Chapter XVIII: During the Negotiations Respecting the Capitulation of Paris (2)

A little after 11 o’clock the Chancellor joined us at tea. “I am really curious,” he said, “to see what Gambetta will do. It looks as if he wanted to think over the matter further, as he has not yet replied. I think, too, he will ultimately give way. Besides, if not it will be all right. I should have no objection to a little ‘Main line’ across France. These Frenchmen are really very funny people. Favre comes to me with a face like a martyred saint, and looks as if he had some most important communication to make. So I say to him, ‘Shall we go up stairs?’ ‘Yes,’ he says, ‘let us do so.’ But when we are there he sits down and writes letter after letter, and I wait in vain for any important statement or piece of news from him. As a matter of fact, he had nothing to say. What he has done for us would go into two pages of note-paper.” “And this Prefect of Police! I have never in my whole life met such an unpractical man. We are expected to advise and help them in everything. In the course of half an hour he fires all sorts of requests into me, so that at last I nearly lost patience, and said to him, ‘But, my good sir, would it not be better to let me have all this in writing? Otherwise it cannot be properly attended to, for it is impossible for me to carry it all in my head.’ Thousands of things pass through one’s mind, and when I think seriously of one matter I lose sight of all others.”

The conversation then turned on the difficulty of supplying the Parisians with provisions. Several railways were useless, at least for the time being; to allow supplies to be drawn from those parts of France immediately adjoining the districts we occupy might result in scarcity and embarrassment to ourselves; and the port of Dieppe, where they count upon receiving consignments from abroad, could only hold a few vessels. The Chief reckoned out how many rations would be required daily, and how much could be transported in moderately normal circumstances. He found that the supply would be a very scanty one, and that possibly large numbers might still have to starve. He then added: “Favre himself said to me that they had held out too long. That was, however, as he confessed, merely because they knew we had provisions stored for them at Lagny. They had exact particulars on that point. At one time we had collected for them there 1,400 loaded waggons.”

The levying of taxes and contributions was then discussed, and the Chief explained to Maltzahn the arrangements he wished to see made. Instead of scattering our forces they should in general be massed in the chief town of the department or arrondissement, and from these centres flying columns should be despatched against those who refused to pay taxes, as well as against the guerillas and their aiders and abettors.

With regard to the ten million francs contribution imposed upon the district of Fontenay for the destruction of the railway bridges, Henckel declared, as an expert, that that was an impossible demand--they could not squeeze even two millions out of the people. “Probably not one million,” remarked the Chief. “But that is our way of doing things. All sorts of terrible threats are constantly uttered, and then afterwards they cannot be carried out. The people end by seeing through that sort of thing, and get accustomed to the threats.”

Then followed a highly interesting and detailed review of the various phases in the development of the scheme for the accession of the South German states to the Northern Confederation. “While we were still in Mainz,” related the Chancellor, “the King of Bavaria wrote a letter to our most gracious master in which he expressed a hope that he would not be mediatised. As a matter of course, his mind was set at ease on that point. But the King did not want the answer to be quite so categorical. That was the first conflict between the King and myself during the war. I told him that King Lewis would probably in that case withdraw his troops, and that he would be within his right in doing so. I remember it was in the corner room. It was a hard struggle, and finally he left me still in doubt as to what he was going to do. After the first great victories and before Sedan, there was another idea, namely, that of a military revolution and a military Emperor of Germany, who should be proclaimed by the troops, including the Bavarians. That idea was not to my liking. Subsequently, when Bray came here, they had thought out a plan of their own in Munich. They felt themselves to be safe, and wished for something more. Bray brought with him the plan of the alternating imperial dignity. As Bray said to me, an agreement could be come to between the North German Confederation and Bavaria or between Germany and Bavaria. In the meantime we might very well conclude treaties with Baden and Würtemberg, and afterwards come to an understanding with Bavaria. I was quite satisfied with that. But when I told it to Delbrück, he looked as if he were going to faint. I said to him, ‘For Heaven’s sake, why not accept it? It is exactly what we want.’ And so it was too. For when I informed Suckow and Mittnacht, they were beside themselves with rage, and immediately came to terms with me. Later on, however, the King (of Würtemberg) was induced to strike out again in a new line. It was through Frau von Gasser, who had great influence at the Court in Stuttgart. He wanted to act once more with Bavaria. The Ministers, however, remained firm, and assured me they would rather resign, and thus it came about that the Treaty with Würtemberg was not concluded until afterwards in Berlin. Finally, after all sorts of difficulties on both sides, the arrangement with Bavaria was also settled. Now there was only one thing wanting--but that was the most important of all! I saw a way, and wrote a letter--and after that the credit belongs to a Bavarian Court official. He achieved an almost impossible feat. In six days he made the journey there and back, eighteen German miles, without a railway, to the palace in the mountains where the King was staying--and in addition to that his wife was ill at the time. It was really a great deal for him to do. He arrives at the palace, finds the King unwell--suffering from a tumour in the gum, or from the after effects of an operation under chloroform. He is not to be seen. Well, but he had a letter from me to deliver--very pressing. In vain; the King will not be disturbed; he will do no business to-day. At last his Majesty’s curiosity is aroused, and he wants to know what I have to communicate to him--and the letter is well received. But there is no ink, no paper, no writing materials. They send off a groom, who ultimately comes back with some coarse letter paper; the King writes his answer, just as he is, in bed--and the German Empire is made!”

