Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-09
ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT BISMARCK
Interesting Additions to the Large Store
Of Gossip About Him.

BY the courtesy Of the publishers the PAD
Mad Gazette is enabled to give some extracts
from "Bismarck's Intime," . gossipy volume
about the ex-chancellor, which they publish in
London. The book is written by an old fellow
A capital photograph of Bismarck forms the
frontispiece.
Bismarck was q first-rate horseman when Q
young man and gained quite reputation by
the long rides he took ON the back of his tall
mare Caleb. She carried him once from Pol
gin, a little watering place in Pomerania. as far
as Kollin, near Stargard and Stettin, the dis
lance between the two places being over fifty
miles When he was about half way Bismarck,
dying OF hunger and thirst, stopped at a road
side tavern in little village through which
he passed. The landlord set before him
plenty OF good food to satisfy his hun
ger, but his wine was hardly 1T to
drink and his beer detestable. There hap
pened 70 be stopping at the same inn q
traveller in the wine trade with samples of his
liquors Bismarck asked to taste his samples,
the traveller consented, and in an incredibly
snort time every bottle was emptied, and Bis
niarck walked away warmly thanking the man
for his kindness. As soon as the traveller
realized that all his stock was gone he became
dreadfully excited but was unable at first to
form a correct idea Of the loss he had sustained
through his hberality to the thirsty stranger
However, he soon came to himself and saw
what folly he had committed. The landlord
came up to him just in time to prevent him
from tearing his hair out; he gave him a note
from Herr Won Bismarck containing q heavy
order for wine, and the commercial traveller
did not lose by the occurrence after all. Bis
marck in the meantime was jogging along on
his journey enjoying the joke immensely
Bismarck is superstitious beyond all de-
scription. The number thirteen has a very
deep meaning for him. He Will never sit
down to table where he would make the thir-
teenth. Count Bismarck Bohlen narrates that
one day in 1870 at Rheims, when the chanceI-
lOr gave dinner, one of the invitations had
to be countermanded, because otherwise there
would have been thirteen at table, Gen.
Boyer, Bazaines envoy. arrived at the Ger
man headquarters in Versailles on Friday, Oc-
tober IA, but Bismarck would not see him till
the next day, saying that he would never do
anything of importance on any Friday much
less Friday the date of which conceded
with the anniversary of Hochkirch, Jena and
Auerstadt. He was talking one day Of a defeat
the Germans had experienced in the
beg you TO- observe, gentlemen he said,
that that happened on a Friday Bis
marek does not believe in a lucky or unlucky
star but is convinced that his life is seriously
influenced by a certain mystic number.
F., lat the time when enthusiasm ragged round
the celebration of Bismarck's seventeen birth
day a workman of Cologne. sort of wharf
laborer, poor wretch whom everybody knew
not to be possessed of a brass farthing, put
down his name for 20 marks (fD on a sub
scription list going round the town. Now this
poor fellow was receiving a monthly allowance
from the public relief fund, and the overseer
of his parish, seeing his name on the subscrip-
ton list, sent for him and said: Well, now
what is the meaning Of this? You get parish
pay, don't you? Yes, SIR Then jus. explain
% hDx 10 M
for the testimonial to Prince Bismarck Il
don't intend to put them down, sir, by your
leave What do you meanY i haven't paid
anything, and when they come for the money 1
shall ask them to let me of with SO many days
in jail oh, that's it, is it?' answered the
functionary. understand. But that can't be
done, you know, unfortunately Well, then
You must Just scratch out my name said the
man. He had, no doubt had some experience
OF that kind of thing before the magistrate:
so many shillings or 80 many days.
Bismarck cannot claim to be Brutus In.
deed. the chancellors speeches are much better
when read In print; he is not what one might
call an. orator and does not even want to be
one. This is what he once said himself in the
reichstag: i am no orator; have not the gilt
Of influencing your minds nor of obscuring the
real meaning OF things by cloud of words MY
discourse Is simple and clear. good
orator is seldom a statesman He hates pro-
fessional takers, too, and one day he said:
When man is too fluent Of speech he talks
too long and too frequently His voice aston
ishes person who hears it for the first time
One expects to hear kind Of thunder issue
from that capacious chest, but instead of that
1t is tiny baritone, very agreeable and very
pleasant to listen to at first but after few fits
Of coughing it gets stronger. And then each
word Is accompanied by a movement Of the
body which seems to facilitate its utterance
When he arrives at the end of period his
words tread on each others heels in their inn
patience to break forth, and now they are no
longer accompanied by inarticulate sounds and
coughings and clearings of the throat; the idea
Is plainly there, lucid and mature, and yet
another il waiting IN the background to take
its place. His speech is clear, with a somewhat
antiquated accent, and his final RS are not pro-
no9nced strongly. His tone is never solemn
and never pathetic, even when he 10 deeply
moved, or when he is talking of his great age,
OF his majesty the emperor, or Of his country.
1t quite in the style of q drawing
room chat, addressed TO the deputies seated
near him."