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GERMAN MEMORIES

THE AUTHOR
From the Portrait by Lcnbach

GERMAN MEMORIES

BY

SIDNEY WHITMAN
AUTHOR OF
"IMPERIAL GERMANY" ETC.

WITH PORTRAITS

LONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANN
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1912

PREFACE
Die Geschichte des Mensohen ist sein Character. i — Goethe (Wilhelm
Meister).Manifold are the roads that lead to Rome, various are the
conditions under which we may become acquainted with a
foreign land ; though I am inclined to doubt whether modern
facilities for travel have increased the number of those who
penetrate beneath the surface of another country, let alone
their own. On the other hand, with the growing complexity
of the inter-relationship of national interests and ideas, it
is becoming more difficult every day to gauge the road we
ourselves are travelling without possessing some knowledge of
what is taking place — germinating, ripening — outside our
own doors.
The travelling potentate, greeted by cheering crowds and
deputations, welcomed by a generous Press, is delighted with the
simulacra of Potemkin villages, whereas the penniless emigrant
confronts the grim realities of life. The tourist sees just as
much as his limited opportunities may bring within his ken,
and, unless endowed with a gift of observation, at all times
rare, assimilates, in a whole lifetime, little worth recording.
This is more especially the case with those in whom the con
servative instincts bred of a powerful civilisation of their own
country leave little receptivity for foreign customs and ideas.
Thus we find Frenchmen and Englishmen residing for years in
other lands without being affected by or taking the slightest
interest in their character or institutions. Many years ago I
met a lady whose husband often appeared on London platforms
i " The history of man is his character."

PREFACE
as a champion of popular causes — interests which she herself
was supposed to share. She spoke of Germany and her visits
to that country, so I ventured to inquire as to her connections
and acquaintances in the Fatherland. To my surprise she
replied huskily in a half whisper : " The Court ! The Court ! "
The case is different where intimate relations with the inner
life of a foreign country and the receipt of many benefits,
intellectual and social, have had a share in moulding the mind,
broadening our horizon and materially adding to our enjoy
ment of life. Here our memory must be that of a guest
who met with much kindness and gratefully dwells by pre
ference upon the pleasant side of his experiences. This is the
frame of mind in which I have written these pages — in the
spirit of Goethe's words : " Wahrheitsliebe zeigt sich darin,
dass man uberall das Gute zu finden und zu schiitzen weiss."" 1
The following pages embody memories of Germany from
boyhood down to the present day, a period of over fifty years.
They are intended as a supplement and sequel to my previous
work, and will, I hope, form a further sympathetic contribu
tion to the knowledge of that country.
Circumstances — early education, followed by extensive busi
ness relations during a number of years ; authorship, and finally
journalism — have, I think, afforded me exceptional facilities
for viewing German life from almost every aspect. Indeed,
there can hardly be a class, high or low, with representatives
of which I have not come in contact at one time or another.
Some of these were distinguished men whose names are
inscribed in the national annals of fame. Others less re
markable — some of humble station — have afforded me many
opportunities for obtaining an insight into the inner life of the
people. My relations with Prince Bismarck and his family form
the subject of a separate publication,2 to which I need only
1 "The love of truth shows itself in our endeavour to seek out everywhere
that which is good and to appreciate it.'7
2 Personal Reminiscences of Prince Bismarck, by Sidney Whitman, 1902.
London, John Murray ; Appleton, New York ; Union Verlag, Stuttgart.
vi

PREFACE
make reference in order to give a clue to some of the
experiences hereafter related. Several of my visits to
Germany during the years 1891-8 were the outcome of
invitations from the Bismarck family, and some of my
most valuable acquaintanceships were due to this connection.
I was the Prince's guest at Friedrichsruh on two of his birth
days, notably his eightieth, in 1895, which called forth a
public demonstration the recollection of which can never fade
from the memory of those who were privileged to take part
in it. But the most important result of the Bismarck con
nection to me was that it led to my embarking on the broad
waters of journalism.
One evening in the autumn of 1894 I was dining with
Count Herbert Bismarck at the house of Baron Deichmann,
in London, when the former suggested that I should accom
pany him to The Hague, where he was about to pay a
visit to his sister and her husband, Count Rantzau, who was at
that time German Minister at the Dutch capital. On my
replying that I could not leave London on account of business
to which I had to attend, he blurted out in his jovial way :
" What can a man like you have to do with business ! You
ought to take up political journalism ; that would be a far
more congenial occupation for you. I will mention it to
Gordon Bennett."
Some weeks afterwards I received a letter from the pro
prietor of the New York Herald asking me to go to Paris
to see him. I did so, and in due course became correspondent
of that paper in London. In the following three years I
represented the Herald on different occasions in Berlin, Vienna,
Constantinople, and Macedonia. I also took part in a like
capacity in an expedition sent by the Sultan to Asiatic
Turkey in the winter of 1897-8. On my return from the
East Mr. Bennett suggested that I should go permanently to
Berlin as chief correspondent of the New York Herald. This
proposal I declined, as I did not wish to leave London.
Seven years later, in the autumn of 1905, Mr. Bennett
induced me to go to Moscow during the Revolution, and thence vii

PREFACE
on to Berlin during the Algeciras Conference in the spring of
1906. In dealing with these and other experiences, as far as they
come within the scope of this volume, I have endeavoured to
portray something of more than passing interest. If in so
doing I have unduly accentuated the irrepressible " ego " it
was because I should have been unable to give the requisite
actuality to my story by adopting any other form of
narration. The opening chapters treat of the conditions prevailing in
Germany fifty years ago, and form a background to the main
body of the book.
S. W.

La me"moire des hommes n'est qu'un
imperceptible trait du sillon que chacun
de nous laisse au sein de l'infini. Elle
n'est pas cependant chose vaine.
Ernest Renan

Vlll

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGH
I. School Memories 1
II. Before 1870 18
III. The Emperor William I 33
IV. Dresden after 1870 46
V. The Glass Works 60
VI. The Silesian Nobility 72
VII. Gustav von Moser 88
VIII. Field-marshal Moltke 97
IX. Berlin, 18.90-91 106
X. Prince Bismarck 116
XI. Lenbach 127
XII. Munich 143
XIII. Field-marshal Blumenthal 153
XIV. King Charles of Roumania 169
XV. Theodor Mommsen 176
XVI. Prince Reuss VII 3 87
XVII. Weimar 200
XVIII. Prince Bulow 209
XIX. The Wilhelmstrasse 223
XX. Some Socialist Leaders 234
XXI. Some Memories Recalled 242
XXII. Conclusion 260
Index 28 1

?X

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Author
(From the portrait by Lvubaeh)
Prince Bismarck
Baron Gust a v von Moser
Franz von Lenbach
Field-Marshal Count Blumenthal
H.M. the King of Roumania
Professor Mommsen
Prince Bulow

Frontispiece

facing page

42

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128

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154

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170

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184

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210

XI

CHAPTER I
SCHOOL MEMORIES
It is said that as we grow older the memories of our youth —
those that often exercise a lasting influence on our lives —
grow more vivid, whilst we are apt to forget recent events.
Thus my first impressions of Germany, beginning in the
summer of the year 1859, stand out before me in bold relief:
the Rhine with its picturesque castles, its vineyards, open and
unprotected from pilferers; the carriage road from Biebrich
to Wiesbaden lined with apple and plum trees ; the villas, the
gardens full of fruit-trees with no brick walls or fences to
protect them ; the forests of the Taunus range — not enclosed,
but free and open to all to roam through ; Wiesbaden an idyl
of comeliness, where all classes mingled in the Kurgarten to
listen to the military band — princes and monarchs occasionally
among the crowd, without anybody running after them or
molesting them — many excellent hotels at moderate prices ; a
municipal theatre at which you could see Ristori, the great
tragedienne, one night, and hear Mozart's " Figaro " the next,
with Carl Formes, the renowned basso-profundo, as the immortal
Barber ; and the market-place with bright-faced peasants from
the neighbourhood, selling fruit and vegetables. Decency,
decorum, and cleanliness were in evidence everywhere These
were sights to leave enduring impressions upon a London-born
boy, who had hitherto only seen the Thames from Richmond
to Greenwich and Gravesend, and visited a watering-place on
the English south coast. They have clung to me through life,
and in a measure account for my sympathy with a country
where such conditions prevail. Everything I have written
about Germany has been more or less coloured by them. I
a I

GERMAN MEMORIES
had imbibed a strong partiality for the study of history from
my father, and already took a keen interest in the political
situation. It was just after the Franco-Italian War, which
had ended in a triumph for France, and the political outlook
was not favourable for Germany. Yet even in those days I
had a presentiment that a great future was in store for that
country. We stayed a few days at Frankfort-on-the-Maine. A
crusty old gentleman with hard, clean-cut features, thin lips,
wide mouth, and sparse bristling hair and whiskers sat at the
table d'hote of the Hotel d'Angleterre. He had a good
appetite, and the waiters seemed to take pleasure in piling the
dishes in front of him, after they had been served round, when
he glared at them with a pair of remarkably fine, piercing
eyes. My father said to me : " Take note, my boy, of that
man ! When you grow up you will hear of him as a great
thinker." He was Arthur Schopenhauer. He died in the
following year, and when I came to Frankfort again his
portrait in oils hung on the wall opposite the spot at which
he used to sit every day for many years.
My parents wished their children to learn German, so it
was decided to put me, as the eldest, to school in Germany.
A friend of my father's had a son at the famous Vitzthum
Gymnasium at Dresden, and there I was placed as a boarder
in the autumn of 1859, at the age of eleven, among
strangers, without knowing as much as three consecutive
words of the German language. The Vitzthum Gymnasium
was an institution devoted to the gratuitous education of
members of the noble family of that name, and was founded
in the year 1638. The Blochmann Institute was amalga
mated with it in the year 1828, and the two together enjoyed
a high reputation far beyond the boundaries of Germany.
Perhaps this was owing to the fact that the founder of the
latter, Carl Justus Blochmann (1786—1857), had studied
under the renowned Pestalozzi, and that the school was
supposed to be carried on according to the principles of this
far-famed Swiss pedagogue. Physical culture, as part of the
2

SCHOOL MEMORIES
formation of character, was one of these, and at that time this
was an educational novelty. The school certainly possessed a
cosmopolitan character, for it included boys from the United
States, France, England, Denmark, Austria, Russia, and
Roumania, the latter in those days consisting of the Danubian
Principalities (Wallachia and Moldavia).
The German system of education fifty years ago was of a
more Spartan kind than that of either France or England, and
nowhere was discipline stricter than among the upper classes.
It was not for nothing that both Bismarck and Moltke
remembered their school-days with repugnance. Of the
former it is on record that when he went out walking with
his schoolfellows the tears would come into his eyes at the
sight of a plough, which reminded him of home ; Moltke never
shook off the hardening effects of his early years. Still, I am
inclined to doubt whether things were anywhere quite so
rigorous as at the Vitzthum Gymnasium in the years in which
I belonged to it. At least it is tolerably certain that the
German police would not tolerate conditions in a plain
Volkschule to - day such as prevailed in the Vitzthum
Gymnasium in Dresden in my time, where the sons of the
nobility of Saxony, Prussia, and Mecklenburg — even scions of
reigning houses — were educated.
Sleeping accommodation was of the most primitive, not to
say of an almost barbaric description, in every way inferior to
that which I have since seen among the Russian soldiers in
their barracks. In the winter the water was frozen in the
jugs, so we had to go without washing, for no hot water was
supplied. We were called up at 5 a.m. in the summer and at
six in the winter. Exactly half an hour was allowed from the
time of being first called to appear downstairs to claim the
meagre fare which figured as breakfast, a cup of thin coffee
and a piece of dry white bread (Semmel), the cost of which
was exactly three pfennige, or one-third of a penny in English
money. With the stroke of the half-hour, however, both
coffee-bearer and bread distributor vanished from the scene.
There was no breakfast for late-comers, and not a mouthful

GERMAN MEMORIES
to eat until a quarter to ten, when another variety of white
roll — this time supposed to be covered with butter — was
distributed among the boys in the playground. The day
pupils put in an appearance at seven o'clock in the summer
and at eight in the winter, and many a time have I waited at
the gate to catch sight of two English boys of the name of
Sawyer who usually brought some rolls in their pocket, which
they distributed to the famished boarders.
The dinner consisted of soup, drawn from stringy beef of
inferior quality, which was served up afterwards with vege
tables ; occasionally veal took the place of beef. Such was
the unappetising character of this meat that I have never since
been able to touch veal. The Sunday dinner was a banquet in
comparison, for it comprised a single helping of rostbraten
(braised beef) and vegetables, followed by a slice of cake.
Dry rolls were again handed us at tea-time. The supper,
taken at eight o'clock, was sometimes a smoked herring, or a
few slices of cervelat or liver sausage. Many times have I slunk
off hungry to bed rather than sit down to this apology for a
repast. Altogether the food was such as a Munich cab-driver
would reject ; but, poor as was the feast, it must be stated in
fairness that it was partaken of by one and all, the headmaster
and his family included. But a further degree of privation
formed part of the school curriculum.
The punishment inflicted on the boys even for the slightest
breach of discipline was the deprivation of meals, with regard
to which a regular scale of penalties existed. Thus, for boys
of the higher classes a standing punishment was that of being
locked up so many hours, sometimes for a whole day, in an
empty school-room with bread and water. To be deprived of
one's dinner or supper was a common occurrence, a penalty
which, according to the disposition of the master could be
inflicted simply for exchanging a word with another boy dur
ing class time, let alone for obstinacy, disobedience or more
serious offences. The modus operandi was as follows. When
the dinner-bell had rung, and the boys had already taken their
seats at the dinner or supper table, as the case might be, an
4

SCHOOL MEMORIES
usher came in, and, walking round the different tables with a
note-book in hand, notified to the different boys who had in
curred punishment that they were only allowed to partake of
bread and water. In some instances the indignity of standing
up during dinner was added to the penalty. I have known
a French boy of an exceptionally unruly disposition named
Cogniet to be deprived of his dinner every other day of the
week, and to have scarcely had his Sunday dinner once in
a whole term. The only limitation to this cruel mode of
punishment was that the rules of the school forbade a boy
to be deprived of his dinner two days running. And as the
Sunday meal was the only one in the week to which we looked
forward, and the deprivation of which was keenly felt by us
all, we were only too glad to incur the penalty of going with
out our Saturday dinner, as we were thereby at all events
assured of our Sunday dinner.
The sanitary conditions of the school were of a most
primitive character. Not a single bath was there for over a
hundred boarders ; in the summer, it is true, the boys bathed
daily in the Elbe ; but in the winter, a tiny lavatory, fitted up
with a Russian vapour apparatus, was all the accommodation
provided for the washing of the sons of some of the best
families of the country. Once a fortnight two soldiers from the
adjoining Garde Reiter barracks were called in to rub the boys
down after their steaming. With little or no ventilation the
primitive sanitary arrangements spread such a loathsome smell
throughout the sunless building that I can only wonder to-day
how epidemics were not chronic among us.
The inspector came round during the dinner hour once a
week to distribute the pocket-money among the pupils ; it
consisted of debased silver coins, nearly black with dirt. The
regular amount was sixpence ; some few of the pupils by
special arrangement received a shilling, which was the largest
sum permitted. It was against the rules for a boy to have
any money beyond the pocket allowance in his possession.
Some few had no pocket money at all, members of the
Vitzthum family being in this category; others had no 5

GERMAN MEMORIES
holidays throughout the year, so that their school memories in
after life must have been as though they had passed their youth
in what was little better than a penitentiary, no boarder being
allowed to leave the school unless in the company of a master.
It will be readily understood that such a rigorous system
nearly broke a weak character, whilst it tended to harden
those who were strong enough to bear up against it. I
remember when I first went there from a luxurious English
home I used to cry myself to sleep at night for weeks at
a time. After a life of many vicissitudes, rich in joy and
sorrow, I can say that nothing that has happened to me in
after years has ever given me such a thrill of ecstatic joy as
I experienced when one day I was called up before the head
master and curtly informed that my father had arrived from
England and I was at liberty to go to the hotel to see him.
Yet such were the conditions under which many of the men
were brought up who supplied the officers to an army which
within five years laid Austria and France in the dust.
It will readily, I think, be believed that it required a strong
infusion of romance to be able to look back with affection on
a time associated with so many privations ; for to boys
nurtured under English conditions deprivation of liberty, let
alone the execrable food, embodied hardship of no mean order.
And yet for many of us a deal of romance was undoubtedly
connected with our stay at the Vitzthum Gymnasium, more
particularly so among the German and Austrian elements.
The Italian War of 1859 was just over when I joined the
school, and the German boys imbibed their sympathies with
regard to it direct from their homes. There was a strong
partisanship for the Austrians — notably the Tyrolese, whose
sharp-shooters were said to have picked off the French
officers at Magenta and Solferino. Altogether there existed a
chivalrous feeling of kinship with Austria among the boys,
many of whom still looked to the Kaiserstadt (Vienna), rather
than to Berlin, as the metropolis of their race. Austrian
boys who had belonged to the school included young Wullers-
dorf, the son of the Austrian admiral who had command
6

SCHOOL MEMORIES
of the Austrian Novara expedition round the world (1857-9)
— in those days a sensational feat, which, to the youthful
mind as I knew it then, redounded to the credit of the
German race. Young Wullersdorf was looked upon as the
son of a national hero, as a son of Admiral Tegethoff might
have been regarded some years later had it not been that by
that time the war of 1866 had brought about a cleavage in
the feelings of the two great branches of the Germanic family.
A feature of the school, as well as of that particular
period, was the admiration for England and everything
English, which prevailed everywhere. The battle of Waterloo
was then scarcely more remote than is the surrender of Sedan
to-day, and the English enjoyed in this respect a similar pres
tige to that with which the Germans have been invested since
1870. The prize fight between Heenan and Sayers took
place at Farnborough about this time, and was discussed
among the young in Germany very much in the same spirit in
which the encounter between Hector and Achilles is regarded.
It was tacitly admitted that only England could have pro
duced such a hero as the Sussex bricklayer, Tom Sayers.
Admiration was further aroused by the great popularity of the
novels of Sir Walter Scott, especially " lvanhoe." The figure
of Richard Coeur de Lion, attuned to music in Marschner's
" Templar and Jewess," provided an English hero whose
prowess was re-echoed from every German opera stage in the
stirring air beginning with the words :
Du stolzes England freue Dich
Dein Kichard hoch und ritterlich. i
The English peer, the " Milord," was the supreme embodi
ment of wealth and dignity.
Of far more importance, however, than these influences were
the great English names in science and mechanical invention
which were constantly before us in the course of lectures on
chemistry and physics, given in a special laboratory fitted up
with every appliance for illustrations by practical experiments.
i " Eejoice, proud England, o'er thy knightly King Richard."

GERMAN MEMORIES
The epoch-making German and French discoveries, the Ameri
can inventions of the second half of the nineteenth century,
had yet to be made. Thus most of the leading names con
nected with science or mechanics were those of Englishmen :
Harvey and Jenner, Priestley and Faraday, Watt and Stephen
son, Wheatstone and Cooke, were the pioneers of scientific
progress, and the nation which had produced them excited
boundless admiration. Another feature which tended to
emphasise English superiority was the inferior quality of many
German goods at that time when* compared with English.
Anything thai? came from England was on this account alone
sure to be considered superior, and indeed was so in many
cases — for instance : cutlery, skates, leather goods, clothes,
silk goods, guns, writing materials, such as paper, pens and
pencils, sealing-wax, chemists' specialities, &c. The phrase
" Made in Germany " was not yet current, but the mere word
"English" applied to any article whatsoever was a sufficient
warrant of its supreme quality.
Ample opportunity was afforded us in our little cosmo
politan world to observe certain idiosyncrasies of national
character which I have had manifold occasions to verify in
after life. The Russians, including members of the aristo
cratic families of Czartorisky, Galitzin, Maximowitch, and
Stolypin, as well as the Roumanians (in those days Walla-
chians and Moldavians), among whom were the Princes
Stourdza and Souzo, evinced as boys the same characteristics
which I have since often observed in them. They were im
patient under restraint, passionate, more or less inclined to
eccentricity, extravagance, and oriental love of finery. Prince
Souzo, a dark, full-bearded, swarthy young fellow, when he got
leave to go into the town, used to borrow of me a silk cravat
and a gold pin which my father had given me, and would wear
them as his own. The school numbered among its pupils sons
of many noble German families, and of these were some of the
most powerfully built youths I have ever met, although in
those days the cultivation of sport and games as we know
them now, as distinct from systematic physical training, was
8

SCHOOL MEMORIES
practically unheard of ; of games, a variety of American base
ball was about the only speciality indulged in. Yet, although
an admiration of physical strength and pluck was quite a
cult among us, during the whole of the time I was in Dresden
I cannot recall a single instance of what is known in England
as " bullying." I do not remember a case in which the strong
among us abused their power by striking or exacting humilia
ting service from smaller boys. Many years afterwards I met
one whose physical force was a school tradition in my time
— Major von Mutius, of the Prussian Garde du Corps. He
was one of the German officers who entered Sedan with a flag
of truce on the day of surrender — a giant in stature. Once,
when shooting with him in Silesia, I reminded him of his
schoolboy reputation for physical prowess, and he told me in
reply that it had been a source of satisfaction to him in after
life to look back upon the time when as a boy he had used
his strength only to protect the weak. He, too, alas !
although not much older than myself, has long passed away.
A strict code of honour prevailed among the boys. In
case of quarrels a regular challenge to pugilistic encounter
was given, accepted, and fought out either on the spot or
later by appointment, and although the noble art of self-
defence as practised in Anglo-Saxon countries was not scienti
fically taught or well understood, the great physical strength
and high courage prevalent, particularly among the older boys,
made these encounters by no means trivial affairs. They were
fought out until one side admitted defeat. I have seen boys
who had been through a fight whose faces were battered
almost beyond recognition. The punishment for such severe
breaches of discipline was incarceration on bread and water,
but etiquette imposed silence on all sides with regard to
these combats. The small boys looked up with wonder to
the fighters in the light of Homeric heroes. A fight
which in my time held the premier position in the traditions
of the school was one which had taken place before I had
joined, between a Wallachian named Gregoriady and an
English youth named Mills, from Lancashire. The latter had 9

GERMAN MEMORIES
left the school before I entered it, but Gregoriady, a black-
bearded Roumanian, rather short, but of enormous muscular
power, was still a pupil. He was always practising at the
parallel and horizontal bars, and the bulging-out muscles of
his arms and shoulders, like those of a circus athlete, were the
admiration of us all. The story went that Gregoriady, in the
arrogance of his might, had intentionally provoked a quarrel
with the English boy. One morning matters came to a crisis
in the breakfast-room. The Englishman, although not so
muscular, was a far cleverer fighter, and handled his Walla
chian opponent so severely that the floor was bespattered with
blood before the fight could be stopped. Gregoriady was
battered almost beyond recognition, and was obliged to take
to his bed before his features resumed their normal appearance,
whilst the English boy was hardly marked. The story was
familiar to every boy in the school, but such was the delicacy
of feeling prevalent that it was never afterwards referred to in
the presence of the defeated champion. Defeat did not expose
to ridicule, much less did it imply dishonour, among these sons
of continental patricians. True to the best German traditions,
there was always respect for an antagonist.
Speaking from memory, I can say that the English, French
and Roumanians were the most quarrelsome. The Germans
were the most peaceable, although, as regards physical
strength, their elite, von Mutius, Stein, and the two brothers
Stumpfeldt, were by far the doughtiest pupils of the school.
Indeed, the tradition of their prowess lived on long after they
had left. Altogether, there was something of the Siegfried
nature in these sturdy Teutons of gigantic build. They would
keep away from the rest of the school in their free time, and
seek that solitude among the trees which the poets associate
with the reveries of young German manhood. None of these
strong Germans ever to my knowledge ill-used a small boy ;
indeed, the awe they inspired often prevented big boys of
other nationalities from indulging their own innate bullying
propensities. The Napoleonic legend still had a strong hold over the
10

SCHOOL MEMORIES
imagination of the young, as well as the older generation of
Saxons in those days. Several of the boys were the sons or
grandsons of Saxon officers, who had served in Napoleon's
campaigns. There was one of my own age at the College,
von Aimer by name, who boasted a huge telescope, which he
told us his father had carried across the Beresina in the retreat
from Russia.
An old Saxon General von Zetteritz used to dine at the
table-d'hote of the Stadt Berlin ; he had been through the
Russian campaign of 1812 with Napoleon, and was among
those who crossed the Beresina with the French fugitives. As,
with his long, flowing white beard, he stood up looking round
the dining-room, it was as if a vision of that dire catastrophe
had risen before us. And yet he was an enthusiastic admirer
of Napoleon. I remember also an old Count Holtzendorf, who
used to limp about the streets of Dresden leaning on a stick.
He wore the Cross of the Legion of Honour, conferred upon
him by Napoleon III. in memory of his loyal conduct at the
battle of Leipzig, when, as a young Saxon lieutenant, he re
fused to join his countrymen who went over to the Allies on
that memorable occasion. He remained true to his Sovereign
who fought on the side of Napoleon and was taken prisoner.
Years afterwards, when the Saxon King, restored to his domin
ions, passed out of his palace in Dresden and saw young
Holtzendorf on guard duty, he would make a point of raising
his hat to him as a tribute of respect for his fidelity to his
Sovereign in adversity.
On our Sunday walks we would go to the heights of Rack-
nitz, where, shaded by trees, a granite block was to be seen,
surmounted by a huge Grecian helmet in bronze, bearing the
inscription, " Here fell the hero Moreau." This was in memory
of the French General of that name, the victor of Hohen-
linden (1799), who in 1813 fought on the side of the Allies
against Napoleon, and was killed at the battle of Dresden on
the 27th of August in that year, struck by a cannon ball whilst
standing close to the Emperor Alexander. It was said that
Napoleon himself pointed the gun which fired the fatal shot. 11

GERMAN MEMORIES
By far the most pleasing features of the school — probably
due to the teaching of Pestalozzi — were the Whitsuntide and
summer walking tours, undertaken by the boys in charge of
the masters. At Whitsuntide these jaunts lasted about ten
days, and in the summer between three and four weeks, when
the itinerary was extended as far as Switzerland, and even into
Northern Italy, and all this at an incredibly small cost. I
can recall a trip lasting ten days, the amount debited to
the account of each pupil scarcely exceeding £2. These
tours were looked forward to with delight, and discussed by
the boys weeks, even months, ahead. When the day came,
and pigskin knapsacks were distributed all round, and we
started for the railway station, it was a scene of great
excitement. Once clear of the neighbourhood of Dresden the
walking began, the distance covered being from eighteen to
twenty miles a day. Sometimes farmers1 waggons were hired,
in case the road should prove to be too long for the
stragglers, the weaker among the boys. It occasionally
happened that a town chosen for a halt for the night did not
possess an inn large enough to harbour between thirty or
forty new arrivals. In such cases a shakedown on straw, in
some concert or assembly room, which almost every German
village contains — even churches figured among our resting-
places — would do duty for the occasion, with a wash in the
morning at the fountain in the market-place.
The educational value of these tours lay in the spirit in
which they were conducted. As we trudged along the road
on a fine spring morning one of the masters would produce
a book of German student songs, and with a tuning-fork
lead the singing, in which all joined with effect, as the
training of the voice, as well as gymnastics, dancing, and
fencing, belonged to the regular school curriculum. The
masters in charge were usually well versed in geography,
geology, mineralogy, botany, and other natural sciences, and
drew the boys' attention to such facts as would be likely to
quicken their interest and increase their knowledge. The
varied and attractive nature of the Saxon scenery, forest-clad
12

SCHOOL MEMORIES
hills, and valleys with limpid streams, lent itself admirably to
such a purpose. The journey was mapped out so as to touch
as many points of interest as possible on the route chosen.
Thus, in passing Bautzen, the victory of Napoleon in 1813
became the theme of interest and instruction ; at Hochkirk,
the defeat of Frederick the Great. From Zittau we crossed
over the frontier into Bohemia and visited the far-famed
castle of Friedland, once the property of Wallenstein, of
Thirty Years War renown. Museums, town-halls, and old
chateaux were visited, and their characteristics explained.
Now and then we were entertained at the country seat of
some family a member of which was among our fellow
pupils. Nor were commerce and industry neglected, although
scarcely any of the boys were intended for such a career. A
point was made of inspecting notable manufactories on our
road, the working of which was explained to the boys. At
Tharandt we would visit the Academy of Forestry which has
been a model of instruction for the whole world. At Freiberg
the working of the silver mines was explained to us. At
Chemnitz — the German Manchester, which has quadrupled the
number of its inhabitants — it was the cotton mills, and I can
distinctly remember being struck by the order and cleanliness
of the workpeople. These journeys left a lasting influence on
the mind of many of the pupils ; stimulating and widening
their sympathies and increasing their knowledge, as I can
gratefully testify after this lapse of time. They were, besides,
a splendid physical training. Altogether physical culture
formed a vital part of the curriculum, being a striking contrast
to the unhealthy conditions of the school itself ; for although,
as already stated, competitive games such as football were
comparatively neglected, systematic physical culture was
carried on as distinct from the present cosmopolitan mania
for sport. Gymnastic classes — including fencing — were held
regularly in the summer in the open, for part of the play
ground was reserved for horizontal and parallel bars, wooden
horses, jumping boards and other gymnastic apparatus, long
before these were introduced into other countries. From IS

GERMAN MEMORIES
the playground the boys witnessed through a railing the daily
exercises of the Blue Guards in the riding-school immediately
adjoining the school, where those of the pupils whose parents
wished it took riding-lessons under the tuition of a sergeant
for a small charge ; this was almost the only extra item of
the modest fees, which, including board and tuition, scarcely
exceeded those of a daily boarder in a London public school.
The headmaster of the school (called "Rector" or
" Director "), Professor Dr. Bezzenberger, was the most typical
example of the stern German pedagogue I have ever met. He
was, indeed, a distinguished representative of the far-famed
German schoolmen ; those who for generations past had been
the educators of a people which was about to prove itself to be
the best-schooled nation in the world. All their energies were
devoted to the task they had undertaken, the instruction of youth,
the inculcating of that high standard of life in their pupils
with which they themselves were imbued. No self-seeking,
worldly ambitions, no social vanities warped their energies or
took them away from this one supreme object of their lives.
Dr. Bezzenberger was truly the embodiment of the highest
earthly authority for us all ; even the stalwart Germans,
Russians and Roumanians quailed when they heard his shrill
voice in anger, or when they unexpectedly met his tall spare
figure coming along the corridors. These, however, were rare
occasions ; he was not often visible, and his usual tone of voice
was subdued, the words slowly drawn out as if struggling for
utterance. In after life, when I first saw Camphausen's picture
of Frederick the Great on horseback at the battle of Leuthen,
waving his crooked stick, I could understand something of the
terror with which he must have inspired his surroundings by
finding how much he resembled my old schoolmaster.
He had married the daughter of the famous Blochmann,
and thus had inherited the position of his father-in-law as
headmaster. Mrs. Bezzenberger was a sweet, womanly
apparition, the very antithesis of her imperious lord in
temperament. She was kindness itself to the boys when,
through illness, they were sent to the school infirmary
14

SCHOOL MEMORIES
and relegated to her care. She appeared to us roughly
treated boys little less than an angel of charity when, with
her slight figure and finely cut features, peeping out bene
volently from an old-fashioned lace cap, in her soft voice, yet
with a certain quiet tone of authority, she would ask what she
could do for us. For, unless ill, we were never allowed an
opportunity of approaching her or her daughters within
speaking distance. We saw her only as she flitted in and out
of the dining room, carrying a small housekeeper's reticule,
followed by a couple of plain daughters.
After the war of 1866, in passing through Dresden, I
called on my old schoolmaster, who had retired into private
life ; two of his sons, fine specimens of virile Saxon manhood,
both of them schoolfellows of mine, had fallen in the war ;
one was killed at Custozza, fighting as an officer in the
Austrian army, the other with the Saxon contingent at
Koeniggraetz. Never have I seen such an expression of
passionate grief, such implacable resentment in a human face.
There could be no reconciliation with the new order of things
for such as he. To his thinking, and that of many other
Saxons at that time, the action of Prussia was a crime — an
enormity not less criminal because crowned with success.
There was a trace of antique grandeur about this old man,
the evening of whose life was thus blasted, but who, in his
stern, imposing personality, has, as far as I know, had no
successor. Many years afterwards, in the autumn of 1903, I received
an invitation from the Rector of the Vitzthum Gymnasium to
be present in the following January at the inauguration of the
new school which was to be taken over henceforth by the
Dresden Municipality. I went from England expressly for
the purpose, and spent several pleasant days in recalling old
times in the company of those who had had a share in them.
Nothing, however, brought home to me so vividly the many
changes Germany has undergone in the course of the last fifty
years as this experience. In the first place, there were only
two present of all my former schoolfellows, one of whom was 15

GERMAN MEMORIES
General Count Alexander Vitzthum, in command of the Saxon
army corps, the XII. of the German army. Many others of
my time were dead ; twenty-five pupils of the school lost
their lives in the wars of 1866 and 1870, an extremely
high percentage. The contrast between the dilapidated old
college, with its sunless aspect, its dingy quarters and
awful smells, about to be demolished, and the beautiful
airy and sanitary new structure suggested the enormous
material improvements which had taken place in connection
with public and private buildings all over Germany, and
not least in Dresden. Gloomy streets, even those in which
the upper classes lived, and into which a ray of sunlight
rarely penetrated, explained the high death-rate prevailing
throughout German towns in other days. These have been
replaced by rows of palatial buildings, modern residences replete
with every comfort of up-to-date life.
So great is the change that, although I had stayed in Dresden
on and off for different periods through nearly thirty years, I
hardly recognised whole quarters of the town. But even more
than the buildings the change in the people impressed me.
It embodied the transmutation of a time which had passed,
and is not likely to return, even for those who may succeed us.
The simple habits, God-fearing sincerity and simplicity, are no
longer characteristic of any class of the time we live in. The
German upper classes are no longer brought up in that spirit
of reverence and frugality which was general fifty years ago.
Those that I saw appeared to have become fossilised with
the bourgeoisie rising upon the debris. The King (George)
was present at the ceremony of inauguration, but his impas
sive frigidity on an occasion which might well have evoked
a few sympathetic words from him was remarked by those
present. He might as well have been one of the Chinese
mandarin figures in the Royal china collection for all the
active part he took in the proceedings. Among persons of
distinction the only one who seemed to belong to the present
time was the husband of the Queen of Holland — Duke Henry
of Mecklenburg, an old Vitzthum scholar. He went round,
16

SCHOOL MEMORIES
and without any preliminary presentation, whether he knew
others or not, shook hands with those who, like himself, had
been at the school. After we had listened to a flatulent
address to the King, perpetrated by a representative of the
Vitzthum family, the Ober-Biirgermeister of Dresden, Geheimer
Finanzrat Beutler addressed the assembly, the King included,
in a dignified, straightforward speech. It was the utterance
of a man who is conscious that he stands for a reality — in his
case, the power and worth of the German people ; to whom, if
I mistake not, rather than to kings and nobles, the decisive
word in the future affairs of Germany belongs.

17

CHAPTER II
BEFORE 1870
If there is one contrast between the Germany of to-day
and that of fifty years ago which, next to the altered
aspect of German towns, must strike any one, it is the
change which has taken place in the economical habits and
conditions of the community. Frugality may be said to
have been formerly inculcated in the nursery and to have
been rigidly practised through life by all classes. That this
was so in the matter of the education of the aristocracy is,
I think, evident from the contents of the last chapter. But
even among reigning families economy was the order of the
day. The Empress Augusta was wont to declare that her
lack of physical stamina was a result of bad nourishment in
her childhood, in which a cheap vegetable known as " skirret "
(Schwarzwurzel) played a prominent part, and for which she
ever afterwards retained a dislike.
Professor Hans Delbrueck, in his Reminiscences1 of the
time when he was tutor in the family of the Crown Prince
of Prussia, later Emperor Frederick, relates the following
characteristic incident. One day at dinner the Crown
Princess asked the butler whether the Apollinaris water
which she had ordered had come. " Yes, your Imperial
Highness," he replied, "but we must first drink the soda
water we have in stock." This was going too far even for
the good-natured Crown Prince, and he administered a
severe rebuke to the man. This took place after the
Franco-Prussian War ; but for all that the butler's remark
l Personliche Erinnerungen an den Kaiser Friedrich und sein Saus. Hans
Delhrueck. Berlin, 1888.
18

REFORE 1870
was illustrative of a state of things which had long been
prevalent throughout Germany.
Material comforts which were the common property of
the well-to-do in France and England were only known to
the few in Germany fifty years ago. What* was luxury in
Paris or London was almost unknown in Berlin, Dresden or
Munich. Even after the War of 1870 the installation of
some tiled baths in the Hotel de Rome at Berlin, such as
are to be seen everywhere to-day, created quite a sensation
and excited the envy of the old Emperor William, for he
had nothing like them in his palace. In thousands of
families, many of acknowledged social position, roast meat
was a rarity seen only once a week, on Sunday's bill of fare.
Dinner was almost universally taken in the middle of the
day, and consisted of soup and stringy boiled beef, so-called
" Suppenfleisch," from which the soup had been taken ;
supper, of cold odds and ends. Tea and oranges were luxuries.
The traveller who went from England to Dresden, and
who smoked a Havana cigar which might have cost sixpence
in London, was looked upon in amazement as a millionaire
by the local notabilities. The Crown Prince, afterwards
King Albert, smoked "weeds" at only three farthings a
piece. To-day cigars at half a crown and five shillings
each are not unknown at first-class hotels and restaurants,
and there are places in Berlin where the wine list exceeds
in variety of choice and high prices anything to be met with
either in Paris or London.
The railways were in a comparatively backward state.
Although the German second-class carriages were even in
those days as comfortable as the first in England, there
was nothing to compare with the English express service
between London, Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland. The
journey from Frankfort to Dresden took about eighteen
hours : the train went only as far as Leipzig, where the
traveller arrived in the night and was obliged to take a
ghostly vehicle — a night droschky — and drive from one
station to the other ; then recline on a bench in a pestilent 19

GERMAN MEMORIES
smoking room reeking of stale tobacco, until, after a delay
of several hours, a slow train, stopping at every station, took
him on to Dresden. On the further journey from Dresden
to Lower Silesia the railway went only as far as Goerlitz.
There the traveller would put up for the night, starting
early in the morning by post, with the whole day before him,
to reach his destination in the evening — a mode of travel
ling little different from that in vogue in previous centuries.
Only wealthy people were supposed to travel by "extra
post," a cumbersome arrangement necessitating a change of
horses and carriage at every stage of from twelve to fifteen
miles. The traveller was compelled to remain in a cold waiting
room until all the necessary arrangements were complete —
the making out of the " way-bill " for so much per mile and
grease for the wheels, " grease money " being charged separately
in case — as was expressly stated on the archaic printed form —
" the use of such had been actually called for." Everything
bore an exact and official imprimatur, down to the printed
bill of fare displayed in the waiting room on which prices
for every article were regulated to the half-farthing under
Government seal — the Prussian eagle affixed and dated.
When everything was ready and the ostler tipped, the
postillion would blow his horn as we rumbled over the
rough pavement and again on to the high road. As we
neared the first toll-bar gate the postillion would again
sound his horn, and the gate flew open at the approach of
the " Royal Extra Post," the obligatory toll-tax being
already included in the way-bill. Those who could not
afford the luxury of the "extra post" were obliged to travel
by the ordinary "post," which started twice daily and
lumbered on all night. Horses were changed at every stage, but
the passengers remained in the same conveyance. They were
packed, herring fashion, in a cumbersome old yellow coach, with
all the windows closed ; the demand for an open window involving
the dreaded possibility of a draught, a noisy altercation, and
possibly a challenge to mortal combat — contingencies which
are still among the chances of travel in Germany to-day.
20

REFORE 1870
Another vexation of travel was the currency, which varied
according to the territory traversed ; so that it happened
that in the course of a day's journey it changed three or
four times from thalers to florins and back again. In Austria
the currency consisted of dirty paper money, which, after
the War of '66, sank 25 per cent, in value. Prussia could
at least boast of possessing a silver coinage of a fairly high
standard; but the small silver, the so-called Scheidemiinze —
which Frederick the Great in his financial stress, had
debased beyond recognition as silver — was noted for the
layer of black dirt which covered its margin and entirely
concealed the Latin inscription of the name of the par
ticular monarch and the obligatory " Dei Gratiae " by virtue
of which he was supposed to rule. This element of dirt was
even more conspicuous on the paper money, covering as it
did the whole surface of the paper. Fortunately for most
of us the microscope and bacteriological science had not
then unveiled the unknown terrors of the bacterian world.
Thus, on receiving and spending our media of exchange,
we were happily unaware that we were handling millions of
infectious parasites to the square millimetre and possibly
propagating infectious diseases. Gold coins were only in
evidence in a money-changer's window, or on the gaming
tables of Homburg, Wiesbaden and Baden-Baden. Many
people had never seen a gold piece ! The name of Frederic-
d'Or, as a corollary and an imitation of the French Louis d'Or,
survived merely as a figure of speech ; horse-dealers sold their
horses for so many Frederic-d'Ors, but were paid in the equi
valent of thalers and silber-groschen. The only gold coin
visible in some parts was the Austrian ducat, and this was
explained by a peculiar circumstance. Gold was used in
the manufacture of rose-coloured glass, and only the purest
was suitable; even British sovereigns were not pure enough for
the purpose. The Austrian ducat alone, of all the then
existing gold coins in Europe, possessed the requisite standard,
but its very purity and consequent softness would have made
it a bad medium of exchange. 21

GERMAN MEMORIES
The public roads in Prussia, thanks to a paternal Govern
ment, were splendid, probably among the best in Europe.
The broad, gravel-bedded macadamised chaussee through the
Giant Mountains, for instance, with square granite blocks
placed at short intervals along the road to prevent carriages
from falling over the precipitous ridge into the rushing stream
below, was a magnificent engineering feat for the period. It
traversed wild gorges, brought the Hirschberg valley into
direct communication with the loftier mountain range, thence
winding its way through them over the Prussian frontier into
Bohemia. The Prussian Government and some of the Sovereign
Princes were almost the only patrons of the arts, for the
aristocracy hardly counted at all as such. Count Schack, who
paid such masters as Boecklin and Lenbach at the rate of £9,
a week for their work (!), was the exception marking the rule.
The only evidence of aristocratic patronage of the pictorial
arts I can remember to have seen in early days were some
reproductions of English racing colour-prints in the chateaux
of the aristocracy, as indicative of an admiration for English
country life. The principal German picture buyers of to-day,
those of the " haute finance " and the " haute industrie," had
scarcely come into being : Krupp, the cannon caster, still
directed his business from the unpretentious little working
man's shed shown to-day to the visitor as a curiosity.
The wealthy German manufacturer who does his correspond
ence to-day by means of telegrams, who engages a suite of
rooms at a London hotel for d&500 to see a coronation, was
unknown, unheard and undreamt of. The sons of the middle
class manufacturers and merchants were brought up in
accordance with the ideals of their parents, which were those
of their home. Those who served in the army came out of it
and returned to their different occupations in civil life without
the ambition to see their families ennobled, without that taint ot
restlessness which serious German writers of to-day deplore as a
sign of degeneracy. People in general worked from the inside,
as, according to a dictum of Richard Wagner, used to be
22

REFORE 1870
German wont. They were content to plod on with love in their
hearts for the task in hand, without any of that incessant
craving for " quick returns " which we see to-day. People
possessed an individuality born either of a distinct period, of
a given nationality, or of their own particular calling, the con
templation of which gratified the longing with which most of
us are imbued to look for character and reality in the place of
chimera and sham. Altogether the high pressure and surface
work, the superficial feeling, the irresponsible verbiage con
nected therewith all over the world to-day, were unknown.
Nations and individuals were satisfied with the consciousness of
their own value, and were not consumed by a desire to impart
a fictitious version of it day by day to the world at large.
And it was well for Germany that it was so. It was also good
for the nervous system, which came up taut and strong in
supreme moments in collective action and carried all before it.
There was a stubborn grit 1 which, united with a rare fru
gality of habit and simplicity of mind, showed great results
when its products were tried by the ordeal of fire. The
significance of all this is apparent when we bear in mind that
these were the conditions in which those men grew up who
have since filled the world with their renown and created that
which we know to-day as Modern Germany.
Not that such changes are to be ascribed to the action of
an individual or any number of such. The conditions of life
all the world over have undergone radical, and in some respects
l Count Beust relates in his Memoirs (vol. 1. p. 76) a remarkable instance of
that independence of character so conspicuous at the period: "The Eoyal
Concertmeister Roeckel had been condemned to death for his share in the
revolutionary movement in Dresden in 1849, and his sentence had been com
muted to penal servitude for life in the prison of Waldheim. When passions
had somewhat subsided the King was ready to pardon those who applied by
petition for mercy." This Roeckel refused to do, and even remained obdurate
when Beust visited the gaol in person, although he had by that time suffered
imprisonment for twelve years. Count Beust continues : " At length I suc
ceeded in obtaining his liberation from the King, even without a petition.
I ventured to say that this resistance had something of antique grandeur about
it, and I added, ' Where is the reactionist who would endure twelve years of
imprisonment without praying for mercy 1 ' The King laughed and yielded."
23

GERMAN MEMORIES
ominous, changes. The fierce limelight of publicity, the
blatant shout of the market-place, these influences seem to
have stunted the development of individual personality, and
favoured the growth of the impersonal mob, in its absorption
of every independent impulse. Where individual enterprise
once produced individuality and results from which the present
is still drawing its sustenance, huge impersonal concerns now
submerge individual effort ; we experience a certain malaise
such as a cultivated member of an audience occasionally feels
when looking on at a transparently unreal and vulgar perform
ance. This change strikes me as noticeable in every sphere of life
in Germany, except among the best of all classes. To revert
to Saxony, with which I was more particularly familiar, King
John was a distinct character, to whom all theatricalism was
distasteful. Military uniform did not suit him ; it rarely does
suit a high type of man. The King wore plain clothes ; in
these he was pictured, and with his finely chiselled features
looked kingly. King John of Saxony was a man of letters
and learning who, under the pseudonym of " Philalethes," had
written and published a translation of Dante's " Divina
Commedia." He was a genuine man and a gentleman ; genuine
in his antagonism to Prussia and his partiality for Austria, for
which he staked his crown and nearly lost it. But when the
game was up he loyally accepted defeat, and recognised its
consequences. He threw himself on the mercy of King
William, who, it is said, received him in a magnanimous
spirit similiar to that displayed on another great occasion in
German history, when Ludwig the Bavarian met with open
arms Frederick the Handsome of Habsburg, after he had
defeated him at the battle of Muhlberg.
Another striking personality, something on a small and
subdued scale of the Roi Soleil or of August the Strong, was
Herr von Beust, the Saxon Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose
two sons were my schoolfellows. I remember him riding in
the Grosser Garten, his flowing greyish locks waving in the
wind. As a person of importance in the public mind he
24

BEFORE 1870
ranked next to the King. I made the Minister's acquaintance
in 1872, at the house of a friend, when he was passing through
Dresden on his way from Vienna, having just resigned his
Chancellorship of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy to take up
the post of Austro-Hungarian Ambassador in London, where
again I was his guest in Belgrave Square. Herr von Beust —
after his Austrian experiences Count Beust — was a somewhat
vain man, as proved by his Reminiscences, and by his influence
over the King of Saxony and his opposition to Prussia he may
be said to have jeopardised the very existence of the kingdom
of Saxony. But he possessed high intellectual gifts, and
the courage he often displayed in facing hostile public
opinion, stamps him as a strong personality. That he
was also endowed with certain qualities of heart and mind may
be fairly inferred from the fact of the deep and sincere attach
ment with which he inspired his Sovereign, who, in spite of
the misfortune which Beust's policy brought upon him and
his country, retained a deep sense of obligation, even of affec
tion for him. The King was too proud a man to throw one
over " zu den Todten " — to cast coldly to the dead one whom
he had once honoured by his confidence, even though such
confidence, as proved by events, had been misplaced.
As I recall those remote days the large amount of interest
which the theatre excited among the public stands out in
sharp relief. It is inconceivable to-day how little politics
then occupied the thoughts of the community, and how a large
proportion of their interests were devoted to literature and
the arts, and more particularly to the opera and the drama.
The German theatres had long been one of the most potent
influences for the education of the people.1 They had in this
respect almost reverted to what they originally sprang from,
namely, a part of the cult of a people, a connection which
still survives in the Oberammergau Passion Plays. This
l In 1900 there existed in the German Empire 400 theatres which could claim
to possess serious- artistic qualifications. Twenty of these were subsidised Court
theatres and sixty-five municipal theatres, either subsidised or let out by the
municipal authorities, some of them at as low a fee as £2 a performance.
25

GERMAN MEMORIES
educational influence was, it seems to me, more prominent fifty
years ago than it is to-day, now that the music-hall and other
entertainments of an inferior kind have brought strenuous
competition to bear upon high-class theatres. These, what
ever might have been their limitations, were then veritable
temples of intellectual worship, as set forth in the words,
" Dem Wahren, Schoenen, Guten,"1 inscribed in big letters
over the portico ; dedicated not to the intellect of Germany
alone, but to that of the whole world. The subsidised Court
theatres, as also the excellent municipal theatres of many
German towns, are more or less independent of pecuniary
returns ; they are not obliged to fit their programmes accord
ing to the demand of the greatest number, and thus to pander
to a half-educated majority of the public — a condition not
unlike that of the Press in all countries, which is fatal to
its progressive educational influence.
In this respect the Dresden Court Theatre in its golden
days was indeed happily situated. A creation of that archi
tectural genius, Gottfried Semper,2 it was the most beautiful
structure of the kind in Germany. The stately building stood
out free and clear of all others on the spacious Theaterplatz,
in close proximity to the River Elbe, only needing elevation of
site in order to be visible from afar, like some Greek temple.
The mere sight of such an edifice could scarcely fail to raise
the mind of the visitor above the level connected with a place
of entertainment. This favourable impression was further
emphasised on entering the foyer, where stood tall beadles,
wearing cocked hats, clad in a striking uniform, a broad sash
across the shoulder with the Royal arms in silver and green,
holding in the hand an imposing staff mounted with a silver
ball as a knob, from which hung silver-braided tassels. The
drop curtain was in itself a beautiful and suggestive work of
i " Dedicated to the True, the Beautiful, the Good " — an extension of Plato's
Ka\6v niyadbv, including the element of truth.
2 The Dresden theatre was burned down in 1869, and a new building even
larger and more magnificent was erected on its site, designed by the same
master hand.
26

BEFORE 1870
art, consisting of a number of exquisitely drawn figures taken
promiscuously from the plays of the greatest dramatists of all
countries. It is related that Andrea del Sarto's fresco
painting of " The Last Supper," in the Abbey of San Salvi,
near Florence, made such a powerful impression on the
besieging soldiery that they spared the building. So also the
curtain of the Dresden theatre directed the thoughts of the
audience before even the play began towards the master-
works of dramatic genius of the whole world's literature.
In attending a performance it was as if you were taking
part in a function — almost a rite — in which the money-
making element scarcely figured at all ; the less so as the
prices of admission were on a most moderate scale. There
were three different scales of prices : for light comedy, historical
drama, and grand opera. In historical drama and opera the
stalls cost three shillings, and the most expensive seats in the
house four shillings. But, whatever the performance, the
gallery cost only sixpence, for which price the people were
able to witness some of the finest dramatic performances in
the whole jworld. The stalls cost twenty-five neugroschen
(two shillings and sixpence) on nights when light comedy was
given. This was raised to one thaler ten groschen (four
shillings) on nights of historical drama or grand opera, and
all other seats were cheap in proportion. Added to these
advantages, the performances were of the highest character,
for the Dresden theatre was at its best in the " sixties," and
first-class artists filled every department of drama and opera.
The very fact of being a member of the Royal Court Theatre,
and as such entitled to a pension for life, conferred social
distinction on the most obscure member of the chorus. My
father was a great believer in the educational influence of the
stage. He took me to the theatre every evening when he
came to Dresden, and left instructions with the headmaster
of the Vitzthum Gymnasium that, as a means of learning the
German language, I should be allowed to go to the theatre
as often as was compatible with the discipline of the school.
By these means I saw more of the opera and the drama 27

GERMAN MEMORIES
generally than falls to the lot of most young men in their
teens, and the experience has remained engraved on my
memory down to the present day.
The repertory embraced, as indicated on the drop curtain,
the masterpieces of the world's dramatists and the world's
composers. Foremost among the former stood Shakespeare —
represented by nearly all his plays. The idea of a Shake
speare " revival " would have seemed to the good Dresden
theatre-going public as absurd as the idea of a " revival " of
the Deity ! Shakespeare was always with us in all his
protean immensity. Of French dramatists Moliere was fore
most, and the figure of Harpagon in " L'Avare " was one of
those on the curtain ; but Portugal, Spain and Italy were also
represented by the works of Calderon, Lope de Vega, and
Alfieri. Schiller, Goethe and Lessing naturally formed the
staple of German classics, but Hebbel, Kleist, Brachvogel,
Gustav Freytag and many others were not forgotten. The
modern French plays of Alexandre Dumas Jils, Sardou and
other lights of the Second Empire, however, with their ever-
recurring theme of adultery, were rigorously excluded.
The repertory of the Dresden opera was probably one of the
most varied ever possessed by any theatre in the world.
Beethoven, Mozart, Gluck, Spohr, Spontini, Cherubini, Nicolai,
Meyerbeer, Flotow, Weber, Wagner, Marschner, Lortzing,
Mehul, Adam, Gounod, Boieldieu, Auber, Herald, Halevy,
Rossini, Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti — all these were in the
repertoire, and works of nearly all of them I remember to have
witnessed. The ballet, a special feature of the opera, was
by no means the least attractive. There was something
chaste in the beautiful apparition of the prima ballerina,
Fraulein Bose ; something unspoilt, natural, and childlike in
the admiration she and other graceful women evoked. Such
a loathsome performance as that of the pantomime intermezzo,
" The Vampyre," which, in our time, has gone the round of
the world, was impossible in Dresden.
So perfectly constructed was the theatre with its many exits
that it was usually quite empty within three to five minutes of
28

BEFORE 1870
the fall of the curtain. Such a thing as a crush, people
getting up and rushing to the door before the end of the
performance, was unknown. The elevating nature of the
performance prevented such an occurrence. There was no
shouting for carriages, inasmuch as people, even those of light
and leading, walked on foot the short distance home from the
theatre. Of a winter evening, with the snow on the ground,
this emptying of the theatre was a most picturesque sight.
Here and there was a lady, in a sedan chair hired from the
Altmarkt, the only remaining station in Europe where it
could be procured, and borne by carriers clad in quaint
eighteenth- century rococo costumes ; with groups of officers of
the Blue Garde Reiter in their gilt brass Grecian helmets — for
many of these were regular frequenters of the theatre in the
first row of the stalls — independently of those who were on
duty for the occasion. The performance was usually over
a little after nine o'clock.
People drew their inspiration from the stage in those days,
and where now political Party leaders attract their attention,
the leading actors and singers stood for the ideal of " Dem
Wahren, Schoenen, Guten." Partisanship was strong among
the public. It extended from the highest in the land down to
the humblest. Even domestic servants had their favourite
singers and actors, whom they went to hear on their "evenings
out," and old General von Zetteritz would never miss a
performance when that eharming singer, Fraulein Alvsleben,
sang. " Even if I have to crawl on all fours I must go to the
opera to-night," he said to his servant. And sure enough,
there he sat in the Fremdenloge — a vision of a past age, with
his Russian field-glass, of Beresina memory, never once re
moved from his old grey eyes throughout the performance.
A great celebrity of those days was Emil Devrient, the
actor, the idol of the Dresden public. Though past his prime,
for he was well over sixty, he was still a handsome man of
most distinguished appearance and dignity of manner. As
Marquis Posa, in Schiller's "Don Carlos," he was ideal. At
the words addressed to King Philip, " Sire, give your people 29

GERMAN MEMORIES
freedom of thought," the pit, gallery and stalls rose to the
consciousness of taking their share in the struggle for political
liberty then already in progress in Germany. Devrient maybe
said to have dominated the theatrical world of Dresden, which
felt it to be an honour that he belonged to it. And yet with
all this cult on the part of the public, no actor, however
distinguished, was allowed to interfere with the artistic unity of
a performance. There was no baneful " star " influence. I
have seen Devrient cheerfully play a minor part — yes, even a
greater than he, Bogumil Dawison, undertake the insignificant
role of a Lothringian knight in Schiller's " Maid of Orleans."
Some years before the final struggle between Prussia and
Austria for the hegemony of Germany took place there had
been a growing estrangement between Saxony and Prussia, or,
to be more exact, between the Saxon capital and Berlin, for the
city of Leipzig was reputed to be considerably less antagonistic
to Prussia. A fifth-rate Dresden actor, named Nesmueller, who
introduced some patriotic anti-Prussian couplets into his part,
was decorated by Herr von Beust. Most people, at least
those whom I remember, were intensely anti-Prussian.
Nesmuellers theatre was the only one existing besides the
beautiful Royal Opera House, and was situated in the Gewand-
hausstrasse over a row of butchers' shops : a fact which at times
was brought unpleasantly home to the audience. In the
summer the troupe performed in a so-called Sommer-Theater
in the Grosse Garten, a somewhat primitive affair. But, for all
that, serious plays were now and then given, for Frau
Nesmueller was a cultivated actress. One afternoon, my father
took me to the Grosse Garten, where they gave a historical
drama dealing with the period of the Seven Years War.
Frau Nesmueller filled the part of the Austrian Empress,
Maria Theresa, and right well she rose to her task. In the
course of the play a Prussian envoy was admitted to the
presence of the Empress, and, emphasising the demands of
Prussia, and the means that Power possessed to extort their
acceptance, he used the words : " For, Madam, we have got
money and we have got brains." These words, delivered with
30

BEFORE 1870
strong emphasis by the actor, impressed my father, who, like
most of the people we met, was Austrian in his sympathies.
The factors of money and brains were not usually taken into
consideration at that time when discussing the chances of war.
It was in a way a revelation, a portent of things to come.
Not long after Frau Nesmueller's excellent theatrical im
personation, that which was mere stage play became grim
reality, and soon the cry arose, " The Prussians are coming ! "
A spirit of sauve qui pent came over the authorities. They
fled with the national cash-box and the far-famed treasures of
the Green Vaults, for, with their memories of Napoleonic
times, an irruption of veritable Huns was looked for : only the
Saxon army preserved its dignity, and retired into Bohemia
to await the foe. The Prussians came over-night with the
suddenness of a cataclysm, but a new spirit came with them,
and private property, as also that of the State, was respected.
It remained untouched ; only a little horse-play was indulged
in at the expense of Herr von Beust's country-house, as he
tells us in his Memoirs. Despite a fierce inflaming of passions
nobody was harmed — at least no Saxons. The relationship
between the Prussian and Saxon aristocracy was close, as
intermarriage was frequent. For this class, therefore, the
conflict was almost one of civil war. Herr von Mutius, of
the Prussian Garde Corps (who had been at the Vitzthum
Gymnasium, and whom I met many years after] at a Silesian
country-house), told me that when he came to Dresden with
the Prussians, his sister, who was married in Saxony, ran after
him in the street upbraiding and vilifying him in public, so
that, giant as he was in his uniform, he was obliged to
threaten to have her arrested.
On the approach of the Prussians, the Saxons blew up the
railway-bridge over the Elbe at Riesa in order to delay the
enemy ; but the Prussians soon repaired the damage, and
replaced the missing rails with those which they had brought
with them for the purpose. When the enemy entered
Dresden and demanded quarters of the mayor for 40,000
men, the magistrate said it would be impossible to find room 31

GERMAN MEMORIES
for so many. Thereupon the Prussian General took a parch
ment from one of his aides-de-camp and, unrolling it, dis
played a detailed plan of the city, on which the necessary
quarters for 40,000 men were carefully marked out in every
detail. This was nouveau jeu for the good Saxons !
A few weeks after peace was proclaimed I passed through
Dresden and Bohemia with my father. In the town of
Reichenberg there was a Prussian garrison, and I witnessed
the painful spectacle of wounded Austrian officers limping
through the streets as prisoners in their own country. A
break of nearly five years now occurs in my German memories,
as I went back to London and returned to Germany only in
the spring of 1871.