Jacoby’s arrest having been mentioned, the Chief observed: “Otherwise, Falkenstein acted quite sensibly, but thanks to that measure of his and to his refusal to release Jacoby when I requested him to do so, we were unable to convoke the Diet for a whole month. As far as I am concerned, he might have had Jacoby carved up for himself into rhinoceros cutlets, but he ought not to have locked him up! All he had to show for his pains was the possession of a dried up old Jew. The King, too, would not at first listen to my representations. We were accordingly obliged to wait, as the Diet would have been within its right in demanding his liberation.”

Jacoby’s name brought up that of another congenial mind, viz., Waldeck (the Radical leader in the Prussian Diet), of whom the Chief gave the following description: “Something like Favre, always consistent, his views and decisions cut and dried in advance, and, in addition to that, a stately presence and a venerable white beard, fine speeches delivered with the earnestness of deep-toned conviction, even on trifling matters, that is so impressive! He makes a speech in a voice throbbing with devotion to principle in order to prove to you that this spoon is in the glass, and he proclaims that any one who refuses to accept that statement is a scoundrel! And all the world believes him, and praises him for his staunchness in every key from treble to bass.”

_Tuesday, January 31st._--The King of Sweden has delivered a bellicose speech from the throne. Why, ye gods? I write two paragraphs under instructions from the Chief, and then a third, which calls attention to the sufferings during the bombardment of a number of inoffensive German families who, for various reasons, remained behind in Paris after the expulsion of their fellow countrymen, and commend Washburne, the United States Minister, for the efforts he made to alleviate the lot of these unfortunate people. In this respect he has really acted in a manner that deserves our warmest thanks, and has been loyally assisted by his subordinates.

The Parisian gentlemen are again here, including Favre, who has sent a telegram to Gambetta urgently requesting him to yield. It is to be feared he will not do so. At least the Prefect of Marseilles is showing his teeth and snarling at poor Favre with the patriotic declaration: “Je n’obéis plus le capitule de Bismarck. Je ne le connais plus.” Proud and staunch--but danger is best at a distance.

At tea I hear from Bucher that the Chief has been speaking very strongly about Garibaldi, that old dreamer, whom Favre declares to be a hero.

Subsequently Duparc had an interview with the Minister. Shortly after ten the Chief joined us at tea. He first spoke of the unpractical character of the Frenchmen who have been working with him during the past few days. Two Ministers, Favre and Magnin, the Minister of Finance who has accompanied him this time, spent half an hour to-day worrying over one telegram. This led him to speak of the French in general and of the entire Latin race, and to compare them with the Germanic peoples. “The Germans, the Germanic race,” he said, “is, so to speak, the male principle throughout Europe--the fructifying principle. The Celtic and Slav peoples represent the female sex. That principle extends as far as the North Sea and then across to England.” I ventured to add: “And also as far as America and the Western States of the Union, where some of our people form the best part of the population and influence the manners of the rest.” “Yes,” he replied, “those are their children, the fruit they bear.” “But that was to be seen in France while the Franks had still the upper hand. The Revolution of 1789 was the overthrow of the Germanic element by the Celtic. And what have we seen since then? And this held good in Spain so long as the Gothic blood predominated. And also in Italy, where in the North the Germans also played a leading part. When that element had exhausted itself, there was nothing decent left. It was much the same thing in Russia, where the Germanic Waräger, the Ruriks, first bound them together. As soon as the natives there prevail over the German immigrants and the Germans of the Baltic Provinces, they fall asunder into mere communes.” “It is true that the unmixed Germans are not of much account either. In the south and west where they were left to themselves, there were only Knights of the Empire, Imperial Towns, and Immediate Villages of the Empire, each for itself, and all tumbling to pieces. The Germans are all right when they are forced to unite--excellent, irresistible, invincible--otherwise each one will act according to his own ideas.” “Really, after all, an intelligent absolutism is the best form of government. Without a certain amount of it everything falls asunder. One wishes this thing and another that, there is eternal vacillation, eternal delays.” “But we have no longer any genuine absolutists--that is to say, no kings. They have disappeared. The variety has died out.” “A Republic is perhaps after all the right form of government, and it will doubtless come in the future; but I dislike our Republicans. Formerly things were different, when princes still appeared in brocaded coats and covered with stars. They are declining everywhere, and that decline will be much greater in future. One sees that in the younger generation. It is the case with us also. No more _rocher de bronce._ They no longer want to govern, and are glad when some one relieves them of the trouble. All they care for is to be praised in the newspapers, and to get as much money as possible for their personal requirements. The only one who still conducts his business properly is the old King of Saxony.” “And when they sit at the _table d’hôte_ in the Hôtel des Reservoirs, here near the Palace of Louis XIV., and every one sees that they are ordinary human beings--and how ordinary!--why, the halo is quite lost. And then one fine morning three Grand Dukes pay their respects to me, and find me in my dressing gown!”

