The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-02-12

rows from or bcstows upon Bismarck's
birthplace its name. The drive from the
station 20 the village occupies eight or ten
Minutes and the fine old mansion stands
az the edUc OF the village or rather the lat
ter Is at the gates Of the former The first
structure known to have been erected on
the site Of the present Schoeuhausen was
put up somewhere near the year 1900. 1t
was probably "a convent. but whatever IL
WAS 10 was utterly destroyed during the
thirty years war, and 20 has been rebuilt
in whole or in part many times since that
destruction.
The present house dates from the latter
end Of the seventeeth century, though parts
are supposed 10 be much older II is not a
feudal castle nor even a great mansion. Il
ie a simply designed stone house, with i'm
mensely thick walls and an air of great so
lidity and age. IL is now the home OF the
princes son, Count Herbert Bismarck, to
whom it was given by his father, not as a
wedding president, as has somewhere been
stated, but some time previous TO his mar
riage, and not in celebration of any event
in the lives Of either
Neara stream which runs through marshy
ground not far from the house is moss
grown old gray statue peppered with bull
let's In days gone by Bismarck the elder
used this statue as a target, and its present
condition testifes to his excellent marks
manship Scattered about the grounds are
many interesting relics, among them a
number Of cannon taken from the French
at Strasburg and elsewhere but the relics
I'm the museum within the house are more
interesting still. The museum is in the
strictest seu1e a Bismarck museum, mas.
much as the articles preserved are almost
all mememtos of various events in his life.
There is one thing, however. that is of
special interest TO Americans and that Is "a
desk said to be the one at which jefferson
sat when he wrote the first draft Of the
Declaration Of Independence. 1t was sent
to the prince by an American admirer and
bears a card wherein is inscribed a guaran-
tee Of its genuincness, signed by "A Mr.. Coo
lidge. IL is of mahogany, not above l5inehes
square, and has every appearance Of being
genuine Among the hundreds of statu-
cites and busts of the ex-chanoellor there Is
but one good one. The most pathetic arti.
Gle in the house probably is the rush bot
toned chair I'm which Napoleon III sat on
the morning after he had decided TO sur
render to the victorious Teutons az Sedan.
The house at 20 Wilhelmstrasse, in this
city-the reichskanzler's palace, it is called
in which Bismarck lived during the years
Of his greatest power, is not more distin-
guished in appearance than Is Schoenhau-
sen. Bismarck occupied IL from 1882 to
1878. first as prime minister to the king OF
Prussia and later as premier Of the Ger
man empire.
Ii has not the spaciousness or the nObil-
ity Of architectural design that would seem
10 have boen fitting in house chosen for
the residence of him who was during that
residence the most powerful man IN Eu-
rope. At the present time there Is an air
OF poverty and neglect about the premises
that Us almost pathetic.
FriedrcLsrul, Bismarck IS present home,
though LARGER house than the one at
Schocnhau.on. is not an elegant structure
by any means. But H. is "A memorial Of the
unner', great achievement In that it was
presented 10 Linn ina 1871 by Emperor vii
jam ! in token OF his services ia re-cstab-
fishing the empire, - the estate 40 Narzin
was given 10 him in 1865 Ina reward for his
work u the WAT with Austria. The fur
nishing 90 the rooms at Friedrichsruh, es-
pecially those used by tine prince himself,
partakes Of chat iuharmonious character,
that nugling of the learned and the agri-
cultural. o. De- found ia she houses Of most
German landed proprirtors who have re-
I
The library is evidently that OF a man too
busy 20 read much or deeply. The study
Of the cx-chaucclior is fitted up with sew
cral massive mahogany tables, which are
borne down los great quantities of docu
mcnts aud manuscripts. aud the writing
desk b. an enormous one. The prince
chair has no b1ck aud is of course uucom-
Portable HIa pens an. all ~ quill, and hc
cuts them himself Tie uses n hlotting
piper. IS hich bee de,ests - much ns he does
steel peus. but tine cd fashioned OK OF
biue sand i1e drying freshly written iuk is
q Appointment object on his desk The prince s
bedroom b simple In ITS furnishings % the
point oi discomfort. and the interior walls
OF an the raons nre whitewashed, giving
the entire piuce a cold and cherries look.
The house, which stands near the railroad
station. i- surrounded by well Kept lawn,
which boz tIrn i- cIcumpusecd hy au irregu'
+ lar aud almost ugly sUd brick wall
o.. T. HOFFMAN.