The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-06-16
Miscellaneous.
Sketches of Count Bismarck and General
Won MOltkc.


Bismarck is an immensely large man.
When he goes through one of the doors
of the Chamber he fills the whole space,
and must stoop beside. He is tall,
straight, and well-proportioned. His
broad shoulders and full breast bespeak
immense force. He is not fat (where q
German ought to be fat y but his cheeks
are so fat as to almost close his eyes,
though, since the war, he seems to have
grown little thinner. lie has large
head, which is bald on the top (the
comic papers invariably represent him
with three hairs and on the sides has
a little short halfgray hair, which is in
marked contrast with his full white
moustache. His nose is rather short,
and his eyes embedded under heavy
brow. His face is almost as white as
his moustache, and is full of vigorous
expression. When he sits he commonly
leans forward, as ifjust ready to get up !;
and those portraits of him appear most
natural which represent him in this
position. His only joint would seem
to be in his loins, for his back and neck
are always kept straight. He is COM
monty in uniform, and his coat shines
all over with bright buttons and bril-
liant badges. He is man that any one
would pick out of q crowd as leading
character. When he enters the Cham
ber, every eye is turned to him, and
many show him special marks of honor;
so that his first movements on entering
are to politely return these signs of re-
spect both to the members of the Reich
stag and to visitors. For, rs often as
he has already appeared in the Reich
stag, the general curiosity to see him
has never abated, so thpt everybody
must look when Bismarck comes. ut
always sits at the Minister'S desk, ano
seems to pay little attention to the de
= bate, though he is always ready to speak
His speeches are generally short, ant
always 90 direct to the point. One neet
never wait long to know what he Is go
ing to talk about, or what view he i
going to take on the matter. Ill
speeches sparkle with strong, bol'
| points, and he is always interesting
His voice is rather high and broken,an'
is not very strong. He half humble
his words, and, from his fast speaking
il often a little indistinct. He gesticu
lates but little, and swings his bod.
slightly backward and forward Will
speaking. When he rises, all the nols
of the Chamber at once subsidies, ant
everybody listens with great attention
though, during most Of the speeches
= the members carry on their conVersf
ton as if the Reichtag were not in SCI
sion. He speaks often, writes agoo
deal, and is much engaged with dlnel
q ent persons in conversation. After IL
:, session is adjourned he is the last
.. leave the Chamber, for he seems
have business with almost everybod.
Very often he is called from his plat
during the session to wait on some me
,s sage or messenger in the ante'room. !
y, give an idea of the immense amount
,e work Bismarck performs, ! might me
o, ton that, in an official report late
A made of the letters issued from the b
reau which accompanied him to Il
- field, the monthly average was oV
1000, reaching in January to LIZ
y, These, if not fully written or dictate
SWe by him, were yet required to pass und
& his supervision. He is much aided
Nv his work at present by the powerl
se chancellor officials, which he has asseI
Ar. hled around him, at the head OF viii
s- is that chief of bureauerats, Mr.. ID
bruck.
x MoLTKE.
"a Moltke is by no means man of Ii
his prepossessing appearance. In ia
from his personnel, one could not CO
> cede to him any special ability.
head appears to be smaller than the
erage His face is long, and his chin
tina projecting as to give him an appearal
of merely stubborn persistence, such
is often found in quite ordinary pers
are of ages. If we were to judge of the Oh
d. acter of his military ability from
ii features, we would say that his suct
~ has been due to the resoluteness "