I ventured to relate that as a little child I pictured to myself the King of Saxony, who was the only monarch I knew of at that time, as resembling the king in the pack of cards--clad in ermine, and wearing a crown with orb and sceptre, stiff, gorgeous, and imperturbable: and that it was a fearful disappointment for me when my nurse once pointed out to me a gentleman in the passage between the palace and the Catholic church in Dresden, and told me that that little, crooked, frail, old man, whose uniform became him so badly, was King Anton. The Chief said:--“Our peasants also had very curious conceptions, and the following story was current amongst them. It was to the effect that on one occasion, when a number of us young people were gathered together in some public place, we said something against the King, who happened to be close to us, but was unknown to us. He suddenly stood up, opened his mantle and showed the star on his breast. The others were terrified, but it did not affect me, and I pitched him down the stairs. I received ten years imprisonment for it and was not allowed to shave myself. As I wore a beard at that time, a habit which I had acquired in France (1842) where it was then the fashion, it was said that the executioner came once every year on St. Sylvester’s night to shave it off. Those who told this story were rich peasants and otherwise not at all stupid, and they repeated it, not because they had anything against me but quite in a friendly way, and full of sympathy for a young man’s rashness. The pitching down stairs was rather a coarse invention, but I was pleased all the same that it was only to me they gave credit for not being intimidated by the star.”

I thereupon asked the Chief if there was any truth in the story of the beer glass he was said to have broken on some one’s head in a Berlin restaurant because he had insulted the Queen or refused to drink her health. “It was quite different,” he replied, “and had no political significance whatever. As I was going home late one evening--it must have been in the year 1847--I met some one who tried to pick a quarrel with me. As I pulled him up on account of his language, I discovered that he was an old acquaintance. We had not seen each other for a long time, and on his proposing to me, ‘Come, let’s go to ----’ (he mentioned a name), I went with him, although I really had had enough already. But after getting our beer he fell asleep. Now there were a lot of people sitting near us, one of whom had also taken more than he could carry, and who was attracting attention by his noisy behaviour. I quietly drank my beer, and this man got angry at my being so quiet and began to taunt me. I took no notice, and that made him only the more angry and his language grew more and more violent. I did not want to have any quarrel, nor did I like to go away, as people would have thought I was afraid. At last, however, he came over to my table and threatened to throw the beer in my face. That was too much for me. I stood up and told him to go away, and as he made a motion to throw the beer at me, I gave him a blow under the chin, so that he fell backwards, breaking the chair and the glass, and rolled across the room right on to the wall. The landlady then came and I told her she need not worry, as I would pay for the chair and the beer glass. I said to the others: ‘You are witnesses, gentlemen, that I did not seek a quarrel, and that I endured it as long as possible. But I cannot be expected to allow a glass of beer to be poured on my head simply because I was quietly drinking my glass. If the gentleman has lost a tooth in consequence I shall be sorry. But I was obliged to defend myself. Besides, if anybody wishes to know more, here is my card.’ It turned out that they were quite sensible people and took my view of the case. They were annoyed with their comrade and acknowledged that I was in the right. I afterwards met two of them at the Brandenburg Gate. I said: ‘I think, gentlemen; you were present when I had that affair in the beer house in the Jägerstrasse. What has happened to my adversary? I should be sorry if he had been hurt.’ I must explain to you that he had to be carried away on that occasion. ‘Oh,’ they replied; ‘he is all right, and his teeth are quite sound again. He is altogether subdued, and extremely sorry for what he did. He had just entered the army to serve his year, as he is a doctor, and it would have been very unpleasant for him if people had heard of the affair, and especially if it had come to the knowledge of his superiors.’”

The Chief then related that when he was attending the University at Göttingen he fought twenty-eight students’ duels in three terms, and was always lucky enough to escape with a whole skin. Once his opponent’s blade flew off, probably because it was badly screwed in, and caught him in the face, where it remained sticking. Otherwise he had never received a scar. “I had one very narrow escape, though, at Greifswald. There they had introduced an extraordinary head-dress, a white felt, sugar-loaf hat, and I took it into my head that I must snip off the top of the sugar-loaf, and thus I exposed myself so that his blade whizzed by close to my face. I bent back, however, in good time.”

_Wednesday, February 1st._--It was stated at lunch that Gambetta had approved of the armistice, but expressed surprise that we still continued to attack the French in the south-east. Favre, with his unbusinesslike habits, had omitted to telegraph to him that operations were not suspended there. This, by the way, was at his own request.

There were no guests at lunch. The Minister, speaking about Favre, said: “I believe he came here to-day merely in consequence of our conversation of yesterday, when I would not acknowledge that Garibaldi was a hero. He was evidently anxious about him, because I would not include him in the armistice. He pointed to the first article like a thorough lawyer. I said: ‘Yes, that was the rule, but the exceptions followed, and Garibaldi comes under them.’ I quite understood that a Frenchman should bear arms against us--he defended his country, and had a right to do so; but I could not recognise the right of this foreign adventurer with his cosmopolitan Republic and his band of revolutionaries from every corner of the earth. He asked me then what we should do with Garibaldi in case we took him prisoner. ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘we will exhibit him for money, and hang a placard round his neck bearing the word “Ingratitude.”’”

