The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-31

sit in the barroom and sleep on benches. the
lect.
We were in the street in front of the post
had smashed my silk hat and was wearing
Scotch cap, and Conway had quilted
cloth hat The weather vas a, hot ana ha cur
We men were queer looking pair and as
we pulled off our headgear and saluted VIII
liam, he looked surprised, as well he might,
and also pleased, which was another matter,
and gave a fine bow The correct word
c I William Win ooM honS dy we were French
A big man came stalking along with a
white cap, and white mustaehe ana a
cavalry sabre in steel scabbard; his trous-
ers were in his boots, and he wore spurs;
His face was sunburned until scarlet, and
he walked with a slow, long stride ne was
tremendously saluted. At first did not
think of Bismarck. He was hardly so nuge
as I had conceived bismarck to be, and he
was wholly unattended. / had expected to
see some pomp and circumstance ABOUT the
Chancellor His ear, with cnaracter n rlic
a hint. 1t was the ear made prominent IN
Paris cartoons where it was exaggerated
our way l caught the fierce eye, the famous
tiger eye, and asked an officer standing
nigh if the man was Bismarck. The answer
was, with a look of wonder that one should
Conway and looked at the King in the
window and the Chancellor on the side
walk but did not find anyone ready to in
trodlIce U.S. We were just moving away
when Bismarck came up and addressed us.
His keen observation had told him were
fresh arrivals and neither French nor Ger
about him what the dingy persons were
supposed to mean. member OF the stair
said we were American editors and upon
that hint he came up and spoke, and Said
he was glad to see u.s. and referred to 'the
millions of men of our blood in your coun-
try" and he thought well of having his
tory automatically prepared on the spot. He
invited us to go to the Kings headquarters
e aoa get bnv aa that he had no
influence in the army, not even enough to
aid me to buy horse.
IN UNIFORM-AT GRAyELOTTE.
I said, in response to his invitation to eat
with the King, that I could not keep up
with his Majesty without a horse, and the
lips of the Chancellor smiled, but his eyes
did not. He spoke perfect English, no
marked accent putting his words together
with just a little too much care.
He could consistently say he had no in
fiuence in he army, because the DIVISIONS
among the russians are c at ana n posls
is the military aristocracy. When the hght
was won and there was an empire TO
organize, a treaty to make, an indemnity
to fix-the great business of the state to
perform-the power of Bismarck was over
exce But IN the mdst Of military
operations he was Major Bismarck, away
from his regiment on detached duty. IN IN
his majors uniform and spurs and saber
than of his portfolio.
a horse he said it was because horses were
wanted for army use, but might go to
do not remember, but it was Polish. 1t
was when 1 asked permission to say that
he told me might, go on the horse business
with his good will that he said he had no
army influence. did not get horse and
that was the reason could not continue
with the army on to sedan n ana near Parls d
Bismarck walked in his garden in Berlin
he still was booted and spurred, and when
perial Parliament it was with spurs on his
heels-affecting, with all his formidable
greatness, to be rather soldier than
statesman. ae
The next time saw him after ST. Avoid,
was in the streets of Pont-a- Mousson.
considerable French town on the Moselle,
nineteen miles south of Metz. had, sub
sequent to the declaration of war, passed
through the town under the French flag,
and there 1 was again with the Germans.
cerned. and the French stood an in groups
and pointed him out naming him in sharp
kissing whispers, showing both anger and
awe. He might easily have been assassi-
mated, but seemed to have no fears, and in
his grasp the saber, upon the hilt of which
he rested his left hand, would have been a
mighty weapon. Next / saw him on the
battlefield of Gravelotte during the engage
Headquarters was on a hill. The horses
of the staff were held by orderlies. There
mnarck's and Moitke's. four horses EACH sh
handled by postillions wearing silk hats
Black u ' servant ' All had saddle horses ,ia
Bismarck was lying on the ground. on
French knapsack for a pillow and a strip
of French shelter tent spiked down, pro-
tecting his head from the wind His att-
was not asleep. The thunders IF the battle tie
There We're dismal clouds rising from
burning villages and .whirlpools of pearly
clouds from bursting shells, blue masses of
troops moving majestically through the
Of housekeeping horses with and without
riders, like phantoms, appearing and disap-
pearng There was the noise of cyclone.
pyrotechnics, and the odor from the dead
horses killed on the same. ground two days
before, and the blood of the men that had
soaked the hot ground, was dreadful.
WILLIAM ..SWORE IN DUTCH"
The King and Moltke stood near each
other. The Kings brother drew a plan of
the battle on the back of letter for Mr..
Conway. A staff officer came out of the
cloud, and the whole party. except the car
riage drivers and servants, trotted into the
gloom, Sheridan's burly figure nigh Bis
marcks burlier one.. and had no horse and
no one to tell me where to GO sheridan told
...swore in Dutch and wanted to push on
into greater dangers than it was desirable
and Archibald Forbes and myself wandered
over the battlefield together-Forbes with a
stud splendidly caparisoned-and when sep
arated from my companions, standing be-
side the main road from Paris to Metz, be-
yond that is to say east-the village from
which the battle named, though, like
| the village of Waterloo, it is not the central
scene of the fighting, l saw four men riding
toward Gravelotte, returning from. the adj
vanced German front, which looked east
ward, as the Germans We're between the
French army and Paris.
was scraping the bloody mud from my
shoes with a splinter from a Lombardy
poplar that had been shattered by shell
when recognized Bismarck and Sheridan
with two orderiies. / had seen Sheridan
on the battlefield, but had not spoken to
him. and he did not know that / near
when i interrupted the intent converse
| ton going on between Bismarck and his
| guest. Sheridan had Joined Bismarck the
night before and had arrived on the field
/ in the Chancelor's carriage.
My remark was to say General Sheri-
| dam AS he looked up keenly l pulled off
| my Scotch cap and saluted according to
| the best of my ability, and the General
| uttered my name with an exclamation of
| surprise and wanted TO know what / was
| doing there, and / told him it in
! teresting part of the country and that
! why. | was stopping there Bismarck
nodded to me, evidently remembering the
American editor, and laughed at our ex-