| Show BLOOD AND IRON t AT FOURSCORE Bismarcks Birthday Will Be an International Fete FEATURES OF THE DAY EUl1 ror William Great Banonet a HantlHomc Pence Offering Cliolcc Aucedotca on lIb Great Career Prince Otto Edouard Leopold von Bismarck the man who has made more modern history perhaps than any other living creature will be SO years old on the 1st of April next The birthday of this fine old m nthe man of blood and iron is always an event which stirs the sluggish German blood to swift action It has a peculiar significance sig-nificance this year because it Is the L first natal anniversary that Bismarck r will celebrate since the death of his beloved wife It will be a gala day though for the little community of Friedrichsruh where since his resignation resig-nation as chancellor in 1S90 the great man has resided in the beautiful country coun-try home the sift of William L The declining years of this great L l l statesman diplomatist and hero of SjIVnany wars are spent quietly with his I family his flowers his dogs and his I ponderous pipe Bismarck has been an J incessant smoker since his early youth and at SO his mind is vigorous and his t bodily ailments are few So much for f the tobacco evil He says he smokes it the best tobacco In Europe and per f haps that has something to do with It r No one is dearer to the German heart than is Bismarck His completion of fourscore jcars after a career that would have worn out a half dozen of I ordinary minds and bodies will be an event The German residents of New York have subscribed for a massive silver loving cup to be presented to the great leader on the auspicious day QJ ThIs is a trivial fact to relate but its 6 < it-s wir illustrates how he is revered honored and loved by the widely separated sons and daughters of their mutual country The birthday celebration this year will be a national affair in Germany The fund composed by individuals of D151LutCIL AT jIIETEEL nil the component states of the German Ger-man empire for the erection in Berlin of a monument in honor of the cJvi achiei cments of Bismarclc has practically prac-tically been completed and this bar largely increased the general interest in the day about to be celebrated Another An-other great feature will be the royal banquet to be given iby Emperor Will tarn in Berlin in honor of the day Bismarcks birthday has always been an occasion for the telling of anecdotes anec-dotes connected with his wonderful career by the intimate friends who travel hundreds of miles to chat with him a few moments and present their congratulations As his birthday draws near his mail doubles and trebles tre-bles bringing good wishes from all parts of the earth It is a day brimful of pleasure to the old man as it reflects re-flects like a mirror his vast army of friends and adherents an army as numerous and powerful as any in the German empire The best index to the character of the man Is shown by the stories he loves to tell when in a talkative mood The best of these follow and many of em will be told over and over again April 1 nest Ko is Superstition Like many other great men Bismarck Bis-marck is somewhat superstitious 1 hope there are not thirteen of us for dinner said his cousin Count Bismarck Bis-marck Bolilen one day to a friend counting the covers at the table No thats right for the chancellor has an objection to that Another day when there were really thirteen at table special pains were taken not to draw Bismarcks attention to the fact as his > family knew that it would make him low spirited On October 14 1870 General Gen-eral Boyer met the chancellor at Versailles Ver-sailles to negotiate on behalf of Ba zalne but as soon as Bismarck remembered re-membered that it was the 14th day of the month he exclaimed That is the date of Hochkirch and Jena and no business should be concluded on that day Perhaps it occurred to him that this 14th of October was a Friday Again in 1852 he writes from Blan kenburg to his wife I had not as good sport at iatzlingen this time as J had three years ago It was a Friday Fri-day and some months later he writes d4 k1 I nhsllunck Lu t1e FrnncoImsslan War to her from Halle If I kept cogitating aji during the journey yesterday whether after all it Was not Friday It was a dies nefastus at any rate And as proof of his ill luck he mentions several discomforts experienced en route such as an inn Infested vith I bugs infamous coffee obtrusive I peddlers some questionable princesses I and a talkative privy councilor who I traveled in the same carriage When the title of count was offered him he hesitated about inccepting It for ho b knew that several Pomeranian families qwflicft had acquired the title had bet be-t Tome extinct in a short space of time l JaUrit16 the evening of Xovember 2S < fiO while lie was taking tea at Ver r4io sailles he spoke about his death and mentioned the age to which he would i attain and the year In which it was appointed that he shoujd die I know ithe repeated It is a mystic num ber Seven years later he repeated I this statement but added God however I how-ever only knows rntle the King Envlou I One day during the FrancoPrussian I Ac 1Mm i i srI sr-I h Ift 1 c I I BISIULLRCIC AT EIGHTY war King William and Bismarck were detained at a railroad station and as they waited in their carriage a crowd gathered around and began to cheer for the German troops Suddenly the shout was raised Hurrah Hurrah The Bismarck aim have won another victory At these wo UB tvijiy Uiiiuiiii graw pale and turning to the chancellor asked impatiently What do these people mean Bismarck pretended not to hear him and for several minutes min-utes not a word was exchanged between be-tween the two Finally however as the train moved on the king said brusquely These folks ought to remember re-member that the troops are mine and not yours Gallant to a Servant Girl On