The Chief then asked: “But where is Scheidtmann?” Somebody told him. “He will have, I think, to give me legal advice in the matter” (viz., the war contribution of two hundred millions to be paid by Paris). “Is he not a lawyer?” Bucher said no, he had not studied at all, was originally a tradesman, &c. The Chief: “Well, then, Bleichröder must first go into action. He must go into Paris immediately, smell and be smelt at by his brethren in the faith, and discuss with the bankers how it is to be done. Surely he is coming?” Keudell: “Yes, in a few days.” The Chief: “Please telegraph him at once, that we want him immediately--then it will be Scheidtmann’s turn. I suppose he can speak French?” No one could say. “I am disposed to select Henckel as the third string. He is well acquainted with Paris, and knows the financiers. A member of the _haute finance_ once said to me: ‘On the Stock Exchange we always lay our money on lucky players,’ and if we are to follow that rule Count Henckel is our man.”

_À propos_ of German unity, the Minister told us that thirty years ago, at Göttingen, he had made a bet with an American as to whether Germany would be united within twenty-five years. “The winner was to provide twenty-five bottles of champagne, and the loser was to cross the ocean to drink them. The American wagered against union, and I in favour. The interesting point is that, as far back as 1833, I must have had the idea which has now, with God’s help, been realised, although at that time I was opposed to all those who professed to desire such a change.”

Finally, the Chief declared his belief in the influence of the moon on the growth of the hair and of plants. This subject came up through his jocularly congratulating Abeken on the style in which his locks had been trimmed. “You look twice as young, Herr Geheimrath,” he said. “If I were only your wife! You have had it cut exactly at the right time, under a crescent moon. It is just the same as with trees. When they are intended to shoot again they are felled when the moon is in the first quarter, but when they are to be rooted up then it is done in the last quarter, as in that case the stump decays sooner. There are people who will not believe it, learned men, but the State itself acts on this belief, although it will not openly confess to it. No woodman will think of felling a birch tree which is intended to throw out shoots when the moon is waning.”

After dinner I read a number of documents relating to the armistice and the revictualling of Paris, including several letters in Favre’s own hand, which is neat and legible. One of the letters states that Paris has only flour enough to last up to the 4th of February, and after that nothing but horseflesh. Moltke is requested by the Chief not to treat Garibaldi on the same footing as the French, and in any case to demand that he and his followers shall lay down their arms--the Minister desires this to be done on political grounds. Instructions have been sent to Alsace that the elections for the Assembly at Bordeaux, which is to decide as to the continuance of the war, or peace, and eventually as to the conditions on which the latter is to be concluded, are not to be hindered, but rather ignored. The elections are to be conducted by the Maires and not by the Prefects in the districts we occupy.

_Thursday, February 2nd._--We were joined at dinner by Odo Russell, and a tall stout young gentleman in a dark blue uniform, who, I was told, was Count Bray, a son of the Minister, and formerly attached to the Bavarian Embassy in Berlin. The Chief said to Russell: “The English newspapers and also some German ones have censured my letter to Favre and consider it too sharply worded. He himself, however, does not appear to be of that opinion. He said of his own accord: ‘You were right in reminding me of my duty. I ought not to leave before this is finished.’ The Minister praised this self-abnegation. He then repeated that our Parisians were unpractical people and that we had constantly to counsel and assist them. He added that they now wished apparently to ask for alterations in the Convention of the 28th of January. Outside Paris little disposition was shown to help in reprovisioning the city. The directors of the Rouen-Dieppe railway, for instance, upon whom they had relied for assistance, declared there was not enough rolling stock, as the locomotives had been taken to pieces and sent to England. Gambetta’s attitude was still doubtful, and he seemed to contemplate a continuation of the war. It was necessary that France should soon have a proper Government.” “If one is not speedily established I shall give them a sovereign. Everything is already prepared. Amadeus arrived in Madrid with a travelling bag in his hand as King of Spain, and he seems to get on all right. My sovereign will come immediately with a retinue, Ministers, cooks, chamberlains, and an army.”

