The Portland daily press., 1888-08-21
A CHAT WITH BISMARCK.
The Difference Between the Manners
of Big and Little Men.

IN. Y Mail and Express.l
The courtesy of men of actual and we'll
earned eminence is remarkable. II is the
scrubs, pretenders and parasites who are in
solent and caddish. A Bismark will step
aside with bow to allow you to pass where
the mud-brained son of soap trust king
walks pompously across your toes, | once
saw the heavy-browed and thoughtful young
Emperor of Germany-the Lord of War" as
he calls himself-wake from his abstraction
and twist about in his saddle with swift
eagerness to acknowledge the courtesy of a
ragged old peasant woman by the roadside.
His hand flew to his hat, and his salutation
to the lonely beggar was as profound and re-
spectful as though she had been duchess.
/ looked at her after the Emperor had ridden
around the bend Of the road The blood
flushed her withered face, for the first time
In many years, and her eyes glistened bright
ly. She looked as though ten years had been
taken from her already liberal score. 1t had
cost the Emperor an effort, but he made it
with cheerfulneSs, alacrity and polish of a
man to whom courtesy is inbred and natural.
called on Mr.. Gladstone once, and, when
got up to leave the room, he stepped for
ward and opened the door with the manner
of a man to whom politeness comes without
thought Men like Balfour and Parnell,
and they are probably as busy as any two
men In the world today, always have time
for the. small attentions of life l could go on
Unfortunately. What calls it to mind was
the fact that dropped in to see an ex-United
States Senator day or two ago in his office
in this city, boy sat in the outer room
pasting wrappers on a lot of loose paper |
asked him if the Senator was in. He looked
at me moment and then said
"What?"
SIS the Senator in P"
He jerked his head shortly toward the door
and walked in to find small man with a
ragged growth of beard sitting at desk and
writing after a leisurely fashion. | asked
him perfectly civil question. and then
stood by TRANQUILITY and viewed the snappish-
ness and ill-breeding of the eX-U United States
Senator as he answered my inquiries, and re-
fiected that the difference between presump-
tion and prominence is about as great as that
between good breeding and boorishness. 1t
IS not matter of Importance beyond this
that, as lar as my experience goes. one NAV
always approach man of absolute and rec
ognized ability with the certainty of meeting
he's great but isn't
One day in Berlin il occurred to me to
write letter to Prince Bismarck The fact
that he was generally considered the great
est man in thelworld did not deter me, for |
had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
L explained that there are two million Ger
mans in America who are actively and affec-
tionately watching the progress of affairs in
Berlin and ended byrequesting an interview
l. don't mind saying that | felt violent de-
sire to smile as ! read the letter over, for its
presumption was monstr0us. Isent it around
by my secretary. After vast deal of ma
n9vvring he succeeded in getting into the
palace of the Chancellor in Wilhelm Strasse
He waited in an ante-room while the secre-
tary read the letter. That functionary
turned his back, shook visibly and entered
CbanQqll0rS wi in n fe
hand A moment later a hilarious Teutonic
guffaw rang through the palace. 1t was the
Chancellor of the empire roaring at my
expence. For a week l felt depressed.
Then it occurred to me that it would have
been a good thing for Austria in So If she
could have made Bismarck laugh, and / sat
down and wrote him another letter. The
reply received was verbal one to the
effect that l had amused his Highness
greatly. At this pointI quit the role Of buff
foon and went to Paris to see Blaine About
month later / returned to Berlin, and
among my letters of introduction was one to
the secretary of the most stalwart and COM
handing figure in Europe. | delivered it to
BismaTk's chief factotum, and was promised
an audience by the Chancellor the following
day. Meanwhile / wrote the Prince the
third time, embodying some reflections on
German politics in the epistle. believe that
prior to that time the only other American
who had succeeded in attracting Bismarck's
attention was Yank Adams, who went to
Berlin and made Bismarck the lurid offer of
$500 week to deliver lectures at one-night
stands through the Northwestern circuit.
When called the following day there
were three or four attaches of the Princes
cabinet, including the secretary, and they
seemed rather disappointed to find that +
wore conventional attire and was without
tamahawk and a buffalo robe. They were
superb looking men, all clad in the magnifi-
cent uniforms OF colonies or generals Of the
Prussian army; they knew every language
under the sun, and they had the usual suay-
ity and. polish of men in the diplomatic corps
of the foremost nation of Europe. | had
met one of them in New York, fortunately
Baron Scerfeldt-and, after about twelve or
fifteen other men had been received by the
chancellor. TINS gentleman accompanied nae
into the presence OF the man who has actually
and unquestionably held the peace of Europe
in the hollow of his hand for over thirty
years.
When entered the apartment Bismarck
was half leaning, half sitting on huge desk,
clad in the fatigue dress of general, and
as magnificent picture of sturdy manhood
as it has ever been my good fortune to see.
His stalwart physique, broad shoulders,
mighty chest, slim waist and straight legs
might have been the envy of the youngest
officer of the guard. Though nearly four
score years. he had recently trained his
weight down from 260 to $50 pounds. | was
presented after the conventional fashion
and the Prince drew himself up, bowed, and
at once relaxed again into his easy position
against the desk. One of his attendants said
to him quietly in German that | was the
American correspondent who had written
asking for an interview, and in instant
wave of hilarious good nature swept over the
Chancellors face A dozen wrinkles spread
over his cheeks from the corners Of his NOUS
tache, and his big gray eyes stared at me I'M
der the bushiest eyebrows | ever saw, with
degree of jollity, amusement, and, am sorry
to say derision imaginable. A woman with
such expressive eyes could win a heart-sick
anchorite. The infection of his laughter is
absolutely irresistible, and the pant0mine
would have been plain to blind man.
without saying word he gave me to under
stand that my propositions were so prepoS-
ferrous as to be ludicrous, but that he was
amused and not offended. Then the secre-
tary to whom had been introduced came in,
and we talked for some time. The Princes
English is as perfect as that of any Ameri-
can ever knew, and, of course, he made the
conversation himself. Whether spoke of
such thing as the Brunswick succession, the
Battenberg marriage, Bulgaria, or any of the
subjects then agitating Europe. he would
laugh again, and twist and talk around on
American subjects. / was there perbaps
twenty minutes in all, but before / left he
dashed my hopes, as far as newspaper enter
must follow the custom that is universal in
Europe by requesting me to consider every
word of the talk as absolutely confidential
There was nothing in it in the slightest de-
gree verging on confidence, of course, and NOT
a word that could not with propriety be pnb-
lished if it were considered of sufficient i'm
portance, but the charm of his manner was
SO great, and his good nature and friendli-
ness SO manifest, that felt that nothing on
earth could ever tempt me to reveal what had
been said. After weeks cogitation / came
to the conclusion that nothing whatever had
been said, and then my opinion Of the diplo-