32

CHAPTER III
THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
I had spent several years in my father's business in London
when in the spring of 1871 he sent me to Germany to look
after the Continental interests of his firm. I took up my
abode in Dresden, from whence, as occasion might require, I
paid flying visits to those factories that were in commercial
relations with us. Although I was brought up with the view
of entering my father's business I possessed a fair knowledge of
English, German, French and Italian literature, having spent
two years in Brussels mainly devoted to the study of French
and Italian. I now utilised my spare time to fill up the gaps
of my education by the study of music, German literature
and philosophy. I lived at that time in the same flat with a
Swiss staff officer, Major Burnier, of the Military Academy of
Thun. He had gone through the war as military attache
with the German staff, and had come to Dresden to work up
the material he had gathered. I saw a good deal of him, and
it was most suggestive to notice how events which appealed to
the outer world in all their martial glamour were professionally
dissected and analysed as so much scientific matter without a
vestige of sentiment of any kind. He was one of the most
kindly men I ever met, and I do not remember one single
sentence coming from his lips in criticism of anybody. I used
to ride out of an early summer morning before breakfast far
and wide in the beautiful surroundings of Dresden. My
companion now and then was a sergeant of the Garde Reiter
who had been present at the battle of Sedan. We both rode
horses that had been through the war, for many thoroughbreds
had been disposed of after that battle at about a sovereign
c 33

GERMAN MEMORIES
apiece, and of these a number had found their way to Dresden
and got into the hands of jobmasters from whom they could
be hired.
As two acquaintances of mine were going to Berlin to witness
the triumphal entry of the troops on the 16 th June, I availed
myself of the opportunity to accompany them. It was my
first visit to the Prussian capital, and we had the greatest
difficulty in finding lodgings ; but at last we discovered one
room in a third-rate hotel, where we were " allowed " to lie on
the floor at 15 marks each per night. In the morning we
were in the streets before five o'clock, and remained out all day
and far into the night and the next morning. It was an
indescribable sight, probably unique in the annals of the
world, this pageant of triumph of a great nation after un
paralleled victories. Even at this distance of time the recollec
tion of it thrills the heart and lifts the mind on to a plane
scarcely in consonance with latter-day reality.
There is a springtide in the affairs of a nation as there is in
the life of an individual. Indeed, nations are endowed with
the faculty of renewing their youth, but only after periods of
suffering, fervour (Sammlung) and chastity, which bring about,
as it were, a re-birth, a renaissance. It is then that for a
short spell they seem to be capable of great, unselfish effort,
as we all are in the springtime of our first love. Were it
otherwise the progress of the world would be consecutive,
whereas we know that, like the motion of the sea, it is subject
to fluctuations, to retrogressions as well as progressions. The
years 1866-1871 constituted such a period in the life of the
German nation, the achievements of which — not merely in
arms — were only possible as the product of an idealism which
sprang from an auspicious concatenation of circumstances, as
unsuspected by the outer world as it was tremendous in its
manifestation. This found its culminating-point in the return home of the
German troops in the early summer of 1871. Nearly a year
of excitement had brought the best, and probably also some of
the worst, elements to the surface ; but the best enormously
34

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
predominated. For, except in the case of millionaire army
contractors, hardly anybody had been engaged in a selfishly
profitable occupation during that period ; the thought of the
community was concentrated on the weal and woe of others.
This allowed full play to the sympathies of the heart for our
fellow creatures. It was — alas ! for a short span of time
only — as if the unamiable characteristics of a whole race had
been exorcised as by a fairy's magic wand. The memory of
those days recalls values, cleansed of their slag — of the dross
which clings to all human things.
What is past returneth never ;
But if gone in radiance bright,
Long will glow its lustrous light !
Not a single intoxicated person did I see : not a coarse or
boastful word, hardly a loud one, did I hear on that memorable
day — and even far into the night — when 45,000 troops led by
the Emperor and his Paladins entered Berlin through the
renowned Brandenburg Gate and defiled through the Linden.
By the exercise of some little ingenuity we managed to obtain
admission at the back of the Military Guard House, which,
seen from Unter den Linden, is situated on the left hand side,
immediately adjoining the Brandenburg Gate. We were
allowed to get on the roof of the building, and thus we had
the whole spectacle directly in front of us — a vantage-ground
which no amount of money could have secured.
The roofs of the houses of the Pariser Platz were black with
people. Of the outline of the quadriga at the top of the
Brandenburg Gate little could be distinguished beyond the
figure of the female charioteer holding the bronze eagle staff
aloft in her hand, so dense was the crowd that had obtained
admission to the lofty position. Huge stands and red-draped
platforms met the eye, inside and outside of the Gate, row
upon row of seats rising tier upon tier to the very roofs of the
houses, and outside the Gate level with the tops of the trees
of the Thiergarten. Wreaths, garlands, festoons, covered the
facing of the house fronts, stout threads of green wound round
35

GERMAN MEMORIES
and round the six columns of the Gate from base to summit.
Pennons, banners and bandoliers, Venetian masts with the
armorial bearings of cities and provinces perched up half-way,
and decorated with flags, drapery and ornamental mouldings,
dazzled the eye by their kaleidoscopic variety. The broad
space immediately in front of the Brandenburg Gate was
alone kept clear for the passage of the troops ; its width,
embracing the centre of the Pariser Platz, is about 60 to
70 ft., and it was sprinkled with yellow gravel up to the
avenue of the Linden. A separate red-draped stand was
erected just inside the gate for the Maids of Honour, in front
of whom the Emperor drew up as he rode in and received
their homage.
I cannot recall the exact sequence of the military pageant,
nor the hour it began, nor when it was over, nor how many
regimental bands thrilled us with their stirring strains. Not
the glamour, the glitter, but rather the human side of this
bewildering spectacle has remained in my memory.
A brilliant group, consisting of several hundred horsemen,
indicates that the culminating-point of the day is at hand.
They are full Generals — some of them have held independent
commands in battle — with achievements to their credit which,
in a war of smaller dimensions, would have entitled them to
triumphs of their own. Here they are fused in the mass,
serving a higher purpose than the recognition of their own
glory. The crowd is on tenter-hooks expecting the Emperor
to follow immediately upon his Generals, but he had prepared
a surprise for his good Berliners. A tremendous shout arises
when the figures of Moltke, Bismarck, and Roon riding abreast
— Bismarck in the middle — come in sight immediately in
front of the Emperor, the Crown Prince and Prince Frederick
Charles riding on either side of the Monarch.
When these six men ride in under the archway of the
Brandenburg Gate, and draw rein in face of the wild enthu
siasm their presence creates, the effect is overpowering ! I
throw myself flat on the slanting leaden roof, burning hot
though it is from the rays of the sun, lest the rush of air,
36

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
as of a hurricane, might hurl me over the ledge on the
bayonets of the soldiers below. It is the supreme moment,
the apotheosis of victorious Germany, and it comes as a relief
to over- wrought nerves when the Emperor leads the way to
the. group of Maids of Honour clad in white stationed to the
right of us, and thence passes on through the avenue of Linden
trees, on each side of which scores of the captured cannon and
mitrailleuses are ranged in rows : a staggering sight.
The crowd is now in a state of delighted good-nature, as
one passing column of troops succeeds the other. The
French " eagles " are carried aloft by men chosen from every
section of the German army — Saxons, Bavarians, and others.
In a moment the cheers are hushed as if by a feeling of
awe for something sacred, calling for lowliness of heart in the
presence of these symbols of victory, the winning of which
has cost rivers of blood.
I fancy I can hear the rhythmic tramp of the troops —
infantry, cavalry, and artillery — passing in endless columns ;
the pennons on the lances of the famous Uhlans fluttering
in the breeze, but most popular, as it seems to me, are
the regiments of infantry, the " Guards " stationed in peace
in the neighbourhood of Berlin, for one can see that many
of them are recognised by the crowd, which hails them
individually in its humorous way :
Trotz Chassepot und Kugelspritze
Da kommt zurueck der Koerner Fritze.1
Many were covered with oak leaves and wreaths of green
and pine boughs, which gave them the corporate appearance of
the army led by Macduff through Birnam Wood to meet
Macbeth in battle ! I noticed a boy clad in a soldier's tattered
overcoat reaching down to his feet. He, too, was covered with
leaves of laurel, pine, and oak ! probably a camp-follower, who
had been with the regiment from start to finish ; but he seemed
a man in his martial bearing as he strode along defiantly in
l " In spite of chassepot and mitrailleuse,
Lo ! Freddy Koerner back again."
37

GERMAN MEMORIES
spite of his load of green in front of the column. This
boy received quite an ovation from the crowd. As the day
went on and column succeeded column, the cavalry and
artillery quickened their pace until towards the close horses
and cannon thundered along helter-skelter.
Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.
If this was the apotheosis of victorious Germany, it was
no less the culminating-point in the career of the Emperor-
King the ruler, on whose birthday (the evening of the
22nd of March) eight years previously I had stood as a boy
before the Prussian barracks at Frankfort-on-the-Maine. Not
a soul turned to look at the cold, quivering gas illumina
tion over the portico in honour of the event, or to take the
slightest notice of the sullen-looking Prussian sentinel in his
box. King William was then still popularly known as the
" Grapeshot Prince," 1 as the autocrat who at his coronation
at Koenigsberg had declared that he held his office by
Divine grace, and who, with the complicity of a certain
Bismarck had dared to rule in opposition to the will of Parlia
ment. This man had become within the short space of five
years a hero — a War God — and he looked it, a very halo
encompassed him. But his vast popularity, strange to say,
seemed somehow to have its source not so much in the prestige
of victory as in the belated recognition of his sincerity, his
qualities of heart, without which there never was and never
will be any genuine greatness on earth. It was the father,
the patriarch, not the autocrat who stood supreme before the
whole world in success, and also in self-restraint ; for there
was a touch of spontaneous grace, of magnanimity in the man.
Small wonder that he gained the love and veneration of a
people among which these sentiments for a sovereign had
hitherto found small scope for growth or manifestation. His
1 Some years afterwards I met an elderly widow lady in Dresden society
whose husband, Freiherr von Trutzschler-Falkenstein, had been condemned to
death by court-martial in the Revolution in Baden in 1849 and was shot, after
his wife had vainly thrown herself at the feet of Prince William of Prussia
(since German Emperor) imploring his mercy.
38

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
own brother and predecessor as King of Prussia evoked such
a feeling of indifference that when he walked abroad the
Berliners had been known to turn their backs on him !
Every German capital and every republican city — Ham
burg, Bremen, and Luebeck to wit — had its own triumphal
entry. I saw the return of the Saxon troops to Dresden. The
Emperor came not : he did not wish to come, he was free from
egotism and thus he wanted others to be unfettered, to rejoice
among themselves. He knew he had done his best for all, and
shrank from being constantly reminded of it and glorified for
doing his duty. Never a boastful word of the services which
he and his ancestors had rendered to the State fell from his
lips. When the newly built palatial hotel, the Kaiserhof, was
opened and the Emperor was asked to inspect it, he was con
fronted by his own portrait in oils on the wall staring at him,
and he instinctively shrank back. " Must I always be dragged
in ? " he pleaded. The Emperor was a father to the army,
more particularly to his officers. Those of the old Prussian
noble families were nearest his heart ; he knew most of them
by name, but this did not mean favouritism for them at the
expense of those who were not noble. He appreciated each
individually according to his character and his services. If
misfortune overtook them, he helped them generously from
his private purse, although personally he retained an almost
Spartan penuriousness.
One day the German Embassy in London received a message
from Berlin that the Emperor was forwarding his old field-
glass for repairs, with instructions to send it to the same shop
at which he had purchased it when he was last in London
as a refugee in 1848, somewhere in the neighbourhood of
Cheapside. To-day the finest and most expensive field-glasses
in the world are made in Berlin. I remember seeing one of
the Emperor's sporting guns at a Berlin gunsmith's, where
it had been sent for repair. It was a plain Lefauchaux pin-
fire, long after the improved central-fire system had become
common. It was a gun at which an English gamekeeper
might have turned up his nose. The Emperor was strongly 39

GERMAN MEMORIES
averse to spending money on himself. When it was a question
of buying an expensive charger for him to ride, he said it was
a pity to spend so much money on an old man. I give the
incident in the words of the old Emperor's chief equerry, now
Major-General E. von Meyer, as he has given it to me.
" In the year 1879 I was ordered to go to England to look for
horses for the Emperor, and in case I found any suitable ones
to buy two or three for him. I soon discovered a hunter,
which appeared to possess the requisite qualities, but it was to
cost £4>00. I sent in my report and in reply was informed
that the Emperor was inclined to acquire the horse in ques
tion, but found the price dreadfully high, and further pur
chases at such a figure were not to be thought of. Unfor
tunately, the Emperor never rode this particular horse, as it
went incurably lame in the course of being broken in. His
Majesty rode on horseback for the last time in the year 1886,
when he was eighty-eight years of age. Until that date he
attended all parades and manoeuvres on horseback. If it ever
happened that his mount did not exactly parry, and if when
His Majesty alighted I endeavoured to apologise for the
contretemps, he invariably replied : ' It was not the fault of
the horse, but my own.' The Emperor's great kindness of
heart was manifest on every occasion."
The Emperor possessed to an eminent degree the three
virtues of loyalty, benevolence, and a sense of gratitude ; all
three of which, by his example, he diffused around him, thus
stamping his individuality on his time and on a people not
usually much inclined to receptivity in this respect. Those
that served him near his person treasured the memory of their
service until their dying day as an experience worth having
lived for. He could not bring himself to part with old friends
who had served him well, whether it was a field-glass, a gun,
a horse, or an old soldier ! The brute-god, Mammon, with
mocking laughter, had not yet entered upon the scene in old
William's days, nor had an indiscriminate cult of mechanical
efficiency deadened the perception in high places of that
which is spiritual, a part of the very soul of a people, that
40

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
which had enabled the Germans to face the French vic
toriously up the deadly slopes of Spicheren, although armed
with a weapon vastly inferior to the chassepot.
There was a sense of good-natured humour, of common
rejoicing, lajoie de vivre, in the air in this rare period. It
was related that when the Emperor held his Court and Marshal
Wrangel took his place among his old veterans — older by
far than the Emperor, for he was born in the year 1784,
and had fought in the battle of Leipzig as a captain — the
Emperor would poke him gently in the ribs with the spike of
his helmet. This made the old warrior smile and exclaim :
" Majestaet belieben zu scherzen " (" Your Majesty deigns to
make fun "). The Prussian officer, mocked by Heine and
more or less disliked for his supposed arrogance, seemed to
have undergone a metamorphosis. Victory had cleansed and
clothed him with a mien of modesty, simplicity, and affability,
which had hitherto been deemed foreign to his nature. Not a
word of vainglory or a trace of self-assertion remains in my
memory from the casual contact I had with many German
officers in those days. The word " patriotism " was never
heard, but it was in evidence nevertheless.
This happy frame of mind was noticeable in many places.
It was as if the suffering of the past had been wiped away in
a joyous boyish jubilation set free, which coloured everything
— song, drama, and letters. The very street songs, the
adventures of the common soldier, " Kutschke," were humorous,
good-natured banter. Pauline Lucca, one of the renowned
singers of the time, whose husband, a Prussian officer, had
been wounded in the war, made a triumphal progress through
the country with Gumbert's simple song " Mein ganzer
Reichthum ist mein Lied." The lovely Oceana, the queen
of the circus, enthralled soldiers and civilians by her grace
as a rider and her extraordinary beauty. Harmless humour,
not unmixed with sentimentality, but at least free from the
ugly idiosyncrasies of a later period, marked the popular
novelists of the time.
A feature of greater and deeper import was Bismarck's 41

GERMAN MEMORIES
stand against the pretensions of the Roman hierarchy and the
sympathy it evoked in England. Whatever may be thought
of the wisdom of the Kulturkampf as a political measure, it
certainly brought England and Germany together as rarely
before and never since. The best of both nations stood on
one platform in championship of something nobler than the
struggle for markets, the rivalry in armaments — the fight for
the freedom of the mind. More than fifty public meetings
were held in the United Kingdom, the most notable being
those at St. James's and Exeter Halls. The names of the
representative Englishmen who sympathised with Germany at
that time filled nearly eighty printed pages, and called forth
a stirring letter of thanks from the Emperor addressed to Earl
Russell, besides an address signed by the most distinguished
members of the German Reichstag, the Prussian Chamber, and
numerous public bodies throughout the German Empire.
Such is the only struggle in which England and Germany
should ever engage, and then shoulder to shoulder.
It was, perhaps, only natural that such a time should have
affected the nerves of a subsequent generation, those that had
had no direct experience of its trials, its tragedies, and its
heroisms, much less an insight into the true spiritual sources
of it all. It is on record to the glory of Germany that these
experiences did not vitiate those who had borne their brunt.
A perusal of the Emperor's correspondence with Bismarck
during the following years, in its simple human interest
and consideration for others, and an ever-present sense of
gratitude to the man who had cast so much splendour on the
House of Hohenzollen, reads like a fairy-tale from another
world, in which humour and naivete of heart were still potent
features. Now and then I came to Berlin in the following years to
see my paternal friend Dr. Ernst Engel, the eminent statisti
cian, long the head of the Prussian Statistical Bureau. He
used to tell me stories of the Emperor's sterling character, his
affability and of the keen intellectual interests of the Empress,
who loved to see deserving men of mark and high character at
42

Wffia* ffrA/e>Ar<r#f/i

l'EINCE BISMAECK

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
her little parties at Babelsberg. When, in 1882, Engel, owing
to differences with Bismarck, resigned his position, retired into
private life, and went to live at Dresden I used to see him
oftener. I asked him one day why he had not said good-bye
to the Emperor before leaving Berlin. He replied that he
had refrained from doing so because he knew in advance that
the Emperor would have said to him : " Why do you leave
me, since you see that I am still sticking to my post ? "
A showy, decorative element is abroad to-day which was
absent forty years ago. Strolling in the Unter den Linden
and taking a glance at the photographers' showcases, in
which any number of undistinguished faces in uniforms covered
with stars and crosses meet your eye, it is not easy to conjure
up the unadorned simplicity which was such a striking feature
of the years 1870-1871. The sight of the Iron Cross of the
second class carried with it in those days the inspiring
impression that its wearer had gone through one of the
greatest wars of modern times, and had possibly taken his part
in half a dozen pitched battles. The Iron Cross of the first
class, identical with that of the second in its severe simplicity
only that it was worn over the heart, was indeed an extra
ordinary distinction ! And yet even this had been won and
worn by many men in a subordinate position. The order
" Pour le merite " was only given to the Crown Prince on the
battlefield of Sadowa, and it made quite a sensation in the
Prussian army when a mere major (von Versen) was awarded
this highest of all military distinctions on the same occasion.
A trait of homely human interest still lingers in my
memory of that far-off golden time. It is typical of the
democratic spirit in which services rendered to the wounded
were rewarded after the war. A buxom, elderly woman and
her daughter kept the refreshment buffet at the small out-of-
the-way railway station of Reibnitz, in the Silesian Giant
Mountains. At whatever time of the day or night the
traveller turned up he was always sure of a cup of excellent
coffee, which the daughter prepared whilst the mother would
entertain the wayfarer, who, like myself, had often passed 43

GERMAN MEMORIES
that way and was well known to her, with tales of the war.
For she had done good work during the campaigns of 1866
and 1870 as nurse to the wounded. "Yes," she said, "I
have both the second and the first class of the coveted
Louisen Order," the latter only awarded as a rule to ladies
of high position. " I received the second class after the war
of '66, and the first class was given to me after 1870 by
the Kaiser. When he last attended a parade at Breslau I
thought I would like to pay my respects to him," and her
eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she continued, "so I donned
my decorations and took up a position where I was likely
to attract the Emperor's notice in passing, and sure enough,
when His Majesty rode past on horseback he drew rein,
stopped short in front of me with his whole staff, saluted me
three times (drei mal hat er mkr Honneurs gemacht), and
exclaimed, ' Woman ! what services must you have rendered
(geleistei) to have deserved such high distinctions.'"
I saw the old War Lord once again in Dresden on the
17th of September, 1882, on the occasion of a fete of the
Albert Verein, an international institution called into being
by Queen Carola of Saxony as part of the Red Cross Associa
tion for the succour of sick and wounded soldiers. This
brought the Emperor, already eighty-four years of age, to the
Saxon capital. I caught a glimpse of him from afar as he
stood erect in his spiked helmet in front of the rococo
Palace opposite the lake in the Grosse Garten, and was
addressed in flowing verse in her silvery voice by Fraulein
Pauline Ulrich, the charming "first heroine" of the Royal
Court Theatre, clad in a white Grecian robe with a plain
gold band in her hair. The Emperor, courteous as ever,
graciously thanked her, and, as she afterwards proudly told
me, gave her a beautiful jewel.
This period, unique in the history of Germany of a
thousand years, may be said to have come to an end with the
Emperor's death when his son, a dying man, penned the
following proclamation, which was brought to the knowledge of
the public in the Reichsanzeiger of the 9th of March, 1888 :
44

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM I
" His Majesty the Kaiser and King has issued the fol
lowing proclamation to the Staatsministerium for publication
in connection with public mourning :
"In respect of the general mourning hitherto customary
we will not formulate any definite prescription. We prefer
to leave it to every individual German how he may feel
inclined to give expression to his grief in view of the passing
of such a monarch ; as also in regard to the length of time
during which it may be deemed fit that public amusements
shall be curtailed. " (Signed) Frederick."
A note was struck here mingled with tears and funeral
bells, which has not found a repetition since. It came direct
from a stricken human heart.

45

CHAPTER IV
DRESDEN AFTER 1870
" I think Dresden is more charming and delightful than ever,
and this is saying a good deal," an English lady wrote to me
the other day, and her opinion is one to which, after a
familiarity of over fifty years with the capital of Royal Saxony,
I most willingly subscribe : true to the love of my youth,
Dresden is engraved on my heart and, unlike Caesar, I would
rather be nobody there where I have spent some of the
happiest days of my life than somebody in Rome without
any associations.
Many are the cities I have seen, but to Dresden I must give
the palm as regards those points which, I think, constitute the
attraction and charm of a city for a stranger ! The delightful
situation on the banks of the Elbe, its wooded surroundings,
leading up stream through Loschwitz, Pilnitz, to Saxon
Switzerland and the mountain fortress of Koenigstein : the
endless variety and amenities to be enjoyed within a short
railway journey, in these respects Dresden can scarcely be
surpassed in the centre of Europe except, perhaps, by the
incomparable town of Salzburg. But where are we to match
the Bruehlsche Terrasse with its Belvedere, and its excellent
concerts every evening all the year round ? The Grosse Garten,
with its beautiful ornamental grounds, its shady groves and
avenues adorned by stately marble groups, its Royal Palace of
the seventeenth century in front of the lake, all still breathe
the air of the rococo. Each of these features may perhaps be
excelled elsewhere, but nowhere have I seen such a harmonious
blending of the spirit of that particular period as in Dresden.
The opera house I have already referred to ; the Royal
46

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
Palace, the Zwinger, the Green vaults, with their priceless
collections ; Gottfried Semper's beautiful museum building,
containing the picture gallery with Raphael's Madonna — all
these are famed throughout the world.
Divine service in the Roman Catholic Hofkirche, high Mass,
with the splendidly trained choir to which, on great occasions,
the Court singers of the opera were added — this could scarcely
be matched in its impressive grandeur outside Italy. The
Frauenkirche is one of the finest Protestant churches of Europe ;
its noble architectural proportions worthily interpret the past of
a sincere and earnest people. Visible from afar — when seen
from the height of Raecknitz rising out of the hazy mist of the
Elbe valley — it reminded one of a mosque of Stamboul, as
seen from the altitude of Pera. Imperial Germany has built a
ponderous bridge over the Rhine at Cologne, but she has yet
to prove her capacity to build another Frauenkirche. To
listen to Luther's impressive chorales, sung by the congregation
to the accompaniment of the organ, or, at Easter time, to be
present when the " Passionsmusik " of Bach was rendered, as
perhaps nowhere else, even in Germany, was to receive an
impression from a world that is gone, but still speaking, to one
in which there is a tendency to flout the past, to mock and
deride the very virtues which gave it substance and value.
Even the climate of Dresden, notwithstanding its severe
winter, is not without its attractiveness. In the summer there
is bathing in the Elbe, and in the winter skating for weeks
together, to the accompaniments of military bands in the
Grosse Garten. The King and Queen occasionally join in
the sport.
Yet in spite of its many advantages Dresden has hardly ever
attracted men of intellectual eminence, and although the
picture gallery is said to be the finest in Germany distinguished
artists have seldom taken up their abode in the town. The
same may be said of men of letters and musicians. Schiller
wrote his " Don Carlos " at Loschwitz, near Dresden, but he went
to live at Jena. Theodor Koerner, who was born in Dresden,
went to Vienna. Schopenhauer lived in Dresden for four years,
47

GERMAN MEMORIES
but he ultimately chose Frankfort as his residence. Ludwig
Tieck, the translator of Shakespeare, lived in the Saxon capital
for a time, but the King of Prussia drew him to Berlin.
Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner, born Saxons, turned
their backs on Dresden. Thinkers, poets, artists and musicians
seem to require something which Dresden is unable to offer.
The Saxon dynasty had exhausted its capacity for the
patronage of great men and great ideas in its championship of
Martin Luther. But Dresden has always been a favourite
resort of foreigners. It has long boasted of a considerable
foreign colony who were glad to avail themselves of its many
facilities for the education of their children. These residents
were welcomed and felt at home at the Saxon Court, and
mingled on friendly terms with the aristocracy, which their
limited means might not have allowed them to do in their own
country. Dresden remained for some time after the war the resort of
those elements which had not become reconciled to the new
order of things. Hanoverians, Electorial Hessians, Austrians,
also a Russian colony and a sprinkling of the Polish element :
les comtes Polonais de table d'hote. So strong was still the feeling
against Prussia that it was possible to hear a man spoken of
in a Dresden salon as " aussi gentilhomme qu'un Prussien peut
TetreA'1 Unlike those who change their character with their coat,
the Saxon and the other German States clung tenaciously to
their idiosyncrasies, which in those days were looked upon as a
hindrance to national unity. To-day the individuality of the
smaller German States is welcomed in many places as a saving
mercy, a plank of salvation, as against the overwhelming
tendency to reduce everybody and everything to a uniform
mass. A naive admiration for the British Peerage as the shrine of
good breeding may have been a pardonable weakness. I recall
a Saxon nobleman treasuring an out-of-date copy of " Burke's
Peerage" like a Bible, the contents of which, too, he almost
knew by heart ; but no Saxon nobleman would have dreamt of
dressing himself up in the undignified imitation of eccentric
48

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
English fashions as many German aristocrats now do. Occa
sional marriages took place with handsome English and
American girls, but a systematic race after foreign women,
merely on account of their money, was unknown in those
times. Things may have changed for aught I know, but down to
the " Eighties " Dresden society retained much of the qualities
which made it sympathetic to the educated foreigner. The
Saxon nobleman was true to type, and in spite of the supposed
insincerity of the Saxon, that type was the gentleman — distinctly
Saxon, but with a strong affinity to the well-bred of other
countries. He retained his individuality, which was of a virile,
dignified stamp. People had not yet become obsessed by a
cult of uniforms, although that of the blue Garde-Reiter,
in which regiment the sons of the best Saxon families served,
was one of the most comely of all German military uniforms.
I knew a number of men belonging to this corps d'elite, and
with their clear-cut regular features and tall manly figures they
were certainly among the most refined and handsome apparitions
it would be possible to meet in the whole of uniformed Europe.
The Saxon officers were silent, retiring men, dowered with
a well-bred self-restraint. This did not prevent them from
performing deeds of valour ; for in the Bohemian campaign
the Saxon contingent won the admiration of friend and foe — •
the valour of the vanquished; and in the war of 1870 the
corps of the Crown Prince of Saxony shone with distinction
beside the best. Boastful loquacity, ill-natured gossip and
slander — what a German Chancellor has since designated as
"carrying a sword in your mouth" — were unknown among
them ; and had they shown themselves would inevitably have
meant social ostracism for the talker.
Together with General von Fabrice, the most striking
personality in Dresden was, I think, Dr. Walther, the King's
body physician. They were both men well over six feet in
height, the one with the aquiline features of the soldier — he
had been chief of the staff of the Saxon army in the campaign
of '"66," and subsequently became Saxon Minister of War —

GERMAN MEMORIES
the other with the true cast of feature of a clean-shaven
Aesculapius. I doubt whether, before or after, any mere physician
in Germany had occupied so prominent a position and enjoyed
such prestige in society as did this distinguished man, where he
was spoken of as " un prince de la science.'''' He was often
called away for consultation at other German courts, and patients
came specially to Dresden, particularly from Russia, to consult
him. Walther's stately residence in the Waisenhausstrasse was
a repository of the many gifts his grateful patients had bestowed
upon him. His high standing was the more remarkable as it
was due more to his personality than , to his scientific attain
ments or his position as physician to the King. He was
one of those representatives of essentially German culture
embracing literary, philosophic and scientific attainments, and
possessing a keen critical taste for art and music, together with
a suavity of manner which is pre-eminently a Saxon characteristic
among Germans, without ever, even in the presence of a king,
losing that indefinable dignity which stamps one of Nature's
aristocrats. To crown Dr. Walther's many-sidedness, he was a
great epicure, and, as such, a regular diner at the table d'hote of
the Stadt Berlin, being admittedly its most distinguished guest,
to whom the habitue's looked up in awe as supreme arbiter, not
only on culinary matters. So highly did he think of the
cuisine of that establishment, and so much did he appreciate the
fare, that he looked upon the occasions when King Johann
asked him to dinner as " lost days." I have heard him assert
that Herr Marschner's roast veal was superior to anything of
the kind to be had in Paris or London. He was the only guest
whose wishes the host would consider when drawing up the menu
for the following day : this was now and then done on the
previous evening, when the Herr Geheimrath would drop in
expressly to assist at the compilation of this all-important
gastronomical document. But even he was careful in his dealings
with his host, for they were both men of irascible temper, and
an estrangement might have necessitated a sacrifice on his part,
which he was loath to make ; namely, a severance of his connec
tion with the hotel, a possibility which will be evident in the
50

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
further course of this chapter. Things came rather near to it
on an occasion which illustrated the frugal conditions of the
pre-'70 days in Saxony. Until 1871 the price of the table
d'hote dinner, reputed to be the best in Dresden, and scarcely
inferior to anything obtainable to-day in London and Paris for
5s., had been 2s. For the regular subscribers and habitues
like Dr. Walther, however, it had only been Is., though with
the tacit understanding that a pint of wine should be consumed.
After the war the regular price was raised to 3s. and Is. 6d.
for the habitues. With true Saxon thrift Dr. Walther objected
to the surcharge, although in his other relations of life he was
an open-handed and even a generous man, but he ultimately
accepted the inevitable, as did the others. Alas ! he was not
destined to pay the increased price for long, as he died in the
same year. His death was the occasion of a great demonstra
tion ; deputations from all the hospitals of the city, as well as
a large number of military and civil notabilities of the capital,
followed the cortege. I saw as many uniforms at the funeral
as at a high military interment. When the procession passed his
favourite hotel, the witty host, who was walking with the rank
and file, said to me : " This bit of the road will be the hardest
for him, for he cannot dine with us to-day."
Another habitue of the Hotel Stadt Berlin was a Prussian
Major von Heygendorff, a name known in German literary
annals as that bestowed upon the celebrated Weimarian
actress, Caroline Jagemann, favourite of the Grand Duke Carl
August, and opponent of Goethe's theatrical hegemony.
Major von Heygendorff was her son by the Grand Duke, to
whom he was said to bear a striking resemblance, the fact
being that he was a handsome man, dignified in death as
well as in life. He died in the hotel in which he had lived
for many years. I attended his funeral at which his brother,
a Saxon general of cavalry, was chief mourner. I may men
tion as an instance of the old-world courtesies prevailing
among these people that after the burial service the General
approached all present and thanked each one individually for
his attendance. 51

GERMAN MEMORIES
Hans Hanfstaengl, the Saxon Court photographer, was
another interesting habitue of the Hotel Stadt Berlin, and a
characteristic figure of that period. Photography had not
become so universal a trade as it has since grown to be.
There were pretensions to art connected with it, and they were
justified in the case of Hans Hanfstaengl, whose relatives, the
members of the Munich firm of that name, have since become
the widely-known reproducers of the works of art of the whole
world. There was nothing of the tradesman about him, but
a great deal of dignity ; withal he was a very handsome man,
like his Munich nephews, who occasionally came to Dresden
to see him. It was said that one of his nephews was the real
cause of the ill-fated King of Bavaria breaking off his
engagement with the sister of the Empress of Austria, who
subsequently married the Due d'Alencon and with many
others perished in the terrible fire at a charity bazaar in
Paris. Uncle and nephew were among the handsomest men
I ever remember to have seen : splendid representatives of a
blond Bavarian aristocratic pattern of male purity of features,
reminding us of the giant Germanic tribes who overran Italy
and conquered Rome. The perfection of this class I once met
in Munich at a Schiitzen Fest in the person of one, Leo Dom,
a chamois hunter of the Bavarian Alps, now chief huntsman
to the Prince Regent of Bavaria. He looked like what one
would fancy a German chieftain to have been two thousand
years ago.
When clients called at the atelier of Hans Hanfstaengl, and
met him in his brown velvet blouse, airily smoking a cigarette,
it was often a question whether he or the notability who had
come to be photographed (for none but notabilities came) was
the greater personage of the two. No other photographer has
ever occupied the position of Hans Hanfstaengl, who emigrated
to Berlin shortly after the war.
Even Boniface himself, the traditional butt of the humorist,
had his hall-mark, and it was one of independence, pride, and
rectitude. Both Murat, King of Naples, and Porfirio Diaz,
then President of Mexico, were the sons of innkeepers. Herr
52

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
Marschner, of the Stadt Berlin, also had the making of
something beyond the ordinary in him. So marked was
this man's personality that his guests felt flattered by his
attentions, which were only void of a certain reserve when he
was addressing old clients of the house. As he walked into the
room at dinner-time, scrupulously attired in dress-coat and
white cravat and surveyed the scene, he had a regular scale
of bows at his command, the precise gradation of which any
courtier might have envied him. I was present one evening
when a Prussian baron, noted for his roughness, imagined that
he had a grievance and threatened to leave the house. " Do
as you please, Herr Baron," retorted Marschner, and the baron
" bolted." A peculiar etiquette regulated the dinner-table. The
guests engaged in commerce, mostly wine merchants from the
Rhine or manufacturers of jewellery from Pforzheim or Hanau,
congregated at the further end of the triangular table ; the
aristocratic abonnes at the rectangular bend ; the officers of the
Blue Garde Reiter and sundry other casual visitors, now and
then a Russian prince displaying a gold cigarette case, at the
end nearest the door. I remember, among others, a Russian
General von Osten Sacken, who had commanded a cavalry
brigade in the Crimea.
A young Russian named Apheraky, of that peculiar type
which is Russian or nothing, has also remained among my
Dresden memories of that time. As in the case of some
Englishmen with the study of philosophy or music, intel
lectual studies of an absorbing kind are apt to lead towards
eccentricity with Russians. It is as if the general level of
the Russian people is so much out of touch with intellectual
matter that higher culture becomes an exotic, and to a certain
extent an intoxicant, bringing eccentricity in its train even
among the most gifted ; as witness Tolstoi and many others.
Apheraky had begun life as a page-in-waiting to the
Emperor Alexander IL, but had withdrawn from Court life
in favour of scientific pursuits. With him it was entomology
(the study of butterflies). He told me that, after passing 53

GERMAN MEMORIES
several months in the Caucasus collecting specimens, he had
come to Dresden expressly to examine the collection of the
proprietor of the Diana-bad, a well-known collector. He
stayed opposite the opera house at the Hotel Bellevue, where
his room was crowded with butterflies in glass cases. These,
however, by no means exhausted the energetic Russian's
activities. Like many Russians he engaged in everything at
high pressure that only a powerful nervous system can stand
in the long run. He was absorbed in music, and more
particularly in the study of Wagner's operas. He subscribed
for a corner seat in the front row of the stalls near the door,
so that he could go out, smoke a cigarette, and return without
disturbing anybody. This he did almost every quarter of an
hour during the whole performance ! His Wagnerian cult led
him to take the train to Vienna expressly to hear the " Flying
Dutchman" at the opera house, returning to Dresden the
following day, and comparing and criticising the performance
in both places from that of the prima donna down to the
performance of each single player in the orchestra. But even
music did not exhaust this curious creature's energies. He
was an athlete of no ordinary proficiency. In order to
demonstrate his ability he let himself drop down on the carpet
with his legs stretched out at right angles from the body, as
clowns do at a circus, and told me, as he did it, it was so
dangerous that misjudging the angle when touching the
ground might irreparably injure the spine.
Like other Russians I have met he held himself aloof from
German society, and, accustomed as they are to a life of
lavish profusion and reckless money-spending, looked down
upon everything German which was not specifically scientific
and musical as mesqum and Philistine.
One day he asked me to lunch with him at what was
reputed to be the most expensive oyster shop in Dresden. It
was one that his countrymen patronised because of its excellent
Russian caviare and tea. When the bill — which I thought
very extravagant — was presented, he drew a capacious
portfolio from his pocket. It contained bank notes for
54

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
thousands of thalers, and, giving the waiter a thaler as a
" tip," he turned to me, saying : " What a country this is !
I assure you it is absolutely impossible to spend money here ! "
A feature of German life, which was exceptionally charac
teristic of Dresden in my time, was the so-called " Kneipenle-
ben," in which the natural social expansiveness of the German
character found a congenial outlet. Much has been said and
written of the excrescences of German beer-house life, yet
within due limits it has its healthy and stimulating aspects —
more particularly with regard to the majority of the educated
classes, whose limited means would not allow of their meeting
their friends and acquaintances in their own homes. The
peculiar thing about these resorts was that the more old-
fashioned the building, the thicker the walls, the smaller the
windows, the lower the ceilings and the less sunlight, the
more popular the restaurant and the more select the
company. Here between twelve and one o'clock, in the afternoon
between six and seven-thirty, and occasionally in the evening
after the theatre or after evening parties, officers and govern
ment officials, even very high ones, lawyers, actors, musicians,
men of letters and others would gather at their " stamm-
tisch " (a reserved table) over a glass of beer and discuss the
events of the day, sometimes even more weighty matters.
Here they found that social intercourse, that stimulus and
entertainment which English clubs are supposed to provide,
but very rarely do so, at least in London, where it is no
unusual occurrence for a man to be a member of a club for
ten, twenty, or even thirty years without getting to know a
single soul outside those who proposed and seconded his
membership. A further pleasant feature of these German
wine or beer restaurants was that everything supplied,
whether food or drink, was invariably of the best quality and
was always at very moderate price. This latter circumstance,
however, did not prevent the proprietors of the leading estab
lishments, by unremitting attention to their business, from
amassing ample fortunes. The most stimulating gatherings 55

GERMAN MEMORIES
were those at which lawyers, actors, men of learning and
letters, doctors and professors, used to meet ; but they were by
no means the only ones. I have read many works on Goethe,
among them Hermann Grimm's instructive lectures, but no
writer ever brought the supremacy of Goethe as a lyrical
poet so convincingly home to me as did some conversations I
had in the " seventies " in a little cosy corner of a Dresden
wine-shop, sometimes prolonged until the small hours of the
morning. This partiality to " stammtisch " gatherings pervaded all
classes down to that of the small artisan, and it was curious
to note the artifices employed by the rival restaurant-keepers
to attract customers. Advertisements in the local papers
would announce special dishes, special brews on tap, winding
up with the announcement of a dance on Saturday evening
and a concert on Sunday. In the summer season Sunday
excursions to Saxon Switzerland would be arranged at the
" stammtisch " and laconically announced in the newspaper
under the heading, " Look out for friends at five o'clock next
Sunday morning at the Bohemian railway station," followed
by the signature of the Gesangverein or Kegel-Club (skittle
club) from which it emanated.
Independently of the regular " stammtisch " as a place of
meeting their friends, the members of the Royal Court
Theatre and of the art colony of Dresden generally had a
club of their own at Helbig's restaurant, right opposite the
opera house overlooking the Elbe and, from its picturesque
situation, known as the Florence of the Elbe. A suite of
rooms was set apart for their special use.
There I used to meet Tichatscheck, the greatest tenor of
his time, the creator of the parts of Rienzi, Tannhauser,
and Lohengrin. He was an inveterate smoker, and at over
sixty years of age smoked from morning to night. He would
only throw his cigar away when he entered the theatre to
dress before appearing on the stage. But my most elevating
memory of the artists' club is the privilege I once enjoyed of
playing a game of chess with Emil Devrient. The entree to
56

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
the Kuenstler Club brought me into social contact with many
members of the theatrical world who were not among its
frequenters : Fraulein Pauline Ulrich, long one of the most
charming Dresden actresses — she joined the Dresden theatre
as a girl in the year 1859, and to-day, with the honorary
title of " Frau Professor," at seventy-five years of age, she is
still one of its most distinguished members ; Frau Biirde-Ney,
the creator of the part of Elsa in "Lohengrin," who had
sung in London at Covent Garden ; her husband, Herr Burde,
one of the most entertaining of causeurs ; Karl Kobertstein, the
actor, a man of considerable literary attainments, and his
beautiful wife, a direct descendant of Lessing, the poet ;
finally, the two musical directors of the Royal Opera, Karl
Krebs and Julius Rietz, both of them composers of note.
Before coming to Dresden, Rietz had been the successor of
Mendelssohn as director of the celebrated Gewandhaus concerts
at Leipzig and enjoyed a great reputation as a musician. He
was recognised as a supreme authority on Bach, Mozart and
Beethoven1, and was particularly expert as a director of
Wagner's operas. He had a sharp wit and a bitter tongue,
and was altogether looked upon as the man of most intellectual
force and culture in the Dresden theatrical world. Speaking
to me one day about Richard Wagner, he said : " Great as the
Bayreuth project may be, it is still incommensurate with the
vast possibilities of Wagner's, genius, but, alas ! the uncongenial
egotism of the man is equally marked."
Among stars that only shone as comets on the theatrical
firmament of Dresden was the great actress, Clara Ziegler,
whdse powerful impersonation of Grillparzer's " Medea " made
such an impression upon me that some years afterwards I
translated this play — -which had earned the encomium of
Byron — into English blank verse and published it in London,
though I never succeeded in my efforts to get this magnificent
work put on the English stage.
Another of my acquaintances in the Dresden art-world was
the renowned bass singer, Emil Scaria, of the Royal Court
Theatre. He was an Austrian by birth and subsequently
57

GERMAN MEMORIES
became one of Richard Wagner's most noted singers at
Bayreuth.1 He was high in favour with the Bismarck family,
whose acquaintance I think he had made at Kissingen, and I
remember the impression which this envied intimacy created
when he told us that he possessed a lead pencil which the great
statesman himself had used. His most interesting reminis
cences were, however, connected with Richard Wagner and his
entourage at Bayreuth. On one occasion Wagner had invited
a few friends consisting of the musicians and singers of his
theatre to spend the evening at his villa Wahnfried after
the performance : " We were gathered together in the music-
room when it was rumoured that the ' Master ' refused to be
present. The reason was soon whispered about : it was
because a German sovereign prince had appeared unexpectedly
among the guests. In our dilemma Frau Cosima asked me to
go upstairs and try to persuade her husband to come down. I
did as I was bid, only to find Wagner in a fit of ill-humour at
the presumption of a Duke (or a Grand Duke, I forget which)
intruding unbidden among his friends.
" 'You know I am a somewhat portly personage,' said
Scaria (he was a man of huge build) ; but 1 assure you that in
his temper Wagner used to make us all tremble and I took to
flight. As I came out of the room I met Frau Wagner, and
urged her to see what she could do with her husband. She went
in and finally prevailed upon him to come down. But here the
incident was by no means at an end, for when Wagner entered
the music-room with his wife leaning on his arm he walked
demonstratively round the room greeting everybody, until only
last of all he stopped before his Highness and made a stiff
obeisance." It is well known that Wagner was of a very freakish
disposition, and that almost to the end of his life he
retained a marvellously juvenile elasticity of body as well as
of mind. He would turn somersaults, perform various antics,
and walk on the floor on his hands to the delight of his
intimate friends. One day Herr von Huelsen, the director
i Scaria died in Dresden 1886.
58

DRESDEN AFTER 1870
of the Royal Berlin Opera House, was announced. What was
his surprise on entering the room to see the great composer
standing slantwise on his head at the corner of the grand
piano ! Another, though scarcely amiable, instance of Wagner's
eccentricity is the following : The old Emperor William cared
little for Wagner's music, but he nevertheless paid a visit to
Bayreuth out of compliment to the composer, and patiently
sat in his box through the performance. Between the acts
the Emperor's aide-de-camp, Count X, went behind the scenes
and told Wagner that His Majesty would like to speak
to him. Wagner, who, as usual on such occasions, was in a
state of great excitement and bustling about among the scene-
shifters, asked the Count to excuse him as he was busy
arranging matters for the next act. The Count, in a some
what peremptory tone replied : ' Herr Wagner, a wish of His
Majesty is a command ! ' ' What ! ' replied Wagner in a tower
ing passion, 'how dare you to command me here in my own
house ! Clear out immediately ! ' "

59

CHAPTER V
THE GLASS WORKS
As already indicated in the last chapter my visits to Germany
during the 'seventies were principally connected with business.
They comprised occasional trips to Thuringia, Bavaria,
Bohemia, and other parts ; but my main objective was the
famous glass factory of the Josephinenhutte at Schreiberhau
in the Giant Mountains (Prussian Silesia), thus named after
the wife of Count Schaffgotsch, who caused the works to
be erected in 1842. My London firm took a large proportion
of the produce of the factory ; this in conjunction with my
frequent visits afforded many opportunities for gaining an
insight into the manufactory and observing the social life of
the community, in which I freely participated. It is this
neighbourhood which forms the background of several of
Gerhardt Hauptmann's thrilling plays. If I devote a chapter
to this particular phase of my German memories it is because
the factory in question was in many ways typical of the
patriarchal condition of industry prevailing in those parts and
which is no more likely to be reproduced than the type of
monarch I have already dealt with in Chapter III.
In those days many industries were carried on in remote
country districts. Mother earth yielded the raw material, clay,
quartz, or iron, the timber of the landowner's forest supplied
the fuel for the oven, and the mountain stream the water
power to drive the mill. The Prussian Government con
tributed its share towards the development of native industry
by the construction of magnificent roads even in out-of-the-way
places and in spite of great engineering difficulties. By this
collaboration of forces it came about that wild forest districts
60

THE GLASS WORKS
were now and then, as in the United States of America,
within the lapse of a few years turned into industrious bee
hives. More particularly was this the case when exceptional
individual ability happened to crown the efforts of Government
and landowner among a population which, thanks to a century
of Prussian school teaching, stood on a high educational level.
Glass-making is a very old calling in those parts, a
fact which finds its natural explanation in the circumstance
that one of the principal ingredients of glass, arenacious quartz,
is plentifully found in the neighbourhood. It seems certain
that a glass smelting house existed in Schreiberhau as far back
as the year 1366.
After Frederick the Great's Silesian campaigns in which he
acquired the present province known as Prussian Silesia, which
had previously formed part of the domains of the house of
Habsburg, a Commission was sent into the Giant Mountains
to mark out the boundary between Prussia and Austria. Its
members were hospitably entertained in Schreiberhau by a
glass manufacturer named Preusler and stayed in the neigh
bourhood a considerable time. In return for the attention and
hospitality they received the Commissioners offered to compen
sate Herr Preusler by a large grant of land, which would have
considerably increased his own possessions. It is characteristic
of the mental range and simple character of that class of man
at the time that the prospect of having additional land to look
after frightened the old gentleman, who begged and prayed to
be excused.1 So at least runs the story in these hills.
The business of a glass manufacturer in those days was
carried on in a very primitive fashion. The raw glass was
blown at a glass smelting house, situated in the midst of a
forest, the wood of which supplied the fuel. It was taken
i A similar story of simplicity is related of Schadow, the famous sculptor.
One day the King Frederick William I V. came into his studio and admiring
his work said, " Really, Schadow, I must see that you get the Order Pour le
Merite." "Oh, pray your Majesty, do not do that to an old man. But if
you would graciously grant me a favour, I would ask your Majesty that the
order be conferred on my son."i As a matter of fact Schadow's son, who
became a distinguished painter, did get the Order many years afterwards. 61

GERMAN MEMORIES
thence in winter in sledges, or carried by men in wooden
trucks on their backs in the summer, or by carts to the
refinery where it was cut and polished by wheels driven by the
mill stream opposite. Twice a year the head of the firm
would journey by road with his samples to Leipzig fair,
where he met his customers from all parts of Germany, the
orders which he took on these occasions keeping his factory
going all the year round. These journeys were, in many
cases, the only " outings " which such men ever had, and they
made the most of them. Leipzig became for the time a pan
demonium of carousing and dissipation, as it still is at fair
time: In 1838 a remarkable young man, named Franz Pohl, came
over to Schreiberhau from Neuwelt (Bohemia) as an assistant
in the glass works, which still belonged to the Preusler family.
He had studied chemistry in Prague and at the technical
school of Berlin, and the Prussian government recognising
his abilities awarded him a stipend and sent him on a journey
to study the most celebrated glass factories of Bohemia,
Bavaria and France. He was a man of extraordinary mental
gifts as well as physical endowments, for although of short
stature he was of a very powerful build and of marvellous
athletic vigour. On broad shoulders rested a head of a most
commanding type ; the large, piercing grey eagle eyes were
those of a born ruler of men. Here was a union of physical
and mental qualities such as I have rarely met, although he
was past his prime when I first came to those parts. He was
the " Superman " fifty years before Nietzsche hit upon the
term. He married Herr Preusler's daughter and soon became
a prominent personage in the neighbourhood. His reputation
as a strong personality and a great hunter of deer spread even
to the valley. There the lord of the manor, Count Schaff-
gotsch, in his chateau at Warmbrunn heard of him, got to
know him, took a liking to him, and offered to build new
works specially for him, which he should manage indepen
dently. This offer was accepted, and virgin forest was
cleared to make room for what at least for a time became the
62

THE GLASS WORKS
foremost coloured glass works in Germany and known all over
the world.
Many a time later, when sitting at night watching the glass
furnace, he would tell me how the factory had come into
being — how from small beginnings, almost by individual
effort, all had been achieved. He told of the wild state of
affairs in those mountains in days gone by, where, in close
proximity to the Bohemia frontier, law was often set at
defiance by a wild and lawless class of poachers, and, if need
were, murderers; of his various night encounters with those
desperadoes in the depths of the forest ; of hair-breath 'scapes
from knife, pistol, and rifle ; of the truculence of the rough
working-class population, mostly from Bohemia, often intoxi
cated by raw potato spirit, the only beverage obtainable, and
from whom he was obliged to choose his workmen ; and how
he carried a cow-hide whip in his pocket, and if the workmen
failed to obey orders laid it on their backs. These stories
excited my youthful imagination when I first went from
school to stay in these mountains, and clothed the reciter
with a halo. At that time, however, all this had changed.
The Prussian Government, ever intent on encouraging
home industries, had offered a prize of five hundred thalers for
the re-discovery of the recipe for producing white glass enamel
(known to the Romans and lost with them), of which the far-
famed Portland vase is still the most beautiful example extant.
Herr Pohl solved this problem, together with many others,
and in the exultation of his triumph published the formula
and gained the prize. Had he kept it a secret this alone
would have brought him a large fortune, but those were days
in which enthusiasm for their vocation made people often over
look the more practical aspects of self-interest. The reputation
of the works grew, and King Frederick William IV. and the
Emperor Frederick (when still Crown Prince) paid them a visit
and partook of the director's hospitality.1
i I remember piloting the late Grand Duke of Hesse over the glass-house
one day when he came incognito with his son, the present Grand Duke, and
his daughter, now Empress of Russia.
63

GERMAN MEMORIES
When I came to the factory it was in the height of its
prosperity. Two well-kept inns welcomed the traveller with
excellent food and wines ; picturesque roomy cottages, in
what is known as the " Black Forest " style, with garden
attached, were dotted over hill and dale and tenanted by
the workmen, many of whom owned them as their property.
A picturesque shooting-house with an ample rifle-range was
at the service of the workmen, most of whom belonged to
a uniformed rifle guild, which held two annual meetings.
There were carefully laid-out grass plots with ground set
apart for various kinds of rare pheasants, which could be seen
disporting themselves under wire netting ; splashing fountains,
and tiny waterfalls issuing from the rocks in streamlets
which were replete with trout, as was also the mountain
stream which meandered through the village. These were
features which could not fail to strike the visitor who came
to this model village situated in the midst of forests two
thousand feet above the level of the sea.
At that time the demand for the products of the factory
from England and the United States alone often exceeded the
supply. Thus sometimes it was almost a favour for merchants
to be supplied with goods. I have known buyers from New
York come all the way only to be told that their orders could
not be accepted. The German home market, upon which
I understand the factory now mainly depends, had not risen in
those days.
But of greater interest than the dry data of commercial
prosperity were the social conditions prevailing, which, as
already indicated, were of a patriarchal nature. The relations
between workmen and work-giver were then such as are scarcely
possible to-day. In this respect the conditions of the
Josephinenhuette were even in those days exceptional, for they
were due to the genial initiative of one man.
There was a strong element of what Nietzsche calls the
"human all too human" to be found in those hills. On
certain occasions a spirit of social goodwill and appreciation
would stand forth in such a manner as I have never seen
64

THE GLASS WORKS
elsewhere under like conditions. Thus on the birthday of the
director the village school children arrived bearing flowers and
sang a chorale, followed by the recitation of a congratulatory
poem. Then came the leading officials of the factory in silk
hats, white ties, and black dress-coats — worn only at birth
days, weddings, and funerals — to express their good wishes.
They were entertained at dinner in the evening. I have
known a special dinner to be given in honour of a person
whose birthday happened to occur during his visit to the
factory. The dinner was set for the previous evening, and
its purpose was kept secret from the guest. Quite unex
pectedly, at the stroke of midnight, the strains of a hymn
were heard outside. A band stood out in the snow on a
bitterly cold January night. It consisted of the decorators
of the factory, musicians nearly all of them. They had
spontaneously assembled to testify their appreciation of the
" birthday child's " activity which had contributed to the
prosperity of the factory.
The musicians were invited to join the party over a glass
of Rhine wine, and a spirit of conviviality soon became
general. Even the musical instruments — the cornet, the
horn, the trombone, and the basses — which had been nearly
frozen under the influence of fifteen degrees of cold, and had
emitted strange discordant sounds, thawed in the congenial
surroundings and played their part vigorously into the small
hours of the morning. Then the drummer with his marrow-
stirring flat side-drum, which he had beaten " before Paris "
in a Grenadier regiment, finished the evening's entertainment
by beating the " tattoo " !
A gospel of efficiency had gone forth from one, who,
thorough and proficient in everything he undertook, tolerated
no dilettantism, and under whose supervision all had to be done
thoroughly from start to finish. In the same way as the little
barefooted boy who had tended the geese was taken into the
atelier and set to drawing for a couple of years before he was
allowed to take a hand in decorating a piece of glass, nobody
was thought fit to handle a gun who had not first learnt
e 65

GERMAN MEMORIES
to clean it with the skill of a gunmaker, or to ride a horse
without knowing how to put on harness and saddle, and,
if needed, groom the animal. The director's own son set an
example in all this. There was hardly a form of mechanical
work for which a skilled expert could not have been found in
the village of Schreiberhau ; metal casting, gun making, watch
making, photography, even violin construction. That nearly
every third person in the village was proficient on one or more
musical instruments was not peculiar to the village of
Schreiberhau ; it is generally characteristic of those parts.
The result of this schooling produced an exceptional spirit of
emulation and interest on the part of the workmen for their
work. They took a genuine pride in their labour. It con
tinually happened that samples of glass or pottery from other
countries — China, Japan, France, or England — would arrive
at the factory as models to work from or to improve upon.
I have known a whole atelier of twenty decorators kept going
for several years on a single French pattern : an order running
into some thousands of pounds. It was highly gratifying to
watch the interest taken by workmen, whether decorators, glass-
cutters, or glass-blowers, in such foreign samples, and to see
their anxiety to improve upon the work of others. There was
no eight hours' work gospel among these men. They would
toil far into the night if it was a case of securing an order
which otherwise might have been given to another manu
facturer. This spirit of emulation and pride in their labour
brought about cordial relations between the workmen and the
directing heads of the factory. Some of these were passionate
Jager (sportsmen), and as the director of the works had some
shooting in the hills and rented excellent partridge land
from the peasant proprietors of the villages in the valley
of Hirschberg, he used to invite a number of the best work
men and the leading villagers to take part in his shoots,
which were marked by true patriarchal conditions of good
fellowship. These shooting expeditions, like everything else,
were undertaken in a workmanlike spirit, and made great calls
on the physical endurance of those who took part in them.
66

THE GLASS WORKS
The start was made at five o'clock in the morning, and it took
two hours by carriage, of which a number were always at hand,
to arrive at our destination. A day's tramp in the broiling sun
over hill and valley from seven in the morning until sunset was
an experience to remember. The whole expense was borne by
the director of the factory.
On summer evenings, when work was done, we would some
times adjourn to the woods which encompass the glass works
on every side. These "green palaces of the nightingales"
stretch away many miles in the direction of Bohemia. There
we would gather round a fire ; master and men, foresters and
stray visitors. We baked potatoes in the burning embers, and
now and then some trout, caught in the mountain stream,
which rushed past within sight and hearing, would be added to
the meal, which a copious supply of beer from the neighbour
ing inn would help to wash down. There we sat conversing
and smoking until the midnight hour. When the moon was
on high, and the humour lent itself to song, as it often did
among these musical people, we would start singing Mendels
sohn's beautiful part song, Wer hat dichDu schoener Wald,
or Friedrich Silcher's even more beautiful
Zu Strassburg auf der Schanz da ging mein Trauern an ;
Das Alphorn hoert ich drueben wohl anstimmen,
Ins Vaterland musst ich hinueber schwimmen :
Das ging nicht an. '
It was hard to come back to a London office from such
nature associations ; even the luxurious lounge of a Piccadilly
club-house failed to fill the void which their memory recalled.
The director of the works had been to Paris and seen how
the atelier system in vogue there had stimulated the energies
of the individual workman, and he introduced it into the
Silesian hills with marked success for the time being. Decora
tors who showed ability were encouraged to start ateliers of
their own. They drew apprentices round them and the work
l Old German ballad of a home-sick Swiss soldier in garrison at Strasburg
who is supposed to desert through hearing the Swiss Alpine horn and is
condemned to death.
67

GERMAN MEMORIES
of each atelier bore the hall-mark of the master. Thus a high
degree of efficiency was obtained and contributed to the
prosperity of the factory. The best among the decorators
built houses of their own, the freehold being readily granted
by Count Schaffgotsch, the ground landlord. They became
prosperous and able to send their sons to the technical high
schools, some even to the University. Two distinguished pro
fessors of the University of Breslau — one of medicine, the other
of geography — were sons of a friend of mine who had begun
life as a decorator at the Josephinenhutte, had ultimately
become manager, and was able by a life of self-denial to save
enough money to provide a first-class education for his children.
I used to visit these ateliers, distributed through the village
miles in extent, where the snow lies on the ground for four
or five months of the year. I do not remember calling at
one single workman's dwelling during all the years of my
connection with those parts in which the conditions of order
and cleanliness were not as complete as they were in the
hospitable mansion of the director of the works in which I
was guest. Staying there for weeks at a time I took part in
the social life of the workmen, whether glass-blowers, decora
tors, or counting-house officials, and I still reckon those days
among the happiest of my life. There were rifle meetings in the
spring and autumn, a gymnastic society, a fire brigade, and
pedestrian tours over the mountains in the summer. Concerts
were given all the year round, since many of the working
men, as aforesaid, were proficient musicians on more than one
instrument. In the winter there were amateur theatricals,
dances, and popular lectures on scientific subjects, in all of
which the director and his family and those of other manufac
turers in the neighbourhood took part with the workmen, and
nowhere have I ever met with greater decorum and courtesy
than here. Only one instance of female drunkenness came to
my knowledge in the course of all the years that I visited
these parts, and this was a case of a poor creature, the
prettiest girl of the village, who became a divorced outcast,
habitual drunkenness furnishing a plea for divorce in Germany.
68

THE GLASS WORKS
The high standard of education among the employe's made
the best of them fit company for people in any sphere of life,
the more so as it was often joined to a rare amount of tact
and balance of character. The offensive idiosyncrasies of the
modern parvenu element in Germany, even in high circles,
were unknown in my time in those hills. A sister of a friend
of mine, a Silesian countess, married a sculptor who came of a
family of Bavarian peasants. She told me that the relations
of her sister's husband, whom she had visited in their village,
were in their way as much " aristocrats " as any of the nobility.
This testimony could well have found its application to the
best of those with whom I came into contact in these Silesian
hills. One of the most remarkable instances of cultivation of mind
combined with steadiness of character I have ever met with
in a humble sphere of life was that of a man at this glass
factory. His weekly wages never exceeded fifteen shillings,
yet such were the possibilities of a well-behaved factory hand
under the conditions then prevailing that, in common with
many of his fellow workmen, he lived in his own cottage in
the shade of a beautiful pine forest. Not very far from his
abode was another cottage on the crest of a hill with a
glorious view of the valley below and the range of mountains
beyond. It had belonged to an old packer of the factory,
who ultimately sold it to a Herr von Ende, a chamberlain
of the Emperor William I., who lived there for many years
in the summer months with his wife and family.
Not being robust enough for glass-blowing, his original
occupation, my friend had become a jack-of-all- trades. He
kept the chemicals used at the factory, and assisted the
director of the works in the cultivation of his hobbies, among
which were pheasant-rearing and artificial trout-breeding.
From 50,000 to 100,000 trout were annually hatched and
turned into the mountain stream facing his office. His
employer had given him some pheasants, among which were
so-called silver and gold pheasants, the rare Japanese variety
known as the " Lady Amherst," and from these specimens he had 69

GERMAN MEMORIES
bred a number of birds, which were to be seen disporting
themselves in a wire network (voliere) near his cottage.
When about to marry he chose the one of two sisters
whom, as he told me, he had observed to be the more
dexterous in milking the cows, although, independently of this
useful accomplishment, he might have preferred the other.
Among his household goods was a dressing-gown, which he had
bought with the money saved by going without sugar in his
coffee for a considerable time. He was a great reader, having
mastered a number of scientific subjects by subscribing for
various text-books. He had saved money, which was in the
bank, and had a plentiful supply in his pocket, for when now
and then I made an excursion in the mountains for days
together and took him with me, I noticed that he carried
several gold ducats in a leather pouch in case I should run
short of cash.
I made sleigh trips with him before bob-sleighing, as a
sport, was thought of, either in Switzerland or Germany.
We started in the evening, plodding through the snow up the
mountains until we reached one of the so-called " Baudeny or
chalets, the " Schlesischey or " Peter Baudey which were more
than four thousand feet above sea level. There we took our
supper, passed the night, and at dawn came down on our
sleighs at a neck-breaking pace ; sometimes making the distance
it had taken us nearly two hours to climb the previous evening
in from eight to ten minutes.
In the course of years we became great friends. I once
took him a Scotch shawl, as a present from England, which he
used to strap to his sleigh on our expeditions. We both
slept in the same rough shed above the stable and the smell
of the cows. He would wait until I had got into bed and
then, without saying a word, come on tiptoe to my bed
side and place his shawl over me. Among his duties were those
of getting the money every Friday from the bank to pay the
six hundred workmen at the factory, which meant a lonely drive
to the next town, nearly eighteen miles away, armed with a
revolver ; no unnecessary precaution in those wild parts.
70

THE GLASS WORKS
Such high consideration did this workman enjoy at the
hands of the director of the factory that he made him his
executor — a post he was well able to fill, since a knowledge of
law, at least in its practical aspects, was one of the many
accomplishments of this remarkable man. It would not have
been Germany if envy had not attacked one who conspicuously
enjoyed and retained the favour of his employer, who used to
sit with him on summer evenings in the garden of his villa
and discuss the events of the day over a glass of port. Thus
he was dubbed Der Herr Geheimrath (the Privy Councillor).
For many years the position of the director of the
Josephinenhiitte was one of autocratic authority, and as a
dispenser of generous hospitality he was treated with great
social consideration. He was one of the most influential men
in the county, a member of its council, and a magistrate
with authority to solemnise civil marriages. His end, alas !
was sudden and tragic. Its echoes reverberated throughout
the whole Hirschberg valley many miles away. The pro
cession that followed him to the grave was nearly a mile long.
There I saw a spectacle such as I have never seen in my native
country : the Protestant clergyman standing side by side with
the Roman Catholic priest, united in human brotherhood, as
the latter read the burial service.
A railway has since connected these parts with the outer
world. The beautiful pine-clad hills of Schreiberhau have
become a favourite resort, in summer and winter, of the
wealthy from Berlin and Breslau, who have built luxurious
villas on its bracing heights. The poet Gerhardt Hauptmann
has made his home there. Tourists throng the picturesque
hotels and private houses belonging to the workmen, who
draw a rich harvest from the visitors. Whether any of them
ever think with regret of the simplicity of bygone days I
cannot say, for twenty-five years have flown since I was there.