With regard to Napoleon’s fortune, very different opinions were expressed. Some said it was large, others that it was inconsiderable. Russell doubted if he had much. He thought the Empress at least could not have much, as she had only deposited £6,000 in the Bank of England. The Chancellor then related that on the way to Saint Cloud to-day he met many people removing their furniture and bedding. Probably they were inhabitants of neighbouring villages, who had nevertheless been unable to leave Paris. “The women looked quite friendly,” he said, “but on catching sight of the uniforms the men began to scowl and struck heroic attitudes. That reminds me that in the old Neapolitan army they had a word of command, when we say, ‘Prepare to charge, right!’ the command was ‘Faccia feroce!’ (Look ferocious!). A fine presence, a pompous style of speech, and a theatrical attitude are everything with the French. So long as it sounds right and looks well the substance is a matter of indifference. It reminds me of a citizen of Potsdam who once told me he had been deeply impressed by a speech of Radowitz’s. I asked him to show me the passage that had particularly stirred his feelings. He could not mention one. I then took the speech itself and read it through to him in order to discover its beauties, but it turned out that there was nothing in it either pathetic or sublime. As a matter of fact it was merely the air and attitude of Radowitz, who looked as if he were speaking of something most profound and significant and thrillingly impressive,--the thoughtful mien, the contemplative eye, and the sonorous and weighty voice. It was much the same with Waldeck, although he was not nearly such a clever man nor so distinguished looking. In his case it was more the white beard and the staunch convictions. The gift of eloquence has greatly spoilt Parliamentary life. A great deal of time is consumed as every one who thinks he has anything in him wants to speak, even when he has nothing new to say. There are far too many speeches that simply float in the air and pass out through the windows, and too few that go straight to the point. The parties have already settled everything beforehand, and the set speeches are merely intended for the public, to show what members can do, and more especially for the newspapers that are expected to praise them. It will come to this in the end, that eloquence will be regarded as dangerous to the public welfare, and that people will be punished for making long speeches. We have one body,” he continued, “that is not in the least eloquent, and has nevertheless done more for the German cause than any other, that is the Federal Council. I remember, indeed, that at first some attempts were made in that direction. I cut them short, however, though as a matter of fact I had no right to do so, albeit I was President. I addressed them much as follows: ‘Gentlemen, eloquence and speeches intended to affect people’s convictions are of no use here, as every one brings his own convictions with him in his pocket--that is to say, his instructions. It is merely waste of time. I think we had better restrict ourselves to statements of fact.’ And so we did. No one made a big speech after that, business was speedily transacted, and the Federal Council has really done a great deal of good.”

_Friday, February 3rd._--In addition to a violently warlike proclamation, Gambetta has issued a decree declaring a number of persons ineligible for the new Representative Assembly. “Justice demands that all those who have been accessory to the acts of the Government which began with the outrage of the 2nd of December, and ended with the capitulation of Sedan, should now be reduced to the same political impotence as the dynasty whose accomplices and tools they were. That is a necessary consequence of the responsibility which they assumed in carrying out the Emperor’s measures. These include all persons who have occupied the positions of Minister, Senator, Councillor of State, or Prefect from the 2nd of December, 1851, to the 4th of September, 1870. Furthermore, all persons who, in the elections to the legislative bodies during the period from the 2nd of December, 1851, to the 4th of September, 1870, have been put forward in any way as Government candidates, as well as the members of those families that have reigned in France since 1789, are ineligible for election.”

The Chief instructs me to telegraph to London and Cologne with respect to this decree, that the Government at Bordeaux has declared whole classes of the population--Ministers, Senators, Councillors of State, and all who have formerly been official candidates--as ineligible for election. The apprehension expressed by Count Bismarck during the negotiations for the Convention of the 28th of January, that freedom of suffrage could not be secured, has thus been confirmed. In consequence of that apprehension the Chancellor of the Confederation at that time proposed the convocation of the Corps Législatif, but Favre would not agree to it. The Chancellor has now protested in a Note against the exclusion of these classes. Only an Assembly that has been freely elected, as provided by the Convention, will be recognised by Germany as representing France.

Count Herbert Bismarck arrived this evening from Germany.

_Saturday, February 4th._--The Chief has protested against Gambetta’s decree in a telegram to Gambetta himself and in a note to Favre. The telegram runs: “In the name of the freedom guaranteed by the Armistice Convention, I protest against the decree issued in your name which robs numerous classes of French citizens of the right to be elected to the Assembly. The rights guaranteed by that Convention to the freely elected representatives of the country cannot be acquired through elections conducted under an oppressive and arbitrary rule.” The despatch to Favre after giving an epitome of Gambetta’s decree, goes on to say: “I have the honour to ask your Excellency if you consider this to be in harmony with the stipulation of the Convention that the Assembly is to be freely elected? Allow me to recall to your Excellency’s memory the negotiations which preceded the arrangement of the 28th of January. Already at that time I expressed the apprehension that in presence of the conditions then prevailing it would be difficult to secure the entire freedom of the elections, and to prevent attempts being made to restrict it. In consequence of that apprehension, the justice of which M. Gambetta’s circular of to-day seems to confirm, I raised the question whether it would not be better to convoke the Corps Législatif, which would constitute a legal authority returned by universal suffrage. Your Excellency declined to adopt that suggestion and expressly promised that no pressure should be exercised upon the electors, and that perfect freedom of voting should be secured. I appeal to your Excellency’s sense of rectitude in requesting you to say whether the exclusion of whole categories laid down as a matter of principle in the decree in question is in harmony with the freedom of election guaranteed in the Convention of the 28th of January? I believe I may confidently express the hope that the decree in question, the application of which would appear to be an infraction of the stipulations of that Convention, will be immediately withdrawn and that the Government of National Defence will take the necessary measures to ensure the freedom of election guaranteed by Article II. We could not grant to persons elected in pursuance of the Bordeaux decree the rights secured by the Armistice to the members of the Assembly.”

