The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-23
BISMARCK as A JOKER.
The Humorous Side Of the Man of
Blood and Iron.

the latest German work concerning the
grizzled and furrowed diplomat Of the
Wilhelm Strasse.
Perhaps the most interesting part of tbs
book relates to Bismarck's experiences in
Frankfort as Prussian delegate to the Ger
man diet in the years Immediately succeed
ing 1850. In those days Bismarck did much
laughing and joking with purpose. Prob
ably no jokes and laughter in the worlds
history have been so plainly significant Of
great coming events. They foreshadowed
Duppel and Koniggratz and Sedan, the
partition of France and the unification OF
Germany.
The appointment of Bismarck as Prussian
delegate in Frankfort caused the German
press to raise big hue and cry against him
as an inexperienced, head-strong young
man, a mere diplomatic sucking" When
| Bismarck arrived in Frankfort, moreover,
he got cold shoulder from his retiring
chief, Gen. Won Rochow, who kept him
quite uninformed concerning the run of
| affairs there, and ''thus deprIves his 'diplo-
| matte suckling,' as | have been called"
wrote Bismarck, ''Of his proper nourish-
mont" AS soon as Won Rochow got out of
the way, however, Bismarck let himself out.
The Austrian delegate considered himself
the only big man in the whole concern, and
showed his conceit by knocking about in
| slovenly costume, presiding over the Diet
| in a mannerless fashion, and allowing him
self all sorts of petty privileges which
delegates from the little German states
| didn't dare ask for. Now, Prussia wished
to he n big power in the diet too, and
Austria was doing her best to keep
her down among the little powers
Bismarck's mission was to get as
much influence in the diet for Prussia as
Count Thun, the Austrian delegate, was
maintaining for Austria. As the diet
rarely took hold of questions of great i'm
portance, the diplomatic sucking" had to
gain most of his advantage over the willy
old Austrian count in ridiculously petty
warfare. In his official dispatches to Berlin
Bismarck described his antagonist thus:
Count Thun has somewhat Of a bump
tlous appearance, with a touch of the
Vienna roue about him. But the sins
which he commits in the latter capacity no
tries to make up for in his own eyes and in
those of the countess, by strictly observing
the precepts of the Catholic church,
Baron Nell Won Nellenburg, Count Thun's
right-hand man, is thus hit off:
"A clever publicist, as the saying is; he
is nearly so, writes poetry occasionally, is
sentimental, falls to weeping readily at the
theater, has an appearance of good nature
and agreeableness, drinks more than he
can stand and is said to have had family
misfortunes."
OF the diet at large he wrote to a friend:
The men of the minor states are mostly
mere caricatures of periwig diplomatists,
who at once put on their official visage if [
merely beg of them a light to my cigar.
and who study their words and looks with
Regensourg care when they ask for the key
of the lavatory"
Bismarck's behavior when he made his
first call upon Thun was typical. The sery-
ant showed him directly to the study.
where the Austrian delegate sat in his shirt
sleeves, hard at work with his correspond
ence. Exactly So" exclaimed Bismarck.
nettled by the informality of his reception:
1t IS terribly warm here" and began at
once 30 pull Off his coat, too. In second
Ihun jumped to his feet and into his coat.
for fear that the delegate of little Prussia
would return his rudeness with interest.
or course DR.. Kohut does not omit the
famous Frankfort SIN oking story.
Az the sittings of the military commit
tee" Bismarck once said to his proper Bos-
well, DIR. Busch, ''when Rochow was the
Prussian representative at the diet, Austria
alone smoked. Rochow, who was a furious
smoker, would certainly have liked to do it.
but did not venture. When | succeeded
him |, too, hankered after cigar. and. as [
did not see why l should not have it. I
asked the power in the presidents Austrian
envoy's) chair to give me a light, which
seemed to cause him and the other GENTLE
men both astonIshment and displeasure. Ii
was evidently an event for them. That time
only Austria and Prussia smoked. But the
other gentlemen obviously thought it so
serious that they reported it to their re-
spective courts. The question REQUIRED
mature elaboration, and for half year
only the two great powers smoked.
Then Schrenck, the Bavarian envoy,
al ha .Nf Ii
smoking. Noslitz, the Saxon, had GER
talnly also great wish to do so. but had
not received authority from his minister.
When, however he saw Bothner. the Hauo-
verian, INDUCING himself at the next sit
ting he must-for he was intensely Aus
trian, having sons in the army-have come
TO some understanding with Rechberg Aus
trian envoy presiding), for he also took out
cigar from his case and puffei away
Only Wurtemberg and Darmstadt were
left, and they did not smoke themselves.
But the honor and dignity of their states
imperatively required it, SO that the next
time we met Wurtemberg produced a ci-
gar-I see it now; it was a long, thin, light,
yellow thlng-and smoked at least half as
burnt offering to the fatherlaud"
When asked by Thun to explain how he
managed to make such favorable impress
sion upon Metternich, Bismarck answered:
70. that was simple enough. merely lis
tened to him for three days with an express.
sion of intelligence on my face" This
three-day communion of the two most
famous diplomats of this century on the
banks of the Rhine is compared rather
irreverently by Lowe. Berlin correspondent
| of the London Times in his life Of Bis
| marck, with the meeting of Elijah and
Elisha on the shores of the Jordan.
Bismarck S realization of his isolated posi-
ton ID the diet is we'll illustrated by keen
remark he made to an Austrian prince in
| the same party of spectators with him at
an imperial military parade near Frank
fort. The prince did not know Bismarck.
He saw in the giant Prussian only a bull
necked, broad shouldered delegate in the
uniform of militia lieutenant, and with
many orders on his breast. 1t tickled the
prince amazingly to observe all these orders
on the breast of a pettifogging delegate.
and so, riding up to the big lieutenant. he
asked ironically, Pardon me, excsllency
| did you get all these decorations in the facs
of the foe" "Yes, yes, imperial majesty y
Bismarck answers; "all in the face of the
| foe-aH here at Frankfort-on-t the Main. -
Bismarck gave Austria tit for tat in the
German diet for eight years, 1S51-'59. He
| was then recalled aud sent as ambassador to
! st. Petersburg-''Puto on ice.n as he said
Many of DR.. Kuhut's most interesting
stories are far from humorous, at least ac,
| cording to every un-German standard. For
instance, he let's the grim chancellor himself
| tell this:
ut was while was concluding the treaty