71

CHAPTER VI
THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
My frequent visits to the Josephinenhiitte brought me into
personal contact with the proprietor of the works, the late
Count Ludwig Schaffgotsch, one of the largest landowners of
the province ; for a big section of the Giant Mountain range
on the Prussian side belonged to him. Through the Count I
became acquainted with his landowning relatives, and through
other sources in the course of years with many families of the
Silesian aristocracy, from all of whom I have invariably received
much kindness in the form of invitations to country houses and
shooting parties.
Count Schaffgotsch himself was no sportsman, and if his
friends were inclined for sport they went out attended by one
or two of his foresters, of whom he kept over sixty. Game
keepers, in the English sense, are comparatively rare in those
parts of Germany ; the forest and forest culture being the
principal aim in view, not the preservation of game for purposes
of sport.
Scientific forest culture is scarcely one hundred and fifty years
old, and the Germans are in this, as in other branches of
economic development, more improvers than originators, since
the French were the first to cultivate forest land on a scientific
system. To-day the Forest Academy of Tharandt is the first
in the world, and forestry supplies one of the most important
features of German national economy, as nearly one-quarter
of the land is covered by forests. The German forester, or
forest guardian, is a very different type of person from the
English gamekeeper, whom we are expected to " tip " when
invited to English country-houses. The higher grades among
72

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
them have had a scientific training, an imperative necessity
where the interests they have to look after are next to agricul
ture itself in importance : the State is the largest forest owner
in Germany, and in this particular already practises State
Socialism on a stupendous scale ; for all its forests are
managed for the benefit of the country at large, and the revenue
drawn therefrom is expended in the same way as any other
source of revenue. Forest culture is at the same time a means
of rearing one of the hardiest and most useful elements of the
population. It is impossible to have lived in rural Germany
without encountering on forest pathways or country roads, or
at village inns, those fair-haired, spick-and-span, grey-uniformed
apparitions, with a gun slung across their shoulder and a dog
following at their heels, who form the representative type of
forester. There must be several hundred thousand fully trained
foresters in the German Empire, and they form the main
contingent of the sharp-shooters of the German army, accus
tomed as they are, like no others, to the use of the rifle all their
life. But even in peace they are still at war : a scientific war,
carried on unremittingly against the natural enemies of those
they are called to look after, and whom they cherish as only a
German lover of nature can cherish — his trees ! Between the
years 1772—87 three million pine-trees were destroyed by
the Borkenkdfer (Scolytida?) in the Hartz Mountains alone, and
in the years 1857—62 the same insects ravaged 170,000 acres
of forest land in East Prussia. Here it is that the German
forester with his scientific training has worked wonders in the
cause of economic progress. So thorough has been his activity
that the observant stranger in his wanderings on the mountain
side meets his handiwork everywhere. Not until you reach
those high regions in which trees can no longer be cultivated
is there a spot to be seen in which his handiwork is not
visible in the rows of saplings in different stages of growth.
Everywhere the word Schonung (" Care for the young
plantation ") is inscribed on boards, even in the most out-of-
the-way places. Nowhere have I ever seen a fence, much less
those hateful notices declaring that " Trespassers will be
73

GERMAN MEMORIES
prosecuted," since the land is free to everybody to roam over,
even though stocked with game ; nobody, unless a poacher, is
expected to disturb it.
So universally is this cultivation of forest land carried out
that I can safely say I have often seen more waste land when
looking out of a railway carriage window in one London
suburb than in all my roamings through the Giant Mountains
of Prussian Silesia in twenty years. Bearing this beneficent
activity of the forester class in mind, it is only natural to find
that they are a highly respected class of the community.
Bismarck was fond of associating with his foresters, and I have
met them as guests at his dinner-table. Here the great
German landowners, by seconding the efforts of the State to
preserve the beautiful forests they possess, have done yeoman's
service in the best interests of their country.
It was deemed a great privilege to be allowed to shoot a
stag, and above all a capercailzie, on the Schaffgotsch estate.
Dukes and princes would come from afar, in the spring for the
capercailzie, and in the autumn for the rutting red deer, with
a special permit to be allowed to shoot one deer or one
capercailzie, as the case might be ; but usually only one.
Some of these sportsmen came rigged out in the fancy costume
of a Salontyroler (a drawing-room Tyrolese), after a well-
known picture by Defregger; they excited our mirth at the
works, accustomed as most of us were to game-shooting and
inured to the hardships connected with it in those mountains.
This class of sportsman was also disliked because of his habit
of shooting everything that came before his gun, whether
antlered stag or female deer. He was accordingly dubbed an
Aasjdger, or carrion hunter.
One day Count Schaffgotsch said to me : " How is it that you
never go out deer-stalking when you are here ? " " Well, Herr
Graf," I replied, " I should have to apply for your permission
each time, and I do not like to trouble you." " I quite under
stand," he rejoined, " and I should feel exactly the same were
I in your place ; but in order that you may have no more
scruples on this score, I herewith give you permission once and
74

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
for all to shoot over my land when and wherever you please."
And he held out his hand to me in German fashion to clasp it
and so complete the compact. As it happened, I was never
able to avail myself of his kindness, for circumstances shortly
after put an end to my visits in those parts, and the Count
died a few years later. But I have anticipated.
These associations brought me into touch with two distinct
social strata, the one an aristocratic caste, the other a new
social stratum with all its possibilities and ambitions. The
Lcmdjunker looked askance at the manufacturer as a trader
who " sells " something, whereas the Landjunker is himself little
more than a trader, and as such one of a rather primitive
order. The landowner deals in cereals and live stock, pigs and
geese, and, least beneficial of all, in a deleterious form of
alcohol. Even when a sportsman he is often still a trader, for
with the keen sense for economy which characterises his class,
as a rule he sells the game that is shot, and sells it cheaply.
I have known hundreds of partridges sold at 6d. apiece, and
hundreds of hares carted off in the next goods train for the
Berlin market.
Another point where the landowner does not show to
advantage in comparison with the prosperous manufacturer is
the lower rate of wages he pays to his labourers, rarely rising
above furnishing the bare means of existence. A high-class
manufactory, on the other hand, produces new and valuable
commodities, employs a number of highly intelligent hands,
increases thereby the wealth of the community, and in so doing
may bring prosperity to a whole district. This comparison
does not hold good in the exceptional cases of great territorial
magnates, such as Prince Henckel of Donnersmarck, who
occupy a position of great social power and often derive a large
portion of their income from industrial enterprise. Prince
Henckel von Donnersmarck is an ironmaster and a mine-
owner. Count Schaffgotsch was said to draw more revenue
from his glass factory and the rise of value on his property
which was indirectly due to the factory than from all his
territorial domains, the upkeep of which, with his large staff 75

GERMAN MEMORIES
of foresters and other officials, nearly swallowed up the gross
income of his estates. The social consideration which the
landed gentry enjoy is, as far as my experience goes, not, as in
England, a voluntary tribute of respect and veneration for the
" classes," and is certainly scarcely justified on the score of
superior culture of heart, mind, or morals, for which the out
ward polish due to the connection with the Court and the
army is not an adequate substitute. Thus the present
tendency of the rich-grown German industrials to think little
of their own status and to try to obtain patents of nobility
and force themselves into the society of the nobility can only
be described as one of the many pernicious forms of reaction
rampant of late, which also tend to weaken the middle
classes in their fight with Collective Socialism. This was not
so in my time, when the elite of the German middle classes
were staunchly Liberal and far more conscious of the dignity
of their position than they seem to be to-day. They possessed
a pride of their own, a consciousness of their own value, and
had no desire to mix socially with the nobility. A hundred
years ago a club existed in Weimar to which members of
the nobility were not even eligible.
The landed aristocracy as I knew them were a hard-living
race, brought up under conditions in harmony with the severity
of the climate. Trained for the army, the administrative
career, or farming their own estates, the wealthiest among
them were small autocrats, and as such were cut off from the
life of the people, with whom they hardly came into contact,
and by whom — in marked contrast to the English nobility —
they were, with few exceptions, regarded without much
sympathy. They were also out of touch with the intellectual
currents of their time, and decidedly inferior in intellectual
tastes and accomplishments to the educated classes of such
cities as Breslau, &c.
They lived all the year round on their estates, with
occasional journeys to Berlin or Breslau in the winter.
Otherwise their life was a somewhat monotonous one, exchang
ing visits among their own class, varied by game-shooting,
76

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
card-playing, and, on special occasions, by abundant feasting.
The pride of birth which has since given way before the
alluring attraction of money, particularly in the large towns,
was in my time very prominent in this class. The daughter of
a noble family would not have dreamt of marrying out of her
sphere. For all that, the ladies scrupulously attended to the
household duties together with the humblest of their menials,
and would think nothing of getting up at four o'clock to
prepare breakfast for their father's guests before they went
shooting ; but they would have hesitated to accept such men,
even if wealthy, as life partners unless, like themselves, they
belonged to the nobility.
There was something barbaric, almost Russian, about these
people, without the prodigality which marks the wealthy
Russian noble. They were argumentative, truculent, and
quarrelsome, with the code of honour of the army paramount
among them, and ready to put it into practice at the slightest
provocation. I have known a Count challenge his own
father-in-law to a duel because, at a game of billiards, the
latter hesitated to accept his statement that he had made a
cannon. You could never be sure that a game of cards in
such company might not on the least pretext lead to differ
ences and a challenge to mortal combat. The " eternal
feminine," with a large element of intrigue, was also a fertile
source of " difficulties " and family scandals. A friend of mine
was obliged to fight a duel with an officer who ran away with
his daughter. Some of these occurrences brought tragedy to
whole families. The following case, however, in its results at
least, stands out in my memory as one with a comparatively
happy ending.
Baron von Falkenhausen, of the Breslau Cuirassiers, a friend
of the Schaffgotsch family, related to me an experience of his
own which illustrates the possibilities of social life in Germany
thirty years ago, and perhaps to-day. Taking the waters
at Aachen, he was sitting one afternoon in front of the
Kursaal, talking to some ladies, when a well-dressed man,
approaching the group, turned to him and said he thought it
77

GERMAN MEMORIES
very bad manners on his part to smoke in the company of
ladies. Baron von Falkenhausen was taken somewhat aback by
the unprovoked remark of a perfect stranger, but quickly
recovering himself, he presented his card to the aggressor and
received the other's in return. Baron von Falkenhausen
immediately sent him a challenge, and received the curious
reply that his opponent was " too busy with previous engage
ments " to give his attention to him at present ; he hoped,
however, to arrange matters between them as soon as he was
at liberty. After the lapse of several days the Baron again
sent his seconds with a message that he was about to leave
Aachen, and must insist on his challenge being accepted
or refused. An answer came that the stranger was still
prevented from attending to his request ; but if Herr von
Falkenhausen would kindly leave his address, he would hear
from him in due course. Baron von Falkenhausen returned
to Breslau, and, as some time had elapsed, thought the matter
had ended. Upon this he rather congratulated himself, as he
had heard in the meantime that his aggressor, hailing from
the neighbourhood of Koenigsberg, was a notorious gambler
and duellist, and that he was altogether a kind of man to
whom a gentleman might rightly decline to " give satisfac
tion." One fine day, however, the stranger appeared at
Breslau, ready for the fray ! Herr von Falkenhausen's first
impulse was to decline to have anything to do with him, but
this proved to be impracticable, as the Koenigsberg man had
provided himself with a friend of unblemished character, who
fulfilled the conditions required by the queer code of honour
prevailing in those parts, where the respectability of a
duellist was called in question, and who stood bail for his
character. The duel accordingly took place, and Herr von
Falkenhausen shot his adversary dead, more by a " fluke," as
he himself told me, than anything else. It turned out that
the cause of the delay in giving satisfaction was a previous
wrangle with a Russian which was still pending, and which the
latter settled by causing his servants to give his antagonist a
sound thrashing. Herr von Falkenhausen told me that he
78

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
subsequently received a letter from this man's wife, or mistress,
thanking him for having rid her and the world at large of such
a monster !
It would, however, be a mistake to think that the military
element is always the aggressive one, or that the officer always
comes off best. There are cases in which officers are the
victims of unprovoked insult on the part of civilians labouring
under the influence of festive conditions. Notably is this so
with doctors and lawyers who have been corps students, and are
ready to " give satisfaction " on the slightest provocation. I
have known an instance in which an officer, the father of a
family, was obliged to fight a student, and had no other
alternative but in self-defence to shoot his opponent. One of
the most remarkable cases on record, in which a civilian was
the challenger and also the victor over a military antagonist,
occurred many years ago in a German garrison town. The
story was related to me long afterwards by the survivor.
When a young man he was courting the lady whom he
afterwards married when, at a ball at the Casino, he got into
an altercation with an officer whom he may have deemed too
attentive to her. The officer was reputed to be the best shot
of the garrison, while his opponent had never held a pistol
in his hand ; in fact, in the few hours which elapsed between
the fracas and the duel the rumour spread that the civilian
had backed out of it. Hearing this, he caused a notice to be
posted in the hall of the Casino stating that not only did he
intend to " give satisfaction " to his opponent, but was also
ready to fight any one else who presumed to doubt his
courage. When the encounter took place the officer fired first,
and hit his antagonist in the groin. In falling the latter
discharged his pistol, and, as fate would have it, mortally
wounded the officer. This duel caused great popular
excitement at the time, and nearly led to a riot between the
military and the civilians in the town.
There is a considerable section of the Silesian nobility
which takes life more seriously than the sporting and
duelling fraternity, and is consequently more in touch 79

GERMAN MEMORIES
with the spirit of the age. It is not without interest to note
that whereas these families are mainly Protestants, the majority
of those I have hitherto referred to are Roman Catholics.
They are mostly the least wealthy of their class, and farm
their own estates on scientific principles, in which occupation
they develop a high degree of efficiency. The head of the
family is usually assisted by a so-called inspector, who has
studied agricultural science at one of the many technical high
schools, and has thus had the benefit of an excellent all-round
education. He takes his meals with the family, and, though
often of humble birth, in many cases becomes the trusted friend
and adviser of the family. I have met several such inspectors
when on shooting excursions, and it was a revelation to me to
note the wide cosmopolitan extent of their scientific knowledge
as applied to the farming of land and the raising of stock.
Landowners of this class have often had a legal training
which fits them for an administrative career ; they also take
a keen interest in politics. Some of these families have pro
duced eminent men in the parliamentary and administrative
annals of Prussia. A prominent instance of such a family
is that of the Counts Bethusy-Huc, one of whom was a dis
tinguished parliamentarian in Bismarck's time. The Bethusy-
Hucs are one of those rather numerous families distributed
throughout Prussia whose names proclaim their French
ancestry. Many of them still carry traces of their origin in
their Romanic cast of features, which mark them off distinctly
from the half- Teuton, half-Slavonic type of the Prussian
nobility, of which the Bismarck family is one of the most
striking instances which occur to me. The Bethusy-Hucs
originally came from Languedoc, and Count Eugene Bethusy-
Huc might well be mistaken for a swarthy Frenchman. His
wife, Countess Valesca Bethusy-Huc, whose literary pseudonym is
" Moritz von Reichenbach," is well known throughout Germany
as the authoress of numerous tales of fashionable and rural
life. She was connected by marriage with the family of Herr
von Moser, and this is how our acquaintance and subsequent
friendship came about, which, I am glad to say, has lasted
80

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
uninterruptedly down to the present day. I have repeatedly
been their guest at their country-seat at Deschowitz, not far
from Myslowitz, the so-called Drei-Kaiserecke, where the
dominions of the German, the Austrian, and Russian Empires
meet. It may not be generally known what an exposed point
of the German Empire this part of the world forms. The
German frontier as against Russia is for many miles for
all practical purposes absolutely defenceless. What would
our periodical alarmists say if we were exposed to a similar
state of things ?
When I was there first, in 1887, almost as many Russian
cavalry were said to have been concentrated in neighbouring
Poland as is possessed by Germany and Austria together.
The relations between Russia and Germany had been strained,
and the possibilities of Russian invasion were such that the
money-safes of the great Silesian ironmasters were kept in readi
ness to be lifted on to the railway trucks and taken inland at
the first rumour of danger. For in military circles it was held
to be inevitable in the event of a Russian attack to have to
retire on Breslau and let the Russians lay the intervening
country waste ; and during the " eighties " there were moments
in which such an eventuality had to be taken into serious
consideration. During my stay at Deschowitz, Countess Bethusy-Huc sug
gested that I should avail myself of the opportunity of being
in such close proximity to Russian Poland to have a " look
at the other side," and see Asiatic conditions in Europe. The
Countess was on friendly terms with Herr von Hamilton, the
Prussian frontier Commissioner (Grenz-Commissar) at Beuthen,
and it was arranged that I should take a day's trip in his
company over the frontier. The Prussian Government main
tains a number of these semi-diplomatic and secret-service
officials, stationed at intervals right along the Russo-Prussian
boundary, who are selected from retired officers of the rank of
captain or major and must be conversant with the Russian
language. Their duties are to keep in touch with the
Russian authorities, to report to the Government on general
f 81

GERMAN MEMORIES
happenings, and in case of difficulties to smooth matters over
by personal negotiations ; for queer things take place in those
parts. Smuggling and spying are carried on very extensively,
and the temper of the Russians occasionally leads to such
arbitrary proceedings as promiscuous firing across the frontier
at suspected persons, and imprisoning German subjects without
trial, regardless of their status : details of these occurrences are
rarely allowed to leak out in the German Press. The Prussian
authorities invariably show a great deal of goodwill, even of
forbearance, in their dealings with the truculent Russians,
who, I was told, rarely respond in a kindred spirit. It will
thus be readily understood that men of tact and experience,
in addition to a robust constitution, are needed for so difficult
a post. One of the indispensable qualifications required
is a capacity for imbibing any quantity of alcoholic liquid,
some of the frontier " difficulties " being adjusted over copious
libations. Now and then the officers of the respective frontier
regiments exchange friendly visits, when drinking bouts are
indulged in, and it becomes a question which side can hold
out longest in the struggle regarding which Cassio laments :
" O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to
steal away their brains ! " According to my informant, the
Russians are usually victorious in these encounters, leaving the
weaker competitors prostrate on the field.
I arrived in Beuthen 1 early in the morning, called on Herr
von Hamilton, and, after obtaining a passport through his
intervention, we started on our journey — three of us — in a
tumbledown conveyance. The Polish frontier is less than
three English miles from Beuthen, and we had not driven far
beyond it when we sighted a Cossack on horseback at the top
of a hill. There was something thrilling in this meeting with
the first representative of Russian authority in Europe. The
thought that these same mounted horsemen are spread over
1 Owing to the growth in the coal and iron industries, there has been a great
increase in the population in Upper Silesia. Thus Beuthen, which only had
2000 inhabitants in 1820, has now 50,000.

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
one-eighth of the inhabited globe, uninterruptedly in evidence
right across Asia to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans and up to
the walls of China, appealed to the imagination. In com
parison with the condition of things in Prussia, even in its
most eastern parts, the roads and villages, and the dress of
the inhabitants, presented a marked contrast to the eye as
relics of a barbaric age.
On our arrival at the old town of Bendzin, once a famous
Polish city, a man in the street came towards us and, as we
alighted, fell into the arms of Herr von Hamilton, with whom
he exchanged the usual effusive Russian osculatory greetings.
He was the secretary of the nazelnik, or governor, of the
town, and told us, among other things, that he had just sent
his family for a holiday to Italy. It is characteristic of
Russian conditions that, whereas the official " salary " of this
man was about £50 a year, his "income" was said to be
£1500 ! The governor, a typical Russian superior official,
wearing a white military uniform with a gold-braided collar,
received us with cordiality. Vodka and cognac were handed
round, followed by champagne, and geniality prevailed. The
governor spoke French, and complained that he was sadly
overworked : his latest " onerous " task had been to take his
children to school ! Of this magnate I was told that his
official salary was about £600, whereas his real " income "
was estimated at between £3000 and £4000 a year !
Towards evening we set out on our way back via Sosnowice.
The official in charge at the frontier station was a Russian
officer in the prime of life ; fair, and of a handsome type. I
was told that he had belonged to one of the Petersburg Guard
regiments, had got into debt, and had been relegated to this
station in order to improve his finances. Such were the
possibilities of bribery and corruption in those parts. Every
transaction in which the authorities have a hand — from the
obtaining of the passport — has to be carried through by the
aid of " tips." Whilst we were there several well-to-do
looking gentlemen came in, who apparently had some business
to transact, although it must have been long past official
83

GERMAN MEMORIES
hours. From their deferential, almost abject, attitude it was
easy to gauge the subservience of the civilian towards the
bureaucratic autocracy.
It was getting late when we re-started, and night had
drawn in when we reached the boundary-line. This was
formed by a rivulet, the bridge over which was barred and
chained, a Russian sentinel standing on guard. Herr von
Hamilton proceeded to the guardhouse, and it was some time
before he obtained a pass. Only then was the chain with
drawn, and we were allowed to cross over into Prussia, when an
insistent longing to get back to civilisation gave way to a
feeling of relief — even of delight.
Upper Silesia is a great centre of Roman Catholicism, and
Bismarck's Kulturkampf (in 1873-80) furnished a striking
illustration of the truth of how little the soul of a people is
really concerned in the affairs of everyday public life, or even
known to some of its political leaders. This was abundantly
shown by the unexpected outburst of religious fervour
brought about by this measure in the different Roman
Catholic parts of Prussia, a religious revival which has lasted
undiminished down to the present day, and nowhere more than
in Roman Catholic Silesia, where the population is largely
Polish. When I came to those parts the Kulturkampf was over,
although it was only in 1891, after Bismarck's dismissal, that
the triumph of the Catholic hierarchy became complete by
the handing over of the sum of sixteen million marks of
confiscated money — the so-called Sperrgelder—hy the Prussian
Government to the Catholic clergy (Prussian Law of
June 24, 1891). The great statesman who had conquered
Austria and France in the course of five years was powerless
here in the world of religious sentiment. Whilst the
struggle lasted its effects were of a cataclysmic character.
All the monasteries were closed except those devoted to nursing
the sick. The peasant population refused to attend the
churches in which priests appointed by the Prussian Govern
ment said Mass, and the people clung to their persecuted
84

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
clergy rather than to the Sovereign of their country.
Many noble families were split up in antagonism for and
against the Government.
I remember meeting a Count S., of whom I was told that
he had openly expressed himself to the effect that if the Pope
called upon him he would march even against his own Sove
reign, the King of Prussia. " In that case," somebody present
is reported to have replied, " I hope that an honest Uhlan
will run his lance through your body." The Count had been
an officer in a regiment of Uhlans.
Not very far from Deschowitz, on a hill twelve hundred and
fifty feet above the level of the sea, is the far-famed shrine of
Annaberg, to which we now and then drove in the afternoon,
and where I was witness of the domination of the Catholic
priesthood as it still exists in those parts. It is a great centre
of pilgrimages — like Lourdes and La Salette in France — and
at certain times of the year is visited by as many as fifty
thousand pilgrims, who come from afar, camp out in the open
on the hill, and remain there for several days. It was a
curious sight to watch the pilgrims of both sexes and all ages,
tramping along the high road, with banners and streamers
flying, alternately chanting, singing, praying, and conversing
among themselves. Many had the peculiar ecstatic expression
which distinguishes religious enthusiasts of every creed
cripples, beggars, and children thronged the country roads.
I possess a photograph of one of these curious crowds
as they came rushing down a hill in a compact mass
like an avalanche towards us. It might have been the
time of the Crusades for all the difference there seemed —
according to all appearance — between the religious fervour we
read of in the twelfth century and that of this chanting mass
of humanity. They were led by, and apparently completely
under the control of, a young, clean-shaven, bare-headed monk,
in a brown cowl, with a white rope girdle fastened round his
waist. He was a very fine specimen of his calling, with a
happy, healthy, fearless smile, showing faultless white teeth ;
altogether a man such as Luther might have been before he
85

GERMAN MEMORIES
went to Rome to be disgusted by the depraved life of the
priesthood in the Eternal City. We got into conversation
with him, and he told us with quiet pride that he had begun
his career as a thurifer in a village church ; but I could see
by his whole bearing that, however humble his beginnings, he
was fully conscious of the position of spiritual power to which he
had risen.
We climbed the hill and entered the church in which was
the shrine. Priests were busy at work confessing the pilgrims,
who so covered the stone floor of the chapel that it was
impossible for us to pass without picking our way between
their prostrate bodies.
Part of the crowd were gathered round a little desk in a
cross passage, where sat a priest taking the pilgrims' money as
fast as they could hand it in for Masses to be said on their
behalf. From the chapel we passed on to the monastery close by
belonging to the austere order of St. Francis, with the
Superior of which Countess Bethusy-Huc, as a local notability,
was acquainted, although she herself and her family are Pro
testants. An amiable Brother, over eighty years of age,
conducted us through the long cloisters, on the walls
of which the significant word " Silence " was written. He
took us into his carpetless little cell, on the walls of
which hung some coloured prints of saints ; there stood also
his bed, which he always made himself. He had slept in it,
as he told us, on that very spot for the last fifty years, and
would do so until he should be carried out to his last resting-
place. He then led us into the garden of the monastery,
which was surrounded by walls, and took evident pleasure
in pointing out the beautiful view into the valley and beyond.
As we passed we caught a glimpse of a handsome young monk,
walking hurriedly backwards and forwards in the garden, with
his arms crossed under his cowl, taking his prescribed daily
exercise. His head was bent low, as if anxious to avoid
meeting a human glance, or seeing the picturesque villages in
the distant outer world, with their warm-coloured life, the
86

THE SILESIAN NOBILITY
attractions of which he had perhaps not wholly succeeded in
rooting from his heart. There was a silent struggle here ;
suffering, if anywhere in the world.
When we took our leave of the Superior he responded with
" God be with you " in a kind voice.
On our way back Countess Bethusy-Huc told me of the great
influence which the Catholic priesthood had in these parts.
A school friend of hers had entered a convent in the neigh
bourhood, and she had recently paid her a visit. On express
ing her surprise at the change in her friend, the nun had
replied : " Yes, I am no longer your old friend Mizi : I am
only Sister Barbara now. It was a struggle at first to give
up the world, but now it is all over — peace, quiet, and happi
ness. I know you think it all fancy and superstition, but
what you take to be superstitions are only symbols to us.
The reality is the trumpet-call of duty, which silences every
earthly passion and brings peace withal in its train. If you
could only feel as I do you would understand me, and smile as
I do now at those things which we both used to think of such
paramount importance : our ridiculous social prejudices, our
innate selfishness."

87

CHAPTER VII
GUSTAV VON MOSER
One evening in 1879 I was sitting in the dining-room of
the Hotel Stadt Berlin at Dresden when a tall, aristocratic-
looking man, somewhere about fifty years of age, of singularly
erect and dignified bearing, came into the room and took a
seat not far from where I was sitting at the long dining-table.
It struck me that he might well be one of those Prussian
country gentlemen, many of whom frequented the hotel, who,
having been in the army in younger days, had taken over
their family estates and farmed their own land : a stern-
featured, hard-living race of men, who for generations had
contributed some of the best blood to the Prussian army.
Not many minutes passed when Herr Marschner, the genial
host, came in, and, turning to me, said : " Why, that gentleman
is Herr von Moser, an old friend of your father's."
I had heard my father speak of the popular playwright and
gay man of the world, and was delighted to meet so distin
guished and interesting a personage, who, moreover, exactly
tallied with the first impression he had made on me. For,
after having been in his youth a page in ordinary to Prince
William of Prussia, afterwards German Emperor, Herr von
Moser had served in the army for a lengthened period, and
had finally settled down as a country gentleman on his estate
of Holzkirch, near Lauban, which he had acquired by his
marriage, of late years adding considerably to his income by
the writing of plays, many of which still belong to the staple
repertory of the German stage. It was to clear off a debt of
ten thousand pounds, which he had contracted by leading rather
too generously the life of a country gentleman, as he after-
88

Vtff&2^7

BAEON GUSTAV VON MOSEE

GUSTAV VON MOSER
wards told me, that he began playwriting. He gave up his
country establishment, took a modest villa in the town of
Lauban, set to work, and succeeded in paying off his
indebtedness. Herr von Moser had come to Dresden to attend the
premiere of his new comedy, Der Biblioihekar, since known all
over the world, wherever the English tongue is spoken, as " The
Private Secretary." He asked me whether it was a play
which would " take " in England, and I replied that it might
possibly succeed. He suggested that I should translate it
into English, try to " place " it in England, and share the
proceeds. I agreed to this, and began the work at once.
On my return to London I offered it to Sir Charles
Wyndham, but he replied that he had seen the piece
in German, and did not think it would appeal to an English
audience — an error of judgment which, many years afterwards,
he admitted to me that he had good cause to regret. Ultimately
I gave the piece to Mr. Charles Hawtrey, who, as all the
world knows, made an unprecedented success of it. The
strange, if not unique, feature of the play is that, although
Herr von Moser had never been in England, the characters
of the curate and the tailor, with scarcely any adaptation, are
humorous skits on these types of English life. " The Private
Secretary " is said to have brought those who were interested in
its production close upon £100,000. Unfortunately for
Herr von Moser, the author's rights, through defective in
ternational copyright law at that time, had fallen into
abeyance, and he received only a nominal consideration.1
But I have anticipated. My first meeting with Gustav von
Moser was the precursor of many others ; for his Silesian
home lay directly on my way to the Silesian glassworks,
and on our first parting he expressed a wish that I might
never come to that part of the world without stopping at his
door. It thus came about that for close upon ten years
i I subsequently gave Mr. Hawtrey another play of Herr von Moser's, written
in collaboration with Dr. Girndt, Mil Vergniigen, which was performed in
London under the title of The Pickpocket about two hundred times.
89

GERMAN MEMORIES
hardly a year passed that I was not his guest in the shooting
season, or that we did not meet either in Dresden, Berlin,
Goerlitz, or at some small watering-place ; notably at
Warmbrunn, where in the summer a touring company of actors
would give a preliminary performance of his latest play before
it was submitted in the autumn to the more critical audiences
of Berlin or Dresden. It thus happened that I was often
present at the birth of the children of his muse, some of which
were the product of collaboration with other playwrights,
especially Franz von Schonthan, part author of Moser's greatest
financial success, Krieg im Frieden, which brought them
the then almost record sum of 200,000 marks (£10,000).
Every September Moser came to Berlin to attend the first
performance of his newest play, upon the financial results of
which depended his supply of petite monnaie for the year ; as
its pecuniary value was largely decided by the reception the
public gave to the premiere at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadtische
Theater. I was present on several such occasions. Greater
and greater was Moser's suppressed excitement as the play
progressed. I have seen the perspiration pour down his face
during the performance as we sat in the stage box ; and well
it might, since upon the favourable reception by the public,
and by the great critics, Paul Lindau and Oscar Blumenthal
(both successful playwrights), depended the fate of the play,
and he was never quite sure of their verdict. How
ever, they were usually inclined to act generously towards
their distinguished confrere, with whom, after the performance,
they would spend the evening at " Borchardt's " over a game
at skat. Only once do I remember Moser looking on perfectly
unconcerned during the whole performance, and that was
when, just before the play began, he had sold it outright to
the theatrical agent, Felix Bloch, for 40,000 marks. On
this occasion it was not Moser, but Bloch, who was bathed
in perspiration !
Those were gay times for everybody who was privileged to
enjoy Herr von Moser's society, for a more charming man,
one more free from conceit, and a more mentally stimulating
90

GUSTAV VON MOSER
companion I have never met. To such an extent was this the
case that, although I was very fond of partridge-shooting, on
more than one occasion I gave up my gun to one of the
beaters and looked after Moser's pointer, so as to have the
pleasure of walking by his side. Never have I known a more
observant student of character, nor a man more thoroughly
endowed with a natural gift of good-natured humour, based
upon a well-balanced joyous serenity of mind ; this founded
upon an almost indestructible nervous system. Besides his
inborn love of the theatre and his known admiration for the
fair sex, he possessed a reserve fund of interest for almost
every variety of intellectual endeavour. His was a generous
nature. He was entirely devoid of that envious, carping,
critical element which is the bane of intellectual Germany, and
which finds a gratification in depreciating and minimising
others, and took a keen pleasure in recognising and encourag
ing the efforts of all. Thus it would suffice that any
body should say something to him in the course of conversa
tion which suggested a novel dramatic situation for Moser to
offer to enter into collaboration and share the profits with a
penniless author. It is partly due to his encouragement that
I took up writing as a profession.
Although Moser had passed the impressionable younger
years of his life in Court and military circles, I do not
remember that he ever mentioned the former in all the years
of our intimacy. His interests were given to things which
allowed a scope for his fanciful imagination, his constructive
ability, which was allied to an almost childlike naivete of
heart. He told me his father had been an expert in
architecture, and from this he deduced his own facility for
sketching plans and plots of plays ; for he would evolve and
discuss the whole scenario of a new play in the course of an
afternoon walk. His mother was a Fraulein von Moellendorff,
of the well-known Prussian military family of that name.
He would come to see me at the glassworks, enter into all
the details of the process of manufacture, and make original,
and sometimes most fanciful, suggestions in connection with 91

GERMAN MEMORIES
the production of glass. Once we met some American buyers
at the works, which led to the remark that there was
something in the gaze of the average American which be
tokened a closer proximity of the eyes to the brain and a
more intense nervous activity than among Europeans.
Anything coarse and vulgar instinctively repelled Moser.
The arrogance, the prejudices, and the undue pride of birth of
his own caste excited his derision. He could see no satisfac
tion in a life of ease or ostentation. He envied me my
business interests, which he would call a stimulating, satisfying
vocation. It brought me in touch with the working world,
helping to produce values,1 and afforded many opportunities for
studying character and enlarging the mind ; whereas an official
career is a humdrum, narrowing affair, unlikely to remove
prejudices or broaden the mind. As for the career of arms,
with rare exceptions it is one of splendid misery, culminating
in an impecunious old age. Moser was almost Goethean in his
appreciation of things according to their value for the world
at large ; the practical, the productive, the intellectual, as
opposed to the ornamental, the showy side of life. Even a
display of physical prowess, as antagonistic to mental matter,
failed to excite his admiration. Thus, when a powerful young
man " showed off" in our presence by lifting some heavy weights,
Moser turned to me muttering contemptuously : " The strong
man ! " He possessed in a high degree that broad cosmo
politan cast of mind which was a marked characteristic of
well-bred Germans of his day. His idea of strength was that
of intellect and character, which showed itself in self-restraint
and self-command. Even under the most difficult conditions
his self-possession and his temper remained unruffled, and his
strong sense of humour unaffected.
In common with most of those who had been in the
entourage of the late Emperor William, Moser was a man of
i About that time I was able to save two Bohemian manufacturers from
financial embarrassment by the large orders I gave them for my London firm.
One of them died a rich man, and never forgot what he was good enough to
consider the great services I had been able to render him at a critical juncture.
92

GUSTAV VON MOSER
extreme courtesy of manner. This he preserved even in the
most trying situations. Thinking of him reminds me of an
incident which Prince Bismarck told me relating to the
Emperor William, and which I have never seen in print.
The Prince was walking with the Emperor through a
wood near Gastein when his Majesty was suddenly overtaken
by what the Romans referred to in the saying : " Naturalia
non sunt tuirpiaf Bismarck arranged with the gentlemen-in-
waiting to keep a sharp look-out, and the Emperor vanished
from view. When he reappeared he walked up to each of
the officials in attendance, bowing and touching his hat, as
much as to thank them individually for the efficient way in
which they had performed their sentinel duties. In telling me
the story Prince Bismarck added that there was something so
dignified in the whole bearing of the Emperor and in the way
he thanked them that they felt it was indeed a King who had
obeyed an urgent call of nature.
Millions have laughed at the intensely humorous situations
in Moser's plays ; and many have shed tears over the deft
touches of human nature which are contained in the best of
them which still hold the stage to-day — "The Private Secre
tary " even in England. Such was the exquisite sensibility of
his psychic organisation that I have seen tears in his eyes when
witnessing his own play, Der Veilchenfresser. And withal
he never wrote a line which could offend the most squeamish.
Strange to say, except the Cross of the Red Eagle, which
he gained in the Danish campaign of 1848 as lieutenant in
the Fifth Jager, Herr von Moser never received any mark of
favour from his sovereign. I once asked him whether the old
Emperor had ever shown him any attention ; for after all he
had greatly contributed to the gaiety of the nation. He
replied that the Emperor had his own peculiar notions as to
what was a fit occupation for a Prussian officer, and probably
looked upon him as one who had gone astray and had rather
lowered himself by becoming a play- writer. Moser's was a
proud nature, and to curry favour even from a monarch went
against his grain. Thus it happened that a man of distinction 93

GERMAN MEMORIES
who had made a world-wide reputation in so difficult a
vocation as that of a successful writer of healthy comedies —
some of which tended to glorify, in a harmless manner, the
very profession he belonged to, for his plays of military life
are among his most popular ones — was officially ignored in his
own country.
In his old age — for he lived to be 78 — an attempt was
made by friends, without his knowledge, to obtain some
recognition for him from the present German Emperor, who
has distinguished so many authors of different nationalities.
But it failed. Duke Ernest of Coburg-Gotha, alone of
German Sovereign Princes, honoured Moser with his friend
ship. Herr von Moser was in a high degree what the French
term fine mouche, and he got much fun out of a quiet
contemplation of human foibles. He enjoyed telling how,
when he first came to the Lilliputian Court of Coburg, the
Court Chamberlain, the Master of the Horse, Gentlemen Ushers,
and jack-booted Aides-de-Camp adopted an expectant, not to
say a frigid, attitude towards him. Only after the Duke had
presented him to his " lady reader " did their demeanour
undergo a sudden, a revolutionary change. For then it was
patent to all that the visitor was not a mere nobody, to be
snubbed with impunity, but a person of distinction — one who
basked in the effulgent sunshine of Ducal favour, and " stood
high in grace," as Cromwell maintained that he himself did
before God at the battle of Dunbar. It was to Moser that
the Duke confided the secret that he was the author of
the pamphlet Fremde Hdnde in Deutschland, which created
quite a sensation five-and-twenty years ago. The two had
much in common — love of the stage and of the "eternal
feminine." The Duke said to him one day, half-jokingly :
" Moser, I want to give you something. Will you have my
Family House Order, or would you prefer the title of Court
Councillor?" Moser smiled, and chose the latter, but, down
to his last hour, he would always have rated the smile of a
pretty woman far higher than any titular distinction. One of
94

GUSTAV VON MOSER
his favourite sayings was : " The fair sex ask a million of us in
small change. There's the rub. If they asked for a million
we might perhaps be able to provide it for them. It is the
paying out this huge sum in small change day by day all the
year round which breaks us.'1 Another of his sayings was
Schopenhauer's : " By marriage we halve our rights and double
our responsibilities." This, however, did not prevent him
from telegraphing to me on my wedding-day : " I wish you
all happiness on this the most beautiful day of your life."
The following two letters, selected from many in my
possession, throw a sympathetic light on the man :
"Bbelin, Meinhaedt's Hotel,
"Nov. 24, 1884.
" Dear Friend,
" I have been here in Berlin for the last three weeks
working at a new play with Schoenthan. Have received your
letter, which was forwarded to me, and acknowledge with
thanks the receipt of cheque.
" I have quite given myself up to philosophy. I devote the
morning to work, and read of an afternoon. I hover above a
metaphysical abyss, but I keep my head well balanced as an
accumulator of the understanding.
" Buy ' The Philosophy of Mysticism,' by Dr. C. du Prel ;
' The Prejudices of Mankind,' by Hellenbach ; ' The Magic of
Figures,' by Hellenbach, both of the latter published in
Vienna. " The last is very interesting and stimulating, but it doesn't
do to get giddy in the head and fall over the metaphysical
precipice. Try to discover the rhythm of your life. With
that book as a guide you can do it. Do not dream too much
of your deceased brother ; think in waking more about
yourself. " With best greetings, " Yours, " G. von Moser."

95

GERMAN MEMORIES
" LAUBAN, Oct. 29, 1885.
"My dear Friend,
" We have only one head, and you will hardly
believe how much I have had to write and think about
of late, to correct and copy, in order to get my new
play performed. Added thereto several trips to Goerlitz,
and in between now and then a day's shooting. At
last the dice have fallen, and you will be glad to hear that the
success has indeed exceeded my expectations. It is a play in
the style of Ultimo and Der Hypochonder,1 and you will be
able to appreciate its effect when I tell you that Bloch offered
me 50,000 marks for it the next day. I have not yet closed
with him, but must decide to-morrow. This was a ray
of sunshine breaking through dark clouds. With a little time
and trouble after the second performance I shall be able
to revise it, and only then will it be quite up to the mark.
" To-morrow we are to shoot at Holzkirch, and the day after
I will write to you again. Adieu for to-day, dear friend,
with cordial greeting, " Yours,
" G. von Moser."
In 1888, owing to family responsibilities, life assumed a
more serious aspect for me. I could no longer afford the
luxury of spending my time in the company of this witty
bon vivant, this kind-hearted friend. The last time I saw him
was in the winter of 1890, when I paid him a flying visit
at Goerlitz, whither he had moved after the death of his wife.
I had just written an essay on the Prussian army (Psycho-
logie der Deutschen Armee), and one morning after breakfast
I gave him a copy to read. I happened to leave the room,
and when I came back I found him poring over the pamphlet
with an agitated look on his face. I asked him what was the
matter. He looked up and said : " 1 have been a Prussian officer
myself, and your description comes home to me." Ave atque vale !
l Two of Moser's earlier and most successful comedies.
96

CHAPTER VIII
FIELD-MARSHAL MOLTKE
My acquaintance with the great strategist was brought about
by one of his nephews — who was at the same time his brother-
in-law — Colonel Henry von Burt,1 one of the most generous
and high-minded men it has ever been my privilege to count
among my friends.
In the eighties Colonel (then Major) von Burt was living at
Blasewitz, on the Elbe, near Dresden, not far from the well-
known hostelry of classical associations, Zur Gustel von
Blasewitz, 2 past which I had often walked during my schooldays.
Moltke paid repeated visits to his nephew's villa, and it was
there that a droll incident occurred, under the chestnut trees of
the picturesque garden. One day a stranger, looking over the
garden railings, saw an old man, whose well-worn straw hat
seemed to betoken the gardener : " They say that Moltke is on
a visit here. Could you tell me, sir, whether it might be
possible to catch sight of him ? " The old man replied that if
the gentleman would come again in the course of the afternoon
he might perhaps see Moltke in the garden. In his joy the
stranger tendered a mark to the communicative "gardener,"
who promptly pocketed it. The stranger's consternation may
well be imagined when on his return in the afternoon he beheld
the identical old " gardener " walking arm in arm with Major
von Burt ! Moltke waved a greeting, and, with a smile, called
out to him : " I have still got your mark."
i The Burt family came originally from Staffordshire, and John Heyliger
Burt, the father of Moltke's wife and of her brother Colonel Henry von Burt,
was owner of Colton House, near Lichfield. He married Moltke's sister and
came to live in Holstein ; hence the double relationship between the two
families. 2 Vide Schiller's WaUenitem.
g 97

GERMAN MEMORIES
The fact that Major von Burt was not only related to the
famous strategist, but was also at times his host, stamped him
as a notability in Dresden society, where contact with the really
" great " has always been somewhat rare. Von Burt, however,
had little taste for " society," and in all probability I should
never have met him had not a fortunate circumstance drawn me
to the house of the late Professor Emil Naumann, the eminent
historian of music ; for, like many Prussian officers of other
days, Burt was an enthusiastic lover of music. He had a fine
baritone voice, trained by Stockhausen, and sang beautifully.
Thus I made his acquaintance, which, in course of time, ripened
into intimate lifelong friendship.
About that time I had brought out a book dealing with
social and political conditions in England.1 Major von Burt
read it, and, ever desirous of securing recognition for others,
said to me one day : " The Field-Marshal must read that."
The idea of being read by Field-Marshals — especially by the
distinguished variety of silent ones — was both novel and pleasing
to me. The Field-Marshal read the book, and, as a token of
his good-will, sent me a signed photograph, which I afterwards
caused to be reproduced as a frontispiece to the English version
of " Moltke's Letters to his Wife." 2
In 1888, on completing my book, "Imperial Germany," I
sent the Field-Marshal a copy, and in return received the
following autograph letter of thanks, which has since been
allotted a lasting place of honour in the German edition
of " Moltke's Collected Works and Correspondence." " Berlin, Jan. 21, 1889.
" Dear Sir,
" I have read your study on Germany with the greatest
interest. " There can be no doubt that every State requires a Govern
ment suited to its individual idiosyncrasies. A Constitution
i Conventional Cant : Its Results and Remedy, by Sidney Whitman. Kegan
Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. London, 1887.
2 Moltke's Letters to his Wife. Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. London,
1896.
98

FIELD-MARSHAL MOLTKE
like that of England — secure through her geographical position
— a Constitution gradually developed out of the character of
the nation, could never be transferred to the continent of
Europe. " France during the last century had tried alternately
monarchy in various forms, empire, and republic, without
arriving at any definite result.
" Germany, on the other hand, only so recently united as an
empire, is an intruder, a parvenu, in the family of European
States. Hemmed in between mighty neighbours, we are
of opinion that we require a strong monarchy. It was there
fore a great pleasure for me to find that full justice had been
done to the ancient and proven paternal government of the
Hohenzollern. " I thank you warmly for sending me your inspiring work.
" Gr. Moltke, F.M."
I subsequently wrote a pamphlet on the German army, and
sent a copy to Count Moltke, who again replied, in an auto
graph letter, dated October 26, 1889, his ninetieth birth
day. Hitherto I had never met the Field-Marshal, and, though it
may seem strange, I had never even felt a wish to become
acquainted with him. The great battle-thinker was, to my
mind, too unapproachable a personage for an ordinary mortal
to hope to make his personal acquaintance. Blessed are those
who do not expect too much in this world ! They are sure to
be spared many disappointments, and perhaps in compensation
they may, like myself, now and then be gladdened by un
expected developments of fortune.
Some little time afterwards I paid a flying visit to Berlin,
whither Major von Burt of his own initiative sent me a letter
of introduction to Major Helmuth von Moltke, another
nephew and aide-de-camp of the Field-Marshal, who has since
become his successor, being to-day Chief of the Great General
Staff of the German Army.
I called at the Great General Staff building in the Thier-
99

GERMAN MEMORIES
garten (where Moltke occupied a suite of rooms on the first
floor), and presented my letter of introduction. Major von
Moltke, after some kindly words of welcome, much to my sur
prise asked me if I would like to make the acquaintance of
the Field-Marshal. I replied that I should consider it a
great honour. Thereupon he left the room, and, on returning
after a few minutes, said : " Come with me ; the Field-Marshal
will be pleased to receive you." We hurried through several
corridors in order not to keep the old soldier waiting, when,
struck with a sense of my temerity, I seized my companion by
the arm, and said : " My dear sir, for Heaven's sake tell me
what I am to say to the Field-Marshal." I felt myself in a
similar predicament to that of Heine when he went to see the
great Goethe. But I fared better far than the immortal
author of the Buck der Lieder.
The Field-Marshal, whose erect bearing betrayed no sign of
advanced age, welcomed me most amiably at the threshold of
a large, oblong, lofty room. After shaking hands he invited
me to take a seat beside him at his writing-table, which stood
next to a window in the left-hand corner of the room. Who
had not sat at that table ! It was here, perhaps, that the last
exchange of views on wars and plans of battle had taken place.
Bismarck and Roon, nay, even the old Emperor himself, had
often sat where I was now sitting. The room itself, in its
classic simplicity, its lack of every ornament, seemed to
indicate that momentous decisions had been arrived at within
its walls. With the exception of a bust of the Emperor, there
was absolutely nothing to detract attention from the writing-
table, upon which there was not even a scrap of paper.
Moltke, in his well-known wig, wore the undress uniform of
a Prussian general, with the blue enamelled cross of the order
Pour le Merite suspended from his collar. What distinction
lay in this solitary decoration ! His voice was extremely
thin, almost that of a child. His face was furrowed by fine
wrinkles, such as I had never seen before on the face of any
man ; but his steel-blue eyes still retained their full penetrating
brilliancy, and gleamed with an uncanny brightness, trans-
100

FIELD-MARSHAL MOLTKE
lucent as those of a falcon. A very old man sat in front of
me. And yet, as I peered into his face, I seemed to see a grim
War God, lonely and terrible, amid the dread rattle of the
iron dice. Those suggestive words, " Silent stands the front,"
from Schiller's battle-poem, rose to my memory, as I gazed at
the great soldier.
In a few kindly words the Field-Marshal told me he was
unable to fathom the source of my apparent intimate know
ledge of the Prussian army. How could a stranger have
grasped the spirit which pervaded it ? " Had I been a
soldier ? " "I had not," I replied, " though in my younger
days there had been a question in my family of my entering
the British army. I had, however, been partly educated at a
German college, and had since enjoyed the friendship of many
Germans, including a large number of Prussian officers.
Lastly, I had often been a guest at the officers' mess of
various Prussian regiments." "That is all very well,"
said Moltke, " but it is not a sufficient explanation. The
matter remains an enigma to me."
For the moment I was overcome by a painful feeling that
the incomparable strategist, who in his time had successfully
solved so many mighty problems, should, now that his life was
drawing to an end, be baffled by a puzzle of so trivial a
nature. I felt a sad offender to have dared, though uninten
tionally, to have put so eminent a man in a quandary. Thus
driven into a corner, I sought to solve the problem by telling
him that, though English by birth, and absolutely ignorant of
the German language in my youth, I had, like many English
men, German blood in my veins. Perhaps this fact, whilst it
obviously explained my sympathies with Germany, might
possibly have enabled me to enter into the spirit of the moral
significance of the " Nation in Arms." " No," replied Count
Moltke, " even that would be insufficient. I am still unable to
understand it."
I had now come to the end of my tether, and was at a loss
what to say. Fortunately, the awkwardness of the situation
was brought to an end by Major von Moltke, who re-entered 101

GERMAN MEMORIES
the room and laid two volumes on the table in front of his
uncle. They were the Field-Marshal's own works — the one
his " Letters from Russia," the other " Trips near Rome " and
" Letters from Spain and Paris." Taking a pen in his
delicately shaped hand, he wrote my name in the top right-
hand corner of each volume, and under it the following laconic
inscription: Gr. Moltke, F.M. ("Count Moltke, Field-Marshal").
He then poured some sand over the wet ink, and, after having
carefully drained the last grain back into the castor, handed
both volumes to me with a few kind words. Later I added
the date; it was December 30, 1889.
Moltke's powers of silence imposed a leaden weight on his
entourage, for as a rule he felt little or no inclination for talk
ing for talking's sake. Yet he could be very communicative,
as his extensive correspondence with his own family amply
proves. Futile talk, and more especially all theatrical pose, were
repugnant to him. The French, as a nation, were his particular
aversion in this respect. He remarked of them : " They mis
take words for deeds, and look upon an orator who comes
before them in an impressive attitude with theatrical aplomb
as a national hero." The German " does " and leaves it to
others to discuss his deeds. One of Moltke's favourite quota
tions was from the writings of Clausewitz: "Everything in
war is simple, but simplicity is most difficult." If ever any one
on this earth was simple and unaffected, Moltke was.
On the day after the battle of Koniggratz, an officer of high
rank in the Prussian army (I am told it was Count Blumenthal)
suggested, in the presence of the King and his staff, that the
army should at once march upon Vienna. " What would you
propose to do when you get there ? " dryly retorted Moltke,
and the suggestion was not acted upon.
And yet this great silent man condescended at times to chat
in the most unrestrained manner, as it fell to my lot to
experience, though his conversation was of the Scotch inter
rogatory type, and marked with Doric brevity. Never a
superfluous word marred his laconic sentences, which consisted
for the most part of questions — some of a technical nature.
102

FIELD-MARSHAL MOLTKE
He asked me who would command the British forces in the
event of a war ? Would it be Lord Wolseley ? At that date
the policy of England had not entered the circuit of " Khaki,"
and I was hardly in a position to give a definite answer.
Without in the least depreciating the military system of other
countries, the Field-Marshal continued : " We find it the best
... ¦ f
plan to leave the administration of the army in military
hands." He was obviously well acquainted with English
military institutions, and with the fact that with us a civilian
controls the army under the supreme power of Parliament.
As a soldier his sympathies were on the side of his profession.
Thus he seemed to regret that political wrangles should prevent
a uniform organisation of the French army. But his greatest
impartiality — what the Germans call " objectivity," for with
him everything was considered from a strictly impersonal
standpoint — was displayed in what he had to say about the
Russians. " It is only natural that the Russians should be
jealous of the German element. For, though they are deeply
indebted to German education and German culture, they desire
to emancipate themselves from foreign influences and to look
after their own affairs. This trait is deeply rooted in human
nature, and cannot be wondered at." It seemed to me as if the
Field-Marshal was not without some anxiety caused by the
ever-increasing power of Russia ; at least so I gathered from
what he said in reference to Russia's relations with Sweden.
He expressed the opinion that, in the event of a Continental
war, the Swedish army was not strong enough to retake Fin
land, which was Scandinavian by tradition and civilisation.
This remark of Moltke's has since been recalled to my mind
by the violation of the constitutional privileges of Finland by
Russia, and the initiation of an energetic Russian policy in the
Grand Duchy of Finland under the present Tsar.
Shortly after this interview I again enjoyed the privilege of
an interview with the Field-Marshal, though the exact date of
my visit has escaped my memory. On the other hand, the
day of his death is ever present to my mind, for on the wall
of my study hangs a large engraved portrait of Prince 103

GERMAN MEMORIES
Bismarck with the date, "April 24, 1891," and the Prince's
signature, in his own handwriting, in the margin. On that
day I left Friedrichsruh in the afternoon, and reached Berlin
in the evening. In the hall of the Hotel Sans-Souci I read
on a placard : " Field-Marshal Count Moltke died this evening
at nine o'clock." Berlin was thrown into mourning by this
announcement, which formed the topic of general conversation
for days.
In spite of my acquaintance with Moltke's family, an indefi
nable feeling deterred me from hastening to the quarters of
the Great General Staff. It seemed to me it would savour of
irreverence to intrude upon the mighty dead, to look upon the
bier as if it were a pageant. They told me an enormous con
course of people was pouring into the Thiergarten. Moltke's
mortal remains were lying in state, and the public were being
admitted in Indian file. In the end I turned my steps in the
same direction, though more with the intention of watching
the crowd. On arriving in front of the General Staff building,
to my great astonishment I saw Major von Burt come out
of the front portal bareheaded and hurry up to me. He had
caught sight of me from a window, and had come to take me
up through a side entrance to the mourning family, with whom
were gathered a few intimate friends. There he told me of
several incidents connected with the last hours of the Field-
Marshal. Among these was the extremely interesting item,
which I published at the time, that the Field-Marshal, who
was playing whist shortly before his death, won all thirteen
tricks in the very last game. Overjoyed at his success, he
called out to his opponents, in allusion to a well-known episode1
i This was in reference to a well-known incident in one of Frederick the
Great's battles in the Seven Tears War. The King had occasion to find fault
with a certain regiment of cavalry in the piping times of peace and upbraided
them on parade as a lot of incorrigible drunkards. The colonel of the regiment
took this rebuke to his men so much to heart that he swore on his honour that
he would never draw his sword again in the King's service. When shortly
afterwards .'the Seven Tears War broke out, the colonel appealed to the King,
saying that he was ready to serve him, but his Majesty could not possibly
expect him to break his word of honour. " Let him leave his sword at home
104

FIELD-MARSHAL MOLTKE
in the Seven Years War, " Was segt Er nun zu seine Supers ? "
(" What has he got to say now to his drunken fellows ? ")
We then entered a large and lofty apartment, lit up by
many candles and draped in black, with a small black altar,
on which stood a black wooden cross. Moltke lay in state.
Behind a railing a never-ending procession passed in respectful
silence. Officers, apparently picked men, drawn from every
branch of the service — tall, stately figures, as beseemed the
descendants of a race of giants which many centuries ago
peopled the primeval forests of Germany — guarded the bier
with drawn swords. Moltke's head reposed on a white pillow,
the skull quite bald, his aquiline nose thrown into prominence
by his sunken cheeks, his thin firm lips now closed to all
Eternity — the countenance of a Caesar in death. Clad in an
unstarched white shirt, holding violets and laurels in his folded
hands, he slept peacefully. Semper felix, faustus Augustus}
and take a stick in his hand," the King gruffly replied. The story goes that
at the next battle this particular regiment distinguished itself beyond all others,
and in passing in front of the King, lifting on high the regimental colours
captured from the Austrians, the colonel called out : " What does he say now
to his drunkards 1 " Whereupon the King took off his hat in token of
admiration. 1 The following incident illustrates Moltke's simple mode of life, and only
came to my knowledge after his death. A member of the Prussian House of
LordB was staying with Moltke at Creisau when the old soldier, then about
eighty years of age, happened to expatiate on the high military abilities of
King Albert of Saxony, who, as is well known, greatly distinguished himself
in the War of 1870 as Commander-in-Chief of the Fourth German Army. From
Creisau the Prussian nobleman went on to Dresden, where in the course of an
audience which he had of King Albert he communicated to him Moltke's words
of appreciation. The King was much gratified, and told his visitor how much
he valued Moltke's good opinion. " Do you think," he added, " that the Field-
Marshal would object if I were to pay him a visit 1 " " On the contrary. Sir,"
the other replied, " I feel quite sure that he would consider it a high honour to
receive you. There is one condition, however, which I would venture to
suggest your Majesty laying down beforehand — namely, that on no account is
he to make any change in his domestic arrangements in connection with your
visit." These embodied a scale of household expenditure of less than £i
a week, even when visitors were staying with him.