After 10 o’clock I was called to the Chief, who said: “They complain in Berlin that the English papers are much better informed than ours, and that we have communicated so little to our journals respecting the negotiations for the armistice. How has that come about?” I replied: “The fact is, Excellency, that the English have more money and go everywhere to get information. Besides, they stand well with certain august personages who know everything, and finally the military authorities are not always very reserved with regard to matters that ought, for the time being, to be kept secret. I, of course, can only make public what it is proper that the public should know.” “Well, then,” he said, “just write and explain how it is that the extraordinary state of affairs here is to blame, and not we.”

I then took the opportunity of congratulating him on the freedom of the city of Leipzig, which has been conferred upon him within the last few days, and I added that it was a good city, the best in Saxony, and one for which I had always had a great regard. “Yes,” he replied. “Now I am a Saxon, too, and a Hamburger, for they have also presented me with the freedom of Hamburg. One would hardly have expected that from them in 1866.”

As I was leaving he said: “That reminds me--it is also one of the wonders of our time--please write an article showing up the extraordinary action of Gambetta, who after posing so long as the champion of liberty and denouncing the Government for influencing the elections, is now laying violent hands on the freedom of suffrage. He wants to disqualify all those who differ from him, _i.e._, the whole official world of France with the exception of thirteen Republicans. It is certainly very odd that I should have to defend such a principle against Gambetta and his associate and ally Garibaldi.” I said: “I do not know whether it was intended, but in your despatch to Gambetta the contrast is very striking where you protest, _au nom de la liberté des élections_ against _les dispositions en votre nom pour priver des catégories nombreuses du droit d’être élues_.” “Yes,” he replied, “you might also mention that Thiers, after his negotiations with me, described me as an amiable barbarian--_un barbare aimable_. Now they call me in Paris a crafty barbarian--_un barbare astutieux_, and perhaps to-morrow I shall be _un barbare constitutionnel_.”

The Chief had more time and interest for the newspapers this morning than during the past few days. I was called to him six times before midday. On one occasion he handed me a lying French pamphlet, “_La Guerre comme la font les Prussiens_,” and observed: “Please write to Berlin that they should put together something of this description from our point of view, quoting all the cruelties, barbarities, and breaches of the Geneva Convention committed by the French. Not too much however, or no one will read it, and it must be done speedily.” Later on the Minister handed me a small journal published by a certain Armand le Chevalier at 61 Rue Richelieu, with a woodcut of the Chancellor of the Confederation as frontispiece. The Chief said: “Look at this. Here is a man who refers to the attempt by Blind, and recommends that I should be murdered, and at the same time gives my portrait--like the photographs carried by the franctireurs. You know that in the forests of the Ardennes the portraits of our rangers were found in the pockets of the franctireurs who were to shoot them. Luckily it cannot be said that this is a particularly good likeness of me--and the biography is no better.” Then reading over a passage and handing me the paper, he said: “This portion should be made use of in the press, and afterwards be introduced in the pamphlet.”

Finally he gave me some more French newspapers saying: “Look through these and see if there is anything in them for me or for the King. I must manage to get away or I shall be caught by our Paris friends again.”

Prince Putbus and Count Lehndorff joined us at dinner. The Chief related how he had called Favre’s attention to the singular circumstance that he, Count von Bismarck, who had been denounced as a tyrant and a despot, had to protest in the name of liberty against Gambetta’s proclamation. Favre agreed, with a “_Oui, c’est bien drôle._” The restriction on the freedom of election decreed by Gambetta has, however, now been withdrawn by the Paris section of the French Government. “He announced that to me this morning in writing, and he had previously given me a verbal assurance.”

It was then mentioned that several German newspapers were dissatisfied with the capitulation, as they expected our troops to march into Paris at once. “That comes,” said the Chief, “of a complete misapprehension of the situation here and in Paris. I could have managed Favre, but the population! They have strong barricades and 300,000 men of whom certainly 100,000 would have fought. Blood enough has been shed in this war--enough German blood. Had we appealed to force much more would have been spilt--in the excited condition of the people. And merely to inflict one additional humiliation upon them--that would have been too dearly bought.” After reflecting for a moment, he continued: “And who told them that we shall not still enter Paris and occupy a portion of it? Or at least march through, when they have cooled down and come to reason. The armistice will probably be prolonged, and then, in return for our readiness to make concessions, we can demand the occupation of the city on the right bank of the river. I think we shall be there in about three weeks.” “The 24th”--he reflected for a moment--“yes, it was on the 24th that the Constitution of the North German Confederation was made public. It was also on the 24th of February, 1859, that we had to submit to certain particularly mean treatment. I told them that it would have to be expiated. _Exoriare aliquis._ I am only sorry that the Würtemberg Minister to the Bundestag, old Reinhard, has not lived to see it. Prokesch has though, and I am glad of that, because he was the worst. According to a despatch from Constantinople, which I read this morning, Prokesch is now quite in agreement with us, praises the energies and intelligence of Prussia’s policy, and (here the Minister smiled scornfully) has always, or at least for a long time past, recommended co-operation with us.”

