The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-27
LD"BLOODANDIRON"
The Humorous Side of Bismarck's
Character.
THE FAMOUS FRANKFORT STORY
Bismarck, However, Did Much Of His
Laughing and Joking With a
Purpose in View.

lowing to the fact that a portion of the fol
lowing article was omitted from THE SUNDAY
herald, where it first appeared. in Justice to
he writer we republish ii %entirel.
AMERICAN Fork, March 81, 1S90.-TSpec-
!lal correspondence of THE HERALD. And
30 Bismarck has resigned, and young Viii
liam accepted his resignation. The man of
"Blood and Iron" has retired and perhaps.
left the stage of his wonderful activity for
ever.
Much is known of Bismarck, the great
statesman; Bismarck, the great politician;
Bismarck, the great soldier; Bismarck, the
great leader of men, and Bismarck, the
great orator; but little has been made
known about Bismarck, the humorist.
Old BLOOD and Iron" as a funny mani
This is the subject of the latest German
work concerning the grizzled arc furrowed
diplomat of the Wilhelm strasse. Perhaps
the most interesting part of the book re-
lates to BiSmarck's experiences in Frank
fort as Pussian delegate to the German
Diet In the years Immediately succeeding
1850. In these days Bismarck did much
laughing and joking with apurpose. Prob
ably no Jokes and laughter in the worlds
history have been so plainly significant Of
great coming events. They foreshadowed
Duppel and Koniggartz and Sedan, the par
tition Of France, and the unitication of
Germany.
The appointment of Bismarck as Prus-
sian delegate in Frankfort caused the Ger
man press to raise a 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 a cold shoulder
from his retirir G chief, General Won
Rochov, who kept him quite uniformed
concerning the run of affairs there, and
'thus deprived his diplomatic sucking, as
/ have been called" wrote Bismarck, 'of
his proper nourishment.'' AS soon as Won
Rochov got out of the way, however, Bis
marck let himself out. The Austrian de-
legate considered himself the only big man
in the whole concern, and showed his con-
ceit by knocking about IN a s~lovenly cos
tune, presiding over the Diet in a manner
less fashion, and allowing himself all sorts
OF petty privileges which delegates from
the little German states didn't dare ask for.
Now, Prussia wished 10 be a big power in
the Diet, and Austria was doing her best to
keep her down among the little powers.
Bismarck's mission was to get as much in
tiuence in the Diet for Prussia as Count
Thun, the Austrian delegate, was main
tanning for Austria. As the Diet rarely
took hold of questions of great Importance,
the diplomatic suckling'' had to gain most
of his advantages over the willy old Aus
trian count in a ridiculously petty warfare.
In his official dispatches to Berlin Bis
marck described his antagonist thus:
"Count Thun has somewhat of a bump
tious appearance, with a touch of the
Jenna roue about him. But the sins
which he commits in the latter capacity he
tries to make up for in his own eyes and
in those of his countess by strictly observ-
ing 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 fifty, writes poetry occasionally,
is sentimental, falls to weeping readily at
the theatre, has an appearance of good ma
ture and agreeableness, drinks more than
he can stand, and is said to nave had fam
lily misfortunes.n
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 l
merely beg a light to my cigar, and who
study their words and looks with Regens-
burg care when they ask for the key to the
lavatory.n
Bismarck's behavior when he made his
first call upon Thun was typical. The SER
van showed him directly into the study,
where the Austrian delegate sat in his
shirt sleeves, hard at work with his CORES
pondence. Exactly So" exclaimed Bis
marck, nettled by the informality of his
reception; cit is terribly warm here,n and
began at once to pull off his coat, too. In
a second Thun jumped to his feet, and into
his coat, for fear that the delegate of little
Prussia would return his rudeness with in
terest.
The book from which 1 quote does not
omit the famous Frankfort smoking story.
Al the sittings of the military commit
tee" writes Bismarck to his wife, ''when
Rochov was the Prussian representative at
the diet, Austria alone smoked. Rochov,
who was a furious smoker, would certainly
have liked to do it, but did not venture.
When | succeeded him, |, too, hankered
after q cigar, and, as l did not see why l
should not have 1t, l asked the power in the
presidents austrian %envoy's) chair to
give me a light, which seemed to cause him
and the other gentlemen both establishment
and displeasure. 1t was evidently an
event for them. That time only Austria
and Prussia smoked. But the other gentle
men obviously thought it so serious that
they reported it to their respective courts.
The question required mature elaboration,
and for half a year only the two great
powers-Austria and Prussia-smoked.
Then Schrenk, the Bavarian envoy, as
serted the dignity of his position by smok-
ing. Nostlitz, the Saxon, had certainly
also a great wish to do so, but had not re-
ceived authority from his minister. When,
however, he saw Bothmer, the Hanover
ian, INDUCING himself at the next sitting,
he must-for he was intensely Austrian,
having sons in the ~army-have come to
some understanding with Rechberg (Aus
trian envoy %presiding) for he also took out
a cigar from his case and pulled away.
Only Wurtemberg and Darmstout 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 cigar
i see ii now, it was a long, thin, light, yell
low thing-and smoked at least half as a
burnt offering to the f~atherland."
When asked by Count Thun to explain
how he made such a favorable impression
upon Metternich, Bismarck answered:
"Oh, that was simple enough. l merely
listened to him for three days with an ex-
preston of intelligence on my face.n This
shree-days communion of the two most ia
nous diplomats of this century on the
banks of the Rhine, is compared rather ir-
reverently 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
position in the Diet, is well illustrated by n
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 bull
necked, broadshouldered delegate in the
uniform of a militia lieutenant and with
many orders on his breast. 1t tickled the
prince amazingly to observe all these
orders on the breast of a p~ettifogging dele
gate, and so riding up to the big lieutenant,
he asked ironically: pardon me. excel
leucy, did you get all these decorations in
the face of the foe!" Eyes, yes, imperial