105

CHAPTER IX
BERLIN, 1890-91
I spent several weeks in Berlin in the winter of 1890-91.
Professor Hans Delbrueck had asked me to become a con
tributor to the Preussische Jahrbiicher, and at his house or by
introduction from him I was brought into contact with a
number of distinguished people. Of these I may mention
Professor Rudolf von Gneist, the eminent parliamentarian and
authority on jurisprudence ; Heinrich von Sybel, the historian ;
and Count Sholto Douglas, at that time reputed to be a great
friend of the Emperor. In after years, when I again happened
to be in Berlin, I met on different occasions at Professor
Delbrueck's houselthe leading coryph&i of the Berlin intellectual
world, among them the national economist, Professor Schmoller ;
the theologian, Professor Harnack ; the ex-Jesuit, Count
Hoensbroeck ; Admiral Tirpitz, the present chief of the German
navy, and many others. I also brought a letter of introduction
from London to Baron Georg von Bunsen, the well-known
parliamentarian and friend of the Emperor Frederick.
Professor Delbrueck, the editor of the Preussische Jahr
biicher, founded by Heinrich von Treitschke, whom he suc
ceeded as chief, has been so prominently before the English
public of late that a few data concerning him, drawn from
personal knowledge, would seem to be apposite. He is a
genial representative of a class which has rarely exercised any
direct political influence in England, but which is very much
to the fore in Germany, namely, the literary Professor whose
hobby is politics. Fixity of appointment and freedom from
pecuniary cares allow them to devote themselves entirely and
whole-heartedly to intellectual interests. Professor Delbrueck
106

BERLIN, 1890-91
comes of a family which has already produced several
men distinguished in different walks of life, and he is still
further identified with the world of learning by his marriage
with a lady who is a descendant of Baron Liebig. After
serving through the war of 1870-71, being promoted officer
after the battle of Gravelotte, and being awarded the Iron
Cross, he was for five years (1874-79) tutor of Prince
Waldemar, the fourth son of the Emperor Frederick. He
subsequently became extraordinary, or honorary, Professor of
History at the University of Berlin ; he has long since
become regular Professor of History, and in his turn has filled
the honorary position of Rector at the same University. Pro
fessor Delbrueck has been a voluminous writer, his favourite
subject being military history, on which he has written some
important works, in which brilliance of style is combined with
scrupulous conscientiousness of research. He has also pub
lished a series of most interesting essays on English subjects.
Endowed with an attractive personality — a handsome and
thoughtful face peering from beneath his broad-brimmed black
felt hat — he looks more the artist (which, indeed, he is as a
literary craftsman) than a bookworm. He is ever ready to
enter into good-natured discussion on the subjects nearest his
heart, as well as to draw around him as contributors to
the Preussische Jahrbiicher] those in whom he detects a
kindred bent of mind. But, even when vehemently champion
ing what he believes to be the righteous claims of his country,
I have never known him to utter a harsh word or to harbour
an ungenerous thought towards an opponent — in itself a
virtue calling for notice in latter-day Germany. To think
that it could add to the distinction of such a man to claim
for him, as has been repeatedly done in the English Press,
that he is a confidant of his Sovereign, is to mistake the
nature of his position, which is really based on his attainments,
the consideration he enjoys at the hands of his colleagues and,
above all, of his pupils, those who draw inspiration from him
as their honoured teacher.
On this particular occasion, however, it was at Count
107

GERMAN MEMORIES
Douglas's house that I saw most German notabilities ; for
having heard from Professor Delbrueck that I was anxious to
extend my knowledge of German affairs, the Count had invited
me to come to Berlin and stay there as his guest. I did not
see my way to accept this generous offer, as I have always
preferred the freedom of an hotel when staying in a city ; but
I gladly availed myself of his amiable suggestion to bring me
into contact with some representative people. This he did in
a most kindly spirit, and I passed many pleasant evenings
under the Count's hospitable roof in the society of his family
and friends. I met at his house the late Herr von Botticher,
Prussian Minister of State ; Herr von Bodelschwingh, well known
for his philanthropic activity ; Herr von Berlepsch, Minister of
Commerce ; Dr. Arendt, a parliamentarian known for his
advocacy of bimetallism ; Franz von Rottenburg,1 Under
Secretary of State ; Dr. Hinzpeter, who had been tutor of the
present Emperor ; and Dr. Kopp, Prince-Bishop of Breslau,
Dr. Kopp, Cardinal since 1893, had come to Berlin in
connection with the School Conference. He had been an
influential and conciliatory intermediary between the Pope and
the Prussian Government in re-establishing harmonious relations
between the latter and the Curia at the conclusion of the
Kulturkampf, and was thus looked upon as a powerful
supporter, a pillar of the State, and made much of on all
sides. Even the venerable Field-Marshal Moltke called on
him. Dr. Kopp's career is a striking exemplification of the
great possibilities opened by the Catholic Church to men of
exceptional ability. Beginning life as a telegraph clerk, he
had risen to one of the highest positions in the Roman
Catholic hierarchy, which he still holds to-day, for as Prince-
Bishop of Breslau Dr. Kopp's diocese extends into Austria,
where he is a member of the House of Lords and of the
Diet of Austrian Silesia. His is a placid temperament,
showing reserve force, yet with a suavity bespeaking kindliness
of heart — an impression which was strengthened in the course
of conversation. There was a peculiar fascination about the
i See Chapter XIX.
108

BERLIN, 1890-91
Prince-Bishop's smile. It denoted — at least so it seemed to
me — a calm self-possession, a consciousness that he owed no
allegiance to any other worldly authority than that of which it
has been said : " Qui mange du Pape en meurt.'''' If I had not
known that Dr. Kopp was a Prince of the Church, I might
have taken him, with his firm mouth and steady gaze, for
one of those refined French or English lawyer types — the
Buffets, Dufaures, or Asquiths — men [of iron nerve, the
product of generations of civil dignity and freedom. Dr.
Kopp struck me as a truer representative of freedom of
character than I had hitherto met in Berlin, much more than
Generals or, indeed, Chancellors could afford to own. I
thought I detected something in his manner which is only
possessed by men whose nervous system is unaffected by the
uncertainty of their position. I also noticed that he was a
good listener, one who would be ready to give ear to many
arguments, and yet sure to remain absolutely inflexible in his
own opinions and determination, which would naturally always
harmonise with the interests of the great power of which he is
so distinguished a representative.
Dr. Hinzpeter had been, as noted, tutor of the Emperor, an
appointment which, as he told me, he owed to Sir Robert
Morier, who at that time (1866) was English Minister at
Darmstadt. Like Dr. Kopp, he had come to Berlin in connec
tion with the School Conference. At that particular moment
his name was very much to the fore. The Emperor had
conferred upon him the high dignity of Member of the
Council of State, and he had besides been nominated Chairman
of the Committee which was appointed to investigate and
carry out the resolutions of the School Conference. It was
even whispered that Dr. Hinzpeter had had a hand in
Bismarck's fall, Thus it was quite an event to be privileged
to meet so influential a personage — the more so as, feeling the
responsibilities of his position, as he told me himself, he was
shy of meeting strangers. For one so talked about Dr.
Hinzpeter was a singularly simple and unaffected person,
as also was Mrs. Hinzpeter, a highly cultivated French lady,

GERMAN MEMORIES
whose acquaintance I was subsequently enabled to make at
Bielefeld. This impressed me all the more as I had noticed
that intimacy with the great on the part of philologists, Pro
testant clergymen, and theologians generally exercised a strong
hypnotising effect on those exposed to it. Dr. Hinzpeter had
taken a small room at the Hotel Meinhardt, since demolished,
and his whole kit, a small travelling-bag, with a plain wooden
hair-brush pour tout potage on the dressing-table, reminded
me forcibly of one of the schoolmasters of my Dresden
days. My visit to Berlin had been prompted by the request of a
London publisher to write something authoritative about
Germany since Bismarck's dismissal, and as I had already
written a book dealing with Germany in a friendly spirit,
Dr. Hinzpeter thought that I might be able to render good
service to the cause of truth in this matter. With this
purpose in view I had several conversations with him. He
also invited me to pay him a visit at Bielefeld, which I
subsequently did on my way back to England. In common
with Count Douglas, he was most anxious that the peaceful
intentions of the Emperor should be made widely known,
and I was favourably impressed by his single-mindedness of
purpose, which showed itself in freedom from every attempt to
mince matters. He was indignant at the ill-natured gossip
which had been current about the Emperor's private life,
which he assured me was above reproach. He was most
anxious for the welfare of his Imperial pupil, as to the
direction in which he was likely to develop, and as to what
his future might be. This frame of mind in itself formed a
striking contrast to the paeans of adulatory language current
in other quarters. Dr. Hinzpeter feared the Emperor might
become the prey of flatterers, of a type of people for whom
the Germans have the term of Streber, or Byzantine.
Mrs. Hinzpeter told me that this was ever in her husband's
thoughts, and that I was the only person outside his own
circle of intimate friends to whom he had ever expressed
himself on the subject. As a result of our conversations
110

BERLIN, 1890-91
I made some notes of what I thought might interest English
readers, but I ultimately came to the conclusion that any
book on such a subject would be premature at that early
stage of the Emperor's reign, and I eventually gave up the
attempt. All that I need mention at this distance of time
is the following : I left Dr. Hinzpeter with the impression
that he considered the supreme task of Germany to lie in the
reconciliation of the many antagonisms which still divided the
nation, which, though politically united through the genius
of Bismarck, was still very far from what it might become as
a leader of civilisation. Thus it was not so much the expansion
of the Empire as the making of the Fatherland itself more
comfortable (wohnlich) than it had hitherto been for the masses
of the German people which was the problem calling for solution,
in the spirit of John Bright, whose aspirations were :
" Crowns, coronets, mitres, pomp of war, wide colonies, and a
huge empire are, in my view, trifles light as air, unless with
them you have a fair share of comfort, contentment, and
happiness among the great body of the people ; palaces,
stately mansions, do not make a nation. The nation in every
country dwells in the cottage, and unless the light of your
Constitution can shine there, rely upon it you have yet to
learn the duties of government." x
That Dr. Hinzpeter's sentiments must have been somewhat of
this character is, I think, evident from the following letter, one
of several which he wrote to me in English shortly afterwards :
" Dear Mr. Whitman,
" What I meant is this : the German race in all its
different tribes entered a new period with the introduction of
the Christian Faith. They received the Christian doctrine in
the Roman Catholic form. The Roman Catholic Church
brings to them with the Christian doctrine the whole Roman
civilisation, from the leathern shoes to the speeches of Ovid
and the philosophy of Aristotle. Even the Roman Civil
Laws are forced more or less on all German tribes.
l Sayings of John Bright, by Cecil Wedmore. Headley Brothers, London. Ill

GERMAN MEMORIES
" The Roman Catholic Church, therefore, reigns with
absolute power over all the branches of national life — private
and public. The German race spent seven to eight centuries
in devouring and assimilating the whole Roman civilisation
brought to her by the Roman Catholic Church. These cen
turies were her schooldays, during which no original German
idea was or could be produced. Such production could only
begin with the emancipation of the German race from the
bondage of the Roman Church.
" This emancipation of the German mind and the German
Ufe could only be effected in the German country where the
bondage was the strictest, where the assimilation of Roman
civilisation through the nearest connection was the fullest, and
where through all this the development of the real German
spirit and nature had not been hindered, but favoured — that
is, the centre of the German Empire itself.
" The so-called Reformation of the sixteenth century was
nothing else but the first independent step of the German mind
in the world of ideas, the first self-assertion of the German
intellectual will, and it required great energy, with a high degree
of independence of thought and character, to break through the
powerful tradition of centuries in order to make this first step.
" Therefore, only people in whom German blood predomi
nated followed the example. Even with them it was merely
imitative, and resisted the reaction into which every country
with more Latin or Polish population (though at first carried
along with others) fell sooner or later back under the
guardianship of the Roman CathoUc Church.
" Now the solution of the so-called social question will be
— that is my opinion — the second assertion of the German
mind in the world of ideas. It will require the same degree
of independence of thought and will. I think the new
German Empire has been created for this purpose and this
only, no other. . . . " Yours truly,
" (Signed) Dr. Hinzpeter.
"Bielefeld, 3/2/91."
112

BERLIN, 1890-91
Two years afterwards I received the following letter :
" Dear Mr. Whitman,
" I did not like to write and thank you before I had found
time at least to read what you were so kind as to send me. I
hope you will approve of my reflections and pardon my other
wise unpardonable silence. And now that I have read it I
can find no better form for my impressions than the statement
that I regret more than ever your not having published your
last book, and that you have even given up writing about
Germany at all.1 I understand perfectly well how for the
moment the temptation to do so cannot be strong, but I hope
you will live to see times more congenial to you, and then
paint them to your countrymen in order to enable them to
appreciate the sayings and doing of their nearest cousins.
" For my own part, for the short time I have to live, I shall
always be happy, very happy, to meet you anyhow and
anywhere. " With sincerest regards, "Yours truly,
"(Signed) Dr. Hinzpeter.
" Beklin, 26/1/93."
It is not without a certain significance to recall the atmo
sphere which prevailed in high circles in Berlin at that particular
time — the first winter of the post- Bismarck era. The Prince
had not yet started the campaign of open hostility to his
successor which was to burst forth with such vehemence a few
months later. Thus the feeling of general relief which had
succeeded his dismissal was still unalloyed with what sub
sequently became a sentiment of malaise, of uncertainty as to
what might take place from one day to another. The new
brooms were busy and to all appearance doing their work
efficiently. The School Conference was one of the inward
signs of their ever-increasing activity, and it made quite a
l Beference to an offer which I had received from an English publisher to
write a book on German affairs since Bismarck's dismissal, and my final decision
not to publish what I had written.
H 113

GERMAN MEMORIES
stir at the time. The problem of the education of the
young has attracted some of the greatest of human minds ;
in modern times I need only note the names of Pestalozzi,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Kant, Goethe, and Herbert Spencer.
Thousands of publications are devoted to the discussion of
education every year in Germany. All this, however, was
suddenly held to be inadequate, even grossly defective. Every
thing was to be changed, although education under the old
regime had spread the renown of German thoroughness
all over the world, and led to the coining of the phrase that
" the Prussian schoolmaster had won the battle of Sadowa."
A queer epoch was that of this School Conference, and some
queer fish were called upon to take part in it. About the same
time Germany, or rather Berlin, was declared to be the Hort
des Welt-Friedens, the arbiter, the guardian of the peace of
the world ; but people were not informed how it had come
about that upon Berlin, of all places, and not London,
Washington, St. Petersburg, or Rome, had devolved the role
of Dispenser of Universal Peace or Harbinger of War. The
world was simply asked to accept it as a dictum that such was
indeed the case ; and the satisfaction over this rosy aspect of
affairs found its expression in a "delirium of delight," an
" orgy of ecstasy " in high places,1 which was destined to last
for a number of years.
About this time I received a significant letter from my
friend, Colonel von Burt, already repeatedly mentioned in
these pages, the contents of which scarcely tallied with an
optimistic estimate of the situation. He urged me to read
that section of Treitschke's " Prussian History " which deals
with the reign of Frederick William IV. He said : " If you
read it carefully you will find certain parallels with the present
situation which must awaken the fear that Germany is in for
i It might be considered characteristic of this particular time, immediately
following the dismissal of Bismarck, that one often met in conversation the
quotation of Homer's hackneyed tag, "O&k dyadbv iro\vKoipavl7i, els icolpavos
lorw." People were busy drawing comparisons between the first years of
the reign of the Great Elector, of Frederick the Great, and the present.
114

BERLIN, 1890-91
another such period of political vacillation and unsteadiness of
aim as marked that unfortunate monarch's reign." This was
twenty-two years ago.
Before I left Berlin Herr von Botticher sent me as a parting
memento a most interesting photograph of himself and
Bismarck taken together in the old Reichstag lobby. Herr
von Botticher is standing beside Bismarck, who is seated on
a bench immediately beneath a medallion portrait of the
patriotic writer, Paul Pfizer, under which the following
quotation from his writings is inscribed :
Das heiligste Becht einer Nation ist das,
Als solche zu bestehen und anerkannt zu werden.i
l "The most sacred right of a nation is to subsist and be recognised as such."

115

CHAPTER X
PRINCE BISMARCK
My acquaintance with Prince Bismarck began in 1891,
and dates therefore from a time when he was already in
retirement. In January of that year I was on the point of
leaving Berlin when I received a telegram from Baroness
Deichmann, of London, an intimate friend of the Bismarck
family. At her suggestion I sent the Prince a copy of my
book, "Imperial Germany," and in return received an invita
tion to come to Friedrichsruh. My first visit ended with a
kindly request to come again ; my second brought the expres
sion of a hope that I should never return to Germany without
knocking at the Schloss door of Friedrichsruh. Thus between
the years 1891-98 I was the guest of Prince Bismarck and
his family on nine or ten occasions. On July 30, 1898, I
started for Friedrichsruh in the hope of seeing him once
more, only to find on my arrival that he had passed away
during the preceding night.
These experiences are told in detail in my "Reminis
cences of Prince Bismarck." x Here it is only necessary to
treat of my personal impressions of the man who made
modern Germany as he was when resting from toil and a
spectator of the working of the great political machine he
had created.
A first visit to Friedrichsruh was well calculated to impress
the traveller with the importance of Prince Bismarck. The
express trains from Berlin to Hamburg tore through the little
country station, except when they carried anybody on a visit
to the Prince at his personal invitation. Then they stopped,
1 J. Murray, London, 1902.
116

PRINCE BISMARCK
and many were the heads thrust through the carriage windows
to learn who was thus honoured. When I had descended and
handed my bag to a servant, who waited on the platform, I
was conducted to a carriage ; but before I could enter it two
tall, imposing-looking men approached down the road, and
a minute later Prince Bismarck and his son, Count Herbert
Bismarck, were bidding me welcome in perfect English. The
carriage went off with my baggage, while we walked on
together by road to the Schloss, which stands but a short
distance from the station.
The Prince wore the familiar black felt hat and a double-
breasted black frock-coat. He looked more robust than when
I had last seen him eleven years before on the way to Kissin-
gen, alighting from a railway carriage. Then he stooped as
he walked with the support of a stick. His complexion in
particular had a rosy freshness. An elderly, military-looking
man, whose erect gait told of many years passed in active
service, was walking by my side apparently in the best of
health and spirits. During the last forty years the world has
been made acquainted, by painting and photography, with
the features of Bismarck. The portraits by Lenbach are
familiar enough, and among the photographs I am disposed to
give the preference to a profile reproduced from a Berlin
picture in this volume. This gives neither the breadth of
the countenance nor the expression of the eyes, but in no
other are the strength and symmetry of the countenance so
well shown, nor does one find elsewhere so good a representa
tion of the full and perfect curve from the front to the back
of the head, which ends with a bold sweep to the neck.
The shaggy, beetling brow shelters the glance of the piercing
eyes. The large but well-shaped ears lie back against the
skull in an almost perpendicular line, which gives a certain
truculence to them. Bismarck's ears were perfectly poised.
Nose and chin were almost parallel in outline, their contour
being only broken by the curve of the moustache. The Prince's
ears had something of what the Germans, in their sporting
phraseology, call Lauscher (listeners) — the ears of the deer 117

GERMAN MEMORIES
of the forest. The German Michel in the past had been
sadly deficient in the sense of hearing. He was often deaf
to what was going on in the world until foreign horsemen
let their steeds graze loose on German fields. Here was a
man whose hearing was so acute that, to quote an old
German saying : " He could hear the grass grow."
Such was Bismarck as I saw him on my first visit, although
one gathered one's impressions of him more slowly in the course
of repeated visits. When he talked the firm lines of the
mouth showed beneath the moustache, revealing a set of small,
regular teeth, which he retained almost intact to the last.
Bismarck's hands might have been those of a man of fifty, so
little did they bear the marks of age. Tall as he was, his feet
were small ; only among Circassians have I seen such a delicate
foot carrying so weighty a man. One day at Kissingen, in
1892, when I was walking with him, he complained of
something having got into his boot. He sat down on the
bench and took off one of the high-topped Wellington boots
which he always wore, and I found myself wondering at the
extreme smallness of a foot in which more than seventy years
of boot-wearing had produced no alteration of the original
shape. When he was not in uniform, or at Varzin, where he
sometimes wore a grey-green shooting-jacket and a cap of the
same material with lappets and ribbon to let down and tie
over the ears in cold weather, he donned the conventional
double-breasted black frock-coat, together with a black
waistcoat, black trousers, and a white or cream-coloured scarf
or cravat, apparently going twice round the neck — a dress
much like that peculiar to German Protestant clergymen.
Evening dress was worn in his family only once a year — on
his birthday. New-fangled ideas of attire and adornment
were never to his liking. Extreme simplicity of dress, as of
speech, was second nature with him. He always looked
extremely neat. His clean-shaven face (shaving was a func
tion he performed himself down to his last days), in addition
to his rosy complexion, gave him a peculiarly tidy and healthy
look. Next to his skin he wore an unstarched white linen
118

PRINCE BISMARCK
shirt, no flannel or undervest of any kind. His physician,
Dr. Schweninger, did not approve of flannel underclothing.
In January 1892, on a bitterly cold day, I accompanied
Prince Bismarck in a sleigh drive near Friedrichsruh. I
noticed that where his fur was open in front he had nothing
but a linen shirt between the bare skin and a biting easterly
wind. Nevertheless he told me that I was too thinly clad,
and, before starting, insisted on my putting one of his thick
overcoats over my own.
Biographers have been prone to dwell on Bismarck's
physical strength, and he has been caricatured as the " strong
man " of the circus. So far as power of sinew, enormous
vitality, abnormal capacity for work, and powers of digestion
go, Bismarck was undoubtedly a very strong man. But one's
impression was not of strength, but rather of the symmetry of
his figure. As Schweninger said one day : " Strength is a
relative term ; balance — the harmony of every organ — is the
principal thing and the real test of health. We are only as
strong as the weakest of our vital organs." He might have
been thinking, as he spoke, of the Prince, whose tall, broad-
shouldered form had nothing of the massiveness of the
" strong man " of the circus, but suggested rather the force
and endurance of the graceful athlete.
Bismarck's voice has been described as weak. That it cer
tainly was not. It was neither gutturally deep nor loud, but it
carried far — the voice of a gentleman, refined and sympathetic.
In public he addressed his hearers as if they had been at table
with him, without any attempt at elocution. A loud voice,
however carefully trained, would not have been consonant with
the refinement of the man, just as rhetorical effect would have
seemed strange to his character. But without any of the arts
of the orator he could move a German audience to tears. It
was difficult, indeed, to reconcile his actual manner with the
stories that have been told of his blunt and ungenerous way
of expressing his likes and dislikes when dealing with
opponents. It stands to reason that a man, as he was, of
extraordinary energy added to extreme nervous irritability, 119

GERMAN MEMORIES
engaged all his life in asserting his own will against others,
must have had moments when the fortiter im, re was not too
harmoniously blended with the suaviter in modo. Nevertheless
it is not easy to understand how stories have obtained credence
of the " roughness " of one whose most marked characteristics
in private life were courtesy and consideration for others.
Lenbach told me — and there was nobody better informed
than he — that during all the time he had known Bismarck,
nearly twenty years, he only remembered one solitary occasion
on which he had heard him speak sharply, let alone say an
unkind word to any one. A manservant on leaving the room
had carelessly slammed the door. This had evidently jarred
on Bismarck's nerves, for he rang the bell, and when the man
appeared told him in a curt tone that he was to leave at the
end of the month. About a quarter of an hour afterwards
he rang the bell again, and said in a mollified voice, " You
may stay." That was all.
There is overwhelming testimony to-day to Prince Bismarck's
charm of manner, in the fascination he exercised over those
with whom he came in contact — not merely during his latter
years, but at every period of his life.1
I was repeatedly a witness of the Prince's bearing towards
ladies, and it has remained in my memory as perfect. It was
marked by courtesy to young and old alike, and of course
entirely free from that offensive exaggeration of verbiage and
manner — notably the effusive kissing of a lady's hand on every
occasion — which marks the German parvenu of to-day, and which
is not a German custom at all, but an awkward imitation of
the Viennese " smart set." With Bismarck it was the deference
of the well-bred man towards the other sex regardless of age or
worldly station ; it was part of what he would have called his
nursery training.
i In 1864 the present King of Roumania, then Prince Charles of Hohen
zollern, wrote to his father : " Bismarck is positively irresistible in social
intercourse." This opinion, although that of a young man, is none the less
remarkable in view of the fact that both Prince Charles and his father were
strong political opponents of Herr von Bismarck at the time.
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PRINCE BISMARCK
As I knew him towards the end of his life his manner was
softened by the repose of age, giving him an indefinable
gentleness. I never heard him express an opinion which could
be construed as conveying either an intense like or dislike.
Bismarck cared little for titles or distinctions which kings
or emperors can give. His wish was for intercourse with what
the Germans call "natural men," and in them he declared
that he discovered aristocratic qualities which are now and
then lacking in the " high-born." He was entirely free from
that class prejudice which plays so formidable a part in
German social life. Yet he had that social pride which
upheld him in many a situation. Only those who knew
the Prince well could understand the full meaning of his well-
known retort upon his parliamentary adversary, Eugen
Richter, when he told the latter that his own education for
bade him replying to certain offensive diatribes. Bismarck
did not mean by " education " his knowledge of books, nor his
qualifications as a nobleman or as an officer, but his early
training. He meant the " schooling of the nursery," the
cultivation of " tact of the heart," by which he intended to
convey that he deemed Richter, in spite of his great intellectual
accomplishments, inferior to a Bavarian peasant or a Russian
moujik. That to which he attached great value was the
record of his family, which had served the State with distinc
tion for generations. This was natural enough in a man who
belonged by birth to a class which has always witnessed the
drama of life from the stage box. But birth alone was at no
time more than a passport to his consideration. He demanded
individuality of character in those who were to be numbered
among his friends.
When first I was entertained at Friedrichsruh Prince
Bismarck had been out of office exactly thirteen months, and
had apparently become reconciled to his retirement. To the
superficial observer his frame of mind, like his outward appear
ance, was that of a country gentleman of distinction, who had
once been actively engaged in politics — a period he now looked
back upon as a nightmare, peopled by memories of treachery, 121

GERMAN MEMORIES
duplicity, and ingratitude. Only gradually, in consequence of
remarks dropped here and there, either by Bismarck himself or
others near to him, was a visitor, not knowing the facts, able to
form any idea of what had gone before and what was still raging
in that most sensitive heart. He talked so modestly of his
own achievements that it would be difficult to realise the great
ness of what he had done. One of his favourite sayings was :
" You cannot regulate a current, much less attempt to go
against it ; at most you may succeed in steering carefully with
it." So he looked upon his success as a statesman as less the
outcome of genius than of that common sense which sees
opportunities and avails itself of them.
At his house one met neighbours for whom he had very
kindly feelings, and whom he was pleased to see there, but
with whom he might not exchange three sentences in the course
of the year. For the typical Junker, with his strong caste
pride and caste prejudices, Bismarck had as little sympathy as
for the type which Napoleon at St. Helena termed " dues par
droit d'herediU.'" Bismarck's intellect no less than his heart,
his sense of " fairness " — a favourite English expression of his —
revolted against indiscriminate malevolence levelled at a class.
Thus, when somebody alluded contemptuously in his presence to
Lord Beaconsfield as a Jew, Bismarck retorted : " Yes, but a
refined Jew."
Doubtless he had his preferences and his antipathies,
but they were rarely the outcome of prejudice. They were
invariably the result of long observation and experience.
Towards two classes he felt a strong antipathy — clerics and
bureaucrats. But here too there was no prejudice against
individuals. His lifelong experience of both these types had
given him a distaste for them in the mass, but he numbered
personal friends both among clergymen and privy councillors.
Rural in his tastes, the Prince was fond of identifying himself
with the class of country gentlemen. He had the instincts of
the squire, but he certainly never deserved the taunt, levelled
at him by the untitled German middle classes, that he was
a Junker at heart. To talk of Bismarck as one who despised
122

PRINCE BISMARCK
his fellow creatures or was lacking in sympathy with them is
sheer nonsense. I have seen him genuinely concerned at the
sick look of a labouring man whom he had casually met.
Bismarck's habitual frame of mind might be one of indifference,
as it doubtless was, but his heart was continually at war with
his reasoning faculties ; and when circumstances were sym
pathetic his heart carried the day, for it contained a deep well
of pity. It responded readily to an appeal of friendship, and,
above all, to a sentiment of chivalry and devotion. Hatred
and the exertion of hating which politics brought in their
train were repellent to him and affected him physically.
Sympathy gave play to his humour, and restored him to health.
Herr von Keudell, in his " Reminiscences," attributes to
Prince Bismarck a deep interest in music. I do not think
music appealed much to him. His mental moods were not
influenced by it. Incident or a bit of nature appealed to
him. His bent was dramatic, not lyric. He might write to
his wife in a poetical strain, but the descriptive dwarfed the
sentimental. Music acted on him more as a reminiscence, as the sound of
the post-horn might recall to us the memory of a certain
journey. Esrlebnisse — the memory of an incident he had lived
through — not music, "put his feelings in motion." Student
songs which recalled happy days of youth appealed to him
far more than a symphony of Beethoven. I have heard him,
when reminiscent of an evening, repeating his favourite songs of
student days, and taking great delight in their drollery.
No man could have had less taste for dogmatical discussions
than Bismarck. Dogmatism was hateful to him ; he loathed
the arrogance of the proselyte and every other form of
arrogance and intolerance as vulgar and irreverent. His was
essentially a religious nature. A deep sense of reverence, in
face of the enigmas of the universe, was at the root of his
religious feeling. On one occasion he expressed himself, in my
presence, with regard to the theory of metempsychosis, in
which Count Moltke was also deeply interested. With
Bismarck it may have been only a fleeting thought, but what 123

GERMAN MEMORIES
he said on the subject was characteristic. " If I had to choose
the form in which I would prefer to live again," he said, " I
am not so sure that I should not like to be an ant. You see,"
he added, " that little insect lives under conditions of perfect
political organisation. Every ant is obliged to work — to lead
a useful life ; every one is industrious, there is perfect subordi
nation, discipline, and order. They are happy, for they work."
The Prince did not trouble himself about the spiritual welfare
of other people. He was content to let them take their chance
in the realm of Frederick the Great, where eyerybody is
supposed to obtain salvation, in his own way. A certain
dispassionate, philosophic calm was noticeable in him whenever
the dead were mentioned in his presence, even when they were
those for whom he had entertained a feeling of attachment
when alive. Conventional expressions of sympathy rarely
escaped his lips. He would speak of the dead, as of his friend
Motley, for instance, to whom he was sincerely attached, by
recaUing some quaint incident of their joint youth, but more
in a jocular, sympathetic manner, entirely free from the sad
thought that the old friend was long gone. Death in itself
was to him only a natural incident, and the conventional
phrases about so inevitable a matter were repugnant to him.
That may have been, in some degree, due to the circumstance
that Bismarck's life was singularly free from the misfortune
common to most men — that of prematurely losing those near
and dear to him. He never lost a child, and his sister, Baroness
von Arnim, survived him.
During the last months of his life Bismarck employed much
of his time in reading. He always had a strong partiality for
everything appertaining to the history of the First Napoleon,
and read with avidity any books dealing with the great
Corsican's career. He knew General Marbot's " Memoirs " and
Marshal Marmont's " Reminiscences," both of which interested
him deeply. Zola's works also attracted him. He read
"Le Debacle," "Rome," "Lourdes," and "Paris" one after
the other, but was somewhat disappointed with the last three.
" Rome," he said, reminded him of a traveller's guide-book.
124

PRINCE BISMARCK
"Le Debacle" was more to his liking. But what more par
ticularly struck him was the fearless manner in which Zola
told hard truths of his countrymen. Bismarck expressed him
self to the effect that after reading " Le Debacle " he was not at
all surprised that the French were so angry with the author,
for he had committed the unpardonable sin of telling them
the truth.
So much has been made of Bismarck's supposed antagonism
towards, not to say dislike of, England that a few words on this
subject may well find their place here. Of course, nobody would
expect a German statesman to allow the interests of his own
country to be influenced by his personal likes or dislikes ; but,
as a matter of fact, Bismarck liked well-bred English people, and,
of far greater moment, considered the best interests of his own
country to be easily reconcilable with those of England. This
statement can be corroborated by many passages in his own
speeches and reported conversations, and I challenge anybody
to produce a single passage in either which would justify an
assumption to the contrary. Indeed, I am not conscious of
exaggeration when I state my firm belief that Bismarck would
have welcomed a friendly understanding with England more
than with any other country in the world. I know for a
positive fact that Bismarck's final verbal instructions to
German officials, such as consuls and diplomatic agents to
Egypt and India, invariably culminated in the words : " Do
all you can to obtain the goodwill of the English. You
need not even use a cypher in telegraphing, for we have
nothing to conceal from them." It would be madness for
us to quarrel with England or she with us. How it has hap
pened that a contrary impression has gained ground, that
the present unsatisfactory state of affairs has developed, and
that it has been partly ascribed to Bismarckian traditions —
this may form the subject of future treatment ; it is too
broad a question to be discussed here.
Interesting as was Bismarck as an individual, those who
were brought into contact with him could not avoid realising
that he counted for more than a great personality. He stood 125

GERMAN MEMORIES
too high, too remote from a casual visitor to inspire affection.
Affection demands at least a semblance of reciprocity, and one
felt that, with all his courtesy and kindness, the Prince's inter
ests were far away, beyond the reach of lesser mortals. His
thoughts were engrossed by those elements which he was wont
to describe as the " imponderabilities " of life. According to
the teaching of St. Paul, that which is visible shall pass away,
but that which is invisible is eternal. To some of Prince
Bismarck's admirers, he himself represented a portion of that
which is invisible — the imponderable sincerity, the veracity of
an age much of which was laid in the grave along with him.
Nearly five years after his death (March 28, 1903) I
received a letter from Professor Goldwin Smith which con
tained the following pregnant reference to Bismarck :
"The characters of the iron kind, incarnations of military
force, are not those on which as a rule I look with the
greatest of pleasure. But there are occasions on which they
are indispensable to burst a way through obstacles such as
would otherwise be fatal to the progress of humanity. Such
an occasion it was that called forth Bismarck, and I do not
doubt that, whatever detractions may be made, the restorer of
German unity and its defender against the jealousy of France
will be crowned with the gratitude of history."

126

CHAPTER XI
LENBACH
During a stay in Vienna in September 1891, I received a
letter from Count Herbert Bismarck, at Varzin, inviting me
in his parents' name to pay them a visit there. He said that,
though he himself would unfortunately be absent, I should be
amply compensated by meeting the celebrated painter, Franz
von Lenbach.
I arrived at Varzin in the evening, just in time for dinner,
at which Lenbach was seated beside Prince Bismarck, with
whom, as I could see, he was on terms of close intimacy. The
impression he made upon me was of so sympathetic a nature
that it was with keen regret that I learnt he intended to leave
early the next morning. I had retired for the night when
some one knocked at my door ; it was Lenbach, carrying a
sheet of cardboard in his hand. It was apparently the cover
of one of those band-boxes in which milliners pack ladies'
dresses. Lenbach had given it a lasting value, for he had
drawn upon it a pen-and-ink sketch of Prince Bismarck in a
forester's cap. He asked me to accept it as a memento of our
first meeting, and added that if I came to see him in Munich
he would give me something more worthy of acceptance.1
Some months later I paid Lenbach a visit at Munich, when
he proved as good as his word, for he painted my portrait in a
peculiar tempera manner for which he had at that time a
strong partiality, and made me a present of it. I was leaving
Munich for Friedrichsruh on another visit to Prince Bismarck,
and Lenbach enjoined me to be sure and show it to the
Prince. This I was naturally somewhat reluctant to do;
l My Reminiscences of Prince Bismarck, pp. 70-71.
127

GERMAN MEMORIES
but, being anxious to carry out his wishes, I took the
cartoon one evening after dinner into the drawing-room
and submitted it for the Prince's inspection, with an
apology that it was Lenbach's express wish that I should
do so. Bismarck looked attentively at the picture, and,
turning to me with the sly smile which was often seen
on his countenance when he was about to say anything
pointed, remarked: "He has flattered you," gazing intently
at me as if waiting to hear what I might say. "To tell
you the truth, Prince," I rejoined, " I am still so sensible
of the honour Lenbach has conferred upon me, that,
after having painted your Highness, he should have condescended
to paint me, that I have not yet troubled to think whether
the likeness be flattering or otherwise."
During the next twelve years, down to Lenbach's death, I was
a frequent guest at his residence in Munich. He came to see
me on several occasions in London ; and I repeatedly met him
as a fellow guest of Prince Bismarck's at Friedrichsruh. At
Bismarck's death Lenbach and I were among the very few who
were permitted, indeed invited, to take a last look at the dead
statesman, a privilege which was not accorded to more than a
dozen persons in all, of whom scarcely six can be living to-day.
When Lenbach died the art world of Germany forgot for
the moment its petty envies and jealousies, and joined in
the spirit of Shakespeare's noble words which, as if coined
anew for the occasion, burst forth simultaneously from the
whole German Press :
Take him for all in all he was a man,
We shall not look upon his like again.
An eminent art historian wrote in the Frankfurter
Zeitung : " A life has come to an end rich and beautiful
as that of no second artist of our time. Lenbach towered
above our bourgeois age, like some scion of those distant days
when artists mixed on an equality with kings, when the
Emperor Charles the Fifth did not disdain to pick up the
brush which had fallen from the hand of a Titian, and
128

ffl/ Jmo*- j ¦ /

FEANZ VON LENBACH

LENBACH
Rubens rode through the city of Antwerp decked in a chain
of gold." 1
According to that acute observer of national life, Gustave
le Bon,2 the true artist, " whether poet, architect or painter,
possesses the magic faculty of expressing in his syntheses the
soul of an epoch and of a race. Very impressionable, very un
conscious, thinking more especially in images and reasoning
but little, artists are at certain epochs the faithful mirrors of
the society in which they live ; their works are the most exact
documents to which recourse can be had with a view to
evoking a vanished civilisation. They are too unconscious not
to be sincere, and too much impressed by their surroundings
not to give faithful expression to the ideas, sentiments, needs
and tendencies of their environment."
Many are of opinion that in Franz von Lenbach Germany
possessed one of those rare artists who reflect the soul of an
epoch, for his work will hand down to coming generations the
dominant personalities of a glorious period in German history.
Prince Bismarck went out of his way to declare that it pleased
him to feel that he would be known hereafter by means of
Lenbach's portraits.
The story of Lenbach's humble parentage, his boyhood in
the Bavarian village of Schrobenhausen, his early struggles and
prompt achievement of renown, is widely known. One day,
when driving out with Princess Bismarck in the neighbour
hood of Varzin, as she herself told me, the carriage passed
a cottage on the wall of which a mason was working. Lenbach
turned to the Princess, and with his wistful smile said : " You
see that man, Princess ; I, too, was once at work like that poor
fellow." Lenbach's father was a village builder with a large family.
His charge for drawing up the plan of a cottage was about
one florin, or one shilling and eightpence in English money.
So it may well have been within the functions of his gifted
1 Bichard Muther on Franz von Lenbach, Frankfurter Zeitung, May «,
1904. 2 Tlie Psychology of Peoples, by Gustave le Bon. Fisher Unwin, 1899.
i 129

GERMAN MEMORIES
son to lend a helping hand occasionally with brick and mortar.
He told me that he lived on less than a pound a month
during the days of his apprenticeship. Long before he died
the peasant's son had become what Tiziano Vecellio was once
before him: "The painter of kings, and a king among painters."
But even this description of Lenbach's scope of activity is in
adequate. For the painter of kings in his case did not include
the court painter ; but the term comprised the limning of
those for whom the German language has coined the beau
tiful untranslatable term of Geistesheroen, " Heroes of the
Mind." These were indeed the only kings of whom Lenbach
would have cared to be called the painter. He was not im
pressed by rank, and, though he had probably painted more
exalted personages than any other artist of his time, he had
refused almost as many commissions as he accepted. He
declined an invitation of the Emperor Alexander III. to go
to St. Petersburg, and I was present when he likewise declined
a telegraphic summons to come to London to paint Mr. Cecil
Rhodes. Showing me the telegram, he said : " Let him come
to Munich."
The extraordinary position Lenbach occupied in the social
and artistic world of Germany, and more particularly of Munich,
was due nearly as much to his strong personality as to his
eminence as an artist.
Lenbach was one of the small number of great artists who
followed through life the full bent of an artistic temperament
without suffering shipwreck in the process ; standing here in
marked contrast to Rembrandt, the genius with whom he has
often been compared. During the critical period in which
many talented men nurse their chances of "getting on" in
the world, Lenbach, whether in Rome, Vienna or Madrid,
whilst working as hard as only the strong can work, yet led
a high-strung life in the midst of a society composed of lovely
women and highly gifted men. Heedless of the morrow, he
breasted the flood of fancy and passion on the full tide of a
happy-go-lucky existence. Few are privileged to wander with
impunity under the figurative palm-tree where endless pitfaUs,
130

LENBACH
the searchings of a morbid sensibility, await the unwary genius.
But the aesthetic refinement, the innate strength — what
Carlyle would have called the " valour " of the man — carried
him through all and brought him at last safely into the
haven of home life. There, with his devoted wife and their
children around him, he worked to the last, harder and more
successfully than ever, excelling the productions of his earlier
years in richness of colour as well as in power of composition
and execution. The work of his later period surprised even
those who had been his life-long admirers. His portrait of
Leo XIII. was unanimously proclaimed to be the finest
rendering of a Pontiff since Raphael painted Julius II. and
Velasquez Innocent X.
Somebody once asked Lenbach what might be his price for
a portrait. " That all depends," he replied ; " from 20,000
marks, which I may ask, down to 5000, which I may be
willing to pay for the privilege of painting an exceptionally
interesting face." This answer supplies a key to the
character of the man. It illustrates his indifference to money
where his artistic instincts were called into play.
In many cases he was able to ask practically what he liked.
Yet he never went beyond a certain figure, which was con
siderably less than rumour credits certain English, French and
American artists with getting for their work. He told me
that he dishked asking what he considered to be an excessive
price, even when certain of obtaining it. Where an ex
ceptionally high price was offered to induce him to reconsider
a previous refusal he never went back upon it. He once
mentioned the exact amount which the German Emperor had
paid for a portrait. It was not excessive, and I said as much.
But Lenbach replied that it was ample, that he was well paid,
and that he would not have cared to accept more. He did
not like the idea of receiving more than he thought his work
was fairly worth. As a rule royal personages did not appeal
to him, though there were exceptions. There was little in
them that interested him ; and even from a business point
pf view, strange to say, they are not always satisfactory 131

GERMAN MEMORIES
customers. They want too much for their money and are
difficult to please. Besides, the etiquette which surrounds
them is tedious. Lenbach was willing to suppress his indi
viduality for days together when in contact with exacting
genius, but it was irksome to him to be obliged to do so in
the presence of royal mediocrity.
His aim in painting a portrait was to render the dominant
characteristics of his sitter, in order to do which it was
necessary for him, as he maintained, to be able to understand
his or her character. It is related of him that, when paint
ing the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, he vainly
endeavoured to arrive at a satisfactory conception of the
monarch's soul. At last he laid down his brush and said,
apologisingly, that the Emperor struck him as a man who was
so completely oppressed with care that he feared he would be
unable to give his imperial sitter satisfaction.
Endless was the fund of anecdote and experiences concern
ing his dealings with the great of this world.
One summer evening Lenbach was passing out of his studio
into the grounds when he saw two ladies in black, looking at
the different bits of antique sculpture in his garden with
evident interest. He went up, and addressing them said to
the unknown trespassers in a somewhat pointed tone : " What
can I do for you, meine Damen ? " " Oh, pray forgive us,
Herr Professor," replied one of the ladies ; " I am the Empress
of Austria, and I thought I should like to fill up the time
till our train starts by looking at your beautiful villa." Needless
to say she did this at once in Lenbach's, company. He told
me afterwards that he had painted the Empress many years
previously, but she had changed so much that he did not
recognise her.
A wealthy friend of mine wanted Lenbach to paint his
wife's portrait, and, as I was going to Munich, asked me to
make the suggestion to him. " What does his wife look
like ? " queried Lenbach. I gave a flattering description of
the lady, but Lenbach was not in a humour to do business.
He was in one of those moods in which he felt it to be almost
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LENBACH
an artistic degradation to paint anybody merely because they
were prepared to pay him for doing so. " Tell your friend,"
he said, "that you did not mention the matter to me; that
is the easiest way to get out of it ; besides, I am busy paint
ing my little girl." Had he lived it had been his intention,
as he told me, to devote himself to landscape painting.
His dealings with possible clients did not always pass off so
smoothly as this particular one, for, although incapable of
intentionally causing pain, he was sometimes unable to repress
the temptation to speak his mind if provoked to do so. A
Berlin banker once asked him point blank what he would
charge for painting his portrait ; Lenbach mentioned an un
usually large sum — this being a playful ruse of his when
disinclined to undertake a commission and to avoid being
obliged to give a direct refusal. " But surely that is too
much," blurted out the close-fisted millionaire. " I bought a
portrait which you painted of Prince Bismarck for less than
half that price." " That may be," replied Lenbach, quietly.
" It was a pleasure to me to portray him ; but surely, Herr
X — , without offence, you do not imagine that it would be an
equal pleasure to me to paint you ? "
Sympathy and antipathy of a personal as well as of an artistic
nature were strong influences with him. Some years ago a few
friends of Professor Virchow intended to present him with
his portrait, and, approaching Lenbach with a view to his
accepting the commission, asked what his price would be.
Lenbach declared that he would consider it an honour to paint
the scientist's portrait, and named a comparatively small sum,
but added that if Professor Virchow had not been such an in
veterate enemy of Prince Bismarck he would have been only
too pleased to paint him for nothing.
When Lenbach had struck a bargain he often made his
sitter a present in addition of a pastel sketch or even a finished
painting. I doubt if an artist has ever lived who gave away
so much in money value of his own work as this extraordinary
man. For even his fugitive sketches, the work of a few hours,
fetched high prices. He scarcely had a friend to whom he did
133

GERMAN MEMORIES
not at one time or other give one or even more valuable
specimens of his work. To those to whom he was specially
attached — for instance, Prince Bismarck — he presented price
less portraits in oil. If a face interested him he would make
a sketch of it, and when finished give it to the owner. If a
countenance did not appeal to his artistic sense he would evince
no desire to reproduce it, even though it were that of an
intimate friend. In such cases, however, he would still gratify
his gift-giving propensities and surprise his friend with the
offer of a sketch of Bismarck or of some beautiful woman.
Anything as long as he could give pleasure to those around
him. Lenbach's generosity was of a princely kind and, indeed,
boundless. It was, as already stated, partly because of the
enjoyment it afforded him to give pleasure to others, partly
also an outcome of the two mainsprings of his artistic
nature : his love of the characteristic in man and of the
beautiful in woman. The following is an authentic instance
of the latter. One day a gentleman, accompanied by a beauti
ful girl, came to see him at his studio in Rome. They turned
out to be a Venetian banker named Rombo and his young
daughter Annina. After admiring everything, they gave the
painter a cordial invitation to be sure to come to Venice and
pay them a visit. Passing through Venice some time after
wards, Lenbach met them again, and expressed a wish to be
allowed to paint the daughter. The preliminaries were soon
arranged, when an unexpected hitch presented itself. Signor
Rombo was desirous of arranging the price he was to pay for
his daughter's portrait, when, to his surprise, Lenbach insisted
on painting her for nothing. He said it was no labour to
him to paint a head of such classical beauty, but an enjoy
ment which would yield him untold artistic gratification and
for which he could take no payment whatever. Signor
Rombo declined to accept such a present and insisted on
paying for the portrait. As both sides proved obstinate the
matter fell through, and the lady in question, to-day the
renowned Venetian beauty known to the world as Countess
134

LENBACH
Morosini, was denied the privilege of being immortalised by
Lenbach. This story might well seem incredible, or it might be
suspected, at least, that some undisclosed item altered its true
import, were it not that authentic instances are positively
without end of Lenbach's disinterestedness where his artistic
instincts were called into play. So much so that those who
are best acquainted with his record in this respect might well
marvel how he was ever able to make the amount of money he
did, seeing how much of his work he gave away and how
much of his earnings he spent on others, and also on the pur
chase of works of old masters to adorn his palatial residence.
Happily, however, his marvellous industry, his capacity for
work, were on a par with his generosity. Even by accepting
payment for about half, or let me say two-thirds, of what he
painted — the rest being given away — he was yet able to earn
a handsome income, to support a number of his poor relatives,
and to leave his wife and children handsomely provided for.
To say that the magnanimity of the man was now and then
not appreciated is only to state a common experience of
human nature, but it was also abused by some whose wealth
and high station should have rendered such a thing impossible.
During his sojourn in Rome in the early eighties, a friend one
day brought, to visit his studio, a lady whose beauty made a
great impression on him, a by no means unusual occurrence.
Although Lenbach was overwhelmed with commissions at the
time, he threw everything on one side and begged to be
allowed to make a sketch of so lovely an apparition. The
lady came again and again, and before many days had passed
Lenbach had dashed off four separate sketches of her. In his
enthusiasm he packed them up and sent them to her hotel,
with a few lines begging her to honour him by accepting what
it had afforded him so much artistic gratification to produce ;
a present which, at the rate he was readily paid for his work,
represented a money value of about a thousand pounds. The
lady's husband, an American multi-millionaire, felt that such
a present required a quid pro quo, and sent the artist a cheque 135

GERMAN MEMORIES
for £50 ! Lenbach returned the cheque, but the sketches
did not come back.
To be in Lenbach's confidence was to enlarge one's know
ledge of the meanness underlying the pomp and gUtter of the
great international world of " society." To know him inti
mately was to marvel at the self-restraint of a noble nature
which seldom allowed itself to utter a word in anger or
complaint of human turpitude. He possessed a rare strength,
an even rarer greatness of soul.
Although Lenbach did not speak a word of English he had
a strong liking for England. He called London " beautiful."
When in need of a holiday, he repeatedly took it by coming
straight from Munich to London for a few days. He
studiously avoided seeing anybody, although many would have
been glad to meet him. In October 1894 he came over to see
the exhibition of old masters at the Grafton Gallery. He
stayed here a week, and, except that I took him to hear
James M. Coward play the organ — an instrument he loved,
and of which he declared Mr. Coward to be the best player he
had ever heard — he literally spoke to no living soul outside
my family during his stay. He told me that he had more
than enough of " society " in his own country.
He came to England to commune with the great dead, to
delight in the work which they had left behind them. The
National Gallery was the Kaaba of his English Mecca, and
after he had worshipped daily at its shrine there came
the Raphael cartoons at South Kensington, the Elgin
marbles at the British Museum, the Wallace Collection and
Westminster Abbey. We also went to see the pictures
at Hampton Court and Greenwich. He was not particularly
struck by the former, and did not care much for Lely
or Kneller. He also found fault with the shabby way in
which the pictures are kept at Hampton Court. He was
more favourably impressed with Greenwich. The National
Gallery he declared t6 be in many respects the finest collection
of paintings in the world. I have taken him there in
the morning and left him there the best part of the
136

LENBACH
day. He would then expatiate endlessly on the glories of
the English eighteenth-century portrait painters. But his
admiration was not restricted to these masters. He was
almost as eloquent in his appreciation of Constable and
Turner. I have heard him say that the best work of
Constable and Turner possessed higher merits than the whole
sum of landscape painting of some countries. In fact, he did
not think the world had produced their equals. His keenest
sympathies, however, were reserved for Reynolds and
Gainsborough. He envied these masters the beautiful women,
the distinguished-looking men, that sat to them. He was
amused when I told him that they had not always been
appreciated at their present high value in England, and that
I had read somewhere in one of Charles Lamb's essays
how Reynolds was compared to his disadvantage with some
second-rate Italian. Even the work of the lesser lights of this
great school, such as Romney, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Raeburn,
etc., Lenbach held to be superior to the best contemporary
art ; for they are already hallowed by the efflux of time,
according to him the only true criterion of all art. For all
that he believed that the enormous prices which their work
fetches to-day are exaggerated and will not last ; particularly
as many of the pictures are not in a good state of
preservation. Of contemporary English artists I recall his appreciative
reference to Orchardson and particularly to G. F. Watts, on
both of whom we called. But in general he dwelt upon the
ephemeral character of the art products of our time, which,
with few exceptions, he believed destined to pass away, or at
least to be priced hereafter at about the cost of their frames.
" What makes you think that that will be their fate ? "
I asked. " Well," he replied, " you have only to judge for yourself
by bearing in mind that comparatively little has come
down to us of the artistic work of the past. All the rest has
disappeared. Besides," he added, " take the experience of
our own lifetime. What is left to-day of many of the
137

GERMAN MEMORIES
reputations of thirty years ago ? Look at Germany, for
instance ; where are K. and M. and many others to-day ? "
" Well, then," I remarked, " if you have so small an
opinion of the art of the present time, what do you think
is likely to be the fate of your own work ? "
" As for that," he said, " I think I may possibly have a
chance of living ; but only if individuahsation or charac
terisation be deemed to constitute a quality of permanent
value in a picture. This, however, I shall never know, for it
can only be adjudged by posterity. If that verdict should
prove unfavourable, then my work too will pass with the
rest, for it cannot compare on their lines with the great
masters of the past."
" How do you account for it," I continued, " that this
particular English school of art painters, which you are so
fond of, is of such supreme excellence ? "
" Well," he answered, " you see, men like Reynolds and
Gainsborough led very different lives to what artists do
nowadays. They threw their whole heart into their work,
and even when they were most productive they were imbued
with sincerity and a rare power of concentration. Theirs was
a dignity which is foreign to our impressionable, noisy age.
Thus, somehow, they possessed the secret of creating the
beautiful." It was one of Lenbach's pet ideas that there is little
character in our age, which is bereft of colour, costume and
symbolism. Fashion forces us all to don the dull, featureless
garb of mediocrity, so that the Pope and the chimney-sweep
are about the only two people left whose dress bespeaks the
character of their calling.
In the course of our wanderings we went to look at
the house once inhabited by Sir Joshua Reynolds in Leicester
Square, the dilapidated condition of which (it was tenanted by
an auctioneer) saddened him. "How can such a wealthy
country thus neglect the mementoes of her great men ? " he
exclaimed. Passing along Piccadilly he saw in a shop window
an artist's palette ticketed up as having once belonged to Sir
138

LENBACH
Joshua Reynolds, and he begged me to go in and inquire what
they would take for it. " It is not for sale," was the answer.
" Try again," Lenbach urged ; " offer them twenty or thirty
pounds for it." I did so, but to no purpose. It was an heirloom
of the firm, I was told, which is still the self-same one which
over a hundred years ago, when in Long Acre, sold colours to Sir
Joshua Reynolds. The name over the shop was Roberson.
" Surely," I said, " that is a ridiculous price to give for a
bit of old wooden board." " Oh, no," Lenbach replied ;
" Reynolds was one of the greatest painters of all times. And
he was not only a great painter, but a most able literary
exponent of art as well. His ' Discourses ' are still the best
embodiment of the principles of art we can refer to. The
English of the eighteenth century stand on a par with the
great masters of Italy, Spain and Holland ; the French, for
instance, with all their boasted artistic qualities, have never
produced such a man as Reynolds."
One day we visited Mr. G. F. Watts's studio in Melbury
Road. On leaving I asked Lenbach what might be his
opinion of Mr. Watts as an artist ? He answered, " Reynolds
was a child of nature, Watts is one of nature's nephews," a
differentiation which still placed Watts in Lenbach's estima
tion far above most contemporary art, among the immortals.
What particularly excited Lenbach's regard for Watts, and
also for Burne Jones, was that neither of them had ever
swerved a hair's breadth from his artistic ideals for the sake
of making money. They stood above the pursuit of gain.
Lenbach had made too much money himself to think unkindly
of others who had been equally successful, but he believed
that there was a point beyond which no artist can go in that
direction without jeopardising whatever chance he might
possess of producing work of lasting value. To be Zu sehr
Kaufmann, too much of the huckster, was the danger. " The
rock of the charlatan," he said, "for in art, as in other
imperative matters, the Biblical words applied with peculiar
force, ' What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul ? ' " 139

GERMAN MEMORIES
The London crowd excited the interest of this close observer
of human character ; but the sight of the many dirty,
shabbily dressed people we met in the streets repelled him.
It filled his sensitive nature with pain. The slums within a
few minutes' walk of Westminster Abbey drew from him the
remark that it was hard to believe that such ugliness could
have existed at all at a time when architects lived capable of
creating such beautiful structures, of composing in stone with
such sincerity and reverence.
One night we went to a music-hall. The place called forth
the dry comment : " Cads on the stage, cads in the audience."
The vulgarity of the crowd shocked him. The squalor of the
tenement dwellings of the working classes, as seen from the
railway carriages on the south London lines, had such a
saddening effect upon him that he could not banish the
memory of it for days. He even recurred to the subject long
afterwards when I visited him in Munich.
" There must be an untold amount of misery amid all this
wealth ? But, after all, the English have done great work in
the past, not only in art. They have given much humour to
the world (Sie haben der Welt viel humor gegeben). A pity
they seem to want everything for themselves and begrudge us
Germans our rising commerce, our insignificant Colonial
possessions." In the month of October 1903 I spent a few days with
Lenbach, in Munich, for the last time. He had almost
recovered from the partial seizure of twelve months before, and
had just finished a portrait of General Woodford, United
States Ambassador at Madrid. And, according to all accounts,
his powers of portraiture showed no decline whatever. One
afternoon we went together by train to the Starnberg Lake,
on the beautiful banks of which, in sight of the snow-clad
Alps, he was having a stately villa built after the design of
his friend Gabriel von Seidl. He told me that he thought he
was now on the point of realising the supreme ambition of his
life — namely, of devoting himself entirely to art for its own
sake ; that is to say, to work without thinking about money, to
140

LENBACH
paint landscapes and beautiful children. For this strong man,
who had stood erect in the presence of more monarchs than
many a high-born courtier crawls before in a lifetime, always
remained Em Natur Kind, an unspoilt child of Nature.
And in the artistic evening of his life a voice seemed to call
unto him and inspire his artistic soul with the words of our
Saviour, " Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid
them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God." Alas ! it was
otherwise ordained, for Lenbach was shortly afterwards struck
down by the illness of which he died.
I have left myself no space to dwell upon the varied
intellectual gifts of this favoured son of the Bavarian hills.
To tell of the humour which sparkled from the lips and found
a lasting record in hundreds of vivacious anecdotes ; how,
whilst disdaining the arts of an orator, he yet succeeded when
occasion arose in swaying an audience as few trained rhetori
cians could do, ahd impressed his strong will upon his sur
roundings. I was twice present with him at Friedrichsruh
on the occasion of Prince Bismarck's birthday, and it was he
who proposed the health of the " birthday child." I remember
it was a stirring address, a rushing torrent of deep-felt words,
which moved all present, some even to tears.
Such was his natural acumen and breadth of view in dealing
with matters entirely outside his profession that he was one
of whom it might be justifiably said that he would have
succeeded in any calling he might have chosen. I have been
with him when he bought pictures or bric-a-brac, and his
discrimination was as remarkable as his prompt decision in
paying what some might have thought a high price, but
which, thanks to his unerring judgment, generally turned out
to be a good investment. Since his death one of his Titians
alone has been sold for £50, 000.
Lenbach's powers of organisation made him the centre — for
or against — of every art movement which agitated the
Bavarian capital. To him was mainly due the conception,
as well as the erection, of the beautiful Munich Kiinstlerhaus.
Lenbach was of stately stature and powerful build. Every- 141

GERMAN MEMORIES
thing about the man denoted determination, wiU-power,
strength, and yet refinement, especially his aristocratic hands,
the powerful forehead, and the piercing expression of his
luminous eyes, which at times took a haze of tenderness, rare
even in a woman. His smile was intensified by the possession
of faultless white teeth, of which he had not lost a single one.
He used to call himself ugly, for there was a certain rugged
ness about his strong features which one finds among the
portraits of the Dutch masters. But to those who can read
aright the outward expression of great qualities of heart and
mind, the proud dignity of manliness, Lenbach looked what he
was — every inch a king among men.