The Chief had been to Mont Valérien to-day. “I was never there before,” he said, “and when one sees the strong works and the numerous contrivances for defence--we should have terrible losses in storming it. One dares not even think of it.”

The Minister said one of the objects of Favre’s visit to-day was to request that the masses of country people who had fled to Paris in September should be allowed to leave. They were mostly inhabitants of the environs and there must be nearly 300,000 of them, “I declined permission,” he continued, “explaining to him that our soldiers now occupied their houses. If the owners came out and saw how their property had been wrecked and ruined they would be furious, and no blame to them, and they would upbraid our people and then there might be dangerous brawls and perhaps something still worse.” The Chancellor had also been to St. Cloud, and whilst he was looking at the burnt palace and recalling to mind the condition of the room in which he had dined with Napoleon, there was a well-dressed Frenchman there--probably from Paris--who was being shown round by a man in a blouse. “I could catch every word they said, as they spoke aloud, and I have sharp ears. ‘C’est l’œuvre de Bismarck,’ said the man in the blouse, but the other merely replied ‘C’est la guerre.’ If they had only known that I was listening to them!”

Count Bismarck-Bohlen mentioned that the Landwehr, somewhere in this neighbourhood, gave a refractory Frenchman, who tried to stab an officer with a penknife, seventy-five blows with the flat of the sword. “Seventy-five!” said the Chief. “H’m, that, after all, is somewhat too much.” Somebody related a similar instance that had occurred in the neighbourhood of Meaux. As Count Herbert was passing recently, a miller, who had abused Count Bismarck and said he wished he had him between two millstones, was laid flat by the soldiers and so fearfully beaten that he was not able to stir for a couple of hours.

The election addresses posted on the walls by the candidates for the National Assembly were then discussed, and it was observed that, in general, they were still very aggressive, and promised to achieve wonders at Bordeaux. “Yes,” said the Chief; “I quite believe that. Favre also tried once or twice to ride the high horse. But it did not last long. I always brought him down with a jesting remark.”

Some one referred to the speech made by Klaczko on the 30th of January in the Delegation of the Reichsrath against Austria’s co-operation with Prussia, and to Giskra’s revelation in the morning edition of the _National Zeitung_ of the 2nd of February. Giskra said that Bismarck wished to send him from Brünn to Vienna with proposals for peace. These were, in effect: Apart from the maintenance in Venetia of the _status quo_ before the war, the Main line was to be recognised as the limit of Prussian ascendancy, there was to be no war indemnity, but French mediation was to be excluded. Giskra sent Baron Herring to Vienna with these proposals. The latter was, however, coolly received by Moritz Esterhazy, and after waiting for sixteen hours obtained only an evasive answer. On proceeding to Nikolsburg, Herring found Benedetti already there, and was told: “You come too late.” As Giskra points out, the French mediation accordingly cost Austria a war indemnity of thirty millions. It was observed that Prussia could have extorted more from Austria at that time, and also a cession of territory, for instance, Austrian Silesia, and perhaps Bohemia. The Chief replied: “Possibly, as for money, what more could the poor devils give? Bohemia would have been something and there were people who entertained the thought. But we should have created difficulties for ourselves in that way, and Austrian Silesia was not of much value to us; for just there the devotion to the Imperial house and the Austrian connection was greater than elsewhere. In such cases one must ask for what one really wants and not what one might be able to get.”

In this connection he related that on one occasion, as he was walking about in mufti at Nikolsburg, he met two policemen who wished to arrest a man. “I asked what he had done, but of course as a civilian I got no answer. I then inquired of the man himself, who told me that it was because he had spoken disrespectfully of Count Bismarck. They nearly took me along with him because I said that doubtless many others had done the same.”

“That reminds me that I was once obliged to join in a cheer for myself. It was in 1866, in the evening, after the entry of the troops. I was unwell just then, and my wife did not wish to let me go out. I went, however--on the sly--and as I was about to cross the street again near the palace of Prince Charles, there was a great crowd of people collected there, who desired to give me an ovation. I was in plain clothes, and with my broad brimmed hat pulled down over my eyes, I perhaps looked like a suspicious character--I don’t know why. As some of them seemed inclined to be unpleasant, I thought the best thing to do was to join in their hurrah.”

From 8 P.M. on read drafts and despatches, including Favre’s answer to the Chief in the matter of Gambetta’s electioneering manœuvre. It runs as follows:--

“You are right in appealing to my sense of rectitude. You shall never find it fail me in my dealings with you. It is perfectly true that your Excellency strongly urged upon me as the sole way out of the difficulty to convoke the former legislative bodies. I declined to adopt that course for various reasons which it is needless to recall, but which you will doubtless not have forgotten. In reply to your Excellency’s objections, I said I was convinced that my country only desired the free exercise of the suffrage, and that its sole resource lay in the popular sovereignty. That will make it clear to you that I cannot agree to the restrictions that have been imposed upon the franchise. I have not opposed the system of official candidatures in order to revive it now for the benefit of the present Government. Your Excellency may therefore rest assured that if the decree mentioned in your letter to me has been issued by the Delegation at Bordeaux, it will be withdrawn by the Government of National Defence. For this purpose I only require to obtain official evidence of the existence of the decree in question. This will be done by means of a telegram to be despatched to-day. There are, therefore, no differences of opinion between us, and we must both continue to co-operate in resolutely carrying into execution the Convention which we have signed.”