another occasion he was caught in a storm as he was strolling through the woods near Kissingen and a servant ser-vant girl ran out of a restaurant and offered him an umbrella He thanked her courteously and taking her arm escorted her to a place of safety There he gave her a kiss which she accepted with good grace saying You have done me a great honor prince to which he replied On the contrary my dear It is I who am in your debt for believe me my dear you havo indeed in-deed given me great pleasure ffli Wild Youth In his youth Bismarck was terribly wild The mad Bismarck his neigh bors called him Drinking fighting and horseplay seemed to be his sole amusements He would fill his ancestral an-cestral home at Schoenhausen with guests and insist that no one should rise from the supper table till sunrise was at hand Then those who were sober enough would go to bed and I those who were not sober enough would sleep under the table Bismarck Bis-marck the heaviest drinker of all Would remain sober as a judge and would amuse himself after his guests had retired in firing pistol bullets through the bedroom doors and fngntening the inmates almost to death At other times he would go riding about the country like the wild horseman himself jumping ditches and fences and spurring his horse I tiiT JLiiJ 1 LI JL i24JJIIUIiIT IT t Ills LmrLI through places where no other man would dare to go Once he himself says I was riding rid-ing with my brother he in advance Suddenly he heard a crash He turned turn-ed and lot it was my head that had struck the ground The saddle was broken but my head wasnt On another I an-other occasion while riding through the brushwood in a forest I lost consciousness con-sciousness andl lay three or four hours before I came to When the doctor examined my hurts he said it was j I contrary to all professional rules that 11 I had not br3ken my n kIn k-In view of his impetuous character and eccentric manner of life it is not Strange that when he asked for the hand of Fraulein Joan von Puttkamer in marriage her parents bluntly refused re-fused him He was still very young and they preferred to wait a few years to see if he would abandon hisi reckless reck-less habits Bismarck however did not propose to wait larry > Fraulein Joan he would whether her parents were willing or not So he visited her every day taking no notice of her I familys rebuffs He knew that she IdVed him and that sufficed This state of things however did not last long See here Herr von Puttkamer exclaimed Bismarck one day why do jpu refuse to let me have your daughter daugh-ter Because Herr von Bismarck was the reply you are not fit to be any womans husband You ride and fight all day and drink and swear all night Your life is a scandal to the country Bismarck looked at him in silence I for a moment and then roared out I DonnerwetterJ Is that all But It Is absurd Come and give her to me and you will see me as steady and se I date as a bishop Come I swear Itl Sincerity was stamped on the young I mans countenance and words and j Herr von Puttkamer finally gave his I consent to the marriage though not without misgivings Bismarck however how-ever kept his word He wrote to his I sister VU1 right In English to let I her know that his suit was at last successful I suc-cessful and he bought a Bible Wild riding and allnight drinking bouts had no attractions for him any more He became a sober and pious man and a tender and affectionate husband and I father I fatherICleUert ICleUert tlio ICIugs Horse On the battlefield as everywhere else Bismarck looked after the interests inter-ests of his imperial master During the battle of Ivoeniggratz the old emperor em-peror then King of Prussiabad ex I posed himself and his staff to the enemys fire and would not hear of retreating to a safe distance At last Prince Bismarck rode up to him say ing As responsible minister of the crown I must insist upon your majestys retreat to a safe distance i If your majesty were to be killed the victory would be of no use to us The Icing saw the force of this and slowly retreated but in his zeal returned re-turned again and again to the front When I noticed It said ISisnvarck telling the story I only rose in my saddle and looked at him lie understood under-stood perfectly and called out rather angrily Yes I am coming But we did not get on fast enough and at last I rode up close to the king took I my foot out of the right stirrup ana secretly gave his horse nn energetic kick Such a thing had never before happened to the fat marc but the move was successful for she set off in a fine canter Some Acrid Kpiprrams Bismarck is the author of several I crisp epigrams the various European Euro-pean nations among which are the following uA Bavarian is a cross between an Austrian and a human being urr Austria has astonished the world I by its ingratitude England will astonish as-tonish it by its cowardice God mad man m His own image and Italy in the image of Judas The French are a nation of redskins red-skins The other European powers are represented at foreign courts by per sons of mark but France is often represented by marked persons You can always distinguish a French ambassador am-bassador by the simple fact that he never speaks the language of the country coun-try to which he is accredited Of the French language Bismarck I has a thorough knowledge and from I all accounts the same could not be said of the late Napoleon III In this connection an amusing story is told of Napoleons first interview with Bismarck Bis-marck UII do Bismarck said the emperor I must compliment you on your knowledge of French I have never heard a German speak French as you do Trill you allow me to return the compliment sire T replied Bismarck Certainly said the emperor Then permit me to say sire that 1 have never heard a Frenchman speak French as you do answered Bismarck Bis-marck |