142

CHAPTER XII
MUNICH
I had been to Munich when the picture galleries, the theatres,
and, I fear, the quality of Munich beer were its greatest attrac
tions. On one occasion, however, I had a gruesome experi
ence, for I was prevailed upon to make an inspection of the
cemetery, where, in a separate building — in order to guard
against the danger of burying any one who might only be in a
trance — the dead are exposed in public in their open coffins.
There were dead of all ages and of all conditions, for no
station of life exempts from the obligation of public exposure.
Hardly anybody was about, and I could not help reflecting
that if such a law were to come into force in England it
might be difficult to keep away the crowd whose morbid
curiosity would draw them to look at the dead. The memory
of the horrible sight haunted me for many a day.
In the summer of 1881 I had an opportunity of seeing
something of the popular life of South Germany, and more
particularly that of Munich. Germany is the home of social
Vereme, or associations, and the rifle associations are among
the few remaining German institutions of the Middle Ages
which have survived the ruin of the Thirty Years War.
Originally they were guilds formed for the defence of the
citizens against the predatory inroads of the territorial nobles ;
they are now little more than a harmless means of convivial
gatherings and open-air recreation of the small tradespeople.
Nearly every town and many villages have their rifle guild
and rifle range ; some of them have been in existence for
several centuries, and have documentary records to that effect.
In Karlsbad the target is still shown on which Peter the Great
148

GERMAN MEMORIES
scored a bull's eye. The rifle ranges are not the poor minia
ture affairs in a back-yard with which we are familiar, but
long stretches of communal land, often beautifully situated on
the fringe of a forest, with a cleanly kept restaurant, a concert
and dancing saloon, the walls being covered with quaint old
targets. In July 1881 the Seventh Great Triennial International
Schutzenfest took place in Munich, to which crowds of visitors
streamed from all parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland ;
for rifle-shooting is cultivated even more in these latter coun
tries than ki Germany, and these periodical meetings afford
congenial opportunies for keeping alive sympathies which, in
spite of political severance, exist between the masses of these
predominantly Teutonic countries. This particular meeting
was a record one, both as regards the number of visitors who
attended it and the amount of beer consumed on the occasion.
The streets of the city were gaily decorated, and the leading
artists of Munich, ever to the fore in public spirit, did not
think it beneath their dignity to lend their help generously in
the way of suggestions for decoration and handsome donations.
Foremost among them was the eminent portrait painter, Fritz
A. Kaulbach, who contributed a most effective figure of a Munich
beer maid in her pretty costume, and gave it as a present
to the Munich rifle society — a valuable gift, since his pictures
fetch very high prices. The festival began with a gorgeous
pageant, a procession in which huge ornamental cars with
groups of allegorical representations of trade guilds were
followed by files of costumed men of past ages ; altogether a
picturesque sight, and one which could only be witnessed in
the countries then represented.
Over 50,000 people were at the opening ceremony, 7000
Schiitzen among them. There was tense excitement when the
quick-firing competition between the picked representatives of
Austria, Switzerland and Germany took place. It lasted about
three-quarters of an hour, and as soon as the results were
made known the winners were conducted — some, indeed,
carried aloft on the shoulders of their friends — to the temple
144

MUNICH
which had been erected for the occasion, where Prince Ludwig
of Bavaria, the heir-apparent to the throne, distributed the
silver cups to the winners.
Ten years later I went again to Munich under very
different auspices, as the guest of Franz von Lenbach. To
be seen with him in public was to be oneself a personage of
even greater importance than the winner of a prize at a
Schiitzenfest. So great was the prestige attaching to this
man that it spread to his immediate surroundings. Among
the many eminent personages I met at his house or in direct
connection with him was Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, a kindly,
benevolent man, whose relations with Lenbach were of an
extremely friendly and cordial nature. He came to Lenbach's
atelier one day in 1892 with two of his daughters whilst I
happened to be there, and entrusted me with a sympathetic
message to convey to Prince Bismarck. Of other casual
visitors I recall Count Philip Eulenburg ; Richard Voss, the
dramatist ; George Hirth, the genial creator of the " Jugend,"
a very forceful man ; and Paul Heyse, whose friendship I am
still happy to possess.
Paul Heyse, whose poetical writings deservedly enjoy a
world-wide reputation, was a great friend of Lenbach. He
lived in the same road, in a villa standing in a garden, in
surroundings of simplicity and distinction. I had heard the
story of his high-minded action, many years previously, when
he resigned an annual pension from King Maximilian of
Bavaria because that monarch had thought fit to withdraw a
similar mark of favour from Emanuel Gutzkow, the poet, in
consequence of the latter's political leanings. This impressed
me with admiration for the character of the man as much
as for his gifts as a writer. Heyse is one of the remaining
intellectual Germans of a previous generation, whose whole
manner, appearance, and bearing betoken the well-bred gentle
man. When Tennyson died Heyse sent me a translation into
German of a short poem of the English Laureate's poem,
" Crossing the Bar," which I gave to the London Athenaeum
for publication.
k 145

GERMAN MEMORIES
On Paul Heyse's eightieth birthday he was presented with a
costly album, each leaf of which was contributed by some man
of letters selected from different countries. I was invited to
participate, and wrote a few lines embodying the idea that,
although many changes had come about in Germany, not all
of which are deemed by her own people to be happy ones, as
long as Germany continued to produce such lofty characters as
Paul Heyse all would be well with her.
Bjoernstjerne-Bjoemson, the distinguished Norwegian writer,
used to come to Munich to see his beautiful auburn-haired
daughter, who was married to Langen, the publisher. During
one of my visits to Munich, Lenbach happened to be painting
the Norwegian author's portrait, and this gave me a welcome
opportunity of making the latter's acquaintance. He was
staying with his son-in-law at his villa, and received me with
great kindness when I called upon him. I told him that
many years ago his play, Das Fallissement, had made a deep
impression on me, and that I had translated it into English,
but could not get an English theatre to produce it ; for that
reason I had never approached him on the subject. In reply
to his query whether I had read any of his novels, I told him
that my other occupations had prevented me from reading any
novels for many years. Thereupon he presented me with
three volumes of his works, in each of which he wrote a few
words and the date, January 20, 1897. One was the drama
Der Koenig, another Ueber Unsere Kraft. On the flyleaf
of his Neue Erzaehlungen he inscribed the words, " Ach,
lesen Sie doch wieder einmal Erzaehlungen ! — B. B.," l a
request to which I readily responded.
Hermann Levi, general director of the Court Opera, and
well known as a composer of delightful songs and a friend of
Wagner, whose works he had conducted at Bayreuth, was
another valuable addition to the circle of my German friends.
He was one of the few distinguished Germans I have met
concerning whom I never heard a word of depreciation from
any one, and from whose lips never came an unkind remark
l " Oh, do read some stories again.''
146

MUNICH
about others. He was a refined and charming personality.
I first met him at Friedrichsruh, whither he came in 1893,
with Lenbach, to stay with Prince Bismarck on his birthday
He soon made himself persona gratissima with the Bismarck
household, and, when he left, Bismarck's daughter, Countess
Rantzau, gave him one of her father's black felt hats as
a souvenir ; for everything pertaining to the great statesman
had already become a relic in his lifetime.
At Hermann Levi's house in Munich I was privileged to
meet Frau Cosima Wagner, her son Siegfried, her daughters,
and an array of musical courtiers in her train. As in the case
of royalty, the invitations had to be submitted for the lady's
approval, and it was at first deemed doubtful whether, as a
friend of Lenbach, from whom she was said to be estranged,
I should be allowed to meet her ; and this in spite of Levi's
intercession and the party being given in his house. It was a
great occasion, and the date, January 22, 1899, one of
almost historical import in musical annals, that of the first
performance at the Royal Opera House at Munich of
Siegfried Wagner's opera, Der Bdrenhduter, " the man with
the bear skin " — apparently some old beer-quaffing, unwashed
mythological Teuton !
Siegfried and his Bdrenhduter monopolise the conversation
everywhere. Visitors have arrived from almost every capital
in Europe ; professional musical critics — particularly a very
fat one, a great authority, from Vienna — theatrical entre
preneurs, and also a fair sprinkling of devout, aristocratic
fine fleur, real live princes and princesses among them. The
dress circle is filled with Frau Cosima Wagner's friends, or, let
me say, devout, unquestioning followers of Wagner and his
son Siegfried. For no others would for a moment be allowed
near the Wagnerian shrine or to cross the Wagnerian threshold.
Madame herself, dressed in black, her silvery hair setting off the
pointed aristocratic features of the Comtesse d'Agoult's daughter,
is seen in a front middle seat ; her disciples are grouped around
her. Nearly everybody is in evening dress, unusual attire in
a German theatre, reserved for grand and stately occasions.
147

GERMAN MEMORIES
Der Bdrenhduter, as it proceeds, develops into a veritable
ovation for the young composer. Again and again he is
called before the curtain, and bows his acknowledgments amid
vociferous applause. Some of those who are not out-and-out
Wagnerians find the plot, as also the music, a trifle wearying
— not to say monotonous. Lost souls give vent to blasphemy.
They say that this pre-arranged success will spoil whatever
chance Siegfried might have had of producing solid, original
work of his own ; that if his father had been alive he would
have sooner thrown the orchestra score at his son's head than
have allowed the Bdrenhduter to be heard in public. But this
profane talk, carried on in tremulous whispers, has little per
ceptible effect on the dominant wave of enthusiastic approval.
It is past ten o'clock. Down goes the curtain at last, and
everybody is off in hot haste to the Arcis Strasse, which is
soon thronged with a long row of carriages drawing up at
No. 17. Herr General Director Levi is standing at the top
of the staircase with his charming wife, both busy receiving
the favoured guests. Hundreds were eager to oome ; only
about eighty have been privileged to do so. Herr Kapell
meister Fischer arrives very tired ; and no wonder, for he has
conducted the Bdrenhduter from start to finish. Felix Mottl,
from Carlsruhe, is already among the throng which is forming
into a circle ready to receive Siegfried and his mother in its
bosom as they alight from the carriage and slowly ascend the
stairs, the latter truly a dowager-queen in appearance. It is
an extraordinary scene. Frau Cosima is evidently to the
manner born for receiving regal homage, in this case a very
tempest of congratulations. The fairest women, even the
lovely Countess K  ¦, are unheeded here, where everybody
crowds round to snatch a glance of recognition from the
indomitable daughter of the great Liszt and her son Siegfried's
mentor. He is less stately in appearance ; in fact, nothing
could be more simple and unassuming than his manner, the
almost boyish, unaffected good-nature with which he shakes
hands all round and thanks his friends for their good wishes.
He looks very much like his father, although Frau Cosima
148

MUNICH
afterwards gave it as her opinion that he most resembled
her own father, Franz Liszt. To a phrenologist his features
might well recall music in every outline. I fancy I can
trace a likeness between Siegfried Wagner and almost every
great musician from Mozart downwards. Otherwise his sallow
complexion bears traces of the effects of burning the midnight
oil. This is not surprising, seeing that the composition of an
opera on Wagnerian lines is a task which only physical giants
should approach.
Tables are laid for supper in several of the rooms, which
are en suite, and soon the whole company is seated and busy
discussing a sumptuous repast. Things are not done by halves
here ; music for the ear, " made in Germany," if you please ;
but caviare from Russia, pate de foie gras from Strasburg, and
genuine champagne from Epernay.
Hitherto Herr Levi had been vainly attempting to bring
me within introducing distance of the Frau Meisterin, and
finally hinted that I had better wait until after supper,
which I did. Nor had I cause to regret it ; for nothing could
have been more gracious than the reception I met with when
the Herr General Director piloted me into the room set apart,
after the fashion of royalty, for the Dowager Queen in the
realm of Wagnerian worship and those nearest to her throne.
There she sat, with her paladins around her, those who wield
the director's baton conspicuous, the very field -marshals of her
empire — Mottl, Fischer and others. Whilst Levi, primus
inter pares, is rushing about doing the honours, Siegfried is
seated opposite to his mother, and on either side of him a
galaxy of handsome stately women ; prominent among these
his sister Eva, named after the heroine of the Meistersingers,
Isolde, Daniele and Blandine von Bulow, the last three the
daughters of Frau Cosima by her first husband, Hans von
Biilow. I venture to say a few appreciative words concerning
the great success of her son's opera. But Frau Cosima is not
to be got at so easily ; for she replies that success in itself is
all very well, but far more important is it to produce good
work than to bother ourselves as to whether our efforts are
149

GERMAN MEMORIES
crowned with success or not. I stand corrected, and listen with
pleasure to the lady's graceful acknowledgment of the in
creasing interest Bayreuth excites in England. Like Cecil
Rhodes, Frau Cosima speaks in continents, and tells me that
she is very satisfied with England and America, of course in
reference to Wagner's music, every other point of view being
non-existent. " In England we have some of our best
friends," madame assures me. At this moment a crowd of
ladies and gentlemen, bearing champagne glasses in their
hands, invade the room. Suddenly these are raised on high to
the unisono and repeated cry: " Siegfried, Siegfried, hoch,
hock!"" Enthusiasm has reached its climax when Siegfried,
after duly toasting everybody present, rises and says a few
graceful words of thanks. Cigars and cigarettes are handed
round, and everybody is soon absorbed in lively conversation
until the small hours of the morning. For a sound constitution
is one of the qualifications of a true Wagnerian of either sex.
As I go downstairs on my way out I pass Countess K  ,
the prettiest woman in Munich ; her husband is putting a
priceless sable cloak round her shoulders. Her face is a dream,
but nobody seems to notice her. Peerless beauty, even with
aristocratic birth and bearing thrown in, competes in vain
where Frau Meisterin Cosima and her disciples award distinc
tion and favour according to musical enthusiasm and unques
tioning devotion.
Altogether it was an uplifting experience, the full signifi
cance of which, however, I only realised some time afterwards
when meeting an influential friend in Berlin, Freiherr von
Dincklage, a Prussian General of musical tastes, who had
been instrumental in obtaining the erection of the monument
to Richard Wagner in the Berlin Thiergarten. He and his
friends found the money, and put up the statue ; unfortu
nately, however, they had neglected to assure themselves in
advance of Madame Wagner's consent and co-operation, and
she declined to sanction the project or to have anything to do
with it. This attitude was, of course, taken as a cue by her
followers, and the project fell flat.
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MUNICH
Lenbach spent many of his evenings at the Artists' Club,
the " Allotria," which, as long as he lived, was a centre of social
and intellectual intercourse. He used to wind up the evening
with a game at cards with a few intimate friends. In many
ways the " Allotria " was expressive of the strong democratic
character of South Germany, which only recognises the aristo
cracy of talent. The club consisted of several large rooms at
the back of a beerhouse in the Barer Strasse. The annual
subscription was only thirty- two marks, and the membership
was supposed to be restricted to people connected with art and
science — either writers, authors, the eminent black and white
artists of the Fliegende Blatter, painters, sculptors, archi
tects, musicians, and a few professors of the Munich University.
An exception as regards membership was made in favour of
some prominent brewer millionaires — the Allsopps, Basses and
Guinnesses of Bavaria. They were admitted, but it was under
stood that they were not to have a voice or vote in the
administration of the club, which was entirely confined to the
artistic element ; this in spite of their wealth and capacity for
playing the part of Mascenas. The only privilege accorded to
these beer magnates, I am told, was that of being allowed to
" endow " the club now and then on festive occasions with a
cask or two of their choicest brews.
On the walls are some drawings, fanciful arrangements of
artistic emblems, and humorous caricatures of the more famous
members by the renowned painters, Lenbach, Fritz Kaulbach,
Franz Stuck and others, who all mixed at the " Allotria " on
terms of perfect cordiality with the most unknown members
as long as they could claim to belong to the same fields of
intellectual endeavour. The members sit together at long
wooden tables, where the far-famed Munich beer, at twopence
a pint, washes down the Spartan fare. Everybody joins in the
conversation, newcomers being introduced all round before
taking their seats.
Sometimes visitors — travellers who had anything interesting
to tell — would give a lecture ; occasionally leading artists would
drop in late. A grand piano stood on a platform, and some 151

GERMAN MEMORIES
wonderful examples of extempore improvisation were heard ;
more attractive than conventional concert performances.
Altogether, I fancy more talent could be met with in one
evening in the unpretentious " Allotria " than in any similar
resort in other parts of the world. Now and then, indeed,
all who were distinguished in art, letters and music, as well as
strangers of note, might be seen there. Nansen, the Norwegian
explorer, was a visitor. The Bavarian Princes, too, occasionally
came as guests. In 1892 Bismarck came there with Lenbach,
in memory of which visit the tankard he drank out of is still
kept as one of the relics of the club.
At the " Allotria " I met Herrn von Perfall, Franz Stuck,
the painter ; Gabriel von Seidl, the architect, a great friend
of Lenbach ; Eugen Wolf, the traveller ; Major Wissman,
the genial African explorer, who shortly afterwards came to a
premature end ; as well as a number of other notabilities in
the arts, drama, music and science.
One evening a week Lenbach would spend at a " Kegel "
club to play skittles, where celebrities like Paul Heyse,
Gabriel Seidl and others would meet and associate with the
small shopkeeper element under the same unpretentious and
frugal conditious as those of the " Allotria." Altogether these
experiences and memories are ineffaceable, and, now that
Lenbach is no more, can have no repetition.

152

CHAPTER XIII
FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
During a stay in Berlin in the winter of 1899—1900 my
friend the late Heinrich von Poschinger gave me an introduc
tion to Field-Marshal Count Blumenthal, with whom I had
several conversations.
The three wars which preceded and directly conduced to
the unification of Germany brought forth three Prussian
strategists of the first rank, concerning whom military
opinion is now practically unanimous in declaring that each of
them might have proved equal to the great task which
ultimately fell to the lot of the best known of the three.
What were the limits of their capacities, what unexplored
possibilities of leadership might still have been theirs, can
never be known, since none of them ever encountered defeat.
These supreme commanders of armed hosts — sometimes
popularly supposed to be men of study, but in truth men of
action of the very sternest type — were Generals von Moltke,
von Goeben, and von Blumenthal.
General von Goeben, the youngest of the three, was the
first to quit the world's busy stage (1880); Count Moltke
died (1891) in his ninety-first year ; and Count Blumenthal
followed him to rest, at the same age, on December 22,
1900. Although the name of Blumenthal, like many others of a
floral signification, has a somewhat plebeian sound in German,
the family of the late Field-Marshal is in reality one of
the oldest in North Germany. When, late in life, Count
Blumenthal was on a visit in Rome, Professor Theodor
Mommsen one day bluntly accosted him as follows : 153

GERMAN MEMORIES
" Well, Excellenz, what are you doing here ? "
" Why, to be sure," Blumenthal replied, " I am looking up
a few missing links of my ancestry."
" But what, if I may ask, has your ancestry to do with
Rome?" "Don't you know, Herr Professor, that the Blumenthals
are descended from the Roman Emperor Florian ? "
However this may be, Blumenthals are mentioned in sundry
Swiss chronicles early in the tenth century, and the Branden
burg estate, now in the possession of the late Count Blumen-
thal's daughter, has been in the family ever since the year
1187. At five different periods in German history members
of the family have been raised to the dignity of Count.
Leonhard von Blumenthal was born in Schwedt, on the
Oder, on July 30, 1810. He was educated at the military
cadet school, and entered the Prussian army on July 28,
1827, as lieutenant in the Guards Infantry Reserve Regiment
(the present Fusilier Guards).
When Blumenthal received his commission the memory of
the battle of Waterloo was just twelve years old. Scarcely
twenty years had elapsed since Napoleon — after crushing the
military power of Prussia in a day — rode through the
Brandenburg Gate, lifting his cocked hat above his marble
features in response to the acclamations of the fickle Berlin
crowd. Just as many middle-aged men are to be met with in
our time who took part in the victorious wars of 1866 and
1870, so in those days a great number had shared in the
disasters, and could remember the humiliation, of their
country. The tone of the best among them was leavened
with such memories.
Something had indeed been rotten in the State ; but the
real inwardness of things was only known then, as always, to a
few. A process akin to what Friedrich Nietzsche calls Eine
Umwerthung alter Werthe (a reassessment of values) had been
going on in the world, such a " revaluation " as is again
imperceptibly taking place at the present time, probably on a
far more extensive scale than ever before. But whatever its
154

famou*-. 1906

field-siakshal count blumenthal

FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
character — practical, scientific, or spiritual — its full signifi
cance was only gradually brought home to the crowd by that
hardest of all taskmasters, bitter experience.
The Prussian officer in 1806 — and by the general term I
mean principally that choice minority above referred to —
was wrongly trained. He was out of touch with the modern
trend of affairs ; not, as is usually supposed, ignorant of his
profession, or neglected in mental or modern training. On
the contrary, the powerful influence of such men as Prince
Henry of Prussia, Behrenhorst, Buelow, Scharnhorst, and
others, who formed the nucleus of the famous military society
of Berlin, had prepared and kept the intellectual forces of the
army far and wide on the alert. The military profession,
besides possessing a somewhat pedantic knowledge of strategy
and tactics, was as familiar with the philosophic writings of
Kant as with those of Rousseau and Voltaire ; and no Prussian
officer, a hundred years ago, would have been able to move
freely in society had he been totally unacquainted with the
ideas they contain.
In the zenith of the intellectual life of Germany, when a
serious interest in philosophy and letters prevailed as never
before and perhaps not since, it was impossible for the Prus
sian army to remain in a state of ignorance or indifference.
The military profession, however much it may have formed
a castle of aristocratic birth within itself, was, as regards the
cultivation of the mind, of the same flesh and blood as the
best of the nation, and subsequent events have proved that
this was so. The elite, among whom were Clausewitz,
Grolman, Muffling, Gneisenau, Boy en, the two Scholers, and
others, who, after Jena, were mainly instrumental in re
organising the national forces of the country, were themselves
the natural outcome of this unobtrusive, but serious, in
tellectual life, towards which each, unknown to the ignorant
crowd, silently contributed his share. They formed a body
of hard-working, earnest thinkers, who proved themselves
capable of uniting a remarkable capacity for deeds of action
with the highest intellectual attainments. This is the
155

GERMAN MEMORIES
paramount claim to glory of the best blood and brain of the
Prussian army, and as such, in the opinion of some qualified
judges, far excels its achievements in recent wars. Many have
suffered defeat, and have afterwards secured afresh the laurel
of "victory, but it is questionable whether history can show so
widely spread an example of high culture and conduct com
bined as prevailed in the Prussian army when Lieutenant von
Blumenthal joined the colours.
Promotion was very slow at that time, and the life of a
young subaltern, although he was not so much burdened with
routine work as now, was one continuous spell of Spartan
discipline and self-denial, without much visible prospect of
recognition or future advancement. The monthly pay of a
Prussian lieutenant was 19 thalers 22 £ silbergroschen, supple
mented by various allowances amounting to 2 thalers 5
silbergroschen, a total of 21 thalers 27 1 silbergroschen : in
English coin — without, however, taking note of the difference in
the purchasing power of money seventy years ago and to-day —
exactly £3 5s. 9d. Of the above amount, fifteen shillings
were devoted to the clothing fund, one shilling went for club
subscription, one shilling for the regimental fund, one shilling
for library subscription, one shilling towards the regimental
band, and, on an average, eighteen shillings towards the cost
of the mess dinner.
So great was the impoverishment of the country generally,
and of the smaller nobility in particular, that private sources
of income, when they existed, were of very little account.
Few indeed of the artillery or engineer officers possessed
any private means, and, even among those more fortunately
situated, any so-called " home allowance " (except in the case
of the Guards and cavalry regiments) ceased as soon as the
rank of captain was attained. A captain, with an income of
¦£"10 a month, was looked upon by dowagers as a fair match.
As lately as 1860 the average extra home allowance of
a Prussian subaltern was as follows :
In the infantry of the line, between 15s. and £1 10s. a
month ; in the infantry of the Guards, £2 5s. a month ; in
156

FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
the cavalry regiment, £3 15s. to £4< 10s. a month ; and in
the cavalry of the Guards, at most, £1 1 0s. a month.
Even in the Guards the mode of living was very simple.
An officer who could indulge in a hot supper was looked upon
as a wealthy man. Many Prussian officers had to be satisfied
with a cup of tea or a glass of beer, which they took in their
poorly furnished, uncarpeted, low-ceilinged, but scrupulously
clean, quarters, with the brown ration bread, often without the
addition of butter. Wine was only to be thought of on special
occasons, except in the Rhenish garrisons, where its cheapness
was such that sixpennyworth was sufficient to lead half-way
towards intoxication. It was nothing unusual to find officers,
whose families figured among the elect of the Almanack de
Gotha, after dining for something like sixpence at the
officers' mess, denying themselves a cup of coffee, the price
of which would hardly exceed one penny.
Outside the regular routine of duty there were few oppor
tunities for relaxation or pleasure. Betting, gambling,
horse-racing, and other forms of exciting sport, such as are
now intruding more and more into the Prussian army in large
garrison towns, where the wealthy officer already comes in
for a certain amount of notoriety and popularity, were
unknown. As yet the present custom of officers congregating
in the evening at public restaurants did not exist. The
hospitality afforded by family life of a simple and refined
kind possessed greater attractions to the subaltern in those
times than in our quick-living age. An occasional visit to
a theatre — preferably on a Sunday evening — where officers
were admitted at half-price, was about the only expensive
luxury permitted.
On the other hand, the routine duties of an officer were not
of a very exacting nature — at all events, not to the Prussian
temperament— although they involved being up and about
at five in the morning for the personal supervision of recruit
drill. Three to five hours' work in the morning and an hour
and a half in the afternoon comprised the day's routine,
which, in many cases, notably with such men as Blumenthal, 157

GERMAN MEMORIES
was supplemented by hard study, voluntarily undertaken in
spare time. It was usual for two, or even three, subalterns
to live and work together, in order to share the expense of fire,
light, and attendance.
Such were the conditions under which Blumenthal, like
his contemporaries since known to fame — von Roon, von
Moltke, von Steinmetz, and many others who had no private
means — managed to live and work hard for long years without
getting into debt. That they were able to do so — even with
out as much as a feeling of hardship being involved in the process
— was mainly due to the esprit de corps which prevailed in the
army at the time. Men whose womenkind only a few years
previously had willingly sacrificed every piece of their jewellery
to the needs of their country, many of them wearing wedding-
rings of iron for those of gold, which they had placed in the
national offertory, were not likely to feel the lack of wealth
and luxury as a hardship. And what besides combined to
produce a feeling almost amounting to disdain for money
was the conviction, which had been inculcated by Clausewitz
and Scharnhorst and had gradually grown into a dogma, that
only by Spartan simplicity of life could those military virtues
be fostered upon which depended the efficiency of the army
and the fate of the country itself.
The marriage of an officer, under such circumstances, except
to a lady with some means of her own, was obviously an
impossibility. In the year 1839 Lieutenant von Blumenthal,
after twelve years' service, wedded an English girl named
Delicia Vyner, from Easthorpe, in Warwickshire, to whom he
remained devotedly attached through life. He was, like
Moltke, very proud of his English wife, as well as of his
knowledge of the English language.
" In my younger days," he assured me, " I spoke English
so fluently that, although you might have been uncertain of
the county I hailed from, you would scarcely have doubted that
I was English."
Unfortunately, however, domestic happiness can hardly have
tended to improve Blumenthal's pecuniary and professional
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FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
prospects ; for he himself told me that, in the year 1848,
after having served twenty-one years as a subaltern, he
seriously contemplated leaving the army in order to emigrate
to England — a country for which, in common with so many of
his class and caste at that period, he had a strong partiality —
with the intention of earning a livelihood as a teacher of the
German language. The outbreak of the revolution in Berlin
in 1848 caused him to change his mind, by drawing the
attention of the military authorities towards him and so
laying the foundation of his future brilliant career.
As among the blind the one-eyed is king, so in the midst
of the general helplessness — almost amounting to downright
pusillanimity — which, in consequence of the hesitating atti
tude of the King of Prussia, then prevailed in executive circles
in Berlin, a single trait of timely decision on the part of
Lieutenant von Blumenthal, backed, of course, by his excellent
record of service, proved to be sufficient to decide his future.
The insurgents, in an outlying district of the town, known as
the Rehberg, intended to make an advance upon the Thier
garten.1 Blumenthal was ordered to keep the Rehbergers
off, but he was not to open fire on the mob. Still he
unhesitatingly ordered his men to load with ball cartridge, and
to shoot " at sight " should the Rehbergers show them
selves. I believe that it turned out to be unnecessary to
resort to extreme measures, but Blumenthal's quick decision,
as well as the excellent disposition of his troops to meet the
emergency, had been noted by his superior officers. He was
shortly afterwards promoted captain, and at once attached to
the general staff, that complicated brain-centre of the
Prussian army and stepping-stone to further advancement.
In the same year — still as a junior captain on the general
staff — he was attached to the staff of General von Bonin in
the Schleswig-Holstein campaign, and distinguished himself at
Kolding and Fridericia. On his return to Berlin he spent
several years with the general staff, during which he was
entrusted with various military missions to England. In
i The Hyde Park of Berlin.
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GERMAN MEMORIES
1858 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Prince Frederick
Charles, who was destined to play a leading part in the
reorganisation of the Prussian army. After this had been
successfully carried out (in 1860), Blumenthal was promoted
Colonel and Commander of the 11th Thuringian Regiment.
In February 1863 he was again brought into close contact
with Prince Frederick Charles, on being appointed chief of the
staff of the 3rd Corps, but in December of the same year he
was transferred to be chief of the general staff of the
composite army corps in Schleswig-Holstein, during the war
with Denmark.
In this position Blumenthal attracted attention by his
well-matured and successful operations, as well as by the
boldness of his conceptions, the most important of which was
his avoidance of a direct attack on the trenches of Diippel by
crossing the Sound to Alsen in pontoon boats. This project,
however, although approved by the King, and definitely fixed
for the 2nd of April, was rendered impossible by the stormy
weather, which upset all calculations. The published mili
tary correspondence of Count Moltke shows clearly that
Blumenthal's great colleague fully and generously approved of
his daring scheme, which he considered " would alone have
brought about a satisfactory end of the campaign, as it would
have led to the annihilation of the enemy's forces." He wrote
to Blumenthal : " Do not let yourself be discouraged by the
frustration of your daring plan. It might have turned out
more favourably, but not less so. Like Philip the Second, with
his armada, you could not send out your pontoons against the
elements." Notwithstanding the non-execution of Blumen
thal's idea, its conception was still placed to his credit at
headquarters, and marked him out for future work of the most
responsible kind.
At the outbreak of the war in 1866 Blumenthal was
appointed chief of the general staff of the Silesian, or second
army, under the command of the Crown Prince, in which
position his eminent services — particularly at the battles of
Nachod and Koniggratz — are matters of history.
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FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
The intimate relationship, which existed until death,
between the Crown Prince and Blumenthal had already taken
root during the Danish War; but in the campaign of 1866
it was indissolubly strengthened. The Crown Prince was
incapable of jealousy. He did not consider himself a pro
fessional soldier, and Blumenthal was indispensable to him.
He it was who thought out and drafted every general order
and instruction, whilst the Crown Prince took a keen pleasure
in watching the successful activity of his chief of the staff.
Blumenthal originated the much-discussed but brilliant line
of advance which led to the victorious march of the second
army into Bohemia, although the credit of this successful
operation must be shared by the Crown Prince, who took upon
himself the responsibility of supporting it. This Blumenthal
himself was the first to recognise, for according to his own
words : " We were merely soldatesca, and only risked our
skins ; he staked the existence of his country and his future
crown on the result." The plan was submitted to Moltke,
who thoroughly approved of it, merely adding, " Make sure
of correct and efficient leadership."
The campaign of Bohemia brought Blumenthal's name more
than ever to the front ; and yet, had it not been for the
grateful devotion of the Crown Prince, that war might well
have marked the end of his military career, as, indeed, it
practically did that of several other high officers. For, unlike
Moltke, Blumenthal possessed some of the defects of a vivid,
spontaneous temperament. A few days after Sadowa he had
written a long letter, in English, to his wife, and forwarded it
by the Prussian field-post. This was intercepted by the
Austrians, and a German translation published in the Vienna
papers. In this letter Blumenthal — in the uncompromising
spirit of one artist towards the work of another — severely
criticised the plans of General Moltke,1 commented adversely
l The history of Prussia supplies another curious instance of a ruthless
critical instinct prevailing between two great military leaders. To Prince
Henry, the renowned brother of Frederick the Great, the latter's military
genius was nothing more than an undue eagerness to give battle.
L 161

GERMAN MEMORIES
on the personality of Prince Frederick Charles, and wound up
with a complaint against the Crown Prince himself : " What
a pity that he is never punctual, that he keeps us waiting for
hours ! "
This was indeed a heinous offence in the Prussian service,
and would unquestionably have led to Blumenthal's disgrace,
in spite of all his previous services, had he not, in addition to
the tried friendship of the Crown Prince, possessed that
traditional good luck which, according to Moltke, is, in the
long run, only given to the " fit." Prince Frederick Charles,
the sternest of disciplinarians, was no sooner informed of
Blumenthal's unfortunate letter — one morning he found a
newspaper containing it lying on his desk — than he took horse
in a very ugly temper, and rode straight to the King's head
quarters, with the evident intention of securing Blumenthal's
punishment. Fortunately for the latter the Crown Prince had
already forestalled his accuser. He was closeted with his father
and had succeeded in securing the pardon of his friend. On
leaving the King, he met Prince Frederick Charles in the ante
chamber, and, walking up to his cousin, said good- tern peredly :
" I can tell you a piece of news, which will afford you as
much pleasure as it gives me to be able to tell it to you. The
King has forgiven General Blumenthal his thoughtless letter."
This forgiveness, however, was made dependent upon one
condition : Blumenthal must apologise in person to General
von Moltke. It is said that Moltke — like Caesar, who, both
after Pharsalia and Thapsus, caused the incriminating letters
of the Roman senators, found in the enemy's camp, to be
burnt unread — declined to read Blumenthal's letter when it
was brought to his notice. Certain it is that when Blumenthal,
as in duty bound, called upon him, Moltke cut his apology
short with the graceful words : " My dear Blumenthal, what
a man writes to his wife is no concern of third persons. Let
our intercourse remain as friendly as of yore." Blumenthal,
however, must have felt rather sore, for, on leaving Moltke
and meeting the late Prince Kraft von Hohenlohe in the street,
he related what had taken place, adding, " This is the only
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FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
time that crusty old chap has really won my admiration."
But years afterwards he openly expressed his sense of Molke's
chivalrous conduct, without any qualifying clause.
Blumenthal's share in the war of 1870-71, in which he
again filled the responsible position of chief of the staff of
the Crown Prince, is also a matter of history. His were the
first victories at Weissenburg and Woerth, which proved to be
of the very greatest military — as well as political — import
ance. The victory at Sedan also depended in no small degree
upon the perfect co-operation of the third army, which was
essentially the work of Blumenthal.
After the war Blumenthal was appointed to the command
of the fourth army corps, and in 1883 was raised to the
dignity of Count. In the year 1888, on coming to the
throne, the Emperor Frederick appointed him Field-Marshal,
and, as if in anticipation of his approaching end, sent Blum
enthal his own marshal's baton, so that he might, whilst still
living, feel that he had honoured to the full the man who had
stood by his side on many a hard-fought field. The Emperor
Frederick knew — and he probably alone— -of a signal proof of
unselfish devotion which Blumenthal had given years before to
his chief. It was towards the end of the seventies, and a
war with Russia was among the possible contingencies. One
day the Emperor William was talking matters over with his
son, and told him that in the event of war he could not again
let him have Blumenthal as his adviser, as the latter had a
paramount claim to an independent command. The Emperor
asked the Crown Prince to find out what Blumenthal himself
thought on the subject. Blumenthal, on being questioned by
the Crown Prince, replied that he would be quite content to
serve again under His Imperial Highness. With him he had
always been able to lead the army to victory, but whether he
would be able to do so as an independent commander was a
matter for less confidence.
Blumenthal remained on the active list until April 1,
1898, when, after having held the general inspectorship
of the German army, one of the highest positions in the
163

GERMAN MEMORIES
military hierarchy, he received permission to retire. He had
belonged to the army for nearly sixty years — except in the
cases of Moltke, Wrangel, and the Emperor William, the
longest space of time a Prussian officer had ever continued in
the army on active service. He retired into private life, loaded
with honours by his sovereign and universally exalted by his
countrymen. About a year before his death he was living in a flat on
the ground floor in one of the large mansions of the Alsen
Strasse, Berlin, almost within sight of that huge square build
ing known as the Great General Staff. Nothing could have
been more unpretentious than the surroundings of this
illustrious old soldier, or more engaging than his natural,
unconstrained simplicity of manner.
" It is now close upon eighty years that I have worn the
King's coat," * he said, laying his hand upon his chest, on which,
suspended from the neck, shone the blue enamel cross of the
" Ordre pour le Meritey as if to emphasise the idea that
this very same undress uniform was practically the identical
one he had worn all his life.
Count Blumenthal complained to me that he found more
difficulty than of old in mastering quickly the contents of
a book. "But I take it to be one of the compensations
of old age that I think more slowly than formerly." How
ever, I soon discovered that he was still able to think clearly,
as also to give terse and incisive expression to his thought.
He spoke with a touch of tenderness of the Emperor
Frederick, and bitterly deplored his untimely end. " Had he
lived," continued the faithful champion of the dead monarch,
" he would have contented all but those whom it is impossible
to satisfy, for he never thought of himself. His pride and his
ambition were of a kind that would not have wronged or given
pain to anybody. No man was ever more misjudged. He
was accused of vacillation. As a matter of fact, a certain
form of hesitancy which characterised him was mainly the
i Blumenthal entered the cadet school, in which military uniforms are
worn, in his tenth year. He was in his ninetieth year on the above occasion.
164

FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
result of over-anxiety to do the right thing for others, never
for himself. Once, however, his mind was made up on an
important matter, he was as firm of purpose as his father —
nothing could sway him."
The old brain-fighter was not particularly edified by the
general trend of things in Germany and of military affairs
in particular. " We are being far too much governed all
round," he said. " It has become the fashion to decry every
thing that is old — us old men included. General von Versen
came to see me one day some years ago (1890). He was
evidently a mouthpiece of the views prevailing in high
quarters, and spoke disparagingly of the old generals in our
army. In the course of our conversation he said, 'Just look
at the First Napoleon. His generals were all young men.'
' Yes,' I replied, ' they were young men. And almost all
of them were no good (haben nichts getaugt). We old
fellows did our work much better than they, for I make bold
to say there was not one of us whom you could have picked
out as the cause of a disaster.' And General von Versen was
unable to gainsay this."
The old soldier, once launched on the topic nearest his
heart, gave frank expression to his views.
" You cannot produce soldiers by cramming alone : you can
only nurture up to a certain point, by means of systematic
instruction, what is innate in a man in the way of military
instinct, character and capacity for independent judgment.
There is too much book-learning and book-writing nowadays.
Our military men are far too ready with their pens. Literary
success does not necessarily imply the capacity to lead an
army. "Moltke's greatest achievement was that he made it
humanly possible to lead large armies, such as Napoleon first
raised without possessing the machinery for controlling them :
hence his disasters. This machinery Moltke created. He
devised an organisation which worked so perfectly and
independently that such things as orders from the supreme
command were very rare in our wars — only general directions 165

GERMAN MEMORIES
were needed. Thus, in our invasion of France in 1870,
Moltke sent us word that the King wanted the left wing
of our army to advance on the south side of Strasburg. I
replied that this would be a mistake, and that I could only
carry out such an order if imperatively commanded to do so.
Moltke sent General von Verdy to talk the matter over and
my view prevailed.
" To-day the danger of a false move, and consequent
disaster, is very much increased. The telegraph is in so much
more general use than even in 1870 that one person might
well be tempted to want to control everything himself. This
would tend to eliminate that play of independent judgment in
a chief of the staff which has worked so successfully with us in
the past. But it is not given to anybody to overlook and
direct everything.""
With regard to more recent events the Field-Marshal said
that he had followed the course of the war in South Africa as
well as he was able to do from the papers, and, with all
admiration for the British soldier, he did not think the
methods and tactics of the leaders were very different from
what they had been in the time of Marlborough. He
believed that the introduction of the modern rifle had
sounded the knell of the superiority of the British infantry,
an opinion already expressed many years ago by General
Sir Charles Napier.1 " The English character," in Count
Blumenthal's opinion, " is more suited to the old condition
of things than to that prevailing at present. The French
originally introduced modern tirailleur tactics, which, in
consequence of the continual improvement in firearms, have
now reached a very high development. It is, besides, a mode
of fighting eminently suited to the national character of the
French.8 With military matters, it is as with everything else ;
l See Defects of Indian Government, by General Sir Charles Napier, G.C.B.
2 I subsequently mentioned this remark to Count Alexander Vitzthum von
Eckstadt, who was Commander of the twelfth army corps (Saxon) at the
time, and reputed to be one of the best strategists of the German army.
I also communicated to him a further observation of Count Blumenthal's ;
namely, that the revolution of tactics which has been brought about by
166

FIELD-MARSHAL BLUMENTHAL
you cannot adopt blindly the methods of other countries
merely because you see they are successful elsewhere. Very
often they are more or less the outcome of national character,
of geographical or of social conditions, as, for instance, the
Swiss rifle corps system, which cannot be transplanted.
"We adopted the tirailleur system of fighting from the
French, but we have still much to learn in its practice. The
Boers excel in it. The English are splendid fellows, but their
one idea seems to be to shoot and be shot. Their officers are
not sufficiently trained. We Prussians go to the other
extreme. The plodding bookworm gets ahead too often now.
In my time our people received a sound scientific training, but
the individual — the personality— was, after all, the finally
deciding element ; hence our results."
Blumenthal was, at first sight, not striking in appearance.
He was slight, not above medium height, and even when in
the prime of life is said to have carried his head bent slightly
forward. He was also rather negligent and unmilitary in his
outward bearing, at least, according to strict Prussian
notions. One day at Versailles, in 1870, the Emperor William met
him on the staircase wearing one of his recently received grand
crosses fastened all awry over the wrong shoulder, quite a
serious breach of etiquette. The Emperor pointed it out to
him, adding good-humouredly : " Never mind, Blumenthal ; I
the latest developments of quick-firing infantry rifles is calculated to give
the French an advantage over the Germans, inasmuch as it calls for greater
initiative on the part of the individual soldier, a gift which is possessed in an
eminent degree by the French. He replied that there was undoubtedly a great
deal of truth in this opinion of the Field Marshal ; on the other hand, the
looseness of formation which was a neceBsary corollary of modern tactics
tended to the weakening of the military units ( Verbaende) and a consequent
loss of touch of the officers with their men. This would increase the chances
of panic to which the French, in spite of their great fighting qualities, were
very liable. To my rejoinder that the Boers had fought successfully under
these modern conditions, he replied that this case could not be taken as a
normal one. Peasants who fight for their hearth and home, particularly
peasants of such a sturdy race as the Dutch, possess far tougher fighting
qualities than most armies.
167

GERMAN MEMORIES
can well understand that you have no time to look after
yourself, for you have always looked after us so well."
Blumenthal's countenance revealed very much the same
indications of intellectuality which were so noticeable in
that of his eminent comrade-in-arms, Count Moltke. His
eyes were of a penetrating, expressive blue, clear and un-
dimmed even in his ninetieth year. His strong features,
particularly the prominent nose, indicated the force of charac
ter which he possessed in so eminent a degree. There were
in that serious yet kindly looking face the clear traces of
those qualities which go to make up great military leaders.
" Cetait, apres tout, de la pate dont on fait les grands
generaux.4" One who served under him, and who himself
attained high distinction in his profession, the late General
von Verdy du Vernois, thus describes Blumenthal :
" He possessed in an eminent degree the highest qualifi
cations of a military leader : quick discernment of the require
ments of the situation, rapidity and boldness in deciding what
to do, and utmost care in the consideration of every detail.
Unbiassed in forming his opinion, he was never swayed by
outside influences of any kind. He always accepted the fullest
responsibility for himself, and threw the whole weight of his
personality into whatever lay before him. Even in the most
critical moments on the field of battle he retained his calm
appreciation of the situation. Although his temperament
disposed him to daring action, he never omitted to weigh
most carefully every possible contingency beforehand. No
contretemps could shake his determination. It was a pleasure
to serve under his orders."

168

CHAPTER XIV
KING CHARLES OF ROUMANIA
On my way back from Constantinople after the Greco-Turkish
War, in the summer of 1897, I stopped at Bucharest and
spent an evening at the house of Demeter Stourdza, the Prime
Minister of Roumania. Two of the Stourdza family had been
my schoolfellows at Dresden, and I had made the Minister's
acquaintance earlier in the year in Vienna. The salon of
Madame Stourdza, ne'e Princess Cantacuzene,1 was at that time
the centre of the social and intellectual life of the Roumanian
capital. There was open house every evening after nine
o'clock, when diplomatists, soldiers, and politicians dropped in
promiscuously to discuss the news of the day and sun them
selves in the favour of the fascinating mistress of the house ;
grande dame de par le monde, and a keen politician as well.
The Prime Minister himself was rarely to be met there, except
for a few fugitive moments, immersed as he was in State busi
ness or buried in his capacious library among his books. In
fact, he occasionally slept with them at night on a cane sofa
covered with rugs, being a voracious reader and a voluminous
writer. It was to this library that I adjourned with him.
In the course of conversation the Prime Minister presented me
with the first volume of the German edition of the King of
Roumania's "Reminiscences," which were appearing at the
time. I took the book with me to England and read it
through. Later I obtained the other volumes, and asked to
be allowed to bring out an abridged edition of the whole
work in English. This request was granted, and the book
l All titles of nobility have now been abolished in Boumania, as also in
Norway.
169

GERMAN MEMORIES
was published in 1899 by Messrs. Harper and Brothers, London
and New York, and subsequently added to my other books in
the Tauchnitz Collection of British Authors. It contained
several hitherto unpublished documents of great political
interest, notably some letters of the Emperor Frederick, which
only appeared subsequently in the last volume of the German
original. This brought me into touch with the King of
Roumania, and led to an invitation to pay him a visit at
Ragatz, Switzerland, where he " made a cure " and was visited
by his relations every autumn. Since the death of his mother
and of his two brothers, to both of whom he was devotedly
attached, the King has ceased coming to the pretty Swiss
watering-place. Accordingly I went to Ragatz in September
1899 and stayed three days at the Hotel Quellenhof, in the
grounds of which the Roumanian Royal family inhabited a
charming rustic villa.
Soon after my arrival I called at the chalet, and was taken
up into a little room on the first floor, where I found the
King seated at a writing-table. He received me with cor
diality in his quiet, undemonstrative way, and was evidently
well disposed towards one who had been absorbed for several
months in the history of his life. His Majesty asked me a
number of questions on topics of a political as well as of a
personal nature, and appeared to take a great interest in
English affairs ; in fact, he gave me to understand that he
would always be glad to receive news from me concerning
them. He was loud in his praise of the civilising work
England had done -and was doing in Egypt, and in his admira
tion of Lord Kitchener's march to Khartoum, which he
characterised as a splendid feat of organisation.
After some time the Queen, a stately apparition, known
everywhere as "Carmen Sylva," came into the room and
joined in the conversation, and we adjourned to another apart
ment on the ground floor for tea, with the Queen as hostess..
Before leaving, the King invited me to come back to dinner,
but asked me not to trouble to put on evening dress. And
here I may mention that during my stay, in which I shared
170

H.M. THE KING OF EOUMANIA

KING CHARLES OF ROUMANIA
every meal but one with the Royal family, nobody donned
evening dress, and the only uniform I saw was that worn by
the Royal domestics. The company consisted of ladies and
gentlemen who for the time being had thrown off the
trappings of their worldly station and had retired into private
life to enjoy its amenities unfettered. The atmosphere of
unconstrained simplicity which greeted me from the first
moment of my arrival has remained in my memory as the
dominant characteristic of that Royal party. Vin du pays
was the beverage at table. One royal lady even drank a glass
of Munich beer. Only when the King's mother arrived was
a bottle of superior claret to be seen, and then exclusively
for her.
The morning after my arrival brought some fresh visitors,
as I noticed on being shown into the drawing-room.
I had hardly made my obeisance to the King and Queen,
and rejoined the circle to await the signal for lunch, when a
rather slight, fair, and refined-looking man addressed me in
such excellent English that he might have been a Briton. I
could see from a few of his casual remarks that he would be
quite at home in England ; but I could not tell who he was,
and in consequence felt somewhat embarrassed how to reply
when he came up and addressed me. At lunch a lady on my
left joined in our conversation and seemed to be on intimate
terms with him. In reply to a remark displaying a kindly
interest in one of my books, I asked if I might send the work
in question to him. He was delighted, and volunteered to
write the address to which I was to send it. I handed him
my note-book, in which he pencilled some chateau near Meran,
but no name. I suggested that if he would add his name I
should have the pleasure of possessing his autograph. He did
so readily, and I found he was one of the Orleans princes —
H.R.H. the Due de Vendome. His mother was the ill-fated
Duchesse d'Alencon. The lady sitting at my side was his wife,
a sister of the present King of the Belgians. In conversation
we touched upon the historical significance of some of the
titular names of the Bourbon family, also the euphony and
171

GERMAN MEMORIES
distinction of many of the names of the French aristocracy,
such as " Mortemart," " Montmorency," " Chatelherault."
Finally, I put it to the Duke that, although we lived in a
democratic age, people who, like himself, come into the world
with such family traditions and privileges to back them up
have still a " great pull " in the battle of life. " It is true,"
he said, " we are favoured in the matter of birth, but this is
far from constituting happiness. Where everything comes to
us without any action of our own our sense of responsibility
should be great. It is only natural that we feel an ardent
desire to accomplish something ' off our own bat ' in whatever
line it may be — science, letters, or art. In this, however, I
am afraid we rarely succeed."
Before we rose from table the Duke proposed that we
should meet later in the afternoon for a game of billiards. I
had not waited long in the garden ere he appeared with an
envelope in his hand. " As you were good enough to ask for
my signature," he said, " I thought I would bring you my
photograph and that of my wife and child. When you come
to Paris I hope you will pay us a call at Neuilly." We had
a long talk but no billiards that afternoon. The signed
photographs I still possess as mementos of the kindly nature
of a royal couple whose demeanour betokened their recognition
of the oft-quoted but rarely realised proverb, Noblesse oblige.
During my stay at Ragatz, the King's mother, accompanied
by her son, the late Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, a most
sympathetic personality, whose candidature for the throne of
Spain was one of the causes of the war of 1870, arrived on
a visit to the King and Queen. The Princess, then in her
eighty-seventh year, was in possession of all her faculties,
except that she was deaf. Despite her deafness, however, she
was full of interest in everything concerning the King, whom
she evidently worshipped with a fond mother's love. After
dinner she expressed a wish to speak to me, and said, in a kind
and sympathetic voice, whilst she held in her hand the English
edition of the King's Life, which had been recently published :
" You have written so beautifully about my son." Owing to
172

KING CHARLES OF ROUMANIA
her deafness I was doubtful what to do or say in reply, and I
turned appealingly to the King, who stood beside his mother.
He told me to write down whatever came into my head, as it
would be sure to please her. In this novel way a prolonged
conversation took place between us, I jotting down my crude
thoughts in a note-book lying on the table and showing it
first to the King to ask if what I had written " would do."
When the King nodded assent, I passed it on to the Princess,
who continued the conversation in this fashion for some time.
Rarely, if ever, have I met a lady whose manner revealed such
a kindly, affectionate disposition as I detected in this Prin
cess's voice and looks when speaking of the King, her son, who,
in an age of unrest, change, and democratic upheaval, has
founded a dynasty and succeeded almost single-handed in
building up a nation. King Charles is also the only living
Sovereign who has commanded a victorious army in a pitched
battle. In taking my leave the King graciously expressed a wish
that I would pay him a visit in his capital and have a look
at his country seat of Sinaja ; but nearly nine years elapsed
before I was able to do so. Being again in Constantinople
in April 1908, I wrote to His Majesty that if he still retained
the same kind sentiments towards me as of yore I proposed
to return vid Bucharest and pay my respects to him. An
answer came by return that the King would be pleased to see
me, and be glad if I would advise him in advance of the
day of my arrival. This I did, and I arrived at Bucharest on
Sunday morning, May 10. I had not been at my hotel more
than half an hour when a Court official came into my room
and handed me a printed form, asking me to come to the
Palace at 5.30 the same afternoon.
The King received me in his study, conversing for some
time on different topics, among which the recent assassination
of the King of Portugal was mentioned. The only newspaper
in Europe which at the time was said to have given a reliable
and detailed accpunt of that tragedy, as also of the causes
which had led up to it, was the Frankfurter Zeitung. 173

GERMAN MEMORIES
Nothing much on this phase of the subject had I seen in the
English papers. This rather surprised the King, who told me
that a relation of his had been in Lisbon two years previously,
and had reported to him the unsatisfactory state of affairs
then prevailing in Portugal. From that time onwards the
King told me he had been anxiously concerned lest matters
should have a bad ending {Ein schlectes Ende nehmen).
His Majesty asked how long I proposed to stay in Bucharest,
and if I had any friends there. I had been apprised beforehand
that a guest could not expect to receive the same attention in
Bucharest, where the King was absorbed in affairs of State, as
at Ragatz ; and as I did not wish to trespass on His Majesty's
kindness, and was, moreover, anxious to get home, I replied that
I proposed to leave the next day. " Then you must come and
have tea with the Queen to-morrow," he said. The King also
suggested that I should pay ra visit to his castle at Sinaja on
my way back, and he would see that I was shown all over the
place. I took advantage of both these suggestions. The
Queen received me the next afternoon in her drawing-room,
and we had tea in the garden, at which the King and the
Roumanian Ambassador in Berlin were also present. Carmen
Sylvans great charm of manner is too well known to need any
emphasis on my part. Her conversation, which has delighted so
many — among others, Pierre Loti, whose work, Les Pecheurs
d'lslande, Her Majesty has translated — was as gracious, bright,
and sparkling as ever. In the interval between my visit to
Ragatz her hair had turned snow white. Much has been written
regarding Carmen Sylvd's many natural gifts, but I do not
remember ever coming across a single reference to the Queen's
extraordinary industry, which is perhaps her most marked
characteristic. Her translation of Paul de Saint Victor's monu
mental work, Les Deux Masques, over 1500 printed pages,
a copy of which she sent me, would alone entitle the Queen of
Roumania to a high place among the world's strenuous workers.
On my return to England I heard, from an indirect source,
that had I been able to stay in Bucharest a couple of days longer
the King had intended to invite me to accompany him down
174

KING CHARLES OF ROUMANIA
the Danube on a festive progress of the Royal Family, which
was to begin on the following Thursday and extend as far as
the Black Sea. When I wrote to thank the King for his kind
reception I also expressed my disappointment that I had missed
such a favourable opportunity of seeing the country. I received
a gracious letter of acknowledgment, followed by the Grand
Commander's Cross and Star of the Order of the Crown of
Roumania.