Called to the Chief at 9 P.M. He wants to have an article written pointing out that the entry of our troops into Paris is at present impracticable, but may be possible later on. This is in answer in the _National Zeitung_ to an article criticising the terms of armistice.

With regard to an article in the _Cologne Volkszeitung_ showing that the Ultramontanes have offered a subsidy to the leaders of the General Association of German Workers on condition that they promote the election of clerical candidates, the Minister says: “Look here. Please see that the newspapers speak of a ‘Savigny-Bebel party’ whenever an opportunity occurs, and that must be repeated.” And just as I am going out of the room he calls after me: “Or the ‘Liebknecht-Savigny party.’” We take note of that, and shall speak from time to time of this new party.

_Sunday, February 5th._--We are joined at dinner by Favre, d’Hérisson, and the Director of the Western Railway, a man with a broad, comfortable, smiling face, apparently about thirty-six years of age. Favre, who sits next to the Chief, looks anxious, worried and depressed. His head hangs on one side, and sometimes for a change sinks on to his breast, his underlip following suit. When he is not eating, he lays his two hands on the table-cloth, one on top of the other, in submission to the decrees of fate, or he crosses his arms in the style of Napoleon the First, a sign that, on closer consideration, he still feels confident in himself. During dinner the Chief speaks only French, and mostly in a low voice, and I am too tired to follow the conversation.

The Chief instructs me to send the following short paragraph to one of our newspapers: The _Kölnische Zeitung_ has made itself the organ, it is true with some reservations, of those who complain of the alleged destruction of French forests by our officials. One would think it could have found some other occupation than to scrutinise our administration of the public forests of France. We act in accordance with the principles of forestry, even if we do not follow the French system. Moreover, we should be within our rights if we exploited these resources of the enemy in the most ruthless manner, as that would render the French more disposed to conclude peace.

He also warmly praised the active part taken by the Duke of Meiningen in the conduct of the war. He concluded: “I wish that to be mentioned in the press. The background is ready to hand in the princely loafing and palace looting of the rest of them.”

_Monday, February 6th._--The Chief desires to have an article against Gambetta published in the _Moniteur_. I write the following:--

“The Convention of the 28th of January, concluded between Count von Bismarck and M. Jules Favre, has revived the hopes of all sincere friends of peace. Since the events of the 4th of September the military honour of Germany has received sufficient satisfaction, so that it may now yield to the desire to enter into negotiations with a Government which truly represents the French nation for a peace that will guarantee the fruits of victory and secure our future. When the Governments represented at Versailles and Paris finally succeeded in coming to an understanding, of which the conditions were prescribed by the force of circumstances, and France was restored to herself, they were justified in expecting that these preliminaries of a new era in the relations of the two countries would be generally respected. The decree issued by M. Gambetta disqualifying all former functionaries and dignitaries, senators, and official candidates from election to the National Assembly was perhaps necessary to show France the abyss towards which it has been gravitating since the dictatorship, sacrificing the best blood of the country, refused to convoke the representatives of the nation in the regular way.

“The second article of the Convention of the 28th of January shows clearly and plainly that the freedom of the elections is one of the conditions of the Convention itself. In entering into such an arrangement for the elections, Germany only took into consideration the existing French laws, and not the good will and pleasure of this or that popular Tribune. It would be just as easy to call together a Rump Parliament in Bordeaux, and make it a tool for the subjection of the other half of France. We are convinced that all honourable and sincere French patriots will protest against the action of the Delegation at Bordeaux, which is entirely arbitrary and opposed to all sound reason. If there were any prospect that this action would be allowed to unite all the anarchical parties who tolerate the dictatorship in so far as it represents their favourite ideas, the most serious complications would inevitably ensue.

“Germany does not intend to interfere in any way in the domestic affairs of France. She has, however, through the agreement of the 28th of January, secured the right to see that a public authority is established which will possess the attributes necessary to enable it to negotiate peace in the name of France. If Germany is denied the right to negotiate for peace with the whole nation, if an attempt is made to substitute the representatives of a faction for the representatives of the nation, the armistice convention would thereby become null and void. We readily acknowledge that the Government of National Defence has immediately recognised the justice of the complaints made by Count von Bismarck in his despatch of the 3rd of February. That Government has addressed itself to the French nation in language marked by nobility and elevation of feeling, setting forth the difficulties of the situation and the efforts made to relieve the country from the last consequences of an unfortunate campaign. At the same time, it has cancelled the decree of the Delegation at Bordeaux. Let us hope, therefore, that the action of M. Gambetta will receive no support in the country, and that it will be possible to conduct the elections in perfect harmony with the spirit and letter of the Convention of the 28th of January.”