his aspect was the picture of manly perfection; the tall, strong-boned frame was erect, but light and unconstrained; his attitude was somewhat daring, but the blue-gray eye glanced forth earnestly and sharply, when it was not animated with the light of sincere friendship. it was not the contemplative eye of the thinker, but the straightforward look of the man of action.
in the last days of autumn, bismarck was commanded to the royal hunting-parties at letzlingen, as he afterwards always continued to be, if not too far away. frederick william iv. treated him with especial favor on this occasion; it was also with peculiar pleasure that he hunted on the moors and among the forests, centuries before the proud heritage of his race; a heritage his ancestors had surrendered only under the influence of affection for their princes, and reverence for their liege lord.[200] these old bismarckian preserves are the richest in prussia: the red deer and bucks are counted by thousands, and the royal hunts, which take place every winter since the restoration of the mansion of letzlingen by frederick william iv., at the beginning of his reign, are among the best in europe. frederick william iv., although familiar with the chase, was not at all times a keen sportsman. once he leaned his gun against a tree, drew a volume of shakspeare from his pocket, seated himself on a stump, and was so absorbed in the poetry, that he never noticed that an inquisitive stag, who wished to know what the king was reading, crept up behind him and looked into the book over his shoulder. this pretty scene was witnessed by several sportsmen, and among these bismarck, from a distance.
in this winter of 1849-50 bismarck established his family in berlin, although he retained his seat at sch?nhausen; his household lived on the first floor on dorotheen-strasse, no. 37; here his second child and eldest son herbert was born.
he was christened on the 13th february, 1850, by the well-known and so highly esteemed preacher, gossner. in the spring of 1868 the heirs of gossner, with other manuscripts, presented the letter of bismarck, in which he asked gossner to christen his son, to a bazar for missionary purposes. a cousin of the minister-president—general count bismarck-bohlen, the commandant of berlin—purchased the letter, and presented it to count herbert. this letter is as follows:—
berlin, 11th february, 1850.
reverend sir,—although i have not the honor to be personally known to you, i venture to hope, as we have friends in common, that you will not refuse to baptize my first-born son; and i beg respectfully to ask whether it will be agreeable to your engagements to perform this holy office on the day after to-morrow, wednesday, the 13th current, at about half-past eleven, at my residence, dorotheen-strasse, no. 37, and for this purpose would honor me with a visit. in case of your consent, i trust you will make an appointment for to-morrow afternoon or evening, when i can visit you and make the further necessary arrangements.
with great respect, reverend sir, i remain faithfully,
von bismarck-sch?nhausen, m. sec. ch.
[201]
among the friends who about that time visited bismarck’s hospitable though simple household in the dorotheen-strasse (afterwards in the behren-strasse, no. 60), we may name von savigny, andré, and von kleist-retzow.
bismarck’s life in those days was almost entirely absorbed by politics: sessions of the chambers, commissions, committees, clubs, and appointments of all kinds occupied him, and politics formed the theme of the conversations he held in the evening in the beer-saloon of schwarz (corner of friedichs and leipziger strassen), when he went in to drink a glass of grünthaler beer. this beer-saloon—it is still existent, although in another locality and under other management—was a principal centre of the conservatives; it was jestingly said, that even the landlord’s little dog was so conservative that he barked at every democrat.
at another establishment, not that of schwarz, bismarck had a little adventure. he had just taken a seat, when a particularly offensive expression was used at the next table concerning a member of the royal family. bismarck immediately rose to his full height, turned to the speaker, and thundered forth:—“out of the house! if you are not off when i have drunk this beer, i will break this glass on your head!” at this there ensued[202] a fierce commotion, and threatening outcries resounded in all directions. without the slightest notice bismarck finished his draught, and then brought it down upon the offender’s pate with such effect that the glass flew into fragments, and the man fell down, howling with anguish. there was a deep silence, during which bismarck’s voice was heard to say, in the quietest tone, as if nothing whatever had taken place:—“waiter, what is to pay for this broken glass?” at this exclamations were heard, but not against bismarck; every one rejoiced and cried:—“that was right! that is the proper thing to do! the wretch richly deserved it!” this deed had its intended effect, and bismarck went on his way unmolested.