175

CHAPTER XV
THEODOR MOMMSEN
Any one who happened to be in Berlin at the beginning of the
eighties, and was in the habit of riding in the tramcars from the
Brandenburg Gate to Charlottenburg between six and eight in
the evening, might often have noticed an old gentleman of
striking appearance among the passengers. He was of medium
height, of slight figure, his face clean-shaven and full of
wrinkles, set off by a head with long, silvery hair. His dark,
illuminatingly expressive eyes peered through a pair of spectacles.
On entering the tram he alway looked out for a seat near the
lamp at the back of the car, and invariably succeeded in
obtaining it. Thereupon he would draw a newspaper from
his pocket, and soon be engrossed in its contents, notwith
standing the dimness of the light. When the tramcar stopped
at Charlottenburg he had generally finished reading. He would
get out and hurry along to the March Strasse, in which his
unpretentious house stood. This was Theodor Mommsen, the
renowned historian of ancient Rome. He was well known to
his fellow passengers, or such of them as were inhabitants of
Charlottenburg, and every one made room for him. Even if a
stranger happened to recognise him, and nudged his neighbour,
saying, " That is Mommsen," he was sure to be snubbed for his
pains, or in reply to be told, curtly, " Never mind." Thus
Mommsen was never molested ; and that was exactly what his
fellow citizens had in view by their studied neglect of him.
They were proud of his world-wide reputation, and they felt
honoured by the consciousness that he was one of their fellow
townsmen. They had a notion that he must devote all his spare
time to his studies, and that he was thus perforce obliged to read
176

THEODOR MOMMSEN
his newspaper in the tramcar. For his books awaited him at home,
where he was in the habit of working till long past midnight ;
so that he could not have had many hours to spare for sleep, if he
wanted to be up early and back again in Berlin at eight o'clock
to deliver his daily lecture at the University. Though nobody
ventured to speak to the old gentleman when homeward bound,
many were the stories told of him in the tramcar in the course of
the year ; and, what is somewhat unusual with tongue-play in
Germany, they were all to his honour. When, in the sixties,
Napoleon the Third was busy writing his "Life of Caesar," and
all Europe was in anxious expectation as to the outcome, he
solicited Mommsen's co-operation ; but Mommsen politely
declined. Some time afterwards Napoleon caused the history of
the princely family of Borghese to be written, and he again
approached Mommsen, and asked him whether he would consent
to revise the proofs. This Mommsen agreed to do, but there
again he declined to accept the 50,000 francs which the Emperor
had set apart for him in return for his services. The soul of
the German professor stood above cash payment, even from an
emperor. He had been too busy with the dust of whole
dynasties of Caesars to attach much importance to the favours
or the rewards of monarchs. It was also related that on one
occasion, during Mommsen's residence in Italy, when making an
excursion in the neighbourhood of Rome with some tourists, the
party was stopped by brigands. The latter, whilst busy rifling
the company's pockets, inquired their names. " Sono Theodoro
Mommsen ! " was the choleric Professor's indignant reply.
Whereupon the chief of the band stayed his hand. He said he
would scorn to rob one who had done so much for Italy's renown.
It was indeed a queer contrast of extremes that the mere name
of the German savant, which could disarm the rapacity of an
Italian brigand, should at another period of his life have been
able to add to the ill-feeling between two great nations.
I was brought into contact with the renowned historian
under circumstances which at the time caused some commotion
in editorial dovecots in England, Germany, and the United
States. It was in the midst of the Boer War. The North
m 177

GERMAN MEMORIES
American Review, through its London editor, was endeavouring to
obtain some representative Grerman expressions of opinion on the
rights and wrongs of the struggle. This gentleman had already
applied to Mommsen direct, asking the Professor to name his
own terms for an expression of opinion, however short and
guarded it might be, but he had met with a curt refusal.
The German scholar, in this like Browning, the poet, was not
to be influenced by pecuniary considerations. Thereupon the
editor consulted me, and I wrote to my friend, Professor Hans
Delbrueck, on the subject. The reply came that, although
Mommsen persisted in his refusal to contribute an article, in
view of my sympathetic record in connection with German
affairs he was willing to meet me half-way. He suggested
that I should write him a short letter, succinctly embodying
the specific questions which the North American Review wished
to put to him. To this he would send a reply ; the twb
letters, question and answer, to be simultaneously published
side by side in the North American Review. This was duly
carried out, and the result, as aforesaid, created quite a
sensation. Mommsen, who, all through his life, had been
a staunch Liberal, and one of the most whole-hearted admirers
England ever possessed on the Continent, was dubbed an
Anglophobe, and my humble self everything that is reprehen
sible for " aiding and abetting " the publication of a docu
ment which at the time undoubtedly added to the unpopu
larity of England among the intellectual classes on the
Continent. To-day, I do not hesitate to express my regret,
for reasons which it is needless to specify here, that I had anything
to do with the business. But at that time, in common
with many other Englishmen, I was in strong sympathy with
the Boers in their struggle for independence, and saw nothing
irregular in my action. Another consideration which weighed
with me from the point of view of journalistic ethics was the
reasoning that if the London editor of the North American
Review, an Englishman with distinguished connections, who at
one time had been a Member of Parliament and had filled
a Court appointment, saw no harm in " aiding and abetting "
178

THEODOR MOMMSEN
the publication of Mommsen's views on the Boer War, it was
not for a comparatively unimportant person like myself to
have any scruples on the subject.
Being on a visit to Berlin shortly afterwards, I called on
Professor Mommsen at his villa in Charlottenburg. Not
finding him at home, I left a card, and early the next morning
he returned my call at the Hotel Continental and invited me
to lunch for the following day. When I presented myself the
door was opened by a young lady, whom I fear I mistook for
a servant. She relieved me of my overcoat, showed me into a
drawing-room, and, to my surprise, said, "My father will be
with you in a minute, sir." She was one of Mommsen's
daughters. Only afterwards did I learn that the great
historian was prolific both as a father and as an author of
books. He had ten or more children. My fellow guests on
the occasion were Dr. Nathan, editor of the German weekly,
Die Nation, and Professor Max Lenz, the historian, Rector of
Berlin University in 1912.
Although Mommsen was at that time over eighty-three
years of age, he was a bright companion at table ; he still
plied a vigorous knife and fork, and took his fair share of a
choice cru of his favourite Sicilian vintage.
The South African War was uppermost in men's minds, and
in connection therewith the strong outburst of sympathy with
the Boers which it had provoked throughout Germany was
already a topic of conversation. According to Professor
Mommsen the unpopularity of England in Germany was not
directly owing to the Boer War, although that event had set
it aflame and caused it to transgress all defensible limits.
This he deplored as serving no useful purpose ; but he con
sidered that it was an inevitable outcome of long standing,
accumulating grievances, partly of a political and partly of a
sentimental nature. There were the grievances of a newcomer
against an old-established firm in the comity of nations and
vice versa. As to political grievances, the real offence lay
in the antagonistic attitude English statesmen had adopted
towards Germany throughout the struggle for national 179

GERMAN MEMORIES
unity — from the Danish War of 1864 to the Franco-
German War of 1870. The effect of this action of England,
unlike many other transitory manifestations of political
leanings in history — as, for instance, the traditional enmity of
France to the House of Habsburg — had not passed away with
the memory of the generations which witnessed it. It had
become part of German history, and as such, together with
previous political data of a kindred nature, had through
school tuition and treatises of leading historians1 become part
and parcel of national tradition and feeling, ready to rise
up afresh on every occasion which brought back the memory
of the interfering part England was alleged to have played in
German politics. In so far as dislike of England had a senti
mental basis, Professor Mommsen saw in it the reaction against
a former exaggerated German admiration for everything
English, from the days, as he himself expressed it, when
" many an English tailor was accepted in the Fatherland as a
real live lord." This reaction had been quickened by the
awakening of strong feeling of national self-consciousness,
which resulted from the unification of Germany ; and, again,
perhaps to an even greater degree, by the giant strides Germany
had made since the 1870 war in the accumulation of wealth by
commerce and industry. These achievements somehow produced
a feeling in Germany that England had been unduly overrated,
which was likewise set in further relief by the widely advertised
English taunt that inferior articles were " Made in Germany."
As an additional, though minor, factor in this list of national
grievances Mommsen put the overbearing conduct of many
English travellers in Germany ; one instance of which, con
nected with a notorious incident at Bonn,2 in Lord Palmerston's
days, was dealt with in Parliament, and actually led to serious
diplomatic discussions between Prussia and England. And,
i Many German political writers, notably Treitschke and Lothar Bucher,
have propounded the idea that Prussia was shorn of her legitimate fruits of
victory by Lord Castlereagh at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and that if
Germany had been allowed to retain Alsace the war of 1870 might never have
taken place.
2 Fracas of Captain Macdonald with a railway guard at Bonn, September 1860.
180

THEODOR MOMMSEN
lastly, the pointed and unfriendly action of certain organs of
the English Press was cited by Mommsen as an obligato
accompaniment of disharmony from early days down to our
times. " Your Press," he said, " like its Parisian sister, has
become a public nuisance." The Boer War came as a final
straw to the camel's load of injury. If Professor Mommsen
cited these data to me as explanations of German ill-feeling
towards England, he was very far from asserting that they
were a sufficient justification for the outburst of animosity
which the Boer War called forth. As a life-long German
Liberal, who had suffered legal prosecution for his opinions,
he had always been a staunch admirer of English political
institutions ; and his eminently legal mind disdained a senti
mental harping on grievances long since dead and buried,
the recalling of which could do no practical good to any
one in our day. He preferred to dwell upon that which was
still left of his earlier faith in English greatness ; and even
down to the last he was ready to pay his unstinted tribute of
admiration to the broad-minded policy of England, " which
opens to the stranger every harbour it acquires." However,
in common with many other German public men, Mommsen
had openly proclaimed his sympathy with the Boers. For all
that he was surprised to find that his action excited such angry
comment in England as it did ; in the first place, because he
had always considered England the one country above all
others in which people were at liberty to give free expression
to their opinions without let or hindrance — a liberty they had
ever exercised unrestrictedly, whether it ruffled foreign suscep
tibilities or not. He would have laughed anybody to scorn who
had doubted his patriotism because he opposed Prince Bismarck
when he happened to disagree with his policy, and so he was sur
prised to find himself reviled as an enemy of England because
his juridical sense of what he considered to be the righteous law
of nations had to his thinking been outraged by the questionable
origin of the Boer War : notably by the Jameson raid, the
responsibility for which he considered did not rest upon the
English nation, but on Messrs. Rhodes and Chamberlain. 181

GERMAN MEMORIES
Another feature of the case increased his surprise at the
animosity he had excited, and this was that his own view
that the origin of the Boer War constituted a wrong exactly
coincided with the openly expressed views of a number of well-
known EngUshmen, some of whom did not hesitate to give
vehement expression thereto on the platform and in the
Press. Had it come to this, that we must worship our friends
blindly, applaud their every action, or straightway stand ac
cused of being affected with mad antipathy, with that dreadful
disease known to us as " Anglophobia " ? Like another strong
fighter, Gambetta, who, when threatened by his constituents,
turned upon them and told them to their faces that he would
pursue them to their lairs, Mommsen declined to accept the
rnandat imperatif to approve everything from anybody or any
conglomeration of " bodies," corporations, communities, or
nationalities. He stood in his own person as a distinguished
exponent of the fearless veracity of a whole race, and no
scurrility or intimidation could move that old man one hair's
breadth from the proud line of independent conviction. He
claimed to exercise in his private capacity the same right of
criticism which others, more particularly Englishmen, had always
arrogated to themselves. For all that, he was not rabid. He
could not understand the resentment of his English friends, and,
whilst deploring it, accepted its consequences in a regretful but
philosophical spirit. But what he most particularly objected to
was that a German professor, Max Muller, domiciled in England,
should have taken upon himself to enlighten him with regard to
a situation concerning which Mommsen considered that he
required no enlightenment, least of all from such a quarter.
" I can well understand," he said, " that the English could
not afford to allow the power of the Boers to develop to such
an extent as might eventually have threatened British supre
macy in South Africa. In the same way we on our Eastern
frontier could not allow the Polish element to swamp our
own German nationality. I could even sympathise with and
welcome British supremacy, but not with Mr. Rhodes as
' pace-maker ' " (he used this word in English).
182

THEODOR MOMMSEN
Neither did Mommsen allow his antagonism to the origin of
the Boer War, nor the comments his attitude had provoked in
the English Press (nor even the seizing of the German ship,
the Bundesrath, by the English, which had called forth a storm
of indignation in Germany), to carry him beyond the exact
limitations he had set to his criticism of English policy. For
when one of the guests present expressed himself in angry
terms with regard to the supposed indignity which Germany
had been exposed to by the Bundesrath incident, and said
that only a strong German fleet could obviate such occurrences
in the future, Mommsen replied drily, " Such disagreeable in
cidents (Chicanen) may have to be faced in the life of nations,
without necessarily involving any great hardship or indignity ;
they must be put up with as best as they can be. Or would
you perhaps be prepared to stake our naval existence on a
German Nelson ? " But if Mommsen took upon himself to
criticise the political action of England, at least he was
equally frank and uncompromising with regard to other
countries, his own included.
Mommsen took an unfavourable view of the future of
Austria. He said that the battle of Sadowa in its con
sequences had spelt Finis Austriae. The Ausgleich with
Hungary was nothing more than a Moschus Kur, a musk
cure — musk being the supposed remedy for a patient in
extremis with a weak heart. " Austria seems inevitably
destined," he said : " to become the Turkey of Europe (die
Europdische Turkei), a conglomeration of States, each inter
minably struggling against the rest."
The present state of Germany was also very far from satis
fying the eminent historian of Rome. It worried him to
think that the balance of earnestness and discipline among
German political parties seemed to be with the Centre and
the Social Democrats, whereas Germany is so situated that
she cannot possibly afford to dispense with a strong monarchi
cal, agricultural population. I asked him what development
of landed interests his wide experience of other civilisations
might have suggested to him as likely to be most suited 183

GERMAN MEMORIES
to the future of Germany. Although as a Liberal he
would have scant sympathies with the Junker, he could
not well lose sight of the great services the landed gentry
of Prussia had contributed to the unification of Germany
by their devotion to the career of arms ; and all authorities
seemed to agree in connecting the downfall of great empires
with the decline of their agriculture. This he did not deny,
and replied that he had formed certain ideas on the subject,
but it would take time to explain them in the course of
conversation. For the moment he was sorry to say that
the trend of events pointed to a coming Absolutism in
Germany. " This seems to me the only possible outcome
of the present state of affairs," he said ; and added, " If the
Emperor Frederick had lived, things might have been
different." There was, however, one feature of German life in the
present day which called forth Mommsen's unqualified ad
miration. It was the extraordinary development of the large
German towns, both as regards outside appearance, improved
sanitation and cleanliness, and, above all, the comparative ab
sence of degrading poverty. He thought these things reflected
honour on German civilisation. It was a source of pride
to him to think of the ability and the high standard of
honesty and administrative talent which characterises muni
cipal government in Germany generally. This upraising of
the German cities seemed to him destined to bring back
to them on a vastly enlarged scale a renaissance of the
splendours of the German cities of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. Mommsen declared this to be one of the striking
features of European life at the end of the nineteenth century.
To a guest who mentioned a recent instance of a chief magis
trate of a great foreign city being admonished on the day of
his installation that it was hoped he would succeed in clearing
his character from certain financial entanglements, Mommsen
replied, " That indeed would be impossible with us."
In the course of further conversation, reference was made to
Mommsen's long sojourn in Italy. On being reminded what a
184

'JC >&*»*

rilOFESSOK MOMMSEN

THEODOR MOMMSEN
popular figure he had always been in that country, for the
fame of which he had done so much, he replied that it was
not so serious (gefdhrlich) with his Italian popularity. " The
Italians are in some ways much more Chauvinistic than the
French, more particularly in their jealousy of German savants.
This is probably because they have so few of their own," he
said ; " whereas in Paris, parmi les intellectuels, there is a
much more generous recognition of merit of other countries.
This is natural, because the French have so many distinguished
scholars of their own that they have no cause for petty
jealousy." On returning to the drawing-room we passed before
Lenbach's wonderful portrait of our host on an easel, and in a
corner of the room we caught sight of his bust by Begas.
Mommsen stopped our expression of admiration for the former
by telling us of a Frenchman who boasted of the possession of
twenty-one portraits of himself. " I have already got far too
many ' self-portraits,' " he said jokingly ; " but I hope I shall
never attain to that Frenchman's degree of distinction."
As is well known, one of Mommsen's last actions was to pen
an article pleading for a better understanding between England
and Germany. Whatever might have been his momentary
irritation he did not allow his views on particular questions to
affect his convictions on broader issues. One of these had
always been and remained to the last a dominant conviction
of the vast common interests of Germany and England ;
particularly as represented by the educated minority, the
Intellectuellen, as he called the best representatives of both
countries, for the benefit of the civilisation of the world.
At the time when Prince Bismarck's animosity towards
Mommsen was particularly marked, one night the latter was
walking home with a friend, when he suddenly turned to him
and remarked : " After all is said and done, what a calamity
it is for us that political passion should deprive us of the
privilege of mixing socially with such a man ! "
So also on the closing in of life's long day was it with this
fearless old fighter in the cause of what he held to be right and
185

GERMAN MEMORIES
truth. He said to himself, " What a pity that two great
nations of kindred race should remain at loggerheads ! " He
did not hesitate to run the risk of being thought weak and
inconsistent by his more militant countrymen when he asked
for a truce and a better understanding with a foreign but
kindred nation, which, even by its anger, paid indirect homage
to his importance — to the eminence of an old man, holding no
office, possessed of no power but that' which intellect and lofty
character still sometimes confer upon a private citizen, even in
Germany, in this bustling, glittering, emotional world of ours.

186

CHAPTER XVI
PRINCE REUSS VII
My "Reminiscences of Prince Bismarck" appeared in the
autumn of 1902, simultaneously in America, England and
Germany. Shortly afterwards a letter in a lady's handwriting
was forwarded to me from my German publishers. It was
from Princess Henry VII. Reuss, wife of the well-known
diplomatist of that name,1 and contained an intimation that
the Prince had read my book with interest, felt drawn towards
those who had been on friendly terms with Prince Bismarck,
and hoped that I would come and see him. I replied that I
was unfortunately not in a position to undertake what
Bismarck had termed " decorative journeys," but, nevertheless,
I would not fail to pay my respects to the Prince when next
in Germany.
Baron Robert von Keudell, 2 with whom I was in correspon
dence at the time, wrote me a letter (February 18, 1903),
congratulating me by anticipation on the privilege of making
the acquaintance of so distinguished a man as Prince Reuss, of
whom he said :
" He is more thoroughly acquainted with the diplomatic
history of Europe from 1866 down to about 1895 than any
i Prince of a younger branch of the German Sovereign House of Beuss.
Statesman and Prussian General of Cavalry ; was successively German Ambas
sador in Petersburg, Constantinople and Vienna, in which last capacity he
negotiated the Treaty of Alliance between Austria and Germany in 1879. He
retired from service in 1894 and died in 1906.
2 Distinguished Prussian diplomatist, many years in the Foreign Office
under Bismarck ; from 1876-82 German Ambassador in Borne ; personal
friend of the Bismarck family, concerning which he published most interesting
reminiscences.
187

GERMAN MEMORIES
other living person, not even excepting the Italian statesman
Nigra, who knows nothing about Germany. Prince Reuss is
as familiar with the history of the Napoleonic Court as with
that of Petersburg, Constantinople, and Vienna. I spent
a couple of very pleasant days at Trebschen some years ago,
and hope to go there again next June." 1
It was Prince Reuss who, as German Ambassador in Vienna,
concluded in 1879 the famous Austro-German Alliance which
has since formed the fundamental basis of the policy of
the two central European Great Powers.
One bright July afternoon I was driving in a well-appointed
hickory brake and pair through some beautiful woods in the
domain of Prince Reuss in the Province of Brandenburg,
between the town of Zullichau and the Schloss of Trebschen ;
a very capacious and picturesque old residence, which
Prince Reuss adapted to modern comforts, with a beautiful
park in the rear. I met with the kindliest reception, and
spent three delightful days in the best of company ; the
circumstance of my acquaintance with Prince Bismarck
providing a fruitful theme of conversation. Both the Prince
and the Princess were very musical, and in the evening a
quartette was performed in the concert-room by executants
who came in from the neighbourhood.
Next morning the Princess showed me over her sanatorium,
a large handsome building, which she had caused to be erected,
perfectly equipped for hospital work, situate in the immediate
vicinity of and nearly opposite the Schloss, with direct ingress
for the patients into the park. For years she vainly
endeavoured to draw a stream of patients to Trebschen ; but
she has now made the building over to a girls' school, a purpose
for which the large airy structure is eminently suited. Its
delightful situation, including a free run of the Prince's park,
and the high reputation of those who have undertaken
its management, should be a guarantee of its success.
After breakfast we regularly took a walk in the park,
where the unusual size of the trees had excited my surprise
1 Herr von Keudell died shortly afterwards, in April 1903.
188

PRINCE REUSS VII
on my arrival. It reminded me of the parks of some great
English families.
" Yes, our park is almost unique in these parts — indeed,
a curiosity," said Princess Reuss. " It was the very first on
the Continent to be laid-out in accordance with English taste.
It was about the year 1775 when Jean Jacques Rousseau's
ideas about the return to nature came into vogue and had
a most beneficial influence in their way. This grand old
park of Trebschen, with its beautiful timber, is quite typical
of that period, for whatever has been renovated since has
always been carried out in the spirit of that period and very
often under impressions produced by travelling souvenirs
gathered in England. Thus English influences can be traced
here, though adapted to the climate and to the vegetation of
Brandenburg, whilst utilising the natural woodland character
istics of the neighbourhood.
" It was a lady who planned it, a relation of the Reuss
family, a Countess Reden. She was the founder of the Bible
Society in Germany, had many English friends, and in late
years became intimately acquainted with King Frederick
William IV. Her father, who came from Brunswick, was a
Count Riedesel. He accompanied the Brunswick troops as
their commander to Canada when they were ' sold ' by their
Sovereign to fight for England in the American War of Inde
pendence. His wife and children followed him there. Thus
a connection with England and English taste came to influence
the German homes of the Reuss family. This intercourse con-
tinned during those long years when England, as the enemy
of France, was, as it were, the last hope of the Continent.
Countess Reden's biography, after it had been published in
Germany, came out in an English edition. It was originally
written by a very distinguished pen — Princess Leonore Reuss,
nee Countess Stolberg-Wernigerode."
We took sundry drives in the neighbourhood, visiting some
foresters and other dwellers on the estate. The ease and
comfort visible and the mutual goodwill evinced everywhere
left a most pleasant memory on the mind of the visitor. My
189

GERMAN MEMORIES
hostess kindly suggested that I might extend my visit, and
when I regretted my inability to do so graciously pressed me
to come again.
My second visit to Trebschen a couple of years later fell in
the shooting season, in the latter part of August. The
younger generation went out partridge-shooting with the
guests, while Prince and Princess Reuss took their easels out of
doors, making sketches in water-colours from nature, and very
good ones too, the Prince, in particular, being an accom
plished artist. When we returned to the chateau with our
bag of game we inspected the day's work of the master and
mistress of the house. We had wrought havoc amongst the
feathered tribe, whilst they had passed their time in repro
ducing something beautiful from nature. Prince Reuss was
close upon eighty years of age at that time.
There is no country in which ladies of rank are greater
sticklers for etiquette in their dealings with the outer world
than in Germany, living what they call standesgemdss ; but
there is also no country in which they are more domesticated
and more concentrated on the details of housekeeping. The
salads would be mixed at table either by the lady of the
house or the daughter, and if a guest showed a preference for
any dish the chances were that on his next visit he would find
it figuring in the first day's menu. If it was the shooting
season, when the party started early in the morning, it would
have been considered poor treatment of a guest if the lady of
the house and her daughter were not down to breakfast, and to
wish the shooting-party Waidmanns Heill
Prince Reuss loved to sit on the terrace facing the park
surrounded by his family circle, basking in the sun, on a
beautiful summer day. Although of a naturally reserved
and retiring disposition, as were the well-bred Germans of the
Prince's generation, he would readily enter into conversation
with a visitor in whom he might presume a certain familiarity
with political matters in which he himself had played a leading
part. And when he did so it was with an engaging frankness,
so free from the personal note that it was as if listening to the
190

PRINCE REUSS VII
experiences of a third person rendered in the form of the
historical present. Such communications could only come as
a high compliment to those who knew that the Prince had
always declined to entertain the appeals of the professional
memoir-hunters of the German periodical press, and had
never allowed anything to be published in which he himself
had played a part. Thus what he said possessed not only the
charm of unadorned personal narrative, but came as a revela
tion of important historical matter — as such, indeed, even at
the present moment.
It is well known that in the critical days following the
battle of Sadowa, the King of Prussia sent Prince Reuss, until
then Prussian Minister at Munich, to Paris on a special
mission to the Emperor Napoleon III., a task calling for most
delicate handling.
" The Emperor Napoleon had telegraphed to the King the
day after the battle of Sadowa, offering his mediation between
the contending Powers. The answer we sent was friendly, but
without entering into the subject, for we were in a dilemma
how to meet this interference, being determined to follow up
the advantages already gained.
" Bismarck asked ' me whether I was prepared to start at
once on a mission to Paris, a question which I answered in
the affirmative. Bismarck continued : ' Prussia can only
entertain an armistice if the fortresses of Koeniggraetz, Josef-
stadt, and Leitmeritz are handed over to us and an extensive
line of demarcation', including Prague, be agreed upon. We
would not allow our advance to be stopped pending negotia
tions.' Bismarck mentioned as among the proposed conditions
of peace a reconstruction of the Federal body (Bundesreform)
upon a basis already known to the Emperor Napoleon and
approved by him.
" ' The Elbe Duchies are to come to Prussia, several of the
governments which are inimical to us (but which are not
specified) are to be changed, military conventions to be
arranged with others, and a Parliament based upon direct 191

GERMAN MEMORIES
election is to be called.' These were the approximate
instructions with which I was to accompany the autograph
letter of the King, which was less precisely worded.
" ' If Napoleon,' continued Bismarck, ' should not show
himself agreeable to our propositions, and intends to oppose
our plans and thus drive us to extremes, you are to give him
to understand that we are prepared to light up a conflagration
in Germany. We do not shrink from the alternative of
appealing to the German democracy, of proclaiming Die
Grundrechte 1 and accepting the title of Emperor, and Napo
leon will see that he is mistaken if he reckons upon the help
of the revolution in Germany. If he should mention Villa-
franca and reproach us that it was we who forced him to
conclude peace before his programme was carried out, you
can tell him that this is not true. The Note which at that
time we sent to Vienna giving notice of our intention to cease
to remain neutral arrived too late, and, unfortunately, the
Emperor Napoleon had concluded peace too hastily. If the
question of compensation should arise, you will give him to
understand that German territory can in no case be given up,
but if he should seek compensation elsewhere this would not
concern us. The aim of your Paris mission, after having
delivered the autograph letter of King William, would be
merely to show yourself there and to keep the French
occupied.' " In other words, I was to put myself in evidence as one
who had been an eye-witness of our incredible successes, and
enter into casual conversations, 'just to hear what people
might say.
" My visit had already been announced in writing to Napoleon
III. I arrived in Paris in the morning, and at two o'clock had
to present myself at the Tuileries. I went in my military uniform.
1 As the so-called Grundrechte are understood the guaranteed rights and
liberties of the citizen, which in the revolution of 1848 were held to be the
fundamentary rights of the subject ; thus what we understand under the Bill
of Bights and what the French termed les Droits de V 'Homme in the French
Eevolution.
192

PRINCE REUSS VII
General Frossard was in the anteroom, a decided Prussophobe,
who had in advance prophesied our inevitable defeat with
pedantic certainty. Colonel Stoffel was also present. The starchy
attitude of the General, with whom I was previously well
acquainted, was amusing. He could not hide his displeasure at
meeting one who came direct in triumph, as it were, from the
battlefield of Sadowa ; and this attitude of his was in a
measure indicative for me of the feeling which dominated
Paris at that moment. Consternation reigned. People had
expected something quite different. Only a few days pre
viously Paris had been illuminated because Austria had ceded
Venice to Napoleon, who had passed this precious present on
to Italy. Victor Emmanuel, however, had been true to his
word not to conclude peace without Prussia, and, to the great
dismay of the French, had declined to accept this Danaean
gift. The climax of disappointment was that victorious and
lucky Prussia should have found an ally into the bargain !
The whole plot so cleverly conceived by Austria and accepted
by France had failed. Poor Metternich (the Austrian Ambas
sador in Paris) was in despair, Walewski in a fury of passion,
the politicians of the clubs were staggered, the Emperor was
in a dire dilemma. It was only among the lower orders of
the population that one met with that kind of sympathy
which the uneducated always feel for a deed of energy
crowned with success.
" Napoleon received me in a friendly spirit, but the interview
did not leave a very satisfactory impression on my mind. I missed
that calm deliberation and clearness which at other times I had
been accustomed to observe in this Sovereign. The Emperor did
not seem to have a good conscience, and was evidently
oppressed by a certain perplexity how to get out of a difficult
situation, which, as regards Italy, he had created for himself.
He wanted to know the conditions of peace which would
follow upon an armistice. I replied that this was outside
my mission. But I could assure him that King William
would be exceedingly moderate in his demands, despite the
ffeeUng of the Prussian people, who were beginning to insist
N 193

GERMAN MEMORIES
categorically that Prussia should not give up her conquests ;
the Emperor himself had declared that our project of reform
of the Federal Constitution would not collide with the
interests of France. We would adhere to this. Great was
my surprise to hear that Napoleon was only cognisant in a
general way of this project of reform. ' Possibly Count von
der Goltz (Prussian Ambassador in Paris) might have spoken
to him about it,' he said. ' It was also possible that he (the
Emperor) had not expressed himself unfavourably with regard
to it ; but in no wise dould he remember to have definitely
approved of it.' He said he did not even know what its
exact nature was. I did not hide my astonishment on hearing
this statement. I assured the Emperor that King William
was honestly convinced that Napoleon had approved of these
plans, and that we could firmly rely on his approval. The
conversations which Bismarck had had with Napoleon in 1865
at Biarritz, before this project of reform had been venti
lated by Prussia, were bound to have conveyed the conviction
to the King that Napoleon was in full agreement with the
plans of Prussia.
" Napoleon was evidently in a quandary as to how to
extricate himself from this series of facts which told against
him. He said that Prussia, without Austria as a counter
weight, would become too powerful a neighbour for France.
The quintessence of Napoleon's attitude seemed to be pre
occupation regarding the increased power of Prussia, the
jealousy of the French in connection therewith, and the
duplicity of the Austrians, who had led him to believe that
they had 100,000 men under the walls of Olmiitz and
intended to give battle there, whereas they were now being
driven back upon Vienna and retreating into Hungary.
Napoleon declared that we should be straightforward with him
(' avant tout etre franc avec moi ') and communicate our condi
tions of peace and our intentions generally to him. He also
wanted us to insist upon Italy (' ils sont si absurdes ') making
peace simultaneously with Austria (' ils sont si k bas, qu'ils
accepteront vos conditions ').
194

PRINCE REUSS VII
" General Fleury alone was favourably inclined towards us.
Napoleon, evidently much preoccupied, came back again and
again as to what were our real conditions of peace — and what
after ? Only with difficulty and under certain modalities
would he be able to control the excited feeling of the French.
As to compensation, he did not formulate anything definite,
but the Empress said, ' There must be a neutral State
between you and us ' ; and, half in earnest and half in ironical
jest, she endeavoured to sketch such a State with her pencil on
a map of our Western frontiers. After dinner, in the
Tuileries, the Emperor again seemed full of anxiety and
uneasiness as he walked with me for an hour up and down the
terrace planted with lime-trees in front of the Seine, con
tinually wanting to know ' A quoi voulez-vous en venir ? '
(What would our annexations include ?) Napoleon confessed,
' J'avoue franchement que j'ai eu tort d'accepter tout de suite
le cadeau que me faisait l'Autriche en me sacrifiant la Venetie.
Mais que voulez-vous ? J'ai ete flatte de voir l'Autriche,
vaincue par moi, m'apporter spontanement, et comme un don,
la province que je n'ai pas voulu conquerir en 1859. D'un
autre cote je pense qu'il serait plus simple pour les Italiens
de prendre, sans coup ferir, une belle province, au lieu de
laisser peut-etre 40,000 hommes devant les places fortes.
Mais quoi qu'il en soit, c'est fait, et il faut en sortir. S'il y
avait uk armistice prompt, il y aurait moyen de se tirer
d'affaire, et c'est pour cela que je suis si impatient d'arriver a
cet armistice.'
"Napoleon was in the greatest embarrassment regarding
Italy, and indeed with regard to the whole situation. He said
nobody could form an adequate conception of the difficulty
of his position. Imbued with the best intentions for Germany,
he yet could never know whither he would be driven ! "
Prince Reuss suggested that he should return to King
William and report to him clearly how he had found things
in France. Napoleon consented and gave him an autograph
letter for the King.
Many years afterwards in Paris, at the Hotel Continental,
195

GERMAN MEMORIES
within sight of the spot where once stood the Tuileries, and
which now has been converted into a beautiful garden — the
very terrace, with the lime-trees still visible, in the shade of
which Prince Reuss had walked with Napoleon III. on that
memorable day of July 1866 — there sat an old lady looking
out of the hotel window. Her eyes wandered dreamily over
the grounds opposite, where a heap of brickwork, a ruin, was
the only remnant of former palatial splendour. When she was
asked how she could possibly bear this sight, her answer came :
" Oh ! le passe n'existe pas pour moi ! " It was the Empress
Eugenie. The last time I was at Trebschen was at Easter 1906.
Prince Reuss was already ailing, and was only allowed to see
visitors for a few minutes at a time. But down to the very
last his interest was so vivid in everything connected with
international political life that he was eager to have news from
the outside world. In common with all distinguished Germans
of mature age I have met, Prince Reuss was deeply concerned
with the unsatisfactory relations between Germany and
England. His last words to me were, " Fahren Sie fort im
guten Sinne zu wirken " (" Continue to work in a beneficent
spirit " — a reference to my literary activity at the time).
Another subject of the Prince's anxiety was the growing
materialism of the age, the development among the German
well-to-do classes of a tendency to live for show, and the undue
importance attached by the present generation to the super
ficialities, the external side of life, as revealed by the general
craving for and the lavish and promiscuous distribution of
decorations, for which Count Posadowsky has coined the phrase
" Die Verdusserlichung innerer Werthe " (the vulgarisation of
inner values).
"They may say what they wiU," the Prince exclaimed,
"but a decoration is (ist und bleibt) a means of corruption
(Ein CorruptiionsmitteT)^ It was on this occasion that I met
two sisters of the Kostritz branch of the Reuss family domiciled
at Ernstbrunn in Austria, the elder of whom, Princess Eleonore,
196

PRINCE REUSS VII
has since married King Ferdinand of Bulgaria and is now
Tsaritsa of the Bulgarians. She had only recently returned
from Russia, where she had gone through the Russo-Japanese
campaign as a nurse to the Russian wounded. She had been
appointed by the Grand Duchess Wladimir as matron of the
hospital train which her Imperial Highness, as head of the Red
Cross Committee, called into activity for the war. With her
staff of nurses the Princess underwent hardships of which the
severities of the climate were not the least. On her return
home she went out as a simple district nurse, helping thereby a
small sisterhood of deaconesses. Her sister, also a trained
nurse, did some splendid service as matron of a hospital in
Hanover. Ever eager to help whenever she could, payant
de sa personne, she and her sister belong to the increasing
number of ladies of the upper classes on the Continent, not of
Grermany alone, to whom high birth does not mean an idle
existence, but a life of all-round usefulness, for which Princess
Eleonore has since found an abundant scope in her new
sphere. She had read an article which I had written in the
Deutsche Rundschau on my experiences in Moscow during
the revolution of 1905-6, and was much interested in the sad
conditions prevailing there. She was afraid that the revolu
tionary movement might not lead to any tangible benefits
for what she termed the real people : the soldiers, the
sailors, and the peasants. " I have gone through those hard
times of war and revolution with them," she said, "nursing
them, watching them, and caring for them so long, that I
learnt to love and respect their admirable qualities, their
patient endurance of suffering, their right feeling and sound
common sense. These in the long run will, I hope and trust,
help them to their proper place and keep them in the right
way." Altogether I found in this distinguished family that birth is
an incentive, and does not constitute a claim in itself. Thus
the younger generation is brought up in modesty to look
up to their seniors, to respect age, to admire high character
and intellectual attainments wherever they are met with ; not
197

GERMAN MEMORIES
to put themselves forward with undue familarity in conver
sation, but to practise reserve and self-restraint.
Princess Reuss in particular, like her aunt, the Empress
Augusta, considers that her Weimarian traditions, the friend
ship between Goethe and her ancesters, lay a special obligation
upon her and her family to lead useful and ennobling lives, and
above all to foster the traditions of her House in this direction.
Indeed, the more that I saw of this cultivated family circle
the more I became convinced that balance of character as ex
emplified in happy family life, sincerity, lowliness of heart,
not self-indulgence and brutal self-assertion, were at the root
of almost everything worth achieving that has been accom
plished in Germany in our time. Where these elements have
been lacking — even in the case of genius — the work done
has been of a devastating, sirocco-like kind, and the ultimate
benefit to the community of a questionable character.
We read in Prince Hohenlohe's Memoirs that when Princess
Marie Alexandrine, daughter of the late reigning Grand Duke
Karl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar, married Prince Reuss, the
match was held in some of the Court circles to be almost a
mesalliance on her part. Such are the chimera to which those
still cling whose main chance of retaining their, privileged
position must ultimately depend upon the distinction of
character exemplified by the best among their caste.
Thus, although i !; was a new departure for the daughter of a
reigning Sovereign to become an Ambassadress, the Princess
herself rejoiced that her marriage should have opened up to her
a beneficent sphere of activity in assisting her husband to serve
his country as the representative of his Sovereign in his
Ambassadorship abroad. Many keen observers of Germany are
of opinion that the hold of the German Sovereign Princes over
the affections of their countrymen depends upon their human
attributes, and upon little else. Germany will never forget that
it was a Duke of Saxe-Weimar who befriended Goethe, and
even German democracy will bear in mind that, after the war
of Liberation, of all German Sovereigns he was the only one who
kept his promise to grant a constitution to his countrymen.
198

PRINCE REUSS VII
Shortly after my return to England, in the summer of 1906>
I received a telegram from Princess Reuss announcing the death
of her husband, regarding whom one who knew him intimately
writes me as follows :
" His political instinct, his tact, his delicacy of touch in the
management of affairs, were remarkable. For at certain critical
junctures the alternative of peace and war may be said to have
been balanced at the point of his pen.
" It impressed me deeply to find him, at such a moment,
sitting in prayer in front of his writing materials. ' May God
grant to me His grace to give correct expression to the right
thoughts, so that bloodshed may be avoided,' and God heard his
prayer, so full of simple faith and trust. There was rarely his
like, so absolutely exempt was he from every-day vanity and
the pettiness of things. He combined rare modesty with a
certain loftiness ; the union of a chastened spirit with the wide
range of a superior mind, and with it there was a delightful
buoyancy and freshness about him. I fancy it was his love of
art and nature that gave this mellowness to his mind. It
enabled him to see so much of the beauty of things, so much of
their deeper import. This again may have had something to do
with his charming social qualities, his keen sense of humour, for
he thus perceived many things unseen by his entourage. The
circumstance that he was a keen sportman and an excellent shot
also brought him into constant touch with nature. It was
interesting to see how the artist and the sportsman were blended
in him and completed each other. They kept him young.
Thus he was always the best playmate for his children, their
constant companion, and the source of their happiness, as they
were of his. He spread sunshine over the house, and created
that happily blended atmosphere in which the young generation
grew up.
" It was your good fortune to know him and to have felt the
charm of his personality ; I wish you had seen more of him."

199

CHAPTER XVII
WEIMAR
In the summer of 1903 I paid a short visit to Weimar, for
which purpose Princess Reuss gave me several letters of intro
duction, notably one to Frau Elisabeth Foerster-Nietzsche, the
sister of the great writer. Weimar had been the Princess's
Thuringian home, where she was born, and is a shrine in which
everything is sacred to her, more particularly that belonging to
the great past ; and every one making a pilgrimage there would
be sure in advance of her interest and encouragement.
About a hundred years ago Goethe, Schiller, and the
Humboldts dominated not only Weimar but the intellectual
world of Germany. Their praise could make, their disapproval
mar, a reputation. To-day this autocratic power over the
minds of their fellows is possessed by no man. The louder the
shout of the megaphone, the shriller the note of the steam-
whistle, the less heed people pay to them ; till at last they pass as
unnoticed as the monotonous moan of the " siren " at sea.
Nietzsche embodies the revolt against this shouting tendency
on the one hand and the callous indifference of the crowd on
the other, and that one-sided education, which the Germans
term Halb-bildung, which produces a surface familiarity with
a host of things and a real knowledge of nothing, the
aggressive arrogance of which was never more rampant than
to-day, and has aroused the concern of the cultivated. It
is well authenticated that certain writings of Goethe and
Schopenhauer, each in his time, wrought havoc upon unbalanced
minds. Nietzsche, by his passionate intellectuality clothed
in the most alluring literary form, has achieved the feat of
appealing simultaneously to the intellectual and the moralist,
200

WEIMAR
the buffoon and the immoralist of every country. The former
take Nietzsche's ideas into account, weigh and discuss them ;
the latter strut about braying — Bottom-like- — in Nietzsche's
lion skin, to the discomfort and annoyance of the sober members
of the community. It is noteworthy that Nietzsche himself
foresaw and foretold this dubious outcome of his own writings ;
for whereas he naturally intended to appeal to the higher
instincts of mankind, the vain ass, the neurotic, the degenerate,
the erotomaniac, and a host of other candidates for criminal
honours have recognised their own image in the figure of the
Superman which Nietzsche held up to them and rejoiced
accordingly. Thus he laid down the axiom that the first
converts to a creed do not necessarily prove anything against it.
Whatever may be thought of Nietzche's Iconoclastic propa
ganda, the man who had the audacity to tell his countrymen
they have no future,1 that their nobility has been vitiated by
Christianity and alcohol 2 and cannot take rank with that of
France and England, possesses that supreme degree of moral
courage without which no gift of intellect or insight can make
a prophet or a reformer. Fortunately for the progress of
mankind, for the welfare of the human race in general, the
strongest and the best will always decline to accept the
Categorical Imperative, whether it be from a Sovereign or a
self-styled prophet. Some of Nietzsche's own disciples are
inclined to believe that the inevitable reaction against this latest
development of the spirit of revolt may yet tend towards an
early and much needed return to the recognition of Biblical Law
— at least, to those paragraphs thereof which inculcate reverence
and decency of conduct, and ordain :
" Thou shalt honour thy father and thy mother ; that thy
days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee. " Thou shalt not commit adultery.
i The Case against Wagner (page 65, English edition) : " The Germans
themselves have no future."
2 The Antichrist (page 227, English edition) : "The German nobility
scarcely takes a place in the history of higher culture.''
201

GERMAN MEMORIES
" Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house ; thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his."
For the moment, however, Nietzsche has become one of the
driving intellectual forces identified with the little Thuringian
Residenz-Stadt where he spent the last days of his life, nursed
and cared for by his devoted sister.
Frau Foerster-Nietzsche is a lady of great intellectual force
and combative energy, qualities which she has devoted to the
task of championing the memory of her distinguished brother,
to whom she was passionately attached. Moreover, she has
spent ,£10,000 in bringing out different editions of his works.
She has turned her handsome villa residence — Villa Silberblick,
in the Louisenstrasse, where Nietzsche died — into a museum,
called the Nietzsche Archiv, in which Nietzsche's manuscripts
and personal relics are carefully arranged and preserved for all
time. A sum of £20,000 has been placed at Frau Foerster's
disposal for this purpose by a Swedish admirer of Nietzsche's
philosophy. It was there that I called upon her, and met
with the kindliest reception. She took me all over the house,
which is beautifully situated on a hill with a broad view into
the valley and the hills beyond. " Silver View " is the name
which Nietzsche gave to the panorama as he sat during his
years of illness looking out of the window, cogitating over the
glory of life which he was prevented from enjoying, leaving
him only the faculty of admiring nature in its loveliness from
afar — imprisoned like Heinrich Heine in his mattressed tomb.
Those who have been privileged to come into personal
contact with Nietzsche's sister, and to take cognizance of her
whole-souled devotion to her brother's memory, can scarcely
fail to have been impressed by her great courage, her
exceptional mental attainments, as well as the charm of a
dominant personality. Indeed, with regard to her extra
ordinary, almost provocative, courage, some have sought
a connection here with one of Nietzsche's favourite assertions
that his family was really of Polish descent, the Polish
202

WEIMAR
women being at all times noted for their combative courage.
The acrimonious personal attacks which Frau Foerster-Nietzsche
has been subjected to in German periodical literature do not
throw a sympathetic light on the character of certain sections
of intellectual Germany of the present day ; even less do they
point to the success of Nietzsche's propaganda to inculcate a
higher standard of life for his countrymen, which can only be
attained by a greater degree of loyalty, mutual respect,
appreciation, and generosity obtaining towards each other.
Frau Foerster-Nietzsche presides in Weimar over a circle of
intellectual people. She arranges lectures and discussions in
which many distinguished persons take part. Visitors come from
all parts of the world — India, Japan, America and Australia ;
and so great has been the crush of late that she has been
obliged at times to have a notice put up that the Nietzsche
Archiv is closed !
Of greater pretensions, however, than this Nietzsche memorial
is the Goethe and Schiller Arehiv, from which the idea of the
former was evidently derived. I brought a letter of introduc
tion to Professor Suphan, the Director of the latter, by whom
I was shown over the beautiful building. It stands on a hill,
like some Greek temple, its style being obviously taken from
Hellenic models, the little river Ilm flowing past through the
valley, in which Goethe used to take his summer bath. It is
devoted to the preservation of the Goethe and Schiller manu
scripts, which are carefully arranged in showcases in the British
Museum manner.
It is only since the death of Walther von Goethe (1885), a
grandson and last surviving descendant of the poet, that these
have been accessible to the public. He bequeathed all the
literary remains of his illustrious ancestor to the mother of
Princess Reuss, the Grand Duchess Sophia of Saxe Weimar, to
dispose of as she might think fit ; and right worthily did she
fulfil her trust. Although not a born German (she was a
daughter of King WiUiam II. of the Netherlands) she was
enthusiastic in her attachment to the literary traditions of
Weimar. She considered this legacy in the light of a high 203

GERMAN MEMORIES
honour, a weighty responsibility, and determined to deal with
it, in accordance with the universal character of Goethe's
genius, for the benefit of the world at large. She appealed to
the most eminent authorities on Goethe lore to assist her in this
endeavour. The first requirement was a suitable building in
which to preserve these priceless treasures of intellectual
Germany. No appeals were issued for public pecuniary support,
although they would have been fully justified. Out of her own
private, none too ample, fortune the Grand Duchess caused
the present noble structure to be erected.
It is characteristic of the independence, not to say the
almost aggressive, individuality of the world of scholarship that
the generous initiative of the Grand Duchess did not at once
secure its unanimous approval. Professor Hermann Grimm,
the eminent Goethe scholar, for instance, did not look upon the
project with a benevolent eye ; it is even said that he took up
an attitude of legal opposition in regard to it. It also shows
the influence such men possess over the public mind that this
opposition of the plain Berlin professor could have made itself
felt as an inconvenience, even a hindrance. However, " All's
well that ends well," and Hermann Grimm came at last to
approve, to bless, and to co-operate with the Grand Duchess in
her labour of examining and arranging the manuscripts and
bringing out the complete edition of Goethe's works known as
the " Sophien " edition. Unfortunately, Grimm's death inter
fered with the completion of her cherished project that he
should write a standard life of Goethe, the contents of which
she herself had already planned, chapter for chapter, as they
are to be seen in her own handwriting in the Goethe and
Schiller Archiv.
The building contains, in addition, a suite of comfortable
rooms, where students find the quiet and congenial surroundings
conducive to work. The idea of the foundress was that
students from all parts should come here, as to a shrine, and
take away something of its literary traditions to remain with
them as a talisman through life, something of the large-
mindedness of those who lived and worked here in the past, and
204

WEIMAR
of the spirit of appreciation " for the true, the beautiful, and
the good," with which the Princess herself was imbued in
creating this foundation. It is worthy of note that the
contents of the Archiv have been largely increased since
it was founded. The name of Schiller was added only
subsequently. I myself had the good fortune to possess an
autograph letter of Schiller's wife, which has also found a
place here.
Among others to whom I had brought letters of introduction
was Hofrath Carl Ruland. At one time private secretary and
librarian to our Prince Consort, he had passed the later years
of his life in Weimar, where he had been president of the
Goethe Society for seven years. A tall, well-preserved, genial
old gentleman — the German professor of bygone simple
days with something of the courtier added — I found him
surrounded by his books in a plainly furnished flat. The
Hofrath was enthusiastic in his appreciation of the kindness
manifested by the English Royal Family to all those who had
ever served the Prince Consort ; and he related to me some
striking instances of the kindly recollection shown him by
different members of the English Royal Family, and especially
by King Edward VII. : " When King Edward's coronation
was about to take place I wrote His Majesty a dutiful letter
of congratulation. As you may remember, the ceremony was
fixed to take place on a Thursday. I posted my letter on the
previous Tuesday, hoping that it might come into his hands
on the day of his coronation. But, as fate would have it, on
that very Tuesday the world was startled by the news that the
King had been operated on for appendicitis. In my sorrow
and excitement I forgot all about my congratulatory letter.
Imagine, then, my surprise when the following Sunday's post
brought me a letter of thanks, with His Majesty's own
autograph signature ; so that he must have signed it at latest
within three days of undergoing that operation ! When I
think of the King's illness, and the numerous letters he must
have received, I confess I am still perfectly astonished at his
kind thought for an old servant of his family." 205

GERMAN MEMORIES
I met Herr Ruland again two years afterwards at the
Schiller centenary. He died in 1907.
I had witnessed as a boy in Dresden the centenary of
Schiller's birth in 1859, so I thought I should like to attend
the centenary of his death, which was celebrated at Weimar in
the month of May 1905, and I journeyed from England
expressly for the purpose.
Many visitors had come from afar to be present at the
ceremony, and those who felt that their position entitled
them to do so inscribed their names at the Grand Ducal
Palace. At nine o'clock in the morning the whole of Weimar
was gathered together on the Markt Platz and marshalled in
line by the Buergermaster, in order to walk in a procession
five deep to the Furstengruft, where Schiller's remains, close
to those of Goethe, rest in the mausoleum beside those of the
Grand Ducal family. It was a thrilling moment when the
procession started, and when simultaneously all the church
bells of Weimar were set ringing. We were told afterwards
that this was likewise the case at the same hour throughout
the whole of Germany.
An awning was erected exactly opposite Rietschel's beautiful
joint statues of Goethe and Schiller in front of the theatre.
There the Grand Duke, in uniform, surrounded by his suite,
awaited the deputations of eighty-three different universities
and high schools that had come to Weimar for the occasion.
An enormous crowd filled every space, even the roofs of the
houses, as the students in their picturesque garb filed past
the Grand Duke.
In the evening one of Schiller's plays, Demetrius, was given
at the Court Theatre, followed by a magnificent rendering of
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with a full choir drawn from
the citizens of Weimar, the ladies in white, the men in evening
dress. The house in which Schiller lived and died was
illuminated. Before I left Weimar I was privileged to meet the German
poet Ernst von Wildenbruch, who was staying with his wife at
the Russische Hof. He intended to leave Berlin and take
206

WEIMAR
up his permanent residence in Weimar, where he owned a
charming villa overlooking Goethe's garden and the Grand
Ducal Park, and where for several years he was the centre of a
circle of intellectual friends and admirers. But, alas ! he was
already suffering from heart disease, and did not live to carry
out his project ; and now his widow has turned his beautiful
residence into a home for widows of indigent authors. Like so
many other distinguished Germans I have met of recent years,
Herr von Wildenbruch was much concerned over the growing
estrangement between England and Germany, which he deeply
deplored ; for he belonged to those highly cultured Germans
who, next to their own country, felt most attracted towards
the land of Shakespeare and Byron. He was the author of
several plays dealing with the past history of Prussia, and,
being an illegitimate descendant of the House of Hohenzollern,
he was looked upon by many as a literary champion of that
dynasty. In later years, however, he had taken up a broader
and more independent attitude, and had constituted himself
the protagonist of the literary heroes of Germany, more
especially of Goethe and Schiller. He wrote a stirring poem
on the anniversary of Schiller's death, entitled Heros bleib bei
tins. He was also a fierce opponent of the prevailing mania
for restoring the historical castles, and in a widely circulated
pamphlet had attacked the Grand Duke of Baden for his share
in restoring, and, as he contended, spoiling, the magnificent
ruins of the old castle of Heidelberg. It is worthy of note
that, while the influence of distinguished personalities in the
political arena has steadily declined, in the world of learning
and literature men like Mommsen, Hermann Grimm, Gerhardt
Hauptmann and others, are able to appeal to public opinion
with a strong backing. Thus Wildenbruch could take it upon
himself to address crowned heads almost on terms of equality
— de puissance a puissance — as was done by the poet Bjornson
to the late King of Sweden, and by scholars in the days when
Erasmus was proclaimed the greatest man of his age and made
his triumphal progress from Strasburg to Basel amid the
admiring acclamation of a whole people. 207

GERMAN MEMORIES
In the summer of 1909 I came again to Thuringia on a
visit to some old friends, when I received a letter from Princess
Reuss asking me to pay her a visit at the chateau of Wilhelms-
thal, where she was staying with her nephew the Grand Duke,
or to meet her at the Wartburg. As I had with me my son,
to whom I wanted to show the Wartburg, I chose the alterna
tive. We met in the afternoon and were received with great
courtesy by Captain von Cranach, a descendant of the great
painter of that name, and commander of the castle. We were
taken all over this wonderful relic of the Middle Ages, and,
by special permission of the Grand Duke, inspected those parts
which are rarely shown to visitors, including the apartments
reserved for the reigning family in which the Princess had spent
many of her young days. We dined in the quaint Romanesque
hall, said to be the Kemenata of St. Elizabeth, which,
together with other parts of the castle, known everywhere
through Wagner's Tannhduser, were artistically restored by
the late Grand Duke Karl Alexander, the father of Princess
Reuss. It happened to be the 2nd of September, the Sedantag, so
we had the advantage of seeing the castle lit up at night.
The pathway through the forest is provided with electric
lights, which Herr von Cranach caused to be kept alight for us
on our way back to Eisenach late in the evening.

208

CHAPTER XVIII
PRINCE BULOW
A limited set of men, and of women too, has always existed
and is still to be found on the Continent who lead an inner
life, unaffected by the current values of the crowd. Indeed,
the very fact of their existence as a class is scarcely known to
the general public ; for, although united by sympathy of
thought and ideas, these people are divided by nationality as
well as by worldly station. Cash values or the lack of them
count for little here. Thus it may come to pass that a man
living in a garret, who is unknown to his next-door neighbour,
let alone to the augurs of publicity in his own country, may
be acclaimed as an equal among what Mommsen called " les
intellectuels " all over Europe and the United States, and
thus illustrate in his own person the difference between the
appreciation of the few and that of the crowd, which is more
and more becoming the only arbiter of fame, transitory though
it be. Peasant's sons, Socialists, are to be met here where lords,
spiritual and temporal, might seek admission in vain. Princes,
and even monarchs, do not necessarily obtain recognition
where Spinoza, Goethe, and a few minor gods are accorded
supreme reverence.
I am referring to that intellectual elite, the few men and
women in whom the best culture of an age is reflected as in
a mirror, not to the mere compiler of books, the marvel of
learning, the prodigy of omnivorous knowledge and reading,
but the product of an aristocratic bent of heart and mind,
born in the cottage more often than in the palace, and chastened,
not coarsened, by contact with the world : individuals in
whom the megala psyche of the Greeks has culminated in a
o 209

GERMAN MEMORIES
harmonious conception of life, its dignity, its loftiest aims.
Not the least interesting fact connected with the former
Chancellor of the German Empire is that he can lay claim
to belong to this exclusive set.
Before Prince Biilow came to Berlin, in 1896, as Foreign
Secretary, he had served as a diplomatist in most of the great
capitals of Europe. There he always sought out, by pre
ference, the company of the intellectual few. Thus in Paris
he associated with the philosopher Caro ; the Russian poet,
Turgeniev ; the brilliant writers, Francis and Gabriel Charmes,
Pallain, Gabriel Monod, the historian, and others. At
St. Petersburg he came into contact with the poet Grigoro-
witsch ; and the widow of the poet, Alexei Tolstoi, Countess
Alexandrine Tolstoi, a highly gifted personality. In Rome he
met Bonghi, the historian de Cesare, and Count Pasolini;
the great physicist Blaserna ; Professor Boni, the eminent
director of the excavations in the Forum ; the mathematician,
Brioschi ; and, in early days, Mommsen, Gregorovius, and
Malvida von Meysenbug, the authoress of the "Memoirs of
an Idealist."
Prince Biilow comes of a very old and distinguished family
whose records go back to the twelfth century, and which in the
course of seven hundred years has produced a very large number
of soldiers,1 churchmen, diplomatists, statesmen, authors, and
artists. Even within the last hundred years there are twelve
entries to the credit of the Biilow family in Brockhaus' work of
Universal Biography. The significance of this record will be
best understood when it is borne in mind that many equaUy
ancient noble families have not produced a single member
whose life's work has been deemed important enough to
warrant mention in Brockhaus : the mere fact of princely
birth or exalted position in the service of the State, such as
Ambassador or even Minister of the Crown by no means
1 A General von Biilow won the battle of Grossbeeren, August 23, 1813,
against Marshal Oudinot ; the battle of Dennewitz, September 6, against
Marshal Ney ; and besides took a prominent part in the crowning victory of
Waterloo.
210

PRINCE bulow

PRINCE BULOW
implies a biographical mention in this stupendous work of
reference, compared with the cosmopolitan comprehensiveness
of which the Encyclopaedia Britannica is as an "orphan
child " ! It is interesting to note that Prince Billow's
mother, as also Bismarck and Moltke's mothers, did not
belong by birth to the nobility.
A writer in the Nineteenth Century of December 1908,
gives the following graphic picture of the Prince's personal
appearance, which it would be difficult to improve upon :
"In personal appearance the Chancellor is a worthy re
presentative of that Mecklenburg aristocracy the gallant
bearing of whose members made such an impression on the
great Napoleon that he said to his Marshals, ' I can make
you into kings but not into Mecklenburg nobles.' Tall,
with a stately carriage of the head, and shoulders which
give him grace and distinction, he has the broad brow of
intellect ; and a mouth and chin (clean-shaven except for
the soldierly moustache) which show courage, energy and
decision. But it is the eyes which arrest attention — eyes
beautiful and fearless, that meet you with a directness and
sincerity, rare indeed in any class, but for a diplomatist
almost unique. It is a face, steadfast, proud and self-reliant ;
yet with a sunny-tempered kindness and grace in it which
win straight to the heart." 1
The Prince's popularity with all classes of the community
was due to that urbanite de coeur which is a product of
true mental culture, the refinement of one of Nature's gentle
men. Again, as a Minister for Foreign Affairs he enjoyed
in a high degree the confidence of the great majority of the
German people — notably of the aUied German Sovereigns, fore
most among whom was that large-hearted man, the venerable
Regent of Bavaria, and his noble son and heir, Prince Ludwig.
Prince Billow's triumphant self-reliance, his sunny optimism,
his natural bonhomie, added to an element of " sophrosyne," mark
the weU-balanced gentleman among surroundings in which
l Prince Billow, an Appreciation, by Sidney Garfield Morris. Nineteenth
Century and After, December 1908. 211

GERMAN MEMORIES
these characteristics are not too plentiful. These qualities made
friends for him among Liberals and even Socialists, in spite
of his boast that he wished to be considered an agrarian
Chancellor. When the Prince was suddenly taken ill in the
Reichstag, Bebel happened to be speaking and was much
concerned at the Prince's condition and its possible connection
with political polemics. This tribute of sympathy from such
a quarter was appreciated as only appreciation can come
where the beat of a human heart is there to register it.
Biilow invariably " scored " over the Socialists in debate by
his humorous yet good-tempered readiness of retort. He
proved also to be weU advised when, in 1903, in the face
of an unexpected increase of Socialist seats in the Reichstag,
he opposed all attempts at nervous anti-Socialist legislation,
and promised to make the " House " so comfortable " that
all and every one should feel at home in it."
My acquaintance with Prince Biilow was a legacy I took
over from the Bismarck family : for I feel sure that it was
mainly due to my connection with the latter that Herr von
Biilow, as he then was (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs),
welcomed me as he did during the Spanish-American War
as representative of the New York Herald. Since that time
I have never been to Berlin without paying him my respects,
and being honoured in return by his delightful hospitality and
that of Princess Bulow. Notably was this the case during the
momentous period of the Algeciras Conference, when I again
represented the same paper, and, with the Prince's assistance,
drew up the interview in which the much-quoted phrase
occurred that there should neither be vainqueurs nor vaincus
in the discussion of the Moroccan question at Algeciras.
During that period I was repeatedly a guest at the Reichs-
kanzler Palais. One evening after dinner the Princess showed
me over the Palace. This gave me the material for the
following little sketch, which I contributed at the time to
the Schlesische Zeitung:
" If I am guilty of a slight indiscretion, it is that it seems
that the feeling of reverence for the great dead is a little out
212

PRINCE BULOW
of fashion in high circles. Likewise it would appear that in
those spheres people no longer possess the simplicity, the
sincerity, of their forbears. Thus it comes to us as a revela
tion when we now and then meet with characteristics which
were once exemplified in kings, and at all times were a mark of
gentle breeding.
" Princess Biilow conducted me through the spacious
apartments of the Reichskanzler Palace. We passed through
the imposing salon, which has become historical, inasmuch as
the Berlin Conference in 1878 held its sittings there, and
entered the suite of rooms in which the Princess herself now
reigns as one of the most charming of hostesses. They are
filled with art treasures brought from her southern home :
pictures, antique majolicas and bronzes, beautifully worked
Venetian glass ; everything ordered with consummate taste
in its proper place. Queen Margherita of Italy, ' La bella
Regina,' by Lenbach, is on the wall and next to it, limned
by the same master -hand, the gifted step-daughter of Min-
ghetti — the Princess herself. A very splendour of Italian
taste and dignity strikes the eye. The further end of the
drawing-room is arranged as a conservatory and filled with
plants. There is the laurel, the gentle myrtle, not to forget
the palm in all its graceful and majestic splendour. They
complete the picture. An abundance of grace is blended
here in the most beautiful harmony. I felt as if a breath
of the glorious Italian Renaissance had been wafted up here
into these chilly northern shores, for it was mid-winter.
" ' But come along with me,' quoth my companion, in
terrupting my expressions of admiration. ' You knew Prince
Bismarck ; let me show you the pieces of furniture which once
belonged to him, which we treasure in his memory.'
" We entered a large room, bare of all ornament, except
that a thoughtful portrait of Bismarck (again painted by
Lenbach) looked down upon us from the wall. Two plain
writing-tables stand side by side, such as were in use about
fifty years ago, and take up nearly a whole side of the
room. They are locked, and are to remain locked by order 213

GERMAN MEMORIES
of the present appreciative tenant. Two little brass plates
notify that they once belonged to Prince and Princess
Bismarck. " ' This was his first writing-table during the most anxious
period of his life, the first half of the Sixties,' said the
Princess. ' My husband had these plates fixed, for we both
feel that it would be a desecration on our part to use what
once belonged to that great man ! ' "
Both the Prince and Princess were partial to sociability on
a small and intimate scale — lunches or dinners " im kleinen
Kreis," as the Germans term them. General conversation
in which all should take part was the staple entertainment.
I have often noticed the kindly consideration with which the
Prince would endeavour to draw a guest out who might have
felt reluctant to join in where the standard was naturally
a high one. Music was tabooed as being an anti-social
feature which might possibly not appeal to all. Thus
although Princess Biilow is a devotee to music, and I have
repeatedly been her guest when the Russian pianist Sapellnikow
was also present, never a note was played as long as other
guests were present.
In August of 1906 I paid a visit to Prince Biilow at
Norderney, and in the same month of 1908 I went again to
see him at the same place. On my arrival the Prince's aide-
de-camp, Captain von Schwarzkoppen, called at my hotel and
brought me a kindly message from him. He hoped I would
come to dinner at the villa, and if my son was with me, that I
would bring him too : this is only one of the many kind
attentions I have received at the Prince's hands.
During my stay I had several talks with the Prince bearing
on the relations between Germany and England, the gist of
which was published in the Standard of September 14, 1908.
At this distance of time it is unnecessary to reproduce that
which was of purely temporary interest.
In his later years Prince Bismarck often made use of a
saying to the effect that Europe would never, in the long run,
tolerate the dominant hegemony, the dictatorship of any one
214

