, 1898-12-30
A DIPLOMATIC TRICK.
AN INCIDENT THAT PROVED THE CUM
MING OF BISMARCK.


The Roundabout tanner In which
He Secured tho safe Fermentation
of His Omcial Correspondence to
the Foreign ONCE,
Stepping to the counter, Herr Won
Bismarck asked a grinning young shop
boy in shirt sleeves, a blue linen apron,
not OF maiden freshness, and blessed
with a pair Of large, red, greasy paws,
engaged in weighing come Dutch cheese,
to oblige him with a sheet Of writing
paper, some sealing wax and a pen to
direct q letter.
On the boy producing the needful
with the traditional "What else, sir?"
Bismarck said: my hands are rather
cold. You had better do 1t for me And
he handed the boy a couple Of letters
wrapped in the sheet Of blush paper
forming an envelope, for in those days
made mp envelopes we're still unknown
In Germany. Evidently fattered by the
request Of such an imposing looking
client. for Herr Won Bismarck tall hat
was almost touching the ceiling of the
squalid little shop, the greasy handed
youth took the parcel, and, having
closed it skillfully with some brown
sealing wax and Endorsed it with the
initials Of the firm, he returned it to its
owcor to write the address.
Sorry, my friend, to give you more
trouble, said the future chancellor in
his jovial way. but l can't manage to
write with my gloves on, go Just ad-
dress it for me-" And he handed him a
penciled slip with the name of Herr
Fritz ~Piepenbrink or some such NAME,
oil and colonial warehouseman, No. 900
Friedrichs s~trasse, Berlin.
THANK you, young man; that'll do
capitally." and paying for the paper,
etc., with a small tip to the oily boy
with the %stereotyped grin, he pocketed
his letter, and we left the place to con-
tinue our walk.
II dare say you are wondering why I
treat my correspondents to such greasy,
evil smelling missives?" And he showed
me the cheesy finger marks Of the boy
on both sides of the ~improvised envel-
ope. "Ill tell you a secret, and teach
You . useful lesson for future times.
You may some day thank me for the
hint" exclaimed Herr Won Bismarck,
laughing heartily.
"You know we are blessed here in
Frankfort, as throughout all south Ger
many, with the Thurn and Taxis postal
administration, q mine OF wealth to
that fortunate family, but the most
wretohedly managed concern under the
sun. As you may imagine. 1t is under
the thumb Of Austria, hence slow and
the triumph Of red tape, with q pro-
nounoed weakness for diving into other
peoples business and skimming, Of
course, the correspondence Of all Ger.
man and foreign ENJOYS, accredited to
the diet. with q preference for mine,
the eve suspected Prussian culprit and
tYaitor.
They have established . regular
black cabinet in the prinoely poetofioe,
where specially trained imperial and
royal wiseacres peruse q prose with
critical eye, transmitting copies Of ex-
tracts Of all 'treasonable' matter, or
particularly interesting reports, to the
august Ballplatz, where Gentand and
after him Klindworth have established
. lynx eyed system Of political espionage
(politiaches schnuffeln) extending all
yer Europe. and comprising 60 ipso all
German courts and chanoelleriea
"Not being particularly anxious to
crafty the morbid curiosity Of our Aus.
trian ally, I have thought It advisable
to send important reports to the Berlin
foreign Office, Is we'll as all my letters
70 the king, to Herr Won Manteufel,
and to my sister and some particular
friends, under cover to some mercantile
firm in Berlin, changing frequently and
usually asking . counter jumper in a
oheesemonger's or oilman's shop to ad.
dsSss them for me--and you oan easily
understand that the imperial and royal
niners (%schnufier) don't manage to
guess the correspondent Of the Prussian
representative under . greasy, i'll smell
ing cover, such as You have seem.
ut stands to reason that the smell Of
cheeee or herring and the scribbling
Of . shopboy must deceive sharper
men than the Thurn and Taxis post
ofaoials and the specially delegated
Austrian p~ostofice olerka The only pre-
caution I have to take is to 60 to differ
ent shops In quarters Of the town where
I Am not known and to vary the Berlin
address from time to time. Thus I'm
perfectly safe.
lie tour est joue, and I snap my an-
gers at the BallplatA It 10 simple
enough, a. you have seen. yet It
wouldn't do to send everything through
that channel, as they would otherwise
get suspicious 90 I treat my Austrian
friends at least once a week to some Of
my diplomatic prose unimportant
stun, and occasionally something 1 want
them to know-or to believe, " and he
INDUCED in a boisterous laugh.-Baron
de Malortie in Cornhill Magazine.
A Close Shave.
A CIRCUS paid a flying visit to . small
country town, and the price Of admis-
sjon VA a~ixpence. children under 10