| Show HUMOROUS SIDE OF BISMARCK bismarck as a humo humorist old blut und eisen as a funny man this la Is the subject of the latest german work concerning the grizzled and furrowed diplomat of the wilhelm strasse perhaps the most Int interesting erting part of the book relates to marcks Bis experiences perien ces in frankfort as prussian delegate to the german diet in the years immediately succeeding 1850 in those days bismarck did much laughing anti ani joking with a purpose probably no jokes and laughter in the worlds history have been so plainly significant of great coming events they shadowed foreshadowed fore duppel and Koni gratz and sedan the partition of prance france and the unification of germany the appointment of bismarck as prussian delegate in frankfort caused the german press to raise a big hue and cry against him as an inexperienced headstrong young man a mere diplomatic suckling when bismarck arrived in frankfort moreover he got a cold shoulder from ills retiring chief general P von rochow who kept him quite ac uninformed concerning the run of affairs there and thus deprived bis big diplomatic suckling as I 1 have been called wrote bismarck of ef his proper nourishment As soon as von rochow sot got out of the way however bismarck belt himself out tho the austrian delegate considered himself big man in the whole concern fon cern and showed his conceit by knocking about in a slovenly costume presiding over the diet in a fashion and allowing himself all sorts of petty privileges which delegates from the little german states dare to ask for now prussia wished to be a big power in the diet too and austria was doing her best to keep bep her down among the little powers Is marcks mission was to getas get as much influence in the diet for prussia as count thuu thun the austrian delegate was maintaining for austria As the A diet rarely took hold of questions of gret importance the diplomatic suckling 11 had to gain most of his hie advantages over the wily old austrian count in a ridiculously petty warfare in his official des patches to berlin bismarck described his antagonist thus count thun has somewhat of a bumptious appearance with a touch of the vienna roue about him but the sine gins which he commits in the latter capacity he tries to make up for in his own eyes and in those or af his countess coon coun tess by strictly observing the he precepts of the catholic church 02 baron nell von voit net Nel hellenburg lenburg count khuns right hand band man is thus hit off 1 A clever publicist as the saying Is he is nearly fifty writes poetry occasionally is tails falls to weeping readily at the theatre theat ce has an appearance of good nature and agreeableness drinks more than he ea can n sta stand ad and aad is said so ha have ve famil family y misfortunes of the diet at large he wrote to a friend the men of the minor states are mostly more mere caricatures of periwig diplomatists who at once put on their official visage if I 1 merely beg of them a light to my cigar and who study their words and looks with regensburg care when they ask for the key of the lavatory Bis marcks behavior when he made his first call upon thun was typical the servant showed him directly into the study where rethe the Austri austrian atil j delegate sat mat in his shirt sleeves hard at work with his correspondence exactly so exclaimed bismarck nettled by the informality of his reception it is terribly warm here 91 and began at once to pull ull off lits his com boac too in a second thun jumped to his feet and into his file coat for fear that the delegate of little prussia would return his rudeness with interest of course dr kohut does not omit the famous frankfort smoking story at the sittings of the military committee bismarck once aid to his proper boswell dr busch when rochow was the prussian representative at the diet austria alone smoked rochow who was a furious smoker would certainly have liked to do it but did not venture when I 1 succeeded him I 1 too hankered after a cigar and as i 1 did not see why I 1 should not have it I 1 asked the power in the president austrian envoys chair to give me a light which seemed to cause him and nd the other gentlemen both astonishment and displeasure it was evidently an event for them that time only Att austria and prussia smoked but the other gentlemen obviously thought it so serious that they reported it to their respective courts the question required mature deliberation and for half a year only the two great powers smoked then Sch rench the bavarian envoy asserted the dignity of his position pusi tion by smoking nostitz No the baxon saxon had certainly also a great wish to do so but hal had not received authority from his minister when however he saw bothmer the hanoverian indulging himself at the next sitting he must for he was intensely austrian having sons in the army have come to some understanding with richburg Rech burg austrian envoy presiding for he also took out a cigar from his case an i puffed away only and darmstadt were left and they did not smoke themselves but the honor and dignity of their states imperatively required it so that the next time we met produced a cigar I 1 see it now it was a long thin light yellow thing and smoked at least half as a burnt offering to the fatherland when asked tyr hy thun hun to explain how he managed to make such a favorable