PRINCE BULOW
single Power or person. The exact words employed by
Prince Bismarck were in English : " . . . Only, no cock-of-
the-walk business : Europe will not put up with it." Europe
as an entity would resent as derogatory, if not as intolerable,
a situation in which it might come to pass that an individual
would arrogate to himself the attribute of being supreme
arbiter of war and peace, the latter to depend upon his
benevolent intentions periodically vouchsafed to the world as
free gifts, to be received in an attitude of grateful humility.
The question might naturally suggest itself to Englishmen
how the eventuality foreshadowed by Bismarck would be likely
to affect England, in case such a truculent figure should appear
on the European stage. The prospect seemed to justify a
certain anxiety in face of a situation which might conceivably
arise at any moment and place the peace of the world — and
with it the security of an Empire embracing one-fifth of the
inhabited globe — at the mercy of one Power, or even of a
single individual ! Nor could this uncertainty be considered to
be entirely eliminated even were it frankly recognised that such
a Power or personage was imbued with the very best inten
tions, and, above all, inspired by a genuine love of peace. For
there are always accidents to be reckoned with, more particularly
in the case of individuals.
The warning example of Louis XIV., of Napoleon I., and,
to a lesser degree, of Napoleon III., were ever present to
Bismarck's mind. It is true that he himself was at one time
more or less the " cock of Europe," and he was fully conscious
of the responsibilities and dangers of the position. But in his
day France still figured before the world as a possible disturber
of European peace, as the champion of a hotly desired
" revanche," whereas Bismarck, even when some of his methods
may have been unpalatable to European statesmen, invariably
got credit for honestly desiring peace as sincerely as his old
master, if only in order to keep what Germany had won at
the price of terrible sacrifices ; in other words, Bismarck's
aims were openly avowed and known to foreign Governments
to be peaceful and moderate, as graphically circumscribed by
215

GERMAN MEMORIES
his own famous saying that to Germany the whole Eastern
Question was not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian
Grenadier. Added to this there was the prestige of his un-
paralled achievements. Hence many Englishmen who are
anti-German to-day were sincere admirers of Bismarck and
friendly in their sentiments towards Germany.
Since then much has changed. France no longer stands in
the foreground as a likely disturber of peace ; other elements
of unrest have taken her place, concerning which, however, it
would be inopportune to enter into details. It will be
sufficient to say that much of the anti-German sentiment
existing in England may be traced to a feeling of uncertainty
as to the political aims of Germany. It would thus seem
to be desirable to demonstrate to the world at large that
the ingredients of unrest above referred to are not sympathised
with by the German nation — in other words, that ambitious
Pan-Germanic ideals form a negligible quantity, and, finally,
that no single individual possesses the power to disturb the
peace of the world ; but the process of enlightenment should
proceed without trespassing upon the legitimate sensibilities
of the German people.
I made no secret of this connection of ideas in my inter
course with Prince Biilow, as I had reason to believe that they
were held by a large number of Englishmen. My host was
equally frank in his endeavour to remove aU justification for
uneasiness on this score. Without entering upon a direct
rejoinder, he assured me that one of the greatest dangers of
the present day is the exaggerated importance attached by the
newspaper-reading public to casual utterances of highly placed
personages without reference to the circumstances and con
ditions of mind under which they had been made. Altogether
people are in the habit of talking in public and " at " the public
far more than formerly. But very few such utterances are to
be taken in the wide application often attributed to them
when separated from their setting.
^.Prince Billow's conversation in private life was often inter
spersed with interesting references to his great predecessor,
216

PRINCE BULOW
and on this particular occasion, in pointing out the difference
between words and deeds, he referred to Prince Bismarck as
one of those rare men with whom it was unsafe to take lightly
anything he said, even in moments of nervous irritation. " I
happened to call on him in Berlin in the year 1874," he said;
" it was in the midst of his quarrel with Count Arnim, who had
been our Ambassador at Paris. Suddenly Bismarck burst out :
' If Arnim does not give up the documents (Erlasse) which he
has in his possession, I shall land him in prison ' (' Ich bringe
ihn noch ins Zuchthaus,'' a term conveying imprisonment, a
peine dure, for felony)." On leaving the apartment with
General von Schweinitz we talked this startling statement over,
and attributed it to an ebullition of temper. For the idea of
a full-blown Ambassador being imprisoned as a common
malefactor was unheard of and could only be regarded as a
joke. Yet within six months Arnim was arrested, criminal
proceedings were taken against him, and he was ultimately
sentenced in contumaciam to five years' imprisonment (Zucht
haus). Prince Biilow added that this was, of course, an
extreme case, just as Bismarck was a very exceptional man in
the doggedness with which he followed up a course he had once
entered upon. But others, though less uncompromising than
Bismarck, might still be found to be as good as their word by
their political opponents.
That the mutual distrust existing between England and
Germany should have apparently lost little of its intensity in
his later years was a matter of deep concern to the Prince.
Nor was this by any means the first occasion on which he had
given expression to his sentiments on this subject. He
considered the animosity between England and Germany as
little short of a species of popular madness by whomsoever
it was indulged, which, if persisted in, could only lead to
endless mischief to both countries for the sole benefit of the
tertii gaudentes. He expressed himself as most anxious to do
all in his power to put an end to it, but his power was
necessarily limited. With regard to English apprehension of
German naval aggression, he thought that it would be more 217

GERMAN MEMORIES
natural, and, therefore, more excusable, if the Germans were
to fear being attacked.
" You have never known an invasion," he said, " since the
time of William the Conqueror, and I can assure you, not for
the first time, and , not as German Chancellor, but as one
gentleman to another, that nobody of any sense or influence in
Germany dreams of picking a quarrel with England, much less
of such an insane idea as invading England." An English
illustrated paper, with drawings of supposed German spies
gathered in an English country inn, lay on the table, and
pointing to it, the Prince said that the stories of German spies
in England, which had been recently circulated, had only
a foundation in over-heated imagination. " But for us
Germans," he continued, " there is far more tangible reason for
apprehension, through our exposed geographical position,
apart from our dark historical background.
" It is only a hundred years ago," said Prince Biilow,
pointing to a map of Germany before him, " that this very
spot on which we stand formed a part of a French department.
The towns of Bremen, Lubeck, and Hamburg were ' nos bonnes
villes de Bremen, Lubeck, et HambourgA under the sway of the
French Empire. Eleven young Prussian officers were tried
by court-martial and shot at Wesel for defending their own
country. In other words, our people have still a vivid
historical consciousness of national disaster and disgrace
against a recurrence of which our army is our only safeguard."
A German Chancellor's position is an arduous one at the
best of times, even if his secondary functions as President of
the Federal Council and Prussian Prime Minister be not taken
into account. To see Prince Biilow sitting at his desk with a
number of finely pointed pencils by his side, together with
neat piles of plain white notepaper and envelopes of different
sizes carefuUy arranged, side by side, on a small tabouret, but
otherwise without a scrap or vestige of any papers, manuscripts
or letters in the room, was to gain an impression of perfect
order and self-control, and, finaUy, the conviction that only
a man of the finest nerve balance, one who has successfully
218

PRINCE BULOW
practised Horace's " Compesce mentem " through life, would
be equal to the tasks which must come daily before him.
During my stay at Norderney I gained the impression that
should other nations be bolder than Germany, and care to
challenge the world's sense of right and wrong, then Germany
would not shirk the ordeal, though with the certainty of her
fleet being annihilated. Even such a catastrophe would not
compare in magnitude with the disasters which Germany
encountered in one single campaign against the first Napoleon,
and against whom she ultimately rose in triumph, for, as
Prince Biilow expressed himself: "Germany has invariably
shown herself greater in misfortune than in prosperity." The
loss of her fleet would not necessarily deprive her of the
quaUties which had enabled her to build it, and would still
leave Germany materially more powerful than she has ever
been in modern times.
French public opinion, Prince Biilow assured me, had
credited Germany with warlike designs, which have since been
shown to be baseless. More recently the opposite extreme
impression had apparently prevailed in some places, namely,
that the Germans, are, what the French term " Pacificists,'' or
men who are "for peace at any price." This view, besides
being an erroneous one, harbours certain dangers, in illustration
of which the Chancellor related the following historical remini
scence : It is well known that, owing to the lack of resolution
on the part of the Ministers of King Frederick William IV.,
this otherwise gifted monarch underwent a crucial humiliation
at the hands of the insurgents in Berlin during the revolution
of 1848. The mob brought the dead bodies of their
comrades who had fallen at the barricades to the front of the
palace, and obliged the King to do homage to them.
Suffering acutely under the indignity thus put upon him, the
King went to Potsdam a few days afterwards and gathered a
number of file officers of the garrison around him. He was
about to explain matters to them when they rattled the
scabbards of their swords on the floor so persistently that his
voice could not be heard. This fresh outrage so affected 219

GERMAN MEMORIES
the King that he burst into tears. It is even said that the
mental malady to which he ultimately succumbed first took
an aggravated form from this occasion.
Prince Biilow gave me to understand that this case afforded
an apt illustration of the great responsibilities attached to
the position of a monarch, which he could not divest
himself of. Whatever his personal inclinations might be he
could never afford to have his dignity compromised, even by
internal, let alone external, influences ; especially when the
latter might affect the honour of the nation before the whole
world. The Prince remarked that, somehow or other, people seem
to think they can do things in Germany which would be
strongly resented if circumstances were analogous in other
countries. The Chancellor here referred to an article in the
Contemporary Review for July 1908, which had also simul
taneously appeared in a Paris review, written by the Polish
parliamentarian, Herr von Koscielski. The Prince characterised
it as monstrous that a member of the Prussian Upper House
of the German Reichstag should take upon himself to ventilate,
in a foreign periodical, his grievances against a Government of
his own country, and this in a mischievous spirit of mis
representation which had been shown up over and over again.
He said that it would be impossible to imagine an English or
French Party leader doing such a thing. But German internal
affairs were thought to be fair game — the common property of
outsiders, to discuss and comment upon, and otherwise deal
with at their own sweet will.
Germany only desired to be left alone to work out her
salvation by attending to her own affairs, though there is
naturally a line beyond which she could not go, namely, to
accept national humiliation. If there be any danger ahead
it could not be said to arise from Germany's desire to break the
peace, but from a belief that a preconcerted intention existed to
coerce and injure her. The idea of making the German Govern
ment responsible for German newspaper criticisms of foreign
countries — as if the German Press was controlled from Berlin
220

PRINCE BULOW
— is ridiculous, and has been proved to be so times without
number. Hardly anywhere is there less centralisation or
control in the matter of newspapers than in Germany. This
is plainly made evident by the constant Press attacks on the
Government, which do not even stop short of attacking
German Sovereigns.
Touching upon the results which might be expected from
the meeting in 1908 between King Edward and the Emperor of
Russia at Reval, the Chancellor did not think that anything
startling need be looked for. The Russians have enough
to do with their own affairs. During the recent visit of
President Fallieres to Russia it is said that forty political
executions took place. An instructive source of information,
with regard to Russian affairs, is still to be found in the
reports sent by the late General von Schweinitz during his
stay as German Ambassador at St. Petersburg from 1876 to
1892. They furnish even to-day, after so many years, a key
to much that has already taken place, and is still likely to
take place in Russia. This clear-sighted observer pointed out
how every Russian war, without exception, had been followed
by an internal upheavel of some kind or other — thus, that of
the Dekabrists after the great Napoleonic wars. The liberation
of the serfs followed upon the war in the Crimea, and the
Nihilist movement came on the top of the Russo-Turkish
war of 1877. General von Schweinitz was convinced that
the Emperor Alexander III. would wage no war; and so,
indeed, it turned out.
In connection with Russian diplomacy in Turkey, Prince
Biilow related a characteristic trait of Count Ignatieff, when
he was Russian Ambassador at Constantinople. Instead of
paying his court to the officials in power, as most diplomatists
would be inclined to do, the clever Russian made it a rule to
call, in a most effusive manner, on every Minister who had just
fallen into disgrace. Ignatieff openly told his friends that he
had two distinct motives in view in acting thus : that men
who had been dismissed from power are likely to be more
communicative than those in office, and thus prone to let out
221

GERMAN MEMORIES
valuable information which they would otherwise keep to
themselves. Besides, there could be no knowing how soon
they might be reinstated in office ; in which case, they
would naturally be well disposed towards an ambassador
who had shown them such marked consideration when in
disgrace. I enjoyed Prince Billow's hospitality for the last time at
the Reichskanzler Palais, in Berlin, in January 1909. The
idea of his retirement might perhaps already then have
occupied his mind, for his last words to me in parting were :
" Come and see me in Roma Eterna, where the palm-tree
which Goethe planted x is still to be seen from our windows."
There, since he has retired from office, Prince Biilow spends
the winter months, in the beautiful Villa Malta, one of the
finest Roman palaces. He passes the summer and autumn as
he used to do at Norderney and in the neighbourhood of
Hamburg where he owns an estate. He takes no further
part in politics ; but J see a time coming when the Germans
will not willingly allow their eminent men, those who have
devoted the best years of their life to the service of the State,
to recede into sterile inactivity. Their presence will be
demanded in the Privy Council Chamber, if not in the Senate,
to take their share in the business of their country — the
national welfare.
One of the last letters I received from the Prince, only a
few months ago, contained the following characteristic passage :
" I write to you in German, as you have a better command of
that language than I of the tongue in which Byron wrote.
This reminds me that the 4th Canto of ' Childe Harold '
contains the deepest and most briUiant definition of the Alma
Urbs that has ever been written."
i Goethe planted this palm-tree in the garden of the Villa Malta in the year
1788, in close proximity to which many years afterwards King Ludwig I. of
Bavaria, the patron of literature and arts, planted another, which is also still
thriving.

222

CHAPTER XIX
THE WILHELMSTRASSE
My acquaintance with the Wilhelmstrasse — the term has
come to mean the Government offices in that spacious
thoroughfare — dates from the winter of 1890-91, since when
I used to look in occasionally to see the late Under Secretary
of State, Dr. Franz von Rottenburg.1 It was there that I first
gained a casual insight into the immense amount of hard work
expected of the higher Prussian State officials. Rottenburg
was very busy then with the tariff and customs negotiations of
Germany and the United States — a never-ending source of
friction between the two countries down to the present day,
and he complained of the arduous task involved in dealing
with the astute Yankees. Rottenburg had lived in England
for several years, and we used to adjourn to the Kaiserhof for
lunch and talk over what were to him old times and pleasant
recollections. It was on one of these occasions that the late
Herr Krupp came up to our table and finally invited us both
to dinner. I had unfortunately already accepted another in
vitation for the same evening, and was obliged to decline, thus
missing my only opportunity of following up an acquaintance
with the richest man in Germany ; what the Germans call
"Ein schwer reicher Mann," implying a burden with its
attendant weight and anxiety.
Prince Bismarck had not yet been out of office a year, and
his retirement and everything connected with it formed a
leading topic of conversation in Berlin society ; particularly so
l Herr von Bottenburg was subsequently appointed Curator of the University
of Bonn, with the honorary prefix of " Excellency," a post which, he held until
his death in 1907.
223

GERMAN MEMORIES
with Herr von Rottenburg, who had been one of the Prince's
right-hand men. Bismarck was supposed to have been the
architect of his fortunes, and, as rumour said, had expected
Rottenburg to follow him into retirement. This, however,
Rottenburg had failed to do, great pressure having been
brought to bear to convince him that it was his patriotic
duty to remain at his post and give Bismarck's successor the
benefit of his great experience of Chancellerie work, for
Rottenburg had been what is termed " Vortragender Rath"1
in the Imperial Chancellerie under Bismarck. This difficulty
in his position seemed to cause Rottenburg a deal of worry, and
even sleepless nights, as he confided to me. Some time after
wards, when I came to be on intimate terms with Prince Bis
marck and his family, Rottenburg asked me on several
occasions whether Prince Bismarck ever mentioned him; in
case he should do so, I might explain to him the mental
difficulty in which he had been placed. In July 1892, I was
walking with Bismarck through a wood near Kissingen when I
told the Prince of Rottenburg's distress, and, mindful of the
saying that a spoonful of oil is often of more benefit to us
than a quart of vinegar, I asked him to authorise me to
transmit a few kind words to Rottenburg. Bismarck, perhaps
moved by the warmth of my intercession, smiled in that
peculiar way of his when about to say something pointed,
and replied by a well-known quotation from the Freischutz,
" Schwach bin ich, doch keim Bosewicht," 2 implying that it had
been weakness, not wickedness, which had caused Rottenburg,
as the Prince thought, to desert him and to remain at his
post, instead of following his chief into retirement. Of course,
I did not repeat this to Rottenburg, but when he questioned
me again I told him that Bismarck had spoken kindly of him.
This I could the more readily reconcile with my conscience as
the imputation of weakness was, after all, a venial one as com
pared with that of ingratitude, which Bismarck was reported
to have hurled at Rottenburg.
1 Privy Councillor, privileged to confer directly with the Minister of State.
2 I am weak, but not a villain.
224

THE WIL HELM STRASSE
Herr von Rottenburg, whose first wife was an English lady,
subsequently married the daughter of Mr. Phelps, United
States Ambassador at Berlin, and took a flat in the Dorotheen-
strasse, where I was his guest on several occasions.
Like many, if not most, Prussian high officials, Rotten
burg was a man of wide intellectual culture, not merely a
linguist (for among cultivated Germans the knowledge of half
a dozen languages— Greek, Latin, French, Italian, English,
and possibly Spanish — is not at all rare, and would only
mean the possession of the raw materials, the tools for the
cultivation of the mind), but endowed with great philoso
phical as well as literary accomplishments. In this respect
Rottenburg probably stood above the average. More
especially was he at home in the domain of the " Staatswissen-
schaften " (political sciences), implying a thorough knowledge
of history, political economy, and international law, on which
subjects he might well have been on a par with his more
famous colleague, Lothar Bucher. I still possess a copy
of his work, Der Begriff des Staates, with an autograph
dedication, a work revealing an intimate knowledge of the
philosophy of history. Socialism was another subject on
which he was an authority. He made a deep study of Karl
Marx's epoch-making book, Das Kapital, and was fond of
expatiating on what he considered to be its logical fallacies
(notably Marx's omission to give rightful prominence to
intellect and the genius for organisation as wealth-producers
in addition to mere human labour).
Association with the ornamental side of diplomatic life and
high society was not without a certain attraction for Rotten
burg, for I possess a portrait of him in Court dress with escarpins
revealing a shapely leg. But acquaintance with the strong
power of the State, represented by monarchs, chancellors, and
armed hosts, had not dulled his appreciation of the value of
ideas as the ultimately dominant force in the political world.
He understood the meaning of the progress of Socialism in
Germany. Twenty years ago, when many were still of opinion
that it was a surface movement of a transitory character
p 225

GERMAN MEMORIES
which a young Sovereign in a hurry might be safely left
to deal with and conciliate, Socialism caused Rottenburg, in
conjunction with the growing political power of the Roman
Catholic Centre party, grave concern for the future of Ger
many. Hard work had evidently had its effect on his nervous
system, for, in spite of his robust, even martial appearance,
which many others also acquired by continual association
with Bismarck, he died before his time, and thus may well
be enrolled among those assistants of the Prince whose
vitality was used up in the employ of the giant, and who
sacrificed their lives in the service of their country in the same
way as those who had fallen in the fight on the battlefield,
true to Bismarck's own motto : " Serviendo consumer.""
Rottenburg had been on good terms with the Bismarck
household for many years and was often present when, in
the evening, the Chancellor received friends in his uncere
monious homely fashion. Among the stories he told me was
one of a good-looking, clean-shaven personage who was among
the guests on a certain occasion. He apparently did not speak
German, and his French had a peculiar accent. Some of those
present, in rollicking spirit, were half inclined to make fun of
him ; when, in the course of conversation, the stranger, to their
great surprise, blurted out the words : " Quand fetais Ministre
des Affaires Etrangeres ! " They pricked up their ears at
this, and, wondering who it could be, quickly drew in their
horns when they learnt that it was no other than Lord
Rosebery !
It was impossible to have any dealings with the Wilhelm-
strasse without hearing stories of the occult influence of Herr
von Holstein, the mysterious Privy Councillor who turned
against Count Harry Arnim forty years ago, an action which
ultimately led to the latter's conviction and condemnation as a
common malefactor. Few had ever seen this elusive personage ;
even his Sovereign was said to have scarcely ever set eyes on
him. In private life he visited only one family, and that one
was of little consequence. Yet he was supposed to move
ambassadors, ministers, and minor officials about at his will ;
226

THE WILHELMSTRASSE
even to have had a hand in the fall of Bismarck, Caprivi,
and Hohenlohe. He was apparently content to wield real
power in the dark, unknown to the public, recognition and
applause from whom, like other strong men, he disdained.
And yet, strange to say, he was childishly nervous about
his name appearing in the papers, in which, as a fact, it was
rarely to be seen until within a few weeks of his retirement.
Even allowing for Herr von Holstein's distinguished record of
services, it would still seem at first sight to be a natural query
how a man without direct Ministerial responsibility, and living
under such retiring conditions, could have possessed the influence
he was accredited with. Indeed, it can only be explained by
taking into account the atmosphere of distrust and intrigue
which has been so often connected with higher Prussian political,
and more particularly diplomatic, appointments. It would be
inconceivable under conditions of a bona fide Representative
Government where a Ministerial Cabinet, as is the case in
England, is loyally solidaric, and thus, as a rule, proof against
irresponsible outside influence. This solidarity has never existed
in Prussia. Hence the constant fear of intrigue and those
compromising indiscretions in high places of which Prince
Hohenlohe's Reminiscences were a crowning instance. Witness
his pitiful complaints of the precarious nature of his own posi
tion. In this volume Herr von Holstein is also repeatedly
mentioned. Under such conditions there would inevitably be
many opportunities for influencing appointments and even the
trend of affairs of the State open to a man of the abilities and
intriguing disposition of Herr von Holstein. He had served
on the diplomatic staff in St. Petersburg, Washington, Paris
and elsewhere. It was believed by many that when he was
ultimately transferred to the Foreign Office he was in the
habit of inviting and receiving confidential reports from members
of the different embassies behind the .backs of the respective
ambassadors — a system of espionnage which made the position
of these dignitaries anything but a bed of roses, and tends to
explain certain incidents in German diplomacy of recent times.
The control of this network of secret information, added to
227

GERMAN MEMORIES
his position as Chief of the Political Department of the
Foreign Office, with the privilege of immediate perusal of all
ambassadorial reports, endowed Herr von Holstein with great
potentialities for making his influence felt. Besides, a Minister
of Foreign Affairs could scarcely fail to attach great importance
to the opinion of one with Holstein's long official experience
under Bismarck. Thus it is not surprising to hear that,
while certain ambassadors felt themselves secure in his
good graces, others were in constant fear of incurring his
enmity. It was whispered that at last he had met his match in Prince
Biilow ; but, as a matter of fact, Holstein was got rid of by a
stratagem during the time Prince Biilow was laid up after his
attack of illness in the Reichstag, in April 1906.
I instinctively shrank from intruding upon such a man, and
when I met him in the flesh it was due to Count Seckendorff,
who told me that Herr von Holstein had read several of my
contributions to the New York Herald during the Algeciras
Conference, and would like to make my acquaintance if I cared
to call upon him.
I accordingly did call one morning, and met with a very
friendly reception. Assuming that I was famiUar with the
political history of Europe during the last twenty years, he
entered into a broad discussion of the relations between England
and Germany, the unsatisfactory nature of which he, in
common with every distinguished German I have ever met,
deeply deplored. More particularly had the persistent
Germanophobe attitude of the Times pre-occupied him. He
asked me if I believed that the Times was bent on war with
Germany, and if I could explain the attitude of that paper.
He declared that he could find nothing in the aims of Germany
to justify it. Here, I may mention in parenthesis that, as far
as I have been able to judge, German statesmen pay more atten
tion to newspaper opinion, inland and foreign, than either their
French or English colleagues. Herr von Holstein said he had
been on good terms with Sir V. Chirol, when he represented the
Times in BerUn, and had taken a liking to him as a well-informed
228

THE WILHELMSTRASSE
sympathetic personage, who, however, had told him that he
did not feel comfortable in Berlin and wanted to be out of it.
This Holstein could not understand, since, as far as he knew,
the correspondents of English papers met with a far more
cordial treatment in political and social circles in Berlin than
did German correspondents in London. In the course of our
conversation Herr von Holstein touched upon Morocco and
the Algeciras Conference, and strengthened the impression,
which I had already gained from other sources, that he had
been in favour of a more forward policy, in the belief that, if
such had been pursued, France would ultimately have given
way. Before we parted he gave me a piece of exclusive news,
which I telegraphed the same day to the Herald. It turned
out to be inaccurate, but I am sure he gave it to me in good
faith, with the honest motive of doing me a good turn as the
representative of that journal, for he read the substance of it
in my presence from a telegram which had just come to hand
from the German representative in Egypt.
The impression I gained from my first interview with him
and several subsequent visits which he encouraged me to pay
him was that his views, at least as regards English affairs,
were based on a conception of things as they were thirty years
ago, and did not apply to the political situation of the
present day.
My relations with Herr von Holstein, much to my regret,
came to an abrupt termination ; for when the long-standing
rumours of his retirement into private life were officially
confirmed I sent a telegram to the Herald, as in duty bound,
reproducing what I had heard on good authority as to the
nature of his far-reaching influence, whilst at the same time
I gave due publicity to his great services, his strong character,
and solid attainments. The passage relating to his occult
influence gave him great offence, for he wrote me a rude letter,
accusing me of ignorance and malevolence, which only supplied
me with confirmatory evidence of the extraordinary sensitiveness
of German politicians to Press comment. 229

GERMAN MEMORIES
Herr von Holstein was said to be more or less the victim of
persecution mania, the result, I should say, of his peculiarly
lonely life and his constant brooding over political problems
amidst a sea of intrigue : a form of mental affliction which
was peculiar to Foreign Office officials in his time, living as
they did in an atmosphere of mutual distrust and suspicion.
In moments of irritation the old man would get excited, and
mutter his determination to drag his enemies, mostly imaginary
ones, before the muzzle of a pistol !
That a man in such a responsible position, who down to the
last constantly emphasised his cordial relations with his official
chief, and who on his retirement was awarded a signal mark of
the, favour of his Sovereign (the Grand Cross of the Red
Eagle with brilliants), should no sooner have left office than he
joined hands with one of the most relentless journalistic critics
of both, shows the high estimate he had formed of the power
of the journalistic pen, but did not throw a very favourable
light on those traditions of loyalty to the Sovereign and to
their own profession which have hitherto been the justified
boast of Prussian bureaucrats.
The following peculiar incident, indicative of the subterra
nean working of intrigue in high places, came to my knowledge
some time afterwards from an absolutely reliable source.
According to this story Herr von Holstein already nursed the
idea of Bismarck's compulsory retirement from office during
the lifetime of the Emperor William I., namely, in the winter
of 1887-8.
A gentleman in a high position, and known to be on excellent
terms with the old Emperor, happening to be on a visit in
Berlin, was quite unexpectedly asked to lunch at Borchardt's
restaurant by Herr von Holstein. This in itself was an
extraordinary occurrence, inasmuch as it was common know
ledge that Herr von Holstein led a solitary life and had hardly
ever been known to ask guests to his table. In the course
of the lunch he spoke deliberately of Prince Bismarck having
become too old for the heavy responsibilities of his office,
that he was losing his memory and mixed up everything
230

THE WILHELMSTRASSE
(" er embrouillirte Alles "), and that it was time for the good
of the Empire that he should be removed from power. The
gentleman to whom he made these confidences, though much
astonished, did not attach direct importance to them at the
time. It was only afterwards, when Prince Bismarck had been
dismissed, that he realised their full portent.
It is well known that Prince Bismarck harboured a feeling
of resentment towards Holstein down to the day of his death,
a sentiment which the above incident of itself might tend
to explain. The only reference to Herr von Holstein that
I recall as emanating from the Bismarck family was a remark
which Count Herbert made to me on several occasions —
that Herr von Holstein, despite his intellectual acuteness,
did not possess the faculty of clear thinking and straight
dealing, and consequently rarely succeeded in carrying matters
to a satisfactory conclusion.
So much has been written in unfair depreciation of the
officials of the Wilhelmstrasse that it is no more than a
feeling of bare justice which impels me to say a few words
in defence of those who are rarely in a position to defend
themselves. I have had the privilege of meeting Herr von Kiderlen-
Waechter only once — at Prince Biilow's table ; but if any
thing could have inspired a feeling of sympathy for him it
was the spirited manner in which he recently defended the
officials of the Wilhelmstrasse against attacks levelled against
them in the Reichstag ; proving that in his person at least
loyalty to colleagues and subordinates is not a dead tradition.
In this instance it was loyalty to men, many of whom sacrifice
health and grow prematurely old in the poorly requited service
of their country.
From the journalistic point of view I can speak with some
experience when I say that in no Government offices in any
other country I am acquainted with do foreign journalist's
meet with the courtesy which I have invariably seen them
receive in the Wilhelmstrasse, from the sturdy hall-porter
with the Iron Cross of 1870 on his breast, throughout the
231

GERMAN MEMORIES
different grades of " decernents " and Privy Councillors up to
the august "Excellency" himself: and this whether the
visitor represents a journal friendly or otherwise to German
interests. In the same spirit of impartiality every properly
accredited foreign journalist has his reserved seat in the Press
gallery of the Reichstag— a privilege which, as far as my
knowledge goes, is not extended to any foreign journalist in
the House of Commons.
I am not in a position to offer an opinion on the qualifica
tions of the rank and file employed in the Government offices
of the Wilhelmstrasse ; but I can say this much, that I have
often been surprised at the intellectual attainments of those
gentlemen with whom from time to time I have come into
contact. Some of them have come from modest conditions in
out-of-the-way provinces, yet, thanks to the opportunities
offered to the energetic by the unrivalled Prussian schools
existing throughout the country, even in the remote townlets
on the Prussian frontier, they have risen to the honoured grade
of Geheimrath in the Foreign Office or in the Ministry of the
Interior : this is a rise almost impossible in oligarchic
England, in spite of such an exceptional career as that of
Mr. John Burns. A stroll through the long corridors of
these buildings, with their endless rows of bookcases, contain
ing every imaginary publication dealing with historical,
political and economic matter ; noting the scrupulous care,
the tidiness, the systematic order which prevails everywhere
— this alone would be sufficient to force the conviction upon
the visitor that only a high type of official could supervise and
deal efficiently with this vast mass of material. A number of
specially trained men form part of the Ministerial and
Imperial central offices. Some of them have passed the stiff
examinations of doctor juris and possess high academical
attainments. The work of these officials is often of a kind
which could only be done efficiently by first-rate men. They
have to draw up complicated reports and elaborate them, and
thus to relieve the Vortragende Raethe (those privileged to
report directly to the Minister of State) of some of their more
232

THE WILHELMSTRASSE
arduous labours. They must be authorities on legislation and
on history, and be familiar with political economy and the
current "literature on these subjects. Others, besides their
regular routine work, undertake the editorship of various official
publications. One gentleman I am acquainted with is not
only expected to be an expert in such work, but also to be
able to supply translations from eight different languages.
Thus it will be readily believed that there are no sinecures in
the Wilhelmstrasse.
The gathering, perusing, and classifying of the Press of the
whole world is another special work of these officials which,
as far as I can judge, is nowhere carried out so exhaustively as
here. There is no such thing as ignoring a section of public
opinion because it may happen to be directed against the
Government ; everything is grist that comes to this huge
intellectual mill. Thus, whereas the Sunday newspapers of
the English working classes are not taken in at any of the
West-end clubs in London, much less read in our aristocratic
Government offices, the fiery diatribes of the great Socialistic
organ, the Vorwdrts, are carefully read and noted down in the
Wilhelmstrasse, together with the last leading article of the
London Times. The prevailing currents of public opinion are
here subjected to the most searching analysis by men who, in
addition to their other qualifications, often possess a thorough
knowledge of several foreign languages. Nowhere has the
growth of Socialism throughout the world — in Asia as far as
the mountain fastnesses of the Caucasus (Tiflis) — been more
carefully followed than among the studious rank and file of
the Wilhelmstrasse. Nowhere are to be found more cool-headed
critics of the powers that be, and more fervent well-wishers for
a better time to come for workers, whether by means of
individual Liberalism or collective Socialism, than among these
honourable and highly cultured men, of whom I am proud
to number a few as my friends.

233

CHAPTER XX
SOME SOCIALIST LEADERS
It may tend to illustrate the sharp cleavage of social life
in Germany, at least as far as the Socialists are concerned,
when I say that I had mixed with Germans of nearly
every class for over twenty years, and yet do not remember
to have met a single Socialist. On one occasion in the
eighties a working man lectured on Socialism at Arnstadt
(Thuringia), and was looked upon by the friend with whom I
was staying, a wealthy manufacturer, and others I came
into contact with, as next door to a criminal. An Englishman
living in Dresden about the same time, a teacher of the
English language, was the first person to draw my attention to
the reality of the Socialist Party. He was indignant at what
he termed the brutal treatment meted out to Socialists for
what, in the eyes of Englishmen, was merely the exercise of
the right inherent in every citizen of free thought and free
speech. Thus, when I was in Berlin in the winter of 1890—1,
and the late Mr. Bashford, the Berlin correspondent of the
Daily Telegraph, volunteered to give me a letter of introduc
tion to the great Socialist leader, Herr Bebel, I gladly availed
myself of the opportunity, and called one morning on him
at his dwelling in one of the suburbs of Berlin, where he
lived in a small flat under conditions such as one might expect
to find among the working classes. He received me with scant
courtesy in the presence of an elderly lady, whose relationship
he did not disclose, but who I presume was his wife. That
she was there at all was, I daresay, due to Bebel's wish to
have a witness at hand when receiving a person unknown to
him ; for under existing circumstances at that time it would
234

SOME SOCIALIST LEADERS
have been natural for him to have harboured some suspicion
towards any stranger. This feeling on his part might well
have been augmented by my awkwardness, for in those days I
had little or no experience in meeting political personages.
Consequently I hardly knew what to say to the Socialist
leader. I had a feeling of embarrassment which strikes me as
absurd to day, that whereas I was in the presence of the
foremost leader of the greatest political movement of the age,
I felt I was addressing a man who was almost an outlaw.
It was only some years after that that it gradually dawned on
me that Socialism was a Weltanschauung like any other, and
as such a product of the times, and that, like all great
intellectual movements born of the spirit of an age, it must
ultimately contribute to the progress of the world.
Thus, instead of utilising the rare opportunity afforded me
of having an interesting and profitable conversation, I only
remember having asked Bebel one question, viz., how it came
about that his party should be continually upholding the
conditions of the English working classes as being so much
superior to those in Germany. I had observed in the course of
a wide intimacy with the German working classes that their
possibilities of education were superior to those in England,
as were also those of the small man becoming a freeholder ;
that English indirect taxation, although in theory freeing the
working man from contributing to the maintenance of the
State by the heavy duty put on tobacco and alcohol, made
him in practice a greater taxpayer than any other member of
the community ; lastly, that the Germans possessed universal
suffrage, which did not exist in England. Bebel replied that
it was not the Socialists but the German Liberals who were
always extolling English conditions, and that the Socialists
were well aware of the inferior status in certain respects of the
English working classes. The bane of the German conditions,
he contended, consisted mainly in the lack of political freedom
of the German masses, in spite of universal suffrage. Bebel
made the impression on me of a man of remarkable energy
and determination of character — more a man of action, I
235

GERMAN MEMORIES
should have said, than a profound thinker ; one who, under
the exciting influence of enthusiasm, might be nerved up to
anything, as indeed his record shows him to have been. To
endeavour to intimidate such a man by coercion seemed to me
even then as a hopeless course. Bebel reminded me somewhat,
by his manner and cast of features, of a type I was familiar
with in Saxony, where the mass of the people are largely of
Slavonic stock, having something also of the Celt, with some
affinity to the type of Keir Hardie. Altogether I had little
conception of the greatness of one whose career has revealed
the born leader of men, gifted with extraordinary political
acumen, sagacity, and insight, doubly rare in unpolitical
Germany ; one whose political agitation has already been the
means of bettering the lot of the German working man and
the common soldiers and raising the position of the German
woman. Bebel from the very beginning condemned the
Kulturkampf, and foretold in 1872 that it would result
in doubling the number of Ultramontane seats in the Reich
stag and would finally contribute to Bismarck's fall. The
fulfilment of the former prophecy is a matter of history. Of
late years Bebel's principal task has been to reconcile the
differences which have arisen within the ranks of the Socialists
themselves, and to thwart the endeavours of their enemies to
saddle the party with an ti -patriotic aims. In this he has
shown exceptional sagacity and astuteness. The task of
making propaganda for his party has become a negligible one,
inasmuch as its opponents have done this work for it. By
one of those extraordinary strokes of luck which now and then
fall to the lot of young Ideas — as they do, according to
Napoleon, to young men — the Socialistshave found a powerful
auxiliary in the German Emperor, some of whose speeches,
according to Bebel himself, have brought the Socialists a
hundred thousand proselytes !
There are personages high up in public life who reflect the
surface ephemera of their day, and, as such, appeal to the
crowd — the flotsam and jetsam — ever living exemplification of
Populus vidt decipi ; decipiatur. Their career is one long
236

SOME SOCIALIST LEADERS
holiday — an intoxicating orgy of ecstasy, a delirium of
delight — with a possible rude awakening at its close : the
memory of it to be briefly catalogued hereafter with the
chimera of a period.
There are others who stand for some epoch-making
movement, fraught with vast possibilities for human weal or
woe. They only obtain recognition and acceptance gradually ;
their lives being one long uphill fight of toil and trouble.
Rarely do they live to witness the outcome of their labours,
though now and then they may reckon on a certain meed of
posthumous fame. Some few may verify in themselves
Goethe's proud prediction :
" Es kann die Spur von meinen Erdetagen
Nicht in Aeonen untergehen." *
Such are the great thinkers, the makers of nations, the
regenerators of society, who mark the milestones of progression
along the thorny ascent of mankind. Many Socialists believe
that the Leipsic master-joiner, August Bebel,2 will hereafter
be adjudged one of these.
On Bebel's seventieth birthday his seat in the Reichstag
was decorated by floral tributes, contributed, I was told, by
members of all political parties — a ray of human sunlight in
an otherwise dark picture of party passion.
I made Paul Singer's acquaintance in the Reichstag on the
day Prince Biilow was suddenly taken ill, in April 1906. A
colleague introduced me to him in the vestibule. Singer's
appearance was that of a portly, well-to-do man, with very
little about him to lead one to suppose that he was a great
party leader who enjoyed wide popularity. In the course of
conversation, carried on while walking up and down, we passed
two easels, placed side by side, on each of which rested a
photogravure in a cheap oak frame. One of them, a
coloured print, such as appears in any Christmas Number,
1 " The trace of my days on earth shall not vanish in aeons of time."
2 A German poet of the name Bebel, the son of a poor peasant, lived in the
fifteenth century. He studied at the Universities of Cracow and Basel and
was crowned poet-laureate by the Emperor Maximilian in 1501.
237

GERMAN MEMORIES
was the bust-portrait of the Emperor and Empress to be seen
in every Berlin shop-window. It was published in honour of
their recently celebrated silver wedding, an event which, like
every other affecting the Imperial family, was passed over in
silence by the chief Socialist organ, the Vorwdrts ! The other
was a conventional monochrome figure-group of the Imperial
family (also familiar in shop-windows), with a dog in the fore
ground. These, then, were the two costly " works- of art " which
the Emperor had been bestowing on exalted personages, and of
which glowing descriptions had appeared in the dutiful organs
of the Berlin Press ! They had apparently been specially placed
in the Reichstag by order of His Majesty for the admiration
of its loyal and trusty members, inasmuch as they both bore
the bold signature, " Wiihelm I.R."
When Singer recently died it was computed that over
half a million people attended the funeral. The Berlin police
delegated the task of keeping order to the Socialists them
selves, and everything went off smoothly. To convey an idea
of the meaning of this decision on the part of the Berlin
authorities, we must picture to ourselves the London police
resigning their functions over a whole district of London into
the hands of the English democracy on the occasion of
the funeral of such a leader as Mr. Keir Hardie. The Kolnische
Zeitung, commenting on the vast Socialistic concourse on this
occasion, remarked : " That which is behind these demonstra
tions cannot be shot down by rifle bullets." Amid a sea of
slander, one item of reproach levelled against Singer was that
of being a rich man, as he was known to be a large employer
of labour. When he died it transpired that all he was
possessed of was i?2000 ; everything else he had given away
during his lifetime !
In the spring of 1909 I had occasion to exchange letters
with Georg von Vollmar, the weU-known South German
Socialist leader and member of the Reichstag, in consequence
of which I paid him a visit, in the month of August, at his
country seat at Soiensass, on the banks of the Walchensee, in
the Bavarian Highlands. I started from Munich in the
238

SOME SOCIALIST LEADERS
morning, and found the journey to be one of the most
picturesque sequences of idyllic mountain scenery I have ever
passed through. A tall, distinguished-looking man, with a
moustache and an Imperial beard, such as they wear in Bavaria,
came towards us leaning on a stick as we entered the veranda
of his Schweizer-haus villa and bade me and my son a kindly
welcome. Herr von Vollmar's ill-health has of late years kept him
somewhat in the background of political life, but there was a
time in which his influence and popularity were so great that
he was termed the " uncrowned King of Bavaria." Like many
other Socialist leaders Herr von Vollmar has " qualified " for
his commanding position by undergoing various terms of
imprisonment. His record is an exceptional one among
Socialists, inasmuch as he comes of a noble family and was
educated in a Benedictine monastery. He served in the
Bavarian army as an officer in the war of 1866 against Prussia,
when he was only eighteen years of age. Subsequently he
passed a year as a volunteer in the Papal army in Rome. At
the outbreak of the war of 1870 he again entered the Bavarian
army, this time in the telegraph service, and, though a non-
combatant, was so severely wounded at Blois that he was
permanently invalided.
The conversation I had with this eminent man made a
deep impression on me, besides adding materially to my know
ledge of the conditions of the Bavarian peasantry. Land
tenure was a subject upon which he is an authority, since it
had occupied him for many years as a member of the Bavarian
Landtag. I had no idea of the essentially democratic character
of the Bavarian laws, customs and traditions as they affect the
tenure of land. For instance, the so-called Grossgrundbesitz,
or big estates, in Bavaria amount to only one and a half per
cent, of the total area of landed property, and this although
property of five hundred acres is already included as a big
estate. All this was a revelation to me, and what made it
impressive was its being conveyed in the course of a pleasant
conversation by a man whose whole life, bearing and appearance 239

GERMAN MEMORIES
bore the aristocratic impress of fearless courage, veracity and
sincerity. We passed the day under Herr von Vollmar's hospitable roof,
and were privileged to make the acquaintance of Frau von
VoUmar, a Swedish lady of great charm, and obviously with
wide intellectual interests and sympathies.
On my return through Munich I met Professor Lujo Bren-
tano, who told me a story in connection with Herr •von Vollmar
which had been related to him some years previously, illustra
tive of the different position of Social Democracy in the South
and in the North of Germany.
Prince Ludwig, the heir to the throne of Bavaria, owns a
country seat on the banks of the Lake of Constance. The
peasants in the neighbourhood wanted to draw their supply
of salt for their cattle from the works of Stassfurt, in the
Prussian province of Saxony, and applied to the Bavarian
Minister, in whose department this matter lay, to grant them
the reduction in the railway freight provided for the transport
of agricultural produce. The Minister was of opinion that
the peasants might just as well draw their supply from a
Bavarian saline, and declined to accede to their request.
When Prince Ludwig came shortly afterwards to the Lake of
Constance the peasants sent a deputation to him, asking if he
would support their petition and intercede on their behalf
with the Minister of State. The Prince did so, but un
successfully. The foUowing year, when he again visited the
Lake, the peasants informed him that, after • all, they had
succeeded in obtaining a reduction in the railway charges.
" How did you manage it ? " queried the Prince. " Well,"
they answered, " we applied to Herr von Vollmar, and he
has been successful." " You were quite right, and I am very
glad you have been successful," is said to have been the
Prince's answer.
Professor Brentano continued : " The relations towards Social
Democracy of all classes of society, even including those
belonging to Government circles, are quite different in Bavaria
and throughout South Germany to what they are in Prussia.
240

SOME SOCIALIST LEADERS
The late Minister of Finance, Baron von Riedel, once told
me that the only man in the whole Landtag with whom it
was worth while discussing a subject was the Deputy Herr
von Vollmar. In Bavaria there is none of that social ex
clusiveness towards Social Democracy which prevails in the
north. People mix with Socialists when they are gentlemen
on a footing of perfect equality, in the same way as they
do with men belonging to other parties — a thing quite un
known in Berlin. The Socialists are invited to co-operate
in all social matters — as, for instance, in the Association for
the Improvement of Dwellings ; the consequence is that they
do good work, and by their co-operation render valuable
services to the cause of progress. By this means a great
deal of the uncharitableness between the bourgeois classes in
their relationship to Socialists is obviated, and the workmen
of Bavaria, in spite of their Socialistic leanings, stand in human
sympathy and relationship to the Prince Regent and his
Heir precisely as they stand to those belonging to all other
political parties."
Thus Professor Brentano, one of the most distinguished of
German living political economists and a strong champion of
free trade.

241

CHAPTER XXI
SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
As will be evident from the preceding pages my various voca
tions have brought me from time to time into personal relations
with a large number of distinguished Germans in different
walks in life, a few of whom I briefly refer to here.
In the late Baron Ernst von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, head ot
the eminent Berlin banking firm of that name, I possessed a
kind friend at whose palatial residence in the Jaegerstrasse, as
also at his beautiful country seat at Boernicke, was dispensed a
princely hospitality. I met a number of notable people
under his roof : the Marquis de Noailles, French Ambassador;
Count von der Osten-Sacken, Russian Ambassador; Tewfik
Pasha, Turkish Ambassador ; the widow of Professor Helmholtz,
and other personages. To meet and converse with a man
like the Marquis de Noailles was to have brought home
to one the serious loss it is to Continental civilisation that
the sturdy Teuton has been so long cut off from contact with
all that is cultured and best in French society ; — the product
of generations of distinction, physical as well as mental, on
both s des : what Bismarck used to term the " Nursery," which
he admired as the hall-mark of English, French and Russian
noblesse oblige, the well-balanced breeding which, on a basis of
bienveillance, finds its embodiment in the term Sophrosyne —
one of the things which intellectual education on black
bread fails to produce. Scarcely less interesting than his dis
tinguished visitors was the Herr Geheimrath himself, for,
besides other claims to recognition, Herr von Mendelssohn was
a privy councillor and a member of the Prussian House of
Lords. Above all, he was a man of wide literary culture and
242

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
refinement. Sometimes he would ask me to stay in the even
ing when the other guests had departed and adjourn to his
study, where he would chat about things which absorbed him, but
which might have possessed less interest for the grand monde. He
took pleasure in showing me his literary treasures, among which
was the original manuscript of Lessing's Nathan der Weise,
entirely written in the great author's dainty hand-writing.
Lessing was a contemporary and friend of the baron's own
distinguished ancestor, the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.
The loss of his excellent wife — a tactful and charming hostess —
was a great blow, from which I fear he never recovered. The
truest and best valedictory testimony which I can bear to the
memory of this cultured and amiable man is that I never
remember to have heard an unkind or ungenerous word issue
from his lips, although his cast of mind was of an uncompro
mising, eclectic kind.
I met the late Count Hatzfeldt, German Ambassador in
London, in the autumn of 1894, at dinner at Lord Rosebery's,
King Edward, then Prince of Wales, being present. In
the course of conversation the Count related to me an incident
d propos of Prince Bismarck. In the war of 1870 Count
Hatzfeldt was on the staff of Bismarck's bureau officials. One
day Bismarck received a letter from his wife, in which she
energetically urged him to exterminate the French with fire and
sword. He turned to Count Hatzfeldt and said : " My wife will
yet bring me to such a pass that I shall really do the French
a good turn ! "
One of my last meetings with Count Herbert Bismarck was.
also at Lord Rosebery's house, in the month of May 1899,
at a luncheon party. Mr. Cecil Rhodes was present, and he and
Count Bismarck were the life and soul of the gathering. Re
ferring to the supposed anti-English tendencies of his father,
Count Bismarck said that Sir William Vernon Harcourt had
frankly confessed to him that Germany had had it in her power
to "upset the English apple-cart" in Egypt, but Prince
Bismarck had done all in his power to smooth matters for
England.

GERMAN MEMORIES
Of other German diplomatists I have met abroad I recall
Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein, until recently German
Ambassador at Constantinople, where he dispensed extensive
hospitality ; evidently believing that good dinners make good
diplomacy. Like most Germans of his up-bringing, he is a very
well-informed man, a hard worker, a musician who plays the
piano with taste, and a good English scholar, his favourite
reading being novels by the British authors in the Tauchnitz
Edition. Adroit, without, I should say, possessing that finely
adjusted balance of the nervous system which marks the born
diplomatist, he has yet been a success in his ambassadorship
at Constantinople, which was his first diplomatic post. For
he started life as a lawyer, and for a time held the post of
Staatsanwalt, or State attorney. A South German, endowed
to the full with the shrewdness commonly attributed to that
race, together with something of the hail-fellow-well-met
good-nature for which the South German character is also
noted, Herr von Marschall is an adept at playing upon that
which Bismarck described as a mortgage on our understanding,
our vanity, and is thus easily credited with unaffected simplicity
by those who are more simple than he. Despite that, he is a
kindly friend to those to whom he takes a liking, and, I am
told, liked by those serving under him and others with whom he
may come into contact in the course of his official routine. A
keen judge of values, especially those of the intellect, the Press,
and the democratic trend of our time in general, his judgment
is not warped and handicapped by an exaggerated estimate of
rank and position even of the most exalted kind. Thus
equipped he has proved himself an adept in the practice of the
so-called " New Diplomacy," which, whatever its drawbacks
may be, has served his purpose hitherto remarkably well.
While his predecessor at Constantinople used to reserve his
confidences for the representative of one high-class German
paper only, no journalistic or other fish were ever too insignifi
cant to be worth gathering in Baron MarschaU's net and
being treated with the robust bonhomie of which he had
244

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
made quite a specialty. Thus he did not, like other
ambassadors, restrict his intercourse to diplomatic or fashion
able society in Constantinople, but, when suitable occasions
presented themselves, was not above attending artisan clubs,
clinking glasses with their members, and listening to the
part-songs which form such a marked feature of German
middle-class social life. Above all, he was always ready
to look after the interests of the humblest members of
the German colony. The result has been a popularity such
as probably no diplomatic representative in the Turkish
capital possessed before him. Herr von Marschall also managed
to get on wonderfully with the French Ambassador, though
it may be doubted whether the Government of the Republic
gained much by the friendship.
The last time I was at Constantinople, in 1908, an
incident took place which tends to explain, the popularity
the German Ambassador enjoyed, even outside his current
official activity as the representative of his country in Turkey.
An Englishman of my acquaintance, who had come there
on business, sought the assistance of the British Embassy
in order to obtain some facilities which involved diplomatic
action beyond the ordinary scope of consular assistance.
His request was refused. Indeed, it was only in 1908
that the British Embassy for the first time deemed it
worth while to send an official representative to attend
a meeting of the British Chamber of Commerce in that
city. The firm which Mr. D. represented happened to be one
of an international character, established in Berlin as well as in
London. After the refusal of the British Embassy to assist
him, he applied to the German Ambassador, who promised his
assistance and gave it with complete success.
During the last International Conference at The Hague, I
met my old friend, Mr. Stead, one morning at the Temple station
looking very glum. He had just returned from Holland, and
was much perturbed by the trend of affairs at the Conference,
where, he said, the English were being out-classed and put
245

GERMAN MEMORIES
in the shade by the Germans. The British senior delegate had
received the English journalists in corpore and snubbed them.
Some of them, as Mr. Stead said, thought " no small beer " of
themselves and were considerably huffed in consequence. On
leaving Sir Edward Fry's presence they gave loud expression to
their iU-humour ; whereupon they were approached by a
German journalist, who asked them why they did not call on
the first German delegate, who, he felt sure, would be only to
pleased to receive them. The idea of being received by a full
blown Ambassador after a snub from one who, in comparison,
was " small fry " indeed, appealed to the knights of the pen.
So they lost no time in taking the hint to call on Herr von
Marschall, who had come from Constantinople to represent
German interests at The Hague meeting. The result of their
cordial reception and the dexterous treatment they experienced
at his hands, flattering them to the top of their bent, led, as is
well known, to)a tremendous newspaper " boom " for the German
delegate. In the course of his narrative, told in Mr. Stead's
inimitable way, he forgot all about his patriotic misgivings,
and laughed heartily over the successful pandering to human
vanity. I have been privileged to know three American Ambassadors
in Berlin — Mr. Andrew D. White, Mr. Charlemagne Tower,
and Dr. David Jayne Hill — who thus come within the scope of
my German reminiscences. Mr. White is one of the most
distinguished "intellectuals" of the United States. He was
twice Ambassador at Berlin : the first time in 1879-81, and
again from 1897 to 1902, since when he retired into private life.
He s a sincere admirer of Germany, of the Emperor William I.,
of Bismarck, and more particularly of intellectual Germany,
distinguished representatives of which he used to invite to
his house. There I have met some of the leading professors
of the University of Berlin. It goes without saying that
it was considered a great honour to be invited to the house
of this eminent man, whose record as a thinker is familiar to
scholars of every country by his standard work, " A History
246

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom"
(1896). Mr. Charlemagne Tower came to see me at my hotel on my
return from Moscow (January 1906), where I had been an eye
witness of the revolutionary movement in that city, and with
regard to which he was curious to know what I had seen. I
have heard it said that Mr. Charlemagne Tower recommended
the introduction of a special Court uniform for American
Ambassadors and their staff, which has since been adopted.
Some may be of opinion that the garb worn by the Adamses.
the Bancrofts, the Motleys, and, above all, by American
Presidents, ought to be good enough for any Court, all the
more so since it has hitherto — before the adoption of sundry
decorative Continental values of to-day — been considered that
the Anglo-Saxon type of the unadorned gentleman, from the
time of Lord Castlereagh at the Vienna Congress onward, was
second to none, indeed the most distinguished of any. But it is
not given to everybody, not even to every American Ambassador,
to rise to an exceptional occasion as did Beethoven, who, when
somebody told him he had employed an unallowed harmonious
progression, replied, " / allow it."
I met Dr. David Jayne Hill the last time I was in Berlin,
and regret that I was unable to defer my departure and accept
an invitation he kindly gave me, for I have always looked upon
it as one of the richer returns of intellectual work that now and
then it brings us into touch with men of this stamp — men who
have been chosen among hundreds of thousands by the supreme
authority of their country as the fittest to do honour to their
native land by representing it officially at foreign Courts.
Great, therefore, was my surprise when I read in the Berlin
correspondence of an English newspaper that Dr. Jayne Hill
was not likely to " feel himself at home " in the atmosphere of the
Court of Berlin. If a Berlin sheet written for lackeys and servant
girls had made such a statement it would not have concerned
me ; but, as an Englishman, I was sorry to see a countryman of
mine, presumably engaged to transmit important news from
Berlin to his London employers, making such a statement. 247

GERMAN MEMORIES
The question of the small salary attached to the post of an
American Ambassador was also mentioned. This, however, was
a matter which could only concern Americans. It came as a
revelation to me that fifty years after a German Professor
(Mohl) and his English wife had held court in Paris on the fourth
floor of a house in the Rue du Bac, to which a King of Holland
came, while Napoleon III. expressed regret that he had not been
/ invited, it could have been possible to discuss such a trumpery
point as an Ambassador's " fitness " in connection with the length
of his purse and his capacity for ostentatious display. That
such a man as Dr. Hill should feel himself bored among
"Transparencies," Court Chamberlains, Gold Sticks, Silver
Sticks, Black Rods,J Vortdnzer,1 and other histrionic " supers,"
might be assumed ; that he should not care for the blare
of brass bands, which Prince Hohenlohe complained of as
"such a vile nuisance," at the everlasting gala, parade and
festive lunches, dinners, and Court functions, will also be
readily understood ; that, however, he could have felt " uncom
fortable," in the sense of being awed or impressed by such
surroundings, is most unlikely. But the Court Marshals,
and other irresponsible intriguers — those that Bismarck had
contemptuously termed Court lackeys — might well be expected
to feel "uncomfortable" in the presence of a really eminent
man ; and it is not surprising to hear that they could not
rest until the nightmare of his superiority in everything which
constitutes moral value, sincerity, veracity, and loyalty was
removed from their sight.
When Dr. Hill arrived in Berlin he bore himself with the
dignity of one of Nature's gentlemen. Referring to the
unedifying Press campaign which immediately preceded his
arrival, he said to a friend : " I will not allow my thoughts to
be disturbed by a heaviness which has passed, an incident
which is closed. I have come here with goodwill towards every
one, and I wish this frame of mind to be mine in my dealings
with all men."
i The English language does not, as far as I know, possess an equivalent
term for the function of a leader of court dances.
248

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
If I dwell somewhat at length on this topic it is because I
believe that the part of an American Ambassador in Berlin
may, in the near future, become one of more international
importance in connection with the ever-recurrent differences
between England and Germany and the United States than
that of all the Court Marshals in Europe. Another reason, of
a personal nature, why I have expanded my notes is that the
raising of the question of Dr. Jayne Hill's qualification for the
post of Ambassador touches my philosophy of life in its bearing
on imaginary and real values. If distinction of character, a
spotless record in private life, a temperament of benevolence
and goodwill towards all men, and a high standard of intel
lectual attainments be criteria, then I say that I have never
in my life met three picked men of any profession to surpass
the three representatives of the United States whom I have
named. It takes 100,000 men or more to produce an Andrew
D. White or a David Jayne Hill, whereas every third decently
grown adult could be turned into a Court lackey or a hall-
porter. There is a ridiculous glamour attached to the profession
of a courtier in this age of impressionist superficialities and
insincerities. As a matter of fact, the manners and modes
of thought of a courtier are really inferior manners and modes
of thought. They can only be inferior, for the courtier lives in
an atmosphere of servility, where the dignity and independence
from which alone the best thought and manners can spring
must be lacking. The profession of a courtier is, and remains,
a derogatory one, which can only be redeemed by a rare com
bination of tact and intelligence, such, for instance, as
was possessed by the late Count Gotz von Seckendorff.