there was something indescribably commanding in his firm countenance, with its close beard, and the cold glance which lay in his eyes, in his form and whole bearing, at this time. this a certain herr nelke (pink) or stengel (stalk)—we are not certain of the name—one day learnt to his cost. bismarck was returning from potsdam with the venerable and worthy lieutenant-colonel von wolden, who is still remembered in certain circles. in the coupé a silly bagman or something of that kind was making a violent political speech, and at last ventured to ridicule and libel the grizzly lieutenant-colonel to his face. bismarck looked at the man, who was continuing his insults, for a time, until the train stopped at the station in berlin. bismarck paced along the platform at his full height, and advanced in the firmest attitude to the chattering gentleman, so that he involuntarily receded a step with alarm. silently bismarck approached and drove him to the wall, and then simply asked him,
“what is your name?”
“nelke, my name is nelke!” stammered the person addressed, with a pale and anxious face.
“then take care, you nelke (pink) you—or i shall have to pluck you!”
he then turned and left the poor pink in a crushed state—but richer by a golden lesson—leaning against the wall.
bismarck wore a long yellowish-gray overcoat, which to this day is called in his house the “dyke coat,” as he was accustomed to put it on when he visited the dyke, for which purpose it had done long and faithful service. in fritz reuter’s “journey to[203] constantinople” the commerce councillor schwofel says:—“in all eisenach there are only three white hats; his royal highness wears one when he is there; mr. o’kelly wears the second; and i wear the third. certainly there are plenty more white hats in the place, but these are the most important.” we might say here that berlin in those days only contained three yellow overcoats; bismarck wore one of these; the immortal baron von hertefeld wore the second, until he died, the last of his memorable race, as hereditary grand huntsman, at cleve, in 1867; and the author of this book the third. there might be many more yellow coats in berlin, but these were the most important.
bismarck very often, as did many members of the conservative party, visited the office of the new prussian gazette, in the dessauer-strasse, no. 5, to learn the news. he was one of those, however, who always brought more than he carried away. bismarck is an admirable narrator, especially of anecdotes, which he used to point with epigrammatic skill; the under-current of little traits of malice are generally invested with a dose of good humor, so that the subject of the stories were obliged to laugh themselves. the napoleonist duc de persigny would no doubt have laughed had he heard bismarck in those days. fialin de persigny at that time was intrusted with a political mission in berlin, which he no doubt carried through to the greatest satisfaction of the higher powers; but he exhibited such disinvolture in the circles of the court society, and so na?ve an admiration for female beauty, that a number of tales passed current at his expense. bismarck’s mode of narration was only tinged with good humor in the majority of cases, not in all; he could be exceedingly peppery, and could give vent to severe sarcasms, and shoot off arrows which pierced through and through.
he was, however, not only a teller of anecdotes in the editorial room of the new prussian gazette; he supported the paper he had contributed to found with original articles. these were mostly written at the great round table where so many distinguished men have taken their seats, from von radowitz and bethmann-hollweg to count arnim, pernice, stahl, von gerlach, and huber; and he wrote in his peculiar firm, but high and compact style. sometimes he rushed into the room with hasty greeting, and stood at[204] the high desk, retaining his hat and gloves in his left hand, and threw some lines swiftly on to paper. “put the national motto to these,” he would exclaim to the editor-in-chief, and ran off with another salutation. he was always full of life and activity.