impression upon metter getter bismarck answered oh that was simple enough I 1 merely listened to him for three days with an expression of intelligence on my face 1 I this three day communion of the two most famous diplomats of this century on the banks of the rhine is compared rather irreverently by lowe berlin correspondent of the london times in his life of bismarck with the meeting of elijah and elisha on the shores of jordan Bis marcks realization of his iso position in the diet is well illustrated lust rated by a keen remark he made to an austrian prince in the same party of spectators with him at an imperial military parade near frankfort the prince rince did not kaw bismarck ile he saw in the giant prussian only a bull necked broad shouldered delegate in the uniform of a militia lieutenant and with many orders on his breast it tickled the prince amazingly to observe all these orders on OB the breast of a pettifogging delegate and so riding up to the big lieutenant he asked ironically 11 pardon me excellency cel lency did you get all these decorations in the face of the foe I 1 yes yes imperial majesty bismarck answered all in the face of the foe all here at frankfort on the matti maln bismarck gave austria tit for tat in the german diet for eight years 1851 69 59 he was then recalled and sent as ambassador to at petersburg I 1 put on ice as he said p many of dr kohlts most interesting esting stories are far more humorous at least according to german un standard for instance he lets the grim chancellor himself tell Ws this it was while I 1 was concluding the treaty at bastein with blome austrian negotiator at the austro erus prussian sian conference over the sel achles i lea wig holstein question in 1865 although I 1 had given up up playing games of chance for a long long time had not played at all I 1 then plunged so recklessly as to astound every one I 1 knew what I 1 was doing blome had bad heard that at quinze the game that bismarck was playing a man had the best opportunity port unity to study character and he was anxious to try the experiment I 1 thought 1 I will give you a chane 1 I 1 lost a con couple pie of li hundred u adred thaders th alers I 1 could afterward have collected from frore the government had I 1 wished since they were spent in the service of his majesty however I 1 deceived him he was led to think me reckless and yielded to me in the negotiations A collector of Bismarck iana lana published in 1884 this anecdote concerning bismarck and moltke at the bat tie 0 of konertz Ko nartz at a critical point in the battle BI marck amarok met moltke and off offered ered him a cigar the strategist carefully caree selected the lest weed in the e chancellors chancellor Is ca ea seand the latter took k comfort th thinking chinkin inkin that if the general was still calm enough to make such a choice things could not noi be in such a bad way after all what bismarck did with his last cigar dr kohut allowed him to tell tit in his own words 1 I hoarded my last cigar during j the battle as a miser boards his treasure I 1 painted in glowing colors the delightful hour when after the battle was won I 1 could smoke it in peace but I 1 had miscalculated I 1 saw a poor wounded dragoon he lay there on the field helpless with both arms smashed and whimpered for some kind of relief I 1 went through my poc pockets ketA but found only money and that would not help him but watt wait I 1 had still a fine cigar this I 1 lighted for him and stuck it between his teeth you ought to have seen that poor fellows grateful smile no cigar ever tasted so good to me as this one which I 1 did not smoke after the battle was won bismarck made the magnificent nicols nicola burg castle of the austrian minis ter of foreign affairs his headquarters a much better place for concluding a treaty with austria he said than my old Schon hausen ausen manor one day in Nicols burg bismarck found a company of prussian soldiers flogging an austrian peasant hello up here he inquired hels been calling the prussians names shouted a dozen soldiers a lie shouted back the peasant who did not recognize the chancellor 1 I only called bismarck ack names there was a roar of laughter and everyone looked inquiringly at bismarck who laughed a little too as he said let him go others and greater than he have done the same 21 he closing days of the austro prussian war were great days for bismarck perhaps for the first time he then saw his way clear to accomplishing the unification of Ger little wonder that he often dropped into the happy moods which gave admirers of dr kohut kohutis Is kind bushels of sparkling sparkle ng biographical material but underneath the grim humor which wh ich bubbled upon the surface flowed bowed the deep strong undercurrent of german piety and sentiment which have directed his bis life alike in trial conflict and success it is not agreeable he wrote I 1 to be at fourteen paces and to be shot at four paces and the little vanity which gets satisfaction out of being stared at is of short duration all the little vanities of life attract only so long as they are unattained As soon as they are attained king solomons words are found to be true that all is vanity and that fame brings with it no real contentment I 1 cannot therefore understand how a man can endure this life if he does not believe in another and a better one new |