I met Count Seckendorff in the winter of 1905-6 at the
house of the Privy Councillor of Legation, Herr Raschdau,
formerly Prussian Minister at the Court of Weimar, and re
mained in close touch with him, either by direct personal
contact or correspondence, until his death. I still possess a
specimen of Adolf Hildebrand's beautiful silver medallion of
249

GERMAN MEMORIES
Bismarck's profile, which the Count gave me the last time I saw
him in Berlin, where he occupied a charming apartment in the
Oberwallstrasse, behind the palace of the Emperor William I.
It was furnished with exquisite taste, and contained many
treasures of Italian Renaissance work, bronzes, medallions, rare
gold and silver coins, tankards, miniatures, and some drawings
of the Empress Frederick, all of which he delighted to show me
when he invited me to lunch with him on his birthday.
From our first acquaintance we found many topics in which
we were both interested — notably the relations between
England and Germany, with regard to which Count Secken
dorff was an unbiassed observer. Being on intimate terms with
the English Royal Family and with many of the English
aristocracy he was well informed on both sides. With all his
German patriotism he had strong English sympathies, so that
in our many conversations on political matters I now and then
found him championing the English side of the situation whilst
I was endeavouring to put in a good word for Germany. He
said that if England were to send a strong man of the type of
Lord Cromer to Berlin as Ambassador, and Germany were to
send a suitable personage to London, a great deal more might
be done towards arriving at an amicable understanding than
by any number of " decorative " visits. But he regretted
that there were certain occult influences in Berlin which were
bent on preventing friendly relations with England, and these
had hitherto been opposed to such an appointment which the
English were quite ready to make.
Count Seckendorff assured me that the desire for an under
standing with Germany had undoubtedly been honest on the
part of England, but already, years ago, the advances of Mr.
Chamberlain had been repulsed in Berlin. When King
Edward came to the throne he took over an unsatisfactory
condition of things, of which he had to make the best he could.
The reproach that he harboured enmity to Germany was
a grave injustice. A good understanding with Germany had
always been a matter near his heart, as he was a great admirer
of the German people, though not of everything German, and
250

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
more particularly Prussian. Count Seckendorff' related to me a
variety of personal incidents which would go a long way
towards explaining a certain aigreur in high circles, as well as
much of the diplomatic tension between England and Germany.
He told me that the German Emperor lives in an imaginary
world, a mirage as regards the reality of things ; and
bitterly complained that nobody had the courage to tell him
the truth or advise him honestly in accordance with it.
Count Seckendorf was persona grata with King Edward, being
one of the very few unofficial Germans whom the English
Sovereign expressly invited to his coronation.
I was staying in Berlin for some months at the time of the
Algeciras Conference, and, as we were both early risers, Count
Seckendorff used to come to my hotel every other morning and
share my breakfast with me at eight o'clock. We spent some
evenings together, when he would take pleasure in bringing
me into touch with some of his personal friends and relatives,
among the former Countess Wolkenstein, once, as Countess
Schleinitz, known as an enthusiastic champion of Richard
Wagner. I also met him repeatedly at dinner, as a guest of
Prince Biilow, in the Reichskanzler Palais, and elsewhere.
Count Seckendorff was a distinguished-looking man, who
united in his person the best culture of England, France,
Germany, and Italy, the languages of which countries he spoke
with equal fluency. He had not mixed in Court life without
being a sure-footed walker on the most slippery of polished
floors. One who knew him well said to me, "He was an
expert swimmer even in the most treacherous waters."
Count Seckendorff had been for many years attached to the
household of the Emperor Frederick, and was Maitre de la
Cour, or Oberhofmeister, to the Empress Frederick till her
death. He shared and fostered her artistic tastes. His
authority on art matters was highly valued by a wide circle of
friends and acquaintances in different countries. This interest
he endeavoured to utilise in a truly cosmopolitan spirit to
further national affinities by bringing together the artistic
work of nations. On this account alone the Count's death 251

GERMAN MEMORIES
may, without exaggeration, be held to be an international loss
to the cause of peace, concord, and culture. He was instru
mental in bringing about an exhibition of French art at Berlin ;
but his most notable achievement in this direction was the
share he took in arranging the remarkable exhibition of
English pictures at Berlin in the winter of 1907-8, which
came to the Prussian capital as a perfect revelation of the
treasures of British art. Probably only Count Seckendorff
could have persuaded so many English collectors to lend the
priceless masterpieces that were exhibited on that occasion.
The Emperor Frederick Museum was also, I believe, largely
indebted to Count SeckendorfFs artistic efforts.
The following letter, dated January 8, 1908 — one of many —
refers to the exhibition of English pictures in Berlin :
" Dear Me. Whitman,
" I return your kind wishes for a happy New Year with
all my heart.
" Thanks for the cutting. So sorry that I could not come
and see you when in London the other day. I was occupied
with the forthcoming exhibition. Thanks to British gallantry
I hope that it will be a great success, and contribute towards
that which ever so many visits cannot do. When all is well
over I shall come — when the rhododendrons are blooming — to
old England, and enjoy once more your ever -glorious country.
" I trust you have felt a little for us, car fespere que vous
nous gardez un coeur ouvert.
" Your fine pictures will be, as you say, pour une autre fois.
Get hold of the Memoiren der Frau von Rochow (new) am
Preussischen Hofe.
" Once more — tanti felicissimi auguri.
" Faithfully yours, " Gotz Seckendorff."
Count SeckendorfPs career was an interesting one ; he was
present at the battle of Sedan, and used to relate with a certain
pride how the Emperor William took his pocket-book as a rest,
252

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
which he himself held, whilst the Monarch wrote his reply to
the letter of surrender which he had received from the Emperor
Napoleon. England never had a truer and more clear-sighted friend, nor
one who more deeply deplored the estrangement which has
gradually grown up between the two kindred nations. He saw
with impartiality the faults on both sides, and used his great
influence to smooth matters over in high places. One of his
greatest regrets was the extraordinary ignorance which, as he
believed, existed in both countries in regard to the other, and
more particularly in England as to Germany. He told me
that he had met very few Englishmen in his whole life who
really knew more than the mere surface of Germany. Among
those few was King Edward, and he attributed this to the fact
that he was partially German by descent.
Many were the topics which we discussed together in the
kindly spirit of " give and take," which always left me with a
feeling of deep sympathy for him. This was, perhaps, only
natural, inasmuch as we can but feel kindly and grateful to
those who pay us the compliment of taking us unreservedly
into their confidence. Count Seckendorff was proudly con
scious of the power and greatness of his own country, but
thought that Germany had not yet had sufficient time to
acquire the social refinement which she needed to balance the
high moral and intellectual attainments of the German people.
This seemed to him to be more particularly the case with
North Germany ; one of his favourite quotations on this subject
was : Dein Lied ist roh
Allein des Nordmann's Wiiste schuf es so.l

I have already written somewhat extensively on the German
army, yet I feel my memories would not be complete without
a short reference to the military element, with which I have
l " Thy song is rude —
Alas ! the Norseman's sandy waste hath made it so,''
253

GERMAN MEMORIES
come into frequent contact, and among which I still prize a
number of friends. Independently of my acquaintance with
Counts Moltke and Blumenthal and the great number of
distinguished soldiers I have met in German society, I have been
a frequent guest at different officers' messes at Dresden, Berlin,
and Erfurt, all most pleasant reminiscences now that over
twenty years have elapsed since the last occasion when I
enjoyed this hospitality. The fare was plain and the wines were
inexpensive, the cost of the former scarcely running to one
mark a head, and the latter to about the same price per bottle ;
but so excellent were invariably both food and wine that I
would gladly partake of them to-day in preference to the fare
at many an expensive hotel.
Nothing could exceed the courtesy and goodwill with which
a stranger, introduced by a brother officer, was met; far
exceeding in its cordiality that which I believe to be usual in
other armies. The officer who brings a guest to dinner does
not introduce him to his comrades, but only to the superior
presiding officer. Thereupon the other officers take the
initiative — as is usual towards strangers throughout German
society — and come forward and introduce themselves to their
comrade's guest. This custom, so different to our own social
habits, whilst it may occasionally lead to a certain unwelcome
obtrusiveness, has at all events the pleasant effect of banishing
all gene and fausse honte — the bane of the stranger in all but
the best English society, unless he happens to be one of
those whose wide experience of social life places him beyond
any feeling of nervousness in strange company. A peculiar
etiquette, which I believe to be solely current in German
military circles, is the passive role assigned at table to young
non-commissioned officers, ensigns who are undergoing their
period of probation before obtaining lieutenant's rank. They
are admitted to dine at the officers' mess, but they are not yet
supposed to have acquired the full status of social equality,
and thus are not expected to start a conversation at table, but
only to reply when addressed. I have seen men of princely
birth play an absolutely passive part on such occasions. On
254

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
the other hand, a man who is once an officer, even if only the
youngest lieutenant, moves, when off duty, on a plane of social
equality with a full general. I remember spending an evening
with a number of officers of the Guards in a reserved apart
ment of a Berlin restaurant at which the late General von
Meerscheidt-Huellessen, the commander of the Garde Corps,
was present. Some sergeants performed humorous sketches
for the amusement of those present, and the prevailing
tone was one of jovial, almost boisterous hilarity ; nothing
denoted the slightest distinction between the youngest lieutenant
and the fuU "Excellency." This spirit of comradeship,
I fancy, exists nowhere to the same extent, not even in
the Austrian army, where a certain distance invariably separates
the higher grades in the army from the subaltern, even
when off duty. In Germany it would be considered a
lack of courtesy for a full general not to reciprocate the
advances which the youngest subaltern is privileged, and
indeed called upon, to make to his superior in rank. In
England several cases come to my mind in which even
staff officers have not felt themselves at liberty to ask
to be introduced to a general.
During one of my visits to Count Bethusy-Huc in Sep
tember 1891, I had an opportunity of witnessing the Silesian
autumn manoeuvres. The late Count William Moltke, heir of
Field-Marshal Moltke's Creisau estate and a relative of Countess
Bethusy, paid her a visit with several officers. One of them,
Major von Konig, a Hanoverian, a remarkably handsome
man, had been on the staff of Prince Frederick Charles
in the 1870 war. Another told us a story of his own
experiences. During the forced march to Sedan with his
regiment they met Moltke and his staff on the road. One of
the officers of my informant's regiment ventured to ask him
how things were going, to which Moltke replied with a
twinkle : " The trap is shut and the mouse is inside." This in
obvious anticipatory reference to the climax of Sedan, which
took effect a few days afterwards.
Count Moltke was colonel of a cavalry regiment which was
255

GERMAN MEMORIES
taking part in the manoeuvres not far away, and he invited me
and an English friend of mine, who had been an officer in an
English cavalry regiment, to be his guests for the next
day. Count Bethusy-Huc himself drove us very early next
morning to the trysting-place, where we were to be supplied
with horses and to take part in the proceedings. It was a small
provincial town. The riveille had just sounded and the soldiers
were tumbling out of their quarters ; quite a stirring sight
to see the Uhlans issue forth in single file as patrols, followed
by small squads of hussars and columns of infantry. " There
goes Moltke's brown mare," cried an officer, who recognised my
portly " mount." We had a most enjoyable time careering over
the fields after the troops engaged in mimic warfare. We rode
past woods filled with sharpshooters who, according to the
opinion of my English friend, would not have left one of us
alive in real warfare. We looked on at impossible cavalry
charges ; but this did not interfere with an excellent appetite
at luncheon time, partaken of in the open air. A General von
Liegnitz was in supreme command, and he, as well as the
members of his staff, received us most kindly.
On one occasion in the eighties I was invited to take
part in an afternoon shooting-match held by the members of
the Berlin Officierschiessverein, on the Hasenheide, at which
the Commander of the Garde Corps was present. I had had
many years' practice at rifle-shooting and had won several cups
at different German shooting meetings, and was now fortunate
enough to carry off two prizes, one of which consisted of a
fancy-painted target. I presented it to the Rifle Corps of
Schreiberhau, of which I was an honorary member, and in the
Schutzenhaus of which, for all I know, it may still be seen
among other trophies. However, it is only fair to add that
the officer through whom I received the invitation was pre
vented at the last moment from accompanying me. Had he
been present he would probably have supplanted me, for he
was reputed to be the best rifle shot in the Prussian army.
At a later date I was present at a gathering of officers of the
256

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
great general staff on one of their so-called Generalstabsreisen
(staff rides) at Ilmenau in Thuringia. This is one of my most
interesting military reminiscences, as it afforded me an insight
into an institution which originated in Prussia and has since
been adopted by every army throughout the world. The
gathering comprised sixty or seventy officers of different grades,
either belonging to the great general staff or specially attached
thereto for service therein for a given time. The conditions
were those of the strictest subordination of all present under
the colonel in command, who, to judge by his appearance, was
a very brainy personage. His disciplinary supremacy even at
dinner was maintained, for when the post arrived all letters
were delivered into his hands and given by him to the
members of the staff as he read out the names one after the
other. I was the only civilian guest at the anniversary dinner of the
battle of Gravelotte given by the Second Guard Regiment
on August 18, 1889, at which the hereditary Prince of
Meiningen presided and 130 officers were present. Military
after-dinner oratory had not yet come into fashion, and, as
far as I can recollect, not a single speech was made. Alto
gether my experiences of German military life do not fit in
at all with the version given in Count Baudissin's novels, in
Beyerlein's well-known romance, and also in that sensational
book, Aus einer kleinen Garnison. If these works have any
solid basis in fact I can only surmise that the conditions in
the German army to-day must have undergone a great
change since my experience of them, when Carlyle's brute-God
Mammon had not yet fixed his cruel claws into the flesh of the
German officer corps. What these conditions were at a
previous period is set forth to some extent in the chapter
dealing with Field-Marshal Count Blumenthal. Those were
days in which luxury, gambling, and the frenzied quest for rich
wives were comparatively unknown in the Prussian army. My
own experiences find their nearest parallel in the military
sketches written long before my time by Hacklaender; in
which the quality of human sympathy as between brother
u 257

GERMAN MEMORIES
officers and their subordinates casts a sympathetic glow over
the career of arms in Germany.
I made the acquaintance of General Verdy du Vernois in
Berlin shortly after his retirement from the post of Prussian
Minister of War. I met him again in Constantinople in
1896 and was subsequently instrumental in bringing out an
English edition of his most interesting reminiscences of 1870. 1
He was a most intellectual man and a highly entertaining
companion. I saw him for the last time in Berlin, during the
Algeciras Conference; when he expressed himself with deep
concern regarding the uncertain state of things : more particularly
in respect to the antagonism between England and Germany
which had come about of late.
A German officer having recommended me to read the late
Count Yorck von Wartenburg's work on Napoleon dis Feld-
herr, I did so, and after some correspondence with the author
I was also successful in getting that excellent book translated
into English and published in an English edition;2 though I
regret to say that I never had the pleasure of meeting the
author, whose brilliant career was prematurely cut short by his
death in China.
The Spanish-American War afforded me an opportunity
of meeting several distinguished German military writers. I
was in Berlin at the time, and the New York Herald was
anxious to know German military opinion on the chances of
the United States army in the intended invasion of Cuba.
The authorities whom I consulted were the well-known military
writers, Captain Fritz Honig, Colonel Pellet-Narbonne, and
General von Boguslawski ; all three since deceased. With
every respect to their memory, I may yet mention that these
military authorities were wrong in their estimate of the
situation ; for all three were decidedly of opinion that the
chances of the Americans were hopeless against the Spanish
l With the Royal Headquarters 1870-71, by General von Verdy du Vernois.
London : Kegan Faul, Trench, Triibner & Co., 1897.
4 Napoleon as a General, by Count Torek von Wartenburg. London ; Kegan
Paul, trench, Triibner & Co., 1902.
258

SOME MEMORIES RECALLED
troops under General Blanco, unless the United States proceeded
to land 200,000 men in Cuba. As a matter of fact, the
United States forces which, with the support of the American
fleet, conquered Cuba could scarcely have reached one-eighth of
that number.

259

CHAPTER XXII
CONCLUSION
Concluding my experiences in the spirit indicated in the
preface, I recall a few impressions and incidents which occur
to me as reflecting some suggestive features of German life and
character. The stranger entering Germany from the west, the
east, or the south can scarcely fail to be struck by the clean
aspect of the towns, the tidiness and order of the population.
It is only on arriving from Switzerland, or from the highly
developed Scandinavian countries in the north, that these
features and the contrast they imply are less striking.
Nowhere are there to be seen that dirty, foul pipe and
pestilential cigarette-puffing residuum which infest our large
towns. One summer afternoon I took a stroll outside Cologne along
the Rhine quay to the Flora Garden Restaurant to hear the
band. There were many people about, for it was Saturday,
and hundreds of workmen were leaving their work. I scanned
them carefully. A very few were smoking cigars, two or three
had pipes, and I noticed that they were the only untidily
dressed among the whole throng. Of cigarette smokers I saw
none. In the tramcars between Berlin and Charlottenburg, of an
evening, I have often counted considerably more passengers
reading books than newspapers. Smokers were at all times
very few. No smoking cars being provided, those who wish to
smoke have to stand outside on the foot-board. These
examples, cited at random, might, I am sure, be paralleled
every day throughout the year in fifty German towns, more
particularly in the north. In all my experiences of factory life,
260

CONCLUSION
coming into contact with many hundreds of working men, I
cannot recall a single instance of habitual drunkenness or
gambling among them ; whereas drink, gluttony, gambling,
and rowdyism have been on the increase among strata which
would resent being included as "workers." This absence of
excess on the part of the masses is all the more remarkable
since beer, wine and spirits are far cheaper than in England,
and there is practically no limit to the facilities for drinking
and gambling at all hours : cards and dice are obtainable at
most restaurants and beerhouses in the empire. The many
vexatious restrictions of our licensing laws as regards closing
time and the prohibition to sell liquor outside the premises
(in the open air in a garden) do not exist in Germany : the
fact that they are not needed supplies eloquent testimony to
the high sociological level of the German people.
Much is made of the arbitrary nature of German police
regulations, the ever-present monition that something or other
is prohibited — Verboten — and there is of course for this a
foundation in fact, as there is a reverse side to every question.
I have been pushed off the pavement by the police at the
Friedrichstrasse station on the arrival of some archducal
nonentity to the accompaniment of the Austrian national
hymn brayed forth by a brass band, and have survived the
disagreeable experience. But many of the police prohibitions
are conceived in the best interest of the public, as evidenced
by the numerous notices to be seen in public gardens that the
ornamental grounds are "herewith recommended to the pro
tection of the public." But I doubt whether in the whole
schedule of German police prohibitions there is any paragraph
embodying such degrading treatment of the German people as
those contained and rigidly enforced in our licensing laws
regarding the regulation of the liquor traffic on Sundays.
Somehow, in spite of a thousand police regulations, a sense
of freedom comes over us, which is marred there where the
land is parcelled out and divided up by high walls and hedges
down to the last square foot. The South of Germany, for
instance, as pointed out by Mr. C. G. Masterman in his
261

GERMAN MEMORIES
illuminating work, The Condition of England? makes the
impression of being one large garden with the beauty of a
" peasants' country." There is a feeling for space which meets
you in the broad planning of railways, public buildings, even
public pleasure resorts, and teeming life meets you everywhere
on rivers, canals, and roadsides. At Kiel, even on the Alster
basin at Hamburg, there are nearly as many pleasure craft to
be seen as on Southampton Water in the month of August.
People get up early even for pleasure. The railway stations
are crowded with excursionists on holidays as early as five
o'clock in the morning in the summer. I have noticed a man
fishing thus early on a Sunday morning near Potsdam. There
is a sense of enjoyment of nature in this people. Without
a great increase in national wealth it would have been obviously
impossible to create much that has been accomplished. Rarely
has money been expended so judiciously or with such a breadth
of mind and fulness of heart as in Germany in our time. This
has been notably the case in the construction of hospitals, the
laying out of cemeteries in the country, far from the madding
crowd : the Friedhqf, the haven of peace — the Campo-Santo
of the Italians — where rose-trees are cultivated and the
idealism of a people finds expression.
The efficiency of the public services in Germany, such as the
post, the telegraph, and the railway, is generally recognised, but
some are inclined to think that this efficiency is purchased at
the price of cramping the initiative of the individual, which is
also a valuable asset in a people's ledger. As a matter of fact,
at no time in German history has private enterprise been so
active as to-day. But, however this may be, it will take a deal
of "individual initiative" to achieve some of the feats of
organisation which are to be seen at work as a part of every
day life in Germany, and which, in the case of railways, might
be of vital importance to the very existence of the State in
time of war. I will only cite a couple of instances of this
efficiency which have come under my notice, and which, I
believe, could not easily be paralleled outside Germany.
1 London : Methuen & Co., 1909.
262

CONCLUSION
I was waiting at the Friedrichstrasse railway station one
evening in November 1905, to take the train to Warsaw, and
being well before my time saw a number of far- bound trains
arriving and leaving in quick succession, within a few minutes
of each other. My inquiries elicited the information that every
evening five express trains start from the same platform of
the Friedrichstrasse Station all within the short space of 37
minutes: for Posen, 10.55 p.m.; for Dantzig, 11.1 p.m.; St.
Petersburg, vid Koenigsberg, 11.18 p.m.; for Warsaw, 11.24
p.m. ; for Vienna, vid Breslau, 11.32 p.m. I was told that a
similar service of trains starts every forenoon. These bald
figures, however, by no means convey the exceptional nature of
this feat in railway organisation, for it must be borne in mind
that each of these trains is of considerable proportions : a huge
locomotive and rolling stock equipped for a long journey
through the night with sleeping cars, postal service, and, in
some cases, with restaurant cars attached. These trains are
made up at the suburban station of Charlottenburg, and start
punctually to the minute on their journey, as already stated,
within six or eight minutes of each other. What this efficient
organisation would mean in time of war to an enemy who
might be incapable of meeting it with one of equal capacity
may be left to the imagination ; inasmuch as the German system
of mobilisation provides for the automatic replacement of the
time-table in every-day use by a military one in time of war.
Another, although a minor, feature of railway travelling is the
punctual fitting-in at junctions of trains where the traveller has
only a few minutes, sometimes not more than a minute or two,
to transfer himself and his luggage to another line. Here only
the greatest all-round punctuality could produce such results as
are obtained in Germany. It is, of course, humanly impossible
that cases should not occur in which the connection is missed,
but I do not remember having been thus disappointed. I was
recently staying at Plaue, a village in Thuringia, and wanted to
reach Cologne without taking the roundabout way, vid Frank
fort. The direct route lay vid Cassel, where my train was
timed to arrive with ten minutes to spare, in order to catch 263

GERMAN MEMORIES
the junction train to Cologne. Unfortunately it was not
possible to book further than Cassel. In order to meet the
case the stationmaster at Plaue volunteered to telegraph to
Cassel to arrange things for me; and, it being considered a
service matter, charged me the nominal sum of threepence for
the telegram. On my arrival at Cassel I saw a porter on the
platform, evidently on the look-out, holding up a pole on
which was a big placard with the words, " Ticket for Cologne."
I hailed him, and he handed me a railway ticket and a receipt
for my luggage, in accordance with his telegraphic instructions.
As regards the German postal service I may mention that
letters are delivered twice on weekdays in every village through
out the German Empire ; when near a railway station oftener ;
on Sundays and other holidays at least once. At Plaue, as in
many other German villages, the post-office is as large as one
in a moderate-sized town in other countries. Finally, there is
no time of the day or night at which a telegram will not be
received and immediately despatched.
Prince Bismarck's eightieth birthday afforded mean excellent
opportunity of testing the great efficiency of the German
telegraph officials. A wooden shed had been erected at
Friedrichsruh close to the post-office for this exceptional occa
sion, with rows of seats and desks for the many journalists who
had arrived from all parts. The staff' of telegraph clerks
had been largely augmented in proportion. I sent about two
thousand words in English to the Herald, and they arrived
without a single mistake. I feel sure that the same was the
case with other journalists of different nationalities. The
work of the staff was most thoroughly and willingly performed.
I handed in my material in sections. The readiness with
which they were taken from me, and carefully scrutinised by
the telegraph clerks, who were conversant with English, was
remarkable, and the intelligence and courtesy displayed have
remained engraven on my memory.
So much has been said of the uncongenial manners and
methods of German officialdom that the following instance of a
gratuitous act of courtesy may be narrated without apology,
264

CONCLUSION
the more so as it illustrates the deep interest in art which is
prevalent among all classes.
Two gentlemen, one an old friend of mine, arrived in
Cologne from London late on the last night of the year 1897.
They were timed to leave Cologne in the afternoon of the next
day, and thought they would spend the morning by inspecting
the famous Wallraf-Richartz Museum, which contains some
fine specimens of the old Cologne school of painters. They
found the museum closed. The hall porter informed them
that New Year's Day was one of the very few occasions on
which the attendants were allowed a holiday. He added
that, as the gentlemen said they could not delay their
departure, the Director (Curator) of the museum might,
perhaps, give them permission to view the pictures if they
applied to him. Having obtained his address, my friend, who
is an art enthusiast, wrote a short note to Hen? Hofrath
Professor Carl Aldenhoven (since deceased), and sent it by a
commissionaire to his residence, about two English miles from
the museum. The answer came promptly back : " Please
expect me at your hotel. I will call upon you in half an hour."
The Professor duly arrived, showed my friends over the
museum, explained everything in the most interesting manner,
and finally took cordial leave of them.1
As a further indication of the deep interest in art matters
taken by all classes of the population, I may mention on
the authority of Professor Aldenhoven that after Mass on
Sundays and other Roman Catholic holy days, when many
of the peasantry of the surrounding villages stream into
Cologne, the run on the picture gallery between the hours of
11 and 1 is so great that people have to wait their turn to
obtain admission.
One of the features of German life which has assisted to
make Germany what she is to-day is the high esteem in which
i I gratefully acknowledge herewith a similar act of courtesy on the part of
the Director of the Hamburg Museum in the month of September 1911« He
kindly allowed me to inspect the beautiful picture gallery during closed hours,
as I wag leaving the city the same afternoon.
265

GERMAN MEMORIES
the vocation of teaching is held, Scandinavia and the United
States coming in this respect much nearer to Germany than
Great Britain. In Russia princes figure as professors at uni
versities. I met at Moscow a prince of the great house of
Troubetzkoi who was professor at the University of Kiew. On
one of my recent visits to Berlin I saw an endless cortege of
mourning carriages and pedestrians filing along the Hallische
Ufer, and was told that this was the funeral of a Berlin pro
fessor of philosophy (Paulsen). Even more striking from an
insular point of view was my experience many years ago, when
I was a witness of a rousing torchlight procession at Bonn in
celebration of the twenty-fifth year of service of a school
mistress at one of the Volksschulen in that town. The Socialists
are ever to the fore in participating in demonstrations of this
kind, which add an element of picturesque richness to the life
of the people. In spite of certain social and political dis
abilities, which still affect a large section of the German
nation, the life of the people is in many respects far richer
than with us. This is patent in the wide possibilities of
education open to all classes, and the many means for self-
culture provided by the high character of the drama and
other forms of popular recreation. Here the social element
is of great importance, as it enters largely into the
life of the masses : the so-called Vereinsleben, in which
are included gymnastic societies, choral unions, mountain-
climbing, &c. The Austro-German Alpine Club, for
instance, has a membership of fifty thousand, as compared
with five hundred in the exclusive English association
of that kind. Game-shooting, which with us is an expen
sive and aristocratic sport reserved for the rich, is partici
pated in by all classes in Germany. The number of game
licences runs into hundreds of thousands, and this without
the stock of game being thereby diminished, for the laws which
regulate close time are strictly adhered to, and if transgressed
severe punishment is inflicted. All these features of German
life contribute towards the cultivation of the imagination of
the people, abundant evidence of which is to be gained by those
266

CONCLUSION
who have associated with and taken note of their social life.
Many are the instances of kindly consideration I recall be
speaking a high degree of cultivation of the heart and delicacy
of feeling among the masses, of which the following instance —
one of many — strikes me as worthy of record.
One summer morning, walking with a friend in Berlin, I
hailed a droschky of the first class — what we should call a
" victoria," such as can be got for hire in the streets of Berlin,
and, to my thinking, the most comfortable conveyance to be
met with anywhere — and told the man to drive us to the Donhoff
Platz. There my friend alighted, and asked me to wait in the
carriage for him whilst he paid a short call at a house in front
of which we halted. To my surprise the coachman drove to the
opposite side of the road, where he drew up as I thought to
get clear of the traffic. In a couple of minutes he drove back
again and stopped at the exact spot at which my friend had
got out. This rather puzzled me, so I asked what made him
drive to the other side of the road and then come back. " Oh,
sir," he replied, " I noticed that you had the sun in your eyes
over there ! " It is, I admit, a trifling incident, but one
which speaks eloquently for the culture of that particular class.
I have yet to meet the London cabman, however civil he might
be, who would trouble about his fare being inconvenienced by
the sun.
The high standing enjoyed by every branch of science in
Germany is generally recognised. -Thus the medical profession
is held in great esteem everywhere, except, strange to say, in the
army, where it should by rights stand highest. Surgeons were
in great repute in the armies of Napoleon, and were treated
with exceptional consideration by that great soldier. Royal
Princes — the eminent oculist, Duke Karl Theodor of Bavaria,
and his wife to wit — devote themselves to the profession of
medicine, mainly for the benefit of the poor, and Royal
Princesses become nurses in wartime, as I have already pointed
out in the case of the present Queen of Bulgaria. It is not the
famous practitioner making a large income, a type very much
in evidence of late in Berlin, who is most highly thought of.
267

GERMAN MEMORIES
He is often regarded as a mere Mode-Arzt, a fashionable
doctor — the term implying a certain stigma, depreciation, and
declension from the high plane of science for its own sake.
The fact of being body physician to the Sovereign, which
ensures a great private practice |in England, by no means
does the same in Germany.
To the honour of the German medical profession be it said
that, at least until recently, the sense of duty of its members to
their patients was singularly independent of the scale of emolu
ment or other worldly considerations received. In the winter
of 1876-7 the present Dowager Queen of Sweden went to
Heidelberg, and stayed there some weeks to undergo treatment
at the hands of Professor Friedreich, of the University. I
remember that the Professor made a point of attending to all
his official duties, including his poor patients in the infirmary,
before he paid his daily visit to the Queen.
Within more recent years an English duchess went to Wies
baden to consult Dr. Pagenstecher. The great oculist declared
that he could only undertake the treatment of her grace if she
lived in his " klinik," and boarded there with his other patients.
I am told that this new experience of a free-and-easy inter
course with her fellow creatures of modest circumstances did the
old lady a world of good and contributed to her recovery. As
an instance of the appreciation of the medical profession by
German ladies of high rank, the case of the marriage of a
Princess of Schleswig-Holstein to Professor Esmarch comes to
mind. But even more apposite is that of a Wurtemberg
Princess who married a doctor in Breslau about thirty years ago.
The clergyman officiating at the wedding proceeded to dwell on
the deep and unselfish nature of an affection which could
induce a princess to sacrifice the advantages of high rank and
luxury at the altar. The bride interposed, and, rising before the
congregation, said she could not allow such a statement to pass
unchallenged. She desired to affirm once and for all that, in
marrying the man of her choice, she was not conscious of having
surrendered anything to which she attached the slightest
importance. Her husband, far from gaining social prestige by
268

CONCLUSION
his " great " marriage, is said to have rather lost caste among his
colleagues for having married out of his sphere.
The medical man who, without prospect of affluence, is the
trusted family medical adviser, calls for special recognition.
Here sometimes under a rough exterior — for many German
doctors rise from humble conditions, in which they have had
scant opportunity for acquiring that tact and social polish
which are requisites in their vocation — a high average and often
great scientific attainments are found, with an unselfish devotion
to duty which is truly admirable, the feeling of the responsibility
of their calling dominating every other consideration. Cases have
come under my notice in which the family doctor has cheerfully
foregone his annual holiday in order to attend a patient, and by
no means a wealthy one, whom he feared might suffer by his
absence. Such men obtain their best reward in the confidence
and gratitude of their patients, for even in cases of serious
illness it has been hitherto unusual for Germans to desert their
family doctor and call in a specialist.
Such men as Langenbeck, Virchow, Czerny, and many others
whose names are household words in medical science, neither
make as much money as similar men in England, nor are they
awarded the honours and titles by their Sovereign which a
successful man in almost every walk of life can apparently
command with us. In Germany their appreciation is that of
their fellow countrymen, which many regard as far more
valuable. In spite of the widespread craving for decorations
and the outward deference to jacks-in- office, men of science
and learning maintain an independent position, and resent
attempts at social patronage. A printed invitation " to meet " a
prince, quite a compliment with us, would be regarded by men
of intellectual standing as little short of an impertinence.
"Let him be invited to meet me" would probably be the
mental attitude of the professor. That this independence of
the " intellectual " sometimes tends to arrogance cannot well be
doubted ; but there it is. The feeling of reverence which a
peer, or an ambassador, used to inspire in Mr. Gladstone
wduld be difficult to find among the " intellectuals " in Germany. 269

GERMAN MEMORIES
It would be impossible to imagine a Helmholtz, a Mommsen,
or a Herman Grimm " introduced " to an audience at a public
lecture by a peer acting as chairman. The highest in the
land are eligible as members of the Reichstag, and some few
of them are indeed now and then chosen — for instance, Prince
Henry Carolath Schoenaich — but not one man of title is
included to-day among the figureheads of that body. The
late Herr Krupp did not succeed in being elected in his
own constituency, where about 30,000 of his workmen are
among the electors. Even eminent ex-Ministers have the greatest
difficulty in finding a constituency wUling to elect them;
this in itself is a decided loss to public life. Reverence
for wealth, birth, and rank is almost confined to those who
possess them, and is not always to be found even there.
Indeed, there is very little of it to be met with among the
mass" of the German people, and this holds good in spite of
the craving for titles and ornamental distinctions of a large
section of German society. The caste feeling which exists
among the nobility, finds, under the present regime, a
powerful support in the army and at two or three universities,
and only tends to intensify the cleavage between the upper
classes and the rest of the population — the inteUectual (dite,
bourgeoisie and Socialists. In proof of this assertion, which may
come as a surprise to the superficial observer, I may cite the
authority of Paul de Lagarde, who declared thirty years ago
that the nobility — except the sovereign princes — counts for
little in Germany.
In September 1901, I was invited to take part in the trial
trip of the Bremen Lloyd steamer, Krowprinz Wiihelm, to
Norway and Scotland, in which over 350 German notabilities
participated. Instead, as would have been the case with us,
of the " big guns " dining at one centre table, and the " smaU
fry" being accommodated with inferior places at dinner, lots
for seats at table were drawn every day. Thus it came to pass
that Herr Krupp, the " heaviest " rich man of Germany, and
Prince Henckel Donnersmarck, another of the wealthiest men
and an old feudal noble to boot, came to sit with nobodies.
270

CONCLUSION
Can we imagine Andrew Carnegie or a Duke of Devonshire
being placed in a similar predicament by an English steamship
company ?
In sharp contrast to the worship of wealth and position a
feeling is growing among German womanhood that an existence
of ease and luxury, without a serious aim in life, is an unworthy
one. This sentiment was tragically exemplified in the case
of a friend of mine. He had studied law and entered upon
a diplomatic career, when he met a lady of rare beauty with
a large fortune and married her. The first year of their
marriage was one long honeymoon, spent in travel ; now and
then marked by the young wife urging her husband to take
up some serious occupation ; for he had retired from the
diplomatic service on his marriage. A highly cultivated man
with literary tastes, his wife was anxious that he should turn
these to account. They ultimately settled down in a beautiful
villa which she had acquired. Some time afterwards he met
a friend of his youth, a struggling sculptor, without means
or connections. Being of a generous disposition, he built
a studio expressly for him in the garden adjoining his villa, so
that he should be at liberty to work at his profession free from
care. But he was not equally fortunate in finding an occu
pation for himself, and prevailed upon his wife to start
travelling again, in spite of her recurrent exhortations.
Another couple of years passed by, when they returned to
their villa, where they found the sculptor hard at work. One
day his wife said to him : " You know how often I have urged
you to take up an occupation worthy of you, for I cannot
imagine either happiness, or indeed self-respect, in idleness.
You have not listened to me, and it is now too late; for I
take an interest in your friend ; he has gained my respect and
supplanted you in my affections. Take half my fortune and
let me be free to marry him."
This came as a thunderbolt to my friend. He was in despair,
for he was devotedly attached to his wife, and he implored
her to reconsider her decision. But there was no going back.
He indignantly declined his wife's offer of her fortune; but,271

GERMAN MEMORIES
according to the German law a ¦ divorce was possible, and it
was obtained. She left him, married the sculptor, and went
away for ever. Many years later I met my friend again. He
had made a literary reputation, and lived in the very same
studio which he had once generously placed at the disposal
of his sculptor friend. Not a word passed his lips of the
tragedy of his life ; but the portrait of his beautiful dark-eyed
wife looked down from the wall — as it seemed to me — in pity
on his solitude — his wrecked happiness !
A glance at the German book trade — more particularly the
many publishers and booksellers, and the high standing of
the best among them — throws an instructive light on the
omnivorous appetite for reading which exists among the Ger
man people of all classes. Their business places are the resort
of literary notabilities, as a few such were in London and
Edinburgh in the eighteenth century. Scientific works which
in England can only be issued with the financial assistance
of learned societies are nearly all brought out in Germany
at the sole risk and expense of the publishers in Leipsic,
Berlin, Stuttgart, and Munich, each of which cities is promi
nent in the order mentioned. The history of the leading
publishing firms in Germany is set forth in the great national
encyclopaedias as matter of public interest, while many names
of ministers and diplomatists and noble families of the country
are not mentioned, unless in the cases of some exceptionally
eminent men.
It is not exaggerating to say that the appetite for reading
matter among the German people is scarcely less keen than
that for eating and drinking. Here the Socialists, as in several
other respects, are foremost. In a recent number of the
Vorwdrts I saw it stated that the aims of the Socialists were
not so much concerned with the acquisition of more wages,
material benefits, as such, as with obtaining the means of
beautifying the life of the people by enlarging their oppor
tunities for self-culture. The best of them have adopted
Spinoza's axiom : " I sell the work of my hands ; but I keep
the product of my brain to myself." They want that "place
272

CONCLUSION
in the sun " in their own country which the German well-to-do
class is clamouring for in distant parts of the world.
The catalogue of books published by the bookseller's firm
connected with the Vorwdrts, and appealing almost entirely
to the working classes, is a surprising one. It embraces a
cosmopolitan selection of the best works on history, political
economy and belles-lettres of all countries ; some of them are
expensive publications, the titles of which are suggestive :
M. Maurenbrecher : " The Hohenzollern Legend,"
in 50 parts (complete) 14/-
Inama Sternegg : " German Agriculture and
Husbandry" £% 10/-
Conrady: " History of Revolutions " 10/-
Sven Hedin : " Travels in the East " £\
Year-Books dealing with Communal Affairs 15/- to 20/-
each.
Nearly two pages each are devoted to different publications
dealing with Ferdinand Lassalle and Karl Marx. The same
space is taken up by the list of writings of Bebel, of Kautsky,
and of Bernstein, some of which are pamphlets circulating by the
hundred thousand. The catalogue contains the names of close
upon four hundred authors, many English among them : Burns,
Dickens, Kipling, Tyndall, W. Ashley, Henry George, Bellamy,
T. H. Buckle, Sir Charles Lyell, Thorold Rogers, Sir Samuel
Baker, Kennan, Henry Lansdell, Adam Smith, Ricardo, John
Stuart Mill, Lecky, James Bryce, Sidney Webb, &c. (A specialty
of the same firm are well-selected art productions for the
ornamentation of the homes of the people.) These names in
themselves offer suggestive evidence that Social Democracy is
no mere negative movement, but one with which a great deal
of the idealism of the German race must henceforth be
identified. An illusion largely shared in Germany itself is that her
material prosperity is a direct outcome of the military successes
of 1866 and 1870 and her subsequent unification. As a matter
of fact, Imperialism has had little to do with the commercial
s 273

GERMAN MEMORIES
and industrial rise of Germany. Of late it has even gratuitously
fostered trade jealousies and other idiosyncrasies of a mis
chievous kind. Favouritism in high places has been the means
of pitchforking unsuitable elements on to the boards of banks
and great industrial concerns, instances of which are of common
knowledge in German business circles.
Many years' connection with German manufacturing life
have convinced me that, though the Empire may have
supplied an effective trade " label," the real source of growth
has been the inevitable outcome of modern economical develop
ments of Europe as a whole taken advantage of, in spite of
tariff walls and heavy taxation, by the industrious qualities
of the race fostered by a century of education and careful
industrial training. This is indirectly shown by the fact that
small states like Belgium and Switzerland and some parts of
Northern Italy have made even greater strides than some
sections of Imperial Germany ; whilst little, democratic Den
mark has become one of the leading agricultural producers
of the world. The expansion of the German mercantile navy,
for instance, with the rise of Hamburg, finds a parallel in
Belgium in the case of Antwerp, and both are directly trace
able to the material renaissance of Europe as a whole.
Another feature which has contributed to German industrial
expansion, which is rarely taken into serious account, with
out which, however, it would have been impossible, is the
assistance the banks all over Germany and also in Austria have
been to beginners in trade and manufactures. Here again intelli
gent enterprise, shrewdness, energy, and the careful appraising
of the chances of success of the manufacturer of small means but
of known integrity have had great results. The investment
of money earned and saved is a special branch of German
banking business, and, as a rule, it is attended to with great
conscientiousness and a deep sense of its responsibility. Where
we are inclined to run after "booms" and speculate, the small
German capitalist rarely invests his savings without consulting
his banker; with what results is strikingly evidenced by ths
vast amount of sound investments held by the large mass of
274

CONCLUSION
the people. It is believed on the Continent that nothing is
easier to obtain in wealthy England than money. It may
be easy for the astute company promoter, but nowhere is it
more difficult for a business man without ample means or unless
in a large way of business to obtain credit, whatever be his
reputation for honesty. The facilities given to people of small
means but good reputation for obtaining credit from their
bankers are much greater in Germany than with us. In
Germany the energetic beginner often finds it so easy to obtain
support from a banker that this is looked upon as quite a
secondary consideration ; the principal thing is to get orders and
to deliver the goods : Geld ist Nebensache (money is a secondary
matter). It is a well-known fact that German competition in
the English colonies and also in South America, in Turkey,
and in Egypt is intensified by the readiness of German traders
to give extensions of credit which are unheard of in England.
Added to this readiness to give credit must be placed a
genius for taking pains over the smallest chance of doing busi
ness. This is shown in trifles ; for instance, in the stationery
business, in which we were once superior and are now most
conservative, whilst in Germany novelties are continually being
brought out. The spirit of enterprise is exemplified by the
readiness to take up a new idea. The Germans have become
almost Americanised in this direction, but their enterprise is
allied to extraordinary caution ; for the leading banks, with
all their eagerness to support commerce and industry, have
a staff of expert advisers at their disposal ever ready to look
into new proposals and to detect folly and fraud.
Germany is passing through a period of transition, portending
changes of perhaps greater magnitude than any which have
taken place in our time. The fact that the signs thereof are
not patent to outsiders is explained by two causes : the one
inherent in the surface impressionism of our age, of which the
daily newspaper is the faithful mirror ; the other the blinding
prestige of the military successes of 1870 which still hypnotises
Europe, Germany included. It is not easy to detect the elusive
signs of an evolution which may take a hundred and fifty years or
275

GERMAN MEMORIES
more to materialise, but the inevitability of which is foreshadowed
in the unreality of the present and the great changes which have
already taken place within one generation. Only twenty-two
years have passed since Bismarck retired, and it is generally
admitted that were his methods revived they would not suffice
to grapple with Germany's inner problems.
Many believe that Germany is on the verge of developments
which can only be compared in their importance to the Reforma
tion ; and we know that over a hundred and thirty years elapsed
between the day when Luther fixed his ninety-five theses to
the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg (1517) and the
Peace of Westphalia (1648), which first guaranteed liberty of
thought on the Continent of Europe.
Progress in the world of ideas is gradual and takes time
to shape itself. As an old German professor once said to
me when estimating things in a critical spirit, " I give the
Roman Catholic Church another four hundred years."
The conservative social instincts of the French nation, which
have done so much to keep the French family and the faith of
the country as a whole comparatively unchanged, in spite of the
Revolution, are lacking in Germany. The veneration for the
aristocracy, that potent support of monarchy with which we
are so familiar in England, scarcely exists in Germany. Mon
archical feeling, after rising under William I. to a height out of
proportion to its previous traditions and status, is now again
declining and is without that strong spiritual and mundane
support of other days. At most that time-honoured attach
ment of the German tribes to their several ducal chieftains,
some of them since dubbed kings by Habsburg or Napoleonic
grace, may be expected to survive. How little this is realised
in England is shown by the exaggerated interest taken in the
every-day doings of personages in high places, which finds little
echo either in the instincts of the German intellectual e"lite
or with the Socialistic or Roman Catholic masses. August
personages are not even referred to in Socialist newspapers
in the whole course of the year. On the one hand we see
sundry survivals of the spirit of the Middle Ages in out-of-
276

CONCLUSION
the- way places, and a portion of the community living on from
day to day on imaginary values, whilst there are increasing
influences which are intent on abolishing these anachronisms.
The glamour of martial prowess and the power of intimida
tion which are its inevitable corollary have for the time being
eclipsed the development of the individual, which had been
steadily growing after the revolutionary year of 1848, but
they have not been able to terrorise the Roman Catholic and
the Socialist elements. Nothing could be more absurd than
the prevalent illusion in England that, because the activity
of the Socialists does not afford daily material for sensational
telegrams from the "Special Correspondent," Socialism is
impotent, passive, or inactive. Quite the contrary is the fact.
Socialism is energetically active, and, often working in sym
pathy with the Catholic party, already exercises an immense
influence on social legislation, and is superbly indifferent to the
ephemera of the day. It is bent on restoring and enhancing
the moral and intellectual worth of the individual, but as part
of a collective mass consciousness on democratic Pantheistic
lines. These elements possess the power to achieve this; for
they alone are not to be intimidated, being immune from fear,
and both are in deadly antagonism to the simulacra of the
present day, the Roman Catholics adding their traditional
deadly weapon of dissimulation to their arsenal of political
fence. Features of great importance on the side of these forces
of progress are those of education, particularly the training
of the army, which has not only raised the pugnacity of the
masses, but also added to their collective force by means of
organisation. The capacity for organisation, which was origin
ally fostered in the interest of the state for the furtherance of
national defence, is now being turned by the people against
those with whom they disagree. The lack of constructive
political ability, with its genius for compromise, which has
hitherto marked the German race, is likely to be compensated
by the organisation of the educated, ably-led masses. Now
that they are cognisant of their power, this capacity for col
lective disciplined action is bound to remain permanently with 277

GERMAN MEMORIES
them and be an efficient weapon in their hands, even though
they should, as every growing movement has done, change
their aims and ideals from time to time.
In addition to this chaotic state of things there is the
difficulty which the German race experiences to hold its own
against the Pole, the Dane, the Slav, and the Italian to be
taken into account. Germany is, indeed, passing through an
initial period of expectancy, of probation, in which the slag,
the dross, the after-birth of the Empire are disagreeably
prominent. To have chosen such a moment to provoke the
antagonism of the Anglo-Saxon by deliberately and demon
stratively building a huge fleet was, of course, quite within
Germany's right. Whether it was necessary for her honour
or her safety, or otherwise to her advantage, is another matter,
and only concerns themselves. To the writer it would seem to
be one of those fateful happenings in the destiny of the German
race of which its history affords so many pregnant instances.
In the very week in which Bismarck died (July 30, 1898)
I received the following letter from that eminent divine, the
late Dr. Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London. It refers more
especially to the relations between England and the United
States, but its spirit is equally applicable to England and
Germany to-day :
" The future will not be so much concerned with nations as
with the civilising ideas which they contribute to the world's
progress. The question for us is, what will be the future of
the civilising ideas which are common to English-speaking
peoples ? Local forms and modifications are of little moment.
The important thing is the value of the ideas themselves.
England and the United States have a common heritage of
primary principles, which mark them off from other peoples.
They are, as a matter of fact, indissolubly united. Proposals
of closer friendship merely recognise this fact. Two peoples
can help one another to understand better the principles which
they already possess in common and apply them more freely to
new questions as they arise.
"Both peoples must acquire greater sympathy, greater
278

CONCLUSION
versatility, if they are to extend their civilising power. These
are qualities which they can teach one another. The future of
the world depends upon good understanding between England
and the United States. If they cannot teach one another how
are they to teach other peoples ? "
In the meantime the jealousies and dissensions of the two
great nations of Germanic blood are rejoicing the hearts of the
Latin and the Slav. Here the hope of the future must lie in
the political emancipation of the German people, which, once it
comes into its own, will be in a position to command attention
and cry a halt : " A plague on both your houses ! "
In every case it should be impossible for an Englishman
possessing a lifelong acquaintance with the many admirable
features of German life, added to the conviction of the natural
affinity of interests between the two nations, not to wish to see
them allied in pursuit of some ennobling object. This community
of ideas and action was exemplified for the last time during the
Kulturkampf to which I have already referred. Let us hope
that its next aim will be to join hands in fighting national
prejudices, hallucinations, ignorance, dirt, destitution, and
disease. Each nation should take its part in the common task
to make this world somewhat more like what it might become
for the maj ority of mankind. The German people seems destined
to play a leading part in this direction ; and its triumph
would point to a peaceable evolution of ideas in lieu of war and
revolution brought about by physical force.

27y

INDEX

Albert Verein institution, 4.4
Aldenhoven, Prof. Carl, 265
" Allotria," the, 151-2
Annaberg, shrine, 85 ; monastery of
St. Francis, 86
rendt, Dr., parliamentarian, 108
Army, the, 155-8 ; Blumenthal's views
on, 165-7 ; general remarks, 253-5 ;
some reminiscences, 255-9
Arnim, Count Henry, 226
Augusta, Empress, 18

Barenhauter, Der, first performance
at Munich, 147-8
Bebel, Herr, socialist leader, 234-6
Bebel, August, poet, 237 {note)
Beethoven, anecdote of, 247
Berlepsch, Herr von, Minister of Com
merce, 108
Bethusv-Huc, family, 80; visit to,
255-6
Beust, Herr von, Saxon Minister of
Foreign Affairs, 24-5, 30
anecdote from his Memoirs. 23 {note)
Beuthen, town, 82
Bezzenberger, Prof. Dr., 14
Bibliothekar, Der, 89
Bieberstein, Freiherr MarBchall von,
244-6
Bismarck, Prince, 116-126 ; at school,
3 ; the Kulturkampf, 42 ; and fores
ters, 74 ; personal appearance, 117-
8 ; as public speaker, 119 ; in
retirement, 121-4 ; attitude towards
England, 125; and Napoleon III.,
191-2; writing-table of, 213; on
future of Europe, 214-6 ; and Count
Arnim, 217 ; and Bottenburg, 223-
4 ; and Holstein, 230-1 ; anecdote
of, 243
Bismarck, Count Herbert, 127, 243
Bjbernsfrjerne-Bjoernson, 146, 207
Bloch, Felix, 90, 96
Blochmann, Carl Justus, 2, 14

Blumenthal, Field - Marshal Count
Leonhard von, 153-168; anecdote
of, 154 ; military training, 154-8 ;
marriage, 158 ; and revolution in
Berlin, 159 ; campaign of Bohemia,
161; intercepted letter, 161; and
Crown Prince, 161-3; on Moltke,
165; views on military affairs, 165-7;
personal description, 167 ; an appre
ciation of, 168
Blumenthal, Oscar, 90
Bodelschwingh, Herr von, philanthro
pist, 108
Boecklin, painter, 22
Boguslawski, General von, 258
Bon, Gustave le (quoted), 129
Botticher, Herr von, Prussian Minister
of State, 108, 115
Brentano, Prof. Lujo, 240-1
Bulow, Prince, 209-222 ; personal
appearance, 211 ; on European
affairs, 214-6 ; anecdote of Bis
marck, 217 ; on distrust between
England and Germany, 217-8 ; on
Germany, 219-21 ; on Bussian
affairs, 221
Bunsen, Baron Georg von, 106
Biirde-Nev, Frau, operatic actress, 57
Burt, Col. Henry von, 97, 114
Carmen Sylva, 170, 174
Charles of Boumania, Kin?, 169-175 ;
on Bismarck, 120 (note); Reminis
cences, 169 ; in private life, 170-4
Cranach, Herr von, 208
Creighton. Dr. Mandell (quoted), 278
Currency, 21
Dawison, Bogumil, 30
Deichmann, Baroness, 116
Delbrueck, Prof. Hans, 106-7, 178;
anecdote, 18
Devrient, Emil, 29, 56
Dincklage, Freiherr von, 150
Donnersmarck, Prince Henckel von, 75
281

INDEX

Dom, Leo, 52
Douglas, Count Sholto, 106, 108
Drei-Kaiserecke, 81
Dresden, after 1870, 46-59; Court
Theatre, 26 ; Society, 49 ; Hotel
Stadt Berlin, 50-3 ; the Kneipen-
leben, 55-7 ; art colony, 56-8
Ducat, Austrian, 21
Duelling, 77, 79
Eckstadt, Count Alexander Vitar
thurn von, 166 note
Edward VIL, King, anecdote, 205
Eleonore, Tsaritsa of the Bulgarians,
196-7
Engel, Dr. Ernst, 42
Erasmus, 207
Ernest of Coburg-Gotha, Duke, 94
Eugenie, Empress, 195, 196
" Extra post," 20
Falkenhausen, Baron von, 77-8
Fleury, General, 195
Forest Academy of Tharandt, 72
Forest culture, 72-4
Formes, Carl, 1
Frederick, Emperor, anecdote, 18 ;
mourning proclamation, 45 ; and
Blumenthal, 161-3
Frederick Charles, Prince, 160; and
Blumenthal, 162
Frederick the Great, anecdote, 104-5
(note) ; the scheidemume, 21
Frederick William IV., King, 61
Fremde Hande in Deutschland, 94
Frossard, General, 193
Glass-making, 60-71 ; rose coloured
glass, 21 ; early method, 61 ; white
glass enamel, 63 ; social conditions,
64-9
Gneist, Budolf von, 106
Goeben, General von, 153
Goethe, Walther von, 203
Goethe and Schiller Archiv, 203-4
Goethe's palm-tree, 222
Goltz, Count von der, 194
" Grapeshot Prince," 38
" Grease money," 20
Grimm, Prof. Hermann, 204
Hamilton, Herr von, 81, 82
Hanfstaengl, Hans, 52
Harcourt, Sir William Vernon, and
Bismarck. 243
Hatzfeldt, Count, 243
Hawtrey, Charles, 89
282

Henry of Meeklenburg, Duke, 16
Heygendorff, Major von, 61
Heyse, Paul, 145, 146
Hill, Dr. David Jayne, 247-8
Hinzpeter, Dr., tutor of Emperor Wil
liam II., 109-13
Hirth, George, 145
Holstein, Herr von, Privy Councillor,
226-31 ; on relations between Eng
land and Germany, 228; anecdote,
230 ; mental affliction, 230
Holtzendorf, Count, 11
Honig, Capt. Fritz, 258
Ignatieff, Count, anecdote, 221
Imperialism, 98, 273-4
" Iron Cross," the, 43
Jagemann, Caroline, 51
John, King of Saxony, 24
Josephinenhutte glass factory, 60-71 ;
atelier system, 67-8 ; founding of
factory, 63 ; Franz Pohl, 62-3 ;
social conditions, 64-6
KaulbACH, Fritz A., 144
Keudell, Baron Eobert von, 123, 187
Kiderlen-Waechter, Herr von, 231
Kneipenleben, The, 55-7
Kobertstein, Karl, 57
Kopp, Dr., Prince Bishop of Breslau,
108-9
Krebs, Karl, 57
Krieg in Frieden, 90
Kulturkampf, 42, 108; effect on reli
gious feeling, 84 ; Bebel's opinion
of, 236

Lenbach, Fr.inz von, 127-142 ; story
of Bismarck, 120 ; an appreciation
of, 128 ; and Cecil Bhodes, 130
and the Empress of Austria, 132
dealings with clients, 132-3 ; anec
dotes, 133-5 ; on English art, 137-8
personal description, 141-2; a visit
to, 145
Lenz, Prof. Max, 179
Leopold of Hohenzollern, Prince, 172
Levi, Hermann, 146-7
Liegnitz, General von, 256
Lindau, Paul, 90
Louisen Order, 44
Lucca, Pauline, 41
Ludwig of Bavaria, Prince, 145
Marschner, Herr, hotel proprietor,
50, 53

INDEX

Mendelssoon-Bartholdy, Baron Ernst
von, 242
Meyer, Major-General E. von, 40
Miscellaneous : English influences,
7-8 ; Germans as schoolmen, 14 ;
frugal living, 18-19 ; independence
of character, 23 ; beerhouse life,
55-7 ; conditions of industry, 60-
71 ; musical ability, 66 ; education
of workmen, 69 ; landowners and
manufacturers compared, 75 ; "tips"
on Polish frontier, 83 ; post-Bis
marck era, 113 ; exposure of dead at
Munich, 143 ; public services, 262-4 ;
officialdom, 264-5 ; outlook on life,
271-2 ; Germans as readers, 272 ;
banking methods, 274-5 ; transition
period, 275-9
Moltke, Field-Marshal, 97-105 ; school
days, 3 ; anecdotes, 97, 102, 255 ;
interview with, 100-2 ; lying in
state, 104-5 ; and Albert of
Saxony, 105 ; and Blumenthal, 160,
162
Moltke, Helmuth von, 99
Moltke, Count William, 255-6
Mommsen, Prof. Theodor, 176-186;
and Blumenthal, 153-4 ; and the
brigand, 177 ; and the North Ameri
can Review, 178 ; on the South
African War, 179-183 ; on the future
of Austria, 183 ; on the present
state of Germany, 183-4
Moreau, General, 11
Morier, Sir Eobert, 109
" Moritz von Eeichenbach," 80
Morosini, Countess, 134
Moser, Gustav von, 80, 88-96; first
performances, 90 ; character, 92-3 ;
letters, 95-6
Mottl, Felix, 148
Muller, Prof. Max, 182
Munich, 143-152
Mutius, Major von, 9, 31
Napoleon III., Emperor, 191-5 ; and
Mommsen, 177
Nathan der Weise, original MS. of, 243
Neumann, Prof. Emil, 98
Nesmueller's Theatre, 30
Nietzsche, Frau Elizabeth Foerster,
202-3 ; Nietzsche discussed, 200-2
Nietzsche, Archiv, 202
Noailles, Marquis de, 422
Pellet-Narbonne, Capt., 258
Pestalozzi, Swiss educationist, 2, 12

Pohl, Franz, 62-3
Posadowsky, Count, 196
" Post," 20
Postal service, 264
Preusler, glass manufacturer, 61
Private Secretary, Tlie, 89
Prussian Army in 1806, 155-8
Prussian Frontier Commissioner, 81-2
Public roads, 22
Bailway service, 263-4
Eantzau, Countess, 147
Eeden, Countess, 189
Eeichskanzler Palais, 212-3
Eeligious Eevival, 84
Reminiscences by the King of Bou-
mania, 169
Eeuss VIL. Prince, 187-199; visits
to, 188, 190, 196 ; mission to Napo
leon III., 191-5; Princess Eleonore,
196-7 ; Princess Eeuss, 198 ; an
appreciation of, 199
Eeynolds, Sir Joshua, palette of, 138-9
Eichter, Eugen, and Bismarck, 121
Eiedel, Baron von, 241
Eietz, Julius, 57
Eifle guilds, 143-4; a shooting match,
256
Eoeckel, The Eoyal Concertmeister,
23 {note)
Eosebery, Lord, anecdote, 226
Eottenburg, Dr. Franz von, 223-6
Euland, Hofrath Carl, 205
Scaria, Emil, 57-8
Schack, Count, as art patron, 22
Schadow, sculptor, 61
Schaffgotsch, Count Ludwig, 68, 72,
74 ; glass works, 60, 75 ; and Franz
Pohl, 62
" Scheidemiinze," silver coin, 21
Schiller Centenary celebration, 206
Schonthan, Franz von, 90
School Conference, 113
Schopenhauer, Arthur, 2
Schreiberhau, glass works at ; see
Glass-making
Schweinitz, General von, 221
Schweninger, Dr„ physician to Bis
marck, 119
Seckendorff, Count Gotz von, 249-253 ;
on England and Germany, 250, 253 ;
anecdote, 252
Seidl, Gabriel von, 152
Semper, Gottfried. 26, 47
Singer, Paul, 237-8
Smith, Prof. Godwin, on Bismarck, 126
283

INDEX

Socialism, 234-241 ; Herr von Eotten-
burg and, 225 ; Herr Bebel and,
234-6 ; the Emperor and, 236 ;
Paul Singer, 237-8 ; Georg von
Vollmar, 238; Prof. Lujo Brentano,
240-1 ; in Bavaria, 241 ; aims of,
272-3 ; general remarks, 277
Sophia, Grand Duchess of Saxe
Weimar, 203-4
" Sperrgelder," 84
" Stammtisch " gatherings, 55-6
Stoffel. Colonel, 193
Stourdza, Demeter, 169
Theatre, 25-30 ; construction, 28-9
Tichatscheck, singer, 56
Tower, Charlemagne, 247
Travelling, before 1870, 19-22; present
day, 262-4
Trebschen, park at, 188-9
Treitschke, Heinrich von, 106
Ulrich, Pauline, 57, 44
Vendome, H.E.H. the Due de, 171-2
Vernois, General von Verdy du, 258;
on Blumenthal, 168
Versen, General von, 165
Vitzthum, Gymnasium, 2-17; system
of education, 3-5 ; moral effect of

system, 6 ; English influence in, 7 ;
cosmopolitanism, 8, 10 ; bullying,
9 ; code of honour, 9 ; historic fight
at, 9-10 ; walking tours, 12-13 ;
physical culture, 13 ; new school,
15
Vollmar, Georg von, 238-241
Vyner, Delicia, 158
Wagner, Frau Cosima, 147-150
Wagner, Siegfried, 147-9
Wagner, Eichard, anecdotes, 58-9 ;
an opinion of, 57
Walther, Dr., physician, 49-50
Watts, G. F. and Lenbach, 139
White, Andrew D., 246
Wildenbruch, Ernst von, 206-7
Wilhelmstrasse, The, 223-233; journal
ists at, 231-2 ; some officials and
their duties, 231-3
William I. , Emperor, 33-45 ; entry
into Berlin, 34-8 ; popularity of,
38-9; anecdotes, 39, 41, 44, 93;
official mourning for, 45 ; and Wag
ner, 59
Wissmann, Major, explorer, 152
Wyndham, Sir Charles, 89
Zetteritz, General von, 11, 29
Ziegler, Clara, 57

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