after the close of this session, on the 25th of february, 1850, he returned for a short time to sch?nhausen, and in the following april we discover him again in erfurt, at the union parliament. he had, as we know, been opposed from the very beginning to these attempts at union; they were not, in his firm opinion, fraught with any fortunate omen to prussia. the very next few months proved that his acute insight and his prussian patriotism had not erred. we need not therefore be astonished that he gave vent to his patriotic sorrow at the erfurt project, and the humiliations contemplated to prussia thereby, in unmeasured language. he closed one of his speeches of that time with the following sentences:—
“it has been a painful feeling for me to see here prussians, and not nominal prussians only, who advocate this constitution, who have defended it with ardor. it would have been a humiliating feeling to me, and so it would have been to thousands and thousands of my fellow-countrymen, to see the representatives of princes whom i honor in their own sphere, but who are not my liege-lords, clothed with supreme power; a feeling the bitterness of which could not be diminished by seeing the seats we occupy[205] decked with colors—never those of the german empire—but which for two years have been the colors of rebellion and of the barricades, colors worn in my native land by the democrat alone, except when in sorrowful obedience by the soldier. gentlemen! if you make no more concessions than are contained in this constitution to the prussian—ancient prussian spirit—call it obstinate prussian feeling if you choose—i do not believe it will be realized; and if you endeavor to force this constitution on this prussian spirit, you will find it to be a bucephalus, who bears his accustomed lord and rider with daring joy, but who will cast the unwelcome sunday rider with his black-red-gold harness to the earth. i find one comfort against these eventualities in the firm conviction that no long time will elapse ere the parties to this constitution will stand, as, in the fable of lafontaine, the two doctors stood by the patient whose corpse they were abandoning. the one said, ‘he is dead, i said so from the beginning!’—the other, ‘had he followed my advice, he would have been alive now.’”
the further debates of the erfurt parliament gave him leisure enough, but this leisure brought no vigor with it, for the impression of a great political blunder sat heavy on the souls of bismarck and his political partisans.
bismarck wished to reinvigorate himself by a thorough hunting-party; he conferred with the privy councillor oppermann, one of the “mighty hunters” of prussia; this gentleman joined him with enthusiasm, and they communicated through the oberforstmeister von wedell, in schleusingen, to obtain a woodcock foray with the famous shot oberf?rster klingner. bismarck and oppermann left erfurt one morning together. at the first stage the travellers refreshed themselves at arnstadt, as keen sportsmen, thinking nothing of the caddish opinions of the day, by a plentiful breakfast at eight o’clock, of delicate groundlings, and drank 1811 bocksbeutel therewith. at the succeeding stations they whetted their appetites with trout, and drank beer with them, as the nectar of 1811 would allow no other wines to attract the palate. on their arrival in schleusingen at 3 p.m., they had more trout and beer, then an interview and arrangements with the oberf?rster, and in the evening more trout, which oppermann ate with wine sauce, bismarck remaining true to beer despite of[206] urgent dissuasions. at night, about 12 o’clock, the oberf?rster made his appearance with a keeper, to take the gentlemen off to the forest. bismarck, however, was in a very lamentable plight; the mixture of fish and beer did not suit his constitution, and he was in a feverish state. he was advised to have some peppermint and stop in bed, but it was in vain; the keen sportsman was not afraid of stomach-ache; he was soon dressed, and away they went. oppermann fired and killed a bird, but bismarck returned home with nothing. he had put up two woodcocks, but at the decisive moment he fired both times at the wrong instant. the keeper showed him another woodcock, but bismarck was unfit for any further exertion; he returned to schleusingen and went to bed. by eleven o’clock the mischief was ended by some strong grog, and the sportsmen then went by the express coach over the hills, and arrived very merrily in erfurt by the evening. bismarck, however, has never taken beer upon trout since.
during his stay in erfurt, dr. stahl was presented with an album by his admirers. on its eleventh page, the album (which was afterwards printed) contains the following inscription:—
“our watchword therefore is not ‘a united state at any price,’ but, ‘the independence of the prussian crown at every price.’
“bismarck-sch?nhausen,
deputy for brandenburg.
