St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-12
BISMARCK AT HOME.
The Grim and Barren Style In
Which the Prince Lives.

The Grim and Barren Style In
Which the Prince Lives.
Friedrichsruhe, the second of the two
estates presented to the German chan
cellor by a grateful sovereign and coun-
try, cost about e17O.OoO, which was SET
apart for the purpose by Kaiser Wilhelm
out of the French war indemnity.
Varzin, the gift Of which dates immed-
lately after the German-Austrian war,
cost but a third of that amount. The
title Of duke OF LauenbuIg is suggeste d
by the fact that the estate is situated in
the duchy on which IN 1864 the then
Count Won Bismarck tried his "pren-
tlce hand" at annexation.
The gates Of the desmene are but a
short distance from the station of the
same name on the line between Berlin
and Hamburg. There is nothing monu-
mental or INTELLECTUALLY grand about
the house itself. The two wings, built at
right angles, of which it consists, are
externally as bare of ornament as q
barrack. A magnificent lawn, gthickIy
dotted with centenarian trees, leads to
the front entrance. An enormous tract
of meadow land extends behind the
house as far as the eye can reach, where
it joins the Sachsenwald Saxon forestl.
Not a flower or parterre anywhere, and
deep, deep silence reigns around.
The simplicity of the interior sis in
thorough keeping with the baroness or
the exterior. The enormous hall is like
couple of hospital wards thrown into
one, with whiteWashed walls, without a
stuccO cornice or center ornament on
the ceilings, few, gigantic antlers here
and there, half-a-dOzen wooden chairs
nn6 q f0hIQ UJthnnf q fahlOalnfh
OF furniture, in the ordinary sense Of
the word, there is very little. A lazegd
cabinet, full of carbineS and pistols.
another full of maps, round table and
three chairs, and that is all. OF course,
the reception rooms and private apart
ments of the rest Of the family are of
less Spartan character, but in those of
the prince himself the ornamental has
had to yield absolutely to the useful.
With the exception of music, Prince
Bismarck IS utterly Indifferent to art.
Some years ago at an "at home" a
lady reminded Bismarck that she had
been his cicerone during his early STU
dent days in Berlin. True" he said,
and then he introduced her to his wife
and daughter in the following terms:
"This is the lady to whom l owe the
greater partOf my artistic education. for
twas III nef ompany tnat L went TO the
Berlin MuSeum-the first and only time
in my life" With regard to music he
is very fond of listening to it, though,
like the great Napoleon, he sings horri-
bly, oui OF tune and out of time. Life
is serious and art is gay" he wrote at
the back of the well-known photograph
Of Pauline Lucca; and that apparently
is his Re ason for not spending much
time in the pursuit of the art.
Different is it with regard to litera-
ture. The man is not only a magnif-
cent linguist, albeit he has forgotten his
Greek, but is a Omniyorous reader. His
own room is absolutely Uttered with
books. novels included. While there are
no knickknacks, no cunningly contrived
shelves or artistically arranged what
nots for the display Of porcelain and
cloisonne. three or four enormous, cum
brOuS mahogany tables almost bent
beneath the weight of documents, blue
books, etc.
London Star