The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-31


prime of life, he was possessed of vast
energy and fortitude, and up to the
time he was seventy years Old his
vigorous constitution sustained him
We'll. He was for years a hard rider.
a fierce duelist, a wild hunter and a.
beer. drinker not to be beaten. There
are many stories told about the way
In which he bore the trials of the Fran
co-German war. when., though not far
from his sixtieth year. he followed the
army in its campaigns and guided the
policy of the government. He would
keep the saddle all day, break his fast
with a few links of sausage or a dish
Of sarerkraut and sleep on the "soft
side of a board" in his tent when o
better couch was not within reach. care
you here, Otto?" cried one Of his bow
hood chums who met him after q bat
tie. "Then quaff this foaming stein Of
Munich's brew while I recall our war;
like song at Gottingen.",
MAN OF FORCE.
Bismarck could not be called a nerv-
Gus man as we ordinarily use the word.
but rather a man of nerve. Such a.
word as intellectual or as philosophical
Is not descriptive as applied to him. In
short. none Of the words by which we
are apt to characterize DISTINGUISHED
individuals was applicable to him. He
was prodigy. He was not to be
classified; he was distinctive person.
atty; he did not belong to type. His
mind was broad, his reason was substn-
tlal, his will was indomitable, his gen.
1us was practical, his thought was solid.
lie had imagination, but only in the
large sense Of the word-that kind of
1t which moves around realism.
Bisnlarck's head was sometimes
spoken of as colossal, but In truth the
measurement Of his Uranium was very
little beyond the ordinary. There are
in Germany plenty Of heads bigger
than the head that belonged to him.
The brain contained in it, however
was certainly qualified by nature with
those powers that were made manifest
in his life.
When you look at any picture Of
Bismarck you are apt to be repealed
by the very stern expression Of his
face. 1t is exceedingly severe. He
has the appearance of a sullen or an
acrimonious man. His, features, as
you see them in the engraving, are
plain, his forehead is of heavy cast
his mouth is large, his nose is moot
Of classical mold, his eyes are slug
gish, his cheeks are coarse grained,
his hair and mustache are Indifferent
Bismarck was the offspring Of an old,
aristocratic and proud family, but the
physiognomy which he inherited from
his ancestors was certainly not Of an
attractive kind-not Napoleonic
Yet it would be mistake to sup
pose that he was destitute Of the more
generous traits Of human nature
Those who knew him we'll have often
spoken Of his congeniality in social
life. They tell Of his long devotion to
his wife, Of whose companionship he
was bereaved a few years ago, and of
his pride in his children, and Of his
endearing attachment to his friends
and of his sentimental feeling for the
old king, whom he made an emperor
They even tell US that man who
could keep up relations with his
hound and his horse as kindly as those
which Bismarck long kept up was
manifestly possessed Of spirit in
which emotion had It's place.
Bismarck is not to be brought into
comparison with any other eminent
man Of the century. His Characters
tics bore no resemblance to those. Of
Napoleon, who was both statesman
and conqueror, and whose flashing
career was so unlike that of the Ger
man. 1t would require the pen Of Plu-
tarch to draw a contrast between Bis
marck and Abraham Lincoln. In
truth, Bismarck was a man who in
the history Of his time must stand
apart from all other men, gloomy and
peculiar.
RECORD WITHOUT PARALLEL.
The record of his life was one that
had no parallel in that Of any of his
contemporaries. He was a founder
and destroyer, a revolutionist and
lord paramount. He was a legislator,
diplomatist. ambassador and chancel-
lor. He was a master Of statecraft
and the architect of an empire. He
raised his country to a place in the
front rank of European nations. He
was dictator in his disposition,
though he always reverenced the
throne of the Hohenzollerns. He was
thirty years a leader in large poll
tics" the handspring in the wars of
Germany, the author of public poll
cies and controlling force in the dip
lomacy Of all the continental govern
ments.
This is not the language Of praise. 1t
is but a part Of the broad history Of
our creative age.
How Bismarck brought about Ger
man unity and the obstacles that ne
encountered and overcame while en-
gagged in that work need not here be
described
How he extended the boundaries of
Prussia by anneXins to that kingdom
the dominions Of three dethroned Ger
man princes; how he obtained posses
sion 70 the duchy of Schleswig- Holstein
how he seized Alsace and Lorraine as
the prize Of conquest, may all be learn
ed from the historians.
How he brought Denmark to terms
by force Of arms; how he humbled the
Austrian, or Holy Roman empire in
1866; how he overthrow the French
empire and dictated terms Of peace to
France in 1871, the reader can ascer-
tain by the perusal Of historical
works
There were military commanders
and ministers and diplomatic agents