“erfurt, 24th april, 1850.”
this expression, if we are not mistaken, was a quotation from a speech made by stahl, at that time in erfurt. evidently it came from bismarck’s inmost soul.
after his return from erfurt, bismarck dedicated some weeks to his business in sch?nhausen, and then travelled into pomerania with his family. it is this journey of which such humorous mention is made in the two following letters to his sister:
bismarck to frau von arnim.
sch?nhausen, 28th june, 1850.
i write you a solemn letter of congratulation on the occasion (i think) of your twenty-fourth birthday. (i won’t tell any body of this.) you are now really a major, or, rather, would have been[207] so, had you not had the misfortune to belong to the female sex, whose limbs, in the eyes of jurists, can never emerge from minority—not even when they are the mothers of the lustiest of jacks. why this apparent injustice is a very wise arrangement i will instruct you, when, i hope some fortnight hence, i have you à la portée de la voix humaine before me. johanna—who at the present time is in the arms of lieutenant morpheus—will have written to you what is in prospect for me. the boy bellowing in a major key, the girl in minor, two singing nurse-girls, wet napkins and milk-bottles, myself in the character of an affectionate paterfamilias. i resisted a long time, but as all the mothers and aunts were unanimous that poor little molly could only be cured by sea-water and air, i should, if i resisted any longer, have my avarice and my paternal barbarity paraded before me on the occasion of every cold the child will catch till it is seventy, with the words: “don’t you see! ah! if the poor child could but have gone to the seaside!” the little being is suffering from the eyes, which are tearful and sticky. perhaps this arises from the salt baths, perhaps from eye-teeth. johanna is dreadfully excited about it, and for her satisfaction i have sent to-day for dr. bünger, at stendal, who is the fanninger of the alt mark. we take it for granted that you will be at home next month, and do not contemplate an excursion yourselves, in which event we would defer our visit until our return. but we write in order to settle time and place. i have very unwillingly decided to abandon my country laziness here, but now that it is settled, i see rose-colored hues in the affair, and am heartily delighted to seek you in the cavern, which i only know to be situated some ten feet above the earth, and hope to seize the herring myself in the depths of the baltic. johanna is[208] still asleep, or she would certainly send many greetings. for reasons of health i now rise at six o’clock. hoping soon to see you, i invoke god’s blessing on you and yours, for this year and all those to come.
the same to the same.
sch?nhausen, 8th july, 1850.
yesterday a letter arrived from oscar, according to which he will also be in berlin to-morrow, but will not return until thursday. i am very sorry your horses will be kept at work for two days together, but oscar will not be able to set out on wednesday, and it would be inconvenient for us to remain a day and a half in berlin without any business whatever, or any other motive. the children and servants, oscar, johanna, and i, could not go in one carriage. i therefore remain, and my principal reason for writing to you is in relation to my former letter, according to which we should reach angermünde on wednesday and find horses at gerswalde, unless you have arranged it yourselves differently—in which case oscar will let me know, and it will be all right. i do not wish to propose any other route, or it will bring the horses into confusion, from the little time before us. this journey i perceive will give me an introduction to the new lunatic asylum, or at least the second chamber, for life. i already see myself on the platform at genthin with the children; then both of us in the carriage with all sort of infantine requirements, businesses at which one turns up one’s nose—johanna does not like to give the boy the breast, and he roars himself blue—then come official crowds, the inn, with both howlers in the stettin railway-yard—at angermünde, we shall have to wait an hour for the horses, and pack ourselves up again. how shall we get from kr?chlendorf to külz? if we have to remain a night in stettin it will be horrible. last year i had to undergo all this with marie and her screaming. yesterday i got so despairing as to all these things that i positively determined to give the whole journey up, and so went to bed, determined at least to coach it right through or stop somewhere. but what do we not do for domestic peace? “the young cousins ought to know each other, and who can tell when johanna will see you again?” in the night she attacked me with the boy in her arms, and with[209] the arts that lost us paradise she naturally succeeded, and every thing remains as before. but i feel that i am myself the victim of a terrible wrong; next year i shall be forced to travel about with three cradles, nurses, sheets, and all the rest. i wake at six o’clock in a mild rage, and can sleep no more, from the pictures of travel which my fancy paints me in the blackest hues—down to the picnics in the sandhills of stolpmünde. and even were one’s expenses paid! but to throw away the ruins of a once brilliant fortune by travelling about with suckling children! i am very unhappy!
therefore, on wednesday we reach gerswalde. perhaps i had in the end better have gone by way of passow, and you would not have had to send so far to prenzlau as to g. however, it is a fait accompli; and the misery of choice is succeeded by the rest of resignation. johanna greets you and packs. we shall send some of our things per freight; johanna is therefore in some anxiety about her toilette, in case you boitzenbürgers have company.
the period till the latter autumn of 1850 was very instructive to bismarck as a politician; he continued to observe—we should, had not his prussian heart been in the task, have said with scientific attention and curiosity—the effort made by radowitz to save the union; he was astonished at the dexterity of this statesman, but he also saw clearly that all this dexterity would fail, for want of real pressure. bismarck learnt that it was as impossible to create a german unity as any other form of state, if one is wanting in courage or power to exert a sufficient pressure upon that which opposes. while austria opposed, union was not possible without war, nor did bismarck forget this truth.
the triple alliance collapsed, war was forbidden by the political facts of the time—the union was abandoned, herr von radowitz resigned, and herr von manteuffel, who then entered upon his office as minister of foreign affairs, went to olmütz.
what a terrible outcry was raised as to this visit to olmütz at the time, and how greatly herr von manteuffel was censured on the subject! prussian feeling was deeply wounded, and was worthy of much respect; it was a severe transposition—but from erfurt to olmütz was a necessity, if it were not resolved to[210] break the opposition of austria by the sword. herr von manteuffel, however, who entered upon this severe task in patriotic devotion to his country, certainly did not deserve the flood of abuse which was heaped upon his head for many years. he, at least, had not led prussia to erfurt.
on the 3d december, 1850, bismarck in a long speech defended the policy of the ministry respecting the negotiations at olmütz. he emphasized the community of interests existing between prussia and austria in reference to revolution, on the community of action of both states in german affairs. he censured war, by which prussia would have set her existence upon the hazard of the die, in view of the threatening attitude abroad, and would have done so, not for herself, but for the lurking democracy. it will be understood that much of the so-called disgrace of olmütz was cast upon bismarck, and he was bitterly censured until the year 1866 for having defended those negotiations.
in the course of the session bismarck had an opportunity of pronouncing a brilliant defense of the prussian nobility, then assailed with unequalled license and malice. his words were these:—
“you ought not to undervalue in these latter days the services of that class, whether as officers of the army, or in such positions where landed property enables it to fight against anarchy and for the salvation of prussia. the nobility of prussia has in these affairs been spinning no silk, take it as a whole; it will be remembered that its immediate ancestry conquered the westphalian land tax in the rhine province, and that its grandfathers paid for the patow promemoria with their blood in silesia. in like manner, you will find the sons of this class ever among the truest servants of the country. it is true the prussian nobility have had their jena; in common with the political associates of those who now attack it, they have had their second united diet. if, however, i survey their history as a great whole, i believe there exist no reasons for such attacks as we hear in this place, and i do not think it necessary to despair of discovering within this class worthy members of a prussian peerage.”
to the continually reiterated taunt concerning junkerdom and the junker party, he fearlessly replied:—
“i am proud to be a prussian junker, and feel honored, by the appellation. whigs and tories were terms which once also had a very mean signification; and be assured, gentlemen, that we shall on our part bring junkerdom to be regarded with honor and respect.”
we here take leave of bismarck’s activity as a conservative party leader in the second chamber. this volcanic earth in the hardenberg palace, on the d?nhoffsplatz, he only re-entered eleven years afterwards as a minister, although in the winter of 1851-’2 he several times came from frankfurt to berlin, and also appeared in the chamber.
